Moxis

Very interesting topic again. I have many years used my 3 axis CNC router, but only for 2D and 2.5D tasks. To build fourth axis is very simple, and doesn't cost very much, but the threshold is to buy and learn to use some 3D cad program. So I would like to ask you guys, which CAD programs are you using with your routers?

Wonderful work William. Which wood did you use? And how did you make that big carving in the upmost center of the Victory stern? I would also like to see the tutorial of your work.

Very nice workshop Aviaamator. Enough light and space.

Yes, I agree. Maybe next summer.

Beautiful work Aviaamator! So you are building your models at your summer house during summer, and in winter apartment during winter. I suppose you have as hard winters there as we have. However the distance between us is not very long.

I would say that this topic is just in time for me, because I am nearing the phase of making carvings for my next project. I have today purchased a Marathon Micromotor unit with Contra Angle handpiece from ebay in order to use it for learning carving. I have no earlier experience at all of carving work, and thought to start practizing rather with a rotary tool than knives or chisels. So I am waiting very eagerly many tips and advice from those of you who have already practice of using this tool. It is a pity that the guru among you, Janos, has stopped writing here, because as far as I have notized, he is the best carver I ever have seen, and would have had a lot to give and teach us beginners.

Wonderful work Aviaamator! I really like your model and the way it is progressing. A couple of questions if you don't mind: - which wood are you using for hull planking and treenails? And what is the diameter of the treenails? - which cad program are you using to draw the carvings?

Wonderful engine Michael. Could you tell more about it? I used to build some small steam engines and love micro machining!

Interesting topic! For many years I have been using so called tooling board for my models. Mainly with car and tank models in the scale of 1/6. I have used the product called Sikablock, but there are many other trade names for this material too. The board is perfect material for sawing, sanding, turning, milling, etc. and can be glued & painted with ease. It behaves like wood, but doesn't have grain. Can be bought in many densities starting from almost foamlike to hardwood, and turning cannons or parts like that is no problem. I have often thought to build a complete ship model of this material, and after painting you couldn't say it is not made of wood.

It might be that you guys there have better (lower temperature melting) silver solder than we do in this part of the world. Some years ago the solder material including antimony (?) was banned here, and we only have solder available that melts in almost the same temperature as brass. This makes silver soldering very hard, because you very easily melt also the brass parts you are going to attach together. I have used both methods, and have noticed soft soldering to be much easier that that with high temperature silver, and I have never found any problems with disintegrating parts with my models when soft soldered properly.

First I would tie all the flanges tight around the tube through those holes using aluminium wire. Aluminium because it doesn't stick into parts when soldering. Then I would flux the joints and solder all at one go with soft solder, not silver. This because soft soldering doesn't need so much heat than silver soldering, and the part keeps better it's shape and is easier to clean after soldering. And yes, I would also use a micro torch, not soldering iron. There are micro torches available that use cigarette lighter gas as fuel. They are cheap and easy to use & refill.

Or you could draw your own texts for example with Coreldraw or any other artscript program, using their fonts or thousand others found in Internet, Resize the text and have somebody cut or carve it with laser from thin wood veneer, cardboard or thick paper. Paint the letters and glue into model.

I bought those Micro Mark clamps too. The problem with them was that the material used is very soft (some lead/tin alloy) , leaving dark marks into the planks. They also bend very easily under pressure. This is why I made my own clamps of 6 mm brass rod, which was knurled and a 2 mm hole drilled into one end. A 2x16 mm screw was epoxied to the hole. Pressure part was made of 2 mm plywood, and the clamp was ready and didn`t cost anything. No dark marks any more into the planks:

Very interesting method to produce frames Aviaamator. And looks to work good too. Why did you abandon the idea and returned back to using bulkheads?

Beautiful ship and great work Aviaamator! I wonder which wood are you using for hull and deck planking?

Hello Michael, No, I have not used the blade you linked, but I am sure it is as usable as the others made of HSS.

Hello Michael, You can do this with any of those blades, you don`t necessarily need those thin (0,3 or 0,4) blades. You have to adjust the rip fence of your saw very carefully so that the distance between the saw blade and rip fence is exactly 3 mm. Please see the enclosed picture where I cut 3 x 1 mm plank out of 5 x 1 mm strip with the 50 x 0,5 blade.

