Schooner Altair by KeithAug - Scale 1:32 - 1931 - Finished

[michael mott]

 

The roof beams are true vertical / horizontal while the roof slopes down towards the bow

Now that is a great attention to detail! some of us might have taken the easy route and built them at right angles to the slope.

 

Michael

[KeithAug]

Michael 

 

I sometimes get a bit obsessed about detail, even if you can't see it. I think you may suffer from the same problem!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[KeithAug]

I wanted to make a working roof hatch - avoiding the dilemma of whether to have it open or closed. It was therefore important to make the curve of the inner surface of the hatch match the outer curve of the deckhouse roof. Rather than make a jig I decided to use the deckhouse roof itself as the jig. To avoid the hatch becoming accidentally attached to the roof I covered the roof with a strip of masking tape. The hatch was then constructed on the roof using .040 inch x .160 inch mahogany planks overlaid by a second layer of .030 inch x .160 inch planks. The second layer was inset from the edge by .040 inch to produce the lip which will locate in the runner.

 

 

The components of the deck house were balanced on one another (not yet ready to glue) to check what it is going to look like.

 

 

 

[Jim Lad]

Just catching up, Keith, she continues to look superb.

 

John

[KeithAug]

Thank you John.

 

I am currently wondering how I am going to make working hinges for the deck house doors. They need to be about .160 inch long by .080 wide when closed. I have looked on the net but even the smallest hinges seem to be 3 times this size. The plans suggest using Sellotape for hinges which is neither elegant or durable. I will have to do better.

[michael mott]

Keith you can make them. like this.

 

Michael

[KeithAug]

I grabbed a couple of hours this weekend to make a bit of progress.

 

I spent some time trying out options for making the hinges for the deckhouse doors. I abandoned this when I released I needed some brass sections which I ordered and I await delivery.

 

I finished off the sides of the deck house by installing acetate windows (.020 thick) and then cladding the inside. I covered the acetate with masking tape to prevent poly contamination whilst painting. 

 

 

I needed to create 1/4 round dowels for the corners of the deck house. 2 different radii of dowels were required .120 and .140 inches. The larger diameter is required at deck level where the deck house wall is thicker. After a bit of head scratching I realised that I could make the 1/4 rounds on the drum sander by first making a square section equal to the desired radius and then passing it in and out of the sander always keeping one corner in contact with the bed. It worked a treat.

 

 

The base dowels went on first followed by the remainder of the edge - glued with PVA

 

 

I also made a start on the deck house front.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[KeithAug]

I made a start on my hinge experiment. The hinges need to be .240 inch long by .100 wide when closed.

 

Having decided on an approach I made 4 jigs - 3 simple and one a bit more complex. Their uses will become clear further on.

 

 

I started by soldering .040 inch OD brass tube to .012 sheet. Both the sheet and tube were "tinned" with soft solder prior to joining. The 1st jig was to assist soldering - simply a recess to hold the tube down while the sheet was pressed against it.

 

 

A bit difficult to see but here the tube is attached and the soldering cleaned up with wire wool.

 

 

The trickiest bit of making the hinge involved accurately cutting the tube before removing alternate tube segments with a needle file - the cutting / filing jig worked very well in enabling this operation.

 

 

The photos are proving quite difficult because of the scale and the reflective materials. I hope they are good enough to illustrate the process.

 

I need to go and make dinner but here is the 2nd attempt - I have made a "piano" hinge at this stage. It's about 1 inch long and the final hinges will be cut off from this. I will continue describing the process in the next post.

 

Edited November 18, 2016 by KeithAug

[michael mott]

Very nicely done on the hinges Keith.

 

Michael

[Jim Lad]

Very nicely made hinge, Keith.

 

John

[KeithAug]

Thank you Michael and John. I think I'll try it once more taking a little more care on the soldering.

 

Finishing the hinge process:-

 

Having made the basic hinge pieces I decided to try drilling holes for attaching the hinges to the door posts. I didn't have a centre drill small enough so used a .025 inch twist drill, hoping it wouldn't drift off. Hope was in vain and this aspect of my plan was a failure.

 

 

Finally I parted off using a slitting saw.

 

 

The first hinge worked but was a bit messy.

 

 

I decided to dispense with drilling the holes on the mill and will drill them by hand next time.

 

The second attempt was posted earlier - a coupe more photos here.

 

 

 

 

 

[michael mott]

 

025 inch twist drill, hoping it wouldn't drift off. Hope was in vain and this aspect of my plan was a failure.

Keith if you put a sharp point in your mill and just use it to make a small spot like a centre punch go along and index each position make the spots then back track the mill table replace the point with your drill and index as you drill each hole they will all be in line.

 

Michael 

[KeithAug]

Thank you Michael. Good idea. I'll try it.

 

Keith

[Julie Mo]

The quality of your work is so good, Keith, that I often forget this is all done in a very small scale.  As I' walking through the pictures of your build, I can see all this work being done full scale.  It's always a joy to see your work.

