Bob Cleek

Jaeger is right. Unlike Jaeger, though, I'll use an imperative verb tense because I'm sure I'm right.
 
Seal your basswood with white shellac, two pound cut or so, right out of the can. (I use Zinsser's Bullseye brand. Shellac is cheap.) It only takes a few minutes to seal with shellac, which is very thin and soaks right into the surface of the basswood. (No worry about brush strokes. It's like painting with water and is invisible when dry, so long as you don't build up a lot of coats, which will then develop a gloss finish as multiple coats are applied.) Then, lighty fine sand your surface smooth as a baby's bottom, or use metal wool or a Scotchbrite pad. (But, perhaps obviously, don't sand so much that you remove all the shellac! If you "break through" the sealing, simply apply some more on top of it.) You will almost certainly not be able to get a perfect fine scale finish on basswood otherwise. The shellac hardens the fibers in the surface of your basswood and prevents "fuzz." If you don't seal your basswood, especially if you are using a water-based paint, the wet paint is going to raise your basswood "fuzz." In that case, at best, you will have to apply many coats of fine paint and sand the paint coating until it fairs the surface. This is tedious and often difficult to do well. 
 
As shellac soaks into the wood fibers quite well and doesn't peel or "let go," I see no reason why it should not be used as a sealer beneath adhesives used to attach copper plates, or anything else for that matter. Basswood gets a bad rap as "too soft" for modeling because sanding it "raises fuzz" and it is difficult to obtain fine edges on it. I have found that sealing basswood well with shellac essentially creates a "composite wood product" when the shellac soaks into the wood surface, making the surface much harder than when in its natural state. (The same can be done with CA adhesive, but at an exponentially greater materials cost, not to mention the health risks of large scale CA fume exposure.)
 
In no particular order of importance: Shellac is 1) an archival material that lasts centuries. 2) It's easily "undone" by cleaning off with alcohol. 3) Clean up is easy.  4) It's also an adhesive and very handy in "tacking" rigging knots and "stiffening" rigging line for various purposes. 5) It dries as fast as the alcohol evaporates. 6) It's compatible with all other finishes and adhesives, save, possibly, certain alcohol-based acrylics, which, like all untested proprietary coatings and adhesives, should be tested for compatibility before committing to application on a model.  7) Shellac is one of the best "organic" moisture barriers available. It inhibits rapid humidity cycling and so tends to greatly stabilize wood movement in the model to the great benefit of glue joints and rigging tension over time. For this reason, I generally shellac all wood on a model.  😎 If you are worried about such things, shellac is "organic" and safe for human consumption, not that I'd advise drinking shellac thinned with methanol. Shellac is actually used to put the "shine" on jelly beans and M&M candies so "they melt in your mouth and not in your hand." 
 
Shellac is really a material every ship modeler should have on hand and will likely make good use of.

Sometimes splitting isn't a bad thing when it comes to modeling wood. A split can ruin a good wide plank, but we're interested in smaller pieces. The split tells you where the grain is weakest. Let nature start the split and then bust the log apart with wedges driven into the split. That should give you a fairly flat side to start slabbing. You can take a  plane or draw knife to the flat where it split to level it off for laying on your saw table, if need be. That can save you a lot of possibly dangerous sawing on larger whole logs. While getting the most marketable lumber out of a log is an important financial consideration in commercial production, we have the luxury of using only the choicest portions of our raw timber.
 
Think of a log as a cone, not a cylinder. The trunk or branch is thinner at its extreme end. It tapers. If you slab without regard to that taper, you get "grain runout." You will be cutting across the grain as you square the log. Working with split wood ensures the billet won't have its grain running off at the edges. This causes problems sometimes with warping and always with planing. When working with small pieces, grain runout across a piece of plank stock, for example, can result in the strip snapping where the grain runs clear across the strip. If appearance of the grain is a consideration, it will cause problems if you are really anal about appearances, too. Particularly with masts and spars, it's always best to use a piece that has no significant grain runout. 

