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DelF

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Everything posted by DelF

  1. DelF
    Have you tried bending the head rails in a bit, so they make better contact with the cross rails? See here I thought this was a really neat aspect of Chris's design.
  2. DelF
    Good grief, what a beast. I'd have to move to a larger house to accommodate it and probably dismiss the butler to afford it!
  3. DelF
    Thanks Bob - glad you enjoyed it!
  4. DelF
    Me too! Hope you're getting on OK with the Qhands?
  5. DelF
    Many thanks B.E. and Joe - much appreciated. I would urge you to give in to temptation! No other 'helping hands' I've owned is a patch on this - every aspect of the design is well thought out and constructed. Heavy metal base, repositionable arms with very strong magnets keeping everything stable, thick sleeves on the clips that hold work firmly but gently, and lock-nuts that enable you to lock clips once you've got them in the right position. Even the bright paint is a help, providing contrast with the material you're working on. I went for the larger one with five arms for £59.99 from Amazon but I'm sure the regular 4-armed version at £49.99 would be more than adequate - I've not yet used more than three arms simultaneously. Highly recommended (and I'm not on commission, honest!). Derek
  6. DelF
    C'mon Ernie, play fair - leave some for the rest of us! Between you and Glenn it seems like Texas is cornering the market in Vanguard models. If you rig all the guns, add another 200 years 😁 Derek
  7. DelF
    Beautiful model with superb presentation - well done! Derek
  8. DelF
    Wow! Very neat - superb carpentry 👍
  9. DelF
    I'd be very happy to rig your cannon Glenn, but after having let you persuade me to fully rig all fourteen guns on Speedy I think it's only right you should have the pleasure of rigging your own 🤪 Seriously though, congratulations on getting another great looking kit from Vanguard. It's good to see Chris doing well on both sides of the pond, and beyond. I was seriously tempted to go for Flirt as well, especially now that Chris is doing his own laser cutting, but I just felt she was a bit too similar to Speedy. I've got another of Chuck Passaro's small boats on the stocks to keep me going for a while after Speedy, so I've got time to wait and see what Chris comes up with next. Derek
  10. DelF
    Thanks SpyGlass. You should definitely give it a whirl. Fingers and eyesight can be helped - I only get by with the help of good magnification and good quality tweezers! Derek
  11. DelF
    Thanks guys, much appreciated. Thanks SpyGlass, and thank you also for your encouragement and for your helpful post that showed me the right way to go on frapping. Here's the finger shot you suggested: Derek
  12. DelF
    Cannon Rigging contd. Starboard battery finished! Once I'd got myself sorted out on the port side it took much less time to complete the second set of guns. Real production line stuff - instead of completing one gun at a time I did all the breechings, then all the blocks, then all the frapping and so on. Much more efficient if a little tedious doing 50 blocks at a time, for example. Here's the result: I've temporarily refitted some of the deck furniture just to see how she's looking, but I'll probably remove some of the snaggable items such as deck pumps until later in the build. Well, it took just over a month but I must admit it was worth it. I really do appreciate Glenn, Tim and Maurice persuading me (against my better judgement, as I saw it) to rig all the guns. I honestly didn't think I could make an acceptable job of it, so I'm very grateful I was persuaded otherwise. I love this forum! Next I think I'll fit the rudder, then get on with shaping the spars. Derek
  13. DelF
    Excellent job on your first model - well done! Derek
  14. DelF
    That plan finishes the whole display off very nicely. Another superb model from the Blue Ensign dockyard and another idea I'll steal adopt. Derek
  15. DelF
    Hi Derek I got the same when I visited the original post. I can only guess that the photos were originally hosted on a site that is no longer available. I assume you can view most photos OK? Derek
  16. DelF
    Fly Tying Thread I've just realised that I pointed my link to the wrong thread in my earlier post. I linked to Nano Silk rather than Spyder Thread. The colour and size are the same, but I'm not sure the properties are. I have rectified the link now, and can only apologise for any problems caused. The slightly better news is that Spyder Thread is cheaper! Derek
  17. DelF
