Bob Cleek

Hah! I've yet to see anything in your great posts that I'd consider "unnecessary!" I'd say your skill and techniques are far more advanced than what most of us, here in the U.S. at least, are used to seeing regularly or capable of matching. I can't imagine what magic we will be watching you perform when you are no longer working under your present constraints. I have no idea how you can presently accomplish what you do. Please don't ever consider your advice unnecessary. I can't speak for the E.U., but from what I've seen in my country, the American amateur ship modeling hobby nowhere nearly as advanced as the Eastern European ship modeling hobbyists appear to be. While I'm sure each group has its "stars" such as yourself, here we haven't even begun to think of what we do in terms of the highly competitive "sport" that ship modeling looks like where you live. Please don't stop sharing your work with us!  

That's an effect I've never encountered. Perhaps what's happening is that the resin you are using is rather thick and heat will thin it out if it's heated before the polymerization is too far advanced. That said, the mixed resin and hardener shouldn't ever be "just beginning to thicken on the hull of the model" before you have the time to wet down your glass fabric. (Here, many now use a non-glass fabric called Dynel which is more like stretchy Lycra that they make ladies' stretch pants out of than woven glass cloth. It stretches to conform to curved surfaces much easier than glass cloth does and it doesn't have the nasty habit of spreading microscopic bits of broken glass that gets on your skin and makes you itch like crazy!) A hull like that is a very small area.  It sounds like you're using a very fast curing epoxy.  If you don't have a slower hardener or some type of retarder, you can try chilling the resin and hardener before mixing. The lower temperature should retard the cure rate quite a bit and give you better working time. Any way you cut it, it sure should not be as challenging a job as it is for you now. I can understand, of course, that the present isn't likely to be the time for you to be complaining about the quality of the locally available epoxy. Here's to the day when you will be able to just order some of our slow stuff from Amazon without any hassles! 
 
We don't worry about getting a perfectly smooth surface when we sheath with epoxy and fabric (glass or Dynel) in applications like we are discussing. We just want to make sure the fabric is well saturated and flat against the surface to be sheathed without any air spaces between it and the surface. Instead, what is done is to "squeegee" the mixed resin into the cloth with a piece of  flexible polyvinyl plastic card or the like just enough to soak the cloth completely. "Squeegee-ing" means spreading the mixed resin with the edge of the card like a scraper and using the flat of the card to work it in. The mixed resin is just poured, a bit at a time, as it is spread so that there isn't a lot of excess resin on the surface. When the cloth is fully soaked with resin and any excess scraped off, it is left to cure. There will be the texture of the cloth apparent, since all of the excess resin has been scraped off. You should be able to do this spreading and scraping quickly enough that there will never be any problem with globs of hardening resin kicking off while spreading the resin Glass cloth will have a bit of a texture of the weave on the surface when the resin is cured. (Dynel, on the other hand, has a bit of a "fuzz" to its surface, being very finely woven,) After the resin has at least cured sufficiently to no longer be tacky and you can work with it without getting stuck to it your self, we mix another batch of resin and hardener into which we add glass "micro-balloons" or some other "fairing compound additive." These are powders used to condition the epoxy for various purposes, in this case, to make the hardened resin and additive into an epoxy that is extremely easy to sand to a very fine, smooth surface. That batch of resin and sanding additive is then applied in the same fashion as the earlier coat of resin applied onto the cloth. It will have a thicker consistency than plain epoxy resin because of the powder additive and can be spread like soft butter or peanut butter. Spread it onto the surface no thicker than you need to fill the surface irregularities of the first resin application. When it hardened well, it can be sanded like soft auto body putty and when smooth can be sprayed with basecoat paint. 

Hah! I've yet to see anything in your great posts that I'd consider "unnecessary!" I'd say your skill and techniques are far more advanced than what most of us, here in the U.S. at least, are used to seeing regularly or capable of matching. I can't imagine what magic we will be watching you perform when you are no longer working under your present constraints. I have no idea how you can presently accomplish what you do. Please don't ever consider your advice unnecessary. I can't speak for the E.U., but from what I've seen in my country, the American amateur ship modeling hobby nowhere nearly as advanced as the Eastern European ship modeling hobbyists appear to be. While I'm sure each group has its "stars" such as yourself, here we haven't even begun to think of what we do in terms of the highly competitive "sport" that ship modeling looks like where you live. Please don't stop sharing your work with us!  

