Roger Pellett

The main user of water from the sea chest is of course the condenser for the main engine. Period photos and drawings for various ships and the condenser for the 1896 main engine of the historic Steamship SS Meteor have the condenser located on the engine’s port side. This means that the hotwell, air pump, and feed pump would also be located on the port side. The air pump and often the feed pump were driven by a link to the engine crosshead. The sea chest would be located on the same side of the vessel as the condenser to minimize the run of of piping to it. The engineer controlled the engine while standing on the operating platform that was located on the side opposite the condenser as the shaft and linkage for controlling the engine’s rotation had to be located on the side opposite the linkage for the air pump. The direction of rotation of the propeller was a function of valve timing, nothing more. The engine was reversed via a linkage that changed the valve timing. A major advantage of the triple expansion marine engine was that it turned slow enough to be connected directly to the propeller. Expensive, difficult to manufacture gearing was was not required. I see no reason why the sea chest could not be located on the starboard side, provided the engine’s condenser and pumps were located on that side also. A twin screw vessel would have sea chests on both sides with a “port condenser engine and a starboard condenser engine.” The operating platform would then be located between the two engines. Roger

I have a Byrnes Saw bought shortly after they first became available, so it’s an old timer. My interests include scratch building of warships’ boats and completing a very long term project; a steel hulled Great Lakes Steamship. I do not anticipate building a classic POF sailing warship model. Never less I continue to find new applications for my Saw that were totally unanticipated when I bought it: cutting sheet brass and thin craft plywood, cutting dimensioned grooves in jigs to hold parts to be soldered, and most recently slicing off dozens of 1/32in thick hatch boards from a laminated stack. The saw also did a great job of cutting a tapered blank for the mast of a Longboat model. While many of these jobs could be performed by a milling machine, they’re expensive too, and setup is often more difficult. In addition to its rigidity that allows accurate square cuts, the saw’s versatility is due to two features; the ability to raise and lower the blade and the 1/2in arbor that permits metal slotting blades of various widths. I have never needed a tilting arbor ( which the saw doesn’t have), the extended fence, or the crosscut sled. I did make a sled from a piece of aluminum angle, with an adjustable stop that fastens to the saw’s Standard miter gage. It’s a shame that high shipping costs, customs duties, etc. limit access to this remarkable piece of equipment to those living outside of the USA. Roger

Bob, As our resident paint chemist, what about Japan Colors? Roger

That’s a great, beautifully produced book at a great price!

How about a sight glass for checking boiler water level?

And of course, you can make up your own custom color by mixing artist oils, the kind sold in tubes, with linseed oil.

I’m Assuming that your Tar Colored Wash is what Americans would call an “oil based wood stain”. This is nothing more than artist oil colors mixed in linseed oil so diluting the stain with more linseed oil should work fine. I agree with Druxey that stains don’t cure rapidly as they are intended to be top coated with varnish. There is a product called “Japan Dryer” that when added to linseed oil based coatings speeds up curing. It should be available wherever you buy paints. Roger

Although US Navy aircraft carriers are prominent features of WW II operational histories and battle accounts very little seems to have been written about the nuts and bolts of their construction. (I don’t have Norman Friedman’s book so maybe I’m overlooking something.). This build really highlights the complexity of these vessels. Well done! Roger

MDF is just a substrate, a blank canvas. It can be finished with a variety of finishes. If the finish is tasteful and well done it will look fine. For example, MSW member Druxey is a master at applying faux marble and wood burl finishes to ordinary base materials. Unfortunately I can’t come close to matching his artistic skills. A caution- MDF is a wood fiber product and can and will warp from changes in ambient moisture. It is therefore necessary to balance the two opposing sides of the baseboard. A while ago, I glued a piece of veneer to one surface while leaving the other exposed. It warped like a banana. So, if you paint or otherwise finish one surface it’s necessary to likewise treat the other. Roger

Since your model was purchased in 1954, it would be of the original Bluenose, not Bluenose II. Bluenose II was not launched until 1964.

$1500+ buys a lot of tools and books!

Back in the day, pine was the preferred material for solid hull ship models. IMHO it is an under rated ship modeling material, much better than most kit materials, and better than Basswood. American lumberyard softwood is usually SPF- Spruce, pine, Fir. It pays to sort through the pile to find the pine. Often it is not necessary for ship modeling purposes to buy the high grade select pine. Areas of a plank with knots can be discarded leaving plenty of straight grained material for our purposes. Roger

Great pictures of an interesting vessel. The engine appears to be a compound version of a Western Rivers steamboat engine. Western Rivers defined as the Ohio, Mississippi, Missouri watershed. Most of these engines were single expansion; steam from the boiler was expanded in the cylinder and exhausted to the atmosphere. The heat energy in the steam at atmospheric pressure was therefore lost. This engine has a second larger cylinder arranged in tandem with the high pressure (HP)cylinder. After being expanded in the HP cylinder the steam was piped into the second cylinder where it expanded further. By expanding the steam sequentially in two separate cylinders they, the cylinders, remained at a more constant temperature. It is also likely that the pipe in the foreground from the LP cylinder going through the deck leads to a condenser below. This used river water to condense the steam, recovering the heat energy remaining in the steam from 212F to the temperature of the river water. Roger

The pear wood stash is mine not Allan’s. It was cut back in the 1970’s by someone who was building a house near Marietta, Ohio. I had it sawn into slabs at a backwoods sawmill. It sat around indoors and outdoors until a few years ago when I flattened it on my jointer, planed it and sawed it into billets. Roger

Allen, I suspect that most are returning to the Twin Cities about 150 miles south of Duluth where we live. We have a Friday lunch group during the summer we get about 8 guys. Last Friday there were three of us, the rest headed to warmer climes. Leaves are all gone. It’s a long story, but my wife and I have decided to forgo our March visit to Marco Island this winter. We had been going every year since 2004.😒 Roger

I don’t know what Dremel currently offers but the classic “Dremel Tool” turns too fast to be a good drilling tool. If Dremel offers a variable speed tool that maintains torque through its RPM range that would be something to consider. I believe that MicroMark offers a true hand held miniature drill. Roger.

