Thistle17

Alan these tools in some respects cost more than my full sized versions which date back to the 1990s. As David says I never looked back they are a joy to use and quite frankly are priceless! Saw dust on!!!
Joe

Alan these tools in some respects cost more than my full sized versions which date back to the 1990s. As David says I never looked back they are a joy to use and quite frankly are priceless! Saw dust on!!!
Joe

Ron this appears to be a much improved version of "front end" capability. It also looks like your off to a much better start up than I had experienced. Npw the G Code Sender, UGS is that free ware?
Joe

Chuck if you tap into the Lee Valley web site you will find a trove of information on tool sharpening.
Joe

Ron this appears to be a much improved version of "front end" capability. It also looks like your off to a much better start up than I had experienced. Npw the G Code Sender, UGS is that free ware?
Joe

Ron this appears to be a much improved version of "front end" capability. It also looks like your off to a much better start up than I had experienced. Npw the G Code Sender, UGS is that free ware?
Joe

Chuck if you tap into the Lee Valley web site you will find a trove of information on tool sharpening.
Joe

Chuck if you tap into the Lee Valley web site you will find a trove of information on tool sharpening.
Joe

Ron this is a much improved unit over the 3018 Pro which I have. My one word of caution is the software they supply in their package. Unless they have in like worked on it there will be an uphill learning stage. I will be anxious to follow your "power up" reporting. I could not even run the test programs until I discovered that the Y axis direction needed to be reversed in the on board NVM. It was only after exploring the internet did I find what all the parameters were. One reversed the direction but there were others of the same ilk. Once found however the parameters are a bit obscure in definition so be very careful should you need to change any.
 
I don't know if you are planning on using their CAM program or something more elegant. If you haven't played with the INVENTABLES "CAM" like program you will see what I mean. Actually it helped me discover the NVM error in the Arduino control system.
 
I will be a follower of your travels and likely learn from your experience. Good luck!
 
Joe

Ron this is a much improved unit over the 3018 Pro which I have. My one word of caution is the software they supply in their package. Unless they have in like worked on it there will be an uphill learning stage. I will be anxious to follow your "power up" reporting. I could not even run the test programs until I discovered that the Y axis direction needed to be reversed in the on board NVM. It was only after exploring the internet did I find what all the parameters were. One reversed the direction but there were others of the same ilk. Once found however the parameters are a bit obscure in definition so be very careful should you need to change any.
 
I don't know if you are planning on using their CAM program or something more elegant. If you haven't played with the INVENTABLES "CAM" like program you will see what I mean. Actually it helped me discover the NVM error in the Arduino control system.
 
I will be a follower of your travels and likely learn from your experience. Good luck!
 
Joe

Ron this is a much improved unit over the 3018 Pro which I have. My one word of caution is the software they supply in their package. Unless they have in like worked on it there will be an uphill learning stage. I will be anxious to follow your "power up" reporting. I could not even run the test programs until I discovered that the Y axis direction needed to be reversed in the on board NVM. It was only after exploring the internet did I find what all the parameters were. One reversed the direction but there were others of the same ilk. Once found however the parameters are a bit obscure in definition so be very careful should you need to change any.
 
I don't know if you are planning on using their CAM program or something more elegant. If you haven't played with the INVENTABLES "CAM" like program you will see what I mean. Actually it helped me discover the NVM error in the Arduino control system.
 
I will be a follower of your travels and likely learn from your experience. Good luck!
 
Joe

Masterful work by both of you. I hold your works as the quintessential reference of human accomplishment. Hopefully next year in New London it will be there to see up close.
Joe

Be honest now...when did you sleep?
Joe

Obviously this is not your "first rodeo". Excellent work and incredible drive moving to the finish line!
Joe

This project gets more and more enchanting with each new step. Truely a marvel in design, production and execution! I might add that your employment of modern technology in laser and cnc machining seems to have no bounds. What could be next????
Joe

This project gets more and more enchanting with each new step. Truely a marvel in design, production and execution! I might add that your employment of modern technology in laser and cnc machining seems to have no bounds. What could be next????
Joe

I received the book via Amazon in 2 days! It is a superb volume!
Joe

I received the book via Amazon in 2 days! It is a superb volume!
Joe

If it seems I am obsessing over the restorartion of this model it is most likely true. I have such respect for the creator's craftmanship that I feel if I do not try to replicate his work I am doing the person a misservice.
 
