Bob Cleek

Decades ago, I had home just north of San Francisco, CA, which had a 14" high living room wall built of exposed Belgian blocks, recycled cobblestones from the streets of San Francisco. In earlier times, the ships would arrive in SF in ballast carrying Belgian blocks, unload the blocks and take on a cargo of grain for the return trip. The blocks were used to pave the streets. In later times, some of these cobblestone streets are still to be seen, although most have be asphalted over. The City now has an ordinance requiring that any cobblestones dug up in street repair belong to the City, which reuses them in parks and other landscaping applications. The cobblestone streets are famous, but their origins aren't commonly known.

You should start here and then consider your options: As with any tool, you get what you pay for, generally speaking. A good, top of the line scroll saw will hold much of its value on the resale market if and when you decide to unload it. The run of the mill cheapos are a dime a dozen on the "flea market" web sites. The quality of a scroll saw is determined by its amount of vibration. The less, the better. The "double parallel arm scroll saws," are the best, due to their "double parallel arms." These are the top end options by Hegner, Sakura, Excalibur, and so on. (Brands you've never heard of probably because they are specialty items.) Reviewers of the lower end scroll saws give high marks to the Delta scroll saws. Here's a 21" Sakura with stand for sale on eBay right now for $345.00 or "Best Offer." https://www.ebay.com/itm/113782374163?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&itemid=113782374163&targetid=1068323853510&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9032112&poi=&campaignid=11612431611&mkgroupid=120003497904&rlsatarget=pla-1068323853510&abcId=9300456&merchantid=6296724&gclid=Cj0KCQiAyJOBBhDCARIsAJG2h5dY_w4irzmnwSEWlnSwniDYB2IZ18AEQRrSB9mVCv4zUlfjTpAsrIIaAlGSEALw_wcB If I was in the market for one myself, I'd be all over it like white on rice for that price. (This Sakura new is $800.00. A 22" Hegner runs $2,000.00 new. Both without a stand.) "Free local pickup," which makes you wonder why that being "free" is any big deal. I came across this when I was looking for a picture of a top end scroll saw and noticed the very reasonable price. It's located in South San Francisco, so you could shoot up I-5 and pick it up yourself! (Okay, it's a five or six hour drive one way. Some of us do that on a fairly regular basis and even shipping shouldn't require taking out a second mortgage. ) Manufacturer's website: http://www.pswood.com/scroll-saws/ (They changed their name to PSWood Machines. They are made in the USA, but the original "Sakura" brand name sounded too Asian, I suspect. )

It still doesn't sound like you're entirely clear on the concept. 1. Put your hand drill motor in a vise. 2. Put the dowel you will be using for the mast or boom in the chuck of your drill motor. 3. Hold the far end of the dowel with a piece of cloth or drill a hole in a piece of wood and rig a support for the outer end with clamps or whatever. 4. Turn on drill motor. 5. Run a sanding block with 120 grit or so up and down the length of the dowel to shape it. If you have the option of sending the Dremel drill press back where it came from for a refund, I'd say "Send it back!" I've never heard of anybody who had one that was satisfied with it. It simply lacks the rigidity to do the work at the tolerances modeling demands. Dremel mototools have their place and are useful for a lot of jobs, but Dremel's stands and attachments are often more in the "toy" category than in the "serious tool" category. Your mileage may vary, but I'd suggest if you are for whatever reason wedded to a Dremel mototool for power, you'd be dollars ahead to get a Vanda-Lay Industries drill press or mill/drill set up and realize a much higher quality level of work. If you aren't wedded to the mototool for power, get a dedicated mini-drill press. Below are the Vanda-Lay drill press, and mill. the lower two photos are of the mill set up as a cut-off saw and as a wood lathe. This system, powered by a Dremel mototool (any type) or a Foredom handpiece, is somewhat similar to the legendary Unimat DB/SL in concept. They are made entirely of CNC-cut aluminum and stainless steel and very nicely done. It's a family business and their service is prompt. Their prices are quite reasonable, in my opinion. Their drill press, and mill/drill/circular saw/lathe fill the need for machines that can turn out good work at a price point well below purchasing any dedicated machine tool in the same size range. The mill/drill has tremendous versatility. They make good sense for those who have yet to commit to investing thousands of dollars in a micro-machine shop full of dedicated tools. https://www.vanda-layindustries.com/index.html

