Bob Cleek

That's a nice little plane. It's a knock-off of a Stanley No. 101 modelmaker's plane. If kept sharpened and adjusted, it will give good service. 
 
I came by a 1970's X-acto boxed set very similar to the one pictured. It had a plastic-bodied plane that was useless.

This is the corollary to "If your mother says you might put your eye out doing it, then it's definitely going to be fun."

I got a Handy Andy boy's tool box with a selection of basic low-quality tools when I was about four or five. I think it was my dad's intention to keep me out of the drawers in his workshop. I still have the tool box and a few of the tools... a screwdriver, a hammer a square, and a (practically useless) plane. I also still have the scar on the back of my left hand that I gave myself using the handsaw sixty-seven years ago, too! 

Answer Jim Byrnes' questions above and, odds are, he will solve your problem in short order. I'm guessing you didn't realize "jimbyr" is the famous man himself.  

As per above, set a feather-board just in front of the blades entry point.  If there is room, set another feather-board in front of the that one.  For a small model-saw, you may have to make your own feather-boards and be creative in how to anchor them.   
 
Do not vary the feed speed - don't pause halfway through to change your stance or grip - use one continuous push. 
 
Variations in the hardness of a piece of wood will effect the amount of wood the blade will remove. 
 
Check the fence's alignment.  A tiny amount of relief/angulation away from the blade will prevent the back-side of the blade from rubbing and removing additional  wood after the blade's front-side has accomplished the cut.  This angulation will also help prevent kick-back. 
 
It just came to my attention you are using a Byrnes Saw.  Jim machines 0.005 inch relief on the out-feed side of his fences to prevent kick-back and blade-drag as the wood passes the back-side of the blade.  Make sure your fence is aligned straight on the infeed.

This is where I am after 15 mos. My goal is to finish in 2 more years assuming I can keep my cancer in remission. I've built Pipe Lines, Bridges, Tunnels etc. This brings as much enjoyment as the other accomplishments.

Carefully and gently scrape with a sharp razor blade or xacto blade with the blade held perpendicular to the surface of the plank until the red paint is removed. Avoid scraping the plank as much as possible. Touch up the planking finish as needed when you're done.

I got a Handy Andy boy's tool box with a selection of basic low-quality tools when I was about four or five. I think it was my dad's intention to keep me out of the drawers in his workshop. I still have the tool box and a few of the tools... a screwdriver, a hammer a square, and a (practically useless) plane. I also still have the scar on the back of my left hand that I gave myself using the handsaw sixty-seven years ago, too! 

Carefully and gently scrape with a sharp razor blade or xacto blade with the blade held perpendicular to the surface of the plank until the red paint is removed. Avoid scraping the plank as much as possible. Touch up the planking finish as needed when you're done.

Me too! We took good care of our toys, didn't we?

Me too! We took good care of our toys, didn't we?

Does an A C Gilbert Erector set (motorized ferris wheel) count ?  I still have mine. 😁

When I was a small child I spent all my time making Airfix models. I saw an x-acto tool set advertised and must have told my Dad I wanted it. I remember it was £18 - a great deal of money in those days, and I never dreamt I would have one. Imagine my excitement when for Christmas I unwrapped a big box and found this set - which I still have complete to this day, some 50 years later. What tools do you have from childhood?

I just wanted to say thanks for the advice on this thread.  I've taken the plunge and ordered a Foredom SR and I also purchased the drill press attachment too.  I'm looking forward to having a lot more control over the speed of the bit and also no run out on the bearings.

Carefully and gently scrape with a sharp razor blade or xacto blade with the blade held perpendicular to the surface of the plank until the red paint is removed. Avoid scraping the plank as much as possible. Touch up the planking finish as needed when you're done.

Perhaps apropos of not too awfully much, or possibly of interest: General Admiral, Russian Imperial Navy, 1858. Designed and built by William H. Webb. 
 
