Chuck

LOL....I can see me at the ripe old age of 85 making 75-100 packages of rope a day!!! 7 days a week. It has to end at some point. Ben makes a great rope too!!! Or as I have mentioned. Its so easy to make your own and it will cost you pennies. No waiting on the postman either. Give it a try. Its funny actually. I have sold a rope walk to a lot of people (probably 6-700 or more) and I still see those same guys buying my rope instead. I have to scratch my head. It is so easy with a little practice. Its not rope rocket science. And it will be just as good if not better. I think I have to teach more folks to fish. Maybe I will release my rope walk plans/files so folks can make their own or go get them laser cut somewhere...more people should try and make their own. Chuck

Thank you.....but dont buy too much...LOL For rope specifically....it isnt Rocket science to make nice rope. Ben makes fantastic rope at ropes of scale as an example. I really wish more of you would try making it yourself. You really dont have to pay someone else for rope as it is so easy to make. It still surprises me how much of it I sell. I sold 30 foot long packages or 9 meters for $5.50 Ben sells the same length of rope for $9.50 US So in order to get more on par with that and others...I now charge $6.75 Still a pretty good discount. For 3D printed blocks, I was charging just $4.50 - $5 for a package of 25. To bring that price in line with others who basically sell the same thing....These will now cost $6. So we shall see how this goes. They other guys are up around $7.50 to $8.75 Maybe at closer to real market pricing the hoarding will ease up a bit. Once I actually did the comparison I realized how low my prices actually were and how it probably contributed to that phenom. Because I really dont want to stop just yet if I dont have to. I think I have a few years left in me churning out rope, blocks and fittings. Chuck

Because as I have found out...it really doesnt work. I have had folks just ask their wives or neighbors and friends to order and they brag to me about how they "beat me". So only the honorable folks actually get burned in the end by complying with a reasonable request like that. The guys who dont care are obsessed about getting what they want no matter what. Working retail can be stressful sometimes. I am just going to try and keep up and make more until it hopefully settles down. But let me tell you, it aint fun making rope every day for 8 to ten hours. Sadly there is only one method that truly works....I hate to do it but folks have been telling me for a decade that my prices are too low. I took a long hard look at what other companies charge for this stuff and its crazy. I think my stuff is the best by comparison (I am biased) and I was still 30 to 40% and sometimes 50% cheaper based on the lengths of rope and blocks I offer. So yes when I reopen, my prices will be 50 cents to 75 cents per package more expensive than when I shut down to restock. Not a huge amount but maybe enough of a deterrent against buying 12 packages at a time of everything. Sorry guys...between my costs going up and the hoarding...I have no choice. I am tired. Its either this or I just shut it all down and find a part time job where I am not churning out rope and blocks at a very low margin.... working 70 hours a week, 7 days a week. The admiral might have a point except for the fact that I do love doing my small part in making the hobby more enjoyable for folks. But like me, its getting old fast. Chuck

Just a heads up on the restocking effort. I finished making enough Blocks and now tan rope to reopen. I am about 85% finished with Dark Brown rope. I basically only have .018 and .012 Brown rope left to make. I figure 25 - 30 packages of each....but I am running out of steam, LOL. Thats about half of the amount I am usually at when fully stocked. So maybe a couple days before I reopen. After a full 8 days just making rope from sun up to sun down its getting really hard to stay focused. But I am almost there....If I sell out in one day again then I just quit, LOL. Chuck

Lovely work.

Rich...Just make sure you seal the wood first so the areas you dont want to darken can be cleaned up easier. Maybe apply some Wipe on Poly. Otherwise whatever you use will soak into every soft area and get dirty and wont be easily cleaned.

And here is the other version...or one of them just so they are all in the same place. This was the different lower counter design. sternfriezespeed.pdf

Reposting the painted friezes as someone asked if I could make them slightly more blue but keeping them dark rather than the usual light blue background for them....The frieze I am using is actually on a darkish brown background. But I think this will do the trick. There are now three versions. This will be the last one!!! You just cant please everyone. But try these if you want. sternfriezedarknew.pdf

I might have to update my chitbox, LOL I have only been using the free version. I should have looked at the other levels especially with the amount of 3D printing I have been doing. That really solves a lot of my heartaches. Thank You!!!

