Richard Griffith

Hi Bob, I am surprised by the comments regarding Vasa, Vol2. My understanding is Mr. Fred Hocker of the Vasa Museum in Stockholm is leading the charge, working with the printers and getting it ready for publication. Has Fred contacted you for help? Duff

Hi Greg, mesmerizing, just awesome. Sign me up for the additional photos when ready. I have started the Vulture (hi Dan) and these will help me along. Happy holidays~! Duff

Welcome aboard Steve TheMad~! I see you are also an early riser or a late lurker............ Models of metal ships are relatively rare and the skill set is different as you know. Nevertheless, you will find excellent histories, techniques and advice on this forum, and many very helpful modelers. No questions go unanswered. I would also like to see a couple of pix of your recent work, and a progress report of your Viking long boat. Duff

Well Mike, it all depends. Some of the woods we use are toxic such as ebony, beech, mahogany, obeche, cocobolo and MDF - medium density fiberboard. There are many more but these typically show up on this forum. Some people develop allergies to non toxic woods, which are now toxic to them. Be cautious with walnut, beech and pine. All wood with fungus are toxic, such a spalted maple and wood not seasoned properly which shows as blue mold. (MDF is a bonded wood material.) If you are allergic to aspirin, then avoid willow and birch. So the short answer is YES, we should collect all dust. And Mike, I am impressed that can make decent models in your small work space! BTW, your city is most beautiful and vibrant; I'd like to visit again sometime. Duff

Hey Bigcreekdad, you may have developed a mild case of asthma. I am your age and to my big surprise, a recent lung function test indicated mild asthma!!! I suspect breathing wood dust caused this as I do not smoke. I have been working wood for over 60 years so that is a lot of accumulation. One of my brothers also works wood and has developed an allergy to mahogany. And some of the woods we modelers use is toxic. Dust masks do not work for me, and I do not like the dust covering everything plus getting into the house, so collection is a must. Dust bad, collection good. I also use a dust collector and vacuums in my shop. The vacuum is hooked to the machines as I use them. Since the collector and vacuums can not capture all the dust, especially from the top of the 10" table saw blade, I am considering an air filter to hang from the ceiling. Heavy hand and portable belt sanding is done outside, even during the winter here in Connecticut, USA. Light sanding at the bench is OK, but I often use a small fan on the right side of the bench to blow the dust away from me (I am right dominate). Some modelers have a vacuum system on their bench but I tried that and found it in my way too often. There are extensive discussions on this forum regarding dust control and wood toxicity; just type your topic into the search box. Duff

Mike is right, make your own. It is easy. The following is for smaller dowels, generally 1/4" and smaller. First make a draw plate by drilling a series of holes in a 1/8" piece of flat steel down to the size you need. Use all of you drill bits sizes. After drilling all your holes, rub the steel with a wet stone (with or without oil) so the edges of the holes are sharp. No need for tempering or hardening the steel. Next saw your wood to a square slightly larger than the needed diameter (measured flat to flat). The larger holes will knock off the corners (or you can plane off the corners). Sharpen the end of the wood so it fits through the holes. Pull the wood with pliers through all the holes until your required diameter. You will need to use all the holes due to the pressures involved and the fragile nature of wood. Duff

Since you have room for only one machine, then go for a high quality scroll saw. Hegner and Hawk make excellent machines and there may be others too. Duff

Thank you Kurt, Russ and Michael for the clear outlines. I have to try the Nokorode idea........ Stay Brite is also my first choice when I need a very strong join, such as rings and mast caps, and for certain types of clamps that I make. Tix is another good choice (from Micro Mark and others) that melts at an even lower temperature, favored by jewelry makers. It has its own flux too. Soft soldering is useful for large joins and for filling or adding large radii but is problematic for coloring and in cleaning the join, as stated above. Mr. K. C. Foran gives an excellent outline of his soldering techniques in his book "Model Building with Brass" ISBN9780764340048. His models are top of the food chain. The one critical rule is cleanliness. Then practice, and practice some more. Keep building and above all, have fun Duff