Hah! I've yet to see anything in your great posts that I'd consider "unnecessary!" I'd say your skill and techniques are far more advanced than what most of us, here in the U.S. at least, are used to seeing regularly or capable of matching. I can't imagine what magic we will be watching you perform when you are no longer working under your present constraints. I have no idea how you can presently accomplish what you do. Please don't ever consider your advice unnecessary. I can't speak for the E.U., but from what I've seen in my country, the American amateur ship modeling hobby nowhere nearly as advanced as the Eastern European ship modeling hobbyists appear to be. While I'm sure each group has its "stars" such as yourself, here we haven't even begun to think of what we do in terms of the highly competitive "sport" that ship modeling looks like where you live. Please don't stop sharing your work with us!  

Hah! I've yet to see anything in your great posts that I'd consider "unnecessary!" I'd say your skill and techniques are far more advanced than what most of us, here in the U.S. at least, are used to seeing regularly or capable of matching. I can't imagine what magic we will be watching you perform when you are no longer working under your present constraints. I have no idea how you can presently accomplish what you do. Please don't ever consider your advice unnecessary. I can't speak for the E.U., but from what I've seen in my country, the American amateur ship modeling hobby nowhere nearly as advanced as the Eastern European ship modeling hobbyists appear to be. While I'm sure each group has its "stars" such as yourself, here we haven't even begun to think of what we do in terms of the highly competitive "sport" that ship modeling looks like where you live. Please don't stop sharing your work with us!  

That's an effect I've never encountered. Perhaps what's happening is that the resin you are using is rather thick and heat will thin it out if it's heated before the polymerization is too far advanced. That said, the mixed resin and hardener shouldn't ever be "just beginning to thicken on the hull of the model" before you have the time to wet down your glass fabric. (Here, many now use a non-glass fabric called Dynel which is more like stretchy Lycra that they make ladies' stretch pants out of than woven glass cloth. It stretches to conform to curved surfaces much easier than glass cloth does and it doesn't have the nasty habit of spreading microscopic bits of broken glass that gets on your skin and makes you itch like crazy!) A hull like that is a very small area.  It sounds like you're using a very fast curing epoxy.  If you don't have a slower hardener or some type of retarder, you can try chilling the resin and hardener before mixing. The lower temperature should retard the cure rate quite a bit and give you better working time. Any way you cut it, it sure should not be as challenging a job as it is for you now. I can understand, of course, that the present isn't likely to be the time for you to be complaining about the quality of the locally available epoxy. Here's to the day when you will be able to just order some of our slow stuff from Amazon without any hassles! 
 
We don't worry about getting a perfectly smooth surface when we sheath with epoxy and fabric (glass or Dynel) in applications like we are discussing. We just want to make sure the fabric is well saturated and flat against the surface to be sheathed without any air spaces between it and the surface. Instead, what is done is to "squeegee" the mixed resin into the cloth with a piece of  flexible polyvinyl plastic card or the like just enough to soak the cloth completely. "Squeegee-ing" means spreading the mixed resin with the edge of the card like a scraper and using the flat of the card to work it in. The mixed resin is just poured, a bit at a time, as it is spread so that there isn't a lot of excess resin on the surface. When the cloth is fully soaked with resin and any excess scraped off, it is left to cure. There will be the texture of the cloth apparent, since all of the excess resin has been scraped off. You should be able to do this spreading and scraping quickly enough that there will never be any problem with globs of hardening resin kicking off while spreading the resin Glass cloth will have a bit of a texture of the weave on the surface when the resin is cured. (Dynel, on the other hand, has a bit of a "fuzz" to its surface, being very finely woven,) After the resin has at least cured sufficiently to no longer be tacky and you can work with it without getting stuck to it your self, we mix another batch of resin and hardener into which we add glass "micro-balloons" or some other "fairing compound additive." These are powders used to condition the epoxy for various purposes, in this case, to make the hardened resin and additive into an epoxy that is extremely easy to sand to a very fine, smooth surface. That batch of resin and sanding additive is then applied in the same fashion as the earlier coat of resin applied onto the cloth. It will have a thicker consistency than plain epoxy resin because of the powder additive and can be spread like soft butter or peanut butter. Spread it onto the surface no thicker than you need to fill the surface irregularities of the first resin application. When it hardened well, it can be sanded like soft auto body putty and when smooth can be sprayed with basecoat paint. 

