albergman

OK, this one's done (again). Not much to show of the process but i did do the following: Made all new stanchions, tapered ends with a ball (drilled for lifelines). Wire used was salvaged from an old computer mouse cable ... remember, back before wireless mice. New bow and stern pulpits with lifeline attachments (shown above). Made a propeller from a brass toilet bolt and an old brass fixture (?) Since it's a half hull model only 2 blades needed. Last thing was to make a new backing board. For this I bought an 8' plank of rough-cut teak ($$) which I dressed and cut it into 3 sections. I also had a long strip of cocobolo wood that I planed down and placed strategically between 2 of the teak planks to create a "horizon" of sorts. The whole thing was then screwed together with "pocket holes" (tapered down at a steep angle between 2 boards). Sanded the whole thing flat and then routed a 45 around the edge. The teak has much stronger figuring than I would have preferred and to date I have no finish on it. (Not actually as dark as the photo shows) ... From here I'm moving back to working on my Flying Scotsman ... more renovations! Thanks for looking in. Frank Other Scratch builds ... Lancia D50 Sport Fishing Boat Flying Scotsman A3 Lola T70 Mk 1 Dragon Sailboat Mahogany Ferrari More wooden cars

Time for a bit of an update. Been busy with mostly car projects for the past couple of years but now returning to do some much needed updates on the half hull model of our own Alberg 37 sloop (since sold). I mentioned at the beginning of this thread that I wasn't happy with the metal work on this model as it was done back in the days when I was using plain steel rod and ordinary solder. This has now tarnished and blackened so it's time to replace all that with stainless steel and S/S solder. Have taken the model out to my shed and have it mounted on a work board which itself is screwed to a cabinet near my workbench. This lets me easily reach the model while reducing its handling. It was pretty dirty after several years on the wall so after a wash down with Q-tips and soft, wetted rags I gave it a polish with the automotive stuff (Meguires polishing compound) I use on my car models. Gave it a shine it never had. I've glued a couple chunks of Renshape together to give me a surface on which to build the new bow and stern pulpits. Drilled a few holes where needed and start bending stainless rod to the shapes. This rod is actually sold as stainless steel welding rods and is lovely to work with. Solder in the extra rails then remove from the Ren. File down the excess solder. wet sand it and finally polish with a metal polish. Here's my 2 new rails ... There are tiny tabs that need to be added to the rails where the lifelines will attach. These I cut from a tin can lid and soldered in place. I use a large piece for ease of holding then grind it to size with a Dremel grinding disk. Tabs seen here on the bow pulpit. That's about as far as I've got. Need to make a few stanchions and the 2 special ones for the "gate". Back later. Frank Other scratch Builds ... Ferrari TR in wood Lancia D50 Sport Fishing Boat Flying Scotsman A3 Lola T70 Mk 1 Dragon Sailboat

Not bad at all ... especially for a 13 year old. Looks like you still have it too. Thanks for that. Frank

Brian I meant to ask you what kind of woodworking you do. Models, furniture or ???

Thanks KP. There's a finished log posted with a few pics here.

I think I just caught on to your "talent with wood" comment. Naughty but OK. I'm old and slow. Frank

Thanks fellas! Very kind. Shaun ... I went to look at your postings but I see you've become a victim of PhotoBucket's greed. Sorry. KiwiDave ... Glad you like my approach to these models. I've often been tempted to simulate windows or add details to the GTO but have managed to restrain myself so far. I too like the simplified look of that one particularly. Less is more. I should go back and finish posting my build pictures someday! Frank Other Scratch builds ... Lancia D50 Sport Fishing Boat Half Hull Boats Flying Scotsman A3 Lola T70 Mk 1 Dragon Sailboat

Thanks guys. Appreciate your comments. No varnish used at all just clear lacquer ... which ended up being just rattle can from a hardware store. Many coats over several weeks, dried on top of my hot water tank. Wet sanded with 1000 grit until (almost) no grain hollows are left. Then polished it with a good quality ultra fine automotive polishing compound ... Meguires to be precise. It just makes the dull, wet sanding spring to life. Coops: yes, the cover was made separately from a 1/2" "block" that was glued up from the same 3 woods. Sculpted to fit down onto the car then, when a good fit achieved, ground the top surface down till only a thin overlap was left. It is now tacked to the finished car to keep it in place. I posted a few pics of that process on the build log. Recently used that polishing compound to buff up a couple of earlier cars ... Here's a different mahogany piece. Very old lacquer so it's good and hard ... And a GTO done in padauk wood ... Frank

Hi all Haven't posted much in the way of build photos as this one just didn't seem to appeal to many. It may still be that way but it is what it is and I enjoy doing them. So, this is a hand carved Ferrari (the eighth I've done of this model), but this time I wanted to hack it from nice woods ... mahogany and padauk ... with some light coloured veneer, then give everything a highly polished lacquer finish. Decided to do a matching pattern on the base just for fun. Not highly detailed as I like my wooden models mostly to emphasize and concentrate on the beautiful shapes of these early cars. OK, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. Enjoy (I hope) Frank Other Scratch builds ... Lancia D50 Sport Fishing Boat Half Hull Boats Flying Scotsman A3 Lola T70 Mk 1 Dragon Sailboat

