Tools for Wooden Ships
Whilst embarking on my wooden-ship building 'maiden voyage' I have acquired a few new tools which I'd like to share with you here. This is not meant to be a particular recomendation or review of any of them - more of a journey-share! I'll try to update this article with my thoughts on how the tools perform and any new tool purchases as I progress.
Pack 1 of the USS Constitution builds the false keel and the bulkhead frames which will form the basic skeleton of the model. Varnish, paint and brushes are supplied with the kit, but I needed glue (not supplied due to regional legal restrictions) and some files and clamps.
There are plenty of places online to get all these tools, and you can use my descriptions in your searches to find them.
Head over to our Fourm to share your own suggestions and tips (there is a special section to discuss tools). As I say, this is a new type of modeling for me so I look forward to hearing any recomendations from the expert wooden ship modelers out there!
Wood Glue
I imagined that being a big ship I would need a lot of wood glue - but I think this is a mistake. I bought two bottles of Gorilla wood glue. They were each 236ml/8floz which seems wrong on two counts:
- Firstly, it looks like it is just going to be way more than I need!
- More importantly, the tubes are just too unwieldly. They are hard to handle and too much glue comes out very quickly .
I will persevere by decanting into a little pot and using a coctail stick to apply the glue.
My suggestion is to buy smaller tubes of wood glue with a precision applicator tip!
In terms of the actual glue itself, it worked well and secured the first pieces strongly - so no problem with the actual brand, just the size!
Clamps
This purchase has been a little more succeful!
I got one pack of Revell 39070 Model Clamp Set which contains 8 little clamps that are each about 75mm (3") long, so quite small but I figure that they are going to need to be tiny to fit.
These have small hinged ends to them which give a good grip and some flexibility with the angles. First use has involved gluing the four supporting pieces of wood to the keel, then clamping them to hold the three keel sections together while the glue dries over night.
I'm really pleased with these clamps, they only cost about $6 and so far are ideal.
You can see in the image below my first use of the glue and clamps:
Files
I have a strong craft knife already, as I expect most of you will also have. The wooden pieces of frame come on a laser-cut board which requires cutting through the last remaining pieces holding the wood frame to the board.
After it is cut, there is a very small raised section on the wood where it was attached to the board. This needs smoothing off, and the files I bought made short work of it, leaving a lovely smooth finish.
I bought a pack of KALIM 10Pcs Mini Diamond Needle File Set 6 Inch.
Again, very inexpensive at under $10. I have only used one of them so far and it worked well
Polishing Sticks
I came across these whilst shopping for the files. It says they are for buffing plastic and wood and there are 40 in the set comprising 2 of each different grit levels. There seem to be loads of these available all with varying grit levels, so, in the interest of research I've bought a set to try.
They are the Honoson 40 Pcs Polishing Sticks - Mini Finger Sander (Drop Style).
I gave one of them a go on the face of a piece of a frame, but to be honest all the supplied wood of the frames, which are walnut, are very smooth already so I havent really given them a proper test. Maybe I'll have the chance to put them to better use in the future.
Masking Tape
Masking tape is needed to hold the bulkheads in place on the template whilst the glue dries.
I had no idea what width to buy so opted for a three-pack of varying widths. The pack I chose is the Tamiya set of 3 dispensers allowing me to try out the different options.
For Pack 1, I ended up using the middle-sized tape, which is 10mm (3/8"), and I will see if the other widths are needed later in the build.
The tape worked well, it's easy to handle and sticks/unsticks OK. It is definately worth having the dispenser to make handling a lot easier!
Set Square
I wasn't sure whether or not to get one of these, but I'm guessing that if any of the gluing of the bulkheads is off-center then I'm going to run into problems later down the track. This was the most difficult to find of all the items becase when I searched online I found loads of standard size woodworking squares, whereas what we need is a tiny one for modeling.
Eventually, I tracked down the Precision Machinist Square 2 Inch Engineer Square 90 Degree Right Angle Ruler Ground Hardened Steel with Seat 50x40mm(2x1.6 inch).
It really is small, and in fact the perfect size. The build quality seems very sturdy.
