That looks pretty good, the only thing I see is the starboard, or right side prop to all you landlubbers looks a tad lower than the port? Not sure but it looks like it in the picture, check it for me. As long as the props don't hit the hull, and the rudder clears the props, tack in the shafts with SG. I just use the 3/8 in masking tape and tape over the stuffing tubes on the outside of the hull, then flip it over and one at a time using 5 min epoxy fill the holes back in around the stuffing tubes, tilting the hull so the hole area is flat, some people use bondo also, I did not care for it, I liked the 5 min epoxy better myself. Just tilt it so that the epoxy does not run out of the holes on to the inside of the hull. Then pull the tape after the epoxy cures, and the holes are gone, it may require filling small spots is all. Those holes you ended up with are not too bad, you should of seen my first ship the Nelson, and I have seen others where the holes are 3 times that size, great job Ron. Snipe what are we doing, were both Axis battlers, Ron is allied, we don't want his boat to turn that well, LOL. []
One other thing I noticed Ron, next time you go to the Hobby store, get some 4-40 hex head, 1/4 or 3/8 set screws, so that you can replace those set screws in the propellers, nothing worse than having those strip out, and not being able to get the prop off the shaft. It sucks loosing a prop or shaft trying to get them apart.
Will double check everything than I want to add some glue or some epoxy to it to hold better before I epoxy the whole thing. It should be scuffed before epoxy ,right? Do I epoxy the shafts first than after it sets I epoxy the gearboxes? Is the West epoxy OK for this? Its not 5 min epoxy.
I like to use Bondo to set the gear boxes. It's thiker then the epoxy so you can hold the boxes a little better. Epoxy runs all over. Remeber to seal the bondo with epoxy latter. I also add glass to the holes around the shafts for extra strenght. Your stuff looks good now. Keep them at the same level by tacking them in place with a little CA. Dave & Chris, Sometimes it hurts less when you are getting gutted by the guns you built the weekend before...
So true. [] For a first ship Ron is doing great work, it should sail and fight really well. If and when I build a Allied garbage scow, it will be the Tenn. I like the fact that it can have tripples on the stern, while the Maryland only has doubles. And I just like how they look. Rick is like a different person when he is fighting his Maryland. Don and I are amazed at the difference between him fighting his Maryland, and his Nagato or Scharny.
We did some slight resetting of shafts and have it epoxied in place. I guess tomorrow the gearboxes get epoxied. Than what do I look to do next.
Thats why im letting you help him [] Just messing with ya my axis pig boat brother. Actually I thought you were doing a good job walking him through it. I need to get some fresh axis blood up here, the allies are taking over. As for what to do next I would go with getting the rudder servo and motors installed and testing it out, make sure everything works right before moving on. From there I would probably install the pump. Have you started looking at what batteries you want to use yet? Having at least one(or one set) will be handy for helping arrange stuff in the hull while you're building.
He should use 2 6v, 12 amp I would think. Standard weight is 30 pounds, max 33. What do others use for this ship, I have not made one, so not sure what batteries to use? But I think my above guess is right, 10 pounds of batteries. He was thinking about going with gears for the rudder, so he should get those before he tries to mount the rudder servo. I would say mount the motors, fit the main deck, then cut out the turret holes, and mount the turret rings. That way he can put all the guns into place, so he can see where they hang down, to ensure that he has clearance so he can see where he has room for the pump, batteries, bottle, regulator, and watertight box. Nothing worse than deciding on, and putting everything into place, and then finding the guns don't fit. I learned that making the Nelson.
You guys know so much about this, all I can say is WHAT. Its like a foreign language. This ship feels like I'm inventing the Pizza pie. Cutting a great hull into 1/2 its structure the first week. WoW! I'm gonna pick some stuff out of both your suggestions and do something. Maybe the snipster can tell me what to order for gears or servos for the rudder and I also need a battery. Hey Snipe can I use a 7A 12v tank battery? Now I need to find shaft tubes for the outer prop shafts and I was at Kenvil Hobbies today and haven't a clue to what I needed. By the way they have some 1/8 1/4 tape if you need it. I'll save my latest pictures for tomorrow and give you a break.
