Jaager

I used the plunge router attachment for a Foredom flex shaft - upside down as a table with a fence - to be able to move the wood (keel) - the 22 degree cit was done using a twist drill bit as the cutter. For a mass production operation - this would be cost effective - for 100's of keels. For one off - not so much. I suggest a good pattern on the keel, stem, and sternpost. The use a very sharp small chisel to do the cut. Strop often. Magnification for old eyes. A fixed piece of wood and a moving rotary tool is going to want to walk - different densities between spring and summer wood makes this more probable. A fixed cutter and moving work is OK for a straight cut, but the stem is a curve and staying at a perfect tangent is difficult. A power tool can too easily stray. The angle is fixed. Doing it by hand is slower, but more forgiving. Pieces of scrap can be shaped to match the angle of the frame at the rabbet - lots of them at the ends. Practice - a lot, first.

It was excellent at simulating scale rope that matched its diameter in scale. I believe this is in the NRJ: the owner died and his son-in-law got the company and loaded the inventory into a dumpster. I remember because that was so astounding stupid. It is not at the degree of the housekeeper who used Donal McKay's half models as kindling, but it is in that memory bank. I think an NRG member rescued a bit of it but not near as much as he should have. The white line looks like Cuttyhunk to me. The bow looks like a cutter. The stern and flush deck looks pond yacht. I suspect that all of the rigging line was "make do" at the time, rather than the builder looking for scale. I would match the colors, but do the best I could using current "make do" material.

I followed up on your introduction of Liquin. The Liquin fine detail has one characteristic that is counter to what a model ship wants. It is a gloss product. The original Liquin is low gloss - which is not great - but better. The increased viscosity in the light version is produced by the clear carrier solution. When it evaporates, most of what produces the increased viscosity is gone? By using tubed artists oils, the concentration of pigment is under your control. An increased pigment concentration would have an increased viscosity that remains after polymerization. But now that I think on it: impasto is not a good approximation of an adzed planking surface.

You got hit by the outer edge of that canister shot. I was aiming at the general sort of inquiry we get - We in absolute agreement on this.

I used "over coat" trying to describe a last layer. I think we agree that shellac works well as the last layer? To be too pedantic about it - a stain is actually a semi transparent paint - so it could go over shellac? It is pigment particles suspended in a solvent with a binder? A dye is a whole nuther thing. A dye is single pigment molecules dissolved in a solvent. No binder, the intent is for the molecules to soak into the wood and change the color. The grain is unaffected. The surface is still bare wood. Using shellac before a dye would be a bad thing to do. It would already be where the dye molecules would go if the shellac was not already blocking them? The careless use of word "stain" to mean changing the color can cause problems for a tyro - which we all were at some point - (and for most things - still are -) but everyone should not have to be a scout -cutting their own new trail and learning the hard way?

HF used to all but give away a small hand drill with a single volt transformer. Totally useless as sold - too weak. When plugged into a variable power supply and the voltage cranked up - it works.

Should be easy to do. Just find a tube of artists oils with the shade of pigment that you need. It may need mixing of two or more. I just checked Blick's page - Most of their Gamblin 30ml tubes are $9.00. One of those tubes may last you a lifetime. Turpentine or mineral spirits for a thinner have a lower cost per volume. I use a lot of brushing lacquer. Certainly not on a model, but to put a thick clear protective layer on my frame patterns - water proof, no smear, thick to stand up to rigorous sanding - it is more Mylar like than just paper, it does not do one thing that I wanted - add a degree of brittleness that a fan of fuzz is not at the abraded edge - still needs frequent Gem blade scraping to see the line. ANYWAY - lacquer: too thick, too much shine/gloss for anything but a toy. The solvent - even the "Green" substitute is a mixture of potential really toxic organic solvents - they make acetone seem like breathing nitrogen for the irritation. I never would, but if I had to spray lacquer, it would be in a glove box -outside. The solvent mixture reads like something to use in Death Row - never mind turning whatever lacquer itself into something with a particle size small enough to get into my alveoli. Even if it is not carcinogenic - layer of it there would impede gas exchange.

I thought that they rules were: water based acrylics are not compatible with organic solvent based oils. You may have to get back to bare wood. Trying to make sense of "Coating paper" - is this a paper model? Anyway - remove the acrylic paint. Prime with shellac - then use oils (enamels) Old school lacquer is in a noxious and aggressive organic solvent. Very volatile - such that another coat can be applied after 2 hrs. My initial hypothesis is that the solvent in the lacquer allowed the acrylic layer to interact with the enamel layer. Why not over coat with shellac instead of an organic solvent based polymerizing oil like linseed (with a catalyst) = (oil varnish). You do not need a hard shell for this application. There may be some situations where good money would be spent to get that sort of crinkled finish. It looks a couple hundred years old.

