Thistle17

This is an update as of 10/29/17. I received another call last week confirming that 3 of the 4 drawings will be released to us. I was not told which one was not released but I speculate it has something to do with the armament. In this day and age it is small wonder that it could be as I suspect. The drawings will be released to us as soon as the office that controls this type of transaction gets instruction on how to bill us. Is it any wonder that nothing in the US Government moves along with any reasonable pace? Joe

Sherline recommends this for their mills and lathes so I too don't see why this isn't a good choice. Joe

The next stage is to finish paint the inner bulkwarks and begin attaching some of the deck fittings. I have all but decided that I will start from scratch to build all the deck furniture. The die cut pieces are inferior in size and the material quality is equally poor. Some parts are even missing and don't show up on the drawings I do have a side project related to the model. The client wishes to display the model in her year round home away from home. It's resting place is on a second floor loft area that dictates a special table. I will incorporate the stand as part of this table so as i think of it I have to set the model aside and begin that aspect of the project.

In another thread on this site I said I would pay more attention to the pictures I take. I fibbed a bit. I wanted to record a milepost for the client (and any one else interested for that matter). The model hull has reached a painting milestone. If you have been following along on this thread you know I didn't hide my failures on this stage of the project. The painting journey was awful. There is no better word for it. I did finally overcome the crazing/wrinkling by spot priming the areas of concern and repainting that entire surface again. I was going to paint in the gold waterline but I lost my nerve as a result of the previous set backs. The waterline is 3M Scotchcal Striping Tape (1/4 inch). It is so easy to work with. Just pull back the backing paper (as you go) and purposefully lay it down. Press firmly only at the beginning and continue on. If you have any misalignment it lifts relatively easily and can be reapplied. The directions indicate that you must rub it down at the end with a soft cloth and over a short period it will fuse to the surface. There is a top clear layer that can be peeled back. It is there to protect the tape during application.

Pretty impressive work Cliff. May I ask what saw blade (teeth per inch and width) was used and if you noticed any after market blade guides such as Carter? Joe

This is a further update. I had success doing what I thought was logical. I wet sanded the affected areas, applied the Rustoleum primer and let it sit for 3 days. I painted these areas this AM (70+ degrees, low RH). It worked!!!!! Why their customer support didn't suggest that is beyond me. I'd like to pass on something I learned about automotive masking tape. In all the masking/unmasking and repainting I find I much prefer the following: - 3M Precision Masking Tape #06525 (this is 1/4 inch)(light green in color). It has a semi transparency to it so when laying it down one can see the correct placement point through the tape if the colors are contrasting. - 3M Automotive Refinish Masking Tape (No # on roll)(Yellow in color) These exhibit excellent line separation with no "leakage underneath and they are relatively thin in thickness so there is a very fine ridge at the intersection of colors. I found the Scotch Performance Masking Tape 233+ of lesser advantage in comparison. Joe

Well here is the latest. Rustoleum Customer Service was of no help at all. So here is what I am trying at the moment. I wet sanded down the 2 areas that crinkled. I then waited 2 days and applied a primer coat over these areas. I will now try an overcoat(s) of color. If that doesn't work. I am going to wet sand the whole hull and start again. Only this time I am going to use automotive paint (likely enamel) and reapply both base color and accent. I will then over spray a clear coat finish. I have spoken with the automotive paint shop folk and this is what they recommend. They can mix custom color and charge the cans. The reason I like these cans is they also have a much better paint nozzle for wider spraying. Not a cheap solution as it is about $30 per color. The lacquer route is not recommended as it may eat right through existing coats.

Frank I must say i really enjoy your build of Kathryn. I'm not much on responding with the "Likes" but I certainly do like what you are doing. Joe

I would like to share with all of you what I have experienced with Sherline Manufacturing and their Customer Support Team. My mill came damaged in shipment from California to New York State. The Z axis column lead screw/wheel was found to be bent when the unit arrived. Needless to say I was dismayed. I have been dealing with Kat Powell in the Sales/Customer Support office. I sent a photo of the problem and she immediately responded with an offer to replace the Z axis assembly. It arrived today just 2 days since the problem was discovered. Her customer first attitude was simply outstanding. Thought I should share this with all and give others in the market for their products another reason to purchase from an American company. Joe

Indeed the photo is odd in its appearance. I'll comment this last time. I took the picture on the kitchen counter w/o flash and at a slight angle i.e. not head on. When I tried the flash it showed extreme glare coming from the reflection of the speed control label. Without the flash the overhead lights cast a shadow area beneath the head stock. That makes it look as though the Z axis column is forward of the X/Y table. It is not. Hope this clarifies it.

