Dr PR

Well, it is getting warmer, and today we saw the sun. But it is supposed to start raining again next week. This has been a very wet winter and spring has also been WET! But it is almost warm enough to start staining and painting, so I am preparing for that. The current project is preparing blocks and hearts for staining. I have several sizes of blocks and hearts from Syren that must be assembled. The picture shows the 5.5 mm open and closed hearts, 9/32" double blocks and 5/16" single and double internally strapped blocks. These parts must be assembled, and this is my first time doing this, so I thought I would describe the process. These are very nice pieces, but you do need to be careful assembling them. The tabs that connect the pieces to the surrounding frames are extremely thin and will break easily. You can see two of the open hearts that escaped from their confines while I was handling the parts! With all of these parts you must be very careful applying the glue to avoid breaking the pieces from the frames. But, as you will see, this isn't too much of a problem. The hearts were the easiest to assemble. They are three layers, one inside layer and two outer layers. You just apply glue to an outer layer and position the inner layer on it. Then you glue the other outer layer to the inner layer. The inner layer is a bit smaller than the outer layers, creating the groove for the stay that you see in this photo. Chuck's instructions say to use CA glue to cement the layers together, but I don't "do" CA. I used SIG-Bond aliphatic resin. CA might work for the simple hearts but there was no way I could have applied CA and put the more complex five-layers blocks together before CA hardened. The aliphatic resin gave me plenty of time to get the parts aligned before it started to set up. The 9/32" double blocks were a bit more complicated with five layers, but went together like the hearts. There are two outer layers, a center layer, and two sheave layers that are sandwiched between the inner and outer layers. Above you can see an inner sheave layer glued to one of the outer layers. At left is a complete five layer assembly on the left, still in the frames, the starting two layer assembly on the right, and the remaining three layers. The outer layers have grooves for the rope strop on the outside of the blocks, so be sure that you don't glue this surface to the sheave layer. Chuck's instructions say to align the inner corners of the frames and this works nicely to align all of the layers. He also says to apply the glue only to the parts of the blocks and none to the frames. And he says to apply liberal amounts of glue because you don't want these things coming apart because the layers weren't firmly attached. The 5/16" internally strapped blocks were a bit more complicated. In addition to the wooden parts there are several metal wires and flat straps to be assembled after the wooden parts are glued together. The single blocks were three layers, but the outer layers have a groove on the "inside" where the metal straps go, so you have to pay attention to which side you are gluing to the internal sheaves. The photo shows an assembled three-layer set on the left, a partially assembled outer and inner layer on the right, and other the six-part outer layer center left. I assembled seven sets of blocks without much trouble. However, when I opened one of the six-block 5/16" single block packages all of the internal sheaves had been broken from the frames and were loose in the package. This might have happened here after I received the sets from Syren. In any case, it really didn't matter. I glued the center layer (minus sheaves) to one of the outer layers and then glued each of the sheaves into place individually. You can see three of them glued in on the right and the other three waiting to be glued in place. After that the other outer layer was glued on. You can see the channel for the internal strap in the outer layer second from the left. Just be sure to assemble the blocks with this groove adjacent to the sheaves. The 5/16" internally strapped double blocks were a bit more complicated. There are five layers, as shown in the photo. When you are applying glue be sure to get plenty on the thin crescents at the ends of the block so they are firmly glued in place on the finished block. You need to pay attention when gluing the sheaves to the center layer - the grooves for the straps must be oriented against the center layer. Also, notice that the "sheaves" (oval center piece) are attached to only one of the outer crescents. You should orient both sheave layers the same way, with the sheave attachments on both layers on the same end of the block. This will allow your ropes to pass over the sheaves on the same end of the block. If you forget to do this you can always drill out the obstruction. The outer layers attach as with the single blocks, with the strap grooves on the inside against the sheaves. These blocks have double straps, one against the center layer, and the other in the grooves in the outer layers. You should use caution when applying glue to the inner sheave layers. The tabs attaching the parts to the outer frames are very thin, and you can easily break them off while applying the glue. As I noted above, this isn't a big problem because you can always glue each individual sheave in place before attaching the next layer. After the glue has set you can cut the blocks away from the frame. Chuck warns against the temptation to push the out with your fingers, because you might split off part of the blocks. I used a sharp hobby knife. As you can see in the photo the blocks come away with bits of the tabs attached. If you have followed chuck's instructions the frame layers will not be glued together. These actually turned out to be useful. I want to stain the blocks and I will use these frames to test the different stains and staining methods. The picture on the left shows the first steps for cleaning up the blocks. The tabs have to be cut away. This will leave a bit of a stub. I used a coarse flat file to remove these stubs and to smooth the three layers. If you follow Chuck's instructions the three (or five) layers will align closely, but there likely will be a bit of a mismatch. The file shapes everything into a smooth surface and removes the char from the laser cutter. The photo on the right shows the finishing steps to shape the blocks. If you are doing a lot of blocks a tumbler would be good to round off the edges. I don't have one so I used a finer file to round the edges. Then I smoothed them a bit more with 220 and 600 grit sandpaper. This is a tedious process, but I found it to be a relaxing form of meditation. However, I no longer have fingerprints on my left thumb and forefinger! Here is a photo of the four steps and the files I used. I encountered one minor difficulty as a result of the liberal amounts of glue I used. Some of the strap channels were blocked by glue. I cleared as much glue as I could (being careful to not break off the sheave from the frame) before attaching the layers together, but there was some glue blocking the strap channels on a few of the blocks. In most cases the metal straps supplied with the kit pushed through with no problem. But on some I used a piece of a very thin jeweler's saw blade to push through and open the channel. You could also use a drill bit. With these blocks and hearts assembled I can now proceed with staining these and all the other blocks that I will use on the model.

