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DelF

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About DelF

  • Birthday 07/13/1951

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    Nottinghamshire, UK

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  1. We are planning to move to a retirement village later this year and I won't be taking my larger workshop tools with me. I've already put my larger lathe and mill on ebay, but would much rather my modelling equipment went to a Forum member (I'm also listing my oscillating bobbin sander). I'm hanging on to smaller tools and in a funny sort of way I'm looking forward to going back to a simpler way of modelling. This is Proxxon's top of the range scroll saw and does everything you could want such a machine to do. I've used it quite a bit but it's still in perfect working order and comes with a set of coarse, medium and fine blades. I particularly like the handy slot on the table that keeps the blade holders exactly the right distance apart as you fit the blade. The saw currently retails for around £450 and I would be happy for it to go to a Forum member for £300. The saw is heavy (20kgs) so will need to be collected in person, from Worksop in North Nottinghamshire. Derek
  2. I originally bought this with a view to scratch building HMS Winchelsea. I don't think that's going to happen now as I've still got HMS Sphinx on the stocks and Indefatigable and a couple of smaller kits in their boxes. We're planning to move to a retirement village later this year so I won't be taking my big workshop tools with me (I'm also going to list my Proxxon DS460 scroll saw). I used the sander once to shape some replacement parts for a friend's rocking horse and it did a great job. It's very solidly built and would be useful for general DIY jobs as well as model building. The machine came with six coarse grit sanding sleeves and I bought a second fine grit set. The sander retails for just under £170 plus around £10 for the extra sleeves. I'd be happy for it to go to a Forum member for £100. Due to size and weight this will have to be for collection only, from Worksop in North Nottinghamshire. Derek
  3. Hi Glenn. Apologies for missing your post - spending time with family and friends has kept me away from ship building for a while, apart from a bit of fiddling with port lids, which I'll log shortly. I'm hoping to get onto 2nd planking once the next set of visitors and holidays are out of the way. Derek
  4. Just catching up with your build - great progress (and I can't believe how fast you are, at least compared to me!). I was particularly impressed with your fairing - I've not tried palm sanders, but they certainly seem like a useful tool. I look forward to following your log from now on. Derek
  5. Superb result - well done! I'm jealous now as I've still a long way to go on my Sphinx. Derek
  6. I was tempted to get these but they're silly money in the UK - eg £42.16 (~$54) versus $29.95 for the 5" set. I'll have to continue to make do with ordinary flexible sanding blocks ☹️
  7. Thanks Glenn. I’ve used the pen sander quite a lot since I got it. I find the supplied sandpaper too fine for some jobs but it’s easy to ca a piece of coarser stuff to the tip.
  8. First planking finished It's taken a while to finish the first planking, partly because I've been busy with other things, but also because I like to take my time with this stage of the build. I probably won't paint the hull so the second planking layer will need to be as neat as I can make it. Whilst the first layer won't show, I feel it's good practice to take as much care with it as possible, in particular rehearsing the measuring, tapering and edge bending methods I'll use in the final layer. The first job was to construct a support that would enable me to work on the hull upside down. I had some spare pipe insulation foam lying around – a short length cut in half and stuck to a baseboard did the trick: Next, I used pencil marks on the frames to divide the hull into four bands to make measurement simpler. At this stage I went for simplicity, dividing each frame into four equal parts. For second planking I’ll use thread or battens to ensure the planking flows in pleasing curves around the hull. At the midships frame, there is space for exactly 20 full width 5mm planks, so I didn’t bother marking all the frames where no tapering will be required (like the one on the right in the picture above). In this picture I’ve fitted the garboard strake and one adjacent. As always with the garboard, care must be taken to make sure it does extend too far up the stem, otherwise there won’t be enough space for the remaining planks without excessive tapering and drop planks etc. I tried to get the garboard at the bow to look dead flat along the top edge when viewed from the side. I’ve also temporarily fitted the keel – possibly not really necessary but I felt it helped me get the garboard strake