wefalck

For me there is only one rule: reproduce the prototype as well as you can within the limits of materials' sizes and their workability (and of course your skills). Detail only appears too much and overcrowding, if they are done overscale (for whatever materials or skills reasons). The conclusion from this could well be not to include a certain detail, because it cannot be reproduced adequately.

For straight cuts in brass up to 0.5 mm thick I would score it with a cutter about half-way through (as noted above) and then wiggle it (perhaps with a pair of flat pliers in the case of narrow strips) until it breaks off. The edge, of course, needs to be filed or sanded flat.
 
Thicker stuff I run through the table saw or the saw table on my watchmakers' lathe with a HSS sawblade. This leaves a very clean cut.
 
Curved cuts in very thin brass, say 0.2 mm thick, can be done with an inverted saw blade in a a jewellers' piercing saw. In this way the teeth will not 'catch', as otherwise there may be only one tooth in contact with the material at any one time.

For me there is only one rule: reproduce the prototype as well as you can within the limits of materials' sizes and their workability (and of course your skills). Detail only appears too much and overcrowding, if they are done overscale (for whatever materials or skills reasons). The conclusion from this could well be not to include a certain detail, because it cannot be reproduced adequately.

For me there is only one rule: reproduce the prototype as well as you can within the limits of materials' sizes and their workability (and of course your skills). Detail only appears too much and overcrowding, if they are done overscale (for whatever materials or skills reasons). The conclusion from this could well be not to include a certain detail, because it cannot be reproduced adequately.

For me there is only one rule: reproduce the prototype as well as you can within the limits of materials' sizes and their workability (and of course your skills). Detail only appears too much and overcrowding, if they are done overscale (for whatever materials or skills reasons). The conclusion from this could well be not to include a certain detail, because it cannot be reproduced adequately.

For me there is only one rule: reproduce the prototype as well as you can within the limits of materials' sizes and their workability (and of course your skills). Detail only appears too much and overcrowding, if they are done overscale (for whatever materials or skills reasons). The conclusion from this could well be not to include a certain detail, because it cannot be reproduced adequately.

For me there is only one rule: reproduce the prototype as well as you can within the limits of materials' sizes and their workability (and of course your skills). Detail only appears too much and overcrowding, if they are done overscale (for whatever materials or skills reasons). The conclusion from this could well be not to include a certain detail, because it cannot be reproduced adequately.

Good point, thibaultron, about the hand-files that are cut for the push stroke, while machine files have a socket at both ends, but normally are inserted in such way, that they cut on the down-stroke of the machine. I also acquired a couple of diamond-studded stub-files with prismatic resp. cylindrical cross-section for use in filing machines; the obviously cut in both directions.
 
*****************
 
The lathe-turned part for the bearing-barrel was sawn in half and the two halfs were clamped end on in the vice after careful alignment. With a fly-cutter the surface was milled perfectly flat and the diameter reduced to bring the rotational axis of the table into its surface.
 

Milling flat the halves of the bearing-barrel
 
The position for the barrel was marked out on the piece of 4 mm aluminium that will become the table. In the following step the positions for the mounting screws were marked out and drilled mit a 3 mm drill on the drill press. The two half-barrels then were stuck onto the table with a few drops of cyanoacrylate glue after careful alignment.
 

Bearing-barrel in position on the underside of the filing-table
 
The positions for the mounting screws then were marked with a transfer-punch. A light knock separated the parts again, which were then transfered to the mill for drilling and tapping M3 of the mounting holes. I usually start the tap on the mill with a few turns to ensure it is perfectly concentric to the hole and vertical. The tapping is completed by hand.
 

Drilling and tapping the mounting holes for the table on the bearing-barrel
 
Sqaring the edges of the aluminium plate for the filing-table proved to be just at the edge of the capacity of the milling machine. The plate was clamped to the vice on the mill with a C-clamp and the edges milled flat.
 

