Thistle17

There are plenty to choose from out there. They range in price from under $200 to $1000 or more. Most all are table top. You will want variable speed, good hold down function and chip relief so you can see where the blade is going. Most are slow start so you need to be aware of that. Then it comes to the all important blade types. There are so many that it is too much to include here but you will want to invest in good quality blades for the works you plan. These are not for thick stock cutting and do their best on thin stock. If they have a surface light that is a plus.
Joe

There are plenty to choose from out there. They range in price from under $200 to $1000 or more. Most all are table top. You will want variable speed, good hold down function and chip relief so you can see where the blade is going. Most are slow start so you need to be aware of that. Then it comes to the all important blade types. There are so many that it is too much to include here but you will want to invest in good quality blades for the works you plan. These are not for thick stock cutting and do their best on thin stock. If they have a surface light that is a plus.
Joe

There are plenty to choose from out there. They range in price from under $200 to $1000 or more. Most all are table top. You will want variable speed, good hold down function and chip relief so you can see where the blade is going. Most are slow start so you need to be aware of that. Then it comes to the all important blade types. There are so many that it is too much to include here but you will want to invest in good quality blades for the works you plan. These are not for thick stock cutting and do their best on thin stock. If they have a surface light that is a plus.
Joe

I guess I should have mentioned that the DAP product seems to sand easier and leaves no trace when one has to overcoat with either paint or finish. The manufacturer does stress that a minimal amount of adhesive is all that is necessary. I use the small but effective loop adhesive applicators that fit in an Xacto holder and that minimizes most all application problems. There are always caveats aren't there?
Joe

I would just add another alternative. I have become quite fond of DAP Rapid Fuse Adhesive. I would characterize it as a CA adhesive but it has one useful capability that others do not have. A plank can be lifted within 30 seconds of application and relaid once again w/o more CA. I found this useful if I didn't get quite the plank to plank abutting that was needed. I have even pulled planks off completely, sanded the CA side and bulkheads (once dry) and reapplied them without incident. The adhesive bonds wood to ABS or similar "plastics". It sets after 30 seconds and cures in about 30 minutes.
Joe

Jim your work around for the tilt table to me is one of "why didn't I think of that?" comments! This certainly addresses the work piece falling into the blade if all things being equal and the table saw was sitting upright. I rescind my only criticism of the attachement. Thank you.
Joe

I would just add another alternative. I have become quite fond of DAP Rapid Fuse Adhesive. I would characterize it as a CA adhesive but it has one useful capability that others do not have. A plank can be lifted within 30 seconds of application and relaid once again w/o more CA. I found this useful if I didn't get quite the plank to plank abutting that was needed. I have even pulled planks off completely, sanded the CA side and bulkheads (once dry) and reapplied them without incident. The adhesive bonds wood to ABS or similar "plastics". It sets after 30 seconds and cures in about 30 minutes.
Joe

I would just add another alternative. I have become quite fond of DAP Rapid Fuse Adhesive. I would characterize it as a CA adhesive but it has one useful capability that others do not have. A plank can be lifted within 30 seconds of application and relaid once again w/o more CA. I found this useful if I didn't get quite the plank to plank abutting that was needed. I have even pulled planks off completely, sanded the CA side and bulkheads (once dry) and reapplied them without incident. The adhesive bonds wood to ABS or similar "plastics". It sets after 30 seconds and cures in about 30 minutes.
Joe

You all are to be complimented on your teamwork and excellent execution of this very detailed model!
Joe

We were gifted with a record setting streak of warm weather here along Lake Ontario these past 7 days. And so were able to complete some last minute details prior to priming. To start with I finally decided to wet sand the hull to fair the Nitro Stan glazing compound. I had hesitated earlier as there was still a good deal of bare wood showing and it is a messy process as you auto body folk well know. It was left to dry for 2 days.
 
