USCG Pequot (WARC-58) by captainbob - FINISHED - 1:96

[Omega1234]

Thanks Lawrence, I'll need all the luck I can get.  But if Patrick can do it on Majellan, . . .  Well I hope I can.

 

Bob

Hi Bob

 

Thanks for the vote of confidence! But trust me, you're gonna do a mighty fine job, without a doubt!

 

Cheers

 

Patrick

[captainbob]

Well here I am again.  I’ve been working on the railings for the upper deck.  I made them from .020” (.05mm) brass wire, 2” (50mm) scale.   You can see in the pictures the sheet of balsa I used to solder on.  Using a straight edge I scribed two grooves in the balsa to hold the long pieces parallel.  I cut the stanchions to .5” (12mm) and put them in a container with liquid flux.  I then wiped the long pieces with flux.  The solder was placed on the board and arranged so that the free end was in the air.  I would touch the soldering iron to the solder to pick up a small amount.  Then touch the joint until the solder flowed to both parts.  I found early on that I needed something to hold the stanchion while soldering, I cut a .020” slot in the end of an old tool for the job.  Now all I have to do is paint and mount them.  Oh, yes.  The new railings look so much better than those on the pilot house. I’ll have to redo those.

 

Bob

 

 

[Mirabell61]

Bob,

 

you`re doing a good job on the railings-soldering...

Are you going to stick the stanchion foot-ends through the deck, or into those white borderline surroundings ?

 

Nils

[Mahuna]

Nice work, Bob.

[Omega1234]

Hi Bob

 

Nice railings so far. I also like the superstructure, which looks great.

 

Cheers

 

Patrick

[captainbob]

Thanks Nils, Frank and Patrick.   The stanchion ends will be inside but touching the white curbing.

 

Bob

[popeye the sailor]

looking good bob.........you must have been reading my mind.........I did some railings this morning      nice shaping!

[captainbob]

There’s a ladder that goes from the pilot house down to the main deck.  I know that there are companies that make photo etched ladders but I don’t know which ones make good parts or how to order the one that I want.  Then I would have to wait for it and hope it is the right size when it gets here.  I’m just not up to that kind of stress.  So I made my own.  The photo I am following shows the ladder with ten treads.  Measuring the model makes the treads .090 inch.  So I sanded a 3/32 square strip down to .085 inch on one side.  To make the fixture I used a .005” brass sheet as a spacer and  glued the square strips between two supports.  The treads were cut from the .005” sheet and squeezed into the fixture.  The sides are 1/16” brass angle.  Sorry I didn’t get a picture of the ladder mounted in the fixture.  But here is a picture of the fixture and the a couple of the finished ladder.

 

Bob

 

 

[Mirabell61]

Bob, the ladder looks perefect,

 

a fine positioning fixture and a super soldering job !!  

 

Nils

[Omega1234]

Hi Bob

 

Lovely work on the ladder. Once again your skills with metal work, especially brass, has shone through with flying colours!

 

Nicely done.

 

Cheers

 

Patrick

[captainbob]

Thanks Nils and Patrick,  I've always enjoyed problem solving and as you both know model building has a lot of, "Now how do I do that?"  When we come up with an Idea and it works . . . ah that's the joy fulfilled, and MSW lets us show it.

 

Thanks again

 

Bob

[cog]

Modest as always. Fabulous work Bob!

[mtaylor]

Bob, I agree with Carl.  You are too modest.  Your work is brilliant.  

[captainbob]

Thanks Carl and Mark.  If I were modest I wouldn't even show what I build.  The pictures are my way of bragging.

 

Bob

Edited September 4, 2016 by Cap'n'Bob

[TBlack]

Bob,

Beautiful ladder! And interesting technique to get it all uniform. But I've got a couple of questions: I understand that the treads are slipped into the slots of the fixture, but how do you put the angled side pieces on where you can do the soldering? Also, is that a picture of your soldering gun, or is it a pen? Finally, the clean-up of excess solder in the angle of the side pieces must have taken some time?

