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gjdale

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About gjdale

  • Birthday 11/28/1960

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    Canberra, Australia

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  1. This looks like a really interesting project Adam. I’m pulling up a chair in the front row (next to the bar of course!).
  2. No, I haven’t had the engine running yet Wayne. I had assumed that the gas tank would be filled from a butane bottle as used to be used for filling cigarette lighters. A piece of the black silicon tube would be great - thank you!
  3. To answer your questions Wayne, I did some testing with various viscosity super glue (see my post #19). In the end I settled on Extra Thick Maxi Cure (Bob Smith Industries brand) and that has worked well. My planks are 1mm thick and I cut them from sheets of Alaskan Yellow Cedar. I made my planks approx 14mm wide so that at maximum width, there would be three planks per “band” on the hull for the most part, with one “band” requiring four planks. Then I planked up to the ridges and after sanding it all blended into one smooth surface. My planks were a maximum of about two thirds the length of the hull. I didn’t worry too much about “scale length” as the planking won’t really be seen in the final outcome (remembering that the original hull was steel). What I haven’t shown in the build log is that I took the time to mark some “station lines” (ie vertical lines) on the hull - arbitrarily spaced - and then divided the remaining gap of the planking band by the number of planks to be fitted and made marks on the station lines. A pair of proportional dividers makes this easier, but they are not essential. These marks then became reference points once the sticky tape was placed over them. The white ABS hull gives a nice surface for drawing pencil lines, or even fine permanent marker. Once the tape was in place, one edge was traced along the previous adjacent plank and the opposite edge marked at the reference points. The tape was then removed and applied to a piece of card (Manila folder) and the reference points (dots really) were joined with a ruler to give the rough shape of the plank. The card was then cut out and tested against the hull to see if it was a close enough fit and if it was, it was then traced around on the plank and the plank cut/planed/sanded to final shape. A little bending/twisting with a steam iron to help the plank conform to the shape of the hull and the plank was then glued in place. I generally applied glue for a few inches at a time and worked my way along the plank. Sounds a lot more complicated than it really is! One other tip is to apply a slight bevel to one edge of each plank as this will help achieve a tighter fit. I hope the above rambling helps you with your planking….
  4. I have decided to hold off on trimming the excess ABS from the topsides. After reading a caution from another member (Wayne @a49kid) doing this build, I decided it would be prudent to test the fit of the deck. As can be seen in the photo below, it is not a very close fit. It only just reaches at the stern and does not follow the line of the gunwhale very well at all. I will therefore keep the ABS intact for now. I also decided to diverge from the sequence given in the instructions and fit the internal floor frames prior to fitting the inboard gunwhale and upper frames. After fitting the longitudinal stringers, I read in Wayne’s log where he found that he had to move the stringers outboard to accommodate the additional width of the(non-kit) steam engine. So, some minor surgery, a visit to the scrap box for spares, and a little fettling was required to account for this. And the steam engine now fits comfortably (just placed temporarily in position for the photo). I'm glad that Wayne is ahead of me in progressing his build - I will be able to learn from his encounters and hopefully avoid any more traps!
  5. Looks like you’ve made a lot of great progress there Wayne. I may “borrow” some of your ideas as I progress my own build.
  6. Wayne, Simply keep adding updates in the reply section of this thread. My purpose in planking the ABS hull was to add a little strength and rigidity to the hull. Initially, I was thinking of then adding a fibreglass coating as well, but will probably not do that now. The original boat was a steel hull, not wooden (just the topsides and decking were wood), so once it is planked and painted, it would probably be a good thing not to be able to see the planking. Of course, YOU will know that it is planked, and that’s all that matters really.
  7. I just held the strip of wood in one hand and used the plane in the other to plane the taper (which I had already marked). I would then finish with sandpaper to get into any slight curves the plane could not. I found the easiest way to create the shape was to place sticky tape (the kind you can write on) on the hull to mark the shape, then transfer that to a piece of card (old Manila folder), then cut that out and trace around the card onto the wood strip. Sounds complex and time consuming, but is actually really easy and goes very quickly.
  8. Welcome to MSW - it would be nice if we knew your name as well. Great to see someone else tackling the same project as me and in a very similar way. Looks like we are both thinking along the same lines here. I’ll follow along with interest - we may be able to exchange some ideas along the way. Straight up, I was pleased to see your comment about leaving the extra top moulding on until the internals and deck are completed. I have been too-ing and fro-ing about when to cut them off. Your comment has convinced me to leave them on for now. I’ve just completed my own version of planking over the ABS hull and am ready to start on the internals. I look forward to following the rest of your build.
  9. A minor update. Have completed filling and sanding the hull. Now ready to trim back the excess ABS and get on with the build (I think....).
  10. I can’t believe that it has been almost five months since I updated this build log. Life has thrown a few unexpected twists and turns my way recently, and it has only been in the last few weeks that I have felt remotely interested in returning to the modelling desk. I can at last report that the hull planking is complete – at least as far as the initial sanding. I still need to go back and apply some filler into the inevitable gaps, but overall, I’m reasonably happy with the how this has turned out. A couple of overview shots to show progress as well as ‘proof of life’. I’ll proceed with some filler and a final sanding before I trim back the excess ABS around the top of the hull. Hopefully it will not be another five months before the next update!
  11. Congratulations on yet another outstanding build Glen - I think this one is your best yet (among a whole lot of other outstanding builds).
  12. Looking good Jeff. I have no idea in answer to your question, but I’m sure the folks over on the SWSM forum will be able to give you some good advice.
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