wefalck

The Saw Shed
The Saw Shed is quite a complex build and is very delicate. Ultimately, it will include a great deal of detail – but that’s a little way off just yet…
 
We start with a template upon which we build two identical walls. As this is a destructive process for the template, I scanned and printed two copies so that I could build the two walls simultaneously.
 

 
As can be seen from the dimensions on the template, the framework is built up from 3/64” (1.2mm) square stock. We start by using some double-sided tape to stick down a scrap-wood straight edge and the four upright posts.
 

 
Then we add the header and the braces (the braces are 0.020” x 5/64”). A cutting guide for the braces can be seen at the top right the template drawing.
 

 
The wall is then removed from the template, a floor joist positioned on a fresh version of the template and the wall is glued on top of the floor joist.
 

 
Cross members are then added to one of the walls, inverted (ie we’re adding the top cross braces). A tricky business to be sure.
 

 
The second wall is then attached – even trickier….
 

 
And the bottom cross braces installed on top of the floor joists (since the walls are inverted, these will be below the floor joists once the walls are turned right way up).
 

 
The assembly is then turned right way up and the remaining floor joists are added.
 

 
Decking is then added on top of the floor joists – a relatively simple, though still delicate task. I worked from each end to meet in the middle and cut the last few boards to fill the gap. I have deliberately allowed a few gaps to appear in the decking.
 

 
Next, we are provided with a cutting and assembly jig for making the roof trusses – a clever and convenient inclusion.
 
 
 
A couple of scrap-wood guides are tack glued along the laser scribed lines to ensure that both the lower cross brace and the top brace are positioned exactly right. Once dry, they are removed from the jig and a second top brace is added to the opposite side.
 

 
Here are the four roof trusses completed. The gap at the top is to receive a ridge beam.
 

 
The roof trusses are then installed atop the cross members.
 

 
The glue is still wet in this photo. Once cured, the ridge beam will be inserted. Then we start on the roof and the internal details…
 
 
 
 
 

Just a big "wow" from me at this point.   It's really impressive that the resin pats look like old wood.  

Thanks OC, Ron and Gary for your kind comments, and once again to all the "likes". Moving right along....

The Upper Yard Storage Shed
This is another little gem of a building. Its construction starts in much the same way as the Derrick Storage shed just completed.
 

 
Once the basic walls are completed, a new style of construction is introduced by the addition of thin vertical battens at the join between each plank. The effect is quite convincing.
 

 
Each of the walls now gets its own level of detail.
 
The Left Wall is left plain, with the exception of the addition of a window (not shown in this photo).
 

 
The Rear Wall gets some double doors, complete with split boards, rusty hinges, and a locking bar/latch. It also gets a coil of rope that is actually a metal casting – cleaned, blackened, painted and chalked.
 

 
The Front Wall gets an entry door, a mail box (a resin casting, painted and chalked), and a sign.
 

 
And finally, the Right Wall gets a window and another sign.
 

 
The walls are then glued together using the “trap” method as with the previous building, and a tar-paper roof. The roof also gets a stack – another casting that is cleaned, blackened, buffed, and epoxied in place. This was quite tricky to do due to the weight of the metal stack. I literally had to hold it in place until the epoxy started to set up. Here are a few shots of the completed building.
 

 

 

 

 
That completes the Upper Yard Storage Shed. The Saw Shed is next…
 
 

The Derrick Dock Storage Shed
This little building is a gem. It is made up by gluing strip-wood boards (prepared as per previous boards, but with a little extra greying to show a more weather-beaten look) over a carboard substrate. However, some clever design here creates a “trap” to assist in gluing up the walls. 
 
In the following photo you can see some scrap-wood guides tack glued in place along some scribed lines. These will help to form the “trap” on the front and rear walls. In the lower part of the picture, strip-wood boards are being glued over the side walls.
 

 
Here are the completed walls. The front and rear walls are upside down to show the “trap”. A door has also been constructed for the front wall, complete with rusty handle made from a tiny piece of brass wire.
 

