Jack12477

What !? You don't have a Gleason Gear Cutting Machine in your garage, Michael !  (Just kidding of course).
 
Many (and I do mean many) years ago, I was shopping in a department store in my home town of Rochester NY where Gleason is located and on the main shopping floor Gleason had set up one of the smaller gear cutting machines and was giving  a demonstration. The machine was cutting the beveled ring gear for a Sears Sewing machine. When the machinist finished cutting the gear he gave it to me. I have it on my key ring - well worn. It was interesting to see exactly how the machine worked - it did not cut each slot sequentially but rather stepped about 15 degrees (or so) and cut another slot then another step of about 15 degrees and another slot; when it finally finished cutting the final slot was adjacent to the first slot cut.  Photo attached below:
 

 
I am really impressed and envious of your machining skills. The engine is magnificent !

Remco, Steve, Joe, and Row thanks for your very kind remarks. Thanks to all who pressed the like button as well.
 
I finished up the clamp ring today and made the actuating lever to open and close the ring, it is quite tiny but was manageable. in order to get the widths that I wanted quickly I spun up a disc on the lathe, bored out the centre hole on the lathe then stood up the rod with the disc still attached in the vice on the mill and offset the other hole .156" then took it back to the lathe and parted it off then used the jewelers saw to cut out the crank.
 

 
Then cleaned it up with some files, then polished it up to a rouge finish and beveled the hub to create the cam.
 

 
Here it is set in position with the spring loaded bolt in the open position the width of the flanges at the bolt are .290"
 

 
And here with the lever in the closed position the width of the flange at the bolt is .250" locking the gearbox casing.
 

 
This is how it works
 
next the rear cam locking collar.
 
Michael
 

When I started airbrushing plastic models several decades back, I purchased a middle of the line Badger single-action airbrush and several cans of compressed air. As I got better at painting with the Badger I bought an inexpensive small hobby style compressor. I still have the Badger (haven't used it in quite a while now) but the small hobby style compressor burned out from overuse (by my son) and now I use a 3 gallon Sears brand compressor. I never had any problems using the single-action brush, as opposed to a double-action brush. I'm not sure I could master the double-action. I painted over 40-45 1/35 scale model armor vehicles including elaborate camouflage patterns with the Badger and it worked like a charm. Mine took an external cup or jar of paint, had two tips for coarse and fine work. So as a starter brush I would recommend the Badge. The secret to any brush is thoroughly cleaning it after each use.

Finished the hull of the boat. When I took it off the jig that formed the shape the sides wanted to pull in making it narrower than it is supposed to be. The wood was pretty stubborn being very stiff & not wanting to be pulled out to its proper shape. Thought about it a while & decided to fit it back over the jig & try to re-wet the planks to see if they would reshape themselves. It was a tight fit & had to stretch the sides open a bit to get it back on. Then I decided on something maybe a little radicle......I filled a coffee cup with water & boiled it in the microwave a few minutes. Then I pored the boiling water onto the hull hoping it would reshape itself & praying that it would not come unglued & fall apart. It worked! I let it sit overnight. The glue held & it now holds it shape much closer to how it should.
  

Making progress on getting the hull planked. The wood strips supplied are basswood & have been bending pretty well. I have had 2 break. As I get to the point where the curving of the planks increase I have been soaking the planks. It doesn't tale much- holding it under hot water running from the sink is all it takes & they bend easily into shape.
 
The instructions recommend using CA glue foe everything in this build but I'm too old school & chose to use wood glue instead. I have only used CA to glue where the planks meets the stems to hold the ends down while the wood glue is drying between the plank edges. It looks a little rough right now but it will look fine once it is scraped & sanded.
 

Planking the hull....
 

This kit has a building jig that the boat is planked over for the shape then removed off the jig once the planking is done. Built the jig, glued the bottom plank & end stems then attached this assembly on the jig to begin the planking.
 

