lamarvalley Posted April 13, 2013 Share #1 Posted April 13, 2013 (edited) Good day all, With the wealth of knowledge that exists within these pages I know this is an easy one. I'm building the San Francisco II and have come to the hinge/rudder part. I'm not a fan of the bright brass straps supplied with the kit. I want to make my own straps but am having a time finding the right kind of metal to work with. I pounded and flattened both tinned copper wire and copper wire and both have the look I want (after I age them) but neither survive more than one bend before they snap. So, the question: what makes for good hinge straps? (I should say other than brass) Randy Edited April 13, 2013 by lamarvalley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBlack Posted April 13, 2013 Share #2 Posted April 13, 2013 Randy, I'm reading that your objection to brass is its shine? Can't you just blacken it or otherwise paint it to remove the objection? The ones in the picture are painted brass. Tom riverboat 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgbot Posted April 13, 2013 Share #3 Posted April 13, 2013 For hinges stay with brass strips. After annealing they can be shaped and soldered to the desired shape. You can then either blacken them or paint them as I did. David B Quote Work in progress USS Maine in cardstock.http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/7446-uss-maine-by-dgbot-hmv-card/#entry220003 Completed Blockade runner Teazer http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/6063-blockade-runner-teazer-by-dgbot-card-stock/#entry175967 Completed The Monitor Lehigh http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/6920-the-monitor-lehigh-by-dgbot-card-model/#entry203680 Completed Kingston Class MCVD http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/forum/10-kit-build-logs-in-progress/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lamarvalley Posted April 13, 2013 Author Share #4 Posted April 13, 2013 Thanks guys. I kind of came to the same conclusion... eventually. And, you're right, I can blacken them as I did with the cannon. My biggest objection was the generic straps that came with the kit so I was looking for some alternative that I could craft myself. It's hard to replace the ease and versatility of brass tho so...this morning I picked up some sheet brass, rod and tube and am making my own. Never soldered anything so small tho so this should be interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBlack Posted April 13, 2013 Share #5 Posted April 13, 2013 Randy, in soldering the parts together, if you "tin" each part up ahead of time with the solder, then when you join them and heat them, they'll come right together. I find that trying to keep the parts together in the right place; get a tiny amount of solder placed in the joint; then applying heat is too many things to juggle at one time. So if you apply the solder first to each part and then join the parts...much easier. Tom src and mtaylor 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lamarvalley Posted April 14, 2013 Author Share #6 Posted April 14, 2013 Thanks for the advise Tom. A soldering expert I am not so I appreciate the trick. Randy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
von stetina Posted April 19, 2013 Share #7 Posted April 19, 2013 If you heat to dull red or almost that hot and let cool you will have soft pliable brass. [aneal Von Stetina mtaylor 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lamarvalley Posted April 19, 2013 Author Share #8 Posted April 19, 2013 Well, I started this thread so I might as well tell of the final product. The cause of all this was the thin and generic hinge straps that came with the kit. I bent them so many times trying to follow the pin or the rudder that they snapped like metals do when bent back and forth over and over. I appreciate the advise Von Stetina, and it will remain in my arsenal of tricks but fortunately this time I bent them once and only once. It was nice working with a bit stouter brass... it could take a bit of work. I ended up buying .5mm sheet brass along with brass tube and rod. After a bit of trial and error I cut the sheet to appropriate size, filed each strip down to uniform widths and bent them to an initial U shape over a piece of wood the same thickness as the rudder. Again, a few stutter starts and finally got the soldering down. There were 6 hinges, each had tube with 3 of them getting a rod to act as a pin. Pulled out the files and sandpaper and eventually with a blackening I had hinges. The rest is detailed in the pictures... Randy pete48, mij, stelios and 7 others 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Bradfield Posted April 19, 2013 Share #9 Posted April 19, 2013 They look great Randy. Good job! Quote In progress: Willie L. Bennett Chesapeake Bay Skipjack 1/32 Scale Model Shipways Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lamarvalley Posted April 19, 2013 Author Share #10 Posted April 19, 2013 Thanks Richard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtaylor Posted April 19, 2013 Share #11 Posted April 19, 2013 Nice work on the hinges, Randy. Quote Mark "The shipwright is slow, but the wood is patient." - me Current Build: Past Builds: La Belle Poule 1765 - French Frigate from ANCRE plans - ON HOLD Triton Cross-Section NRG Hallf Hull Planking Kit HMS Sphinx 1775 - Vanguard Models - 1:64 Non-Ship Model: On hold, maybe forever: CH-53 Sikorsky - 1:48 - Revell - Completed Licorne - 1755 from Hahn Plans (Scratch) Version 2.0 (Abandoned) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lamarvalley Posted April 19, 2013 Author Share #12 