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Cleat

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Everything posted by Cleat

  1. Cleat
    I reached the end of the Parts List I noticed the parts list stops at item 183, I rely on the parts list to identify component sizes and material, I’m disappointed that the parts list is incomplete. I look at the color pictures to determine how parts are orientated and the full-size drawing helps determine the size of components. But I’ve confused 4mm & 5mm round stock and I have to fix a piece I cut short. The full-scale drawing shows items on or near the top of some poles but I haven't determined how the rope contacts the poles, I’m trying to figure out if I need to drill holes or make guides for the rope (I don’t know the names of components – they aren’t in the parts list). Test fitting the poles: I used a 4mm drill bit to align the holes between the two decks, I used the drill bit to elongate the holes to achieve the required alignment and angle. The forward angled post was aligned with the lower bar support so I had to elongate the holes further to miss the support.
  2. Cleat
    I’m scoping out the installation of the railings. I found a good discussion in another thread: https://modelshipworld.com/topic/20603-king-of-the-mississippi-by-john-gummersall-finished-artesania-latina-scale-180/?do=findComment&comment=694399 I decided to cut out the third deck from the full-size drawing and place it on the deck to establish where to put the columns. I’m trying to decide on an assembly procedure. I’ll start with the second deck railings which will help set the locations for the main deck columns and the third deck posts. But I think I should install the various beams that go through the decks before I start the railings.
  3. Cleat
    I noticed my grate assembly below the state room didn’t match the opening in the third deck. I choose not to use the walnut pieces (items 121 & 122), I used scrap from the laser cut skeleton to register one side of the assembly. Tip: save all your scrap. I glued the third deck assembly to the main structure. When I clamped it, it creaked a couple times – nothing broke so I let the glue cure.
  4. Cleat
    I made a jig and it works. The tricky part is putting the components in the jig. I glued a piece of Sapelli scrap from the kit to set the height of the metal component and sandwiched it with the wood components. The right side guide is loose, I hold it in place while I apply CA glue to the joint, then spray some CA glue activator on the assembly and let it set for a few minutes. I found toothpicks didn't work very well for me when I made the forward railings so I got some Glue Loopers which work really well. A set of 10 cost $13.75 at the manufacturer's site (http://www.creativedynamicllc.com/home.html) and they are reusable (use a lighter to remove any excess glue); they fit in any Exacto tool.
  5. Cleat
    The railings are hard. I decided to assemble the railings on the second deck at the circular stairs. I knew this task would be hard but I figured I should try it because there is a lot of railings to make. It was difficult to get the railing components to glue together. Every time I handled them a component would separate and I’d have to try and re-glue it. I used CA glue to attach the white metal sections to the supports and I used wood glue to attach the wood components. After several frustrating attempts, I managed to complete the assembly and glue it in place before I caused any more problems. It turned out messy and the metal parts weren't centered. I realized I needed to come up with a better way to glue the metal component to the wood components. My plan is to make a jig to hold the metal at the right height to attach it to the middle of the upper and lower railing wood. I made an attempt at this process only to glue my spacer to the railing – but I think I can make it work.
  6. Cleat
    The planking has been glued to the piece so I don't think soaking it will work (it was flat when I was applying finish to it). I'll try heat with some steam from an iron to flatten it.
  7. Cleat
    I assembled the grate standoff for the state room. I have a hobby drill press with X-axis capability for my Dremel tool. The X-axis feature has 40 mm of travel which worked for the 42 mm gaps between the stand offs. I used double-sided tape to fix a reference block on a piece of plywood. I used the reference board to position the standoff structure on part of the tape to hold it in place while drilling holes for the pins. I determined a number of turns for the X-axis travel adjustment between the drill points, the distribution mostly turned out consistent. I had made a slight counter sync for the head of the pins, most of them were flush. This is how it turned out: I've been working on all of the structures above the third deck. I test fit the structures and noticed the the wheel house platform is warped and I'm wondering how to flatten it. I need to find some material for the openings along the top of the state room. And I need to determine how to trim the front windows of the state room, the instructions aren't very clear (I've been checking other logs for tips).
  8. Cleat
    When I trimmed the edge piece of the third deck I damaged some planks, I'm not sure how I can fix this.
  9. Cleat
    I planked the third deck. I had divided the deck into equal quadrants like I did for the main deck but looking at the cutout I decided to reduce the size of the middle quadrants, I went with 35 mm for the middle quadrants and 60 mm for the outside quadrants. I also planked the state room walls, floor, and ceiling. I had assembled the state room before I planked it, I should have planked the sides before assembly, it would have been easier to trim the edges. I had problems trimming the edges, several pieces broke or separated from the structure. I cut the deck posts for the bottom deck and while applying finish to each one I realized I should have finished the wood before I cut them. I’m finishing the other posts before I cut them and I’m looking at other pieces that I want to finish before cutting them to size. I’ve been applying finish to several things.
