KTL Faux Wood Deadeyes

[Kevin the Lubber]

Hot on the heels of the faux wood blocks, the deadeyes are now well into production. There will be at least two colours, Teak and Ebony, and possibly a light colour as well. It's a time-consuming process to make all the different sizes and, as I'm going to be spending a few days away in the hills this weekend, I'm not expecting to be ready for listing until the tail end of next week at earliest. But meanwhile, I wanted to show something which I think might surprise some of you.

I'm sure many of you are aware that printed resin has a tendency towards brittleness and has relatively little strength compared to many other materials. Consequently, for deadeye clamps the usual course of action is to either make these from wire or buy aftermarket photo-etch parts. But hold on! Resins have come on a long way in the last few years, and as PE can really push up the cost, I thought I'd see if resin really is a non-starter for this purpose.




This is a 5mm deadeye with a 0.4mm, square cross-section, resin printed clamp. The clamp is flexible enough to slip over the deadeye quite easily and it sits in a corresponding groove within the deadeye. For 6mm and 7mm deadeyes I'm able to increase the thickness to 0.5mm.









With such a thin cross-section, I assumed the clamp would break as soon as I put any tension on it. Initially, I did some rudimentary testing by threading it with 'rope' and pulling until it broke. I was surprised at how much tension it took before it snapped and thought it was worth being a little more scientific. So I made up a little test rig and dug out a box of redundant, 20 year-old Ikea fittings that were bound to come in useful one day. Looks like today was that day .

















Next, a quick'n'dirty mock-up of a deadeye channel, suspended between a couple of coffee tins. The channel is printed on an FDM machine in PLA. It's an 'L' section with quite a hefty rib at the back to resist bending.

The deadeye is simply resting on the channel with the clamp running through a small square-shaped hole, with a little brass hook attached for hanging weight. It's not glued in place, nor is the clamp glued to the deadeye.















Now to add weight! I won't do this bit by bit, that would be daft, but all that metal in the third photo.... well here it is again...




Surprised? Me too. I really can't see me needing to apply nearly 1 1/4 lbs of force on an unglued deadeye. If it's that dire I probably need to be checking the true-ness of the mast! And look at the distortion of the channel! If you look carefully, you'll see that the clamp has opened up a bit under this amount of force but under a more reasonable amount of tension it holds it shape and this 'no-glue' solution means the deadeye can be freely rotated to find it's natural line to the shroud.


Most of the time the clamp snaps somewhere in the eyelet, and being resin, there is no warning - when it goes, it goes, it doesn't stretch or deform first.








There's no secret formula behind this: I've tested several resins and basic mixtures i.e. elegoo abs on it's own, the same mixed with some syratech fast, nylon-like resin; and get the same level of force with more or less any resin that is designed to have a bit more flex and strength: the clamps always take about 1 1/4 lbs before breaking. Plain standard resin breaks a fair bit earlier. I ought to add that I'm applying the force in line with the plane of the clamp and know it would break more easily if I started pulling sideways etc.

Based on these tests I'll almost certainly be including resin clamps with the deadeye sets. It's a lot easier and cheaper than having PE clamps made up, which I think most people would welcome. Chains? No, I think these are too ship-specific.

BW
Kevin

 

[Sandekus]

The main question is what will happen to these details after a few years of aging? It will not turn out that over time they will break under the influence of the load on the cables, especially since the rigging tends to *play* from the influence of climatic conditions.

 

[Kevin the Lubber]

Wise words, Sandekus, but I think it’s worth putting this into perspective. All plastics deteriorate over time and resin will be no different. Plastic kits warp and become brittle and that doesn’t stop just because one of us has now built the kit 40 years after it was first moulded. I suspect every kit in my stash is at least 30 or 40 years old, probably even more, but I still plan to assemble (and modify) them. The same applies to the cotton and polyester thread we’re using for rigging. Then there’s the paint, enamels, gilt work, metals….

How long will resin parts last? I really don’t know. I read everything from an utterly fatuous 6 months to an apocalyptic, credibility-stretching 1000+ years. I have many hundreds of prints that must now be coming up for 5 years old, including a lovely chess set with very thin fretwork that shows no signs of deterioration. According to the literature, if parts are well-designed for printing, properly cured and protected from UV and moisture, the lifespan will be much longer than if any of those are ignored, so I give this a lot of attention. It's part of why it takes me an age to produce things. (Incidentally, this is why I make gun barrels in two pieces, because I don’t believe a single piece barrel will be clear of uncured resin deep in the bore).

It ‘feels’ to me like 1/4lb is a reasonable force on a shroud line; it’s enough to keep the line taut, but without putting undue strain on the parts or pulling the mast out of true. If the tensile strength of these clamps had only been 1/2lb I wouldn't even consider using them. But as described, they can (surprisingly) take 5 times that load without even being glued in place. Personally, I’ll be putting a little dot of some kind of glue to fix the deadeye to the channel as a finishing touch and I expect this to take the load off the clamp entirely as there's no load from the chains. I’ll be more worried about the lines absorbing moisture and becoming ‘saggy’ than the resin parts failing. But that’s just my take and the question of whether or not to use resin parts is something for each person to weigh up for themselves.

 

[Winova]

Once we have all passed through the pearley gates none of us will know how long these parts will last nor shall we care , if they work for now
use them and enjoy your hobby , as I say once you have crossed over
the bar that's lt .but wait maybe we are leaving something for future
generations.

 

[Winova]

Once we have all passed through the pearley gates none of us will know how long these parts will last nor shall we care , if they work for now
use them and enjoy your hobby , as I say once you have crossed over
the bar that's lt .but wait maybe we are leaving something for future
generations.

Sorry spelt pearly wrong, does not have two e s. Pearly not Pearley

 

[Digger]

Sorry spelt pearly wrong, does not have two e s. Pearly not Pearley

Spelt is not a word. I think you mean spelled.

 

[Corsair]

Spelt is not a word. I think you mean spelled.

Actually, "spelt" is a word. But not with the meaning that it was used for.

Spelt is an ancient grain, similar to wheat, known for its nutty flavor and potential health benefits. It can be used in various forms, including flour and whole grains, and offers a good source of fiber, iron, and manganese. Spelt can be a good alternative to modern wheat in baking, though it is not gluten-free.

 

[Winova]

Hello Digger . Myself being from one of the Colonies, according to the Oxford English Dictionary , Spelt is chiefly Brit., form of the verb spell.

 

[Winova]

Corsair and Digger , From Britannica World Language. Edition
OF Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary ,Volume Two ,!959 ,
Spelt (spelt) Alternative past tense and past participle of SPELL.
As a noun, Spelt is a species of wheat.
Cheers , Winova