The Kit-Basher's Guide To The Galaxy

[CaptainSteve]

CHESTNUT SPINES

The outer covering of chestnuts have hundreds of tapered spines. They make great treenails. Although they are dark colored.  And if you are using a soft wood they can be pushed in without drilling (sometimes).

 

Mark

 

Love that one, MuzzleLoader ...

Especially useful considering I'll soon be adding tree-nails to my Bounty Launch ... and I specifically wanted something darker in colour so they will show up against the planking.

Edited March 11, 2014 by CaptainSteve

[Senior ole salt]

Reading over this thread, it sure becomes apparent that modelers sure know how to scrounge around the house. One of my favorite places for scrounging used to be the town dump. But now with segregated bins there are less surprises. How do you convince the admiral that all that picking around has a place in the house?

 

S. os

[DSiemens]

S. os if your ship yard is messy enough she won't notice. ; )

[LFrankCPA]

Ever had to chisel some small something. Put one of the school red erasers between the project and your hand. Works great.

Larry

[Dee_Dee]

SHELL CASINGS

 

The photos below are shell casing from my .22 starters pistol.  

  Main OD:       0.22"     7/32"      5.7mm

  Length:          0.41"     13/32"   10.4mm

 

On my current build, there is a 'cap' on the end of the boom, the length needs to be cut down and it's a snug fit.   

Thinking these could also be used for vent stacks, a little bit of shaping, make it into a capstans and who knows what else!  

PM me if you want some of these.  (I also have a .32 starters pistol, but I rarely use it.)  

 

Before and after cleaning up.  

 

   

[NenadM]

FOLDER MECHANISM - PART 2.

 

Small contribution about use ordinary things that surround us

 

There are hinges for rudder on line to be made ... but ... what materil to use ?

 

And idea come

 

Metal parts from folder mechanism

 

 

http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/2501-cutty-sark-by-nenad-m-started-on-tehnodidakta-19711983-plans-continued-on-campbell-plans/page-95#entry233671

Edited September 1, 2014 by Nenad M

[CaptainSteve]

ADDENDUM:

Here are some pictures lifted from Nenad's log detailing his brilliant idea to use the metal clip from an ordinary file-folder:

 

Edited September 5, 2014 by CaptainSteve

[mij]

Nice one CaptainSteve.

 

Regards

 

   mij

[CaptainSteve]

Nice one, CaptainSteve Nenad M !!

 

 

Edited September 2, 2014 by CaptainSteve

[NenadM]

Thanks Captain for doing my job ro edit post

 

Idea came when I was in attic where I keep bussines archive, sorting and reducing amount of unneccesary paper in folders with old cases finished 10-20 years ago. Many empthy folders appear, some of them ruined by time, and as this is extremly booooring job, while doing this with half of brain, another half was thinking about many silly things ... saw this metal rail in ruined folder ... test streight and elasticity by fingers ... and ...why not?

Edited September 2, 2014 by Nenad M

[Perls]

Hi All,

 

I saw a post recently where someone was lamenting finding scale metal cannon balls. If you have a friend who is/was a hunter there's a good chance they have all kinds of mismatched shotgun shells. I probably have a hundred+ of different sizes. They are quite easy to open up and remove the shot. Be safe, use a little common sense and avoid going near the primer and you shouldn't have any problems. In most cases the shot is lead, sometimes copper covered. Newer shells can be steel. Tungsten, or bismuth. Below is a link with some scales.

 

Best,

Steve

 

 

http://www.shotgunworld.com/amm.html

[Perls]

GLASS

 

Hi All,

 

I just posted this in a different thread and I thought it should be here as well.

 

A master model ship builder once showed me around his shop.

 

He used microscope slide covers for windows. They are real glass, incredibly thin and about 2cm square. They are glass so they need to be cut like glass. You don't need a glass cutter, just something to scratch the surface and break over some kind of thin nail or pin.

 

I just did a quick google search and Amazon sells a pkg. of 200 22m square slide covers for $4.76.

 

Best,

Steve

[NenadM]

FOLDER MECHANISM - part 3

 

 

 

 

Hard enough to stand still during makeing. Alu from beer can is too soft, and know to run away from desk in unknown and undesired direction, when you apply Dremel

[CaptainSteve]

Serious, Nenad ??
You made your own sheaves ... from a beer can ??

 

I should start my own SHEAVE FACTORY !!!

