Forum

Workshop

I have finally finished the new Shipyard. I had help to do the final build as it came as planks of wood. I painted the floor today which only leaves the outside walls to cover with a second coat. I will try to get a workbench installed before I have to go back home and work. This will be my retirement office when her in doors who must be obeyed says I can have the day off. I am lucky as my testing `lake` is at the bottom of the garden. The Danube.😀 I will buy a few small ma over the next year or so and then, hopefully, have a bit of uninterrupted building time. I have seen the lovely pictures of Colin`s new workshop but I would love to see where others do their work as well and the equipment used.

5 years ago by MouldBuilder

Blog

Speranza 01

Started on the Stringers and , some of the stringers are Spruce, 1/4" x 1/4" , one cracked on the bow curvature, not immediately it was glued and pinned, but about an hour after, should have laminated these spruce stringers as in 1/8" x 1/4" times 2. Another one has cracked since but they are repairable.. Mixed up a weak solution of PVA and water and painted the rest, hoping this will soften them up and be more pliable. Started on the transom, this is angled with a sharp centre line, but there was a lot of off cuts of Obechie lying around, so it was planked with a curve, first Modelers License applied. A few more dry fits and the bow and transom were assembled up, using stringers as alignment tools, anything will do in these instances even strips of ply. Some of the upper-works combing has been fitted around the transom area. Muddy....

7 years ago by muddy

Blog

Elizabeth

After a long lay-off, not requested or wanted. The call of the sawdust was here again.. Looking back at the Gentlemans Cruiser, i decided to start afresh with its sister ship, Elizabeth. She is a hard chine construction so was hoping to get her to water in record time. But the gremlins set in when the hull had to be skinned.. The bottom skins did not want to play ball, or maybe it was me on a not so good day, but persevered and then planked the bottom in Obechie 6mm x 3mm, and then fitted the side skins vertical grained, and i must admit they fell on, no grunting and moaning with the hull frame in a half nelson trying to bash home a few pins, it was like hanging wallpaper.. The basic hiull is not as drawing with built up bulkheads but the keel and bulkheads are 5mm ply. are 3/8" x 1/8" spruce and Obechie, obechie to the outer edges, easier to work.

6 years ago by muddy

Blog

Revell Gato Class Submarine Conversion.

I am about to start the most ambitious project to date. This one will be running alongside the three others currently on the go, The Police Boat which is nearly completed, The Dusseldorf Fire Boat which is well underway and the PTB upgrade. My intention is to change this Revell model into a static dive radio controlled Submarine. I am lucky that Martin555 has agreed to help whenever I get stuck which will be invaluable since he has already almost completed the same. I started by purchasing the model from Amazon for less than £50. I have also purchased the water tight tube for the electronics. I will make the end caps and sealed internal plugs from some 80mm diameter nylon I had at work. It will now come in handy that I am a toolmaker and have a considerable array of ma at my disposal. I will turn the plugs next week and find suitable o rings. I have started to prepare the hull. There is an enormous amount of work required to adjust the standard kit. A lot of cutting and drilling. I have prepared the split lines and glued in the alignment pegs. I have ordered suitable shafts and propellers from the USA. They should be here in a couple of weeks. Next job is to stick the two halves together and start the cutting.

5 years ago by MouldBuilder

Response

Re: SMOKER (OF SORTS) TESTING IN THE HSL

Is there any reason why fourteen posts under the heading 'My Collection' have been placed in this thread with various titles pertaining to Smokers and Smoke Ma. Very confusing and basically removes a number of posts regarding an excellent collection of models that have now been lost in a completely unrelated thread. If there is a legitimate reason for this which I haven't seen, then I apologise. Nerys

4 years ago by Nerys

Response

Re: Exhaust Smoker

Re- following several weeks experimenting, I was going to ask what pump you had Graham but you have answered it here. Seems to work quite well, not sure how mine will go (if they ever arrive) but there are a number of air pumps on line to try. Need something with a bit of grunt to it. I think this little project has been a great example of Kiwi/Anglo cooperation as we have both swapped ideas back and forth to get this result. Graham has refined the electronics and done a great job and I'm pleased that he has taken an interest in my original simple idea, and with his electronics knowledge made it pretty flash. With the greater model boat interest in the UK, I'm sure it will be seen on more models yet and is a device which can be easily adapted to any model - tugs, PT boats, barges etc, - with or without water. The best thing is it can be made very cheaply as against the price of current marine smoke ma. JB

5 years ago by jbkiwi

Forum

Re-purposing an old Hull.