A big shout out to both you and David for your contributions, support and just good friends~!!! Now, I just have to get my Swan class model 'Vulture' restarted. I will now that my close friend Peter is starting his. Thank and keep us posted on your endeavors. Duff in Middletown, CT

Wefalk is correct - do NOT use a router bit in a drill press as it will pull the chuck out and hurt you and the work. Standard drill presses have a Morse taper in their quills and cannot withstand the side loads. If your drill press has a draw bar to hold the taper and the chuck is threaded to the taper, then you can rout and mill with the machine. Otherwise, look for a milling machine and stay safe. Duff

Hey Mike, according to Biddlecomb, both are similar except thimbles are generally made of iron and bulls eyes of wood. Falconer concurs. Duff

oooh WOW..... I'm questioning my skill level... Lot's more to learn, better get into the shop... Merci beaucoup Nek0. Duff

Richvee, ratlines were 1.5 inch rope so for your model, that would be .023 inch thread (1.5/64). Something close to that size will work, just visualize what looks about right. Keep building and above all. have fun! Duff

The Roth, Petersson and zu Monfeld books are good basic books but contain errors and anachronisms. If you are seeking accuracy, then double check other sources to coroborate the information. The Reed, Longridge, Lavery and Frohlich books are excellent but don't get discouraged by their fantastic models; those models are in the 'master class'. Dressel, Shop Notes, Davis and Mastini are very useful and will give you an excellent start. You won't need the Biddlecomb book unless you like reading lists of rope sizes for various classes of ships (I have a copy and rarely use it. It is a very good reference for checking rope sizes for the larger models some of us build). Start with a handful and go from there. As you read, you will develop a direction, a desire, which will point you toward the next few books. You can quickly lighten your wallet on books but there are many excellent books to have and very good ones are being published by Seawatch, Ancre and others. BTW, be careful about the AOS books - it seems our Chinese brothers have decided to pirate those too. Duff

This book is a real treasure. I might also suggest that his earlier book, "Reconditioning an 18th Century Ship Model Valkenisse Retourrschip of 1717" is even better. It contains a mountain of useful information on his techniques, materials and photo documentation of his work on this valuable model. BTW, the model is in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA. Duff

Hey Sal. I can loan you a German dictionary. Let me know...............Duff

Now it makes sense, Dan. Unfortunately I do not own the 'Naval Architecture' book. Hopefully, you will find the image. Mast makers were the highest paid builders in the shipyard, just look at how complicated made masts were. It would be interesting to see a model of a lower mast but with so many other worthwhile projects to do, who would have the time to make one? Keep building and above all, have fun. Duff

Looking good Sal~! Glad you are feeling better. Duff

The issue of what constitutes the Steel reprints is confusing and complicated. In Nautical Research Journal Vol 52 #4, pages 213 to 220 is an article by Loyd M. Mahoney that makes a very extensive comparison. It has too many comments and cannot be easily taken out of context. The caveat is to use primary sources as much as possible, but good reprints cost far less and if carefully reprinted are valuable to us for the information. Regard plate 39, I have it in my reprint (Ed. W. Sweetman, reprinted 1983 from the 1932 edition) of the 1974 original. This was 'arranged, with an introduction, by Claude S. Gill'. Plate 39 shows images of 5 sails - jib, mizzen, fore, main, and foresail. (The fore and main are sprit sails.) The obverse shows plate 38 with 6 sails - sky scrapers, settee, lateen, sliding gunter, shoulder of mutton and lug sail. Here are digital photos of the 2 plates - the first is 38, the second is 39. The quality is fair as the book images are fair. Hope this helps. Duff

