Keith_W

I have seen many topics about making flags and sails. on some early galleons and ships of this period, the main sail......and in some cases, other sails as well, are embossed with crosses and crests. I had suggested in the past, to try using your ink jet printer to make flags.....but wasn't too sure how this would apply to the sails. this week......as a spur of the moment, I embarked on such an experiment. I went on line and found lots of images of crests, shields, and stuff. you can also find quite a bit of scroll work there as well. these images can be brought into paint shop to alter and change to your specifications, but for now, I didn't go that far.
 
I used the Testor's decal maker to do this little experiment. on some crosses, the bottom appendage is elongated. now, I used what many would say is an Iron cross, but if you look at it in the mindset of motorcycles and Harley Davidson.....I think you'll forgive me the admiral did some looking as well, and she came up with a couple....one of them I really like. so, in the decal maker program, I sized it and changed the color.
 

 
since the decal sheet is half size, I re-positioned it so it would fall somewhere close to the center of the cloth.....yes....cloth. first, I ran a sheet of paper through. it looks good, but there are some abnormalities with it. I'm thinking that this is the first image....the printing track may have something to do with it. plus the fact that I've done nothing to clean it up.
 

 
now, the cloth that I used is very soft and flimsy....it did bind up the printer a couple of times. I did manage to run it through. I'm hoping that these abnormalities are what I think they are.
 

 
they did clean up to some degree. it may be the type of cloth I used, but printer lines are quite visible through the image. I have some sail cloth from other kits that I can try this on. they are of different textures and a bit stiffer as well. here is the same image on some of the material I got in the Gothenborg kit.
 

 
.....as opposed to using soft cotton cloth
 

 
there are different textures you can use.....here is the cotton cloth I used first {bottom}, the white cloth I got from the Regina kit...stiffer but smooth to the touch {roll on the left}, and the beige cloth I got from the Gothenborg kit {roll on the right}, stiffer than the Regina cloth, and feels like canvas. I won't be using it.......sadly, there isn't enough there to do all of the sails in the kit.
 

 
I haven't gotten farther than this....at this point, the embossed image needs to be sealed onto the sail. I would think that if the image was allowed to dry, the sail perimeters could be drawn and cut out. but, before the sail goes through the rigors of the sewing machine, the sealing process should be done first. the process could be done in a couple of ways:
 
1) you could use decal bonder or some sort of fast drying sealer....anything that does not contain water.
 
2) this would be an experiment in itself.....mixing white glue and alcohol. this would have to be misted a very light coat at a time.....not that you need to give this a very thick coat, but it does need to get into the fabric to be effective.
 
sealing the image should be done in light coats anyway.......saturating it would result in the ink bleeding and creeping. the sail should lay flat for this process, which is the only detriment I see.......not good if you desire billowing sails, but I think shaping may still work. bend to shape.....lay them on a crumpled towel or rippled surface, and give them another coat. preferably, with a flat clear coat of sorts.

It's been a while since I have been able to work on the Bounty Launch but here is a wee bit of progress.
 
Here is the Rudder Hardware. I enjoyed making these. The soldering went very well and the Birchwood Casey Brass Black worked very well.

 
Here is the Rudder and Tiller. The Rudder needs a bit of touch up in this picture.

 
Here is the Rudder mounted.

 
In between I wanted to do something a bit different so I assembled one of Chuck Passaro's cannons. I made the rings by looping 28 gage wire around a small drill bit and gluing the twisted end into a hole drilled in the wood. Not too bad for the first try.

 
More soon, Al

To fix the gaps on your deck planking, try filling the gaps with thinned down PVA, then sanding the decks down with fine grade sandpaper. The dust will fill in the gaps pretty nicely. 
 
As for the gloss finish, I am no expert at applying gloss finishes to wood. I used to be able to get an incredible gloss on my car models - I would paint it with a gloss colour paint, then sand it down until there is absolutely no gloss left (helps pick out any pits and defects in the painting). Then I would spray it again with clear gloss, then sand it back with extremely fine grit paper (up to 10,000 grit, only available in model shops), then finish with a light coat of carnauba car wax. 

