Cap'n Rat Fink

Hi John
 
Been gone a long while finally read thru your whole log here to catch up. Love the history of your chosen projects. A nice model in the works.

Thanks for the "likes" and the comments.
 
Had to do a "back 10 and punt" on this boat.  Still getting some oil canning and I'm not happy.   Re-thinking things.   I'll either add more ribs or go off in a different direction.  It didn't look bad, just didn't look right to my eye.  So, while thinking, I started looking over other bits and pieces and realized the DeathStar cuts just didn't look right also. <sigh>.   Dove into the problem...  Needed to re-calibrate things bigtime.  When I replaced parts some time ago after the pump failure took out the tube and power supply, I replaced them with "upgraded" parts.  Naturally, being Chinese, instructions were sparse so did some digging.    Power supply needed some adjustment and then my cut sheets (speed and power) needed to be rerun.  Also alignment was off due to moving the beast when working on it and cleaning the room.   I'm going to have to redo all my cut specs for each species and wood thickness.  Not hard work, just time consuming.
 
The several hours work, theresults are below.   The upper is "before" and the lower is "after".   Big difference to these tired old eyes.  BTW, those are are 3" (about 75mm) wide.  
 
I'm headed back to the ship's boats this week after more household duties have been performed.  I like the look of the Master Korbel boats and what's available so I ordered the largest one in 1/72.  Part of the learning curve.
 

Hi Lou,
Yes, this is one of the MS plans but not parts.   Their wood os basswood and I'm using boxwood.  I took their plans and modified them for the size, bow, stern, keel, and the molds for the frames (including the stern).
 
So, here's where I am... the 4 frames are mounted to the four jigs.  They are prebent such that there's no springback.  I found out in testing that they actually need to be overbent a bit or things get "interesting" when you cut the boat free of the jig.  As for the jig, the area circled in red is where the ship gets cut loose.  It should lift right off as I've made sure there's no overflow on to the jig from the keel/frame joining point.  The area circled in blue will be broken out (it's being held in with a small drop of glue).  If Im not happy with the fit once planked, I'll take the whole thing out and use dummy frames.  Speaking of which... once the hull is cut loose, there will be 3 "dummy" frames added between the base frames.  I do still have to fair the stern piece after I plank the exterior before doing the frames.  
 
Back up plan for those curious... I have a plug style mold that I carved that I'll finish work on and use it more like others have done.  For some reason, I think this might be simpler and I won't have to carve out two plugs for the other boats, just scale this one up and tweek it as needed.  Depending on point of view, I'm either getting more efficient or lazier as I get older.  I'm going to wander off a bit and let the glue cure out.  Maybe fiddle with something else on the model...
 

Thanks for the likes, the comments, and just checking up...
 
I'm there... the keel is now where I want it to be. The two main mods are the bow and the stern areas.  I've also reworked the formers for the ribs.   The red circles show the areas that were the problem children and how they ended up.   I eased the arc of the bow, made it a bit wider for the planking.  The stern was the most radical change with the angle, and the (not sure of the word) bit where it now curves up into the sternpost.   I'm putting it together so hopefully later this week, it'll be finished externally.  I'm still deciding how much detailing of the interior such as seats, rudder stowage, oars, etc.  Almost all of this was stowed in the hold when not in use, but I'm thinking "visual interest".
 

Thanks Guys for your kind remarks...
 
 
Hello All,

trying to recoup from knee surgery and the long recovery ahead. So to take my mind off of the pain I decided to try to get back to my model.
So before I start framing the quarter deck I added the Wales to strengthen the hull frames. I followed hahns advice. The Wales being 3/32nds of an inch thick I ripped two strips of ebony and one of cherry. I laminated all 3 together with regular white glue and clamped them to one of my drinking glass to form the curve at the bow. Bending a solid piece of ebony at 3/32nd's wood of been a bear.
I took a basswood stripe of 3/32 and clamped it to the hull after I transferred the locations measurements from the plans. The basswood was for practice and once in place I took some tape to mark the full strake. Once I was done I knew exactly where I was going to place the Wales. I added two strakes of boxwood above the Wales also.
I did this to help me verify that i placed the deck clamp in the correct loactions. because once the deck beams and ledges and the 1/16th thick deck planking was in place, my third boxwood strake wood line up perfectly. I did this because the third strake is where the scubbers reside.
I did a lot of measuring and re-measuring and transferring those measurements and re-checking again and again. Remember the jig I used from the kit had to be removed to do all this. Plus the rest of the practicum was with the hahn upside down jig. I doing this in no jig at all from here out. PLUS I AM FIRST TIMER ON POF WITH THIS MUCH DETAIL.
I did not mind because it help me from concentrating too my on my knee. I was really getting into it. I also cut out the stantions. I had to completely cut out the howes timbers and the catheads. The laser cut frames from the kit were too short. So I added a piece and pegged it to the existing frame.
My apologies with not having enough pictures to show all this, because of my hurting leg. Not in the picture taking mood. Advice blow up your knee like I did and it won't hurt so damn much! HAHAAHA!!!


















As I continue on I sure my plan comes together and my measuring is spot on or so close that I'm happy with it.

