tlevine

When I bought my regular chisels I went to the woodworking sites and looked for their recommendations.  Lie-Nielsen, Two Cherries and Stanley Sweetheart were names that came up a lot.  I then went to Amazon, looked for the best prices and ended up with a combination of Two Cherries and Stanley chisels.  I am very pleased with them but keep in mind that quality chisels are not inexpensive.  They will, however, last a lifetime if well maintained.

Chris, I agree with you.  A good set of chisels and a sharpening system is much more useful.  Don't forget the micro-chisels as well unless you plan on making your own.  The best sharpening system is the Veritas (http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?p=51868&cat=1,43072,43078,51868).  Good chisels are expensive but worth their price.  

As a mill neophyte I will tell you my approach to purchasing a mill and its accessories.    

First, I held off buying one as long as I could.  As already mentioned, both the mill and its accessories are expensive.  I finally broke down when it was time to make the capstan for Atalanta.  I knew there was no way I could accurately do it any other way.  I felt Sherline was the only way to go after reading all of the comments and having previous experience with their lathe.  Next, I decided what my "must have right now" accessories were.  Everyone has different needs and there is no point in purchasing items that will gather dust.  As I learn more and expand my skills I will assuredly buy more accessories.  My list is as follows:

• sensitive drill (turns the mill into a dead accurate, pin-vise equipped drill press)
• mill vise
• rotary table
• tilt table
• assorted mills and collets to accept them
• 4-jaw self-centering chuck

I hope this is of some help.

It was great to meet you.  Good luck with your model.  Don't forget to start a build log.

Beautiful model.  I am drawn to the extra stanchion in the midline.  I presume this is to support the belfry since it is offset from the other two?

Those connectors look very interesting.  I found the following link for those of us in the US.  http://store.spruebrothers.com/category_s/2053.htm

Thank you gentlemen.  Next up is the belfry.  I have turned the bell on the lathe and will work on the belfry after the Conference.

You first must remove any finish from the brass chain.  Solvents like acetone or acids might work.  Since I prefer to stay away from chemicals when possible, I flame brass on the stove before attempting to blacken it.  Just be careful not to melt it!

Thanks everyone. Chuck, great shot of the Charlie.

The forecastle bulwark planking was a fun exercise in joinery.  The upper plank drops down to the cathead.  There is a "lip" at the fore end of the upper plank, locking the lower plank in place.  They are treenailed with #76 sized bamboo (second smallest hole on a Byrnes drawplate).  Eyebolts are located in the bulwark aft of the foremast. There are four eyebolts on either side of the foremast.

The forecastle rail is comprised of two set of pillars with a rail, attached to a spar rack.  The rail has a pattern on its edge.  On the long sides this was done with a scraper.  On the short straight and curved sides this was formed with files.  There is a sheave in each of the pillars.  

The belfry will be made next but this will have to wait until after the Conference.  Hope so see a lot of you there.

To post pictures take a look at these instructions posted by Dan Vadas.  http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/540-how-to-add-pictures-in-your-posts-and-pms/.  Can you take a picture of the areas of the plan you are questioning?  

Files are a lot like clamps...you can never have enough of them.  My selection ranges in size from round and flat files with the word Craftsman on them all the way down to various shapes of Grobet jeweler's files.  Until you develop your preferences and decide how fine or coarse a file you want (and how much you want to spend), it is hard to beat various shapes and grits of sanding sticks.  If you use a repositionable glue stick, the sandpaper is easily replaced when it is worn.

The beauty of a Google search is that it is free.  And sometimes it even provides you with answers from individuals qualified to have an opinion.  If you are interested in building a fully framed model, I would recommend developing your library first.  Get the first two volumes of TFFM.  Get Ed Tosti's volumes on Naiad.  Look at prints from the Royal Museum Greenwich which illustrate frame construction throughout the years.  

Only then should you decide whether you are as crazy as the rest of us Swan-class builders. If the answer is yes then welcome aboard.

Kevin, very nice build.  Please check the locations of the timberheads against the as-built plans for Thorn.  The locations for a few of the timberheads on Atalanta (and Fly, the only other vessel I have plans for) differ from David's Mylar plan.  It would be easy to correct now if necessary.  For example, on the plan you show in your video, the two of the timberheads are made of short stuff above the last gun port.  On Atalanta the timberheads were shifted to prevent this.  

I would doubt it because when I bought it from the vendor there were two models available, one for the Dremel and the other for the MicroMark.  I am sure the thickness and length of the table is different on the two saws.  

Dave, I think a bending chart would be a great addition.  I am surprised so many builders use swiss pear rather than natural pear.  IMHO the color is too pink and the working characteristics are not as nice.

It is called the Accurizer II and I have the same thing for my Dremel.  It also came with a cross-piece for the back of the saw to stabilize the motor.  I think it is still available for the MicroMark saw.  Using this, the zero clearance plates and the toothed belt you have a very accurate machine powerful enough to rip 1/2" stock without any problem.  If only the fence was taller...

Kurt, in the photo from left to right are #12, #15 and #11 blades.  The drop-off angle on the non-cutting side varies by manufacturer.  The #12 is also called a tonsil blade (you can guess why).

As mentioned above, I rebuilt the jeer bitts and crosspiece.  Again, thanks to Dave for pointing it out.  The only reason I can think of for the glaring mistake is a total brain shutdown.  Forgive the Qtip fuzz on the crosspiece...  It's gone now.

The stove flue is comprised of two sections.  The lower section is conical and the upper is cylindrical.  On most of the Swan class ships there is an angled piece with a baffle.  On Atalanta and Fly the flue is straight.  While I was waiting for Druxey's affirmation, I made up both types of ends for the stove flue, straight and angled.  The conical section is made by cutting a v-shaped slit in an oversize brass tube.  The tube was heated to remove the temper and slit was closed, resulting in a conical shape.  This was then silver soldered and the top and bottom were cut off for the correct length.  The upper and lower sections were then soldered together and the piece was blackened and coated with Floquil dull finish.  I still need to make a metal plate for the coaming.

Druxey, maybe the captain "borrowed" the flue from Pegasus after enough rain ran down into the stove!

Thanks, Druxey.  It is a shame as the angled cowl/baffle assembly is more logical.

I am getting ready to construct the flue for the stove.  On the plan (kindly provided by Dave 2 posts above) the flue is shown as straight.  I checked out several other of the Swan class ships and the only other one I could find with this convention is Fly.  My question is did the artist simply not draw the flue correctly since this was provided by an outside vendor or was the flue truly straight?  Any guidance would be appreciated.

I also rebuilt the jeer bitts and crosspiece.  Pictures pending.  It looks much better now.

Experiment on some scrap to see what brand appeals to you.  But since you used a Sharpie, it should be an acrylic finish to prevent bleeding.  

What are you planning to use as a finish?  Any solvent based finish will cause the Sharpie to bleed into the surrounding wood.  (I found that lesson out the hard way.)  That is why many of us use a pencil lead, paper or paint.

Well, sir, I concur with you.  It also appears my fore topsail sheet crosspiece may be too small.  I guess I have my project for next weekend.  Thank you for pointing this out.

Thanks everyone for the likes and comments.  Dave, I measured the dimensions directly off the Admiralty plans.  As I mentioned, Atalanta's fore jeer bitt was different from some of the other Swan class ships.  What struck me is how something this large is only bolted onto two flimsy forecastle beams.