H.M.S. Triton Cross Section by Long9Ron - Scale 1:48

[Long9Ron]

Please be gentle with me as this is my very first build of any kind in 50 years. 

 

Okay, I have made most of my homemade tools such as a wood lathe, drum sander, thickness sander and table saw,

http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/126-my-homemade-wood-lathe/

http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/449-my-homemade-tools-long9ron/

Now I'm ready to go. Except that I would like to make a mini table saw soon. 

 

So I got some old wood that a buddy gave to me from an old broken down recliner chair. I don't know what kind of wood it is, but we think it may be Oak. I ripped it down to size and put it through the thickness sander and I think it looks pretty good.

 

I have made the Keel and the False Keel so far. I used the homemade scraper shown below to scrape out the rabbet on the Keel for the Garboard Plank to sit. The Keel shown below is my second attempt, the first one was not good at all because I used a utility blade to scrape the rabbet and made a mess of it.

 

More updates to come in the future;

 

Ron 

 

 

[russ]

Ron:

The keel looks pretty good. Nice beginning.

 

Russ

[Boccherini]

Ron,

good to see you finally got started. Nice to see someone else using recycled timber.

 

Grant

[bbrockel]

Good start, Ron.  Like they say 'a journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step'.  Good luck on your journey, Ron.

[mtaylor]

Ron,

There's nothing to be gentle about...    Your keel looks excellent.

[Long9Ron]

Russ, Grant, Bob and Mark

 

Thanks for all the nice comments.

 

I have been busy in the garage making the keelson and trying an experiment on some sample pieces of timber. I was thinking of making the keel, false keel and keelson a darker color. I stained one piece with a dark walnut stain, but I don't know if I like the looks of it. It shows every little grain mark and flaw. Another piece of timber I used Canola Oil (thanks to the Admiral) and it looks very natural, but not as dark as I would have liked. I have loaded a couple on pictures below and would like to hear what you guys think, or if you have any other suggestions for making the timber look darker. Or should I just leave it natural looking, which is pretty light. The camera quality may not be great as it is from my cellphone cam. 

[Rustyj]

Hi Ron, For me I prefer the lighter one but it's more about what you like.

[Pete38]

Hi Ron,

   Good start on your Triton.  I myself prefer the natural look of the woods, using something like tung oil or a natural stain.

But it is your build so pick the one that you like. Keep up the good work.

[russ]

I also prefer the lighter, more natural color, but you are the captain. Your choice is what matters.

 

Russ

[rummy]

Hello Ron,your off to a good start.Funny I spent part of the day testing stains on oak and basswood.I will post pictures of the oak.

 I have found that pre-stain conditioner,natural,and cherry are what I use most of the time.I have a hard time with the darker stains.Could be just me.  Larry

[Long9Ron]

Thanks for the input Rusty, Pete, Russ and Larry.

 

Seeing that this is my first build I don't want it to get too complicated with stains and such, so I have decided to go with the natural look for now. I think it looks better myself. More experiments to come in the future. Anyway, I have a few more pictures below. I have made my jig and have mounted the keel. Also made a revolving table from a flat screen TV stand that I had laying around. Keiko the cat wanted to get into the picture.   Next step is to find some timber to do the frames. Also, had to reinforce my thickness sander, I had to much vibration in it. The board wasn't thick enough. 

[mtaylor]

Looking good, Ron.  I like the approach your using of testing everything before doing it.

[bbrockel]

Nice start, Ron.  Looks like the ship's cat is there to over see your work. 

[Matrim]

Everything looks solid and the keel looks nice, clean and tidy - which is a good sign for the build to come..

 

Joss.

[rummy]

Great start,You should do very well with youir build    Larry

[Snowmans]

Looks good so far. I like the idea for a revolving table.

[Long9Ron]

I've been busy in the garage making sawdust with my home-built mini thickness sander. I had a setback when the sanding drum broke on me and I had to make another one. You always build a better one the second time around. As I mentioned before the wood is from an old recliner rocker that I ripped to size and then put through my thickness sander.

 

Thickness Sander

 

 

 

Once I got the wood to the right thickness, I put masking tape on each piece.