Thank you guys and gals for all your praise. I'm only doing it because I want to share what bit of modelling knowledge I have amassed over my 65 years of modelling, I started with my grandad when I was 5 years old. It seems that the first model that you make should be out of your own head, that way you can change things as you go. That way you enjoy what you make, and are more likely to carry on making. It's fortunate that my grandson is at a forward thinking school who already have a lego club, also a meccanno club. Both of them are well attended and enjoyed. Much better than those stupid electronic games ma. Tomorrow I will find out how well they are getting on with their designs. Cheers Colin.

5 years ago by Colin H

Forum

Are there fairies.

Hi DG. It looks a similar size, but definitely not the one I have. Plus that one has diametrically opposite brushes, whereas mine has three equally spaced brush positions. And I haven't seen the adjustable field windings on any sewing ma vintage or new. Cheers Colin.

5 years ago by Colin H

Forum

Are there fairies.

Definitely not sewing machine, my other hobby is restoring vintage sewing ma. Local retired electrical engineer thinks it may have been a generator /dynamo. Cheers Colin.

5 years ago by Colin H

Response

Re: Lighting and other tweaks ;-)

Hi Steve, Actually Martin told me what the lamp is signalling😉 I know Morse but can't read it very well🤔 In the COMMS systems I designed for naval vessels we had ma to do that for us😁 BTW: all Likes added to my post above should actually be credited to Martin - it's his work not mine! Me? I'm just Adm. SO CCaBW (Senior Officer Chief Cook & Bottle Washer) 😎

5 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Workshop

Just checked Hobby city, (main hobby shop in Auckland) AAAAARGH, some prices- mill drill $450, 24108 miller $2103, 24350 miller, $5398, 27110 micro miller $720, CNC ready miller $7802 ! and these are bare ma which need the 'accessories to be able to do anything with them. A bit beyond my meager finances methinks, could almost buy a Triumph 2000 lathe for that much second hand . (had a quick look and found a Bridgeport power feed mill for $7200. Try- Hobby city.NZ -should get you there. Bet they don't have them in stock and you have to wait 3 months (if you are lucky) Pics of Hobby city owners plane before and after. Decided he'd had enough and turned it into a submarine at high speed. SA guy, previously represented NZ in world precision flying comps (second) shame, very clever guy and nice with it. You never know!

5 years ago by jbkiwi

Forum

Workshop

Perfect hobby ma, I'm in the wrong country!. We used to have a lot of small new lathes for sale here in machinery outfits for around $1200 NZ but I haven't seen any for a while. I could do with a small lathe especially for boat stuff. We had a Triumph 2000 (lathe not car) and a Bridgeport mill and all the gear when I was in the site services dept in the big woodworking co I worked for. I made good use of those, plus in my workshop I had 2 German RS2000 tool grinding ma which were great for touching up all your router bits and saw/ planer blades etc and a e mill which I reco'd when the other guys didn't want to use it. Made my sons cars' frame and running gear (all 10 speed bike gears modified etc', -everything adjustable for growth) while I was there . Sure great if you have the gear!

