SS Benjamin Noble by Roger Pellett - 1:96 - Great Lakes Freighter

[Keith Black]

 Nice, clean work, Roger.

[FriedClams]

Very nice progress Roger!

 

Gary

[KeithAug]

Nicely done Roger, an excellent piece of miniature fabrication.

[mbp521]

Roger, I know I am somewhat late to the party, but I ran across this and just finished reading through this beautiful build. I envy you guys that have the talent to work with metal and get the nice crisp, clean results. Most of the time I try to steer clear of metal work, only because it's a medium that I have little experience with, as well as the tools. Maybe one day.

 

-Brian

[Roger Pellett]

Brian,  “Maybe Some Day” might be now as your Caroline is a steel vessel.  The brass sheet metal work that I am doing is not difficult and I find it easier in some respects than wood.  The only special skill that you need to master is soldering and you probably know how to do that after building your Cairo model.  .010in thick brass is stiff enough for structural strength but still cuts easily with ordinary scissors.  For structural shapes; angles and channels, I started with square or rectangular K&S tubing.  I did need my Byrnes Saw to rip these into required shapes but I believe that if you look hard enough you can find very small brass angles.  There are two advantages to using brass.  First, at 1:96 scale you can work with materials thinner than possible than if using wood.  Second, when painting there is no need to hide wood grain.

 

Roger

 

 

[mbp521]

Thank you Roger for the vote of confidence. You bring up a good point and I might just have to give it a try. What's the worse that can happen, I have to rebuild the piece if I mess it up? Been there before and managed to muddle my way through it. 

 

-Brian

[Roger Pellett]

Work since my last post has centered around fabrication of the forecastle bulkhead.  Below the main deck, this is a watertight bulkhead which is of course invisible on the model.  The section between the main deck and the forecastle that will be visible is pierced by a number of openings;  several windows and two doors.  The bulkhead drawing notes that these are wooden doors.  I have assumed a typical raised panel design shown for deckhouses elsewhere on the model.  The doors provide access to living spaces within, the starboard door to the large owner’s suite, the port to a hallway.  Quarters for deck officers and other “fore end” watch standers are along this hallway.

 

The photos that I have posted show that the openings for the windows are not rectangular.  This is not a mistake.  Careful measuring of the openings on the bulkhead drawing shows that these openings are skewed to follow the camber of the deck.  After considerable head scratching I finally concluded that the window casings which would be rectangular are hidden behind the bulkhead.  Why the shipbuilders chose to add this non-functional but graceful touch is a mystery.  The “glass” in these windows will be represented by a piece of 1/8” Plexiglass that will be sandwiched between the brass bulkhead and the wooden hull.  The Plexiglass, with its protective paper is shown in the first photo.  It is screwed to a block of wood to allow its backside to be machined to allow it to fit tightly against the brass bulkhead piece.

 

The owner’s suite, while not a visible feature of the model is interesting.  Great Lakes ships have long hosted passengers; valued customers, family members of crews, Owner’s and their families, etc. who were anxious to escape the summer heat of midwestern cities by sailing on the cool Great Lakes. These vacations were usually prim and proper but occasionally led to some mischief.  The Nicholson Steamship Company specialized in using retired ore carriers fitted with special decks to transport new cars from Detroit to markets along the Lakes.  In the excellent account of the Company published by the Dossin Museum, a retired Nicholson Captain tells of the time that the Company agreed to host a group of wives of Detroit area Buick dealers unaccompanied by their husbands.  The ladies arrived, unpacked a huge supply of alcoholic beverages, and appeared on deck wearing little or nothing!  It was of course the captain’s job  to lay the law to maintain order.  Even today a “cruise” on one of these lakers is prized as a fund raiser at local charity events.

 

I’m sure that all readers of posts on the forum are aware of the extent that digital photography reveals (some would say exaggerates) defects beyond what can be seen by the naked eye.  This means that the camera can also be a valuable inspection tool. The series of photos shows the progression using this process.

 

First, Parts that will make up the subassembly to be soldered to the previously built forecastle bulwark

To be continued

 

Roger

 

[Keith Black]

 I'm envious of your metal working skills, Roger and I enjoy the the history you provide along the way. 

[Roger Pellett]

The first shot of the completed bulkhead.  As posted above, digital photography reveals some problems:  there is an unsightly twist to the port side, the frame for the starboard door is not straight, and there are some nicks in the window frames.  Also, the angle between the bulkhead and the deck does not quite extend all of the way to the stbd. side.

 

[Roger Pellett]

Next,  the bulkhead has been cleaned up to correct the above problems

Edited March 7, 2023 by Roger Pellett

[wefalck]

Ah, these photographs are alway terrible and so true and honest to all the mistakes and imperfections one commits ☹️ 

[Roger Pellett]

A shot of primer, eliminates the reflection from the brass making it easier to see any remaining problems.  Almost there. A touch of Bondo will fix the pick marks under the port window- a result of too aggressive solder removal.

 

 

 

[shipmodel]

Hi Roger - 

 

She is coming along quite nicely.  Well done, sir.

