making sails

[stevetuck56]

I'm probably going to get it here, but how do you actually make them., do you hand sew them, and out of what material do you make them. as you can tell I haven't been at this modelling game for too long, any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

[russ]

For what it is worth, I use Japara cotton. I got a good supply of that material years ago from your neck of the woods. It is good material to work with.

 

I sew my sails, for the most part, by hand, but I have used a machine for larger sails, especially on the panel seams. The hems (properly called tablings) I usually hand sew. I measure the sail to include the extra material to fold the tabling over once, and then once again to get a clean edge on both sides of the sail.

 

The panel seams in the body of the sail can be done with a single line of stitches, or if you can measure and sew them closely enough, you can do the two lines of stitches for each seam. I would only do this larger scales though. For 1/48 scale and smaller, the single stitch line for the seams is enough.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Russ

[popeye2sea]

Russ, is there a benefit to using a waxed cotton like Japara?

[Walter Biles]

Steve,
If you look just above there will be a large blue band saying MODEL SHIP WORLD 2.0.   Just to the right of that is M.S.W. Site & Article Downloads.
If you click on that, you should be able to scroll down 3 rows to Rigging and Sails.  Then scroll down and there is a PDF called:  Rigging and Forming Sails for Your Model   by John Tilly. 
There is a description and drawing of the parts of a sail.  Down within the text are plenty of additional links where you can probably find lots of information.
 
Also, on the light blue Model Ship World banner if you click on that and scroll down about 3 sections there is a section in Tips, Techniques & Research with a section on Masting Rrigging and Sails where you may find some good stuff. 
 
Good luck on your sail making.  I'm sure others probably will catch up to you eventually for more help.

Edited February 23, 2014 by Walter Biles

[russ]

Henry:

I has a nice density to it that you cannot get in a typical cotton. It gives the impression of a higher thread count. I have been very happy with the results even at small scales.  

 

Russ

[stevetuck56]

thank you so much walter, as you can probably tell, I am still learning how to navigate around this sight., and where you have shown me to go looks very interesting indeed.,

[Walter Biles]

Steve, You are so welcome. And WELCOME to the site.

 

Walter Biles

[popeye2sea]

Thanks Russ.  I'll look into getting some.

[stevetuck56]

thanks russ, you said from my neck of the woods, does the japara cotton have a specific brand name & can you remember the type of store please.

[russ]

Steve:

It was sent to me by a friend from Australia many years ago. I do not know where she got it or any brand name. Sorry. 

 

Russ

[stevetuck56]

cheers anyway russ

[DonJ]

I bought a metre of 160cm wide white japara (140gm/sq m) from a Spotlight shop in Melbourne the other day for A$7.80. I'm going to use it on a set of sails for a 27" long model that was given to me nearly 65 years ago and which has been in storage for a lot of that time. The original sails (beautifully sewn) have deteriorated and can't be used, so I'm now about to learn to use a sewing machine! If anyone wants any of this japara, I'd be happy to buy what is wanted and post it.

 

I also recently obtained from SAILSetc Ltd in Witham UK an excellent book called "Ralph's Guide to Vintage Sailmaking - Cotton Sails for Older Styles of Model Yacht" by Ralph Nellins, which gives lots of excellent instructions in how to do it. Could be helpful to others.

[DonJ]

The John Tilly article referred to earlier is for sails on stationary models. My interest lies in sailing model yachts, which is what the Nellist book is aimed at.

[pirozzi]

Steve,

If you look just above there will be a large blue band saying MODEL SHIP WORLD 2.0.   Just to the right of that is M.S.W. Site & Article Downloads.

If you click on that, you should be able to scroll down 3 rows to Rigging and Sails.  Then scroll down and there is a PDF called:  Rigging and Forming Sails for Your Model   by John Tilly. 

There is a description and drawing of the parts of a sail.  Down within the text are plenty of additional links where you can probably find lots of information.

 

Also, on the light blue Model Ship World banner if you click on that and scroll down about 3 sections there is a section in Tips, Techniques & Research with a section on Masting Rrigging and Sails where you may find some good stuff. 

 

Good luck on your sail making.  I'm sure others probably will catch up to you eventually for more help.

Thanks Walter for the links. I had been looking around for them but you pointed me directly to them. I am going to make sails by hand and needed some good info.

 

Vince P.

[allanyed]

For the most part, don't make or rig sails if it is not necessary, imho.  Even at 1/4 scale, any sewing, be it hand or machine, will more than likely not be to scale and not look good. I have made and rigged sails on several schooners because the client required them otherwise would never have considered it.  I used 1200 count Turkish linen sheets.  That thread count was as close as I could get to scale, but it does have a sheen to it.  It ain't cheap.  Two pillow cases gave enough material but was close to US$40, on sale.  Our bed sheets are not even close to that quality.

 

If you can find silk span it is thin enough to be to scale at least down to 1/4, maybe smaller.  It used to be available  in three thicknesses, but I have not seen it readily available since shrink plastic took over the model airplane field quite a few years ago.  I did a quick search and it is apparently still out there, if not in the neighborhood model shop  as in the past.

Allan