Hello Mat! I recently completed this ship, but I built mine from the kit. I suspect that you have more skills than I do, but if you need any help or any clarification with the instructions, let me know. 
 
How are you planning to carve the figurehead if this is a scratch build? 
 
Where in Australia are you? I am in Melbourne. I will still be in possession of this model for a few more days before I give it to my friend as a gift He doesn't know yet!

Thank you to everyone who has supported and recommended my products.  As with most things there are two sides to each discussion and our past experiences guide our decisions going forward.
 
My experience with PayPal has not been positive and I've always felt that their security had serious deficiencies.  In the past this was underscored by the fact that within minutes of receiving any correspondence from them, I would receive spam from all over the world.  Yes, I've been a long time member and my information was hacked in one of their documented attacks a number of years ago.
 
About two years ago I experienced an identity theft issue that was traced directly back to their security.  As a future preventative measure I discussed this with a couple of my banks and they explained that a high percentage of their identity theft issues were related to PayPal transactions.
 
So as a business and personal decision I do not plan to offer their services.  My perspective is that it would seem illogical for me to reward a business who harmed me and from a personal basis why would I ever want to jeopardize my financial status over a hobby.
 
I realize that some customers may find this difficult to understand, but I look at HobbyMill as a service to this hobby in much of the same way that the moderators offer their service to this website.  It is a break even business where I perform all of the tasks with the single objective of improving the quality of wood products offered to this hobby.  In other words, if I were to shut it down today, it would not have any financial impact on me and I would have a lot of time to spend on my own modeling.
 
I may have my own illusions about this, but I believe that through MSW and my efforts some of the builders in this community have begun to raise their expectations on the quality of milled wood products and services.  My business has grown a lot over the years and I would welcome other suppliers to the community who are willing to provide similar or better quality products, because that would support the objective with which HobbyMill was founded.  Over the years I have advised a number of customers on how to mill their own wood.  I have also added the section on my website covering operation of the Byrnes saw with the intention of assisting customers to improve their own milling quality.  So again, if there are other parties interested in offering top quality wood, I would be happy to assist them because I feel that it is a win for everyone.
 
This thread has been centered on some of my policies and some customers who would prefer me to change those policies.  I realize that some customers may not agree with them, but hopefully this response will provide some insight into my thinking and at least serve to rationalize that they are not arbitrary.  If it were focused on the quality of my product, then I assure you that I would take a different approach.
 
As a home based business my wife is very tolerant of the dust and noise created from milling wood, not to mention the 2 hours each day working on e-mails.  One other policy that has not been brought up is that you will not find my telephone number listed anywhere.  After giving my number out to a few customers, my wife started to become my secretary because I am always in the shop.  My wife didn't appreciate being my secretary and then the calls started to come in at all hours of the night.  So keeping peace at home and getting sleep is the rationale behind e-mail only communications.
 
Another policy is that I do not sell within the state of Ohio to avoid dealing with collecting and filing state income tax.  I do all of the tax filings for the business so I try to minimize this because most of the time the filings would just be zeros.  At one time I would just give the wood to Ohio customers and request that they make a charitable donation to their favorite charity.  That was pretty goofy and it only lasted a few years.
 
My payment policy has always been that I request payment in advance for first time US customers and thereafter I include an invoice.  International customers I always request payment in advance and this is as much as insuring that I'm getting paid in US dollars as it is a credit issue.  All of this has always been on my website.  I realize that my lead times have started to stretch way out, but I try my best to advise my customers of anticipated delivery.  I've only missed one delivery and I sent, unsolicited, a full refund to that customer.  The customer felt that was "over the top" and declined the refund.
 
So here comes Keith.  He asked some good questions on one of Chuck's designed kits, so I contacted Chuck because he designed the Pinnace supplemental wood package that I offer.  Chuck did a good job, as always, explaining some of the issues and we both advised Keith that it would be impractical to implement the modifications that Keith was thinking about and also that the prototype was built using Chuck's original design method.
 
In the interim and at that time I was trying to plan a new batch of Pinnace packages.  Also I had announced both on my website and to Keith what the anticipated lead time would be on the new batch of packages.   I had an announced shutdown coming up and I have other customers who have paid and I've promised them delivery on their orders as well as other repeat customers.  Keith still hasn't placed an order after more than 2 months of communication for a standard package and he is asking about the lead time for a custom package or a standard one with supplemental wood, but he never gives me the details.
 
