Mike Y

Yes, I need to stack different thicknesses, of course trying to reduce the number of spacers (using one 2mm instead of two 1mm, etc). It's a bit similar to the dado stack on a table saw Since the depth of the groove is around 4.5mm - you do not need that many spacers to tune to the proper thickness

Next up was the problem of wood stock preparation. Majority of the interior construction is made out of relatively small lumber, 2-4mm in 1:48 scale. I could never cut those perfectly on a table saw, they always need a lot of finessing later on, resulting in an uneven strip. The wood sheets I have are 1 or 2 or 3mm thick, so more sanding is needed if you need something in between. The strip preparation was taking too much efforts. A thickness sander would be ideal, but the only one in a small scale is Byrnes, which is rather a collector item nowadays. DYI options are not appealing either, and they are still noisy and dusty. Another alternative is a thickness planing jig. Most of them are too complicated for my task - with knobs and adjustments leading to inaccuracies, so I decided to use spacers. The range of required thicknesses is rather narrow - on of the largest parts (gun deck beam) is just around 4mm thick. Decided to build the jig out of scrap piece of walnut. Did not want to risk using plywood, the grooves might end up on a wrong layer, resulting in an uneven surface. They are tiny, but need to be smooth. Cutting precise grooves on a table saw is not so easy, but slow and steady does the job Router plane helps to clean up the bottom of the groove: Resulting jig, custom made for the miniature Veritas bench plane: Spacers are made out of styrene, very good material for that. Easy to get in a variety of thicknesses, affordable, does not warp with moisture, fairly hard (to avoid compressing too much when planing). I have cut a bunch of spacers with a smallest increment of 0.25mm, should be enough for the range of thicknesses I need. Jig in action: Quite happy with it! Simple jig, but very effective. And perfectly quiet The finish is incredibly smooth out of the box, so I can use the part right away with no further surface cleanup or sanding. If necessary - should not be hard to add a sanding block for the same jig. I could easily get down to 1mm thickness, anything lower - and it is better to hold the "tail" of the strip rather than push it into the stop, otherwise it might get wavy.

Time for some side projects Fist I was concerned about the side-to-side alignment inside the hull. The height measurement gauge is asymmetrical, and flipping it around may introduce some measurement errors. So I wanted to make a pointy thing that can be moved side-by-side on the top gantry. There was a question in another log - "what is the mill for" - here is a classic example of a simple part that should be square with a precise and square-profiled recess. Mill is much more consistent and requires less skill than a "well tuned table saw", for example. For the "pointy bit" I needed something very soft to avoid scratching the part. Basswood from the Model Shipways kit was ideal - I use it a lot as a soft lining for clamps and jigs. I wanted to practice milling it in a rotary table instead of using lathe or a rotary tool. Not the best idea, the finish was not smooth at all (though such a soft wood is not making the task easier) The resulting gadget. When in action - only one clamp is holding the arm in the correct position, while the assembly slides side to side. Should work even with curved beams, by probing the ends of the beam. In action:

The "previous experience" looks quite nice to the naked eye, though it's hard to see misalignments from the side. Welcome to the club, I also restarted my model after the first dozen frames Later on you would not regret it, the rebuild is done relatively early in the journey! Any fun plans for your hull #1? I tried to repurpose a section of mine as a jewellery hanger (when flipped upside down)...

Pardon my ignorance, but what is the actual purpose of the drill press in our hobby? A lot of people are using it, but how? Feels like I’m missing out on something obvious 🥲 The majority of holes on the ship model are planking treenails, and those are easier to drill once the planks are glued in place to ensure a nice line-up of the holes. The only other thing to imagine is a scratch production of rigging blocks and deadeyes, but how many people do that? Not trolling, really would like to understand!

The vertical axis on the MF70 mill is notoriously not so easy to rotate (there is a common upgrade - installing a small axial bearing, helps a lot!). So if you actually want to drill a hundred holes with it for some reason - it would not be a pleasant process. However it is great as a mill, one of the most commonly used tools in my build at least. Not only for "milling" in a complicated way, but for a lot of precision work. Cutting joints in thick planks to make sure are square in all directions, making a surface flat or square or parallel, etc. Even "making sure this part it is exactly 12.8mm long" - doing that on a mill with the compound table is sometimes easier than sneaking in on a fit with a table saw or a disk sander, more controlled and a nice surface finish. If the part is not curved and has some straight daces - chances are I would shape it on a mill from a rough cut blank. Buy the PM40 vise though, without it you are very limited in clamping options. Example of the typical milling usecase, which is even hard to call "milling". Just a "cutting wood using the X-Y table instead of manual measurements, and no need to worry about keeping a straight edge".

Pedantic note - there are different grades of acrylic glass, even the well known Plexiglas brand has a dozen different types: https://www.plexiglas-polymers.com/en/basic-grades Some "museum grade" one even offers a decent UV protection. In the quantities we need it's not so expensive and might be a good option. Of course a cheap acrylic from the closest hardware shop might have a different formula and may darken over time. Lumping all "acrylic glass" into a single category is just a bit less broad than "plastics" or "metals" P.S.: I have used this type of Plexiglas (PLEXIGLAS® Optical Clear 0A570) when building my case almost 8 years ago, no sign of any aging problems over time. Though I do not have it under a direct and bright sunlight. https://www.plexiglas-shop.com/se/products/plexiglas-optical/pl0a570hcm-3-00.html

Oh! These are rookie numbers, we must bump them up! 😳 Donated now, sorry, missed it before... The community is extremely important for the hobby, and it is not cheap to run the forum of this size with that kind of quality and care!