There are some wooden parts missing. Namely the port engine hatch and the main cabin doors. given the patina of the aged wood I have been experimenting with different species to see if I can approach existing wood aging. I happen to have a sheet of Alaskan Yellow Cedar that is actually on the orange side.  I had to mill it to .039 in so I lost some of the color but my first coat of WOP seems to be bringing in the correct hue. A few more coats should do it.
 
To the upper right is the hatch. I have built the lid and it is yet to be finished. I show it as further testament to the creator's talent. Observe the "tree nailed" framework of the assembly. This person even treated the inner sleeve that sets down in the hull (of course nobody can see it) with the same detail and  the same precision.
 
To the left are the main hatches for color comparison.
 
Joe

You have a gift Ryland. Another beautiful model coming to life.
 
Joe

I have adapted Chuck's methodology for my planking practice. I rate myself as still a novice but this technique has immensely improved my results. To help with the tapering I have adopted using a Lee Valley miniature low angle block plane to approach the width line and then finish off with the sanding stick. I made a fairly long hand held clamping vice out of 2 pieces of maple about 16 inches long. One has a kerf cut in with  a shallow depth that the plank sits in. The kerf width is a shade under the plank thickness. The two beams are held together with wing nuts and screws and securely clamp the plank. This jig facilitates holding the plank firmly when running the block plane for the taper. For me it is just a time saver.
Joe

Incredible, this world technology we so often take for granted and that is so abused by many I might add! Within minutes this morning David Bennett of the North Carolina Maritime Museum responded to my email. He is the curator there and is extremely knowledgable on the sharpie's. He sent me several photos that answer the question clearly,
 
I might add that he has developed a You Tube video on the sharpie subject that is a historical journey of this work boat and its many lives as an oysterman, a commercial transport and fisherman. You have to witness the bounty these craft brought in. It was just astounding. Sadly it is gone. I lament the our lack of sealife care then. If only!!!!!!
 
 

I know I have intimated this before but each time I approach this model to evaluate any restoration element I find myself in awe of the original builder. Everything on the model is of the highest precision and execution. Planking, deck furniture, metal work  replication is just astounding. Each tree nail, each pinning is precisely located. In evaluating building a missing hatch in the stern I now realize the entire hull has been ribbed and I will bet all bulkheads called out on the drawing are there as well.  I can not imagine that this could have been done without machinery. In examing the hatches and the deckhouses I recently discovered the modeler had used quarter sawn material to minimize expansion problems. I am still a bit puzzeled as to the wood species. The model has never been sealed so there are years of a deep patinia to the wood. At times I suspect it is boxwood due to its density (using the finger nail depression test) or bass wood that has just dried out over time. When I look at the end grain of the items I mention I can see a distinct grain so  it makes me think I still do not know. As an aside I was trimming a flowering ornamental apple tree today and in examining the grain and color it made me think it just might be hand milled lumber of this sort.
 
Now the other aspects of this model are its origin and its travels. It has had some disrespect in that some boom and other metal work is missing, there are missing doors to the main cabin, some rigging is missing on both the fore and main sails, and oddly some key deck terminations for fore and main sail control from the stern were never added. There is more but these are the main elements. So one question, that I probably never will answer was why wasn't she completed? Perhaps it was a life interrupted and then perhaps it was something less tragic. On another note the modeler had such an intimate knowledge of how it was built and rigged even in areas where elements are not shown in detail or below deck. One source could have been the North Carolina Sharpies as they were so close to this Florida Sharpie. But they were virtually wiped out in a hurricane somewhere in the mid 1930s. Could the model be even older than I think????
 
An update: I forgot to mention that all sheaves are boxwood, fully operational with what appears to be aluminnum or iron innards. They too are incredible.
 
At this point I have to live with the unkowns and drive forward hoping that I am worthy of restoring this incredible work. Stay tuned if you wish. Hopefully next time there will be more show than tell.
 
Joe

Obviously this is not your "first rodeo". Excellent work and incredible drive moving to the finish line!
Joe

Obviously this is not your "first rodeo". Excellent work and incredible drive moving to the finish line!
Joe