Steam Yacht Cangarda 1901 by KeithAug - Scale 1:24 - 1901/2008

[Keith Black]

On 3/17/2024 at 4:39 PM, Jim Lad said:

Interesting that she has a left-handed propeller.

 It's a British thing. 

[FlyingFish]

Two possibilities: they fitted the boiler backwards, or they changed the prop prior to a passage to the southern hemisphere. The water goes down the plughole anti-clockwise there, I hear.😉

Edited March 19 by FlyingFish

[KeithAug]

On 3/18/2024 at 9:12 PM, Keith Black said:

 It's a British thing. 

Built by Uncle Sam!

 

After a lot of tribulations the capacitor arrived today. Amazon failed to deliver and after 4 weeks of excuses offered me a refund. I reordered one from eBay and it arrived in 3 days and it works perfectly. 

[KeithAug]

Not much progress this week - life gets very confusing when you get to my age.

The easy bit was buying a new car.

I then realised that my old and trusty iPod was no longer supported by the new cars software. Accepted the iPod is over a decade old but I like it and I don't want to pay a subscription to buy access to music I already own. 

So then I thought I'll buy a flash drive and put my music on that. I did, but once again the car refused to co-operate. It would only access a few of the albums on the drive and ignored the other 90%.

So then I thought I will put all my music on my iPhone. This wasn't my preferred option as it only has 64gb of memory which I tend to fill quite quickly with videos of the grandchildren. pictures for my build log etc., etc. However it seemed the only option. The next problem was the MacBook refused to talk to the iPhone. It turned out that the iPhone software hadn't been updating because of lack of memory so I had to transfer the grandchildren on to an ancient iMac which paradoxically was quite happy to talk to the phone.  This then freed up enough memory on the phone to accept a software update. Finally after significant frustrations the MacBook and phone struck up a conversation. This took about 24 hours in total to sort out. I might have been better served by not changing the car!!!!!!! 

I never really believed that IT made things easier. After all they managed to build Dreadnought in 13 months when the only available IT was a phone and a mechanical typewriter.

[wefalck]

Sounds (almost) familiar. My iPod is of 2006 or thereabouts. It was jumping tracks (I thought). So when I (unfortunately) dropped my trusted iPhone SE onto a tiled floor and the screen cracked, I decided to get an iPhone 14 pro - because of the telephoto lens and got one with 256 GB. With the old SE I had the same problem, that there was not enough memory to update the OS - but you can hook it up to the MacBook as virtual memory to go around the problem. Anyway, I managed to push across all the music including most of my CDs onto the iPhone 14, so that I now don't need to carry two devices.

The same CDs still jump tracks, but this must be a problem when uploading them into iTunes. So it wasn't a problem with the hardrive of the iPod. Must do this again ... 

My wife tells me that I am IT-challenged, but I am simply not running after the latest things, if there is no need. Well, things have changed a bit since the days, when I did (scientific) coding on VAXes and the likes ..., but coding is still the basics.

[Veszett Roka]

As IT engineer, i have to agree with you, but keep in mind that those frustration comes from marketing (to push you to buy new gadgets). They simply cut out the older communication protocols, however those would be much smaller than a new menu system. This is why the new car cannot communicate with old iPad.

 

Eberhard, i came initially grom GCOS (Honeywell-Bull) world, then moved to VAX/VMS, now using Linux.

[KeithAug]

47 minutes ago, Veszett Roka said:

those frustration comes from marketing (to push you to buy new gadgets)

Veszett, I know they do it on purpose I just think they should make an exception for a 70 year old pensioner. Fortunately I avoided buying a car where I had to rent the heated seats and steering wheel. I think this subscription world is mad.

 

1 hour ago, wefalck said:

My iPod is of 2006 or thereabouts.

Eberhard - My wife reminds me that she won it at a school headteachers conference some years before she retired in 2012. It may be that it is 2 decades old. It's useless but still going strong - a bit like me.

Edited March 23 by KeithAug

[Rick310]

Too sad, too true!!

I too crossed the Rubicon ( turned 70) last June and I greatly dislike having to purchase something because it’s new and up to date when the item I’m replacing works fine.

Rick

[Ian_Grant]

7 hours ago, KeithAug said:

.... Fortunately I avoided buying a car where I had to rent the heated seats and steering wheel. I think this subscription world is mad....

 

Are they actually doing that in Europe now? I had no idea. There was some mention of "them" thinking of doing it here in North America in "Driving" magazine. It would raise a lot of resentment since one pays for the hardware in the car at time of purchase. It ought to be yours to use.

[Dr PR]

It's funny how some people complain about the government as "Big Brother" when it really is companies like Apple that are the problem. They spy on you 24/7 to record everything you watch or listen to and purchase, and tax you any time they want to without any public input. Orwell was right about Big Brother, but he just picked the wrong villain.

[Bob Cleek]

6 hours ago, Ian_Grant said:

Are they actually doing that in Europe now? I had no idea. There was some mention of "them" thinking of doing it here in North America in "Driving" magazine. It would raise a lot of resentment since one pays for the hardware in the car at time of purchase. It ought to be yours to use.

