Jaager

Realizing that it reflects North American practice rather than English, but in the Appendix of HASN, Chapelle includes a contract for two 600 ton Sloops of War for 1828. The interesting factor for the deck is that for both the decking and the waterways it calls for planks averaging 40 feet in length. It means that if you wish, your deck need not be so "busy" as far as the number of butt joints. .I will repeat what I posted in Jan. from the rules of the organization that was essentially the American version of Lloyds and probably used the rules from London as a basis for their own: Record of American and Foreign Shipping of American Shipmasters' Association 1870 & 1885 Deck Plank section 25. The upper or main deck planking should be of the greatest obtainable length, and free from defects, close-jointed and fastened with two spikes in each beam, and one in each carling. No butts of adjoining plank should be nearer each other than the space of two beams ( when a strake intervenes the distance of one beam will be allowed). No butts should meet on the same beam, unless there be three strakes between them. Although this is from 1870, the properties of wood did not change, so these rules probably fit from 1650 on.

Did you use a 50% solution as a first coat? The most common method that I am familiar with is the seal the wood with 1:1 Tung oil: Mineral Spirit and when this is dry, wipe on light layers of straight Tung oil and let them dry between coats. Ambient temp would affect the time interval. The primer coat can also be 50% shellac - the actual concentration would depend on your shellac source. Orange shellac is (I think) 20 lb cut, but comes already in solution - that means 20 lb to a gallon of alcohol - my rough round up conversion is 20% solution. I use Super Blonde flakes. The refining removes impurities which affects the solubility - the max concentration I can get of this is 10% and therefore the primer coat is a 5% solution. There are very low cost electronic balances now - so it is easy to weigh 5 g and add this to 100 ml 2-propanol (100%) - too much water in the rubbing alcohol concentrations (50/70/91 %) . You could start try removing some of the Tung oil with straight Mineral Spirits or turpentine and start over, but waiting a few weeks for the O2 to penetrate your too thick layer and work its polymerizing magic is easier. I am thinking that pure Tung oil is not an ideal finish for a working surface. A carving, a ship model, a wall surface - are great, but a surface subject to wear is likely not going to react like you would like. Here is a quote from Garrett Wade about Sutherland Welles pre-polymerized Tung oil products - unfortunately this source is US only "Tung oil is recognized as the finest oil finish available. However, most so-called Tung oil finishes on the market have been adulterated with varnishes, lower cost soy oils, and/or urethane additives. This makes the finish somewhat cheaper and easier to use, but sacrifices the special qualities of Tung oil. Pure Tung oil provides a tough, hard surface that is absolutely waterproof, and impervious to dust, alcohol, acetone, and fruit and vegetable acids. It does not darken with age as linseed oil does. Sutherland Welles uses polymerization from a cooking process to give its Tung Oil a faster drying time and a harder, higher gloss surface. Increasing the percentage of polymerized oil in the formulation of the finish restricts penetration but increases luster, durability and hardness." The highest polymerized product - 50% - is suggested for table surfaces - The cost is significantly greater than pure Tung oil so reading between the lines - it would not be sold unless its characteristics were not needed.

More water resistant - especially Titebond II - I think the bond is stronger - For me, it dries hard and sands well. I think it can be diluted if you need a thinner medium, but the limit is probably 1 part water to 9 parts PVA. The open time is reasonable. The bond is actually stronger than the wood it holds - if the surfaces to be jointed are close fitting. That is a skill be focus on. A rule that I use is - the more force used in clamping - the stronger the bond. The demonstrator in the Gerstner tool chest instructional video gave advise that I think is wrong about tight clamping squeezing out too much glue making the joint weaker. If there is a mono layer of glue completely covering both surfaces to be joined - there is enough glue - You will crush the wood surface on the clamp side and ruin the surface before you could squeeze out too much glue. If you are gap filling - there will be no force to expel that glue either. I totally concur about an Optivisor vs a swing arm lamp with a magnifying lens. I have two - one oval fluorescent and one incandescent - that I replaced with a spiral fluorescent. I do do use the magnifying function for either. I suggest a couple of swing arm lamps that are just lights - use the brightest LED bulbs you can fit- The base can either clamp to the edge of the bench top - screw into it - or there are lamps that will mount on a vertical surface - like the wall behind the bench - which is probably more efficient for position and use of bench space - if the bench is is fixed location. Low cost swing arm lamps tend to be frustrating because the pivot point locations tend not to hold their positions. The lens tends to just add weight to the end of the lever arm and add to this problem.

