mtaylor
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Good questions, John. I'm not sure I have all or even any of the answers though. At this point, for me, it works. I'm getting better parts than if I had used the scroll saw. Is it effective use of time? I don't have a one-size fits all answer. It does take time and learning curve to get the drawings right for cutting. Once they're done and after the learning curve for power and speed settings for various sizes and type of wood, it's quick. Put the wood in position and hit "cut". There's a trade-off with any tool and moreso power tools. Table saws need blade changes and setup time for the fence, etc. A mill takes time to master and setup for each task. A lathe also. But these are tools that are now considered pretty much standard. The guy with the most knowledge who could answer that is Chuck since he has a lot more experience in this than I do. I'm still on the learning curve. I'm getting faster with the drawing tools, my speed and power settings are zeroing in on the best appearing cut. Am I there yet? Nope, not yet.
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And they go up even higher Jeff. I guess it depends on what one plans to cut with it. A full sized ship???? Some of the really high-end lasers will cut stainless steel from what I've been reading.
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Richard, CNC is harder and more costly to set up is probably the biggest reasons. I've not seen, but then I haven't looked in a couple of years, to see what's out there and if the prices dropped. There is a Triton cross-section log where the guy doing it was using CNC. He admitted it was noisy, dusty, and time-consuming to run as you just couldn't route the part in one pass. He hasn't posted in awhile so I don't know if he gave up or had machine problems. All things considered, I think it's the builders choice. There's advantages and disadvantages to each. The laser tech is improving and the prices do seem to be dropping. The one machine I was interested in but was $3000+ including some accessories, is now at $2000+. The software is different (not MoshiDraw) and the machine is a 50W. How good is it? I have no idea as I've not seen any reviews nor was I able to test on the machine I saw locally. I'd suggest do some research. Make a list of what's important and what's not important and go from there. There's a lot of forums out there for both lasers and CNC.
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Sweet work, Augie. By all means try to enjoy summer since it's stopped raining.
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Thanks for all the likes and comments. It seems to go the other way also, Carl. Proxxon is rather pricey including shipping, for example. Hopefully, these machines follow the tech trend.. prices go down and they get better. Sorry Steve, no gratings. Too much sanding needed. I think I have better control on those things with the table saw. I've got a long list of fiddly bits to take the fiddly out of. I'm using CorelDraw X6, Ken. One has to be careful on the machine as some won't work with the new versions of Corel and some won't work the older versions. I choose to buy this one outright from Amazon as the current (X7) was only available to me in the "subscription version". Sorry Corel.. I don't want to pay every month for something I might or might not be using. I'm cheap.. err... frugal.. Yeah..frugal. It's getting there Larry. I'm still on the learning curve. Feel free to use my excuse: "I'll get it now. I could be dead by Christmas." So far, that philosophy has worked.
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Cutty Sark by NenadM
mtaylor replied to NenadM's topic in - Build logs for subjects built 1851 - 1900
Great pic of Dali... or maybe that's Brian the Extraordinaire. Excellent work on Her Majesty.- 4,151 replies
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Wonderful work... so clean and perfect.. Sorry to hear about the computer problems. I think we all have had those problems and if we haven't, we will. 'Tis the nature of the beast.
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Thanks guys. There's been a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to get it to do this along with some extra cash to upgrade a couple of bits. I've not seen the magazine Jeff. The tech is maturing and the price points on a lot of machines are rapidly changing to meet marketing conditions as the market settles in. There's at least one company is (from what I'm reading in other forums) in dire straights for bad reviews, horrible service and ignoring customers (not MM, by the way). Unless there's a pressing need, I'd hold off for another 6 months. For example, the $3000+ machine (50W laser) that I was interested in but not quite affordable is now down to $2000. I still wouldn't have room for it as its a good 18" longer than one I have...... <sigh><need a bigger workshop>
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The masting is looking the part and looking good, Jeff.