5 years ago by jbkiwi

Forum

Workshop

I was lucky that when my work was up grading ma if I could carry the old one I would have it and stashed it away for later use ,I got a pillar drill from the jewellery department because it wasn't drilling at 90° got it home and all that was wrong was the table hadn't been squared properly,still keep in contact with my old squad so if anything comes up they let me know they also keep loads of handy off cuts .will post some photos of the workshop interior when I get the gear moved in 👍keeping my fingers crossed a 3D printer might need upgraded😂😂😂or perchance a laser 🤞

5 years ago by marky

Forum

Workshop

I am doing exactly the same as you Doug. I am buying all of the items, including kits and ma, over the next two or three years ready for my retirement move to Hungary. I wish I could bring my factory ma with me. I have a 1 metre CNC machining centre along with a 16 electrode changer CNC spark eroder, Bridgeport mills, J&S grinders and others. I think my shed is a little small and possibly not enough power as the maximum single phase power supply here is only 32A. Small bench ma it is then.😊

5 years ago by MouldBuilder

Forum

Workshop

Looks good Doug. The ma are exactly what I had in mind. We need the ma Martin. You do not.

5 years ago by MouldBuilder

Blog

36'' Thames River Police Launch by Robbob

After the successful build of the ‘Vintage Model Works’ RAF Crash Rescue Tender I was asked by Mike Cummings of VMW if I would undertake to build a prototype of their new model with the aim of checking the construction method and the assembly instructions for accuracy before the kit is put into production. The model is a ‘Thames River Police Launch’ and is based on the original design by Phil Smith for the Veron company, this was a very popular model kit in the late 50’s and 60’s and sold for the princely sum of 43 shillings and tuppence, approximately £2.15 in today’s money but an equivalent cost of £48.50 in 1960. This design has been updated to accommodate electric propulsion and radio control by Colin Smith, the son of the original designer and it has been re-scaled to be 36” in length where the original was 24” which gives much more scope for detailing and provides more ‘hiding room’ for the drive, control systems and all the associated wiring. The kit produced by VMW uses the same construction techniques as the original and the materials are a combination of balsa and plywood both of which a laser and CNC cut for precision. The ply and balsa materials supplied are of very high quality as one would expect from VMW and all the stripwood for the , rubbing strakes and deck detailing is included, even the dowel required for the mast is in the box, very comprehensive! The kit also includes white metal fittings such as the fairleads and stanchions, and the searchlight and horns. The glazing for the windows comes in the kit too. The instruction sheet supplied is in need of revision as it is largely taken directly from the original as written by Phil Smith and some of the terminology needs updating, for instance the ply bottom and side skins are referred to as ‘strakes’ but I understand that a re-write of the instructions is in hand along with an updated plan showing the best positioning for the motor, prop-shaft, battery, ESC, receiver, rudder and servo. During construction I have added a few additional pieces of ply or balsa as reinforcement or supports and substituted some balsa parts for ply where I thought a stronger material would be better. I also added some hatches to give access to the wiring at the bow and the rudder & servo at the stern but largely I have not gone ‘off plan’ to any extent. The pictures show the model in it’s present state (Nov 2018) and is ready for painting and finishing.

6 years ago by robbob

Forum

EeZeBilts From Keil Kraft

"...I'd rather cough up a bit more and know that I could do something with it!.." Quite right! When buying, people need to understand the important features of a product, and with new technology it is easy for the advertisers to conceal these. For a CNC cutter, stiffness is very important, particularly if you are going to cut metal. The machine must not deform appreciably when it puts a strong force on the workpiece. It also needs adequately powerful stepper motors to put that force on. and, of course, it needs to move the cutting head to all parts of the workpiece. I was interested to see that the spec states 'max travel distance' - I would have expected it to say 'max cutting dimensions', and wonder if these are less than the figures quoted. At least we can specify a cutting area ambiguously, so that modellers can understand what they are getting. I would guess that 1ftx1ft cutting area would be fine for most aeromodellers, while 1ftx1yd is more what boat modellers want. But it is easy for an individual to chose. Motor power requirement is harder to define - it depends so much on the leverage designed into the mechanics. Screws have more advantage than belts, for instance. And if you are only count to cut softwoods you can get away with much less power than cutting steel! Usually I would like to see the steppers having between 5000 and 10,000 gf·cm of torque - though that is a 'piece of string'. Rigidity is even harder to estimate. You can get some feel when the seller says that this machine will not cut metals, or 'is an engraving machine'. The other indicator is weight - rigid ma are going to be much more massive. If the frame is light it will bend under stress. Though if you are using a laser...