Posted April 19, 2013 Thanks Mike. I think I really now know what 'bashing' means Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBlack Posted April 19, 2013 Share #13 Posted April 19, 2013 Randy! They look fabulous. You weren't sandbagging us were you? I mean, you started this thread implying that you were a novice. The results show otherwise. Tom riverboat and lamarvalley 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lamarvalley Posted April 19, 2013 Author Share #14 Posted April 19, 2013 No sandbagging Tom, I swear. I am a novice... at model boat building. I know my way around a woodshop tho. The soldering...it wasn't smooth sailing at first... I didn't take a picture of the 4 or 5 that didn't survive... It was a learning experience. TBlack, WackoWolf and riverboat 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgbot Posted April 19, 2013 Share #15 Posted April 19, 2013 Nicely done and well thought out. David B Quote Work in progress USS Maine in cardstock.http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/7446-uss-maine-by-dgbot-hmv-card/#entry220003 Completed Blockade runner Teazer http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/6063-blockade-runner-teazer-by-dgbot-card-stock/#entry175967 Completed The Monitor Lehigh http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/6920-the-monitor-lehigh-by-dgbot-card-model/#entry203680 Completed Kingston Class MCVD http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/forum/10-kit-build-logs-in-progress/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lamarvalley Posted April 19, 2013 Author Share #16 Posted April 19, 2013 Thank you David, I appreciate that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capnharv2 Posted April 20, 2013 Share #17 Posted April 20, 2013 Randy, Those came out really nice! I need to do the ones on the Constitution soon, and this has been inspiring! Thanks, Harvey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBlack Posted April 20, 2013 Share #18 Posted April 20, 2013 Well Randy, whatever, you're a champ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Matson Posted April 20, 2013 Share #19 Posted April 20, 2013 Your craftsmanship is outstanding, thanks for the post. Quote Geoff NRG member #2666Current build : USS Constitution Finished builds: Armed Virginia Sloop (in gallery) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lamarvalley Posted April 20, 2013 Author Share #20 Posted April 20, 2013 Harvey, Tom and Geoff, thanks. Much appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sudomekh Posted November 30, 2013 Share #21 Posted November 30, 2013 I did loop steering of copper (strip and wire, thin tube) ... tin soldering the entire sequence is visible in the photo tasmanian, mtaylor, riverboat and 4 others 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modeler12 Posted December 1, 2013 Share #22 Posted December 1, 2013 (edited) Indeed, nice work, Randy and Sudomekh. You show that a lot can be done with those details. I am afraid I took the easy way out for my Conny. Since the hinge straps were going to be painted black and the hinge itself would be barely visible, I decided that instead of brass, I would use stiff paper.I actually used an old photograph print, cut it into strips, painted them and . . . . Edited December 1, 2013 by Modeler12 WackoWolf and mtaylor 2 Quote Jay Current build Cross Section USS Constitution http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/10120-cross-section-forward-area-of-the-uss-constitution/ Finished USS Constitution: http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/103-uss-constitution-by-modeler12/ 'A picture is worth a . . . . .' More is better . . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgbot Posted December 14, 2013 Share #23 Posted December 14, 2013 A tried and true technique. Looking good. David B Quote Work in progress USS Maine in cardstock.http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/7446-uss-maine-by-dgbot-hmv-card/#entry220003 Completed Blockade runner Teazer http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/6063-blockade-runner-teazer-by-dgbot-card-stock/#entry175967 Completed The Monitor Lehigh http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/6920-the-monitor-lehigh-by-dgbot-card-model/#entry203680 Completed Kingston Class MCVD http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/forum/10-kit-build-logs-in-progress/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HIPEXEC Posted December 15, 2013 Share #24 Posted December 15, 2013 The hinges are a work of art, and what little I can see of your planking job, your planks are first rate also. Quote Rich Rich USS Constitution by hipexec (Finished build) Virginia Pilot Boat 1805 (gallery - first build) USS Syren (USS Argus) by Hipexec Joshua Slocum's Spray by HIPEXEC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete48 Posted May 14, 2014 Share #25 Posted May 14, 2014 Hi Randy, Thank you for posting this , I have been trying to figure this out myself for my Herreshoff Buzzards Bay . Best Regards, Pete Quote "may your sails be full of wind and the sun on your back" Current Builds : Future Builds : N.G Herreshoff 12 1/2 Scratch Build 3/4" = 1' - 0" Scale Completed Builds : Volvo 65 Farr Yacht Design Herreshoff Alerion Herreshoff Buzzards Bay 14 Volvo Open 70 Member : The Herreshoff Registry Montgomery Sailboat Owners Group Peter Kunst Sailboat Models http://www.herreshoffregistry.org/ http://www.msog.org/ http://www.facebook.com/Peter-Kunst-Sailboat-Models-1524464774524480/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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