 

Julie

[KeithAug]

Julie - thank you for your kind words. I keep looking at your build hoping to see how you are developing. You seem to have quite a full life in Florida. Maybe what you need is long winter nights of snow wind and rain to keep you focused - it is currently throwing it down here with 80 knot winds forecast for later tonight. I bet you are wondering if its time to break out the cardigan, while planning the Thanksgiving barbecue. On reflection maybe you are better off with the distractions of the Florida climate.

[Julie Mo]

Julie - thank you for your kind words. I keep looking at your build hoping to see how you are developing. You seem to have quite a full life in Florida. Maybe what you need is long winter nights of snow wind and rain to keep you focused - it is currently throwing it down here with 80 knot winds forecast for later tonight. I bet you are wondering if its time to break out the cardigan, while planning the Thanksgiving barbecue. On reflection maybe you are better off with the distractions of the Florida climate.

No cardigan for this girl.  My Irish blood loves the cold.  Don't ask me why I landed in Florida.  But you're right about Chicago winters keeping me busy indoors.  Back then I had a great workshop to run to and I really miss that.  I still haven't managed to figure out how to make this mess work. 

[KeithAug]

A bit more progress on the cabin.

 

The front and back were constructed along the same lines as the sides - made a bit more complicated by the curve at the top. I remeasured the curvature of the top which although made at a radius of 4 inch had sprung out to a radius of 5 inch. Not a problem but I was glad I checked before making the front and rear.

 

A few photo's------

 

I templated the top mahogany strip before shaping it on the disc and spindle sander.

 

 

The front has 2 window and 2 inset panels.

 

 

The rear has 2 windows - i still has yet have to attach the door jambs with the hinge cutouts.

 

 

The chart table top was also made and attached above the chart table drawer. Also the instrument panel facia was made and attached to the inside of the front. The panel itself is made from 2 pieces of mahogany with the grain matched as a mirror image. Not easy to see this but it felt good doing it.

 

 

A few more images with the walls held in place by an elastic band at this stage.

 

Edited November 20, 2016 by KeithAug

[mtaylor]

Amazing details, Keith.   It's a pity that it's just us that will see them. You might have to incorporate some photos of this cabin into your display when finished.

[KeithAug]

Hello Mark. Photo's of the cabin incorporated in the display is a good idea that I hadn't though of, thank you for the prompt.

[druxey]

Just stumbled across your log, Keith. Late to the party, but what a party! Lovely work indeed.

[KeithAug]

Druxey

 

Thank you taking time to look at my log. Your generous comments are much appreciated. 

[michael mott]

 

A few more images with the walls held in place by an elastic band at this stage.

Keith I am glad that you mentioned that you had used an elastic band I did a double take because it looks a bit like a really smooth bit of holly woodwork in a couple of the picks.....hint, hint.

 

Michael

[KeithAug]

Hi Michael - I don't have holly, its difficult to get over here, I could cut down the tree in the front garden though!

 

I finished painting the internals of the deckhouse prior to assembly and also finished the instrument panel. The mahogany came up a treat.

 

Looking at the photo I have just realised that I have left the chart drawer out.

 

 

The gauges are turned from .25 inch brass bar and the face is plasticard punched out with a leather hole punch. The square gauge is cut off from .25 inch square section aluminium tube.

 

Edited November 22, 2016 by KeithAug

[Jim Lad]

And, of course, the gauges actually work!  

 

John

[KeithAug]

John

 

Only the mechanical ones. I never really got electronics being from ABC (the "age before calculators"). My only concession to technological advancement was speeding up my slide rule by dusting it with talcum powder. Maybe I should enrol in a crash course in miniaturised electronic instrumentation!

[michael mott]

 

face is plasticard punched out with a leather hole punch.

Keith, I am surprised that you didn't print the gauges on label paper and mount it on the plasticard before punching them out.

 

Michael

Edited November 23, 2016 by michael mott

[KeithAug]

Michael - you have caught me out cutting corners.

[KeithAug]

I decided to have a bit of a diversion from the deck house and made the crew hatch.

 

The detail on the plans was really quite scant.

 

 

I tend to rely on internet photos where the plan is less detailed than desirable, however in the case of the crew hatch virtually nothing was available. I was left to rely on the "how would I have done it?" approach. In particular the doors are a figment of my imagination. After all if they don't exist it's going to be pretty wet below.

 

I started with the sides - cut to shape from 1/32 inch ply and then clad in mahogany.

 

 

I decided not to make the hatch cover mobile but represented it partially open - to give a bit of a view inside (although not much to see)

 

I did however make the hatch tracks correctly as a "c" section. The "c"was constructed from 3 planks each .030 inch thick. To get the curve the wood was soaked in boiling water and then the body of the hatch was used as the former. Note the wife's cotton used to hold the planks in place while drying and thereafter gluing.

 

 

Some time later all was complete and ready for the poly.

 

 

This gives an idea of scale. The callipers are set to 1 inch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[michael mott]

Nicely done, I think that we often forget that a fine line makes a great clamp sometimes.

 

Michael

[captainbob]

You made a fine hatch from very little information.  Well done.

 

Bob