FN France - The Black Death

Discussion in 'Warship Builds' started by Beaver, Oct 26, 2018.

  1. Beaver

    Beaver 2020 Rookie of the Year Admiral (Supporter)

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    Well, for better or worse, the shafts are glued in. Pics to come later this week.
     
  2. Anvil_x

    Anvil_x Well-Known Member

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    Ominous, but Okay.
     
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  3. Beaver

    Beaver 2020 Rookie of the Year Admiral (Supporter)

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    Well, "later in the week" seems to have slipped by. Might as well get some of this posted as I sit here observing my 3d printer attempting to make temp.
    It took me several days, putting in an hour or so after work, to get both shafts installed. Progress is slow, but hopefully I won't have to rework much of it.
    I built the stuffing tubes out of 3/8" SS tubing paired with Oilite bushings running a 3/16" shaft. Pretty heavy duty. I'm using @SnipeHunter 's 1.5-inch Kort props for this build. I'm looking forward to seeing how they perform.
    So, a slot was cut in the hull and the stuffing tube was positioned and secured with tape and hotglue on the motor inside. The stuffing tube is wrapped in packing tape to make it removable. West systems does not stick to packing tape so it just takes a little gentle persuasion and the shaft can be removed once the epoxy has cured. Remove the tape, and the stuffing tube slides right back in the hole. The plan is to use E6000 to keep the shaft secured to the hull for general use. A light job on the outside and inside will seal the joint and secure the shaft but is easily removed for maintenance. This way the entire stuffing tube can be removed/replaced in case of serious damage.
    A dam of clay was placed behind the stuffing tube to limit where the epoxy would go while packing tape was laid over top to complete the encasement. The hull was then flipped for the fiberglass job.
    _DSC1024.JPG

    Another dam of clay was laid inside but it ended up not being necessary.
    _DSC1027.JPG

    And the finished fiberglass job. Came out ok.
    _DSC1031.JPG

    That's all I have time for now. Hopefully I'll get the rest posted sooner than later. Sorry this was late.
     
  4. Kevin P.

    Kevin P. Well-Known Member

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    Looks good, what are you planning for drive?
     
  5. Beaver

    Beaver 2020 Rookie of the Year Admiral (Supporter)

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    I'm going to give the Tyng 24v drive system a shot. If I don't like it the driveline will be easily converted into a brushless belt drive like my King Eddie.
     
  6. Beaver

    Beaver 2020 Rookie of the Year Admiral (Supporter)

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    Pics of both shafts in.
    2019_0415_09461900.jpg
    Probably could have gotten them a tad closer. My bad.
    2019_0415_09460500.jpg

    Rudder post went in today. Used heavy walled 3/8" SS tuning and bronze bushings.
    2019_0415_09353300.jpg
     
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  7. Beaver

    Beaver 2020 Rookie of the Year Admiral (Supporter)

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    Hey everyone! Don't know if y'all remember me. It's been a while. Took a break from the hobby when my mom passed away last May. Slowly getting back into this.

    With that said, France hasn't progressed much since I last posted. But, I just got these awesome motor mounts from @SnipeHunter and couldn't help but show off. If you don't remember, I'm giving 24v brushed direct drive a try. These keep the motors secured and inline with the shafts. Super pleased. Thanks again, Chris!
    IMG_20200130_172811.jpg

    IMG_20200130_172915.jpg

    Hopefully I'll have more progress to show in the coming weeks.
     
  8. Anvil_x

    Anvil_x Well-Known Member

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    Wow dude, sorry to hear.
    Hope you're doing okay, looking forward to seeing the results. Hopefully in Bradford this summer.
     
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  9. bsgkid117

    bsgkid117 Vendor

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    Caleb, welcome back. I am terribly sorry to hear about your mom.

    Those motor mounts are beefy! Very nice. Looking forward to seeing her on the water in 2020.
     
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  10. SnipeHunter

    SnipeHunter Well-Known Member

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    I'm glad you like them, hope to get to see them in action!
     
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  11. Beaver

    Beaver 2020 Rookie of the Year Admiral (Supporter)

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    Thank you all for the kind words. Much appreciated.

    Got a few things done this week. Thought I'd post.
    Set up the rudder. Went with chain and sprockets from servo city. @Kevin P. has used it on many builds and it seems to work well.
    IMG_20200205_200535.jpg

    Underside of the servo mount was stiffened with aluminum stock. Very solid.
    IMG_20200207_111933.jpg

    In mounting the motors I found out my starboard shaft was angled too low for the motor to connect directly. Probably could have done something different but I decided to just cut it out and redo the fiberglass job. It's curing now. Looks sweet. Lol
    IMG_20200207_193409.jpg

    As work continues my plan is to permanently attach the rudder servo mount then work on water channeling. Bought Featherlite a while back for this. Better use it before it goes bad. I kinda want this ship done this year so I've been working as much as I can on her. She should be fun to battle. I'm looking forward to it.
     
