No Idea

Hi Bob if you just need to simply connect the two units together so that it runs you will need to consider a few things. Firstly lubrication will be needed for the engine so an inline lubricator filled with steam oil will be required. Without this your engine will suffer serious internal damage. Secondly you will need a way of controlling the steam pressure that arrives at the engine to control the RPM. There are quite a few commercially available steam throttles that will do the job nicely. Lastly the pipework can be copper or brass its entirely up to you but all joints will have to be sliver soldered due to the heat. If you want to fit it in a boat there are many other considerations such as collecting the waste steam and oil so that it does not polute the water. Here's a company that I have used many times and there components and advice are great. They know Stuart boilers and engines inside out. http://www.clevedonsteam.co.uk/products.html#Firetube

Ahhh got you its a bit lost in translation sorry mate.......Now don't think I'm a bit dim but for some reason I thought that honing could only be carried out with a leather. I didn't realise that I've been honing my blades on a very fine plate for years I just call it sharpening. I will look on the Lee Valley site though and thanks for the info - Mark

Hi vossiewulf thats a very interesting post and something that I would like to have a try at in the future when I get some more time on my hands. Over here in the UK I guess the most popular knife would be a Swan Morton scalpel as the blades are so cheap. I get 100 blades for about £9 and you can buy a little tool that helps change the blades without cutting your fingers. I have a question though - could you tell be how to hone a plane blade correctly? I use diamond plates to sharpen them but I have never actually honed a blade before. You mention a strop; is this just like a leather belt?

They can’t be one of my 4 best tools as my wife keeps them safely locked away 🤣

I can only echo what Joe has said. I used to sand planks and the results were mixed and getting a straight edge was very difficult. Now I only really use the plane as it’s so good a getting down accurately to a line. If the line is concave just twist the plane to 45 degrees and you can get in there no problem

What a great topic 👍 mine would be 1. My Veritas plane it’s great for just about everything and makes so little mess 2. A very sharp knife 3. An Icraruler which is a pleasure to use and so accurate https://www.incra.com/measuring_marking-marking_rules.html 4. Permagrit sanding tools which are just so useful Thanks for the tip about the glue bottle I’ve never seen one of them before so ones on order and should be here this week

Its your first planked model so well done in getting this far. I think your solution to see planks in a painted hull is a great idea but use a decent two pack polyester filler. Its easy to sand and sticks to wood perfectly. Skills are learnt over time and many builders use filler blocks between the frames to help remove these dips before they do any planking. If I had your problem I would do as you have suggested as it will look great if done with care.

I have the Dremel drill stand / press and I must be honest the the slop and play in the mechanism isn't good. It moves in most directions and I have found that you need a really big centre punch mark to get it to drill where you want. Would I buy another one - NO. Unfortunately I do not have experience of the Proxxon version so I cannot comment on that. I am currently looking for a far more accurate replacement.

Cheers Maurys I've not had time to really trawl thorough the forum that much. Don't suppose you have a link?

I found this thread a few days ago and watched Chuck making the lateral bends on the video. I must be honest and thought that it seemed just a bit too simple but I really liked the idea. So I thought hell why not lets give it a try and see if it works for me. There are not very many threads that I've read that have probably changed the entire way I do things but this is one of them. I set up three clamps on my bench and made a lateral bend using the wife's hairdryer to see what happened. The results were eye opening for me as a straight plank sat perfectly flat on the bulkheads and the plank maintained its shape and did not spring back very much at all. Crickey this is a game changer for me so thank you Chuck as I have always soaked my planks; then clamped them in place so that they dried before gluing in place. This is so simple; and now that I've done it completely makes sense. I've ordered a hot air gun as although one issue has been solved; using the wife's hairdryer is a step too far for her and as brave as I am I'm not that brave or stupid to keep going there so I'll get my own. I'm new on this forum and I am a cynical middle aged fool but goodness - this solution is just on point for all builders who want to get their planking flat and uniform without lots of wasted wood as its getting so expensive. I think the next step for me is to make a jig that makes this process even easier. Thank you to all that have contributed to this post

I have to agree that it would be a real chore to spile all of the planks. I think that I will mark it out and see what it looks like with the hull lined out and go from there. This is quite a big hull at 890mm long so its got a lot of planks to be made.

Thanks Jaager there are some good ideas there so maybe it’s doable. It’ll probably involve quite a lot of spilling too.

