Forum

Guess unless your doing plumbing or wiring, not much to learn from. Hehe, Learning to tin, get globs of solder, let the solder run, costly way to learn! Oh well, at least Im making progress. Thanks, again, to all who have commented.👍

5 years ago by retirement-hobby

Forum

Ok, needs some advise. I've purchased cooper tubing (1/8 sq & rnd, 1/16 rnd for building my air boat shrouds. I've also purchased a digit solder iron so that I can get accurate heat ranges. I've searched for "how to solder" on the subject, but have only found plumbing references. Would prefer to not use propane! Joints are expected to be contact joints, not one piece inside another. Would appreciate some feed back, wanting to get started, but not to waste material learning!😉

5 years ago by retirement-hobby

Response

Air Boats

my very first project! This is the start of a shroud.

5 years ago by retirement-hobby

Blog

Mast assembly

The supplied mast is of white metal and although OK it has a number of minus points for me. 1- The mast does not lend its self to being hinged. 2- It really needs navigation light on top and the supplied casting is not suitable for this. 3- wiring needs to be hidden, not easy with the casting 4- it’s quite heavy Having said all that it’s ok if you don’t want my wish list. So on with the manufacture of a replica, I chose brass as the preferred material because it’s easy to silver and soft solder. The main legs are made from 6mm round tube, which I squeezed in my machine vice to an oval shape to look like the castings, each of the ends were then squeezed again at 90 degrees to allow then to join to the cross mid-section. I made some brass inserts for the hinged end from 2mm brass sheet, which are bent by 25 degrees to allow the hinge mechanism to sit at 90 degrees to the cabin roof, these are drilled and tapped 8BA. These pieces actually block the end of the oval tube and need to have a 2mm slot milled in them to allow the wires to exit the tube; these are soft soldered in place later. Two feet were made from two pieces of 2mm brass plate the base plate being slotted to accept the upright and finally silver soldered together. (A point here for silver is to use as little solder as possible and allow it to flow with the heat around the joint this means that no filing is needed. I find it’s also good practice to quench the part when nearly cool to break the glass like residue of the flux then just steel wool is required to clean the parts). The feet upstands were then drilled 8BA clearance and the base fixing holes drilled the same size. The cross mid-section is made from 1mm brass sheet and is bent through 360 degrees whilst placing a 6mm round bar in the centre to create a hole for the top mast. A small wooden former was used as the piece was pressed together in the machine vice, this was then silver soldered to give stability and then filed to shape. This piece has to accommodate the wires passing through, so again a 2mm slot is milled from each leg location to the centre to create passage up to the top mast. The top mast is just stock tubing which then has a turned top with four 5mm holes machined at 90 degrees to accommodate the LED. This is a 5mm Flat top wide angle LED this will direct the light out of the four holes. Finally the cross piece, again stock tube with small ball finials at each end soft soldered in place and tapped 10 BA for the pulley blocks. All pieces now made, it’s time to assemble the parts using a combination of soft and epoxy resin. The wire that I used was silicon sheaved, and when I soldered the legs to the mid-section and lower hinge piece I made sure there was enough wire to pull through to check if the process had damaged the wire, but it hadn’t. So having soldered the LED, the top was epoxied to the upper tube and the tube epoxied to the mid-section. Finally the mid-section was filled using Milliput but first putting some Vaseline on the wires to avoid them being stuck should I ever have to rewire the unit. Next the cross beam was added and epoxied in place. The bottom of the legs looked plain compared with the cast version so I have made some thin gauge brass covers with mock bolts as per the original. The whole assembly was cleaned up ready for a first coat of etch primer, and white primer, followed later with a final coat of appliance white

5 years ago by mturpin013

Forum

Thanks Haverlock, I did research and have material to make use safer. Still practicing with the iron. its an adjustable heat and am expermenting with different heats. Got the solder to run finally.

5 years ago by retirement-hobby

Forum

if your not used to using a torch please make sure whatever your resting the work on will not burn!! Oh and please remember things stay hot for longer than you might think cooling a soft soldered joint with water is not a good idea allow it to cool slowly. Get a couple of cheap pairs of pliers and some rubber bands to use for clamps if the parts are small and light enough a 3rd hand is useful https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2047675.m570.l1313.TR3.TRC0.A0.H0.Xthird+hand.TRS0&_nkw=third+hand&_sacat=0 some examples there.

5 years ago by Haverlock

Forum

Most important make sure the part you are is clean if we all learnt by our mistakes we would all be experts 😋

5 years ago by ColinT

Forum

If you use plumber's 'active' flux, all your joints will work.

5 years ago by DodgyGeezer

Forum

Thanks for the comments. Bought some brass and a propane torch, going to try that.

5 years ago by retirement-hobby

Forum

it seems hard at first but like so many things once you have the hang of things it does get easier. One thing I would say is avoid the lead free solders for starters received wisdom is that its harder to use. For the amounts we use the health hazard is vanishingly small just do not let any kids teeth on your joints.

