Mike Y

Thanks Druxey and Alan! Sometimes a little nudge is all we need  
 
Toni, it feels similar to pear or box when it comes to hardness, definitely not soft. Holds an edge pretty well, but despite a clean geometrical shape the edge blurs visually due to the grain of the wood.
But definitely an interesting wood to have in your palette. Will report in a couple of months on the way it ages!

It's your model - your decision. It should reflect your own taste, not ours!

I have no experience with this wood.  How hard is it?  I would probably use it for things like hatch covers rather than pillars.

I've not used it but it gives it a finished "painted" look.
I prefer a natural wood look and I like it when details stand out!

Ok, some surgical time was put in LR and results are, ah, well, so-so but at this moment not able to do better without scraping it in wood-burning pizza oven, which I don't want to do.
I was able to glue back broken pieces and now, need some sanding and special techniques to hide those spots where extra glue and cracks are visible at this moment.






Also, I finished adding filler pieces at the bow, feeling like a dentist when you go for a crown work: put crown on, bite, not good? Sand, bite, not good? Sand... since I was able too use plan template for filling pieces only up to certain point; after that was all test fitting/sanding... but I got it decently installed.

Aslo, working on installing stern parts which will have a hull ready for more sanding.

I am running out of wood so need to place an order for more woods which will put LR on short hold until wood arrives.

Happy modelling.

The billboard, bolster and lining:
 










 

after some time I resumed work on the model by finishing the laying of the deadeyes and chains:
 

Deck clamps installed... and so we begin installing the orlop deck beams again, this time with some experience under my belt.

Experimenting with different woods for the Pillars in the Hold. 

Thought it might be a good opportunity to use Pink Ivory that I had in the stash for some reason. 
It is a very beautiful wood with pink shavings, indeed! 

 
A simple jig really helps to hold these tiny pieces when shaping. Scraping is a great way to get a smooth surface with a clean edge!

Completed test pieces. The one with a tenon was finished with Osmo Polyx and the one on the left (with no tenon) has no finish.
For colour comparison I made a photo on top of some pear parts (one finished and one - a rough sheet cutoff)

Pink Ivory has a clearly pronounced grain resembling walnut, clearly out of scale. Though pillars in the hold definitely have a rough life   I might still go with it, it might add an interesting accent deep in inside the hull when viewed from the side:

As most of such woods it would likely loose its beautiful colour when exposed to UV, and would likely become brown-ish. I left these test pieces exposed on the table and will check them in a couple of months. Does anyone have any experience with this wood?
 
What do think on the colour? I don't want my model to look like a clown car, but a bit of variety might not hurt  

Experimenting with different woods for the Pillars in the Hold. 

Thought it might be a good opportunity to use Pink Ivory that I had in the stash for some reason. 
It is a very beautiful wood with pink shavings, indeed! 

 
A simple jig really helps to hold these tiny pieces when shaping. Scraping is a great way to get a smooth surface with a clean edge!

Completed test pieces. The one with a tenon was finished with Osmo Polyx and the one on the left (with no tenon) has no finish.
For colour comparison I made a photo on top of some pear parts (one finished and one - a rough sheet cutoff)

Pink Ivory has a clearly pronounced grain resembling walnut, clearly out of scale. Though pillars in the hold definitely have a rough life   I might still go with it, it might add an interesting accent deep in inside the hull when viewed from the side:

As most of such woods it would likely loose its beautiful colour when exposed to UV, and would likely become brown-ish. I left these test pieces exposed on the table and will check them in a couple of months. Does anyone have any experience with this wood?
 
What do think on the colour? I don't want my model to look like a clown car, but a bit of variety might not hurt  

Experimenting with different woods for the Pillars in the Hold. 

Thought it might be a good opportunity to use Pink Ivory that I had in the stash for some reason. 
It is a very beautiful wood with pink shavings, indeed! 

 
A simple jig really helps to hold these tiny pieces when shaping. Scraping is a great way to get a smooth surface with a clean edge!

Completed test pieces. The one with a tenon was finished with Osmo Polyx and the one on the left (with no tenon) has no finish.
For colour comparison I made a photo on top of some pear parts (one finished and one - a rough sheet cutoff)

Pink Ivory has a clearly pronounced grain resembling walnut, clearly out of scale. Though pillars in the hold definitely have a rough life   I might still go with it, it might add an interesting accent deep in inside the hull when viewed from the side:

As most of such woods it would likely loose its beautiful colour when exposed to UV, and would likely become brown-ish. I left these test pieces exposed on the table and will check them in a couple of months. Does anyone have any experience with this wood?
 