5 years ago by DodgyGeezer

Forum

EeZeBilts From Keil Kraft

Yep, that's what I thought. OK for formers or bulkheads on airyplanes, but useless for a boat without a considerable extension. Anyway we should be encouraging people to make stuff conventionally and just use ma to save time perhaps when they get to be our age! But come the glorious powercuts, brothers and sisters, they'll all be f***ed and we'll all be knifing away happy as Larry. Martin

5 years ago by Westquay

Forum

EeZeBilts From Keil Kraft

"....I am looking forward to the next stage....." There will now be a short intermission while I sort out other things, and I suspect that a build will start sometime in September. Or later! In the meantime, this thread has introduced a number of issues apart from describing the egg-box structure that Ernie Webster used in the KK EeZeBilt series. It suggests that if CAD packages are used for model boat design then the plans created can readily be shared with other modellers over the Web, and shows that personal CNC ma costing a few hundred pounds are a useful supporting workshop tool for this process. Any comments on the above points would be read with interest!

5 years ago by DodgyGeezer

Forum

Water Jets

"...DG if you have a 3d printer you must have the design software for it too - otherwise its useless ..." I said I 'can get one printed'. Dodgy Geezers can call in favours from all sorts of places! And not only plastic deposition ma either - stereo lithography or selective laser sintering (if you want to 3-D print in tungsten) would be available through university contacts. As would design modification...Though, given how long it took me to get a pair of rather specialist gears lapped the last time I wanted a set, I would match RN's comment in saying that I wouldn't hold my breath!

5 years ago by DodgyGeezer

Response

Re: 40'' Seaplane Tender, new build P

Not sure if I can put much more up front Rob, it balances just in front of the motors now so will probably need a bit of rear ballast. I'll see how it floats before getting too carried away, although still working on the smoke out the exhaust idea (have 3 smoke ma to experiment with.)

5 years ago by jbkiwi

Forum

Magnetic motors

Much like what they have done with washing ma. I'm amazed at how quiet a direct-drive machine is on full spin....

5 years ago by DodgyGeezer

Forum

Boat retrieval

There are a number of commercial 'missing signal' units available. Fly boys use them to set controls to default safety, or sound a beeper for finding a lost aircraft. I believe that there are some specific ones for subs. Washing ma and boilers both have pressure detection units inside. This is what a typical one looks like. They are mechanical microswitches operated by a diaphragm. The blue screw sets the pressure at which it operates. They could form the basis for an independent safety system - emergency blow with a Sparklets cylinder, for instance, or releasing a 'sub down' tethered buoy.....

5 years ago by DodgyGeezer

Forum

CNC boat kits...?

Anyone into CNC, or perhaps looking to get into it? I am wondering about putting my plans out as G Code, and it would be useful to have a discussion about the practicalities. For instance, what bed size do people use? Model boat plans are a bit specialist for most CNC boards. They worry about cutting hard materials - we mainly use balsa and ply. Their ma are usually square - ours would need to be long and thin. They use big commercial routers and spindles - we could get away with smaller motors and dental burrs. I picked up one of these over Christmas, and am currently going through the learning curve. But it doesn't seem to be all that difficult.... https://amberspyglass.co.uk/store/index.php?seo_path=eshapeoko-cnc-milling-machine-mechanical-kit

5 years ago by DodgyGeezer

Forum

CNC boat kits...?

"...To prevent parts falling out, There is a low tack film sheet that airbrush painters users that you could stick to the under side of the wood...." There may well be. But it turns out to be easy to just specify a cutting depth which has exactly the same effect. I was surprised at how precise these ma can be. And I'm running off such archaic software that I would have to do tabs all manually - a lot of work....

5 years ago by DodgyGeezer

Forum

CNC boat kits...?

