grsjax

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. 

Part 009

Yesterday the new Miter Gauge I bought from the same person I purchased the backplate and rip fence from arrived. It is a well made all aluminum assembly with nice large angle markings on it. It fit well in the table slot, with only a little slop, much less than the factory one. It also has a larger miter assembly, with one side angled at 45 degrees. The gauge has a nice thick blade screwed onto the protractor, giving a good surface to hold your work piece to. The only down side I see to it is that the position marker on the slide is a dot, rather than a line, making it harder to set the correct angle. The locking screw is well made and provides a strong grip when tightened.

 

 

 

 
I tried cutting some old ¾” X ¾” hard pine strips on it for a project. It did stall a couple times, when I tried to feed it through too quickly, but I was using a 100 tooth blade rather than a more suitable one. The finish on the cut ends was smooth. This size wood is at what I would consider the upper limit, in thickness, so I was happy with the performance.

Part 008

I also bought three Zero Clearance plates for the saw, from Radical RC.
 



The center ridge you see on the bottom of the uninstalled one acts as a stiffener and the rear clamp.


 
When I installed the one shown, I had to press along the edges, after tightening the screw, to snap it flush over the whole surface.


 
I have not run the blade up through any of them yet. I’ll wait until I’m ready to use one. I don’t want to keep putting them on and off, in case doing so shifts them a little, after the slot is cut.


 
They are ~$10 US each, so not a bad deal!


 
I also bought a better miter gauge, off Ebay, from the same seller as the backplate, and rip fence. I’ll review that when it comes in.

Part 007

I bought two new parts for the saw, a backplate and a new rip fence. I got both off of Ebay, from a gentleman who says he has been making them for years. He plans to continue offering them through Ebay.

A. The Backplate

The back of the saw is open, from the factory, and this plate fits in the empty space. It thus closes the back from any things that might otherwise, accidentally intrude back there. It provides a port to attach a shop vac, which with the back plate on will actually do some good. It also braces the sides of the base to stiffen it. The other important item it provides is an additional lock for the back of the saw blade housing!


 
This picture shows the outside of the plate (once installed). The knob in the curved slot is the rear blade housing lock. The aluminum angle bracket is the brace. Of course, the tube is the vacuum hose attachment port. The castellated top fits into the groves of the underside of the saw table.
 

 
This is the inside of the plate. The nut on the shaft of the knob, is just to hold it during shipping, and will be discarded. The wing nuts are used when attaching the brace.

 

 
Here is a picture of the instruction sheet.
 

 
When installing the backplate, you must either discard the little rear blade guard, or figure out an alternate mounting for it. The backplate fits in tight against the blade housing, so the guard would have to be moved to the inside of the housing. If you look closely at the first picture, you will see scribed lines marking the area you would have to remove to allow for new mounting screws. I chose to simply remove the guard, as the plate seals this area anyway.
 

 

 
 
The upper screw hole in the housing is where the new knob will screw in.


 
The plate is slid in inside the opening and sits down onto the bottom of the table, between the housing and the adjacent ridge.
 

 

 
 
I found that the plate did not fit solidly to the bottom of the table, which has apparently bowed just slightly over the years. This allowed the plate to rock a bit, so I cut a little off of the longer parapet area in the center. Now the plate sits firmly against the table. One effect of this was that the plate sat a little further down causing the knob shaft to rub on the plate. I filed the slot a little wider to fix this.
 

 

 
 
Here are shots of the plate in place.
 

 

 

 
Next the rear brace is installed. Check the fit, as the attachment screw holes are not symmetrical with the center of the base, so the brace only fits with the horizontal lip toward the table. I replaced the wingnuts with 10-24 nylon locknuts. Tighten the nuts down until the nuts on the brace touch the plate. This holds the plate firmly in place. In addition I’m going to drill a hole through the  two lips on the base to insure that the plate can’t shift during sawing.
 

 
B. The Rip Fence


 
The Rip Fence is a big improvement over the factory one. It clamps more securely and has an adjustable fence blade. The fence clamps front to rear, like a full size saw fence, not just with a clamp under the front lip, like the factory one. The back of the factory fence is free floating, being held square just by the stub on the clamp casting on the front of the fence. The new fence is also taller than the original, allowing for more controlled cuts. The new fence can be fine tuned to your saw table, using the two adjustment screws on the main body.


 
The manufacturer also included a nice push stick with it!
 

 

 
 
For my saw I had to fine tune the front lip. As there were a few burs and dings on it. I used a large flat mill file on the front and under the front lip to smooth things out. This is why there are gray areas in the last picture, that is the bare plastic showing through.


 
The adjustment also comes in handy, as I found the front lip to not be perfectly straight on mine. So I can now adjust the blade, if needed, for each fence position. The error is not very large, so most times I will not have to worry about it.

If the terminology follows tradition, you have a species of Maple there.  It is close enough to Hard Maple for the differences to be academic.  It is also a local commercial hardwood for you.
Harvesting, seasoning, and milling your own wood is tricky to do and a lot of work if it is not a part of your usual work.  The rewards generally match the necessary investment in time, equipment, and skills if the species harvested are those which are not to be had by any other means.  This would most often be a fruitwood, box, if lucky, hawthorn, Cornus and the like.
 
That editorial caveat out of the way, It needs air circulation to dry before a fungus gets it.  It needs protection from rain and snow. It needs protection from borrowing insects.  The rate of water loss from various surfaces needs attention.  The wet finger rule is seasoning requires 1 year per inch of thickness.
 
The water will leave much more quickly from areas of open end grain: cut ends and where branches are cut off.  Left uncontrolled, the difference in rate of water loss will produce internal stresses. 
The wood will split and check.  In the worst cases, the result is toothpicks.  The open ends must be sealed. This needs to be done concurrent with harvest or soon after.   There are many materials that do this, but quick and dirty is a THICK coating of leftover latex house paint.  Recoat as any splitting there shows there is not enough of a barrier.
 
Bark slows the rate of water loss from the side grain and there also may be eggs or larvae of wood eating insects in it back from when it was standing.  Leaving the bark on invites insect damage, a slower rate of drying, and not discovering any existing rot, which would result in a wasted effort.
Air circulation around each piece is important.  Pieces of wood are generally used for this.  Over here, these are called stickers.  The process of stacking the drying wood using the stickers is termed "stickering".
 
It speeds drying time, making handling easier, and may save on loss to splitting if the logs are immediately reduced to billets.  One inch thick is OK if you do not need stock for larger scale POF frame stock.  Two inch is better if you do need this.  Getting logs into billets is most efficiently done using a band saw.  It is a royal PITA otherwise and generally involves serious loss to kerf.
 
Length,  from the lumber yard, the boards generally come in 8 foot lengths.  My first outing involved the yard bisecting to 4 foot.  This is still impractical. For a while, I cut them into 16" lengths for my bench.  It is a bit fiddly and short, and now I find 2 foot lengths to be my sweet spot.
 
Does your garage have rafters/ trusses?   Is there room there for drying wood?  Is there an attic in your home?  Otherwise, your outside stack will need a blue tarp and probably a new one every 6-12 months.

Found this Googling..
 
Bell Forest
 

 
P.S. 
It's hard to Google " Holly Wood "..  Guess why? 😁
 
Try " Holly lumber " 

Depends on the scale.  For small scales I go down to 320.  Larger scales I use 240.

Taking a short break to do my taxes.  Uncle Sam gets testy if I am late with my tribute.