Jaager
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Everything posted by Jaager
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A ship with planks laid in your pattern would probably never find anyone willing to insure it. Gunther is correct about the butt shift and as evidenced by the trunnel locations - there are not near enough deck beams. You could rip the deck up, or , use it as subflooring and add a top layer of planking using as thin a veneer as can be had to show. I would go for as little contrast as possible. I have bamboo skewers that are very hard, difficult to draw, stand up to force, but are significantly darker than Maple. I have others that are softer, and are close to Maple in color, easy to draw, but want to split, and snap easily if the hole is not large enough. At least in the time between 1815 and 1860 in the US, the planks could be 40 feet long in scale. -
All references that I have seen about Loquat have been from residents of Florida. As I understand it, Loquat is fairly common as a suburban horticultural specimen in this subtropical zone but not so much elsewhere. Not commercial, I think it is obtained by knowing someone who is removing a tree, or having a fortunate relationship with a local tree service. A similar type in most of the US east of the Mississippi as far as usefulness and availability would be Bradford Pear.
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Marquardt has a dog sculpture and a scroll as options. I'm pretty sure it would take a wayback machine to know for sure. Unless new data becomes available, which ever option you choose can not be authoritatively refuted.
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A rabbet in the keel is about the only place I can see this sort of cut being used AND a rabbet varies in slope and angle as the garboard changes conformation, it would not be appropriate here. For notches in beams and clamps, a milling cutter would offer more control and be much safer. A table saw is my idea of the most dangerous tool we use - a last resort choice.
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Drill Bit Sizes Appropriate for Ship Modeling?
Jaager replied to Mike40's topic in Modeling tools and Workshop Equipment
If you are interested in staying near scale, 1:48 = a 1 inch trunnel would be 0.0208" in diameter.. that is a # 75 or 76 wire gauge dowel - close enough in metric is 0.52 mm- 0.55 mm. I would probably find that a # 75 bamboo dowel would need a # 72-# 73 hole to get a push fit that would not grab and snap the dowel. A 2 inch would be #58 or 1 mm @ 1:48. This is pretty much the practical range. For hidden dowels - a # 50 dowel is pretty strong and does not displace too much of the wood - that is 1.8 mm. So, if you stick with metric, the practical limit at the lower end is # 80 and these are difficult to mount - that is 0.35 mm - so as wide a variety of sizes between 0.35 mm and 2 mm should stand you in good stead. The lower end is more important. It is difficult not to have an occasional "Parkinson twitch" when hand drilling - and snapping a bit - I think you would get longer use and more accurate placement if you pre-drill using a drill press where possible. A Eurotool DRL-300 - sold under a variety local company names - has worked for me- and if you pay more than $80 US equivalent - you are paying too much. A helpful addition is a momentary foot switch - which should not be more than $20 US for a good enough unit - fix it to a board. -
If I remember correctly: width : 1 inch wider on each side than the width of the main yard and 2 inches beyond the jib and mizzen boom. So, 2 inches wider than the widest part of the model and 4 inches longer. I suspect things are different for miniature scale, but your model is 42% of museum scale in volume and 75% in length and width. Perhaps 1.5" and 3" would work.
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Wales
Jaager replied to -Dallen's topic in Building, Framing, Planking and plating a ships hull and deck
My observations are: In warships- wales are to mitigate the weakness produced by cutting large holes in the side of a ship and are generally at the port sills and below, since cutting a wale would negate any usefulness. They also resist the tendency of the hull to hog in all ships and in warships , a source of stress would be the guns - at the side and the heaviest are just above the waterline, so the heaviest wales are there. The trick was to find the sweet spot- as low as possible, but not too low. The Vasa taught European ship designers what happens if they got that wrong. In the 16th C. and 17th C. the wales tended to be purely functional, and stuck out. By the end of the time of wood and sail, the wales were often masked by having the planking smoothly transition in cross section. The increase in thickness of the transition plank would add strength, but also be more expensive in both wood and carpenters' time. I suspect that early wales that extended below the waterline had an adverse effect of speed and handling, so they tend to be above the waterline in their lowest extent - until the transition technique was developed. -
UV may also provide energy and a more efficient wave length of light to accelerate oxidation of organic compounds. Cellulose can break down. That is wood - but given the thickness, that is likely a very long process. Cotton or linen rigging is much more vulnerable. If you used a synthetic polymer as rigging material, the UV light can catalyze a further crosslinking - the reaction that produced the polymer - and turn it from flexible to rigid and brittle. If you are getting direct sun light, everything else in the room might be happier if the glass in the window contained a UV blocker. I think there are two types of blocker- one to block the high frequency waves - that are mostly destructive - and one for the lower frequency waves that house plants use and would not be good to block if you have plants. Another factor is IR (heat) - factors in the glass of a case and the small enclosed space itself can allow micro areas of heat that could be much higher than ambient temp. The rule is: the rate of a chemical reaction doubles for every 10 degrees C. increase in temp.
