Dr PR

I should also add that I bought the Harbor Freight foot switch - rated for 15 AMPs. It works, but the base is molded plastic and not metal. The foot switch is definitely worth the money. It allows you to turn off the power immediately if the blade jams, or if you just want to reposition the work piece without the blade moving. I wouldn't want to work with the saw without it.

Keith, Here across the pond Home Depot carries a pretty wide selection of 5 inch sanding discs. Maybe they have some other sanders that use this size disc - hand held rotary sander, disc to fit into an electric drill, or oscillating sander??

Keith, I was wondering how to remove the stick-on discs. I tried flexing the tables and they are both pretty sturdy on the unit I have. But I wonder if extended vibration might loosen the handles that hold them at the desired angle - to be seen. And the miter gauge does leave a lot to be desired! I used the sander today to trim 21 bulkheads for a plank-on-bulkhead model I am starting. I used the belt and it worked well. The 80 grit belt is pretty aggressive and can remove wood fast. Captain Vader is right about the vacuum ports. They are 1.5 inches (38 mm) inside diameter - too large for the hose on my portable vacuum cleaner. They are probably intended for the larger hose on some shop vacuums.

Mark, Thanks. I was wondering what kind of wax to use. I do hold the pieces down when cutting. I think the foot is just a safety measure in case the blade jams in the work piece

You are building a beautiful model!

Thanks, everyone. The saw cuts were a bit outside the line. Today I sanded the parts to the line. I plan to mount the forward bulkheads with the paper pattern on the aft side, and the after bulkheads with the pattern on the front side. Then when I fair the edges to the curvature of the hull I will try to leave the pattern lines. That is the way I designed it, with the bulkhead dimensions to the inside of the planking. Now the real challenge begins. The center frame/keel will be 28 inches (711 mm) long. Cutting it out of plywood sheets 24 inches (609 mm) long will be a challenge on a scroll saw with only 16 inches (406 mm) clearance! There are lots of curves and slots for 21 bulkheads.

James, I think I understand why you want a big project that will take some time to build. A plank on frame model is a very big project with thousands of parts you must design and build, especially if you build to an uncommon scale where there are few, if any, pre-made parts available. Maybe some here were suggesting you try something easier because in your first post you said you were "kind of new to ship building." Many modelers "bite off more than they can chew" on their first attempt and become discouraged and quit. So they advise newbies to start with something simple so they don't become frustrated and give up. But in your latest posts you show that you aren't a beginner, and have a few builds under your belt. And you say you have the tools for scratch building. There is great satisfaction from working on a single large project for many years instead of a series of small builds, trying to build the one model to perfection. I spent 14 years making my CAD model of the USS Oklahoma City CLG-5, modeling everything down to rivets and screws as small as 3/16 inch (5 mm). Most of the time was spent obtaining data sheets and manuals for the equipment and missiles, and blueprints for the hull and superstructure. It gave me great satisfaction to build a model that had far greater detail and accuracy than most other models. I encourage you to take on your great project, and take pride in every piece that you build. And I hope you post your progress here. There is great knowledge in the members of the Forum and we are all willing to help solve problems as they come up. It is a learning experience for all of us.

Carpet and button threads come in several sizes. I have some J & P Coates Dual Duty cotton covered polyester thread that is 0.007 inch (0.18 mm) diameter. It is very smooth without loose fiber "fuzzies." You should be able to find something like this at a sewing or fabric store.

Intakes usually have grilles to prevent fish and other large objects from being sucked in. They also prevent critters from crawling in and setting up house while the vessel is in port. Outlets often do not have grills, especially if they are constantly discharging even while the vessel is in port (engine cooling water, etc.).

