Bob Cleek

Micro-saws like the Byrnes saw, being smaller, are, I suppose, in theory at least, less dangerous than full sized table saws, but only by degrees of magnitude. Beyond that, I'd go so far as to say the smaller saws are even more likely to cause injury, albeit less massive injury, because they pose exactly the same risk of injury occurring as the full sized saws, but, being smaller, they invite operator error more readily. It's easy to pontificate about power tool safety and that tends to go in one ear and out the other. They say the table saw is the most dangerous power tool, but that's only because there are more of them and this leads completely inexperienced people to attempt to operate them relying solely upon their intuition. "You simply plug it in, turn it on, and feed the wood into the blade. What could be easier? What could possibly go wrong?"
 
Ninety-nine percent of table saw injuries are caused by operator error. These machines don't just jump up and bite you. If you are "experiencing kick-back effects," it's not the saw's fault. It's your fault because you aren't using the tool correctly. (Don't ask me how I know this.) That's as close as I'll get to a safety lecture here, but I can't stifle myself when I hear comments like "I just bought my first table saw and..." followed by a description of a problem that is directly ascribable to extremely dangerous improper operation of the machine. 
 
Please don't mess with any power tool and especially a table saw of any size without getting proper training in its use and particularly in all safety procedures unique to that particular tool. We've all heard Norm Abrams go through his little "safety mantra" on TV ("... and remember this, always wear these: safety glasses.") and then watched him operate his table saw, reaching over the blade and sawing without using push sticks or guards in place. "Lucky Norm" still has all his fingers, but I've got at least four professional woodworker friends who don't.
 
To answer the question,"Does anybody know where there's a good tutorial?" hey, YouTube is your friend. Just watch as many table saw safety and how-to-use videos as you can. You'll find something useful in every one of them. Follow the instructions and you will avoid injury and produce much better work, as well.  https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=how+to+use+a+table+saw
 
 
 

I have a Vanda-Lay drill press, acquired used for the same reason Cleat got his. It works fine. I wish I had the Acra-mill set up, which includes a drill press function, but with so much more, particularly the X-Y table. Being powered by a Dremel Mototool, it's capacity is limited, but working with wood, it's more than adequate and much better than the similar drill press made by Dremel.
 
Note that Vanda-Lay can provide on special order 1" ID clamps for holding a 1" Foredom handpiece instead of the Dremel Mototool. (A crafty machinist would have no problem turning out a shop-made set from aluminum sheet stock.) I don't have the clamps for the Foredom handpiece, but will probably get around to it one of these days. That would give me the added power of the Foredom tool and the foot pedal speed control with good low speed torque, which, of course, is the major weakness of the Dremel Mototool. (I've been meaning to make a similar clamp holder so I can mount my Foredom handpieces on the cross-slide of my 12"X42" Atlas/Craftsman lathe.)

I have a Vanda-Lay drill press, acquired used for the same reason Cleat got his. It works fine. I wish I had the Acra-mill set up, which includes a drill press function, but with so much more, particularly the X-Y table. Being powered by a Dremel Mototool, it's capacity is limited, but working with wood, it's more than adequate and much better than the similar drill press made by Dremel.
 
Note that Vanda-Lay can provide on special order 1" ID clamps for holding a 1" Foredom handpiece instead of the Dremel Mototool. (A crafty machinist would have no problem turning out a shop-made set from aluminum sheet stock.) I don't have the clamps for the Foredom handpiece, but will probably get around to it one of these days. That would give me the added power of the Foredom tool and the foot pedal speed control with good low speed torque, which, of course, is the major weakness of the Dremel Mototool. (I've been meaning to make a similar clamp holder so I can mount my Foredom handpieces on the cross-slide of my 12"X42" Atlas/Craftsman lathe.)

Marring the wood is a function of how soft the wood is and how hard the jaws of the clamp holding it are tightened. Denting can be prevented by placing a weight-distribution pad beneath the clamp jaws. This might be a scrap of wood or plastic. Even a piece of an old credit card or even matchbook cardboard.
 
That said, if you have to tighten a clamp so much that any of the usual planking wood species would be dented, you have one or more of three interrelated problems: 1) You are clamping too hard and/or 2) your plank is not properly bent before gluing and/or 3) you are using the wrong species of wood (e.g. balsa or other soft wood.) Number 2 is probably where the greatest problem lies.
 
