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kurtvd19

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Everything posted by kurtvd19

  1. kurtvd19
    Skipper The Chaperon is the only one that I would recommend as it's pretty accurate and the others are just vague ideas of what a riverboat was. A lot of research went into the development of the Chaperon kit and the kit builds to a very close copy of the actual boat. I have a lot of historic photos of the real boat to compare the kit against. There are plenty of historic photos of the boats you mentioned to compare to the photos of the kit - check them out and I think you will decide on the Chaperon. Kurt
  2. kurtvd19
    Ken: I like the way you are proceeding - using the old CAD method to back up the newer CAD drawings. The word you are looking for referring to the raised bulkheads around the engine compartment is "coaming". Kurt
  3. kurtvd19
    Ken: Yes, in the scratch built section. The big difference in building for yourself vs building for a customer is that time ='s $$. The more time you take the less you make. So, it is critical to establish the degree of detail the customer expects and how long that takes to accomplish, so that a reasonable profit is made. If the customer isn't paying for your time to build in extra details they need to be left out or you don't make any profit. This needs to be established up front. And then the build is started and the builder needs to fight the urge to add this or that detail like they would on their own model where time isn't a factor. This is a bit off topic for the Constitution build so I will contact you privately for more thoughts on this. Take care, Kurt
  4. kurtvd19
    Ken: Please consider doing a build log on the Dirty Dozen. I think it might be very educational to the forum members to see what is involved with a museum commission, which is different than a model built for pleasure and the home (if it doesn't show don't build it - as one example). Kurt
  5. kurtvd19
    Ron: I put mine on flush with the deck planks. Installed centered would trap rain water on the deck. Kurt
  6. kurtvd19
    Mick: Very nice work. Love the stove! Very well done. May I use the photo of your burned finger for my presentation on shop safety? I have a section on fire and heat hazards and I don't have an illustration for a burn and this would do nicely. I can make it an anonymous finger or give you full credit in the presentation. I have photos of what a Byrnes saw can do but no burns. Keep up the good work - minus injuries. Kurt PS: Shipped plan set #80 yesterday - surprised there are not more builds.
  7. kurtvd19
    An affordable alternate to the height adjustable bench is an adjustable drafting chair. I have one for my shop and I can sit low or high depending on what I am working on. When I was doing a lot of restoration work I got a cantilever type of hospital bed table - it looks like a squared off "C": from the side and the top is height adjustable. With the drafting chair and the hospital table I could sit at a comfortable height for any job especially rigging. Working on the deadeyes the chair could be lowered and the table raised. Working on the tops, the table could be lowered and the chair raised. Put the work at a comfortable height. I now use it for airbrushing as shown in the photo attached (in case the description of the table wasn't clear. Kurt
  8. kurtvd19
    If you get a dust collector unit that hands from the ceiling you will also need another fan to set up a rotation of air in the room. I have a unit and was not happy with the dust it was missing and did some research (read several articles on dust control in woodworking magazines) and found that for optimum effectiveness there needs to be a circulation of air in the room. The recommendation is to have the other fan blowing opposite the hanging unit on the other side of the room. Doesn't need to be a big fan just need to get the air on the other side of the room moving. After setting up the other fan the effectiveness of the unit increased noticeably. Kurt
  9. kurtvd19
    This works with brass and copper wire too. Kit's provide wire in a looped roll - impossible to use in that form. I don't know if I have ever felt the stretch but by exerting a steady pull the wire stays straight when it's pulled tight enough. If it's not straight - pull again with a bit more force. Kurt
  10. kurtvd19
    Welcome. Thank you for your support. Kurt
  11. kurtvd19
    Are you stropping the blades periodically as you work? As soon as the blade is the least bit less than razor sharp strop it and the edge is back. Stropping reduces the frequency of resharpening. Kurt