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Cathead, I had to look twice at the framing... and then at the Chaperon. There is a big difference, isn't there. Would you get less buckling using narrower planks? (Yep.. tossing stuff on the wall... ) Or would you need to do drop planks???
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A side update... I'm doing the drawings for the ship's boats and I'll be putting one together while waiting for glue to dry on the main hull. So as not to "interrupt the flow of things", I'll either make them a separate log like Danny did for his, or just hold off until the planking is done. Here's a bit of where I am on these. The longboat drawings are done but still need some tweaking. Seems that I didn't always account for kerf which I finally managed to get down to 0.015" (0.381mm). And man, these things are tiny. Might just be the end of me.... Here's two pics of the parts being cut, which is something I couldn't do on a scrollsaw to save my soul. I tried and failed several times. And here's the resulting parts.... the keel is 5" or 125mm long. The keel and assorted structural members are 1/16" (1.5mm) thick cherry. The frames (which look like bulkheads are 1/32" (0.79mm)) cherry and the other parts (knees, seats, thwarts on the upper left and upper right) are 1/32" from scrap holly but I'll have to redo them in boxwood as soon I as get some milled down. I'm planning on using Chuck's method but gluing the bulkheads upside down into a basswood jig for handling and planking. There (hopefully) will be two more boats. A barge and cutter and all will be nested into the longboat.
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Uh.. Tom... I was wrong. They will have to be spiled... And I'll be needing stealers. I'm on my 3rd iteration of planks on this round... I'm hoping..... but alcohol and sanding sticks are at the ready.
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H.M.S. Victory, Heller, 1/100, Onward and Upwards.
mtaylor replied to Izzy Madd's topic in Plastic model kits
Wow.. that is a problem, Izzy. Which one is the "real" one???? I have no idea but at least you know this is getting read. I hope you get an answer. -
Your not being argumentative. I just figured we were bouncing ideas off the wall and waiting to see what sticks. :D That is one very impressive frame build.
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I do like the look of the "antiqued" brass. I believe there's times when artistic license has to over-ride historical accuracy.
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Cathead, I'm going to fall back on "You're the Captain, she's your ship." reasoning. If you're painting it, go with whatever works within your timeline and budget. A smooth painted surface will (as someone once said) hide a lot sins.
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Steve, Engine room looks great. It may not be seen by most folks unless you open up the cabin area, but you'll know it's there. Well.. we'll know it too..
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Nice work there, Mike. Yep... boring but necessary. The No. 15 is a very useful blade for me. It's gets into places nothing else will. They also make a No. 11 sized saw blade which is also great.
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Richard, See if you can find Dodds & Moore Building the Wooden Fighting Ship. It's a pretty easy read and has lots of good info from how selected and managed the forests, to raising the frames, bending the planking, even iron mongey. Basically, the planking was put into the steamer for 1 hour per inch thickness plus (as I recall) one hour for the plank. It would have been already spiled when it went into the steamer if needed. They would haul it out and put it on using something like jackscrews to bend it into position and hold it while it cooled.
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Cathead, The only way I can see is spiling the planks at the bow. Check out the planking tutorials here on MSW and in the database. There's one by Chuck that's pretty foolproof.
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Thanks for the comments and support. Sam, I can't answer that about sealing the ports and how well it worked. The French frigates didn't have lids on the gundeck as it was exposed in the waist. They use bucklers insead (a one or two piece scheme of a lid fitted to the outside and then secured from the inside. Tom Short answer.. they stay full width or should. However, for eye appeal, I probably should taper maybe a 32nd of an inch... I'll give that some thought when I start laying planks again. The bigger issue is that if I taper them, I'll have to use some stealers at the stern. Right now, still shaping things. I do need to make a Lowe's trip for a profile/contour gauge to duplicate this work to the other side. Better leave the CC at home and only take cash for this run....
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Gawd, that's bad on them. I'm surprised they just didn't contact you instead wrapping some string a glue. I'm gong to join the others and sit back to watch and learn.
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