    It's just been pointed out that the link I provided didn't work so you wouldn't have learned much anyway ☹️! I've fixed it now 🤪
  18. DelF
    Really? Look darn near perfect to me! I'll be interested to see your post on this. I sometimes use the micrometer if the piece I'm ripping is to the left of the saw blade as opposed to between the blade and the fence (I find ripping thin strips to the left is generally much easier and less problematic). Of course if you're ripping a lot of strips on the left you need a jig like this so you don't need to keep re-positioning the fence. Derek
  19. DelF
    Superb work on your deck fittings - she's looking very trim. They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and in that regard I intend to copy your hinges on the sky light. It's just the sort of little detail that helps bring a model to life. I look forward to your gun rigging - I'm sure you'll do a great job. Derek
  20. DelF
    Glenn - just seen this, if you're still interested...
  21. DelF
    There was a recent discussion on Vallorbe files here that might also help. Derek
  22. DelF
    Remiss of me, but I've only just followed this up and found your gallery album of Fair American - stunning! You certainly achieved your goal of 'painting with wood' - absolutely gorgeous. I particularly loved the exposed frames, and I also noted a very neat example of joggling and some nicely turned belaying pins. Lots of other points of merit of course, but they're items I've recently been concerned with so I was especially interested to see them. I was surprised to see the album listed under kit built models as she looked scratch built to me (and I mean that as a compliment!). Can I ask what model and if it is still available? Derek
  23. DelF
    Deck fittings Thanks as always for the kind comments and likes - they are much appreciated. Just by way of a break from gun rigging, I was prompted by a question Glenn raised in the Masting & Rigging sub forum to replace the octagonal mast bases. I posted a step-by-step guide in that topic so rather than repeating that now I'll just provide a link here. I made the bases out of 2 mm boxwood sheet on my Proxxon micro mill. Arguably they would be quicker to make on a lathe, although I timed myself and it took just 20 minutes to make both bases. So I don't think there's much in it, and it provides an interesting little exercise if you have a mill and a dividing head/rotating table. Derek
  24. DelF
    Gun rigging techniques For completeness I ought to describe how I updated the little jig I made to strop the tiny 2mm blocks for the gun tackle. The original jig was OK for a few blocks, but it quickly became obvious it wasn't up to rigging all 84. It was awkward to use, and the 0.3mm brass wire pegs that held the block in place were too soft and bendy. So, I replaced the two brass pegs with pieces cut from a broken 0.35mm drill bit. Next, I cut the base of the jig away just in front of the new steel pegs - when the jig is mounted in the vice this gives me more space to wrap the ends of the wire round to form the hook. Lastly, I glued a small piece of wood directly behind the pin that forms the ring (becket?) in the strop. The top of this piece of wood is level with the groove in the block. This stops the strop slipping to the bottom of the pin, and leaves the wire nicely lined up with the groove. The pictures probably explain it much better than I can - first without a block and then with a block being stropped: One further little detail - I staggered the heights of the two steel pins deliberately. When they were both the same height, I found it quite difficult to get them both through the holes in the block at the same time. Remember, these things are tiny! Staggered like this, it's comparatively easy to get the first pin engaged then slide the block down to slide over the second. Derek
  25. DelF
    I get brown and black fly tying thread from The Essential Fly, based in North Yorkshire - the link is here. They ship worldwide, and as the thread is so light (a 100 metre spool weighs 7 grams, about a quarter of an ounce) shipping costs should be reasonable. I note they also stock the 20 Denier thread mentioned by Herbert - that is ridiculously thin! I think I'll get some just to try it, but for now 30D is fine enough for me. Also, according to the website the 30D is over 30 times stronger than the thinner stuff. The latter has a breaking strain of only 3 oz (less than 90 grams) which I suspect would limit its usefulness for rigging. In contrast, the 30D is remarkably strong for its size - hence the term spider thread - and I've not yet managed to break it accidentally. Derek

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