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

[Mike Y]

Procrastination continued, made a napkin holder as a gift, this time it sooort of related to ship modelling?  Walnut, cherry "frames", maple and ebony strip, Osmo finish (a bitch to apply in a tight corners, should be really applied before assembly).

[Mike Y]

Finally done with all the gifts! This Christmas season was way to long

 

So back to the display / dust case for the Cromwell.

Tested the corner joint design on a piece of pine scrapwood.

Here is the joint drawing:

Milling scarf joints was easy, using various angle blocks to make sure that they all have the same angle:

Side joints were more tricky, not possible to mill easily. Crosscut sled came in handy:

Resulting parts. Nevermind some chipout, it is pine:

Glue-up was tricky due to a number of angles that must be square:

Result:

Now the most risky part - making that weird shaped corners. The front part of the joint will be detachable and will hold the front glass, but to make the corner it should be clamped together with the non-removable part:

Then caaaarefully shaping it on a disk sander:

 

Adding some bevels, the bevel guide was handy!

 

Done!

 

So that joint is quite manufacturable, which is a good news! This is the first and only attempt, no scrap pieces. 

However:

1) Side joints are too miniature (3mm lips) and are easy to chip out

2) No need to add that miters on the side joint - they only add complexity and no real visual effect.

3) Building the display case will require some ridiculous precision - making sure all stock is precisely dimensioned, careful alignment and squaring. Will definitely need to buy some extra wood.

4) Worried about wood shrinkage/movement and getting out of alignment due to humidity variations...

 

What do you think?

[GuntherMT]

That's a beautiful joint, whether it's worth it or not?  Totally up to you, I personally am not a fan of display cases at all, but someday I'm sure I'll break down and get tired of keeping the models clean (or stop living alone and have to do it to keep the models safe) and do display cases.

[Mike Y]

14 minutes ago, GuntherMT said:

That's a beautiful joint, whether it's worth it or not?  Totally up to you, I personally am not a fan of display cases at all, but someday I'm sure I'll break down and get tired of keeping the models clean (or stop living alone and have to do it to keep the models safe) and do display cases.

Brian, trying to keep the model clean is already a big problem. Keep in mind, my "workshop" is in the living room

Surprisingly, most of the dust on the model looks like a regular dust, not a wooden dust. I ended up covering the model in plastic film, which is ugly  Fine dust gets between frames, and it is not easy to get it out even with compressed air.  When I will start the deck framing, it would be nearly impossible to get id of the dust inside the hull. So the display case is a necessity for me. I am just trying to make it less ugly, so it would be a model of its own  Hence this decorative joint, inspired by the joints in the model itself.

[gjdale]

Mike,

 

While I admire the design and complexity of the joint making, and your execution of it, when it comes to display cases, I think you need to be careful not to detract from the model itself - so "less is more" for me. Just my AUD $0.002 worth.

[Mike Y]

Grant, thanks for the feedback. I do not like the bulky look of the standard cases, so was trying to make it elegant. But making proper mitered corners will be quite challenging, they might crack without reinforcement. These corners look smoother. Or maybe I am overthinking this, as usual

[michael mott]

Mike another option for the case that can be quite elegant is to use 4 dowels as corner pillars with a 90 degree quadrant cut out on the inside corner with a simple aquarium style glue up inside the corner with some clear silicone and a slip on top that locates onto four dowel pins at the corners. I made a case this way a long time ago and it was light and strong. I don't have any pictures of it unfortunately.

 

Michael

[Mike Y]

Truly appreciate all the hints and comments, pointing that sometimes less is more and display case should not take a lot of attention from the model. Well, thanks! 

So I simplified it, will get rid of that rounded corners, and use three-way miters to join the parts of the case. Apart from that - same design.

 

The main ingredients have arrived!

Swiss pear for all exposed parts (will use plywood for the torsion box that will provide the foundation).

And the high quality LED strip with a proper power source and dimmer:

https://www.led1.de/shop/lng/en/solarox-highcri-power-led-strip-pro-ii-with-samsung-leds-warm-white-3000k-20cm.html 

 

 

Estimated cost so far:

Wood: 105 EUR ($116)

LED stuff: 135 EUR ($150)

Glass (optical clear grade plexiglas, 3mm, 0A570 HC): 105 EUR ($116)  

Total: 345 EUR ($380)

 

Going to finally make some sawdust this weekend!  

 

 

[cog]

Interesting, Mike. Looking forward to your box's apparition.

How long is the length of the led string?

[Mike Y]

The led strip is 1m long, but it is sold in 25cm increments - so you can buy a lot more or a lot less

[Mike Y]

Made the display case base. It is a simple torsion box, with holes for wiring and reinforced joints.

It is quite trivial to build, but requires accuracy and a good tolerances - all parts should have equal height and be square, otherwise it would be really tough. 

Batching out the parts:

Ready to begin!

Glue-up:

Installing diagonal cross-braces in the bottom. Note that all butt joints here are reinforced with strips from all four sides - I do not trust butt joints...

Ready! Braces are fixed with screws. The central part has no braces to allow for easy access to the electronics for LED, screws that hold it to the wall, etc.

Nevermind the ugliness, it is the underside which would be hidden from sight. 

The thing turned out heavier than I thought. 10mm plywood is not so light.. From the other hand - I want it to be a good foundation. Well, hope it will not drop from the wall!

[cog]

Maybe for a next one, use 10mm ply on the outside, and 6mm on the inside, and as cover. It looks very sturdy in 10mm though. If it will stick to the wall ... that depends on the mounting method you choose, but I'm confident you'll make the right choise!

