Roger Pellett

My completely unscientific understanding of MSW members leads me to believe that a substantial majority have a compelling interest in modeling vessels of the Lord Nelson era Navies.😀  This is particularly true if one adds American War of 1812 ships to the mix.

SO!!  Here’s your chance!  M.S. Rau an antique dealer in New Orleans is advertising in the Wall Street Journal a rediscovered portrait of Admiral Horatio Nelson as a young man.  It is supposedly only one of two portraits of him in civilian attire.  Just the thing to display over your recently completed HMS Victory. If you have the space to display a fully rigged Victory, this picture w I’ll fit in nicely.  Width: 30-3/8”. Height: 39-3/4”

Roger

0.7mm=.02755in which my converter rounds up to 1/32”.   Small (Real) Jacobs chucks will close to zero.  For many of us, this inability to accept very small wire sized drills might be serious limitation.  

Roger

Eric,  I hope that you don’t mind a friendly suggestion.

Your steam lines should be insulated.  This is not because of thermal efficiency.  Instead it would be required to prevent condensing of steam in the lines.  Water is the enemy of the reciprocating steam engine since it is incompressible.  The fire tube boiler for your boat would have generated “saturated steam.”  That is steam at the temperature applicable to the pressure at which the feed water enters the boiler.  As as the steam begins to cool from this temperature as it travels through the piping, it begins to condense and water droplets are formed. This water could build up in the engine cylinder causing damage.  I believe that a coat of whitish paint should suffice.

As a model railroader you might be interested in this.  For several reasons; thermal efficiency as well as that described above, it was desirable to heat the steam to a temperature well above its boiling point.  This is called superheat.  In the early 1900’s American Railroad Engineers using European Technology began to convert existing steam locomotives and to produce new ones to generate and run on superheated steam.  This involved routing the steam after it was generated through very hot exhaust gasses from the boiler.  Many of the Railroads maintained their own locomotive design departments to design locomotives specifically adapted to the geography of their particular routes.  This attracted many of the best Mechanical Engineers in the USA as well from Europe.  There is an excellent book that delves deeply into this topic:  American Steam Locomotives, Design and Development 1880-1960 by William L. Withuhn.

It is, of course unlikely that your modest steamboat would have been equipped with this sophisticated technology.

Roger

The W.P. Snyder, preserved at the Ohio River Museum at Marietta, Ohio was a coal burner.  Unlike Peerless, though, she was owned by a steel company that used coal in the steelmaking process and possibly owned their own mines as other steel companies did.  Therefore, a principal cargo, pushed in barges would have been coal.  I believe that her bunkers, were arranged near the bow per. Kurt’s Chaperon arrangement above.  Arranged like this coal could be rapidly loaded by gravity at terminals along the River.

As a short haul trader, I wonder if Peerless’s fueling arrangements might have been more informal, burning either cord wood or coal as available?  In this case, coal could have been wheeled aboard in large burlap sacks with a ready use supply piled in front of the boiler.

Roger

Finishing the hatch covers:

Today marks the official end of the 2023 Great Lakes Shipping season.  Vessels arriving at the queue for the  SOO locks by midnight will be locked through in either direction.  After that the locks will close until March 25 isolating Lake Superior from the other lakes.  It has been a good season with the twin ports of Duluth, MN and Superior WI shipping 51 Million tons of pelletized iron ore to American and Canadian steel miles. The ports also handled significant quantities of limestone, cement, coal, and grain.

The reason for the lakes’ 10 week closure each winter is not ice. Great Lakes vessels can and do navigate in ice.  The 10 week closure is required to perform maintenance that has been deferred during the shipping season.  Superior, Wisconsin is home to one of three active American drydocks on the lakes.  It can dock vessels up to 800ft long.  This winter will be busy.  Eight vessels are scheduled to lay up in the harbor here.

The layup each winter means that Great Lakes ships are and in the past have been well maintained.  That, and the fact that they sail in fresh water means that  weathering of the model will be minimal.  A notable exception is the Noble’s hatch covers.  The few photos that I have found of wooden hatch covers of Great Lakes vessels show a checkerboard of different weathered colors that vary from like new wood to black.

The first step in finishing the covers was to drill holes in them for the ringbolts. This was done using the sensitive drilling attachment mounted in the Sherline milling column.  Another of my simple wooden jigs assured correct location.  (First Photo).  Adding the two ringbolts to each cover was then just the matter of pushing the tail through the hole, bending it over and securing it with a dab of lacquer based fingernail polish. (Second photo).

