Beavers Prize 1777 by Mike Y - 1:48 - POF - Hahn style

[jdbondy]

Mike, perhaps you are one of those aliens that has multiple appendages from the Men In Black series of movies?

[vossiewulf]

8 minutes ago, jdbondy said:

Mike, perhaps you are one of those aliens that has multiple appendages from the Men In Black series of movies?

I'm betting he duct taped the phone to his forehead and used his nose to take the photo. 

[Mike Y]

Nah, I just borrowed a phone selfie stick / tripod contraption from my teenage daughter and used a "photo timer" feature on the phone  It is an essential item for her, how would you do some outdoor selfies and group photos otherwise?

[Mike Y]

Tools update time!
A friend printed some vacuum adapters for me
The one for the planer works like a charm! Using the model from Oliver (see https://modelshipworld.com/topic/36705-suction-adapter-for-the-proxxon-dh40-for-download)

Table saw received an update as well, the factory design is squeezing all the air through a narrow opening, generating a whistling noise louder than the actual saw. Now the opening is opened up, so the air can flow freely with a nice wind noise
Link to the model: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4742157
Since I was short on space - decided to make the adapter removable, on magnets. To improve the connection a groove should be machined.
It was impossible to clamp that soft plastic part on the lathe, it was just sliding out of the chuck

So I milled it on the rotary table. A single flute mill makes a dramatic difference - the dual flute quickly jams with a blob of melted plastic, while a single flute cuts clear separated chips (that are light, fly all over the place and get stuck to everything, argh).

The resulting performance is not as great as on the planer, some dust still escapes, but it is still a great improvement comparing to the default adapter. 

Can absolutely recommend both upgrades, especially the planer!

Edited March 2 by Mike Y

[Mike Y]

Experimenting with different woods for the Pillars in the Hold. 

Thought it might be a good opportunity to use Pink Ivory that I had in the stash for some reason. 
It is a very beautiful wood with pink shavings, indeed! 

 

A simple jig really helps to hold these tiny pieces when shaping. Scraping is a great way to get a smooth surface with a clean edge!

Completed test pieces. The one with a tenon was finished with Osmo Polyx and the one on the left (with no tenon) has no finish.

For colour comparison I made a photo on top of some pear parts (one finished and one - a rough sheet cutoff)

Pink Ivory has a clearly pronounced grain resembling walnut, clearly out of scale. Though pillars in the hold definitely have a rough life   I might still go with it, it might add an interesting accent deep in inside the hull when viewed from the side:

As most of such woods it would likely loose its beautiful colour when exposed to UV, and would likely become brown-ish. I left these test pieces exposed on the table and will check them in a couple of months. Does anyone have any experience with this wood?

 

What do think on the colour? I don't want my model to look like a clown car, but a bit of variety might not hurt  

[AON]

I've not used it but it gives it a finished "painted" look.

I prefer a natural wood look and I like it when details stand out!

[tlevine]

I have no experience with this wood.  How hard is it?  I would probably use it for things like hatch covers rather than pillars.

[druxey]

It's your model - your decision. It should reflect your own taste, not ours!

[Mike Y]

Thanks Druxey and Alan! Sometimes a little nudge is all we need  
 

Toni, it feels similar to pear or box when it comes to hardness, definitely not soft. Holds an edge pretty well, but despite a clean geometrical shape the edge blurs visually due to the grain of the wood.

But definitely an interesting wood to have in your palette. Will report in a couple of months on the way it ages!

Edited March 4 by Mike Y

[BradNSW]

Look forward to seeing how this ages! 

 

I'm totally into "painting" a model with different woods.  I hope this one loses some of the pink/purple hue...it seems too "colorful" right now.

 

Glad you have some months to let the color mature.