mtaylor

Jeff, Have you looked at the tutorials here: http://modelshipworldforum.com/ship-model-framing-and-planking-articles.php There's some instructions within them on "how-to".

I do the same thing with the plywood base on the bed. It not only protects the bed, it protects the bits. Now to find the time to make some wood clamps.. or wait until I need them...

Sam, I, for one, would like to see your posts on this any other discussion in it's own place. It a) deserves it and it won't be lost in Steve's build. Can you be persuaded to put your tips, tricks, methods into say... here: http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/forum/24-wood-ship-model-kit-questions-and-reviews/ If the moderators think it should be somewhere else, I'd hope they will move it. But you do have some seriously excellent suggestions, ideas, and methods.

Super nifty work, Jay. I like the wood for the clamps idea as it probably keeps the wood from getting nicked up. Edit: I like that idea so much.. I hope you don't mind if I use it.

Nenad, Izzy said it best... I can't add any more without making a fool of myself. I will add that the picture is a beautiful tribute.

Pete, That is a museum piece for sure. Super nice work that captures these boats perfectly.

Beautiful model, Cristiano. Looks fantastic and you have put in wonderful setting. I'd like to suggest you go back to page one and edit the first post.. the title and add "Completed" so that all may know the good news.

Now that is even more impressive... Rudder control would be interesting as you wouldn't have reverse oars to make gentle turns.

That an impressive bit of shipmodeling detail that seems to be overlooked by most of us, Siggi. I like it.

I saw something like that quite a few years ago. The talk then was for prosthetic body parts such as parts for the skull that had be damaged. I looks like things have moved further on in the 3D printing world.

I'm not buying the "hidden by the camera angle" thingie... It just looks perfect, Grant.

Ron, Is that using a router type bit? I Googled them in somewhat of a hurry and couldn't figure out how it's actually cutting.

Per, That is the water pump. The 5-gallon bucket has 3-gallons of distilled water in it and is used for cooling the laser tube. There are some companies that sell a refrigeration unit that pumps chilled water through the laser tubes water jacket. Jack, Their tech support is in house and only operated 4 hours a day, Monday through Friday.

Dr. Per, You are correct. The hobby market cutters are just not to a good level yet. Hang onto your cash and buy what you need from a known good supplier, like Chuck.

Nigel, The problem with leaving too much meat is the sanding... your arm will thank you for not having to sand that extra 1/32". Have a good vacation.

Thanks Nigel. I'm still working on the speed and the power along with the number of passes settings. And you are right about the potential.

Nigel, When you start fairing, you might find that 1/16" is too much to leave.... There's next to no bevel on this cross-section but it is possible (I know this from experience) to get misalignment. Oh... I picked up two pieces of 12" X 12" X 1/4" glass from the local glass place. They're flat and heavy and make sure it's the tempered stuff in case you drop one and it shatters.

Thanks for the likes and comments, folks. Here's the latest... Well... my patience has run out with MM. There will be no more tools for me bought from them. If I can't fix any of the ones I've bought from them, it will be replaced by another manufacturer. As I said previously, I sent an email (posted at the end of this post) on Sunday night. 5 days and no response. I don't believe I was offensive, angry or mean. But no response, not even a "got your mail and we're looking into this" would have been acceptable. As for the tool in question... after discussion with the Admiral, she calmed me down and got me rational. Rather than starting the whole process over, I'm hanging on to it. I can upgrade when the laser tube dies to a larger power tube. With what I'm using it for, it'll work. I had to do mods to the mini-mill to get to work better and sometimes the devil you do know is better than the one you don't. I'm not sure there really is a good solution to a hobby type cutter out there for what we do and under $3000 (US). Or at least one that won't require a lot time and energy to set it up, climb up and over the learning curve, and get it properly tweaked. This already has many of the mods that I'd have to source and go through anyway.... 220 VAC power unit, for example. I also know the weaknesses. So I'll put my time and energy into resolving the issues I have left rather than starting over. Anyway... I won't recommend this tool to anyone because the tech support isn't there. But if you do buy one, be forewarned. Anyway, here's the email.... Hi, I have a question and some observations on my LaserKnife. Questions: 1) Lenses... are there better lenses available or perhaps ones with different focal lengths? I'll be cutting a variety of wood thicknesses from 1/64" up to possibly 1/4". I've double and triple checked and cleaned the mirrors and I think the focus could be a bit better. 2) Is there a manual somewhere that has more detail on CorelLaser? There's settings in there I have no idea what they are for. 3) The cooling water, is there a max temperature rise or a max temperature to watch out for? Observations, 1) The manual is a bit vague in areas like parts identification and mirror alignment. 2) The lense in the cutting head seems to have been installed upside down. It had the concave side up and the convex side down. After Googling and reading, I find out that these should be the other way with the concave side down and the convex side up. I got a finer cut when I did that. Thank you.

Looks darn good, Nigel. My only suggestion is to put the frame between some glass with a weight to ensure full contact of the futtocks and also to prevent any possible warping as the glue dries. But if what your doing is working for you, ignore me.

Ted, I really don't know much about where that plan came from. You might try PM'ing "Russ" as he's the author.

Nice looking deck, John.

Congratulations on a beautiful Essex, Bob. Splice the mainbrace!!! And well-deserved splicing it will be.

Beautiful metalwork, Alex.

Those little Pi's don't look like much but they have a lot of processing power for their size. I'm seeing more and more hobby projects using them and it's not computer projects, per se. One project I'm familiar with is using one to control a plane to be launched into the lower reaches of space via balloon and then a rocket motor. The Pi will provide full avionics control including data comms back to earth. For a ship, the possibilities are endless.