Jump to content

Jaager

NRG Member
  • Posts

    3,084
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Reputation Activity

  1. Like
    Jaager got a reaction from mtaylor in wax or no wax?   
    The choices
    Linen seems to be lost into the past. 
    Cotton - limited lifespan - smaller fibers -smaller fuzz
    Poly - seems to be winning the race.   As long as the model itself is plastic, any resistance to using man-made materials is moot.
     
    Poly already is what a wax would provide.  Wax seems to me to be pointless.  If it is beeswax on it - I would question it ever case hardening to become NOT a dust magnet.
    Paraffin  would change its phase with changes in room temp.  The semi liquid phase would also hold dust.
    Renaissance wax will case harden as its organic solvent evaporates.   It is probably more positive than negative for linen and cotton.  It would offer no advantage with poly.
  2. Like
    Jaager got a reaction from dvm27 in wax or no wax?   
    The choices
    Linen seems to be lost into the past. 
    Cotton - limited lifespan - smaller fibers -smaller fuzz
    Poly - seems to be winning the race.   As long as the model itself is plastic, any resistance to using man-made materials is moot.
     
    Poly already is what a wax would provide.  Wax seems to me to be pointless.  If it is beeswax on it - I would question it ever case hardening to become NOT a dust magnet.
    Paraffin  would change its phase with changes in room temp.  The semi liquid phase would also hold dust.
    Renaissance wax will case harden as its organic solvent evaporates.   It is probably more positive than negative for linen and cotton.  It would offer no advantage with poly.
  3. Like
    Jaager got a reaction from Bob Cleek in wax or no wax?   
    The choices
    Linen seems to be lost into the past. 
    Cotton - limited lifespan - smaller fibers -smaller fuzz
    Poly - seems to be winning the race.   As long as the model itself is plastic, any resistance to using man-made materials is moot.
     
    Poly already is what a wax would provide.  Wax seems to me to be pointless.  If it is beeswax on it - I would question it ever case hardening to become NOT a dust magnet.
    Paraffin  would change its phase with changes in room temp.  The semi liquid phase would also hold dust.
    Renaissance wax will case harden as its organic solvent evaporates.   It is probably more positive than negative for linen and cotton.  It would offer no advantage with poly.
  4. Like
    Jaager got a reaction from Keith Black in wax or no wax?   
    The choices
    Linen seems to be lost into the past. 
    Cotton - limited lifespan - smaller fibers -smaller fuzz
    Poly - seems to be winning the race.   As long as the model itself is plastic, any resistance to using man-made materials is moot.
     
    Poly already is what a wax would provide.  Wax seems to me to be pointless.  If it is beeswax on it - I would question it ever case hardening to become NOT a dust magnet.
    Paraffin  would change its phase with changes in room temp.  The semi liquid phase would also hold dust.
    Renaissance wax will case harden as its organic solvent evaporates.   It is probably more positive than negative for linen and cotton.  It would offer no advantage with poly.
  5. Like
    Jaager got a reaction from Chuck Seiler in wax or no wax?   
    The choices
    Linen seems to be lost into the past. 
    Cotton - limited lifespan - smaller fibers -smaller fuzz
    Poly - seems to be winning the race.   As long as the model itself is plastic, any resistance to using man-made materials is moot.
     
    Poly already is what a wax would provide.  Wax seems to me to be pointless.  If it is beeswax on it - I would question it ever case hardening to become NOT a dust magnet.
    Paraffin  would change its phase with changes in room temp.  The semi liquid phase would also hold dust.
    Renaissance wax will case harden as its organic solvent evaporates.   It is probably more positive than negative for linen and cotton.  It would offer no advantage with poly.
  6. Like
    Jaager got a reaction from Canute in New builder here, understanding the different types of wood in your kit???   
    Northeast US,  There are many low cost species that will work.
    Looking at species that are favored for scratch clear finish wooden sailing vessels is not a productive or economical path for your needs.
    Pear - Swiss Pear ( is a steam oxidized European wood )  It is expensive here.  It is difficult to source here.
    Basswood is favored for architect's models because it is available precut and does not rival platinum in price. It is also soft and fuzzy.
     