Planking should be spiled and cut or bent to shape using heat (from a planking iron or a small clothes iron) such that the plank fits perfectly on the frames or bulkheads without requiring any significant tension to bend it into place.  This is a "perfect world" goal, but, in any event, the plank should be pre-bent to shape to the point where very little, if any, clamping tension is required to pull it into place. The frames or bulkheads are not intended to serve the purpose of forming the shape of the planking under tension. The solution to the problem addressed here isn't sourcing suitable clamps on the retail market, but rather shaping your planks correctly before you glue them in place.
 
Read the "Planking Downloads and Tutorials and Videos" section in the "More" drop-down menu at the top of the forum page: Planking Downloads and Tutorials and Videos - Model Ship World™ These essential tutorials teach the basic techniques and skills for plank-on-frame modeling which are unfortunately too frequently omitted from kit instructions and consequently pose a stumbling block for beginning modelers. If you are struggling with clamping planks, you are doing it the hard way and creating a lot of grief for yourself. Planking correctly is a much more enjoyable task than what you've apparently been experiencing.

I have a Vanda-Lay drill press, acquired used for the same reason Cleat got his. It works fine. I wish I had the Acra-mill set up, which includes a drill press function, but with so much more, particularly the X-Y table. Being powered by a Dremel Mototool, it's capacity is limited, but working with wood, it's more than adequate and much better than the similar drill press made by Dremel.
 
Note that Vanda-Lay can provide on special order 1" ID clamps for holding a 1" Foredom handpiece instead of the Dremel Mototool. (A crafty machinist would have no problem turning out a shop-made set from aluminum sheet stock.) I don't have the clamps for the Foredom handpiece, but will probably get around to it one of these days. That would give me the added power of the Foredom tool and the foot pedal speed control with good low speed torque, which, of course, is the major weakness of the Dremel Mototool. (I've been meaning to make a similar clamp holder so I can mount my Foredom handpieces on the cross-slide of my 12"X42" Atlas/Craftsman lathe.)

I have a Vanda-Lay drill press, acquired used for the same reason Cleat got his. It works fine. I wish I had the Acra-mill set up, which includes a drill press function, but with so much more, particularly the X-Y table. Being powered by a Dremel Mototool, it's capacity is limited, but working with wood, it's more than adequate and much better than the similar drill press made by Dremel.
 
Note that Vanda-Lay can provide on special order 1" ID clamps for holding a 1" Foredom handpiece instead of the Dremel Mototool. (A crafty machinist would have no problem turning out a shop-made set from aluminum sheet stock.) I don't have the clamps for the Foredom handpiece, but will probably get around to it one of these days. That would give me the added power of the Foredom tool and the foot pedal speed control with good low speed torque, which, of course, is the major weakness of the Dremel Mototool. (I've been meaning to make a similar clamp holder so I can mount my Foredom handpieces on the cross-slide of my 12"X42" Atlas/Craftsman lathe.)

I have a benchtop drill press in my garage but I wanted something smaller for my hobby room.  I looked into the Vanda-Lay drill press because it makes use of my Dremel tool, I also got side tracked with the various configurations.  I ended up getting the Vanda-Lay Acra Mill with the drill press and X-axis configuration. 

The quality is good although I replaced the drill press springs with stronger springs from a hardware store.  Once I assembled it, I realized I probably wouldn’t want to remove the Dremel tool so I had an excuse to get another one.

I customized mine with a couple wooden tables & sacrificial piece to cover the metal plate and I replaced a couple set screws with thumb screws. 
As shown, I'm using it with a burnishing bit for leather working.

Have you contacted the designers, Sparkman and Stephens: Sparkman & Stephens (sparkmanstephens.com) and the Lightning Class Association: Home - International Lightning Class Association ? The class association appears to sell plans on their website.
 
The Woodenboat Store sells a sailing pond model Lightning kit: Lightning Model Kit – The WoodenBoat Store
 
There are bits and pieces of Lightning plans all over the internet. They look to be "dory built," so any table of offsets for these hard-chined flat-sided boats and dimensions wouldn't be much. You can pretty much get all you need for modeling purposes from this drawing, although you'll have to take the measurements from the baseline at each frame to generate the curve of the plank keel and enlarge the drawing to trace the shape of the rudder and stem. There's a bit of a curve to the floors, as well which is easy enough to gauge. Aside from that, it's all straight stuff. 
 
 
 

The Lightning is still an actively sailed racing class with a class organization.  Presumably, they control issuance of design information to prospective builders.  I would contact them.  
 
 

I suppose it depends on who's measuring the mast. Generally, shipyard terminology would include the length of the mast between the partners and the step, since the yard has to build a mast that long. Height above the partners, or the waterline for that matter (for navigational purposes), are usually designated as such. Since you are building a model of H.M.S. Endeavour, I expect there are plans readily available to answer your question. If your mizzen looks lower than the many pictorial representations available, it's probably too short, no? That the angle of the shrouds causes them to fail to clear the cap rails certainly seems to suggest the hounds are too low.
 
