wefalck

Paper drawings, as commonly used by shipmodelers, are not very accurate, so taking precise readings may not help you in the end, because errors of several measurements tend to end up. There are couple of strategies to overcome this: - always take measurements working from the largest outside dimensions, working inward and make sure that subsequent measurment add up to the total of the outside measurement first taken - redraw the parts in a 2D CAD or similar program from the readings taken from the paper copy; the result should look like the one on the paper and you can take the precise dimensions off the computer without having to worry about line thickness; you can add dimensions to your drawing as in a normal technical drawing, which is helpful for machining. - a variant of the above is to scan (parts of) the paper drawing and copy this image into your drawing program; in another layer you can trace the outlines of the part you want to make and correct dimensions so that all parts fit together; this is today my usual method. If I am working from paper drawings the old way, I am using an analog vernier caliper. I have very small one that is only 10 cm long and comes very handy for working on small parts.

From my memory: Yes, I was going to comment, that on the first Venice bird's eye view the Arsenale is discernible on the right and can be recognised by the galley building and storage sheds that face the Canale di Arsenale. The merchant port, Il Bacino, is in the centre and stretches from the Doge's Palace to the canal that leads up to the Arsenale. The stretches of embankment in between are named by the nations who had their warehouses behind, say the Riva degli Schiavoni refers to slavonic traders from further south in the Adriatic. The Arsenale still is military territory and cannot normally be visited. For some years a waterbus line ran through it, but caused too much damage to the historical slipways and was discontinued. The boat collection of the Naval Museum is in an annex building just in front of the entrance of the Arsenale. For 18th century paintings of Venice check out Canaletto, he painted dozens of very detailed ones. The French Government commissioned in the middle of the 18th century a series of very large canvasses of French arsenals and naval ports. They were on display in the Naval Museum in Paris. The painter's name escapes me right now. May be it was one of the Vernets. There have been several NEPTUNIA articles on naval ports, their history and organisation in recent years. Also in NEPTUNIA there was a two part article on the Turkish naval port in Istanbul, I think last year or the year before. From my bibliographic reference list: COAD, J.G. (1989): The Royal Dockyards 1690-1850. Architecture and Engineering Works of the Sailing Navy.- Studies in Naval History No. 1: XXVI+2+ 399 pp., Aldershot (Scolar Press). DEGGIM, C. (2005): Hafenleben in Mittelalter und Früher Neuzeit.- Schriften des Deutschen Schiffahrtsmuseum, 62: 416 p., Hamburg (Convent Verlag). DICKER, G. (1969): A Short History of the Devonport Royal Dockyard.- 69 p., ? (?). MACDOUGALL, P. (1989): Royal Dockyards.-Shire Album 231: 32 p., Aylesbury (Shire Publications Ltd.). Nevell, M., George, D. [Eds.] (2017): Recapturing the Past of Salford Quays. The Industrial Archaeology of the Manchester and Salford Docks.- University of Salford Archaeological Monographs, 5: 140 p., Salford (University of Salford). Peters, D.J. (2009): The Use of Brickwork for Dry-Docks in Germany.- in: 400 Years Anniversary Symposium on Historic Dockyards in Japan and the Netherlands, 28-29 November 2009, Tokyo: 51-56. RITCHIE-NOAKES, N. (1987): Old Docks.- Shire Album 199, 32 p., Aylesbury, Bucks. (Shire Publications). WILLIAMS, . (1984): Docks and Ports 1: Southampton.- 96 p.

"It was used in nuclear reprocessing plants, buried deep inside highly radioactive equipment behind 6 feet of concrete, not to be seen again for a thousand years." ... not so sure, at some stage Sellafield and Dounreay will need to be decommissioned and dismantled ... I have been working for the past 34 years on safe disposal options.

Looks excellent ! How did you score the stones in the MDF, with a router ?

And UV-curing acrylics ...

The beauty department has a lot of interesting stuff and typically cheaper than the modellers' stuff - it's a mass market. These blocks are also sold for woodworkers etc. Got some in 150 grit quite a while ago - ebay etc. is your friend. Unless yours are soft, I would rather call them foam sanding blocks. Mine are rather hard and the shape is stable, allowing to sand flat surfaces.

I can see that the back edge of the sanding disc is relieved, but I don't understand what it is used for. Perhaps you can hold a workpiece against the disc to illustrate the purpose ? Of course, superbly engineered, as always !

You won't need a rope-walk as such, but of course, you can do it on it. Unlike threads, each wire does not need to be twisted in itself, just the wires need to twisted together. So two hooks are sufficient, one of them spinning. Some years ago I constructed a rope-walk (according to the proposal of Frölich, with two spinning heads) from an old bakelite optical bench that I inherited from my father. It does not allow to adjust the tension steadily, so it turned out not to be so suitable for making twisted wire. I think I will now use the lathe and devise something to exert a steady pull on the hand-lever tailtstock. I only need short lengths of wire-rope, so it should be ok. Just ordered some of the 0.007 mm silver wire as I will need soon some light wire rope in 1:160 to stay the funnel and the signal mast on my current project. Should arrive here sometime in December. Let's see how that goes.

