For those without a shop or who are no longer that able to do complex woodworking

Rob Keeble

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GTA Ontario Canada
Hi All

I had an email from my Dad the other day, he turns 92 in July and he sent me a picture of a model he is building. The thought occurred to me that there might be many oldtimers that are present on our forum or visit it at least, that have reach that age where maybe a complete shop is no longer an option and they are either thinking of giving it up or have given it up but long for the days when they had something to do.

Well there is a company in the UK that publishes a magazine where the theme of the magazine is a model. In my Dads case it is a model of the battle ship Bismarck. To him this has special meaning since he participated in its sinking back in the war aboard a battle ship as the chief petty officer gunnery.

Anyway this model is no small uniteresting object but is made of wood and is made from what looks to be thin plywood that has been laser cut to make the part. In this case complete forums have been established around the building of this model which takes 140 episodes and is 52 inches long.

Here is a link to the publishers of this magazine should you be interested in subscribing.
http://www.hachettepartworks.com/

You have to look in their collections section for one which interests you.

Here is a link to a site with other sites and forums as well as pictures relating to the Bismarck build.

http://www.buildthebismarck.co.uk/index.html

Its the kind of thing that can be done from a small table with almost no tools. I recently sent Dad a few dollar store clamps to help him out other than that the very basic hand tools are all you need.

The pictures below are one showing the hull so far and the way the parts have been cut out when sent to you. He lives in South Africa and gets the magazine all the way from the UK so for the guys in North America that are interested in something like this getting it is no problem.

Hope this helps some guys get the feel of woodworking even though their strength does not permit the full time shop experience.:thumb:

Just for the record I have no connection or affiliation with this organization.
 

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now thats a unique idea rob and keeps there wits about them as well, i had just the other day a similar thing,, dad was gettin anccecy and had nothing to do ,,so i cut down a couple of dying trees for him and he's been cuttin firewood since...we all need to have some usefulness in our minds as we age.:):thumb::thumb:
 
Good post Rob. And send my thanks to your father for his part in sinking the Bismarck. Funny how this many years later a model of the enemy's ship would be of interest.

Ken
 
My second plastic model as a not-so-wee one (maybe 8 or 9 years old) was a sister ship of the Bismarck. The Tirpitz, if I remember correctly. Never finished it though, as I was at the time a bit young for the models requiring glue. My first model was a snap-tite Kitty Hawk. I finished that one. :thumb:

I wonder if there are any woodworkers out there who help model railroad clubs more out of a joy of making miniature items rather than so much the train aspect.
 
This is a feel-good story on several levels Rob. The fact that your dad is on the internet sending you pictures at 92 and is engaged in this neat project indicates he's a pretty neat guy.
Thanks for posting this. I'm sure the links will be passed to some interested folks with good results.
For the record, what ship did he serve in?

Regards
Peter
 
This is a feel-good story on several levels Rob. The fact that your dad is on the internet sending you pictures at 92 and is engaged in this neat project indicates he's a pretty neat guy.
Thanks for posting this. I'm sure the links will be passed to some interested folks with good results.
For the record, what ship did he serve in?

Regards
Peter


Thanks Peter, my Dad served on HMS Rodney, loved the ship so much even named my brother Rodney (poor guy):rofl::rofl:.

My reason for posting was not as a feel good story though, but for the guys out there that follow forums like ours, see the projects that are being posted in picture form and then get somewhat demoralised that they no longer can do that level of woodworking. Its a tough mental time when you reach that age. This "model" and there are other things of this kind, is still made of wood, still involves very light effort assembly and so is something one can do when ones mobility becomes challenged.:(

By mobility I even refer to the ability to have the strength to turn a screwdriver. Joint pains and muscle collapse is as we all know very real as you age, at some point our normal shop activities become too much to handle. Why loose all that experience thats out there is we active participants in woodworking can offer ideas on how these memebers can participate at a different level.:)

Heck I enjoy teasing my Dad that his chisels were never sharp until he gave them to me. He says they were sharp till I came along and abused them at the age of 12. We have this banter go back and forth. I never win.:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

By the way for those that dont know and wonder why the fuss related to a ship like Bismarck, it has somewhat to do with the incredible technology of the day. This ship and her sister type ships were state of the art pocket battle ships. Hi tech, fast and leathal if they had really got to sow their seeds of destruction. There is also a host of controversy about whether it was actually sunk of scuttled etc. I personally am not interested in all that my concern her is for the woodworkers that would like to have something to do that suites their physical condition at a senior age.
 
that banter yu mentione is as good for them as it is us,, they gave us the upbringun and they look at us with pride when we do things that they used to do and give them banter about the things they used to give us banter about while growing up..it shows what is inside when two adults can give and take and at the same time show respect.. i too respect your dads accomplishments and and the pride that hangs on your wall rob...
 
Well I told my Dad i had posted his pictures and that my buddies from the forum sent their thanks, boy it made his day and he sent a email back saying he appreciated the recognition but he was only doing what was neccessary.

Thanks guys.:thumb:
 
Having been in the navy, I've got a soft spot for ships. I did some Googling on the Rodney and read that England didn't preserve ANY of the old battle wagons that was in service. For being a the premiere sea power at one time, you'd have thought they would have kept at least one for a floating museum. As a kid growing up in the Puget Sound area of Washington, I dot to visit the Mighty Mo several times before she was put back into service. It was sad to find out she wasn't going to go back to the Bremerton shipyard again after her service was finished. I hope they keep the Mighty Mo and the New Jersey for a long time.

I did follow through all the post your dad made. Very impressed with the build. I only wish there were a few more photos of the assembly as whole to show more of the progress. His hands are steadier than mine everwere and a lot more patients.:D

Thanks for the post Rob!
 
This thread came up in conversation with Ken on our way to the recent woodworkers show. At the time, I mentioned that I thought that the Sullivan brothers' ship was at the Buffalo Naval and Serviceman's Park. Well, I was wrong. What is at the Naval Park is the USS The Sullivans, a destroyer (I think a destroyer) that commemorates the Sullivan brothers. From this Arlington site, the USS Sullivans was christened by the brothers' parents.

Thomas and Alleta Sullivan, in spite of the intense pain of losing their five sons all at once, made speaking appearances at war plants and ship yards in behalf of the war effort. They hoped that they could help prevent the loss of other American boys. Their daughter, Genevive, often accompanied them, until she joined the WAVES on June 14, 1943. In April of that year Mrs. Sullivan christened a new destroyer, U.S.S. The Sullivans, in San Francisco. This ship is moored at Buffalo, New York as a memorial to the five brothers. Today there is a park and playground where the Sullivan house once stood.

Back more on-topic, I saw a model sail ship where my wife and I went for dinner tonight and got to thinking that handplane shavings might just make a decent model sail material.
 
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Rob,
You are lucky that you father is still active. My FIL is 89 years old and has been failing due to Alzheimers. He used to be very clever at building and fixing things and it is sad to watch him deteriorate. FIL and MIL still live itheir own house, but probably not for much longer.
 
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