Laurie Martin and I both use Renshape and it is a wonderful medium for scartchbuilding parts. It is, however, VERY expensive so I'm going to suggest an alternative that is quite similar. There are several companies now making a synthetic wood for use in decking or docks ... impervious to water, UV radiation and every other scourge known to man ... if you believe the advertising. Here's the best bit, many of these companies offer free samples of their products. I suggest you Google synthetic/composite wood and see if you can source some samples for yourself. FYI ... this boat hull is entirely made from glued and screwed together planks left over from a neighbour's deck project! became ... Cheers Frank

Thanks for the suggestion "elderly" but I think I'll pass You're quite right of course that it isn't "realistic" so it's maybe hard for other modellers to relate to it. Thanks! Glad you're a fan of these cars Shawn ... wonderful design aren't they? Thanks to you too Pouln. Ummm, I'm afraid I don't build to any scale On average all my models are around 9" long (32 cms?) plus or minus. I only build for myself or to give away to friends and when I started doing this I just decided to build the first model to the 9" length of the block of wood I started with ... why waste any? After that it just made sense to me to keep them all about the same size but I'm not religious about that. Martin ... behave!! Thanks for the support.

Spent a bit of time perusing your submissions before garden duties called me away. Looks like the PhotoBucket virus is sporadically creeping into your posts too ... very irregularly. In the "New slot car masters" post about half the pictures are visible. Strange how random it is. Frank PS by and large you come across as a very pleasant chap!!

MARTIN!! Small world. I've been 'outed". Thank you for the very kind comments mate. Now my hat doesn't fit! You've been on here since 2011 ... and you're still here ... you've been a good boy. Frank Now I'm going to see what you've been posting all these years. Finished Scratch Builds ... Trojan Sport Fisherman Flying Scotsman Modern Yacht half hulls Triumph TR-6 Wooden Cars

Thanks Will. Know nothing about racehorses so I don't get the connection ... may they get "glossy" when they work up a sweat? I do understand the filler comment of course. When you want a natural finish that's a real challenge not to remove too much in the shaping. Any added wood just catched the eye "Look here!! He went too far!"" Steve! Oh goody, I'm going to charge admission for my club and we'll get jackets and ... and .... Glad to have you along. And MBD ... from the "Rhubarb Triangle" ... that's a good one. Glad you appreciate my work. For my tiny band of followers who like this kind of stuff ... there's more in a post I did a couple of years ago ... "Artsy Fartsy cars". Frank

Thanks guys. I appreciate you looking in and leaving a comment. It's a pretty small fan club LOL.

Steve Not knowing much about submarines I'll just sit beside Hendie over there and maybe between us we'll figure out what your scheme is Sure is a fascinating story though and I'm rivetted to the screen like watching a good murder mystery led by a quirky detective who's not sure what to call himself but I have a feeling he knows how to solve this one. When's the next episode showing? Frank

Here we go again. Got the exhausts and wheels made and temporarily stuck in place with blue tack. Several lacquer coats on and rubbed down. I covered how I make my wire wheels in the Lancia D50 build so I won't re-tell that episode. Exhausts are just plain steel that I've bent to shape, used silver solder to join then polished. Got the megaphone tips all made but not mounted for the pictures. Back soon Frank

Simon A roll cage is a nice subject to scratch build as it's a fairly simple shape with mostly right angles. I would suggest doing it with brass rod of a suitable thickness for the scale of car you're building and most hobby shops carry it. Brass tube is also available but it won't bend properly but rod can quite easily be bent to shape. I don't know how complex a shape you want but for a bras cage you'll definitely be needing to solder it together. I've seen something similar done using leftover sprue from a kit. If you can find some of a suitable scale sandpaper or file off all remnants and see if you can fabricate what you need. Hope this helps Frank

WHAT!! No vegemite sandwiches?? I'm off then. Frank

Hope you don't mind if I jump in here Steve (or whichever of your split personalities you are today ) as I've just bought a drill stand for my Dremels and I'm very happy with it too. May not be available in the UK (I'm in Canada) but it's a "Milescraft" and looks surprisingly like your base so who knows ... brand changing? Anyway, these are only $50 here so it's a bargoon. I've been using it mostly as a cheap-o milling machine using a cheap-o Chinese Dremel knock-off with cheap-o milling bits with a 1/8th shaft and it's going to be a very useful tool for me. OK, back to the program already in progress ... I'll just get my coat. Frank

G'day Reconcilor/Bandsaw Steve/ChiselMeister Enjoying watching you convert a pile of timber into a submarine! Great tutorial you're making too. Certainly helps explain the scratch building process. Keep up the good work. Frank