These phone repair guys have lots of interesting stuff. There is also silver wire at 0.007 mm diameter. When trying to make my own 'wire rope', I found it quite difficult to twist up more than two wires, because it is difficult to to get equal tension on all the strands and when you pull to tension them, these thin wires easily snap.

I don't know about the US, but over here in Europe powering boats began with semi-diesel IC engines on the commercial side, while amateurs put petrol engines into boats already at the turn of the century. The semi-diesels were hefty chunks of cast iron. The Danish were pioneers at that, followed quickly by the Dutch and the Germans. These semi-diesels would eat anything from rancid butter (there was often a fuel pre-heater on top of the cylinder-head to reduce its viscosity) to petrol. They had a glow-bulb (similar to aircraft model IC engines) that had to be heated with a blow-torch before the engine could be started. Similar engines were used as agricultural power-plants and tractors. They ran at relatively low speed (perhaps as low as 100 rpm empty), but had a high torque - torque is also a function of cylinder displacement and mass inertia in the system. Even at that low speed you would probably need at least a 1:20 to 1:40 ratio in the worm-drive.

Display Case The project has progressed to a point, where soon major parts will be painted and then will have to be protected from dust during the further building process. Hence, I constructed a Plexiglas display case. From another project some 40 years ago I had lots of 2 mm sheets of Plexiglas left over that I now put to good use. Ideally, the sheets would be cut to size on a table saw, but I do not have one big enough. However, Plexiglas up to 3 mm thick can be scored and then snapped. A procedure recommended by the manufacturer, if you don’t have a suitable saw. I put a sharp-edged angle-iron along the edge of the work-bench, laid the Plexiglas with the marked-out cutting line exactly over the edge and a heavy steel-ruler exactly (minus half of the thickness of the cutter) over the line and clamped the assembly firmly down. The sheet is then scored a few times with a box cutter, followed by a cutter with a hooked blade until a groove 0.5 to 1 mm deep is made. Finally, you grab firmly with both hands (the faint-hearted may use leather gloves) the part sticking out, take a deep breath and with one decided jerk you break it off. The result is a clean, straight cut with only a little kerf that needs little cleaning up. Arrangement for snapping Plexiglas sheet in a similar case In theory, the kerf is desirable. When professional make such Plexiglas cases, they mill on such a kerf to provide room for the cement. The kerf should face inward. The cement used was Acrifix 192, one of the proprietary cements for real Plexiglas. It is essentially, liquid, uncured Plexiglas and will have the same refractive index once cured so that joints are invisible, when executed professionally. I know the theory (as I have a full version of the manufacturer’s handbook), but my practice is far from perfect. I found that the very old Acrifix 192 I was using has a very short open time and curing begins as soon as a light quantum hits it. Unlike for other formulations, curing is set off by visible light and not only by UV light. It is also very runny and it is easy to smear it over places, where you don’t want it to go, basically fusing into any Plexiglas it hits. So I used it rather sparingly to be on the safe side. The less than perfect joints don’t matter too much, as the corners will be covered, according to my house-style, in L-shaped brass edges. Still have to mail-order them in Germany, as I have not found a affordable source yet for milled (not drawn !) L-shaped brass here in France. The edges will also add to the strenght of the assembly. There will be also wooden, polished plinth. The base is a piece of 16 mm fibre-board that I happened to have lying around. The Plexiglas case will be secured to it with two screws eventually. The case will be completed at a later stage, as for the moment only its function as dust-cover is important. Plexiglas case in its raw state To be continued ...

Would have loved to have one, when I was a boy

No matter how comprehensive your thoughts and planning were, you will always find out that something doesn't work in reality. So I would always expect to be differences between 'as designed' and 'as built', although modern 3D-modelling, where you not only can model static features, but can model the functionality can eliminate some of these problems. Not sure this is being used by this kind of naval architects, but in designing industrial facilities, they can model much of the functionalities, before the first concrete is poured or the first metal cut.

So you are using them for both, workholding on the machines, e.g. milling machines, as working by hand ?

Interesting power transmission. I have not seen a worm-wheel drive for a paddle-wheel before. I gather it makes sense, when you have a rather fast IC engine and adds torque at low speed for a small engine.

As they say: what is underneath nobody cares about I gather this is the first layer to give the shape ? For a second layer in areas that will not be coppered a more prototype style of planking might be advisable. Also in cardboard modelling it makes sense to fill the space betwen bulkhead to ease fairing and planking. It is advisable to use a material somewhat softer than that used for the bulkhead, so that the sanding does not tough them. Personally, I would have used (because I have it) a foam called Rohacell, which is essentially foamed Plexiglas. There are other types of hard foames on the market that could be used. This prevents the planks from being pushed in or sagging. You will have a very stiff base for planking that way.