I did advise Keith that his lead time is dependent upon when I receive an order, what the details of the order would be, and I pointed out the pending shutdown and that his order was rapidly approaching the bubble as to if it would be milled before or after the shutdown.  I also reminded him about the payment policy for new customers.  Keith's response is a rather long rant indicating that my payment in advance policy with an extended lead time was unreasonable.  From my perspective, I had asked an received advanced payment from other first time customers, so waiving this for Keith did not seem fair to my other customers.  Also this is the only time that I've ever received such a response from a customer.   My conclusion was that I didn't feel that it was fair to other customers to create an exception and even though I had invested a fair amount of time to assist Keith, he was never going to be satisfied with my service.  I guess that I could have deliberately lied about his lead time, but that is just not me and also he never provided final details on the order.  As an aside, outside of the policies listed above I have only declined orders from one other person.
 
In the end, it appears that Keith found a source that he is happy with, so all is well in the end as that was my objective from the start.
 
Life is too short and this customer/supplier relationship was just not meant to be.  I wish Keith continued success and enjoyment with this hobby.
 
I rarely post on such matters because they do not add value, but perhaps some readers will have acquired some insight into HobbyMill, it's policies, and my thoughts.  Hopefully they seem logical and reasonable to most readers.
 
Sorry for being way too winded and thanks again for the support!
 
Jeff Hayes
HobbyMill

I have used a Dremel for many years,but having been diagnosed with HAVS(hand arm vibration syndrome) I have changed to a Proxxon IB/E.The difference is night and day.The smoothness of operation is miles ahead of the dremel which is 'agricultural' in comparison.There is not a vast difference in price but the difference in quality is massive.The added bonus is the speed switch is independant from the on/off switch so comes in handy when doing repetitive tasks.Size and weight are virtually the same,but the Proxxon's design is much more ergonomic and comfortable to hold.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

The oars have been bundled and lashed to the thwarts. This completes the Model Shipways’ Typical Ship’s Boat building log. The lashing of the boat to the spare masts on the Rattlesnake’s deck will be covered in my Rattlesnake log.

Hi Keith,
 
Minimum charge I got was $350. I guess if you really, really want the parts badly enough, maybe it's affordable. Or if you make enough parts from a sheet, you can of course sell the unused, but I think it would take an awful lot of people to make it worthwhile. But, now that I'm looking at it again, maybe it's not exactly cost prohibitive. More that it's a pretty big investment.
 
On the other hand, I found at one point a place that will laser cut just about anything and the price was pretty low, with a $6 minimum order. I don't recall what the cost basis was, if it was area of cuts, total cutting time or what. I just know that they could cut wood, but the only metal they could cut was stainless steel, I believe it was.
 
Anyway, now that you brought up the topic, I'm going to have to revisit these things and see what it would really cost to sending some work out to be done. Of course, I think it's nicer not to say "I did my own photo etching" than saying that "I paid a service to do it". But, it just all comes down to the value of your time I suppose.
 
Clare

This has to be the finest model I have seen in my lifetime.The video is of a UK TV series extreme machines presented by Jeremy Clarkson.It shows a Ferrari 312pb featuring a WORKING exact scale replica of the engine and gearbox.The thing even sounds right!!!
 

 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

This Mil Mi-24 helicopter is equally impressive. It is offered for 18,000 Euros from Helicrazy: http://www.helicrazy.com/crbst_86.html
 
That's right, you can buy a BMW with that kind of money. It is powered by a jet turbine engine. For those who don't know, real helicopters are not powered by piston engines because they generate too much vibration. Instead, a jet engine blows into a turbine, which spins the crankshaft and thus the rotor via a transmission. Most nitro powered helis use 2 stroke piston engines because of the sheer cost of manufacturing a scale miniature of a jet turbine. But if you want realism, a jet turbine is the only way.
 