  12. kurtvd19
    Chris: Check out the rope Chuck sells at Syren Ship Model - so much better than the stuff from the kit. Kurt
  13. kurtvd19
    99.9% of dowels supplied in kits are great for use in the garden to hold up small plants. The 0.1% are the straight ones. Best to use square stock and make it round using small planes - also easier to do the flat areas when you start with flat stock. Best way to avoid ever having the mast warp is to glue up 4 pieces into square stock and work from there. First step in making it round is to knock off the 4 corners making it 8 sided - leave the 8 sided part alone at the proper area and round off the rest of the mast. Just my opinion and Dennis Miller and I might both be wrong... Kurt
  14. kurtvd19
    Mike: It has really turned out nice. A very good model. The term for the planky, boarding rampy sort of thing is landing stage. And you did a good job on it too - wasn't that fun to rig into place? Kurt
  15. kurtvd19
    Mike: I like your boats. Nice job on the planking. You took it beyond what I did with the ones from mt build. Kurt
  16. kurtvd19
    Mike: Yeah, the fire buckets sit in a rack with a hole in the top board to hold the buckets upright. Sometimes they hung buckets from brackets or stands. The photo of my model of the Bluejacket kit of the tugboat Lackawanna shows fire buckets in the rack at the base of the stack. Sorry, being a retired FD Chief I assumed everybody just knew this. Kurt
  17. kurtvd19
    Mike: The planks of the wheel are called Bucket Boards. I don't know if that term was used in the kit instructions or not but it's common usage. When you mentioned a bucket for water, one thing I meant to add to the model and never got around to it was a couple of racks of fire buckets carried on the roof of the boat to stop fires started by sparks from the stacks. I don't remember if these were included in the kit or not. They might have been included in the kit and I didn't use them because they most likely had flat bottoms as the kit pieces usually have - fire buckets had round bottoms - and were painted red. The round bottoms were to make them useless for anything else so the crew would know they were where they were supposed to be and not being used to swab decks or something. Kurt
  18. kurtvd19
    Chris: Use the piece of wood that surrounds the laser cut keel piece as the "scrap" it is the same thickness and is big enough to allow practice. Did you know that BB rode a Gold Wing to (at least some) of the Harley events he covered for the magazine? Ran into him at both a Harley meet and at the Newport RI Yacht Show (when he covered it for Attitudes and Latitudes) and stopped at our tent. Kurt
  19. kurtvd19
    Mike: Looking Good! I like the dark buckets - good contrast.
  20. kurtvd19
    The only thing that's going to change is the scale of the cut-offs that you will be saving. It's amazing how many will wind up being used someplace on some model. Will be watching. Thanks, Kurt
  21. kurtvd19
    I anybody wants to get some of the discontinued Dockyard Micro Chisels I saw a bunch at a wood show this past weekend from a shop in Bettendorph, IA. I bought a bunch of rotary carving bits from them at very reasonable prices. They had the Dockyard tools on display and they are still shown on their web site. http://www.thewoodcraftshop.com There is also a nice dedicated strop for sharpening these tools with all of the curves and angles. Kurt
  22. kurtvd19
    Mike: It's looking great. The pilothouse work is right on! Kurt
  23. kurtvd19
    The only thing magical about that tool is it's ability to steal money year after year from unsuspecting modelers. Kurt
  24. kurtvd19
    OC Test the same combination off the model. The Rustoleum problem was tested with many different paints over it with the same results - the color coats failed to cure/dry - enamels, and acrylics. Maybe they have changed again - that's the problem, they seem to change quite often with poor results. They may have solved the problem, but too late for me to ever try them again. And I can assure you somebody is reading this thread and saying we are nuts that they have never had a problem - and they probably didn't have one - yet. If it tests OK on similar materials in the same layering sequence then it's OK - but test off the model first. Kurt
  25. kurtvd19
    Stay away from Rustoleum. They have changed their formulation and all sorts of bad stuff happens when you put any thing else on it - even acrylics. I will never have Rustoleum in the shop again nor will several other guys I know who learned the hard way. Kurt

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