John is spot on regarding the sizes. For more information, see RC Anderson's "Seventeenth Century Rigging" - preferred - or "The Rigging of Ships in the Days of the Spritsail Topmast". Anderson is considered the best for this period. He focuses on British practices but does include references to Dutch, French and Spanish variations. Since King Adolphus hired Dutch shipwrights to build the Wasa (Vasa), Dutch references are relevant. However, the best reference for rigging sizes is James Lees' "The Masting and Rigging of English Ships of War 1625-1860. Even though he focuses on English practice, his tables are relevant to other navies. (All bets were off when iron and steel cables were introduced.) So, what are the sizes of the stays in Wasa? Per Lees, the circumferences are 1/2 the diameter of the lower masts. The shrouds, fore and main, are 0.6 of the appropriate stay and the mizzen is 0.8, and so on. For modelling purposes, once I have the main stay size, I then eyeball the other lines. As one goes up the masts, the lines become smaller. I too have used Ulises' burn method but I destroyed a bunch of line (one must keep the line moving). Instead, I now wax the line per usual and then move it over a 60 watt bulb to melt the wax and burn off the fuzz. I visited Wasa 4 years ago and discovered that her shrouds were all brown - not black. Hope this helps and best regards on your build~! Duff

This forum is a real gem, and much appreciated-thank you Chuck. And thanks also to all who contribute~! Ah, the time machine - that would be a real thrill~! We may not be able to bend time that way so I am holding out for a star gate. I just hope my electrons get reassembled in the original arrangement.........Duff

Druxey, no apologies needed and no umbrage felt on my part. These discussions are fascinating and informative. You are quite right about the bow timbers, cants, planking (and breast hooks and stemsons too). And Pat has documentation that is solid evidence for that ship. (I wonder where the fore and aft tapers started). This is leading me to think that there were variations depending on the country, time period and class of ship. Without solid evidence (like the contract), we then must make educated guesses. These can be comparisons to other ships by the same builder for the same class of ship, comparisons to other ships in that class for the same country. It gets very iffy beyond that but then we would not be having this discussion. All the best. Duff

Jean Boudriot (JB) in his 4 volume tome shows the wales at full thickness at the stem, V1 pages 123, 149 and Plate IV after page 133. Harold Hahn (HH) shows a full thickness wale on his plans for HMS Roebuck. (Longridge and Goodwin are unclear.) Since the bow had to sustain heavy pounding in a seaway, maximum strength was needed so I think the wales were full thickness right up to the stem. The ship builders were very clever and knowledgeable so they would know how to fit such wales at the bow (and stern). For us folks, we are trying to relearn and understand what and how they built these beautiful ships. So, these discussions are most valuable in furthering our education. Perhaps others can shed more light on this subject. Duff

Regarding the guns, the technology of the Wasa period was such that the recoil was less violent than in later periods. The metallurgy was improving but the guns could not be overloaded without risking rupture. The gunpowder recipes were also improving but were still slow burning by later standards. and therefor less explosive. Thus full recoil room was not always provided. So how did they reload if the muzzle could not be brought inboard? The loader had to sit astride the barrel outside the hull! This obviously exposed him to enemy fire, especially when within musket range and all the combatants knew this, so boarding was still much favored. The English in 1588 knew they could not possibly defeat the Spanish by boarding so their tactics were to use their great guns at a distance. The Spanish had great guns too but their ships were slower. Fire ships and horrible weather completed the defeat. As ship design improved, adequate recoil room was provided and reloading could all be completed inboard. Duff

Hi Frankie, I think the the issue is not so much those injuries associated with our hobby but the fact that some of the chemicals we use are dangerous. The same goes for household chemicals (draino and bleach come to mine). I agree that we adults do not drink these materials, but poisoning also happens through our skin and lungs. When I am using solvents and thinners in my model shop, I wear appropriate gloves. When I use toluene, zylene, nitro cellulose, MEK and others, I also go outside. As a woodworker, I am conscious of the danger of wood dust, especially from toxic woods such as ebony. If a person has developed a sensitivity to certain dusts, then that dust is toxic to that person. For example, I am not sensitive to mahogany dust, but one of my brothers is (too much exposure over a long period). Dermatitis, skin inflammation, conjunctivitis, and other respiratory diseases may result. Therefore, using latex gloves. dust masks, dust collection systems etal makes sense. And because of the toxic dust of certain woods, I prefer to avoid them. The only 'documented' case of a model ship injury other than cuts that I know is Portia Takakjian who passed away from respiratory failure. Yes, she was a smoker but she also sanded toxic woods without a dust mask. This is most unfortunate as she was a teacher of model ship building, a publisher and a major inspiration for many people, including me. Take care, keep building and above all, have fun. Duff