Bill Tuttle

I'd suggest you find somebody who has a number of them and try them out. It's really a personal preference thing, like buying a fountain pen.  I wouldn't buy anything but the best in any event. It's not an item to try to save money on unless you are really short on cash. There are two types, single action and double action. I prefer the double action myself. It permits regulating both the air and the paint by the use of a single button. This permits more control over the flow, That said, many modelers are quite happy with a single action airbrush. I use a Paasch I've had for decades. Keep them meticulously clean and mix your paint properly and you should have no problems. Don't clean them and you'll soon have an airbrush you can't do anything with. I'd shop around. The MicroMark catalog has a selection, but you may find the same model for less in one of the big art supply online catalogs.
 
Noise isn't a function of the airbrush, but of the compressor. If you have a shop compressor and want to avoid the noise, get a separate five gallon air tank (Harbor Freight has them for about $25 and always has 20% off coupons on line and in their catalogs.) Put a pressure regulator and shut-off valve on the tank. You can then fill the tank in the shop in a few minutes, and then turn off the compressor and work off the air stored in the tank in complete silence. Alternately, you can buy one of the small compressors made specifically for airbrushing. Most are pretty quiet.  (Harbor Freight has those, too. HF will take anything back and exchange for another if you have the receipt, which is prudent if you buy anything from them that has any moving parts. Seriously.) Their quality is usually not the best, but if you know what you are buying and have a store nearby than makes returns less of a hassle, you can often get something decent from them, although it make take a couple of tries.  
 
Forget about the aerosol cans sold for use with airbrushes. You'll go broke buying them. A small airbrush compressor will pay for itself quickly, compared to the "canned air."

Welcome Rich,
 
Another great book that I used to construct small boats for a whaling ship is 
To Build a Whaleboat: Historical Notes and a Modelmaker's Guide Hardcover by Erik Ronnberg.  I think this is available on Amazon for less than $15.00,
This is an excellent book by an excellent modelmaker.
Good Luck!  

Welcome Rich,
 
Another great book that I used to construct small boats for a whaling ship is 
To Build a Whaleboat: Historical Notes and a Modelmaker's Guide Hardcover by Erik Ronnberg.  I think this is available on Amazon for less than $15.00,
This is an excellent book by an excellent modelmaker.
Good Luck!  

@michael mott
Hello Micheal,
today I took a picture of the spool traveler.
This runs on the lower axis.
I hope that your question has been answered.


@Dziadeczek
Hello Dziadeczek,
in fact, the spool traveler rests on the axis.
In the following picture you can see how I worming the rope.
This works very well with the serving machine.

Hmm - that's interesting, Ron.  I looked back at all of the photos I have of Kathryn and didn't find any furled sails that look like that.
 
Here's a photo that was taken during the HAER survey during the 1990's:

Here are a couple I took in 2015, right after her rebuild:
 


And here are a couple I took in 2017 during my last visit to Kathryn:
 


Also, I took a quick look through the book "Working Skipjacks of Deal Island" - all of the skipjacks shown in the hundreds of photos are operating under power from the yawl boats, so they all had furled sails (or no sails in one instance) and none showed the arrangement you're referring to.
 
So, I'll be leaving things the way they are.
 
Thanks.
 
 
 

I will chime in with more positive comments on the Treenail cutter.  I bought mine years ago and still use it.  Checked their website again to see if replacement cutters were available and noticed they have discontinued the cutter and only limited replacement parts are available.  As mentioned above it jams up and is difficult sometimes to clear but a quality product.  When cutting treenails with it I find that boxwood is the best wood.
 
In summary, I would not hesitate to purchase any of their products.
 

Chuck,
 
I am certainly pleased to hear this.  I have been using Thruston blades for over 25 years now.  Will check out the Malco source right now.  Thanks for the update.

I will chime in with more positive comments on the Treenail cutter.  I bought mine years ago and still use it.  Checked their website again to see if replacement cutters were available and noticed they have discontinued the cutter and only limited replacement parts are available.  As mentioned above it jams up and is difficult sometimes to clear but a quality product.  When cutting treenails with it I find that boxwood is the best wood.
 
In summary, I would not hesitate to purchase any of their products.
 

Chuck,
 
I am certainly pleased to hear this.  I have been using Thruston blades for over 25 years now.  Will check out the Malco source right now.  Thanks for the update.

Starch-glue, in Europe based on wheat, rather than rice, once was commonly used in all sorts of paper-craft and book-binding. As druxey noted, it is still used in book restoration and other kind of paper restoration, as the joints are reversible by soaking.
 
The inconvenience in its use is that it needs to be freshly prepared, as it will go mouldy after a couple of days or so, depending on the environment. Also, the items glued have to be kept dry, not only because of a possible failure of the joint, but to prevent them from becoming mouldy. There are starch-based glues on the market, that have fungicides in the formula.
 
As a note: the parboiled rice that is very popular with housewives wouldn't work very well for preparing the paste, as the starch that makes the grains stick together has been washed off.
 