Once that was done the rub rails were added up to the bow area. That was truncated because I have yet to master the "fair in" of the bow and the rub rail and the bow rub rail has to be specialy cut to fit the bow area as segmented rub rail was not going to traverse the bow. You may also see that a hull detail was added up to that point. It is an artifact, I believe, of the original hull layup as these hulls were intended for both pleasure and fishing craft. It is a simple 1/32" relief under the rub rail that follows closely to the waterline.
 
One last detail was added and that was the trail board attached to the transom. On Mark II versions of the hull this was built directly into the transom.
 
The day this was painted the air was relatively still but the relative humidity was quite low. As a result we were unable to get a full wet coat application on the primed hull. I chose automotive primer for the task so that has added to post priming tasks of a light wet sanding with 400 paper. The topside area is still to be worked to simulate the gullets of a fiberglass molded topsides so that is yet to be treated. Otherwise I am happy to report, in spite of all the applications of fill and glazing compound, the hull ia quite presentable from a fairness standpoint. I am sure the wet sanding will reveal some 'holidays' but for the moment we are go to press on.
 
Joe
 
PS: That sheet behind the model is a weakly veiled attempt to hide a messy counter area more than a backdrop cloth. Who said I had to be neat!

We were gifted with a record setting streak of warm weather here along Lake Ontario these past 7 days. And so were able to complete some last minute details prior to priming. To start with I finally decided to wet sand the hull to fair the Nitro Stan glazing compound. I had hesitated earlier as there was still a good deal of bare wood showing and it is a messy process as you auto body folk well know. It was left to dry for 2 days.
 
Once that was done the rub rails were added up to the bow area. That was truncated because I have yet to master the "fair in" of the bow and the rub rail and the bow rub rail has to be specialy cut to fit the bow area as segmented rub rail was not going to traverse the bow. You may also see that a hull detail was added up to that point. It is an artifact, I believe, of the original hull layup as these hulls were intended for both pleasure and fishing craft. It is a simple 1/32" relief under the rub rail that follows closely to the waterline.
 
One last detail was added and that was the trail board attached to the transom. On Mark II versions of the hull this was built directly into the transom.
 
The day this was painted the air was relatively still but the relative humidity was quite low. As a result we were unable to get a full wet coat application on the primed hull. I chose automotive primer for the task so that has added to post priming tasks of a light wet sanding with 400 paper. The topside area is still to be worked to simulate the gullets of a fiberglass molded topsides so that is yet to be treated. Otherwise I am happy to report, in spite of all the applications of fill and glazing compound, the hull ia quite presentable from a fairness standpoint. I am sure the wet sanding will reveal some 'holidays' but for the moment we are go to press on.
 
Joe
 
PS: That sheet behind the model is a weakly veiled attempt to hide a messy counter area more than a backdrop cloth. Who said I had to be neat!

We were gifted with a record setting streak of warm weather here along Lake Ontario these past 7 days. And so were able to complete some last minute details prior to priming. To start with I finally decided to wet sand the hull to fair the Nitro Stan glazing compound. I had hesitated earlier as there was still a good deal of bare wood showing and it is a messy process as you auto body folk well know. It was left to dry for 2 days.
 
Once that was done the rub rails were added up to the bow area. That was truncated because I have yet to master the "fair in" of the bow and the rub rail and the bow rub rail has to be specialy cut to fit the bow area as segmented rub rail was not going to traverse the bow. You may also see that a hull detail was added up to that point. It is an artifact, I believe, of the original hull layup as these hulls were intended for both pleasure and fishing craft. It is a simple 1/32" relief under the rub rail that follows closely to the waterline.
 
One last detail was added and that was the trail board attached to the transom. On Mark II versions of the hull this was built directly into the transom.
 
The day this was painted the air was relatively still but the relative humidity was quite low. As a result we were unable to get a full wet coat application on the primed hull. I chose automotive primer for the task so that has added to post priming tasks of a light wet sanding with 400 paper. The topside area is still to be worked to simulate the gullets of a fiberglass molded topsides so that is yet to be treated. Otherwise I am happy to report, in spite of all the applications of fill and glazing compound, the hull ia quite presentable from a fairness standpoint. I am sure the wet sanding will reveal some 'holidays' but for the moment we are go to press on.
 