A strong magnet would work - but in fact I have found that: - cutting 1/16" and 1/8" balsa sheet - using a 0.5mm cutting tool and a 12v boat motor the sideways cutting forces are sufficiently small for a simple raised lip around the cutting table to hold the sheet in place. One difficulty with passing round files of 'cutting instructions' to people so that they can create their own kits is that the cutting ma are all different. They will all accept 'G-Code' of some kind, but that code effectively says things like 'Go to position 25"x2" and cut a circle radius 2 inches'. Now, if you have a machine that only has a 10" cutting bed, you can't do that. You have to reposition the part so that it fits onto your cutter. So I've passed a DXF file to Nick - this is a CNC file with the shapes drawn on it. He will have to take each shape and position it on his machine where he want to cut. I have designed my machine to be able to take a standard sheet of 4"x36" balsa, because I expect to do most of my cutting that way. If other people have cutting beds which can do this, i can pass them cutting files directly. Another difficulty with cutting everything out of a single sheet is that one part may fall out of the sheet while cutting is going on in another part of the sheet. The best way I have found to avoid this is to not cut completely through the balsa sheet - leave a small gap of about 5 thou. Then you can easily push the shapes out later...

5 years ago by DodgyGeezer

Forum

3D Printing.

Go for it! If you get one in kit form it will keep the costs down, with the added advantage of learning how the machine works as you build it. Prusa probably do the best kits on the market, pricey but decent European quality. Tronxy or Creality are good e ma starting at around 150 for something decent enough to get you going. e quality has come on in leaps and bounds over the last few years and they have listened to the community and made improvements accordingly. And then comes the endless hours of fun 'upgrading'. There are plenty of on line forums and social media groups for advice and assistance, so for the price of a boat kit you can add a whole new dimension to your modelling skills. Not just modelling either, there is a thousand and one things you can do. For example, I replaced a £15 button on the washing machine in half an hour with 20 pence worth of plastic.

5 years ago by Nickthesteam

Forum

CNC boat kits...?

".......I am on a bitof a learning curve at the moment........" A few lessons I learned: 1 - Get a good, solid base-board which isn't warped. The local timber yard may have off-cuts of 3/4" ply. You will want to assemble the mechanics on a proper base, and it helps to have it available first. You will want to paint it anyway, so it will need time to dry. 2 - Get a dial indicator. An easy way to check for precision in assembly is to attach a dial indicator to the end of the Z axis and run it over the base board. It's good for other fault-finding and calibration as well. There are cheap ones on Ebay. 3 - Plan out all the wiring. I put my limit switches in as an afterthought, and found that I had wires which couldn't go in the places I wanted them to go. 4 - Wiring loom control. Consider Drag Chains, Heat-shrink tubing and Braiding. All items are very cheap from Ebay. If you don't put the wiring in at assembly you won't be able to put it in later once everything is connected up... 5 - If you use a drag chain for the USB connection, you will either have to make sure that it's wide enough to take a USB plug passing through it, or cut the plug off, pass it through and re-solder it afterwards. If you do the latter, note that the shielding in a USB cable is aluminium, and won't solder. So you will need to use a connector plug which has a physical connection to the shielding, because interference can ba a problem on these ma....

5 years ago by DodgyGeezer

Forum

CNC boat kits...?

While it helps to be accurate, the final trimming of the work holder is done by the machine itself. Here I am cutting the edges of the holder so that a sheet of 4" balsa will be neatly held. That's about 1.6mm wider than a 100mm sheet, so I will need a packing strip if I use the metric sizes. It's surprising how precise these ma are - I'm moving the cutter in by 0.1mm each pass, but it can move in much smaller steps - one microstep is 6.25 microns, which is about 2.5 ten thousandths of an inch. The balsa will be held between some raised sides made of hard balsa, so that they can be cut easily by the machine if I get a command wrong and move the cutter out of the work area. I expect to put a 2mm felt layer below so that the cutter will have something soft if it goes completely through the workpiece.

5 years ago by DodgyGeezer

Forum

Bending balsa

its a VERY well known technique its how we used to make rolled balsa bodies for rubber powered competition airplanes. Back in the day we used spent developing solutions from blue print ma ( ammonia solution). Rolling the balsa sheet around a snooker queue. That is how tight a curve you can get if you give it long enough to soak. Full strength takes a couple of weeks to recover.