Squaring the edges of the filing-table
 
With the bearing-barrel screwed onto the underside of the table, the assembly was bolted to the table of the milling machine for milling the slot for the holding-down bolt. This holding down-bolt will be tightened using a excentric lever.
 

Milling the slot for the holding-down bolt
 
To be continued ...

Good point, thibaultron, about the hand-files that are cut for the push stroke, while machine files have a socket at both ends, but normally are inserted in such way, that they cut on the down-stroke of the machine. I also acquired a couple of diamond-studded stub-files with prismatic resp. cylindrical cross-section for use in filing machines; the obviously cut in both directions.
 
*****************
 
The lathe-turned part for the bearing-barrel was sawn in half and the two halfs were clamped end on in the vice after careful alignment. With a fly-cutter the surface was milled perfectly flat and the diameter reduced to bring the rotational axis of the table into its surface.
 

Milling flat the halves of the bearing-barrel
 
The position for the barrel was marked out on the piece of 4 mm aluminium that will become the table. In the following step the positions for the mounting screws were marked out and drilled mit a 3 mm drill on the drill press. The two half-barrels then were stuck onto the table with a few drops of cyanoacrylate glue after careful alignment.
 

Bearing-barrel in position on the underside of the filing-table
 
The positions for the mounting screws then were marked with a transfer-punch. A light knock separated the parts again, which were then transfered to the mill for drilling and tapping M3 of the mounting holes. I usually start the tap on the mill with a few turns to ensure it is perfectly concentric to the hole and vertical. The tapping is completed by hand.
 

Drilling and tapping the mounting holes for the table on the bearing-barrel
 
Sqaring the edges of the aluminium plate for the filing-table proved to be just at the edge of the capacity of the milling machine. The plate was clamped to the vice on the mill with a C-clamp and the edges milled flat.
 

Squaring the edges of the filing-table
 
With the bearing-barrel screwed onto the underside of the table, the assembly was bolted to the table of the milling machine for milling the slot for the holding-down bolt. This holding down-bolt will be tightened using a excentric lever.
 

Milling the slot for the holding-down bolt
 
To be continued ...

Not sure, why everyone wants stitched sails. The stitching and the thread used are grossly out of scale unless you work in say 1:24 or bigger.
 
However, glueing the panels together is an option. Not sure the glue on the tape would be strong enough for the narrow seams in the sails. It is meant for full-surface re-enforcement in picture-mounting and book-binding.

Good point, thibaultron, about the hand-files that are cut for the push stroke, while machine files have a socket at both ends, but normally are inserted in such way, that they cut on the down-stroke of the machine. I also acquired a couple of diamond-studded stub-files with prismatic resp. cylindrical cross-section for use in filing machines; the obviously cut in both directions.
 
*****************
 
The lathe-turned part for the bearing-barrel was sawn in half and the two halfs were clamped end on in the vice after careful alignment. With a fly-cutter the surface was milled perfectly flat and the diameter reduced to bring the rotational axis of the table into its surface.
 

Milling flat the halves of the bearing-barrel
 
The position for the barrel was marked out on the piece of 4 mm aluminium that will become the table. In the following step the positions for the mounting screws were marked out and drilled mit a 3 mm drill on the drill press. The two half-barrels then were stuck onto the table with a few drops of cyanoacrylate glue after careful alignment.
 

Bearing-barrel in position on the underside of the filing-table
 
The positions for the mounting screws then were marked with a transfer-punch. A light knock separated the parts again, which were then transfered to the mill for drilling and tapping M3 of the mounting holes. I usually start the tap on the mill with a few turns to ensure it is perfectly concentric to the hole and vertical. The tapping is completed by hand.
 

Drilling and tapping the mounting holes for the table on the bearing-barrel
 
Sqaring the edges of the aluminium plate for the filing-table proved to be just at the edge of the capacity of the milling machine. The plate was clamped to the vice on the mill with a C-clamp and the edges milled flat.
 