5 years ago by Haverlock

Forum

Let solder follow the heat👍

5 years ago by onetenor

Response

Cabin detail part 3 (instrument panels)

I look with amazement at some of the work that these people do on here. I visualise things in my head but do not have the tools or the nerve to even attempt doing them. No lathe or decent iron or good enough workshop or the money to start with. How I envy the work they do. And as for some of the electronics< i'm lost. Awesome springs to mind on it all.

5 years ago by BOATSHED

Forum

From his earlier pictures, I think "retirement-hobby" makes static models rather than functioning power models... For a static model I'm not sure why solder is being considered - though it is a good strong way to join brass. Superglue and plastic pipe might be adequate....

5 years ago by DodgyGeezer

Forum

If your using an electric iron avoid " active" fluxes if your willing to use a flame then good old fashioned " killed spirits" is as fine a flux as your going to find for soft . Thinking about things if your using an IC engine and your making a prop shroud then please consider hard ( silver ) solder. Just think about the effect of a failed joint and a rapidly spinning prop. if your joining tubes at app 90 degrees think about drilling the tube your going to join to and fitting a spigot to solder the joining tube to. Making a good mechanical joint is an almost essential requirement for a sound long lasting soldered joint.

5 years ago by Haverlock

Forum

Sound advice from Haverlock and Dodgy geezer! I have found La-co flux (from plumbers merchants) a fabulous "active " flux. La-co spray-on heat mat ( a gel) prevents heat travel away from heated area. An unsupported butt joint is inherently weak. I would suggest some sort of supporting insert into the tube to maintain the flush appearance,but with added strength.Eg: a smaller close fitting tube of smaller diameter/section.

5 years ago by drspock

Forum

As mentioned before, I'm a great fan of plumbers acid flux. Yes, you have to take care where you put it, but it goes into small cracks and just dissolves the oxide layer, making a doddle. For pipework you will need adequate heat. it is hard to get heat out of a contact iron onto a rounded surface. Gas flames are MUCH better at heating pipes. The small gas torches come with a small pencil flame which is easy to control and direct. Things like this, for instance: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Butane-Micro--Welding-Blowlamp/dp/B004U8UALW Remember that metal conducts heat. if you solder at one end of a tube while the other is in contact with, say, polystyrene foam, then the foam will melt...

5 years ago by DodgyGeezer

Forum

First rule of is clean it all then clean it again ohh and then clean. Seriously use an abrasive to make sure joint areas are clear of oxides. Presuming your using soft solder get some rosin flux https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Soft-Solder-Paste--Flux-Grease--Accessories-D01850/111141455814?hash=item19e08c07c6:g:-cYAAOSwnFZXUiS8:rk:13:pf:0 one example. Try and make your joints really good fits. Solder will wick into a close fitting joint. if possible " Tin" the individual parts first that is getting a layer of solder onto the area to be soldered before final assembly. Then try to fix your parts together in some kind of clamp they need to be held still until the solder cools. NEVER cool the joint quickly! Allow it to cool naturally that way the joint will be at its strongest. Make sure your heat source is strong enough the solder should melt and run freely. if your brass tube honestly I would use a small butane torch but also I would if possible use hard ( silver) solder since if you chose the right one it is a match to brass and makes the joint look like one piece. Hope this is of some help.

5 years ago by Haverlock

Forum

Being Sociable.

To Michael, as I can't really ignore your question although that does not apply to all comments, I am hoping this information helps you to find what you are looking for, and gets you involved with boiled water vapour. Just a little apprehensive about using that word now, (S***m.) Google: Paddleducks, then click on Links, then click on S***m Engines. you will hopefully be pleasantly surprised and that is only half of it. Check out USE an oscillating single acting engine assembled and machined at £38.00, you would need to couple two together to make it self starting. Boilers, more expensive than engines, your best bet would be, buy it in kit form and find a good gas welder to put it together for you, a DIY type gas torch won't do it, and it requires silver and an awful lot of heat. Hoping this helps. Regards, Gary.

5 years ago by GaryLC

Forum

Shroud for Model Air Boat

Copper will solder well (though it will take some heat!). But unless you use a very light and flimsy gauge it will be very heavy. Brass will solder well - don't know the size of prop you want - may be a bit expensive. You can bend thin sheet round a former to make any diameter shroud. Aluminium tube should do, if you can get an off-cut the size you want. Don't play around with aluminium , which is a specialist job - but small pop rivets will work perfectly... We don't know the size you are interested in, so it's hard to advise on materials. But if your boats are static models, card or thin plastic sheet will be fine. A slice from a plastic squash bottle may fit the bill?

5 years ago by DodgyGeezer

Forum

Shroud for Model Air Boat

Thanks for the comments, Ive used the glues, they work, but dont afford much movement. is my attempt, materials seem to be aluminium, copper or brass tubes.

