BANYAN

Welcome aboard Lee; you're off to a very fine start mate. that is some very good joinery you have displayed. cheers Pat

David, try Googling "Scary Sharp" sharpening system. Works generally on the same principle as this tool but will only cost you the price of sandpaper and a honing guide. I went to glass merchant and asked for an off-cut or two of 1/4 inch float glass to use as the flat base. Simply glue the various grades of sandpaper to the glass and away you go! Works a treat, once set up is very quick and easy to use. I still use a very fine wet-stone for honing though. cheers Pat

Well, you seem to have mastered that technique pretty well Rusty. Nice run of planking. cheers Pat

Sam, I found the article by member "Adrift" which I have added some detail to and tidied up. I hope it is of some use to you or others. Admin/ Mods please place this in the Article section if you think it worthwhile. cheers Pat Glazing Ship Windows.pdf

For the glass in my Endeavour build I used a two-part epoxy called 'liquid gloss' (another is called liquid water) which I purchased at a local craft store. The trick is to do it in several layers to build it to the required thickness, and to blow across the top of it after pouring it into the mould (framing in this case) to remove any micro-bubbles. My description is at: http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/400-hmb-endeavour-by-banyan-al-160-circa-1768/?p=4039 There was an article on this written by another Member and myself on the site, that incorporated the use of of artists (clear) medium to help with the levelling, but it may have been lost in the 'great crash' of MSW 1 - I will have a dig around my archives (if I remember) and see if I can find it again. Just another way. Pat

I understand the sentiments you express re the greater sense of personal achievement with researching and building ships that are not so well documented Sharpie. I am researching a build for our club (HM Colonial Steam Sloop Victoria); a ship which by pure dumb luck we located the only existing plan (single sheet - waterlines, half breadth and profile but no general arrangements etc) that we are aware of (privately owned). We can locate nothing in our Government records or in the UK (NMM or the Colonial Office) as we have searched high and low. Except for a couple of photographs, a couple of lithographs and the Contract we would not have much to go on. Luckily using the contract we can determine a lot of the fittings of the ship, but it is pure conjecture on their configuration and arrangement A rewarding challenge as it is all coming together nicely. Good luck on the research for this one, I have always had a bit of interest in this era of ship building and very much enjoy novels written around this period of history. cheers Pat

You've been busy Ron, she's coming on nicely. Mate, if not too late, one thing I have learned from experience is not to fit the capping or edge strip to the channels after you fit the deadeyes - just let them rest in the slot temp held in place with some painters or low-tack tape. I glued the strip on and all was fine for many months until I started rigging. When I fitted the shrouds to the deadeyes, a couple of my weaker chainplate joints gave way and I had to remove the edging to repair the chainplates. That proved a little difficult and I was lucky doing any real damage but it was a real m%&*#$@ to sand the edging to align with the top/bottom edges of the outer contours of the channels again. A lesson I have stored away for future builds cheers Pats

Hi Sharpie, an interesting build you have going here; I'll follow with interest. Unfortunately, in this area I know about --- well zilch actually - so I am a bit of a voyeur on this build journey. cheers Pat

So when do you get your 'journeyman' papers Mark - nice bit of work there! cheers Pat

Nice to see that update John, she is coning along great cheers Pat

Alex, the detail that impresses me most is that even at macro photography level your work does not show any blemishes and we all know how much such detail can be seen with the lens that the ye would not normally see - that is IMPRESSIVE! cheers Pat

Hi David, I have not used that plane so cannot provide a recommendation either way, but I have two veritas planes I just love. I also use IBEX finger planes. IBEX also make luthier's (or finger) planes, some with a curved, some with a flat sole in various sizes. Good quality but a little on the expensive side (they have come down in price in the past year or two down here anyway). In Australia they are available through CarbaTec (http://www.carbatec.com.au/ibex-violin-makers-planes_c6560) - no associations etc. I am sure there are many other sources though; here is just one http://www.lmii.com/products/tools-services/planes/ibex-finger-plane cheers Pat.

Thanks for the link to the article Bob, an interesting read. cheers Pat

Hi Mark, won't bending it change the shape of the notch? Perhaps that is recoverable though as if it is in the centre there should not be much bend there? cheers Pat

If it wasn't a challenge Mark, it would be no fun cheers Pat

Thanks Druxey - I need my wake up pills I completely missed that - thanks for the pointer Remco cheers Pat

Hi again Remco, Would you be able to identify the soldering block and pin jig you use (see a copy of your photo below) - Is this home made (drilled) from a solder block or is it a commercially available product please? It looks commercial, but with your skills I would not put this past your abilities It looks a very useful jig for such jobs. Many thanks Pat

I apologise upfront if this is slightly deviating from topic as it was titled torch vs iron - sorry if I am hijacking your thread Richard. If thought necessary, I will move this discussion to a new thread but I thought it sort of fits here? Recently I have been investigating resistance soldering and would appreciate any feedback/experience of users. There are some uTube and other threads out there on the web that show that resistance soldering provides sufficient heat for hard (silver) soldering (for smaller jobs). One major advantage being that you can solder several small bits close to each other without damaging the other joint even without using different melting point temps. As I will only be using this for small work such as eyebolts, chainplates and some photoetch joints, I think the power (thermal output) is sufficient with a 250Watt set. My main concern though is when doing longer seams in photoetch etc in that as the heat is very localised , whether you can draw the solder far enough through wicking along the joint even by dragging the probe (electrode) along the joint. Anyone have any experience with this? While this aspect might be problematic for this type of soldering activity, it is very beneficial (near perfect) for spot soldering of eyes and closely located parts on a small job such as a spider band etc. Of particular benefit is that by testing and selecting the appropriate temp it is even possible to solder white (Britannia) metal - try that with a torch cheers Pat

Hi Daniel, I can't offer any advice WRT cabin positioning etc, but agree with Druxey that nothing should impede, or potentially impede the tiller arm and associated tackle. This begs the question of how on earth they worked those guns especially when not run out. The men would have been ducking and weaving with a constant eye on the tiller arm which would have distracted from their primary duties Is the photo deceptive (foreshortening) or is the tiller arm well above the level of the gun and the heads of the gunners? Would this also have governed the height of any canvas partition? Sorry to complicate your question cheers Pat

Mark, thanks for that wiki reference - that is the best and most concise summary of the rating system I have read. I may have to pay more attention to wiki I usually avoid Wiki for reference due to much of the material not being fully cited etc. cheers Pat

Hi Keith, I somehow missed the start of your new build - a great subject and a very good log! She is coming along very nicely mate - might see her at a meeting soon? cheers Pat

Very nice finish to that planking Rusty, well worth the effort. cheers Pat

Ditto. For hooks, eyebolts and small parts I use a micro torch with the tip. For anything larger, in ship modelling tasks, I use the flame and not the tip of the micro torch. I find the placement of the flux, solder pellet and the tip/flame point very important in controlling the direction of flow. cheers Pat

Looks great Greg - end in sight now! cheers Pat

Good to see you back Rusty - thanks for the PVC coupling tip . cheers Pat