kurtvd19

Here is what I did with the area in question.  The Smithsonian plans seem to show something similar.
Kurt

Here is what I did with the area in question.  The Smithsonian plans seem to show something similar.
Kurt

Here is what I did with the area in question.  The Smithsonian plans seem to show something similar.
Kurt

Ken:
Really looking good. 
Kurt

I am checking again with our mail service as it seems that several members in Australia have not received their issues yet.  When I spoke to them on Tuesday they said that the Australia issues are supposed to be delivered within 30 days of leaving NY.  They were shipped on 3-16 from NY so they should be delivered by now.  We are also tracking some missing issues for N. Ireland and several in the UK.
 
I would ask that any overseas members to send an email to info@thenauticalresearchguild.org to let us know the date when you receive/received this issue of the Journal.  Due to a mix up in Cuba, NY all but 3 or 4 non US members were mailed 2 issues of this Journal.  Please let us know if you get one or two copies also.  If you do not get a reply to your email to info@thenauticalresearchguild.org let Mary or me know with a PM here on MSW.  Several members seem to have a problem with receiving emails from the info@.... email, but get emails sent from Mary's personal email - please check your SPAM filter before sending a PM.
 
We are working to find out what has happened and we will make sure everybody gets their Journal.

Fred:
To heck with the 20 years - think positive!
 
My wife saw my stash when my new 26 x 42 shop was completed and all my kits and stuff was consolidated into one area - previously stashed in various closets, basement & garage.  She saw it all in one place and said "You have to live to be 350 to build all of those kits/projects". 
 
So I decided that she had given me a goal.  Everyday now when I wake up I look around, get up and say "Well, the plan is working - only 283 years to go - so far so good!"
 
That's my plan.
 
Kurt

I am checking again with our mail service as it seems that several members in Australia have not received their issues yet.  When I spoke to them on Tuesday they said that the Australia issues are supposed to be delivered within 30 days of leaving NY.  They were shipped on 3-16 from NY so they should be delivered by now.  We are also tracking some missing issues for N. Ireland and several in the UK.
 
I would ask that any overseas members to send an email to info@thenauticalresearchguild.org to let us know the date when you receive/received this issue of the Journal.  Due to a mix up in Cuba, NY all but 3 or 4 non US members were mailed 2 issues of this Journal.  Please let us know if you get one or two copies also.  If you do not get a reply to your email to info@thenauticalresearchguild.org let Mary or me know with a PM here on MSW.  Several members seem to have a problem with receiving emails from the info@.... email, but get emails sent from Mary's personal email - please check your SPAM filter before sending a PM.
 
We are working to find out what has happened and we will make sure everybody gets their Journal.

I am checking again with our mail service as it seems that several members in Australia have not received their issues yet.  When I spoke to them on Tuesday they said that the Australia issues are supposed to be delivered within 30 days of leaving NY.  They were shipped on 3-16 from NY so they should be delivered by now.  We are also tracking some missing issues for N. Ireland and several in the UK.
 
I would ask that any overseas members to send an email to info@thenauticalresearchguild.org to let us know the date when you receive/received this issue of the Journal.  Due to a mix up in Cuba, NY all but 3 or 4 non US members were mailed 2 issues of this Journal.  Please let us know if you get one or two copies also.  If you do not get a reply to your email to info@thenauticalresearchguild.org let Mary or me know with a PM here on MSW.  Several members seem to have a problem with receiving emails from the info@.... email, but get emails sent from Mary's personal email - please check your SPAM filter before sending a PM.
 
We are working to find out what has happened and we will make sure everybody gets their Journal.

I am checking again with our mail service as it seems that several members in Australia have not received their issues yet.  When I spoke to them on Tuesday they said that the Australia issues are supposed to be delivered within 30 days of leaving NY.  They were shipped on 3-16 from NY so they should be delivered by now.  We are also tracking some missing issues for N. Ireland and several in the UK.
 