5 years ago by retirement-hobby

Forum

New to Forum

Hello fellow model boaters. I'm new here so forgive my posting mistakes. Just wanted to introduce myself, I've been building model boats (static) for about 5 years. I mostly build my concept of a boat, however I have built from some plans. I build small models, 10" is my biggest and most are under that. I also have a fascination with air boats and have built several. Does anyone deal with metal components, having a problem with material. Usually I draw what I want to build, make templates, transfer to balsa, and build. Are any of the clubs focused on non RC models? Looking to learn and share!👍

5 years ago by retirement-hobby

Blog

Painting

I must admit that the painting process is not my favourite. it takes so long and time is always at a premium due to work commitments. I rush it a bit so that the build can continue. I fitted all of the windows into the deck structure and covered them with the low tack film. I then primed, two coats, painted, two coats followed by two coats of lacquer. I am quite pleased with the results even though it is not perfect. I decided not to fit the deck until all of the electronics, including the ESC, battery and receiver had been installed. This is because one of the big problems with this model is the lack of room to work in once the deck is in place. Another problem I encountered was the fitting of the tiller cranks onto the rudders. if the instructions are followed, it is almost impossible the adjust or remove them once the deck has been fitted. I solved the problem by reversing the cranks and bending the connecting wire to miss a bulkhead support. The screws can now be reached from the deck opening. I have now completed the majority of the painting and have started to assemble the remaining parts. Currently I am doing the wiring of the lighting and making a couple of circuit boards. There are a lot of wires involved so to reduce the amount I have decided to us e a common negative. (Cannot remember what this is called right now). There are still a lot of wires and they are mostly coming out from the cabin structure. I have decided to introduce some nine pin connectors to make cabin removal a lot easier. This is quite a big job and will take a little while. I really enjoy this bit. The results add that little bit of extra satisfaction when it all works as it should.🤓 The top search light assembly came as a bit of a surprise. it is manufactured from nickel silver plate and requires together. Even though I am a precision engineer, I have not soldered a box since I was at school. Once I stopped burning my fingers with the heat, I quite enjoyed the assembly even though it would have been useful to have an extra hand and took the best part of today to complete.😤 I can honestly say that I have enjoyed most of this build and even though earlier on I was thinking to avoid Aero-naut models in the future, I have changed my mind. They are very cleverly designed. I expect to complete this model some time in March. That would be the first for me to complete in recent times even though I have two others on the go and one new one in its box ready for a Summer start.😊

5 years ago by MouldBuilder

Forum

New to Forum

A note on plumbers acid flux (Bakers fluid) yes it does work however don't leave any instruments/equipment you value in the vicinity of the process because it will be as rusty as hell the day after. Other activities soft and silver 1 cleanliness is paramount 2 correct solder and flux 3 temperature or your iron or gas torch 4 (soft) only apply solder when your work is at temperature 5 (silver) apply solder when your work is at temperature and just before make sure your solder is introduced to the flame and is fluxed . 4 finally use a minimal amount of solder it reduces number 5 5 clean the joint PS if silver before the job has totally cooled quench it in cold water, this will make the flux easier to remove otherwise it hardens like glass. Good look

5 years ago by mturpin013

Forum

New to Forum

well back in the day (when Noah was building the ark) and I was serving me time :-) we used to have a golden rule about ferrous and non-ferrous metals and solder - Ferrous metals and alloys contain iron and they tend to rust; non-ferrous materials do not. . such as brass, copper and so forth and these are the easy ones to solder with soft solder. Ferrous metails which contain iron as we have said - we need to use a harder solder such as brazing silver solder and then we are into the field of Welding. Basically the art of is to find out the type of materials we intend to join together and then we can come up with the appropriate method. Stainless steel is a different world altogether and so is aluminium. Hell of a subject to get into 🤓

5 years ago by JOHN

Forum

New to Forum

Hello I myself think is practice doing clean surfaces are the first step flux, type of solder and a good iron . Holding the pieces in jigs or clamps will assist in the final out- come. At first it seems very hard but practice will prove to help and becomes a little easier. Rick

5 years ago by Newby7

Forum

New to Forum

Re there are many tutorials on line showing all aspects of but basically means clean surfaces correct fluxes and solder and above all sufficient heat.👍

5 years ago by onetenor

Blog

Rudder location, blocking, fabrication

Looking at the proper rudder location, I added some 1/4 triangular hardwood blocking to both sides of the centerboard. Needed blocking to drill through. Was able to pickup the work board and all fit under my drill press to keep the hole plumb. Rudder post will be a 1/4 brass rod with brass tube as a bushing. See photo, brass tube in hull. Next, I built a rudder substructure assembly which will be covered later with a wood or styrene full size rudder to fit the era. Took some very thin brass and formed it around the post, some brass plate and soldered as seen in photos. Brass heats up and solders well using my station.

5 years ago by Joe727

Blog

Tin Can Madness

Hello, Could not resist starting an experiment with an all metal container. This is a small tomato sauce tin can out of the pantry. First time I tried tin to brass and it is very easy, with flux, to do. Will run test on both smokers and publish photos. As noted, it is a good idea to add a fuse between the batteries and the powers switch as these heaters tend to draw 2 amps or more, be careful with wire gauge as well. Danger of fire.... Joe

5 years ago by Joe727

Forum

U49 mclaren clockwork submarines.

The soldered edge along the keel is originally the outer edge of the elipse,after rolling out the dents whilst its still a bowl,I place it upside down on a flat surface and mark all the high spots and gradually trim down untill it sits perfectly flat. Then carefully cut the thing in half,this flat outer edge becomes the keel and the cut edge becomes the gunwale.The keel edge is simply bent using flat pliers to give two flat mating surfaces,after any overlaps are filed away. it sounds complicated but its quite easy to do hope this gives you an idea.Cheers Neil.