Good quality single edge razor blades. Consider Yellow PVA glue rather than white. A hand fret saw and a variety pack of blades if your kit requires you to free components from a printed sheet. A piece of leather and a bar of rouge or gold stropping compound - you can maintain a sharp edge for a long time before using a stone if you strop frequently and do not mar the edge by cutting something harder than it is.

My measurements of the Threadneedle Street product: Size dia. 1/48 dia 1/48 cir. 100/3 0.0088 0.42 1.3 80/3 0.01 0.48 1.5 50/3 0.012 0.6 1.86 30/3 0.019 0.09 2.8 I did not get any 18/3 but from my ropewalk: 20/3 0.025 1.14 3.6 the largest that I have: 8/2 /3 0.059 2.8 8.9 The stock was 8/2 lea three lines turned up.

Since no one else seems to want this: Flax is the plant - the fiber that is made from the crushed/combed stalk is generally know as linen. You may have better luck searching for linen yarn or linen thread. Linen fibers are something like a magnitude more course than cotton, so what is generally known as thread with cotton is a yarn with linen. That said, if your desired line sizes are correct, you would do better looking for spider silk. The finest that I have is: 100/3 lea and the diameter is 0.0088 inches @ 1:48 0.42 inches dia or 1.3 inches circumference. This is 0.22 mm dia. That came from : http://www.threadneedlestreet.com/ ..... thread - linen http://www.threadneedlestreet.com/ If you have the size you want wrong, then a straight forward solution is : http://www.syrenshipmodelcompany.com/miniature-rope.php Rigging line can be confusing. At model scales, we tend to use diameter to determine size. It is usually measured by counting the number of cycles per inch on a dowel. I think the old rigging books for the full size ships used rope circumference. It would be much easier for them to measure - a piece of string and a ruler. Diameter is would be difficult to directly measure - the rope deforms when you "mic" it directly. Linen is a challenge because there are several standards - lea is the one I use. 100/3 means that three yarns of 100 size are twisted up into a thread. It can be used directly for rigging. It is not too different from #100 Mercerized cotton thread in size. 8/3 linen is three 8 lea yarns and is close to twine in size. With lea - the larger the value, the finer the yarn. Linen yarn is a raw material for a rope walk to turn into miniature rope You could do a search here = ropewalk to get some idea sources : http://www.theobrejaart.nl/ for linen yarn http://www.theobrejaart.nl/frame.html http://www.villagespinweave.com/IBS/SimpleCat/Product/asp/hierarchy/0705/product-id/744625.html linen yarn http://www.villagespinweave.com/IBS/SimpleCat/Product/asp/hierarchy/0705/product-id/744625.html

You might give Bare Metal Foil a look: http://www.bare-metal.com/bare-metal-foil.html

I think this is one of those personal - possessive opinion subjects - sort of "love me, love my....." subjects. For wood to wood - PVA is an excellent choice. Known as carpenter's wood glue. It comes in in several options: white and yellow are the high inventory varieties. I think yellow produces the stronger bond. I want resistance to humidity so I use Titebond II. If I was making a pond boat, I would use Titebond III. Unlike what I did, you should probably avoid the high volume - lower unit cost option and get the 4 oz (120ml) size. It does have excellent shelf life, but fresh is probably the wiser choice. For metal to wood - two part epoxy - mixing time option - "you pays your money and you takes your chances". For rigging, natural fiber, neutral pH bookbinders PVA. I am biased against "super glue". I suspect that the chemical reaction that makes it fast also makes it continue going and produce a brittle bond after a decade or two. It is also difficult to keep from reacting in the container over time.

