themadchemist

So is a model of a cake made of wood? Tell Admiral Oyl happy Birthday from MSW. So what model boat did you buy The Admiral for her birthday present.

Dont forget the Rifleman with chuck connors, Popeye... I think we may be showing our age here a bit. ...of course that was a Winchester I believe. And dont forget Sharpes Series (Tammy and I are watching them now, we're up to 6), 3 shots in a minute High Ho Silver, Away....

Yes as with any tool or piece of equipment, the performance is all dependant on the user. A rifle needs a good shootist just as a fine musical instrument needs a trained musician. The thing that makes them both good is the same. Practice, practice and more practice, plus knowing your equipment very well, of course that come with Practice. Ship building is no different. In my experience the difference betweeen being great and mediocre at anything is the willingness to have dedication and persistence. Knowledge and skills follow these. So many in our world of I WANT IT NOW, have lost the understanding of Patience. The concept of how much time is SHOULD take to become good at a task is under estimated by many. Along with the misunderstanding that failure is just one step closer towards success. Such great discussion over one single detail, a flintlock, is an example of part of that learning. I'll never look at another cannon without looking at the flintlocks. I've learned a new skill which puts me one step closer to where I hope to be as a model shipwright. I'm looking forward to years of new learning as I can see where this hobby never stops teaching. Thats one of the reasons I chose it .... or did it chose me? Somethings I feel like I'm infected, I cant stop think about ship building. Thats when you know you've found the right place. Thanks to all the masters that have helped me along the way. All education should be as free and enjoyable as a day on MSW.

Hey Robbyn, Thats what I figured, everytime they change something they dont change the instructions. To me I kind of like the challange of a certain degree of difficulty but there is a limit. Its hard to order as I wonder what parts I'll get as there are so many versions or incarnations of change. But then the Swift seems to be the same. hello Robert Thanks for the post of your build Logs, MSW or elsewhere it is good to see your work. A very beautiful build you have created...and as they say a picture is worth a thousand words, with no translation needed. I like the changes you made, for example the redo of the launch, the crows nests, the resizing of the belaying pins and you have some very perfectly tied ratlines on your shrouds. She's a very beautiful example of just what can be done with the inferior AL kit with some bashing and rebuilding of many aspects. thanks for sharing.

Personally I'm lucky as a chemist as we were forced to learn both equally. Personally I use my TI85 or 92 which have conv function keys for all unit conversions. I had a Scottish physical chem professor that was hard core English system he loved giving units in one unit and ask for the answer in another. Pressure was always a pain...torr, mmHg, Pa, PSI.... or energy J, BTU, C and c. But as far as tools not to buy Stay away from the Habor Freight 4 inch table saw. Don't even imagine that buying the extra carbide blade will matter. at 1/8 hp it will not cut wood without binding, burning, and just flat stopping the blade. It is hefty so don't let the mass fool you. I'd say it might make a good boat anchor but the cords too short.

I'm with Pat on Chucks builds. I love his pinnace with the pale basswood. My limited experience with basswood is that it to has a slight colour variation. I used this difference to accent the magogany stripe in my peterboro build. I've also found that the darker vs lighter soak and bend differently so I'm assuming its a sap wood vs heart wood thing. I find the heart wood (darker) needs longer to soak, but works better. But again thats with VERY limited experience building boats. I can tell you this for certain, cherry is great for smoking meat. We lost a wild cherry in a storm in 2008 and I saved bunches, wish now I'd saved more, most got used as campfire wood.

Well how do you enjoy the Blues without a Rum and coke. Oh no, are you seeing pink elephants too You actually made things very clear, thats one of the things I find so remarkable is the Historiosity of ships. How the science of ship building developed over time. For the largest part it was with sails or oars, but thats greatly overlooked these days. The similaritities between the Emma and Muscongus are remarkable but they are 2 completely different ships/boats/smacks. and sadly.. with the Lyme meds no rum and no coke. but I drink a gallon of H2O a day. Wow, just thinking, that would be 32 rations for one of Blighs Bounty Launch crew. nearly 11 days worth YIKES.

