H.M.S. Enterprize 1774 1:48 from Modelship Dockard, by Fangorn (Guy)

[glennb17]

I found that actually finer grit sandpaper works well. It takes as long as a rough grit, but doesn't change the shape. And always use it glued to blocks, no loose pieces of paper! I have a ton of small blocks that were easy and quick to make. The frames weren't too bad either. I got a lot of use out of a Dremel in the Dremel router kit as a miniature spindle sander. And again, used relatively fine grit that I found on Amazon in these crazy big and cheap packs of sanding tubes.

I think the finer grit works because the char is actually quite shallow once you scrape away the ashes. Then you don't have to go down too far. If you use heavy grit, you go through the wood faster and you have to keep going until the whole surface is reduced to the thickness of the grit to get the last bits of affected wood.

I had to come up with something because in earlier projects; I was getting too much change in shape.

But finer grit (I get away with 320) and making sure never to use loose paper might help you out.

Also, I know it's tough on the stem. Those pieces are already tough to get right. But wouldn't those joints be felt and tar? (Feel free to correct me as I know people do here). You can always do a light scraping to get that loose stuff off which makes a good glue joint impossible, and then go from there. You'll see the joints. It might be a good way to show the work off too.

So maybe try one piece? Just lightly scrape off the ash with the back of a hobby knife and then try some 320 grit on a block or any shape you have. I used the point end of the hobby knife as a scraper in tough to reach places. I think you might be happy.

And don't despair, it's such a cool kit you started!


Best of luck!

 

[Fangorn]

Glenn,
Thank you. I have purchased a variety of sandpaper and discs and an assortment of paper to glue to various blocks.
This will take me some time and I will give it a go. I have scrapers and hobby knives work well for this too. I have various flat and shaped high end files as well.. we will see. Thank you for your kindness in writing to me.
Guy

 

[Fangorn]

Well, I very carefully tried some parts with 120 grit on a flat surface with my dremel rotary tool mounted in a fixture.
See what you think. I think it will work a charm for the most part. See attached video here:

Enterprise 1:48 · Sep 27 – Oct 3

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[Modelship Dockyard]

Hi Guy,

I'm very sorry that the charleft by laser cutting have had a negative impact on your building experience. Unfortunately, for a kit of this scale, containing dozens of sheets of parts, laser cutting is almost the only practical production method available to us.
I'd be happy to share a few tips from my own building experience, and I hope they may be helpful.
For removing the char from the edges of parts, nail files work very well. They are inexpensive—usually around $5 for a pack of 20 or so—and are commonly available in 100/180 grit or 180/240 grit versions. I personally prefer the 180/240 grit type, as 240 grit is fine enough for finishing, while 180 grit still removes the char quite efficiently. Of course, if you already have a set of good fine files, those will work perfectly well too. I simply find nail files particularly convenient to use.

When shaping and fairing the frames, a coarse woodworking rasp with sharp teeth can be extremely helpful. It removes material much more efficiently than a fine file. If you would like to speed up the sanding process even further, you could also consider a small spindle sander. Compact models are usually available for under $100. However, these machines can be somewhat difficult to control when you first start using them, so there is a certain risk of removing too much material or damaging the parts. For most purposes, a woodworking rasp is already sufficient.

I hope these suggestions are helpful and can make the building process a little easier.

Vic

 

[Fangorn]

Thank you Vic. I have order additional small stick sanders and am going to proceed. I think I am going to be fine.

 

[TRS7139]

FWIW; your best friend here is an oscillating spindle sander using 2”-3”or so drum.
It won’t leave uneven surfaces and corners stay sharp, car on frames, beams, about 2-3 minutes per piece
Be advised, if you glue pieces char to char you’re going to have weaker joints.