To finish the covers I mixed up five different grey and black pigments and diluted them with alcohol.  For a couple of shades I added some granulated grey and black dry dye pigment to add a gritty texture. (Third photo). The different colored hatch covers will be arranged in a random pattern when they are added to the model.

Finally, (Forth Photo) two stacks of hatch covers to be fastened near the ship’s open coal bunker.

Roger

These semi Diesel engines used to be very popular for applications like commercial fishing boats.  They allowed diesel fuel to be used instead of the highly volatile and dangerous gasoline.  The glow plugs allowed a lower compression ratio and a lighter engine.  The glow plug was initially heater with an external heat source but once the engine started combustion in the cylinders kept them hot.

Even though not a true Diesel, Gjoa’s engine is still massive.

Roger

In its mounted condition, the model’s waterline should be level.  If you have the drawing that you used to build the model simply draw a line parallel to the waterline shown on the drawing.  Draw lines perpendicular to the line that you just drew and measure the distance to the keel.  Buy two pedestals that meet these dimensions.

If you don’t have the drawings set the model up temporary supports with the waterline level.  Measure up just like you did above.

Roger

Equipping a workshop is entirely dependent on the type of modelmaking that you intend to pursue.  I will agree that assembling a POB kit can  be accomplished with a minimal collection of hand tools.  That’s one reason why people buy kits.  Moving into scratch building, POB, or even some POF models of classic age of sail vessels can also be built with hand tools if you are willing to use purchased metal fittings.  

Modeling iron and steel hulled vessels is a different situation, especially if you intend to meet 1a criteria (only chain and cordage purchased).  Here you can’t have enough tools!  

Our modeling world is by no means limited to Eighteenth Century Sailing Ships.

Roger

An old naval expression says it all, “A ship is judged by the condition of her boats”. Yours is spectacular.

Roger

Wooden ships “work.”  As the ship travels through waves, the uneven buoyancy causes the hull to flex.  With conventionally framed construction the frames made no contribution to to the longitudinal strength of the hull.  In the Nineteenth Century the use of diagonal iron strapping was an attempt to add longitudinal strength to large hills but of course this was three hundred years or so prior to Mary Rose.

As ships aged these longitudinal bending stresses affected planking fasteners allowing individual planks to slide relative to each other, working the caulking loose.  The repair would have been to caulk the seam and to nail the batten atop.  This problem existed to some degree into modern times until advanced adhesives allowed monocoque construction of wooden hulls. 

Roger

Wives are right about most things but not everything.  People who do not build ship models cannot understand the drive that keeps us moving forward to create a masterpiece.  Unfortunately, none of us have unlimited years to spend doing this so it behaves us to spend the time that we do have wisely.  There is little point in working on a model that does not inspire you just so that you can cross it off of your list.  If clipper ships in general and Flying Fish in particular is your interest, don’t give up.  You’ll surprise yourself!

Roger

Battens:  I seem to remember that she was quite old when she sunk.  The battens might have been added later in life to keep caulking in place.

Roger

Since you are glassing inboard and outboard I assume that this will be a working (RC) Model.  Correct?

Roger

I second Wefalck’s suggestion.  The key to one of these otherwise simple machines is a set of gears.  Since the machine works at very slow speeds and carries very little load, plastic gears work just fine.  These are readily available from online sources like Amazon.  The photo below shows a serving machine that I built several years ago using ordinary workshop equipment and scrap materials in my shop.  The gears are inside of the two vertical slots.  There are no bearings, just holes in the four vertical MDF pieces.  The shaft is steel but you could use Aluminum or in a pinch even plastic.  The clips to hold the line being served are Alligator clips widely used in the electrical/electronics industry.

Roger

Welcome to MSW.  Not just from Minnesota but Duluth!!

Roger

I too enjoy browsing stores like Michaels to find things that can be adapted for building models.  Unfortunately, a lot of the “brass” nails, pins and such turn out to be brass plated steel.

Roger

If you have any sort of small torch, there’s an interesting and useful trick that you can perform.  Hold a piece of brass wire vertically with a pair of pliers.  Heat the lower end of the wire.  Just before it melts it will form a ball.  One end of your rivet.

Roger

Welcome to MSW and to the scratch build forum in particular.  An ambitious project like this is a major investment of your time.  Cost, on the other hand is amortized over a long period of time.  It therefore pays to invest in top quality materials that will not cause problems as you proceed.

