Jaager

I think what Allan is saying is that - he attaches the chain plates as raw copper.  He then paints it with Liver of Sulfur to blacken it. 
The copper would need to be absolutely clean after it was attached.  Doing it this way, none of the blackened coating would be lost vs if it had been blackened prior to attachment.
This suggests that LoS leaves a coating that is easily abraded back to raw copper.  

I have some of those cutting tools.  All in all, the whole kit IS kinda sexy.  The most useful tool for me was a small plane that is not offered.   My evaluation is that some of the tools will be useful, but special effort will be necessary to use them instead of what you would normally use.  The benches and hold downs will be a stretch to apply at best.   This whole set seems more useful for someone who models miniature copies of full size furniture.  Something made up of right angles and flat planes.  Not for something made up of near infinitely varied curves.  Measure twice, cut once or avoid an impulse buy.

A woodworking bench vise of that size is a severely limited tool when it comes to versatility. A wood vise should not be used for metal, while a metal vise can be used for wood. It has no swivel capability. If one is into collecting miniature tools, it may be desirable, but not for serious work. At the present time, based on current reviews on a variety of sites, the Stanley 2-7/8" Light Duty Multi-Angle Vise with Swivel Base, at less than $50 is the apparent favorite. I don't have one myself, so this is just hearsay, but I plan to remedy that shortly.
 
Stanley 83-069M $46.95 2-7/8" Light Duty Multi-Angle Vise with Swivel Base | Zoro.com

I have some of those cutting tools.  All in all, the whole kit IS kinda sexy.  The most useful tool for me was a small plane that is not offered.   My evaluation is that some of the tools will be useful, but special effort will be necessary to use them instead of what you would normally use.  The benches and hold downs will be a stretch to apply at best.   This whole set seems more useful for someone who models miniature copies of full size furniture.  Something made up of right angles and flat planes.  Not for something made up of near infinitely varied curves.  Measure twice, cut once or avoid an impulse buy.

I have some of those cutting tools.  All in all, the whole kit IS kinda sexy.  The most useful tool for me was a small plane that is not offered.   My evaluation is that some of the tools will be useful, but special effort will be necessary to use them instead of what you would normally use.  The benches and hold downs will be a stretch to apply at best.   This whole set seems more useful for someone who models miniature copies of full size furniture.  Something made up of right angles and flat planes.  Not for something made up of near infinitely varied curves.  Measure twice, cut once or avoid an impulse buy.

I have some of those cutting tools.  All in all, the whole kit IS kinda sexy.  The most useful tool for me was a small plane that is not offered.   My evaluation is that some of the tools will be useful, but special effort will be necessary to use them instead of what you would normally use.  The benches and hold downs will be a stretch to apply at best.   This whole set seems more useful for someone who models miniature copies of full size furniture.  Something made up of right angles and flat planes.  Not for something made up of near infinitely varied curves.  Measure twice, cut once or avoid an impulse buy.

I have some of those cutting tools.  All in all, the whole kit IS kinda sexy.  The most useful tool for me was a small plane that is not offered.   My evaluation is that some of the tools will be useful, but special effort will be necessary to use them instead of what you would normally use.  The benches and hold downs will be a stretch to apply at best.   This whole set seems more useful for someone who models miniature copies of full size furniture.  Something made up of right angles and flat planes.  Not for something made up of near infinitely varied curves.  Measure twice, cut once or avoid an impulse buy.

I do not do steel or anything after 1860, but given how lacking in detail is the plan that you have on view, I would shoot for a hull length of 12-18".
Something that does not cry out for detail that you do not have.
I would do carved hull in lamination using Pine or Yellow Poplar.
Would just use sand n' sealer and paint on the wood and not try styrene or metal plates over the wood - again because both the small size and the lack of detail do not need that level.
Considering what you have and where you want to go - a waterline model with simulated water in a case this may be the ticket.

I have Baker's books and I made a start on building the Colonial Bark of 1640 as a way to approach Navy Board framing. It taught me that Duco was not a glue worth using on wood to wood that is subject to external shaping force, even if it would be easy to debond with acetone - a pity is that. 
 
ANYWAY - there is an article in NRJ  by David Antscherl that makes a convincing argument Wm Baker was way off in his assumptions and direction when he designed Mayflower II.
 