Squaring the edges of the filing-table
 
With the bearing-barrel screwed onto the underside of the table, the assembly was bolted to the table of the milling machine for milling the slot for the holding-down bolt. This holding down-bolt will be tightened using a excentric lever.
 

Milling the slot for the holding-down bolt
 
To be continued ...

Good point, thibaultron, about the hand-files that are cut for the push stroke, while machine files have a socket at both ends, but normally are inserted in such way, that they cut on the down-stroke of the machine. I also acquired a couple of diamond-studded stub-files with prismatic resp. cylindrical cross-section for use in filing machines; the obviously cut in both directions.
 
*****************
 
The lathe-turned part for the bearing-barrel was sawn in half and the two halfs were clamped end on in the vice after careful alignment. With a fly-cutter the surface was milled perfectly flat and the diameter reduced to bring the rotational axis of the table into its surface.
 

Milling flat the halves of the bearing-barrel
 
The position for the barrel was marked out on the piece of 4 mm aluminium that will become the table. In the following step the positions for the mounting screws were marked out and drilled mit a 3 mm drill on the drill press. The two half-barrels then were stuck onto the table with a few drops of cyanoacrylate glue after careful alignment.
 

Bearing-barrel in position on the underside of the filing-table
 
The positions for the mounting screws then were marked with a transfer-punch. A light knock separated the parts again, which were then transfered to the mill for drilling and tapping M3 of the mounting holes. I usually start the tap on the mill with a few turns to ensure it is perfectly concentric to the hole and vertical. The tapping is completed by hand.
 

Drilling and tapping the mounting holes for the table on the bearing-barrel
 
Sqaring the edges of the aluminium plate for the filing-table proved to be just at the edge of the capacity of the milling machine. The plate was clamped to the vice on the mill with a C-clamp and the edges milled flat.
 

Squaring the edges of the filing-table
 
With the bearing-barrel screwed onto the underside of the table, the assembly was bolted to the table of the milling machine for milling the slot for the holding-down bolt. This holding down-bolt will be tightened using a excentric lever.
 

Milling the slot for the holding-down bolt
 
To be continued ...

Good point, thibaultron, about the hand-files that are cut for the push stroke, while machine files have a socket at both ends, but normally are inserted in such way, that they cut on the down-stroke of the machine. I also acquired a couple of diamond-studded stub-files with prismatic resp. cylindrical cross-section for use in filing machines; the obviously cut in both directions.
 
*****************
 
The lathe-turned part for the bearing-barrel was sawn in half and the two halfs were clamped end on in the vice after careful alignment. With a fly-cutter the surface was milled perfectly flat and the diameter reduced to bring the rotational axis of the table into its surface.
 

Milling flat the halves of the bearing-barrel
 
The position for the barrel was marked out on the piece of 4 mm aluminium that will become the table. In the following step the positions for the mounting screws were marked out and drilled mit a 3 mm drill on the drill press. The two half-barrels then were stuck onto the table with a few drops of cyanoacrylate glue after careful alignment.
 

Bearing-barrel in position on the underside of the filing-table
 
The positions for the mounting screws then were marked with a transfer-punch. A light knock separated the parts again, which were then transfered to the mill for drilling and tapping M3 of the mounting holes. I usually start the tap on the mill with a few turns to ensure it is perfectly concentric to the hole and vertical. The tapping is completed by hand.
 

Drilling and tapping the mounting holes for the table on the bearing-barrel
 
Sqaring the edges of the aluminium plate for the filing-table proved to be just at the edge of the capacity of the milling machine. The plate was clamped to the vice on the mill with a C-clamp and the edges milled flat.
 

Squaring the edges of the filing-table
 
With the bearing-barrel screwed onto the underside of the table, the assembly was bolted to the table of the milling machine for milling the slot for the holding-down bolt. This holding down-bolt will be tightened using a excentric lever.
 

