Posted Sat, 03/20/2010 - 16:47 by Brian
I bought some test foam yesterday and did some penetration tests with Nassau's cannons. As expected, they are firing a little soft. So I spent a little time experimenting to see what the best solution is for increasing the volume of the accumulators. As I mentioned in the comments for an earlier blog post (Quick Test Firing) I should only need about one cubic inch more volume. However, time is running short for the Maker Faire so I am not experimenting anymore.
Posted Sun, 03/14/2010 - 15:16 by Charles
Spent yesterday working on building a storage and carrying case for Missouri. It's almost ready, but I forgot to take any pictures. This case fits the boat snugly and securely, allowing me to store the boat where the cats cannot get at it, haul the boat in the open bed of my truck without worrying about the wind, and use the case as a workbench, or as a pondside seat (it is strong enough). I left the boat hull and box at my friend's workshop (where we built it) to let the lacquer dry.
Posted Sat, 03/13/2010 - 15:59 by Brian
Brett Fleming and I were brainstorming about depression earlier this week and he had a great idea - just sandwich tubing between the barrel bends and the barrel bracket. After spending a couple of days to decide if I could come up with anything better (I couldn't) I roughed one out this afternoon and fired a few rounds through it. There is good news and bad news...
Posted Sat, 03/06/2010 - 15:31 by Charles
So, I was able to get my hands on some plastic sealant (similar to tool-dip) today and re-sealed the interior and internal mount points on Missouri. This should prevent the cat from smelling residue of previous marking. Also, I'm working up a carrier/storage box similar to what Gniesenau had. That way, I can safely store the boat without worying about the cat once again getting access and "marking" the boat as his. Once this all dries, I'll resume working on the electrical refit.
Posted Tue, 03/02/2010 - 20:56 by Brian
I took a little time to mess around with the barrel bends again. I somewhat accidentally discovered that the PVC glue bonds strong enough to press fit barrels and risers into the barrel bends. This will eliminate two of the metal parts I had planned to use. I also did some test fires through the barrel bends. Everything worked great except the guns seemed to be firing a little soft. I will probably have to wait until the weekend to investigate more.
Posted Tue, 03/02/2010 - 16:02 by Drew
I've been thinking building some sort of armored harbor for Huntington to park in when she's not needed and I think I may finally have a viable design. This involves modifying a styrofoam cooler by cutting off one end and cutting a hole in the bottom. Then I can toss this in the water upside down. Hopefully it will float and might require some balasting to make it float level since one end was cut off. Either way it would hopefully provide some protection from stray rounds damaging the club's rescue boat. I hope to go shopping for foam ice chests in the next we
Posted Mon, 03/01/2010 - 22:42 by Brian
I took a little time tonight to knock out some test risers for the Barrel Bends I roughed out yesterday. I am trying to get enough together to test fire some rounds through them by the end of the week. I was really surprised to find that even with the risers loosely fit in they held the barrel bends in alignment very well - even without being bolted in place!!!
Posted Sun, 02/28/2010 - 19:40 by Brian
I am not going to post many details as I don't know if this is going to work or not. However, I did make some progress making the machined barrel bends today. Plus the PVC glue does seem to be be at least as strong as the PVC itself. So this might just work. If it does then it should trim amost two inches off of the height of Nassau's barrels. I am hoping to install them at scale height. Here are a few random pictures from today.
Posted Fri, 02/26/2010 - 23:10 by Brian
I took some time tonight to make the holder I needed to make the next-gen barrels on the rotary table. It took longer than expected but I think it will work. This bolts to the rotary table and provides repeatability of setup for the barrel bends. Plus it should hold two parts at a time!
Posted Fri, 02/19/2010 - 06:58 by Brian
After a recent facebook exchange with Greg McFadden I noticed his February 7 post on RC Naval Combat showing the work he is doing on his SMS Baden. I really like how he integrated the motor mounts into the stuffing tubes. Its basically a two component setup - the first is a bracket that allows him to easily adjust the distance of the motor from the prop-shaft - this makes it easy to use a belt to drive the propellor. It also allowed him to place the motors aft of the stuffing tube (something I am going to also probably need)