NRJ  V.58 No.4  Winter 2013   A New Interpretation of a Merchantman, circa 1600 by David Antscherl
 
I would suggest staying far way from any Mayflower kit  unless it is the Mayflower II replica that you wish to model.
It is not really a realistic choice for a first kit unless some form of fine woodworking is in your background.
You should probably read the first two posts in this forum for a map and cold shower about what your new path involves
 
I do not wish to come across as a judge or any sort of official with the following.  Take this as a friendly and well meant suggestion should you wish to be taken seriously.
The word 'boat' defines a very specific type of watercraft. 
The word 'ship'  also defines a specific type of large vessel although it is often stretched to include large vessels that are technically not ships.
But boat and ship are not interchangeable .   Doing so here tends to rub fur the wrong way.  In your place, I would edit by post title from boat to ship as well as in the text of post 1.
 

If you are on the US, go to your near by chain pharmacy and get a quart of 91% isopropyl rubbing alcohol.
It will not affect the wood.  A pipette and a hair dryer or heat gun will speed the process, just keep the dryer at a very warm distance, Hot may/will affect the wood in an ugly way.
 
I understand why you wish to remove the stem, so that you an have at it with whatever tool you are using to fare the planking run.  I do not understand why you wish to remove the Balsa.  It is part of the molds(#) now.  Balsa is a specious choice as a space filling wood, but it does work.
 
I suggest a couple of alternatives.
1)  If it is minor faring that is to be done,  cover the sides of the stem with a multi layer of masking tape, use small files and sanding sticks with an abrading surface that runs up to the end.  It will take up close and personal and a royal pain at the rabbet.
 
2) If you have done a major wiff with the spine and molds,  drop back ten and punt.
Go back to your plans,  
trace the spine and molds
or
scan in your decktop scanner, take the scan into a drawing program and adjust the scanner distortion factor and print 
or
take the plans to an architects copy place and get exact duplicates or triplicates of the mold and spine patterns
 
Buy good quality plywood and cut out the patterns and start over.  A hand frat or coping saw will do the job for not much money unless you go with Knew.   You can get thicker plywood - just may sure you choose the correct side of the slots to make wider ( away from the midship station).
 
Consider filling between every mold.
Consider using Yellow Poplar or Basswood (or Pine) for the filler
Consider thinking vertical instead of horizontal for the orientation of the fillers and cut them like the molds.
Consider using Yellow Poplar or Basswood or Pine instead of plywood for the actual molds.
 
With Pine - it can be construction grade, just clear and not sap or gum  A grade is safer but difficult to find.
 
If this is a one-off model - disregard option 2,  but if you wish to continue with this, the exercise and experience of option 2 will start to open a new world of possibilites as to choice for the next ship - because you have started on the scratch build road.
 
 
 
(#)  I build POF and I can assure you that the transverse pieces are not bulkheads.  Western wooden ships did not have bulkheads.  They a molds (moilds) of the inside the planking hull shape at various points (usually the stations) along the length of the hull.
The long central piece is in no way a keel of any sort.  It is a support spine.

If you are on the US, go to your near by chain pharmacy and get a quart of 91% isopropyl rubbing alcohol.
It will not affect the wood.  A pipette and a hair dryer or heat gun will speed the process, just keep the dryer at a very warm distance, Hot may/will affect the wood in an ugly way.
 
I understand why you wish to remove the stem, so that you an have at it with whatever tool you are using to fare the planking run.  I do not understand why you wish to remove the Balsa.  It is part of the molds(#) now.  Balsa is a specious choice as a space filling wood, but it does work.
 
I suggest a couple of alternatives.
1)  If it is minor faring that is to be done,  cover the sides of the stem with a multi layer of masking tape, use small files and sanding sticks with an abrading surface that runs up to the end.  It will take up close and personal and a royal pain at the rabbet.
 
2) If you have done a major wiff with the spine and molds,  drop back ten and punt.
Go back to your plans,  
trace the spine and molds
or
scan in your decktop scanner, take the scan into a drawing program and adjust the scanner distortion factor and print 
or
take the plans to an architects copy place and get exact duplicates or triplicates of the mold and spine patterns
 
Buy good quality plywood and cut out the patterns and start over.  A hand frat or coping saw will do the job for not much money unless you go with Knew.   You can get thicker plywood - just may sure you choose the correct side of the slots to make wider ( away from the midship station).
 