Allan, I have two planks of real boxwood bought back in the 1970’s. I also have a stash of pear locally cut when I lived in Ohio. Every so often I consider putting my current project on hold to build something else that makes use of this beautiful wood. Right now I’m plodding along making 144 1/16” OD hatch cover ring bolts. 80 done and 64 left to do! I have a routine Dr Appt in two weeks. If he tells me to get my affairs in order because I have some incurable disease the first order of business will be to decide who gets the boxwood.😆 Bid Creek Dad, Everyone has his own opinion. That’s mine! Roger

I personally feel that unpainted models are overdone. I agree that wood left naturally is appropriate for true Dockyard style models with exposed framing built from the big three woods- boxwood, pear, holly. On the other hand there is something about unpainted POB kit models that makes them look like either “gift shop specials” or toys. My models are long term projects. They involve years of dreaming, mental construction and planning before I pick up a tool. Part of this involves an artistic vision involving display of the model. This includes selection of materials for baseboard rd and case. All but one of my models are painted, except where the actual component on the real vessel was finished bright. Roger.

By the time that these ships were built Naval Architects realized that the large keels built into wooden ships were no longer needed as structural members. The major strength members in a steel hulled ship that act as a keel to withstand longitudinal bending loads are the inner bottom structure and bottom shell plating. The primary function of the structure in way of what was formerly the keel is to withstand the concentrated loads encountered during dry docking. Roger

Hi Valeriy, I always look forward to your posts as they show that you are able to still lead a somewhat normal life during these difficult times. It’s also great to see another steam merchant vessel under construction. I build my models as two half models too. This method ensures an accurate hull. Roger

Eagle, the vessel posted in the drawing above, was quickly built in an area with unlimited timber supplies and she was considered to be expendable. Her construction, therefore, was not in accordance with that required for building major additions to the Navy’s saltwater fleet. If you look at the drawing, you will see that the deck beams were sandwiched between her deck clamp and a waterway; both massive timbers. This eliminated the need to fit knees to tie the deck beams into the side structure. The large, rectangular waterway provided plenty of “meat” for cutting the holes for shot storage. Your Trial was built with the usual knees to tie things together hence her much smaller sculpted waterways. I doubt if this strength member would have been cut to store shot. Roger

This photo shows the bulwark and shot storage holes for the Brig Eagle built in 1814 to defend Lake Champlain from British Invasion. The drawing was made from the wreck evaluated by archeologists. Eagle was a late addition to the American Fleet and built in a matter of weeks not months or years so there were many shortcuts taken in her construction. This is, therefore, not suggested to be a typical arrangement Roger

Like many on the forum, I have been attempting to build ship models since I was a small child. Way longer than I care to admit to! The first model that was nice enough to deserve a case was a “Yellow Box” Model Shipways Harriet Lane received as a gift in the mid-1960’s. The case was a sad affair made from plexi-glass glued to a Walnut base that eventually warped. I eventually developed a system for making wood framed glass cases. These are neat, and rugged but not artistic works of cabinetry like some posted on the forum. Some are old enough (35-40 years) that I was unaware of problems from off-gassing and didn’t consciously worry about ventilation. Some of the older cases feature veneered baseboards glued to a plywood substrate with rubber based contact cement. Somehow all of this has survived the test of time! While I am pleased with my models and cases I’m not to worried about longevity once I’m gone. My daughter has limited space in a New York Apartment and my daughter-in-law is fussy about her decor. The patined copper was inspired be a similar product sold by a commercial veneer distributor. I had a sheet of .005in copper surplus from a project, and the chemicals are not exotic. The effect was far better than I could have simulated with paint. I bought a plastic tub with a lid. The towel soaked with Ammonia and vinegar was spread out in the bottom of the tub. The copper was tacked to a homemade wood frame and suspended over but not in contact with the towel. Salt was sprinkled into the copper. The tub was covered with a snap on lid and allowed to sit for 3-4 days. After it comes out of the tub the copper needs to be throughly rinsed. The copper should be cleaned to remove grease, oil, corrosion before being exposed to the chemicals. Specialty gunsmith supply houses; Brownells, Herters, Cavella, etc. can be good sources for case finishing materials. Some of the woods sold as Mahogany are pretty poor stuff and that’s probably what you got. As mahogany like teak, is associated with classic yachts and fine furniture I suspect that most ship modelers have been faced with trying to finish this faux Mahogany. You should be able to find Wood Filler at local paint stores. This is NOT the stuff kit builders use to try to fill in planking mistakes. It comes in quart cans and is something called Fullers Earth mixed with linseed oil. It can be mixed with your choice of oil based wood stains or you can mix it with oil based artist colors (the kind that come in tubes) to create your own. Paint it on, let it soak in, and wipe it off. Roger

The case is native American Black Walnut. Where you live it should be easy to find. The stain is a “French Red” gunstock stain. If you decide on the patina’ed copper, I saturated a towel with the chemicals and suspended the copper sheet near but not touching the towel; all in a covered plastic tub. Roger

Here’s an idea that I thought worked out well. It is intended to give a impression of the blue green of water. It is a sheet of copper that I treated with vinegar, ammonia, and salt, then sealed by spraying it with Matt varnish. Same effect as Jaager’s sea green/ blue marble base. I treated the turned brass supports this same way. The stripe next to the hull is a light reflection. Roger