grsjax

Will 
I found the vacuum placement technique extremely useful for precise placement of copper tiles on my Caldercraft  Victory. I rigged up a device using parts obtained from Virtual Industries – Official Site of Virtual Industries (virtual-ii.com) connected to a salvaged hospital suction pump. I would recommend checking out Virtual Industries products . I think a key to success is having the right size suction cup and adequate suction to hold the tile in place.
 

Haven't posted for a little while but I have been working on her here and there. For my first real POF attempt, this kit is not for beginners! The manual is not very easy to follow... I realized soon that most of the build will require constant referral to the plans. But that's cool, the plans have lots of info. Many detail shots of the trickier areas. So, bust out the measuring tools and get in that mode of thinking. So, the frames are beveled and installed.

Good move, but pay attention, there are actually two kinds, the five-sided cutting broaches and the round smoothing broaches. They also come in different size categories, the smalles for watch work and the largest (up to about 6 mm) for clock work. Watchmakers supply houses have them, but these days they can also found on ebay etc.

And then with some temporary deck beams in place, it was time to remove it from the building jig! And then just after that is where I got stuck. I didn't know what the best way to go about installing the deck and cockpit framing was, and got so hung up overthinking everything, I just stopped working on it. But fast forward 4 years, with my fresh inspiration and some more research and a little logical thinking, I came up with a plan of action. I decided the best course of action would be to install all of the deck beams at full width to give the form maximum strength and the most uniform shape for fairing. A brilliant design feature of this boat is that the deck is actually a straight line from the bow to the transom at the center line, and the sheer is determined by the intersection of the deck beams and side frames. The deck is a consistent arc, being that of a circle of a 20 foot radius, or in this case 20 inches. So when the time came to fair it, all I had to do was mount a sheet of sand paper to my work surface, flip the boat upside down, and just rock it back and forth across the sandpaper, constantly checking it with my deck arc template until everything was fair. My technique, as shown above with the bottom framing, was to lightly color all the frames with a blue Sharpie, so once all the blue was gone, I knew everything was fair! Then I proceeded to cut out the cockpit and install the stringers. The front stringers were two of the trickiest pieces I've ever made, being angled in both directions, but I got there eventually. I'd say they came out just about perfectly symmetrical. When it comes time to install the splash guard and cockpit coaming, it will be a similar process, but I suppose if I did it once, I can do it again! So that brings us up to now, as I finished the cockpit framing last night. I believe the next step is going to be painting the inside, which of course must be done before installing the deck, floor boards, and seats.

I used this from Amazon for my sails.  It worked great.  It may be available in France.
 
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001KZH21E/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Using a hollow ground planer blade in a table saw you can cut pieces as thin a .04" thick.  A zero tolerance insert and a precision fence is required.  Using a sliding table is better.  Still have a large kerf but for some common woods that isn't a big problem.

Using a hollow ground planer blade in a table saw you can cut pieces as thin a .04" thick.  A zero tolerance insert and a precision fence is required.  Using a sliding table is better.  Still have a large kerf but for some common woods that isn't a big problem.

I have the 4660 from Little Machine Shop.   Lovely machine to use and accurate.   It does break down into two pieces by removing 4 bolts.  Top speed is 5,000 rpm.  From my days many decades ago and being around the big mill (Cincinnati Milacron if I remember right) they didn't turn fast when milling steel or armor aluminum.... but those things weighed at least a ton or more.
 
BTW, for milling steel, you will need to set up a cooling method.  Most machines I've seen that do steel have an oil drip or flow system.

Looks like a good drill press but does it have heavy duty quill bearings able to take a side load during milling and does it have a solid or hollow column?  Both of these issues are going to be important in doing any kind of milling.

Looks like a good drill press but does it have heavy duty quill bearings able to take a side load during milling and does it have a solid or hollow column?  Both of these issues are going to be important in doing any kind of milling.

going into the area of speculation and supposition it seems as if you know that what you are proposing to do is likely to be a bad choice.  Wishing to be told that it could work, you ask here.  The likely consensus here is that if you are serious about milling, you are on the wrong path.  If you are just on a lark, you should perhaps widen your possibilities a bit.
 
I am thinking that speed is a useless standard if the machine lacks the power to maintain it when the cutter is exposed to a load.
 
