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

[druxey]

Interesting looking corner joinery! I'll be interested to see the real thing, Mike.

[Omega1234]

Hi Mike

 

Happy New Year!  I like your concept for the case, especially those complicated joints.  My only comment would be to have a back-surface incorporated into the case as opposed to relying on the bare wall.  But, that's just my opinion.

 

Other than that, the case is gonna look great.

 

Cgeers

 

Patrick

[AnobiumPunctatum]

Happy New Year, Mike. Intersting display box.

[Mike Y]

Alan, John, Druxey, Patrick, Christian - thanks for the feedback!

And a happy New Year everybody!

 

Possibly a thin felt gasket glued on the inside edge to keep the dust out?

 

 

You could employ a more traditional floating base... a open backed box that slips over the strong support that is bolted to the wall.

That way if someone looks underneath they see a finished face.

A set of strong magnets (or screws) could secure the "box" to the "support".

Yes, haven't really planned the dust protection yet - some felt-like material will be used between the wall (the wall has a rough texture) and the back side of the case.

As for the base - underside of the base would be left unfinished simply due to economical reasons -  it is a lot of wood needed to cover it, and nobody will bend that low anyway. And kids who will see it - will appreciate the view on the internal structure and some electrical wires

 

Happy New Year!  I like your concept for the case, especially those complicated joints.  My only comment would be to have a back-surface incorporated into the case as opposed to relying on the bare wall.  But, that's just my opinion.

Yes, was thinking about it, but it is so hard to decide what that back-surface should be. I was thinking about a milky-opaque plexiglas, some plywood with veneer on top of it, mirror, etc. Ended up with just a bare wall, it should look nicer and also provide more volume. Due to the location of the case, I can't make it wide (people will bump into it), so it is fairly "flat", so the visual volume matters. 

And if these estimates would be wrong - it should be easy to retrofit any sort of the back material later (just sticking the correctly sized rectangle to the wall behind the case).

 

For the background, here is the wall where the display case would be mounted. It will replace the floating shelf with the pinnace model, so here is the dashed line of the estimated location:

 

The wall close-up (it is a simple painted wallpaper):

 

Since this is a super common wall colour (already known as "Stockholm white"), I am quite certain that even if we move to another apartment - the wall texture and colour would be the same

Edited December 31, 2016 by Mike Y

[druxey]

May we see photos of the other completed model, please? It looks more interesting than the wall!

Edited December 31, 2016 by druxey

[Mike Y]

May we see photos of the other completed model, please? It looks more interesting than the wall!

 

It is a Model Shipways Pinnace kit, designed by Chuck. The build log is in the signature, here: http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/4954-21ft-english-pinnace-by-mike-y-model-shipways-124/

 

Incidentally, this is the only finished model I have so far   After the Pinnace, I started a longboat out of boxwood (the link is in the signature as well), and the hull planking is mostly ready (1-2 strakes left), but the build is on hold because I started the Oliver Cromwell build

Edited January 1, 2017 by Mike Y

[FriedClams]

Hello Mike

 

That really is some complex joinery at the corners -  but I have no doubt you will execute it well.  It echoes and forwards the joinery in your model.  Your ship is looking terrific by the way.  Good luck on the display case.

 

Gary

[Mike Y]

Thank you, Gary! Welcome to the log

[Mike Y]

Semi-offtopic. Finished the jewelry box, the build log is here if somebody is interested: http://imgur.com/a/7fNCc

That was an interesting practice, took longer than expected. Totally new skill of turning a non-square non-flat warped piece of wood and making it square, flat and parallel on all sides. Jointing and planing, something not frequently used in the ship modelling!

 

Also, my standard way of "cutting an oversized part and sanding it to shape later on" does not work on that scale, so there were much more careful calculations and cutting to final dimensions from the first attempt. Well, maybe shaving 0.5mm from some risky pieces with the block plane..

 

First time I used OSMO Polyx (http://www.osmouk.com/sitechapter.cfm?chapter=82&page=247) as a wood finish. It is surprisingly good - dries fast, easy to apply, the end result is really strong. Will test it on a small scale, might be a good finish for the model. Anybody has an experience with OSMO as a ship modelling finish?

 

 

[Tigersteve]

Nicely done!

Steve

[cog]

Wonderful box. You make to order

[Omega1234]

Hi Mike

 

Another masterful job. As Carl said above, perhaps another line of income?

 

Cheers

 

Patrick

[davyboy]

Hi Mike,

 

That is a beautiful Jewelry box. I bet your Admiral is very happy,lots of "brownie points" there for certain 

 

Dave 

Edited January 9, 2017 by davyboy

[Mike Y]

Spent the last few weekends procrastinating, working on a workbench improvements. 

It all started with a problem of fixing wooden boards to the table. Clamps are not really good enough, especially if you start planing. But any sort of bench vice is too ugly for the living room, and there is a door to the kid room right next to the table - so it is not convenient to have a large handle.

