Making odds and ends....

[mjt60a]

...Most paddlers have masts which are tapered - So how do you go about making a tapered mast?....Is there a foolproof method? Coz this fool never seems to be able to make one!

Eddy

Me neither! I use pieces of fishing rod...

[Walter Snowdon]

I go along with Mick on this. I too favour fishing rods. They come in many thicknesses and when the paint finish is scraped off (quite easy using the back of a stanley knife blade) they usualy have a nice brown woodlike colour to them. They are easy to glue to and are very strong. They have the additional benefit of being hollow so that wires for working lights can be run up inside them.
 Our local pound shops have 2.5 metre telescopic poles for a pound sterling and five foot! telescopic rods INCLUDING A FIXED SPOOL REEL AND LINE for a pound!Now thats value. One of our members has just made a complete rig (mast and two booms) for a metre yacht for two pounds with several pole sections left over.
Over the years I have got a lot of rod sections for our club just by visiting tackle shops and asking if they have any broken or damaged rod sections, telling the staff what they were required for. In every case they gave me quite a few as they then didnt have to dispose of them! regards, walter.

[Stuart Badger]

Hi PDs

first of all an apology, I still haven't got any dowel so this tutorial on how to taper masts is with drawings only. I am not the best draughtsman in the world but I think if you can read a drawing and some of the awful kit instructions out there you should be OK.

Masts are generally tapered, this is because the strength needed in the mast diminishes with the height - the less strength required the less material. However some masts, more than you would think, are not tapered along their whole length, but may be parallel for say, a third of their length, and then start to taper.

The method I use to make a mast uses a jig. Don't groan and say why should I make a jig for one mast. It is a very simple device and can be used to taper masts, spars and other components. I have used this method for years and it never fails to produce an accurate, evenly tapered mast.

For the jig (Dwg 1) you will need 2 pieces of 2X1 inch pine. these need to be about 1 1/4 times the length of the longest mast you think you will ever need to make. You will need a piece of MDF or ply the same length for a base about 3 inches wide, a scrap piece of wood to make a wedge and a scrap piece of ply or brass to make the support plate.

Take the 2 pieces of 2X1 and cut the ends off at an angle of about 30 degrees as shown in the drawing. Then using screws and glue mount them parallel to each other on the base as far apart as the THICKEST mast you are likely to want to make. In other words dimension A == the thickness of the mast and dimension B = the maximum length of the mast.

Make a wedge that fits snugly between the 2X1s at the un-angled end.

At the other end of the jig you need a support plate. This is simply a piece of ply or brass that has two slots in it so that it can be slid up and down the angled faces of the 2X1 to adjust its height. Cut a small V notch in this plate so that the notch is exactly in the middlee of the gap between the two 2X1s. The fixing screws can be loosened so that this plate can be adjusted.

To use this jig you need to modify a block plane (temporarily) take 4 strips of plasticard (about 15 thou) or some very thin ply and using double sided sellotape fix them to the base of the plane as shown.(Dwg 2) This is to prevent the plane damaging the jig and ensuring that only the mast is planed.

To make your mast

Take a piece of dowel that is as close as possible to the thickest part of the mast and cut it to the length of the finished mast. Measure the thinest end of the mast from your drawing and cut a square of cardboard to this size. IE. if the end of the mast measures 1/4 of an inch diameter you need to cut a square of cardboard to this size.

Glue this square of cardboard to the centre of one end of the piece of dowel. You then need to drill a hole into this end of the dowel in the centre of the glued on piece of card abou 3/4 of an inch deep. This hole should be just under the outside diameter of small non-tapered woodscrew about 1 1/4 inches long.

Screw the woodscrew into the end of the piece of dowel leaving about 1/4 on an inch protruding. (Dwg3)

Lay the dowel in the jig with the screw resting in the notch in the support plate (Dwg 3)and adjust the support plate until the top edge of the square of cardboard is level with the top faces of the 2X1s. (Dwg 4)

At the other end of the jig slide the wedge in or out until the dowel is just flush with the top of the 2X1s You can use some double sided tape to hold the wedge in its final position. (If your mast starts to taper from a point other than the base, then adjust the wedge so that the dowel starts to protrude above the level of the jig at the appropriate point).

Now using the block plane remove wood from the dowel roatating it every so often. When the plane runs smoothly along the jig without removing any wood you have acheived a tapered mast. The thickness of the plasticard or ply guards on the plane leave enough material for a final hand sanding.

When you are satisfied with the mast, remove the screw and place the mast button over the hole having disposed of the little card square.

If any of this is not clear PLEASE ask. I can't at the moment show you this method using photos as I have no dowel, no workshop and I can't find my plane!

All the best

Stuart

[Eddy Matthews]

That's absolutely superb Stuart, very easy to understand and follow the instructions, and like all great things so simple!!

I'll definately be knoocking up a jig and giving it a try for the next tapered mast I need to make.

