reklein

For duplicating shapes on the lathe,you can make a metal or card profile of the shape you wish to duplicate and then check against it while you cut. Wood woorking magazines are a great source of how to do this stuff, Check out Woodturning and Wood turning design magazines. BILL

Thing of it is ,you need to use a jointer to get one side true and flat, then you use the thicknesser, planer, to true the other side to the first. Same if you're using a sander thicknesser. Its hard to get a jointer to cut one side parallel to the first.   BILL

Where jig saw blades are concerned, there are quite a few manufacturers of blades but the most available ,in the US any way, is probably Olson. In the hobby shops that are still left one can find Zona brand also. A rule of thumb is to choose a blade that can put three teeth on the thickness of material being cut. So for thin metal you probably want 48 -56 TPI. (Teeth Per Inch) for thicker material, 1/4", you may want say 12 TPI skip tooth blades. These will allow the saw to clear out the sawdust as you move along. Also for thicker material you may want reverse tooth blades for quicker cutting. These blades cut on oth the up and down stroke to speed cutting.       BILL

Looks pretty neat ,but I think a cheaper Chinese model would probably suffice for the amount a model builder would use it . I've got an old 1950s era Delta bench model jointer that I got at a garage sale for $30. Took it down to the car wash and pressure washed it. Rpainted it and sent the blades out for sharpening. Works great. My jig saw is the same only I got it free. Check garage sales folks one can get a good deal. Ask to plug em in and see how they work. Check bearings for slop and side play. Look for missing guides and adjustment knobs etc. Sale season is just around the corner. BILL

I'll have to second Harvey and Andys suggestions for masking off. Its slow and tedious to mask correctly but the results are worth it. Doubling the trouble is that white paint desn't cover well and 2 or ore coats are required so masking saves that much more time. Painting the scroll work on the billet head is tricky and sometimes you have to clean up either with an Exacto knife or cover it with more black. Good luck on your build. BILL

Floyd, what're yu using for a shop these days? Nice project BTW. I'm back on my Golden Hind,no not that one, the ship model. A friend offered to buy it if I finished it. Turned out his wife wants it. BILL

Floyd if you haven't been there already the museum of science and industry is great. BILL That is if you are in the down town area. BILL

Pretty creative modeling the Philo. Specially for makin something out of nothing. BILL

White metal castings can be bent,but you must do it gradually and support the whole piece with your fingers as you bend the piece. You don't usually get a second chance as the metal hardens as you bend it. So trial fit the piece as you bend it to fit whatever you're trying for so that you don't have to rebend. I have done this with parts from the Bluejacket Constitution and had success. BILL

I kinda like the satin finish. Gives it some class.A patina if you will. BILL

I have the Aztes too and as airbrushes go its the best I've used. My Aztec is the metal bodied one with interchangeable needle assemblies for different paints. An assembly for acrylics is important here as acrylics act differently than solvent paints. Unless you open a T-shirt shop you'll hardly ever use your brush more than just a few minutes. BILL

I'm beginning to think you are one of the worlds treasures. Bill in Idaho USA

I think my scroll saw. I got an old Delta and its really handy,even for kit building as one can replicate broken parts and saw planking correctly. Bill

Wow! good to see you making something nice out of a piece of junk. I had no hope for that hull. Bill

Woodcraft sells a nice 10" full size saw called Saw Stop. It has sensors in the blade that fling a block of aluminum into the blade ,stopping it instantly. They're spendy but effective. I saw one demonstrated with a hot dog. Impressive. You gotta rebuild the saw after and get a new stop block. Bill

In my opinion heamostats are best used for rigging clamps and tying knots. The larger ones make good handles for holding parts while spray painting. The really big ones can helpyou get pickle out of the jar. BILL

Actually these clamps are made by USATCO. Heres a pic. BILL

I guess the point is to show off the nice tools. I've been a modeler pretty much all my life but have never had occasion to use a mill,and only rarely a lathe. Mostly because I don't have the skills for them. I often dream of scratching a locomotive or a steam engine for a boat model but never seem to get around to it. Two other things in life I sorta regret is never leaning to play an instrument and never learning computer drafting and art. However I'm pretty good at oing my own track work, carving fancy work on ships and painting my own backdrops on my RR layout. Anyways, the photos make me suffer from tool envy. Bill, in Idaho,where you definetly need an insulated , secure shop.

I thought I saw that design somewhere. They look alot like Cliquots clamps used in the aircraft industry. I have some like yours but their strength is too much to use for wood as they would crush your structure. You have a nice practical dsign there. BILL

I would seriously consider doing the cannon in resin. Once agian Micro-mark has the whole kit and theres a ton of videos on the subject. Specially if you look up Smooth-on or other sites. Metal cannon these days are highly over rated with all the cool  finishes one can get for plastics and resins. BILL

The nice thing about the Black&Deckers and the craftsman etc. is that they have enough torque to drive an inch and a half screw to the head in pine.Yet they have a pretty slow RPM. Not sure what it is but its managible. The Dremels are so high rpm that one has a hole in the wrong place before you know it. BILL

I thought proportional dividers were used to change the scale of your drawings to the scale of your build. Say for example your drawings are in 1/8th scale and you want to make your model in 1/4 scale. You then set the dividing screw to 2 I suppose and that doubles the size of your measurements. However todays photocopiers are so accurate that dividers are sorta obsolete. The guy at Staples gave me a pocket calculator to do the calculations to go from any scale to any other scale. I still want a set. I also have a shipmodeling book that shows how to make a set from brass, but I'm too lazy for that. BILL

sounds like you made a good choice. I find mine really handy. What are you bulding?   BILL

The little pistol grip cordless screwdriver is the way to go. Spend the $50 and get the one with the locking chuck. I got the cheaper one and the chuck pulls out when you try to retract the drill bit. Get a micro drill chuck from Micro-Mark. They have plenty of torque too. Bill

The bright colors on the Vasa make me think of a carousel or Mery-go-round and not a warship at at all. Can't imagine a modern sip being painted like that at all. Unless its a tour ship. Great job Matti.  Bill in Idaho