For me the main benefit of a drill press or milling machine is that the bit is held securely on the vertical axis (axis of rotation). If you are drilling by hand into wood that has growth layers (grain), when the bit encounters the interface between soft and hard layers the bit will tend to cut more into the softer layer. This causes it to wander, and there is virtually nothing you can do to stop it. But in a drill press or milling machine the it will be held in alignment in the vertical axis so it cuts into the harder wood - if the machine has very little runout (wobble). As mentioned above, with very small drill bits you must chuck the bit with the minimum necessary length protruding out of the chuck so the bit doesn't flex. The second benefit of a milling machine (or a drill press with an X-Y table) is that you can drill a series of holes in a straight line. The X-Y table allows you to move the piece by an exact increment in a straight line, allowing you to create a neat precisely spaced series of holes. Again, if you are trying to do this by hand and the wood has grain the bit will wander and the result looks like it was made by a drunken sailor. Another benefit is that holes that are drilled with a drill press or milling machine will be vertical/perpendicular to the surface. When using a pin vise or hand held drill you really can't expect to get perfectly perpendicular holes. And you can always use an angled support (or tilting vise) to hold the piece at a desired angle to get repeatable holes at the same angle to the surface.

Be sure to let us know how it works! I have a couple of old models that could use a bit of line handling.

I can't help you with a source for these. But I think I have seen something similar from a British company. I have seen similar stanchions made up from two (0.07 mm) or three (0.5 mm) layers of photo etch brass soldered together. With multi-layer etching the layers could be formed with beveled sides and solder could fill the "jaggies." After they are soldered they could be rounded with a file in a lathe or drill. Pressing in a mold to form the round balls would close the holes. Drilling 0.5 mm (0.020 inch) holes in round things can be tricky. Small bits are flexible and can wander. However, with the holes etched in the parts the drills should run true to clear out any solder that flowed into them.

Sanding sealer can still be found. I think it is clear dope with talcum powder (or something like that) mixed in.