Brief early Saturday update.  The first group of planking (of 4 planned sections) is complete on both sides, and the 2nd group is started on the port side.
 
As I was cropping these pictures I realized how much damage I'm managing to inflict on my poor painted cap rails, so I'm going to need to do a lot of repainting when I'm done with all the heavy handling of the hull.  In the meantime I'm going to cover the rails with tape to try to prevent further damage, since I'm apparently incapable of doing work on the hull and not beating up the already completed work.
 

Hi Rich:
 
Your last post reminds me of what we used to say in my old job "if you don't want to take the time to do it right, you'll need to spend time doing it over".
 
Frank

I agree with Remco, excellent metal work.

Thanks everyone for the comments and Likes.
Its been a long couple of days working on the gearboxes, yes I ended up redoing the casing a couple of times over, I also opted to redo the inner stuff as well. Although the micro gears worked they were not as smooth as I wanted. I ended up using some 48DP "pinion wire" it is actually 10 tooth brass pinion, and is exactly 1/4 inch in diameter. this way I was able to go by the numbers and make the proper distances for the gears to mesh'
 

 
Like this Video
 
In order for the gearbox to be able to lock so that the prop rotates forward there is a clutch that is splined, I have been wracking my brains working at finding a way to make a small spline. This morning as I woke up it hit me.
 

 
Yup the trusty old allen head cap screw has a negative hex to accept the hex key, I matched up a 5/16 cap screw with some 1/4 inch hex brass. the steel collar will revolve in the base of the forward/reverse lever and will move about 1/64 to clamp the prop shaft to the gearbox causing the forward motion. the hex part will be pinned to the prop shaft, and a loose clamping collar will be inserted between the hex collar and the casing of the gearbox, when the lever is pulled back the hex collar will move forward clamping the case and loose collar hence locking the case to the prop-shaft
 

 

 
The revers is accomplished by clamping the gearbox inside a steel band which was made from some steel rings turned up and silver soldered together. As the gearbox is clamped the splined collar also releases the loose clamping collar allowing the gears inside to impart the reverse
 

 
The rings were machined to shape using the mill and the lathe.
 

 

 

 
When I cut the slot on the top of the band it automatically sprung to a smaller diameter which works in my favour because in order to open the band a wedge has to slide forward, this wedge is connected to the forward reverse lever.
 
It is getting there.
 
Michael
 
 
 
 
 
 

Floyd,  Once a professor, always a professor. 
 
In building the launch, I'm tending to follow colors seen in photos of the ship.
 

 
Floor boards added and rising planks to support the thwarts.
 

 
Floor boards, 3mm. walnut, weathered with "Weather-It".  Thwarts, 4mm., also weathered. Mast supports and steps for the masts at the 1st and 5th thwarts. Horizontal windlass and lifting rings added.
 

 
Exterior painting underway.
 

 
There is still detailing to do with painting, rudder and supports, etc.
If the computer holds up, I'll post another photo or two.
Cheers,  Gil
 
 
 

Ryland, Floyd, Divarty, thanks for the likes.
 
Updates: Painting of cap rail and interior completed; I stained the interior and exterior hull with Minwax Natural, while the floorboards are stained slightly darker with Miniwax Golden Oak. The lighting doesn't bring out the color too well. Using the flash at this close distant totally washes out the photos.
 
Gluing the floorboards in place:
 

 

Ryland, Floyd, Divarty, thanks for the likes.
 
Updates: Painting of cap rail and interior completed; I stained the interior and exterior hull with Minwax Natural, while the floorboards are stained slightly darker with Miniwax Golden Oak. The lighting doesn't bring out the color too well. Using the flash at this close distant totally washes out the photos.
 
Gluing the floorboards in place:
 

 

Ryland, Floyd, Divarty, thanks for the likes.
 
Updates: Painting of cap rail and interior completed; I stained the interior and exterior hull with Minwax Natural, while the floorboards are stained slightly darker with Miniwax Golden Oak. The lighting doesn't bring out the color too well. Using the flash at this close distant totally washes out the photos.
 