5 years ago by Haverlock

Forum

CNC boat kits...?

Well, I've got my eShapeoko. I bought all the electronics and motors as well as the mechanical kit from the same source, which meant that I didn't have to do all the work to check compatibility. Total cost, including VAT and postage, was £563 - which is remarkably cheap for a machine with this size cutting bed. if I had wanted to save money and use the free LinuxCNC with a e breakout board I could have dropped the price to around £400 - probably below £350 if I had gone for e Ebay steppers as well. There are more things to get, of course. Tooling and workholding are the standard extras for any big workshop machine. The eShapeoko is designed to hold a Dremel clone, but I will probably be using a more delicate tool to cut out thin balsa shapes for EeZeBilts. The eShapeoko is quite capable of milling metals, but I don't expect to do that very often. So I can't see the total price rising by a lot - perhaps another £20 or so before I can be cutting my first parts. The first thing I did when I got the parts was assemble them roughly to check that it all went together properly. Here is a shot - minus the wiring and controls, of course - to give an idea of the size of the thing. With it I can cut keel lengths up to about 36". The maximum cutting width is about 14". I can easily expand it in length by adding longer rails, but this represents a balance between what would be useful and what would fit easily in the shed! Assembling it is just like making a Meccano kit. Which should present no difficulty to someone of a certain age...! For anyone interested this is the site I got it from: https://amberspyglass.co.uk

5 years ago by DodgyGeezer

Response

Cabin detail part 3 (instrument panels)

I have all the ma and more but I cannot do that. You have a real skill. I love your fixture ideas. One day I will try to machine some similar parts when I start my 46" RAF Crash Tender. I intend to use this build blog as my guide. Thanks for all of the in depth explanations of how you achieve such detail using every trick in the book and many that are yet to be written. I love reading this build. Really clever. 😊👍👍👍

5 years ago by MouldBuilder

Forum

CNC boat kits...?

I'm thinking about interchanging boat plans as CNC files - so I'm thinking about the sort of ma people are going to have at home. There are a lot of 'cheap e' ma on EBay for £200 up to about £500 - but these will be used for engraving, and will have cutting tables of about 8" square. Boat modellers really need a long axis. The Shapeoko is an 'open source' hardware design - much like the Rep-Rap, and the great thing about it is that you can specify the axis sizes - so you can have a machine which is a foot by six feet if you wish. I have just bought a UK kit for one called the eShapeoko - 1m x 500mm - cost about £500. But there is so much to consider - calibrating the machine, choosing a spindle drive, picking a software set....

5 years ago by DodgyGeezer

Forum

CNC boat kits...?

We used a package called aplicam, it suited all the ma once, you told it the machine zero settings it worked it all out for you. And all we had to do was put dimensions on to the pdf files, or trace using a graphics tablet. It was the best system I used in all my engineering life from school to retirement. I wish I had a copy of it now, it was originally DOS operated in the 70's, and when I retired it was up to Windows 10. Cheers Colin.

5 years ago by Colin H

Forum

CNC boat kits...?

Ah - I've never used any commercial packages - just Open Source. I presume that your company matched their software to the ma they had. i'm finding that different home ma seem to have slightly different command sets - for homing, for instance....

5 years ago by DodgyGeezer

Forum

CNC boat kits...?

Using downloaded pdfs, I use a reverse engineering package to get my cnc program (in G code). it worked with all the machinery in our factory, laser, oxy,/acetylene profiler, pulsa and proteus punching ma and also cnc machining centres. Most commercial cnc programs come with reverse engineering. Hope this helps you. Cheers Colin.

5 years ago by Colin H

Forum

CNC boat kits...?

Not much point uploading a .pdf, unless it has some unusual conversion software. CNC ma work off G Code. The work area is critical for model boat work. Typical parts are long and thin. The eShapeoko I am building is a nominal 1m x 500mm, which lets me do a 36" keel piece. I would like to put out G Code for cutting the EeZebilt boats, but am not sure how to standardise it so that many CNC ma will be able to use it. Different CNC controllers seem to use subtly different G Code commands...