right. I’d previously drilled through the keel and the false keel to provide possible future mounting points, and I’ve used small wood dowels as temporary fixings. The actual planking process went smoothly albeit slowly. In the end I just needed a small amount of wood filler in a couple of low spots. Rather than clog the log with a blow-by-blow account, I’ll just include a few photos of work in progress and save a more detailed account of the process for the second planking. Shutter Plank Most strakes consisted of just two planks. However, in a few cases – usually where the bow and/or stern sections required a lot of tapering and bending, I chose to produce shorter planks for these areas, with a so-called shutter plank joining them. The last strake was an interesting shape, but relatively straightforward: Here’s the planking finished, with an initial sanding and a wipe down with white spirit: There’s now some more construction work before I get on with the second planking. Derek
  9. Starting the planking Thanks for all the likes and kind comments. The first two strakes on each side were easy, with no tapering required. The third was slightly trickier as an extreme bend was required at the stern. The curve at the bows is fairly gentle and strictly speaking I didn’t need to pre-bend the planks. However I think it’s always a good idea to do so and thereby remove any unnecessary stress in the hull. Besides, it didn’t take long – a quick dip in hot (not boiling) water and the plank was lightly pinned and clipped in position before being blasted with a hot air gun and left a few minutes to cool down: Before removing the plank I marked it for cutting on one of the middle bulkheads: Although it would be possible to complete each strake with a single plank I find it more convenient use two. That way I can worry about bow and stern tapering and bending separately. I stagger the join between the two planks so it doesn’t fall on the same bulkhead in successive strakes. Again, not strictly necessary but it just looks better to my eye. I will use a planking pattern more akin to full size practice for the second planking. The final step before gluing is to bevel the top edge of the plank. Not a full bevel across the width of the plank, just taking off the back edge with a light sanding is sufficient to get the plank to sit tight against the preceding strake (except at some points in the stern, where the angle between successive planks is extreme and where a fuller bevel is required. Of course, this is only the first layer and any gaps can be filled before the final planks are laid. However I just find it’s good to practice the techniques at this stage where mistakes are less critical. I applied glue to the top edge of each plank as I fitted it. This avoids any tendency for the planks to move up and down in relation to each other during sanding, which can make it difficult to get an even finish. Here's the third plank down on the port bow glued, and pinned where necessary. When I start a session I like to remove the pins from the previous day to re-use - and to avoid catching my knuckles on! The third strake down required a severe bend to fit round the stern. I practiced on an offcut and found the best method to avoid splitting the plank was to use an Amati plank nipper. I also used the offcut to determine the angle to cut the end of the plank. Once cut and bevelled it was just a case of applying glue and plenty of pins, and hoping for the best! Here’s the main tools I used: Starting from the left, the Fineline applicator is great for applying glue just where you need it. It's especially useful for laying down a long run of glue, eg on a plank edge. The homemade plank clamps are easy to make by cannibalising small paper clips. I didn't get on with pin pushers until I got this extra fine one from Vanguard Models - it works a treat. The Amati plank nipper works really well on the first planking. I'm not sure it'll be as useful on the second planking where it might mark the surface. We'll see. The hot air gun is one of my most used tools wherever heat is required. Not just planking but also, for example, with heat-shrink tube used to simulate iron bands on masts etc. For the rest of the planking, where tapering is required, I’ll use my proportional dividers and the technique I described in my Duchess log. Derek
  10. Thanks Tim. No significant technique - I just find that if you can hold the piece properly it makes it easier to cut straight. To that end I made a little cutting table similar to a jeweler's bench peg; just a square of thin MDF with a triangle cut out of one side and clamped to the bench top. Cutting within the triangle area means the workpiece is well supported and can be moved around as necessary.
  11. Welcome aboard Glenn. I wouldn't feel I was doing my job if I wasn't encouraging you to buy even more tools - you do it to me often enough!
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