Need to be convinced? Watch this video:
 

OK I know this is a ship model forum but surely most of us can appreciate other models as well
 
I thought I would post a link to this site: http://www.armortek.co.uk/index.html
 
Armortek makes 1/6 scale model tanks, fabricated from metal. Unfortunately, their production goes in runs, so once a kit is out of production, it is out of production. They are currently selling a British Mk. IV WW1 tank. Very impressive, but not as impressive as this:
 

 
... a 1/6 scale King Tiger, measuring 1.2m long and weighing 60kg. Here is a video of it in action. Note the realistic engine sound (which is computer controlled and responds to revs):
 

Hi Keith,
 
I've done photoetching for a couple of my models using the Micromark kit. It does work. However, I will say that doing your own photoetching will probably not result in parts that look like the commercial set that Brian showed. The commercial processes are different than the DIY kit, and from what I've been able to find, they are cost prohibitive.
 
But DIY PE is pretty finicky, involves several steps, and if you screw up one thing you practically have to start all over. You also need a drawing program, but the Micromark kit requires an inkjet printer, not a laser printer. I even gave up at one point as nothing was turnout out well. Then, I tried it again with a fresh outlook months later and had some pretty good success on small items.
 
And...well... I was going to direct you to my photoetch results on my Saginaw project, but I just went there and 2/3 of the photos are now missing, so that won't help.
 
Clare

Hello all, I did a search and did not come up with any results, so I thought I would start a thread.
 
Has anybody here tried making custom parts using photo-etch? I know that dafi has, so perhaps he would like to chip in.
 
I have done some googling to find out if it is possible to make parts for a ship I would like to build. The fittings that come with the kit are rather chunky and I have been thinking about how I would replace them. I think PE is the solution.
 
It is possible to do photo-etching at home, as per these links:
 

http://www.steelnavy.com/etching.htm
http://www.starshipmodeler.com/tech/fh_pe.htm
 
... and you can buy your own PE kit here: http://www.micromark.com/micro-mark-pro-etch-photo-etch-system,8346.html
 
HOWEVER, it requires an investment in machinery (if you do not already have these): laser printer, fluorescent lamp, heat source, laminator. It also requires consumables, including some toxic chemicals, a glass plate, and so on. In the end, the investment sounds pretty substantial for making a small run of parts.
 
My next thought was to look at businesses that can do it for you. So far I have found a few:
 
http://www.ppdltd.com/web_site_3/page_1_intro.html
http://www.photo-etch.co.uk/page1/page6/page6.html
http://www.photofab.co.uk/
http://saemann-aetztechnik.de/
http://www.orbel.com/photo-etched-precision-metal-parts
 
I have not looked in detail to see if any of these companies would be happy to do a one-off project. It appears that as a minimum, you need to supply your artwork in vector form, either AutoCAD format or CorelDRAW format. A pixel manipulator (like Photoshop) will not work. Does anybody know of any free CAD programs or vector drawing programs that can output to AutoCAD format or CorelDRAW format?

Not sure it this helps, but I used to do my own photoetching with supplies used for making pc boards.  Here is a link to an old article, on the technique, that I did for FineScale Modeler Magazine
 
http://paulbudzik.com/tools-techniques/photoetch.pdf
 
Paul

She's beautiful, coming along really nicely. BTW the earlier photos of your build log are missing.

Despite a long absence, it can be reported that CaptainSteve hath not shirked hardship and misfortune. Nor hath he been vanquished by that most persistent of his foes, Stoopidity.
Indeedeth, he hath rallied this past fortnight; and he hath thrown himself, time and again, into the planking melee. One by one, they didst fall to his unceasing onslaught. Until, finally, but two didst remain – the Shutter Planks.
 
“They be over-sized,” didst Bob the Builder write. “You shalt cutteth them to fit.”
“Hah!!” our hero snorted, in reply.
“Surely, you jest !! They be too small, and the gap doest be humungous !!
Indeeth Bob, I doest herewith removeth thee from my Christmas Card list!!”
 
For, verily, and to his dismay, CaptainSteve didst findeth that, for him at leasteth, a large gap was to remain. Much wailing and gnashing of teeth didst ensue.
 


 
Thusly, our hero didst embarketh forth to maketh his very own Shutter Planks – one Port and one Starboard.
“Methinks that stealers shalt also be required,” he didst declare.
 