Joe
 
PS: That sheet behind the model is a weakly veiled attempt to hide a messy counter area more than a backdrop cloth. Who said I had to be neat!

We were gifted with a record setting streak of warm weather here along Lake Ontario these past 7 days. And so were able to complete some last minute details prior to priming. To start with I finally decided to wet sand the hull to fair the Nitro Stan glazing compound. I had hesitated earlier as there was still a good deal of bare wood showing and it is a messy process as you auto body folk well know. It was left to dry for 2 days.
 
Once that was done the rub rails were added up to the bow area. That was truncated because I have yet to master the "fair in" of the bow and the rub rail and the bow rub rail has to be specialy cut to fit the bow area as segmented rub rail was not going to traverse the bow. You may also see that a hull detail was added up to that point. It is an artifact, I believe, of the original hull layup as these hulls were intended for both pleasure and fishing craft. It is a simple 1/32" relief under the rub rail that follows closely to the waterline.
 
One last detail was added and that was the trail board attached to the transom. On Mark II versions of the hull this was built directly into the transom.
 
The day this was painted the air was relatively still but the relative humidity was quite low. As a result we were unable to get a full wet coat application on the primed hull. I chose automotive primer for the task so that has added to post priming tasks of a light wet sanding with 400 paper. The topside area is still to be worked to simulate the gullets of a fiberglass molded topsides so that is yet to be treated. Otherwise I am happy to report, in spite of all the applications of fill and glazing compound, the hull ia quite presentable from a fairness standpoint. I am sure the wet sanding will reveal some 'holidays' but for the moment we are go to press on.
 
Joe
 
PS: That sheet behind the model is a weakly veiled attempt to hide a messy counter area more than a backdrop cloth. Who said I had to be neat!

We were gifted with a record setting streak of warm weather here along Lake Ontario these past 7 days. And so were able to complete some last minute details prior to priming. To start with I finally decided to wet sand the hull to fair the Nitro Stan glazing compound. I had hesitated earlier as there was still a good deal of bare wood showing and it is a messy process as you auto body folk well know. It was left to dry for 2 days.
 
Once that was done the rub rails were added up to the bow area. That was truncated because I have yet to master the "fair in" of the bow and the rub rail and the bow rub rail has to be specialy cut to fit the bow area as segmented rub rail was not going to traverse the bow. You may also see that a hull detail was added up to that point. It is an artifact, I believe, of the original hull layup as these hulls were intended for both pleasure and fishing craft. It is a simple 1/32" relief under the rub rail that follows closely to the waterline.
 
One last detail was added and that was the trail board attached to the transom. On Mark II versions of the hull this was built directly into the transom.
 
The day this was painted the air was relatively still but the relative humidity was quite low. As a result we were unable to get a full wet coat application on the primed hull. I chose automotive primer for the task so that has added to post priming tasks of a light wet sanding with 400 paper. The topside area is still to be worked to simulate the gullets of a fiberglass molded topsides so that is yet to be treated. Otherwise I am happy to report, in spite of all the applications of fill and glazing compound, the hull ia quite presentable from a fairness standpoint. I am sure the wet sanding will reveal some 'holidays' but for the moment we are go to press on.
 
Joe
 
PS: That sheet behind the model is a weakly veiled attempt to hide a messy counter area more than a backdrop cloth. Who said I had to be neat!

We were gifted with a record setting streak of warm weather here along Lake Ontario these past 7 days. And so were able to complete some last minute details prior to priming. To start with I finally decided to wet sand the hull to fair the Nitro Stan glazing compound. I had hesitated earlier as there was still a good deal of bare wood showing and it is a messy process as you auto body folk well know. It was left to dry for 2 days.
 
