Bob Blarney

Just remember that many many fine models have been built with hand tools.  Why not look at a small Japanese saw, such as may be found at Harbor Freight for about $10.  At the Blue or Orange box stores, there are Vaughn 'bear' saws for about $20 that will cut a fine line.

A 6" is probably all that you'll ever need.  Harbor Freight sells them at a reasonable price, if you're within reasonable driving distance.

That looks like an auto mechanic's toolchest. Why not buy that locally on Craigslist or on Ebay, and then spend your time building a sturdy sit-down bench with excellent task lighting?  Something like a jeweler's bench.

Lie-Nielsen planes aren't cheap, but my L-N 102 is one of the best  planes that I own.  My other favorite is a Stanley 60-1/2.  Learning how to sharpen them is equally important. 

Hi,  wine corks make excellent handles for files.  I drill them and glue in  bit of brass tube that will catch the rat tail of a file.  You can sand them down for finer handles if needed.

The article did not mention about how to cook and enjoy the eating of the trophy fish.

Obviously, that's arcane knowledge for discussion in another forum.

Hi,

In the first decades of the 1900s, the magazine Popular Science featured detailed articles about model shipbuilding by Capt. E. Armitage McCann.  These may be of interest to you, and you can search for them via Google Books.  Unfortunately, the original plans that could be mailordered are no longer available.  But here's an example of what can be found:

http://books.google.com/books?id=VCgDAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PP1&dq=tool%20box&pg=PA72#v=onepage&q&f=false

Hmm, what is 'long'?  

Generally, scissors will be much less expensive from a veterinary supply house than from any human surgeon's armamentarium.  Perhaps you could visit a veterinarian and ask for assistance in ordering a pair for you.

With regard to styles, there are many many.  The most useful style in surgery are curved Metzenbaum scissors, with longish handles and blunt tips.  There are also suture-removal scissors that have a cutout on the tip. to assist with 'digging out' and clean cutting a suture from the skin.  There are also Mayo scissors, that come with blunt/sharp, blunt/blunt, and sharp/sharp tips.  Lister bandage scissors have a blunt bladed-tip to get under bandages so that skin is not caught  up when cutting away bandages.  And then there are fine iris scissors, usually sharp/sharp for opthalmic work.

Here's another little hint, when cutting very small pieces, whether on a radial saw or especially a table saw:

On the side where the small parts are cut away, put a vacuum cleaner nozzle near to there. But first cover the aperture of the nozzle with a piece of screening - e.g 1/4" hardware cloth - so that the sawdust can pass through, but the workpieces will be caught by the screen.

Jud, I'm a vistor-browser here (not a modelbuilder), but  I've used a radial saw for many years, and there are a few things that I would suggest. 

1. The  best saws that you could find are from the late 1950s era DeWalts - MBF, or  925, which are 9" saws. Saws from later years are not so well-built.

2. The saw must be aligned, and the most important alignment is eliminating blade heel.  By this, I mean that the plane of the sawblade is perfectly parallel to the trackarm.

3. The choice of sawblades is very important. Do >not< use a tablesaw ripping blade. I favor a thin-kerf 8-1/2" blade for a sliding miter saw with a negative hook angle, or maybe up to +5d.  Generally, positive hook angles are too aggressive and can be dangerous.

4. The biggest problem I see, is holding the stock for cutting.  It's not a good idea to place the end of a narrow board against the fence for ripping.  I would make up a larger board (at least 12" square) to hold it, and would probably attach it with woodturners doublesided tape.    Then, I would not cut completely through the stock.  Assuming that you're using 3/4 stock, set the depth at 11/16", thus leaving a 1/16" web.  Then I would split the pieces off and clean them up with a block or violin plane.

5. You might get some ideas here, from something I posted about 10 years:  http://www.mimf.com/old-lib/hammond_radialarmsaw_jigs.htm