clifforddward

I've had personal experience purchasing buxus (boxwood) from Rare Woods....wonderful wood and the folks at Rare Woods are a great bunch to deal with...I wholeheartedly recommend them. 

I've had personal experience purchasing buxus (boxwood) from Rare Woods....wonderful wood and the folks at Rare Woods are a great bunch to deal with...I wholeheartedly recommend them. 

I'm impressed with the speed of your build Toni...I'm still trying to get time between work and family commitments to get my keel laid...seeing your progress I'm beginning to think I have excuses rather than reasons for not advancing my own build!...must remedy that in the coming weeks

Isopropanol (Isopropyl alcohol , also referred to as "rubbing alcohol") is not the same as Ethyl Alcohol (also known as Grain Alcohol or Deenatured Alcohol) here in the USA.  I believe that is the reason you were not able to release the part from the backing.  The two are different in chemical nature and cannot be substituted for one another.

Hi Dan....want to thank you for the lead on obtaining cannon from Alexey Baranov in Ukraine.  Time from first email to receipt of the 20 cannon I ordered was 9 weeks, a perfectly acceptable timeline for me considering the "cottage industry" nature of Alexey's operation and matters relating to our two countries/shipping/customs and the like.  All in all a very pleasant experience.  He has some similar sized English cannon as well as some beautiful French cannon that I plan to purchase over the winter for future use...I have my eye on building a couple of American Revolutionary War  and War of 1812 era ships where other sizes of English and French cannon would be appropriate.  
 
With exchange rate and shipping factored in the cost of these cannon are higher than others I could obtain domestically, but still a minor cost of a ship build considering they are one of the few items to be bought in versus making myself from scratch.  
 
I have no passion at this time to learn lost wax casting, so I am happy to buy in these cannon from Alexey.
 
Thanks again,
Cliff

So here's an "as received" photo of the cast-off table saw a friend recently gave to me.  An older Delta 10" contractor saw in functional condition with a nice cast table, extensions on both sides, and a decent fence...but it is rough as a cob.  I'll be renovating this one to use for resawing lumber for my upcoming POF projects...I've got a 24T thin kerf blade on order, and the white zero clearance insert that will replace the red original will be a key component of the rebuild.  Looking at the gap in the red stock unit makes it easy to see why standard table saws without alteration are not acceptable for making thin boards.  I've done a good bit of woodworking over the years, and restored several old machines, so I'm pretty confident I can pull this off....
 
The piece of wood in the background is a 4' length of 8/4 basswood....I picked it up for $15 at the local woodworking store to use for testing as I get this machine together....don't want to use expensive Boxwood until I get the table saw "dialed in".
 
I would like to ask a question of the group....My plan is to obtain Boxwood (for making frames), Swiss Pear (for planking and other furniture on the ship), and Holly (for decking).  I'll start with 8/4 or 12/4 lumber, and will be slicing off slabs that are 2" to 3" wide....but what thicknesses to resaw my lumber to?
 
I've looked at the lumber list for the Galley Washington here on the site as a starting point, but it only provides dimensions, not what the various thicknesses will be used for.  (BTW, I'm modeling in 1:48 scale)  I think I'll need some boxwood 1/4" for frames, but perhaps some thicker and thinner boxwood as well?  If I'm using pear for planking and other misc items above and below deck, I suppose I'll need mostly a thickness for planking, but a variety of thickness for other items?  And for making the decking out of holly, what thickness for that?
 
I know I'll be able to use my thickness sander to finalize the wood, but where to start?
 
If anyone has a material list for something like a Swan class ship in 1:48 scale by type of wood and size I would be most appreciative....
 
Any guidance would be most welcome....
 
