#12 8 months ago

Tools

Alessandro, I can understand the shortcomings of your multi-purpose drill. My Proxxon takes small drills of 1mm and less and whilst it is more accurate and doesn't vibrate as I said it doesn't run slow enough for delicate drilling work so I've only ever used it for cutting and grinding timber. I have a Dremmel as well which I bought many years ago for DIY and that is good quality as well.

Drilling brings me onto another accessory/attachment. For model building and small scale DIY I prefer to use my smaller hex drive drills/drivers rather than my bigger drills with a chuck. But needing to drill some 1mm holes at my son's flat I couldn't find any 1mm hex drills. So I looked for a hex to chuck converter and found a nice little Bosch one. Despite it's relatively cheap price it was good quality and held 1mm drills no problem. Hex bits and this converter do move a little but at slow speed it was accurate enough for the job. As I said before if drilling something really delicate and want accuracy I use a pin vise. But anyway this converter is a useful thing to have and wished I'd bought one years ago.

Scratch building 7 Faireys at a scale of 1:12

Liked by Ronald and Steves-s and

#11 8 months ago

Tools

Hi Bob, I completely agree with you, the set of small files is very useful.
I've included them in my complete list of useful tools and equipment for ship modeling.
Personally, I consider them useful (in fact, very useful) but not essential.
I say this based on my personal experience.
Me too, I wouldn't do without it today.

Liked by Steves-s and hermank and

#10 8 months ago

Tools

Hi Chris, I basically agree with you, but with a few clarifications.
As far as I'm concerned, in the specific case of the lifeboats I mentioned, it was just a matter of time for me.
I say this because I've always used only cutters, chisels, pliers, wire cutters, and sandpaper (not always all together) for this type of work.
In fact, as I've already written in some posts in the topic you mentioned (I'll link to it at the end), I think building a static ship model can be done with very few basic tools.

It's true that for removing internal parts (using the small piece of sandpaper), even the Chinese tool does the job, but not for other tasks.
For example, it's unreliable for holes with drill bits smaller than 1.5 mm because it vibrates too much, enlarges the hole too much, and isn't at all precise. In these cases, I prefer a manual drill. Perhaps a high-quality drill wouldn't have any problems.
Otherwise, I agree with you, but if I had the chance, I'd buy everything top-quality.

https://model-boats.com/forum/153763

Liked by hermank and RodC and

#9 8 months ago

Tools

A simple inexpensive set of small files of different shapes is something that I would find difficult to live without.

This particular set came from the "middle aisle" of a well known super-market that is full of things that I didn't know I really needed when I popped out to get a bottle of milk.......

A set like this one with an alloy clutch handle allows the files to be used with or without the handle, which can sometimes be quite handy.

Not the finest highest quality files available, but they are really handy and they have worked well enough for two or three years so far and are still sharp enough to last for a bit longer yet.

Bob.

Never too old to learn

Liked by Ronald and hermank and

#8 8 months ago

Tools

Thing is Allessandro it's not only about time but with something like you have done it would have been very difficult to do by hand. I had a similar experience with my Faun build where I started off trying to do it by hand as I was very conscious of causing damage but couldn't do it and had to resort to using my drill/grinder. With care it worked out well.

My adage with buying most things is not to buy cheap but don't buy the most expensive either as value for money reduces past a point. High quality isn't always needed and I have some cheaper tools though most of mine are at least good - it depends on what tool you are buying, its intended purpose i.e. professional or DIY/hobby use and safety.

You wouldn't have made a better job of what you did with the most expensive drill/grinder that was a result of your skill. In some cases though you do need quality as when drilling, cutting and milling metals if accuracy is required. It is nice owning some quality tools though. When working with timber in our models you have some latitude in that you can cut close and then finish off with files and sandpaper etc.

Scratch building 7 Faireys at a scale of 1:12

Liked by hermank and RodC and

#7 8 months ago

Tools

As mentioned, tools must be high-quality; quality comes at a price. However, I also benefited from a Chinese multi-purpose drill.
I would certainly have preferred a quality brand, but this saved me a lot of time and effort on several occasions.
For example, when I made the lifeboats, I had to remove all the internal frames. Some people leave the original ones, but I don't like them because they're too large and sturdy and therefore out of scale; furthermore, they're too few compared to what they should be.
Well, if I had to proceed with the tools I used before—cutters, chisels, and sandpaper—it would have taken me a long time.
With this tool, it took me very little time.
It was also useful for cutting the tubes and solid brass rods to build the propeller shaft.