Most experienced modelers do not consider balsa to be suitable for high quality ship models.  It is too soft and weak.  You might want to see what other woods are available locally.  Many British ship modelers prefer Lime wood, not to be confused with the tropical fruit, but similar to our American Basswood. 

Roger

I am not familiar with the kit but here are some thoughts:

Wood;  The usual wood supplied in kits is Basswood, a nice wood to carve but low strength and soft.  Splits easily.  Substitute stronger wood.  Maple would be a choice.

Riveting;  The idea is to deform the point.  If you are using wire, what is the material?  Copper should be easier to form than brass.  I would start by forming the head.  This is best done off the model possibly just a hole in a block of hard wood.  Tap with a hammer until it forms.

The other end of the rivet is called a point.  With the rivet pushed through work piece, just enough of the other end should protrude to allow forming a head.  Too much and it will just bend over.  It is customary to back the point up with a washer called a Rove.  The rove allows you to hammer the point into a head without splitting the wood.

Roger

Experience from failed fiberglassing attempts over 50 years of full scale boatbuilding projects (I’m a slow learner):

1.  West System’s regular (I believe it’s their 105) Epoxy is expensive but very reliable if properly measured and mixed.  The ratio is 5 parts Epoxy to one part hardener so you need to figure out a reliable measuring procedure ahead of time.  Their calibrated mixing pumps make this easy.

2.  Do not try to glue the cloth onto the model’s hull!!  This will result in ugly wrinkles and air bubbles.  The correct procedure is to drape the cloth over the dry hull and to then apply the resin, working it into the weave with a small plastic squeegee.

3.  The resin cloth combination does not adhere well to sharp corners.  

4.  West System has a HUGE free collection of Information Sheets covering correct application of their materials.  Although aimed at builders of full sized boats, they are worth studying.

5.  Wear gloves.  The cloth is still glass regardless of how fine.

Roger

A story about a great local business making a High quality specialized product.  Readers invited to draw their own conclusions.

Evergreen Winterwear is a small local business located on Main Street in the tiny North Woods town of Ely, MN.  Employing local people, they make and sell very high quality outdoor garments for customers ranging from infants to adults.   The owner, wife of a noted arctic explorer, eventually grew tired and sold the business to an outside investor who promised “to take the business to the next level.”

Within month’s of taking ownership, he had closed the Ely, MN work room, laid off the workers, and outsourced all production.  All that was left was “The Brand.”  Dedicated customers, my wife included, were not fooled.  The new business closed within a year.  

Fortunately, in this case the original owner had the technical expertise to run the business.  She bought unsold equipment back at auction and re-established the business in its original form- making and selling a high quality product on Ely’s Main Street.

Roger

Theoretical-  if you know the wattage that the machine draws and can measure RPM’ s you can determine torque.  Torque= Power (watts) / speed

My Sherline lathe was bought 20+ years ago to replace a very old Sears Dunlop lathe that DID have Babbitt bearings.  At the time that I bought it I thought that I was also interested in doing some  gunsmithing so I paid the extra $$ to buy the extended bed.

The Sherline is a great machine for model making.  With the optional milling column and sensitive drilling attachment it also nicely solves drilling problems with small wire sized drill bitts.  It spends more time configured as a mill than a lathe.  I have since lost interest in gun smithing which is fortunate as I lack the machining skills to hold the necessary tolerances for doing this type of work safely.  I also believe that a Sherline is really not intended for this type of machining with high strength tool steels.  For this work, the Craftsman type machine that began this thread is more appropriate.

In my 20+ years of ownership I have never made use of the extended bed.  99 percent of the work that I do is performed within 2-3in of the headstock.  I would not attempt to turn a 17” long  mast on this machine.  It is much easier to cut a square sectioned blank and plane octagonal, etc.  The generous hole through the headstock also allows long slender items to be fed piecemeal to be turned in sections.  If I were buying a Sherline knowing what I know now I would buy the shorter bed machine.

Roger

Sherline DOES or rather did also make a small tool rest for freehand turning of very small metal parts using tools called “gravers.”  Sherline lists this as a watchmakers tool.  It is relatively expensive, but a beautifully made tool.  It could be used for turning small wooden parts.  Check their website.

Roger

She was tied up at Mystic Seaport during the 2015 NRG Conference.  My recollection is that she had a Black hull.  Certainly not Blue.

Roger