Tom: This machine is such a fine tool and for me it is going to be a "hill climb" to learn to use it to advantage. I was looking at the accessories catalog last eve and realize as I progress I will be in need of some of them. There is no doubt this is a well thought out product family with expandability and upward mobility. Please, as you progress share your experience. Joe

Tim I chose this paint because it was touted as a plastic paint and secondly it produces a pretty good volume of paint. Th coats elsewhere need only a mild rub out as the applications are decent. I did not use an air brush as I would have had a supply problem. I kept thinking that I should get a good detail/model brush like Iwata but then I shrunk away because I thought my paint supply (autobody paint) pigment size mught trip me up. Joe

Wefalck: You made me chuckle about the drawers. Indeed if I didn't control myself I would need a rolling cabinet instead of this base. These drawers were intended for loose small items. I have another work table/bench planned that will address such items as a rotary table plus the lathe etc. As to you observation of the photo. It is my weird camera angle and awful iighting that makes it look as it does. I'll try harder to be more deliberate in future pictures. Joe

Well I finally made the plunge and ordered the Sherline 5400 DRO. It came last week. I must say it is a beautiful well executed design that yields a very special product. I spent a good deal of time reading over the assembly and instruction manual as it is not an RTF (Ready To Fly parlance from the model plane industry) machine. The base with the X,Y table is an assembly. The headstock column is an assembly that includes the "saddle block" to mount the motor/headstock assembly to. The motor, belt guard and headstock must be assembled and since this unit includes the DRO it must include placement of the optical sensor for the speed encoder. The motor assembly in turn mounts to the Z column "saddle block" that has a bar guide alignment and centering stud that draws the assembly tight to the column. One surprise to me is these later units allow rotation of the headstock/motor at an angle to machine facets on material. Older units did not have this feature. I did spend some time making a small portable base for the unit. Two drawers help store wrenches, cutters, chuck etc. I always had misplaced wrenches etc. with my Unimat lathe so i thought I would head off a similar problem here. I thought this would be good to share as an opening statement before I get into its use over the next few weeks. I did not purchase Joe Martin's book on its use yet but will very soon as I am a rank amateur machinist. Joe

I have carved lettering in a woodworking class and I can relate that it is an art form not easily acquired by the casual user even in full size. Have you considered laser engraving, done by others? I have seen some pretty convincing results. If that doesn't work because of resolution or other factors you may want to try a decal like application you make with a copier and some bold font reduced sequentially until scale is reached. Joe

Mark I just don't know at this point. I have once again gone back to Rustoleum Help Center and they will be contacting me shortly. Intuitively I had thought, before this application of the trim color, that after wet sanding I should spot prime this area. I didn't and I think at this point it was a bad decision. I don't think it is the hull material for 2 reasons: (1) the transom (was missing when I received the model) is wood. I didn't say it on the previous entry but it too crazed/wrinkled badly and (2) the under coat is a Navajo White which was too creamy so I top coated with the Gloss White, that under layer did not craze. I am going to rub out the final coat with a mild rubbing compound before a top coat of clear gloss. Thanks for offering the suggestion. I must say my blood pressure is rising as I am stalled until this is solved. Joe

What a disaster! This is probably the last time I use this paint (Rustoleum 2X Ultra Cover). It did it again! Per their instructions I sanded it down, washed it with a little dish detergent and water, waited 5 days and reapplied paint on a 74 degree day with low RH. I am now back to Rustoleum Customer Support for answers. What a set back.