I don't think there would be much use for starch-glue in ship modelling. We tend to rely too much on the glue for keeping pieces together, without any mechanical interlocking. Also, the glued surfaces are too small for the size of the pieces and the possible force on the joint. Starch-glue works well for any kind of laminating work, e.g. paper on wood or cardboard, where the glued surface is large compared to the size of the parts. Once could use it also for dowelling work, to prevent dowels from falling out of holes.
 
 

Malco saw has some great stuff.  I have used them before. And i have used Thurston but honesyly, over the last year or so I have been very unhappy with tThurston blades.  The last two orders i got from thurston forced me to leave and try Malco.
 
The Thurston blades were so dull I figured they were used and not resharpened properly.
 
In contrast, the blades from Malco were razor sharp and cut even boxwood like butter.  I am a convert and very very happy with Malco blades.  Wish I had switched years ago.

Many thanks to No Idea for posting the link to the ebay auction. I was the only bidder and am now the proud owner of a Byrnes saw for the starting price of £450. Or at least I will be when I pick it up - just a 140 mile round trip sometime in the next few days. 
 
My old Preac saw still works, but it's no longer in production and I find it very hard to source replacement blades in the UK. I've been hankering (lusting!) after a Byrnes for ages but have always been put off by the shipping and import costs. They were horrendous for the Preac many years ago, and I hate to think what they would be now, so I was delighted to see one listed locally. I can't wait to get working with it, and am going to start by re-reading all the tips and advice on the forum. 
 
There were a couple of bidders for the thickness/sander which went for £280.01 - slightly more than the opening price but still reasonable. That auction ended an hour or so before the saw auction, so I was anticipating at least as much interest for the latter and was bracing myself and my wallet for a potential bidding war . So I was pleasantly surprised when I put in the only offer. Perhaps all my fellow UK modellers already have Byrnes saws!
 
Off to bed now, very happy 😁
 
Derek

Lest we forget, great pictures.
 
The horrors and atrocities of WWII cannot be forgotten we have despots right now preaching nationalism worldwide even in this country.
Don't say it can't happen again. Look what the little corporal with the funny mustache did in Germany.
Should be a required course in school.
 
Again Vega great pictures Tom Brokaw called them the greatest generation. Thanks to all who served in all conflicts to protect this country, our freedom and defend our Constitution.

Well, then a rough estimate of the real block dimensions would be 4 mm long, 3 mm wide, and only about 2 mm thick. This means that the sheave should have a diameter of 2.5 to 3 mm and be only about 0.8 mm thick.
 
There are very fine round files in jewellers' supply shops, but they are pricey and difficult to get.
 
I think, if you are plan to stay in that business, the best thing would be to convert the electric into a simple lathe with hand-rest, using the horizontal stand as a starting point. There should be some examples for this on the Internet, or even here on the forum. For turning the grooves you then can use the back of a drill, ground to an angle, like a chisel and held in a pin-vice.
 
I know you Americans have a somewhat strained relationship with China these days, but the Chinese are selling on ebay very primitive miniature wood-turning lathes:

(Example from ebay offer https://www.ebay.com/itm/Basic-Edition-Micro-Lathe-Beading-Machine-Woodworking-Tool-Set-DC12-24V/153089968149?epid=9021229608&hash=item23a4df8815:g:5HkAAOSw~SNbQIdu)
 
You can buy one for around 40 USD or use its design ideas for setting up your electric drill.
 
I think, over here in Europe one can actually buy such sheaves from model supply houses. Not sure, though, as I would turn them out on my own lathe.
 

Excellent advice from Chris, Never use CA on rigging anywhere except to treat the end of your rigging to stiffen it when you thread it through a block or other small hole.  I built kits years ago using CA and it has since crumbled or destroyed many of the knots where I employed it.  In those past years, it was recommended by many but it hadn't been time tested.  Diluted PVA glue is perfect for the job and the clove hitches are very easy to do.

I'm with you...

Here is my solution for adding direct readout to my Unimat 3's ... but the same idea can be applied to other miniature lathes ...
 
 

Regarding my secondary issue described above where the motor slows down and the width of the cut increases, I have made a zero clearance plate with splitter out of cherry wood. The problem has improved but is still present, so I plan on adding a little bit of width to the splitter and hopefully that will resolve things.

Jim,
 
I was also interested in a set of these and sent Mikhail an e-mail last week.  He responded that he would not be at home until October but would get back with me then.  Sounds like you and I are a little late with our requests.  I will either let you know then or send you his e-mail if you have not already received it.  Just let me know.

Druxey,
 
I am also interested in a set of these.  Could you send me the e-mail address.  
 
Thanks,
 
Bill

Joe
 
This is the first one
 
Jim

Seeing work like this makes want to take up knitting or fishing... maybe both.

The next port side divider carving is underway. Boxwood is the wood of choice.
 

At this scale, it is hard to get the detail necessary to replicate the form but at viewing distance, about 3 feet, the brain accepts the image just like when a painting is viewed at a distance. Up close you see imperfections.

More to follow...................    

The following photos show the addition of the upper railing on the mizzen deck. It is fabricated from Mansonia, African Walnut, and is on a base of Boxwood.
 

 

 
More to follow............

I am familiar with that plan and have a copy of it.
 
bill