grsjax

Saw a facebook ad for this new model.  15% off if pre-ordered.  Is this deal available to US buyers or only European buyers?

Saw a facebook ad for this new model.  15% off if pre-ordered.  Is this deal available to US buyers or only European buyers?

Deadeyes twisting is something that happens on real ships, cordage under strain tends to twist. As far as I know, the fix for this is called a sheer pole. In the picture below is the Niagara. You'll see the metal bar above the deadeyes. Most examples you will find on the internet have a metal rod that sits a little lower not this square bar. I've seen some ships where the bar was up too high and the deadeyes ended up misaligned anyway...

More small details

In February 2020, we started talking about the MK 0304 "42ft launch rigged Yawl with a 24-pound carronade (1841)". Scale1/48.
In February 2020, we started talking about the MK 0305 "22-oars two 24pd-gun gunboat  of the Baltic fleet,1848"  Scale1/72.
We have a lot of projects almost ready, but not put into production.
 
The delay in the release of new kits was due to the fact that we were engaged in patenting and protecting intellectual property rights for our developments. It took almost two years.
 
Now we are engaged in the MK0304 project in wood.
 
 
 

Continuation

There is no 'one size fits all'. The high top-spindle speed of the Proxxon MF70 was obviously chosen to allow the clean milling of wood. For metal the lower end might be still too high but for the smallest end-mills or burrs, when using them on metal. Also, milling of thermo-plastics, such as acrylics, require quite low speeds, as their heat-conductivity is low, so that they cannot dissipate the heat generated by the cutting quickly enough, resulting in melting.
 
One thing you probably find yourself doing or at least tempted to be doing is to make tools and fixtures for your mill and your lathe. I never assessed this, but I would guess that this is about half of the use-time on my machines. The reason is that it is fun, that it is cheaper than buying, that mean tools and fixtures you can buy are too big for these small machines or they are not precise enough, and the you can design them to your specific needs.
 
One budgetary consideration is also, that you probably have to spend a similar amount of money on tooling for the machines, mills and lathes, that you have spend on the bare machine. You will need milling vices of several sizes probably, clamping fixtures, a rotary table or indexer, a tilting table, and last not least a collection of spindle-tooling. The later also will need to be replaced (or resharpened) as they become dull.

Probably not at Home Depot.  Take the old bearing to a place that specializes in bearings and they can probably find a replacement.

Probably not at Home Depot.  Take the old bearing to a place that specializes in bearings and they can probably find a replacement.

Probably not at Home Depot.  Take the old bearing to a place that specializes in bearings and they can probably find a replacement.

Probably not at Home Depot.  Take the old bearing to a place that specializes in bearings and they can probably find a replacement.

Several years ago, I bought some blackened annealled steel wire and used it to make some hooks, etc.  Since then the cut ends have rusted.  It was a mistake.
If you want an unfinished steel look, inconel safety wire is available which will not corrode at all.

The problem with the mixture steel/wood is actually the wood that contains various organic (humic) acids that corrode the steel. The ferric-humic acids compounds that form are black, hence the blackening of wood around iron fasteners or other parts.
 
I never combine steel and wood, so this problem does not arise.
 
Nickel silver is not available in too many different shapes. Another possibility for obtaining bright silver parts in brass is to chemically tin them. Salts or solutions for that purpose are available from electronics suppliers and certain modelling shops.
 

If I may add my experience to the mix. I am just finishing a restoration of an exquiste scratch model that had ferrous parts/fittings. I estimate the model is somewhere in the 60 to 80 year age. It appears not to have been abused and shoved somewhere that was dirty and humid. Nonetheless the ferrous parts have rusted and as pointed out by others will stain the wood in the area. Another case in point. I restored an old machinist chest sometime back. It had ferrous drawer pulls and corner protectors. All the wood surrounding the ferrous parts had blackened. My advice is do not use ferrous fasteners or material for models! And as mentioned other forms of ferrous metal that do not corrode are just too hard to work with. You may not see the effects of environmental exposure in your time but your future beholders will. 
Joe

I am guilty of using steel in my models for the very simple reason that there no real alternatives to it for turning long slender parts. There are some hard brass variants that may work in certain instances, but such brass is extremely difficult to buy. I making miniature models and need e.g. belaying pins of 0.2 or 0.3 mm diamater - this simply does not work in brass, even with my watchmaking lathe.
 
