Roger Pellett

Paul,  Have you looked at the build log for Ed Tosti’s Young America.  If not, I recommend it.  If you’re not familiar with it is a meticulous build of a Clipper of the same era.  See how he handled this.
 
Roger

During my working career, I saw a number of these Jarmac saws in use at model ships operated by large engineering firms (Bechtel, Fluor, etc.) to build models of industrial installations.  The saws were used to cut plastic scale pipe and structural shapes to length.  Ripping would not have been required.  In the case of piping, the fittings all had sockets cast into the ends.  The cut length was slipped into the socket and glued so the length of the assembly could be adjusted slightly before gluing.  End play of the blade was therefore not a problem.
 
Roger

I have a 4” Jarmac sander too and have encountered the same problems mentioned above plus both the “cross cut guide” and the sanding table are flimsy and require constant adjustment, but it works and I use it.   The Jarmac tools (there were Jarmac mini table saws too) were standard equipment in model shops in the 1970’s when large engineering firms made models of industrial installations.  These 3-D models made from project drawings were effective at checking for interferences between piping, equipment, and building structure.  3-D CAD modeling eliminated the need for these physical models.
 
There was nothing wrong with the Jarmac tools in their day.  Rather, the new tools are an indication of how things can improve overtime if someone has a goal to offer an improved product.  
 
Roger

As Welfack points out these lights like much else aboard ship required maintenance.  They also had to be refilled with fuel (whale oil and later kerosene), and the wicks had to be trimmed.  Ships were therefore equipped with Lamp Rooms, an enclosed space where lamps could be worked on and stored out of the weather when not in use.
 
Roger

Paul,  Have you looked at the build log for Ed Tosti’s Young America.  If not, I recommend it.  If you’re not familiar with it is a meticulous build of a Clipper of the same era.  See how he handled this.
 
Roger

Archi,  There are instructions here on MSW written by Jim Byrnes for aligning the fence on one of his saws.  It’s a “pinned” topic here on this machinery category.

Basswood strips are often stocked by craft stores like Michaels, Hobby Lobby, etc.  Basswood lumber is carried by some Big Box Home Improvement stores.
 
Roger

A very strong El Niño has given us a record winter; much above average temperatures and almost no snow. As a result, the SOO locks intend to open several days earlier than planned. Noteworthy this past month was the recent announcement of the discovery of the SS Arlington sunk in 600ft of water off Lake Superior’s  Kweanee Penninsula.  Arlington, sunk in 1940 shares several similarities with Benjamin Noble.  Both were close to the same size and were designed for the pulp wood trade.  Both were built by the same yard (five years apart). Arlington was loaded down with a late season grain cargo.  Heavy seas washed off hatch bars, tarpaulins, and la least one hatch failed entirely flooding her hold.
 
Work since my last post involved assembling the hatch covers on a backing piece of 1/64” plywood and fabrication of the hatch bars.  Wooden hatches float, so hatch bars were fastened atop to restrain them.  These were pieces of 3” steel angle bolted at the ends to padeyes attached to the deck.  For the model I used 1/32” square brass wire.  At each tip, I soldered a short piece of I/16” brass tubing.  A #75 hole through the top of the tube will accept the simulated hold down bolt.  A fussy detail requiring a frustrating amount of time.
 
Roger
 

US Navy Launches changed significantly during the period before the Civil War. Note that I refer to a specific boat type, not just any boat carried aboard a Warship.  First of all they were sloop rigged. Ref; US Navy Ordinance Instructions 1860.  Other details are listed in period seamanship manuals.
 
Roger

Tired of making all those repetitive parts by hand?  Bluejacket Shipcrafters offers custom laser work in laser board, styrene, and wood.  Here are a couple examples.  The top image is a portion of a .015" laser board sheet that has gratings, scroll work, companion doors, and mast hoops. 
The lower image shows a custom laminated door for a customer who was designing and building an HO scale fire station.  From left to right - clear styrene for the window glass, .015" laser board components, and the assembled doors.  
For more information or to discuss a potential project, contact al@bluejacketinc.com .