I am not brave enough to attempt to work in metal, so I am a bit in awe of your work.

 

Dan

[FriedClams]

On 3/6/2023 at 1:19 PM, Roger Pellett said:

I’m sure that all readers of posts on the forum are aware of the extent that digital photography reveals (some would say exaggerates) defects beyond what can be seen by the naked eye.  This means that the camera can also be a valuable inspection tool.

 

The brutal honesty of closeup photography makes us all better modelers.  Very nice progress Roger!

 

Gary

[Rick310]

I am so often appalled when I take a picture of something that I think came out really well!!

[KeithAug]

On 3/7/2023 at 5:43 PM, Roger Pellett said:

Next,  the bulkhead has been cleaned up to correct the above problems

I recall reading a book on ship modelling in which the writer commented that one should never display a photograph at a scale larger than life size. This good advice seems to be universally disregarded by MSW contributors.

[wefalck]

In my case, I would only be able to post stamp-sized pictures

 

[Roger Pellett]

Thanks for your likes and especially your comments.  This is a model that I hope will last for a while.  Reading about the professionals examining old models with endoscopes, CT scans, etc., all technologies that the builders never dreamed of  certainly increases the stakes.

 

Roger.

[KeithAug]

3 hours ago, Roger Pellett said:

all technologies that the builders never dreamed of  certainly increases the stakes.

 

Yes Roger. The android ancestors of the human race will be sending in their microbots to crawl over all of our creations and they will wonder why we went to so much trouble when we could have constructed them as "hard light" holograms.

 

 

[mbp521]

I am my own worst critic when it comes to pictures of my builds. My only saving grace is that I see other builders with the same concerns about their photos as well. So I trudge diligently on. Beautiful work Roger, I’m taking it all in to help learn the metalwork craft. 
 

-Brian

[gmctaggart]

This was a real joy to read through the build. Looking forward to see how this build progresses. Looking great.

 

Sincerely,

Gord

[FlyingFish]

A question for you Roger - I find when working in metal that if parts needed to be soldered close together that it is easy to melt previous joints when adding new. You seem to have no problem here - I've tried various attempts at heat sinks, but not with any great success. What's your secret?

[Roger Pellett]

Andy,  In building this model, I have arrived at some conclusions that don’t necessarily fit the common wisdom about soldering, especially when applied to the very small parts that we work with.

 

Soldering is all about applying intense heat to a small area.  When using conventional heat sources heat is transferred to the work area by Conduction.  Conduction is time dependent. Think of heating one end of a metal bar and seeing how long it takes for the other end to get hot.   Likewise, when you apply a soldering iron to a joint, while the iron is heating it, heat is being transferred outwards to other parts of the structure.  This can damage previously soldered work.  This means that the quicker that you can solder a joint the less risk there is of damaging other work.

 

I, therefore, use a “hot” (950f) soldering iron with the smallest tip that will effectively transfer heat.  Most of the time this is a conical tip.

 

Most books on metalworking tell you to “heat the joint to let the solder be drawn into it.”  While this might work for large objects, for the small work that we do, I find that a small dab of solder on a hot iron works better.  Again, having the solder on the iron already melted minimizes the time that heat needs to be applied.  
 

I use one type of flux; Bakers Fluid.  This is a clear water thin liquid that is applied with a model size paint brush.  It seems to draw solder into the joint.  I like conventional wire solders, lead free.  Find one that flows easily.   IMHO, brand names are mostly witchcraft.

 

Water makes a great heat sink.  We all knows that water boils at 212F; less if you live in Denver.  This also means that the temperature of a water saturated Qtip, cotton ball, or wadded up paper towel cannot get hotter than 212f until all of the water boils off.  In addition, the energy required to convert 212f water to steam is much greater than that to just heat it up.

 

These are my personal observations.  I hope that they work for you.

 

Roger
 

 

 

 

[wefalck]

It is indeed all about the capacity to transfer heat relative to the amount of metal that needs to be heated. The rule is to heat the metal and not the solder, but on the other hand, a drop of solder transfers heat much better than the tip of the iron alone, because the touching surface is bigger.

 

In fact, when looking at how electronics guys solder, they don't grill their wires and components, but just touch the pre-tinned joints for second with the iron with a tiny blob of solder.

 

Chemically pre-tinning is also a good preparation for soldering and does not add real thickness. I have systematically pre-tinned my (home-)etched parts before soldering.

[FlyingFish]

Thanks Roger and Wefalk - thats very helpful, I have found myself turning to hotter finer tips on the iron, so I'm heading in the right direction - 950f is a little above my set-up which I think is 450C . I'll get myself a bottle of Bakers Fluid. I see 250ml  (a little over 8 oz) costs about as much as a good bottle of wine, but no doubt will last a great deal longer!

[Roger Pellett]

Another advantage of the blob on the soldering iron technique is that when applied to the joint, the molten solder is ‘superheated;’ heated above its melting point.  Heat transfer between a liquid and a solid is usually more efficient than heat transfer between two solids.

 

Roger

[Dr PR]

Roger,

 

I have been enjoying your build. I love working with brass, and if I ever get around to building my scratch model of a cruiser I want to make a lot of it out of brass.