That's an effect I've never encountered. Perhaps what's happening is that the resin you are using is rather thick and heat will thin it out if it's heated before the polymerization is too far advanced. That said, the mixed resin and hardener shouldn't ever be "just beginning to thicken on the hull of the model" before you have the time to wet down your glass fabric. (Here, many now use a non-glass fabric called Dynel which is more like stretchy Lycra that they make ladies' stretch pants out of than woven glass cloth. It stretches to conform to curved surfaces much easier than glass cloth does and it doesn't have the nasty habit of spreading microscopic bits of broken glass that gets on your skin and makes you itch like crazy!) A hull like that is a very small area.  It sounds like you're using a very fast curing epoxy.  If you don't have a slower hardener or some type of retarder, you can try chilling the resin and hardener before mixing. The lower temperature should retard the cure rate quite a bit and give you better working time. Any way you cut it, it sure should not be as challenging a job as it is for you now. I can understand, of course, that the present isn't likely to be the time for you to be complaining about the quality of the locally available epoxy. Here's to the day when you will be able to just order some of our slow stuff from Amazon without any hassles! 
 
We don't worry about getting a perfectly smooth surface when we sheath with epoxy and fabric (glass or Dynel) in applications like we are discussing. We just want to make sure the fabric is well saturated and flat against the surface to be sheathed without any air spaces between it and the surface. Instead, what is done is to "squeegee" the mixed resin into the cloth with a piece of  flexible polyvinyl plastic card or the like just enough to soak the cloth completely. "Squeegee-ing" means spreading the mixed resin with the edge of the card like a scraper and using the flat of the card to work it in. The mixed resin is just poured, a bit at a time, as it is spread so that there isn't a lot of excess resin on the surface. When the cloth is fully soaked with resin and any excess scraped off, it is left to cure. There will be the texture of the cloth apparent, since all of the excess resin has been scraped off. You should be able to do this spreading and scraping quickly enough that there will never be any problem with globs of hardening resin kicking off while spreading the resin Glass cloth will have a bit of a texture of the weave on the surface when the resin is cured. (Dynel, on the other hand, has a bit of a "fuzz" to its surface, being very finely woven,) After the resin has at least cured sufficiently to no longer be tacky and you can work with it without getting stuck to it your self, we mix another batch of resin and hardener into which we add glass "micro-balloons" or some other "fairing compound additive." These are powders used to condition the epoxy for various purposes, in this case, to make the hardened resin and additive into an epoxy that is extremely easy to sand to a very fine, smooth surface. That batch of resin and sanding additive is then applied in the same fashion as the earlier coat of resin applied onto the cloth. It will have a thicker consistency than plain epoxy resin because of the powder additive and can be spread like soft butter or peanut butter. Spread it onto the surface no thicker than you need to fill the surface irregularities of the first resin application. When it hardened well, it can be sanded like soft auto body putty and when smooth can be sprayed with basecoat paint. 

That's an effect I've never encountered. Perhaps what's happening is that the resin you are using is rather thick and heat will thin it out if it's heated before the polymerization is too far advanced. That said, the mixed resin and hardener shouldn't ever be "just beginning to thicken on the hull of the model" before you have the time to wet down your glass fabric. (Here, many now use a non-glass fabric called Dynel which is more like stretchy Lycra that they make ladies' stretch pants out of than woven glass cloth. It stretches to conform to curved surfaces much easier than glass cloth does and it doesn't have the nasty habit of spreading microscopic bits of broken glass that gets on your skin and makes you itch like crazy!) A hull like that is a very small area.  It sounds like you're using a very fast curing epoxy.  If you don't have a slower hardener or some type of retarder, you can try chilling the resin and hardener before mixing. The lower temperature should retard the cure rate quite a bit and give you better working time. Any way you cut it, it sure should not be as challenging a job as it is for you now. I can understand, of course, that the present isn't likely to be the time for you to be complaining about the quality of the locally available epoxy. Here's to the day when you will be able to just order some of our slow stuff from Amazon without any hassles! 
 
