tkay11

I have a Proxxon DB 250 wood turning lathe, and am comfortable with using the Proxxon set of turning chisels with it. I have just learned to turn cannon with it using hardwood. However, I can see that for really good results I should either use boxwood or brass. If I try to turn brass rod on this lathe, could I use the same chisels, or would I have to grind some down from HSS stock -- or even use watchmakers HSS rod or gravers? I'd be grateful for any advice on this. Thanks Tony

I've just bothered to do the calculation on the weights. According to the weights given in the AOTS book on the Cutter Alert, a 3pdr cannon would weigh 394 Kg. A 12pdr carronade would weigh 292Kg. I have no idea, though, of the forces associated with each. Tony

Nice discussion, Gregor. As Kester says, these cutter kits are a delight to play around with, experiment on and learn in whichever area you care to explore. Would the 12-pounder carronades have had more recoil etc than 3-pounder cannon and so have put more stress on the deck and bulwarks? I see the diameter of the carronade 12-pounder shot was 4.4 inches as against 2.774 inches for a cannon's 3-pound shot, so at scale that would be 1.75mm, which is nearer to the 2mm shot I currently have to use. I think I'll stick with the cannon, though. I decided to cut the gun ports to the rail as shown in the NMM plans. That has made the fitting of the cannon much easier as it was the height of the top edge of the port that was proving difficult. I would have thought 3-pounders wouldn't have been too heavy. It's a great pity that the barrels in the kit are the equivalent of 3.5 pounders at 1/64 scale. As you'll see fairly soon, I've re-done all the carriages to the scale of a 3.5 pounder in order to save myself buying or searching for the exact size barrel, and as a result they just fit the modified gunports. Now if they had been 3 pounders, I reckon they might have fit perfectly. Tony

Transom surround? No. 18th Century telly for those long sea trips. Tony

Yes, lovely details. I look forward to the pictures of your progress of your build up to this stage. Tony

Interesting research. I look forward to the finished swivel guns. Fun, isn't it! Tony

There's always Jotika at http://www.jotika-ltd.com/Pages/1024768/index.htm. They've been very good whenever I have dealt with them. There's a plus in that they provide the spare parts for the Caldercraft kits. Will cut wood to size too. Tony

It's great that you have the determination, Jan, to see this kind of challenge through. That's part of the fun/pain of the hobby. There are lots of challenges like this. The pain is in not getting it right first time, second time, third... . The fun is when you hit on the solution, and that's when the quiet little smile comes to your face as you look on your little win and move on to the next challenge. Far better than computer games in which you just succeed at a certain level then move on to the next -- but have nothing solid or tangible left to look at or admire. Tony

I had thought CMB announces availability for each article -- there are many times when I have looked for something on their site and it says 'not currently available' or words to that effect. When I bought the Sherbourne, it was because their site said the Lady Nelson was out of stock, so I rang and asked if there would be anything similar that they had in stock. I was very pleased with their advice to buy the Sherbourne. It may be that with wood they don't advertise stock levels, though. Tony

I don't know if you're referring to Rex Boocock's articles which are posted in the downloads section. The first of the series details Photoshop and AutoCAD importing. It's called "CREATING NEW SHIP DRAWINGS FROM EXISTING IMAGE FILES - PART 1". Re-sizing in both is very easy. Tony

The holes are for the swivel gun posts (part 33 on the 3mm walnut strip) and the timberheads (part 36 on the 2mm walnut strip). Page 4 of the manual (Deck fittings) tells you to look at Plan Sheet 2 for reference. You'll find that the timberheads and gun posts have slightly different bases which helps you identify which piece goes into which hole. In terms of fixing the rail, it probably helps to pin as well as glue. I think I pinned mine, but can't remember. Tony

Looks very neat. Well done, Jan Tony

I'll add my voice to the chorus of requests, Joe. Tony

Just a notice to you all: I'm off travelling for a week. I've been following the log with interest, so if there are no comments from my end, ye'll know why. I look forward to catching up when I get back. Tony

That's much better! Thanks, QA! Tony

Aaaah! Centre drills are just the thing I needed to think about as I have been having some trouble with a 1.5mm drill that refuses to go down the centre. Thank you so much, QA! Oh, and I like the blocks as well -- I might well order one! [Edit: Oops, $96 for one. Maybe I'll make my own] Tony

Yes, with a little thought, QA, I could do a wooden jig. I've been using angle iron (well, aluminium, actually) for this kind of thing. But your's is a really beautiful piece of work. Tony

