Bob Cleek

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
 

When using a drill to shape masts, I like to use sand paper and my hand. I also have a Dremel drill stand and used it to drill some stuff before I got my replacement drill press. I noticed that the dremel had a lot of wobble even though it was bolted to my bench. I think it’s because of the plastic housing for dremel, it doesn’t provide a lot of support. If a traditional drill press is not economical for you right now, or you just don’t have space for one, then the dremel drill press should do what you need it to. A sanding drum on your dremel is going to have to much power and will remove to much wood. 
 
Bradley

I just put micro bits in my pin vise and then Chuck it up in my drill press. Us an XY table for accuracy.

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?

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?

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?

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?

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!

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!

Up thru the hull planking stage, we are building in different worlds,  POF vs POB. 
A frame that is overlapping  timbers is mainly subject to sheer forces while being shaped.
The same while being planked.
For deck components being knocked in a lateral direction seems more likely than their being levered up.
For planking itself,  I see at least two possible stress sources.  If a plank is not pre-bent  to sit on the hull, if it has to be held down until the bond cures to keep it from going back horizontal, it will pull up on the bond forever (noemal stress).  If it has been bent thru the thick dimension instead of being spilled,  It will exert a lateral force (sheer) and a twist  (normal) even if it has been pre-bent and is a push fit at assembly.  Nature never sleeps.
 
I think it was Underhill, that imprinted this at my beginning of this, but the belt and suspenders philosophy ( chemical and mechanical bonds for as much as possible ) but it has stuck like an obsession.

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. 
 
 
 

If I remember correctly, the work foreman wore a brown "lab" coat and hat- flat cap or bowler to differentiate himself from the simple worker 

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! 
 
 

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! 
 
 

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! 
 
 

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! 
 
 

It's sure a beautiful piece of machining. 

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. 

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. 

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.

One of these days, you might consider San Diego. They've good a great maritime museum with real sailing ships, the Miniature Engineering Craftsmanship Museum nearby, which is on my "bucket list," and the fleshpots of Tijuana, which are only 25 minutes away! Sailors just love San Diego!  
 
See: https://www.craftsmanshipmuseum.com/ (Affilliated with Sherline Co.)
 

 

 

 
 
These are fully operational working miniatures! The Duesenberg is 1:6 scale and made of over 6,000 parts. The engine is  true to scale and runs just as the original on gasoline hitting on all twelve cylinders!

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.