I have bulkheads! I used a scroll saw to cut the 21 bulkheads from 1/8 inch (3.2 mm) six ply basswood plywood from SIG Manufacturing. I printed the patterns on paper and then cut out each piece. These were glued to two 12 x 12 inch (305 x 305 mm) plywood sheets using an Elmer's "All Purpose Glue Stick." This was recommended in another thread on the Forum and it worked well. The pieces can be repositioned for a few minutes after applying the glue, and after half an hour the paper was stuck to the wood tightly. The paper did not lift from the wood while sawing. I used a 10 tooth per inch saw blade and ran the saw at 1650 strokes per minute. It took less than two hours to cut the pieces, feeding the wood into the blade slowly so the blade didn't bend or twist. This is just a rough cut close to the lines. I will trim the pieces to the final size with a sander, sandpaper and files. The slots for the pieces to fit over the center frame will be widened to 1/8 inch (3.2 mm) with a file to create a slip fit over the 1/8 inch thick center frame.

I gave the Harbor Freight scroll saw its first test today. I cut 21 bulkheads out of two 12 x 12 inch (305 x 305 mm) sheets of 6 ply basswood plywood (SIG Manufacturing). The largest of the pieces in the photo was about 6 inches (152 mm) wide. I used the 10 tooth per inch blade and the highest motor speed. It took a little under two hours, advancing the part into the blade at a slow pace that didn't bend or twist the blade. I had no problems cutting the plywood - no broken blades and the blade did not tend to wander in this thin material. I found two two minor problems with the saw. The first is the workpiece foot - the part that lowers to hold down the part being cut. As delivered it doesn't contact the work piece evenly. Consequently it presses harder in some places than others allowing the piece to "chatter" up and down more in the loosest fit areas. I lowered it to allow a loose fit while still holding the part down to the table. It needs some bending to adjust it to fit parallel to the table and contact the work piece evenly. The other problem was pretty high friction between the plywood and the table surface. The table has a fairly coarsely brushed surface and that created noticeable friction against the plywood. I had to push the wood with significant force to move it over the table and rotate it. However, this drag may add a bit better control for moving the work piece. This must be a common problem because the instructions say to apply a light coat of paste wax to the table and buff it to allow the material to move smoothly. I didn't have the vacuum connected most of the time but just used it occasionally. There was some dust accumulation inside the machine. Not so much on the table surface. The fitting is on the front of the machine and the hose protruded out far enough to get in the way. This is a design defect in my opinion. Maybe I can add an elbow ("L" shaped) piece of PVC pipe so the hose runs off to the side.

I have a need for a small disc and belt sander. Now that the Burns machines are no longer available I looked around and found the Harbor Freight #69033 sander. The two advantages of this machine are the cost ($70) and it uses common 5" sanding discs and a 30" x 1" sanding belt. There was quite a variety of replacement sanding discs and belts in stock at Harbor Freight and Home Depot. It is pretty quiet when running without sanding anything, and there is little vibration. It has a belt tensioner for the sanding belt. The tables to support the work piece tilt down for both the belt and disc sanders to allow angled work. It has two ports to attach vacuum holes to. It came out of the box partially disassembled in eight pieces, and there were no assembly instructions. This is not for someone who has trouble screwing the top back on a milk bottle! The instructions do tell how to replace the disc and belt, but there are a few pieces that need to be assembled in a specific order to put the thing together, and it isn't always obvious what to do first. And the clearances to get tools to some of the screws are pretty tight. But through trial and error I got it together in less than an hour. You need a set of metric Allen wrenches, a Phillips screwdriver, and about a 12 mm open end wrench. But there was one serious problem. The table for the disk sander is a separate piece, as are the two locking handles and the miter guide bar. To install the table you have to slip two pins (one on each end of the table) into slots in the metal disc guard. Then you screw the locking handles into the disc guard. However one pin (shown) would not fit into the slot in the guard. My calipers showed that the pin was about 0.020 inch (0.5 mm) wider than the slot. This was a casting issue, and there were several obvious blemishes in the cast metal guard. I used a square file to clear out the flash from the slot and then the pin did fit the slot. But, the table still wouldn't slide into place. Inspection showed that the pin had been pressed too far into the table, and the gap between the two pins was narrower than the distance between the slots! I used a jeweler's hammer to tap the pin back out a bit and the table finally slid into place. The sanding discs are the stick-on type. The single disc supplied with the sander is 80 grit, a bit coarser than I would like. The belt supplied with the unit was also 80 grit. The miter guide for the disc sander is a cast plastic piece with coarse angle indications, so you should use an accurate angle measuring tool and make test pieces to ensure that the angles are correct for your work. I really haven't used this machine much yet, but it will soon get a workout on my MSI build. I will report back later and tell how well it worked and describe any problems I might see.

