michael101 Posted October 12, 2019 Share #1 Posted October 12, 2019 Hello there what is the best tool / method for cutting windows of gunports ? Quote "smooth seas do not make good sailors..." MY FIRS BUILD : H.M.S BOUNTY (mamoli) SECOND BUILD :The concord stagecoach 1:12 youtube link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJzCs9umWPI CURRENTLY BUILD : H.M.S VICTORY (Caldercraft) : http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/15501-hms-victory-by-michael101-caldercraft-scale-172/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Cleek Posted October 13, 2019 Share #2 Posted October 13, 2019 Oh... "...windows for gunports." When I saw this listed on the home page as "Best tool for cutting wind..." Well, I thought it was going to be a much more interesting thead! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael101 Posted October 13, 2019 Author Share #3 Posted October 13, 2019 Y.T thank you for replying , the problem with the x acto knife is that you cant really cut a a clean line when the planks are glue to the ship .... i saw long time ago a micro saw (looks like a blade of x acto ) after searching in micro mark i have found it the question is if someone has use it before for that method ... ? also i saw in a very old build log some Chinese micro saw but i cant found it At the moment .. Quote "smooth seas do not make good sailors..." MY FIRS BUILD : H.M.S BOUNTY (mamoli) SECOND BUILD :The concord stagecoach 1:12 youtube link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJzCs9umWPI CURRENTLY BUILD : H.M.S VICTORY (Caldercraft) : http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/15501-hms-victory-by-michael101-caldercraft-scale-172/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtaylor Posted October 13, 2019 Share #4 Posted October 13, 2019 What a lot of do is drill small holes well inside the line for the port opening. Then use either an X-acto knife or the micro saw. Finish it up with files or sanding sticks. Landlubber Mike, ChadB, vossy and 3 others 6 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...
MEDDO Posted October 13, 2019 Share #5 Posted October 13, 2019 6 hours ago, mtaylor said: What a lot of do is drill small holes well inside the line for the port opening. Then use either an X-acto knife or the micro saw. Finish it up with files or sanding sticks. This seems to work the best for me Canute and mtaylor 2 Quote Michael Shipwrights of Ohio Current Build: ... Completed Builds: Queen Anne Barge - Syren, Pinnace - MS, Halifax 1768 - LSS, Murrelet - Pygmy, Swift 1805 - AL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPDDET Posted October 13, 2019 Share #6 Posted October 13, 2019 That's a great tip Wallace, I can see where your method would come in handy in a variety of situations. Thanks! mtaylor and Canute 2 Quote Current build: NRG Half Hull Previous build: MS Bluenose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ponto Posted October 13, 2019 Share #7 Posted October 13, 2019 In addition to the aforementioned,... time and patience is often overlooked as a go to tool. A slow and methodical technique can do wonders. I've clamped metal straight edges to the marked opening as an aid as well. Canute and mtaylor 2 Quote Built & De-Commissioned: HMS Endeavour (Corel), HMS Unicorn (Corel), Abandoned: HMS Bounty (AL) Completed : Wappen Von Hamburg (Corel), Le Renommee (Euromodel)... on hold Current WIP: Berlin by Corel On Shelf: HMS Bounty (Billings), Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrandpaPhil Posted October 13, 2019 Share #8 Posted October 13, 2019 13 hours ago, mtaylor said: What a lot of do is drill small holes well inside the line for the port opening. Then use either an X-acto knife or the micro saw. Finish it up with files or sanding sticks. This is the method that I use too. As a quick lesson learned, I’m going to frame in the gunports next time and plank around them. mtaylor and Canute 2 Quote Building: 1:64 HMS Revenge (Victory Models plans) 1:64 Cat Esther (17th Century Dutch Merchant Ships) On the building slip: 1:72 French Ironclad Magenta (original shipyard plans) On hold: 1:98 Mantua HMS Victory (kit bash), 1:96 Shipyard HMS Mercury Favorite finished builds: 1:60 Sampang Good Fortune (Amati plans), 1:200 Orel Ironclad Solferino, 1:72 Schooner Hannah (Hahn plans), 1:72 Privateer Prince de Neufchatel (Chapelle plans), Model Shipways Sultana, Heller La Reale, Encore USS Olympia Goal: Become better than I was yesterday "The hardest part is deciding to try." - me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtaylor Posted October 14, 2019 Share #9 Posted October 14, 2019 8 hours ago, GrandpaPhil said: This is the method that I use too. As a quick lesson learned, I’m going to frame in the gunports next time and plank around them. That works very well to know when to stop filing. Canute and GrandpaPhil 2 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...
