Hank

Here is a link that should answer your questions re. Olympic, Brittanic, and Titanic: http://www.titanicandco.com/britannic.html I wouldn't say red-headed stepchild, more torpedoed hospital ship.

AND!!!!! They are all furloughed!!!!!!!!!

This was an early April 1 event - nothing more, nothing less. I just had to do it!

Just over 100 years ago the RMS Titanic sank in the North Atlantic with great loss of life. Since then the world has taken a much safer approach towards seagoing travel, shipbuilding, and safety at sea. But the question always remained the same: What was the root cause of the world's most "unsinkable" ship to go to the bottom. Perhaps this year we finally have the answer to this - AND possibly the recovery of Amelia Earhart's plane. While most of us go about our daily lives without too much ado, a small group of dedicated scientists, engineers, and research analysts have been quietly working to find the truth about Titanic. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saHs6J0OXVI In all fairness, I could hardly believe my eyes when I viewed this shocking revelation.

Your post doesn't make sense - how about rewriting it either as a question or a statement. You might also mention a bit more detail regarding these kits.

What to do with an empty thread spool? Well, here's one item I was able to make from one - one of the two capstans I will need for my anchor hoy. The picture shows the three main stages of transformation. Sorry, the finished item will have to wait until later this month when I have it finished. The small spool was one from Bluejacket and since I didn't have a suitable piece of round stock in my dowel stores, the spool worked out well! The only prep work was gluing in a suitable dowel to use as the center and for holding by the lathe chuck. I turned the capstan (and its separate base) in about a half hour, give or take. It was turned on my PSI Turncrafter Pro Midi Lathe. This will be the after capstan and I will turn another one similar (but without capstan bar holes) for the forward capstan. Right now I have on hand about a half dozen small empty spools and several larger ones. Glad I kept them!

Finally getting back to this thread: Gentlemen all - Well, I personally like to use enamels for models. As a studio art major in college I did quite a few paintings using acrylics back in the early '70s. While my wife (in her painting) is still on their team, so to speak, I prefer the oil-based paints in modeling. FYI - my last acrylic of USS INDIANA was in 1973 and I haven't painted since. IMHO - each has it's merits and faults - each also has a place in my world!!! I will definitely search out any and all Floquil oils and stash them away. I would just love to hear that one small company has said NO to being bought out and their products shelved. Johngert - Walla!!! I just received a pkg. with 2 cans of Floquil Engine Black SPRAY and 1 can of Foquil Flat White SPRAY

Anyone using Floquil enamels (brush/spray) ? Well, they're getting harder to find. I was getting them from Hobbylinc, but they seem to be closing out their inventory. I've found a second source for some of their enamels at www.ModelTrainStuff.com. Just thought I'd pass this along. and, NO, I'm not going over to the dark (track) side!!!!

My last weeks efforts were in vain - I managed to chew up two pieces of wood in attempts to turn the topmast. I've got a new small honing stone I am going to use tomorrow night to sharpen all the tools and make sure that isn't the cause of the problem. I think the other (more important) cause is - ME and my lack of having any formal training on lathes other than what I've read and attempted on my own. Having said that, I find that even one or two sessions, classes, or whatever you want to call it, under experienced proctoring is very beneficial to me. Stay tuned, things can only get better!

Wefalck, Thanks for clearing that up - I wouldn't want to think that I wasted my $40.00!! Seriously though, it is time-consuming to have to adjust each jaw - that's all that I'm talking about - we're not building "nookuor" weapons here (as Jimmy Carter used to say!)

With the 4-jaw chuck in place I've now completed two of the spars for the Anchor Hoy. I have a couple pictures below showing the driver and gaff being turned on the DB-250. For the gaff I started with 1/4" square yellow pine and the 4-jaw chuck is just the item to use with square stock. The driver was turned from 5/16" dia. spruce. The only feature I'm not keen on with this chuck is that it is NOT self-centering, so you have to fiddle with the 4 adjustments to get the stock centered properly on it (without wobble). But, I guess for $40 you're not going to get the bells and whistles! The driver, being longer than the lathe, was done by turning one half and then reversing the stock thru the lathe and turning the second half of the piece. That's a nice feature of this tool. I will probably turn the main topmast and Spencer Mast on this lathe and the lower main mast on my Turncrafter Pro due to it's length; although, I may opt to do all using this tool if I can do so.