Hello Michael, Following please find the part numbers for all Knupfer blades which can be used directly with Proxxon saw (have 10 mm hole): 50 mm diameter, 0,3 mm thickness: w-krs-50-03-10 50 mm diameter, 0,4 mm thickness: w-krs-50-04-10 50 mm diameter, 0,5 mm thickness: w-krs-50-05-10 50 mm diameter, 1,0 mm thickness: w-krs-50-10-10 63 mm diameter, 0,5 mm thickness: w-krs-63-05-10 If you think, which blades to order, I suggest you take both the 50 mm diameter and 0,5 mm thickness, and 63 mm diameter and 0,5 mm thickness blades. The thinner blades (0,3 mm and 0,4 mm) are prone to bend a little when in use. And don`t worry Michael, you can contact Mr Knupfer in English language as well, he understands and speaks very good English.

Hello Michael, Yes, I have both 50 mm and 63 mm diameter blades with 10 mm hole from Knupfer and have made planks of birch and abache with those blades. Both work very nicely with Proxxon saw, and the quality of planks is super.

Knupfer Modellbau in Germany has suitable slitting saw blades for Proxxon. Very good blades, I have bought many during the last years: https://knupfer.info/shop/index.php/deutsch/werkzeug-kreissageblatter.html

Hello Aydin, Your project is proceeding nicely, you are making accurate work! I am sure your Riva will be a masterpiece when finished! Concidering the upholstery, have you ever thought to use thin real leather? When building my car models, I made the benches out of real leather. The benefit is that it bends easily around the corners in two directions. Small pieces can be obtained cheaply from the shops specializing leather fabrication. And according to my experience the best glue with leather is so called contact glue (kontaktiliima in Finnish). You apply it to both surfaces, let dry, and after ten minutes press the pieces together. But be sure it is right the first time, you cannot move the parts any more after they have sticked together.

Thanks B.E. I am in the process of buying a better saw than I own now, so this review is most welcome for me. However I would like to hear comments of you guys who have used the scrollsaws longer than only a few days after purchase. For instance intarsiabox, what saw have you, and are you satisfied with your machine? I understand that you have used it already years, to have gained enough experience about the benefits and drawbacks of the machine. And if you would be in the situation to buy a new saw, would you still buy the one you have?

I wonder for which use is this nice brass "glasses"? Some kind of gauge also?

Hello wefalck! This is the PROJECT I will definitely follow. For long I have been trying to find a small accurate milling machine to be able to make very small filigrane parts, but never found exactly the right one. I have same ideas as you about the Aciera and other machines, but being too big and especially too expensive, they have never catched my interest. But to make your own machine using the parts of old watchmaker's lathes is a great and new idea that I have never seen before. I wish a lot of luck to your project, and perhaps will follow your example in the future to make my own too.

Thinking of my next project and how to make things simpler with rigging, I decided to make a small and simple serving machine after Chuck`s and Domanoff`s ideas. Also I wanted to try a motorized version of the unit, and because I had already necessary gears & a small gearmotor available, it was a simple and cheap project. To have the machine easy controllable I used a Chinese motor controller, which indeed controls the speed from zero to max speed maintaining good torque also with minimum speed: http://www.ebay.com/itm/DC12V-DC36V-10A-Motor-Speed-Control-PWM-HHO-RC-Controller-12V-24V-/321976981771?hash=item4af752d90b:g:bbAAAOSwKtlWmLik And to have both hands free when using the machine, I also utilized a foot swith to start and stop the unit: All wooden parts were made of 5 mm aircraft quality plywood. Gears are module 1, 40 teeth ones, with driving gear at the motor shaft having 11 teeth. Motor is some old toy motor with 12 V supply and 330 RPM output speed. All axles are 6 mm brass rod, with 6/10 mm ball bearings. To be able to make some seizings also with the machine, I added a small clamp where a loop or block to be handled, can be attached. It is easy to install to the rotary axle with only 2 screws when necessary: And if it proves to be better to operate the machine only manually, the motor can be completely dismantled or only the driving gear taken away, because it is only attached with two small screws on the motor driving axle. I really hope that this little machine makes my life a bit easier when the time comes to start rigging with all the numerous servings, seizings etc.