Stern Decorations - Hahn Drawings - Prototypes

I really wish I knew CAD
Dave, your building skills and attention to detail more than make up for any lack of CAD knowledge. For those of you who don't know, DocBlake and I have been building models together for quite a few years now. A lot of the parts you see me showing are from wood that he milled!!!! I tend to build prototypes and he then builds a killer awesome model from it!!!! A great team!!
 
Mike,
Great thread!
How much 'vector-proof' are Solidworks drawings or SW-sketches?
What thickness of Costelo is your laser capable of cutting?
János
 
How much 'vector-proof' are Solidworks drawings or SW-sketches?
Hi Janos. Thanks for the interest. I have never played with a Solidworks file. They are probably better suited for my CNC machine. Send me a very simple sample file via PM or email and I will experiment with it and post results!!!

What thickness of Costelo is your laser capable of cutting?
My 60watt laser you have been watching here can cut through 3/8" (9.5mm) hardwood in a single pass. My new 80watt laser can cut through 1/2" (12mm) hardwood on a single pass. Both lasers are capable of cutting thicker materials with multiple passes but I prefer not to do that as it creates too much char on the part.
 
Let's explore laser etching versus cutting again this time using the stern of the HMS Druid as our example.

Below, in a piece of 1/16" wood, we have laser cut out the stern piece, a fashion trim piece and the window frames for HMS Druid in 1:48 scale. Interestingly, we have also ETCHED the outline of the fashion trim piece directly onto the stern to provide us the EXACT location for gluing the trim piece down. We know the trim piece will match the etched location perfectly because they are the exact same drawing. The only difference is the etching was made from a 0.5pt line width while the trim piece itself was cutout from a "hairline" line width. We also etched the name of the ship directly onto the stern piece. NOTE: I realize the trim and ship name elements are not perfectly accurate as this is only for demonstration purposes.

IMG_0280.jpg

Next, we carefully remove the cutout parts from the billet. Since there are no tabs this was a very easy task. If this were an actual model, we might make the window frames out of a different type or thickness of wood. Or, we might paint the frames and trim piece separately, etc.

IMG_0281.jpg


This is a quick look at the backside of the stern piece. Virtually no laser burn. Thank you Epilog!!! How many kit parts come this way?

IMG_0283.jpg


Lastly, we test fit the parts together. Using the etched outline for the trim part makes placement of the trim much easier. You don't see this feature on many kits because it takes extra work to accomplish. We already know the parts are going to fit perfectly because they were designed in a computer using CAD software. By building up layers of stacked trim pieces we can begin to create 3D decorations for any ship. But there are even better ways to do this yet to come!!! Stay tuned for much, much more!!

IMG_0282.jpg
 
those windows were drawn with an offset oh maybe .006 either side of center. The big laser took around a .012 curf and left a char. The big laser cut away most of the window frames and by the time the char was cleaned the windows fell apart.
you can see here the window frames are much smaller.

the way the drawings are set up depends on what, how and who is doing the cutting


druid stern.jpg
 
the way the drawings are set up depends on what, how and who is doing the cutting
Yup, you got that exactly right Dave. And lucky for us at SoS, these Epilog lasers are made specifically for modeling so we can adjust the amount of char (power), fidelity of cut (speed), and depth of cut (power & speed).

Those window frames I cut were taken directly from Dave's drawings without any modification. I could scale them down so the frame boarders themselves would be LESS than 1mm, with ZERO char. It just takes some prototype testing. Once done... its done... bang out a thousand of them.

Notice the rounded columns between the windows? Notice the raised rounded lettering in the name DRUID? That is something a laser cannot do. Fortunately for us, a good CNC machine can easily do this as we will see a little further down the road.... along with scrolls, flourishes, vines, shields, shells, and yes - figureheads. Beyond that we can even combine laser and CNC together for even more details..... but that is for much later...

Surely there must be some questions from SoS readers???? I am at your service..
 
Mike,
I am eyeing De Crone as my next project which has 16 identical gunport wreaths. I can do the carvings, but it would be an awful lot of help if you could do the laser cutting for me! Would it be possible?
János
 
but it would be an awful lot of help if you could do the laser cutting for me! Would it be possible?
For gunport wreaths we will probably use my CNC machine!!! As long as you have artwork for your specific wreath we should be able to pull it off. The nice thing about CNC carvings (or laser cutting) is 1 or 16, it does not matter, they will all be identical. I also have HUNDREDS of stock 3D artwork that are already prepped for CNC..... show me what you need!!!

IMG_0262.jpg
 
For gunport wreaths we will probably use my CNC machine!!! As long as you have artwork for your specific wreath we should be able to pull it off. The nice thing about CNC carvings (or laser cutting) is 1 or 16, it does not matter, they will all be identical. I also have HUNDREDS of stock 3D artwork that are already prepped for CNC..... show me what you need!!!

View attachment 163620

Thanks, Mike, but I am not there yet. I would probably opt for the laser cutting only, because I would like to do the carvings, and I just need the outlines. The shape of the wreaths is not as straightforward than on this picture.
János
 
Excuse my ignorance, but by combining etching and cutting, can 3D produce in wood (instead of 3D printing) figureheads or even figures themselves because of limit of 90 angle and woulds scale+burn make this impossible? Can a larger piece be rotated?
 
Last edited:
Back
Top