lehmann

John
 
I'm not sure that a power carver will make you a better carver.  
 
I have a Ryobi DC500.   I haven't used it for fine work - mostly for hogging material so far, but now I'm curious to see how it works for fine work.  I hear it's discontinued, but I see several on eBay for around $100.  
 
The Arbortech looks like it was designed for building log houses or carving grizzly bears out of a stump.
 
Another option, if you have the Foredom rotary shaft tools - they have a power chisel hand-piece H50 - $80, including six chisels.  ($56 on eBay - how does that work?)
 
On the topic of chisels, it looks like there is a standard for the tangs and how they fit into the hand-piece.  I've heard that FlexCut makes an after-market set with quality steel.

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?

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?

Maybe I'm just romantic, but what ever happened to prison hulks?  

Maybe I'm just romantic, but what ever happened to prison hulks?  

The book Specialize Joinery, by  Corkhill and Duckworth ( http://woodcentral.com/books/specialized_joinery.shtml)  has a section on ship's carpentry that shows a construction detail of a sliding door similar to the picture.   Based on the design, I doubt the door is water tight, and unlikely to be totally wind-tight either, but would be good for keeping spray out of a deck house. The book authors note that sliding doors are better than hinged doors as they do not bet caught by the wind and are less likely to hit things (people) or be hit.
 
I have a copy of the book.  It was formerly available from Lee Valley, but is not in their current catalog.  This is a reprint from the 1920's so there may be scanned copies of the original somewhere on-line.  Amazon and Abe Books have listings.
 
 
 

Maybe I'm just romantic, but what ever happened to prison hulks?  

Maybe I'm just romantic, but what ever happened to prison hulks?  

Matt,
 
I also have a large mill, (clone of a Bridgeport knee mill) with digital readouts.  I also use it for wood, mainly as a overhead router when I don't want to make a router template.  For small work, I'm contemplating building a mount for a rotary tool (Dremel, Proxon, die-grinder, etc) so I can use their high speed for small diameter cutters and engravers. Basically, I would build a plate with a split-hole for clamping to the quill and the rotary tool would be offset from the quill by 4 or 6 inches.  

Matt,
 
I also have a large mill, (clone of a Bridgeport knee mill) with digital readouts.  I also use it for wood, mainly as a overhead router when I don't want to make a router template.  For small work, I'm contemplating building a mount for a rotary tool (Dremel, Proxon, die-grinder, etc) so I can use their high speed for small diameter cutters and engravers. Basically, I would build a plate with a split-hole for clamping to the quill and the rotary tool would be offset from the quill by 4 or 6 inches.  

I've been playing with the free version of DelftShip (www.delftship.net) for creating hull designs.  I've done quite a few designs by hand but I've never been able to see how I could create a faired hull with 2D CAD: it would be too cumbersome.  
 
As an test, I created a model of a 30 m "frigate".  Although I didn't use all the tools for fairing the lines, it only took my about three hours to create this design.  I found the tools for pushing and pulling the hull into shape reasonable intuitive.
 
I've attached some of the output files:
Lines drawing Table of waterline offsets (program can also output a point-cloud file) Hydrostatic data Resistance data - it looks like the hull speed is about 9 knots.  Perspective renderings The program can also use a table of offsets to create a model.
 
I didn't add decks, wales or ports, but the program is capable of this.  I did manage to add the keel, masts and a bowsprit, however. 
 
I'm not sure the ship modeller will find this too useful, but there is an interesting feature for laying out the panels of the develop-able surfaces for chine boats. 
 
Those who research hull design, especially how it affects speed, cargo and armament capacity, and perhaps seaworthiness, could find it useful.  I wonder how Chapelle's "Search for Speed Under Sail" would have benefited from being able to quickly do resistance analyses.
 
If anyone wants the Delftship project file, please contact me: this forum won't all me to attach it.  
FrigateResistance.pdf
FrigateHydroStatics2.pdf
FrigateHydroStatics.pdf
FrigatePerspective1.pdf
FrigatePerspective2.pdf
FrigateOffsets.txt
FrigateLines.pdf

I'll add an observation or three:  
 
An 18th Century model of the Victory does not show these features, nor does it include the swivel guns.  From an on-line search of how the Victory is currently configured, it is as in the model: there are hammock-nettings above the rail.
 
http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/66473.html
 
http://www.hms-victory.com/things-to-see/quarter-deck
 
The "feature" appears to have an opening at the top, which implies that this is an opening for a rope.   
 