Tom

[cog]

Yeah, right Bob. You are really full of yourself ... keep on bragging then my friend (more pictures), for it does you credit

[mtaylor]

What Carl said, Bob.   Just keep bragging away.  

[captainbob]

It seems that a lot of people have trouble with soldering.  Most people who are good at soldering have their own methods that they have used for a long time.  This is my method.  My main soldering iron is an old 50 watt Unger that I’ve had for 40 or 50 years.  The liquid flux is also so old the label is gone and I don’t remember what the brand is.  The solder is the smallest diameter that I can find and I don’t care if it is rosin core or not.  The problem most people have is using too much solder.  The solder I used for this ladder is .020” (.5mm) diameter. 

 

This is the same ladder I did above but with more pictures.  First I painted the angles with flux and tinned the inside.  After placing the treads in the fixture I tinned the edges of the treads.  Then the angles were mounted on the fixture with one leg of the angle under the treads.  All the parts are then pushed tightly together.  Next I liberally painted everything again with flux.  Now all I had to do is heat the angle enough to melt the tinning solder that is already on the parts.  Using solder on the outside of the angle transfers the heat to the inside better.  In the final pictures you can see there is no buildup of solder that needs to be cleaned up.  The solder on the outside is easily filed or sanded off.

 

Well that’s the way I do it.  The main things to remember is the parts must be clean, use plenty of flux, the parts must touch, don’t use too much solder and practice until soldering becomes comfortable. 

 

Bob

 

 

 

 

 

The next three pictures show the part with no cleanup. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[TBlack]

Bob,

Damn, you're either smart or very experienced, and you explain it well. Thanks for the tips.

Tom

[popeye the sailor]

I learned from my dad........I had forgotten all about tinning      very neat method and jig you have there.    pretty darn good copy of the one in the picture......supeer job  

[captainbob]

Thanks Tom, my admiral says I should have been a teacher but I went into engineering instead.

 

Popeye, I forgot most of what my dad told me also.  Tinning isn't always necessary but there are times you can't do a nice job without it.

 

Bob

[TBlack]

Well there you are! You understand about the left brain and the right brain? One side is artistic and verbal; the other side is math and science. According to your wife, you've got an abundance of one side and according to your accomplishments, you've got an abundance of the other side as well. Yah, I'm corny, but I love to look at talent!

Tom

[captainbob]

I see it’s been a while since I’ve shown you the Pequot.  So here is where she is at present.  I’ve been mounting parts on the upper deck which is now complete except for 13 fire buckets which mount in a ring surrounding the stack.  The first picture is an attempt at a water level shot, looking up at the wheel house.  The gray thing on top is the 50mm gun which was always covered with a tarp.  She was only armed during the war and I am portraying her as she was in 1943. 

 

Bob

[Mirabell61]

Pequot is looking top at this stage Bob,

 

very nice progress and beautiful work, the boats look great !, now comes the remaining fitting out....

Are those the the vents you recently introduced by copper electoforming ?

 

Nils

[cog]

Very sharp, and nice details on her Bob. You doing a swell job

Edited September 20, 2016 by cog

[popeye the sailor]

awesome progress Bob!   very nicely done

[Omega1234]

Hi Bob

 

My word what a nice job you're doing.  She really looks the part and I'm loving all the many fine details that you've added to her.  

 

You must be pretty proud of her.

 

Cheers

 

Patrick

[Mahuna]

Looks great Bob. You're showing some really nice detailed work.

[captainbob]

Thank you all for looking in and telling me that you like how the Pequot is coming along.

 

Nils, yes these are the electroformed vents I made.  Glad there weren't hundreds like you just made.

 

I'm glad you all like the details.  I always feel it is the detailing that makes the viewer say, "Wow".

 

Bob

[Mirabell61]

Bob,

 

great ship....

 

I`m very pleased that those electroformed vents worked out so well. The technique. is very incouraging, and now its time to see the results, well done !

 

Nils