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In Praise Of Lacquer
Jaager replied to Julie Mo's topic in Painting, finishing and weathering products and techniques
Steve is correct - I am focused on 16th c. to 19th c. - And for a lot of later vessels that do have high gloss on the original - when viewed from a distance that approximates the size of a model - often do not appear as glossy and paint colors are not as intense. I think this is an aspect of scale effect. -
In Praise Of Lacquer
Jaager replied to Julie Mo's topic in Painting, finishing and weathering products and techniques
My take on lacquer: Spraying is the preferred method of application. It is available for brush application. It can develop into layer that has significant thickness. I use it to coat timber patterns from my printer. Three coats produces a pattern that is similar to having the patterns printed on Mylar. I have over come my compulsion and only apply one coat now. It dries fast and a repeat coat can be applied after 2 hrs when brushed. Spray may have a shorter time. The solvent is an irritating gemisch of organic chemicals. There is a "green" version of lacquer thinner, but I do not find it any less obnoxious that the standard tinner. While a mask may protect against airborne material, when sprayed. it will not protect from the solvent vapors. They are a gas as is air. If you can breathe thru the mask, the solvent vapor will also get thru. You need a separate air supply when spraying or good ventilation when brushed. I think shellac, and the oils like Tung and linseed form much thinner layers. The problem I have with lacquer is the finish is too thick on a model, it is usually too glossy and would have a model looking like a toy instead of a subtle piece of art. -
http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/5807-proxxon-micro-mbs-240e-band-saw-review/
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You mean that wide center support that holds the moulds/bulkheads is copper? That would solve the warping problem. Is this a small model? I am imagining what a 2 foot long and 6 inch high piece of copper would weigh? It is not really corresponding to any single part of a ship. Most of it occupies a space that is open in a real vessel . Backbone would be about as close a name as any. I guess you could try glueing as thin a piece of veneer as can be had over any part that shows- very thin 2 part epoxy or CA.
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To be totally pedantic: there would be no reason to copper a keelson. The keelson is a a large timber or group of timbers on top of the frames at the midline of the vessel on the inside. It is a mirror of the keel - which is the part that you are asking about. While a model with a solid copper keel would be very resistant to warping, I would think that bonding it to the hull would be difficult and prone to failure after a decade or two has passed. Copper is a reactive metal. The surface layer - even at the glue interface - may become the oxide, carbonate, or acetate salt of copper which would have the glue bonding to a powder rather than solid metal. Depending on what is used, the glue may have components that facilitate a chemical reaction. I suspect that a lot of models with metallic copper plates that are only attached using adhesive will experience bond failure after time has worked its magic.
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Wood masts for a plastic model... Tips?
Jaager replied to SomethingIsFishy's topic in Plastic model kits
If you split out the mast and yard stock from a board of a straight grained species and shape that, it will not want to bend over time. -
Scroll saw for bow pieces and frames
Jaager replied to Brucealanevans's topic in Modeling tools and Workshop Equipment
A Rikon 10" ( or a generic 9" ) band saw - with a Carter stabilizer - even with the limit of a 1/8" blade - sharp curves can be cut. The Rikon was on sale a lot this Summer - maybe a deal could be had still? I am not sure, but maybe the Rikon has enough power that adding a Wood Slicer 1/2" blade would add the ability to do some resawing in the 2" or lower thickness range. Band saw blades have set, so cutting too close to the line is not what you would want to do. -
Can i live without a BYRNES TABLE SAW
Jaager replied to shihawk's topic in Modeling tools and Workshop Equipment
If the veneer is thin enough, I would try a steel straight edge ( there are wide - 2" - flat ones, with a tapered edge 6" & 12" ) and a sharp #11 blade. Cut thru or score and snap and there is no loss to kerf. I have a Byrnes saw and find it far superior to a Jarmac or a Dremel - no comparison really. The Byrnes is a precision tool, but it is only as good as the blades allow. A 3 or 4 inch rip blade that hollow ground would be nice to have. -
A quick search indicates that this is a double planked POB hull. The first layer is for support and is totally covered by the outer layer. Looks do not really matter - but avoiding hollows does. Plank length here is your choice. Longer may be better given the distance between moulds. For the "real" planking - 20 - 25 foot length is probably realistic. The longest I have seen was for deck planking for 19th c. USN at 40'. This was Southern Pine - those trees tend to grow tall and straight and the planking runs are straight for decks and the planks do not need to be so wide. Look in the data base here on the NRG home page - there are planking instructions there. Hollows can be avoided by filling the "too wide" spaces between the moulds with supporting material.
