Bill Tuttle

I like the hold down fixture and need to build one of those for my saw.  The splitter is also very nice and simple to make, very easy to make a few of those with different sizes to accommodate different thickness blades.  Thanks for the post, Jay.

Jack,

This is a pretty little boat with great lines.  I built one some years ago.  It was by first scratch project so I traveled all over the Eastern Shore taking pictures of the Skipjacks still working.  This was in the late 70's.  I think at that time there were 18 still working.  I could not find good plans for the Winder at the time so left that for later and never finished it.  Got to get back on that sometime soon.  Nice job, good luck, and let me know if I can be of any help.  I bought a lot of books and took a lot of pictures during as well as after I finished mine.  This may have been mentioned in an earlier post and if so I apologize but Ben Lankfords book WaterCraft  A Modeler's Handbook had a lot of valuable information in it.

I have a small Sakura I bought used some years back.  This is the saw that was mentioned by Romero in his Warrior Practicum I believe.  It is belt driven but the little saw I have does not have as low a speed as the larger model, therefore you can not slow it down enough to cut brass.  They are sold now under the PS Wood name.  http://www.pswood.com/scroll-saws/ If I had it to do over again I would opt for the large model.

Like mentioned previously, I still prefer the band saw for most cutting even though my band saw is a large Laguna.

WaltB,

What a great website, thanks so much for posting.  Will give these boys an order.

Goodness, that is a very expensive piece of machinery.  I have used the Dewalt 735 for sometime and prior to that had a Dewalt 734 that was less that $400.00 and would plane, using a sled, down to 1/8 of an inch.  You would also have a piece of equipment that would help mill your own lumber for scratch building or larger projects later. You can remove a lot of stock with these but as you would expect they create a lot of shavings. I couldn't get by without mine.  

wefalck,

WOW great website and excellent instructions as usual, will put this on my growing list of things to do.  I appreciate your help.

I would second Nick's suggestion on the Dremel as a used one can be bought for next to nothing on E-Bay.  When I built my first model I had practically nothing in tools and tried to get by without small drill bits and other items and my first kit illustrates this.  You are heading in the right direction and there is some excellent advice in the replies to this thread.  I have a load of junk that I have never used because it looked like a good idea at the time but have never been sorry for the quality tools I bought that I found I needed after beginning the construction.

Good luck!!

J,

Checked it last night and it was 6/0 surgical thread.  I have had it for years but think it came from a surgical supply company.  If I remember correctly I think they refused to sell to me if I was not a doctor.  In my old business life 90% of my work was with doctors so I could always get them to order for me rather than lie about my medical affiliation.  Let me know if you can't find it and I will search back for my source and make arrangements to get us some more.  That may be one of those items that can be obtained from the fly tying suppliers too.

Wefalck,

Great idea and nice picture.  Think I should get to work on one of these.  What is the diameter of the disc?  Just trying to bring the size into perspective.  Also really like your new guided sanding block.

I have always used a very fine black silk surgical thread.  Large enough to be seen but not overly bulky.  Wish I had some here so I could quote the size.  All of it is in my shop at another house.  

I have dealt with Little Machine Shop for years.  They have responded to any problem I have experienced with their equipment , quickly and satisfactorily.  I have only ordered accessories for my Mini Lathe or Mini Mill.  I have been very happy with these for larger work, which I can not handle in my Sherline , Unimat 3 or Taig.  The accuracy is a little less though.

 I also have an Atlas 6 inch, which is a smaller model of the one described above by Bob.  I applaud his comments regarding size.  You can do small work on a larger lathe but not large work on a small one.  Having said this, I do find it more comfortable sometimes to set up something on a smaller lathe if it is available.  I am an old guy who has been building models for years so I have accumulated more tools than I really need but this has proven to be a luxury often.  The old Atlas lathes are good lathes for model work and are often available at reasonable prices.  E-Bay always seems to command a greater price so watch the Craig's list for something in your area and you may find a better deal.  It is always better to find a package deal with a lot of accessories as they are difficult to find when you need them and command higher prices.  I still use my Unimat 3 but admit that I purchased it new when it was only a couple hundred dollars.  The Atlas attachments were also much cheaper years ago when Atlas was producing the lathes and accessories.  They have been steadily rising too.  Good Luck with your search, I hope you find something nice.

