Thistle17

If i may ask? You seem to move ahead at great speed yet with incredible accuracy and precision. I am always mystified how one does so and yet maintains the quality you present. Do you spend many hours in a day at this and do you mass produce your elements via CNC or do you hand machine every part? Joe

After licking my wounds on the terrible results of the ships wheel I have decided to make my own or at least try my hand at it. Using the one I made I took dimensions off the wheel and created a drawing suitable for replication. I did increase the diameter of the wheel a bit after sizing the one I made on the model. It was a tad smaller than what i would imagine. It will be checked out when the drawing finally arrives. While I had the model out I managed to remove the hub of the missing wheel. I speculate the original modeler may have purchased one as the hub seemed at first glance to be a molded element. In addition it is an 8 spoked wheel rather than the 10 of the one I fabricated. My appraoch to the fabrication attempt is as follows: - Fabricate and glue 4 pieces of boxwood segments such that end grain will be minimized - Laminate 3 overlapping layers with the outer 2 layers of thinner stock such that the glue joints are not aligned - Mount this on my end mill and turn the outer diameter. - Mount the turned element on my revolving table vertically to drill the 8 spoke holes - Return the piece to its normal postion and mill the inner diameter but with tabs. - The hub is somewhat problematical because of its dimuitive diameter and the need to drill 8 more aligned holes. That is going to take some thinking. Now the spokes solution. I think I have found suitable 13mm belaying pins of the correct scale and length (Crafty Sailor) to use for the wheel spokes. We will see. I hope to have some fabrication photos along the way but will await the drawing to check my dimensions. Do I have backup plan? Yes I do! Harbor Models has a wheel that appears to do the job if this fails. Joe

You have to bring her to one of our fall meetings Rusty! It is turning out to be such a beauty in the wood you have chosen. I should think it will inspire us all especially our newest members. Joe

Your religous adherence to faithful reproduction is astounding! I need to go to confession. Joe

I still await the drawing from the Smithsonian and assume "I am in the queue for a drawing next week" was abit optomiostic on their part. In the meantime I built the correct scale ships wheel from the minikit from Syren. I would offer that it was a humbling and frustrating build experience. I have to give myself a C- of a grade on quality. I followed the directions quite closely and I don't feel my small motor control capability has dimished to the point where I am not able to achieve a decent job on most any component. The challenge with this assembly is two fold in my estimation. The parts are incredibly small and when Syren expresses a caution about sanding it should be taken seriously. The parts unsanded fit snugly into the build jig, however any over sanding of the char yields too loose a fit. Secondly the outer bands are made from .025 thick boxwood. Invariably they are prone to breakage especially the larger arc as it's lower sections run with the grain. Turning the spokes even with careful turning with a fine cut watchmakers file to round over the elements was challenging as well. I would recommend a purchase of two kits using one for practice. This is likely a practice piece. I am possessed! I just can't live with this failure. I have to find a better solution or get much,better at this mini kit. Joe

Glenn I think you meant Crafty Sailor. The web site is Wooden Belaying Pins (10pcs) – Crafty Sailor Model Store I first bought a couple packages just to see for myself. i was quite satisfied of with the quality so I went back and ordered more of each size. I spoke to him about updating the web site with the missing dimensions and now appears he has. They are quite good in my estimation and he too is a responsive business person. Joe

It is so good to have someone take up this need on a enterprise basis. I do hope we don't inundate him with orders that tend to be of the hoarding nature. At least not at the outset. Now having said that would you consider Winchelsea in boxwood? Joe

Part of the interest in modeling is problem solving. I think we all can agree on that. Today I went to our local automotive supply house to look for some pin stripe tape but as they do not specialize in automotive finishing their supply was meager. Just down the street at Performance Hobby I found what may be a very good solution to this journey of fabricating or simulating mast bands and other iron work. This ULTRASTRIPE product is new to me. It is made in Germany and comes in different colors and widths. The concern I think we all have had is a product that has long lasting attributes. As this is made for model airplanes it is fuel resistant and it has the property of forming a permanent bond with the application of heat in the range of 250/300 degrees F. It can be repositioned before heat application. Joe

Finally found your project Bill. Excellent work so much bvetter construction techniques than the ones offered in kit form. I will follow along in the process. Joe

Kevin we were in various stages of lock down in NYS for approximately 6 months until we beat it back to a low infection rate only to have it surge again year end. The only salvation for me beyond the good company of my lovely wife was modeling. With the rollout of the vaccine in your area here is hoping life as you have known it can be returned sooner than later. Joe