We don't worry about getting a perfectly smooth surface when we sheath with epoxy and fabric (glass or Dynel) in applications like we are discussing. We just want to make sure the fabric is well saturated and flat against the surface to be sheathed without any air spaces between it and the surface. Instead, what is done is to "squeegee" the mixed resin into the cloth with a piece of  flexible polyvinyl plastic card or the like just enough to soak the cloth completely. "Squeegee-ing" means spreading the mixed resin with the edge of the card like a scraper and using the flat of the card to work it in. The mixed resin is just poured, a bit at a time, as it is spread so that there isn't a lot of excess resin on the surface. When the cloth is fully soaked with resin and any excess scraped off, it is left to cure. There will be the texture of the cloth apparent, since all of the excess resin has been scraped off. You should be able to do this spreading and scraping quickly enough that there will never be any problem with globs of hardening resin kicking off while spreading the resin Glass cloth will have a bit of a texture of the weave on the surface when the resin is cured. (Dynel, on the other hand, has a bit of a "fuzz" to its surface, being very finely woven,) After the resin has at least cured sufficiently to no longer be tacky and you can work with it without getting stuck to it your self, we mix another batch of resin and hardener into which we add glass "micro-balloons" or some other "fairing compound additive." These are powders used to condition the epoxy for various purposes, in this case, to make the hardened resin and additive into an epoxy that is extremely easy to sand to a very fine, smooth surface. That batch of resin and sanding additive is then applied in the same fashion as the earlier coat of resin applied onto the cloth. It will have a thicker consistency than plain epoxy resin because of the powder additive and can be spread like soft butter or peanut butter. Spread it onto the surface no thicker than you need to fill the surface irregularities of the first resin application. When it hardened well, it can be sanded like soft auto body putty and when smooth can be sprayed with basecoat paint. 

If one is intending to accurately depict the prototype in miniature, I believe Jaager's answer is the only correct one. it's not a matter of personal opinion if the object of the exercise is to build a model that looks like the real thing. If metal fastenings were used, as was the case in later times, these would be countersunk and plugged as Jaager describes in order to minimize rusting of the iron fastenings. Depicting fastening locations in an unpainted fully framed model ("Admiralty Board style") can be nicely done by gluing black fishing line of the proper scale diameter into drilled holes, but such fastening "locaters" would never be visible in an actual full-scale vessel. However, if the black fishing line holes are not drilled precisely where the fastenings on the prototype vessel would have to have been placed, the job will result in a worse effect than if the fastenings were left unindicated. 
 
I mention this because the original poster asked, "I have fishing line at 0.23, 0.32 and 0.5mm, color black.  Is it appropriate color for hull and Deck treenails or is it too dark?  what size best (1/64 scale)?" I suppose we just have different definitions of the word "appropriate" in this context. Obviously, a model builder is always free to paint their model any color they wish. 

Think I will stay away from volunteering to do a test run for fear of being chastised or otherwise lambasted for making a suggestion.😁
 
Allan

I agree with the shape thing, but not so sure about the size. When looking at the construction methods of the 'Essex', I'd say that the horseshoe shaped 'plate' was quite large... larger than any horse hoof. Yes, I'm curious too. I don't understand the shape. There would definitely be far better plate designs than that! Maybe the old-world builders were just superstitious and simply wanted the inverted horseshoe shape to trap and hold good luck! 🙃 As for the size? The below image is of the 'Essex's' stem, stern and keel. I'm using the Essex to model the construction methods of the 'Hancock'. If the resource I'm using is correct (32 Gun Frigate 'Essex', anatomy of the ship, by Portiat Takakjian) that horseshoe would fit a horse of 'mythical' proportions! Hopefully, someone with more knowledge will be able to chime in and clear up some of the odd-looking details and curious questions. I'll certainly be interested in this as my Hancock build will only be planked from the waterline up. All construction details 'below' the waterline will be exposed.   
 