5 years ago by mactin

Blog

Cabin detail part 4 Steering wheel

The steering wheel is a simple 3-spoke design; first, I machined a ring and a centre boss in brass. I then made a wooden jig to hold the parts in the correct position whilst , this consisted of a turned block with a recess to locate the O/D, and the taper towards the centre hole to give a “dish effect” that locates the centre boss. This just leaves the three arms to machine; these are cut using a slitting saw to cut a 3mm wide strip from a piece of 1.5 mm brass plate. These are the cut to length ready for soft and then the parts are all cleaned and placed in the jig, ideally a minimum of solder is used to minimise cleaning afterwards. The finishing/fettling I find is always easier if you use a sharp craft knife to slice any excess solder away as it doesn’t easily mark the brass in the same way you might using Swiss files, finally finish with 600 and 1000 w&d before priming ready for topcoat of black gloss. The first wheel I decided was too small so the pics are of that construction; the final larger wheel is in the last 3 pictures

5 years ago by mturpin013

Blog

1-35 Scale Schenllboot By TeeJay

Hi all for the second blog report on the schnellboot I am going to go over the rudder a propeller shaft assembly in more detail. The first stage was to make the rudders which were made of brass ,and having taken note of what has been said about the increase in size needed for the kit by other members I have increased the size of the rudders by 50% so that they have more effect and hopefully the boat will be more agile .I fitted 3mm treaded rod on to the rudder and in a 4mm flanged tube to reinforce the brass rod. The second stage was to make and fit 5mm flanged tube in the location for the rudders in the boat, these were made to be above the water line and will be sealed in place to reduce the possibility of leaks. These were fitted to a rudder platform inside the boat which was fitted to the kit moulding for the rubbing strip that runs the length on the boat and secured by making resin blocks which were fitted with computer extension nuts. which were then superglue in place to secure the rudder platform. The rudders were then fitted in place and held in position with the tiller collars which were made from 8mm rod and fitted the tiller arms and locked in place with 3mm computer screws and ni-lock nuts, a connecting plate was then fitted to connect the three tillers together, I also fitted rubberised washers to seal the rudder tubes. The third stage was to make the propeller supports. The centre support was a direct copy of the kit part made of brass and fitted to the kit with a plate and screws (this plate and the rudder plate were made from galvanised steel) and will sealed with resin after the I test the boat for leaks. The port and starboard supports were made by taking the kit parts and cutting them in have along the joint line or mould seam this gave me a template ,which I used to make cross-section segments but I did alter the template by increasing the boss diameter to 10mm and extending the support legs so that the finished support could be fitted through the hull (the picture of these show the mk1 version where I forgot to allow for the 4mm prop shaft which has a 6mm tube) any way the boss of these segments were drilled out with a 7mm drill and a length of 7mm brass tube fitted through the boss to assemble the segments, all of which were coated in flux at this stage of the assembly which were riveted at both ends to hold it all together during , after the supports were then filed to the size and shape to resemble the kit parts as close as possible and fitted to the hull using a superglue and talcum powder mix and then I cast resin around the extensions to secure the prop supports in place. The fourth stage is the propeller shaft housing for the centre propeller housing I place a brass rod in a plastic straw and place in position in hull and using resin I sealed the hull with the rod in place this gave me a pilot hole for the centre prop shaft after I removed the brass rod. For the port and starboard shafts I used the kit parts which had hole place when assembled, this when I reinforced the housings ,the centre housing I glue 2mm of plasticard on each side and for the port and starboard I made a brass tube shroud which covered the housings which left gaps between the kit part and the brass which was filled by casting resin in the gap this increased the diameter to 10 mm so that there were little chance of breaking throw with the drill and finished these off by fill-in the outside with body filler and sanded to shape and finish . I then drilled through the pilot hole in the housings using very long extended drills and a wheel brace ( if I had use a power drill the heat would have melted the plastic of the kit and may have caused problems) I drill the shaft housings out 6mm them filed them out with 6mm file so that I could insert a length of 6mm brass tube. After all this was done I fitted a flanged bush made from 7mm tube and 2mm brass plate turned to 11mm to the ends or the propeller shaft housings. And now it is time I must ask for some help could anyone advise me on the length of propeller shafts, I know I can use a 300mm shaft for the centre shaft, but port and starboard will have to be longer. and I also need advice on selecting the motors, I want to use 4mm prop shaft with 35mm propellers. Any opinions welcome.