Well engineered parts, as usual and certainly a lot more precise than the cheap engraver's clamps they flog onto modellers these days. For what kind of work do you envisage to use them ? I am asking this, because I have one of those cheapo ones, but have not found yet a real use for them in my workshop practice (I gather for carving/engraving flat and irregular objects they would come handy, but I have no need for that).

Thanks for the the link to the 1-2-3 blocks. I wasn't aware, that they come in such small sizes and metric and at a quite reasonable price. Have to get some of those ...

These kinds of engineering squares or V-blocks come in various nominal (imperial) sizes, e.g. 1", 2", 3" inch edge length, and normally in matching pairs (meaning two of them have been ground together in a jig). The price depends on the 'class', i.e. the guaranteed flatness and parallelism. For our normal workshop needs the lowest class will do. I got two sets, that were made in India, I believe. I wouldn't use slip gauges for this kind of setting up task, as their functioning depends on the perfection of the surface and on light film of grease that should not be removed to prevent corrosion. I have been using round or square lathe tools for the purpose. Another option are Woodruff-keys that are available in many different cross-sections and lengths and are ground to close tolerance to fit into milled slots. They are mass product and not very expensive. I have a whole collection of them to be used in my small 1" machine vice.

To be honest, I find theses life-rafts an eyesore and so out of style ... destroys the esthetic beauty of the rest ...

Looking good ! It is really important to have narrow, clean lines that are only engraved to the minimum needed to hold the paint.

HeroForge indeed has a lot of choices, but they are mainly for the war-gaming community and the figures have this kind of stocky appearance that this community seems to like, though it can be modulated somewhat.

mikegr, what kind of jpg-image is this about ? Some laser-cutters actually work with pixel-graphics. They process the image line by line and switch on the laser, when they encounter a black pixel and switch it off, when they meet a white pixel. So you may not need to do the conversion after all.

What is this Modelkasten-wire made off, gold ? Actually not: if you calculate it, volume of 1 m of wire is 0.03x0.03x3.1415x1000 = 2.82 mm^3 and 1 g of gold costs 63 USD, hence 2.82 mm^3 of gold cost 3,46 USD, which means that 1 m of gold wire with a diameter of 0.06 mm costs 3,46 USD as opposed to the 5 USD of the Modelkasten wire ! I tend to avoid buying from model supply houses. They buy normal industrial materials and tools and resell them to unsuspecting modellers. OK, sometimes it is difficult to buy small quantities from distributors or manufacturers and one has to pay a prime for this. As a smoker (which I am not) I would be more weary of flammable solvents and glues in the workshop than a wire that is not normally touched with a flame anyway - and I may not see my models age due to the health implications of smoking ....

Thanks, gentlemen ! Pat, many of the drawings were originally made to be used as etchning masks. I would have build up parts from layers of etched parts soldered together (and actually did). However, I found mobilising the etching process quite onerous and my workshop is not really suitable, as I don't have a 'wet' bench space. PE parts though would have come out much cleaner and with a smooth surface, In addition, the PE process allows 'surface' etching, which doesn't work so well with the laser. Of course you can engrave surfaces, but removing layers with the view to let e.g. rivets stand proud of the surface results in a rough finish due to the steps of the laser head. The laser-cutter has the advantage to have near zero mobilisation time and you can change designs and settings quickly, if they don't work. If a PE part doesn't work, you have to change the desing, make a new mask, cut a piece of brass sheet (and if it's not coated already, apply the photoresist), expose it, develop it and then finally etch it. Not quite an 'ad hoc' process. For commercial projects, once the design and process have been settled, they PE parts are very good, but so much for the kind of experimental project development I am undertaking. Keith, there have been literally dozens of 'patent' anchor models since the early 1840s or so. As ships became bigger, they needed more holding power per weight of anchor, otherwise the anchors would have become too big and undwieldy, as it still took decade bevore steam capstans and winches became common on ships. It seems that Trotman, Martins, and Inglefield were the more popular models before Hall (I think) came up with a really stockless anchor that could be hoisted into the hawse-hole, making anchor-cranes etc. unnecessary. Turning such thin parts obviously requires a lathe with good bearings and little run out. I turned the stock in steps, first one side, applying the taper with a fine file with rounded edges; then, supporting the end in the smallest female dead-centre that I have, I turned the other half and tapered it again with a file. Of course cuts have to be light, say 0.03 mm or so per pass. I found this only possible with steel, as I never found hard enough brass. The steel I am using are copper-clad welding electrodes. Easy to get and turn well with HSS-tools, not too soft and not too hard. Not sure about the composition of the ones I have, as there seems to be quite a range. Probably some Si and Mn.