Wonderful....how do you create the boolean function...Can you do a step by step or point to a youtube video for us knuckleheads...screen shots would be great if you have the time. That I believe is the missing piece. At least for me to create what I need. I just have to find time to figure out how to master that boolean step by step in onshape. With these tools mentioned in this topic I think it is a complete introduction for anyone to make these stl files and refine them. It should prove to be a valuable resource without getting to technical ....I hope. Chuck

I am just going to keep adding tips and tricks I have learned along the way. Remember that we are all pretty much new to this. The more good images with any background you have the better your results. I can not vouch for the accuracy of this drawing but I wanted to document the method I used. In many of these image to 3D AI programs you can upload multiple images of an object from different views. Side , back, front etc. But it is hard enough finding one view of an image that is any good. So lets say you want to make a 3d printed figure of a midshipmen for your model. You can go up to any generic AI program like ChatGTP and ask them for it. But you must be very descriptive. For example I wrote this in ChatGPT. Create a highly detailed image of standing figure of a typical sailor midshipman on frigate in the British Royal navy in the period of about the year 1800. Can you create 4 differnt views of this standing figure with no background. Make each view separated by space so none of the views overlap. Leave some space between each view. I may have been able to make this request more detailed but I just wrote this on the fly. The image it made for me is this. Now is it correct to the period....I dont know, I would have to research that. But anyway... Next you take this into any photo program like photoshop and split it into 4 individual images. Load it into Meshy or any other image to 3D program. If I had time I would prob ask Chatgtp to redo this image without the hat and make him look a bit scruffier. But I really only wanted to demonstrate another tip or method. For those of you more experienced than me at this please feel free to post your tips here as well. Also for us neophytes....If anyone knows how to easily do this...If someone could create a step by step for how to create the slot for a figurhead so it can be slipped onto a stem I would appreciate it. Hopefully using free software. Maybe Blender or freeCad. I would like to give folks as many tools and tips for creating viable carvings and figureheads using this technology. But my knowledge is limited. So I am hoping those with the knowledge would be willing to share. Scruffier with no hat... And these are a few 3D conversions from meshy and hitem3D to show how very different the results are after using the same image from chatgtp. The free retries were used in each program to make two figures from each platform. The two center figures are from hitem3D. A very different result and I will leave it up to you which one is better. I know what my preference is.

That is what I prefer to do for my own models if I wasnt commercially making a kit of course. The folks who buy the kit get the perfect one but I will go in a rework it a bit before I glue it in position. I like to make the print look like it has a few carved faces and I do some undercutting to make it look better when the light hits your finished carving. Some careful cutting around the softer details makes them crisper as well. OK folks....you can also try HITEM3D This still has a free option and its also returning high quality and resolution prints....This is the only other site that I like the resolution and print quality. They also have the ability to upload multiple images of different views to make your rendering more accurate. The results are actually slightly different as this algorithm returns a slightly more stylized rendering. But they look great and you can download them. Here are 3 views in the Chitbox slicer...and yes for a figurehead you still have to bring it into another program like blender and cut a slot for the stem. Or you could do this by hand and just file out a slot after printing. I hate Blender and other CAD programs and just cant get the hang of it.

Lovely rendering. Yes I Broke down and paid. I thought they gave you a bunch of free downloads. Maybe they changed that. There are other sites that do this but Meshy 6 is the best out there. Chuck

Me too...everybody is!!!

Now is this American Indian figurehead perfect....No. But its pretty darned good. This figurehead can be printed to the size you need. Wash it and clean it good after it prints. But then dont put it in the curing station yet. All of the funky details the AI created can then be altered using some some sharp micro chisels. You have most of the hard work done for you....the face is wonderful...the hands and some of the clothes features need some work. So while the printed figurehead is still somewhat soft and not fully cured, you can finish it up with your chisels. This also helps the figurehead actually look like a carved piece rather than a "soft 3D printed" looking figurehead. It really is the best way to utilize this technology and really slip in there a little bit of hand carving. Once you finish your carved alterations, then you can stick it in the curing station to finish it off. Does this make sense? Please feel free to discuss this approach. Its the approach I prefer especially since you are not mass producing these commercially and just looking for a way to create a fantastic and unique personal ship model project. Chuck

Gregory...try getting a little creative with your thinking here. Even if you click symmetry it really doesnt work well. One solution is to split your original drawing into two pieces and run them through meshy separately. The top bust....named properly in meshy before you hit generate. Then the bottom leg where it would need to be split by the stem anyway.... Take both of these and put them together in your slicer actually. Use the duplication feature and mirror feature of your slicer to create an identical right and left leg. Then put them together... STL attached indianstatue1.stl Chuck

Kenny you picked one of the parts that is really tough for AI to do properly. I am afraid that wont work . The drop is very complex and its shape can not replicated with meshy. My guess is that you rendering is completely flat rather than shaped to fit the hull curvature. Thicker and rounded at the top and narrower at the bottom in the other direction.

