lehmann

In general, all files work for metal or wood.  However, very coarse files, such as rasps, are not useful for metal because if the bit at all they would require a lot of force to push.  Rasps, are used for removing a lot of wood fast, but the surface will be rough, as in relatively deep gouges, or badly torn up is cutting across the grain.  
 
Very fine toothed files tend to clog up when cutting soft metals such as brass and aluminum: an old trick is to rub some chalk into the file before working.  It also helps to reduce friction.
 
For filing small metal parts, you'll need a fine tooth file, otherwise it will "catch" if there are only one or two teeth cutting.  I find that the diamond coated files work well for these situations - they are more like sandpaper than files.  Inexpensive sets can be found that will last long time unless you want to work in hard metals.

In general, all files work for metal or wood.  However, very coarse files, such as rasps, are not useful for metal because if the bit at all they would require a lot of force to push.  Rasps, are used for removing a lot of wood fast, but the surface will be rough, as in relatively deep gouges, or badly torn up is cutting across the grain.  
 
Very fine toothed files tend to clog up when cutting soft metals such as brass and aluminum: an old trick is to rub some chalk into the file before working.  It also helps to reduce friction.
 
For filing small metal parts, you'll need a fine tooth file, otherwise it will "catch" if there are only one or two teeth cutting.  I find that the diamond coated files work well for these situations - they are more like sandpaper than files.  Inexpensive sets can be found that will last long time unless you want to work in hard metals.

In general, all files work for metal or wood.  However, very coarse files, such as rasps, are not useful for metal because if the bit at all they would require a lot of force to push.  Rasps, are used for removing a lot of wood fast, but the surface will be rough, as in relatively deep gouges, or badly torn up is cutting across the grain.  
 
Very fine toothed files tend to clog up when cutting soft metals such as brass and aluminum: an old trick is to rub some chalk into the file before working.  It also helps to reduce friction.
 
For filing small metal parts, you'll need a fine tooth file, otherwise it will "catch" if there are only one or two teeth cutting.  I find that the diamond coated files work well for these situations - they are more like sandpaper than files.  Inexpensive sets can be found that will last long time unless you want to work in hard metals.

In general, all files work for metal or wood.  However, very coarse files, such as rasps, are not useful for metal because if the bit at all they would require a lot of force to push.  Rasps, are used for removing a lot of wood fast, but the surface will be rough, as in relatively deep gouges, or badly torn up is cutting across the grain.  
 
Very fine toothed files tend to clog up when cutting soft metals such as brass and aluminum: an old trick is to rub some chalk into the file before working.  It also helps to reduce friction.
 
For filing small metal parts, you'll need a fine tooth file, otherwise it will "catch" if there are only one or two teeth cutting.  I find that the diamond coated files work well for these situations - they are more like sandpaper than files.  Inexpensive sets can be found that will last long time unless you want to work in hard metals.

Here's another point for your time history of the Wasp.  I found this in an excerpt of "Naval Adventures During 35 Years Service"   by Lt. W. Bowers, RN. ,Vol1. 1, pp 272-302, 1833, reprinted in "Every Man  will do his Duty",  by Dean King, Henry Holt & Co. 1997.  Pg 397
 
and the original can be found at:
https://books.google.ca/books?id=raZCAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA35&lpg=PA35&dq=Naval+Adventures+During+35+Years+Service&source=bl&ots=u18CL6y2pd&sig=_OMrHxcsRwkRG8NEG1lNLOifHIE&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj83aDc98_LAhUP8GMKHXdmC78Q6AEIHjAB#v=onepage&q=Naval%20Adventures%20During%2035%20Years%20Service&f=false
 
Wm Bowers, serving on the HMS Helicon on station off the Scilly Isles.   "About the beginning of July [1814] we received orders to proceed to the longitude of 12 deg West, to join our old consort the Reindeer; .... Approaching our ground, we fell in with the Achates, Captain Langhorn, and the following day discovered the wreck of a vessel's mast and rigging floating in the water.  ...on sending a boat to examine the wreck, the evidence afforded by the grape shot sticking in the mast, the marks and dimensions of the main cap, the sails and rigging, left no doubt of the Reindeer's fate.  The main mast appeared to been burnt off by the copper in the wake of the main boom.  Everything denoted that the strife had been sanguinary, and the catastrophe recent; whoever had been the antagonist, he had found tough work. ...At the end of the week, we returned to the spot, where we discovered the wreck of the fore-mast."
 
A footnote is provided:  
The following are the particulars of the action received from one of the survivors: "The enemy, (the Wasp, American corvette) was discovered on our lee bow about 10 AM [on June 28, 1814] standing toward us...."
 
The foot note continues to discuss the battle, the death of Capt. Manners and wounding most of the other officers.  Overall, 70 of 109 crew killed or wounded.  The "brig a perfect wreck, so as to be unmanageable, we were compelled to strike."
 