Now how do I drill a hole the length of the mast to run lighting wires up? No, no - Only kidding!!

Eddy

[Stuart Badger]

For that Eddy - you need a bandsaw with a fence.

Before you sand the finished mast -

Take a rectangle of MDF longer than the mast and about 2 inches wide, and draw a centre line along its length.
Using double sided tape position the mast centred along the drawn line.
Place about 8 nails or pins equidistant either side, along the length of the mast.
Place the wood with the mast on it against the bandsaw fence and adjust until the blade is against the marked line.

Cut the mast in half along its length.

Repeat with the two halves flat side down being careful to number the order in which you cut the halves.

You should now have 4 quarters of a mast.

Plane off the peak along the length of each mast quarter - sufficiant to allow for whatever you wish to pass through the mast.

Re-assemble with glue and hold together with masking tape till dry (Do not use an excess of glue).

Sand to a finish and you now have a mast with a hole through it!

Stuart

[Eddy Matthews]

SHUCKS!!

The guy has an answer for everything, even the joke requests!! 

Eddy

[Stuart Badger]

Sorry bout that Eddy!!! I couldn't resist answering.

I made a model of an experimental aerial array years ago - about 40 masts all with a red light on top!

That's when I designed the jig - and passing the wires up the masts was =$##@@@$#&&^***!!!

Stuart

[Tug--Kenny]

Thank you for the information, Stuart. Precision engineering at it's best.

ken

[hucksdad]

Thanks Stuart!  I've tapered masts "freehand" before and they were acceptable, but nothing as precise as your method appears to be.  I'll bet it is probably faster in the long run, once the jig is constructed.

David

[Stuart Badger]

Thanks Hucksdad and Kenny. With the jig, from selecting your dowel to having a finished mast should only take about 20 minutes with a good, sharp plane. Plus the sanding time.

Stuart

[Eddy Matthews]

Next on my list is making steps - I can never find pre-made steps in the size I want, so how would I make a set of open tread steps with either metal of wooden treads?

Lets assume for the sake of arguement that we want a set at 1:32 scale, with open treads - ie. no riser board at the back of each step, with 12 treads and three feet wide at full size.

Regards
Eddy

[Stuart Badger]

This one I can do with my limited space at the moment Eddy - give me a few days. What sort of angle are we talking about? A steep - deck to upper deck set or a shallower passenger stairway?

Stuart

[Eddy Matthews]

Thanks Stuart,

Lets say a steep angle set from main deck to bridge for example...

Eddy

[Stuart Badger]

Well Eddy - you've forced me to make the first components for the Connaught!

She has two stairways that run from the forward end of the bridge deck to the main deck - so I will attempt these.

This post is just to give every one an idea of the things to be taken into consideration. Stairways are notoriously difficult to produce accurately as they generally always come out looking too 'thick' and crude. The answer to this is to use a really hard material. The wood I would use is either boxwood or pear which is available in very thin sections and 'flats' from marquetry suppliers like these people  http://www.originalmarquetry.co.uk/.

If the staircase is a metal one then I would use plasticard rather than metal. The same techniques apply - and after all these things were usually painted. The treads can be made from photo-etched brass scale diamond plate available from many model ship's fittings specialists.

Accuracy is the key to making these items - the method is simple but you do need to make sure that your tools are sharp and that you take your time.

Components

A staiways on a ship generally consists of 4 components;

The angled siderails are called stringers.
The treads (the width front to back of which is called the 'going', the vertical height between them is the 'rising').
The handrail.
Sometimes they utilise risers to close off the gap between the treads. (usually only on passenger stairways, the crew stairways are usually open between treads).

Preparation

The first thing to find out is the exact height of the stairway stringer and the exact horizontal distance to its front edge from its attachment point at its top. On a fairly thick piece of card prepare a drawing (you only need a ruler) showing the height and angle of the stringer. (I will show this in the next post).

Second is to measure the width of the material used for the stringer and source some thin flat strip this size, preferably the thinest you can get.

Next look at the treads on your plan, They may well have rounded ends or other features. If you are not working from a scale drawing remember that the tread will always go to the rear face of the stringer and will nearly always stand a little proud of the front face.

Next count the number of treads! This may sound obvious but it's very easy to make a mistake and produce a stairway that only a crew member with 6 foot long legs could climb! Take the number of treads and add 1. This gives you the number that you need to divide the front dimension of the stringer by to give the rising for the treads.

If you don't know the number of treads then work on a scale of about 8inches or 200mm for the rising, divide the full scale length of the stringer by this number. This will give you ONE MORE than the number of treads you need to make.  


Take a look at the drawing for info - if you have any questions please ask - I shall start the construction in the next few days.

Stuart

[Eddy Matthews]

Any more news on the stairs Stuart?

I'm getting close to the point where I need to make some for the Sir William Wallace, and I'd prefer not to use my normal haphazard approach!

Regards
Eddy