Dr PR Posted October 14, 2019 Share #10 Posted October 14, 2019 (edited) One of the problems you may have is cutting the opening the right size but in the wrong place. If you mark the outline on the hull first and then start cutting, as you get the opening about the right size you will cut away the outline. After it is gone you might end up trimming it a bit too much to one side or the other. Using a jig with a centering mark will help avoid this problem. I carved a tool from a wooden stick, trimming it to the dimensions of the gun port. Wider shoulders on the tool fit against the outside of the planking to limit the extent the tool penetrated into the port. I extended the usefulness of the tool by trimming it further beyond where it penetrated through the hull siding to be used as a guide for positioning the gun port frames and the upper and lower cills to create the rebate for port lids. To help clarify the description, notice that the actual opening in the planking is wider than the opening inside the hull. The rebate that the port lid closes against is formed by frames on either side of the opening and cills at the bottom and top of the opening - but in this case there is no upper cill beneath the top rail. Unfortunately I can't find the tool that I used and I don't have a photo of it. The tool was widest at the shoulders that fit against the outside of the hull planking, then narrower at the dimensions of the port opening in the hull planking, and narrower still at the dimensions of the inside of the port opening between frames and cills. I put a reference mark at the top center of the tool to help position it correctly horizontally. If your gun ports are all positioned vertically the same distance relative to a wale or top rail you can carve the tool to have an edge or shoulder to ride on the wale or rail in order to get the correct height each time. I drew a vertical line on the hull side (the top rail in this case) where the center of the gun port should be, extending above the port. Then I placed the end of the tool against the hull where the port should be and traced the outline on the wood for a guide. This outline was actually smaller than the desired port opening, about the size of the port opening after the frames and cills were added. This left some margin for error. Then I drilled out the center of the port and used files to open the hole and shape it until it was about the size of the outline on the hull. When the opening was about the right size I used the tool to see if it would fit into the opening. Working slowly with files I removed the wood until the stick fit into the opening with a tight slip fit. The center mark on the tool and the vertical line on the hull allowed me to determine which side of the opening to trim. This allowed me to make all of the port openings exactly the same size - the openings in the hull planking and the openings between the frames and cills. You could also use the same tool to help position port hinges by placing reference marks on the shoulder that fits on the outside of the hull planking to be used for marking the positions of the hinges, or even using it as a drilling template. Edited October 14, 2019 by Dr PR Canute and mtaylor 2 Quote Phil Current build: https://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/19611-albatros-by-dr-pr-mantua-scale-140-about-1815/&tab=comments#comment-601276 Previous build: https://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/19321-uss-oklahoma-city-clg-5-1971-3d-cad-model/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael101 Posted October 14, 2019 Author Share #11 Posted October 14, 2019 Thank you all for your tips !!!! i have some time until i will gate to this stage but waiting for me a lot of gun ports in my victory ... Best regards Michael. Canute and mtaylor 2 Quote "smooth seas do not make good sailors..." MY FIRS BUILD : H.M.S BOUNTY (mamoli) SECOND BUILD :The concord stagecoach 1:12 youtube link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJzCs9umWPI CURRENTLY BUILD : H.M.S VICTORY (Caldercraft) : http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/15501-hms-victory-by-michael101-caldercraft-scale-172/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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