tkay11

Thanks for the info, Nick. Could you give a link to the tool rest that you found online? Tony

Thanks, Jud and Wefalk, for taking me through something that should have been obvious if I'd bothered to put my mind to it instead of thinking there must be something more complicated to do! It's like a lot of the ship modelling I've been doing. Simple often wins -- just a little plain practical thinking needed! Thanks again, guys! Tony

Thanks very much, Jud. That's the kind of nice and simple idea that really appeals. Any suggestions for square stock? I hadn't thought that having a dial indicator might have problems when it comes to square stock but your idea made me think more carefully about how it would work for square stock. Tony

I am about to buy a Proxxon DB 250 wood lathe, along with an independent 4-jaw chuck. My questions are about the centering of stock in such a chuck. All the suggestions I have seen so far demand the use of a dial indicator. These have magnetic mounts. The questions are: 1. In practice is it important to have a dial indicator for centering the stock in this lathe (i.e. are the tolerances in wood wide enough to allow for centering by eye)? 2. How do you mount a dial indicator on the Proxxon since (as far as I know) the DB250 is not made of a ferrous metal that would take a magnetic base (i.e would I have to glue a sheet of metal to the housing to take the magnetic base)? I'd be grateful for any advice. Thanks Tony

You're right, Joe. I wasn't paying attention. Thanks for the correction. Tony

Mike, you might be thinking of the Bluejacket Shipcrafters kit of the Jefferson Davis. You can see it at http://www.bluejacketinc.com/kits/jeffersondavis.htm. It costs $375, and features in Milton Roth's book 'Ship Modelling from Stem to Stern'. The blurb on the web site says: "JEFFERSON DAVIS was one of the most famous of the swift patrol vessels, used both off our Atlantic and Pacific coasts. She is one of the Campbell class of 14 revenue cutters. This class has been described as being the "ultimate Baltimore clipper," square topsail schooners. This is a model for the experienced modeler. The rugged 1/4" basswood frames are closely spaced as in actual ship construction, allowing plenty of bearing surface for a smooth planking job. The frames are pre-beveled to ensure easy clamping and a fair lay to the planking. Most importantly, JEFFERSON DAVIS is a beautiful, impressive model." However, as you are in Milton Keynes you might find the cost of shipping, import duty and VAT a bit too much on top. Tony

The Lady Nelson is a 10-gunner cutter as well as being a highly recommended kit. Tony

Don't worry about ignoring advice or suggestions -- we all have different perspectives. As to the planking, look up the excellent tutorials under 'Framing and Planking' in the 'Articles/Downloads' section. You'll see them at http://modelshipworldforum.com/ship-model-framing-and-planking-articles.php. Antscherl's article is the one to go for first, perhaps. Tony

The Sherbourne has ports for 10 guns, but the kit supplies 8. I suspect the ports in the bow would normally be used only in cases of necessity as otherwise they might be too much in the way during normal sailing. Tony

If you have used aliphatic wood glue, you just need to use isopropyl alcohol (isopropanol) which you can find easily at any pharmacy, or even on eBay in large quantities (I bought 500ml because I use it so much -- which tells you how often I have to unglue parts). Use a brush to keep soaking the area where it's glued and you'll find it comes away easily after 5-10 minutes. Tony

Don't worry, Jan, everyone has the same experience -- no matter how careful we think we are being. There's a saying many on the forum use which is something like 'measure twice, measure again, cut once' which indicates that the problem exists. But, as you have found out, working with wood and glues that we can dissolve means that we can develop patience to do it more carefully next time. Tony

That's a lovely little boat you built. As to the Sherbourne manual, if you want it in a hurry, I can post you a pdf file of the manual while you are waiting for the original. Let me know by Personal Message (PM) and I'll get it to you. Tony

Great to see this log started, Jan! Welcome to the Sherbourne fleet! I'll be following this log with great interest. Tony

There used to be at least two Ballahoo builds on MSW 1.0 (i.e. before the Great Crash) but their logs disappeared with it and have not been replaced. I had thought either vulcanbomber or bangle was one of the ones who did the build, but a quick search on their names now suggests that my memory is haywire as there is no reference to Ballahoo under their names. I also searched the Internet Archive of MSW 1.0 but there was only one page available for Balahoo under the name cornishxxx (who doesn't seem to be on this rebuilt forum -- so this is by way of saying it looks as though you can't ask an original builder to repost their logs! I think the choice is whether you want to have guidance on your build for the particularities of your kit or whether you are happy to go for general advice. If you like the Ballahoo then you'll get lots of support anyway as you come across problems (most problems with builds are not really specific to a model). If you want the security of seeing how others have built a model, there are one-masted models such as the Chatham, Lady Nelson and Sherbourne which probably are similar in construction and in the same price range (although on this forum there are now no Chathams being built). Others have gone for the Bounty Jolly Boat as a nice first build. Either way, as has been said, you will pick it up fairly quickly with lots of support from people who will be looking out for you. This is a particularly friendly forum from that point of view -- many of the most experienced modellers on this site have often stated that they too at one time have been through the same issues with a first build and are only too eager to help others. The moderators keep a sharp eye out for new builds so that they can do just that. Tony