Hi All I was wondering if anyone has had any experience of planking using the ships waterline as a datum. I’ve nearly finished the first layer of planking and was thinking about using two different woods for the second layer. It would be nice if I could make the transition of the different woods on the waterline as this is a working RC boat. My initial thoughts are that it would change how I lined out the planking but then my mind started working far too hard for its own good and I started finding issues that maybe just aren’t there. Hence my question to the forum. If you have any thoughts I would be very grateful and I was thinking about using Castello boxwood on the keel changing to Pear at the waterline. Thanks all - Mark

Hi andante there is no definitive answer to your question that I know of. My current build has the garboard strake as the same width as the following planks as it just so happened that it worked that way. The best way to discover its width is to place the next plank out from the garboard strake and see how this fits running from stem to stern. It also needs to be parallel to the keel so that all of the following planks are also parallel. Its at this point you can see just how wide your garboard plank needs to be bearing in mind that it also fits into the keel rabbet and must fill the gap between. Some builders will say that this is working backwards but it works for me.

John you missed out a third group mate and they are "All the gear and no idea"...............oh hang on a minute that's me 😂..............I'll get my coat 😜

T'aint a hobby if you hurry - russ that has got to be one of the best bits of advice I've ever read I really like that

Now thats more like it mate it seems to rise a little which is ok, and you could lessen this if you like but there's really no need from what I can see. As you lay the following planks just taper them so that you keep the rise at the stem to a bare minimum. Just remember that when you do taper planks the minimum width should be no less that half of the original plank width. Good luck!

Hi Frank maybe this will help. Have a look at the garboard plank in this example. You will see just how early it finishes at the bow. If it didn’t then the following planks would just start pointing upward at the stem. Also just to let you know I think that plank was about my 6th attempt before I got it where I wanted it. So just keep going mate and it’ll all come right with practice. Never be embarrassed to ask a question - it’s the only way we learn

I like to put the sand paper around a 20mm round dowel when doing this job. If you place the handle end without the sand paper on against the proceeding bulkhead and move it up and down rather than across it cuts a nice edge. You will also not be removing any wood from the bulkhead which the handle is on it simply acts as a guide whilst the sanding end shapes your intended bulkhead. I have found this to be a precise way which gives you a lot of control too.

Hi Bob I must confess that the cost of shipping to the UK is very high and then of course we have to pay import tax too. So I thought the best thing to do was order one of everything and just get it done. So I’ve basically ordered everything. I thought that my wife would have a fit but she’s been the complete opposite. No doubt this will cost me many pairs of shoes as recompense but I’m fine with that. Wait till she finds out I want the thickness sander too!

I just wanted to thank everyone that has contributed to this and the many other threads on Jim Byrnes table saw. I have found them to be be extremely helpful and on the back of this I have taken the plunge and ordered a table saw from Jim and Donna. These threads will no doubt make my first uses much more productive and a lot more safer too. I hope to make some contributions once I'm up and running.

Hi Bob this is exactly what I do - I use 4" PVC waste pipe with a stop on the end. Having said that I think that Arts solution is the same but far cheaper and easier too.

Hi - Here's a link that will explain how to use cloth and resin successfully. I use the roller method and although the instructions are a bit wordy, once you get going its actually very easy to do. I always use isopropyl alcohol between coats to take the "fat" off of the set resin. It works well for me and gives a glass like finish ready for painting. The instructions are for an aircraft but the process is identical for hulls. https://www.bucks-composites.com/how-to-do/guide-to-surface-finishing I hope this helps and good luck Edit - I should have said; use epoxy resin not fibreglass resin as the fumes are a lot less and its far easier and less messy to work with.

Hi B - The issue is not your filler its your technique. I always use a two pack auto type filler which adheres to wood very well but is harder than the actual wood. Just apply your filler in very thin layers and build up slowly to the level you require with light sanding in between. Yes it is time consuming but hey its about the building not the how rapidly you can achieve the shape that you want. Thin layers and patience is the way to go and you will achieve your goal. Also use a block for your abrasives - it will give you a flatter result. Good luck mate!

I think that you have done a lovely job so far your hull looks great. As for the capping rails I always like to use wood/aliphatic resin when I can as its so strong and wipes away so easily too. If your issue is gluing through the paint; just remove the paint on the glued surfaces and its job done. Keep the updates coming.