Tips for placing eyebolts - wooden model Santa Maria by Mamoli

[Jackie]

Hello,

First time builder here. I’m having a heck of a time placing these tiny 8mm eyebolts on my deck. I have a hand drill to create the correct size hole however my deck is cracking when trying to drill the holes for placement. I tried placing a little bit of water down first to soften the wood and that helped a little but I’m looking for any advice beyond that? I tried googling for answers and came back with not much help for this specific issue. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance. 

[RossR]

Is it possible your drill bit is dull or damaged at the tip?

[vossy]

How about putting a small piece of modelling tape, like Tamiya Tape over the section to be drilled into? Tamiya Tape is very light tack but it should be enough to hold the brittle wood together whilst you drill through it, then you can easily remove the tape and be left with a nice small hole. Plus it wont leave tape glue on your deck once you remove it. Hope this helps.

 

Chris.

 

[Bob Cleek]

What are you using to drill with? With small bits, a Dremel or other powered drill may be overkill. 

 

Try using a pin vise to hold the small bit. Create a "starting hole" by gently pushing a pin into the wood slightly to create a center punch hole for your drill bit. Use a new bit that you know is sharp. Twist gently and let the drill do the work of removing the wood from the hole. Don't press down with any more force than is necessary to get the bit to eat into the wood. That should do the trick for you.

 

If you don't have a pin vise, read up on them here: 

 

[mtaylor]

Welcome to MSW, Jackie.   

 

Is this a "old" kit that's been sitting around for a long time?   

 

Do open a intro post in the "new member" and let others know you're here.   And also give some thought to a build log as it's a great way to get help when needed and meet others.

[Louie da fly]

1 hour ago, mtaylor said:

Is this a "old" kit that's been sitting around for a long time?   

Wood gets brittle as it gets old.

 

Steven

[mtaylor]

18 hours ago, Louie da fly said:

Wood gets brittle as it gets old.

 

Steven

Yes, and given his description is why I asked him.  

[Louie da fly]

That's what I thought. 

 

Steven

[Dr PR]

Jackie,

 

A problem with thin wire eyebolts mounted on decks is that even thought the hole is the same diameter as the wire, the eyebolt will pull out if you put much strain on the rigging - I speak from experience. The only glue I know of that will bond securely to metal and wood is epoxy, and it is a mess to work with on small holes. And you do not want to get epoxy (or any other glue) on the wooden deck planks, especially if you plan to stain it (it is better to stain/seal the wood before drilling the holes and inserting the eyebolts).

 

When I put thin wire eyebolts into holes in the deck I bend a few slight kinks in the wire. This gives it a bit more "grab" in the hole, although it makes it harder to insert the part. I also put a bit of Duco model cement into the hole with a pin, and coat the wire with cement before I insert the eyebolt. This shapes the hole to the wire. I immediately wipe off any cement that accumulates around the wire.

 

The most secure way is to install the eyebolt into the deck and bend the wire over under the deck. But you can't do this after the hull is planked (or on solid hulls).

[Jackie]

Thanks everyone! @Dr PR you are spot on with the eyebolts not holding down they keep sliding and turning. I’m going to try that model cement. As far as the kit being old I have no idea I got it shipped from the UK for Christmas and started it right away. @mtaylor thanks for letting me know about the intro post and build log. @RossR brand new drill set so I hope the bit isn’t damaged! I prolly should have mentioned that the part of the deck that was cracking was hollow underneath which didn’t help the situation. I’ve attached some pics. TBH I was kinda devastated when I blew a hole into the deck cuz now it looks crappy. I’m a bit of a perfectionist and it kills me that it’s not perfect. It’s my first build so I’m trying  not to be so hard on myself. If you guys have any ideas on how to “fix” it I’m all ears if not I’ll have to let it go 😊

[Keith Black]

 Jackie, the eyelets/eyepins appear to be too big, IMHO. The eyelet ID is the same size as the deck plank width, it just doesn't look right. Were I you, I'd remove the eyelets, purchase or make new eyelets more to scale, sand the deck surface, fill if required, and paint/stain to match. If you change to a smaller eyelet size you'll have to drill new holes. You have to use a pen vise to drill, practice on scrape till you get a feel for how much pressure can be applied to drill a hole without snapping a drill. When you chuck the drill in the pen vise make sure you keep the drill length short. Too long and sure as heck you'll snap it. 

Edited June 2, 2023 by Keith Black

[Dr PR]

Jackie,

 

Slow down and have a mental margarita! This is your first build? I won't be perfect! Get used to it.

 

And think of this as a learning experience so your next build will be perfect - well, at least better, but that is for you to decide.

 

One way to repair the hole in the deck is to make some fine sanding dust from the same type of wood the deck is made of. Then mix a thick paste using white glue (Elmers, etc.) and the dust. Work the paste into the hole and let it dry. Then sand it smooth. It will have about the same color as the wood.

 

Another way is to shape a small piece of wood (the same as the deck) to fit tightly into the hole and glue it into place.

 

One of the things I love about model building is looking at what I have done and asking myself "How could I have made it better?"  Then next time I try to do better. Of course inherent in this philosophy is the assumption that nothing will be perfect and can always be improved, so I will not be disappointed.

 

The problem is that I am a frustrated perfectionist!

[Bob Cleek]

5 hours ago, Jackie said:

TBH I was kinda devastated when I blew a hole into the deck cuz now it looks crappy. I’m a bit of a perfectionist and it kills me that it’s not perfect.

The good news is that nobody knows what Columbus' ships looked like exactly. All we know is that they were a "type" of vessel and precious little is known of what those "types" actually looked like in any great detail. Your kit is only the kit designer's approximation of what he thinks it might have looked like, so you are free to do a bit of creative "approximating" yourself. If you wish, you can take a couple of thin rectangular strips of wood (about the thickness of a deck plank) and of a size suitable to cover the holes of the oversized eyebolts Mamoli provided and glue those over the "damage." You can make them so they fit right up against the side of the rail and transom and perhaps have rounded corners on the inboard corners. That will look like a "pad" commonly placed on decks to reinforce things like eyebolts (which may well have never been in use on any of Columbus' ships in the first place.) They will also give you more "meat" to drill into and glue your much smaller and correctly-scaled eyebolts. Your smaller eyebolts can easily be made by twisting some fine copper or brass wire around the shank of a suitably size drill bit. The twisted end will enable the glue to hold much better, too.

 

When judging the scale of fittings, it's always helpful to use a "manikin" to judge size. It doesn't have to be fancy. At the most basic, just take the scale of the model and then  draw a scale stick figure on a piece of card stock and glue it to a little block of wood so it stands up. Figure about five scale feet tall or a smidgen more. (People were smaller in those days.) You can then place your "little man" near where you are working and get an idea of whether the parts you are making "look right." Of course, a pair of calipers and a good rule will serve as well, but when estimating, I find the manikin is a helpful tool. If you do this, I expect you will see that the kit eyebolts are about the size of small automobile tires! 

 

When you drill your holes for the new eyebolts, take care to be sure your bolts are placed exactly as indicated on the plans. Don't trust yourself to "eyeball" placement. Measure and be exact. It may be helpful to make a small pattern out of paper or card stock and draw a straight line where you want your eyebolt holes and then mark equally spaced points on that line. You can then put the pattern over the deck where you want the eyebolts and mark the points where you want to drill by pushing a map pin or awl into the wood to make an indentation to start your drill bit. On your first effort, the eyebolts ended up here, there, and everywhere. You don't want to repeat that on the second try. 

Edited June 2, 2023 by Bob Cleek