michael mott

Hi Vaddoc yes you have done a nice job with the roller metal sheaves. I personally think it would look much better if you used blocks instead. The unprotected sheaves look dangerous to feet. and really a block is just a protected sheave. I'm sure you could add a couple of slabs of wood on either side of the sheaves and the they would not be so dangerous looking. Of course this is only my opinion, it is your model so you have to be happy with what you make, and you have done a wonderful job so far. Michael

A bit of time to get the points working and the 18 inch gauge loco pushing a standard gauge axle along the straight section. Michael

A common block will work fine something as simple as this. Michael

Hi Vaddoc I would lead the sheets through turning blocks at the deck. A ring would cause a lot of friction and make it hard for the crew to "sheet in" the sail. Even with a block a winch is often needed to make that last bit of adjustment. Michael

I was able to fix down the standard gauge track last night where the switch will be and then added the notches unto the narrow gauge track today, I will be deeding to add check rails for the narrow gauge because of the tight curves. Mr driver is wondering about the situation Time for some supper. Michael

A lovely Model, Hellmuht, I really like the aged textures and the display setting. Michael

Hi Jack and Jan welcome to what I hope will cover a number of different types of materials and finishes and techniques. Michael

Exquisite sir! Michael

Wonderful looking wheel Keith! The amount of wood showing is so small that most would not notice that all the grain is in the same direction. I know if you had had more time say another couple of days, you would have glued up some wedges before turning the rings. You know I just cannot resist the occasional rib. Respectfully Michael

Marsalv, As others have already mentioned your workmanship is superb and of the highest calibre. You mentioned that the moldings were done on the milling machine, Are you using a combination of different shapes on the one molding or are you making the cutters as a single cutter yourself, also what speed are you using to obtain such a fine surface finish. Regards Michael

Daniel, following your work is one of the reasons that this is my go to website when I need some inspiration and humility. Your workmanship is outstanding and helps me know that there is no substitute for doing a job with less than one's best abilities. It is a joy to watch this ship come to life. Michael

quite right Druxey there certainly will be gaps for the flanges This picture shows it a little more clearly, I have been shaping the rails and there will be enough clearance in both rail sizes for the wheels of each to clear. This overhead shot gives a better view of the way the track will set. The points will function as a normal set will function. The most fiddly part will be filing the gaps in the large and small rails at the cross over place. One of the comments in the Crewe book is that most of the points on the narrow gauge were kicked over by the driver when needing to change tracks. Mark and Egilman welcome to this new project. Michael

Thank you Yves Thanks Druxey , I am always a b it hesitant about posting about the railway stuff here because I know I should be posting about the cutter and boat related stuff. That said I really do enjoy reading about all the wonderful work that so many do on this site. it is still my favourite forum for the warmth and sharing that occurs here. So apologies for not being around for a while. Hi Moab Yes I call them rabbit holes it is so easy to get tripped up by them, and then away we fall. Having some interesting decisions about how to deal with the crossing and points (switch) inside the standard gauge track because I did not want to have the large rail cut into a short piece between the narrow gauge track. Most of the track will be buried up to the rail height anyway with ground texture as in these images. Again these images are credited to Edward Talbot and Clive Taylor book about the Crewe Works narrow gauge system. The reason that I have the narrow gauge join the standard gauge track just before the entry into the works is to avoid having a small door next to the large one, it just looked odd. Once the track is all laid The Idea is to be able to move a standard gauge wagon on the narrow gauge trucks as in the picture so that it theoretically can be moved to another part of the works with the narrow gauge loco. I love the outfit that the chap is dressed in so will have to make a figure dressed the same way. Michael

Wonderful to see the final pictures Eric, you must be satisfied with the results. A beautiful looking ship. Good luck with the move of your in laws not a good time as you say with all the restrictions in place. Stay safe and enjoy your next model and the prepping of the lumber from your own farm. It is a great feeling to take the time to take the raw material and see the change from tree to model lumber. and the wood will not have been cooked during the drying process so the natural oils in the wood are still there and it makes a difference to the colour and texture of the finished wood. Michael

Hi Roger thanks for your kind words and I have been wondering about the floor in the workshop and it occurred to me that wood blocks on end would be a practical floor, forgiving and yet easily replaceable. I seem to remember that some of the sets in the streets of London were wood as well especially around the tram tracks. The overhead crane is is not all that heavy duty and will have a loop of chain hanging down to the floor like this one. In Edward Talbot and Clive Taylor's Book "Crewe Works Narrow Gauge System" published by the London & North Western Railway Society. And this one shows the flooring in fairly good detail and I had wondered if the sets were wood . Currently I an sorting out the best way to tackle all the brickwork, which will likely be done by adding strips if 140lb watercolour paper and cutting out the vertical gaps as once the strips are glued onto the backing. like this. At least I cannot ever claim to not having something to occupy my time. It's a good thing that I am not into model aeroplanes as well as boats and trains. here is a shot of the little Crew loco running That's all for now Michael