And then I discovered Veritas inset vice. Yes, that was perfect for the purpose! Nice, elegant, small handle.

 

To install it, a large mortise needs to be made in the table top. Started with drilling away most of the material.

 

 

The rest was removed with a router bit and dremel. Routing freehand is super scary! But works:

 

Then a small "frame" was made with a miniature router plane and a block plane:

 

I severely underestimated the efforts required to make a mortise with the tools I have. It took too many hours and too much dust

 

Since my table top is not thick enough (not enough wood left under the mortise) I reinforced it with thick plywood located under the vice, fixed to the table top with glue and lots of thick dowels:

 

Done! It is flush with the surface (I even made it 1mm below the surface), and the handle is unlikely to be a problem even on a way to the kid room:

 

When used, bench dog (hand made) is inserted into a hole, and a small jaw is inserted into the vice:

 

Uses are many. Starting from fixing the model in a jig (very little pressure is required, so I do not think the jig or hull will deform):

 

 

Ending with planing the wood. This beautiful walnut board with epoxy-filled cracks was waiting for the vice to be planed. Finally done!

[albert]

Great  work Mike, very nice.

[cog]

Well done, Mike. A multifunctional desk! Your daughter will be glad with the improvement of her bench

[druxey]

That is a major modification! Nicely and neatly done, Mike.

[AON]

elegant, clean and delivers (works as expected)

 

very nice addition to your working/living space

[wyz]

Very nice job on the table Mike.  It's a nice addition.  I love it when we get to see the improvements model builders make to their work area(s).  Thanks.

 

Tom

[Omega1234]

Hey Mike

 

That vice looks like it's the perfect solution and 'fit for purpose'. More importantly, as it isn't ugly, I bet your other half is happy. You know what they say about happy wives....happy lives!

 

Cheers

 

Patrick

[Mike Y]

Still procrastinating, spending modelling time on things like handmade gifts to close family  And when not - playing with tools.

Built a crosscut and miter sled for the Proxxon FET saw.

They are more precise and safer than the miter guide on the saw. Helping to keep fingers further from the blade and have a quick and consistent 90deg and 45deg angles.

[tkay11]

I still vaguely think about making one for my Proxxon FET, but so far have made do. It's a good idea though, and you've made a nice one.

 

Tony

[Mike Y]

Tony, it is a pretty quick and simple jig, but gives you a very different control. No movement at all, much simpler! It is like riding the bicycle with two hands instead of one

[tkay11]

I think you've convinced me!

 

Tony

[cog]

37 minutes ago, Mike Y said:

Tony, it is a pretty quick and simple jig, but gives you a very different control. No movement at all, much simpler! It is like riding the bicycle with two hands instead of one

Didn't know you could

 

Nice jigg though. Should remeber for when I finally buy a table saw .......

[Jack H]

hi Mike Y

I admire your ability to mill or polish the surface of wood,I'm amazing  such a delicate model was made by hand.Do you have some suggestions for the selection and polishing of wood to me?thanks.

 

hjx

[Mike Y]

 

1 hour ago, hjx said:

hi Mike Y

I admire your ability to mill or polish the surface of wood,I'm amazing  such a delicate model was made by hand.Do you have some suggestions for the selection and polishing of wood to me?thanks.

 

hjx

Hjx, it is mostly "swiss pear" - european pear tree that gets is pink/brown colour after kiln drying.

If your wood is rough - pass it through the planer or thickness sander first, otherwise sanding will take a lot of time.

Nothing special for polishing - just sanding with Mirka sandpaper, grits 220 -> 400 -> 600 -> 1200, sometimes up to 2000. Different brands and kinds of paper leave slighly diferent finish, so your grits may be slightly different. Sanding on a flat surface (paper clamped to the table, moving the wooden part on the paper, not vice versa), or with a cork sanding blocks of various shapes. Never sanding freehand. That is all to avoid rounding the edges, which is unavoidable if the paper has a soft backing (fingers, foam, etc).

quite frequently I scrape the wood after sanding with 220 or 220 -> 400, using heavy duty xacto blades for scraping (holding the blade with fingers, without a handle. This helps the blade to follow the lines of the wooden part). Do not forget to round the sharp corners of the blade to avoid scratches. It is also very handy for curved surfaces, where sanding block might not be convenient.

I use an optivisor to check the surface and see if I sanded enough, or there are still some scratch marks after the previous grit.

frankly, I never checked if what I am doing is an overkill.  The difference between grits is quite visible when the wood is not finished, but after finishing - not sure if it is possible to see a difference between 600 and 2000 grit. But fine grits take very little time, so I do it anyway  Sanding is a very important - few min of sanding each part makes a big difference to its look and feel. 

[Jack H]

Thank you very much  for your detailed introduction,I will do some improvement in your way.

[tkay11]

Excellent and useful summary, Mike! Thanks!

 

Tony

[bbyford]

Mike, Thanks for the great explanation of how you get such a wonderful finish. I've been following along for a while now. Keep up the great work.

 

Bruce