Things are starting to come together albeit slowly. Two orders from Syren finally landed the right size ship wheel. The 1 inch diameter wheel is most correct. Chuck tells me all is not lost having the larger wheel as it is going on the Winchelsea. Secondly I had an email exchange with the Smithsonian and I should be in the queue for a drawing mailing some time next week. The age of this model and any top coat of poly or whatever that was applied has given the exisiting model a rich tan patina. Just fashioning basswood replacement pieces is not going to be acceptable. Some experimenting will be in order before I go too far. Joe

Impressive metal work indeed! The fittings appear to be brass Chuck. In that period did they tend to leave them a natural finish as normal practice? Joe

Are the plans that good David or do you have other referencess? As I study the pictures of late, I marvel at the detail you have incorproated.. Joe

Seventeen months later, where have i been! I am truly the last pony in this parade. Other projects and family life have just gotten in the way of any progress. I have just finished a major project for someone and now have to clear the decks of two and possibly three model projects (a restoration for someone, a restoration for myself and my Cheerful). But when I see the beauty of what you all are doing I feel a strong urge to "bring her down" and start the process. I need a plan or I will be logging a similar tale a year from now!

My two cents on profile scrapers. I have found that, at least on boxwood, if I create a slight burr on one side of the profile it does a better job that a cleaner or back beveled edge. I tried this as that is the way I prepare my tradional scappers for woodworking. Also I have found what works for me at least is to mill sheet material to the desired width of the molding and then create the profile on the edge and rip those off the sheet. Joe

You have turned design for laser machining into an art form Chuck, i.e. the windlass and now the chain pump! What is next???? Joe

Ah now I understand. Indeed there is a bit of a gap as the solder job was not as good as I hoped. Hard to remove and redo as I started with the bottom band and worked up. As I said i got better at it as I progressed. Joe

Glenn your right about the 3rd one down but the bottom one has to protrude out further because of the shroud line layering as mentioned above. At least that is what i understand from the post and the drawing. Joe

I have gotten better at making bands in brass. You will note the band at the step in the mast is now installed sans the eye bolts. It took two trys to get this larger band to look correctly (at least to me). I wrapped three sides tightly and then wrapped the 4th side into an overlap. The overlap was just enough to fall beyond the centerline on the 4th side. I marked that point and removed it from the mast. I then took the cutters as before and snipped the bypass/overlap just a tad more than where it landed before it was removed. I then took a flat jewelers file and tapered the cut ends to simulate a blunt end scarf joint. I then soldered this joint. It was finished with a flat file to knock down the soldered joint a bit and then drilled for the eye bolts. Now i realized something today. The brass is 1/64 inch thick or approximatey 0.015. That equates to about 3/4 inch thick bands at full scale. I rather doubt they were that thick. I bet stock of 1/128 inch would have been more correct. Am I obsessing? Maybe. Joe

Yes Ian I was in circuit design in the 60's and 70's. We did have a drafting group that actually did PC layout. Some how I ended up with some of their tape. I also recall in the 70's watching an Intel person layout "ruby masters" for integrated circuits. My we have come a long way haven't we! Glenn I did much the same and it turned out well. I have spent so much time trying to be so faithful to the model that sometimes I wonder that i move the ball forward at all. Bob I wondered about that as I chose to drill small holes for the eye bolts. I believe I have even seen that at Mystic. Thanks for reminding me. Don't judge me too harshly as I am going to stay the course at this point. Joe

What a treat to see the models. Thanks for the pointer. Joe

Have some time to model I see. Your quality of work never skips a beat Rusty! That can be hard to do with limited time. I observe the mornings are best for me. Joe

What is there about ship modeling that drives one to model to such a high degree of accuracy? You set the bar so very high for the rest of us and that is OK. It has become such a passion for me through you and others of your capability! Thank you. Joe

Hey Glen just tuned into your work site. beautiful work and you are way ahead of me! Joe

No Glenn I do not but I will share pictures with you if you would like. When I started this model I just wasn't that confident of my work. Over the past 2 years I have gotten better. Early on when i was planking her it took 3 tries on the starboard side and 2 on the port side to get a level of quality i could live with. With the fine work on this site I have learned well enough to feel my work is acceptable. Here is a picture of the mast bands installedl sans final alignment and the eye bolts. still need the inclusion of the fid top mast. In looking at chapter 12 this AM I thought i could get away with an eye bolt for the lower band but realize that is really going to need the extended form of termination. Also my blackening agent did not live up to the need. I think part of the problem was i used acid core solder and likely it did not clean off the bands well. Good thing it will be painted. BTW you folk took a beating along I35 yesterday. I lived in Denton in the 70s right along 35 and I remember the violent thunderstorms to this day. This must have been horrific. Joe