wefalck

This is what I would have thought they were. Similar devices were used on French ships since the 18th century, as can be seen on many models in the Musée de la Marine. In case of man-overboard, they could be dropped by the man at the helm. I would suspect then, that they also have some release gear that allows them to be dropped from a central location ? wefalck

Could the red stuff be protective grease ? When shipping overseas, many manufacturers give their machines a good coating of this to prevent bright parts from rusting. I would strip these Chinese machines down and give them a good cleanining before re-assembly and oiling. There are reports that often chips from the machining of the parts have not been carefully cleaned out. They could block spindles and scratch ways and beds. The spindles and ways would also need to be carefully adjusted to eliminate end- and sideplay once the machine has been set up. I think the 'Micro Mill/Lathe' Web-site cited above gives a lot of useful tips. wefalck

Never heard of 'fog-buoys' before, learned something. As to the boxy object near the funnel: could it be a searchlight in its tapaulined cage. At least the German Imperial Navy ships had such searchlight protectors that sit quite prominently fore and aft. wefalck

I am quite sure that foot/millimetre conversion factor in Mondfeld's book is a misprint. Actually, the UK, Canada and the USA are metric, but most don't know. I forgot since when exactly, but the foot and the inch are defined by a fixed ratio to the metre. The metre in turn is defined through a physical constant (not the old platinum-iridium bar in Sevres anymore). So, if the metre would change in absolute length, the foot and the inch would too ... BTW until the late 19th century each state and often each town in continental Europe had their own measurement system, there were different feet in Hamburg, Bremen, Frankfurt, Danzig, St. Petersburg to name just a few coastal towns. The same for volume and weight measures. When reading old plans, one has to verify which foot was used. For instance, in 17th century Brandenburg ships were built with Amsterdam foot not Brandenburg foot as measure, because the master shipwright was Dutch. wefalck

Thanks once more for your kind comments ... *** The edges of the vitrine are to be covered by L-shaped brass profiles. These are cut to length a bit longer than needed and then the mitre is ground on. In order not to let the sanding disc work too much, I pre-cut the mitre rough with a cutter. My first investment into machinery in the mid-1980s was the purchase of a PROXXON pillar drill. It served me well ever since, not only as a drilling machine, but also as disc sander and (occasionally) as a wood lathe. At that time a longer pillar, a tool rest, a sanding disc/face-plate and a revolving centre were available as extras. The tool rest has a mitre guide. Together with a grind stone, I also used it to shape and sharpen lathe tools. With a sanding disc one can grind the mitres very precisely. Grinding of the mitres into the brass L-profiles For a good fit, a certain sequence of fitting the brass profiles is advisable. First the parts for the top are roughly cut to length and the mitres ground on at both ends. Then two profiles are mated in one corner and, say, part 1 taped down with Sellotape. Part 2 and 3 are mated at the next corner and part 3 taped down. Next part 2 can be ground to an exact fit between part 1 and 3. One continues with mating part 3 and 4 in the next corner, and so forth. The brass profiles at the bottom, that sit on the wood, are fitted in the same way. Prepared brass profiles The brass is ground finely, polished with steelwool (0000), and then degreased with white spirit. The profiles are now glued on one by one. For this I use a clear general purpose glue (German brand: UHU Alleskleber). Until the glue is set, the profiles are taped down again. Mitred corner at the top of vitrine The four uprights are the last parts to go on. They are roughly cut to length and the mitres are ground on at one side. The exact fitting is done at the square end. Here we only need to fit one edge. When grinding on the mitres, one can also compensate slight unevenness of the other mitres and thus achieve a perfect fit. View from below showing how the parts fit together View onto the wooden plinth and brass edging View onto the vitrine This was the first vitrine I constructed from Plexiglas, rather than silicate glass. As noted before, Plexiglas as a number of advantages and disadvantages compared to mineral glass. An advantage certainly is its shock resistance and that it can be worked easily at home. A big disadvantage is its low scratch resitance and one has to take extra care during construction. Thus a working over of the brass profiles once glued on is rather tricky. Plexiglas can be glued, or rather chemically welded, almost invisibly. However, the recommende glue (Acrifix 90) has a rather short open time, which makes adjusting the parts with the necessary precision quite tricky. Also the dosage of the glue was difficult. Any sequeezed-out glue is impossible to remove without damage to the Plexiglas panels. If I compare the most recent job, with the vitrines I built in the past from mineral glass, I am not as happy with my result. Perhaps I will return to mineral glass in the future. Vitrine and model united provisionally wefalck