Gluing the floorboards in place:
 

 

Nicely done ratlines, Rich.

Nicely done ratlines, Rich.

Update:  Bow stem repaired. Temporary braces removed, Cap rail installed and sanded. Red tape applied to mask off areas to be painted. I'm going to paint the cap rail, inside and stern red as the others. Interior I think I will stain (not sure which color yet). Have not decided whether I will paint the lower hull white or leave it "natural". The red "masking" tape I'm using is Great Planes brand 1/8" EZ-Mask Flexible Masking tape. I started using it when I was building the plastic Tamiya armor kits. It's very flexible, low tack and applies easily.
 



 

Foremast port side main shroud ratlines complete. They need some tidying up, though.

This model is actually not that small.   At 1/4" scale the hull is 17 3/4" long......fully rigged she is 29 1/4" long....and 25.5" tall.
 
Chuck

Not Really Kurt
 
There are a few magazine articles,  the Peterson book on Rigging,  A few other books may have a nugget or two, but thats it.  Its pretty much spread all over the place.  You really cant count on the AOTS book for Alert.  Its much earlier than Cheerful.  The cutter didnt change all that much but there are still vast differences in some areas.   Its also has a few errors in it which have been discussed to death.  The windlass is one of them.
 
Luckily there are quite a few contemporary models of cutters out there.  There are also tons of plans for cutters on the NMM site.  AND the Cheerful plans are excellent in every respect. Very detailed which is why I chose it.
 
I pent the day planking.  Got the first belt done ob the starboard side.  It went quickly.  Only eight planks.   The starboard side is now half planked.  I must complete the square tuck on the starboard side next before I can plank the lower belt.  Luckily because its a POB design and NOT a fully framed model,  I dont have to follow actual practice for building the square tuck.   So based on my design I can do one half of the tuck at a time.  I am eager to get it done to see how it will work out.
 
Once the square tuck is done then I will plank the remaining 10 strakes in the lower belt....then I must repeat the process on the other side.  
 
Chuck
 

 

 

 

 

Turns out I made the two hatches the wrong size.  The forecastle false deck has squares marked on it for the placement of these hatches. Instead of adding the 1/16" square strips outside of these markings I placed them inside. My thinking was that the markings represented the overall size. Wrong! Chuck's watchful eye caught the mistake.
 
Before and after
 

 

If you have been to Woodcraft check out the pfeil Chisels.  And ask the help for some advice.  The one I go to in Livertyville is very knowledgeable and will help you get the ones you seek.  Remember when it comes to a good blade you pay for what you get.  Plus they will have to be resharpened before you can use them.  The japanese chisels in my opinion are very good.  But they can be the wrong type for the kind of wood you are going to carve.  Sheffield made are also good as well. and easier to take care of.  Will you be using your hand most of the time or a mallet.
David B 

Update:  Bow stem repaired. Temporary braces removed, Cap rail installed and sanded. Red tape applied to mask off areas to be painted. I'm going to paint the cap rail, inside and stern red as the others. Interior I think I will stain (not sure which color yet). Have not decided whether I will paint the lower hull white or leave it "natural". The red "masking" tape I'm using is Great Planes brand 1/8" EZ-Mask Flexible Masking tape. I started using it when I was building the plastic Tamiya armor kits. It's very flexible, low tack and applies easily.
 



 

Update:  Bow stem repaired. Temporary braces removed, Cap rail installed and sanded. Red tape applied to mask off areas to be painted. I'm going to paint the cap rail, inside and stern red as the others. Interior I think I will stain (not sure which color yet). Have not decided whether I will paint the lower hull white or leave it "natural". The red "masking" tape I'm using is Great Planes brand 1/8" EZ-Mask Flexible Masking tape. I started using it when I was building the plastic Tamiya armor kits. It's very flexible, low tack and applies easily.