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Frame construction
Jaager replied to jbeyl's topic in Building, Framing, Planking and plating a ships hull and deck
I know it had to be that way - up to a point - but I wonder if there was a switch to butt joins where the bevel becomes significant. It would add to the pressure to use cant frames - as much of a problem as they must have been at the deadwood to shape and as weak as they were there. -
Frame construction
Jaager replied to jbeyl's topic in Building, Framing, Planking and plating a ships hull and deck
I have the impression that scarphed frames are mainly an English technique. On a theoretical view, using it may allow for a reduced moulded dimension of timbering material over butt joins, If there are more workmen than thick timber, I can sort of see the point, but I would just make the rider strakes thick instead. If the seam and join surfaces of the scarph joint were not treated properly , would this not be a locus of a fungal attack and rot? I suspect that butt joins had an air gap to resist this. Could tight - near invisible butt joins be a ship model trait? I have a question about scarph joins: what was done with timbers where there is a significant bevel on an individual timber? -
It is easier and efficient at the mfg level to provide the planking at lengths close to box length. It is stock material and the actual planks should be cut off as needed in the length needed. The longer the stock, the better, since this is efficient and produces less waste in left over - too short - material. It would be impractical to try to predict low long to make each plank so that the end is on a mold. The plank size and shape should be predetermined by using large index cards as material and fitting that to the molds - starting with strips the width of the wood stock. If a wide piece of card is laid stem to stern post - allowed to lay naturally and then cut to plank width - it will often resemble a snake as it curves and recurves. If actual trees could have been had and handled at those lengths, the width needed to provide the curves would lead to unacceptable waste in "spilled" material. As for bending - doing it in the thin dimension- so that the planks lay on the molds and to not want to spring up is a good thing. Bending thru the thick dimension is against what the wood wants to do and it will try to twist. I am guessing that kit planking is not wide enough to allow much spilling and the unnatural bends are necessary.
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I have no insight to comment on the relative costs of scratch vs kit. If you can work a 1" or 2" thick plank down to scale dimensions then wood costs are not significant - the really suitable domestic species - Hard Maple, Black Cherry, Yellow Poplar, Basswood, Birch, Beech are not that expensive. Holly can be a bit dear. The premium domestic - you pretty much have to obtain on the hoof - Apple, Pear, Plum, Dogwood - depending on your luck - these can cost nothing or firewood cost as logs. The expense is in time and a good band saw and waiting for the wood to season. The old traditional 17th and 18th species -boxwood- buxus sempervirens is essentially not available. There is an exotic import substitute, but it is not the same wood - is expensive and is tending to be hard to get. I advise sticking with domestic species with properties that scale down nicely - at least until you have enough experience not to have to ask. If you are OC, the expense will be in collecting the machines. With scratch, your choice of vessel is limited by the availability of plans. With computers and copiers, the scale is totally your choice. My bias is that I avoid any vessel available as a kit and certainly not at the same scale, if it does. The Smithsonian plans are not expensive. Some commercial plans can be.
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Making alterations and major fixes - this gets you into some aspects of scratch building. As long as your course is tending to the "dark side" you could consider a visit to a hardwood dealer and get some veneer of closed pore wood species and plank the hull instead of painting it. Get a light species like Maple and actually plank the deck. With veneer, you can use a #11 blade and a steel straight edge to cut out the planks - no expensive tools needed.
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If you trace the outline of the keel- stem- sternpost assembly and rubber cement it to thick cardboard or a piece of corrugated box - trim it to the inside dimension - fit it to the hull: the hull is longer - trim the skeg back and it may be the 1/8" needed. the hull is correct, just too thin -- glue a temporary sternpost that is the correct size - use liquid hide glue- fill out the skeg with a filler like Bondo and fair the hull. Once the shape matches the templates, the temp post can be removed - heat gun/hair dryer and water or rubbing alcohol that is 91% ethanol will undo the hide glue. The real unmarred post can now be fitted.
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If it is Mahogany as the shade you like, take a look at Black Cherry. It is closed pore and the grain scales better than genuine Mahogany and much better than Lauan and other substitutes. Woodcraft has a 3 sq ft pack for $10 - although they do not provide the thickness. Since Black Cherry is not expensive in the States, it may be thicker than the exotic species. Generally, the characteristic that makes exotic woods popular is contrary to what we want - the grain. You could also consider Birch or Beech and use a aqueous analine dye to get your desired color. As for caulking - with scale effect - less is better. consider Walnut as a color rather than black and for thickness scale /2 .
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If you use John's method - the amount of distortion that your scanner introduces should probably be determined and corrected. I used a transparent 15 cm ruler as a source and printed the scan of it. When matched to the original the scan has to be X & Y scaled up by 102.5% to get the print to match the original.
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