wefalck

Very complex soldering project ... and well-done, of course !

Yep, I like these complex machining projects too 👍 One could etch the lettering into some brass and the slighly dome the disc. Or, you could find a shop with an engraving machine, who might do it for you. The kind of shop that engraves pens for instance. Normally they use brass templates for the lettering, but a large paper template may work for a one-off job.

Quite frankly, I think this an artificial problem. If mast and spars are big enough to practically insert a wire, there will not be a stability problem, if a suitable species of wood has been selected. After all, we have century-old models that don‘t have problem. When wood becomes a problem at small scales, it is better, to make masts and spars from metal. We have to also remember, that the standing rigging does not have to be as taught as a violin string. So the loads on masts are quite limited. Against the museum recommendations I made masts from steel rod. Steel is much stiffer than brass, hence it is easier to turn on the lathe. Even with a fixed or travelling steady turning long lengths of brass rod can be a pain.

Luckily, not all modern artists paid attention to this ... 😏

So far, I have only seen hexagonal collet-blocks. It shouldn't be too difficult to make one from a square one or from octagonal/square stock, if one has a milling-machine.

No threads ? OK, left-hand dies of this size would cost you an arm and a leg ... The first picture shows presumably the raw material for the counter-nuts ?

There seems tobe a problem with your pictures ...

One should note that museums normally commission models only at 1:48 or 1:96 (or 1:50 or 1:100 for most of the world) scale. At smaller scales the materials requirements are often difficult to meet. On the practical side, I think when mast and spars of wood are so thin that their stability is of concern, it would be difficult to give them a metal core. I would be better to make them from metal right away.

One should remember that acrylic paints are complex emulsions. So by diluting a specific brand with haphazard mixtures of solvents the emulsions may break down, leading to coagulation and then clogging of the airbrush. Either you may need to experiment yourself, or rely on the experience of others.

Cog, resin-casting requires a model, a prototype. If I can make one, I can make four without too much effort. So, not much is gained. The difficulty is making the 'model' ****************************** Steering-wheels, third edition A colleague challenged me to turn the brass reenforcement rings. I took up the challenge and bored out a piece of round brass stock to 6.8 mm and turned down the outside to 7.2 mm. From this tube with 0.3 mm wall thickness slices of 0.1 mm thickness were parted off. After a few trials to get the settings right this worked fast and repeteable. The rings were deburred on 600 grit wet-and-dry paper, ground finely on an Arkansa-stone and polished on a piece of paper with some polishing compound. The new steering-wheels, above the brass rings As it would have been very difficult to remove the old rings from paper from the wheels, I used the opportunity to produce a third edition of the wheels in which I left out one of the middle layers. The second edition was actually slightly too thick. Using the tried-out cutting parameters and now with some practice in assembling them, the new wheels were ready soon. The brass rings were glued on with lacquer. The freshly cut wheels (I use a roof slate as cutting support) The axle including drum for the steering rope were turned from brass. A pair of steering-wheels provisionally assembled and the component parts The wheels will be spray-painted painted all over and then the paint rubbed off from the brass rings. This will nicely simulate the rings let into the wood as per prototype. To be continued ... hopefully soon ...

Perhaps another thought: this is a past-time, something we do in our spare hours. So, I like to be in a pleasant, comfortable atmosphere that is also congenial to the subject I am working on. Hence, I have tried to create around me a bit of a 19th or early 20th century workshop atmosphere. I know, there are practical limitations to comfort, when you work with larger woodworking machinery and the dust it may create in spite of extractions fans etc. For me this is not a modern, efficient industrial environment, but I want to immerse into an atmosphere more contemporary to the models. Therefore, I prefer also 'warm' lighting and being surrounded by wooden cabinets. Not only the final product matters, but the way towards it. After all it is valuable life-time you are spending in the workshop.