I have been procrastinating on this build for too long! I have three very time consuming projects that are consuming my time (anyone have a spare $1.5 million to replace an aging boardwalk?), and cold weather has delayed some of the painting/staining. But the real delay is making the pin rails along the bulwarks. For these the holes for the belaying pins must be evenly spaced and drilled in a straight line. If I don't do this correctly they will look awful! I really need a milling machine with an X-Y table, but I don't have one. All I have is a cheap Dremel "drill press" (a piece of junk) that wobbles and has no precision. But I have used it in the past with success. I just need to clamp on guides and create a stepping tool so I get straight evenly spaced holes. It is a hassle, but I think I can make it work. Now all I need is the time to set up and do the work. And I plan to string all the different sized blocks on thread or wire, with each size on a separate string. This way I can stain them all at once without getting them mixed up. It is almost warm enough outside to proceed with this. To be continued ...

Bryan, The masts tapers a bit from the deck (partners) up to the hounds (where the trestletrees fit onto the mast). The mast is round up to the hounds where it is square again for the cheeks to attach. The testletrees rest on top of the cheeks. Above this the mast may be round, square (with or without champfered edges) or octagonal, according to the preferences of the designer or requirements of the owner. Where the mast fits into the top piece the hole is square so the top can't rotate around the mast. The hole in the top for the top mast is round, The foot of the top mast is square or rectangular to fit between the trestletrees. The topmast can be raised or lowered through the opening between the trestletrees. A fid (pin through the base of the mast) prevents the topmast from dropping through the opening between the trestletrees. Here is a link to the masts of a model I am working on. Not exactly the same as what you are building, but it illustrates some of the principles: 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=924547 Hope this helps.

Andrew, I am also building a model of a topsail schooner called Albatros by Mantua. It is a different vessel from the Occre kit. https://modelshipworld.com/topic/19611-albatros-by-dr-pr-mantua-scale-148-revenue-cutter-kitbash-about-1815/?do=findComment&comment=598658 The Occre schooner is flying the American flag, so it would be rigged like an American schooner. I studied Chapelle's "The Baltimore Clipper" to determine mast rake. American schooners often had a more pronounced rake than British and other European vessels, although the French started building schooners with quite a bit of rake. However I would guess your Albatros with the raised quarter deck and cabin is more likely to be a commercial vessel with less extreme mast rake that the privateer, smuggler and slave vessel schooners. I examined plans and drawings for 17 Baltimore clippers and found the mast rakes to be: Fore mast - 11.5 degrees average, with a range of 7-16 degrees Main mast - 13.75 degree average, with a range of 8-22 degrees I have posted several other threads about masting and rigging topsail schooners that you may find useful: Sail plans and descriptions https://modelshipworld.com/topic/25679-topsail-schooner-sail-plans-and-rigging/?do=findComment&comment=750865 Belaying plan https://modelshipworld.com/topic/30234-topsail-schooner-belaying-plan/?do=findComment&comment=862302 Anchor rigging and handling https://modelshipworld.com/topic/27410-small-ship-anchor-handling/?do=findComment&comment=787942

Scotty, Many vessels didn't have a winch or capstan. The anchor was hoisted using a tackle (or two) hauling on a "messenger" line that was tied to the anchor cable. The cable was hauled in until the tackle two-blocked, and was then secured with "stoppers." Then the tackle was run out and the messenger tied to the cable again. The stoppers were released and another bight of the cable was hauled in, and so on. I describe the process here: https://modelshipworld.com/topic/27410-small-ship-anchor-handling/?do=findComment&comment=787942

The 1/64" (0.0156") thick strip would be equivalent of 3/4 inch thick at 1:48 or 1 1/2 inch at 1:100. That would be pretty thick. You could use thinner brass - 0.008" or 0.005". Sheets are available on line or at many hobby shops. I cut this thin brass using an ordinary hobby knife with a #11 blade. An old blade will do (a new one will dull quickly). Just use a metal straight edge to guide the cut and make several passes until the cut goes through. Cut on a hard surface and you won't get much curl or waviness along the cut edge - much better than cutting with scissors or tin snips. The cut edge will have a bit of a bevel (sharp) so I usually touch up with a file. The nice thing about this is you can make any width strip. If you accidentally slip and mess it up it is easy to do over again. And you can create complex shapes if you feel adventuresome.