Once that was done the rub rails were added up to the bow area. That was truncated because I have yet to master the "fair in" of the bow and the rub rail and the bow rub rail has to be specialy cut to fit the bow area as segmented rub rail was not going to traverse the bow. You may also see that a hull detail was added up to that point. It is an artifact, I believe, of the original hull layup as these hulls were intended for both pleasure and fishing craft. It is a simple 1/32" relief under the rub rail that follows closely to the waterline.
 
One last detail was added and that was the trail board attached to the transom. On Mark II versions of the hull this was built directly into the transom.
 
The day this was painted the air was relatively still but the relative humidity was quite low. As a result we were unable to get a full wet coat application on the primed hull. I chose automotive primer for the task so that has added to post priming tasks of a light wet sanding with 400 paper. The topside area is still to be worked to simulate the gullets of a fiberglass molded topsides so that is yet to be treated. Otherwise I am happy to report, in spite of all the applications of fill and glazing compound, the hull ia quite presentable from a fairness standpoint. I am sure the wet sanding will reveal some 'holidays' but for the moment we are go to press on.
 
Joe
 
PS: That sheet behind the model is a weakly veiled attempt to hide a messy counter area more than a backdrop cloth. Who said I had to be neat!

I am pushing to get the hull primed this weekend as the weather is going to be in the mid 60s and I can't spray in the basement. As a result I could not let this setback prevent me from that goal. The rub rail I have found is about 3/8 inch wide in scale (1:6 maybe slightly less). It has a slight taper across the width inboard to outboard. Using bass wood I built a shooting board and tried to add the taper but I quickly found that I was having trouble getting a uniform tapered edge not to mention tearout. I then thought of a more obvious way.
 
On the Byrnes saw I taped a 1/32 inch strip to the base of the saw fence. At this point the rub rail has been purposedly ripped to 1 inch width. Using my shop built ripping guide to keep the stock snug to the fence base and the top edge snug against the fence top (with my push stick) I managed to get a consistent taper These will be ripped to width and given some final detail sanding and attached to the hull/
 
I anticipate soaking, maybe steaming these strips at the bow to form to the bulbous bow shape. I may even have to segment the rail to get the desired conformance. I now think I have a fair chance of making the milestone.
 
Jim if you are listening I wish there was a tilting arbor retro for this saw.
 
Joe

We were gifted with a record setting streak of warm weather here along Lake Ontario these past 7 days. And so were able to complete some last minute details prior to priming. To start with I finally decided to wet sand the hull to fair the Nitro Stan glazing compound. I had hesitated earlier as there was still a good deal of bare wood showing and it is a messy process as you auto body folk well know. It was left to dry for 2 days.
 
Once that was done the rub rails were added up to the bow area. That was truncated because I have yet to master the "fair in" of the bow and the rub rail and the bow rub rail has to be specialy cut to fit the bow area as segmented rub rail was not going to traverse the bow. You may also see that a hull detail was added up to that point. It is an artifact, I believe, of the original hull layup as these hulls were intended for both pleasure and fishing craft. It is a simple 1/32" relief under the rub rail that follows closely to the waterline.
 
One last detail was added and that was the trail board attached to the transom. On Mark II versions of the hull this was built directly into the transom.
 
The day this was painted the air was relatively still but the relative humidity was quite low. As a result we were unable to get a full wet coat application on the primed hull. I chose automotive primer for the task so that has added to post priming tasks of a light wet sanding with 400 paper. The topside area is still to be worked to simulate the gullets of a fiberglass molded topsides so that is yet to be treated. Otherwise I am happy to report, in spite of all the applications of fill and glazing compound, the hull ia quite presentable from a fairness standpoint. I am sure the wet sanding will reveal some 'holidays' but for the moment we are go to press on.
 
Joe
 
PS: That sheet behind the model is a weakly veiled attempt to hide a messy counter area more than a backdrop cloth. Who said I had to be neat!