There are four of these, and the three swivel guns are between them.  Could they be cleats for securing the guns - there should be something to keep them from spinning.  However, I wouldn't think something that big would be needed.
 
I had look through McGowan's book on the Victory.  It shows the Turner drawing (pg 26) and a note that it is inaccurate in that Turner drew rope wooldings on the mizzen mast, but it is know that steel bands were put on in 1803.  Also, when I look at the fore and aft sails (pg 156) it looks like the mizzen stay sail is sheeted on the end of the poop deck.  The sheet tackle is shown in a bit more detail on page 188.  I assume that McGowan's drawings are for how the Victory is currently configured, so may have been different in 1805.  One final though, is there a possibility that the stay sail sheet tackle and the swivel guns would have interfered with each other, and the mystery feature is a method to avoid that?  
 
I've also looked in McKay's and Longridges's books, as well as a Google search, and I didn't see anything about swivel guns.  The swivel guns, however, also show up in West's 1806 painting of the Death of Nelson.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Death_of_Nelson_(West_painting). Some details in this painting are known to be inaccurate: some people shown were not actually there.   I couldn't determine if West visited the Victory, or whether he had access to Turner's drawings.  There are other paintings that show the railing, some with the buckets in front of the rail.
 
It appears that Turner's drawing and West's painting are the only places the swivel guns show up.  Also, the only place the mystery feature shows up is in Turner's drawing.  This implies that two are possibly linked.  An alternative is that Turner drew in the swivel guns based on the configuration of another ship.  Are there any records of swivels being added or removed?
 
Lastly, in Turner's painting, the railing has been "removed".  Is this from battle damage, which wouldn't be consistent with Turner's sketch, or did Turner just remove the railing so there would be an unobstructed view of Nelson?  I think he may have also "removed" the mizzen mast.
 
Have I helped, or just added confusion?

I'll add an observation or three:  
 
An 18th Century model of the Victory does not show these features, nor does it include the swivel guns.  From an on-line search of how the Victory is currently configured, it is as in the model: there are hammock-nettings above the rail.
 
http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/66473.html
 
http://www.hms-victory.com/things-to-see/quarter-deck
 
The "feature" appears to have an opening at the top, which implies that this is an opening for a rope.   
 
There are four of these, and the three swivel guns are between them.  Could they be cleats for securing the guns - there should be something to keep them from spinning.  However, I wouldn't think something that big would be needed.
 
I had look through McGowan's book on the Victory.  It shows the Turner drawing (pg 26) and a note that it is inaccurate in that Turner drew rope wooldings on the mizzen mast, but it is know that steel bands were put on in 1803.  Also, when I look at the fore and aft sails (pg 156) it looks like the mizzen stay sail is sheeted on the end of the poop deck.  The sheet tackle is shown in a bit more detail on page 188.  I assume that McGowan's drawings are for how the Victory is currently configured, so may have been different in 1805.  One final though, is there a possibility that the stay sail sheet tackle and the swivel guns would have interfered with each other, and the mystery feature is a method to avoid that?  
 
I've also looked in McKay's and Longridges's books, as well as a Google search, and I didn't see anything about swivel guns.  The swivel guns, however, also show up in West's 1806 painting of the Death of Nelson.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Death_of_Nelson_(West_painting). Some details in this painting are known to be inaccurate: some people shown were not actually there.   I couldn't determine if West visited the Victory, or whether he had access to Turner's drawings.  There are other paintings that show the railing, some with the buckets in front of the rail.
 
It appears that Turner's drawing and West's painting are the only places the swivel guns show up.  Also, the only place the mystery feature shows up is in Turner's drawing.  This implies that two are possibly linked.  An alternative is that Turner drew in the swivel guns based on the configuration of another ship.  Are there any records of swivels being added or removed?
 
Lastly, in Turner's painting, the railing has been "removed".  Is this from battle damage, which wouldn't be consistent with Turner's sketch, or did Turner just remove the railing so there would be an unobstructed view of Nelson?  I think he may have also "removed" the mizzen mast.
 