Yes, that's a common complaint with the Dremel drill press.. All indications are that the flexion in the Dremel unit makes it a bit-breaker for the small size bits. I've found the Vanda-Lay Industry rotary tool drill press to be adequately solid, although for serious drilling I opt for my Unimat SL. I've just discovered the "Micro Fine Drill Mill Adaptor Miniature Quill." It's 1/2" shaft chucks into a full size drill press. It has a separate quill with a knurled grip that permits drilling with very small bits with fine control. I think I'm going to check it out. https://www.amazon.com/Miniature-Shank-JT0-Chuck-Manual-Control-Avoids-Breakage/dp/B06XZ4KJSV/ref=pd_lpo_469_img_1/138-4377185-5044154?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B06XZ4KJSV&pd_rd_r=4b546926-1697-465b-b65e-5ff710252f39&pd_rd_w=p7Mbu&pd_rd_wg=iFknW&pf_rd_p=16b28406-aa34-451d-8a2e-b3930ada000c&pf_rd_r=FJQWZ5GFRGH7NZF6FP3Q&psc=1&refRID=FJQWZ5GFRGH7NZF6FP3Q

I just checked them out on Amazon USA. Note that they are around $33.50 but this is just for the adaptor alone. It doesn't include the chuck. There's a "package deal," including a Chiwanese chuck for $43.50 at the bottom of the page under "Frequently bought together." https://www.amazon.com/Miniature-Shank-JT0-Chuck-Manual-Control-Avoids-Breakage/dp/B06XZ4KJSV/ref=pd_lpo_469_img_1/138-4377185-5044154?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B06XZ4KJSV&pd_rd_r=4b546926-1697-465b-b65e-5ff710252f39&pd_rd_w=p7Mbu&pd_rd_wg=iFknW&pf_rd_p=16b28406-aa34-451d-8a2e-b3930ada000c&pf_rd_r=FJQWZ5GFRGH7NZF6FP3Q&psc=1&refRID=FJQWZ5GFRGH7NZF6FP3Q

Roger, I've got a set of those very same spokeshaves. They're lovely. The sort of tool that just makes you feel good using them. I have the three spokeshaves in their original box. (They come up on eBay occasionally. Their no longer made, as far as I know.) I don't have the aluminum plate you have pictured above. It looks shop-made. What's it for?

Excellent point! It may seem redundant when building and glue bonds are young, but it really pays off over the long haul when parts and pieces don't start falling off five or ten years later!

While he latter rigging arrangement requires less line, the former is by far the more mechanically efficient. The boom being rigid, in the latter arrangement, half or more of your energy is simply pushing the boom against the mast, as with a bowstring and an arrow. I can't imagine why anybody would rig a topping lift in that manner. There may be some confusion in interpreting some drawings, as "a sheave near the aft end of the boom and back to tackle near the mast" is very common, but the line through the sheave is actually the outhaul for the sail on that boom, not the topping lift. I also noted in passing that you describe "foot ropes" (plural) on the end of the main boom and a notation on the drawing as "footropes P&S." Why would one ever need two foot ropes, one on the port side of the boom and the other on the starboard side of the boom? Both would hang beneath the boom. What would be the purpose of that? Boom foot ropes are not used all that much, compared to yard foot ropes. On the boom, they may on occasion be used when bending the mainsail or to pass a gasket around the loose canvas at the clew of a reefed main, but that's about it.

I'm always amused by the custom of those times that the men so often wore white shirts, neckties, and coats when they did manual labor. Sometimes they wore shop aprons, but always the shirts and ties.

CA adhesive is the Devil's spittle! It's hot and sticky, and there's always a high price to pay for using it in the end!

How about something like a quarter inch down to 1/64th, or wherever the small Byrnes drawplate begins? That would allow for more than just trunnels. Spars could be sized as well and then tapered as needed.

