johnsmachines

The HMS Bellerophon model hull frame and bukheads are now glued, and the main gundeck false backing strips are also inserted (with difficulty) and glued. Notice the use of toothpicks to wedge the strips against the bulkhead slots to ensure that the outer faces are against the slot walls.

The above photo also shows that the bulkheads are substantially beveled for the planking to follow. When I made USS Constitution that beveling was a major job. But this time the job was almost finished in about an hour. How so quick? Well, I made a really neat cylindrical sander. Read on….

First I cut a piece of 38mm PVC pipe about 220mm long, and 2 pieces about 20-25mm long, with about 1/5 of the circumference removed. Then a piece of 50mm sanpaper about 280mm long.

Then stuffed one end of the sandpaper into the pipe….

Then inserted one of the split rings

The same at the other end, and there is your cylindrical sander, about 5 bulkheads long on my model.

It worked like a charm on both the concave parts of the bulkheads, AND the convex parts.

It really did work very well. The sandpaper never shifted on the sander. It was cheap and simple to make, and could be scaled up or down.

You are welcome to copy.

Just send royalty payments to johnsmachines.com.

P.S. This is an original idea to me. But if I am again reinventing the wheel, you can ignore the royalty pmnts.