For my MSI project I need to cut out 21 bulkheads and the central keel piece from 1/8 inch (3.18 mm) and 1/16 inch (1.59 mm) plywood. I could do this with my hand held coping saw, but it would mean many hours of work and sore arms afterward. I looked around for powered coping saws or scroll saws and decided to buy the Harbor Freight model 71113. I have no delusions about the "quality" of this machine - it is from Harbor Freight and is cheap Chinese junk. However, I only need it to work for a relatively few hours. It is definitely not good enough for someone who uses a scroll saw frequently! The main advantage for this product is the cost - $109.00. That isn't a huge expense for a modelling project. I am using $120 worth of scale rope and blocks on my Albatros project! The cast metal work table is 10" diameter with a 16" clearance (almost all the parts of the machine are metal). The table can be tilted up to 45 degrees for angled cuts. It has a LED work light that can be positioned near the cutting area, and an air blower bellows to clear dust from the work area. There is a place to connect a vacuum hose to remove saw dust. Changing blades is pretty simple - one side opens and hinges down out of the way to allow easy access to the lower blade holder. It has a blade tensioner. It is surprisingly low noise when running without cutting anything, and there is little vibration. It has a speed control to vary from 550 strokes per minute (metals and plastics) to 1650 strokes per minute for wood. It came out of the box completely assembled - you just have to position the table and tighten the locking knob to complete the "setup." A big advantage of this saw is that it uses standard 5" scroll saw blades made by many manufacturers. I looked at the Dremel scroll saw and the major disadvantage is that you can't find replacement 3" blades anywhere except the Dremel web site, you have to buy an assortment of blades and not just the one you want to use, and shipping costs are greater than blade costs (also, the Dremel saw is mostly plastic and just looks flimsy)! Harbor Freight has 5" blade packages in stock locally, although they are assortments of five different types, and they don't offer packages of just the type you need. Home Depot does offer quite a selection of 5" blade types and packages of several blades of a single type. Most of the reviews on line are good. As usual there are people complaining that they break blades and it won't cut really thick pieces (>2 inch (5 cm) thick) without the blade wandering, etc. Basically these people don't know how to use the tool and are trying to use it beyond its capabilities. It is a cheap tool for use on light jobs. Many reviews say it cuts 1/2 inch (12 mm) wood, 1/4 inch (5 mm) plastic and thin soft metals (no steel). I haven't used it for anything serious yet, but soon will give it a workout on my MSI project. I am posting this now to describe the tool, and I will follow up later with a report of how well it works and any difficulties I encounter. Note: Home depot offers several varieties of this same scroll saw - same castings, same specs, etc., but with slightly different "accessories." For example, they have this same model but without the work light for about $10 less than the Harbor Freight model, and another model with the work light for about $10 more than the Harbor Freight version.

In another thread someone described using Sparex to prepare brass for blackening. I bought some but haven't used it yet. Most of the blackened parts I have made so far are very small. But for larger parts with large surfaces it seems better reparation is needed to get good even coats. One of the recommendations was to find a small crock pot to heat the Sparex. So I visited out local Good Will store today to see if I could find one. There were about half a dozen, ranging from US$6 to US$9. I got one that holds about a cup to 1 1/2 cups (240 to 360 ml) and it works, heating water to 170F (77C) in about 45 minutes (45 min). I think I will need the Sparex for the more complex machinery on my minesweeper build.