Sometimes splitting isn't a bad thing when it comes to modeling wood. A split can ruin a good wide plank, but we're interested in smaller pieces. The split tells you where the grain is weakest. Let nature start the split and then bust the log apart with wedges driven into the split. That should give you a fairly flat side to start slabbing. You can take a  plane or draw knife to the flat where it split to level it off for laying on your saw table, if need be. That can save you a lot of possibly dangerous sawing on larger whole logs. While getting the most marketable lumber out of a log is an important financial consideration in commercial production, we have the luxury of using only the choicest portions of our raw timber.
 
Think of a log as a cone, not a cylinder. The trunk or branch is thinner at its extreme end. It tapers. If you slab without regard to that taper, you get "grain runout." You will be cutting across the grain as you square the log. Working with split wood ensures the billet won't have its grain running off at the edges. This causes problems sometimes with warping and always with planing. When working with small pieces, grain runout across a piece of plank stock, for example, can result in the strip snapping where the grain runs clear across the strip. If appearance of the grain is a consideration, it will cause problems if you are really anal about appearances, too. Particularly with masts and spars, it's always best to use a piece that has no significant grain runout. 

Jaeger is right. Unlike Jaeger, though, I'll use an imperative verb tense because I'm sure I'm right.
 
Seal your basswood with white shellac, two pound cut or so, right out of the can. (I use Zinsser's Bullseye brand. Shellac is cheap.) It only takes a few minutes to seal with shellac, which is very thin and soaks right into the surface of the basswood. (No worry about brush strokes. It's like painting with water and is invisible when dry, so long as you don't build up a lot of coats, which will then develop a gloss finish as multiple coats are applied.) Then, lighty fine sand your surface smooth as a baby's bottom, or use metal wool or a Scotchbrite pad. (But, perhaps obviously, don't sand so much that you remove all the shellac! If you "break through" the sealing, simply apply some more on top of it.) You will almost certainly not be able to get a perfect fine scale finish on basswood otherwise. The shellac hardens the fibers in the surface of your basswood and prevents "fuzz." If you don't seal your basswood, especially if you are using a water-based paint, the wet paint is going to raise your basswood "fuzz." In that case, at best, you will have to apply many coats of fine paint and sand the paint coating until it fairs the surface. This is tedious and often difficult to do well. 
 
As shellac soaks into the wood fibers quite well and doesn't peel or "let go," I see no reason why it should not be used as a sealer beneath adhesives used to attach copper plates, or anything else for that matter. Basswood gets a bad rap as "too soft" for modeling because sanding it "raises fuzz" and it is difficult to obtain fine edges on it. I have found that sealing basswood well with shellac essentially creates a "composite wood product" when the shellac soaks into the wood surface, making the surface much harder than when in its natural state. (The same can be done with CA adhesive, but at an exponentially greater materials cost, not to mention the health risks of large scale CA fume exposure.)
 
In no particular order of importance: Shellac is 1) an archival material that lasts centuries. 2) It's easily "undone" by cleaning off with alcohol. 3) Clean up is easy.  4) It's also an adhesive and very handy in "tacking" rigging knots and "stiffening" rigging line for various purposes. 5) It dries as fast as the alcohol evaporates. 6) It's compatible with all other finishes and adhesives, save, possibly, certain alcohol-based acrylics, which, like all untested proprietary coatings and adhesives, should be tested for compatibility before committing to application on a model.  7) Shellac is one of the best "organic" moisture barriers available. It inhibits rapid humidity cycling and so tends to greatly stabilize wood movement in the model to the great benefit of glue joints and rigging tension over time. For this reason, I generally shellac all wood on a model.  😎 If you are worried about such things, shellac is "organic" and safe for human consumption, not that I'd advise drinking shellac thinned with methanol. Shellac is actually used to put the "shine" on jelly beans and M&M candies so "they melt in your mouth and not in your hand." 
 
Shellac is really a material every ship modeler should have on hand and will likely make good use of.