  

For what it is worth, on the WWII era Cleveland class cruisers the deck planks were 4 inches (102 mm) wide and 2 inches (50.8 mm) thick. The upper vertical edges of the planks were beveled 3/32 inch (2.4 mm) at the top, tapering down 1 inch (25.4 mm). The lower 1 inch was vertical. When the planks were butted together the lower faces touched, leaving a 3/16" gap (4.76 mm) at the upper surface. The "V" shaped gap was caulked with oakum down to a depth of 1/2" (12.7 mm) from the top surface. The remaining gap was then filled with "an approved black marine glue."
 
If we assume that this was a typical traditional method for caulking deck planks, a 3/16 inch (0.1875 inch, 4.8 mm) gap will be:
 
1:24      0.008 inch       0.2 mm
1:35      0.005 inch       0.14 mm
1:48      0.004 inch       0.1 mm
1:64      0.003 inch       0.07 mm
1:96      0.002 inch       0.05 mm
1:200    0.0009 inch     0.02 mm
1:350    0.0005 inch     0.01 mm
 
I used this idea to caulk the seams of the deck on my 1:48 build using 0.003 inch (0.07 mm) black construction paper. This worked nicely in my opinion. But it is an opinion - that well caulked decks do look good on some models. But I think the exaggerated caulking and planking on 1:200 and 1:350 models looks pretty strange.
 
I served on three ships with wooden (teak) decks while in the Navy, including two flagships. The decks were holystoned and bleached, and maintained in excellent condition. The deck seams were quite visible, even in shipyard photos taken from hundreds of feet away. The trenails or plugs over the deck bolts were barely visible when standing on the deck, and totally invisible in photos.
 
I plan someday to build a 1:96 model of a cruiser with wooden decks that I served on. The planks will be 0.04 inch (1.05 mm) wide, and the caulking should be about 0.002 inch (0.05 mm) wide (thinner than a sheet of ordinary printer paper). I think I will hate that planking job!
 
****
 
I would be cautious about trying to use fishing line or thin plastic sheets between planks for caulking. I experimented with using a strip of black plastic garbage bag between planks for caulking with poor results. It was 0.0005 inch (0.127 mm) thick. The glue I used didn't hold the plastic to the wood. When I scraped/sanded the deck after caulking the plastic pulled out of the gap between planks. I'm sure the same thing would happen with fishing line.

I used to mess around with primitive archery, bow building, flint knapping and building arrows that were 'spined' in the 70–100-pound range. I used bamboo shafts purchased on eBay, directly from China. They always worked very well and are very tough. I wonder if bamboo intended for arrows would be a good choice for drawing through a plate in small diameters. I still have quite a few unused shafts. I'm going to give this a try, however. I don't yet have a drawplate. Speaking of such. Does anyone know if Jim Byrnes is ever 'really' going to open up for business again??? 
Below is a bamboo arrow spined for a 90-pound bow. I've never shot this arrow due to the obsidian point, but all of my field points flew really well on the bamboo shafts. I just wanted to show this arrow off. It's the best obsidian point that I ever knapped. 🙂
          

Beautiful build so far! Not to distract you with petty questions, but I'm curious if something was "lost in the translation" of the above statement. I've done a lot of boatyard work with epoxy resin. As I am sure you know, the curing speed of epoxy resin is dependent to a great extent to the temperature of the epoxy. Reducing the temperature of the epoxy resin and hardener mixture will greatly slow the speed of the cure. With all my epoxy work, I try to mix the epoxy in a flat pan rather than a tall-sided container like a can. This expands the surface area of the resin mass to permit the greatest dissipation of the heat generated by the exothermic reaction of the curing process which otherwise can accelerate out of control dangerously.  In some large laminating jobs, I've even put the epoxy container on ice to slow things down enough to get everything assembled and clamped before the resin "kicks off." (This can reduce the temperature of the epoxy enough to cause condensation to form on it, causing it to "cloud," but this moisture seems to evaporate on its own without any ill effects to the bond and the "clouding" disappears in due course.) 
 