We were gifted with a record setting streak of warm weather here along Lake Ontario these past 7 days. And so were able to complete some last minute details prior to priming. To start with I finally decided to wet sand the hull to fair the Nitro Stan glazing compound. I had hesitated earlier as there was still a good deal of bare wood showing and it is a messy process as you auto body folk well know. It was left to dry for 2 days.
 
Once that was done the rub rails were added up to the bow area. That was truncated because I have yet to master the "fair in" of the bow and the rub rail and the bow rub rail has to be specialy cut to fit the bow area as segmented rub rail was not going to traverse the bow. You may also see that a hull detail was added up to that point. It is an artifact, I believe, of the original hull layup as these hulls were intended for both pleasure and fishing craft. It is a simple 1/32" relief under the rub rail that follows closely to the waterline.
 
One last detail was added and that was the trail board attached to the transom. On Mark II versions of the hull this was built directly into the transom.
 
The day this was painted the air was relatively still but the relative humidity was quite low. As a result we were unable to get a full wet coat application on the primed hull. I chose automotive primer for the task so that has added to post priming tasks of a light wet sanding with 400 paper. The topside area is still to be worked to simulate the gullets of a fiberglass molded topsides so that is yet to be treated. Otherwise I am happy to report, in spite of all the applications of fill and glazing compound, the hull ia quite presentable from a fairness standpoint. I am sure the wet sanding will reveal some 'holidays' but for the moment we are go to press on.
 
Joe
 
PS: That sheet behind the model is a weakly veiled attempt to hide a messy counter area more than a backdrop cloth. Who said I had to be neat!

I am pushing to get the hull primed this weekend as the weather is going to be in the mid 60s and I can't spray in the basement. As a result I could not let this setback prevent me from that goal. The rub rail I have found is about 3/8 inch wide in scale (1:6 maybe slightly less). It has a slight taper across the width inboard to outboard. Using bass wood I built a shooting board and tried to add the taper but I quickly found that I was having trouble getting a uniform tapered edge not to mention tearout. I then thought of a more obvious way.
 
On the Byrnes saw I taped a 1/32 inch strip to the base of the saw fence. At this point the rub rail has been purposedly ripped to 1 inch width. Using my shop built ripping guide to keep the stock snug to the fence base and the top edge snug against the fence top (with my push stick) I managed to get a consistent taper These will be ripped to width and given some final detail sanding and attached to the hull/
 
I anticipate soaking, maybe steaming these strips at the bow to form to the bulbous bow shape. I may even have to segment the rail to get the desired conformance. I now think I have a fair chance of making the milestone.
 
Jim if you are listening I wish there was a tilting arbor retro for this saw.
 
Joe

Thanks Mark, we move on.
 
The hull fairing is nearly complete but still remains tedious. I hated automotive body work in my younger years and this project is no different. Embarrassement  of a poor result is all that drives me on.
 
Took a break from that work and made the elements of the rub strib for the hull at deck level yesterday. After finding nothing at the hobby shop of suitable form I decided to make them. Using my 3/8 inch beading bit for my router I machined 3/8 basswood stock with the bit raised to just the bead height. (A smaller radius one is shown). I machined both edges to a bead on the stock and then ripped them at the Byrnes saw. Working with 24 inch stock I will have to join elements. A scarf joint should hide the junction. I haven't got a good close up picture of the rub rail so it may be after some searching the profile will need further hand work to comply.
Joe

I viewed progress on the gun tub carriages and beginnings of the frameworks for mounting the carriages and subsequently for the guns. At this point we have a question for anyone out there that served on a vessel like this. In studying the geometry of the mounting we have come to the conclusion that the carraiges were mounted to the swivel frameworks, not the guns. Our study of the photos we have does not reveal to us how the guns were secured to0 the carriages.We have to assume that the guns were easily attached and removed so how was carriage securing dealt with?
 
