wefalck
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Everything posted by wefalck
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Something in the design of the derrick seems strange and that is the jaws that hold the outrigger to the mast. It is essentially designed like gaff, but then either the throat-halliard is missing or a clamp on which the jaws can rest. Like this the outrigger would just slide down and fold against the mast ... normally, on such derricks one would have a universal joint, like the ones used on the booms of some sailing ships or on ship loading derricks. -
US 6” gun by RGL - FINISHED - Panzer Concepts
wefalck replied to RGL's topic in Non-ship/categorised builds
Interesting design with the power-shaft and the differentials on one side of the chassis. What are the heavy tubular thingies in the middle of the chassis? -
Not sure about the lighting regulations at that time. I think, when at anchor, they would have had somewhere a white lantern, but that doesn't need to be too high up. It could be also hoisted on one of the forestays. When under sail, at some stage the red and green side-lights were obviously introduced, but I do not know when exactly. Perhaps someone knows?
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I think in the early days of electric lights, they were keeping petroleum lamps as back-up in case the generator failed etc.
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I believe the lamps were taken down for refilling anyway. Not sure how long they would burn, but probably not more than 12h. You are probably right about the whale-oil, but that does not change their handling. Petroleum became available in larger quantities in the USA from around 1865 on.
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In those old days, when lamps/lanterns where burning petroleum (rather than running on electricity), they were not kept at their place during day-time, but taken down and put into the lantern store, where also the petroleum (and paint and solvents) were kept. Petroleum lamps need a lot of maintanance, such as cleaning the glasses and snuffing the wick. That is presumably the reason, why you don't see them on photographs. However, the installations for hoisting and holding them could/should be visible.
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We had this discussion in several threads now ... it comes down to what kind of boat we are talking about and in what kind of finish it is to be represented. As already noted by others, the fewer coats of paint/varnish the better in principle. I tend to play with the different shines of paint, as they would appear on the real thing. Therefore, I don't like this varnish all over as some people advocate. Personally, I put off painting as long as possible, basically to just before the final assembly. Of course, others might get impatient and need the colour to give them the impression of progress. That's psychology ... If possible I would also mount the model securely onto a temporary stand, basically a rough form of the final one. So one has to think right from beginning about the mounting and make the necessary arrangement for detachable fixtures, such as nuts cemented into the hull to take in threaded rods for instance. The stand should be big enough to provide an enveloppe of the model, including say the bowsprit. In this way you don't need to touch or move the hull around, while you are working on it, which reduces the risk of damage. Individual painted parts can be stored in (plastic) boxes lined with bits of kitchen paper towel until they are needed. This also gives the paint time to harden thoroughly.
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Thanks Markus for your kind words and the comments. While there is enough photographic evidence for the paint schemes, when the Imperial Navy switched to grey, the evidence for the 1874 and 1878 regulations is not conclusive. On some photographs the stanchions appear quite light in colour and on others rather dark. I had considered painting the footplates black/dark grey and might still touch them up in that colour because their optical weight is indeed quite heavy. On the other hand it adds a bit of detail and the stanchions don't look like just stuck into the deck - for me it is important to also indicate how things work and parts are connected.
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Thanks, gentlemen, for your kind words. Progress is slow due to interruptions by business and leisure travels. Keith, the stanchions are surprisingly strong. They are etched from 0.3 mm nickelsilver, which is a bit tougher than many types of brass. For my taste they could have been even a bit thinner (flimsier), but that would push the etching technology, particularly considering that it is a commercial product. In my own etching attempts I tried to make them thinner all over, but in my primitive cuvette set-up results were not consistent. The German manufacturer presumably uses a spray- or foam-etching set-up, which ensures uniform and repeatable etching over the whole fret.
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As a kind of tool-junkie I have actually all those tools ... Their usefulness for the individual builder depends a bit on the space you have available. As you noted above, one needs a solid datum surface on which the model sits and enough space on this datum surface to move the gauge around. This is something not everyone may have on the building board. I used my height gauge, however, to mark out water-lines for painting ... On the question of accuracy to which the shipwrights worked, I am not sure that this is a good question to ask. I don't think they worked to specific (measured) tolerances. In most cases ships and boats were constructed within a sort of framework, be it a shed or a scaffolding errected for the purpose. A line was stretched at height above the future keel and distances were measured/marked from this with plumbs and squares. This ensured the overall dimensions and the symmetry of the hull. The shipwrights sort of worked inwards from this frame. Hence, they were not concerned by cumulative errors in individual parts, as everything was made to fit into this enveloppe. I gather from this strategy derives the use of spirit levels by modellers.
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Yep, wind is bad for a sailing boat 🙃 ... we'll be patient ... weather had been (mostly) good in London over the Easter weekend, just have come back from a few days there.
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Keith, would there be any chance of taking some daylight-pictures at some stage? I realise that it might be difficult to move the model around, but the strong shadows from the artificial light-source makes it difficult to see some of the details in their real relation ...