5 years ago by DodgyGeezer

Forum

Being Sociable.

Hello to Rick and Peejay, Rick this bit is for you, Good to hear you have a steam engine fitted, and are contemplating a bench run to see how long it will run on a boiler full of water. it will bench run longer than on the water as the engine has no loading, I would recommend you fit a gas cut off valve to be on the safe side. I once years ago ran out of water and had to watch the boiler turn its wooden lagging to charcoal. No major damage was done but it did smell a bit for some time. Peejay may I suggest that you Google the likes of Microcosm and other e manufacturers of model steam engines, there is an awful lot out there you will be surprised, try for a twin double acting side valve as they are very efficient, and will run on only 20 - 30 PSI, plus a 1/2" bore twin cylinder will easily power a one metre length hull. Regards to you both, Gary.

5 years ago by GaryLC

Forum

All hooked up, nowt happens...

Hello all, since I keep the weekend for me I thought I'd try hooking up all the lecktrickery for my brushless motor. It's one of they outrunning tiddlers. I have a 3S LiPo which is firing on all cylinders at 3.79 volts per. I plug it in to the ESC, some e one I got recently. I soldered wires to a T type plug that fits the Overlander battery pack. I'd already soldered the 2mm connectors to the other end of the ESC wires and protected them with heat shrink. Plugged tested (6.2 volts) Nimhs into Rx and it starts flashing, then plugged ESC into a channel and the motor, yes , the MOTOR starts beeping! How the hell can that happen? I plug the battery in and the motor beeps even quicker! What on earth is happening? Needless to say, no rotation, buzzing, whistling, just beeps from a motor, clear as you like! Please help. I am already teetering on the edge of getting rid of all my working stuff as it takes up space and is such a damned faff! But what I have, I would like to work. Just long enough to prove it all. Martin

6 years ago by Westquay

Forum

All hooked up, nowt happens...

Welcome to the magic world of cheap e clone R/C equipment!

5 years ago by DodgyGeezer

Forum

internet sales

I have been reading about how the high street shops are suffering in regards to sales.I wish to plead guilty as i purchase most of my model boat kits and parts online ! The shop keepers have high rates and running costs etc when compared to some online retailers .I purchased online a 4 channel transmitter,receiver and 30amp esc from china for around £40 as this would cost double from a uk retailer its no wonder there are very few model shops left but as an Oap i look after the pennies.All the e parts are excellent and work well. I would prefer to buy local and enjoy a walk around a well stocked shop but difference in local retail prices and imported items is now too much.Model shops of my youth are sorely missed.

5 years ago by keithtindley

Forum

All hooked up, nowt happens...

This 'Cheap e' design, according to the documentation, seems to come in several different (nominal) amp ratings, and, interestingly, in a 'standard car' or in a 'crawler' version. The one for crawlers - slow rock-climbing cars - is also recommended for tanks, and has a jumper giving the sort of instant reverse we would use for boats. This looks like an example... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Waterproof-Brushed-1060-60A-ESC-For-RC-1-10-Crawler-Car-Tank-Model-Accessory/362488539332?epid=13025976857&hash=item54660028c4:g:ybcAAOSwwdNb7rDO:rk:127:pf:0 Which might help if anyone's browsing cheap brandless ESCs...

5 years ago by DodgyGeezer

Forum

All hooked up, nowt happens...