Quiet as far as the forum goes. I've been very busy with supporting a music festival run by my son as well after having returned from a long trip abroad, but I've also been re-thinking how to make blocks as I discovered that my method of attaching hooks to the blocks made the whole unit (block + hook) so large that there was no room for the ropes between blocks! All the same, it's lovely to see your bowsprit, Gregor. Now that you're ahead of me in construction I can learn from you -- so that's a real bonus! Tony (hoping to have something to show by the end of the year!)

Well, thank goodness it's resolved so you can start the new year afresh. You must have been quite frustrated. We're looking forward to the build. Tony

Nice to know about Amadeal. I hadn't heard of them, and as they're in London that's handy for me. Keep us posted as to how you get on. Tony

Have you looked at the ones at ArcEuroTrade? They're at http://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/Catalogue/Machines-Accessories/Lathes. The baby lathe is £255 and has good reviews. You just need to follow the advice when setting it up to check everything's working as best it should. Tony

I'll second that. I also use TurboCad and it really is not expensive. However, I am tinkering with Draftsight out of interest, but it is only 2D. TurboCad allows you to work in 3D as well. Tony

Draftsight is free and runs on PC, Mac or Linux. Tony

Just for the interest of those who've been following this topic, I've posted the modifications I made to my Proxxon MB 140 drill stand to make it into a milling machine as well. The link is http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/4539-how-to-modify-proxxon-mb-140-drill-stand-to-act-as-mill/?p=130660 Tony

Just for the interest of those who've been following this topic, I've posted the modifications I made to my Proxxon MB 140 drill stand to make it into a milling machine as well. The link is http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/4539-how-to-modify-proxxon-mb-140-drill-stand-to-act-as-mill/?p=130660 Tony

I was thinking about how to modify my Proxxon MB 140 drill stand to have a reasonably accurate vertical feed so I could use it as a mill. So I did a web search on 'Proxxon stand modification' and after several pages of results I came across this modification by a guy called Stu who posted it in a Railway Modellers' forum. I asked him for the details, and he very kindly provided the following plan: He made his block out of Perspex, but I have never worked with Perspex before, so I thought I'd try it with an old piece of pine that was lying around. This wood one works fine and I thought I'd share the results with the forum because there has been such a lot of interest in mills. However, I have ordered a block of 100mm square Perspex to make another one because I have a feeling the screw threads will last longer. The following is a picture of the original stand before modification: The following are the tools I used together with the block of wood ready cut (the very cheap drill stand I used to cut the 20mm and other holes with my large drill is not shown): As you will note, this is not an expensive modification once you have the drill stand, tap wrench and spade bit -- all of which would be useful for many other jobs. There are a couple of changes I made to Stu's original plan: 1. The tightening bolt at the back is not threaded into the block. Instead I drilled a 6mm hole and it closes with a simple wing nut. 2. Rather than driving the 'height' bolt directly on to the top of the stand, I cut off the tip of an old chopstick, put a layer of CA glue on the end to stop it fragmenting when the bolt comes into contact, and use it as a plug in the M5 hole left by the depth stop screw (which is removed when the stand is used as a mill). As you will find out when you try this, the dimensions are not critical. The stand's post is 19.8mm, and because the diameter of the flat bit was 20mm, a good slit is needed in the block to give enough clearance for the sides to flex. 2mm is just fine when you put a 6mm hole across it for the M6 bolt with the wing nut. You'll note that the slit I made on the other side of the hole for the stand looks as though it reaches into the hole for the depth bolt. This is actually the bottom end of the circular saw cut, which is much shallower on the other side of the block. When I make the next one out of Perspex I'll file it out instead. I did also buy a shielded ball bearing for the bamboo plug but it works so well without the ball bearing that I'll leave it out until it proves necessary. In practice it seems accurate. One turn of the knob gives a 1mm change in height because the M6 bolt has a thread spacing of 1mm -- so that suits the knob I bought from Maplin very nicely indeed! I hope this is as useful for others as it has been for me. Once I receive my Perspex block I'll post pictures of that as well. Tony

Alexandru provided a detailed set of pictures of one of his Victory's boats at http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/1474-34-ft-hms-victory-launch-by-alexandru-scale-148-completed/?p=29512. Tony

Amazon UK now have the links to the £6.99 copies. Tony