Liked by Ronald and hermank and

#6 8 months ago

Tools

Not a tool in the true sense of the word but glue.

Like a lot of folks I've become affected by superglue in that it gives me cold like symptons for a couple of days or more. With my later builds I managed without it though on occasions it would have been useful.

Someone on another forum who is similarly affected suggested DeLuxe Materials Superphatic which is odourless. I've used it but don't think it's a superglue as it takes minutes to dry. It has its uses though. I've even thought about trying superglue outside.

The same chap then recently suggested a cyanoacrylate which is odourless from Bob Smith Industries so I bought a bottle of Super-Gold which is a thin 3 to 5 second glue and a bottle of Super-Gold+ which is gap filling medium 5 to 15 second glue.

Used it last night on my Faun roof and it worked well. Held the planks together whilst I applied spots of the thin which wicked into the joints and ran some of the medium between the planks and the roof support. So happy with that and glad to have my full selection of glues again including aliphatic wood glue and canopy glue.

https://bsi-inc.co.uk/adhesives&subcate_id=63

Scratch building 7 Faireys at a scale of 1:12

Liked by EdW and Steves-s and

#5 8 months ago

Tools

I'm restricted by space as well Alessandro as I use the small bedroom, though it is nice in the winter, and so I can't stretch as far as a proper workshop. But I manage though and it's amazing what I do have in there! I do have a garage but it's only a single and rammed with stuff!

As regards the drill attachment, that has arrived. I haven't opened it yet but RobBob has already "road tested" it as we know. Turning the flex-shaft it feels a little dry so will benefit from a drop of oil I think. With the set I've bought it will be a useful addition to the tool kit. The full description on Amazon is DEWALT Right Angle Drill Adaptor, FlexTorq, 4-in-1 System, Compact, Straight Flexible Shaft, 12-Inch (DWAMRASETFT).

Scratch building 7 Faireys at a scale of 1:12

Liked by robbob and EdW and

#4 8 months ago

Tools

Highly professional, Bob, for now (but I think forever given the space available) it's science fiction for me.

Liked by Steves-s and zooma and

#3 8 months ago

Tools

I have a dremmel and find itfantastic for small grinding bit etc. I bought a set of 3 mm carbide burrs off Temu with cross cut flutes and they work very well. You need to be careful with them as they cut so well its easy to go too far, if you know what I mean.

Ian Langley

Liked by Steves-s and ChrisF and

#2 8 months ago

Tools

How about a miniature drill/milling machine?

The very small, but very heavy little drill/milling machine lives on my workbench where it takes up very little room and is used quite a lot for drilling.

Although I have also set it up for milling, I have not done any with it yet - but I have tested this function and it is strong enough for lightweight milling and its weight makes it vibration free.

Bob

Never too old to learn

Liked by EdW and Steves-s and

#1 8 months ago 1

Tools

Prompted by right-angle drill adapters on RobBob's thread and the need not to clog his thread up I think it would be a good idea to suggest and discuss tools on a separate thread which would go hand in hand with Alessandro's thread listing all the tools that are beneficial for model boat building.

I'll add my thoughts on the DeWalt adapter when it arrives later today, unless someone else wants to chip in.

In the meantime I'll mention my Proxxon flexible shaft drive which can be used for similar things and others. I bought a Proxxon FBS 240/E at a local show when I first got into the hobby a few years ago so that I could use it with some very small dia. drills I'd bought. But I soon realised that in common with most, if not all Proxxon drills/grinders they don't run slow enough for delicate work and in fact with around 1mm drills I prefer to do by hand using a pin vise.

Later I purchased a the flexible drive which I thought would be useful in the future! It lay in the cupboard for a couple of years but when I wanted to open up some frames already built in it was just the job. It's similar to a Dremmel so takes various types of grinding wheels. I even used it recently to open up space in the transom of Faun for the rudder linkage and that is a small model at only 16" long. Some of these tools don't get used often but when they are needed they are worth the purchase.

Scratch building 7 Faireys at a scale of 1:12

Liked by Ronald and EdW and

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