Here's a couple of contemporary paintings of H.M.S. Endeavour. You be the judge:
 

 
By Samuel Atkins (c.1760-1810) - National Library of Australia, nla.pic-an5921609, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7458795
 

 
By Thomas Luny - http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-an2280897, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7351149
 

Just completed, now for the clean up.

Creating lots of grief?  That a firm yes. Will report back once I’ve wrapped my head around this a bit more. 
 
What I like about the clamps I have is not that I can torque them but that they have relatively large clamping surfaces and I can make fine adjustments to the pressure by way of the knurled knob. My thinking was that the pressure would be more controllable than with spring clamps. 
 
Thank for the tips. Coming over from solid hull models has been an interesting experience. 

Marring the wood is a function of how soft the wood is and how hard the jaws of the clamp holding it are tightened. Denting can be prevented by placing a weight-distribution pad beneath the clamp jaws. This might be a scrap of wood or plastic. Even a piece of an old credit card or even matchbook cardboard.
 
That said, if you have to tighten a clamp so much that any of the usual planking wood species would be dented, you have one or more of three interrelated problems: 1) You are clamping too hard and/or 2) your plank is not properly bent before gluing and/or 3) you are using the wrong species of wood (e.g. balsa or other soft wood.) Number 2 is probably where the greatest problem lies.
 
Planking should be spiled and cut or bent to shape using heat (from a planking iron or a small clothes iron) such that the plank fits perfectly on the frames or bulkheads without requiring any significant tension to bend it into place.  This is a "perfect world" goal, but, in any event, the plank should be pre-bent to shape to the point where very little, if any, clamping tension is required to pull it into place. The frames or bulkheads are not intended to serve the purpose of forming the shape of the planking under tension. The solution to the problem addressed here isn't sourcing suitable clamps on the retail market, but rather shaping your planks correctly before you glue them in place.
 
Read the "Planking Downloads and Tutorials and Videos" section in the "More" drop-down menu at the top of the forum page: Planking Downloads and Tutorials and Videos - Model Ship World™ These essential tutorials teach the basic techniques and skills for plank-on-frame modeling which are unfortunately too frequently omitted from kit instructions and consequently pose a stumbling block for beginning modelers. If you are struggling with clamping planks, you are doing it the hard way and creating a lot of grief for yourself. Planking correctly is a much more enjoyable task than what you've apparently been experiencing.

Marring the wood is a function of how soft the wood is and how hard the jaws of the clamp holding it are tightened. Denting can be prevented by placing a weight-distribution pad beneath the clamp jaws. This might be a scrap of wood or plastic. Even a piece of an old credit card or even matchbook cardboard.
 
That said, if you have to tighten a clamp so much that any of the usual planking wood species would be dented, you have one or more of three interrelated problems: 1) You are clamping too hard and/or 2) your plank is not properly bent before gluing and/or 3) you are using the wrong species of wood (e.g. balsa or other soft wood.) Number 2 is probably where the greatest problem lies.
 
Planking should be spiled and cut or bent to shape using heat (from a planking iron or a small clothes iron) such that the plank fits perfectly on the frames or bulkheads without requiring any significant tension to bend it into place.  This is a "perfect world" goal, but, in any event, the plank should be pre-bent to shape to the point where very little, if any, clamping tension is required to pull it into place. The frames or bulkheads are not intended to serve the purpose of forming the shape of the planking under tension. The solution to the problem addressed here isn't sourcing suitable clamps on the retail market, but rather shaping your planks correctly before you glue them in place.
 
Read the "Planking Downloads and Tutorials and Videos" section in the "More" drop-down menu at the top of the forum page: Planking Downloads and Tutorials and Videos - Model Ship World™ These essential tutorials teach the basic techniques and skills for plank-on-frame modeling which are unfortunately too frequently omitted from kit instructions and consequently pose a stumbling block for beginning modelers. If you are struggling with clamping planks, you are doing it the hard way and creating a lot of grief for yourself. Planking correctly is a much more enjoyable task than what you've apparently been experiencing.

I suppose it depends on who's measuring the mast. Generally, shipyard terminology would include the length of the mast between the partners and the step, since the yard has to build a mast that long. Height above the partners, or the waterline for that matter (for navigational purposes), are usually designated as such. Since you are building a model of H.M.S. Endeavour, I expect there are plans readily available to answer your question. If your mizzen looks lower than the many pictorial representations available, it's probably too short, no? That the angle of the shrouds causes them to fail to clear the cap rails certainly seems to suggest the hounds are too low.
 