I have had a General Tool cordless screwdriver with a chuck attachment. It works as a reamer, but the RPM are not all that they could be, nor the power. I suspect any battery operated mini drill might not perform as well as desired. A small DC motor with narrow gauge wiring to a selectable power supply ( MPJA ~$25) -more power - small enough wire not matter vs wireless. AliExpress features small motors - some with a larger Jacobs chuck - and some with a #60 or smaller keyless chuck. Anything with a fixed DC output transformer will probably under perform. As I understand it, a DC motor will tolerate higher voltage or amps - maybe have a premature death - but they respond poorly to an under the rating power supply?

It works to fix toothpick handles into small blocks of packing foam to make a glue spreader. It resists the water in PVA and tap water to clean the spreader.

With what I do, the major force is perpendicular to the plane of the bond: sort of like feeding the edge of a piece of plywood against sanding drum or disk - or exactly that. But there is enough collateral tangential force that Duco is a failure.

I have found Duco to be unreliable where there is significant shear force and the surface area of the bond is equal or less than the surface area where the force is applied. There is always the glue used before synthetic chemistry became involved: hide glues.

Weldbond is just another brand of white PVA. It dries clear - just as any other white PVA does. Whoever does their writing for the directions has a real talent for misdirection. From reading it, it casts the product as being somehow unique. The yellow versions of PVA dry transparent, but with an amber tint. For Titebond - it seems that the price / ml is half at the next volume. The gal is way less per ml than the 4 oz. If you were in a large club and bought a gal and then divided it up into 4 oz portions spread over the membership, there is a deal - probably not cost effective, but a deal on paper. This is probably one of those situations where buying a 4 oz bottle and getting a new one as needed actually is cost effective. Especially if your interest waxes and wains. Then too, there are stages that are glue heavy and others where not much is needed.

This is probably your primary problem. A quality tool that is doing its job correctly does not perform like yours is. There is probably enough information about the various tools and options for rotary work here to make up a novella sized volume. The possibilities cover micromotors, surplus dental drills, Foredom models .... you do not have to use junk. Unfortunately, Dremel has stopped marketing my go to model: 8050. Their current market leader models seem to be closer to full size drills. It looks bulky and awkward. The idea of even contemplating putting a complete hull under a drill press???? You drill the part and then take it to the hull. I think that most house brand benchtop drill presses are all essentially coming off of the Eurotool drl-300.00 line. You do not want to buy from a supplier who stocks the QA rejects. If getting a semi precise angle is the goal, a stick with a vertical hole that is just non-binding diameter of the bit can be used a drill block guide. For trunnel sized holes, you could go really low cost. At AliExpress there are a variety of small DC motors with small chucks. There are DC power supplies with step voltage output. 1.5 to 14 V 2amp - They should be ~$25 . A motor that is about three fingers long and only needs two small gauge wires can get inside a hull - if you can get your hand in.

I did not express this, but I think that for scratch builders, this skill will become more of a necessity than a lark. The price of the wood that we want is going up out of proportion to inflation and the availability is going down. The perspective that I am seeing this from is POF. Compared to most all of the rest of a vessel, the volume of wood required for frame timbers and the fraction that becomes waste is a whole other magnitude.

That you are having a problem - it suggests that you are doing edge bending. If you are doing the spilling correctly, there should be no edge bending. The stock that is being spilled probably needs to be twice as wide as the plank that is derived from it, for some of them. Wood resists edge bending. It will twist rather than do it. The garboard is key. The top edge is straight. Along the touch of the keel, the bottom edge is straight. When the rabbet arcs up with the stem and cants up with the sternpost - all of the shaping comes off of the bottom edge. Also, I am thinking that it might be a good idea to leave the width of the garboard out of any width reduction. Use the planking fan on the planks between the bottom of the wale and the top of the garboard?

None of the wood species on my list for possibles for you will be available at a commercial hardwood dealer. Do you have local tree services? I would doubt that firewood would be a big deal there, so that is not a likely source - it is not really all that useful here - they deal in wood that is mostly open pore and coarse grain. Is smoking your own meat a hobby there? Are there county extension agents for farmers? They may know of farmers who have useful species of trees if you tell them what you are looking for. A two foot long log is as long as you need. If a log has too much diameter, a wedge can bisect it. Any tree harvesters on the island? The stuff that you want is the stuff in their way. Trash that they are happy to get rid of. You will need a "friend" with a 14" or larger bandsaw. You supply his blades. Study on seasoning? Look up how to make your own kiln. Speed will not be an imperative, so a lower temp will work - it just needs to be high enough to suspend or kill fungus and wood eating insects.

Steven, when this one is completed, I have a ghost for you to try: a ballenger. Never heard tell of it until it came up in a book about Henry V 's navy.