 
Here is a shot of the completed front wall, with door in place and rusty hinges added. The hinges are laser cut board that have been painted and then dusted with rust-coloured chalks.
 

 
The building is then assembled and the roof added. The roof is made up with some “tar paper”, this time grey in colour, and with some light streaking added once in place.
 

 

 
Some additional interest is added by placing some detritus on the roof. Here I’ve used some scraps of wood, a coil of rope, and a couple of chain links made by bending, soldering and blackening some brass wire.
 

 
And here is the shed placed temporarily on the Barge Derrick Dock to give a better idea of scale (it really is tiny!).
 

 
The Upper Yard Storage Shed will be next…

Reconstruction of an 18-pounder pivot gun employed aboard a small warship, 1820-40. Pivot and slide based on drawings by Howard Chapelle.
 

 

 

 

Standing water leaves white spots on shellac finishes - as most owners of antique furniture know ... However, dampening a tampon to pick up rotten stone or pumice (which is what is used in traditional shellac finishes) does not do any harm.
 
Alternatively, one can use very fine steel-wool (0000), but has to take care to remove any 'swarf', as it may rust with time. This results in an almost matt finish that then can be polished with a dry cotton tampon to a nice satin sheen, if required.

Whether plastics melt during mechanically working them depends on how much energy you put into them over what interface - or in simple terms: when you run the cutting tool too fast, you are putting too much energy into the cut ...

A hand-held electrical drill with an abrasive cutting wheel might be another option.

I am wondering, musing about the physics involved, how the recoil would be distributed ... part of it obviously would act backwards (depending on the type of locking mechanism) and part of it sideways ...

Aren't you afraid that adding the stays later might pull (ever so slightly) the shrouds out of alignment and, hence, also the ratlines?

Sorry about missing the scale. Following are more pictures of the parts.

And then the assembled MG.

And for you Keith (LOL)
And finally the Maxim temporally in place astern.

Next week I am stuck with the Pinewood Derby in house (remember to "Never Volunteer"). But after that, we will get into the real gun: The Hotchkiss 3pounder. I will have to try my luck on the lathe at the tapered barrel.
 
This forum has been a tremendous help to me on this build. It has given me the confidence to attempt these microscopic fabrications. So, big thanks to all of you.
 
 
 
 

Aren't you afraid that adding the stays later might pull (ever so slightly) the shrouds out of alignment and, hence, also the ratlines?

Aren't you afraid that adding the stays later might pull (ever so slightly) the shrouds out of alignment and, hence, also the ratlines?

Hello Fellow Modelers,
 
Thank you Wefalck, Andy, Keith, Alan, Paul, Mark, OC, Colin and Mike for your kind and generous comments.  I appreciate it very much.  And thanks to all for the likes. 
 
 
Well, I haven't accomplished much lately, but here's a short update on what I have managed to get done.
 
The ceiling for the display is a simple construction - scale 2 x 10's glued down to a piece of 3/32” basswood sheet.
 

 
 
It's colored in the same way as the floor was – chalk and alcohol.  Above the ceiling, a box surrounds the cutout for the stairway.  It will act as a visual block not allowing a view of the inside of the shadowbox.  The interior of the box will be painted and the top covered.  Lighting will be installed inside so that it will shine down the staircase.  The two small holes along one edge of the ceiling are where the electrical panel conduits pass through.
 

 

 
 
Evergreen I-beams will be attached to the ceiling to match up to the steel structure of the walls. The material is colored with Stynylrez gray primer and pigment powder.
 

 
 
There will be three light pendants hanging from the ceiling: two larger ones as general fill lighting and a smaller one above the stairway landing.  The pendant shades hang off the scale pipe.  The “pipe” is stainless tubing and has an inside diameter of .013”.  I have not found any pre-wired LEDs with wires fine enough to fit through such small tubing, so I solder up my own surface mount LEDs with very fine wire.  In another build log, I have explained how I do this, what LEDs I use and how the pendant lights are constructed, so rather than repeating all that here, I'll just provide a link to that posting for anyone who is interested.
 
