the lumberyard

Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)

Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)

Sponsor: dlumberyard
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a number of people are waiting for orders and wondering what happened.

well our main big thickness sander blew out it's main bearings which in turn chewed up the drum and shaft, that is a major tear down of the machine then taking parts in for repair, waiting on parts to come in, then a rebuild, after the rebuild then the machine has to be calibrated and adjusted tested and finally put back into operation. This will take time because we are at the mercy of the parts supplier, the repair shop and finally the rebuild.
then while all this is going on the orders pile up so now I am getting farther and farther behind,
soooooooo! we just have to take it in stride
 
Hi Ed, I got on ebay about 4 years ago the original boxed marine model of the lively with both the instructions from JIM ROBERTS, and the new set from DAVE STEVENS (LUMBERYARD) also a set of articles in SHIPS OF SCALE MAGAZINES BY KURT VANDAMN, witch are somwhat useful i got a good deal from ebay on it, but since the my focus has shifted to POF BUILDS THANKS TO DAVE STEVENS and i am fasanated with these build but i have hopes one day to do the build so i will be anxiously waiting for your log. Don
 
an up date
well now welding has to be done on a main shaft then the drum has to be put on a lathe and turned so it spins true. bottom line my parts are scattered all over this city in machine shops.
oh well all I can do is wait
so sorry to everyone waiting on me but #@$&^ happens
 
up date

the first rebuild was not done right so I sent the drum head back to be redone. I picked it up Saturday afternoon after the second try and spent the weekend rebuilding the machine.

I took it for a test drive and it seems to be running good at least for a machine that has been running for 35 years day in day out producing thousands and thousands of milled wood.

the thing is there are industrial machines built for production work and they are built heavy duty and built to last then there are the craftsman level tools that are not built for production work and to take the stress of day to day heavy work. Well this machine is at the high end of the "craftsman" home use category so having to rebuild it for the second time in its 35 yeas it quite good.


today I will put it into production and see how it runs under a load.

it will need some fine adjustments but it is looking good.

BUT now I am looking at 7 weeks of back orders so I will be busy real busy!
 
this just goes to show you what happens when you use home craftsman tools for commercial production work.

I knew a guy who bought one of those table top laser cutters and tried to use it for production work.
First he had to go over a cut 2 or 3 times to get through thicker material, then the machine was slow so machine time was way to expensive, he had to run the machine full power full speed and that just worked the machine to death.

in reality what I spent over time keeping this machine running I could have bought a brand new machine.

when you read the specs on a small hobby table saw and it says it will cut 1/2 thick stock it just might BUT when you have to cut 600 liners feet of planking stock from boxwood or hard maple your putting a lot of stress on the bearings and parts. In time you will kill the machine if you keep doing that.

if your going to buy small hobby tools you still need heavy tools to work the material down to a size the small tools can handle. or buy resawn material.
 
DAVE IS SO RIGHT ABOUT THIS, I THINK MOST OF THE HOBBY TOOLS ARE WAY OVERPRICED, using DAVES ADVICE I GOT THE LOWER END OF THE BIG BOYS TOOLS BAND SAW AND DRILL PRESS FOR HALF THE COSTS OF THE HOBBY TOOLS AND IT DOES MORE WORK I ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT A BAND SAW WOULD RIP THIN STOCK TO PIECES NO IT DOES NOT I HAVE CUT PLANKS AS THIN AS 3/64 inch SMOOTH CUT, MY DRILL PRESS IS USED WITH MY POOR MANS THICKNESS SANDER VERY, VERY WELL, AND I CAN USE IT AS A REGULAR PRESS AND AS A SPINDEL SANDER my only complaint is i really dislike to change blades on the band saw but that is just me i have a couple of hobby power tools my DRMELL WORK STATION, AND JUST PURCHASE AN ACRA MILL FROM VANDA-LAY PRODUCTS PUTTING IT TOGETHE NOW AND WILL UPDATE IT WHEN FINISHED. THANKS DAVE. Don
 
Don or Daves,
As someone who has a minimum of power tools but am looking to expand could you list your recommendations for model table saw, scroll saw, thickness sander ,etc you help would be very much appreciated and as always Thanks
Ed
 