Are you sure you want to use cypress? You might be happier using Hard Maple. It is more work for a cutting edge and a disk sander or table saw will burn the face if you are too aggressive. But it takes more work to overdo a cut, is much stronger, has a wonderful surface to finish and does not move so much with humidity changes.

For a long time, I did not give scale a lot of thought, I just accepted 1:48 as the ultimate standard ( 1/4" : 1" ). This was after I embraced scratch building. However, this is essentially museum scale. It allows for a great deal of detail, but the models tend to be a bit large for private scales- especially for vessels larger than 100' LBP. Those of us in the US, who still use English scale instead of metric - the scales tend to fall on set increments below 1/4". 1:64 is 3/16" : 1'. 1:76 is 5/32" : 1'. 1:96 is 1/8" : 1'. Prior to the microelectronic revolution, these steps made sense. With the advent of digital, these limits are longer necessary. With a calculator and a digital caliper one scale is as easy as the next. We seem to tend to think linear and arithmetic . The components of 1/8" scale model are one half the length width and thickness of 1/4" scale. BUT, Mother Nature is 3D (4D actually) and the math is Calculus. The volume of a model at 1:96 is 0.125 times ( 1/8 ) the volume of 1:48. Your 1:64 model is 0.42 of 1/4 and the 1:100 is something like 0.1 of 1/4. So, the Niagara model is 4 times larger than the 1:100. I have adopted 1:60 as my scale of choice. The models are 1/2 museum scale even though they are 80% the length. The problem is that while Porpoise II (1836) 88' and even Vincennes (1825) 127' are reasonable in size, Stag Hound at 212' will be a monster even at 1:60. 1:96 and 1:100 are on the cusp of miniature scale and that is getting to a whole nuther World of skill and way of thinking.

Wood flour of the planking species mixed with PVA ( Titebond II for me).

An old article ( do not recall the reference) suggested Silk Span for the sail material and reduction of the depth of the sail to 1/3 the original to keep the sail volume under the yard in scale - the bolt rope/clues/cringles still present. I think a better way would be to experiment. Try several degrees of sail area reduction to find an acceptable look. See if making the foot of the sail an arc instead of straight across gives a better looking bulk under the yard.

What sort of supports do the channels have to keep them horizontal and resist the racking force?

I use liquid hide glue. The brand that I use is Franklin's - the company that makes Titebond. Hide glue is used in furniture restoration by museums. In the same vein as Oddball's reverse speed, they want to get out of trouble faster than they got into it. In their situation, a PVA bond that is stronger than the wood being bonded and difficult to reverse is not what they want. I believe that the 17th and 18th Century models were assembled using the glue pot version. I looked for a glue that I can use with Titebond II for long term but reversible bonding of temporary spacer timbers, but not affect the PVA bond. I tried Scotch Double Sided Permanent tape - does not stand up to sheer force. I tried Duco Cement - absolutely awful. Weldwood Contact Cement can be reversed, but is messy and requires too much heat. Nothing about CA glue appeals to me.

If you copy the bulkhead patterns using a scanner and your computer printer, you should make sure that these devices do not alter the scale with their copies. I scanned a transparent 6 inch / 15 cm ruler and printed it out. To get the printout to match the original ruler required an increase in scale of the scanned JPEG = x 102.5%. This has proved to be consistent for all scanned images.

1. As I have written here several times - check the keel length on this kit. It may well be the one where the draftsman for the kit plans confused touch with LBP. Most data for the ship taken from 17th Century sources will give the length as touch. For the 18th Century on it is LBP. If the hull is too short, the additional length can be patched in at the deadflat and the middle bulkhead replicated - one fore and one aft. 2. The thin ply will not offer much support, plank attachment surface, or resistance to warping. Why not wood glue the existing bulkheads to a thicker piece of plywood - or a Basswood sheet. The extreme would be 3/4" Birch ply - which would be a bear to scroll cut, but make a strong base. Getting the bevel right, will take more work and planning if you want the whole edge surface to support the planking - rather than the knife edge that is designed with the kit.