I would ask that any overseas members to send an email to info@thenauticalresearchguild.org to let us know the date when you receive/received this issue of the Journal.  Due to a mix up in Cuba, NY all but 3 or 4 non US members were mailed 2 issues of this Journal.  Please let us know if you get one or two copies also.  If you do not get a reply to your email to info@thenauticalresearchguild.org let Mary or me know with a PM here on MSW.  Several members seem to have a problem with receiving emails from the info@.... email, but get emails sent from Mary's personal email - please check your SPAM filter before sending a PM.
 
We are working to find out what has happened and we will make sure everybody gets their Journal.

I am checking again with our mail service as it seems that several members in Australia have not received their issues yet.  When I spoke to them on Tuesday they said that the Australia issues are supposed to be delivered within 30 days of leaving NY.  They were shipped on 3-16 from NY so they should be delivered by now.  We are also tracking some missing issues for N. Ireland and several in the UK.
 
I would ask that any overseas members to send an email to info@thenauticalresearchguild.org to let us know the date when you receive/received this issue of the Journal.  Due to a mix up in Cuba, NY all but 3 or 4 non US members were mailed 2 issues of this Journal.  Please let us know if you get one or two copies also.  If you do not get a reply to your email to info@thenauticalresearchguild.org let Mary or me know with a PM here on MSW.  Several members seem to have a problem with receiving emails from the info@.... email, but get emails sent from Mary's personal email - please check your SPAM filter before sending a PM.
 
We are working to find out what has happened and we will make sure everybody gets their Journal.

I am checking again with our mail service as it seems that several members in Australia have not received their issues yet.  When I spoke to them on Tuesday they said that the Australia issues are supposed to be delivered within 30 days of leaving NY.  They were shipped on 3-16 from NY so they should be delivered by now.  We are also tracking some missing issues for N. Ireland and several in the UK.
 
I would ask that any overseas members to send an email to info@thenauticalresearchguild.org to let us know the date when you receive/received this issue of the Journal.  Due to a mix up in Cuba, NY all but 3 or 4 non US members were mailed 2 issues of this Journal.  Please let us know if you get one or two copies also.  If you do not get a reply to your email to info@thenauticalresearchguild.org let Mary or me know with a PM here on MSW.  Several members seem to have a problem with receiving emails from the info@.... email, but get emails sent from Mary's personal email - please check your SPAM filter before sending a PM.
 
We are working to find out what has happened and we will make sure everybody gets their Journal.

I am checking again with our mail service as it seems that several members in Australia have not received their issues yet.  When I spoke to them on Tuesday they said that the Australia issues are supposed to be delivered within 30 days of leaving NY.  They were shipped on 3-16 from NY so they should be delivered by now.  We are also tracking some missing issues for N. Ireland and several in the UK.
 
I would ask that any overseas members to send an email to info@thenauticalresearchguild.org to let us know the date when you receive/received this issue of the Journal.  Due to a mix up in Cuba, NY all but 3 or 4 non US members were mailed 2 issues of this Journal.  Please let us know if you get one or two copies also.  If you do not get a reply to your email to info@thenauticalresearchguild.org let Mary or me know with a PM here on MSW.  Several members seem to have a problem with receiving emails from the info@.... email, but get emails sent from Mary's personal email - please check your SPAM filter before sending a PM.
 
We are working to find out what has happened and we will make sure everybody gets their Journal.

Fred:
To heck with the 20 years - think positive!
 
My wife saw my stash when my new 26 x 42 shop was completed and all my kits and stuff was consolidated into one area - previously stashed in various closets, basement & garage.  She saw it all in one place and said "You have to live to be 350 to build all of those kits/projects". 
 
So I decided that she had given me a goal.  Everyday now when I wake up I look around, get up and say "Well, the plan is working - only 283 years to go - so far so good!"
 
That's my plan.
 
Kurt

Fred:
To heck with the 20 years - think positive!
 
My wife saw my stash when my new 26 x 42 shop was completed and all my kits and stuff was consolidated into one area - previously stashed in various closets, basement & garage.  She saw it all in one place and said "You have to live to be 350 to build all of those kits/projects". 
 
So I decided that she had given me a goal.  Everyday now when I wake up I look around, get up and say "Well, the plan is working - only 283 years to go - so far so good!"
 
That's my plan.
 
Kurt

Fred:
To heck with the 20 years - think positive!
 
