lraymo

Wow, the wheel is looking great! but I am so sorry you and Maggie have been sick, and even more concerned about your slip on the ice! Yikes! I hope you have both recovered from illness, and since you are working on the wheel, i assume this means your arm is better. But at any rate, rest up as needed!

Thanks for all the good ideas and suggestions! Not sure I'll paint these little chainplates, but your info is good to know. At any rate, won't be working on the model for a bit... making a quick trip to Florida to see some friends (but I'll be back in a week!)

This is looking so incredibly good! And so precise!

Question: I tried to paint the brass chainplates with the black paint that came with the kit, but the paint wouldn't stay on the brass. Is there a special black paint I should use? (I may not paint them anyway, but for future knowledge, what paint works best on brass?)

Thanks Keith! This model will take a looong time to finish, but hopefully I'm learning alot along the way!

A bit of success! These chainplates don't look all that great, but for me, my goal was to make 5 of them, with three tiny holes in each of the 1/16" strips of brass. I found a couple alternative options, since my little drill bits weren't working. I could buy a mini drill press for $129!!! OR use a thumbtack and a little "reamer" tool I already had! I went for the cheaper option! These still need alot of work, but hey, I have achieved HOLES! I hammered the thumbtack in a little bit, but if it went too far, it would create too big a hole and split the brass. So I only hammered it in about 1/8", and then used the reaming tool to open up the hole to the correct diameter. It was still difficult to keep the hole in the exact center of the strip, but they'll look better (I hope!) once they're installed, painted, and the little nails are attached!

Apparently I did 😁! Maybe its time to buy some new tools, like a drill press! You are probably right. It seems dull. My #61 is actually the BIGGEST I have. I'll try using a smaller size! This sounds like a good approach. I will try it. And my practice drilling had the bit jumping and sliding all over the place, so I will try to make a "dimple" with the smallest nail I can find. Thanks for all the advice! I'll keep plugging away!

Starting over is so hard! I've forgotten alot of what i was doing. But getting back into it, i'm trying to finish up the chainplates. I had started one, and thought i'd make the other 5 before installing them all, but in looking at the little tiny holes, I can't for the llife of me figure out how I made them??? The brass strip is 1/16", and I am trying to use a #61 little drill bit for my little finger drill, but it doesn't want to go through the brass strip. Is that the right tool? I did it before, but can't figure out how! PS - pay no attention to the rudimentary work. It'll take awhile to get good at this!

That pump is sooo tiny! And it looks so good! Have you ever been to the Steamship Arabia museum in KC? You could see the pump on display!

We were slammed with blizzard conditions and more than a foot of snow yesterday! It's one of the biggest snowstorms we've seen here in Kansas City in awhile! The roads were treacherous, ice, freezing rain, then hours and hours of snow. People are digging out today, but travel is still dicey. Fortunately, I don't have to leave the house for a couple days! Glad it was better in your area!

PS - survived the first night of the storm. Cathead (Eric) - any issues in your part of the state?

Cool pictures of your SternWheeler!

I love your romantic story! And thanks for clarifying the history, although I loved that story too!

Thanks! Keith, I was on a cruise through the inside passage, and then spent a few days in Denali Natl Park. An amazing place! Saw lots of bear, moose, and other wildlife. The only downside was the excursion I took on the very first day, where we did a zip-line thru the treetops in Ketchikan, but I was going too fast and smashed my foot into the tree at the end of the first line! 7 more lines to go, along with 3 swinging bridges, before I could get back down, and back at the ship, I found out my ankle was broken. Spent the remainder of the trip in a big boot, and had surgery the day I got home! All is well now. I don't think I was anywhere near where you lived, but i think your 45 year marriage to an Aleut woman is very cool! As Cathead said, we're being slammed by ice & snow. I imagine living in Alaska, you know all about extreme winter weather! I'm as prepared as I can be (flashlights, food, candles), but if the power goes out, I have no other heat source, so I'll just be wrapping up in multiple coats! Cathead, I've missed all of you on this forum! Looking forward to getting back into the model, but this weekend might be iffy! The freezing rain just started, forecast to be massive ice-storm all afternoon and evening, and then a foot of snow. Fortunately I don't need to leave the house for a couple days, but we're all worried about the ice and snow causing power outages, and with tomorrow supposed to be a white-out blizzard, that would make it hard to the crews to start fixing the power! Has the snow & ice started where you live? Stay warm, stay safe. I'm thinking of staying inside till APRIL!!!

Hi guys, thanks for the feedback. I actually went to a fabric/craft store, and found these strange-looking "threaders" used primarily for beading. Tried it out, and it works just great! (although I can't imagine how i'll do this on the actual ship, but I'm a long way off from that task!) In the second picture below, I used the .008 thread supplied with the kit, and it's working. I don't know what will happen when I have to use the .028 thread, but again, that's for another day! And Keith, Alaska was gorgeous when I visited in the summer, but I wouldn't have wanted to be there in the winter! Brrr! Although I loved snow when I was a kid!