 

 

 

I then cut out all of the frames template pieces and then ran some paper glue on top of the masking tape and laid out all of the frame template pieces on each board. 

 

This is the glue that I used. I used masking tape on top of the wood so that after I cut the frame parts out with the jigsaw and sand them to the proper shape, I will be able to just peel the masking paper off and leave clean bare wood. No scraping glue off of the wood I hope.

 

 

Here is a picture of all the frames template pieces laid out and glued onto each board ready to be cut.

 

 

Closeup of same.

 

 

Well that's all for now. Next step will be to cut all of the pieces out and do some sanding and then make the frames. I will post as I go along.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Snowmans]

I like the the idea of using masking tape on the wood first. Will be much easier than getting glue of the face of the timber after the frames are cut.

Another tip I will use myself sometime.

[Pete38]

Some very nice progress, wood is looking good.

Simple but effective sander  LIke it

[bbrockel]

Nice work, Ron.  Love the thickness sander.  Very well build.  Thanks for wharing.  Now you get to stand in front of your scroll saw for a while..  LOL

[Boccherini]

Ron,

great diy thicknesser, better than my Heath-Robinson model. Take regular breaks from the scroll saw, it'll save your neck.

 

Grant.

[Long9Ron]

Snowmans

As far as the masking tape goes. I hope it will work without tearing. I placed glue on the masking tape and then after placing the templates I smeared another layer over the templates and let them dry over night and a day. So will will see if it works. I will let you know.

 

Pete38 and Bob

The thickness sander worked good until the drum broke under all that sanding. Had to build a better drum and used my DIY Homemade lathe to turn the drum down. It worked great also. Should work good for turning my pillars and such.

 

Grant

Just pick up a used Craftsman Scroll Saw (16") today for $35.00. Going to clean it up and put a new blade in it and try it out on some sample pieces before I cut out the frame pieces. I think that would be a great idea first. Will let you know how it works later.

[42rocker]

Ron

Nice buy on the sears jig saw.

Several folks like rubber cement to hold down the frame paper while cutting, cleans up easy.

 

Later 42rocker

Edited March 9, 2013 by 42rocker

[russ]

Rubber cement is a good idea. It is really easy to clean up and it dos not distort the patterns. The paper peels off and what is left can be rubbed off either with your fingers or, if it is really on there tough, then an eraser will work.

 

What bothers me about the paper glue is that it looks like typical PVA glue and that can distort the patterns. Please be careful that the individual shapes are not distorted in any way.

 

Russ

[Long9Ron]

42rocker and Russ

 

Thanks for the great tip. I will have to give that a try in the future. Too late to change it over right now. I was very careful when I put in on not to distort and of the frame paper. I will be cutting them out tomorrow and will update you as to how it went. Any particular brand of rubber cement to use? 

[42rocker]

Ron

Any, just make sure that it's not dry in the can when you buy it. Yes, it happens. I got my last good stuff at a drafting/print shop. Did get some on sale one time at a big name craft shop, now you know how I know about dried out in the can, good sale price.. Spread out the rubber cement, best fresh. No lumps.

 

Later 42rocker

[russ]

I usually get the Elmer's brand and have never had a problem with it. Once it has been opened, it does have a shelf life, but mine usually lasts the better part of a year. Climate may play a part in that, though.

 

Russ

[mtaylor]

You can also buy Rubber Cement Thinner which wiill reconstitute the cement if starts drying out.  It is, shall we say, nasty stuff.  Keep away from flames and use in a well-ventilated area.

[rummy]

Very nice work Ron.I think you will have a beautiful build.   Larry

[Long9Ron]

Thanks Larry for the kind words. 

 

I have been busy again in the garage, cutting and sanding and building frames. Have to make a Zero insert for the Scroll Saw. I found out that with the way it is the wood will chip on the ends, due to not enough support under the wood piece. Learn as you go. 

 

 

 

 

This is a picture of my very first frame. It turned out okay, but I think I could have done better.

 

 

This is the same frame just loose in the jig.   The Keel joint is a little sloppy, there is a shadow on the left hand side because of the camera angle.

 

 

Well back to work, another eight more to go. It sure takes a lot of time to make these frames.