grsjax

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.
 
 

Chapman Hoy Scratch Build 1:48 scale


This will be my log for a 1:48 scale (actually 1:50 scale as all the plans are metric) scratch build of a Chapman Water Hoy. A hoy is a small vessel, designed to move cargo and supplies to and from ships and the shore. These included provisions, munitions, fresh water etc. Hoys were sloop-rigged, with a mainsail on a gaff, but loose-footed (no boom). Fifty tons burthen was typical for size. This hoy had a large beam and draft for her length to maximize carrying capacity. The Chapman Water Hoy was designed by Fredrik Henrik af Chapman, a Swedish ship designer in 1768. This is an odd little ship but very interesting and with a simple rig. She was built for a life of hard work. The photos show three drawings of the vessel and a model photo i found on the internet.

Another reason I chose her to build is to spare the world another "Victory" or "Syren" build log! LOL!!
 
 
 

By the way, I did not show what the new kit does on the plastic conductor (;C) of our invention.
We have protected this our invention with a patent.
This allows you to assemble the hull very easily, quickly and very-very accurately!
And you get the most accurate contours of hull.

Let's continue, friends.
While there is an opportunity (before the mast), we decided to demonstrate to you
how the carronade could be moved  between the platforms on the launch.
💡By the way, a very interesting option to show on the model, if without a mast and sails.

Hi Dan welcome to the club. As others have said it depend's on the room you have. Am lucky to have a two car garage and a extension I added on to make more room for my stuff. As far as work benches and desk looking at other people shops help you in figuring that out about what you want. Am always asking some one for photo's of their shop, some times just to see their shop which also helps me use their ideals for things in it must like work benches. I have never had any one say know and we all like showing were we spend are time working on our hobby's.  When I built my hobby desk I used Woodsmith plan of their small scale Hobby Bench which is on the cover. It reminded me of a jeweler workbench, and I have alway's wanted one. Nice thing about building your own is what you can add and the detail you put in to it.  I also have a 8 foot wood worker bench. My 74 has its on workbench and is much to big to build it on the hobby bench. Her work bench is height adjustable and I just added a tilting to it that allows me to tilt it one way or the other. Really is nice for  working inside the hull.  The Woodsmith  issue is Vol 37, No 219 Dated June/July2015.  Forgive for the mess. Gary

I use a couple of old wooden desks.  Solid, stable and you can easily attach things like a vise to it.

I use a couple of old wooden desks.  Solid, stable and you can easily attach things like a vise to it.

I use a couple of old wooden desks.  Solid, stable and you can easily attach things like a vise to it.

I use a couple of old wooden desks.  Solid, stable and you can easily attach things like a vise to it.

I agree with the Model Shipways, Shipwrights series route. You might be able to finish the first 2 in the series seeing that you will have ample time on your hands.
Buy the kits well ahead of time and acquire the necessary supplies like glues, de-bonders  and such.
You might want to hit the hobby shop and pick up some basswood sheets of different thicknesses to have on hand in case you ruin something and have to replace it with a scratch built part.