There is a joy involved with working with species of wood that are appropriate for our uses. An unfortunate factor is when a wood with a limited supply and is harvested from the wild reaches fad status. The result is a high price and or unavailability. Harvesting your own - making a deal for tool use if you do not have them would be productive and sustainable. Is Calycophyllum candidissimum - Lemonwood, Degame grown in Puerto Rico? Eriobotrya japonica -Loquat, Japanese Plum? Citrus sp. - Orange/Lemon/Lime? Zanthoxylum flavum - West Indian Satinwood? Any species of Rosewood? Going domestic is less expensive. Using trees that are too small for commercial exploitation opens many more possibilities. Most authors and members live in temperate or colder regions so species that we can get are the ones written about. That does not mean that wood that is growing close to you cannot be just as useful.

Jorge, I mean this with no degree of authority. More in the way of an old farmer telling a soldier: you might want to go another way than walking thru the mind field (as well as minefield) that is in the direction that you are going. Are you sure that the person who made this gift to you is really a friend?😉 Without doing more than a superficial inspection I have the following poor opinion of the original iteration of Mamoli : The number of molds is not adequate for the degree of support needed. The relationship of the plans to those of the actual ship is an accident if it happens to be close. It looks to me as though the same plans were used for the hull of the old versions of these three: Beagle - Bounty - Endeavor The trash wood - only good for making pallets - this quality of species used has been mentioned more than once. There is no real remediation. Even if you can do something to reverse the effects of age, the wood that you have was probably sprouted as junk. Alchemy has always been a delusion, a mind altering substance generated dream. Your efforts will probably be a form of alchemy. There are plenty of plans of Victory 1765 floating around. A check to see if the Mamoli plans lines are close to being authentic may be prudent. I have been doing a bit of lofting and I find that the difference between even a 90 gun liner and a 100+ gun liner is more than just 10 more guns would suggest. There is a significant jump. A 100 gun liner is a monster. It is so much work. If all that you want is a decorator style model, this Mamoli project may be all that you need. If your purpose is a bit more serious, you may wish to begin with a better foundation. Not matter your choice, this project will be a significant time sink. Dean

A bit of exploration about wood: Some of it is 100's if not more years old before it is even cut. Except for a thin layer just under the bark, it is dead even on the hoof. In a living tree, it is wet. One of its jobs is to circulate water and nutrients. When wood is cut and milled, one of the other processes is to get the excess water out = seasoning' Wood "likes" water. It will always have a water content that is in proportion to the concentration of water vapor in the air surrounding it. Wood cannot get drier than this. Wood is cellulose and lignin. Cellulose is a polymer of sugars. It will oxidize. Very slowly if it is just in contact with atmospheric oxygen at ambient temp. Very quickly at 451 F. in the presence of oxygen, or an an aqueous environment and exposed to the right enzymes from gut bacteria. The reverse is that exposed to elevated temp in the absence of oxygen, it will reduce to elemental carbon - charcoal. Old brittle wood is probably that way because it is a species of young brittle wood. The dry part is limited by the relative humidity. Every species of wood in an environment will have about the same degree of "dryness". The cure to your problem is to use a more appropriate species of wood.

The stay sharp longer carbide bits are the wrong type for us. They are for steel and for use in a precision machine. The characteristic that makes them hold their edge also makes them brittle. Hand held - pin vise or a rotary tool - and probably miniature drill press - into wood - involves a bit of flex at the beginning of the bore. Carbide is not up to this abuse. I don't know what a $30.50 bit can do, but I mainly suspect that the seller is trolling for dupes. I think HHS is the type we want. Quality steel yields a degree of survival from flex. Bright is my choice. I go with domestic manufacturers if given the option. Here is a company that is a supplier - not a manufacturer - but with #70 bits at ~ $1.00 each - it will not cost much to test their products. https://www.cmlsupply.com/bright-finish/ Up scale mills used as a drill press is practical if you do a lot of work with steel too. We have had an on going vigorous debate about drill press choices. Do a search in the tool forum for hours of discussion. I suspect that when a subject has a lot of different favorites as for finding the right answer, that there are a lot of right answers. The utility of a drill press depends on your style of building. For some, it is a door stop. For some, it is an everyday tool.

I can imagine that instead of a raised iron bolt head, because of rusting, the bolt would be counter sunk, then a packing of waterproofing gunk, then a wooden plug. The plug grain oriented with the standard grain, so that only an outline would be visible and if painted, that detail hidden by the paint? As far as authenticity - nothing may be closer to the mark? As far as modelers convention - a trunnel - if belt and suspenders is your want - or a brass or copper pin for show.

In which case, go with the max allowed: twice the beam.

A primer of half saturated shellac is easily applied using a cotton rag - a worn out T shirt or bed sheet - it soaks into the wood. Using the rag - no ponds are left on the surface - it does not hide detail. Indeed, if you had used an open pore wood species like Oak or Walnut, the open pores would still be there. The application is less involved than using an air brush. It is quick and simple to use. It takes many applications of full strength to build any sort of thickness - an application is just a wet layer, not a coat. Use scrap wood and practice a few times - you will then realize that it is not as complicated as imagined. You can buff with a Scotch Brite pad when dry - 0000 steel wool is traditional, but the steel shards - not seen, but there - make themselves known when they turn to rust and leave a stain.