Yes well done indeed Steven. great work all round. Michael

Hi Vaddoc, Mark makes some good points. A couple of observations I noticed that you have a fairly large bagginess diagonally across the mainsail, to correct this you need to either raise the gaff at the mast which will also entail raising the peak of the gaff as well, or you need to pull down on the boom at the mast. I am wondering why you have laced the foot of the main sail as it restricts the airfoil shape near the bottom, I have preferred to have my mainsail on my sailboat loose footed and it allows for a nice shape. I agree with Mark regarding blocks on the clews this is not a good practice and also creates a catch when coming about as the block has to pass over the forestay of the sail below it especially with the two upper jibs. When changing tacks you want those sheets to flow as smoothly as possible across from one side to the other. It is better to lead the sheet through a fairlead of some sort even the sheaves that you have made and then lead them to a winch to be adjusted and cleated putting multiple purchases on the sheets will cause no end of difficulties when under sail and changing tacks the sheets are often let off in a hurray and the sail whips around the mast as in the staysail and over the forestays of the next two. In my opinion it would be better to use a shackle to attach the sheets to the jibs there is also a simple looping type fixing which does not use ant hardware at all. Michael

Hi Vaddoc, just catching up, wow you have done a lot of work the rigging and sails look wonderful. Michael

Rob the combination of the furled and billowing sails is wonderful, You are show you excellent skills with the paper sails. Michael

Hello Keith it has been a little while since looking in, My you have been doing outstanding work on this yacht. Michael

OK so I confess I have been absent without leave for a while! I hope everyone is well and that the pandemic has abated for some, we seem to be loosening up some restrictions here in Alberta, although I am being very cautious when going to the grocery store or the hardware store. Anyway enough of that this will give some Idea about what I have been doing for the last few months. It has all come about because I was looking at my collection of English model railway magazines and the old railway bylines magazine. A complete rework of the garden railway because of track issues which happened because I did not make a solid foundation for the track and had it "floating " instead and pinned to a few posts buried in the dirt underneath the track. This led me into another world of my own dreaming. Years ago I built a small layout called Macton Locomotive Works, which was eventually damaged badly by damp and mold during a poor storage situation when I lived at the lake. I though I could make a new railway layout in the spare room in the basement so I cleaned it up and made three 2 foot by 4 foot baseboards bolted them together and planned a new iteration of Macton . I set up the new space in the new "railway room" the problem was up and dow the stairs a lot and not very nice light, meaning very little daylight, just a tiny window at the ceiling at the south end of the room. Then I was bringing various tools down to the basement all hand tools but no real bench and a semi shag rug. All conspired to the point that I thought I should just move all this stuff up to the model shop. This entailed a big reorganization in the shop, and so it goes. I am building to the ridiculous scale of 27/32nds to the foot, just shy of 7/8ths to the foot. You might be asking yourselves is this guy nuts or what..... probably! The reason for this scale is that O gauge track can represent 18 inch gauge at this scale, so rounding up a few thou here and there we get .070" equals 1 inch. which means that standard gauge is equal to 3.955 inches so I rounded that up to 4 inches. Still a lot smaller than the 1/8" equaling 1 inch which I have been building the cutter at. A layout was prepared that would feature the inside of a locomotive works and a bit of the outside as well. The workshop will give me the opportunity to build some larger model locomotives plus all the overhead cranes and assorted workbenches and other stuff that one finds in these sorts of environments. I did build a small working loco of Pet, out of plastic to run on O gauge track. And now I can have some fun building some 4 inch gauge locos out of card and plastic as props in the loco works. when I am not working on Cutters or launches A working overhead crane will run on a track between the brick arch wall at the back and the columns in the front. The height of the wall at the back and the columns is 21 inches and the overall length of the layout is 12 feet. . The cutter waits patiently knowing I will work on some more when I run out of the other steam. Michael

Hello Keith, sorry for not replying earlier I have not been on the forum in a few months, one thing and another. I have been working out in the garden and had to relay all my track in the raised bed because I did not lay the track very well the first time round. Then all this Covid stuff happened and I have been beavering away on a new project. I like your Loco, the roundhouse parts are well liked by Peter Angus if you know of his work he has built hundreds of locos using roundhouse parts. Have you anyplace outside where you could run your loco? I will check in more often now. regards Michael

Exquisite work Javier, Glad that you are safe. Michael

What Druxey said!! congratulations Geert a wonderful model. Michael

Brilliant! simply Brilliant! Michael