I do this as well, and I haven't broken a blade yet. (though I've only had the saw a few months) With a little time, I could probably play "Mary Had a Little Lamb" on my saw. That's weird! Beaver
Bad Day! I m trying to learn how to block and fill the hull properly with balsa (1/2 thick), and so far only seen that Im not good at that yet. My blocks are either not square, too small, too large(Then too small after trying to correct them), or there is simply that void line between the block and the ribs. And when a block fit properly, it got so much indentation and mark I am not pleased with it and throw it away. All of this make me wonder if I got it all wrong to start with. What is the usual recomendation: Balsa or Basswood??? And if the answer is still balsa, then I have to learn quick!
Balsa. 1/2" might be a little thick. I did it with 1/4 and it worked fine. How do you mark the piece to cut? I laid the the long piece of balsa where it was supposed to go and traced a line. Then I cut it a little bit larger and sanded to fit. Beaver
Exactly what Beaver said. I used 1/4" as well and was able to do my entire Littorio with a pencil, exacto and sand paper. It can take a few ribs to get into a rhythm of cutting the balsa to fit. Cut it slightly wider and sand it to fit snugly. Remeber you will need two pieces for each rib section and your ship will look square on the bottom until you sand it smooth. how much space are you looking at between your ribs? The best source on this is the bearn build thread, it is the top thread in the warship build section and it literally walks you through the whole process using pictures. Make your balsa look like that and your golden.
Mike shows this method a little better in his Verite build. http://rcnavalcombat.com/Forum/tabid/58/afv/topic/aff/566/aft/441322/afpg/2/Default.aspx Put the Bearn and this together, and you get a great guide. Beaver
ooo I had not seen that one. yes combine both instructions and it should be a walk in the park. Key is patience and if you sand one piece to narrow turn it side ways cut it in half and use it for the second piece that goes on the curve If you are still haveing trouble take a picture of what you are doing and post it so we can see exactly what the issue is.
I am a huge fan of the rare earth magnets to hold the deck down. I have used them on two ships so far (one with 1/8" deck, the other with 1/16" thick deck) and they work awesome. Use one in the deck and another in the sub deck so they attract to one another. That way they provide plenty of pull. You can get about any thickness/ diameter you want on eBay for real cheap. The ones I used in Uritski are 1mm (about . 040") thick, and held in with epoxy. You want the more flexible direction of the plywood to run lengthwise on the deck so it conforms better. Pics of Uritskis deck showing the multitude of magnets:
My method to install the magnets is to clamp the deck exactly where you want it, then drill through both the deck and the sub deck with a drill bit (I use a Brad point) just a hair smaller than the magnet. This provides perfect alignment and since the magnets in the deck and sub deck attract each other, they also hold the deck perfectly aligned where it was clamped when all the holes were drilled, and they hold on like bulldogs.
Probably because those arent very big magnets, and he reaaaaaaly doesnt want a deck to pop off that little ship in the middle of the pond.
I think the magnets were only 4mm diameter by 1mm thick, but they are plenty strong. Problem on this ship is that the deck is only 1/16" thick, and it's a super small ship. I initially used about half as many , but I wasn't happy with how the deck flexed and didn't fit tight in between the magnets, so I added more to pull the thin deck down tight, I wanted a really good seal to help keep water out when the decks were awash. If you were trying to simply hold the deck on, far fewer magnets would certainly suffice.
Exactly.... It all depends on what you are after. Another way to keep the decks nice and flat is to install the magnets, then apply a layer of fiberglass to the bottom of the deck. While the glass is still wet, place waxed paper on it, then put it in place allowing the magnets to hold it, but also place a ton of clamps around it to force it to fit perfectly. Then when the glass is hard and the clamps are removed the fiberglass will hold the deck nicely in the shape it needs to be, so all the magnets will have to do is hold it down. Works great as long as the decks were reasonably flat to start with. I like the magnets because they are totally concealed after install, but hold great. I try to use the largest ones I can fit in the alloted space and thickness within reason. Too big and you will have a hard time getting the decks off.