Traveling quite a bit last month, so not too much progress though the hull is now complete with rub strakes, rudders, etc. Turning attention now to deck and pilot house.

Things are not nearly a dire as they seem.
Polaris is a double layer POB build.
You are doing the first layer. The only function of the first layer of planking is to provide an adequate base for the actual planking.
The molds on most POB kits are too widely spaced to provide support by themselves.  Even though the first Italian kits termed them bulkheads, this is not what they are.
Actual bulkheads are a feature of steel vessels and Chinese sea going junks.  Western wooden ships did not have bulkheads. They are a mold of the cross section at their location. 
For that first planking layer - just good enough for the outer layer is enough.  Gaps between strakes are not important.  They do not need to be filled.  If there are dips and hollows  between the molds, these need to be fleshed out.  Often a scab of wood does a better job than spackle if the dip is significant.
If there is enough support for the outer planking, it does not matter what it looks like.
 

A very strong El Niño has given us a record winter; much above average temperatures and almost no snow. As a result, the SOO locks intend to open several days earlier than planned. Noteworthy this past month was the recent announcement of the discovery of the SS Arlington sunk in 600ft of water off Lake Superior’s  Kweanee Penninsula.  Arlington, sunk in 1940 shares several similarities with Benjamin Noble.  Both were close to the same size and were designed for the pulp wood trade.  Both were built by the same yard (five years apart). Arlington was loaded down with a late season grain cargo.  Heavy seas washed off hatch bars, tarpaulins, and la least one hatch failed entirely flooding her hold.
 
Work since my last post involved assembling the hatch covers on a backing piece of 1/64” plywood and fabrication of the hatch bars.  Wooden hatches float, so hatch bars were fastened atop to restrain them.  These were pieces of 3” steel angle bolted at the ends to padeyes attached to the deck.  For the model I used 1/32” square brass wire.  At each tip, I soldered a short piece of I/16” brass tubing.  A #75 hole through the top of the tube will accept the simulated hold down bolt.  A fussy detail requiring a frustrating amount of time.
 
Roger
 

Great work bring this old kit back to life John!.

Bulwarks and Rails continued…


Placing Bulwark Stanchions…

Placing the Monkey Rail…

Removed the kit supplied taffrail…

Building up Taffrail with strip wood 1/64 x 1/32. 

Taffrail base completed… 

Monkey Rails completed…

Placing water ways… 

Monkey Rail, Main Rail and Sheer completed. 
 
Onwards… 🍻
 

Thanks everyone for the kind comments and likes!
 
Well, I think my grassy field is finished. Overall very happy with the way things turned out.
 

 
There's a nice variation in the colour of the green grass , and I've added some patches of burnt grass to add some further colour changes in select areas. In the "runway" area I added more green grass towards the edge, gradually lessening the amount as I worked towards the hypothetical centre.
 
All the characters have had their bases removed and a length of 0.012" stainless steel wire inserted, usually into one leg, and then into the scenery base, so they can free stand securely. I haven't added the mechanic yet, he will be glued to the trestle after I add a bit of weathering.
 

 
I connected the refueller to the bowser with a length of wire. I kept the black rubber sheathing on, and it looks like a proper hose. Its a close enough match to the short length of moulded hose he is holding.
 

 

 
I still need to add a few final details, touch up some paint work, and add a little weathering to the vehicles and other objects. But things are slowly coming together.
 

 
Adding some "mud" to the back of the Tilly is going to be interesting.....
 

 
I will also have to figure something out so the bomb train sits down in the grass, rather than floats on top of it... 
 

 
Even the other vehicles will need to be settled down a bit. It will probably require a little bit of delicate grass removal from directly under the wheels, we shall see what I can come up with.
 
Andy
 

Wandered into this discussion……
 
Circling back to the original post….the questions are relatively basic and reasonable.  
 
If you have never owned a table saw, any table saw, respect the machine and the damage it can do to yourself and others.
 
Get basic instruction before using it.  Plenty of instruction on Youtube and better yet, look for a local woodworking class.
 
