8 MARCH 2020

This month's meeting was held at Lee Valley Tools.  The theme was Photo Etching with a presentation by John C.

​John showed us how he uses purchased Photo Etched parts in his models.  These items are small, microscopically thin, refined, two dimensional brass or copper parts. They come in sheets containing many individual items that must be removed with care.  John uses a dark lexan (PlexiGlas) surface as a cutting board as the contrast it makes it easier to see the joint to be cut with his X-Acto knife or scalpel (photo above).  He suggested it would be a good idea to have a white cloth draped over your lap to catch them if they should fall as they can be particularly difficult to find.  He explained how they could be soldered, glued with two part epoxy, or with super glue.  John prefers the gel type super glue as it is easier to control the deposit. He would sand the sharp tip down on a wooden tooth pick, and use this to pick up a dab of glue from a plastic dish and place it on the edge of the photo etching to glue seams together, or to glue the item to the model.  The gel will not run or as easily make a mess of your model.  John explained that the Photo Etched surface needs to be roughened up a bit or scoured slightly with micro fine sanding medium to ensure the adhesive will adhere properly to the surface.

John has a special "8 inch Mark R Hold and Fold Kit" made by The Small Shop, that is used similarly to an industrial sheet metal brake.  The machine clamps down on the Photo Etched plate and the plate can then be folded up cleanly at any angle with the provided blade or a razor blade.  It is extremely important to align your plate properly to get the best fold, so care must be taken.
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John then showed us his metal rolling plate form that has different radius pockets into which different diameter wooden dowels and metal pins fit.  The Photo Etched part must again be aligned carefully, and starting at the largest pocket, the dowel is then pressed into it to form the radius.  It is then moved down successively to smaller pockets until the desired diameter is attained.  He then showed us how to soften the metal over a flame.  Softening or annealing the metal removes the hardness imparted by cold forming.  For this demonstration he used a candle flame.  As the items are micro thin it only takes about a minute to accomplish.  The carbon soot was cleaned away by dunking the part into thinner and wiping it off with a soft cloth.

Ray brought in a carved spruce sail to show the group (photos above).  It is one of the sails from a model of the Bluenose that he is repairing.  The Fisherman's stay sail had broken in two pieces along the grain.  Ray explained that he did not make a new sail as this model was quite old and a new sail would take many years to match the patina of the original.  Using a dental burr grinding tool he created several notches in the edges of the break into which he glued (Weldbond Adhesive) small thin biscuits to strengthen the joint.  He explained the notches were wider than the biscuits to aid him in surface alignment to create an invisible mend. The two pieces were reassembled with more glue being applied to the break edge surface and were held together with painters tape until dried and cured.  This sail is only about 1/8th of an inch thick! 

Alan brought in some new tools he acquired to show the group.

He purchased a set of Japanese flexible files from Lee Valley Tools that turned out to be just what was need to clean up after he had elongating the gammoning slots on his model with one long nosed micro Excel saw blades used with his X-Acto knife handle.
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He also showed the club members the 20 Gauge Copper-Phosphorus soldering wire (93% Cu  and 7% P) he purchased from the Indian Jewelers Supply Company to use instead of the more expensive silver solder that seems to be the traditional medium.  The phosphorous acts as the flux.  Soldering is done similarly to silver soldering, with a small butane torch used to heat the part up at the joint area so the wire will melt into it.  The solder does not fill gaps, therefore some level of care must be taken to assure items surfaces mate.  Heat up the part with a torch, touch the wire to the joint, and when the temperature is correct it will quickly flow to make the bond.  This material will chemically blacken without issue.  Alan learned about this online at the Model Ship World forum.  He intends to be trying it out soon on his rudder pintles and spritsail yard bands of his Bellerophon build.

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Alan also showed the group a copy of the research document (downloadable PDF above) he created for his build.  It contains sketches. detail drawings, and reference notes that direct him back to his original sources for the rigging and fixtures (cleats, woolding bands, gammoning, saddles, fairlead, and yards) for the bowsprit and jib boom he previously made.  By doing this he unravelled the mystery behind understanding all the rigging and paraphernalia associated with these somewhat horizontal masts.  It is important to establish the time period your build represents as he discovered many sources contradict each other.  In most cases this simply has to do with the era of build they refer to.  His build is 1786 which was a busy time with many improvements being introduced.