Bob Cleek

I would expect that it wouldn't be worth the effort. I think the spray paint filter is going to be much finer than would a sawdust filter and the sawdust would clog it up pretty quickly, meaning you'd be stopping all the time to clean the filter. The best sawdust collection device is a good vacuum attached to a sander that is intended to have a sanding vacuum attached, but in a small apartment that isn't always effective enough because the exhaust air has to be clean enough that it isn't just sucking up sawdust and just spraying fine sawdust all over everything.. Even with something like a shop vacuum, you'll still get a fair amount of airborne sanding dust in your work area. I have found the best approach is to sand outside whenever possible. A large fan directed over the working area blows must of the sawdust away. Working indoors on small projects, it's often quite effective to set up a fan that simply blows across the work area towards an open window. 
 
In terms of reducing the amount of sawdust, the less one can use powered saws and sanding machines, the less sawdust will end up in the shop or work area. If one uses a sharp knife as much as possible for cutting, a good scraper for fairing, and chisels for shaping, the resultant waste is shavings and chips, which, being larger, don't hang in the air, aren't inhaled, and are easy to clean up with a bench brush and pan. In the days before electric motorized sanders, grinders, and saws, there was a lot less dust in woodworking shops. Learning to sharpen good edge tools will eliminate a lot of sawdust and save on the purchase of a lot of sandpaper, too.
 
 

Spray booth are to redirect fumes and paint overspray (trapped in the filter), wood dust will clog the filter and overtaxe the motor. A shop vac would be a better option.I build a booth that I connected to a quiet shop vac, Freud and Festool make some excellent quiet one but they are$$$$$$$ but a "silent" shopvac would be the way to
go in an apartment.

Thanks E Z Breeze and others.......that's what I did in the end and it was successful. I enclose a photo showing the hull completed from keel to deck level. Just the intricate parts on the decking to complete.........and then the rigging!!

BTW, GORCH FOCK has a steel-plated hull, having been built in 1958 ...

I suspect the problem is the water based primer.  The water gets sucked into the wood and raises the grain.  Either seal the wood or use a non-water based primer.  I used a Tamiya primer on my Sphinx and no problem with the grain raising.

you might try applying a matte wood sealer prior to painting

FWIW, many of us have gone to copper wherever possible.  It can be cleaned then inserted, shaped, installed, and so forth, then blackened in situ with diluted liver of sulfur.  The LOS will not stain the wood and works instantly.   As with blackening brass or steel, a clean surface is best.
Allan   

Great job! A real gem. Thanks for sharing!

Stainless steel is difficult to work with; it is “tough” so hard to cut and form and I don’t believe that it can be readily soldered.  It shrinks if welded.
 
I see no reason to use any of the steels; carbon or alloy, when there is an excellent alternative- Brass.
 
Brass is readily available as sheet, wire, rod, and round, square, and rectangular tube.  The square and rectangular tube can be ripped and fabricated to make various structural shapes.  Brass is easily soldered using ordinary soft soldering materials. It also machines well.  It has ample strength for our purposes.
 
Roger

Great job! A real gem. Thanks for sharing!

Great job! A real gem. Thanks for sharing!

Great job! A real gem. Thanks for sharing!

Great job! A real gem. Thanks for sharing!

Great job! A real gem. Thanks for sharing!

It's an interesting idea, but the readily available search engines like Google, Bing, Duck Duck Go, and the rest all have an "images" toggle so all you have to do is search for, say, "USS Constitution" and hit "images" and you'll get a ton of them. To some extent, a data base of ship pictures would be redundant. 
 
On the other hand, if members were willing to supply it, there could be a database of "modeler's photos" that would be useful. If the shutterbugs were willing, it would be great for somebody to download a few hundred digital photos of a vessel like the Charles W. Morgan showing all sorts of details of the deck and rigging from a bunch of different angles, or close-ups of all the gun tackle on a cannon on Constitution. I have a book in my library, the title of which I can't remember, that is full of generic photographs for modelers to use as a reference when modeling. It's primarily for modern ships. I haven't looked at it in a while. If you could go and find a bunch of photos of deck winches from all angles and things like that, it would probably be useful.

IMHO, shellac is an excellent option as a rigging "fixative."  Shellac comes in a wide range of colors, generally shades of "garnet." It's not a good option for coloring line, though, because the pigment is carried in the alcohol solution, so the more shellac you apply, the darker the color will get if you are using unbleached shellac. That makes it somewhat difficult to get a consistent shade of color with it when applied here and there on a piece. The type to use has the color bleached out of it. It's called "clear" or "white" shellac. It's invisible when applied. Best to address the desired color to the underlying material and use clear shellac for securing knots. I expect fine furniture makers may have a reason for using flake shellac and mixing their own with alcohol, but I've never seen the point in messing with raw shellac in flake form when it can be so easily purchased already dissolved and ready to use. 

IMHO, shellac is an excellent option as a rigging "fixative."  Shellac comes in a wide range of colors, generally shades of "garnet." It's not a good option for coloring line, though, because the pigment is carried in the alcohol solution, so the more shellac you apply, the darker the color will get if you are using unbleached shellac. That makes it somewhat difficult to get a consistent shade of color with it when applied here and there on a piece. The type to use has the color bleached out of it. It's called "clear" or "white" shellac. It's invisible when applied. Best to address the desired color to the underlying material and use clear shellac for securing knots. I expect fine furniture makers may have a reason for using flake shellac and mixing their own with alcohol, but I've never seen the point in messing with raw shellac in flake form when it can be so easily purchased already dissolved and ready to use. 

Go with the above recommendations if possible.  I would rather melt a horse hoof on the kitchen stove (while the admiral is away) and use that rather than use CA on any rigging.  Learned the hard way about using CA a long time ago.        
Allan

I may repeat myself, but I would rather use some fast-drying solvent-based varnish. I soaks in better and can be easily loosened with a drop of acetone or the respective solvent, if it needs to be adjusted.

Yes, a lot of modelers use them and they are usually in high demand. Read this thread and learn as much as there probably is to know about drafting curves. "French curves" are only one type of drafting curve. Take a few pictures of your curves and their box and post them here. Somebody should be able to tell you what kind they are and what they can be used for.

Indeed. If it works for you, go for it!  

Yes, a lot of modelers use them and they are usually in high demand. Read this thread and learn as much as there probably is to know about drafting curves. "French curves" are only one type of drafting curve. Take a few pictures of your curves and their box and post them here. Somebody should be able to tell you what kind they are and what they can be used for.

My workbench is homemade,  framed with 2in construction lumber.  The top is 2in x 6in laid edge to edge covered with a sheet of 3/4in particle board fastened with sheet rock screws driven into the 2x6’s.  It was my intention 32 years ago that the particle board could be changed when it got beat up but I like seeing paint, glue, etc. from past projects so have left it alone.  The bench is securely fastened to the framing of the wall behind it.  I have a large bench vise on the left hand side and a carpenter’s vise in the middle.
 
Roger

Indeed. If it works for you, go for it!  

Indeed. If it works for you, go for it!