Kurt, Great tip about the yellow ochre and anti-flux. Andy, Thanks for posting those photos. I have seen many brass locomotives but have never seen inside to see how they were made.

Bob, For many (most?) jobs where the alcohol acts as a solvent either isopropanol (isopropyl alcohol C3H7OH) or ethanol (C2H5OH) will work. It is mainly the hydroxyl (-OH) part of the molecule that makes them good solvents. Both evaporate fairly quickly. However, for specific chemical reactions the type of alcohol may be critical and ethanol and isopropanol are not interchangeable. I do not think this is the case with ordinary paints.

Accidents should never happen - but they do.

Roger, I have been enjoying your build. I love working with brass, and if I ever get around to building my scratch model of a cruiser I want to make a lot of it out of brass. I am one of the "electronics" guys who learned to solder assembling electronic circuits. I almost always solder with a drop of molten solder on the tip of the iron to conduct heat quickly. Sometimes I pre-tin brass parts and then just reheat them to get the solder joint. However, I have looked with envy at the fine detailed brass scale locomotives that some folks have made. These have no solder "stain" on the visible brass parts. I wondered how they did this, since much of my work has visible solder at the joints. For things that will be painted this is not a concern, but I still wanted to learn how to solder without any visible solder. The wet tip soldering process will not work if you do not want visible solder stains. This is where pre-tinning the parts comes in, and then using the dry tip iron to apply heat. But as you have noted, heat transfers relatively slowly from the dry soldering iron tip, and it flows fairly quickly through the brass. A hotter tip is needed, and you may need heat sinks to prevent the heat from flowing to earlier solder joints and unsoldering them. I use wet paper towels clamped to the work to absorb heat and keep it from spreading to other joints. Another way is to use a resistance soldering unit. Parts can be pre-tinned on the "inside" surfaces and then heated with the resistance unit. The current flows through the solder, remelting it. Some people cut tiny bits of solder foil and sandwich them between the parts to be soldered. Current flow from the resistance soldering unit will be through these solder flakes, causing the solder to flow on the inside (hidden) parts of the joint. You can make solder flakes just by hammering solder wire into a thin flat piece. This solder chip technique can be used with the dry tip soldering iron. Solder paste (solder powder in a paste flux) can also be used. I have a tendency to make a continuous solder flow along the entire joint between parts, but this often is unnecessary. Often just a few spot solder joints are all that is needed to hold things together adequately (like spot welding). You are right about using liquid flux. I prefer the water solutions of citric acid (lemon juice will do) because they smell like orange juice, and I love oranges! The liquid conducts heat quickly through the joint, and as it evaporates it draws solder into the joint. I use a steel wire brush in a moto tool to remove unwanted solder. The soft solder will brush off of the harder brass easily, and the brush polishes the brass. But you need to be careful for on some small joints you can remove too much solder!

#0000 steel wool gives a fine smooth matte finish. Very good for removing fuzz from wood. However, be sure you brush or wipe the surface thoroughly so you don't leave steel fragments. Maybe even use a magnet to collect the fine bits. The steel bits may rust over time when exposed to humidity. Personally, I have never seen this problem. With sandpaper you need to brush also to remove grit and wood dust.

