Cleat

I have the Landa-Lay micro lathe attachment. I’m proficient with my 1221 mini lathe and thought the micro lathe might be something I might use. I configured my Vanda-Lay drill press with the micro lathe attachment, it is not difficult but it takes some time. I’ve used it a few times and it is a very light duty lathe. I picked up a cheap set of small lathe tools (I can always use them with my mini lathe) and I used a couple Micromark chisels. The chuck has a 1/16 inch pin to help align the spindle stock, you need to drill a hole in the stock to be able to slide the stock into the chuck. The chuck has four nylon thumbscrews to hold the stock in place. I also drilled a 1/16 inch hole to align the stock with the live center. The live center fits into a bearing in the tail stock. I had a couple pieces of ½ inch pine spindles to try, I had to knock off the corners to make the spindle fit in the chuck. The pieces I used were probably as large as the lathe can handle. My goal was to see how the system worked and see how the small lathe tools worked, I also tried to make some barrels for a current build (I got a couple that might work with further processing). I used the Micromark chisels as turning tools for the smaller piece. It makes a mess: I used the micro lathe to make some beam supports. The 31 mm supports were as small as the lathe could handle; I turned one half of each support, removed and reverse the stock to turn the other half. The turning tools weren’t very sharp, the chisels I tried were sharp and they worked better (made a smooth bead). I had to run the Dremel at a high speed because when you are too aggressive with a turning tool it will slow the rotation speed down (you could stop the Dremel). With a light touch the system works. If you don’t mount the stock properly, it will fly off (happened to me twice). I'll be returning it to the Acra mill drill press configuration which has more uses for me.

I've been making progress. I figured the lower decks would be dark places but I think my staining turned out darker than I intended. Before I installed the exterior planking I drilled pilot holes in line with the rear cross beams in case I want to add lighting in the future (I have not looked into lighting). I'm trying to decide about painting the canon doors. My fancy frame covering will probably not be noticed but I know it is there - I had fun making it.

I used a thread to measure the center of the curved railing, is was 75 mm. I measured the width of the supports (3.5 mm) and I made some calculations to determine the spacing of the supports. I determined a 7 mm wide piece would work.

Two of the four square holes in the top deck were located above a cross beam. I wasn't expecting to file through a cross beam.

OHOH I discovered two mistakes I made earlier in my build and some wood shortages in my kit. When I was cutting the 4x4 mm stock for the black planks I came up short 8 pieces. When I made the deck supports, I noticed they were light colored wood (limewood) and I used the walnut; I figured the kit may have changed – I was wrong. I found the 4x4 mm limewood while looking for more walnut and used it for the black planks but I was still 4 planks short (I found a piece from a previous build that worked). I installed the plywood gun ports backward. I knew the ports were offset on each deck but after I installed them, I realized the gun ports in top piece were aligned with the gun ports of the lower deck. I had to cut the tops off and glue them on the other end of the pieces. I discovered that my kit had no 2x5 mm limewood stock for the light-colored planks. I used basswood instead. I also discovered that the 2x7 mm sapelli wood (item 91) included in my kit is too short for the gunwales (a new chellenge). I’m making progress. I applied some finish to the planks before I paint the planks black to help prevent the paint from wicking to the light wood.

Congratulations. I like how it turned out, well done.

I made a lake contour map with VCarve Desktop. I created a toolpath for each depth. The compass is created from clipart. They have a product called PhotoVCarve that converts a picture into a carving but I don't know much about it.

I don't recall all the programs I checked out; some have subscriptions, some don't, and some are very expensive. Mesh Cam looks similar to VCarve, I think VCarve might have more features. I noticed VCarve is favored with many CNC users. You buy VCarve once and can use it without a subscription. You have the option to buy a low cost fee for a year of free updates. One feature you really need is a CAM module/program (CAM converts a drawing into G-code); VCarve does that and it looks like Mesh Cam does it too. Before I bought VCarve I used QCad ($40) and bought their CAM software ($70) but you need to know how g-codes work to troubleshoot problems (it outputs generic code). VCarve can output g-code for a variety of CNC machines and it looks like Mech Cam does that too.

I import .DWG and .SVG files. I bought Qcad ($40) to learn CAD software, I now use it for designing my wood working projects. I also used it to design a jig to help bend wire to bend several stair railings, the jig was a simple shape cut into a piece of wood where I could place the brass wire to shape the bends.. I also use a vector based program like Inkscape which produces .SVG files. Inkscape is free and easier to use than CAD software but CAD software is more accurate.