    Your economical choice is construction Pine (not Fir).  The endcap loss leader at Home Depot.  Pick clear with no sap.
    Yellow Poplar is low cost and would do exactly what you want.
    Hard Maple, Black Cherry are over kill, but like the above two also have closed pore, so save a finish step.
    Nut wood species would work - Oak, Ash, Hickory, Willow - they just need a pore filling step Sand-n-Sealer.
     
    Your problem is getting lumber into 1:12 scale 2x4 and 2x6  and 1x8 -1x12 clapboard.
    If you do not have a bandsaw and a thickness sander and a modelers table saw,  you can make do with a full size table saw.  Just mount a hollow ground rip blade. 
    Borrow the use from someone who has one and bring your own blade.  Try to avoid feeding your fingers to the saw or getting impaled by a kickback.
    If you use Pine, the extra loss to kerf is something that you can stand.
     
    Prime any wood with half strength Zinsser shellac - Scotch Brite- follow on with full strength - Scotch Brite and tack rag.
    Then any paint will bond. 
     
     
  7. Like
    Jaager got a reaction from oakheart in New builder here, understanding the different types of wood in your kit???   
    Northeast US,  There are many low cost species that will work.
    Looking at species that are favored for scratch clear finish wooden sailing vessels is not a productive or economical path for your needs.
    Pear - Swiss Pear ( is a steam oxidized European wood )  It is expensive here.  It is difficult to source here.
    Basswood is favored for architect's models because it is available precut and does not rival platinum in price. It is also soft and fuzzy.
     
    Your economical choice is construction Pine (not Fir).  The endcap loss leader at Home Depot.  Pick clear with no sap.
    Yellow Poplar is low cost and would do exactly what you want.
    Hard Maple, Black Cherry are over kill, but like the above two also have closed pore, so save a finish step.
    Nut wood species would work - Oak, Ash, Hickory, Willow - they just need a pore filling step Sand-n-Sealer.
     
    Your problem is getting lumber into 1:12 scale 2x4 and 2x6  and 1x8 -1x12 clapboard.
    If you do not have a bandsaw and a thickness sander and a modelers table saw,  you can make do with a full size table saw.  Just mount a hollow ground rip blade. 
    Borrow the use from someone who has one and bring your own blade.  Try to avoid feeding your fingers to the saw or getting impaled by a kickback.
    If you use Pine, the extra loss to kerf is something that you can stand.
     
    Prime any wood with half strength Zinsser shellac - Scotch Brite- follow on with full strength - Scotch Brite and tack rag.
    Then any paint will bond. 
     
     
  8. Like
    Jaager got a reaction from robert952 in New builder here, understanding the different types of wood in your kit???   
    I see that you are a Tarheel, so  Sycamore and Walnut will have different meanings from what is European in origin.
     
    I doubt that any kit will include Black Walnut or any member of the Juglans family.  What is provided in kits is called "walnut" because of its color. Most is one of several African species in the Mahogany family or a near relative.  Actual Walnut is a much superior wood, but for our uses, it has open pores - not good.
     
    What Europeans call Sycamore is an Acer.  It is a Maple.  The Plane tree - what we call Sycamore - a large fast growing but messy tree - has fine grain, no open pores, usefully hard hard wood. However, the grain is busy, it is currently sold as Lacewood,  it has an unpleasant smell when cut and the fibers roll.
     
    Lime is Tilia.  It is a soft wood with almost no visible grain.  A color similar to Pine.  It has been used in Europe - northern Europe - for a long time for carving.  The North American member of the family Tilia,  used here as a substitute is Basswood.  Lime is twice as hard as Basswood and not as fuzzy.  Bass does not hold a sharp edge.
     