[NenadM]

Cpt, beer can is too soft. I used folder metal strip

 

Beer can helps in another way

Edited November 3, 2014 by Nenad M

[NenadM]

And here is - how to do

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 3, 2014 by Nenad M

[CaptainSteve]

CHAMOIS CLOTH - To make the oar lashings on my 1/16th scale Bounty Launch look as life-like as possible, I sliced up a used car-cleaning chamois into 1mm wide "leather" strips:

 

 

... and here they are after being lightly dry-brushed with black wood stain to dirty 'em up just a little bit !!

Edited March 1, 2015 by CaptainSteve

[hornet]

LEAD SPLIT SHOT

 

- used in fishing and available, in very convenient dial packs, from tackle stores in a range of sizes - can be gently squeezed closed, filed back and painted black. They make good cannon balls.

 

 

 

EXTRA LONG MATCHSTICKS

 

- can be turned up on a wood lathe to make oars - I did this on my 18th century longboat

 

 

ALUMINIUM FLASHING - for windows and guttering

 

- Available cheaply by the roll in hardware stores (one roll would last a lifetime!) It is thicker and easier to work with than aluminium cans and can be used in a variety of ways when bashing!

 

 

 

[mtaylor]

Many hardware stores sell copper tape for use in such things as keeping snail and their ilk out of flower pots.  It's self-adhesive.  I've not tried it, but I'm assuming it could be used for copper plating.  Per foot, it's cheaper there then buying tape from a model shop.

[CaptainSteve]

FILE FASTENERS (and BAND-AIDS) – To make 1/16 scale cutlasses as detail for my Bounty Launch, I used some file fasteners, plus a few other common items.

 

You will need: File Fastener; Piece of brass strip; Piece of tubing (plastic/metal); A small, metal bead; Strip of aluminium foil; A band-aid (cloth variety).

 

Flatten the file fastener. I put mine between two metal rulers and then hammered along the length. With the ones I used, there was a brand indentation which could not be completely hammered out.

(At a casual glance, it almost looks like a Royal Crest !!).

 

Cut out the rough shape of your sword. Bear in mind to leave enough for the “Tang”. This is the part extending back from the blade which will later form the interior of the handle.

 

 

The Dremel tool makes the shaping process a little easier …

 

Cut a short piece of tubing to become the Grip. This fits over the Tang. It needs to be approx. 3mm shorter, allowing the tip of the Tang to stick out …

 

This part is entirely optional, but I chose to dry brush my blades with, first, a metallic chrome, and then a matt gloss.

 

Cut short pieces of the brass strip to make the Hand Guard. This piece will need to be approx. twice the length of the Tang. Drill a hole at each end (approx 0.5cm in), and then round them off, using the Dremel.

(A tip: clip the corners with nail-trimmers first.)

 

Next up, bend the brass strips over a suitable tool (I used my hand-drill) to form the Guard.

 

Here are all the pieces set out and almost ready to begin …

 

But first, make some strips of aluminium foil. Fold them over onto themselves a few times, to give them extra strength. These strips will become the Rain Guards on your swords (but, more importantly, they will serve to make the join between hilt and blade look much tidier).

 

WARNING: It can be a bit fiddly putting everything together. Test-fitting of pieces before applying glue is highly recommended to ensure that nothing breaks and needs to be re-made.

 

Apply small amount of Epoxy glue to the Tang and top part of blade. Thread Tang through hole in one end of the Guard. Slide the Grip into place. Make sure the Tang protrudes from the other end, and then poke it through the top hole of the Guard.

I used a pair of pliers to grip the two ends of the Guard together whilst the glue dries. You will want to apply just enough force to keep the Guard flush against the ends of the Grip piece.

 

Quickly, before the glue can dry, place the small bead onto the end of the Tang, now protruding through the top of the Guard. This becomes the Pommel (or Peen Block), holding everything together.

 

It should look something like this …

 

Wrap an aluminium strip around your blade (two turns is enough), sliding it up against the bottom of the Guard to ensure it is flush ...

 

Once the epoxy has set, take the cloth band-aid. Cut a short strip to the length of the Grip. Carefully wrap this around the tubing piece.
(NOTE: Originally, I was going to wrap cotton around the Grip. But, I have been desperately trying to find an excuse to feature Band-Aids in Kit-Basher’s.)

 

And here they are, together with the drawing which inspired them …

 

EDIT: The rain guards are most probably NOT historically accurate for basic cutlasses. 

Edited August 21, 2015 by CaptainSteve

[NenadM]

Multipurpose thing, Cap.