It is quite amazing what skilled mechanics can do with a file (and time) … I am only self-taught, learned things by doing (and reading a few books). For the lever-tailstock, no other modifications to the existing tailstock, but drilling a hole somewhere in the lower back of the upright part would be needed. From strips of aluminium as you would get in most DIY stores you can fashion the short link and the longer lever. One would need to somehow connect the existing tailstock runner to the lever. Is the runner solid or has it a bore in the back ? One can drill and tap (on the drill-stand) into the back of the runner (if it is not hardened, which I doubt), file (or bend) a U-shaped bracket from aluminium or plastic and connect the two by long screw. The U-shaped bracket would connect the lever through he screw to the tailstock barrel. wefalck

The simple tailstocks of my watchmaking lathes are designed that way ... Obviously the DB250 was designed to keep manufacturing costs and, hence, retail prices low. Actually, the PROXXON guys are usually quite good in optimising usefulness, manufacturing quality and price. If one upgrades the design-specs, necessarily the prices go up. For the desing-spec of the simple wood-turning lathe, a mis-alignment of the order you described is largely irrelevant. Otherwise the design-guys probably would have come up with a solution as per my sketch right away. Talking about (simple) modifications: it would be quite easy to convert the tailstock into a lever-action tailstock for drilling along the lines of e.g. the Taig/Peatool one. It needs a few strips of aluminium, a drill, a hacksaw, and a file to make such lever. PROXXON uses standard stock materials to keep cost down. So I am sure that the tailstock runner is made from standard ground stock and you can replace it easily with material of the same dimensions. Sorry, I was getting carried away by ideas … wefalck

Yes, if it works for the time being, it may not be worth spending more time on it. If I were to do something about the problems, I perhaps would modify the tailstock a long what is practice in other lathes (see drawing below): I would file a notch under the front of the tailstock barrel, so that I have a completely round section may be about 10 mm long. I then would make a thin saw cut along the centre of the barrel until perhaps half-way down to the notch for the brass nut. Next I would make a clamp (from aluminium, but some tough plastic, such PVC, or even wood would work) that fits tightly around the round section of the barrel. The clamp is slotted and can be tightened with (thumb-)screw just enough to give the tailstock runner a sliding fit in the barrel. The clamp can be used also instead of the thumbscrew on top of the barrel to lock the runner in position. These modifications would likely change the need to shim the tailstock, so should be done first. I may also file the nut a bit thinner and put a spring washer in front of it, but this would depend on how much end-play you have, when the runner is not locked. wefalck

My quick answer would be to work out how for different positions of yards, booms, sails etc. the respective running rigging would come into contact with the standing rigging. This contact should be persistent, not only occasional. These contact zones would protected by serving. Some of the protective measures seem to have been only temporary, such es e.g. padding on the lanyards between the dead-eyes, and was removed e.g. when in harbour. This is why it is rarely seen on models (of the time). wefalck

It might be helpful to know what you are trying to reproduce, rather than what you think it would like in your scenic setting. As it was indicated above, on that basis one get an idea of its construction and try to replicate it accordingly. wefalck

Tony, hand-scraping is an old-time, well, art of precision-fitting of machine surfaces. With a chisel-like tool minute amounts of metal are removed until a perfect fit or match has been achieved. More details e.g. here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand_scraper. The 'fitters' at the same time tried to achieve a pleasing looking surface. Today with CNC-precision grinding this craft is only needed for repair or restoration work. I am only a self-taught evening-mechanic, so I don't really master it and rather use a file I don't have such lathe, so I don't know how the tailstock is actually constructed. Looking at the catalogue picture, I think there is a simple bore going through the tailstock; the barrel presumably is plain in the front part and has a thread cut into the rear part; the brass nut that runs in a slot of the tailstock moves the barrel in and out; the barrel also has a key cut into the top surface; a thumb-screw on top of the tailstock prevents the barrel from turning and also locks it when set. Am I right ? If could post a picture of the disassembled tailstock, perhaps I could give you some ideas how to reduce the side- and end-play of the barrel. Do you have a pillar-drill ? wefalck