Sometimes splitting isn't a bad thing when it comes to modeling wood. A split can ruin a good wide plank, but we're interested in smaller pieces. The split tells you where the grain is weakest. Let nature start the split and then bust the log apart with wedges driven into the split. That should give you a fairly flat side to start slabbing. You can take a  plane or draw knife to the flat where it split to level it off for laying on your saw table, if need be. That can save you a lot of possibly dangerous sawing on larger whole logs. While getting the most marketable lumber out of a log is an important financial consideration in commercial production, we have the luxury of using only the choicest portions of our raw timber.
 
Think of a log as a cone, not a cylinder. The trunk or branch is thinner at its extreme end. It tapers. If you slab without regard to that taper, you get "grain runout." You will be cutting across the grain as you square the log. Working with split wood ensures the billet won't have its grain running off at the edges. This causes problems sometimes with warping and always with planing. When working with small pieces, grain runout across a piece of plank stock, for example, can result in the strip snapping where the grain runs clear across the strip. If appearance of the grain is a consideration, it will cause problems if you are really anal about appearances, too. Particularly with masts and spars, it's always best to use a piece that has no significant grain runout. 

Sometimes splitting isn't a bad thing when it comes to modeling wood. A split can ruin a good wide plank, but we're interested in smaller pieces. The split tells you where the grain is weakest. Let nature start the split and then bust the log apart with wedges driven into the split. That should give you a fairly flat side to start slabbing. You can take a  plane or draw knife to the flat where it split to level it off for laying on your saw table, if need be. That can save you a lot of possibly dangerous sawing on larger whole logs. While getting the most marketable lumber out of a log is an important financial consideration in commercial production, we have the luxury of using only the choicest portions of our raw timber.
 
Think of a log as a cone, not a cylinder. The trunk or branch is thinner at its extreme end. It tapers. If you slab without regard to that taper, you get "grain runout." You will be cutting across the grain as you square the log. Working with split wood ensures the billet won't have its grain running off at the edges. This causes problems sometimes with warping and always with planing. When working with small pieces, grain runout across a piece of plank stock, for example, can result in the strip snapping where the grain runs clear across the strip. If appearance of the grain is a consideration, it will cause problems if you are really anal about appearances, too. Particularly with masts and spars, it's always best to use a piece that has no significant grain runout. 

This is my opinion.  I am not a professional in the paint industry or a professional cabinet maker. Do not take this as authoritative as it reads.    It is just easier to use an imperative verb tense in this case. 
 
1) Shellac is good to use as a primary coat before painting. Use 50:50 concentration as a first coat.  It fills small pores, penetrates the wood, locks down the surface fibers and leaves a very thin addition to the surface.  Steel wool 0000 ( be sure to remove all steel slivers or = rust/stain) or Scotch Brite leaves a smooth surface for paint and it saves a coat of paint. 
Copper plating ....  which type, how is it to adhere to the hull.  If it is adhesive backed foil, shellac may be a good surface.  If it is metal/ glue - bare wood AND abrasive clean any copper oxidation layer from the back of the metal.  If it is metal paint on bond paper, bare wood.
2) Primer can be dilute paint - shellac is a good base for any follow on - paint or clear.  If by primer, you mean sand n sealer - this is mostly for open pore wood species - like Oak, Walnut, and the stuff in a lot of kits.  It has particles of stuff like plaster to fill the pores and leave a smooth surface.  If you have used a good choice of the species for the planking, it is superfluous. No pores to fill.  Skip the shellac and you may need an additional coat of paint.  Since you are not painting the interior walls of a house, the additional cost of another coat of paint is nill.
3)  Tung oil is for a clear finish.  Shellac can go first, or 50::50 Tung oil : mineral spirits.  No point in using it over paint.  Too much gloss on the paint itself is often already a problem with models: scale effect.  Additional gloss from Tung oil would make this worse - unless it is a toy that you are displaying. 
4)  Tung oil is an oil.  It stays wet until it polymerizes.  It would be awful as a base for any type of copper plating.
5)  Beats the -ell out of me, why anyone would want to.  I sure would not go it.