I gather a "construction hair dryer" is what we call a "heat gun," basically a hair dryer that gets very hot. These have generally replaced the old open-flame "painter's blowtorches." Are you saying that heat applied to epoxy that is curing too quickly can be heated to reverse the polymerization process and thus "re-liquefy" it? In my experience, heat speeds up the curing rate of epoxy resin, making it harden faster. I've never heard of heating curing epoxy to reverse the hardening (polymerization) process. (Which isn't to say I've heard everything yet!  ) In commercial work here in the United States, we use hardeners that produce a cure at varying rates of speed. I prefer using one rated for "tropical" use in hot weather which retards the cure rate substantially because I'd rather have the time to get the job done before the resin hardens and I have no reason to desire a fast cure in the work I do. (See: User Manual & Product Guide | WEST SYSTEM Epoxy translated into various languages.) 
 
I've heated cured epoxy resin with a heat gun when scraping paint that was applied over epoxy resin and found that the resin softens somewhat, but scrapes off in a dry, "crumbly," consistency and not "liquefied." If simply heating epoxy that is curing too fast with a heat gun reverses the curing process, that would sure be a good trick to know when working with epoxy.
 
Please explain if you have time from your great work. 

Beautiful build so far! Not to distract you with petty questions, but I'm curious if something was "lost in the translation" of the above statement. I've done a lot of boatyard work with epoxy resin. As I am sure you know, the curing speed of epoxy resin is dependent to a great extent to the temperature of the epoxy. Reducing the temperature of the epoxy resin and hardener mixture will greatly slow the speed of the cure. With all my epoxy work, I try to mix the epoxy in a flat pan rather than a tall-sided container like a can. This expands the surface area of the resin mass to permit the greatest dissipation of the heat generated by the exothermic reaction of the curing process which otherwise can accelerate out of control dangerously.  In some large laminating jobs, I've even put the epoxy container on ice to slow things down enough to get everything assembled and clamped before the resin "kicks off." (This can reduce the temperature of the epoxy enough to cause condensation to form on it, causing it to "cloud," but this moisture seems to evaporate on its own without any ill effects to the bond and the "clouding" disappears in due course.) 
 
I gather a "construction hair dryer" is what we call a "heat gun," basically a hair dryer that gets very hot. These have generally replaced the old open-flame "painter's blowtorches." Are you saying that heat applied to epoxy that is curing too quickly can be heated to reverse the polymerization process and thus "re-liquefy" it? In my experience, heat speeds up the curing rate of epoxy resin, making it harden faster. I've never heard of heating curing epoxy to reverse the hardening (polymerization) process. (Which isn't to say I've heard everything yet!  ) In commercial work here in the United States, we use hardeners that produce a cure at varying rates of speed. I prefer using one rated for "tropical" use in hot weather which retards the cure rate substantially because I'd rather have the time to get the job done before the resin hardens and I have no reason to desire a fast cure in the work I do. (See: User Manual & Product Guide | WEST SYSTEM Epoxy translated into various languages.) 
 
I've heated cured epoxy resin with a heat gun when scraping paint that was applied over epoxy resin and found that the resin softens somewhat, but scrapes off in a dry, "crumbly," consistency and not "liquefied." If simply heating epoxy that is curing too fast with a heat gun reverses the curing process, that would sure be a good trick to know when working with epoxy.
 
Please explain if you have time from your great work. 

Beautiful build so far! Not to distract you with petty questions, but I'm curious if something was "lost in the translation" of the above statement. I've done a lot of boatyard work with epoxy resin. As I am sure you know, the curing speed of epoxy resin is dependent to a great extent to the temperature of the epoxy. Reducing the temperature of the epoxy resin and hardener mixture will greatly slow the speed of the cure. With all my epoxy work, I try to mix the epoxy in a flat pan rather than a tall-sided container like a can. This expands the surface area of the resin mass to permit the greatest dissipation of the heat generated by the exothermic reaction of the curing process which otherwise can accelerate out of control dangerously.  In some large laminating jobs, I've even put the epoxy container on ice to slow things down enough to get everything assembled and clamped before the resin "kicks off." (This can reduce the temperature of the epoxy enough to cause condensation to form on it, causing it to "cloud," but this moisture seems to evaporate on its own without any ill effects to the bond and the "clouding" disappears in due course.) 
 