Well, wood lathes are acctually not really designed for this kind of centre-drilling, that's the domain of metal lathes, even when it is done into wood. The purpose of a wood-lathe is rough centre a piece of wood and then to work it down with chisels. That's why wood-lathes typically are built much more simple (and cheaper). By the same token, a wood-lathe tailstock-barrel (or least the one of the DB250) are not meant to work under load, they are designed to be set and then clamped tight. To work under load, the tailstock bore would have to be ground carefully in line with the headstock to a sliding fit for the barrel - at the price of the lathe this would be impossible. However, scraping-in (the workmanship method) or filing-in (the amateur's way - I did it as well …) of tailstocks to the bed is possible, if there is enough 'meat'. wefalck

What type of collets does it actually use ? PROXXON sells several types of (proprietary) collets separately. Otherwise, you can get a light plastic 4-jaw chuck or a metal 3-jaw chuck that allow you to chuck-up larger diameter parts. wefalck

Thanks for the comments @Amateur, I still have an unresolved problem with painting the Dutch 'tricolore' on the tiller. My attempts to do it free-hand didn't turn out well. I have to start again with proper masking and the airbrush. The (running) bowsprit was left at home when fishing in the winter. The summer rig would comprise a couple more (rather odd) sails, for which spars would be carried. I only modelled the iron-work that goes with the bowsprit. wefalck

Thanks again, gentlemen, for the kind words. *** Time has come to release the botter into its natural habitat ... The model was fixed to the baseboard by a screw with countersunk head. Where necessary, the loosened ice around the boat was touched up with the same sugar-acrylic gel mixture with which the rest of the ice-scape was modelled. The next step will be to complete vitrine. Then, work on population of the scenery will continue and a some ‚loose’ equipment for the botter will also have to be made. wefalck

Thanks again, gentlemen, for your favourable comments. A fishing boats needs some fish-baskets to store the sorted catch in. Fish-baskets on the Marker botter in the Zuiderzeemuseum I could not think a convincing method to fake such baskets and dropped ideas of using fabric or wire mesh – there would always be an unrealistic seam. If you have a closed or filled basket, you may sculpt it from something and imprint the woven pattern, but this does not work for empty ones. In the end, I decided to weave real baskets, well almost. Tool for making (fish-)baskets For this I needed a tool that would give the basket its shape and allow me to handle it while weaving. So I turned the little implement above from a piece of 5 mm diameter aluminium and drilled a 2 mm hole all the way through it. It will allow me make two baskets simultaneously. The material for weaving is another issue. I would have like to use wire, but it would have been difficult to actually weave with wire. So I used some thin cotton thread for the stakes and fly-tying yarn for the weave. Weaving fish-baskets First the ‚stakes’ were put into place by wind the thread around the form tool in a continuous series of loops, passing the return part through the middle of the center bore of the tool. This then was woven out with the fly-tying yarn using a sewing needle. The rim is a bit of a fake: normally the stakes would be bent back one over each other to produce a stable and decorative finishing. Here I made a double row of half-hitches with the weave, i.e. the fly-tying thread. Once this was finished, the ‚basket’ was soaked in wood stain and then a few dabs of matt varnish were applied to secure the weaving. The stakes with the exception of two on each side then were cut off flush with the rim. The remaining stakes were twisted into looped handles. Finally the stakes were cut around the hole in the bottom of tool. A bottom of the basket was faked by closing the hole with a good drop of white glue. The finished fish-baskets The baskets then were weathered using acrylics paint (umbra). After looking at the museum-picture, I noticed that I should paint onto the baskets the registration number of the boat - so that catch can be identified at the fish auction. One may notice on the above photograph that in the meantime also the anchor, a grab, has been installed. Finding such small chain is a challenge, but I got something suitable from a Bavarian model railway supplier. While the links were nicely soldered and blackend, they were actually round. Anchor chains, however, have oval links. With a pair of pliers I slightly squashed the links into an oval shape. wefalck