Muddy Waters! Now that's GREAT BLUES

LOL, like some of the Beverly Hillbillies ricochet shootin'. Heck the whole state of IL is in bad shape when Jeff Foxworthy starts "you might be from IL if" jokes. Hills or no, I like living in the Southern rural part of IL. As a navy brat I experienced the east coast from CT to MS (gulf coast) and loved it, so actually I'm a born yankee. Don't have to worry about stirred blood here. Just Smith, no Hatfield or McCoy blood here. Beside I'm like ole Snuffy, just watchin' out fer them thar revenuers, 'specially with the 15th rollin around any day now (that's income tax day in the US ). McCoy to Kirk: I'm a doctor, not a hillbilly..... I'm shocked the Aggy came with the flintlocks, thats is really cool, I'm not sure I've even paid attention to whether guns typically have them (on models that is). As yet I haven't bought a ship with guns. I can't even imagine rigging the 64 guns Aggy carried. It is always amazing just how detailing the cannon correctly and to scale has such a huge effect of the overall deck aesthetics. As I recall Aggy (or was it bacon and eggs) was Nelsons favorite. She was a great battleship of the line. Cant remember how many of that line were built but Nelson seemed to think she was better. I haven't studied the subject very deep but was there a large difference in that line of 3rd rates. If I recall, Nelson considered her faster, was that due to shape or center of mass. As i study how different woods were used at different heights I'm continually amazed at the engineering feat accomplished with what we would call primative tools. I think we may underestimate the level of engineering which we have trouble reproducing today. It just kinda shows its not just technology that creates mangnificence. Just as any one of MSW's builder with a dremel has more technology then they, just as the cell phone of today are WAY more powerful then what Apollo used.

I was just looking at robert1965's last post of the AL instructions and the pictured build. Is that your build robert? have you gotten a log up yet and I'm missing it? one must keep up on one's SF logs, especially if considering one in the future. Either way I hate the AL kit but love the Ship and after seeing her bashed a bit, I know I'll one day be building her. Its just a shame so much must be replaced. If its not up, we'd love to see it. re: to the AL vs roberts It's really amazing the differences between the instruction and the kit. For example, besides the rail issue, the strake that runs under the shield hits the AL at the bottom of the gun ports where roberts splits the gun port evenly (which is more aesthetically pleasing), was that a bash or a difference in the kit? It also looks as though you shortened the spindles to make the curve fit. I often wonder since the SF has went through 2 incarntions the 1st double plank then the SFII with the single plank if the instructions are old and need updating. At least there are pictures, my AL swift has 4 1/2 pages written. The blueprint are much more handy and MSW is the most handy.

Personally I see alot of the lobster smacks design in the kit Waynes building, the Emma C Berry. Emma seems to be a bigger sister of the smaller smack. http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/888-emma-c-berry-by-trippwj-model-shipways-scale-132/

Note to self. 1) drop and widen cockpit floor 2) open live wells to give cabin room, for bunks. 3) write Bob a note, for research at the Penobscot Maritime Museum. Its a shame the tiller wasn't tall enough to clear the deck. So what woods do you have planned for the benches and cabin? Walnut ought to be nice looking for the hull. I love Marios Mahogany and basswood striped roof on the cabin and seating. So many options. Thanks for the updates Dee Dee, I'm watching with a notepad handy, ready to borrow all your great ideas. I'll be sure and reference you in the bibliography.

Hey Mobbsie Easy with the hillbilly remarks, I think Snuffy Smith was a distant relative of mine. and one needs a good firearm for runnin' off the blamed ole revenuers. Otherwise were all ya' yankee's gonna get yer moonshine?

Michael said - I always leave some of the fallen trees for the birds insects and the rest of the natural world for their use. Dont forget mushrooms! Here in the midwest morel mushrooms are plentiful in the spring and they love old tree falls where the soil is basic. They seem to like rotting Elm and Oak the best around here. I cant wait morel season is coming soon. https://www.google.com/search?q=morel+mushrooms&hl=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=0jBbUefXHsXH4AOayoCgDw&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1165&bih=823

To my understanding fruit woods are best for bending and shaping and also hold an edge well. Cherry, pear, apple... Cherry will have a great variation in colour though, which I like. Dad has a 30+ year old persimmon tree in the back yard, I'd love to harvest a few limbs from it. http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/hardwoods/persimmon/ Oak is also used alot in bending but is typically done green. The back/arm assemble and spindles in a winsor chair are typically oak. Oak is not good for modelling due to its porous nature, red is worse then white oak. Its also very interesting how wood can vary so much within a species. As Michael pointed out growing conditions have a great effect on wood quality. This is why English Oak was preferred in early ships to american. The slower growing english oak was much tighter between growth layers which made for a denser wood. Wood is so interesting, like humans no 2 pieces are alike.

One great use Ive found for balsa is in making wedges. Due to its soft nature it gives before the other wood, which helps protect the wood planking. Clamps both plastic and metal sometime leave indentions, especially if the wood is wet. Ive found balsa boxs and wedges very handy and no destruction/deformation in holding planking for drying or gluing.