 

Derek:
You've asked a loaded question when you asked about airbrushes...I'm confident you'll receive many different answers.  The correct choice of airbrush, of course, is the one that works for you....I'm not trying to be funny with that comment, it is just that I have observed over the past 4 decades that different airbrushes seem to work differently in each hand...and there are many trade offs.
I am a Paasche snob...bought my first one in 1975 and am still using it along with a handful of other Paasche models, several in duplicate picked up along the way.  My first one is sort of like the axe that has had a couple of head replacements and several new handles.  Part of what I love about Paasche airbrushes is that parts obtained today can work in my first airbrush...that is huge as these are just tools and as such will need replacement parts over time.
I use a nitrogen tank as air source...again the way I started and was taught back in my graphic arts days....absolutely zero humidity issues which can be a factor during our North Carolina summers.
As for paint, I'm still a fan of solvent based paints...have a stash of Floquil paints I still use and am starting to roll over to Scalecoat as my colors run out.  Someday I may master water based paints, but for the past 20 years I've tried I cannot achieve the same quality of finish.
Since I use solvent based paints, I have a paint booth in my shop that exits to the outside after filtering.

Good choice Joe....I look forward to hearing more on your results once you have received the mill and had an opportunity to try it out.

I'm new on the forum so I know only a few of you know me...as a self taught machinist using tools for hobby use only, I may be qualified to provide an opinion.  With a long time desire to learn machining to enhance my modeling, in the mid 90's I bought a Chinese Mini Lathe and Mini Mill from one of the "parking lot" sales that were typical at the time.  As I recall I paid less than $300 each for them at the time...China was trying to gain a foothold in the machine tool market in the USA and cast iron tools from China were very cheap.  At the time I knew nothing about machining metal.  Using these Chinese tools were a good cheap first step toward self learning, although I can say for 6 to 9 months my only "hobby" was cleaning up, straightening, and correcting these Chinese tools.  At the end of a couple years of use I had them pretty much corrected to be "really useful tools" and knew what I wanted in the way of machine tools for my long term use.
 
Here's what's currently in my workshop...I have a 9" South Bend lathe and a Benchmaster vertical knee mill.  The lathe was obtained from a hobbiest who purchased it new in the mid 60's and having never been in a production environment the tolerances are very tight.  It is fully tooled (the term used for all the accessories needed to make these things useful).  The Benchmaster Knee mill is a bench mounted unit that has the same basic functions as larger floor mounted units like a Bridgeport or Jim's Hardinge.  As can be seen in the photos, these are in a spare bedroom of our house where my workshop/office is located...I have the most understanding wife in the world....her claim is that if I had an outside space to put these things she'd never see me!....so true. 
 
I'll confirm one point also made by others on this site...when budgeting for metalworking machine tools, allow at least as much for the tooling as the base machine itself.  It is the tooling that is added to the machine that makes it perform particular operations.  In some cases a fairly expensive tool is needed to perform an operation that is rarely used...yet it is done so well with the metalworking machine it is worth having.  
 
These tools I have are large enough to satisfy all my hobby needs...tolerances are tight enough for me to work down to a few "tenths" (.003").  This should be satisfactory for my shipbuilding needs as well, but these machines are also far larger than I'm likely to need for model shipbuilding.  As they say, it's fairly easy to make small parts on a big machine, but impossible to make big parts on too small of a machine.
 
If I were only purchasing machines for model shipbuilding, the Sherline would be an obvious choice for all the reasons cited in this forum thread.  Sherline equipment is every bit as accurate as my larger machines, and will be ready-to-use out of the box.  If your desire is to immediately use the machines rather than spend time fixing/improving, I strongly suggest obtaining Sherline equipment over the Chinese Mini-lathes and Mini-mills.  As for the Taig machines...I've owned one of those over the years...more accurate than the Chinese stuff, but really more geared toward setting up in a production environment to do one operation well and repeatably....not really designed as an all purpose hobby tool.
 
Best Regards,
Cliff  
 

As others have said there may need to be some clarification of the desired small hole size in order to establish a "correct" answer....including what is the definition of "small".
For creating holes with #60 or smaller drill bits, particularly as one approaches bits smaller than #70, there is no better drill press than the Cameron Micro Drill Press.  Cameron is a California based company and their drill presses seem frightfully expensive when first considered, but the spindles run very true and I can regularly drill #80 sized holes without any worry of breaking a bit.
 