If you want light weight, consider trying a EuroTool DRL 300.00.   It is a small drill press, so the quill bearings are not designed for much of a lateral load.  But with light shallow cuts, it may do.  If it does not work, at least you will have a drill press for model scale work, providing that it is not wrecked by forcing it.  It can be upgraded by attaching a XY table - AliExpress fronts for several Chinese suppliers of generic XY tables.
The cutters will need to be really sharp and likely high quality.
This machine is probably not that different from something low cost and light weight that is labeled as being a "milling machine".

Good Luck!
I'm building this model right now too. I've taken the basic hull from the kit to use as my base, but I'm modifying and adding to the trim to match Lightning #392, that I used to own. I've cut the full bulkheads so they appear as ribs and the running lines can pass thru the forward one. My plan is to have all the running lines working as they do on the real boat. I've also "canvased" the deck. Right now, I'm searching for a source for 1:12 turnbuckles for the mast stays. Any suggestions?
My advice is to apply multiple coats of sanding sealer to the mahogany before final finishing to eliminate the deep grain.
I also suggest that the upper shrouds, which are solid wire, be replaced with line similar to what you are using for the others. 
BTW: the thin lines in the photos are temporary. They are placed so I can attach the final lines to them and pull thru later in the build.

I made and installed the skeg today. It was supposed to be 1/8" balsa, from the same sheet as the frames, but that was both way too flimsy and wildly out of scale. In scale works out to 1/16", so I just used a scrap of mahogany, which is considerably more rigid.
The rudder also works out to 1/16", but will need to be made of plywood since it is much bigger. Any suggestions for favorite places to buy 1/16" plywood? From what I've gathered, birch is the most common, but I haven't yet found a good place to get a small piece for a reasonable amount.
Anyway, to install the skeg, I carved a small groove in the keel to make sure it's securely attached.

I like your centerboard. I am sure most prototypes had dings and scratches. You might want to consider using two thin brass rod on either side of the CB to mount the Lightning similar to what I did on my Longboat.
 

I don't mean to sound argumentative and I hope you don't think me somewhat dense, but I see no option to buy the plans without paying for the number. When I click 'add to cart', it comes up as one total of $150. There seems to be no way to buy one without the other.
Anyway, I have gotten this thread off-topic.
I have installed the keel strip and cut the center board slot. The thickness of the kit-provided center board is comically out of scale, so I'll be heading to my local hobby shop to pick up a piece of aluminum sheet to make a new one.
To fill small gaps, such as that which remained between the hull and the keel strip, I am using Elmer's 'color change' wood filler. It's extremely fine, dries very quickly, and is very easy to sand. It starts out purple and turns white when it's dry, so once it's all white, you know it's dry enough to sand. Fantastic stuff; I highly recommend it.

I use Zinsser Bulls Eye Sealcoat with good results.
Bill

Welcome Matey0143!
 
I agree with Chris on the Mastini book.
 
Another book, while a lot of the company specific address references are dated, Ship Modeling from Stem to Stern by Milton Roth was an old classic, and much of the technique information applies, as do discussions on scale, rope sizing, and so on. It was actually the first ship modeling book in my library when I was starting out.
 
Of course, the fact that that was over 16 years ago indicates just how dated those the company references are (for paint suppliers, tool suppliers, etc).
 
Probably, the one book that I truly consider my ship modeling bible is the now-out-of-print Historic Ship Models by Wolfram zu Mondfeld. Not a how-to book, but a great reference for modelers, chock full of information.
 
Good luck with your build and enjoy!
 

I finished the horizontal planks.
 

 

 

 

 

Dear all
 
I threw the sheets in the bathtub and soak them in very hot water. Then I took them to the garage, flat on the work bench with a sheet of particle board on top and whatever heavy items I had laying around pressing down. I repeated this cycle twice.
 
Much improved situation, some sheets better than others. Some are dead flat, others have one edge straight and the other a bit wavy, others still a bit wavy. They are all however usable now.

Totally get that Bob.  I think most of us are just building for ourselves, not for a museum, and not as a family heirloom.  A few years ago when my mother-in-law saw that I was working on three wooden kits, she asked where I was going to put them.  I told her I would send them to her condo so she could have a nautical theme going.   She wasn't too excited by that idea.  😬

The good old 2nd Law of Thermodynamics gets us all and everything - sooner or later
 

The same eBay seller makes a sliding table for the Dremel saw. 

I too enjoyed the Hornblower series. An additional book I really enjoyed by Forrester was The Good Shepherd, one of his non-Hornblower novels. The recent movie “Greyhound” is based off of this, and while the movie does a decent job, the book is by far the better story.

The same eBay seller makes a sliding table for the Dremel saw. 

The same eBay seller makes a sliding table for the Dremel saw.