My Turncrafter Pro Midi Lathe is 18" between centers without the extension bed. But I've found that doing really small stuff on it is not satisfactory - that's why I bought the mini lathe - Proxxon DB-250. Speaking of which, I have it back in the shop and have a couple photos of the new tool rest that my machinist/modeler friend Ken Smith has modified for me as I described in an earlier post. In a nutshell, the original rest was rough aluminum and tended to hang up the shaping tool as you moved it along the rest. The new, milled s/s face eliminates that and gives you a smooth surface - Ken did a wonderful job.

Wefalck, Thanks for the correction (re. stainless) - you are most certainly correct. I believe you are right also about being a centric 4-jaw chuck, something the Proxxon is not. And, I bought the Proxxon specifically for square stock. Re. your comments about cheap chucks, etc. it crossed my mind to stop at Harbor Freight today, but I kept on driving - I may have second thoughts in a day or so, but right now, I don't see it happening.

I can't really comment on the prior entry only to say the Unimat lathes and Proxxon DB-250 are two entirely different birds, certainly not of the same feather. The Proxxon 4 jaw chuck was waiting for me at home last night - I'm a bit perplexed at how well this will work - it's black plastic and each jaw is individually adjusted with an included Allen wrench. I guess for the price, that's what you get these days. It's $ 39.95 @ The General Store (online) - the retail is somewhere in the $60.00 range. I'm also looking at a 4 jaw chuck for my midi lathe, but the price for that accessory is well over $100.00 It is, of course, stainless and operates using a chuck key with one hand operation. I will try out the 4 jaw chuck on the DB-250 and see what's what early next week. I met my modeler/machinist friend Ken today for lunch and he had the new, improved Proxxon Tool Rest with him - he did a beautiful job re-facing this part with s/s, milled to fit the angled face of the rest. I will have pix on Monday since my camera is there and I am here, etc. etc.

Tony - thanks for the bed information. Andy - I bought the lathe, tools, and accessories from The General Store (online Proxxon dealer) - (http://www.proxxontools.com/store/pc/home.asp) I'm actually waiting for the 4 jaw chuck to arrive. Their prices may be a bit better than elsewhere.

I haven't seen any mention of a bed extension, but who knows? I may wait a while on that and try to learn the basics of this tool once it is back in the shop. I would tend to agree with your comment re. the drill chuck/spindle for drilling centered holes - a good ability to have.

You are so right - breaks the frustration level and channels it in a different direction.

Well, it appears I didn't thoroughly check my drawing and the Spencer Mast is NOT correct. My system of double dimensioning (real/scale) needed to be checked for errors and this mast had errors which transferred to the mast in the lathe - yada, yada - REDO!!!! The bowsprit (done on my midi-lathe) is complete and correct. OK, the Proxxon lathe is now in Ken's hands and he's going to either replace the tool rest with a steel one or fabricate a s/s face for the orig. tool rest. I expect he will also go over the entire tool (as is his practice) and make adjustments or call me and ask questions as to this or that. So, in a week or so, I'll get the lathe back in tip-top shape ready to roll again. Tonight I ordered a 4 jaw chuck from Proxxon - I had trouble from the git-go on centering the stock. This problem I hope will now be eliminated as a source of irritation on my part. So, this next week will be spent figuring bulkheads with calculator and notepad for the Anchor Hoy.

Thanks all for the gracious replies. The hoy lives on - at the moment! The drafting of the bulkheads will be an interesting endeavor. As most are already drawn in the original plans, they present little problem. It's the new ones I've added that will need to be calculated in both views - body plan and waterlines; something that will take several evenings with the calculator and notepad to figure correctly. And then applying to the drawing. The Les Paul and my new John Fogerty CD will just have to gather dust!!!