There is also the 'Mini-Lathe' Web-site that should answer allmost any question about these lathes. It has been around for some 20 years by now. Used to subscribe to 'Model Engineer's Workshop', but since the publishers Nexus ran into trouble and it was delivered somewhat haphazardly, I gave up the subscription. I am sorry to say, but this kind of subscription has been superseded largely now by the Internet and the fora.

I used the threaded inserts mentioned by Roger Pellet for tying down interchangeable bases for my watchmakers lathes on the lathe stand, but didn't think of putting them into the workbench at strategic locations for tying down other moveable equipment - made a mental note for this !

It probably would have had what is called 'grapnel': From: https://www.alwayshobbies.com/model-boats/model-boat-fittings/aero-naut-grapnel-anchor

Looking at the rudimentary drawing, this looks like a patent windlass that would be worked with the T-shaped handle bar. These did not exist yet in the 1830s. Off the cuff, I am not sure, when they were introduced, but probably not on a larger scale before the 1850s. Their construction involves the casting and machining of larger pieces of iron, which was not available everywere. Originally, a boat of the 1830s would have been fitted with a simple windlass, operated by handle bars. A patent windlass may have been fitted later, of course. What do you know about your prototype ? Ships that did not need to anchor frequently would have retained the simple windlass for reasons of economy. A frequently reproduced illustration of a patent windlass you will find in Paasch's 'From Keel to Truck', which can be downloaded on the Internet. I have a collection of windlass pictures, but it would be useful first to ascertain what kind of windlass may be required, before pulling them out of my collection.

Some ten years ago I bought an ER11 collet chuck for my watchmakers lathe and set of collets from 0.5 to 7 mm in 0.5 mm steps. I think the set cost me less than 50€ and I use them now always instead of a drill-chuck. Beware that ER-collets are meant for tool-holding and may not grip safely, if the part does not go through completely.

9°C being 'comfortable' ? That's just above freezing ! You Brits are crazy (at least concerning temperatures) - but I knew this from my years in Nottingham (when I first moved up there and looked for a place to rent, I visited one that was advertised to have 'central heating' - well it hat a single gas-fire that was located centrally in the apartment ...).

Perhaps you then should invest into a chuck for ER collets and some small collets ... There are also drills down to 0.5 mm with 2.35 mm bodies (like the well-known burrs etc.)

I almost don't dare to say this (it could sound like desperately looking for a fly in the soup): the rope for the rudder halliard looks a bit soft, meaning that it could be twisted a bit tighter in order to keep with the quality of the rest of the model ...

Coming back to the lugs for the shrouds etc. (have been travelling last week and couldn't follow progress): how would they have been attach to the bulwark on the prototype ? Somehow, I would have expected some sort of chainplate to distribute the stress or the stanchions taking this function (albeit they are leaning the wrong way for this - or perhaps the right way in order to prevent the bulwark being pulled in by the shrouds). No comments on the metal-work

Impressive metal-work on the davits. I gather you used some sort of jig to keep everything together, while soldering ?

I quite like solid brass pins as raw material, because the forging/stamping process hardens the material and makes it easier to turn. However, if you have access to hard brass rods, that is probably the easier option, requiring few machining steps. What shall I say, I can only join into the chorus of praise ...

At the end of the 1950s I was just geeting out of my toddler years and already very much interested in everything mechanical. Unfortunately, there was no MEE in my country. My paternal grandfather (a torpedo mechanic in the Imperial German Navy up to the end of WW1) surely would have taken me there, had there been a MEE and hadn't he suffered from dementia and died too early. My father was into electronics and always a bit ambigeous about my model building activities.

Kit manufacturers indeed give the lenght, but beware that proportions of blocks changed quite a bit over times. I see that you are working on a sub-modern boat - in more recent decades blocks tend to be a lot flatter than in the preceding centuries Their proportions would also be different depending on whether they have an external strop made from rope (in the old days) or an internal strop made from iron (more modern).

Tape seems to be a good idea in principle, because one can write onto it - otherwise one can tie the lines together with short pieces of sewing thread - or bunch them up prototype fashion