Back in the old days before the proliferation of kits with double layers of planking on bulkheads, ship models (scratch as well as kits) were carved from solid or laminated blocks.  Two common choices were basswood or pine.  I still make carved hull Ship models and of the two materials, I prefer pine as it is a bit harder and does not exhibit the “fuzz” that basswood does.
 
The University of Michigan has a large, 400ft+ long tank used to tow ship models for determining, hydrodynamic resistance.  When I was a student there in the 1960’s many of these models were still made from wood, and the model shop had a  supply of beautiful, clear white pine.  This wood is also called “sugar pine” or “patternmakers pine”.  We built an 8ft long tanker model from this and towed it in the tank.  If you have a source for this material you are fortunate.
 
Roger

Way back in literature from the 1960's and earlier, White Pine or pattern makers Pine was suggested as a preferred choice for carved hull - either solid or built up from layers.  What with popularity of POB and the attempts to mitigate its major short coming by adding supporting fill material between the moulds,  Pine is far superior to the odious Balsa in doing it.  It does not need to be the more expensive White Pine. Select grade framing stock works as well.  The problem is getting 2x4 or 1x4 stock into usable thicknesses.  Basswood is also good for this
 
There are two Tilia sp. that are commonly available.  In North America it is Basswood.  In Europe it is Lime (Linden).  Lime has been long a favorite for architectural scale carving.  It carves well and easily in large scale.  It is about twice as hard as Basswood.  Good characteristics are consistent texture, inconspicuous grain, and near invisible pores.  White Pine also shares these characteristics.
I find Basswood and White Pine to be too soft for ship construction.  It is difficult to get sharp edges and hold them.  It does not take much pressure to dent either species.   
Another species that you may find easy to source and be about the same cost is Yellow Poplar.  It is soft and easy to work, but it holds an edge.  The negative is that it is inconsistent in color in a small piece and can be ugly.  If it is hidden inside or painted or stained, it is a good choice.  I do not know how attractive a dyed piece is.    

Yup, that's what happens to the log if not processed promptly. However, if you can access your neighbour's saw soon, that is much better! Read up on quarter sawing as well.

San Francisco is Northern California-maybe.  Central.  Certainly not southern.
 
Sacramento is, well....Sacramento.  It is like the New Jersey of California, with fewer beaches.

I agree completely. I was intentionally generous, given that the discussion was about an economy-model Asian-built machine. The subject of the discussion, I believe, sells for around $55. The beautiful Cameron machine starts at around $2,000!
 
I had not been aware of the Cameron micro drill press before. It's made about 100 miles from my home. I'd love to have one, not because I actually need its high tolerances, but because it's a work of art! In another life, perhaps.
 
I wonder if they sell "seconds" that only test out at .001" for a lot less money?  

You are very generous, I would cut in 2, at least, so below .003".
If I turn a part ,005" that fit to another one, I would consider that I mist this part.
Grinding is more precise and can easily go under .001"
But every time you add a 0 in precision, you will add few 0 in the price.
 
Here is an example;  Spindle Run Out at the Chuck Mounting Taper is within 0.0002″
https://cameronmicrodrillpress.com/sensitive-manual-micro-drill-presses/new-cameron-214-series/
 
 

I may be wrong, but I think in the early decades of the 19th century simple boat compasses were used. These were essentially square boxes with the actual compass in a cardanic suspension.
 
As to making this kind of portable binnacle, it depends on what kind of (machine) tools are at your disposal.
 
It would be certainly possible to make the dome from triangular sections, but this would require a pretty could soldering technique. In any case, a wooden plug over which the parts could be held together would be required.
 
If I had to make a binnacle like the one on the first photograph, I would take a piece of brass rod, shape it on the lathe on the outside and then drill it out, using a round burr for the finishing cuts. The lamp would be milled and turned from a piece of brass rod and soldered onto the brass dome. I then would take a Plexiglas-rod turn it to fit into the brass binnacle, shape the round top so that it is a nice fit inside the dome. In the next step I would part it off at the level of the compass-card and cement it into the brass dome. On the milling machine I would finally mill away the flat opening and polish the 'looking window'. A printed compass-card can be glued to the underside of the Plexiglas part.