    The light color wood would be either Lime or Sycamore (Eu). If it is soft and shows no grain = Lime. If it hard and with an visible alternating grain = Sycamore.  The color defines its location.
     
    Sapele is another African Mahogany.  It is for show.
     
    The black is something that has been dyed.  I would guess it is for the wales.
    The grey is something that has been dyed.  Probably the same species as the black.  I would guess for decking.
    For a new deck, Lime or Acer would match the original Pine or Oak decks,  but the Sun and hard use will turn a "not for show" deck grey.
     
    If you catch the ship modeling bug and if it sets in so hard that you come over to the dark side,  Except for the Acer, you can use the wood supplied in the kit as examples of species that you would never use.  For the Acer,  we have the premier member - Hard Maple earning an "A".    The European species gets a "B". 
  9. Like
    Jaager got a reaction from dvm27 in HMS Portland 1770 by scrubbyj427 - 1:48 - 4th rate 50-gun ship   
    Rather than the vertical under the counter supports, why not mimic the original and use horizontal instead?
    I would worry that vertical may not fit well with the run of the planking.  The upper part of the planking will run in almost the same axis.
     
    You could have flat filler pieces between the pseudo transoms with holes for dowels into the last mold.  This would make a precise locator for each filler (reverse mortise) for almost idiot proof slots for the transoms.   You could include a few Bamboo skewers as the dowels and burn holes that are their diameter.
    If you doubled up on each transom (two pieces instead of one in each slot) the planking would have a firm support.  The planking will have serious bending and a firm base will have a better grab. 
  10. Like
    Jaager got a reaction from MCan in Ultimation tools   
    Might this tool help with getting a uniform thickness?
    https://bridgecitytools.com/products/hp-8-mini-block-plane
  11. Like
    Jaager got a reaction from kgstakes in I am sad and devastated to announce the passing of Jim Byrnes, my dear friend and owner of Model Machines   
    Were this Japan,  Jim would qualify as a national treasure. His skill, craftsmanship, precision, and material selection has no competition.  His determination to do it right  harkens back  to a lost era and was rare even then. 
    Would that he had trained up a group of apprentices.  His passing will leave an immense hole.
  12. Like
    Jaager got a reaction from allanyed in Newbie here- Flattening the planks?   
    I would use a filler at the stem and paint the hull.
    or
    remove the planking and buy a replacement from a site vendor or visit your local WoodCraft store and get a veneer that is better - sawn not rotary cut if possible.
    Veneer just needs a steel straight edge and a keenly sharp knife.  Strop often.
     
    The color of the planking is way darker than any species that I believe was used for an actual ship.
    To my eye, it looks brittle, course, open pore. - not even close to a 1:75 scaled down version of real wood that was used.
     
    A Wayback machine view of this:
    Taper the stem to about half its thickness at the outer char.
    Cut a rabbet - a proper rabbet = the correct width in the stem.  Small chisel.  Practice a lot on scrap first.
    Start the planking at the rabbet and add bonding as it fits aft.
    Apply the same plank P&S - not all one side and then the other.
    Planking width 6" -8" in scale with the the garboard maybe a bit wider.
     
     
  13. Like
    Jaager got a reaction from mtaylor in Newbie here- Flattening the planks?   
    I would use a filler at the stem and paint the hull.
    or
    remove the planking and buy a replacement from a site vendor or visit your local WoodCraft store and get a veneer that is better - sawn not rotary cut if possible.
    Veneer just needs a steel straight edge and a keenly sharp knife.  Strop often.
     
    The color of the planking is way darker than any species that I believe was used for an actual ship.
    To my eye, it looks brittle, course, open pore. - not even close to a 1:75 scaled down version of real wood that was used.
     