 

I am one of the "electronics" guys who learned to solder assembling electronic circuits. I almost always solder with a drop of molten solder on the tip of the iron to conduct heat quickly. Sometimes I pre-tin brass parts and then just reheat them to get the solder joint.

 

However, I have looked with envy at the fine detailed brass scale locomotives that some folks have made. These have no solder "stain" on the visible brass parts. I wondered how they did this, since much of my work has visible solder at the joints. For things that will be painted this is not a concern, but I still wanted to learn how to solder without any visible solder.

 

The wet tip soldering process will not work if you do not want visible solder stains. This is where pre-tinning the parts comes in, and then using the dry tip iron to apply heat. But as you have noted, heat transfers relatively slowly from the dry soldering iron tip, and it flows fairly quickly through the brass. A hotter tip is needed, and you may need heat sinks to prevent the heat from flowing to earlier solder joints and unsoldering them. I use wet paper towels clamped to the work to absorb heat and keep it from spreading to other joints.

 

Another way is to use a resistance soldering unit. Parts can be pre-tinned on the "inside" surfaces and then heated with the resistance unit. The current flows through the solder, remelting it. Some people cut tiny bits of solder foil and sandwich them between the parts to be soldered. Current flow from the resistance soldering unit will be through these solder flakes, causing the solder to flow on the inside (hidden) parts of the joint. You can make solder flakes just by hammering solder wire into a thin flat piece.

 

This solder chip technique can be used with the dry tip soldering iron. Solder paste (solder powder in a paste flux) can also be used.

 

I have a tendency to make a continuous solder flow along the entire joint between parts, but this often is unnecessary. Often just a few spot solder joints are all that is needed to hold things together adequately (like spot welding).

 

You are right about using liquid flux. I prefer the water solutions of citric acid (lemon juice will do) because they smell like orange juice, and I love oranges! The liquid conducts heat quickly through the joint, and as it evaporates it draws solder into the joint.

 

I use a steel wire brush in a moto tool to remove unwanted solder. The soft solder will brush off of the harder brass easily, and the brush polishes the brass. But you need to be careful for on some small joints you can remove too much solder!

Edited March 23, 2023 by Dr PR

[Roger Pellett]

DrPR:  Thanks for your insight. Hopefully this discussion will encourage others to tackle projects involving brass work.

 

Roger

[kurtvd19]

An easy way to not have visible solder at joints is to use Yellow Ochre as an anti-flux "painted" on the parts where the solder is not wanted.  Yellow Ochre repells the flux and solder will not stick w/o flux.  To use add alcohol to yellow ochre powder to make a paste apply with a small paint brush where you do not want solder to flow - let dry in place or burn off the alcohol with a torch.  Flux the joint and solder normally.

 

Use a small resealable container to mix and store the wet paste. The paste can be adjusted to your preference for its fluidity so it can be applied easily just to the area you want it to stick and coat the pieces being worked with.  Dried flux can be reactivated in the container by adding alcohol.  I use an old modeling size paint brush or a micro-brush to apply the paste, some use tooth picks or other applicators.

 

I suggest one practice a bit to find your preference for the consistency of the paste and how to apply it so it is effective in controlling the flow of flux around the joint.

 

Yellow ochre powder is available at jewelers supply stores for about $12.00 for 2 oz. a life time supply - or split it with somebody.    Tix Anti-Flux is a premixed product available at hobby suppliers.  It's about $8.95 per ounce.

 

Kurt

 

[realworkingsailor]

12 hours ago, Dr PR said:

However, I have looked with envy at the fine detailed brass scale locomotives that some folks have made. These have no solder "stain" on the visible brass parts. I wondered how they did this, since much of my work has visible solder at the joints. For things that will be painted this is not a concern, but I still wanted to learn how to solder without any visible solder.

 

If I may, one of my other hobbies is collecting brass model locomotives, so I may be able to provide some insight. Pretty much all brass model trains available are hand assembled, even commercially made ones. Generally the production runs are very small (a few hundred units of a given type), so the industry does not lend itself to expensive tooling and mechanization. The only fundamental difference between a brass locomotive kit (or scratch build), and a "factory" assembled model is the box it comes in.

 

 

Pretty much all of the solder joints are located in areas that are largely invisible, so that a causal observer wouldn't see them. (There is a little tarnish and staining on this model as its previous owner suffered a house fire and the model was subject to the liberal application of water that fire departments are rightfully well known for), it's otherwise in good mechanical condition. The model was built by Samhongsa in Korea and imported by Van Hobbies (who had a working relationship with Pacific Fast Mail).

 

 

After removing the three screws that hold the shell to the frame, you can see the underside, and interior is quite mottled with solder joints.

 

 

Adding to an earlier post about soldering multiple details, in most brass train models, multiple different solders are used with different melt temperatures. Starting with the highest temperature solder and working down to the lowest (although it's worth noting that in the above model, none of the solder will melt with your typical OTC hardware store soldering iron. To perform any repairs, generally a resistance soldering iron is needed, at the very least.

 

Andy