Looks more like a muffler belt to me.
 
Mark

Well, too big to be a doohickey.   Maybe it's a "whatmacallit or "thingamabob"?

Aha! That occurred to me, but then I thought, "Naw, they'd never do that in open water. It'd be too cumbersome and "sloppy." However, if the boats were used regularly for shore access, it makes a lot of sense. It also occurred to me that if she were carrying a lot of passengers, would those two gigs be enough to carry them all?" Oh well, ours is not to reason why.   I love vessels like these. They have such great character and detail to them.

Sounds like it hasn't come from the factory with any major run out issues. Still, tell your buddy to bring his dial test indicator and you'll bring the bourbon! You may be surprised at the run out readings, though. Anything below around .005" is acceptable, but that's only about twice the diameter of a human hair.

Okay, guys. I'm just using lingo I've picked up over the years and may well be misusing it because I'm no machinist. I actually figured you guys would know more about it than I do! Not to worry. I'll explain.  Download to RAM, H.A.N.K.: Run-out or runout is an inaccuracy of rotating mechanical systems, specifically that the tool or shaft does not rotate exactly in line with the main axis. ... In the case of bearings, run-out will cause vibration of the machine and increased loads on the bearings.
 
What I want to find out is whether the "quill," which is the spinning shaft part of a drill press that moves up and down as the lever is moved, rotates exactly in line with its main axis. I asked also the same question about a drill bit held in the chuck of the drill press. (The chuck is the thing that holds drill bits in its adjustable jaws.) This is because sometimes run-out is caused separately by inaccuracy of the chuck mounting or adjustable "jaws" mechanism holding the bit (even though they are commonly "self-centering.") Of course, if the quill to which the chuck is attached has run out, it will consequently be apparent in an otherwise perfectly centered bit in the chuck. The combined length of a quill, chuck, and bit amplifies the degree of inaccuracy at the drill bit's point. A very small bit of run out in a chuck taper mounting will be many times as great at the bit's business end.
 
The way run out is commonly tested, we're talking thousandths of an inch here, is with a "dial test indicator," also generally called a "DTI" by folks who use them.  A dial test indicator, which I'm sure you'll recognize even if you've never used one, is a tool that measures minute distances by using a plunger that is connected to a "clock face" (or a digital read out) with a needle that indicates the distance the plunger moves. If a DTI were applied to a perfectly cylindrical spinning drill press quill with zero run out, the needle would remain steady at "zero." If there were, say, .005" run out, the needle would move back and forth between "-.005" and "+.005" on either side of zero and would be said to have .005" run out.
 
Below: Testing for run out (quill and chuck) with a DTI measuring against a rotating bit shaft. The silver-colored post at the base of the DTI dial body has a small spring-loaded point at its end which senses the movement the DTI measures. 
 
 

 
Any new piece of machinery usually requires "tuning" or "set up." (All new machinery made in China seems to require it.) Drill presses particularly need to be set up to minimize run out if small drill bits are used because the small bits will easily break if they wobble when drilling. The table also must be adjusted to be perfectly perpendicular to the quill and bit axis so that the holes drilled will be perfectly round (and cut edges clean and sharp.) This is also easily done with a DTI. While it may seem that, for woodworking, tolerances "tighter than a gnat's butt" are unnecessary, the better a machine is set up, the better it runs and the longer it lasts, regardless of the need for tight tolerances. In modeling, the smaller the job, the more important accuracy becomes.
 
