lehmann

This principle of this knife is the "slicing effect".  The most common example is cutting a tomato - if you push the knife straight in, it won't cut, but if you add a movement to the knife 90 degrees to the direction you want to go (add a slicing action), then the cutting forces are greatly reduced.  The amount that the forces are reduced depends on the speed of the slicing movement relative to the pushing speed.  The faster the knife moves, the lower the forces.   The effect has nothing to do with the material properties, it's just geometry in that the slicing movement reduces the sharpness angle of the knife, as seen by the material being cut.
 
There is a limit to how much the slicing speed will reduce the forces because there is friction and  for an oscillating knife, which has to stop at both ends of the stroke so the full forces are needed to push the knife forward.  The quoted 40,000 rpm is probably way more than needed.  
 
If you want to try a home-made version, attach a knife to the working end of a beard trimmer, electric hair clipper or an electric engraver.  I suspect one of the main design problems with the Wonder-cutter is balancing it to avoid the fingers going numb and to provide better control.   I've made a bigger version using a sharpened scraper on an oscillating multi-tool (Fein, for example).  I was able to slice off 1/8 inch thick pieces with a roughly 80% reduction in cutting force.

This principle of this knife is the "slicing effect".  The most common example is cutting a tomato - if you push the knife straight in, it won't cut, but if you add a movement to the knife 90 degrees to the direction you want to go (add a slicing action), then the cutting forces are greatly reduced.  The amount that the forces are reduced depends on the speed of the slicing movement relative to the pushing speed.  The faster the knife moves, the lower the forces.   The effect has nothing to do with the material properties, it's just geometry in that the slicing movement reduces the sharpness angle of the knife, as seen by the material being cut.
 
There is a limit to how much the slicing speed will reduce the forces because there is friction and  for an oscillating knife, which has to stop at both ends of the stroke so the full forces are needed to push the knife forward.  The quoted 40,000 rpm is probably way more than needed.  
 
If you want to try a home-made version, attach a knife to the working end of a beard trimmer, electric hair clipper or an electric engraver.  I suspect one of the main design problems with the Wonder-cutter is balancing it to avoid the fingers going numb and to provide better control.   I've made a bigger version using a sharpened scraper on an oscillating multi-tool (Fein, for example).  I was able to slice off 1/8 inch thick pieces with a roughly 80% reduction in cutting force.

The above advice to use professional drafting compasses is the best option. 
Best compass I own:  Made my living with it many years back and still use it. 
Made by Staedtler, but I don't see anything similar on their web page.  A few on eBay though. 
The double start thread allows fast adjustments by just pulling on the arms, but the thread is fine enough for accurate setting.  The ferule on the nut jams it tight, stopping any movement.  

The above advice to use professional drafting compasses is the best option. 
Best compass I own:  Made my living with it many years back and still use it. 
Made by Staedtler, but I don't see anything similar on their web page.  A few on eBay though. 
The double start thread allows fast adjustments by just pulling on the arms, but the thread is fine enough for accurate setting.  The ferule on the nut jams it tight, stopping any movement.  

The above advice to use professional drafting compasses is the best option. 
Best compass I own:  Made my living with it many years back and still use it. 
Made by Staedtler, but I don't see anything similar on their web page.  A few on eBay though. 
The double start thread allows fast adjustments by just pulling on the arms, but the thread is fine enough for accurate setting.  The ferule on the nut jams it tight, stopping any movement.  

The above advice to use professional drafting compasses is the best option. 
Best compass I own:  Made my living with it many years back and still use it. 
Made by Staedtler, but I don't see anything similar on their web page.  A few on eBay though. 
The double start thread allows fast adjustments by just pulling on the arms, but the thread is fine enough for accurate setting.  The ferule on the nut jams it tight, stopping any movement.  

The above advice to use professional drafting compasses is the best option. 
Best compass I own:  Made my living with it many years back and still use it. 
Made by Staedtler, but I don't see anything similar on their web page.  A few on eBay though. 
The double start thread allows fast adjustments by just pulling on the arms, but the thread is fine enough for accurate setting.  The ferule on the nut jams it tight, stopping any movement.  

The above advice to use professional drafting compasses is the best option. 
Best compass I own:  Made my living with it many years back and still use it. 
Made by Staedtler, but I don't see anything similar on their web page.  A few on eBay though. 
The double start thread allows fast adjustments by just pulling on the arms, but the thread is fine enough for accurate setting.  The ferule on the nut jams it tight, stopping any movement.  

These heat benders are nothing more than a standard 30 or 40 watt soldering iron with the tip cut off and a brass disk pressed on to the end.  Actually, the soldering tip could be left on.  Very simple to make and even simpler if the the soldering iron can hold different tips, as with the Weller models.   I also have a wood burning iron that takes different screw-on tips:  it wouldn't be difficult to make a large tip.
 
