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grsjax
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Right now I have several short logs of various woods drying which is a large amount for me. I also have a pretty good supply of strip wood and sheets of different kinds but there are probably not that much all together. I would guess enough wood to compete a large model would be a fair amount, enough for two would be a large amount. Just remember you can't have to much wood as long as you have a dry place to store it. -
Depends on how much I can find to salvage or get at discount prices. Sometimes I only have a small amount in the shop sometimes a lot stacked up drying and/or waiting to be cut up.
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nice work. In many areas pear and fruit woods in general are hard to come by. However I have found that many woods that a woodworker would reject can be great for model building. I read an article years ago by a gentleman that regularly visits the green waste facility at his local trash dump. He wrote that he finds many pieces of wood that work very well but are not in general use. Pyracantha was one he mentioned and star fruit was another. Star fruit is a tropical species so I assume he was down in south Florida or some other warm place. The point of his article is to not rely on the conventional wisdom and experiment with what ever you can find. From personal experiance I can say that gardenia and dogwood are both good sources for hard, close grained wood. Neither gets very big but you don't usually need large pieces for model building.
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As a general observation I have found that most of the walnut used in kits, especially the thin strips for planking are of poor quality. I would suspect most of it is not true walnut anyway. If you can salvage enough to finish the project you can get a pretty good finish with some work. Problem I had the most trouble with was the brittlness of the wood and the tendency to split and fray when being trimmed. Good hardwood veneer can be bought off of ebay fairly cheaply and might be a better choice than going with the kit wood. Another option is to leave off the second layer of planking and finish the first layer with wood filler and paint.
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Best I have tried with curly walnut is BLO. Sand to a very smooth finish and apply BLO with a rag wiping off the excess. Let it dry and go over it with 0000 steel wool. Wipe again with BLO let it dry and go over it again with 0000 steel wool. Repeat until you have the finish you are looking for. A couple of cavets, I have only done this with hardwood and don't know how a soft wood would preform. Also as said above try it on a small piece or the underside of your slab first before committing. Although it is not impossible to remove the BLO by sanding it is a lot of work.
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For simple shapes using a low melting point alloy like brittania metal it is very doable at home. The one thing to remember it to incorporate as many vent holes as you can into the casting to ensure a complete fill out. Using plaster to make the molds is probably the easiest way. After the mold is dry use low heat to melt the wax and let it run out of the vents. Keep the heat on for a while to ensure all the wax is out. Heat the mold, melt the alloy and pour. As was said above the disadvantage is one casting per mold but for one offs it is hard to beat. One more thought. For series production you can make a split mold to turn out wax masters. Only works with symmetrical shapes like cannon.
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Go to bookfinder.com and look for this book. I would bet you will find a copy for a lot less than $45.
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Looking for instructions: (old) MGS Dutch Koff
grsjax replied to TheUnseen's topic in Wood ship model kits
Can't help you but that is a great looking kit. If you do manage to find instructions for it please let us know.- 3 replies
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BLO and tung oil are both natural polymers that will harden over time. They look really good if you let each coat dry and rub it down with 0000 steel wool before doing the next coat. 3 coats is usually enough but you can get a glass like finish with more work. Wood varnish is more of a hassle to apply than oil finish but three coats with sanding between coats gives a very good finish. Satin polyurethane works very well applied the same way but the fumes can be a problem for some. I have been using clear satin water based acrylic paint with good results. Three coats with light sanding between coats.
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A full size table saw can be used for very fine cuts. As stated above the kerf is large so waste can be high but if you are cutting something fairly common the waste is worth it for the ease of cutting. Use a hollow ground planer blade in the saw and tune it up before attempting any cutting. It is surprising how out of alinement a saw can be without it being obvious. A couple of accessories you will need is an insert for the area around the blade with the smallest possible gap (make one out of thin plywood without a hole and cut the hole with the blade you are going to use by raising the blade as it is running) and a good fence. A trick I learned was to attach a thin piece of wood between the fence and the wood being cut. End the insert just beyond the location of the arbor. Line up the fence with the blade very carefully and you are all set. You can get good, smooth cuts down to about .03" (~.75mm) with practice. Depending on the wood you use you might do even better.