Fundamentally if the blade is stoped midway through a cut, it is a dangerous situation, stop, STEP SIDEWAYS away from the saw and unplug it.  Watch out the wood could eject back towards you with enough force to hurt you.
 
Understand that when cutting, one side of the piece, usually the waste, must be free to move away from the blade.  That’s why NEVER use the Mitre Gauge and Fence at the same time.  A bound piece of wood can easily eject from the machine, back towards you, and hurt you.
 
Lots of great suggestions on this thread.  Understand the basics.  
 
If you use the saw frequently, stay focused, accidents, and one will most likely happen to you, occur when we let our guard down.  Always stand slightly off center, if the machine ejects a piece of wood you will not have time to get out of the way.
 
Again, respect the machine, it doesn’t have a conscious.

Learned a trick today about changing the blade on the Byrnes when using an adapter bush.
Perhaps I am just the last to know, but I will post it in case it is new to someone. No pictures but if you have a Byrnes I feel confident you can follow along.
I was installing a new 4” blade and it was the first time I had used the 1” adapter bush. The table-top insert was removed and the blade raised to the max. After much fumbling trying to keep the adapter centred inside the bore of the blade while reassembling the remaining pieces, I figured out a better way.
Keep the arbour for the blade raised and turn the saw on it’s side with the motor to your left. It is best if the saw slightly overhangs the edge of your workbench so the weight is on the side of the saw, not the edge of the saw table-top surface.
Now the spindle is pointing straight up and gravity is your friend. Reach in through the insert aperture and drop the adapter on the spindle. Make sure it is centred. Slide the blade down the spindle and centre it on the adapter. Now slide the remaining holding plate on the spindle, then screw the shouldered nut finger tight. You can either finish the tightening now with spanners or return the saw to the upright position and do it there.
 
As I said, maybe everyone else knows this method. It certainly is an improvement on the mumbling and grumbling technique I started with!
 
Hope it is of use to someone.
 
Bruce

Bob,  I don’t have one, so can’t comment on its performance but the late Jim Byrnes used to offer a draw plate specifically for wood.  Hopefully his company will get back on its feet
 
Roger

You mean “surfacing after a dive” ! 
it will be a while….. for O-13, but here is one from my also wooden K-XVIII
 

I am always blow-away by the micro-soldering skills on these forums. 
Wonderful work!

Thanks guys, for the kind comments, it's so appreciated.  Also for the likes.
 
 
It does - and it seems a practical matter of finding a spot for the engine room and 3,000 gals of diesel.  The fish hold takes up about 16'5" (500cm) of prime real estate right out the center of the hull.  But, I still think she's a handsome girl.
 
   
 
Gary

Unless you live on the East Coast or highly populated areas of the West Coast everything that Ian posted about totally Electric vehicles also applies to the USA.  I don’t foresee that these cars will ever be practical for the long distance driving and weather that we encounter in the Northern Midwest.
 
Roger
 
 

Square brass and copper wire is used by the jewelry people.  It is available in different sizes on Amazon.  1/32” is the smallest that I have found.  
 
Roger

A very strong El Niño has given us a record winter; much above average temperatures and almost no snow. As a result, the SOO locks intend to open several days earlier than planned. Noteworthy this past month was the recent announcement of the discovery of the SS Arlington sunk in 600ft of water off Lake Superior’s  Kweanee Penninsula.  Arlington, sunk in 1940 shares several similarities with Benjamin Noble.  Both were close to the same size and were designed for the pulp wood trade.  Both were built by the same yard (five years apart). Arlington was loaded down with a late season grain cargo.  Heavy seas washed off hatch bars, tarpaulins, and la least one hatch failed entirely flooding her hold.
 
Work since my last post involved assembling the hatch covers on a backing piece of 1/64” plywood and fabrication of the hatch bars.  Wooden hatches float, so hatch bars were fastened atop to restrain them.  These were pieces of 3” steel angle bolted at the ends to padeyes attached to the deck.  For the model I used 1/32” square brass wire.  At each tip, I soldered a short piece of I/16” brass tubing.  A #75 hole through the top of the tube will accept the simulated hold down bolt.  A fussy detail requiring a frustrating amount of time.
 
Roger