Richard Griffith

Good morning G, thanks for the info.

I use straight white vinegar, but will try a little peroxide next time.  As a follow on experinent, will add a pinch of salt.  

Happy modelling.

Duff

Thanks Dave and Geoff~!

Since I have pipe cleaners on hand, I will try them first.

I think I will remove the wire and see if the hairs can be applied to the line without scattering the hairs all over the shop.

Duff

HI Frankie, lots of good suggestions above.

For newbies, a decent inexpensive airbrush, a tankless compressor with a water trap and quality paints is a good start.  An exhaust hood is also very important unless you plan to damage your lungs.  

I have had excellent results with an Aztec AB, a compressor with trap from Harbor Freight $65 and Tamiya acrylics and Humbrol oils.  Tamiya can be thinned with water, alcohol and laquer.  Tamiya , Humbrol and Model Master paints must be thinned for AB use, usually 50/50 or 60/40 paint thinner.

BTW, I made sails for a 1/100 model of Soleil Royale and needed to paint them.  Since I used 2 layers of paper with thinned white glue, I had to use alcohol thinner and thinned the mixture 90%.  So thinning is taylored to the job.

I usually shoot with 15 to 25 pounds air, and I built a hood with an old squirral cage motor thru a 4" dryer hose out the window.  I may modify it to use a 6" hose as spraying too fast overloads the smaller hose, especially when using rattle cans.  BTW, I like rattle cans because there is no AB clean up.

The Aztec is single action so is easy to use.  I also use double action ABs when the job requires but these require more practice to get the right results.

Practice, practice and more,  Cleaning the AB is essential.   Suggest you buy a 'how-to' booklet.

Good luck.                         Duff

Thanks Geof, I will look around.

 In the USA, we seldom use term haberdashers, we use men's clothier........same but different language.

All the best.                        Duff

Hello everyone, first, best wishes for your holiday season!

How do we make baggiwinkles for a model?  

Eric Ronnberg, Jr figured out an excellent method as evidence on his fishing schooners at Mystic Seaport.  I checked my reference library and seached this forum to no avail,  My scales are 3/16 and 1/4, fishing schooners.  Thanks.

Duff

Hi Dave, after you slice the boxwood into slabs, let it sit for several months in you shop so the wood 'stabilizes' to the moisture level in your shop,  

Also, some of your thicker pieces might need a few more months to air dry.

Duff

Brian, the Boudriot series of books on the French 74 is VERY useful and indispensable in building a 74 for the 1751 period.  I use these anytime I build an 18th C French warship (I am currently building one of 1785).  These were also very useful for my Soleil Royal of 1689.

i too am interested in buying some books when you are ready.

Duff

HI Richard, I have a small chunk and have used it to make a capstan-the drum heads.  Other comments above are accurate. plus it is brittle.  Personally, I would not use it top plank a bottom but the Confederacy above makes me think again.  Still, I would use other woods for planking.................

Duff

Hi, Frank, your planking is looking very good.  And the larger scale is interesting; it will allow you to put as much detail into her as you wish to.

Duff

Ulises, your carving skills are superb and way above mine, which leads me to comment on this walnut selection.  Walnut has an open grain which detracts from the model appearance, especially in the smaller scales.  Even in the quarter inch scale, this open grain can still look poor.  Many modelers have used this walnut to good affect however, but if you want your carvings to have a home on a first class hull, I recommend you use a better species of wood, one that has a closed grain. 

If you are not adding your own carvings to this build, then Bill's advice above is sound.  You are the artist so you decide what looks best.

Duff

because I use my 10" Atlas lathe for nearly all my small and larger turning.  (I hit the send button too soon).               Duff

Hi Frank, your question on lathes is easily asked, but difficult to answer.