While the gun tub work progresses I have decided to start the final fairing of the hull. It has been a hard lesson in construction as we used full bass wood sheet of 2 and 3 inches to "plank" the hull. Even though the bulkheads were fairly benign in terms of contour the result was that the hull has a number of valleys and/or end sheet butting that needs a good deal of fill as well as fairing. Although I have a lead on a product used in fiberglass hull fairing I have been reluctant to buy even a quart to experiment with. In the mean time I have resorted to our standby product Rage, Easy Sand. Its one limiting behavior is that it has an open time of just about 5 minutes so one has to work quickly and in small batches. It is advetised as sandable in just 15 minutes but I find the sanding gums up the sandpaper quicker than if one waits a bit longer. Nitro Stan glazing compound is being used to fill in the smaller imperfections but as related earlier in tends to shrink so multiple applications are needed.
 
 

We have advanced a bit farther in the build of the gun tub. Jim our project manager has taken the tub which was outfitted permanently with the modified inner catch/ammo trays. He has been working on the 50 caliber gun carriages. We continue to glean tid bits of information about the Patriots Point PBR. We have been told of late that the guns are not real but apperantely resin cast. No wonder they don't look exactly like our 1:6 scale units.
 
Here is a mockup of the tub with guns.We will be removing the handles aft as they were not "handled" from that point. I would add that the tub now easily supports the scale figures that are planned for the model.
 
Joe
 

We have all heard that a picture is worth a 1000 words But to some extent that is failing us and driving some do overs. This has been the case as we advance through the elements of the gun tub. The latest do over has been a modification of the inner tubs/that either hold ammo or catch spent shells. I am in the process of modifing them to make the width about 1/2 inch narrower. The left hand unit has been reduced. What drove this is a more detailed study of the machine gun trunion/mounts (see entry of 9/27). They are the elements that protrude above the tub flange. In our latest study we find that the model guns we have do not mount to the shaft through the gun body. The guns rest in a carrier and that carrier has flanges that support pivot points for both guns. The gun mounts must be spaced to accomadate the trays. We arrived at this by scaling one of the pictures so as the gun profile was the same as our 1/6 scale guns. 
 
Had we left the inner tubs at the original width the spacing for the supports in relation to the inner tubs would have been way off. That is probably not very clear possibly this will show up when we get closer to final sub assembly.
 
Joe

Dry fit prior to final assembly of the inner trays came out reasonably well owing to the lack of structure stresses of the new substructures. The back rest has also been dry fitted. Without dimensions or scale drawings the juxtaposition of the back rest is almost correct when the photos we were given are compared. The support brackets will have to be adjusted to accomadate the difference.
 
We have had a bit of luck as one of the members working on the model found in his archive of photos an oblique "head on" shot of the gun tub. Much to our surprise there is an added plate in the forward part of the gun tub, at rim level, that supports all the gun brackets and cradles for the 50 calibers. It is just behind the armament plate. We could not clearly see this in any of the other photos nor do any drawings even hint at this.
 
This week we will be testing gun placement to determine the plate size and bracket locations and from then on I think we will be able to move forward with more certainty.
 
Joe

The gun tub is turning out to be quite a guess work project. In a recent conversation with a naval officier I asked why we were unable to secure the gun tub drawings. He reminded me that the Navy Bureau we dealt with held a few drawings back. Given that it is related to armament we suspect they may have erred on the side of caution. So for whatever the reason the construction of the tub innards has become a head scratcher.
 
With the aid of more photos The tub structure was assembled and a cardboard model of the tub shell casing and gun mount steel works was constructed. Admittedly it is crude but does seem to give an elemental sense of the tub innards. As there are two of these the cardboard model has been taped together and will be taken apart enabling the fabrication of  both. Basswood is likely the material of choice. Further elements will be added to replicate those shown in the photo such as the cross members, gun trunions, sheilding and the like.The second photo while depicting the actual shell catch tray reasonably well it marginally shows its internal placement.
 
Joe