    A Wayback machine view of this:
    Taper the stem to about half its thickness at the outer char.
    Cut a rabbet - a proper rabbet = the correct width in the stem.  Small chisel.  Practice a lot on scrap first.
    Start the planking at the rabbet and add bonding as it fits aft.
    Apply the same plank P&S - not all one side and then the other.
    Planking width 6" -8" in scale with the the garboard maybe a bit wider.
     
     
  14. Like
    Jaager got a reaction from Bob Cleek in Newbie here- Flattening the planks?   
    I would use a filler at the stem and paint the hull.
    or
    remove the planking and buy a replacement from a site vendor or visit your local WoodCraft store and get a veneer that is better - sawn not rotary cut if possible.
    Veneer just needs a steel straight edge and a keenly sharp knife.  Strop often.
     
    The color of the planking is way darker than any species that I believe was used for an actual ship.
    To my eye, it looks brittle, course, open pore. - not even close to a 1:75 scaled down version of real wood that was used.
     
    A Wayback machine view of this:
    Taper the stem to about half its thickness at the outer char.
    Cut a rabbet - a proper rabbet = the correct width in the stem.  Small chisel.  Practice a lot on scrap first.
    Start the planking at the rabbet and add bonding as it fits aft.
    Apply the same plank P&S - not all one side and then the other.
    Planking width 6" -8" in scale with the the garboard maybe a bit wider.
     
     
  15. Like
    Jaager got a reaction from Chikpeas in Newbie here- Flattening the planks?   
    I would use a filler at the stem and paint the hull.
    or
    remove the planking and buy a replacement from a site vendor or visit your local WoodCraft store and get a veneer that is better - sawn not rotary cut if possible.
    Veneer just needs a steel straight edge and a keenly sharp knife.  Strop often.
     
    The color of the planking is way darker than any species that I believe was used for an actual ship.
    To my eye, it looks brittle, course, open pore. - not even close to a 1:75 scaled down version of real wood that was used.
     
    A Wayback machine view of this:
    Taper the stem to about half its thickness at the outer char.
    Cut a rabbet - a proper rabbet = the correct width in the stem.  Small chisel.  Practice a lot on scrap first.
    Start the planking at the rabbet and add bonding as it fits aft.
    Apply the same plank P&S - not all one side and then the other.
    Planking width 6" -8" in scale with the the garboard maybe a bit wider.
     
     
  16. Like
    Jaager reacted to Keith Black in Hello from Leicester, England   
    Nic, first off, welcome to MSW.
     
     As you're not a modeler my suggestion is to leave it as is unless you're willing to spend the next 5 to 7 years gaining the necessary skills to undertake completing your grandfather's model. Though incomplete, it's a beautiful model as is and it would be a shame to sell it and have it leave the family. In our throwaway society of today very little from the lives of our deceased family members gets passed down.
     
     Now, if you've got the itch to start model ship building, please speak up and you'll be directed on which first builds you should attempt and what tools you'll need to start with. Wood ship modeling is a deep deep rabbit hole and it takes years of commitment to reach a point where one starts to think they're finally getting it. I'm not trying to put you off by any means, I'm merely trying to share with you the reality of the situation. Don't be fooled by the little devil sitting on your shoulder whispering, "how hard can it be".
     
     Whatever direction you go, the very best to you. Glad to have you aboard.
     
      Keith  
  17. Like
    Jaager got a reaction from allanyed in Drawing center lines   
    This is the old style marking gauge:

     
     
     
    Replace the steel scribing point with a section of a 2mm  HB mechanical pencil lead

    Using scrap wood stock and a chisel a miniature version is easy to fabricate.
     
     
  18. Like
    Jaager got a reaction from Canute in Warship identified off Florida coast 3 centuries after it sank   
    The War of Jenkins Ear.
    The bureaucracy managing this war for England were incompetent amateurs.
     
    Really a lazy effort on the part of the scribbler.  Obviously zero understanding.
     