Yes, there are a number of small drill press manufacturers but the Cameron (formerly Treat) Drill Press is the gold standard...
 
I bought mine about 35 years ago and after I got over the "pain" of the initial cost, I've enjoyed worry free drilling ever since.
 
One of those "buy it and forget it" type of purchases to advance one's skill set...
 

As others have said there may need to be some clarification of the desired small hole size in order to establish a "correct" answer....including what is the definition of "small".
For creating holes with #60 or smaller drill bits, particularly as one approaches bits smaller than #70, there is no better drill press than the Cameron Micro Drill Press.  Cameron is a California based company and their drill presses seem frightfully expensive when first considered, but the spindles run very true and I can regularly drill #80 sized holes without any worry of breaking a bit.
 
Yes, there are a number of small drill press manufacturers but the Cameron (formerly Treat) Drill Press is the gold standard...
 
I bought mine about 35 years ago and after I got over the "pain" of the initial cost, I've enjoyed worry free drilling ever since.
 
One of those "buy it and forget it" type of purchases to advance one's skill set...
 

As others have said there may need to be some clarification of the desired small hole size in order to establish a "correct" answer....including what is the definition of "small".
For creating holes with #60 or smaller drill bits, particularly as one approaches bits smaller than #70, there is no better drill press than the Cameron Micro Drill Press.  Cameron is a California based company and their drill presses seem frightfully expensive when first considered, but the spindles run very true and I can regularly drill #80 sized holes without any worry of breaking a bit.
 
Yes, there are a number of small drill press manufacturers but the Cameron (formerly Treat) Drill Press is the gold standard...
 
I bought mine about 35 years ago and after I got over the "pain" of the initial cost, I've enjoyed worry free drilling ever since.
 
One of those "buy it and forget it" type of purchases to advance one's skill set...
 

More important perhaps that cutting fluid is the need for tools to be absolutely sharp!
 
Rake angle can also be a factor...less is better but only if the tool is dead sharp.
 
And small cuts....

More important perhaps that cutting fluid is the need for tools to be absolutely sharp!
 
Rake angle can also be a factor...less is better but only if the tool is dead sharp.
 
And small cuts....

More important perhaps that cutting fluid is the need for tools to be absolutely sharp!
 
Rake angle can also be a factor...less is better but only if the tool is dead sharp.
 
And small cuts....

I'm impressed with the speed of your build Toni...I'm still trying to get time between work and family commitments to get my keel laid...seeing your progress I'm beginning to think I have excuses rather than reasons for not advancing my own build!...must remedy that in the coming weeks

UPDATE:
 
The Hayling book is on its way now. Here is a sneak preview of the cover:

 
For anyone interested, the original model featured here is still for sale. It has now been professionally appraised and the asking price adjusted accordingly. Terms are available. If seriously interested please PM me for further details.

I use the DRO on both my Sherline lathe and mill and wouldn't be without them. They make life a LOT easier.
 
Here are some pics of a stand that I made for mine. I have a base screwed to each baseboard, so it's only a matter of unplugging the leads and loosening one screw to go from one machine to the other. It takes about 40 seconds to change from the lathe to the mill.
 

 

 

 

 

 

  Danny

Ahoy Mates
 
Just to start being 63 when I started out in a machine shop bak when I was only 12 there was only the lead screw dial that was on it and the next step was mounting a direct reading indicator to show the movement of either the carriage or tool rest. You had to deal with lead screw backlash and it took a lot of skill and use to use them correctly and get things right.
 
Next was when I was 17 and the shop had travel dials on the Bridgeport mill table and cross feed. They were better than the dial on the lead screws,they showed the table travel. But they could slip and if you had to be very accurate,you still had to set up direct indicators on the X and Y axis to also show any crabing of the machines tables when moved,or to show movement when they had to stay still. Still al lot depended on the skill of the toolmaker  or machinist .
 