@Beaver and JStod. A few month ago I read those thread on how to balsa block, and then completely forgot them. Thank you for the reminder, It kept me thinking, and I shoul dbe able to make some progress on the next build session. @Cannonman. wonderful help with those magnet, guide and picture. You got me convinced. In fact, cannonman convinced so much that I started an order for parts, and since I was already ordering something, why not go for the full nine-yard! Then of course, hit another roadblock! So many motor, battery, ESC to choose from! At least I got the radio covered! I managed to grab a frSky Taranis + some extra receivers and parts! found a shop around here who had 3 of them! My shopping list now include: radio: FrSky Taranis: Done! Receiver: X8R : Done! Set of RE magnet (for deck-holding) Standard size servo (Rudders) oil-lite bushing (for the prop shaft) K&S brass tubing (for the prop shaft) Battery: Thinking on using 2S LiPo or LiFe. I am hearing I will need 20Ah, so that is lots of battery in parallel Props: I can fit 2in on center one, and max 1.75 in on sides. thinking on using 25pitch, 3 or 4 blades Motor. THAT is the big question. option 1: Being just a bit OCD, I would like my model to be as close to reality as possible (Just for show) that involve powering the 3 props. In that case, 3 motor + 3 ESC. thinking on using smaller motor since they will share the load. (Combat capability is taking a sacond or third seat for me, I do not have a club close by I can battle with). thinking on 3x 28mm 800kv option 2: I do not like that option that much, except for the price tag. This involve a single motor and single ESC. in this case, I need a single bigger motor than that of the option 1 above. 1x 36mm around 1200kv (or more) Gearbox: Still have to do the math for opton 1 and option 2 to discover what I need. More info in a later post. Dog-bones: Not sure I can go without a gearbox... more info later. electric cable and tubing, I can get locally, no issue there Pump: going to order from strike! So much question, my head hurt! but that is the good type of hurt! On the sideline: No work on the Bismarck itself this weekend. It was Workplace refurbishing time. I am building a new sets of workbench. I need more work surface area for this ship!
Most of that list you can order from Strike. You'd have to compare prices but Strike seems to be fair on everything I have purchased. First: I don't think you will need multiple ESC's so that can cut back on costs a bit, The motor selection seems to be most difficult part, I personally would go with 3 smallish motors say 380 can (1 for each shaft) if the ship is mainly for show right now this will work perfectly because it will help keep the speed to scale. Now the issue with this way of doing it is since you have selected FastGun format as your potential battle style the speed will be far to slow and you may have to consider swapping out the motor setup when you get into actual battling. For both the motors and ESC you can talk to Stephen at Strike and he can help you figure out exactly which is best. For batteries, I have never used Lipo or LiFe batteries so I cant really speak on how good they are but from my limited googleing they seem to be pretty small and light weight. One of the thing most people tend to use are big batteries in the battleships simply because they help get these ships to the waterline. Here is the type all the guys in the WWCC use: http://www.orvac.com/SubCategory/Batteries/Rechargeable%20Sealed%20Lead-Acid%20Batteries.aspx The Bis is a big ship and will need a lot of ballast to get it down. Good luck
I think he was looking at brushless motors, so he would need one esc per motor if that is the route he wants to go. You can get a lot from BC or Strike, just don't order the Lithium batteries from the USA (remember, brokerage/hazmat fees).
I like powering the center shaft. If you really feel like you'll want the outer two powered at some point, leave space for the motors and install the shafts. You'll want a big prop, and a low kV rating. I think that Darth Kessler is running a 680kV on a 2.5" prop or something like that.
If you stick with hobby king, brushless is pretty affordable (though not as cheap as brushed from an electronics surplus retailer). There are a couple other places I have come across that are also reasonable, but I never make note of them at the time because it's not what I'm looking for that moment and I'm not as organized as I wish I was.