What do think on the colour? I don't want my model to look like a clown car, but a bit of variety might not hurt  

Tools update time!
A friend printed some vacuum adapters for me
The one for the planer works like a charm! Using the model from Oliver (see https://modelshipworld.com/topic/36705-suction-adapter-for-the-proxxon-dh40-for-download)

Table saw received an update as well, the factory design is squeezing all the air through a narrow opening, generating a whistling noise louder than the actual saw. Now the opening is opened up, so the air can flow freely with a nice wind noise
Link to the model: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4742157
Since I was short on space - decided to make the adapter removable, on magnets. To improve the connection a groove should be machined.
It was impossible to clamp that soft plastic part on the lathe, it was just sliding out of the chuck

So I milled it on the rotary table. A single flute mill makes a dramatic difference - the dual flute quickly jams with a blob of melted plastic, while a single flute cuts clear separated chips (that are light, fly all over the place and get stuck to everything, argh).

The resulting performance is not as great as on the planer, some dust still escapes, but it is still a great improvement comparing to the default adapter. 

Can absolutely recommend both upgrades, especially the planer!

Experimenting with different woods for the Pillars in the Hold. 

Thought it might be a good opportunity to use Pink Ivory that I had in the stash for some reason. 
It is a very beautiful wood with pink shavings, indeed! 

 
A simple jig really helps to hold these tiny pieces when shaping. Scraping is a great way to get a smooth surface with a clean edge!

Completed test pieces. The one with a tenon was finished with Osmo Polyx and the one on the left (with no tenon) has no finish.
For colour comparison I made a photo on top of some pear parts (one finished and one - a rough sheet cutoff)

Pink Ivory has a clearly pronounced grain resembling walnut, clearly out of scale. Though pillars in the hold definitely have a rough life   I might still go with it, it might add an interesting accent deep in inside the hull when viewed from the side:

As most of such woods it would likely loose its beautiful colour when exposed to UV, and would likely become brown-ish. I left these test pieces exposed on the table and will check them in a couple of months. Does anyone have any experience with this wood?
 
What do think on the colour? I don't want my model to look like a clown car, but a bit of variety might not hurt  

Tools update time!
A friend printed some vacuum adapters for me
The one for the planer works like a charm! Using the model from Oliver (see https://modelshipworld.com/topic/36705-suction-adapter-for-the-proxxon-dh40-for-download)

Table saw received an update as well, the factory design is squeezing all the air through a narrow opening, generating a whistling noise louder than the actual saw. Now the opening is opened up, so the air can flow freely with a nice wind noise
Link to the model: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4742157
Since I was short on space - decided to make the adapter removable, on magnets. To improve the connection a groove should be machined.
It was impossible to clamp that soft plastic part on the lathe, it was just sliding out of the chuck

So I milled it on the rotary table. A single flute mill makes a dramatic difference - the dual flute quickly jams with a blob of melted plastic, while a single flute cuts clear separated chips (that are light, fly all over the place and get stuck to everything, argh).

The resulting performance is not as great as on the planer, some dust still escapes, but it is still a great improvement comparing to the default adapter. 

Can absolutely recommend both upgrades, especially the planer!

Experimenting with different woods for the Pillars in the Hold. 

Thought it might be a good opportunity to use Pink Ivory that I had in the stash for some reason. 
It is a very beautiful wood with pink shavings, indeed! 

 
A simple jig really helps to hold these tiny pieces when shaping. Scraping is a great way to get a smooth surface with a clean edge!

Completed test pieces. The one with a tenon was finished with Osmo Polyx and the one on the left (with no tenon) has no finish.
For colour comparison I made a photo on top of some pear parts (one finished and one - a rough sheet cutoff)

Pink Ivory has a clearly pronounced grain resembling walnut, clearly out of scale. Though pillars in the hold definitely have a rough life   I might still go with it, it might add an interesting accent deep in inside the hull when viewed from the side:

As most of such woods it would likely loose its beautiful colour when exposed to UV, and would likely become brown-ish. I left these test pieces exposed on the table and will check them in a couple of months. Does anyone have any experience with this wood?
 
What do think on the colour? I don't want my model to look like a clown car, but a bit of variety might not hurt  

Experimenting with different woods for the Pillars in the Hold. 