  10. Cleat
    I completed the state room compartment (the second deck). I was not looking forward to painting the windows, doors, and shutters. It turned out OK when viewed from a distance but close up you can see my marginal skill with a brush. Test fitting the assembly to the deck (I started working on the third deck): For the grates I stained the plywood knowing it would absorb the stain unevenly, I wanted to see what the effect would look like - I could always paint them. It took a couple coats to get the effect I wanted. Once I glued the pieces together, I discovered how delicate the assembly is when I tried to trim them to size. The tiny glue joints can easily become disconnected or break. I used an airbrush to paint the windows/doors/shutters a brown base color. Brown is hard to mix. I watched a couple videos and it looked like you can get brown from a variety of color mixtures but that didn’t work for me. I was getting muddy gray with a tint of some color. It took me three attempts to get a paint mixture close to brown. The brown color is actually a muddy purple. For the shutters I wanted to mix a lighter brown and lightly paint the spine and highlight the edges of the shutters. I tried to mix a lighter brown but my brush paints mix differently than the airbrush paint. It also took three tries to get a complementary color that resembles light brown (but it is really a muddy gold). I would load my brush with paint, then swipe it on a paper towel to reduce the paint load and lightly brush the center of the shutters. It turned out but not as clean I hoped. For the windows and doors, I went with a light yellow. I tried to paint within the window panes but that wasn’t going to work for me. I ended up painting outside the lines of the window panes so I wiped the excess off so I could see framing and cross rails. (I wasn’t able to get all the yellow off).
  11. Cleat
    I didn't know they had a version with a motor to rotate the paddle wheel (my paddle wheel is so loose it hits structure when rotated). How is it powered? Have you tried putting the band on the interior pulley by working the band from the rear opening? I'm guessing you probably won't need to put the band on unless it breaks over time. The only thing I can see is to make the rear wall removable. Use some scrap from the laser cut panels to make a frame for the rear wall to attach to the frame.
  12. Cleat
    I built the paddle wheels. I painted the red base with an airbrush and hand painted the black accents (it has been a long time since I tried painting with a small brush). I ran a piece of sandpaper through the yokes for the wood to remove paint. I tried putting a dot of gray paint on the bolts but my painting skill wasn't good enough for that detail. I made a 23 mm guide from scrap to locate the four paddle wheel supports. It took awhile to align everything and just as I was going to start the assembly, I bummed it knocking supports out of alignment and it took even longer to get it back to where I had it. The shaft is a loose fit through the paddle wheels. I installed one board with a force fit, then I glued the second board using CA glue several spokes away from the first one to help lock the alignment of wheels. I put a few drops of CA glue on a small plastic bag (I learned CA glue doesn’t stick to those bags from my pen turning hobby). I used a flat toothpick to put a drop of glue in each yoke. This assembly has a big visual affect for the boat.
  13. Cleat
    The stairs are a difficult assembly. I was happy that I was able to accomplish the task.
  14. Cleat
    The Spiral Staircases When I bent the first railing posts I was only concerned about the diameter (a spice jar was the right diameter). But I discovered the height was way short. For the second railing I made an attempt to match the height between the decks, I came close but a little short. I decided to re-bend the first railing and it came out a little tall, the center post became crooked after the stairs broke and I reglued the parts (the picture in a previous post shows it was square at one point). Gluing the railing posts to the stack of stairs was tricky, it was hard to hold the assembly in position until the glue set a bit. I tried to glue both assemblies the same but aligning the pieces varied. I used my hands to clamp the piece to the stairs (for 3 songs) then it would hold in place while I added some clamps until the glue fully cured. To fix the height problem I would have to deconstruct the railing and that wasn’t going to happen. When I assembled the two staircases, I broke 2 posts and cracked 2 others - deconstruction would be a disaster. I decided to live with my mistakes and move on. On a positive note, I got practice and some knowledge for future kits. And I liked how my walnut embellishment turned out. This is how it turned out:
  15. Cleat
    Thanks for the tip. I haven't started Step 30 yet. I'm advancing several steps at the same time. I painted the paddle wheel metal parts and I'm finishing the planks. I air brushed the windows, doors, and shutter pieces with a base brown coat but I haven't decided how to paint the individual window panes, I don't want to paint them freehand and I haven't come up with a template idea yet. I made the second deck grates but haven't installed them yet (I need to do some filing to the grates and the opening to get a proper fit).
  16. Cleat
    I’ve been working on the spiral staircases. I added walnut plank pieces to personalize the staircases. The picture shows a test fitting, they came up short. (The gap is smaller when I hold the bottom flush with the deck). When I bent the railing for the left side, I came up way short of the staircase height so I soaked the piece a second time, it straightened out and I bent it again to match the height of the steps. When I re-bent the railing, the top spear got out of its clamp and now it is straight which sticks out from under the deck. It looks like I’ll need to add a spacer at the top of each staircase. And I’ll probably cut the spear off the left staircase and reattach it at an angle to fit under the deck. It might take a little contem-beer-plating to figure out the fixes. I stained the hand rails and I’m nervous about attaching them to the staircase assemblies. I don’t know how well the hand rail will attach to the tops of the posts.