Free at last, free at last! Taxes are done (I hope). Now I can get back to important things. Next I need to add the reef points to the larger sails. But how long should they be, and what size rope? As for the length, Steel (The Art of Rigging, 1796) says: "POINTS, short pieces of braided cordage, plaited together as gaskets are; beginning at the middle with nine foxes, and tapering to five at the ends, and from one fathom and a half to one fathom in length." A fathom is 6.0 feet (1.828804 meters) , so the points would be 6-9 feet (1.8 to 2.74 meters) long. At 1:48 that comes out to 1.5 to 2.25 inches (38 to 57 mm). Falconer (Universal Dictionary of the Marine, 1769) says: "... the top-sails are always, and the courses generally, reefed with points, which are flat braided pieces of cordage, whose lengths are nearly double the circumference of the yard. These being inserted in the eyelet-holes, are fixed in the sail by means of two knots in the middle, one of which is before, and the other behind the reef-band." The circumference of the course yard on my model is 0.6 inches (15 mm) and the main boom is 0.66 inches (16.8 mm). That would make the course points 1.2 inches (30 mm) and the boom points 1.32 inches (33.6 mm). Falconer's point length is a bit shorter than Steel's, but close enough for speculation. Half the length of the point lines will be hanging down each side of the sail, and at 1:48 that will be somewhere between 0.6 and 0.75 inches (15 to 19 mm) on each side of the sail, minimum. They could be half again as long using Steel's rule, or 0.9 to 1.125 inches (23 to 28 mm). On my model the reef bands on the main (gaff) sail are spaced 1.5 inches (38 mm) apart. Looking at historical drawings and paintings I see the reef points from an upper band may extend from half to two-thirds the distance between reef bands. So I can use reef points from 0.75 to 1.0 inches (15 to 25 mm) on each side of the sail. I think I will use 1 inch (25 mm) on each side, so the reef point lines will be 2 inches (50 mm) long, with a bit of allowance (to be determined) for the overhand knots on each side of the sail. Note: On square sails with multiple reef bands near the top the reef points are successively longer by a bit on reef bands from top to bottom. This allows for more sail material being gathered together by the lower reef points. This leaves the question of what the reef points should be made of. I am not going to try to make 1:48 flat braided and pointed pieces. And I didn't include reef points in my calculations for the amount of rope I would need for the model. I have a spool with 75 yards of tan cotton covered polyester thread (J & P Coates Dual Duty Plus) that is smaller than the smallest rope I am using (0.008 inch, 0.2 mm) and larger than the small stuff I use for seizing (about 0.003 inches or 0.07 mm). It is supposed to be for buttons and carpets, but now it will be used for reefing sails!

The bolt ropes are done. Taxes aren't!

Mark, Thanks. Dremel makes a small hand-held version that gets pretty good reviews. I'll check Micro-Mark. But that is dangerous - I might find other things I am tempted to buy! I just checked. Micro-Mark has several options - all out of stock!

I have had problems similar to what Chris and others reported - some blotches and the blackening rubs off. I noticed that the parts blacken almost immediately in Birchwood Casey Brass Black diluted 1:1 with water. I have tried leaving them in the bath for 5, 10 and 15 minutes with about the same results. Then I rinse with water 5-10 times and dry the parts. Maybe I should use a minute or less. I normally wash the parts in acetone for a minute or two to remove solder flux, then use rubbing alcohol to remove the acetone, and a final wash with water to remove the alcohol or any remaining water soluble materials. After drying I use the blackening solution. I have also tried etching with mild acetic acid (vinegar) and then rinsing with water. Then the acid/alcohol/water washes. It doesn't seem to make any difference.

Some people say shellac is the only thing to use ... It is sorta like a ship's rigging - there are as many versions as there are people.

Can anyone recommend a small, hand held reciprocating (back and forth) narrow kerf saw? I need to cut some pieces from 1/8 inch (3 mm) plywood and don't relish doing this with a coping saw or jeweler's saw. I do not have a band saw (or a place to put one) nor do I have a laser cutter.