Now something as beautiful as that fingerplate can't go un-noticed in the internet world. You don't happen to call yourself Arbalest as well do you? I'd love to be able to make something like that. Tony

There's a small guide to joggling at https://sites.google.com/site/shipwrightsfaq/smf-q072. The nibbing that I ended up doing I showed in my log at http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/335-hmc-sherbourne-by-tkay11-–-caldercraft-–-scale-164-1763-a-novice’s-caldercraft-sherbourne/?p=3203. Tony

I agree with Kester. Almost every day (when I have a day to spare, that is) that I spend on ship modelling I have a moment when I say to myself "this is terrible, I'll never get the hang of this" and I put my tools down in disgust. Unfortunately for the ship which then has a nice little respite from the various attacks I make on it, it isn't long before I'm going over it all in my mind and saying "Hmm. Suppose I tackle it that way. Maybe that'll make it all work". So I go back to the desk and have another bash at it. Sometimes I get it right, sometimes I don't. I have learned not to spend too long at the desk staring under a glaring lamp at tiny little pieces. It is highly important to take a rest, just as you would from normal work. It may well be in the nature of this new job that first attempts don't work out. Look what happened to Mark who's just given up his first attempt at the Licorne after getting a long way into the framing. Now that's BIG TIME giving up to start again. I've just spent a couple of days figuring out how to make the axle trees for the cannon. I thought I really had it solved until, into my 8th axle, I found they all were 1mm too short, and, in addition, several of the axle stubs were not quite at right angles to the axle. My filing skills obviously need improvement. So I'll have to go back and have a very good re-think about how to do them. In other words, Jan, I can bet you'll be back on the job in very little time if you are interested in the hobby with its endless problems to solve and overcome, and it sounds like you are. Tony

Jan, I don't know if you have already done so, but if not, have a look at the deck planking tutorials on this site. You'll see them at http://modelshipworldforum.com/ship-model-framing-and-planking-articles.php. There's an excellent one by Ulises Victoria, and also a calculator in an Excel spreadsheet by AEW. You can see the two different types (joggling and nibbing) in the following picture from zu Mondfeld's book Historic Ship Models: Tony

Yes, QA, it does look flimsy, but it seems quite solid to me -- given that I don't expect the forces on it to be too great (and I'm not going to test it by clouting it with a 2lb hammer). I'm really pleased with the DB250. I had dithered for a while about getting a metal-turning lathe, but reasoned: (a) that I was just working with wood. ( that the level of accuracy with wood would be quite sufficient -- especially given that a lot of modellers on this site use the DB250 and have very good results (in addition to being pleased with it themselves). I have seen lovely small pieces made with the DB250, and in addition many say it is very handy for working with masts -- even more so should I bother to buy an extra bed to extend it. c) that a metal-turning lathe would be overkill for me. I can't see myself working with metal for quite a while. Furthermore, that although I could turn wood in the metal-working lathe, it would only be for work with small pieces, and work with masts would require me to return to my household drill. I am happy with shaping masts using my household drill setup, but have found the DB250 so much more convenient to set up and easier to use. (d) A metal-turning lathe and all its accessories would be expensive. I only have a small budget for such things. £500 would be way above anything I could afford. I read that the affordable micro-lathes would have to have a lot of setting up. And the slightly larger afordable mini-lathes that also require care in setting up but are less prone to issues with alignment would be out of my budget. Then I had a look at the cost of all the accessories and that really put me off. I can foresee that one day I'll be interested in a metal-working lathe, but that will depend a little on the outcome of the lottery. In the meantime I'll have a lovely time learning wood turning skills with the DB250. I've already learned to appreciate the 4-jaw independent chuck and learned how to turn 4mm wheels from square stock. Great fun! Tony

The runner is solid, so conceptually one could do the modification. However, I'm going to stick with the current setup for the while since it is doing the job and I still have a long way to go in learning the basic skills in using the lathe. It took me months before I was happy in using my table saw, so I expect the same learning curve for even such a simple lathe! Thanks, though, for all the ideas, Wefalck. Keep them coming -- they certainly spark the imagination! Tony

That looks like a very nice project, Wefalck, but I think I'd need to come over to Paris to see your workshop and learn a bit more from you before taking such a job on! I suppose the file would be needed to make the sliding mechanism with runner and grooves. What would defeat me, I think, is filing with that precision. Or maybe it's like ship modelling -- just start and learn by doing. Tony

Excellent suggestions, Wefalck, and highly doable! I like the idea of the spring washer, as well, as I was thinking about the play round the nut. Thanks very much Tony