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Forming a rabbet
wefalck replied to DaveBaxt's topic in Building, Framing, Planking and plating a ships hull and deck
Did you mean this one: https://mcguirepiano.com/blog/hammond-glider-trimosaw-model-g40b/ ? Seems to be basically a (very) sturdy table-saw with a sliding table. Not sure how one would use it for rabbets ... -
Was there are reason that the axles on the trucks are so long?
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Old-time machinists also just pinned a piece of card-board to such uprights with an appropriate hole punched into it - a disposable steady that does not mar the work. Only suitable for small and light work though.
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Good method, except that it is not actually 'crown glass' or 'Butzenscheiben' as in the original German post. What he creates are the domed window-glasses that were fashionable during some time in history - not sure of the exact period, but I have seen them in houses, particularly in Northern Europe. Crown glass is the left-over from making flat glass by spinning a (large) blob of glass hanging from the blowers pipe: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crown_glass_(window) Image from the above Wikipedia article. You'll find such windows all over central and northern Europe in Medieval buildings.
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I am always wary of processes that cannot be adjusted, that't why I would use some varnish or shellac that can be easily dissolved to make correction. This works with polyester-rope, as the varnish soaks into the threads (but not into the fibres, of course).
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I am not into kits, but that sounds interesting! The biggest challenge will be the rigging of such small models (ok Navy Board-style models were not normally rigged in the first place), in particular the blocks. They would need to be down to 1 mm length or even smaller. I am still trying to find a convincing and workable solution for rope-rigging. Or one goes for wire rigging, as does McCaffery, and build the blocks up from layers of paper discs. McCaffery makes himself oval punches. Laser-cutting may be the way to go today. However, you would have to have a really good mechanically resolution to avoid frayed edges that are difficult to remove at such small parts. The wood-purists will frown upon that, but 3D-printing may be the way to go, though keeping say 0.1 mm bores open still is a challenge for this technology today.
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I found the best way to have coils hanging in a 'natural' way is to soak them in diluted varnish and to coerce them into the desired shape with some suitable tools: One can always soften the coil with a drop of solvent and try again, if the coil is not fully cooperative.
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These machine-tool makers of old came up with quite complex castings and, of course, made special jigs to be able to hold them against reference surfaces while machining them. Doing this without jigs can be rather challenging. BTW, my DIXI has been on Tony's Web-site for some 20+ years now, still in the unrefurbished state. Since I had comparable vertical mill, I have been using using it mainly as a horizontal boring mill for job, where the vertical one didn't have enough throat clearance.
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Well, plastic is not plastic. It depends on the molecular formulation, whether the surfaces are hydrophobic (water repellent) or more hydrophilic (water spreads out, rathern forming droplets). Some plastics, such as acrylics are more hydrophilic ... When you smear some goo (paint, glue, varnish, whatever ...) onto polyester thread two things will happen: - there will be a physico-chemical interaction with the 'surface', either it is repelled or attracted; organic solvent-based goo tends to be attracted by hydrophobic surfaces, while water-based goo (say acrylic paint, PVA-glue) would be repelled by such surfaces and vice versa. - however, the goo also penetrates the structure of e.g. a polyester rope and solidifies in there, i.e. it keys into such surface structures. In this way water-based goo may stick to hydrophobic material by purely mechanical interaction.
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I have been out travelling the past two weeks, so missed the beginning, but have caught up now. That kit tempted me too, when I saw it on the Internet some 20 years ago. However, my watchmaker milling-machines wouldn't have been big enough to tackle the stand I think. Size-wise, my machines are somewhere between this model and the 'real' thing (though more leaning on the model-size side ...). My Dixi-horizontal miller stands just under 26 cm (10") tall (with spindle raising block): If your lathe cuts threads, I would cut these left-hand threads between centres, taking very light passes and finish them off with a die to kind of calibrate the profile - this takes out any 'bulging' in the middle of the threaded part due to deflection by the tool . The lathe ensures the uniform pitch.
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The rocky coasts around the North America, Scandinavia, the UK, France etc. give the opportunity for some nice condensed scenic settings (I avoid the term 'diorama', as in most cases people do not install a background and viewing frame). In my home-country, coasts are mostly flat and quite open with buildings spread out, so that such condensed sceneries are rarely seen. Looking forward to the progress of this project.
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I have no issues with using nitrocellulose-based lacquers on polyester-threads (I am using fly-tying threads, rather than Mara, which is still too coarse for my scales) and partly washing it off using acetone. Polyesters are another group of chemical compounds than polystyrene and have a much higher chemical resistance to organic solvents (which is why you can dry-clean fabrics made from them). I wonder why dying seems to be such an obsession in the discussion here, as particularly Mara seems to be available (in principle) in so many different shades of beige, grey, brown to black. Even for my fly-tying threads I can find suitable colours in the ranges of different manufacturers. Otherwise, a 'tarred' look, where the strands appear lighter than the grooves between them could be achieved by giving the rope a wash with an ink and wipe off the excess.
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