It's sure a beautiful piece of machining.

I've used tongue depressors for frames which can be bought in bulk cheaply at craft stores. I cut them at angles to cover the frame templates and glued them up with PVA one on top of the other with the joints staggered, then cut them to shape on the scroll saw. They worked fine.

My guess is that there's a fair amount of flexion in a boom of that length, particularly because it's a solid round spar, rather than a glued up box girder. Comparing the two photos, it appears to have much less arc when under sail, as the sail holds the boom up along the foot. You can see when she's under sail that the arc is the result of the tension on the mid-boom mainsail sheeting tackle. In the photo of her alongside, you see more arc because the boom is only held up by the topping lift and the gaff boom appears to be laying on top of the main boom to boot.

Yes, and I'm not familiar with them, but I'm not so sure about a Chinese outfit on AliExpress that sells "Foredom" handpieces for twenty bucks! https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32755399438.html?spm=a2g0o.detail.1000013.7.30471325557rM5&gps-id=pcDetailBottomMoreThisSeller&scm=1007.13339.169870.0&scm_id=1007.13339.169870.0&scm-url=1007.13339.169870.0&pvid=c5f94c99-482c-4a0b-8734-a74beed2373a&_t=gps-id:pcDetailBottomMoreThisSeller,scm-url:1007.13339.169870.0,pvid:c5f94c99-482c-4a0b-8734-a74beed2373a,tpp_buckets:668%230%23131923%2323_668%23888%233325%2316_668%232846%238111%231996_668%232717%237560%23224_668%231000022185%231000066059%230_668%233468%2315616%23781

Yes, "Horror Fright" and others sell an Asian-made knockoff of the original Foredom flex-shaft rotary power tool, which has been around forever. The "Foredom tool" is the "gold standard" for flex-shaft tools used by dental labs, carvers, and jewelers. The Foredom tool comes with a variety of stands and handpieces, just like dental drills. There are also many aftermarket attachments, such as the Vanda-Lay Industries drill press and mill, which are powered by either a Dremel motor or the Foredom handpiece. StewMac recently came out with a plunge router accessory as well! The Foredom's big advantages, aside from the quality of the construction and the breadth of handpieces and bits and burrs, is its superior power and the lightness and flexibility of the flexible drive shaft and handpieces which make them very easy to control, much like a pencil. They are quiet, too. See: https://www.foredom.net/product-category/flex-shaft-tools/

Assuming that is true, how much run out is there when you're holding it in your hand while it's running?

Quite true! If Jim Byrnes made drawplates with a range of larger diameters, I'd buy them in a hot minute. (Hint... Hint... Hint!) The Byrnes drawplate is a great tool and well worth the price, but it covers a range of very, very small holes. I haven't used mine as much as my larger drawplates because I don't have much call for trunnels and pegs the diameter of a human hair! You'll need a larger-holed drawplate to get down to the diameter where the Byrnes drawplate even begins. The drill gauges are a good option for the larger diameters and double as... well, drill gauges. The short answer is "as little as possible." The less of a "bite" you take on each draw, the less resistance to the pulling and therefore the less breakage and problems holding on to the wood you are pulling through it. A drawplate for metal wire compresses and draws (stretches) the wire (making it longer, actually,) which is why metal wire drawplates have conical sides with a "big hole" side and a "small hole" side. Drawplates for wood scrape wood from the sides of the wood as it passes over the sharp edge of the parallel sides of the holes. This is a big difference between the two. You can flatten the back "small hole" side of a metal wire drawplate and, putting the wood in from the back "small hole" side, use them to fashion wooden dowels, but their conical sides promote breakage of the wood when the wood "wobbles" in the conical hole when being pulled through. (Note that there is also such a thing as a wooden drawplate which is used by jewelers to size and flatten metal chain links. Wire is wound round a mandrel and the links cut with a jeweler's saw parallel to the mandrel. The resulting round links are slid off the mandrel and linked and soldered individually. The chain is then pulled through the holes in the wooden chain gauge to flatten them into ovals of uniform size. These are great for making chain, but no good for anything else.) The problem is, I don't know of anybody who makes drawplates for wood in a hole diameter range larger than the Byrnes drawplate. Sharpening the back of a drill gauge is apparently the only option. Making your own is possible, but, as said, the cost of the high quality small sized drill bits necessary to drill the required small sized holes is going to set one back far more than the cost of a couple of good drill gauges and a Byrnes drawplate, assuming, even that one can get the job done without breaking a lot of expensive tiny drill bits.