Anxious to see your work in person this week. Knowing your work whether in photographic form or up close and personal is always an inspiration. Joe Joe

The painting saga continues. After painting the hull 48 hours earlier (per manufacturer directions) I observed a wrinkle pattern on the starboard side about 4 inches long. At the time I assumed it was surface contamination but that is not proving out. I sanded the area down and applied the overcoat of a royal blue color just above the waterline. Much to my dismay it repeated the same wrinkle marking. I searched the internet and now find this is not uncommon. I went ahead and called Rustoleum Customer Service and they indicated it was not contamination (as I had described my process). Rather they claim it is due to the under coat material, the creamy white, had not dried completely. I explained there was over a week between old and new coatings. That did not change his recommendations. Here was the advice I got: 1. Dry sand the area of concern, 2. Wash down the area with a little dish soap in a water solution, 3. Wash area with water only, 4. Dry it thoroughly. 5. Repaint. Not too convinced of this but have no other solution as many on line have also lamented. He also added the best way to use this paint is to apply 2 wet coats in close succession so they paint layers fuse together. An update: I completed Step 1 above and indeed found that the wrinkle did go all the way through the overcoat of white down into the Navajo White coat. So they certainly did have that part correct. I am somewhat hesitant to just plunge ahead and paint without a light prime coat (lessons learned from my youthful days in auto body painting). As I am running out of fair weather I am leaning to follow the manufacturer advice and repaint. My reasoning is that I have now exposed the paint layer that was still uncured so I should have now exposed it to better drying. We will see. Hope this is useful information to others and helps advoid disappointment.

I haven't visited here lately as I had no new info until this afternoon. The release has been approved but the path to get them to send the drawings is a bit circuitous. I am working with the department that prints the drawings and I have to go through a few steps to get them. Maybe more on that later. fnkershner", sorry I do not know your name, I have read your posts and will get back to you when we receive the drawings. Many thanks for the offer. Joe

An update on painting. I changed the base color of the hull to a pure white as the Navajo White just didn't strike me as the right hull color. Took extra precaution and wet sanded the hull 220 then 400. Wiped the hull down with auto body degreaser/cleaner with a lint free cloth and used all my (limited) skill in painting. The results were better than expected as there was little over spray. It is a low humidity day so that helped immensly. Onto the two tone hull color and waterline painting the client liked. This northeast weather is not only welcome it is a gift since I do not have a paint booth.

I have primed and painted one coat of the Rustoleum product for plastics. I wiped the hull down with automotive de-greaser/cleaner and sprayed the primer. After it dried I sanded the surface down with 220 wet paper. I used the de-greaser/cleaner again and applied the paint layer.The good news is that it adheres well and dries to a hard finish. The bad news is that spray cans aren't really a good device to spray any paints. Even though I used what I believe are good application practices I found that the smoothness of the painted hull doesn't muster. I will have to spend some time wet sanding and repeating the process to get close to the results I am expecting. I may even have to rub the final product out and spray an overall clear coat. I have to mask the waterline and the hull body color area for the final hull finish. I am going to use 3M or equivalent automotive masking tape that leaves little to no evidence of ridges at masked area intersections.

You have some pretty definitive advice from the "floor". All good recommendations. I would only add to the comments that most professional sanding machines either have a moving platen or a power feed. Of course the Byrnes sander relies on hand feeding. I have noticed that if I have an unsteady feed rate that I can get slight gouging in the material. So I would only add that a constant feed rate is important.

After altogether too much time and effort I have nearly completed the machining, attachment and refining of the bulkwarks to the model. My lament of course is if I had had the original kit supplied bulkwarks this would have been a non event. I guess I needed to vent. The actual bulkwark mounting was a lesson in humility and frustration. I read somewhere that the kit version probably had some adhesive backed tape to help mount them. Anything I could think of just didn't seem right so I attached them with the supplied screws countersunk and filled (and filled and filled again - I used auto body Nitro Stan glazing compound which has a tendency to shrink). To further secure them to the hull I applied the inboard section with DAP Inst Cure. The bow section fit was tricky and required not only Easy Sand filler but also spot glazing. The inboard port and starboard, at the bow, sections of the bulkwarks were sanded with a thin scraper with sand paper both sides to get a crisp fit at this junction. To facilitate this the forward most mounting screws were backed off just enough to allow the scrapper/sandpaper sanding. Once mounted it was obvious there was a void where the bulwarks met the molded rabbet of the hull. I simulated the kit molding by applying doll house furniture chair rail(180 thousands). That disguised the void quite well I believe. One last note. When I tried using the small Tamiya spray cans it became obvious that coverage and cost were going to be a problem. In a hardware store search I came across the Rustoleum Plastic primer and spray paints. I am about to go that route for hull finish.

Always a treat to see your work results Rusty! Joe