Post #117 at the link below.
 
https://modelshipworld.com/topic/28441-1940-auto-repair-shop-interior-by-friedclams-finished-diorama-in-187/page/4/#comment-864355
 
Here's the pendant shades for this model – green primer and rust colored pigments.
 

 
 
Once the LEDs are inserted, they are covered in a product called Gallery Glass (crystal clear – not white), which is clear after drying.
 

 
 
Before the ceiling gets glued down to the walls, I might just add a junction box to the pendant pipe at the ceiling and a conduit leading off from that. Emphasis on the word “might”.
 

 
 
In the photo below, the ceiling has been temporarily flopped on top to get an idea of what these pendants lights will look like.  It's being driven at full current and will not be that bright when the thing is done.  Nor will there be a light crack at the top of the wall.
 
The LED is a surface mount warm white #0603.
 

 
Thanks for taking a look.
 
Be safe and stay well.
 
Gary

Aren't you afraid that adding the stays later might pull (ever so slightly) the shrouds out of alignment and, hence, also the ratlines?

Aren't you afraid that adding the stays later might pull (ever so slightly) the shrouds out of alignment and, hence, also the ratlines?

Has this boat moved since your last post?
This project is really exciting since the beginning, it would be a shame not to see the continuation... 

Somehow this e-book had escaped my attention so far - unexcusable !
 
I really love those pictures that combine models with a digital seascape and atmospheric effects.

That's quite a high-tech stand !  ... somehow it reminded me of those eerie-looking outside braces doctors use to align broken legs ...
 
Perhaps the camera is challenged with the illumination and contrasts, but I found that the underwater body doesn't quite stand-off from the mounting board. It seems to make it difficult to appreciate it's wonderful lines and the artful planking job.

Well, we all seem to suffer from more or less from the same problem: the narrative I hear from time to time goes "why don't you do something useful with your fancy tools, such as making jewellery?"
 
While I am quite capable of repairing things around the house (and do it, given enough urgency and inconvenience  ), I prefer the creative aspect of 'making' things over 'fixing' things ...

That's quite a high-tech stand !  ... somehow it reminded me of those eerie-looking outside braces doctors use to align broken legs ...
 
Perhaps the camera is challenged with the illumination and contrasts, but I found that the underwater body doesn't quite stand-off from the mounting board. It seems to make it difficult to appreciate it's wonderful lines and the artful planking job.

I am wondering, musing about the physics involved, how the recoil would be distributed ... part of it obviously would act backwards (depending on the type of locking mechanism) and part of it sideways ...

The question is also of what period we are talking. CUTTY SARK for instance has a release gear fitted, which allows to safely let go the chain without using a sledgehammer. This kind of release gear, where the chain is hooked up to a rotating bar with thumbs sticking up, was used until stockless anchors came into use that pull up into the hawse-pipe. The bar has a lever at one end that is rotated by hand to lower the 'thumbs', thus relasing the chains.

That's quite a high-tech stand !  ... somehow it reminded me of those eerie-looking outside braces doctors use to align broken legs ...
 
Perhaps the camera is challenged with the illumination and contrasts, but I found that the underwater body doesn't quite stand-off from the mounting board. It seems to make it difficult to appreciate it's wonderful lines and the artful planking job.

Nope, no pile and hence no drum sander. I will probably start as you with a sanding drum and from the look of it the sanding sleeve should come right off which means easy going between grits.
We'll see what I can dream up... stay tuned.
Apart from dreaming about tools work is kind of slow with the carlings. Mast partners are in and a couple for skylights. The photo below is a couple of pieces old.
If you look closely you can see that I've tested a couple of different notch types. Right now I'm towards full width and full depth, unless the pieces are of same moulded size (depth/thickness...).
If the pieces are of same dimension I'll leave a ledge for the carling to sit on and cut a matching step out of the bottom of the carling (3), instead of doing a slanted joint (1). No 2 is what I used for the main hatch and for the main mast partners in the picture below. No 3 is actually easiest to get a good looking joint for me.


Cheers!