Chuck

That is better and I did the same by making the sheer curve more towards the middle. That is more in line with teh 1750's and 60's. The straighter sheer is more in line with those boats made much later. Chuck

Yes you do....But not just at the stern..The whole bulwark should be lowered by about 1/16" give-or-take. Its hard to tell from your photos though. I would look at the other logs and my prototype and do a comparison. Its hard to tell at this point with the tops of the frames flush with the planking. Having not started the planking at the top to establish the proper sheer line I think the one you ended up with is quite arbitrary. This is what caused the issue. You can see how much of the frames remained above the planking on the prototype....the transom sticks up much higher. But its not just your stern..Its whole length needs to be shorter. This is a good opportunity to draw a nice graceful curve of a sheer line and then file down to it. Chuck

Very nice and clean build. Well done!!

I am not sure where he got his but you can them pretty small at a place that sells them for eyeglasses. Just do a google search and you find some real tiny screws. smaller even than are used typically for glasses.

That is quite a change from the sticks and strings. I have never modeled a steel hull so I will watch with interest. From what I understand these types of models are all about the paintwork ans finishing. Jim H (captainPugwash) is very skilled at that sort of thing if you need some tips with new materials. Chuck

Well done on the skylight Tex.

That looks very god Chris. The painting of the trailboard and the figurehead are especially good and blend in very well with the wood.

Boy that is looking really sharp. Well done!!

It is looking good. Just as the others mentioned you should shorten the length of the garboard quite a bit. Otherwise the remaining planks will need to be tapered too much along the stem. I show in red the approximate amount. I would suggest after the garboard plank is in place that you divide up the remaining space at each bulkhead so you can see just how the remaining planks will run and how much they need to taper. Use a tick strip at the widest point of the opening midship to determine how many planks you will need. Once you know how many planks will fit at that widest point you can mark the width of that number of planks at every bulkhead in the opening. This will show you exactly how the planks will run and how much they need to be tapered. Im guessing you will probably need six more plank strakes to complete that side of the hull once the garboard is in position. Chuck

Not at all. there will always be some that are hard to label...Just give it your best shot and an admin or mioderator will adjust it if it needs to be. Chuck

I used a dremel with sanding drum...the small sanding drums. The frames were taken down almost to the right size. It leaves a very rough and irregular finish but does the job and you need to be very careful and use a light touch. Then the sanding sticks and other folded pieces of sandpaper cleaned it up. You have to get those frames pretty thin towards the top so the caprail isnt too wide. It will make the model look heavy and chunky. Making it thin gives the model a light and delicate feel. Chuck

I have placed a banner on the right side of the forum and also on the MSW home page...this will ensure easy access moving forward. Adam has been working very hard on this and it will soon be the go to place to find info about ship kits. This will replace that spreadsheet Floyd was referencing. All of us on MSW thanks you..please give Adam any help you can with this if it is at all possible. Wonderful work Adam Chuck

If you buy the sherline...be prepared to build it yourself. It comes in many many pieces that needs to be assembled. The microlux just comes in two pieces. You basically have to build the entire casing for the mill when you buy the Sherline. Chuck

I have the 5400...... It can be bought here the cheapest that I have seen. There is an instant $25 coupon and free shipping. http://www.discountcampus.com/cgi-bin/webc.exe/store/st_prod.html?p_prodid=4615 Its about $700 In comparison, the Mocrolux is $500 plus about $45 for shipping....It would have also been some additional sales tax in NJ for me so the cost difference for me was only about $130 For you it would be only about $150 more for the Sherline but you then have to spend $$ on hold down clamps and endmills....the endmill chuck etc....the same is true if you bought the Microlux.

I originally bought a Microlux mill to test my block making concepts. At 2500 rpm it was the same as the Sherline buut only about $200 cheaper. I am one of those guys who prefers to use hand tools when making parts for my models. I will take a sharp chisel over a mill any day of the week. But to mass produce parts it just wasnt a consideration so I took the plunge. After about 6 months, I had successfully set up a method for the mill to cut blocks. I did not find that the 2500 rpm was a problem at all. The Microlux is a heavy and sturdy machine. It performed well. But after 6 months I was producing 20,000 blocks per month. I was probably using the mill more often than most here would ever need. So about two months ago I sold the Microlux and bought a Sherline. It was the same speed. I still dont see a reason to have more speed. But that doesnt mean that if I eventually did upgrade it for more speed I woudnt be happy. The Sherline is actually lighter built and seems more fragile. The Microlux was a heavy machine and could take a beating....BUT The smoothness of the Sherline is far superior to the Microlux. The movements of the X and Y tables are incredibly precise and very very smooth. The movement in teh Microlux is a bit primitive and it has a lot of slop. The set up time for the Microlux took so much longer because I had to account for the slop and loose-play in the X and Y axis. You learn to adjust but the results spoke for themselves. I have had far fewer rejects and much less tear-out of the wood using the Sherline. The smooth precise operation gives you more control to maintain a consistent speed of the x and y tables....this produces a much cleaner part. The number of accessories is also better for the Sherline. Do I need more power and more speed (RPM)??? I dont really know...but the 2500-2800 rpm on the Sherline seems to be more than enough. The finish and clean surface of the wood (boxwood and Swiss Pear) tells me that the the speed is just fine. I think its important to recognize what the proper feed speed of your work should be and not rush the operations...that will give you a problem. Once again I am really abusing these machines. They are being used 4 or 5 days a week for hours at a time. My 17 year old son uses it with less care than I do...it has been holding up well and I literally make 20,000 blocks per month on it. I cut wood anywhere from 1/16" thick to 3/16" thick...the larger sizes require multiple passes with the endmills....Before making a decision I recommend visiting a friends shop to sit and use theirs and discuss the pros and cons...you have to see and feel the machine at work. Having used both brands in a short time I feel qualified to make the comparison....The Sherline is well worth the extra $200. Chuck

Very nicely done. That top is looking good. You work fast Dan. Hows the trigger finger? Chuck

Depending on what they need to be used for.....you can take some thin gauge wire and fold it in half around a drill bit the correct diameter. Then twist the two tail ends together many times which will tighten up the eye and make a screw-like pin. Slip it off the bit when you are done. The screw like tail will really hold when glued into a pre-drilled hole. There will not be any chance you could easily remove it. If you use stell wire you can get really thin stuff and make eyebolts with crazy small eyes. No monkeying around with pliers needed. Chuck

Very nice work. That is really coming together well. I hope to see in person at a club meeting. Good stuff. Chuck

Nicely done!! The cables do look a bit heavy but that is an easy fix. Chuck

That is looking just fantastic Rusty. Chuck

Glad to see that everything arrived safely......remember to have fun with it!!!

Looks good...But dont forget to taper that stem...The figurehead wont fit otherwise. Chuck

Looks nicely done!!!

You know where to find me.....3/16" is Ok but its a little wide for the brig. For a brig of this time period, 10" would be ideal. The problem with the kit is that 5/32" wide strips are not common so I had to use the smaller strips. Also with 3/16" strips you may run into problems with bending edgewise. If you are milling your own strips or spiling from wider sheets you shouldnt have an issue with 5/32" being the most accurate. That being said...it will certainly change any planking directives I may have used in the instructions. As far as the nail size...go the smallest you can find. At this scale you would need to use hypodermic needles that are very small to be in scale. They would be small 1/2" nail heads or therabouts. Th eprimary sources on that are scarce to be honest and that is my own best guess. Chuck

Just updated the Book Reviews section of the NRG site.....now eight new reviews for you to check out https://thenrg.org/resource/books