Newbie no more - Building the Revell 1/72 Gato

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

White (open-cell) Bad!

Blue and Pink (closed-cell) Good!

David

[trout]

Crud. Thanks David for the info.

[trout]

Couldn't resist the urge to add the hand hold.

After looking at lots of pictures of subs, I kept seeing the forth step at the bow, so I drew mine in from a pattern I made off of the Revell Gato line drawing in the instruction book.
Then drilled out the initial opening.

Using a small half round file, began opening the opening to match the pattern. At the same time, I would alternate with grinding out the back of the opening.

I made the top way to high, so I added a little Nitro Stan filler around the opening to correct some shape issues I had, then wet sanded the area.

I will worry about the primer paint a little later.

[trout]

The Props are on!

Let me digress....... In the beginning there were several choices for propellors. I went for the Raboesch prop. They are pretty, but it is threaded. So, fellow newbies, use the ones in the fittings kit! I was enticed by the bright, shiny, brass props. So I bought them. After some time it was shared that the thread is 5-40. Jay aka beeryboats lent me his die (an amazing man!). For the life of me I could not get threads on without destroying the shafts by twisting, gouging, bending and well you get the idea. Maybe you don’t. Here is a picture of the threading attempts.

This does not do the damage justice because some of the shafts had a cork screw in them and others I cut and re-used. I destroyed two sets of shafts plus a lot of brass rod. I had a second fittings kit set aside for the next Gato.
While searching around, I found mention of two types of dies (there are more than that, but for my purposes two), hex and adjustable round. The hex was mentioned for rethreading and repair. The slotted was for threading rods.
Jay used the hex. With brass, after countless tries, I could get a so-so thread on (Jay you are the man!), but destroyed it with twists. To get any kind of straight thread, I would have to taper the end considerably to get it to work and clamp the heck out of it. Steel shaft just would not happen. Once I discovered the info on the adjustable round, I went ahead and got it and a handle.

I played with the adjustable round, first on brass then on my last shaft from D&E fittings kit. The brass also gave me an idea of how much thread the prop actually took. Now I felt confident to put a thread on the ones David very generously made for me. The other key thing I discovered is using the right vise (DUH!). I have a shop vise that rotates on a ball to allow me to adjust angles and it has a smooth surface on one jaw and a v groove along the length of the other jaw. Prior attempts using a regular vise and locking pliers to prevent the shaft from spinning in the vice led to this, another picture of shame, the twisted shank.

Once I used the smooth vice’s v groove, that stopped me from needing to use the locking pliers and prevented the torque from reaching the area the Dumas coupler connects to. Are my shafts perfect? One came out great. the other has a slight offset (caused by uneven pressure from one side allowing the die to travel slightly off-center). It should be O.K., I will see how it works later. Need to move on!

[Kazzer]

Good grief! It looks like a slaughterhouse there! Seven shafts messed up? What are you doing? :-)

Perhaps this is a good argument for not using brass shafts?

[Subculture]

A shaft needs to be threaded using a lathe really. You mount the shaft in the chuck, and use the tailstock to ensure the die is square, spin the chuck by hand and gradually wind in the tailstock to push the die up against the tip of the shaft. Trying to do it the way you are is a recipe for disaster.

[trout]

Thanks Subculture! Recipe for disaster is my speciality! Being a beginner at this and not having a modern lathe, this is what I have to offer. Although, you make a great point and I do have a lathe from the 1900's. Hmmmm I wonder if I could get that to work? How do you get the shank to slide in deep enough to hold it...... not on this build, might have to play later!

[trout]

Oh! @Mike
What am I doing? Learning. LOL
It is not an argument for not using brass shafts, an argument to practice a lot more than I did or give it to someone that knows what the heck they are doing (with the right equipment).
Yes, yes it does look like a shaft slaughterhouse. :-) I hope this does not make this posting R rating for gore and violence.

[beeryboats]

I had use of a small lathe at work and I made sure I chucked it down deep very close to where I was starting the threads. I ended up using a box end wrench to hold the hex die and after putting a slight taper on the shaft, I just pushed the die against the shaft while turning the head of the lathe by hand. Works like a charm. Tom, if it makes you feel better, I bent one of the stainless shafts. I had it chucked up in a drill and was polishing it with scotch brite when it tweeked on me. That's why I went to the brass rods.
Jay

[reddevil]

NIce thread. Looks like you have props changed. The way you've installed them, they'll have to rotate inwards (instead of outwards) to go ahead). Sure it's due to the impatience of having a look of them im place.

[Kazzer]

I used to make dowsing rods out of steel 3/16" and threaded about 3/16" on the ends. I always used a woodworkers vice and lined the jaws with a hardwood, then placed the rod so it just protruded. Then I opened up the split die to do a first cut.



Use lots of oil too. I never had a problem and found it quicker than chucking it all up in a lathe. But then, I'm a butcher, not an engineer!

[trout]

Mike, Thank you! I appreciate you explaining what that screw was for! I honestly did not know.

[trout]

reddevil, yes, it was just to see them in place! I will switch them when it comes time to do a final setup. Great eye you have there!

[beeryboats]

reddevil, yes, it was just to see them in place! I will switch them when it comes time to do a final setup. Great eye you have there!

Shoot! I didn't know there was a right side or left side. I got mine in backwards too I guess. I hope they turn as well in the other holes.....
Jay

[trout]

Jay, just change the props if you are worried about your shaft lengths.

The thought of my sub tagging a rock or bouncing off the bottom of a pool brought disastrous images to my mind. I saw David had added brass to his Gato keel on a Cabal Report, so I wanted to. What is it about bright shiny objects?
I scored the brass to the width I needed and cut out strips with my larger jewelers saw. Then I taped the strips to the keel and marked areas I needed to modify, like the taper for the front. Marked where I wanted the holes and numbered them so I could keep track. Removed the pieces, cut, drilled and shaped the pieces as I had marked them. Then placed the pieces back on and used the holes drilled out as pilots for the drilling into the hull.

Again the strips come off and I began to solder a length of 1/16” brass rod into the holes. The thought is the wire would fit into the holes of the keel into the hull and I could bend the wire to hold the brass strip in place, yet allow me to remove it if I wanted to.

Once the wires were all attached to the strips, it was time to push it through the holes in the keel.

Then using a pair of needle nose pliers began to bend and push the wire down. That was harder than I thought it would be and made me wish I had A. annealed it or B. used a smaller diameter. There were a couple I could not bend down because of their location.

Once they were pushed down, I used CA and baking powder to lock them in place.

Then went along the keel and cut any wire that stuck through and filed to clean up.

Later I will fill in the sides.