It may just be me, but I long ago gave up trying to use 60-80 size bits in any motorized hand-held drill motor, either a Dremel type or a Foredom handpiece. The slightest wobble of the hand usually results in a broken bit. I carefully use a pin vise for drilling by hand with such small bits. For motorized drilling, a good, rigid drill press with no run out is needed.

Wow! This thing is starting to sound like it could be a game-changer, particularly for card stock modeling.

With the caveat that I've never done this, I'll suggest that the Cricut (pronounced "cricket") home CNC cutting machine is designed to solve the problem of small scale lettering transfers for modeling purposes, among others. (It shows a lot of promise for photo-etch quality cutouts from card stock, too.) My daughter has one and loves it. It seems to be "a girl thing" as their marketing is directed to crafty "soccer moms," and I haven't seen the Cricut system mentioned in this forum at all as yet. I does seem to be becoming quite popular and the results it produces are excellent. While there is a plethora of "clip art" images for use with the machine, one can also generate their own with any computer graphics program or word processing font. I'd be interested to know if any modelers are using it and how they like it. Once the pandemic gets over, I plan to fool around with her Cricut and see what applications for modeling I can come up with for it.

For sure. They are very handy for building model case frames. It's nice to have an easy way to put a perfect 45 degree cut on a piece of wood. They are a rather specialized tool, though. It depends upon how often you need to make a small 45 degree cut for a joint. There are other ways to do it, of course, but few so accurate. I've only used them on picture framing molding stock. They aren't cheap if you set out to buy one. A chisel or a hobby knife will cut most model plank stock without any problem. One might find a standard guillotine paper cutter to be just as capable and even handier for more jobs and at a fraction of the cost.

Not to worry. On a model, the backing out depth dimensions are quite small and it doesn't take much. the sharp turns at the bottom corners of the transom are the worst. If you look at the full size hull pictures above, you can barely see the amount of backing out. You should be able to "fudge" most of it if the inside of the hull isn't too visible in the curved places. On a full size hull, you want the planks laying flush against the frame faces for structural reasons. That's not so important on a model. Keep your frames narrow and you'll be okay.

What Keith said. If you didn't use CA, you may be able to sand down far enough to get to bare wood and give it another try. Otherwise, you'll have to do the deck over again, taking care to avoid any glue on the face of the planks.

Bit of trivia: Curved sole planes can be used for backing out, as noted. Many plankers' favorite tool for backing out full sized planks, other than the edge of a disk sander modernly, is the Stanley #70 box scraper. http://www.findmytool.co.uk/images/old/scrapers/stanley/70/large1.jpg The "two-fisted" handle allows for putting some real muscle into it. Box scrapers were used in the days before corrugated cardboard boxes were common and wooden shipping crates were the norm. Addresses would be painted onto the crates using stencils. The box scraper was used to scrape off the painted lettering on wooden crates so the crates could be reused. Now, they are collector's items, although Kunz makes a short-handled copy of the Stanley original. For modeling purposes, a bit of sandpaper wrapped around a dowel should do the trick, or simply make a curved scraper blade. It rarely takes much backing out to make the fit on a model and unless you are showing the interior of the hull, nobody's going to be the wiser if the faying surface isn't perfect. Remember, though, that if backing out is required, your plank has to be correspondingly thicker or your final hull fairing is going to be a nightmare, if not impossible. The outside face of the plank in the middle of its width will be lowered by the depth of the backing out, so your plank has to be thicker by that amount or you'll have to take all the whole hull's planking down to that thickness to fair it. Here again, though, with a model, fairing isn't such a big deal as it is on a full size hull. It's to make narrower planks in the way of heavily curved frames than to try to back out a thick wide plank.