After reading the history of the Wasp on Wikipedia, I wonder how much damage accumulated during so many battles in a short time without the ability to to do a major refit.  The Wasp was larger than any of its opponents, but it is unlikely to get away unmarked.   For instance, the battle with Reindeer was against carronades at short range, so there must have been damage to the hull and perhaps the spars.  Could structural weakness have contributed to loose in a storm?

I suspect there was a manufacturing defect in the spring.  Is it still on warrantee?  
 
Keeping a spring loaded should not cause it to fail.  If that were a problem for spings, your car suspension would soon collapse.  The same applies to a bandsaw blade, which is basically spring steel bent over the wheels. The failure of springs and sawblades is repeated loading above a certain stress level that causes a fatigue crack.  In the case of bandsaws, the highest stress comes from bending over the wheel every time the blade goes around a wheel.  Actually, saw steel is very high strength, so you need an extremely high load to pull it apart in tension.   Assuming the steel was properly heat treated, and weld is properly annealed, the main reason for early failure is a defect/impurity in the steel or a scratch/knick on the surface which acts as a stress concentration.  

Get a copy of Lennarth Petersson's book "Rigging Period Fore-and-aft Craft"  He does not provide a scaled rigging plan for and English Cutter, but he shows an individual drawing for each rope, including blocks and fittings involved.  A belaying plan is provided.  
 
Here's another post to look at  http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/4855-cutter-rig/ for rig plan and spar proportions.

I suspect there was a manufacturing defect in the spring.  Is it still on warrantee?  
 
Keeping a spring loaded should not cause it to fail.  If that were a problem for spings, your car suspension would soon collapse.  The same applies to a bandsaw blade, which is basically spring steel bent over the wheels. The failure of springs and sawblades is repeated loading above a certain stress level that causes a fatigue crack.  In the case of bandsaws, the highest stress comes from bending over the wheel every time the blade goes around a wheel.  Actually, saw steel is very high strength, so you need an extremely high load to pull it apart in tension.   Assuming the steel was properly heat treated, and weld is properly annealed, the main reason for early failure is a defect/impurity in the steel or a scratch/knick on the surface which acts as a stress concentration.  

I suspect there was a manufacturing defect in the spring.  Is it still on warrantee?  
 
Keeping a spring loaded should not cause it to fail.  If that were a problem for spings, your car suspension would soon collapse.  The same applies to a bandsaw blade, which is basically spring steel bent over the wheels. The failure of springs and sawblades is repeated loading above a certain stress level that causes a fatigue crack.  In the case of bandsaws, the highest stress comes from bending over the wheel every time the blade goes around a wheel.  Actually, saw steel is very high strength, so you need an extremely high load to pull it apart in tension.   Assuming the steel was properly heat treated, and weld is properly annealed, the main reason for early failure is a defect/impurity in the steel or a scratch/knick on the surface which acts as a stress concentration.  

I suspect there was a manufacturing defect in the spring.  Is it still on warrantee?  
 
Keeping a spring loaded should not cause it to fail.  If that were a problem for spings, your car suspension would soon collapse.  The same applies to a bandsaw blade, which is basically spring steel bent over the wheels. The failure of springs and sawblades is repeated loading above a certain stress level that causes a fatigue crack.  In the case of bandsaws, the highest stress comes from bending over the wheel every time the blade goes around a wheel.  Actually, saw steel is very high strength, so you need an extremely high load to pull it apart in tension.   Assuming the steel was properly heat treated, and weld is properly annealed, the main reason for early failure is a defect/impurity in the steel or a scratch/knick on the surface which acts as a stress concentration.  

I'm wondering if the plank isn't tight against the bulkhead.  White glue (PVA) is quite viscous, so if the clamping pressure isn't high enough to squeeze out the glue then plank and bulkhead won't come together.   Other makes of glue, such as Titebond, are much thinner.  
 
I'm not sure of the chemistry of PVA glue, but I think you can water it down (only very little water is needed) to thin it out.
 
As a test, lay some strips on a flat surface at the distance of your bulkheads.  Then glue a few planks to the strips.  With some, apply the same clamping pressure as was used on the model, and on others, use a c-clamp or heavy weight.  
 
FYI, with white glue you should coat both surfaces, but you only need a transparent coat - just get the wood uniformly wet.  If you can't see the wood color through the glue, you've put on too much.   For furniture making, the thinner the glue line, the stronger the joint.  It also means there is less squeeze-out glue to clean up.

I'm wondering if the plank isn't tight against the bulkhead.  White glue (PVA) is quite viscous, so if the clamping pressure isn't high enough to squeeze out the glue then plank and bulkhead won't come together.   Other makes of glue, such as Titebond, are much thinner.  
 
I'm not sure of the chemistry of PVA glue, but I think you can water it down (only very little water is needed) to thin it out.
 