They've been doing it for a long time here in the U.S., too. Thankfully, they haven't gone as far as "subscription heated seats," but my 2015 GMC Sierra pickup truck came with all the electronic "bells and whistles" including GM's automatic crash emergency reporting locater, GPS dash screen, Sirius internet radio, and so on. All I would have been interested in was the GPS, but it all came with the upgrade package, so I had to buy it to get the upgraded interior I wanted. The catch is that all those services are only included for the first year after you buy the vehicle. After that, they shut down and they start sending you solicitations to subscribe to keep them going. While the GPS still works, they want something like a hundred bucks a year to upgrade it to reflect map changes. I passed on that, and I'll take my chances. I can always use my smart phone GPS app if I end up "driving off the edge of the old map." 

[KeithAug]

10 hours ago, Ian_Grant said:

Are they actually doing that in Europe now? I had no idea.

Ian - BMW tried it but it turns out that the public weren't as stupid as BMW thought they were. When I heard about it my thought was "never go into a BMW showroom ever again". See official update below.

 

BMW has decided to stop charging car owners a subscription fee to use their heated car seats, though the German automaker remains committed to paid on-demand services.

The manufacturer began selling access to factory-installed heated seats and the heated steering wheel in 2020, though only in some markets, such as South Korea and the United Kingdom.

In South Korea, seat heat was available for the equivalent of about $18 per month, or $406 if purchased in perpetuity. In the UK, the price was about the same.

This was after the company said it would charge an $80 annual subscription fee to use Apple CarPlay in BMWs and subsequently reversed that decisionfollowing customer complaints.

[KeithAug]

11 hours ago, Rick310 said:

I greatly dislike having to purchase something because it’s new and up to date when the item I’m replacing works fine.

Rick - I have an excellent Samsung Smart TV but it is increasingly failing to support recently updated Apps. I am committed to doing without the Apps. Eventually I think I will be watching a blank screen!

[Rick310]

Yes Keith, our tv is about 10 years old and works fine but our adult children keep telling us that we need to replace it with something new and that eventually it won’t be compatible with new technology. That I don’t even want!

Rick

[wefalck]

OK, we are in serious thread-drift now ... the phenomenon we are discussing is called 'planned obsolescence'. It's something industry has been using for decades to keep up their sales. Perfectly useable hardware is made unserviceable by designing electronic components too flimsy so that they fail prematurely, well before the actual hardware is worn out. Or making software on purpose not backward compatible anymore, claiming that otherwise performance cannot be improved (even if objectively no improvement may be needed). The component concerned are often trivial, such as capacitors, but one has to replace the whole electronics and replacements are either not sold or made uneconomically expensive. In fact, the European Commission has been working for some years now on legislation to curb such practices, because they are wasteful of mineral resources and energy. I gather, as long as our economic philosophy is built on 'growth', it is difficult to combat such practices.

Another dimension of the problem is, that industry faced with this 'threat' is switching to renting out 'services', rather than selling goods. To some degree this is also supported by environmentalists, as they claim that there is too much 'unused stock' in our society.

Gone are the days (well into the 1990s) that Apple prided themselves that all their operating systems were backward compatible with existing software (their own). You could run ten-year old versions of wordprocessors on the latest version of the operating system. But even back in the 1990s already there were complaints that 'productivity' software had too many bells and whistles that very few people actually use in practice. Perhaps I am not such a sophisticated user, but there are very few functions that I constantly use in my wordprocessor, spreadsheet or drawing programs that were not available already 30 years ago ...

[KeithAug]

1 hour ago, wefalck said:

but there are very few functions that I constantly use in my word processor, spreadsheet or drawing programs that were not available already 30 years ago ...

Exactly so!

 

Back to boats:-

 

I did a bit of pencil and paper draughting and dimensioned up the centres for cutting the various circles that will eventually form the core of the frame.

 

I then glued the template to the brass sheet and mounted it on the mill.

 

The various diameters of circular features were then cut with a step drill.

At this stage I also drilled location holes for pinning the thickened sections of the frame in position (red arrow). These were drilled in a location that would subsequently be removed.

I then started sawing away the unwanted parts of the frame. I didn't have coarse enough jewellers saw blade but I ploughed on anyway, taking an excessive amount of time and breaking an excessive number of blades. I really must listen to my own mental advice in future and put stuff aside until I have the correct tools to hand.

Anyway - some time later:-

Next a bit of filing:-

Then the 2 thickening plates were cut and drilled with 4 holes. The lower pair of holes match the location pins in the central frame piece (pins already inserted in the photo).

The upper pair of holes are for retaining screws to clamp the ticketing plates for later machining operations. They are also in the scrap area and will be cut away later.

Now back to moaning about planned obsolescence. 🙂

[Jim Lad]

Very nice 'blacksmithing', Keith.

 

John

[Roger Pellett]

Old computer woes have made an appearance here on MSW.  While I can read content on each of our two IPADS, I cannot post.  I can only respond with the "like button;" no WOW.  I also cannot sign either IPAD out.