Wow!!  Beautiful work.  Nice pictures and instructions.

There is a great article in this months issue of Ships-in -Scale on electroplating nickel over brass.  Caswell Plating sells some very inexpensive kits for this.  I have experimented with it some but not a lot since I am not at a point with my current model where I need it.  

If you are not afraid to put a little money in it the Knew Concepts Fret saw in one of the best.  I own three of these in different sizes.  They have received rave reviews from a number of magazines and have a boatload of videos on their website giving instructions on choosing one as well as use and adjustments.  Check them out, I have no affiliation with them other than as a satisfied user.

http://www.knewconcepts.com/

Linen can also be found on E-Bay under the name many times of Cuttyhunk or fishing line.  That is usually much larger though but a cleaner form of linen.  I have searched high and low for nice linen without nubs and have been unable to find it in the last ten years of so.  I have reluctantly gone to DMC Cordonnet cotton thread and found it to work nicely in my rope machine.  Good luck!

Check the local sewing stores and you will find a number of items made for thread pulling that are very helpful.

Looks like a great solution for extra storage which I need desperately.  Will check this out, thanks for posting.

I have to agree with Clare.  There is too much work involved rigging the ship to use a rope that is less than satisfactory.  The cost is insignificant when the work involved enters the equation.  Chuck's rope is beautiful as are his blocks.  Spend a few extra bucks and you will never be sorry.  The rope machine is an easily constructed item and a lot of fun to use.  I built mine about 10 years ago and don't know how I ever got by without it.

Good Luck and I hope the arthritis lets up.  I have the same problem with that.

Wefalck,

Beautiful work and well described with photos and videos.

Thanks,

Bill

Another option, which I don't think was mentioned in this thread, is the Sakura scroll saw, now I believe sold under the P & S Woods name.  These are sometimes found on E-Bay and excellent saws for the money.

I do however agree with previous posts recommending a band saw for this task.  I use a 14 inch Laguna Band Saw myself, but have the small Sakura when a scroll saw is needed.

Bill

All of these posts are great options, I use the Byrnes sander but have been through many others over the years.  Jarmac, I think , was the maker and produced a moderately priced fairly accurate disc sander.  I just checked E-bay and there is one available now.  

http://www.ebay.com/itm/4-Inch-Hobby-Disc-Sander-MicroMark-/231857281681?hash=item35fbc55a91:g:AIsAAOSwll1Wz6x-

Just another option.

Good Luck,

Bill

I have found like many others posting to this question that these multi purpose machines never do any one thing good but are a compromise striving for the ability to perform so many different operations.  I used the Unimat 3 when it first came out and it was very good at a combination of tasks but you still have to reset it for each different function.  As your hobby moves forward you will wish you had purchased the independent machines.  Very much the same as buying smaller tools when you can purchase a larger one for a few dollars more.  Most model work can be done by hand if funds are an issue and my recommendation would be to research the tool before buying and then make the decision buying the best you can afford, one at a time if necessary.  I can't remember how many small saws I purchased before the Byrnes saw was offered which is the best ever, almost comparable to my SawStop that I use for large work.

Good luck,

Bill

Gaetan,

I have used gel stain with pretty decent success as well as shellac as a sanding sealer but just never quite happy on cherry.  Minwax make a wood conditioner that helps on some of these woods also.

Bill

Cherry is very nice to work with and easily obtainable in my area.  (VA)  I will warn against one problem with it, do not try to stain it.  It will darken in sunlight within 12 hours or so to a nice color, but it is famous for splotchy staining, although a dye stain will offset some of these problems.  I built a large ship model case out of cherry and learned my lessons the hard way about the staining.  Nice wood to work, fairly inexpensive and readily available.

Bill

I have used Hide glue off and on for years dissolving the flakes and warming it in a cheap baby bottle warmer.  I, like Jaager, discovered the Franklin brand a few years ago and the shelf life is incredible.  Great product.  I have heard of the "Old Brown Glue" and I think it was discussed on the Fine Woodworking podcast in one of their episodes recently.  As I remember they had high regard for the product.