What tools do I need to get started?

In most all of the recent Model Shipways kits, the instruction book lists those tools that are needed for the particular model. However, this list has almost become boiler plate in the instruction books I prepared. Here's a composite of my list:
  1. Knives and saws
  2. Files
  3. Clamps
  4. Tool Set
  5. Sharpening Stone
  6. Boring Tools
  7. Miscellaneous
  • Bench vise (small)
  • Soldering iron or torch
  • Wire cutters (for cutting fine wire and strip metal) My response regarding tools was primarily for the "minimum" needs, obviously addressing hand tools. There is also one power tool that I keep on my minimum list, for models as well as large woodworking projects. That is the band saw. I have never been without one, and never will. To me it is the most useful power tool in any shop, for fancy cuts, stripping, or just plain cutting a piece of scrap wood in half.

    For model work, a small band saw is desirable. I had been using a large Sears saw up to a few years ago. However, I bought a speed reducer for it, and now use it exclusively for cutting metal. Of course, you can change the reducer, and change the blade for wood cutting. But I'm too old for wasting that much time. I decided to invest in a small model band saw.

    Well, Micro Mark had just advertised a new Black and Decker band saw for the modeler. I jumped at it. But boy was I disappointed. This was a big piece of junk. I think it had a wooden or rock gear drive. It was so noisy you could not believe it. It was also not accurate, would not line up, and the case and other parts pure trash. I was not happy that Micro Mark sold such a thing. Well, maybe they got the word too, because they soon dumped it, or maybe B&D did.

    What I have now, and good old Micro Mark is selling it also, is the new Delta 8 inch band saw. This is one dreamboat. It is so quiet you can hardly hear it running. Very accurate and the case and all parts are of excellent metal and machined very well. It cuts smooth as silk. I generally use a 1/8" blade which is very thin. You can get this saw for a song at the big stores like Home Depot, and some mail order.

    As a model band saw, cutting small stuff, I added a new plastic laminate table on top of the metal table. Saw a slit to the center with the blade and you have a nice table without the big hole around the blade.
    {Ben Lankford}

    While I now have a pretty good stable of power tools, I have scratchbuilt hulls using a coping saw. While a jig saw certainly makes life easier, it is not absolutely essential. I used thinner lifts, and these actually make shaping the hull easier anyway, although it is more work cutting more layers.

    Of course, that may require re-lofting the waterlines, but that doesn't take more than a couple of hours.

    Of course, this requires that the hull be built bread-and- butter, but I always do that anyway. Wood gets expensive when you want a single large block.

    The thing I like about scratch building is that I can pick my own scale, and can build any ship I want, not just the ones that are kitted.
    {Don Stauffer}

    The only power tool I have is my Dremel! No real workbench, no large saws, not many tools bigger than an Exacto, I borrowed a table saw & other tools at a friend's house to do the first cuts on the Incomparable hull) That's why I don't scratchbuild more than I do. Kits, even inaccurate ones, require far fewer facilities, and far less time to make into an acceptable model.
    {David R. Wells}
    The producers of model kits supply wood and metal parts for a completed kit of average detail. A "good" kit will have plans which allow the dedicated and experienced modeler ample scope for adding more detail. Generally, you have to supply some materials yourself.

    I think you will add more tools and materials to your workshop with each kit you build.
    {Septimus}

    One of the nicest and most accurate hand tools to use in woodworking is a good block plane. One of the earlier messages mentioned using a razor plane, which uses removable blades that look like single or double edged razor blades. I used one for years, until the special blades it used became unavailable. Then I checked up on "traditional" planes and now am much happier. Here are the basic steps:
    1. Get an old miniature plane in restorable shape. What you are looking for is something like a Stanley 100 or Stanley 101. I prefer the 100, because I find the "squirrel tail" handle to be more comfortable and to give me more control. They are fairly rare and significantly more expensive than the 101's. You should be able to get a decent 101 off of eBay for between $20 and $40. A lot of time people selling them don't know what they are, so they list them as "toy plane," "little block plane," "funny little plane," etc. As always on eBay, patience, persistence, and creativity with the search engine pays off. There were similar models made by both Millers Falls and Sargent. Look for one whose description says "minor rust" or "no pitting." If you're buying it to use, you don't really care what shape the japanning (the baked enamel) is in, but collectors do, so that's where the bargains lie. Look carefully at the picture to make sure the body of the plane is a casting and not the cheap stamped ones sold by Stanley when they started going downhill. In general, the older it looks the better the steel in the blade will be.
    2. Clean off the rust with your favorite rust remover and steel wool.
    3. Sharpen the blade. The now-legendary "scary sharp" system really works. This involves using fine grades of abrasive paper glued to a flat (glass or marble) surface. I found that for small blades you don't really have to glue the paper down, and using just three grits (400, 600, and 1500) works just fine. (Fine grit wet or dry paper is available at auto supply stores). You'll need a rolling jig to hold the blade at the right angle; look at the full-size ones at a hardware store, then make a miniature out of a block of wood, some wing nuts, and a couple of 1" shower curtain rollers from the hardware gizmo display. I use a marble base from a junked desk pen set for my flat; you can also get marble scraps cheap from monument places. Having a good reference flat is useful for other things as well. If the blade is in really rough shape you may have to start with 220 to grind it to shape then go down through the grits until you get a mirror surface Watch how you test it with your finger -- it will indeed bescary sharp.
    4. Lap the sole. The bottom of the plane will almost certainly have warped a little with age, and is probably scratched to boot. Using the same abrasive paper and flat surface, rub in a figure eight pattern until the sole is flat. You can see this develop in the pattern of scratches as you go.
    5. "Tune" the plane. This involves getting the blade aligned to the sole and sticking out just a few thousands of an inch. The 100/101s don't have the fancy threaded adjustments of the bigger planes, so this looks tricky at first. Actually it's easy. Get some shim stock of varying thickness. Lay the plane on your flat surface with a piece of shim under the nose, which will mean there is a tiny angle between the sole and the surface. Slide the blade in place, letting its edge lie on the surface. Tighten the locking screw and take a trial cut. Adjust depth by changing the thickness of the shim stock, moving the shim in or out, or both.
    6. Admire your work. You should be able to cut the tiniest of shavings off bass or spruce. I "scary sharp" my larger (old) Millers Falls block plane, and I can tune it to cut a .001 shaving the length of a six foot long sitka spruce mast. With one of these you'll learn the manifold advantages of being able to shave off just what you want, flat and smooth, without the frustration and rounded edges you get when you play with rasps and sandpaper.
    {Earl Boebert}
    I've been building models for years, and I like tools, so I collect them. The hard part is deciding which represent a reasonable subset. The list below is for scratch building in 3/8" = 1'-0" scale. Some items are superfluous to building from a kit

    I get a lot of use out of my Dremel tool using the cut-off disks that come 25 or so to a pack. It does a fine job of cutting piano wire and rounding the ends. I don't use it much for shaping wood tho.

    A jigsaw and a combo belt/disk sander both get a lot of use.

    I tend to leave models in natural wood, so my "finishing" is mainly sealing and varnishing

    The scale of 3/8" = 1' 0" that I use has several advantages. It's 1:32, so a pocket ruler will read inches directly. It's small enough that materials are easy to find and handle, but large enough that most full scale techniques are feasible.

    The following is a good start on a tool collection:

    {Roger Derby}
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