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October 2013 MAINE COASTAL NEWS Page 11.


BLUEJACKETS COMPLETE MODEL OF LUNA - LASER TIPS Waterfront News


Model of the Month-Tugboat LUNA Continuing the theme of tugboats, I thought that I would feature our new custom model of the very historic LUNA. LUNA has the distinction of being a National, State, and Boston Historic Landmark! Designed by famed naval architect John Alden, and built in 1930 by M.M. Davis in Solomons, MD, LUNA was the world’s fi rst commer- cially owned diesel-electric ship docking tugboat. She worked continuously until 1971, except for WWII Navy service, for the Boston Tow Boat Company. At one time, during the 1920s and 30s, more than 1000 full sized (over 90’ long) tugs operated in US Gulf and Atlantic ports. Most of these were steam powered. Today, LUNA is the last full sized wood hulled docking tug in existence. Thanks to the hard work of a very dedicated group of volunteers in the LUNA Preservation Society, LUNA lives on as a museum ship in Boston harbor. In order to preserve her, she underwent a more than $750,000 over- haul by the well-known Sample Shipyard, in Boothbay Harbor. The funds were raised by the Preservation Society, several very generous individual grants, and by funding by governmental agencies. Tugboat LUNA is, indeed, a very valu- able nautical, historical resource, snatched back from the brink of being broken up for fi rewood. Tip of the month – LASERS


Wow, are we getting high tech! Lasers are getting to be ubiquitous in our society. From blasting alien spacecraft in outer galaxies, to fi xing our eyes or removing unwanted tattoos, lasers are used in many as- pects of our lives. I guess that we should be- gin by defi ning what a laser is. The scientifi c


defi nition is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplifi cation based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. Okay, now that you know what a laser is, we can get down to business. Really, what a laser means to BlueJacket is that we have a means to very accurately cut wood, with absolute reproduceability. Actually, the way that I explain BlueJacket’s use of our laser is to think of it as an ink jet printer that is familiar to most people. The difference is that our substrate is relatively thin wood rather than paper. Instead of spraying ink, the laser “sprays” a high intensity light beam that burns the wood. Both a printer and our laser are controlled by a computer. Formerly, in order to produce thin, cut wood parts, a metal die was frequently used.


Because this was a mechanical process, parts produced from the same machine and die were not always exactly the same, be- cause of movement of the wood, dulling of the die, etc. If we use the same computer fi le to produce multiple pieces, we are assured that each piece is exactly the same as all the others. That’s why when we get a call telling us that piece A doesn’t fi t into piece B, in a kit that has been in production for years and has been successfully built hundreds and hundreds of times, that it is a modeling issue and not a parts issue. Normally, we program the computer to leave several “uncut” areas around each piece. If we didn’t do so, the modeler would receive a bag of unrelated parts. It’s much easier for the modeler if we leave the laser cut parts in the back matrix, so that we can label the parts, kept with other related parts, and/or visualized more easily. laser cut part in the matrix If you look carefully along the bottom edge of the two parts pictured above, you


The model of the diesel electric tug LUNA.


will see two “breaks” in the bottom dark lines. If you were to take the tip of a mod- eling knife and just press straight down on these two areas, the entire piece will come out. Because we can scan the design of a part into the computer, and then laser cut it in any quantity, it becomes a very viable tool for a modeler. BlueJacket does a great deal of custom laser cutting for our customers. Yesterday, a gentleman sent in a diagram of the side of a bench. He needed to build 24 identical benches for the top deck of an excursion vessel that he was building. All we have to do is scan the diagram into the computer, and instruct it to tell the laser


machine to cut 48 identical bench sides (ac- tually we did about 60, so that he had a few extra). This whole process will cost about $50.00, will save weeks of tedious hand labor, and each laser part will be identical. Win, win for everyone. If your next project needs railings for a Chinese junk, radials for a paddlewheeler, dozens of window frames for an ocean liner, etc. give us a call. You’ll be very pleasantly surprised.


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