I gather a "construction hair dryer" is what we call a "heat gun," basically a hair dryer that gets very hot. These have generally replaced the old open-flame "painter's blowtorches." Are you saying that heat applied to epoxy that is curing too quickly can be heated to reverse the polymerization process and thus "re-liquefy" it? In my experience, heat speeds up the curing rate of epoxy resin, making it harden faster. I've never heard of heating curing epoxy to reverse the hardening (polymerization) process. (Which isn't to say I've heard everything yet!  ) In commercial work here in the United States, we use hardeners that produce a cure at varying rates of speed. I prefer using one rated for "tropical" use in hot weather which retards the cure rate substantially because I'd rather have the time to get the job done before the resin hardens and I have no reason to desire a fast cure in the work I do. (See: User Manual & Product Guide | WEST SYSTEM Epoxy translated into various languages.) 
 
I've heated cured epoxy resin with a heat gun when scraping paint that was applied over epoxy resin and found that the resin softens somewhat, but scrapes off in a dry, "crumbly," consistency and not "liquefied." If simply heating epoxy that is curing too fast with a heat gun reverses the curing process, that would sure be a good trick to know when working with epoxy.
 
Please explain if you have time from your great work. 

Beautiful build so far! Not to distract you with petty questions, but I'm curious if something was "lost in the translation" of the above statement. I've done a lot of boatyard work with epoxy resin. As I am sure you know, the curing speed of epoxy resin is dependent to a great extent to the temperature of the epoxy. Reducing the temperature of the epoxy resin and hardener mixture will greatly slow the speed of the cure. With all my epoxy work, I try to mix the epoxy in a flat pan rather than a tall-sided container like a can. This expands the surface area of the resin mass to permit the greatest dissipation of the heat generated by the exothermic reaction of the curing process which otherwise can accelerate out of control dangerously.  In some large laminating jobs, I've even put the epoxy container on ice to slow things down enough to get everything assembled and clamped before the resin "kicks off." (This can reduce the temperature of the epoxy enough to cause condensation to form on it, causing it to "cloud," but this moisture seems to evaporate on its own without any ill effects to the bond and the "clouding" disappears in due course.) 
 
I gather a "construction hair dryer" is what we call a "heat gun," basically a hair dryer that gets very hot. These have generally replaced the old open-flame "painter's blowtorches." Are you saying that heat applied to epoxy that is curing too quickly can be heated to reverse the polymerization process and thus "re-liquefy" it? In my experience, heat speeds up the curing rate of epoxy resin, making it harden faster. I've never heard of heating curing epoxy to reverse the hardening (polymerization) process. (Which isn't to say I've heard everything yet!  ) In commercial work here in the United States, we use hardeners that produce a cure at varying rates of speed. I prefer using one rated for "tropical" use in hot weather which retards the cure rate substantially because I'd rather have the time to get the job done before the resin hardens and I have no reason to desire a fast cure in the work I do. (See: User Manual & Product Guide | WEST SYSTEM Epoxy translated into various languages.) 
 
I've heated cured epoxy resin with a heat gun when scraping paint that was applied over epoxy resin and found that the resin softens somewhat, but scrapes off in a dry, "crumbly," consistency and not "liquefied." If simply heating epoxy that is curing too fast with a heat gun reverses the curing process, that would sure be a good trick to know when working with epoxy.
 
Please explain if you have time from your great work. 

If one is intending to accurately depict the prototype in miniature, I believe Jaager's answer is the only correct one. it's not a matter of personal opinion if the object of the exercise is to build a model that looks like the real thing. If metal fastenings were used, as was the case in later times, these would be countersunk and plugged as Jaager describes in order to minimize rusting of the iron fastenings. Depicting fastening locations in an unpainted fully framed model ("Admiralty Board style") can be nicely done by gluing black fishing line of the proper scale diameter into drilled holes, but such fastening "locaters" would never be visible in an actual full-scale vessel. However, if the black fishing line holes are not drilled precisely where the fastenings on the prototype vessel would have to have been placed, the job will result in a worse effect than if the fastenings were left unindicated. 
 
I mention this because the original poster asked, "I have fishing line at 0.23, 0.32 and 0.5mm, color black.  Is it appropriate color for hull and Deck treenails or is it too dark?  what size best (1/64 scale)?" I suppose we just have different definitions of the word "appropriate" in this context. Obviously, a model builder is always free to paint their model any color they wish. 