    HMS Tiger 1722  was old and obsolete - it was actually a pre 1719 Establishments design.
    Definitely NOT a frigate.  In that era, even a 40 gun would not have been a frigate.  With two full gun decks, they were slow slugs that were definitely top heavy. Often not able to use the guns on their main gun deck, because much wave action would flood thru the open ports.
  19. Like
    Jaager got a reaction from Canute in Ultimation tools   
    Might this tool help with getting a uniform thickness?
    https://bridgecitytools.com/products/hp-8-mini-block-plane
  20. Like
    Jaager got a reaction from tlevine in Warship identified off Florida coast 3 centuries after it sank   
    The War of Jenkins Ear.
    The bureaucracy managing this war for England were incompetent amateurs.
     
    Really a lazy effort on the part of the scribbler.  Obviously zero understanding.
     
    HMS Tiger 1722  was old and obsolete - it was actually a pre 1719 Establishments design.
    Definitely NOT a frigate.  In that era, even a 40 gun would not have been a frigate.  With two full gun decks, they were slow slugs that were definitely top heavy. Often not able to use the guns on their main gun deck, because much wave action would flood thru the open ports.
  21. Like
    Jaager got a reaction from Gregory in Warship identified off Florida coast 3 centuries after it sank   
    The War of Jenkins Ear.
    The bureaucracy managing this war for England were incompetent amateurs.
     
    Really a lazy effort on the part of the scribbler.  Obviously zero understanding.
     
    HMS Tiger 1722  was old and obsolete - it was actually a pre 1719 Establishments design.
    Definitely NOT a frigate.  In that era, even a 40 gun would not have been a frigate.  With two full gun decks, they were slow slugs that were definitely top heavy. Often not able to use the guns on their main gun deck, because much wave action would flood thru the open ports.
  22. Like
    Jaager got a reaction from mtaylor in Warship identified off Florida coast 3 centuries after it sank   
    The War of Jenkins Ear.
    The bureaucracy managing this war for England were incompetent amateurs.
     
    Really a lazy effort on the part of the scribbler.  Obviously zero understanding.
     
    HMS Tiger 1722  was old and obsolete - it was actually a pre 1719 Establishments design.
    Definitely NOT a frigate.  In that era, even a 40 gun would not have been a frigate.  With two full gun decks, they were slow slugs that were definitely top heavy. Often not able to use the guns on their main gun deck, because much wave action would flood thru the open ports.
  23. Like
    Jaager got a reaction from Rik Thistle in Ultimation tools   
    Might this tool help with getting a uniform thickness?
    https://bridgecitytools.com/products/hp-8-mini-block-plane
  24. Like
    Jaager got a reaction from mtaylor in Ultimation tools   
    Might this tool help with getting a uniform thickness?
    https://bridgecitytools.com/products/hp-8-mini-block-plane
  25. Like
    Jaager got a reaction from Canute in Unknown Table Saw   
    It is a Jarmac.   The ID label has been removed.  It was made in a one-man shop in Springfield, IL.  When the owner died,  his shop died with him.
    It filled the small table saw niche during the time between the loss of the Unimat with its saw attachment and the JIM saw.  The motor is probably a repurposed sewing machine motor - no power.  It sorta worked with stock that was essentially veneer thickness. 
    The fence was a welded bar - low - no adjustment.  Simple miter gauge.  Two tracks -  so a home made sliding table worked for it.
    If you make a sliding table - about a full afternoon's time expense -  it will be machine that fills the crosscut function that the recent chopper saw thread was all about.
    Note that the blade is a slotting blade - too many teeth for anything more than thick veneer.
    The companies that made reasonably priced blades that fit - Thurston and Martindale - no longer do.
     
    I think that there was a similarly T-ball league disc sander in the Jarmac line. Not really good, frustrating, but better than nothing if it was the only thing available.
     
    In my imagination, I can see this machine as a negative example for Jim. 
×
×
  • Create New...