There are many "sanding sealers" or primers. But shellac is probably the best. You can get pre-mixed spray on shellac. Zinsser Bulls Eye Shellac is available at hardware stores, A 12 ounce spray can will last a long time. Use the clear shellac for painted surfaces. For "bright" (unpainted) wood use the amber shellac. Each new layer will darken the wood, so continue until you get the wood color you want. I sometimes spray it on the surface, or just spray it in a small cup and paint it on with a brush. Either method works, but brushing gives you better control of where the shellac goes. Shellac cleans up with rubbing alcohol. But if you want to dilute it use denatured ethanol (alcohol fuel). It dries quickly. You can paint over it with just about anything. **** First sand the hull smooth, starting with heavier grit and then fine grit. Keep at it until the hull is smooth enough to paint. Coat the wood with shellac and let it dry an hour or two. Then sand it with fine grit sandpaper. Wipe with a clean cloth to remove sanding grit and dust. Apply a second coat of shellac to seal after the sanding. Then rub it down with #0000 steel wool to get a nice satin finish. Wipe the hull to remove steel fibers. Use a strong magnet to pick off any remaining steel wool fragments. Paint with whatever you want. Use thin coats and apply evenly, stroking from wet paint to dry, and you won't need any further sanding. But if you get runs and need to sand them smooth just apply another coat over the sanded area. If you use acrylic paints allow each coat to dry for 3-5 days, or longer in high humidity areas.

A lathe us a useful tool to have around, but I don't think it is the best way to make masts. A lot of experienced modelers have said the same thing. The main problem is that it is tricky to set up a lathe to create a tapered (conical) piece, and some lathes do not have all the features to do this. And masts aren't conical - the taper varies to create something like a long truncated ovoid. I have made masts and spars starting with round dowels and chucking them into an ordinary hand drill (a locking trigger is very useful for this). Then I used files and sandpaper to grind the dowel down to the desired dimensions. However, I like the simple method of using a small plane and files to taper the mast. Starting with a square dowel you shave off the corners to 8 sides and then again to 16 sided. Then you can round it in a drill or using files and sandpaper. This is a lot easier than it sounds! Here are some examples. https://modelshipworld.com/topic/19611-albatros-by-dr-pr-mantua-scale-148-revenue-cutter-kitbash-about-1815/?do=findComment&comment=908539 https://modelshipworld.com/topic/19611-albatros-by-dr-pr-mantua-scale-148-revenue-cutter-kitbash-about-1815/?do=findComment&comment=904995

A fairly simple way to modify the cannons is: 1. Find some round head pins of the appropriate diameter for the cascabel. Fabric stores carry a variety of pin sizes. Clip the pin about 1/16" / 2mm from the head. 2. File off the projections on the rear of the cannon and round off the back end. 3. Drill a hole in the back end where the cascabel should be. The hole/drill bit diameter should be the same or slightly larger than the diameter of the pin. The metal is soft so you can do this with a pin vise or motor tool. 4. Glue the shaft of the pin into the hole in the cannon. Use a glue that will adhere to metals. I would use Duco Cement or a two-part epoxy. 5. Paint with satin black paint. Note: Don't try to solder the pins into the holes. Some of these fittings are cast from low melting point metals, and the whole cannon will melt into a puddle if you heat it very much.

There are several photo editing programs for Linux. GIMP is the one that comes to mind - I think it has been around for some time, Some of these raster image editors can import and export PDF images.

Another slight change of plans. I decided to use 1/16" (1.6 mm) plywood for the sub deck. I think the 1/64 (0.4 mm) plywood would be strong enough, especially with the large number of bulkheads. However, I have a lot of spare 1/16 inch material and I might as well use it. The added stiffness will give more strength to the hull, and that is important in minesweepers! Several places around here carry 1/16 inch plywood, but 1/64 inch is pretty rare, and relatively expensive. It is really handy for making small bits and pieces and is much stronger than plain wood. So I will save it for those special pieces and use the thicker material. I already know I will be cutting some 1/64 inch thick pieces for trim on the superstructure. I can't find any 1/64 inch thick wood scale lumber of the right dimensions.