No need for apologies. I find the same frustration with the search engine myself. (Sometimes opening up another window and "googling" a topic is actually an easier way to find it in the MSW forum!) In this instance, "horseshoe" was an easy one to search. Google would have yielded twenty-six "sponsored" advertisements for horseshoes and local farriers, I'm sure!
 
What I'd like to know about these "horseshoes" used to reinforce scarf joints is why they were horseshoe-shaped. It seems to my "armchair shipwright's" mind that a squared flat plate would serve as well and be a lot easier to fabricate and install. I wonder if the shipsmiths actually just hammered flat old worn-out horseshoes to fashion these and didn't bother to take the time to forge straight, flat stock. Some of the horseshoe-shaped reinforcing plates are quite large, but draft horse hooves are quite large and there were a lot more draft horses around in those days than now.  It just doesn't seem like the shape has anything to do with the strength of the fitting. 

The "search" thingy is our friend!  See: 
 

Beautiful build so far! Not to distract you with petty questions, but I'm curious if something was "lost in the translation" of the above statement. I've done a lot of boatyard work with epoxy resin. As I am sure you know, the curing speed of epoxy resin is dependent to a great extent to the temperature of the epoxy. Reducing the temperature of the epoxy resin and hardener mixture will greatly slow the speed of the cure. With all my epoxy work, I try to mix the epoxy in a flat pan rather than a tall-sided container like a can. This expands the surface area of the resin mass to permit the greatest dissipation of the heat generated by the exothermic reaction of the curing process which otherwise can accelerate out of control dangerously.  In some large laminating jobs, I've even put the epoxy container on ice to slow things down enough to get everything assembled and clamped before the resin "kicks off." (This can reduce the temperature of the epoxy enough to cause condensation to form on it, causing it to "cloud," but this moisture seems to evaporate on its own without any ill effects to the bond and the "clouding" disappears in due course.) 
 
I gather a "construction hair dryer" is what we call a "heat gun," basically a hair dryer that gets very hot. These have generally replaced the old open-flame "painter's blowtorches." Are you saying that heat applied to epoxy that is curing too quickly can be heated to reverse the polymerization process and thus "re-liquefy" it? In my experience, heat speeds up the curing rate of epoxy resin, making it harden faster. I've never heard of heating curing epoxy to reverse the hardening (polymerization) process. (Which isn't to say I've heard everything yet!  ) In commercial work here in the United States, we use hardeners that produce a cure at varying rates of speed. I prefer using one rated for "tropical" use in hot weather which retards the cure rate substantially because I'd rather have the time to get the job done before the resin hardens and I have no reason to desire a fast cure in the work I do. (See: User Manual & Product Guide | WEST SYSTEM Epoxy translated into various languages.) 
 
I've heated cured epoxy resin with a heat gun when scraping paint that was applied over epoxy resin and found that the resin softens somewhat, but scrapes off in a dry, "crumbly," consistency and not "liquefied." If simply heating epoxy that is curing too fast with a heat gun reverses the curing process, that would sure be a good trick to know when working with epoxy.
 
Please explain if you have time from your great work. 

Sounds like you're a heavy coffee drinker. I've broken a lot of mugs over the years, but I've yet to wear one out!  

No need for apologies. I find the same frustration with the search engine myself. (Sometimes opening up another window and "googling" a topic is actually an easier way to find it in the MSW forum!) In this instance, "horseshoe" was an easy one to search. Google would have yielded twenty-six "sponsored" advertisements for horseshoes and local farriers, I'm sure!
 
What I'd like to know about these "horseshoes" used to reinforce scarf joints is why they were horseshoe-shaped. It seems to my "armchair shipwright's" mind that a squared flat plate would serve as well and be a lot easier to fabricate and install. I wonder if the shipsmiths actually just hammered flat old worn-out horseshoes to fashion these and didn't bother to take the time to forge straight, flat stock. Some of the horseshoe-shaped reinforcing plates are quite large, but draft horse hooves are quite large and there were a lot more draft horses around in those days than now.  It just doesn't seem like the shape has anything to do with the strength of the fitting. 

The "search" thingy is our friend!  See: 
 

Nothing screams "1960's" like a polyester resin-covered hatch cover coffee table on an avocado green shag carpet. Today's kids just wouldn't get it.