Since June I have been working off & on on various aspects of the Anchor Hoy. I've started redrawing the hull and am at the point to where the bulkhead elevations will be redrawn. The end result will be several more evenly spaced bulkheads than the original plan calls for and will produce a better model in the long run. From the workbench however, I've not been idle. I have been working on several parts of the deck furniture and have a photo of the anchor to share. It's in the 3"+ size in reality and will be hoisted up by the forward anchor davit (anchor "cat") when the model is completed. I thought I had brought the photo of the anchor parts prior to assembly but that must still be on my computer at my workshop. The parts were made from boxwood, walnut, and brass rod and bar. The anchor cat is finished, as well as both deck hatches, and the after companionway is almost complete. While I built the hatches & companionway from hand sketches, I may actually produce finished drawings in CAD for each of these assemblies. My Proxxon DB250 arrived and I've had a chance to use it. I have the bowsprit turned and finished but that was turned on my Turncrafter Pro Midi lathe due to its size. Right now my modeler/machinist friend Ken Smith in Advance, NC is once again working his magic on the Proxxon lathe in order to improve on the tool rest. I will post further information re. this tool in the post under Tools that's already started. In the CAD dept. I've created drawings for the anchor cat, anchor, all masts & spars, and as mentioned, some hull layout drafting. I am keeping these posts to a minimum as time is rather scant these days. I will try to get more camera work done on the other parts that are finished as well as those being completed

OK, so I've set it up and have some comments, etc.: 1) It was missing one of the two chuck keys, so I've written the U.S. distrib. (Prox-Tech, Hickory, NC) for a replacement. Not a major problem, just an inconvenience. 2) I do like the fact that you can use stock that is longer than the lathe is designed for since the headstock is tubular and the stock will just stick out the left end of the machine. 3) I'm not too keen on the assortment of collets - I could not find one that worked with 5/16" dia. stock. 4) Tool rest - cast aluminum or pot metal - will need to have a s/s (stainless steel) surface added (as I did on my Turncrafter Pro Mini-lathe rest) - the surface is not that hard and already tends to hang the chisel up as you move it along. I'm thinking of asking my machinist/modeler associate Ken fix up a new tool rest constructed out of brass/stainless. Overall the lathe seems to run ok, has plenty of power - it's the incidentals that are rather irksome. I did complete the Spencer mast for my Anchor Hoy the other night and am now working on the bowsprite on my Turncrafter Pro Mini Lathe since the length was more than the Proxxon could handle. I could have done one end and then the other, but this works out ok. I did purchase the 5 chisel set, but it is still in transit, so I'm using sandpaper and one of my regular size small chisels until they arrive. Alexandru - the 3 and 4 chucks - give me a bit more info on them if you can. I may purchase one of them, as well.

Unbelievable!!! Arrived almost overnight - of course, I'll have to wait until I'm back at the workshop on Sun. to open the box. The Admiral has set strict regulations governing modeling tools & supplies - she states that the beatings will continue until compliance is 100%

Gentlemen: Doesn't Osprey Publications have a booklet available on the uniforms of U.S.N. personnel of the War of 1812 period? If so, that might be your solution.

Alexandru, Thanks for the informative comments & picutres. I will certainly consider new chisels - mine are standard size and probably would not work well with this smaller lathe. Your posts look very well turned!

Thanks for the various comments - To J. Pett - I'll keep in mind a follow-up critique of the tool once I've used it for a while. To Jaxboat - I only bought the lathe; a bed extension at this point is not being considered. I have my Midi-Lathe for the longer stuff. I'm not sure at this point what the distance is between centers on the DB-250. To Brian C - I don't buy cheap domestic/foreign crap anymore - if that's your choice, GO FOR IT!! I try now to buy once and buy to last.