As a test, lay some strips on a flat surface at the distance of your bulkheads.  Then glue a few planks to the strips.  With some, apply the same clamping pressure as was used on the model, and on others, use a c-clamp or heavy weight.  
 
FYI, with white glue you should coat both surfaces, but you only need a transparent coat - just get the wood uniformly wet.  If you can't see the wood color through the glue, you've put on too much.   For furniture making, the thinner the glue line, the stronger the joint.  It also means there is less squeeze-out glue to clean up.

I'm wondering if the plank isn't tight against the bulkhead.  White glue (PVA) is quite viscous, so if the clamping pressure isn't high enough to squeeze out the glue then plank and bulkhead won't come together.   Other makes of glue, such as Titebond, are much thinner.  
 
I'm not sure of the chemistry of PVA glue, but I think you can water it down (only very little water is needed) to thin it out.
 
As a test, lay some strips on a flat surface at the distance of your bulkheads.  Then glue a few planks to the strips.  With some, apply the same clamping pressure as was used on the model, and on others, use a c-clamp or heavy weight.  
 
FYI, with white glue you should coat both surfaces, but you only need a transparent coat - just get the wood uniformly wet.  If you can't see the wood color through the glue, you've put on too much.   For furniture making, the thinner the glue line, the stronger the joint.  It also means there is less squeeze-out glue to clean up.

I'm wondering if the plank isn't tight against the bulkhead.  White glue (PVA) is quite viscous, so if the clamping pressure isn't high enough to squeeze out the glue then plank and bulkhead won't come together.   Other makes of glue, such as Titebond, are much thinner.  
 
I'm not sure of the chemistry of PVA glue, but I think you can water it down (only very little water is needed) to thin it out.
 
As a test, lay some strips on a flat surface at the distance of your bulkheads.  Then glue a few planks to the strips.  With some, apply the same clamping pressure as was used on the model, and on others, use a c-clamp or heavy weight.  
 
FYI, with white glue you should coat both surfaces, but you only need a transparent coat - just get the wood uniformly wet.  If you can't see the wood color through the glue, you've put on too much.   For furniture making, the thinner the glue line, the stronger the joint.  It also means there is less squeeze-out glue to clean up.

Greg,
 
Wood swells with moisture, but not that much.  It looks more like the planks do not have consistent thickness.   The eye can see a step of few thousandths of an inch if the lighting is right. 
 
Have you checked the thickness with a caliper or micrometer?

Greg,
 
Wood swells with moisture, but not that much.  It looks more like the planks do not have consistent thickness.   The eye can see a step of few thousandths of an inch if the lighting is right. 
 
Have you checked the thickness with a caliper or micrometer?

Here's another thread on softening/hardening brass
 
http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/11363-re-hardening-brass/

Greg,
 
Wood swells with moisture, but not that much.  It looks more like the planks do not have consistent thickness.   The eye can see a step of few thousandths of an inch if the lighting is right. 
 
Have you checked the thickness with a caliper or micrometer?

Greg,
 
Wood swells with moisture, but not that much.  It looks more like the planks do not have consistent thickness.   The eye can see a step of few thousandths of an inch if the lighting is right. 
 
Have you checked the thickness with a caliper or micrometer?

Here's another thread on softening/hardening brass
 
http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/11363-re-hardening-brass/

Mike,
 
You can make wider planks by edge gluing narrow planks.  It may look strange if you're not painting or coppering.  
 
If you use steam or hot water for making the planks pliable for bending, check whether the glue will hold up.  I use heat from a modified soldering iron for bending.  Fish glue stands the heat well.

Mike,
 
You can make wider planks by edge gluing narrow planks.  It may look strange if you're not painting or coppering.  
 
If you use steam or hot water for making the planks pliable for bending, check whether the glue will hold up.  I use heat from a modified soldering iron for bending.  Fish glue stands the heat well.

Mike,
 
You can make wider planks by edge gluing narrow planks.  It may look strange if you're not painting or coppering.  
 
If you use steam or hot water for making the planks pliable for bending, check whether the glue will hold up.  I use heat from a modified soldering iron for bending.  Fish glue stands the heat well.

Get a copy of Lennarth Petersson's book "Rigging Period Fore-and-aft Craft"  He does not provide a scaled rigging plan for and English Cutter, but he shows an individual drawing for each rope, including blocks and fittings involved.  A belaying plan is provided.  
 
Here's another post to look at  http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/4855-cutter-rig/ for rig plan and spar proportions.

Get a copy of Lennarth Petersson's book "Rigging Period Fore-and-aft Craft"  He does not provide a scaled rigging plan for and English Cutter, but he shows an individual drawing for each rope, including blocks and fittings involved.  A belaying plan is provided.  
 
Here's another post to look at  http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/4855-cutter-rig/ for rig plan and spar proportions.