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For that time and ship a small whitehall pulling boat or a skiff would look good. However any boat of the right size and period would probably be right as far as historical accuracy goes.
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Micro Drills, Revisited.
grsjax replied to Modeler12's topic in Modeling tools and Workshop Equipment
One caution with tungsten carbide drills. They will break if you put a sideways stress on them. For other sizes check for for micro milling bits. They generally have a 1/8" shaft and come in a vast range of sizes. -
sealing a solid hull
grsjax replied to bushman32's topic in Building, Framing, Planking and plating a ships hull and deck
I use clear shellac thinned with denatured alcohol. About 50%. Does a good job sealing the wood and as long as you do not plan to use a water based clear finish over it it makes a good base coat. You can use oil or enamel over it with no problem or solid color water based paints. -
Couldn't find a woodslicer locally but I did get a Starrett bimetal 1/2" blade for a good price. Starrett has a good reputation. Will give it a try and let you know how it works.
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Ran across an interesting tool in the fabric department and thought it might have some utility in our hobby. It is a rotary cutter used by quilters and leather workers. It has a handle and a round, rotating blade about an inch across. The blade is very sharp and is used with a cutting mat for cutting out patterns. I think it would work with wood veneer just fine. Anyone used one of these and if so what is your impression. This picture is one I found on Amazon.
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A bit of both. I presently mostly use a 3/8" 8 tooth blade for general cutting. Thinking of getting a 1/2" blade for serious resawing and a 1/8" 15 tooth blade for fine scroll work. Would like to know what experiance others have had with different brands.
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Recently read an article about bandsaw blades and it mentioned using bimetal blades for woodworking. The reasoning seemed sound and the article mentioned good results. Anyone here using bimetal blades? Also what brand of blade is preferred? I have been using a no name blade that came with my bandsaw and a Delta blade I picked up on sale. Both seem adequate but I am sure there are better ones out there.
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If you want a simple (realitively simple) practice project try building a small pulling boat like a whitehall or peapod. Plans for both of these types are available from the Smithsonian for reasonable prices and Howard I. Chapelle's books "American Small Sailing Craft" and "Boat Building" also have plans as well as a wealth of info on building them.
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A long sharp schooner like the America or a pilot boat would be good. One with a sharp bow and a transom stern would probably be best. Try to find one with no hollow in the garboard.
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I have a set of checkering tools used to cut the checker on gunstocks. There are several different types and shapes of cutters and on my set the blades can be replaced. The are great small cutting tools but I have never heard of anyone using them for doing anything but cutting the checkering on stocks. Has anyone tried using them to do carving for models?
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Threads on miniature nuts & bolts
grsjax replied to jhearl's topic in Metal Work, Soldering and Metal Fittings
I can't answer the question but it may be possible to recut the threads in the nuts with the jewelers tap depending on what material the nuts are made of and how close you can get to matching the original thread. I have done this with regular sized bolts and nuts when I could not get an exact match. Can't guarantee it will work for you but it might be worth a try if all else fails. -
Bought some and tried it out. Worked pretty well for me. Good for getting small items to stay in place when they can't be clamped.
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Jeweler's Tap and Die
grsjax replied to Landlocked123's topic in Modeling tools and Workshop Equipment
Hi I was taught that the hole for the tap should be the minor diameter of the thread plus the difference between the major and minor thread diameter. Hope that helps. -
Wood Preservative/Stabilizer
grsjax replied to robcg's topic in Painting, finishing and weathering products and techniques
I have used cuprinol but I would not suggest it for model building. It left a greenish color in the wood. Good stuff for protecting wood from bugs but I don't know how it would impact painting or other finishing processes. Don't know what pentacyrI is. I have used clear shellac to stablize wood for carving. However it is sensitive to water and turns white if it gets wet. Works great. Can be painted over with water or oil based paints and I have clear coated over it with oil based finishes including tung oil and BLO. Haven't tried using acrylic clear over it. Plain white wood glue works well with soft woods like basswood. Super glue can also be used. Clear acyrlic paint is something I have used as well to keep down fuzz when sanding. Hope that helps. -
comparison of masking tapes
grsjax replied to vaddoc's topic in Painting, finishing and weathering products and techniques
Have you tried a thin coat of clear spray paint over the tape to seal it first?
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