Ship Model Building Tools. Part 3
In assembling the large number of small drills that he will use in his pin vise, the model
maker can improvise still further to save money. Sewing needles, available in all sorts of
sizes for little or nothing, can be made into excellent substitutes for expensive twist
drills. Simply break the needle at the swell of the eye and sharpen it to a V-shaped point
on an oilstone. Tiny chisels for small carving also can be made from needles of various
sizes. Sail needles ground to a keen bevel and oilstoned are particularly well suited for
use as chisels. (See Fig. 11.) For the various delicate gluing jobs required in making
deck fittings and other gear, the model maker can make good use of a half dozen or so of
ordinary spring clothespins. By filing their heads to various shapes, you can improvise
strong clamps for holding almost any kind of joint in place.
On small models, a draftsman's ruling pen forms a good clamp. Being adjustable, it can be clamped on the smallest joint until the glue sets. A ruling pen used in the same manner also is a valuable tool to be used in combination with tweezers when fastening wires in place. Even the lowly crochet needle has a place in the ship modeler's kit. Its tiny hook can be used in tying small knots and arranging and guiding the thin lines in the rigging. Naturally, there are many tools that the ship modeler cannot improvise or make, but these can be bought a few at a time as the demand for them arises. When asked recently what tools he would buy if he had only a few dollars to spend, a well-known model maker listed the following:
- Pocketknife, having two or three blades, one ground to a slim point.
- Panel saw, 20 in. long and having approximately 9 teeth to the inch.
- Block plane, small, about 3 1/2 in. long with a 1-in. blade.
- Fret saw, 12-in. bow, and blades.
- Jeweler's hack saw for cutting small metal parts.
- Small spokeshave, wooden, having a square face and a 1 1/2-in. blade.
- Rasp, 8-in. half-round cabinet, second cut. Bit brace and wood boring brace bits. Assorted twist drills for pin vise. A good pin vise. An extra one will be useful and worth the additional money.
- Hammers, 16-oz. claw and a 3-oz. riveting (No. o).
- Pliers, flat-nose, round-nose, and diagonal cutting, 5-in.
- Nail set. 1/32 in. nose.
- Try-square, 9-in. Boxwood rule, 2 ft. long and having four folds. Assortment of small size C-clamps.
- Tweezers and scissors.
- Oilstone, 5-in. combination, fine and coarse. Soldering iron, solder, and flux.