Roger Pellett

It looks like a nice piece of equipment sold at a reasonable price. I had not heard of Axminster and was surprised to learn that they sell/ship to the USA. With the sad and untimely passing of Jim Byrnes and hopefully temporary closing of his business this particular tool might be a good alternative. I agree that disc sanders are a valuable addition to the modelers workshop. I have two; a 4” Jarmac used by professional model makers back before 3D CAD when industrial installations were physically modeled to check for piping, equipment , and structural steel interferences. By today’s standards it’s a poor piece of equipment- very high speed, flimsy, and noisy. It conveniently sits on my workbench doing what it is supposed to do on light weight stock. My second tool is a 12” homemade tool that runs on the same shaft as my thickness sander. Operating at much slower speed it works on much thicker material. Like you both are useful for precise shaping of sawn materials. Roger

Very nice work Javelin. Here in the US, one of the Marine grade Epoxies (West System) is “modular”. The resin can be paired with either of two hardeners; fast cure and or slow cure. Roger

An answer to Glen’s question. For every Epoxy brand/ formulation there is a unique density (weight divided by volume) for the resin and for the hardener. The chemical reaction works by the weight of the hardener combining with that of the resin. So weights cause the mix to harden. For many applications, however, volumes are easier to measure so manufactures using the densities of the two components provide ways to convert measurements to volumes. West System, for example, sells calibrated pumps that measure by volume. They also sell a scale for mixing by weight. In a boatyard mixing by volume is probably easier. Mixing tiny quantities of resins that require precise resin hardener ratios weight probably works better. For tiny quantities used for gluing I personally find the hardware store tube resins to be more user friendly as eyeball measuring of drops squeezed from each tube is good enough. Roger Note after rereading Javelin’s post above: He is absolutely correct that mass not weight causes the reaction. For those of here in the USA, (thankfully) still using the Imperial System ratios based by weight (lbs) are the same as those based on mass (kg.)

A cautionary note about coating a surface with glass fiber cloth and resin (polyester/Epoxy): You do not “glue down” the cloth with the resin. In other words, you do not first spread the resin and then attempt to attach the cloth. By doing so you trap air bubbles and wrinkles. Instead, you first spread out the cloth and saturate it with the resin. A plastic disposable squeegee is generally used to work the resin into the weave of the cloth. While this may seem obvious, I only learned this after botching many projects. Also, more hardener does not make Epoxy cure faster. It just results in a sticky mess. Roger

Actually, the most likely thing about your wife and your workshop is if left unattended for any length of time every horizontal surface will be piled with her stuff. It’s what a female secretary in our office would have called GSB- Gender Specific Behavior! 😆 Roger

Wishing you a speedy recovery from your upcoming cataract surgery. Roger

Looks good Keith! I agree putting the right frame in the right slot is usually a good idea😆

Beautiful work as usual Valeriy!

Great to see another post 1900 scratch build here. Looking forward to upcoming research and construction of an interesting vessel. Roger

I had some time this evening to do a little research about your anchor problem: I. Pattern: Anchors with folding metal stocks were used in the early 1800’s especially for kedging. The photo below reproduced in the book Anchors, An Illustrated History shows one such anchor recovered in Tahiti from one of Captain Cook’s ships that grounded there in 1773. It weighs approximately 950# II Weight: Much harder to answer. Harland gives a number of formula not all make much sense and results must be translated into dimensions. He points out that logically that the length of the shank should not exceed the dimension waterline to Cathead. Keep in mind, these are small vessels in reality large boats. I would suggest a pattern like my photo with stock folded lashed securely to ring bolts in deck. Roger

Very nice

Steven- You’re doing a great job! Your customer should be pleased. In addition you should qualify for the MSW Time Traveler Award. San Marco Ship- Titanic 800+- years apart.

Looks like an interesting project! You could duplicate the picture on the the box as 54 mm Civil War era figures (1:32 scale) are readily available. Roger

To designate a vessel for National Historic Landmark status it is Necessary to prepare and file a Historic Structures Report (HSR) with the US National Park Service, an arm of the US Federal Government. The process can be quite complicated and HSR’s can vary in quality. HSRs are supposed to include Measured Drawings of the vessel in question. The National Park Service has posted a number of these HSR’s on line and I believe that includes one for Hercules. The drawings in the Hercules HSR should be helpful in adding details to this kit. Roger

Naval Architects have an elegant term for that. It’s called Slamming!

It may just be the angle of the photo but those anchors appear to be over scale. If the revenue cutters were actually fitted out with the metal stock anchors it would that they would have been brought inboard, the stocks collapsed, and the anchors stored flat on d.eck lashed to ringbolta. Roger

Have you read Shattered Sword? If not it might be an interesting book to take on your trip. It would be of interest as the authors describe in considerable detail how American and Japanese operated and how these operational details affected the outcome at Midway. You might find some gems that help you to better understand constructional details not explained by the instructions. Roger

Epoxy cures with an exothermic reaction. In other words the chemical reaction itself creates heat. So, while curing, heat needs to be transferred away as fast as it is generated. In most cases the surface area is large relative to the thickness of the Epoxy so heat buildup is minimal. In your case the Epoxy is thick and the space confined. I have mixed epoxy in a 2oz piper cup and it got too hot to touch. If possible, can you pour it in layers to minimize the volume being cured? Roger

At least one Epoxy manufacturer, West System, used to sell pigments formulated to be mixed with their resins. There are of course, pre packaged Epoxy paints. This is all the realm of full sized yacht finishes but should work for you too. I believe that Urethane marine paints are also applied as a finish coat atop Epoxies. Roger

It may seem strange, but in the wooden shipbuilding era, ships and boats were not always built to the Naval Architects drawings. The final design was often done by modifying the lines on the mould loft floor. This may account for some of the variations that you are encountering. Roger

Yes, it sounds like the guy, although I thought that he had a definite release date. Roger

There is supposedly a guy in prison who recovered $$$$ in gold from a wreck in US Waters. He stashed it somewhere and lost a fight with the authorities regarding possession. He will be released in a while and as he had paid his debt to society will be able to enjoy his loot. He apparently thinks that this is a good bargain. Roger

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