Steam powered sternwheeler ( first boat build ever )

[DamienG]

Printed on clear decal material sprayed with clear to seal the ink works well Pete. and could be put on clear perspex between the turned posts food for thoughts mate.

Damien.

[apointofview]

Damien
Thats a great idea, but its a little too late.  I cant see myself cutting out all that wood and redoing it.  I had a hard enough time doing all 80 something pieces the first time !    Really though that would have been a great way to do it!

I will look for a good clear spray to waterproof the setup I will use.  The whole boat is mainly white so the sticker should blend well

Pete

[DamienG]

The paint I use on decals is Auto Acrylic clear, air brushed or if not fussy on thickness of cover from a spray can.

Damien.

[apointofview]

I guess I should have paid more attention to the details of the boat I wanted to pattern my model after during the selection process !  The second deck has some 48 posts and on each post are two curved decorations, kind of a gingerbread detail.   Thats 96 or so of those !!! I should have picked a work boat, not near as much fluf and repetition.    Anyway those are done and now its on to level three.  Less posts but larger turnings on these.  I tried to make a cutter like I did before, but this time it didnt work at all.  One picture shows the results.  So after a bit of thinking I modified the cutter to just cut the 7 groves and then I used my drum sander on a dremel while the part was on the lathe.  I just made the tapers freehand, they came out fairly close to one another.  Each post took about 4-5 minutes to turn.  There are just 16 of those.

Sorry these are all cell phone pics so they a lacking in quality a bit

Pete

[derekwarner_decoy]

Hi PD's.......& well Pete...you efforts are proving worthwhile.....

I think the selection in the grade of timber is the secret you that you have accomplished ...closer grain, denser timbers certainly are easier to machine and with good final results

You have followed wood turning principals from 150 years ago  ...and they didn't have CNC machining centres then......nor need them to achieve repetition produced work

Looking forward to seeing more images as you progress...... ...Derek

[apointofview]

More progress for my fellow boat builders,
The third deck has been started along with more work on the railings.  I think the rails are going to be the hardest part of this build.  I am counting the engines in that statement.  Each and every post is unique due to the curves for the decks.  In order to keep the post vertical the bottom of each post has to be sanded to match the point where it will live. The full size boat has metal hardware cloth  like material between posts on the railing on the front of the bottom deck and the entire perimeter of the third level.  Duplicating that detail is proving challenging too.  I ended up having to back up and disassemble the railing I had completed on the bow and then cut slots in the posts vertically to make a way for the posts to hold the fiberglass window screen.  It ended up working but it took way more time than it should have.  I have a similar problem with the upper deck.  I have already glued up most of the railing and now I have to secure the screen somehow to the already built posts.  The bow was not as hard to rework because there isnt as much of it and the posts are thicker allowing me to use my oscillating multi-tool with a narrow plunging blade.  It is a fairly violent tool so the thinner post may not hold up to the beating that tool generates.  I'll figure out something, hopefully not involving backing up.  Planing ahead sure would be helpful    I can see the appeal of kits! I still hope to have this done by January for the Cabin Fever model show in York Pennsylvania. 

Pete

[DamienG]

Absolutely wonderful attention to detail. Pete. well done 

[apointofview]

Thanks Damien !
I am close to being done with the railing !!  All that is left is bracing for  the top level posts to duplicate the full size setup.  I cant do that quiet yet because the deck will have to be permanently glued down to the second level for those tiny braces to added.  I am keeping the levels separate until the painting is done.  There is no way to reach between decks to paint if they are all bonded together.
Next up is the bridge.  It is a nice change of pace.  Not to much to tell about it, it will be hollow to allow for the boiler chimney to pass thru it.  I don't know if I am going to put any detail in the wheel house or not.  I originally just wanted a hull to run the steam engine on the water with.  This has gotten a bit out of hand and is turning into a whole boat !!:)
Pete

[apointofview]

Another update,
I have the bridge framed up and covered.  I added the visible part of the ships wheel for effect and put Mickey in charge.  Now I am working on the bracing that runs the length of the boat.  I have mocked up one side, and now I need to figure out how to make it removable for transport and maintenance.  The two big braces that run down thru the decks go all the way to the hull on the full scale boat, but I cat do that due to the steam plant and engines.  Since the running gear is not even close to scale I am leaving the lowest level un-decorated.  I am not sure yet if I am going to permanently join the upper decks together or leave them as independent floors.  I have to leave them separate at least until I paint. I also picked up a piece of plumbing to make the smoke stack.  It will need dressing up but it should work an it not that heavy.  I will run the 3/4" copper exhaust pipe up into this 1 1/2" steel sink drain tail piece.  I may leave the bottom of the bigger pipe open and center the 3/4" pipe into it and let it draft cooler air from the bottom opening just to keep the heat down some on the touchable stack.  Think that will work ?
Pete

[DamienG]

WOW   

[Spankbucket]

The term 'Mickey Mouse' is usually derogatory.....

In this case it's quite the reverse.....what a fantastic job!!!!

[apointofview]

Thanks guys !!
My wife found the characters that will ride the boat.  They are perfect, the are wearing little safari outfits and are just the right size.

Next on the to-do list is fitting the steam engines and supporting equipment into the new floors.  Hopefully it wont be too much to cut away for clearance.  I had an attenuator from John Hemmens that I bought for this project, but it didnt work at all.  I sent it back for him to fix but now it has been 6 months and I still dont have a valve to plumb into the system.   May have to scrap the idea of the boiler being under some degree of automatic control.

After that I think I will fiberglass the belly.

I have a bunch of sanding to do.  I have just built the boat with just enough finishing work to be able to keep building.  Painting will require lots of quality time with my sanding block.
Pete

[apointofview]

Ok I made a list of what to do and didn't follow it, but work on the smoke stack went well. I used a 1.5 inch brass tail piece I found at Home Depot. Its chromed on the outside so I will have to rough that surface up for paint. I made the fatter parts of the pipe out of oak. I dont have brass tube that size so this is what I came up with. I glued several layers of board together and then turned them on my lathe to get the right look. The flared part of the stack was done with my mill and a ziz wheel. I marked off 30 degree increments and then rotated the tube and made a cut. The tapers were just eyeballed and shaped with a sanding disk. I bent the points around a dowel to get a good radius. I think it came out pretty good !
Pete

[DamienG]

Outstanding  

[apointofview]

I have the upper decks trimmed out around the steam plant and engines.  There will have to be some reinforcement done to the cutouts I had to make up for the lost strength. 

I ran the propane line to the burners and added a remote control shutoff valve to the feed line that will allow me to remotely kill the propane if problems show up on the water.

I built a cover for the opening in the deck where the propane supply tank sits.  I cut slots in the vertical walls that make up the cover to allow for more air circulation in the bow in case there is a leak in the gas supply lines.  I might add a tiny computer fan to push even more fresh air around.

I lined up the 3/4 copper exhaust pipe from the boiler to the smoke stack ( that's what I am trying to show in the picture looking down the stack.  The smallest shiny circle is the 3/4" pipe, and the other circles are just reflections.

I started work on the mast and crane setup that is on the bow.  I used my laser level to get the upper and lower masts lined up straight to each other.  I still need something for small ropes and block and tackle to finish that up.

Pete