  17. Cleat
    I’m learning the Sain Smart 3018-PROVer CNC machine, I intend to use it for engraving wood. For my riverboat project I’ll use the router configuration to make a sign with the name of the boat. I picked it because it can be ordered with a laser and a router. I wanted a small machine with lead screws and the Prover can be upgraded if my needs change. I’m also learning QCADCAM to create .DXF files (drawing) and .NC files (G-code). I made a simple icon drawing (in mm) and created both types of files. To test the laser configuration, I imported the .DXF file into Lightburn. Lightburn converts the drawing into G-code and controls the CNC machine to reproduce the drawing in wood. After some experimentation I was successful. You can create drawings in Lightburn or import drawing files (Lightburn is excellent for lasers). To test the router configuration, I used the G-code file (.NC) with control software to operate the CNC machine to etch the drawing in wood. And it worked - although it took me a week of frustration (from learning the software & making mistakes) to get the different software to work together. I tried several open-source machine control software; Candle (came with Prover), USG, and OpenBuilds Control. They all work but I think they prefer files with metric dimensions. I’m happy to see that everything works. But I now realize I will need to perform a bunch of tests and do some configuration tasks. I also have to look into dealing with wood smoke from the laser and vacuuming dust from the router (I hadn’t thought about that until I used it).
  18. Cleat
    Thanks Bob, I've been referencing your build and it has been helpful.
  19. Cleat
    I've been filing the window openings in the second deck structure to fit the metal windows. I'm looking into making the gratings (step 26, item 77) on the second deck (the large openings). They look like they are assembled from straight pieces. I came across a bag of 20 interlocking pieces (instructions call out 20 pieces). Should I assemble the large grate structure, then cut the two grates from the structure? I expected the pieces to be sized for the openings. I don't see any other use for these pieces in the documents.
  20. Cleat
    A spice container has the right diameter to bend the spiral staircase railing. I also bent a piece of mahogany I plan to use as an accent for the railing. Just before I was about to bend the second railing, I remembered to consider the direction of the bend which would be opposite the first piece. I discovered the first railing I bent didn’t turn out as expected, I got the diameter close but I didn’t consider the height the bend needed. The second piece turned out better. I might have to re-bend the first one (but I'm not sure if the wood can be re-bent). It looks like the railing is longer than the stairway and I'm not sure how it is supposed to work (what is the pointed end of the piece for).
  21. Cleat
    The seams connecting the curved end pieces were not good enough so I cut out the bad work to install a new plank, it worked out better but not totally clean. I started the spiral stairways. I set a marker to 2mm and scored the stairs to help align each step. I almost forgot to reverse the rotation for the second stairway. I noticed the pie shaped pieces are not symmetrical, the short side isn’t as long as the straight pieces so I used the longer side as shown. I used the pole to help register each pie shaped step. I don't know how close I got the the 90 degree turn. I put the third deck on the structure to determine how I might apply the herringbone plank pattern and I noticed that holes don’t line up between the two decks. I’m wondering if I should not have opened the holes on the second deck. I don’t know what the holes are for.
  22. Cleat
    I'm about to clean some of the metal parts for my King of the Mississippi riverboat. I have an ultrasonic cleaner and degreaser. I'm wondering if diluted degreaser is the right solution for the job. I'm also trying to decide if I should use automotive primer or a water based primer; I'll be applying acrylic paint with an airbrush (and details with an artist brush).
  23. Cleat
    Hind-Sight Tip I didn’t soak the wood long enough for bending; I cracked one piece and broke the other when I formed and clamped them into shape. I fixed it: Next up is to apply primer to the gray metal parts. I’m trying to decide what shade of brown to make for the windows, doors, and shutters. I’ll be using acrylic paint with an airbrush). I’m also trying to figure out how to apply color the window panes and the indentations of the shutters.
  24. Cleat
    My King of the Mississippi project went on hiatus last spring; my workbench is shared with other hobbies as I transitioned to the garage season. Model ship building is one of my winter hobbies. I’m picking up where I left off (including making mistakes). I built the state room compartment and I didn’t pay attention to what I was doing. I installed one of the round end sections upside down. I managed to dissolve the glue with isopropyl alcohol without damaging anything. But re-glueing it wasn’t as clean as I wanted. I’ve started my process of sanding and leaving the saw dust in place, then I apply some finish and use wet/dry sandpaper to create a slurry to fill any gaps. After two or three applications things will be smooth.
  25. Cleat
    Item 59 – where are you? Item 59 is the bar supports for the open area and they are not included in the kit, you have to manufacture 8 of them. I scanned the picture of the piece, traced it in a drawing program and scaled it for an 8 mm height. The parts list identifies the part as a 5 x 8 mm piece but when I measured the tracing it was smaller; it was too delicate to make for my skills so I stretched the tracing to match the part list dimension. These are the dimensions I came up with (all dimensions are in mm): I printed out several copies of the part and glued a strip to walnut scrap from the paddle wheel brace parts. Three of the four pieces turned out so I made a bunch more using up the scrap. I cut the closing bars to the size identified in the parts list which is precisely the distance for the bar supports. To make the bars cross like the picture you need to cut a longer piece (90 mm). I also made a little piece to cover the hole from the tab for the forward structure. I attached the paddle wheel supports. I started to work on the floor of the second deck.

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