Hi Steve, I have the same problem with the ESCs in my HSL. They are cheap e car models and can be a bit tricky to get into reverse quickly. I have found that either waiting a few seconds in neutral before trying reverse, or going to neutral and flicking the throttle forward a few clicks and back to neutral quickly (in .5 sec) usually sorts it. I think it may be that the motor stops somewhere that the cheaper ESCs can't detect (bit like an old car starter that hits the bald spot on the ring gear and you have to jog it a bit) so you have to move it slightly for it to 'see' it (maybe the capacitors also). Brushed ESCs don't have that problem as the brushes are in constant contact, rather than relying on correct positioning in Brushless motors. You will also find that some e motors are not timed/wound correctly, and you can feel weak or 'floaty' spots between certain magnets which may also cause a problem. Perhaps trying a higher or lower ESC timing by 1 step either way might help if you have that capability. if it works by just flicking the throttle method, you can just slow down as you come in and take you time finding reverse in a scale like manner (remember the PT109 movie where they went through the shed on the wharf) You can also try swapping the other pairs of wires on the motor (same direction but different pairs). if you are still not happy then it might be time as Doug said, for a better ESC with instructions. Get one which has all the programing features, (fwd, rev , timing, auto batt detection (lipos or NmH etc) starting mode- ie soft,hard, brake etc) this will give you plenty of options for adjustment. Doesn't have to be a marine one, a good known brand car/buggy one will do and if you have any heat problems you can always put a mini fan on it. Water cooled marine ESCs are really only for high amp high speed setups. My 36"HSL has 2x 30A car ESCs running 2x 28/45 2000kv water cooled motors and ESCs never get even warm. Pictured are the ESCs I am using from HK which have an output plug for a fan if needs be. The 3rd pic is the brushless ESC types (EBay, AliExpress) I am using, which have no problems with reverse transition (see vid section re Thornycroft MTB maneuvering) also the HSL vids to give you an idea of how these brushless ESCs perform even with the minor reversing problem. Hope you get it sorted.

5 years ago by jbkiwi

Response

Excelsior

Hi Joe, In answer to your queries, Hull was built in the bread and butter system using deal sealed inside and out with coats of yacht varnish and painted using acrylic. Subsequent models of Wherries and e Junks were plank on frame using 1/8” balsa strips sealed with resin,varnish inside and out, with again acrylic paint. Balsa easier to work with to gain experience - reasonable effectiveness both in carvel and clinker planking. All the best and good sailing. Gascoigne

5 years ago by Gascoigne

Response

Upper & Lower

Hi Robbob, thanks for the heads up on London Model Engineering Exhibition at 'Ally Pally' in January 2019. I am hoping to be there, Just to see your masterpiece !

5 years ago by mturpin013

Response

Upper & Lower

Hi Doug. All credit due to Phil Smith and his original design for that actually... Hi rolfman2000 I hope SWMBO is good to her word as I happen to know that the kit is now available to buy from Vintage Model Works 😊👍 I'm told the price is £185.00 + P&P and there's also an optional stand/carrying box which is CNC cut to the hull profile for an additional £10.00 That sounds a bit of a bargain too. Contact Mike Cummings at VMW for more information: http://www.vintagemodelworks.co.uk/ I'm hoping to have the boat in an advanced state of completion in time for the London Model Engineering Exhibition at 'Ally Pally' in January 2019. It will be on the St.Albans & District Model Engineering Society club stand alongside my RAF Crash Tender. Rob.

5 years ago by robbob

Response

Upper & Lower

Oh how this brings memories flooding back from 50 years ago, seeing the same construction as my original Veron Police launch (that's sat in the garage), going together. I bet the fit is a darned sight better than it was all those years ago, what with cad laser cut pieces and cad designs as well. I'm following this with even more interest, as I have permission of SWMBO to get the new bigger kit when it becomes available. Fingers crossed, not long now. Keep the installments coming Robbob. Best wishes, Dave W 😊

5 years ago by rolfman2000

Response

Upper & Lower

Simple Rob, Instead of attempting some almost impossible bends of thin (0.5mmx5mm )planks, I'll cut it out of 3 interlocking pieces (each side) of 1.5mm mahog sheet. Will probably end up looking more like it would have been done on an original 😊 Cheers, Doug 😎

5 years ago by RNinMunich

Response

Upper & Lower

Thats coming on nicely and as you say it looks quite a rigid construction. How much of a bonus is a lightweight construction V an all ply construction as I assume you may have to put some ballast in the finished model. not thtat I have any experience on the subject

5 years ago by mturpin013

Response

Upper & Lower

Excellent Rob👍 Thanks for showing me how to make the mahogany caprail for my cutter 😊 "More power to your "😁 Cheers Doug 😎

5 years ago by RNinMunich