  

These heat benders are nothing more than a standard 30 or 40 watt soldering iron with the tip cut off and a brass disk pressed on to the end.  Actually, the soldering tip could be left on.  Very simple to make and even simpler if the the soldering iron can hold different tips, as with the Weller models.   I also have a wood burning iron that takes different screw-on tips:  it wouldn't be difficult to make a large tip.
 
  

These heat benders are nothing more than a standard 30 or 40 watt soldering iron with the tip cut off and a brass disk pressed on to the end.  Actually, the soldering tip could be left on.  Very simple to make and even simpler if the the soldering iron can hold different tips, as with the Weller models.   I also have a wood burning iron that takes different screw-on tips:  it wouldn't be difficult to make a large tip.
 
  

Just for interest, on a scaled basis:  $0.20 fitting at 1:96 scale  ->  1:1 price would be $0.20 x 96 x 96 x 96 = $177,000.  

Several years ago I built a sound reducing box for a compressor to be used at trade shows.  I used the best rated sound absorbing rigid foam and batting I could find, but the main way sound escapes is through vents needed to feed air to the compressor (with a vacuum, the air has to get out) and other cracks.   I ended up building a box with a double bottom so that the sound had to go through a bit of a zig-zag maze, somewhat like a Dorade vent.  The double bottom also reduced the transmission of mechanical vibration.   The maze was filled with batting, and the air inlet, made up of many small holes, faced the floor.  Other than those holes, the box was sealed.  Fortunately, for this application, the compressor didn't run often, so I didn't have to worry about heat from the compressor.  Since a vacuum doesn't generate much heat, this shouldn't be a problem.
 
Avoid large, flat panels, unless they are very rigid.  If it vibrates, it is basically a large surface to excite the air, just like the sound board of a guitar.
Use foam, especially egg-crate foam, or batting on the inside surfaces to absorb (damp) sound and avoid reflections off of hard surfaces.  To some extent, a soft covering on the outside panels also helps to deaden sound.   That's one of the reasons the inside of cars are carpeted or are covered with a hard foam (the other reason being to reduce injury in a crash).
 
As a last though, I wonder if putting a long hose on the air exit of the vacuum would help to contain the noise.
 
 
 

Several years ago I built a sound reducing box for a compressor to be used at trade shows.  I used the best rated sound absorbing rigid foam and batting I could find, but the main way sound escapes is through vents needed to feed air to the compressor (with a vacuum, the air has to get out) and other cracks.   I ended up building a box with a double bottom so that the sound had to go through a bit of a zig-zag maze, somewhat like a Dorade vent.  The double bottom also reduced the transmission of mechanical vibration.   The maze was filled with batting, and the air inlet, made up of many small holes, faced the floor.  Other than those holes, the box was sealed.  Fortunately, for this application, the compressor didn't run often, so I didn't have to worry about heat from the compressor.  Since a vacuum doesn't generate much heat, this shouldn't be a problem.
 
Avoid large, flat panels, unless they are very rigid.  If it vibrates, it is basically a large surface to excite the air, just like the sound board of a guitar.
Use foam, especially egg-crate foam, or batting on the inside surfaces to absorb (damp) sound and avoid reflections off of hard surfaces.  To some extent, a soft covering on the outside panels also helps to deaden sound.   That's one of the reasons the inside of cars are carpeted or are covered with a hard foam (the other reason being to reduce injury in a crash).
 
As a last though, I wonder if putting a long hose on the air exit of the vacuum would help to contain the noise.
 
 
 

Several years ago I built a sound reducing box for a compressor to be used at trade shows.  I used the best rated sound absorbing rigid foam and batting I could find, but the main way sound escapes is through vents needed to feed air to the compressor (with a vacuum, the air has to get out) and other cracks.   I ended up building a box with a double bottom so that the sound had to go through a bit of a zig-zag maze, somewhat like a Dorade vent.  The double bottom also reduced the transmission of mechanical vibration.   The maze was filled with batting, and the air inlet, made up of many small holes, faced the floor.  Other than those holes, the box was sealed.  Fortunately, for this application, the compressor didn't run often, so I didn't have to worry about heat from the compressor.  Since a vacuum doesn't generate much heat, this shouldn't be a problem.
 
Avoid large, flat panels, unless they are very rigid.  If it vibrates, it is basically a large surface to excite the air, just like the sound board of a guitar.
Use foam, especially egg-crate foam, or batting on the inside surfaces to absorb (damp) sound and avoid reflections off of hard surfaces.  To some extent, a soft covering on the outside panels also helps to deaden sound.   That's one of the reasons the inside of cars are carpeted or are covered with a hard foam (the other reason being to reduce injury in a crash).
 