Consider filling between every mold.
Consider using Yellow Poplar or Basswood (or Pine) for the filler
Consider thinking vertical instead of horizontal for the orientation of the fillers and cut them like the molds.
Consider using Yellow Poplar or Basswood or Pine instead of plywood for the actual molds.
 
With Pine - it can be construction grade, just clear and not sap or gum  A grade is safer but difficult to find.
 
If this is a one-off model - disregard option 2,  but if you wish to continue with this, the exercise and experience of option 2 will start to open a new world of possibilites as to choice for the next ship - because you have started on the scratch build road.
 
 
 
(#)  I build POF and I can assure you that the transverse pieces are not bulkheads.  Western wooden ships did not have bulkheads.  They a molds (moilds) of the inside the planking hull shape at various points (usually the stations) along the length of the hull.
The long central piece is in no way a keel of any sort.  It is a support spine.

I believe you would be better off to leave the fillers where they are and they will need fairing also.   So as you're working on the bulkheads, you'll also get the filler faired.

I just got an email.   It was the Covid shutdown.
 
The message:
GOOD NEWS! The city-ordered shut-down is over. We are able to get back to printing and binding our book orders. When the city shut us down as a non-essential business in the Covid 19 Pandemic we had just begun to outfit our new space with updated machinery and work spaces. That came to a sudden halt and we were forced to rely on our kitchen counter to produce our boat building and design booklets. These conditions are obviously ;not practical for printing and binding hard-cover books. However, at the end of July we were able to re-enter the space and yesterday we started up the book production side of our business once again. It will take a little while to get up to speed but we are now producing books to fulfill the backlog that has resulted from the closure.

We are happy to confirm that your order will be completed in the order in which it was received. Many thanks indeed for your patience and understanding.
 
Now, I have to see if I can do a re-order since I got a refund from PayPal.   A charge back from a credit card company is costly for a vendor and it tends to ....annoy... them.

https://www.mcmaster.com/copper/shape~wire/
 
McMaster-Carr might be worth a look.
 
If you wish to be independent about this  - a fat wire and a jewelers draw plate with a series of hoes in your range of interest would allow for that.
But wire that is hard can be  difficult to pull.   Steel has the advantage of becoming soft if you heat it and allow it to cool slowly.  Then when it is the desired gauge it can be hardened.
Copper and brass cannot be hardened by heat and quench - the more you work it, the harder it gets.

I think it is worth the $10  just to play with the devise.  It offers a wealth of possibilities as far as what can be done in color witchcraft.
 
I think it is good that you have a reasonable and economical solution to solve your goal.

Roger,
 
I am a a heretic about something like this and I think that his whole exact color thing has too quick sand a foundation to warrant becoming OCD about it.
First off, unless seen in person, any color captured on film, tape or electrons is going to be different.  Even if you had the exact RGB number - every computer screen is going to do its own interpretation of it.
Close enough is good enough.
 
If you have a color chip or equivalent  I would use a color wheel  to get most of the formula.
https://www.highlandwoodworking.com/artistscolorwheel.aspx
Now that I know what they really are I would use artist's oil  (40ml tubes)  and mix my own 
One of the companies may have a ready made that is close or only needs more black or white or ....
A little linseed oil and mineral spirits and you are set.

I limit myself to pre-1860 wood and sail   and I try to use the following as the bounding limits for how I build:
 
SHIP MODEL CLASSIFICATION GUIDELINES  1980                       
DEPT. OF SALES AND SERVICE                                       
MYSTIC SEAPORT MUSEUM                        
MYSTIC, CONN             
1980
 
MUSEUM STANDARDS AND SHIP MODELS: THE INFLUENCE OF PROFESSIONAL
WEGNER,DANA M
NAUTICAL RESEARCH JOURNAL
1994
39
44-49
 
MUSEUM STANDARDS IN SHIPMODELING
WEGNER,DANA M
SHIPS IN SCALE  
1989
34
16-17
 
I have no interest in contests but staying within the rules has this be a more challenging self contest.

https://www.mcmaster.com/copper/shape~wire/
 
McMaster-Carr might be worth a look.
 