YES THIS IS JUST MY OPION, MAYBE DAVE HAS MORE, I have 2 scroll saws one is a heavy duty drmell had it for over 20 years they do not make it any more a nd I have a DRMELL MOTO-SAW use it quite a bit, it is a good machine, not for thick materials, but i have used it on 1/4 inch material, my drill press is a bench top press MADE BY TOOL SHOP GOT IT AT MENARDS GOT MOT OF MAN POWER TOOLS FROM MENARDS, and i use it in conjuction with a thickness sander my thickness sander I REALLY LOVE THIS TOOL IT HAS SEEN MUCH USE STILL ON THE SAME SANDING DRUM it is called THE LUTHIERS BEST FRIEND 1/2 the price of the HOBBY THICKNESS SANDER cost was about $220.00 while the hobby thickness sanders costs almost $400.00, this tool i love, you just have to drill a hole in it for attahment to the drill press i think i show my set up on this FORUM UNDER TOOLS AND JIGS log,,,, also my BAND SAW IS FROM MENARDS cost was about the same as the drill press $120.00, and i have just purchased a MILLING MACHINE FRO VANDA-LAY PRODUCTS, just putting it together so not sure how it is going to perform, ONE OTHER THING THAT I DO IS GO ON EBAY UNDER ROTARY TOOLS AND LOOK FOR THE USED DRMELLS HAVE QUITE A LOT OF THEM MOST OF THEM COST ABOUT $15.00 to $20.00 USED, and they are 395s type 5, and for a little more money I HAVE GOTTEN 8220 cordless and 400 EXPRs, this if any burn out i just toss them at the costs not to big a deal(SO FAR NONE HAVE BURNED OUT, I do not own a table saw to me just not worth the money for the HOBBY ONES AND THE FULL SIZE ARE TO BIG FOR MY HOBBY ROOM, SO I USE THE BAND SAW IT WORKS VERY WELL AND YOU CAN RE-SAW ON IT ALSO YOU JUST HAVE TO CHANGE BLADES WHEN YOU RE-SAW. HOPE THIS HELPS Don
 
Don, many thanks for your prompt reply, some really good info here and much to consider, one last question do you have a disc sander and if so what brand and do you consider a sander necessary

Thanks again

Ed
 
Hello Ed,
Tools is our favorite topic, after ship modeling, for sure. And there is no winner, thought. Everyone has its own trues. My preferred choice of tools - is good tools at first. They don't have to be expensive and carry the brand name. They must be good tools! Unfortunately or likely, from my personal experience, good tools are costly, and labeled a brand names.
But wait, if you planning to build models from kits, you may not need that many power tools, as many parts comes prefabricated and you will need them to assemble. I would say, a rotary machine would be really handy. You will use it a lot to grind and to drill. Disk sander - is the great tool, but will you have a use of it while building kits? I don't think so. We mostly using disk sanders when building POF models, when need to shape frames.

Last advice, Don't buy all the tools at once, get them as you may need them! Spend some time and check our forum section about the tools. You will be surprise how much useful information you may find out.

https://shipsofscale.com/sosforums/forums/tools-lathes-mills-jigs-and-techniques.89/
 
ED, JIM IS GIVING GOOD ADVICE, I BOUGHT A DISK SANDER FOR $39.00 AND GUESS WHAT INTO THE TRASH IT WENT AND AS FAR AS I AM CONCERNED YOU DO NOT NEED ONE, EVEN IN MY KIT BUILDS AND I DISCARDED MOST OF THE WOOD FOR BETTER QUALITY WOOD AS I AM NOW HOPEFULLY PROGRESS TO MY FIRST SCRATCH BUILD I AM GETTING MORE POWER TOOLS, and i think that i am bottomed out with the power tools, as JIM SAID GET THEM AS YOU NEED THEM. Don
 
Ed B said:
Don or Daves,
As someone who has a minimum of power tools but am looking to expand could you list your recommendations for model table saw, scroll saw, thickness sander ,etc you help would be very much appreciated and as always Thanks
Ed
Click to expand...
Hallo Ed,
In order not to kill Dave´s topic because to be off -topic, I would suggest, that you start a new topic, especially related to your power tool needs in this area:

Tools, Lathes, Mills, Jigs and Techniques

This forum has combined all the Topics for Tools, Lathes, Mills, Jigs and Techniques
shipsofscale.com

In the new topic, I am sure, a lot of members will give information and advise, which tools are good and which not. Depending on the available money.......
I will give also my 2 cents into the discussion.
I am looking forward to this interesting talks
 
really it is not off topic the Lumberyard is far more than milling wood for model ship builders, I also cut blocks for wood turners and wood carvers some blocks can weigh as mush as 300 pounds.
it all has to do with the right tools for the right job.
I admit I murdered chain saws by slamming them against a tree because they wont start or they keep breaking. It is not the fault of the tool it is using that tool for what it was not designed for or poorly designed by using cheap bearings and parts, made of plastic rather than steel etc.

last few days more logs came in and that red color in the fore ground is not from something i killed i am cutting Cherry logs and using an industrial professional grade chain saw.

DSCN0592.jpg

wood this size requires strong tools those logs don't look that big until you stand next to them and realize some are 28 inch diameter

DSCN0600.jpg

this all applies to buying cheaply made hobby tools that are not meant to do what you have in mind. some of these tools are well made and you pay the price for that but still their design is delicate light duty.

most all my modeling work is done with hobby tools a Dremel rotary tool, 4 inch disk sander a hobby size scroll saw and a 10 inch table top bandsaw. BUT the material I am using has been cut down and resawn first. Before it is even in the shop to be resawn it has to be moved with a crane and heavy duty chain saws.
 
I AGREE DAVE AND THANKS AGAIN FOR YOUR ADVICE, WELL SATISFIED SO FAR WITH MY PURCHASES AND READY TO START ON MY FIRST COMPLETE SCRATCH BUILD LE ROCHEFORT NEED TO FINISH UP MY BUILDING SLIP AND MY VANDA-LAY MILL. Don
 
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