Milling the slot for the holding-down bolt
 
To be continued ...

The work on SMS WESPE has once more stalled a bit, because I got side-tracked by some engineering work. I wanted to first complete the model, but then realised that a filing-machine would come handy when making certain parts … 
 
The die-filer is a machine that has all but disappeared from modern workshops. I suppose there are several reasons for this. Many consumer goods and toys that once would have been made from (folded) sheet-metal parts are now made from injection-moulded parts. For more delicate sheet-metal parts also photo-etching is being used. I believe the watchmaking and jewelry industry still uses stamped parts. However, also the methods for making dies has changed. While the stamp can be worked on using milling- and grinding-machines, this is often not possible with the dies, particularly, when they have to have sharp internal corners. The die-filer with its reciprocal, rather than rotary, movement allowed to do this. An inclinable table was needed to work-in the relief that permitted the stamped parts to drop out of the die. Today, electrical discharge machining (EDM) and laser erosion has replaced the old technique. Hand-held filing machines are still in use for work on injection moulds and similar tasks on complex surfaces.
In a small model-engineering workshop, the die-filer still has its uses, mainly to work on precision sheet-metal parts and when one has to ensure that the worked-on surface has a defined angle with respect to another. A die-filer can also be used as a scroll saw. For this reason, castings for constructing a simple die-filer are still being sold commercially and and some small specialised machine maufacturers still produce different machines, mainly for the jewelry manufacturers. However, the latter ones are rather heavy and costly.
 

Filing-machine for the jewel-making industry (http://www.walther.ch/hwz/d-fm77.htm)
 

Kit for a filing-machine (http://www.martinmodel.com/MMPtools-subfiles/MMPtools-sub.html)
 
Some bench-lathe manufacturer also offered filing-attachments that were driven from the lathe headstock. As the filing-machine is useful for clock-making, e.g. for working on the spokes of clock-wheels, some people made their own attachments for WW-type lathes and they are highly priced, when they appear at auctions.
 

Cataract filing-machine for their bench-lathes (see: http://www.lathes.co.uk/cataract/index.html)
 

Filing-machine from a 1913 catalogue of an unknown German maker
 

Drawings for a filing-machine from a 1913 catalogue of an unknown German maker
 
Building a filing-machine has been on my agenda for quite some time. With this in mind, I was able to purchase a treasure lot of rare Vallorbe machine-files. The lot contained round, half-round, tri-angular, and square files starting from 1 mm diamater resp. 1 mm x 1 mm cross-section, going up to 4 mm x 4 mm, and of various cuts. Unlike most other types of files, machines files are prismatic across their whole length and have uncut shanks at both ends.
 

Treasure-box with machine-files
 

A selection of machine-files
 
I first thought about converting my only moderately useful Proxxon DS 230/E scroll-saw into a filing machine. However, the table would not tilt and the holders for the saw blade were difficult to adapt. Then a  broken jigsaw attachment for a power-drill came into my possession. Having no need for such attachment, the idea of converting it into a filing-machine emerged. The jigsaw was completely stuck nothing moved, and the sole plate was broken off. After having drilled out the screws that held the lid, the reason was obvious: it was completely filled with saw-dust, including the ball-bearing, presumably because it was upside down used under a saw-table. After dismantling and thorough cleaning it worked again. This meant, that I had the mechanism and the casting forming the basis for a filing-machine.
 

The disassembled jigsaw
 
According to the tables in the machine catalogue fo 1913, from which above illustrations were taken, the maximum stroke frequency would be around 400 per minute for hard materials, or less for softer materials. I sourced in China a geared electric DC motor that is rated to have 400 RPM at 12V. The output torque should be sufficient for the machine to be driven directly.
 