Thought it might be a good opportunity to use Pink Ivory that I had in the stash for some reason. 
It is a very beautiful wood with pink shavings, indeed! 

 
A simple jig really helps to hold these tiny pieces when shaping. Scraping is a great way to get a smooth surface with a clean edge!

Completed test pieces. The one with a tenon was finished with Osmo Polyx and the one on the left (with no tenon) has no finish.
For colour comparison I made a photo on top of some pear parts (one finished and one - a rough sheet cutoff)

Pink Ivory has a clearly pronounced grain resembling walnut, clearly out of scale. Though pillars in the hold definitely have a rough life   I might still go with it, it might add an interesting accent deep in inside the hull when viewed from the side:

As most of such woods it would likely loose its beautiful colour when exposed to UV, and would likely become brown-ish. I left these test pieces exposed on the table and will check them in a couple of months. Does anyone have any experience with this wood?
 
What do think on the colour? I don't want my model to look like a clown car, but a bit of variety might not hurt  

Tools update time!
A friend printed some vacuum adapters for me
The one for the planer works like a charm! Using the model from Oliver (see https://modelshipworld.com/topic/36705-suction-adapter-for-the-proxxon-dh40-for-download)

Table saw received an update as well, the factory design is squeezing all the air through a narrow opening, generating a whistling noise louder than the actual saw. Now the opening is opened up, so the air can flow freely with a nice wind noise
Link to the model: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4742157
Since I was short on space - decided to make the adapter removable, on magnets. To improve the connection a groove should be machined.
It was impossible to clamp that soft plastic part on the lathe, it was just sliding out of the chuck

So I milled it on the rotary table. A single flute mill makes a dramatic difference - the dual flute quickly jams with a blob of melted plastic, while a single flute cuts clear separated chips (that are light, fly all over the place and get stuck to everything, argh).

The resulting performance is not as great as on the planer, some dust still escapes, but it is still a great improvement comparing to the default adapter. 

Can absolutely recommend both upgrades, especially the planer!

Ok, the modelling block is over, decided to ignore that dip and make a normal straight lower deck like on all the other ships:

Remaining beams are cut out of boxwood. Cutting curved blanks really makes a big difference, I extracted 10 planks from the same width of a sheet instead of the previous 6.
 
They are rough from the bandsaw, but milling setup takes care of it, and the result are nice and smooth beams  


Marking beam locations was a bit nerve-wracking. Pencil was not precise enough when working on such angle, but a marking knife is perfect for that job. Taking a lot of care to not scratch anything around...

Finally! I can go back to building instead of overthinking  
 

This definitely looks repairable (replacing only these particular frames), Isopropyl Alcohol is a common solution - it dissolves the glue and then evaporates without leaving a trace, allowing you to replace the parts without going for a full rebuild!
Hope to see you back in this log after a well deserved break 😊

Mark: My fretwork was produced by using micro chisels, small drills and files. Each motif was a separate piece. I recall that I was grateful, as a couple of parts got messed up in process - it meant that the whole run wasn't ruined! The material was white butyrate plastic, I believe. (This model was made over 40 years ago, so I can't remember every detail!)

Thanks, @Paul Le Wol! There will still be plenty of research to come for the Lancha Chilota and enough other Latin American workboats to keep me busy for a long while. Not to mention that I'll definitely be on the lookout for more details about the Bateau than are in the monograph, although any research will be tricky without speaking French. I definitely enjoy research and sharing what I find. But sometimes it can be a lot to keep up with, and its nice to have something where I can focus more on the woodworking and construction aspects.
 
Thank you @François de Saint Nazaire! Or should I say "merci." I'll have to add "tonnerre de Brest!" to my French phrasebook, which otherwise is just words like "quille," "modèle," "proue," and others that are close enough to english or spanish that I recognize them.
 
Although I didn't end up having as much time for the Bateau in my carpentry class as I had thought I would, I did make some progress--and sawdust!
 
First, I began preparing the build cradle. Although some people seem to be able to build POF just fine without one, I thought it seemed like it could only help to have one. To start, I extended the lines of the frames outwards on the plan view and marked the frame numbers.

 
I then glued the plan sheet to an mdf board. Next I will cut the mdf top part of the cradle to size (it will extend equally on both sides of the hull) and cut out the shape of the hull, creating a form for the frames to follow. I also need to get a thicker base, which will have the same plan view of the hull.