[AON]

We all see "the light" after the fact. (pun intended)

Possible marrying slots may have reduced the weight by eliminating the blocks.

Thinner would definitely lightened it.

Is it too late to regroup?  I can see you have got some expense invested in it already.

[Mike Y]

17 hours ago, AON said:

Possible marrying slots may have reduced the weight by eliminating the blocks.

True, but making them will require a full-size table saw (which I do not have), or a hell lot of milling, which would not be a pleasant experience. 

 

I will not attach the case to the base permanently until a test fit to the wall.

In practice, it is lighter than some massive TVs people hang on a wall, so will see. It might work.

If it will end up being too heavy - will re-do the base out of thinner plywood, not a big deal.

 

 

 

[Mike Y]

In a meanwhile, playing with milling my own wood. I cut it from the fallen tree that I found close to my apartment.

I can't really identify the tree, would appreciate the hints if somebody have some ideas!

The heartwood looks quite promising, I might even use it in the model.

And there is something special in using your own wood in the model. Really hope it will be usable for that scale.

 

The original mini-log:

It was drying with bark off for 3 months (I am very scared of the wood-eating insects and parasites, so removed the bark and washed it before drying), and will dry for 3-6 more months.

 

Slabbing it was not easy, since my bandsaw is small and do not have a proper resaw blades. To fit it into the bandsaw I needed to remove the blade guide, which made it more difficult to cut straight. Oh well, lots of planing ahead once it is dry

Looks pathetic

To reduce warping while drying, tightened the stack with some metal pipe clamps. 

[druxey]

Pipe clamps are a snare an delusion: wood will move to where it wants to be. The cut through the center of the log will stay flat(tish), but slabs on either side will progressively cup once the clamps are off. Better to sticker the planks, let them air dry and then plane flat.

[Mike Y]

Hm, thanks for the advice, will do!

[cog]

Mike,

 

The best way to avoid warping is to quarter saw the wood. A disadvantage of this method, you won't make optimal use of the width of the timber, however, that is of lesser import when you consider the sizes needed for modelbuilding

[druxey]

I agree with Carl, but the log has already been sawn up

[cog]

At least he knows what to do with the next log

[wyz]

Mike, why would you mill wood for your model if you don't know what species it is?
 

Tom

[md1400cs]

Mike,

 

Just catching up - Nice updates Your case will also be a work of great beauty and skill

 

Cheers,

[Mike Y]

13 hours ago, wyz said:

Mike, why would you mill wood for your model if you don't know what species it is?
 

Tom

Just as an experiment. There was a fallen tree close by, it had a nice orange colour on a cross-cut section, so why not? Worst case scenario - will use it for some other projects.

 

Druxey, considering the size of the log, quartersawing will leave next to nothing... Even if it warps - not a big deal, I will need to plane away at least 1/3 of the thickness due to very uneven cut lines.

[cog]

No mill nearby which can do the initial cutting. It seems to me a bit of a waste to plan 1/3 of the thickness ...

[Mike Y]

It is a free wood, so I am not that worried about a waste

There is a place that will just charge an hourly rate for any machining you need, but that will become a golden log. Especially since I am not sure if it is a good wood at all. 

It is mostly for experience and sentimental value. I envy people who build a model out of their own pear tree harvested in their garden... 

[AON]

Mike

I understand and agree completely.

I have two logs here of cherry wood that I have been eyeballing and keeping out of the fire heap for 2 years.

If you can do it so can I!

thanks.

Alan

[Kurt Johnson]

Nobody in the area can give you an idea what type of tree it most likely is? Maybe stop by a tree service and they could tell you.

 

Kurt

 

 

[Sailor1234567890]

I love the idea of using wood from my land in my projects. Great for a model, not so great at 1:1 scale boatbuilding. I can use stuff that was on my dad's property for small parts though. He's got some bigger trees than I do. I do however make sure to plant plenty of trees. I have my favourite kinds of trees and planting them is something I always try to do but if not, I make sure to put in a few maples each year. They grow well where I am and even if they're not the kind of wood I will use, they will replace the ones I take as far as oxygen creation and clean air is concerned. Gotta do our part for mother earth.

[Mike Y]

Had no modelling time for the last month, but hope to get back to the display case build next week.

In a meanwhile, remember the ebony dye test that I did 10 months ago? Here is the comment with the "before" pictures: https://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/7297-oliver-cromwell-by-mike-y-148-1777-pof-hahn-style/&do=findComment&comment=455741

It's time to check the results. It was mounted to be in the direct sunlight in the window facing south - basically getting maximum possible sun exposure during the winter and summer months. 

Parts of the piece were covered by paper to reduce the UV exposure (in hindsight, regular paper is probably not very effective for that).

So here it is after 10 months of sun:

 

And with paper removed:

 

So it looks like paper did nothing to protect it from UV. The spirit-based dye (in the bottom) got severely affected by the sun, very blotchy and ugly.

Water-based on (on top) shows no obvious signs of any discoloration. Note the top-right sector - it is a water-based dye with no finish. Tung oil finish (top-left) comes second, and danish oil (top-center) is too flat and glossy, without a proper texture.

Looks like I will simply use unfinished water-based dye on my wales. If it survived on a direct sun - should not be any troubles in the spot that does not have any sun exposure.

 

 

Edited August 5, 2017 by Mike Y

[StebbinsTim]

interesting.   Thanks for sharing the results.