On a real ship, there would be very few parts with bare ferrous metal visible. I can think of the meshing surfaces of gear-wheels for instance. Also, if you have a steam-engine visible, various parts would/could not be painted, even on a steam-engine that is exposed to the elements (such as those for windlasses or winches) at least the piston rods would be bare steel. So my choice would be to make them from steel, as nothing looks more lile metal - than the metal.
 
Some 30+ years ago I build a small plouging engine model with various exposed real steel parts. They have been varnished with something that is called zapon-varnished, which is used to prevent tarnishing of silver- and brass-wares. As of today no signs of corrosion, but the model has been stored in a glass-case in a dry environment all the time.
 
A few months ago I had the occasion to visit the workshops of the Musée de la Marine in Paris and talke to the chief-restorer and used the opportunity to ask her, what they use to keep the rust away from those splendid models of iron-clad battle-ships of the 1860s to 1880s, where the armour is bare steel. She told me that they use solutions of 'micro-crystalline' wax (check Google for it).
 
So the answer is, I am using steel, when it is needed fro structural reasons and to represent the look of real steel, but otherwise I would not use it. Particularly, shy away from the combination of 'acid' woods (such as oak or beech) and steel, where the wood itself can corrode the steel.
 
 
 

I think you would be fine with stainless but regular carbon steel will corrode from the moisture in the air over time.  Short of completely sealing steel parts in epoxy I don't see any way to prevent them from rusting at least a small amount.  Also some woods will cause corrosion in steel fasteners.

Stainless steel is difficult to work with; it is “tough” so hard to cut and form and I don’t believe that it can be readily soldered.  It shrinks if welded.
 
I see no reason to use any of the steels; carbon or alloy, when there is an excellent alternative- Brass.
 
Brass is readily available as sheet, wire, rod, and round, square, and rectangular tube.  The square and rectangular tube can be ripped and fabricated to make various structural shapes.  Brass is easily soldered using ordinary soft soldering materials. It also machines well.  It has ample strength for our purposes.
 
Roger

Update:
 
Strongback is ready, mast and spars are laminated, and all "plywood" parts are cut out. Everything is temporarily collected together for a group photo:

 
I used a jewelers saw (Knew Concepts jewelers saw) with a jewelers blade to cut the shapes out of mostly 1/16th inch basswood sheet material. A few pieces are Cherry. This was my first time using a jewelers saw, so all this cutting, especially with the details has been very instructive.
 
Everything is pretty rough right now and needs to be trimmed and sanded, but I'm overall happy with the jewelers saw. I was able to get much more detailed than I expected. There were a couple of interesting things to consider when using the saw. For example, cutting across the grain was an entirely different experience than cutting parallel to the grain.
 
Cross-grain, the saw ripped through the material incredibly fast even with a very fine-tooth blade (I used #3/0). It was very easy to cut too much material in one stroke. I found that, in this situation, using very short, relaxed strokes with virtually no pressure against the material gave me the most control.
 
Additionally, the saw has a 5" throat (I believe that is the correct term?), and the material I was cutting from was 2 feet long. It was fun to plan the cutting to try and preserve as much scrap material for future use as possible while also accounting for the 5" limit of the saw.
 
Next Steps:
 
-Refine the cut-out shapes with files and sandpaper. 
-Positioning of frames and chine logs for fairing.
-Shape and sand the mast and spars. These will remain mostly rectangular, but will be tapered in some cases and the edges rounded.

Not sure if this has been provided before, however I found it tedious converting the actual rigging size from admiralty tables (inches circumference) to scale diameters in mm so I could order and fit the correct size rope.
 
The table below is in various 'common' scales and the scale size is rounded to the nearest scale size.
 
I hope this is helpful for other modellers

Started on the hull - as in the description these consist of three planks for a flat bottom and two sides perpendicular to that. Found some hardwood that fits that which drove the scale to 1:5,3 at 115cm overall length.
 
next will be to prepare the hull for the masts, rudder, keels and a “false bulb keel” in case I need it.
 
this is becoming a “why spoil it with a plan/drawing” type of build!
 
regards Freek

... and ferric metals will cause discolouration in wood.

I think you would be fine with stainless but regular carbon steel will corrode from the moisture in the air over time.  Short of completely sealing steel parts in epoxy I don't see any way to prevent them from rusting at least a small amount.  Also some woods will cause corrosion in steel fasteners.

I think you would be fine with stainless but regular carbon steel will corrode from the moisture in the air over time.  Short of completely sealing steel parts in epoxy I don't see any way to prevent them from rusting at least a small amount.  Also some woods will cause corrosion in steel fasteners.

Thank you for your comments and evaluation of our work!
 
Those "precision clamps" will be in a box of our wooden kit.