1:25 scale Quarter-wheeler river Drogher

[derekwarner_decoy]

Interesting Steven

Naturalliy it all depends on the selection of timber chosen, however the planking you cut with the Proxxon table saw appears to have a very smooth cut surface, so

1. what was the timber chosen?
2. do you use a HSS or a TCT blade in your Proxxon saw
3. which model Proxxon machine do you have?....the KS 230, ......the FET,...or the FK/SE which is older version of the FET

The reason I ask, is I use the FK/SE with the 80 diameter TCT blade [24teeth] however aways end up with the 80 diamerer swirl radial lines in the sawn timber surface

A colleague had the same machinery & issue...so spent a lot of $ on a Proxxon DH40 thicknesser .......

Derek

     

[Steven S]

Dereck - I cut the planks with my Proxxon FET tablesaw.  My shop is very small, actually a converted walkthrough closet, 1.7x2.0 meters, so my powertools are on the small side.  I have an 8” drill press, a 1” belt sander, my Proxxon tablesaw, and a Dremel Motosaw [250mm scrollsaw] plus lots of hand tools.  I have an 80mm -24 tooth carbide tipped blade and an 85mm-80 tooth crosscut blade for the tablesaw.

I made the planks out of Poplar, a local hardwood that is actually kind of soft.  It has a neutral colour, is straight grained and is knot free.  It’s sold in the local lumber yards as “project” wood and comes sanded 4 sides.

I used the 80mm 24 tooth carbide tipped blade to crosscut the 4’ board into 8” pieces.  To get a smooth surface I sanded and beveled the 8” edges, then ripped a 2mm thick plank from both edges of each piece, then sanded and beveled the 2 new edges of the pieces and then ripped 2 more planks.  I repeated this process until the pieces were too narrow to rip any more.  I ended up with a pile of planks that were sanded and beveled.

Now the next couple of days will be spent gluing them down, then scraping, staining, shellacking and maybe varnishing the deck.

[derekwarner_decoy]

mmmmmmm   thanps Steven.....same 24tooth TCT blade used ......that adjustable mitre box with the FET with the longer aluminium fence plate is a real bonus for cutting longer work & also repetitive lengths be they straight or angled ends

The Proxxon Righ Hand side adjustable length guide has a mile of in-by length to get the work straight, but very little out-by support to keep to sawn material straight. This is resolved with the FET machine & the longer adjustable  mitrebox fence

I may try & modify  my FK/SE adjustable mitre box to incorporate a similar 300mmlight weight long box straight edge type section

Bunnings will have some sort item I can modify & attach 

So when you do a new setup for parallel planking, do you just set the mitrebox angle to  90 degree marking, do a trial cut & accurately measure the cut section at either end & adjust accordingly?

Derek

[Spankbucket]

I have used poplar in keyboard instrument case building. It was used by the Flemish makers back in the early/mid 17th century. I found it easy to work and giving a superb surface for painting and decorating.

[Steven S]

 Hi again Dereck – I’m not sure if I understand the question, but I cut my 8” long deck planks to the other lengths need for the 3 butt pattern I use a “Chopper III. To start off the pattern I needed lengths of 2, 4, 6, and 8 inches.  Poplar is soft enough to chop 2mm thick planks.  If I’m crosscutting heavier wood I use the mitre gauge with my Proxxon.  It has an adjustable stop for setting a repeatable length. 

To be clear on my plank cutting process I did the following:
•   I bought a board ¼” thick, 4” wide by 48” long
•   I slightly beveled the two 1/4x48 edges
•   I set my ripping fence to 2mm and ripped 2 long strips from the plank
•   I put the plank into my vice and sanded and beveled the 2 newly exposed long edges to remove any swirl marks
        caused by the blade
•   I put the plank back onto the saw and ripped 2 more long strips.
•   I repeated the process until I used up the 4x48 plank
•   I set the stop on my Chopper III to 8 inches and cut up the long strips and beveled the ends

[DamienG]

 

[Steven S]

Thanks for the encouragement Damien, my planking is coming along nicely.  There will be a trim piece over the planking around the hold.

[Paddlemex]

Looking good, Steven.
That chopper is an interesting tool. I had seen it before, but I didn't think it could cut anything harder than balsa.

Jurgen

[Steven S]

Yes, I have used it on balsa and styrene with no troubles.  Since I have it I decided to give it a try on the 2mm poplar and am happy to report that it works great.  I am using a .020 " single edged blade in it.  I also have some .012" blades that I will be trying later.

[Steven S]

I finished planking the main part of the deck and will probably leave the rear part until I do some work on the engine house, I’m not sure yet.

I started with the centre plank running the length of the deck and worked my way to the port edge and all went well.  The starboard half seemed a little tougher to do as I had to lay the starter planks in the opposite order.  It all worked out in the end and I am quite pleased with it, now I have some sanding to do.

[Hankwilliams]

Very good and neat build, Steven. Do you have already tested the wheels effect in water?

Thomas

[Steven S]

I haven't had the boat with the drive system in the water yet, although as mentioned in post #12 I have tested the paddlewheels and they work as expected.  It is winter here right now, lots of snow and the ponds are all frozen over.  People are skating on them and playing hockey.

I have been working on the engine room and I am making the windows right now.  Since I won't be able to float it in the water until late April I am at home enjoying the build process.  Actually I am building it twice, once in the computer and then on the workbench.

[Paddlemex]

I know, it's fun to do the 'double' building.
How did you get the spacing of the front sheeting so evenly spaced? On the real one, I mean .

Jurgen

[Steven S]

Just basic math to determine the width of my siding Jurgen, but then I cut one strip into 15mm lengths and measured how wide ten of them were before cutting the rest [I needed ten strips to the bottom of the windows].  The nice thing about designing on the computer is knowing beforehand what should work.

[Paddlemex]

Of course, in the drawing the program does the math, but I meant the spacing on the real thing.
The spaces between each plank look perfectly the same. Did you use a spacer or are the planks beveled, like you did on the deck?