A DTI with its stand is a very handy instrument to have in your shop to keep tools accurately adjusted and set up. (They are also just the ticket for checking to see if a table saw blade is perpendicular to the table top and that your lathe headstock and tailstock are in perfect alignment so you aren't cutting tapers unless you want to.) For the professionals who use them regularly, there are the usual top-of-the-line brands such as Starrett and Mitutoyo, priced accordingly. However, for amateur home shop use, a kit containing a perfectly accurate DTI with a good stand can be had for twenty-five to fifty bucks and even less if you go to the bottom of the price range on eBay. (I wouldn't advise buying a used precision instrument like a DTI sigh t unseen, though.) DTI's aren't much use without a decent stand, as they must be held securely in place to take measurements. I have a $38 Grizzly DTI and magnetic-base stand set that came in a nice fitted case. DTI's are delicate instruments and usually are sold with cases. You don't want them banging around in the bottom of your tool box.  See: https://www.grizzly.com/products/iGaging-1-Dial-Indicator-and-Fine-Adjustment-Magnetic-Base/T24804 
 
The difference between a dead accurate drill press and a sloppy one can very often be nothing more than a bit of dirt in the Morse taper socket holding the chuck that the factory didn't clean properly before assembly. (A frequent occurrence with the Sum Ting Wong brand products of the Patriotic Revolutionary People's Drill Press Collective.) A simple cleaning and reassembly is often all it takes to set things right.
 
YouTube is your friend here. There are several videos on "tuning a drill press with a dial test indicator." Here's a good video that explains how to set up a new drill press which you will may find interesting. The use of the dial test indicator begins at 8:30.
 
 

Right out of the box, I'd be interested in knowing the run out, if any, on the quill and on a bit in the chuck on that machine. That's the measure of accuracy. (The slightest run out will start breaking tiny bits.) Slap a dial test indicator on that puppy and let us know!

Balderdash! What does Steel know? Those are called "mast bands," not hoops, west of the Mississippi, at least.  
 
I've seen my share of mast heels, a few in larger vessels and I've never seen one with a metal band around them. I've never seen a coaked mast's heel, though, but I'd expect that a mast made up of coaked parts banded together would definitely have a band around the heel and those bands are driven onto the mast like hoops are driven on barrels. 
 
I've not found a specific name for this band in the few old nautical dictionaries in my library. In the absence of a specific name (as apposed to a generic one: "mast hoop" or "mast band,") I propose a new name: "mast shoe." Masts have "coats" that seal the hole in the deck they pass through. It follows then that a metal band covering the heel of a mast would be a "shoe," no?  
 
Or a "gronicle." 

Mast hoops are the loosely fitting bent wood rings to which the luffs of sails are fastened and which permit the sails to be hoisted up and down the masts.
 
An iron ring around the heel of the mast is properly called "an iron ring around the heel of the mast." However, when speaking to landlubbers, sailors call it a "gronicle." Sailors call anything without a name a "gronicle." Lubbers don't know the difference.  

Bob,
 
Your answer has applicability far outside the nautical world.  Therefore I would like your permission to quote you in fields far astray.  For example, if my wife asks for the potato masher (we have three types of them in the drawer). then I can respond with Do you want the gronicle or one of the other two,   And she can respond in kind when I ask her for a wrench.
 
Thanks, Doug
 
PS on a related subject was this iron ring standard issue on ships of all sizes and origins?

Bob,
Much appreciate the video and explanation of terminology. Got it!! OK, without my very fine bits available (packed up) I put a 1/8" Dremel wood bit in the chuck and turned the machine on. It ran very smoothly, quietly, and I could discern no visible wobble of the bit. I have the belt set to the middle  tension pulleys and noticed that the speed was about the same as the older Delta d.p. So, I'm thinking that for the small work with hardwoods that I may be doing in the future, I may go ahead and reset the belt to the highest speed while the d.p. is still in an unused state and I can play around with it and see if the change makes a positive difference. As for your concerns, I'll look into that and see if my modeler/machinist friend can stop by and give the unit a proper setup. He's good for things like this. I'm going to do the same with my Jim Byrnes table saw as he (my friend) has done setups on all of our fellow modeler's Byrne's Saws (except mine). I'll post any results on the d.p. when I'm able.
Thanks again,
Hank

I have to join you Hank.  I have to admit that I do not know the meaning of run out in this context.  From how it is used, I have been taking it to mean out of round.  But it is an awkward term unless it means that when the quill is extended it comes out at an angle.  The bearings not being precise.