Then DRO's first generation came out. they were better than what had been used before,but the resolution was only .001 total because they used a glass scale with lines etched into the glass. The reader owuld detect the bar and the counters would add up the total number of lines crossed. At this stage they used frequency counters that had been around since the 1940's and Nixe tubes for the numbered lights to show how far you had traveled. You could have a total of .001 error since you could be just up to the next line going both ways without the numbers changing-thus the error of distance. I still had to use a direct reading indicator to know where I was really at.
 
Then they went solid state and now use magnetic encoded bars.
 
They have come a long way,and those of you hwo have only used their mills for hobby work,you really can not know the preasure that we went thru before the DRO's came about to know where your mill table was in relation to you mill cutter of boring head. I have not said anything about the spinel that your tool is in. These also deflect and move around either from being lose in the quill of machine head from use,and the bearings in your spindle also make up a large part of being accurate in holding the cutting tool on center and not deflecting when cutting forces are applied.
 
Just gong down memory lane here. Less and less guys around who had to machine before DRO's were around. I also used tooling buttons,which you set suing height gauges and indicators. You would set these round cylinders on the part you wanted to drill or bore a hole in the exact center of the hole. Then set up the part in the mill or lathe. Indicate the button until it was in the center of the spindle where your toll was. Set up direct reading indicators on all moving parts of the table if you were in a mill. Then remove the tooling button and drill and bore your hole in this place. And hope that it did not move,and if so that your indicators would allow you to move it back on the center you wanted.
 
 
Are there any guys out there who know what I am talking about with tooling buttons? I still have about 100 of them in different sizes-home made ones and also Starrette made ones.And one's over 100 years old that I got from my Dad.
 
Keith

I agree with Mark, I have used a DRO on both the Sherline Lathe and the Mill.  Much easier than having to stop and use calipers to check.  I found it to be extremely accurate and easy to use.

I've used both the manual wheels and the digital readouts.. I'd go for the digitals anytime instead of the manuals.  The ability to re-zero at any point without accidentally moving the wheel is a big plus.

If you can afford them, go with Veritas. Vintage chisels may have been misused in many various ways and you simply don't know their history. You may do well on eBay, but.... Regardless of source, proper sharpening is the essential thing.

I'm impressed with the speed of your build Toni...I'm still trying to get time between work and family commitments to get my keel laid...seeing your progress I'm beginning to think I have excuses rather than reasons for not advancing my own build!...must remedy that in the coming weeks

I'm impressed with the speed of your build Toni...I'm still trying to get time between work and family commitments to get my keel laid...seeing your progress I'm beginning to think I have excuses rather than reasons for not advancing my own build!...must remedy that in the coming weeks

Derek:
You've asked a loaded question when you asked about airbrushes...I'm confident you'll receive many different answers.  The correct choice of airbrush, of course, is the one that works for you....I'm not trying to be funny with that comment, it is just that I have observed over the past 4 decades that different airbrushes seem to work differently in each hand...and there are many trade offs.
I am a Paasche snob...bought my first one in 1975 and am still using it along with a handful of other Paasche models, several in duplicate picked up along the way.  My first one is sort of like the axe that has had a couple of head replacements and several new handles.  Part of what I love about Paasche airbrushes is that parts obtained today can work in my first airbrush...that is huge as these are just tools and as such will need replacement parts over time.
I use a nitrogen tank as air source...again the way I started and was taught back in my graphic arts days....absolutely zero humidity issues which can be a factor during our North Carolina summers.
As for paint, I'm still a fan of solvent based paints...have a stash of Floquil paints I still use and am starting to roll over to Scalecoat as my colors run out.  Someday I may master water based paints, but for the past 20 years I've tried I cannot achieve the same quality of finish.
Since I use solvent based paints, I have a paint booth in my shop that exits to the outside after filtering.