I bought a Sainsmart 3018 Prover a few years ago. I bought it primarily for laser etching; I got a package that included a spindle plus some accessories. For model shipbuilding, I used the spindle to cut a jig that helped me bend brass wire for stairway railings. I used it to create stairway runners that I had broken. I used it to cut walnut veneer to cover some plywood pieces for my current built. I consider it a good learning tool and Sainsmart has very good support. I learned enough that I decided to buy a bigger CNC router machine for my garage (I made a lake contour map in wood). I’ve used a variety of free and inexpensive software. When I bought the machine for my garage I bought VCarve which is worth the price; it has tools to design (you can import drawings), it has a variety of tools to create and troubleshoot toolpaths, and it creates G-code to operate a CNC machine (they support a variety of CNC manufacturers). I’ve been writing myself a manual for CNC processes because I don’t use it often enough to remember everything. It is helpful the learn what G codes are. The CNC learning process is steep but VCarve helps reduce the learning process.

Time to cut some lumber for the planking. I have a 2-inch chop saw that I used to cut dowls for a woodworking project. I made a fence for it to make it useful for model ship building. I’ll leave the 2x5 mm stock for the bottom natural. I’ll be testing dark stains on 4x4 mm scrap pieces to see what it looks like, I can always paint those pieces black.

I cut walnut veneer to cover the plywood stand. I had some breakage but it glued up OK. Rubber bands make nice clamps. I cut walnut veneer for several parts. I didn’t consider the wood grain when I created the file to cut the veneer for the stand. (I used a CNC machine) It turned out OK, I wasn’t sure how the stain would look. I tried to make it look worn but it took a few applications to cover results I didn’t like.

I like to use thinned polyurethane for garage projects and Minwax Wipe On Ploy for my indoor hobby projects. A can of Minwax is more convenient for my small indoor projects. I've also used water based poly indoors too.

Your riverboat looks great. The people give it a realistic feel.

I worked with my hobby CNC machine and cut two sets of walnut veneer for the frames (good cnc experience project). After cutting the first set I made a change for the second set. Both sets had a reasonable fit. The top S-shaped piece wasn’t as precise as the other pieces, the second set was an improvement. Most of the pieces fit without adjustment, the small pieces on the sides took a lot of fitting. I planned on putting the second set on the front but I got into placing, fitting, and gluing and didn't notice which side I was working on. I scanned several kit pieces and processed the images with a variety of software to make a file to cut. I cut 0.5 mm walnut veneer and the cuts are pretty accurate. I also learned that 0.5 mm veneer is easily broken when handled.

I cleaned up the interior wall end pieces and applied veneer the frame to gussy it up. There are a lot of different pieces stacked together. I installed the top deck but I didn’t want to install any pieces on the deck while handling the structure during the planking installation.

I inadvertently put some posts of my build on another person's build (I have been referencing their build). I'm wondering how I can move the posts to my build.

It is looking really good. What is left?

I got another deck done and I'm ready for the top deck. I will be filling the gaps and cleaning up the ends and extension of the interior walls. I will apply some walnut veneer to the plywood frame.

To make the columns I marked the ends with a pencil. I used a round file to create the transition from the square ends to the round middles. I used a flat file to knock off the edges. I used 150 grit sandpaper to round the columns.

I'm making progress. I added another deck. I noticed that I placed the columns inline with each deck with the first columns, the kit shows the columns next to the center features. I haven't decided if I want to move them of leave them as is and call it a personalization.

The rope work is great. I nothing but trouble with the rigging (I failed trying to make the big knots).

I assembled the first two decks. I had to revise the notch in the bracket frames (item 40) to make them fit. I started to think about how I might treat the ends of for the interior strips. There are some gaps to fill where the cross beams attach to the frame.

While my finger is healing, the first thing I could do was use a mouse. I scanned some of the laser cut plywood parts and created CAD drawings that I can use to cut walnut veneer for the pieces – such as the stand. Unfortunately, my hobby CNC machine is down and they don’t make the control board for it anymore; fortunately, Sainsmart has very good customer support and they found one at a distributor. I’ve been gaging my finger recovery by doing some model ship building tasks. I assembled the grating and glued the seams with a Glue Looper tip (fits Exacto handle). The Glue Looper has a small loop that you dip in thin CA glue and apply it to a seam; it uses capillary action to draw the glue from the tip into the seam. It works great. The tip is small enough to fit into each square of the grid.

It looks great. Did your passengers get a reduced rate while you finished the railings?