6 years ago by teejay

Response

Anteno 2 tug

mturpin, Thanks for the idea with the cooker hood or vent hood as we say in the states. Great idea and I too could use a better system to solder under, nice to combine both paint both and in one as I have just a tiny shop, Joe

5 years ago by Joe727

Response

Anteno 2 tug

Hi Dick, To 2nd plank or not to plank - your choice but regarding the improvised spray-booth - Your storage container, neat idea, may prevent you from colouring the immediate surroundings, but it won't stop the vapours, explosive fumes and overspray dust from rebounding back into the room. 😡 Ask me how I know 🤔 To prevent that your storage container needs an extractor fan coupled to a vent pipe leading to the great outside world! DIY nuts can construct such using the guts of an old vacuum cleaner. I was about to try that when I stumbled across a booth with extractor and vent pipe at a reasonable price on the German Conrad site. https://www.conrad.de/ Have used it to good effect on my Sea Scout restoration. 😊 In the attached pic one can see it behind the freshly sprayed hull of my Sea Scout. To the left is an additional filter/fan to absorb any overspray that flies out of the little booth. I also use that when with my ancient lead based multi-core solder. Happy modelling - but stay safe Guys 😉 Cheers, Doug 😎

5 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

MK5 14'' Skimmer Tinplate Clockwork Battleship

Ahoy Mateys, Definitely not a submarine, been raiding my recycling bin again with this one. Its an idea I had to mimic a riveted hull the tin plates are dotted with a hand awl prior to I think its sort of worked??? Cheers Neil mclaren clockwork submarines.

5 years ago by mactin

Response

HMS BRAVE BORDERER

Doug, you are probably correct and good thought regarding the polarised caps , but I was just thinking that if the battery input was going through a fuse system as it appears in Rowens photos (difficult to see) it may have caused a slight problem. I have seen mentions of up to 12" between batt and ESC being no problem at lower Amps. You might notice that one of the inputs was from a guy from Castle Creations (USA) which I thought would give a bit of weight to the information. I have always gone with the ESC manufacturers suggestions regarding wire length and have never had a problem in boats or planes (mainly in planes,-18 most 'converted' to electric from IC -3 capable of pulling 1200W) it's great to be able to chuck ideas and info around, as we can all pick something out of it all which will solve a problem, or perhaps stop us from toasting an electronic component or whatever. BTW, I saw somewhere that extending the wires could cause stuttering and that was one other reason for mentioning the info, as I know Rowen's had a problem with that. I'm sure it will be ok as is,- if its working fine, and it's not going to be run flat out every day it will probably last for years. Probably me thinking on the cautious side as my personal approach to building is to use the K.I.S.S method (may not be the flashest but usually keeps me out of trouble) Regarding the quality of ESCs, you will find that many have the same internal bits just with different cases and colours, (same with chargers) HK is bad for this. Many I have seen use an Atmega chip and you can tell differences by the programming method (some you have to do 1 step and disconnect power before the next step, others just with stick forward center back center etc. Most boards are made in China (Castle Creations and a few others being exceptions) and what you get depends on the quality of assembly/ etc in the plant they are made in (if you want to see how many of these items are made in China check out Made in China.com and search ESCs for example. I have cheap ESCs I've used in my planes for years with no probs which look like the HK Red Brick ESCs (except blue) and they are better than the TGY branded ones at 3x the price, and really let the power through !. Even CC have apparently made boards for HK with different cases as have Hobbywing. it's really a case of "you pays ya money and ya takes ya chances". in saying that you are pretty safe with Hobbywing, Tamya, SkyRc, or Castle Creations (USA) but there are other better non China ones around but a a much bigger price. Hope we aren't overloading you Rowen, you might have to get into the 'anti-freeze' to soothe the brain in that cold weather. Another site for you to check out which I have found to be very good, with prices to match HK is RCEcho.com (Hong Kong) Have bought most of my aircraft ESCs from them (around 28 from 30A-120A with no probs)

5 years ago by jbkiwi

Forum

All hooked up, nowt happens...

Thanks Doug, all this electrickery baffles me but I have managed to pass the first hurdle, the EC5 cannectors to the power leads! I'll post as things progress. Selwyn