That is a wonderful decision. Give it a try. What is the worst thing that could happen? And yes I hate those white metal castings as well. I remember when I gave them this hand sculpted and carved figurehead and they turned it into the abomination you see in the kit. Maybe they should read this topic at Model Shipways as well. They turned it into this.... So yes you absolutely should.

Sam...great to see you... I already touched upon the cost for the equipment. That aside if you already have that....to produce the file and print it...about $1 (resin cost for one print) and maybe a 1/2 hour to produce the file and get it ready for printing. Then about 4 1/2 hours to actually print. I pushed the button on my printer to start the printing before I went to bed last night. When I woke up it was all done. I washed it and cleaned it and cured it.....all done.

Its all very exciting. Now what good is all of this if you cant print these things. Or if the quality of the print is sub par. So on one of my tests earlier in this mini tutorial I went ahead and printed the file. This is a very very complex object. I wasnt sure it could be printed in one piece and how it would work with the supports I added to the object. Adding supports and establishing the optimal angle for 3D resin printing is an art unto itself. It really should have a topic of its own and there are so many discussions about this on the 3D printing boards. This was my logo....the fully in the round STL generated by Meshy. The drawing below. The STL File in Chitbox And the finished 3D print You can see how complex this object is and how well it printed out. Its very detailed. A bonus is that it stands on its own!! The supports needed for this where insane. You can still see some of the support nubbs as I only did a quick cleaning and de-nubbing.

That is wonderful. The lion looks great. Can you upload that stl here in this topic. I would like to examine it. I could just feed the same Drawing into meshy but I dont want to kill any more trees…as my kids keep reminding me. chuck

Yes that was the plan... I havent printed them yet as a test. I have so many ship model parts not yet tested. Gold Star for Druxey!!!!

Yes that is very true also. But there are really some excellent advancements being made recently. One more example because you are correct it is all about what you put into these generators. Garbage in and garbage out. So you need to change your thinking a bit. I used the text to 3D method for this one. And how many people would have have thought to ask it this question....see my text entered on the top left side? I wouldnt know where to begin to create this in CAD from scratch. Way too complex for me. And what do you think this object will be turned into for me with a little editing so I can sell it to you guys. If the resulting prints prove effective. Ten points to whoever can tell me what this will end up being!! Just guess? The surface quality is excellent by the way.

Fair point but this is really no different than building any kit with what comes in the box. No difference. Except this time the carvings and items are not white metal heavy blobs. You are just improving and bashing. Having said that...to make the things that are very difficult for the average and even experienced builder is OK. But if you prefer to fully scratch build, that is even better and more rewarding. It just depends on what you prefer and enjoy. I mean this is just a hobby after all....for most of us. But yes I do enjoy carving from a block of boxwood too and actually dont mind doing that. But I will also admit I cant do it as good as my AI buddy....or the CAD guy I hired. LOL. "There is no such thing as Bad ART" I wish I had bought that Warhol painting of Soup Cans before ......and had it hanging on my wall. To each his own. Chuck

And lastly....A little fun. These 3D AI programs also have a text option. Meaning you can type in text to describe what you want it to model in 3D. One day while practicing with this stuff I got frustrated and I was very tired. So just for giggles, I used the text feature. Now keep in mind that there are no photos of me on the web or even on my computer. But the key to using this AI text to 3D model feature is to be very descrptive. So I typed in... Make me a standing figure of a Caucasian ship modeler who is mildly overweight and 60 years old with a greying GoatT wearing sweat pants and a gray zipper hoodie and a Beige baseball cap wearing glasses. It is sorcery I tell you. SORCERY. I will just leave it at that. For those of you who have met me or know me. Really I am trying to lose a few pounds!!! Scary scary stuff. WTF!!!