My wife saw my stash when my new 26 x 42 shop was completed and all my kits and stuff was consolidated into one area - previously stashed in various closets, basement & garage.  She saw it all in one place and said "You have to live to be 350 to build all of those kits/projects". 
 
So I decided that she had given me a goal.  Everyday now when I wake up I look around, get up and say "Well, the plan is working - only 283 years to go - so far so good!"
 
That's my plan.
 
Kurt

Fred:
To heck with the 20 years - think positive!
 
My wife saw my stash when my new 26 x 42 shop was completed and all my kits and stuff was consolidated into one area - previously stashed in various closets, basement & garage.  She saw it all in one place and said "You have to live to be 350 to build all of those kits/projects". 
 
So I decided that she had given me a goal.  Everyday now when I wake up I look around, get up and say "Well, the plan is working - only 283 years to go - so far so good!"
 
That's my plan.
 
Kurt

Fred:
To heck with the 20 years - think positive!
 
My wife saw my stash when my new 26 x 42 shop was completed and all my kits and stuff was consolidated into one area - previously stashed in various closets, basement & garage.  She saw it all in one place and said "You have to live to be 350 to build all of those kits/projects". 
 
So I decided that she had given me a goal.  Everyday now when I wake up I look around, get up and say "Well, the plan is working - only 283 years to go - so far so good!"
 
That's my plan.
 
Kurt

I usually leave the commentary on the Journal articles to others, but I have gone beyond my inspection of the proof copy of this issue.  I have been reading a couple of the articles off my computer screen because I couldn't wait for the printed copy.  This is unusual activity for me - I hate reading off the screen  (but not so much since I got the big 27" screen). 
 
I think the cover photo is fabulous as are the photos that accompany the article.  I think a lot of members will be very interested in the author's thoughts on the subject of updating dockyard-style modeling.
 
We should go to press Monday.
 
Kurt

I usually leave the commentary on the Journal articles to others, but I have gone beyond my inspection of the proof copy of this issue.  I have been reading a couple of the articles off my computer screen because I couldn't wait for the printed copy.  This is unusual activity for me - I hate reading off the screen  (but not so much since I got the big 27" screen). 
 
I think the cover photo is fabulous as are the photos that accompany the article.  I think a lot of members will be very interested in the author's thoughts on the subject of updating dockyard-style modeling.
 
We should go to press Monday.
 
Kurt

The bit below was originally posted last year. 
Kurt
 
 
Posted 10 October 2014 - 09:12 AM
I have never used ammonia to bend wood - it just isn't needed.  The bit below is a reprint of part of my article on building the Gunboat Philadelphia kit in Ships in Scale.  I doubt anybody who attended the NRG Conference I reference has ever used ammonia since hearing it.
Kurt
 
 
AVOID AMMONIA SOAKING
 
At the 2007 Nautical Research Guild Conference in Manitowoc, Wisconsin Alex C. Wiendenhoeft of the U S Department of Agriculture Forest Services Center for Wood Anatomy Research at the Forest Products Laboratory in Madison, Wisconsin explained how and why this damages the wood.  After this length of time I do not remember all of the details of his talk, but the point was well made and I don’t think that any of the modelers who listened to his talk that day has ever used Ammonia again.  The very non-scientific points I remember is that soaking in Ammonia breaks down and liquefies the Lignin in the cells making the wood more bendable.  When the Ammonia evaporates while the wood is clamped in place to the desired bend, the Lignin solidifies in a somewhat degrade state weakening the wood.
 
Ammonia also causes some woods to discolor when they dry out.  This might not be critical when the wood is to be painted but if it is being stained or clear finished the discoloration would not be acceptable. Concentrated Ammonia fumes are used commercially to darken some woods with oak being very susceptible to this process.
 
Mr. Wiendenhoeft explained how and why soaking in water or steaming wood made it bendable while not damaging the cellular structure of the wood.  Again, a non-scientific explanation is that there is a chemical bond with water in the cellular structure of wood that varies between 0% and 30%.  Soaking or steaming wood with water raises the percentage of water within the wood, called “free water”, above the amount bonded within the cells temporarily.  This makes the wood swell and more easily bent.  When the wood dries out and the bonded water stabilizes back to 30% or less, the wood retains the shape it was formed to by the clamping while it dried while retaining its strength. 
 
