No Idea

Hi All Well I'm well and truly stuck on this build at the moment. I think all builders have a particular part of a build that they find difficult and mine is definitely the ceiling planking. I'm trying to make the transition from the side planking to the planks that run up the transom. The bend is so tight I'm finding it difficult to find a solution. So far I've tried soaking planks and then loads of heat but no matter what the plank ended up splitting. I've tried spiling before soaking the plank to reduce the amount of bending and again the plank ended up splitting. I think I've spent a good couple of weeks on this now and I'm no further forward with a solution. Its only this corner that causing the problem and I can see that once solved the rest will follow quite easily. I could bodge it up but I'm not going too - so how to solve this problem??? I believe now that this particular plank requires carving just like the one on the outside of the transom. I'm going to give it a go but the shape is going to be very hard to replicate. Funnily enough my wife has suggested modelling clay to see the shape in 3D and you know what I think she may be right. So why my post - for first time scratch builders like me - don't give up! Carry on and find a solution even when you think its got you beat!! I don't have a solution yet but I will at some point. On the positive side all of the planks are cut at the correct thickness Also my template making is so much better too And my desire to get completed is under control - well sort of 😜 Anyway I'm still at it and I will get this sorted. Thanks for being part of my learning Cheers Mark

This is not my sale and I have nothing to do with the sale either. However I don’t see these very often but here’s one for sale if any of the UK builders want one. I just happened upon it. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/295237997664?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=k809bnrjt7-&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=ygWIHLd-RE2&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY Mods I don’t know if this is in the correct place or even allowed. I’ll leave it with you to decide. Cheers Mark

It looks like a nice tool - however this falls into the "Not really needed modelling tools" category for me. There are so many expensive modelling tools that just don't make the grade. As has been said there are so many ways to make this type of cut and basically its a levered razor blade. It costs $175 ........wow..........add $300 and you can buy a Byrnes table saw. Its 3 times the price and 100 times the tool.

Hi Gary - you are spot on there mate my mistake. I guess I was just showing the attachment but gave no thought about what was actually on offer!! The 90 degree attachment that Foredom sell is as you have shown and yes you do need a H30 hand piece to attach it too.

It is possible to buy 90 degree hand pieces that fit straight onto a Foredom motor..............I'll let you see the price!! I wouldn't pay this and I don't mind paying for top tools but this is well over the top in my opinion. https://moleroda.com/product/foredom-handpieces/?attribute_handpiece-type=35RAA+Right+Angle+Handpiece+3mm+Collet&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIwaHHrYSh-gIVZoBQBh2jeQ2fEAQYASABEgLJPfD_BwE However Foredom do make an attachment that fits onto the H30 hand piece but its quite bulky https://www.foredom.net/product/a-69224-right-angle-attachment/

Great advice there from Jaager but I'll add a little if I may. The TX which is a fantastic motor is only available in 115V so it cannot be used in the UK without a transformer. The SR may seem the cheaper option but for ship building I have never been able to stall the motor on mine as the torque is over and above what I need. I have also found that I do not need to awl to make starter holes. The reason being is because I can put the drill bit where it needs to be and start the drill at such low RPM using the foot pedal that the bit just does not drift. This is the best thing about the foot pedal - the starting RPM is governed by the user and not the tool. As for the router made by Stewmac - goodness me how nice does that tool look!!! I've had this on my radar for quite some time but it will have to wait.

Hi Kevin I've been using a Foredom tool for quite a while now and its not comparable to any high speed drill. The torque and slow speeds just give you the accuracy and control that you want. So what have learn't from my ownership? Firstly I no longer hang my Foredom motor up like jewellers do. It's far too restricting and I've swapped to a desk mounted base as I can literally put this anywhere that I want. I have found this to be a much better solution and I would recommend the SR motor with a foot pedal control with a key drive shaft. Next the main hand piece is a H30 which takes drills up to 4.0mm and will just about do 95% of all of your tasks. Foredom also make a beautiful drill press that the H30 slides straight into and does a fantastic job. I also have another hand piece which is the H28. Its about half of the diameter of the H30 and its much smaller to hold in your hand. Foredom make some really nice micro chucks that fit nicely into the supplied collet with this hand piece. I hope this has been some help - Oh also buy from a registered Foredom dealer as there are so many rip offs out there that are not as good as the real thing Cheers Mark

I find your work so inspiring mate. That light is on another level it must have taken you hours to complete but what a beautiful result.

Incredible work on the gratings - the more you look at them the more the small details are revealed.