I have posted some rigging information for tackles here. The entire thread is mainly for schooner rigging, but there is a lot of information about sails, rigging and terminology here. https://modelshipworld.com/topic/25679-topsail-schooner-sail-plans-and-rigging/?do=findComment&comment=787020 All of the tackle shown in your plans appear to be gun tackles - two single blocks. The lower block hooked to a ring bolt on deck. This is a very common arrangement. The advantages of this scheme are: 1. Only one line runs from near the deck to the block on the spar. If the lower block on the line was a double block three or four lines would connect to the spar, and this would require a rope much longer than used in the rig shown. 2. The line from the lower tackle can be pulled horizontally, allowing more men to pull on it. Often these lines would be led through a temporary runner block attached to the deck to lead the nine around obstacles and allow a horizontal pull so more hands could heave on it. Sometimes the rigging of the tackle was reversed top to bottom from the gun tackle shown in my post, with the fixed end of the lanyard connected to the lower block and the fall (loose end) running from the lower block so it always pulled horizontally. 3. In all cases the falls belayed (attached) to a cleat on the mast or a pin in a fife rail at the base of the mast. For lighter spars there would only be a sheave on/in the mast and the halliard would pass through it and connect directly to the spar. For heavier spars (and sails) the halliard would run through a luff tackle (single block on the spar and double block attached to the mast, or a "gun tackle" arrangement with two double blocks. These tackles provide most of the mechanical advantage. These rigs are sometimes called "jeers" instead of halliards. A good reference for English naval vessels if James Lees' "The Masting and Rigging of English Ships of War 1625-1860" (Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland, 1984, republished in 1990). I sometimes find it difficult to use because he doesn't always define his terminology and assumes the reader knows what he is talking about. But it has a wealth of information about English men of war. A good general reference for sailing ship models is Wolfram zu Mondfeld's "Historic Ship Models" (Sterling Publishing, Inc., New York, 1989). It has a lot of information about ships of many nationalities and periods. Falconer's "Universal Dictionary of the Marine" (1769) can be copied from the Internet. It is very useful for deciphering arcane nautical terms and jargon.

Thanks.

What is the "Sophisticated Finishes" product? The company makes several products, and I can't read all of what is in the photo.

This type of sail was (is?) popular on American east coast fishing schooners, and some racing schooners and schooner yachts. But there it is called a "fisherman's staysail." And they come in all sizes, according to the Captain's or owner's wishes, with some having the tack and clew reaching almost all the way down to the deck.

Valeriy, What is the object projecting from the bottom of the hull near the bow? This is far too early for sonar or other listening devices.

Beautiful!

Just think how noisy it would have been on the bridge when that gun fired! I lost my high frequency hearing and got ringing in my ears (tinnitus) on the cruiser I served on from standing watches on the bridge when the guns were firing - and it was an enclosed bridge. The gun in itself is a masterpiece. The ship as a whole is looking good!

Valeriy, I am glad to see your are back at work! These destroyers are from a period of rapid change in the design and role of the destroyer. I certainly will be following your build. I always learn from your work.

This is a beautiful ship, and it is worth the time/effort to visit San Francisco just to see her. I have been aboard a couple of times and would like to go back again. There are other historic ships there too - and of course San Francisco and a lot of good restaurants. It is a great place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there!

I have been soldering things since I was a kid (more than 60 years) - mostly electronics. I remember my father using a 1" square cross section soldering "iron" that he heated on our kitchen gas stove to work on sheet metal. I have used acid core solder, resin core and liquid flux. I prefer the liquid, especially the citric acid based flux. It smells like orange juice. You can even use lemon juice! What I like about the liquid flux is that it draws the solder into the joint as it evaporates. We have used it on extremely fine parts - 0.05 mm and smaller. And it cleans up with tap water. I use a variable temperature soldering iron with a small point tip. I also have a soldering gun for soldering massive objects, and a resistance soldering unit. I am still learning to use the resistance unit. It has the advantage of not staining the metal surface with solder, and the heat is localized within the solder joint. I use wet paper towels as heat sinks to prevent heat from a new solder joint from flowing to a previously soldered joint. Water absorbs a tremendous heat of vaporization (540 calories per gram - far more than most other substances) before it evaporates, so it makes possibly the best heat sink. I have always ignored the "rule" that you should heat the metal and not the solder. If you put a dry soldering iron tip against a piece of metal the heat flows slowly from the iron to the metal, and can even cause oxidation at the heated point. This allows the heat to spread to more distant parts of the work (bad). I wet the tip of the iron with a drop of solder and apply it to the joint. Heat flows rapidly from the iron, through the solder, to the joint. I apply the solder to the joint at the iron tip and when the metal is hot enough the solder melts and flows into the joint. This is where the liquid flux really works well.