I have only mentioned drying the wood while clamped in place but the application of heat using some sort of plank bending tool or other heat source works the same way as clamping just at an accelerated rate.

The bit below was originally posted last year. 
Kurt
 
 
Posted 10 October 2014 - 09:12 AM
I have never used ammonia to bend wood - it just isn't needed.  The bit below is a reprint of part of my article on building the Gunboat Philadelphia kit in Ships in Scale.  I doubt anybody who attended the NRG Conference I reference has ever used ammonia since hearing it.
Kurt
 
 
AVOID AMMONIA SOAKING
 
At the 2007 Nautical Research Guild Conference in Manitowoc, Wisconsin Alex C. Wiendenhoeft of the U S Department of Agriculture Forest Services Center for Wood Anatomy Research at the Forest Products Laboratory in Madison, Wisconsin explained how and why this damages the wood.  After this length of time I do not remember all of the details of his talk, but the point was well made and I don’t think that any of the modelers who listened to his talk that day has ever used Ammonia again.  The very non-scientific points I remember is that soaking in Ammonia breaks down and liquefies the Lignin in the cells making the wood more bendable.  When the Ammonia evaporates while the wood is clamped in place to the desired bend, the Lignin solidifies in a somewhat degrade state weakening the wood.
 
Ammonia also causes some woods to discolor when they dry out.  This might not be critical when the wood is to be painted but if it is being stained or clear finished the discoloration would not be acceptable. Concentrated Ammonia fumes are used commercially to darken some woods with oak being very susceptible to this process.
 
Mr. Wiendenhoeft explained how and why soaking in water or steaming wood made it bendable while not damaging the cellular structure of the wood.  Again, a non-scientific explanation is that there is a chemical bond with water in the cellular structure of wood that varies between 0% and 30%.  Soaking or steaming wood with water raises the percentage of water within the wood, called “free water”, above the amount bonded within the cells temporarily.  This makes the wood swell and more easily bent.  When the wood dries out and the bonded water stabilizes back to 30% or less, the wood retains the shape it was formed to by the clamping while it dried while retaining its strength. 
 
I have only mentioned drying the wood while clamped in place but the application of heat using some sort of plank bending tool or other heat source works the same way as clamping just at an accelerated rate.

There is a new paint from Krylon called Krylon Foil Metallic - the Gold color looks like polished brass when applied.  It needs to go over a white primer (do not use Rustoleum under this paint).  Coat it with a clear coat and it will do the job.  Just used it on a non-ship project that had a lot of white metal parts that were brass on the original subject.  This paint can be decanted and sprayed with your airbrush as I did for some of the parts.  Others I used the spray can and it worked fine - it was a 1/12 scale project probably bigger than your scale so you might want to stick to the airbrush.  I have a model boat - again in 1/12 scale that will have the "brass" fittings done in this paint rather than plated.  Once it's in the case nobody will touch the parts again to worry about paint vs plating.
Kurt

I got an X-Ray light box from a vet and have used it many times as well as loaned it out to fellow club members.  With the move to digital x-ray viewing there are lots of excess light boxes out there.  Ask you vet or Dr.  I have even seen them at garage sales and some time ago saw one at the Goodwill store.  Their lighting is very even.
 
If you make one from plate glass like the one initially shown in this thread you can stretch a translucent panel across the supports below the glass to even the light out.  A fluorescent light panel works as does a white shower curtain type of material - which also works as a diffuser for photographic lights.
 
Kurt

This is a great idea and I will be making up a very similar drying fixture.
Thanks for the idea.
Kurt

I got an X-Ray light box from a vet and have used it many times as well as loaned it out to fellow club members.  With the move to digital x-ray viewing there are lots of excess light boxes out there.  Ask you vet or Dr.  I have even seen them at garage sales and some time ago saw one at the Goodwill store.  Their lighting is very even.
 
If you make one from plate glass like the one initially shown in this thread you can stretch a translucent panel across the supports below the glass to even the light out.  A fluorescent light panel works as does a white shower curtain type of material - which also works as a diffuser for photographic lights.
 
Kurt