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  12. Beaver

    Beaver 2020 Rookie of the Year Admiral (Supporter)

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    Little more progress.

    Made a form and poured Featherlite in the bow for the waterchannel.
    IMG_20200213_210449.jpg

    Came out nice. So far I'm liking the Featherlite.
    IMG_20200213_211248.jpg

    I'll be doing the amidships waterchannel once I determine how much lead to bury for ballast.

    Started work on the rudder. Tore the 3d printer down a while ago so no printing a rudder for a while. Making this one the old fashioned way. Got the basic shape cut out.
    IMG_20200214_202116.jpg

    Added wings on the top and bottom. Haven't yet decided what I'll use to form the fishtail. Might use Featherlite for that too.
    IMG_20200215_151357.jpg
    I think this rudder will cover the props pretty well. Excited to see how she turns. It's been a while since I've had a ship with drag props :laugh:

    Got a 5oz bottle from BC so I'm all ready to arm her when I get that far. Slowly and steadily getting there.
    That's all for now.
     
    Last edited: Feb 15, 2020
  13. Beaver

    Beaver 2020 Rookie of the Year Admiral (Supporter)

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    Work continues.

    Settled on Featherlite for making the fishtail rudder. Here's the setup I used to fill each half.
    IMG_20200216_111453.jpg

    Once it hardened I sanded the profile in.
    IMG_20200216_130222.jpg

    Done. Will have to wait till sea trials to see how it does. Fingers crossed.
    IMG_20200216_165709.jpg

    Mounted up close to the props. One of the perks of the removable stuffing tubes was the ability to move the props as close to the rudder as possible before gluing them in. Super close.
    IMG_20200222_141942.jpg

    Coverage looks really good.
    JPEG_20200216_171614.jpg

    Finished the water channeling. I used Masonite strips covered in packing tape to build the forms. Works well.
    IMG_20200221_223212.jpg

    Started to add lead, thinking I would need it but reports from the other Courbet captains say it's a bad idea. I'll add ballast later if I need it.
    IMG_20200221_200708.jpg

    Featherlite poured. I used black dye to give the Featherlite a greyish tint. Looks better than the white imo. If only I could get the shades consistent. Lol
    IMG_20200221_230527.jpg

    Looking from inside after it set up. You can see I added a bit of slope to it. Idk if it'll help damage control but it seemed like a good idea. Lol
    IMG_20200221_232413.jpg

    Working on the bow area atm. Bottle clamp is positioned. Trying to figure out how to route the hoses.
    IMG_20200222_140004.jpg

    Added a very functional upgrade to the bottle. No more struggling to open or close a frozen knob. Only issue is I might have put it on the wrong side. Might interfere with removing the regulator. Modifications may be necessary in the future. Lol
    IMG_20200222_140010.jpg

    That's all for now. Considering going to nats this year and if so, this will be my main ship. Trying to finish her up in time.
     
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  14. Kevin P.

    Kevin P. Well-Known Member

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    I think I added close to 2 lbs, but best to wait until the end
     
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  15. Beaver

    Beaver 2020 Rookie of the Year Admiral (Supporter)

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    That's what I'm told. I'm glad Will cautioned me because I nearly put 4lbs in. :bang::woot:
     
  16. Anvil_x

    Anvil_x Well-Known Member

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    Solid move on the ballast.

    I've reserved some hull spaces in my new boat for a similar reason. that would have been a pain to fix on the back side.

    I've done something very similar for a servo mount on Idaho. those trays are fantastic, aren't they? I like the aluminum bars you used. I used 1/4 ply for the tray, and.... well, here's some pics. Rabbited my tray together and it went in like a glove. Mine's still even removable for repairs, etc. I'm probably going to up-armor it here in the next week or two.
    IMG_20200223_153024.jpg IMG_20200223_153048.jpg IMG_20200223_153055.jpg
     
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  17. Anvil_x

    Anvil_x Well-Known Member

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    Hey, I forgot to ask, what's the working time with feather lite?

    Any drawbacks? I saw you need mold release agent, but that was it.

    Reason I ask is that those cast resin turrets I made are.... very heavy. I'm gonna keep cast turrets, but I'd definitely like to upgrade to a lighter resin to relieve some of the top weight.
     
  18. rcaircraftnut

    rcaircraftnut Well-Known Member

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    This is the main reason I want to 3d print my supers. Looking at flexible filament for turrets. I think it will be awesome but have to test it before I form an opinion.
     
  19. Anvil_x

    Anvil_x Well-Known Member

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    Oh yeah, 3dP will hopefully be the next boat for me. my current project is the casting experiment boat. Featherlite would take a ton of weight off my topside.
     
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  20. modelshipsahoy

    modelshipsahoy Vendor

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    Microballoons mixed into regular resin works very well for lighter castings. Just have to limit the mixture ratio to keep the resin flowing. Then brush the inside of the molds to wet them before the pour to prevent bubbles adhering to the surface.