[NenadM]

PAPERCLIPS, TELEPHONE WIRE,  MULTI-HAIR WIRE AND TOOTHPICKS

 

In mission to become "boomkin and chain" on Cutty Sark

 

Here is goal

 

 

 

 

So called "Boomkin and chain" on Campbell plans. In my scale, it has to be about 10mm long, has four rings up and two down, movable hinge and a chain to connect to bulwark eye

 

So, let us begin

 

1. Material

 

 

2. Making a tool

 

Main material is telephon cooper wire. Thin enough, and fitted on such little dimensions, hard enought

 

But, how to make tool for making little rings ?

 

Open paperclip, line it, and make this, considering dimensions you need

 

 

Tight strenght this structure in table clamp, and cut as on picture

 

 

You got perfect modeling pattern, and massproduction can start

 

3. Boomkin itself

 

Following next pictures, make four little rings, taking care to keep wire tight all time

 

 

 

Pull out wire with rings, turn wire backward, and make new two rings on proper places

 

 

 

Pull out whole structure, align and fit it on anvil

 

 

Soldering is neccessary to tight both parts and to give some mass, but it can be tricky on such a small piece. To avoid rings to stay clean and open, use toothpicks

 

 

4 Hinge - preliminary idea, it probably can be done better. Hinge is on toothpick top before soldering

 

 

 

 

 

 

Soldering is neccessary, and a little correction with Dremell ... 

 

Mount boomkin in hinge, and fit hinge, and boomkin can move !!!!

 

It is preliminary idea

 

5. Chain

 

I think that on the market you can not find chain thick 0,2 mm ... Also I think that is imposible to make such a chain ... ot it haas no sense ...

 

So, idea is to make something "TO LOOK AS THE CHAIN"

 

And I remember cooper multiwired cable, and use cooper hairs as thin tread, and with torsion two hairs, I got this

 

 

 

Eye is made earlier from telephony wire, as I show in my log

 

 

 

Connect with "chain" boomkin and eye

 

 

 

And after painting in blac acrylic with a little drop of gold acrylic

 

 

Root of hinge and eye can be mounted in bullwark. Line of moves can be different, and I conected chain for demo purpose.

 

Also, depending of patience, little chain can be made in different way ( some macrame technique, still has to be investigated)

 

But, whole structure is so small, and there is unanswsered question, will all this ( movable hinge, chain structure) be visible at all ?

Edited November 15, 2014 by Nenad M

[NenadM]

BBQ wooden sticks

 

Inexhaustibile source of rounded wooden strips

[NenadM]

FOLDER MECHANISM part 4

 

Star

 

 

On second and thirs from left, blue ring is MADE of telephony cooper wire

[JSGerson]

Beautifully done! Do you have any images of the step by step process on how you made those stars?

[CaptainSteve]

BRASS TUBING, BRASS STRIP and COPPER WIRE

 

With his permission, the following is copied from member GTM's Santisima Trinidad build log (1/90 scale):

One of the details I wanted to add was a grapnel anchor..

The main problem was how to manufacture these..

 

An idea came up in my head using a 1.5 mm brass tube and 5 pcs. of 0.4mm wire and I started working on it. 

Underneath again a visual sequence of the idea.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Even though the result is not bad, especially after blackening, I wasn't satisfied with the “hooks” and the wire i used, .."peanuts" maybe.., but anyway, I started on version 2.

This time i used a 2mm brass tube and a slightly thicker (0.5 mm) brass wire and also a different hook type.

And by using 2 mm brass tube, I could shape the shaft a bit more, but.., unfortunately it could only contain 4 wires..

 

 

 

It’s still not perfect, but I leave it for now…

 

This is the final result after some fine-tuning, blackening and a cable attached.

 

Edited December 4, 2014 by CaptainSteve

[WackoWolf]

Beautiful work Steve, I love the sword's also. Nice detail, and thanks for the walk through as to how you did it.

[NenadM]

Beautifully done! Do you have any images of the step by step process on how you made those stars?

 

Now, I dont, but these days when find little time, I ll put a little tutorial in my log. Please, fell free to remind me by PM

 

Thank you for nice words

Edited November 30, 2014 by Nenad M

[CaptainSteve]

You know I will, Nenad !!

[NenadM]

You know I will, Nenad !!

Good idea, Cap

 

Little edit: I finished whole ornament, and considering there was a lot of "bash" works (almost all ements), tomorrow I'll make tutorial for my log and presentation for this log

 

And edit

 

Whole process is explained here

 

http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/2501-cutty-sark-by-nenad-bashed-tehnodidakta/page-114#entry264901

 

Used materials : multicore AC 220V wire, telephony wire, galvanized sheet metal plate 0,5 mm, thread for crocheting

Edited December 2, 2014 by Nenad M