It depends on the type of work you intend to do.  If the primary need is to taper spars, then you already have the DP and the technique, so you do not need a lathe for these.  If you intend to cut metal, such as cannons, bushes, mandrels, and other parts for engines or iron work, then a Sherline or Taig will do well.   The older Unimats (I think the /db models) are good, and available on ebay.  Do not get the newer ones as they have too much plastic and, I am advised, do not hold the tolerances very well.  I had the older Unimat for many years but sold it because I

One thing to keep in mind: no matter how big the machine, it seems to always be too small for some jobs.   So we make do, we improvise, hire out. 

Good luck, and above all, have fun.                                                           Duff

Very nice work on the Wasa (Vasa)~! 

Your shop looks good, and since it works for you, then it is great.

I visited Vasa in Stockholm last year-awe inspiring.  After that, and reviewing your build log, I think it is time for me to build one.

Duff

Thank you Dannyy for this amazing build log - it is very inspiring~!  And I hope you stay healthy.

Duff

E&T, thank you for the excellent trial and publishing your results.  I have used Blacken-It with decent results but clearly need to modify my methods to align with yours.

IN the meantime, I tried the etchants offer\ed by Blue Jacket.  Their chemicals are fast and easy to use.  I am a happy customer, not a salesman. 

Duff

Looking ship ship shape and Bristol fashion, Ian. 

Duff

hi Ian, according to John McKay, in his AOS book 'The Armed Transport Bounty', ISBN 087021280x, there were no racks on the weather deck, at least my scanning of his book found none.  This makes sense as the Bounty was not a warship.  Hope this helps.     Duff

I like polyurethane - be sure to thin it.  I use semi gloss and thin it 40 to 50%.

Duff

Richard and others, it sounds like the blade is heating up and warping before you get to the end of your cut.  When this happens, you will get burning and binding.  It is not the table saw per se, unless the table top is misaligned or your fence is bent.

Some items to do:

1. put in a blade with fewer teeth or with larger gullets

2. use a blade with more set (teeth that are wider than the blade)

3. slow down the rate at which you push the wood thru the blade. 

If you still get binding, stop the cut and let the blade cool down. 

Pushing the rear of the fence a couple of thousands away from the blade is an excellent idea in nearly all cases. 

Remember, the thinner the wood, the more teeth you should use.

Hope this helps, let us know how you make out.                                          Duff

For additional commentary, you might want to consult James Lees' book "The Masting and Rigging of English Ships of War", page 42.

Duff

Hi Ken, there are many ways to get the shape, and the least expensive is the sand paper and electric drill method.  You can get the proper shape without a lathe. 

The lathe is another method but requires different techniques and some experience.  If you go this route, do some practice to get the feel.  You will also likely use sand paper. 

Have fun.                                       Duff

Druxey is correct, either choice makes excellent spars.  Castella is calycoohyllum multiforum and lemonwood is c. candidisstimum and both have similar working properties. (BTW, I have to look up these Latin names which is important because trade names often overlap and confuse us.)

So the question is where to get them.  There is a topic on this forum called 'where to buy wood', and check out Gilmer Wood Company for Castella, often spelled Castello. I did not locate lemon wood yet, perhaps someone knows where to get this. 

Good luck with your project and have fun~!

Duff

Another excellent choice is Costello which looks and acts like boxwood but is less expensive,  It takes stain well so you can get the color you want.  Costello is from South America, mostly from Paraguay.

Duff

In addition to the above posts, I use my full sized band saw and 10" table saw.  Use blades with lots of teeth for the thin parts and blades with fewer teeth for stock like 3/16" and 1/4". 

Be sure to wear safety glasses and hearing protection.  I also wear work gloves for this procedure. 

And be sure to clamp the stock to a sacrifice board or to a holder of some sort.  You do not want a kick back with metal parts so use all normal safety procedures for these machines. 

Hi Guys, I just used some blacken it by Blue Jacket Shipcrafters on some britannia dead eyes and it worked GREAT.  It gives a pleasing black matte finish. 

I ordered another bottle yesterday.

Duff