You will probably find that most of the 'modelling products' are just overpriced items you can find in other realms as well. I tend to use what is easily available everywhere. Way back in the 1960s my grandfather, who was a regional director in a big insurance company, had Faller as a client and once he took me with him to visit them … great for a little boy wefalck

Well, for many years I just took fo my spectacles (but donned some safety glasses instead) and got instantly 3.5 diopters, albeit at the cost of having to move the stuff closer to the eyes. With increasing age, however, the eyes loose their accomodation capabilities … cheap reading glasses from the chemist/department store are an option, but do not offer much protection when working with machinery. There is also a slight problem, when you need different corrections on both eyes. A short while ago I bought a pair of safety glasses that have a magnifying insert a the lower inside corner. While this works in principle, I have to hold the head in a somewhat awkward position to use these inserts. Not good for longer work-sessions. I wish they would do magnifying safety glasses. This would be good for lathe work and similar. I am still looking for clip-on magnifiers that clip onto the thicker frame of my safety glasses and have a slim clamp - all I saw on ebay have a rather bulky clamp that gets into my field of vision. Perhaps I have to modify some commercial ones. wefalck

You may want to have a look at my building-log on a Dutch botter frozen-in at the Volendam harbour: http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/68-zuiderzee-botter-by-wefalck-artitec-resin/?p=80030 The materials used are finely ground sugar and acrylic gel resp. varnish. wefalck

Got some about a year ago, but haven't realy used them (yet). What you are calling the 'depth of field' presumably is the 'working distance', i.e. the distance between the lense and the object you are looking at. The dentist ones seem to be designed for working standing up and hovering over the patient. I found the distance of 400 mm uncomfortable, it means that I have to sit rather upright and with arms nearly stretched out at my work table to keep the objects in focus. I also found that the actual depth of field, i.e. the range over which objects appear in focus, is rather small at the large magnification. In addition, I had problems adjusting the two microscopes for stereo-vision. Somehow the optical axes never seem to aligne with those of my eyes. Not sure, whether all these problems are related to the fact that it is 'cheapish' (still 120 Euro) one. You can get branded ones for 400+ Euro ... wefalck

Scale is not so important, rather than the actual size of the threads/ropes. One can also using 'false' splices, i.e. pulling the whole thread end through the standing part with the help of needle. Somewhere on the forum this old method has been discussed in some detail. Check out 'dafi's' thread on his HMS VICTORY in 1:96 scale for rigging the guns in a small scale ! wefalck

Well, the 'Currywurst' was not 'invented' until after the WWII in Berlin … and normally we don't eat Bratwurst with Sauerkraut, but rather 'Eisbein' (i.e. salted porc knuckle) or fresh liver and blood sausage. The beer, however, was available everywhere at all times for probably a 1000 years or so wefalck

This was indeed a rather pompous mock-up that stood in Kiel for a while. I can't put my hands on more detailed information at the moment. The closest the Prussian / Imperial German Navy ever came to a a three-deck ship of line was the old HMS RENOWN, that was purchased in 1870 for use a stationary artillery training ship. SMS NIOBE was a much sleeker affair. In fact the Prussian Navy, when set up seriously in the late 1840s almost immediately passed into the steam-age and rifled breech-loading guns.The only old-style sailing warship was SMS GEFION that was captured (after having surrendered to a make-shift coastal battery at Eckernförde) from the Danes in 1849. wefalck

SCOTTISH MAID seems to have been one of the first 'clipper' style schooners with a closed gallion and very sharp lines for and aft. The fine lines mean that she wouldn't have had a lot of buyonancy there, resulting her dipping deep in when the sea was heavy. So it may have been vital to make provisions for shedding water fast, so that she would rise fast out of any waves. Partially open bulwarks seem to have been quite common (on smaller vessels) before swinging ports were introduced. A vaguely remember having seen the half-model of her in the museum in Aberdeen some 15 years ago. wefalck

I gather the kit is based on David MacGregor's set of plans that are reproduced in one of his books and are available as a separate set. You may be interested in this PDF on the Nautical Research Guild's Web-site: http://www.thenrg.org/resources/The_Journal/584/58-4%20Scottish%20Maid.pdf wefalck