 
For the model itself, I decided to start with the rudder. This is made of the same 7/32-inch thick alder that I'll be using for the keel, stem, and sternpost (and possibly a base, as well). Although the rudder on the Musee de Marine's model Bateau seems to be one piece, the monograph plans show it in two pieces. I began by gluing the plan drawings to the alder, to cut out with a fretsaw.

 
I'll be doing the same process for the frames, so this was good practice for them. There were two things that I learned. First, it's vitally important to hold the fretsaw vertically, especially when cutting thick pieces of wood like these, and its very important to cut a bit outside the line so that any inward angle to the saw doesn't cut into the body of the piece. Second, I'll need to think more about where I place the pieces on the sheet before sawing, which wasn't such an issue when I learned how to use the fretsaw on small pieces but is much more important when I'm cutting from a big, unwieldy sheet. I'm right-handed, so placing the pieces to be cut on the bottom right of the sheet seemed like a good way to leave room for me to hold the wood in my left hand while sawing. While this is true, the clamps that I was using to hold the notched cutting platform to the workbench kept me from holding the wood sheet properly lengthwise to the platform. Instead I was forced to hold it awkwardly perpendicular to the platform, in such a way that I was squished up against the workbench and some cuts weren't quite as straight or as smooth as I would have liked. In the future I may try placing the templates in better locations, or try placing enough parts to be cut together that I can first trim off a chunk of the wood sheet and be left with a much smaller piece to manuever.
 
Other than the issues noted above, the parts cut out pretty easily, although there was a good bit left for final shaping. The alder saws quite well.

 
Back at home, I began final shaping with x-acto knives, files, and sanding blocks. In most ways, the alder is a joy to work with. It's soft enough to be readily carveable with a knife, but it holds edges very well and sands beautifully. It's noticeably harder than basswood, which makes it more difficult to over-sand. The only thing I don't love is that it produces a much finer sawdust than basswood, which makes clean-up a bit trickier when working from the home office. I may have to look into getting a small shopvac or something, although it would be tricky to operate while my wife is working (we share the home office).

 
After shaping, I sprayed a bit of alcohol and easily removed the paper templates. The gluestick residue is quite easy to remove, at least as long as you don't leave it for several months. 

 
Once that dried, I glued the rudder parts together, leaving the line of the bottom for final shaping after everything was attached.

 
Although the close-up photography reveals a few areas to touch up, overall I'm very very happy with how the rudder turned out. I'm looking forward to further progress and am enjoying the alder.

 

 
Next up: the keel, stem, and sternpost.

Yes, I will try to repair it, or even replace few ribs, that is doable as well. No giving up, but need to order some woods which will take some time to arrive..
In the meantime will finish up my working area... La Rochefort will be completed, in this scale or bigger..
 
Cheers
 

Hi All
 
I know that a few builders on here use a Sherline mill as do I.  I have found that my eyesight needs more light as I get older so I have wanted for a while to make a decent ring light for my mill.  I found some cheap 60mm ring lights that run on 12/24v that seemed to be about the right size.  Unfortunately it couldn't be directly attached to the mill head as it would remove any access to the Tommy bar spindle hole.  So a carrier was required and I bashed this up out of 10mm aluminium.
 
The slot allows the wiring to travel up through the mill head which is already there.  It keeps the look of it wiring free


I milled a small slot each side to allow for the Tommy bar to reach the spindle


Its held in place with double sided tape

And the wiring is encased in polyester braiding to try and make it look as though it has always been there

The results are really good




I hope this helps someone or gives a bit of inspiration to make the lighting on your mill a bit better - Anyway I can now get back to ship building instead of filling my workshop with aluminium swarf!!
 
Mark
 
 
 

Ok, the modelling block is over, decided to ignore that dip and make a normal straight lower deck like on all the other ships:

Remaining beams are cut out of boxwood. Cutting curved blanks really makes a big difference, I extracted 10 planks from the same width of a sheet instead of the previous 6.
 
They are rough from the bandsaw, but milling setup takes care of it, and the result are nice and smooth beams  


Marking beam locations was a bit nerve-wracking. Pencil was not precise enough when working on such angle, but a marking knife is perfect for that job. Taking a lot of care to not scratch anything around...

Finally! I can go back to building instead of overthinking  
 

This definitely looks repairable (replacing only these particular frames), Isopropyl Alcohol is a common solution - it dissolves the glue and then evaporates without leaving a trace, allowing you to replace the parts without going for a full rebuild!
Hope to see you back in this log after a well deserved break 😊