 

Roger

[KeithAug]

14 hours ago, Roger Pellett said:

While I can read content on each of our two IPADS, I cannot post.  I can only respond with the "like button;" no WOW.  I also cannot sign either IPAD out.

Roger - I think it's called technical dementia.

 

Thank you John.

Edited March 25 by KeithAug

[Retired guy]

Nice bit of fabrication coming up 👍

 

Regards

Richard

[Valeriy V]

14 hours ago, KeithAug said:

I didn't have coarse enough jewellers saw blade but I ploughed on anyway, taking an excessive amount of time and breaking an excessive number of blades. I really must listen to my own mental advice in future and put stuff aside until I have the correct tools to hand.

I understand you - I once had to experience similar feelings. 

Great job, Keith!  

[FriedClams]

Good progress on the rudder post manufacture, Keith.

 

Gary

  

[FlyingFish]

12 hours ago, Valeriy V said:

I once had to experience similar feelings

Even if your hand is very, very small, that's one amazing piece of work Valeriy. Your turn Keith! 😉

[KeithAug]

My daughter has gone off on what she calls a sabbatical. So far as I can tell this involves an extended holiday from work drifting around Europe chasing the snow. She parked her car here before she went which is how I discovered that it was more of a garbage truck than a family vehicle. Anyway, today I spent 6 hours getting it back to being tolerably habitable. The good news is that I found enough half eaten snacks to replenish our pantry for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately I didn't find any money.  Today wasn't very productive in the shed but fortunately I did get some time yesterday.

 

I started by machining the wedge angles on the edges of the rudder frame outer thickening pieces. I used a block of wood to hold the pieces on the mill at the correct angle, the angle being set using a bit of trigonometry. I don't have one of those clever little digital angle gauges but sometimes the old methods work perfectly well. You can see in the picture that the thickening pieces are screwed to the wood,  but what is less apparent is that they are set in a cut out which supports them on 3 sides. I decided that relying on the screws alone probably wouldn't have worked. 

I machined both thickening pieces without removing the wooden block from the vice - thus ensuring that the wedge angles on the 2 thickening pieces were identical.

Using a similar technique I machined the other two wedge angles with a different block set at a different angle. You can also see that I used the central piece as a template for scribing on the final internal shape of the thickening pieces.

Then it was back to the jewellers saw to cut out the internal shape. I still hadn't ordered the coarse saw blades so inevitably it took longer than it should have with more breakages. Old fools never learn!

I then machined on the final chamfers on the little nib on the left hand side in the above shot. The three pieces were then assembled together using the small brass locating pins.

The assembly was held together with stainless steel clothes pegs and flux, solder and heat were applied to turn the three pieces into one. Apologies for the messy soldering, I was rushing a bit.

The good news is that it cleaned up quite well.

Now I have to cut the bottom profile which of course is now 0.3" thick and well beyond the wildest aspirations of my little jewellers saw. I need a different plan.

 

 

[Jim Lad]

Very nicely constructed, Keith.

 

John

[MikeR]

Keith

Your work is amazing.  When I  cut .250 copper or brass I use a Dewalt variable speed scroll saw . I use either #1/0 or #2/0 blades at a mid range speed. I cut through a thin layer of cutting oil on the brass or copper which keeps the blade cool and lubricates it during the cutting . When I take my time and cut slow, I break very few blades. 

MikeR

[KeithAug]

Mike - i hadn't considered using a scroll saw. I don't have any metal cutting scroll saw blades other than the very fine jewellers saw blades. I really need to order some. I think I can manage the cut with a combination of hacksaw and mill.

 

Thank you John and also thank you to anyone else who has left a like.

[Rick310]

Beautiful work Keith,  I need to learn how to cut thick brass and copper so I look forward to seeing how you do it.

Rick

[Retired guy]

Very nice bit of fabrication Keith, I am sure you will use the mill first, then file to shape 👍

 

Regards

Richard

[KeithAug]

A little more progress on the rudder frame.

 

Thank you Rick / Richard -

 

On 4/1/2024 at 10:02 PM, Retired guy said:

I am sure you will use the mill first, then file to shape 

Exactly so Richard.

 

I am still using paper templates to get the shapes right.

The wedge angles produce a little distortion in the templates but nothing worth worrying about.

 

I cut the bulk of the excess metal away with straight cuts using my hacksaw. I then clamped the frame to a piece of wood for a bit of milling.

I nibbled my way towards the desired profile using an end mill cutting vertically.

I then blended the frame to shape with various files. I also drilled holes (upper and lower) to take the rudder shaft. 

The frame around the upper rudder bearing is round and not square as currently formed.

So I needed to form the 4mm diameter round boss. I did this by first slotting out the end of a piece of 4mm diameter rod.

This was then placed over square section nib and soldered in place.

The excess was then cut away and the boss was cleaned up with a file.

Finally a paper template was used again prior to cutting away the waste.

The frame was then test fitted into the pre made slot in the hull. 

Although not fixed in position I checked the alignment with a laser level.

The frame isn't finished as it needs a fair bit of polishing with wet and dry paper before finishing on the polishing wheel.

 

Next the rudder.

 

 

 

 

Edited April 9 by KeithAug