In a contest, I doubt polystyrene would offer much effect on steel, but actually, it is the handle that contacts the foam in the hole, if you are concerned, use a butter knife, or spoon handle to make the hole. I keep pencils, Sharpe, 6 inch steel rulers, Dremel bit wrenches, scissors ......

An easy tool storage method = a block of Styrofoam interior insulation, glued to a wooden base. Just stick tools, point down into holes in the block - they are readily available and both you and the tools are protected. The size - 2 inches thick - 6-8 inches long and 3-4 inches wide, Over here it is pink or blue or off brand - amber. Home Depot sells small 1 inch thick sheets for "projects". It does not react well to hot glue, but contact cement should do.

I support what Bill says about using a band saw instead of a scroll saw. A bench top 9 inch saw can be had for under $150 US. With an $80 upgrade by adding a Carter Products Blade Stabilizer, an 1/8" blade will almost do a "wheely" as far as how tight a curve you can cut. The blades have set, so you must be mindful about how close you cut to the line. The blade only cuts downward, so there is no up/down vibration on the piece being cut. I do POF, so there are no inside cuts - any such cuts for components - a hand fret saw will probably do. A 9 inch band saw will not do saw mill duty and will be limited in how thick resawing stock can be. It is not the tool to turn an Apple log into model scale stock. But for the cost a Hegner, you can get a 9 inch band saw and a 1.5-2 HP floor model band saw and also be a sawmill.

Record of American and Foreign Shipping of American Shipmasters' Association 1870 & 1885 Deck Plank section 25. The upper or main deck planking should be of the greatest obtainable length, and free from defects, close-jointed and fastened with two spikes in each beam, and one in each carling. No butts of adjoining plank should be nearer each other than the space of two beams ( when a strake intervenes the distance of one beam will be allowed). No butts should meet on the same beam, unless there be three strakes between them.

You may wish to take a look at these 2 vessels - plans produced and sold by AAMM: LA COURONNE LA REALE DE FRANCE Taubman these later 17th Century 3 deck vessels ROYAL KATHERINE PRINCE I think these are kit plans, I would verify that the hull is the correct length before I used them. There was a set of plans where the person drafting the kit plans mistook keel length= touch for keel length= LBP. generating a vessel that was about 25 feet too short in hull length.

Giving more thought to the bottle seals - cardboard does not seem likely to make that tight a long term complete closure, and plastic may potentially react with or to components in the paint - especially oil based paint. Why not try to go Old School? I am thinking that auto parts dealers may have cork veneer - thin sheets of cork used to make gaskets. Plug disks could be cut and used to seal the paint bottles. The ultimate would be glass bottles with ground glass plugs. In the Lab, we stored sensitive chemicals inside a large jar, with a wide lid - mating ground glass rims, coated with a silicon grease and a top port that could be connected to a vacuum line and then closed off.

A trick recommended for storing Tung oil may work for paint: add marbles, or in this case glass beads to reduce the volume of air in the jar. Store the bottles in a Mason jar, an open bottle of water in the sealed jar would saturate the environment with water vapor and greatly reduce any loss of water the paint bottles. A similar setup with oil based paint with excess solvent in the jar environment should reduce any tendency for the paint solvent to evaporate.

Black Cherry - there is big difference in the color between the sapwood and heartwood. The heartwood contains significantly more material stored within the cell walls. Included are compounds that are subject to oxidation - which produces a color change. The sapwood does not contain as much of these compounds which limits its color change. There is a finite amount in a cell and when all of it is oxidized, there is no further color change. The sapwood plank on Dave's hull adds character, interest, and makes it evident that the hull is indeed made up of individual planks. A story could be told about the need to replace a damaged plank while on a distant voyage - using local lumber. Certainly not a far fetched scenario.

Cherry is one of two readily available domestic hardwoods that are worth consideration - It is softer than I had thought, but it does work well and carves nicely - cuts where the blade goes instead of splitting off at an angle. The other is Acer saccharum - Hard Maple (rock/sugar) - harder than Cherry - but worth a look as a replacement for Buxus sempervirens .