That’s wonderful work 👍👍

Hi all - Some more done on Le Rochefort and thanks for all of the nice comments and likes. I fitted the next plank down on the port side to frame the cut outs. It was a bit tricky getting it around the stern as this plank is still 3mm x 10mm and its a very tight bend. It also has to fit into the rabbet but I'm really pleased the way its turned out. The bow was a lot easier to fit and I also placed the iron and wood nails as before Next I marked out the cut outs on the port side - Don't laugh but I've been putting cutting them out for nearly two weeks as I just couldn't do it!! Anyway I've done it now so no going back. The reason for the small opening at the bow is because there is a small deck on the inside and the beams need somewhere to sit on the frames. So the next job is to finish the ceiling which is going to take me a while as I need to plan it out first. As soon as I have something to post I'll get it on here. Cheers Mark

Wow your work is exceptional!!! I'll be following your build too.

Just my thoughts on this and I'm new to building frames too................. Firstly accuracy is the most important thing as cumulative errors make such an impact over the entire hull. So as suggested you need some digital callipers to make your measurements exact. Secondly use a hardwood such as Costello or Pear wood as it's easier to be accurate as it holds an edge. I didn't really understand this until I used it. Thirdly the bevels that are marked on the drawings show the exact final shape and it's easy to just shape the frames to these lines......however the chances of anyone lining up 50+ frames to the exact alignment are slim. So use them as a guide and leave some on for final shaping. Forth - I use permagrit tools for rough shaping too and have found them to be excellent for this job. But they do leave deep score so again leave something to work with to make your frames look pretty. Now that I've had a go I prefer using spoke shaves. Finally - building a Pegasus as a first plank on frame build. That is one hell of an ask as it's going to be an epic build which will take years. I've started much smaller and I'm happy with the challenges my little POF build is throwing at me. Good luck and please keep us updated as I'm in on your build 😀

Just seen this thread and I used to have the same problem when I first got my thickness sander. A few years later and I now know that it was just the way I was using it and not being familiar with its use. So here's what I do - As soon as the wood being fed through pops out on the machined side I put my thumb on it to keep it tight to the feed table. The reason I used to get dips was because I allowed the wood to raise slightly off of the bed. I feed through by hand using a constant pressure on the sanding drum and let the drum do the work. I only use a feed through stick at the very last moment - I also use the widest stick that I have to keep the piece square to the sanding drum. Also a 24" piece creates a lot of weight at the end of the sanding run as so much of it is unsupported once machined. Just use loads of thumb pressure to keep it all flat and you will get the piece that you need. Also as wood tends to cup - swap the plank around end to end and and turn it over often. I have found that this method gives me the precise results that I want time after time. I have removed 3mm in thickness with no issues at all except for the painful loss of so much great wood to saw dust!!!

Hi I'm very late to your build but I've just read through your whole post. What beautiful work you do - I'll be following from now on and congratulations on such a lovely ship.

Beautiful work mate and I have to agree - this ship deserves to be displayed in a museum!

Hi Allan and thanks 👍 I actually didn’t know there was more than one type but I’ve looked and I am using epoxy reinforced rods. They are very flexible and the fly boys use them apparently. However when you use short lengths it does become quite brittle but it sands just as easy as wood

The French used both iron nails and tree nails in their ship construction hence the iron nails are dark and the tree nails just blend in. I believe that English ships only used tree nails in their construction. At 1/24 scale this ship is roughly 900mm long 👍

Just a small update The last plank is now in so the strake below the whale is complete. I've also placed the iron nails and tree nails in each strake too. The iron nails should be 0.75mm to be at exact scale but I downsized them to 0.7mm as this was the only size carbon rod that I could get. I did try a test piece using the 0.8mm rod that I already had but they looked way too big. The tree nails are 0.9mm and were made using vaddoc's technique utilising a needle and drill press - although I used a mill. The reason that the carbon looks a bit battered is because it is. I like to use a small hammer to make sure that they are correctly home. The results are ok - The nails look blacker than they will as the sanding makes them shiny. Once the matt shellack is applied the nails will go dull and the wood a darker shade. The tree nails just blend in really well and once again the shellack will make them just slightly more visible. So now the hull is much stronger I can proceed with cutting the frames away on the port side to make the interior visible. Its not something that I'm looking forward too but its got to be done. I'm also going to run another strake on the port side which will just frame the cut outs. I think that this addition will look nice! Mark

I'm still breathing - I never realised that building model ships came with a care package - but I'm grateful 🤣

Fantastic video Kevin 👍 I just mentioned to my wife that from now on I'm going to be sitting in front of the TV making tree nails.........she mentioned something about "over my dead body" but I think she really meant - no problem Mark you just carry on fella 😜

Slow is good - what's the rush? Take your time and just do your best.

Thats some good milling there mate - I think you've got this.

Hi Chris I've just been reading your thread and your work looks really nice and accurate. Good luck with the restart and I'll follow along too 👍

Cheers druxey - I think they should be named the patience planks. It’s so easy to mess them up when you’re cutting free hand but when they fit - that’s a whiskey moment 🥃