5 years ago by rapidair65

Blog

Vintage Model Works 46'' RAF Crash Tender

Here's the history bit so pay attention... Many years ago as a boy in the fifth year of my north London secondary school, circa 1971, our woodwork class was given the option to make something of our own choice. Having mastered the majority of joints, wood turning, finishing techniques and the making of table lamps, stools and bookshelves etc. this seemed a good idea, so myself and a fellow classmate and model making chum asked if we could construct a model boat. The teacher, on hearing that it was to be from a kit and not from scratch was a little surprised but agreed. So my friend and I jointly invested about 20 quid in an Aerokits 34.5 inch RAF Crash Tender from Blunts' model shop in Mill Hill (long since gone like many others) and we set about construction during lesson time and sometimes at break times. I recall we used "Cascamite" to glue it all together on the advice of the woodwork teacher because neither 'Scotch' glue nor PVA was suited to marine construction. Good progress was made over the course of our last year at school but it was never fully completed, only requiring painting, running gear and detailing. My friend decided that he needed to withdraw from the project as he was enrolling in a college away from home to study for a career in the merchant navy and I agreed to buy out his share and continue with the project. And so it was that I carried on with the painting and installing the running gear which consisted of a 1.5 cc marine diesel engine, water pickup, prop shaft and rudder and a MacGregor radio system with a stick for steering and a single button for speed control. The engine and radio came from Michael's Models in Finchley (also long gone) for £20 as my elder brother, who had started a Saturday job there, was able to get a staff discount for me. The diesel engine was noisy and smelly and a pig to start with a leather thong around the flywheel and I decided to abandon this means of propulsion (I foolishly ran it for slightly too long 'dry' and melted the around the brass water jacket!). By now I had graduated from my part time job in Woolies to an engineering apprentice with Post Office Telephones and my new income of 20 quid per week could support my modelling and electronics hobbies after my contribution to the household for my keep. So off to the model shop to buy a Taycol Supermarine electric motor, two 12v volt lead acid batteries and a suitable charger. The diesel came out and was sold on Exchange & Mart and the mount and coupling re-made to accommodate the new Taycol motor. What an improvement that was! I can't remember now what speed controller or servo I used but whatever it was did the job, and it went like the clappers on Friary Park boating lake (also long since gone) even though the radio control system was a bit crude with the non-proportional steering and 'blip' throttle control. The boating took a back seat when I acquired my driving licence and my first car (a rusty old Cortina Mk 1) and I also got involved in sound recording for radio. I decided to sell the boat and bits for £60 through Exchange & Mart and bought an Akai 4000DS tape recorder and a 'Chilton' audio mixer, built a home studio and along with a good mate of mine started making radio commercials for the new commercial radio stations including London's Capital Radio. We even won a 'Campaign' advertising award for one of our efforts! And so after several years as a 'phone engineer I moved into professional recording for A/V and broadcast and then into TV production. Fast forward to today. Semi-retired with grand kids and with more free time on my hands I still had an interest in model making so in Jan 2016 went to the Model Engineer exhibition at nearby 'Ally Pally'. It was there that I saw an RAF crash tender just like the one I built all those years ago and got into conversation with the chap on the stand. This re-ignited my model making interests and I researched the hobby and that model in particular.

8 years ago by robbob

Blog

1-35 scale S100 schennllboot

Hi all for the second blog report on the schenllboot I am going to go over the rudder an propeller shaft assembly in more detail. The first stage was to make the rudders which were made of brass ,and having taken note of what has been said about the increase in size needed for the kit by other members I have increased the size of the rudders by 50% so that they have more effect and hopefully the boat will be more agile .I fitted 3mm treaded rod on to the rudder and in a 4mm flanged tube to reinforce the brass rod. The second stage was to make and fit 5mm flanged tube in the location for the rudders in the boat , these were made to be above the water line and will be sealed in place to reduce the possibility of leaks. These were fitted to a rudder platform inside the boat which was fitted to the kit moulding for the rubbing strip that runs the length on the boat and secured by making resin blocks which were fitted with computer extension nuts .which were then superglue in place to secure the rudder platform. The rudders were then fitted in place and held in position with the tiller collars which were made from 8mm rod and fitted the tiller arms and locked in place with 3mm computer screws and ni-lock nuts, a connecting plate was then fitted to connect the three tillers together, I also fitted rubberised washers to seal the rudder tubes. The third stage was to make the propeller supports. The centre support was a direct copy of the kit part made of brass and fitted to the kit with a plate and screws (this plate and the rudder plate were made from galvanised steel)and will sealed with resin after the I test the boat for leaks. The port and starboard supports were made by taking the kit parts and cutting them in have along the joint line or mould seam this gave me a template ,which I used to make cross-section segments but I did alter the template by increasing the boss diameter to 10mm and extending the support legs so that the finished support could be fitted through the hull (the picture of these show the mk1 version where I forgot to allow for the 4mm prop shaft which has a 6mm tube) any way the boss of these segments were drilled out with a 7mm drill and a length of 7mm brass tube fitted through the boss to assemble the segments, all of which were coated in flux at this stage of the assembly which were riveted at both ends to hold it all together during , after the supports were then filed to the size and shape to resemble the kit parts as close as possible and fitted to the hull using a superglue and talcum power mix and then I cast resin around the extensions to secure the prop supports in place. The forth stage is the propeller shaft housing for the centre propeller housing I place a brass rod in a plastic straw and place in position in hull and using resin I sealed the hull with the rod in place this gave me a pilot hole for the centre prop shaft after I removed the brass rod. For the port and starboard shafts I used the kit parts which had hole place when assembled, this when I reinforced the housings ,the centre housing I glue 2mm of plasticard on each side and for the port and starboard I made a brass tube shroud which covered the housings which left gaps between the kit part and the brass which was filled by casting resin in the gap this increased the diameter to 10 mm so that there were little chance of breaking throw with the drill and finished these off by fill-in the outside with body filler and sanded to shape and finish . I then drilled through the pilot hole in the housings using very long extended drills and a wheel brace ( if I had use a power drill the heat would have melted the plastic of the kit and may have caused problems) I drill the shaft housings out 6mm them filed them out with 6mm file so that I could insert a length of 6mm brass tube. After all this was done I fitted a flanged bush made from 7mm tube and 2mm brass plate turned to 11mm to the ends or the propeller shaft housings. And now it is time I have to ask for some help could any one advise me on the length of propeller shafts , I know I can use a 300mm shaft for the centre shaft but port and starboard will have to be longer . and I also need advice on selecting the motors , I want to use 4mm prop shaft with 35mm propellers. Any opinions welcome.