Here's a couple of contemporary paintings of H.M.S. Endeavour. You be the judge:
 

 
By Samuel Atkins (c.1760-1810) - National Library of Australia, nla.pic-an5921609, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7458795
 

 
By Thomas Luny - http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-an2280897, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7351149
 

If you have not yet read Kurt Van Dahm's article on shop safety in the current Nautical Research Journal (pp.375-381), please take the time to do so. It may save you a lot of grief.

I once made a handful of such mini C clamps from a length of aluminium U channel, slicing it on my Preac saw into narrow sections, drilling holes and thread tapping them to match my screws. Mine have 1/2 inch throat size, but perhaps you could also find your size in a hardware store.
These are not heavy duty, plenty of power to hold planks, though.

One more set of deck planks to go

Thanks to all for the continued moral support !
 
****************************************
 

Porthole Glazing
 
Following the discussion on ways to make the porthole glazing further up, I looked over all available photographs and came to the conclusion that one does not actually seem to see the bronze frame from the outside. On the other hand, most photographs or their scans do not have sufficient resolution to really see such detail.
 
In order to make my life simpler, I decided to go for solid Plexiglas plugs. I did have 1 mm Plexiglas rod in stock and short sections were cut from this to make 2 mm long plugs. The plugs have to be a bit longer than their diameter, so that they can be inserted straight. The front face was turned flat on the lathe and the back-end was given a bit of a chamfer for easy entry into the pre-drilled holes after which it was painted black using a black permanent marker pen. The pieces were then transferred to the micro-mill for polishing the front face with a silicon rubber polishing bit.
 
In order ensure that the porthole plugs are set at equal depth, a little ‘tool’ was made, a punch with a recess of 0.3 mm depth around the rim.
 

Collection of Plexiglas plugs ready for insertion
 

Glazed portholes
 
 
Glazed portholes
 
To be continued ....
 

Welcome! It appears you have the mind set which is the prerequisite for success, success being the enjoyment of the process of the incremental acquisition of skill and experience. Rome wasn't built in a day and neither are good ship models. It all begins when you start. If one commits themselves to doing the common things uncommonly well, one step at a time, you'll do just fine.

Welcome! It appears you have the mind set which is the prerequisite for success, success being the enjoyment of the process of the incremental acquisition of skill and experience. Rome wasn't built in a day and neither are good ship models. It all begins when you start. If one commits themselves to doing the common things uncommonly well, one step at a time, you'll do just fine.

Yes, the English foot and the Imperial foot are the same length at  304.8 millimeters.Not my knowledge on this, but Wikipedia provides metric equivalent tables for pre-1826 English measurements and post-1826 Imperial measurements at:
 
English units: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_units
 
Imperial units: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_units
 
 
 

Yes, the English foot and the Imperial foot are the same length at  304.8 millimeters.Not my knowledge on this, but Wikipedia provides metric equivalent tables for pre-1826 English measurements and post-1826 Imperial measurements at:
 
English units: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_units
 
Imperial units: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_units
 
 
 

This is true, however, it seems problems often arise when researching the identity of vessels by comparison of unidentified contemporary models with plans, customs office registrations, and other contemporary documentation. Differences of several feet in overall length, depth, and breadth are quite common.

For those bent on accuracy, don't forget that a "foot" varies from time to time, nation to nation, and trade to trade, in too many ways to count. I believe that the confusion over various reported measurements of old ships is not infrequently the result of different measurement standards. Even different cities had different "feet." Before the metric standardization, a foot in Belgium could be no less than one of eleven different "feet," depending on the town: Ypers was 273.9 mm, Bruges was 274.3 mm, Brussels was 275.75, Antwerp was 286.8, and so on.  In Venice a foot was 347.73 mm. Twenty-one different "feet" were used in Germany and five in France. Similarly, there were nine different Dutch feet depending on the town and a foot was 296.9 mm in Sweden and 313.75 in Norway.  Adding up the differences over the length of a sizeable vessel can result in significant differences overall between differing foot-standards. There's quite an extensive list of Imperial to metric local and historical equivalents at: Foot (unit) - Wikipedia
 
One of the most maddening exercises I've encountered in marine plans were the set of 1936 English builder's plans for a famous yacht which were drawn to a scale of 1" to 12.5". It took some detective work to unravel why a respected naval architect would use a scale nobody'd  ever heard of before. It turned out the plans were drawn for use by a Swedish yard contracted to build the vessel. By drawing to a 1"=12.5" scale, the yard could use all of its Swedish measuring tools when working with the plans!