I currently have a couple traditional screws holding down the decks that I don’t need to access very often. I would like to change that out to something I can unscrew with my hand. A wing nut seems a bit excessive. What’s out there?
@JustinScott used these on his Victory Ships : https://www.lowes.com/pd/Hillman-2-Count-6-Brass-Standard-SAE-Cap-Nuts/3012497
Yup; I think they’ve always looked pretty good on a deck. They also squish down my deck seal and add a bit of structural integrity, which I like.
I was thinking I only needed two, one in the middle on each side. But you have yours in the corners. Would that make a difference?
I try to design in as few screws as possible by creating deck overlaps with the Superstructure or deck details.
Oh ok, so you do have two screws per deck, its just that they are overlapping so you get more coverage.
Keeping in mind that magnets are the new hotness ... I try to set my ships up so that they have at most three decks. The ones at either end have a tab under the bow/stern plate, and a screw in the middle area. The center deck typically has a screw at the back, etc. etc. See my NC for more details. https://www.scrapcombatships.com/commodore/nctour.html And just in case, I thought I'd mention that I'm a fan of either 4-40 stainless screws (and allen wrench), or for those who are allen wrench averse, something like these: View: https://www.amazon.com/UNICORP-THS3001-M01-F07-440-Plain-Nickel-QTY-10/dp/B01796SG2Q/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1E3BRN1WYB91E&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.l7POXnfut7bfy4aLkNkT-WRtVFtnYMOt5amTpVxWcrDgX_7mDnqmFm_5yPBbDYB8RS7xUOcMum_G1lJlYir1uBXel3t6DC9IhNOJClXznWnqUDiMIKJPp6cHCGI0EfWa0HTp6LddQxVTp_iqWa4yNsnrfNr78gg3sOh3WL2NDTBuQF43NyeznMOI3-nHbMgm_JiJEYmjBb9NvyB60sXy9lsxoj9v6WMJdD1KJgIohJo.7jtZgVxDPAHNXOiLVhO3GSIYy9UzZmwnUrTfhQi0Occ&dib_tag=se&keywords=4-40+brass+knurled+thumb+screw&qid=1743649844&sprefix=4-40+brass+knurled+thumb+screw%2Caps%2C99&sr=8-3 Or, maybe the 3-32 version. Whatevs.
The brass thumb nuts not only do the job well but also in a way kinda look nautical. On SJS hulls with mechanical deck retainment, the hulls typically have 4-40 heat set inserts put into the subdeck. I supply 4-40 button head cap screws that use a 1/16 hex driver to remove. On my own personal builds of these boats I will sometimes remove those and use 4-40 stainless knurled thumb screws, you can see this on my Jean Bart the Third build. Magnets are nice, but if ultimate deck retainment/seal is the order of the day then nothing can compare with a mechanical retainment of the deck. Except for maybe a buttload of strong magnets (see my JB3). This is why SJS Graf Spee kit uses mechanical for the rear step-down deck, but magnet for the main deck. The stern deck will be under water 70% of the time and needs to basically be submarine water-tight.
