Johnny Mike

Jan Attached is a screen shot of my PC. I do an Auto cad or Solid works drawing of some components on my builds. I do this so I can capture more detail than is on the original plan. Doing this on a 1/1 build scale is very helpful. I also use the 3D STL files to 3D print parts if needed. I did this with the turnstile ladders and some hatch covers. I found a wood infused filament that is very authentic looking. I want to understand the taper you described. In the lower left, in blue, is the basic shape of the Batavia main mast. The top one is straight sided as I have now and the lower one is the taper I believe you describe. Is that correct? Thanks again for your input.

Thanks to all. This is exactly what I was interested to see. I review the pictures occasionally and seem to see new ideas every time I do. Thank you for inviting me into your work area.

Jan Thanks for the information. I wish I had someone to translate Kettnigs book into English. I refer to this book often. His book has a lot of detailed info. And yes the mast head is quite a work of art. My plan is to shape the head piece separately to get it proportioned then position it on top of the tapered mast with a pin and glue. A tight joint should make it look like one piece. I may do the same for the spars. I built the Prins Willem a few years ago and followed your build. It was very informative. I am now building the Batavia. The Kolderstok plans are quite accurate. YT Great idea. I have an Enco lathe. I can fashion a sanding block and bolt it to the tool holder to sand tapers. Have the block pivot to change angles for all small arms.

I will keep that in mind as I go to smaller yard arms. The spacer is a good idea also. I found using 80 grit works well to get good stock removal on larger diameters and using 120 grit on small diameters gives finer control.

Dr PR In theory you are correct but in reality you can use the whole wheel. I started out with a short taper and needed a little longer one, gave it a try and it worked. Working the dowel back and forth gently past center smoothed everything out perfectly. I was a bit skeptical at first but found a perfectly consistent taper, 8 inches on a 9 inch wheel. This may not work for every one but it did for me. I started building tall wooden ships at 16, I am now 77 .My advice to younger builders is "You don't know what you can't do until you can't do it". My builds are usually Dutch East India Company ships so my masts and arms have single tapers from the research I have done. I have a few books on Dutch ship building from the VOC period illustrating masts and arms in detail. The book 'Prins Willem' by Herman Ketting goes into detail about this subject and shows a single taper as does A B Hoving's books. I had the privilege of traveling to the Netherlands a few times visiting the Maritime Museum, the Reichmuseum and the Bataviawerf, having a chance to visit a few recreations of Dutch ships and meet the historians giving the tours. One thing that is most interesting to me is the construction details at the time the original ships were built. I was told some exact detailed are not known because records have not survived. So we may really not know all the exact details of how ships of this period are built.

The first taper I did was 8" long. I use the complete wheel face. I just did a 5 mm yard arm. I put piece sheet of thin wood on the table up against the wheel so no gap. Of coarse everything has limitation.

Thanks for all the comments. To answer a few questions. The block I was using is just a start to try. More defining will be done. I think this is even simpler and better than you might think and if you try it you will see how easy it is to get really professional results. Attached is a picture with two scales. If you measure the gap between the block and wheel you can set up for the exact finished diameter and it exact every time. It is easy to change angles by simply repositioning the block. It is east to repeat angles and for yard arms both ends are exactly the same. For pros this may be easy but a novice like me has a difficult time getting matching angles sometimes, and it is time consuming. Another picture shows the mast in the sanding position. I thought I might have a feed problem doing it by hand while turning the mast but it was surprisingly easy and was no problem. You just have to be firm and steady with your grip and feed and have the sanding disk do the work. Don't force it. I was thinking I might have to add something to help turn the mast while I fed but found I did not need to. The first mast I ever tried is in the picture and did 3 more yesterday. All are spot on. I found it best to use 80 grit paper. That sounds aggressive but needed to get the job done. It is easy to use 220 by hand to finish.

All the information I have seen on tapering dowels for masts and arms is by a lot of hand sanding or turning. I have done it this way myself and it was time consuming and I had to guess at the taper for continuity. And being a novice it was difficult to get matching results. I tried something that works to get a consistent taper quick and easy. I took my disc sander and clamped on a guide to the angle I wanted and simply hand fed the dowel in while rotating it by hand. I had a perfect taper from 12mm diameter to 9mm in diameter in 8". Exactly what I wanted in just a few minutes. Maybe this is common practice for the expert builders but being a novice builder is was an amazing discovery for me.

To E Sounds like you have me beat with bad luck. I agree the brain is rebuilding but it is slow and you have to force it to work. I continue to improve even after three years. I plan to continue to build ships and encourage you to do so the same.

Thanks everyone. I like to see what others are using and especially the tools they use and the layout. Very informative.

Thanks I will check it out. When I turned 62 I felt like retiring because I and enough and was not happy in my job. I realized it was not the work but the work environment. One day I quit the job I had working in the same industry my entire life. I did not know what was next because I really did not have a plan. To make a long story short an acquaintance said ' lets build machinery together'. I thought what the heck. That was 15 years ago and we have built over 50 unique steel tube scarfing machines that improve operator safety. We have had a great time. The last 15 years have been the best in my life. I have created a steady income stream for my wife and I and truly secured out future. I guess my point is I agree with you. And you never know. My life sure did not go as I thought it would.

Thanks so much. I really like sharing ideas. keep them coming. I have some new ideas to think about already.

Maybe I am just missing something but I am interest in other builders work areas. I can get many tips just looking at others work areas. I am a solitary builder and don't belong to any associations to share information. The only contact about my hobby of model ship building is from Model Ship World and an occasional vendor or web search. Which is fine with me. I know there is a spot to put specific information on tools and equipment. I would like to see a location to look at other builders work area. I am not interested in discussions about the best tools and what you should have but simple one or two pictures of the builders bench or work areas. No description needs to accompany the pictures just let me explore the pictures easily and quickly without searching all over for this basic information. I have found I can pick up many hidden gems buy just studying others. .

Not sure if it is right for your application but I build 16 and 17 century tall ships so almost everything is wood. I use Creality Wood filament PLA 1.75 because it is 30% wood. All the parts were printed on a very inexpensive Creality K1 printer. This is off the printer with no cleanup, sanding or touchup. The second picture is right off the printer so need to be cleaned up but I will leave the vertical lines in because has the look of sawed rough wood.

I agree with "W". I have had so much frustration with super glue I gave up a couple of times but finely hit on the same as "W". The tip is key but also the screw on cap. You can leave the tip on or unscrew and cap and the screw on cap seems to seal better than push on caps and does not get stuck on the bottle. I imagine Gorilla glue is good. I accidently ordered from Amazon and got this industrial glue produced in China but it is good stuff too and seems to last unchanged in viscosity and dry time and it is 2 oz.