Thanks for taking the time to reply Parabat. Time I did an update on this project. ... although it hasn't generated much/any interest. I know, it's a bit of a departure from the norm. Anyway, I got off to a bad start with it as I realized quickly that the hood didn't have enough curvature. .. after I'd shaped and fitted a nosepiece. I made several abortive attempts to remedy it (I'll spare you all the pictures ). Eventually I came to the obvious conclusion that I needed to replace the entire hood/bonnet so I bandsawed it out carefully then fastened the remains into a jig to keep the fenders at exactly the right width. Cut and glued up a new centre section that would take it out to the tip of the nose. Fastened this into my Work Mate table and planed/filed/sanded it to the requisite shape. Now begins the tricky part to shape the edges so that it will drop perfectly in between the waiting fenders with minimal gap and the "stripe" remains in a true fore and aft alignment (as sailors say). Remember, this will be a natural finish so no fillers allowed. I made a very precise template from a cereal box and got the alignment perfected then bandsawed the block close to the line. Now began a delicate process of sanding and trial fitting Very relieved to get it fitted so perfectly as now I can get on with the build. Shaped the external dimensions of the nose then roughed out the cavity. Finished the fine sanding of the cavity and washed the project down with Varsol Carved out an air intake bubble from padauk and fitted it. Somewhere along the way I made and fitted a headrest which incorporates a part of the stripe. Likewise a dashboard "bubble " got made and fitted. That pretty much finishes the body shaping so now I'm moving on to making some of the few attachments I'll be putting on. Started with a frame for the windshield which i cut from scrap tin. Filed out the tabs and bent them to the appropriate angle .... then carefully bent the frame to the right shape. Drilled a few holes through it and into the wood and tacked it in place with a few tiny straight pins. Made a start on a steering wheel which will have a proper aluminum core and wood outer rims ... early days there. Also working on the lovely flowing exhaust system. That's about it so far. Hope some of you find it remotely interesting! Frank

Not familiar with the kit but you've done a wonderful job on it. Your outdoor photos make it look like the real thing and just weathered enough to need a second look!. Lovely job. Frank

Hi all Been away and taking a break after finishing the Lancia D50 project but I'm ready to get into something new. My first ever scratch build 15(?) years ago was a '57 TestaRossa and I carved it out of basswood. Shortly after I made a silicon mold of it and proceeded to make 6 or 7 more in urethane. Here's 3 I had on the go ... That first one had more than a few flaws that got faithfully reproduced in the clones and I usually corrected them before giving them away. As it is, I never got a good copy for myself and even though I stripped the original basswood one down thinking I'd fix it up ... I never did. I had one casting that something really bad had happened to in the molding ... I used it as a mule to test different things and then in a moment of weakness I decided to make it my own "keeper". Over the next few years I'd plug away at it and it was coming along not too badly but my heart wasn't in it. So ... decided to start a new one and to do it in wood as I really love a natural finished model. I've done quite a few in the past and they were well received when I posted them here. I have a nice supply of good mahogany, which I'll use mainly for the body, and some padauk which I'll incorporate as a racing stripe and they make for a nice contrast. Using some plans from the web I scaled them to my requisite 9 1/2" and off we go. I find it's too tricky to do most cars from a solid block simply because it's too awkward to get in between the fenders to shape the hood/bonnet and boot/trunk so I split the model up. I cut rough profiles for the fenders and separate pieces for the hood etc. Bandsaw out the fenders .... All pretty rough at this stage I shape them mostly with various sanding drums on a Dremel with a flex-shaft and gradually tease out a pontoon fender ... Once I have a matched set I tack glue them to a block at the correct width ... Now I can begin to assemble the hood etc and get it to fit precisely between the rigid fenders ... Piece of cake right? I didn't take pictures of all my failures so this'll look like it worked first time .... HA! OK, the hood is made up from a thick cuts of mahogany on the outsides, a pure white veneer I've had forever (don't ask me what it is ... I don't know) then the red padauk in the middle. This gets shaped separately with the correct curves fore/aft and laterally. It's all guesswork because the plans don't show these lines. Once the curvature is deemed OK I start the slow process of shaping the curves to match the fenders. All the time I have to also make sure my stripes are pointing straight ahead not off-kilter. Eventually it drops into place and glues can be poured in. I've applied a wash of solvent here to liven the colours ... Now I get to repeat the process for the boot and it gives me just as much trouble! However, I persevere and eventually we have the basis for a Testa Rossa. Still lots of wood to be added front and back but this is easy-peasy compared to what's been done. I decided I wanted to fabricate a "metal" tonneau cover over the passenger seat rather than tack on a leather covering as I've done in the past. So first off I cut a thin-ish slab of mahogany and cut it to the perimeter size I need. Now begins a delicate process of cutting a recess on the underside so that it drops into the hole below and fits to the car body. Again I use a variety of Dremel tools ... always on a flex shaft and gradually get the fit I want. Now I can glue my white veneer and padauk to it and finish the fitting. Once all the surfaces fit nicely to the body I can sand the flat top surface down to the curved shape I want. Basically just keep sanding until there's only a thin lip all the way around. Applied my wash coat to the whole thing and here's where I'm at today. Frank

I've followed your build in its later stages and been mightily impressed with your attention to detail .... a masterful Tour de Force! Now just sit back and savour that lovely feeling of satisfaction having created such a beautiful object. Frank