Display Pedestal Sources??

David:

Both Bluejacket Shipcrafters and Model Expo sell pedestal sets complete with screws. They are probably about as reasonably priced as you will find for such things ready made.

Russ

 

 

 

The Bluejacket and Model Expo pedestals are quite nice, and not too expensive.  Lots of modelers use modified lamp finials, which are available at places like Lowe's and Home Depot (as well as lamp repair shops).  A few minutes' work hacksawing the top off such a fitting and drilling a hole all the way through it can turn it into an eminently respectable-looking pedestal, at least for some models.  Do pay attention to the relative height of the thing, though.  Most turned brass lamp finials are pretty tall; they look fine on some models, but clumsy on others.  The other big drawback to that approach is that lamp finials tend to look like - well, like lamp finials.  But several different sizes are available.

Also, things can get awkward if the keel of the ship isn't parallel to the waterline.  You want the waterline to be horizontal; that means one pedestal has to be taller than the other(s).  Whether you're using pedestals made for the purpose, or modifying lamp finials, or making your own pedestals, the process of measuring the exact heights and mounting the pedestals at exactly the right points along the keel to make the waterline horizontal is a little tricky.  (It's actually easier on a wood model than on a plastic one.  The wood one presumably came with a set of plans, so you can take the dimensions from them.)

One other point.  There's no law that says mounting pedestals have to be made of metal.  I've seen some mighty nice ones turned from hardwood, such as ebony, boxwood, walnut, or cherry.  I haven't tried it myself, but I suspect it would be practical to turn a nice pair of pedestals from good-quality wood dowel with no more sophisticated tools than an electric drill, a couple of files, and some sandpaper.

I have made a few wood pedestals on my ancient Unimat lathe, with (I think) thoroughly satisfactory results.  It helps to start by drilling a hole through the piece of dowel to take the mounting screw, and epoxy a piece of brass tubing, an inch or so longer than the finished pedestal, into the hole.  The metal has two functions:  it makes it less likely that the wood will split during the turning process, and it provides a good, sturdy "stub" to chuck the workpiece into the lathe (or drill).  I don't see why the same basic process wouldn't work on a drill rather than a lathe - provided you don't want to make a pedestal that's more than an inch or so tall.  If you clamp the drill in a vise on your workbench, it will do just about everything for you that a wood lathe would do for this sort of work.  Sand the finished pedestal smooth while it's spinning in the drill, apply a nice finish (the woodworking supply companies sell finishes that are meant to be applied while the turning is still spinning), and you'll have a mighty nice pedestal - for a bare minimal cost and half an hour or so of your time.

Hope that helps a little.  Good luck.

These are the lamp finials which Doc Tilley writes.

I found them at the local Ace Hardware store.   There are also some lampshade risers (the one with the threaded male top-piece).   The lampshade riser came from Lowes or Home Depot.  

I have found that the selection of finials at Lowes/Home Depot are either overly gaudy, jewel encrusted things; or are cheap brass-plated items.    The Ace Hardware had some nice solid brass finials which were not too tall.   Price was less than a dollar each.    Check the electrical parts bins or print the picture and take it to your Ace Hardware store and find the oldest guy in the store.  

Thanks for the great ideas!  I have attempting using trophy parts before, but never thought of the lamp finials!

 

David, check out this link.  It a picture of an ocean going salvage tug that I found in the FSM online galleries named Foundation Franklin.  The builder used a unique (to me anyway) method of mounting his ship.  It is the 2nd ship in the group, featured in the Wisconsin Maritime Museum model Show.

www.finescale.com/fsm/default.aspx?c=a&id=1212

Pretty neat idea I think

paul

 

That's neat, Paul! Thanks for the link.

David, another popular method is to do a drydock mount. This consists of parallel pieces of square scale lumber. Here's an example:

http://www.finescale.com/fsm/default.aspx?c=rg&id=14&archy=2006&archm=11&aid=2648

and another:

http://www.finescale.com/fsm/default.aspx?c=rg&id=14&archy=2002&archm=12&aid=513

 

Thank for all the ideas guys.  This is my first attempt at a rigged sailing ship in ages, and I have quickly discovered that the ship needs to be firmly attached to some base before attempting to run the rigging! 

 

Dave

I agree with Ed, skip the big box stores if you're in search of something nice. I still remember the looks of blank puzzlement when I mouthed the word "finials" and both Lowes and Home Depot. You'd have thought I said, "Where can I find enough freezer tape to mummify my long-dead grandmother into a small enough package so she will fit into the chest freezer I need to buy today?"

Anyway ... desperate and pressed for time that day, I did find a substitute that works, at least for me - bronze bushings. They were in the "specialty fasteners" area at Lowes, come in various heights, and when polished with fine sandpaper and varnished, look quite presentable.

Fortunately they were for a flat-bottomed aircraft carrier, so no worries about height differentials as noted by JTilley.