6 years ago by teejay

Forum

Styrene Allergy?

I started this post hoping to get advice on allergic reaction to modelling with styrene but it seems to have turned into problems. I'd really like to know if anybody else has had any trouble with styrene and how they coped with it. Fair winds, Nerys

6 years ago by Nerys

Forum

Styrene Allergy?

Certainly not melting and I'm pretty sure it was soft solder only as I know he had no knowledge of silver . I use silver solder (hard ) all the time and have done for over 50 years, most of it with cadmium rich (still, I get it from ebay) and I have had no unpleasant reactions. OK, currently I have the shed door open as it's a very small shed, but I never used to in a 7x5. Before that the space was always bigger. Cadmium free modern silver solder is crap as it will not flow as well as Cadmium containing. Martin

6 years ago by Westquay

Forum

Styrene Allergy?

.... and make sure the working area is well ventilated, an extractor fan helps enormously, as also with spray painting or (esp with the old lead based solders). it's the solvents drying your skin out, removes all the skin oils. Can make your eyes sting as well. 😭 Cheers, Doug

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Response

Rebuild starts

Is it possible to fit new bearings in the existing shaft tube, if not I have managed to get old shafts out by carefully heating the tube using a iron inserted into the end and as it heats up applying rotational force gently back and forth until the the glue gives way. This has worked for me on wooden hulls. Cheers Colin.

6 years ago by Colin H

Forum

Brass bashin' Chris Craft deck fittings...

Hi folks, I've been filling in spaces in the Vincent epic with making deck fittings for the Chris Craft Special Runabout. I can't find or, probably, afford to get them nickel plated, so I will give the brass fittings to a chum who does casting of white metal, then I can a) get more than one of some and b) burnish them to look like chrome and then lacquer them. I'm assuming there might be a measure of interest in how these are done. I'm afraid I can't tell you how to do these without a lathe, because I've always had or had the use of, a lathe. They can be bought for a fraction of the price of a kit, off ebay. My No 1 son bought a lathe exactly like mine (a Peatol, which is same as the Taig), only on a huge base with a nice big motor, a tool rack to hold every supplied, additional tool they make for it and even the book on how to use it and make even more tools for it, virtually unused, for £200. Similar small lathes can be had for even less. It's the brass that costs these days! Anyway, the trick is to break down the shape to that which can be cut, turned or bent. You can do all those things, so all you need to be able to do is silver solder and soft solder. If you can't yet, learn, sharpish. Silver has enabled to earn a living till I retired. It helped me bring up a family of 5, so it's clearly very useful. I won't describe it in boring detail as these days there's a Youtube for every damned thing if you can tolerate that ghastly delivery that so many of them have. I can't, so I'm happy to answer questions if anyone wants to be told straight what to do. Golden rules....make it totally clean with a Swiss file, have sufficient heat, use the right flux. In silver , just sprinkle the powdered flux on, don't bother making a paste, it'll just fizz and shift your little parts. For this part, one of the various patterns of deck lights/flag pole holders that Chris Craft used, I started by turning the main shape of the bulbous bit to be rather like a thimble. I then cut gaps out of it in the vice with a junior hacksaw, so that it had three legs, oversized for now. Then make a teardrop shape out of 1/16th" sheet and cut a hole in it to match. Why the hole? Well, if this is to cast successfully, I don't need any undercuts or "hooks " in the mould so it has to be hollow. Also, I need to put the light lenses in after it's all finished as these units had riding or nav. lights in them. They also had a small jack staff in the top with a burgee or even a national ensign attached. To make the rather art nouveau-ish back end I made a cardboard pattern of what had to be cut from 1mm brass sheet to be folded, hammered a bit and rolled a bit to fit onto the back of the thimble section. I silver soldered the thimble on first, to make it easy to fit the back rolled and folded bit, which was itself then silver soldered on. After that, it's all down to filing to shape, then as you can see from the pencil lines, cut out the teardrop shaped holes in the back which leave a central spine shape. I would first drill a 3mm hole and then, with the piece in a vice use a dental burr in a minidrill and hand mill it out, but PLEASE make sure it can't slip or you could be the owner of a grooved thumb or worse. Finish with files and papers of various grades. More anon when I do the next bits, although you're already further on than I am! Cheers, Martin