hehe no worries we can go step by step. You can use 12V batteries if you want but 6V is pretty standard I think Tugboat has built a boat on 12V so he may have some input if he is reading this. Like Dave said youll probably want to have somewhere in the 20-30amp range, Im not sure what the typical battery load for a Maryland is. But I would guess that like Dave said 2 12amp 6V batteries would work. maybe two of these suckers (Visit this site) apparently that URL is way to long, anyway I was talking about 6V 14amp batteries, two of those per battle should give you plenty of juice. oh and dont forget to get chargers for the batteries too. and when I say two I mean two sets of two so really 4 batteries. but again thats just speculation on battery capacity. For rudder gears the ones that BC sells are nice I like them, however there are lots of options, my cruiser uses Lego gears and they've worked great for years. Also you could get some gears, I know Kenvil hobbies has some packs of gears, to the left of the K&S brass tubes we were talking about. They are made by Stevens International, Ive never used them but I have a pack i got at Zeppelin (it was larger and had more sizes but I was looking for a tiny gear) and I think those would work pretty well. As for a servo my personal favorite rudder servo is Visit this site low profile and powerful it runs the dual rudders on my VDT without any problems so I would imagine it would work for you too. (it says its watertight but I still epoxy coated the board and its sunk numerous times without any issues)
Tomorrow I will epoxy the gear boxes in and body fill the bottom Epoxy. Do you take the gearboxes out to put epoxy under them or just push it in around them? Do you add Fiberglass cloth over the shaft cut out holes inside?
If its easy to lift them out and put them back in without messing up the alignment I prefer to do that. As for the holes for the prop shafts I mix a bunch of that filler in with the epoxy to thicken it up and keep it from running, gives it some added strength too. You don't need to add fiberglass cloth over the insides of the shafts.
I get my batteries from Portable Power Systems. 6v, 12 amp are only $13.85 each, I have not found anyplace cheaper. The 6v, 7 amp are $10 each. These prices are when you buy 4 of each, which is handy since you will need 4 batteries in your boat. 6 volt - 12 amp Visit this site 6 volt - 7 amp Visit this site
Ok wow. A lot of imput here and all great from a great bunch of guys. Ok maybe I can add my Canadian loonies worth. I wish I had pics.I am building the Tennessee and the hull is not cut out yet but I am at the same stage as you are with my stuffing tubes, rudder and prop shafts, props. I planned to use 2 6v 12ampr sealed lead acid batteris. I am using the same BC gears and motors as you and also have the identical props you have. I am not using gear rudders. Reason I am afraid that if I strike bottom it may damage the gear teeth and disable the rudder. I am going to mount a servo near the rudder post but use rods for a push pull action. I've used this system before and it is extremely reliable, easy to setup and can take hard knocks without being disabled. Just my take I know the gears are popular and work very well giving you maximum amount of rudder throw but you can achieve the same with a double push rod. Use a large circular servo horn or a long double arm servo arm mount the rods on the far ends and mount them closer on the rudder rod. You can use a double arm or a circular which ever works. The BC rudder gears work fine too so what ever works. The Gear wheels work better in confined spaces so if your tight for space there use the Gear wheels instead. So far a job well down.
BC also sell the stuffing tubes, so you can always purchase another set from them. They usually just have you install th 1/8 shaft for the outer props, since they don't spin. I don't care myself for that, I like seeing the same size stuffing tubes, so I always get another set to install. And Yes gears or throw arms both work fine, a single rudder is very easy to set up with gears, or throw arms, so it really comes down to what you want to put into it.
Maybe I should order the 2 12amp 6V batteries? If you think I should order I will. CURT said this is good for his ship also. Curt do you only use one servo for your rudder set up? I need to order all my servos and a receiver as I'm gonna use my DX7 radio. How can I test run my motors If I don't have these batteries or can I use others?
djranier Just order another set of shafts just like these from Rick? Order the outside mounts for these also as they give you 1/8 hole mounts.
Ron Are you talking about the stuffing tube supports? They should have 1/4 holes in them. The V-shaped units. If you are, get 2 of those, and 2 stuffing tubes. What were the length of the inside stuffing tubes. 8 or 10 inches or so. The outer will only need to be like 8 inch max, since you are not mounting GB on them, just a collet to hold the shaft in. You will need 4 of the 6 volt, 12 amp batteries, you use 2 at a time, and they last for 1/2 the day. So another 2 will be needed for the afternoon. Of course you can get 1 for now, just for testing and get the other 3 at a later time.
I'd say wanter channeling is next, after the gear boxes and shafts are installed. I leave the decks for last so I don't have to work through them. Put you rudder servo in a water tight box.
I will order 2 batteries now. The stuffing tube supports he sent are 2 v's 1/4 inch hole and two just straights with 1/8 in holes for just the 1/8 in shafts? http://www.battlersconnection.com/html/engineroom.html This pic shows 2 of the 1/8 hole ones and 2 of the 1/4 single arm ones.
