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By W.F. Crosby
THE SHIP model builder who attempts to make his own blocks out of wood will probably find that he is up against a real problem, particularly if he tries to make these close to actual scale. In order to overcome the difficulty, the use of ordinary wire solder, as shown in Fig. 1, is about the best possible way of making non-splitting blocks. This solder may be obtained in several different diameters, it is soft enough to be drilled easily and may also be cut with a knife to the desired length. The groove for the running rigging cut at right angles to this.
Another method is to use small pellets of plastic wood slightly flattened out. A thin wire strap may be worked around the pellet just before it is hard and a hole drilled without much difficulty for the line to pass through. This material will not split, and blocks may be made with great rapidity and with the utmost ease. The only thing to watch out for is that the blocks are all off exactly the same size.
The deck of the average sailing ship will be found to contain several gratings of fine "mesh" and also two or three skylights which may be extremely difficult to make of wood. Fiber of a thickness to suit the scale of the model will serve the purpose. This material will not split and may be worked and finished to look exactly like wood. For gratings, the size and shape should be secured and marked off into the desired mesh. The tang end of a small file should then be squared off and sharpened on a stone, and this may be used as a punch. The fiber is held over a narrow slot opening in the vise (Fig. 2) and the homemade punch driven though it by a quick blow of a light hammer. The entire surface may thus be worked into the desired number of square holes. If the fiber has a tendency to shred off on the underside; an old razor blade or sharp knife may be used for trimming off this excess material.
Copyright, © 1933, by Popular Mechanics Company