Im with 42rocker on the free paint stirrers. Another great place for free wood is hit the election campaign tents and tables (state fairs are a great place to find these) and look for those little advertising rulers candidates love to pass out . Offer to hand a bunch out, then run with them. ARGH, tmc the wood pirate.

I agree David, one other thing I'd mention, never allow anyone to sit in the line of the blade. I few years back we were in dad's work shop cutting strips for moulding. Mom and Tam were also in the shop visiting while Dad and I worked. On impulse I made mom move as she was in the line of fire. The very next piece, caught in the saw and was thrust like a spear across the shop exactly where mom was sitting. We were very lucky. As a person with 5 years experience as a butcher Ive worked with many saws and other pieces of dangerous equipment. Safety is always first. I have a friend that made one small slip-up and now he has 2 1/2 less fingers.

Thanks for the pic's Michael, As opposed to quarter sawn, you have quarter split wood planks and by splitting the grain integrity is preserved. Split as Michael shows should also make planing easier as the more radial the split and the more with the grain, the better the plane slices, making it easier to smooth without dig in. Of course this is wood dependent as 42rocker states.Straight grained woods more readily lend them selves to processing like this. For example Oak vs Elm, Elm being very crossed grain. but again for this reason Elm is used in many chair seats though. http://www.northendhardwoods.com/2010/09/quarter-sawn-vs-plain-sawn-vs-rift-sawn-lumber/ and if your going to do alot of spilting planks a froe is a handy tool with more control then an axe or hatchet. The froe design, blade placement with respect to the handle alows the handle to be used to pry the wood apart. this also allows longer pieces to be worked. http://www.leevalley.com/us/shopping/Instructions.aspx?p=67296

Hello Captain Garward, Hum more goodies form the equipment building section. I have one question on your equipment. I noticed the tilt table design which I assume is how you adjust plank thickness. I see in the pictures pieces in the sander without you holding them. To my understanding on typical thickness sanders the drum will grab and throw the plank threw the equipment if not held back from doing so. Is this the case with your's or does the tilt design create an auto feed machanism, which allows hands free working? Either way, excellent work per usually, I'd expect nothing less. Thanks so much for sharing its build and construction.

Oh no, we may be infected with a multi-tasking virus. I've been working on the Swift planking but this diorama for the Peterboro is gnawling at me. Yesterday I got out the modeling clay and made a baquette and wedge of cheddar fof the picnic basket. If it didnt come from Sjors' maybe Popeyes the carrier. I really like your new avatar Wayne, we have friends that autism has greatly imposed on, One of Tam's co-employees has 2 children with austism. Have you studied any of Dr Andrew Wakefields papers on his vaccine experiences. Sounds like you have the book bug like me. I did an inventory a decade ago and it filled 50 pages of word doc, and the collection has doubled since then. All that and no nautical. Of course my collection is heavy on the science end. My problem is book shelf space. Ive custom build shelves and I'm running out of walls on which to build them... So... your not stopping with the keel are you....? If so, make a trip to the yarn shop and maybe a knee-gotiation can be made for laying some frames. I really like the POF of this build, but I'm still obssessing that pinnace and MExpo now has it for $60, I believe they are mocking me. Although I do need #67,68,69 drill bits for nailing and need a good excuse to justify the postage.

Yes indeed, 3 years of adventure would be a log/forum unto its self. If it were something you were willing to share. I know I would pop the popcorn and be ready for adventure time, front row. The kid in me still loves a good adventure story. WOW 3 years, what a trip it must have been. Anything you wish to share would be greatly appreciated and I'll bet others would find it immensely interesting also, or maybe I'm the only curious one. Thanks so much for you time and instruction. I daily am thankful for the experience that MSW has given me and the enrichment of my life that has occurred by meeting the wonderful group of members here.

Yes and soldering irons are also used by some but the flat iron is better for laterally bending the plank. There's a really good video posted somewhere on MSW where a 0.5mm plank it bend laterally better then 30-40 degrees with a clothes iron. Cant remember where though. Anyone else remember this?

I'm looking at this one ATM rebecca. One of the other SF builders recommended it. http://www.amazon.com/Hobbico-Veneer-Edge-Banding-Iron/dp/B000X4PWTM

Wayne, Nice collection of nautical books. Am a book-a-holic and have 100's possibly even a 1000 books, but nothing on nautical. Once I get my tool quota used up, any thing left is going into books. One can never have too many books.