If you wish to be independent about this  - a fat wire and a jewelers draw plate with a series of hoes in your range of interest would allow for that.
But wire that is hard can be  difficult to pull.   Steel has the advantage of becoming soft if you heat it and allow it to cool slowly.  Then when it is the desired gauge it can be hardened.
Copper and brass cannot be hardened by heat and quench - the more you work it, the harder it gets.

https://www.mcmaster.com/copper/shape~wire/
 
McMaster-Carr might be worth a look.
 
If you wish to be independent about this  - a fat wire and a jewelers draw plate with a series of hoes in your range of interest would allow for that.
But wire that is hard can be  difficult to pull.   Steel has the advantage of becoming soft if you heat it and allow it to cool slowly.  Then when it is the desired gauge it can be hardened.
Copper and brass cannot be hardened by heat and quench - the more you work it, the harder it gets.

I limit myself to pre-1860 wood and sail   and I try to use the following as the bounding limits for how I build:
 
SHIP MODEL CLASSIFICATION GUIDELINES  1980                       
DEPT. OF SALES AND SERVICE                                       
MYSTIC SEAPORT MUSEUM                        
MYSTIC, CONN             
1980
 
MUSEUM STANDARDS AND SHIP MODELS: THE INFLUENCE OF PROFESSIONAL
WEGNER,DANA M
NAUTICAL RESEARCH JOURNAL
1994
39
44-49
 
MUSEUM STANDARDS IN SHIPMODELING
WEGNER,DANA M
SHIPS IN SCALE  
1989
34
16-17
 
I have no interest in contests but staying within the rules has this be a more challenging self contest.

I limit myself to pre-1860 wood and sail   and I try to use the following as the bounding limits for how I build:
 
SHIP MODEL CLASSIFICATION GUIDELINES  1980                       
DEPT. OF SALES AND SERVICE                                       
MYSTIC SEAPORT MUSEUM                        
MYSTIC, CONN             
1980
 
MUSEUM STANDARDS AND SHIP MODELS: THE INFLUENCE OF PROFESSIONAL
WEGNER,DANA M
NAUTICAL RESEARCH JOURNAL
1994
39
44-49
 
MUSEUM STANDARDS IN SHIPMODELING
WEGNER,DANA M
SHIPS IN SCALE  
1989
34
16-17
 
I have no interest in contests but staying within the rules has this be a more challenging self contest.

I think it is worth the $10  just to play with the devise.  It offers a wealth of possibilities as far as what can be done in color witchcraft.
 
I think it is good that you have a reasonable and economical solution to solve your goal.

Roger,
 
I am a a heretic about something like this and I think that his whole exact color thing has too quick sand a foundation to warrant becoming OCD about it.
First off, unless seen in person, any color captured on film, tape or electrons is going to be different.  Even if you had the exact RGB number - every computer screen is going to do its own interpretation of it.
Close enough is good enough.
 
If you have a color chip or equivalent  I would use a color wheel  to get most of the formula.
https://www.highlandwoodworking.com/artistscolorwheel.aspx
Now that I know what they really are I would use artist's oil  (40ml tubes)  and mix my own 
One of the companies may have a ready made that is close or only needs more black or white or ....
A little linseed oil and mineral spirits and you are set.

I think it is worth the $10  just to play with the devise.  It offers a wealth of possibilities as far as what can be done in color witchcraft.
 
I think it is good that you have a reasonable and economical solution to solve your goal.

Roger,
 
I am a a heretic about something like this and I think that his whole exact color thing has too quick sand a foundation to warrant becoming OCD about it.
First off, unless seen in person, any color captured on film, tape or electrons is going to be different.  Even if you had the exact RGB number - every computer screen is going to do its own interpretation of it.
Close enough is good enough.
 
If you have a color chip or equivalent  I would use a color wheel  to get most of the formula.
https://www.highlandwoodworking.com/artistscolorwheel.aspx
Now that I know what they really are I would use artist's oil  (40ml tubes)  and mix my own 
One of the companies may have a ready made that is close or only needs more black or white or ....
A little linseed oil and mineral spirits and you are set.