Thanks Håkan, truly appreciated Yes, spending more time on the hobby is my new year resolution, even sneaked a couple of hours recently! Best wishes to you and a lot of joyful days in your workshop!

Tricky bow area, looks to be nicely done! Wonder how it would look after fairing 😊 A few areas look suspicious, but hard to tell from the photos. Just hope you are verifying the ”flow” of frames as you go (with some wood strip) to avoid obvious dips and misalignments. Rooting for you! 👍

Looks nice and smooth, fairly well aligned now! Hope you are installing the frames in the jig / build board, not freehanding it (and it's just for a nicer photo)? Otherwise an accumulated error would creep and likely result in a twisted hull...

Beautiful! Are you bevelling the edges of the planks before or after the installation? What is your technique for that?

Super happy to see anything new from Proxxon, especially for their machine lineup! And the price seems very reasonable, though not yet widely available.

I experimented with various pear and boxwood finishes and settled on these three depending on your needs. All three are easy to apply and are quite universal (would work for any shape of a part). 1) Tung Oil (pure one) if you want a deep, dark tone with a bit of sheen, making grain more visible. Beware - penetrates deep into the wood (a problem if you want to later glue another part to the finished part) and dries slowly. 2) Danish Oil as a middle ground 3) Osmo Polyx 3062 wax-oil mixture as a new go-to finish, looks lighter than the rest and super easy to apply. I did some finish tests in my build log, hopefully you would find them useful See here: https://modelshipworld.com/topic/7297-beavers-prize-1777-by-mike-y-148-pof-hahn-style/?do=findComment&comment=788496

Very interesting build and methods! A good crossover from other branches of modelling hobby world Small question - what kind of wires are you using for these LEDs? Looks like a coated copper wire? Any issues with insulation, what diameter would be sufficient for these SMD LEDs?

Taking shape!

I would recommend to consult with Kroum Batcharov, he is a well known specialist in the field and also has a youtube channel about nautical archeology. He must have some good recommendations from the inside! https://www.youtube.com/@kroumbatchvarov-archaeologist

Would not trust any joint angles when building a frame, weren't you gluing on top of a frame template (with a glass in between)? To make sure the pieces actually line up, especially on top of the frame?

Nicely done! Some battens (thin strips of wood) would help to highlight the high/low areas, since an eye can trick you...

A lovely time capsule! Can only imagine what it feels like to revamp your own project. Incredible build quality for a teenager, hats off to you sir!

Rigging in general is absolutely not my cup of tea, but your execution captured imagination! Now it’s not just a hodgepodge of strange words, but a coherent system. Your hand drawings are more illustrative than a lot of books do, and they do have a very charming style 😊 And the execution is impeccable as always!

Would strongly recommend to make a cardboard mockup - of your biggest midship frame (with keel included) and the gantry itself, with a mock height gauge. It is the best way to feel the dimensions and see if you would be able to transfer dimensions to the hull from your bluprints. Was too lazy to build a cardboard mockup when designing a display case, used CAD instead. Payed for it dearly, the proportions were a bit off and it ended up too big in real life. With the gantry / buildboard a cardboard mockup should be really easy to make!

I do scratch build in an apartment. Never had a big scroll saw, but a benchtop bandsaw (Proxxon MBS in my case) is not too bad. It has a bit of a high-pitched noise that does not travel too far (tested with neighbours), and I also put a rubber mat under all machines to reduce the noise distribution through vibration. You can buy these mats for washing machines and like. So unless your apartment walls are made out of paper (which might happen) - it should not be a thing preventing you from scratch building! Also the actual cut time is miniscule, you spend way more time preparing, marking up, gluing, sanding, etc, than the actual "cutting pieces from wood" time. Would be happy to help you with any other "tools in an apartment" problems, there are some photos in my build log that might help It is absolutely doable! And you don't need too much space, my modelling corner is 120cm wide.

Few lessons learned: 1) Flattening the surface with a plane is quite tricky, since you bump into some cross piece with a risk of a chipping. Next time - make carlings the right height from the start (with just a tiny bit of margin for sanding) 2) Used mill to make notches for ledges - it is not worth it. The positioning is overly complicated, and the notches are quite shallow, so even a 1mm mill does not go deep enough, resulting in a semi-circular notch that is too narrow. In the end a manual markup and chiseling worked much better. The final step is my favourite - a little bit of sanding magic. This time I tried fine grits of mesh sanding pads - they are amazing! Before/after sanding. Isn't it awesome? There is a method to hide all imperfections like they were never there. Like a make-up for parts The whole asymmetrical layout idea is a bit questionable in the narrow area, but I still think it's the best option for asymmetrically planked model, and the offset would be much smaller once you leave the "bottom of the hold" part with a very steep planking angle. Looks like a render, isn't it? I tried to use a different kind of pear for carlings and ledges, but the contrast is too subtle, will try a more contrasting wood next time!

Sidenote: what a pity that Proxxon pretty much stopped any development of new tools. The only tool they have released in the last 5 years is the Tungsten electrode sharpener attachment to their rotary tools, as well as some battery-powered versions of the classical rotaries. The "machine" part of their offering has not been updated for at least 6 years Just venting, sorry for the pointless comment