Geared 12 V DC motor to drive the filing machine                                  
 
In order to minimise the slot for the files, allowing to work on small pieces, the rotational axis for the tilting machine table should be in its surface plane and also should not move out of the centre line. The foot of the jigsaw was arranged in a similar way and only needed to be adapted. The table will rest on a half-round barrel that can be clamped down onto a corresponding bearing surface. I had some 40 mm diameter alumium in my stock from which I turned the barrel. It will be sawn into half and screwed to the aluminium machine table. The bearing for the barrel was milled accordingly. Similarly, some of the future bearing surfaces on the casting were milled flat, which just went up to the capacity of my milling machines. Luckily the zinc die-cast material of the jigsaw housing is easy to mill.
 

Set-up for milling the bearing of the tilting table
 

Part-machined jigsaw casting
 
To be continued, once I got over my flu ...

Is the work done already ? If not, why not using very thin polystyrol sheet ? This would save you also the filling and rubbing down to get a smooth surface.
 
Otherwise, I would use liquid plastic cement for glueing paper strips. This seeps into the paper and dissolves the polystyrol of your hull, forming a solid bond. You can apply more cement afterwards as a filler, before sanding the strips.

Is the work done already ? If not, why not using very thin polystyrol sheet ? This would save you also the filling and rubbing down to get a smooth surface.
 
Otherwise, I would use liquid plastic cement for glueing paper strips. This seeps into the paper and dissolves the polystyrol of your hull, forming a solid bond. You can apply more cement afterwards as a filler, before sanding the strips.

Not sure, why everyone wants stitched sails. The stitching and the thread used are grossly out of scale unless you work in say 1:24 or bigger.
 
However, glueing the panels together is an option. Not sure the glue on the tape would be strong enough for the narrow seams in the sails. It is meant for full-surface re-enforcement in picture-mounting and book-binding.

Not sure, why everyone wants stitched sails. The stitching and the thread used are grossly out of scale unless you work in say 1:24 or bigger.
 
However, glueing the panels together is an option. Not sure the glue on the tape would be strong enough for the narrow seams in the sails. It is meant for full-surface re-enforcement in picture-mounting and book-binding.

Not sure, why everyone wants stitched sails. The stitching and the thread used are grossly out of scale unless you work in say 1:24 or bigger.
 
However, glueing the panels together is an option. Not sure the glue on the tape would be strong enough for the narrow seams in the sails. It is meant for full-surface re-enforcement in picture-mounting and book-binding.

If you are using brass throughout, a good base may be chemical tinning. I cannot recommend a reagent source for this in US though.
 
After thorough cleaning and degreasing (as you would do for blackening) you immerse the parts in the solution until a coating has formed. Initially the coating is of a dull silver, which looks quite like galvanised steel. You can touch up places also with paint as noted above. Rubbing a soft lead pencil over areas that would show wear makes it look more like bare steel.

Not sure, why everyone wants stitched sails. The stitching and the thread used are grossly out of scale unless you work in say 1:24 or bigger.
 
However, glueing the panels together is an option. Not sure the glue on the tape would be strong enough for the narrow seams in the sails. It is meant for full-surface re-enforcement in picture-mounting and book-binding.

Not sure, why everyone wants stitched sails. The stitching and the thread used are grossly out of scale unless you work in say 1:24 or bigger.
 
However, glueing the panels together is an option. Not sure the glue on the tape would be strong enough for the narrow seams in the sails. It is meant for full-surface re-enforcement in picture-mounting and book-binding.

Not sure, why everyone wants stitched sails. The stitching and the thread used are grossly out of scale unless you work in say 1:24 or bigger.
 
However, glueing the panels together is an option. Not sure the glue on the tape would be strong enough for the narrow seams in the sails. It is meant for full-surface re-enforcement in picture-mounting and book-binding.

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

Here is some literature on Douro boats:
 
BEAUDOUIN, F. (1965): Les bateaux du Douro.- 74 p., Lisboa (Junta des Investigações do Ultramar).