Have I helped, or just added confusion?

As a follow-up on my comments about dull tools, the attached picture clearly shows the reflection of the rounded edge of this very dull carbide saw tip.  For a "nearly sharp" tool there will still be a line, but it will be much narrower and can only be seen if the angle of the light is just right and maybe only through a jeweler's loop.
 

Kurt,
Small work requires small SHARP tools. Chisels generally refer to carpentry, cabinet making or sculpting, which are all meant for working larger pieces. Micro-carving tools are available, but they aren't useful for model ship joinery. I recommend using the common Exacto or scalple knives. Straight "chisel"shapes as well as gouges are available that are inexpensive but they are sharp.
 
Small joinery is mainly done with something like a # 11 Knife guided by a steel straight edge, otherwise the knife follows the grain too easily. Like all joinery, make the cut surface square to the main surface, otherwise the joint will have a gap. If you can't do this with a knife, use a sanding stick or a file.
 
As others have mentioned, sharpening is a good skill to develop. For Exacto and scalples I use a 1000 grit stone followed by a leather strop. Even if you throw away the blade, you need to determine when the edge is dull. A dull edge is round, and if the light is at the right angle, you can see a line of light reflecting off the rounded edge. Another method for testing sharpness is to try slicing the edge of a piece of paper. A sharp edge will slice of a 1/16 strip: a dull edge will not cut or plow.

As a follow-up on my comments about dull tools, the attached picture clearly shows the reflection of the rounded edge of this very dull carbide saw tip.  For a "nearly sharp" tool there will still be a line, but it will be much narrower and can only be seen if the angle of the light is just right and maybe only through a jeweler's loop.
 

As a follow-up on my comments about dull tools, the attached picture clearly shows the reflection of the rounded edge of this very dull carbide saw tip.  For a "nearly sharp" tool there will still be a line, but it will be much narrower and can only be seen if the angle of the light is just right and maybe only through a jeweler's loop.
 

Kurt,
Small work requires small SHARP tools. Chisels generally refer to carpentry, cabinet making or sculpting, which are all meant for working larger pieces. Micro-carving tools are available, but they aren't useful for model ship joinery. I recommend using the common Exacto or scalple knives. Straight "chisel"shapes as well as gouges are available that are inexpensive but they are sharp.
 
Small joinery is mainly done with something like a # 11 Knife guided by a steel straight edge, otherwise the knife follows the grain too easily. Like all joinery, make the cut surface square to the main surface, otherwise the joint will have a gap. If you can't do this with a knife, use a sanding stick or a file.
 
As others have mentioned, sharpening is a good skill to develop. For Exacto and scalples I use a 1000 grit stone followed by a leather strop. Even if you throw away the blade, you need to determine when the edge is dull. A dull edge is round, and if the light is at the right angle, you can see a line of light reflecting off the rounded edge. Another method for testing sharpness is to try slicing the edge of a piece of paper. A sharp edge will slice of a 1/16 strip: a dull edge will not cut or plow.

Kurt,
Small work requires small SHARP tools. Chisels generally refer to carpentry, cabinet making or sculpting, which are all meant for working larger pieces. Micro-carving tools are available, but they aren't useful for model ship joinery. I recommend using the common Exacto or scalple knives. Straight "chisel"shapes as well as gouges are available that are inexpensive but they are sharp.
 
Small joinery is mainly done with something like a # 11 Knife guided by a steel straight edge, otherwise the knife follows the grain too easily. Like all joinery, make the cut surface square to the main surface, otherwise the joint will have a gap. If you can't do this with a knife, use a sanding stick or a file.
 
As others have mentioned, sharpening is a good skill to develop. For Exacto and scalples I use a 1000 grit stone followed by a leather strop. Even if you throw away the blade, you need to determine when the edge is dull. A dull edge is round, and if the light is at the right angle, you can see a line of light reflecting off the rounded edge. Another method for testing sharpness is to try slicing the edge of a piece of paper. A sharp edge will slice of a 1/16 strip: a dull edge will not cut or plow.

At one time, not so far back, "calculator" was not a device, but a profession.

At one time, not so far back, "calculator" was not a device, but a profession.

At one time, not so far back, "calculator" was not a device, but a profession.