6 years ago by Westquay

Forum

LED Tug Mast Navigation Lights

Hi Pete, Thanks 😊 Yep, I decided to stick with 4 lights cos tha's all I see on the original 'WYEFORCE'. Yep again! I do intend to modify the two lights on the stub mast; 1 yellow 'Towing' and 1 white 'Stern'. I will also fit a wheelhouse light. Decided to do it 'fluorescent' style by fitting 2 white 3mm LEDs in the ends of a long block of 5mm perspex. After that the 2 work-deck floodlights, lower cabin lights and 2 deck lamps 1 each side of the main cabin. I'll probably link the cabin and deck lights so that they all come on together. Now pondering how to build a miniature working diesel genny to power them all😁 Good luck with your divider! You will have more wires to squash in than I did so I doubt there's room. Have fun trying. I separated the wires quite easily by keeping all the negative legs of the LEDs (that's the leg going to the larger electrode in the diode) on one side and them to the brass wire negative rail first. Then I took colour coded thin 'hook-up' wire to each LED in turn; working from the top down. Cut the LED leg to 1/4", stripped the hook-up wire back 1/4", twisted the wire strands together and tinned it. Tin the LED leg as well and bend it 90° down the mast. Then it's easy to solder the wire cleanly to the LED keeping it well away from any other wires. When all was connected, and tested OK, I stuck the wires down with thick gel super glue so they can't wander about. To fit the LEDs to the mast, I removed the brackets; removed the dummy lights with a razor saw, filed the mounting flat and drilled holes for the LED legs in them, using a 0.75mm drill bit in a pin chuck, and glued the LEDs on with gluper sue. Then I bent the leads 90° back towards the mast and drilled 0.75mm holes horizontally into the mast so I could literally 'plug' the lamp bracket complete with LED straight in and glue it down. Painted matt black the leads become invisible, as in 3rd pic above😉 Winch: at least your version of the model seems to HAVE a winch! Or where did those two pics come from? Mine ain't got nuffink, just a big 'ole at the back of the cabin😭 All the best, Doug 😎

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

LED Tug Mast Navigation Lights

Hi, Doug: I hope all is well. FYI, I’ve received all but one of my parts orders needed for the LED Mast Light project. The flat top LEDs arrived today & will be perfect for Nav lights. I don’t know if I mentioned this before, but a while ago I decided that instead of starting work right away it would be best to wait until everything I need for the project is on hand. While waiting for parts to arrive (& mysterious eye infections to clear up) I looked the boat’s Cabin & Pilot House over & made a list of details I want to add, changes or replace, not least of which is the conspicuous absence of a towing winch. Other things like adding a life raft canister, better looking life rings, fire extinguishers, etc. will come later, after completing the Mast LED Nav lights & wiring changes per your design. This brings me back around to a wiring question. Some time ago we discussed using a common ground bus inside the Mast & each of the six “-“ leads to it rather than using six wires to do the same job. I plan to put a plastic divider piece up the middle of the Mast & run the six “+” LED wires on one side. The other side will have the bare ground bus onto which the “-“ leads of each LED will be soldered. The question is: what gauge should the bus be? I was thinking of using a length of brass rod but I don’t know what diameter to use. What do you think? Thanks, Pete

6 years ago by PittsfieldPete

Forum

Elaine motor update/assembly pictures

Soldiers while could be painful Eh!Doug I have a mini/multi gas torch for the locus of the solder but my plumbing gas torch might be a bit much too much for safety while background heating. ( The mass ) Ny ideas considered 👍🤔 P.S. Doug look for AluBild On E Bay/ Amazon they also do AluJoin400 and Johnson Massey Silver Brazing solders Alu Flo Siverflo55 (55% silver)SiverFlo 452 45% silver and quite a few more. They are supplied by Abel Mabel Crafts if that helps.👍 B.T.W. I think the Irvine Mills were better than even the originals. I wish I had mine back again👍

6 years ago by onetenor

Forum

Elaine motor update/assembly pictures

Solders or soldiers John!?😁 on your lap!!!! 😲 S'pose that's one way to cook the meat an' two vege 😲😡 BTW gents: the stuff is called Alu BUild. if I search for Alu Bild here in Germany I get a lot of links to artists who make pictures on or out of aluminium! Bild in German = Picture! Some quite spectacular I must admit, but for €1000 plus they damn well oughta be! Happy folks, Cheer, Doug 😎

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

ELAINE, MOTOR CLEAN UP.

Well here it is, 10.35mm bore with 16.19mm stroke. The flywheel is 41mm dia and 12.5mm thick weighing in at 117gms. As you can see from the pictures it was a pain to strip, but as I was de the water jacket the head came loose, so I unscrewed it. Then carefully stripped the rest and cleaned each piece, finally returned to the water jacket, I had to remove the outer sleeve then cut the screws to remove the top and bottom discs. Next I removed all the crap that was stuck in the fins and cleaned the cylinder head jacket. Finally re-assembled. All that work and still don't have any idea of the maker. There is a number on one of the mounting webs 685, on the other side is a number 2. But the Web is broken. The flywheel has RMA stamped on it and a letter J above it. So mateys what's the verdict. And god alone knows if I am able to rebuild the water jacket. Cheers Colin.

6 years ago by Colin H

Forum

Launch ELAINE,

Keep you outta mischief won' it Colin! 😉 I like the fine adjustment of those burners. Found 'em great for oiler pipes to brass prop tubes- WITHOUT setting fire to the boat 😲 Phew!! Reckon it'll cope with your motor no sweat - YOU might though😁😁 Have heard Santa's coming early this year 😉 He must have a new E-Sled 😁 Now back to the fish cutter gear box!! Cheers, Doug 😎

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Launch ELAINE,

You got the right idea, I'll have to ask if I can borrow hers. As I've only got the Iroda mini blow torch for soft and silver . Failing that I will have to carefully scrape the excess solder away first before de. Well at least it'll keep me occupied. Cheers Colin.

6 years ago by Colin H