 
 
 

It sounds like Chinese pirates weren't much different in the real clipper ship days than they are in the clipper ship model days.
 

The colorized photo appears to be extensively "photoshopped." Note the addition of the ship, warehouse, and hills in the distance, the two men and a woman standing in the center foreground, the fellow carrying a timber halfway up the ramp, the absence of the jackstaff and the supporting pole on the port bow by the anchor. How many differences can you spot? 
 
I guest the colorist took some artistic license with the original photo.
 
 

 

Excellent point. However, it was my impression that no coppering at all was done until the vessel was first launched and swelled up, for the reason you note. What difference would it make to copper most of the hull when it was as likely to leak in the coppered as it was the uncoppered seams?

I noticed. Maybe they ran out and were waiting for a delivery of more?
 
Taking a "second enlightened look" at the picture, it doesn't appear as if she's immediately ready for launching. I'd expect chain to be faked out on the ground to slow her down and more of the scaffolding to be removed and cleared away. The apparent lack of spectators ashore when a large crowd would be expected to attend the launching, and the crowd on deck, which I would expect not to be usual during a launching, may indicate that the event was some sort of "open house" shortly before launching, but not immediately before. 

What a great picture! Thanks for posting it. 
 
While not a matter directly relevant to the previous discussion, I was amazed to seek how many people had climbed aboard to ride her down the ways, apparently. The photo would suggest more went down the ways along with her than watched from the shore and they all lined the rail to pose for the photographer! It appears that every one of them trudged up that ramp and then climbed that rickety wooden ladder to get up over the rail! No safety harnesses. No railings or lifelines. No "Safety First" signs in that shipyard, I'd wager!
 
Disembarking them once she was in the water must have been a good trick, too.

Using a drill press, clamp a strip of wood to the drill press table to serve as a fence so that the drill bit is above the center of the pin rail when the rail is up against the clamped wood fence. Slide the pin rail against the fence and drill the holes equally spaced. The line of holes will be straight. If you want to get really fancy, you can mount the fence on a piece of wood with a pin the diameter of the holes sticking up exactly the distance between the pins from the point where the drill bit hits. Then the pin rail can be drilled and, as each hole is drilled, the rail can be dropped over the pin on each most recently drilled hole as the pin rail is slid against the fence, which perfectly aligns the next hole to be drilled. That will ensure the holes are equally spaced and in a straight line.  If pins aren't evenly spaced in a straight line on a pin rail, they tend to stick out like a sore thumb.
 
Drilling pin rails without a drill press is very difficult. I'd use a bit in a pin vise. A hand-held Dremel is quite difficult to control for such an application.

The construction of the main deck has finally begun.......
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

Yes, well, it may not matter if it won't be seen, but any drain located below the waterline which discharges through a through-hull fitting located below the waterline needs a vented loop between the fixture (usually a sink or head) which runs inside the vessel to a height sufficiently above the waterline to prevent the water from simply pouring into the boat up through the head or sink drain that is also below the waterline. Modernly, check valves are also employed, but reliance solely on a check valve which can fail simply by a some obstruction in the valve preventing its closing isn't considered prudent.
 
Here's what it looks like on a head installation:
 

 
The Bristol cutters and similar types are fairly deep drafted and it's not uncommon for their head and galley sink drains to be well below the heeled waterline. Head outlets are almost always below the waterline in small craft. The vented loop on your model's sink wouldn't necessarily be visible, being concealed behind the joinerwork, but any sink below the waterline at any angle of heel will require at least two pumps, one for the fresh water supply and one for emptying the sink, since the water isn't going to flow uphill. (On older well-found classic vessels, a third pump or faucet may have been present to supply salt water supply for washing dishes, etc.) Of course, modernly, where a pressurized electrical pump water system is installed, the sink faucet will look no different than a residential or recreational vehicle installation.

That's the beauty of modeling: You're never too old to have fun doing it!