 
Indeedeth, our Hero didst need to trieth many a time ‘ere satisfaction were to be attained. Verily, at one point, the four planks from the gap to the Sheer didst popeth out from the Rabbet !!
(And, Oh My, didst much wailing and gnashing of teeth and uttering of Ye Olde sailing language ensue on THAT day !!!)
But, finally, he didst meeteth with success.
 


 
But he didst not rest upon his laurels. Casting his one good eye over the planking, CaptainSteve realized that something was missing.
 
“But something be missing," sayeth he. "'Tis good, but a final touch be required."
Thusly, didst he turneth his attentions unto the transom, whereupon he didst cuteth planks to fit, distressing each in turn. Then, to capeth things off, a Docker Plank was madeth.
 


 
 
Some trimming, a final touch-up of the painting, and with that, the planking was done!!
 
 

Pete and others, it is far from my intention to bash Euromodel. Like I said before, I am thinking about building a Euromodel kit next. Thanks to your excellent build logs and what I can see on MSW, I can gain some insight into what's in the kit and what isn't.
 
I don't buy into the scratch building argument. If one were prepared to invest a lot of time and expense buying third party parts, you could raise a kit from Artesania to the level of a Caldercraft. In fact, that is precisely what Canoe21 is doing with his AL Victory.
 
For me, an expensive kit should mean that it comes with more in the box. I was looking at the Friedrich Wilhelm and thinking that I would have to buy a third party boat, anchors, gun carriages, eye hooks, lanterns, and wood. And maybe learn to carve because it appears as if the horseman is printed on plywood, instead of a cast part. Learning of this fills me with disappointment, because this is not what I would expect in a premium priced kit. I can honestly tell you that I was looking forward to buying a Friedrich Wilhelm until I learnt this. I am still keeping an open mind though - which is why I am asking if I am missing something. 
 
If the Royal William comes with 5kg of metal decorations, and pre-tapered masts - then I can see where the money has gone and I would be prepared to buy that kit. I don't mind the expense, as long as I know that I am getting more if I pay more. 

Sorry, missed your question. I recommend you treenail after it comes off the building jig.
 
You need to drill out the holes for the treenails. I have seen two methods on MSW to do this. The first is what I did - drill them out from the inside. The problem is that you have to keep your drill perpendicular to the frames at all times - not easy when they are curved like that. 
 
The second method is to place your model in front of a light source so that you can see the frames through the hull, and then drill the holes from the outside. I saw this on someone else's build log (might be Alde's?). This might be easier. 

Oh, it's so kind of you to offer assistance Keith! Thans a lot. Yet, I will try to solve my problem within next two weeks. Already have a vague idea, hope to figure it out soon. Will keep you posted and thanks again!
Regards
 

Pete, I would like to thank you for going through the trouble of providing the interpretative files which are found on Euromodel's website. I am researching my next build and I would like to tackle either the Friedrich Wilhelm or the Royal William. I am a little disappointed by some of their fittings, e.g. the lanterns and the windows - but there is no reason why I can't scratch build them myself. Well, apart from severe lack of skill, I suppose. It would be nice if these parts were photoetched instead of cast metal, IMO. A photoetched window frame looks much more realistic, and there is no easy way for modellers to make their own photoetched parts. 

My Byrnes disc sander has arrived. I can't believe the size of the motor on this thing. To put it in perspective, my Sherline 4410 lathe arrived at the same time. The motor on the Byrnes is larger than the Sherline!

I have had a few Dremel rotary tools in the past and the thing that was the most helpful is the flexible extension with a place to hang it near the workspace.  This flex ext was much more important than the individual model.

A new version of the Amati Prince will be released one day...
 

 
 
Just need Amati to cut my new designs.....

My Byrnes disc sander has arrived. I can't believe the size of the motor on this thing. To put it in perspective, my Sherline 4410 lathe arrived at the same time. The motor on the Byrnes is larger than the Sherline!

As far as possible, I try to avoid coming across as a smartass. But this time, I really thought that something interesting was amiss. I knew for sure it was not copper plated, and it was my interest in history that lead me to question him, rather than any desire to show him up. To his credit, he took it really well. All the theories postulated above seem plausible to me, so thank you gents.