As a last though, I wonder if putting a long hose on the air exit of the vacuum would help to contain the noise.
 
 
 

Grizzly tools has a small oscillating sander for hand or bench use.   I was thinking of making a thickness sander with it.  Seems to be well made (not a toy).  Reasonable price and doesn't take up much space.
 
Grizzly Tools;Oscillating-Spindle-Sander/T27961

Grizzly tools has a small oscillating sander for hand or bench use.   I was thinking of making a thickness sander with it.  Seems to be well made (not a toy).  Reasonable price and doesn't take up much space.
 
Grizzly Tools;Oscillating-Spindle-Sander/T27961

Grizzly tools has a small oscillating sander for hand or bench use.   I was thinking of making a thickness sander with it.  Seems to be well made (not a toy).  Reasonable price and doesn't take up much space.
 
Grizzly Tools;Oscillating-Spindle-Sander/T27961

You definitely need to straighten the hull before adding stringers or clamps.  Adding them as is would lock in the shape.  
 
Since the frames are still above the shear line, you can put,  on the outside of the frames, a heavy temporary pre-bent strake, or a sawn mold.  As Druxey suggested, another possibility is to build external "shoring", something like is done in a dry-dock. The external support would bend the hull back, but still give you access to the inside.  
 
Good luck.

You definitely need to straighten the hull before adding stringers or clamps.  Adding them as is would lock in the shape.  
 
Since the frames are still above the shear line, you can put,  on the outside of the frames, a heavy temporary pre-bent strake, or a sawn mold.  As Druxey suggested, another possibility is to build external "shoring", something like is done in a dry-dock. The external support would bend the hull back, but still give you access to the inside.  
 
Good luck.

I was planning to make a set of wooded calipers/height gauge following Ed Tosti's design.  However, I was at a local tool store that had metal squares on sale for $6 and I got the idea to use two of these to make the calipers. The result is shown in the attached pictures.  Very solid, perfectly square (after a little tweaking), it has a built-in ruler, and I got an second ruler out of it.   
While I did file a sharp point to the end of the caliper, the metal is pretty soft (aluminum or zinc).  If I need to do serious scribing, I'll attach a small knife.

I was planning to make a set of wooded calipers/height gauge following Ed Tosti's design.  However, I was at a local tool store that had metal squares on sale for $6 and I got the idea to use two of these to make the calipers. The result is shown in the attached pictures.  Very solid, perfectly square (after a little tweaking), it has a built-in ruler, and I got an second ruler out of it.   
While I did file a sharp point to the end of the caliper, the metal is pretty soft (aluminum or zinc).  If I need to do serious scribing, I'll attach a small knife.

I like the belt type sanding sticks.  For instance, Lee Valley sanding stick.  MicroMark also sells them.  Belts are a little pricey, but I find that I mostly use the tip, so I just keep moving the belt.  They are rigid, easy to control, have a fairy find end to get into tight areas and they are narrow enough to see what you're working on.  I use them for tapering and beveling planks - I don't even try to use a plane or knife.

I like the belt type sanding sticks.  For instance, Lee Valley sanding stick.  MicroMark also sells them.  Belts are a little pricey, but I find that I mostly use the tip, so I just keep moving the belt.  They are rigid, easy to control, have a fairy find end to get into tight areas and they are narrow enough to see what you're working on.  I use them for tapering and beveling planks - I don't even try to use a plane or knife.

Yellow cedar is actually a cypress (Chamaecyparis nootkatensis).  However, while cypress is usually associated with shrubs, yellow cedar trees can be huge.  
 
http://vancouverislandbigtrees.blogspot.ca/2013/05/worlds-largest-yellow-cedars.html
 
You could probably build a model out of one branch.  (There's a few growing down the street and I keep my eye open after wind storms)
 
These trees can produce large clear timbers and boards.  It's also hard and rot resistant.  As a result it is a very good material for ship building, especially planking.    
 
I've done carving in yellow cedar and it is hard and fine grained, so it holds details very well, and has no pores, as hardwoods have.   Fairly uniform in color, but may get mineral streaks. It is dense, similar to black walnut, so expect your finger tips to get sore when carving.  The grain is generally straight, but can get some swirling.  Can have a quite pungent smell, as are most cypresses and junipers  (Tennessee red cedar is actually a juniper).  
 
Overall, a yellow cedar should be a very good wood for model shipbuilding.  Actually, it's the only wood I've seen that can be used on full size and well as model ships.  Many years ago I stored away a large box of yellow cedar cuttings, and some 2x4's that showed up in a load of Douglas fir boards, with the intention of using it for a plank on frame model.  If I need more, a few local sawmills cut it and it is stocked locally.  Prices for good grade boards are similar to hardwoods, such as red oak.