I was planning on stopping on the Hannah a bit after I completed the Poop Deck framing. I wanted to start another scratch build. I have a buddy who wanted to build a model boat so i gave him one of my kits. He is a good model builder, but never made a boat. I gave him the kit under the condition I got the box , book, and plans back unscathed. So he made copies and wrote all over his and cut out portions out to do his build. He did a great job. So I am going to start making the build board will I hopefully get my questions answered on the Hannah. here the book.

I picture of the Halifax that brings up my questions.

Hi Mark! That question does not even surprise a bit. I offend wondered myself. Thanks for stopping by Buddy! You will find my answer some what down below.
 
 
Last of the deck framing is done, with the completion of the last ledging and the breast hook combination at the bow.

Now for the poop deck framing. For the stantions I first make small cuts into each frame with my rotary tool. it makes it easier then starting with an exacto knife. the rest of the cut is done with an exacto saw blade. Then finished up with manicure files.

Now I was going to continue on with the Poop Deck. But Mark Taylor  presented a question to me. Did the Hannah have a Orlop deck? I offend wondered about this. Did Hahn omit this from his model for the simple reason he was construction a model simplified for the first time POF model builder? I don't know. I hope Dave Stevens takes a look here on my build log and maybe answer my question here. Hahns book does stated the Hannah was basicly build from examples from the Halifax back in 1775 I think. I still have access to the hull interior, so I am tempted to do this if I can get clarification on the interior of the hull.
I also wondered about hanging knees and where would they be located at and the lodging knees. The ships smoke stack....there has to be a lower deck where the stove is located. Am I correct about that???

IF ANYONE CAN HELP ME WITH THESE QUESTIONS PLEASE CHIME IN. BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE A LOT MORE FUN WITH THIS MODEL!!!

I added a picture of the Halifax to help with these questions.









I have the Poop Deck ready to go. But going to wait a little bit to see if I get any answers to my questions

Al, Ken, and Denis,
    Thanks for stopping by and your kind remarks!
 
           I try to give as much info of my building process as I can. So if others have questions I had hoped with my detailed explanations I could answer some of their questions. When I read some builds that have very good details it helps me a lot. There are builds that really great work but not much explanation how did it and I wish they had.

The practicum is very good. But I treat any practicum like the "PIRATES CODE". It's more like guide lines. I go by what it says and at times I go with what feels right for me to get it done. The big difficulty with this kit is the jig. The jig is nice, but once you get to a certain point it has to go. Hahn's jig the model is left in during the planking. I had to remove it because i could not put the Wales on. Most of the hull and the deck will be planked.



Thanks for stopping by

Mario

I was planning on stopping on the Hannah a bit after I completed the Poop Deck framing. I wanted to start another scratch build. I have a buddy who wanted to build a model boat so i gave him one of my kits. He is a good model builder, but never made a boat. I gave him the kit under the condition I got the box , book, and plans back unscathed. So he made copies and wrote all over his and cut out portions out to do his build. He did a great job. So I am going to start making the build board will I hopefully get my questions answered on the Hannah. here the book.

I picture of the Halifax that brings up my questions.

Hi Mark! That question does not even surprise a bit. I offend wondered myself. Thanks for stopping by Buddy! You will find my answer some what down below.
 
 
Last of the deck framing is done, with the completion of the last ledging and the breast hook combination at the bow.

Now for the poop deck framing. For the stantions I first make small cuts into each frame with my rotary tool. it makes it easier then starting with an exacto knife. the rest of the cut is done with an exacto saw blade. Then finished up with manicure files.

Now I was going to continue on with the Poop Deck. But Mark Taylor  presented a question to me. Did the Hannah have a Orlop deck? I offend wondered about this. Did Hahn omit this from his model for the simple reason he was construction a model simplified for the first time POF model builder? I don't know. I hope Dave Stevens takes a look here on my build log and maybe answer my question here. Hahns book does stated the Hannah was basicly build from examples from the Halifax back in 1775 I think. I still have access to the hull interior, so I am tempted to do this if I can get clarification on the interior of the hull.
I also wondered about hanging knees and where would they be located at and the lodging knees. The ships smoke stack....there has to be a lower deck where the stove is located. Am I correct about that???

IF ANYONE CAN HELP ME WITH THESE QUESTIONS PLEASE CHIME IN. BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE A LOT MORE FUN WITH THIS MODEL!!!

I added a picture of the Halifax to help with these questions.









I have the Poop Deck ready to go. But going to wait a little bit to see if I get any answers to my questions

HELLO ALL,
BEEN WORKING ON THE MODEL HERE AND THERE. HAD TO SLOW DOWN BECAUSE I HAD A COMMITMENT TO DO ALL THE CENTER PIECES FOR A RELATIVES PENDING WEDDING. CENTER PIECES FOR 34 TABLES. FINALLY GOT IT DONE.

SO WHERE WAS I ? LEFT OFF AT THE STERN FRAMES. I WORKED THAT OUT, I ADDED THE TIMBER THAT TIES THEM ALL TOGETHER. THEN CAME THE HARDEST OF THE STERN AREA IMO. "THE AFTMOST DECK BEAM". THAT TOOK A LOT OF READING AND MEASUREMENT AFTER MEASUREMENT AND MEASURING AGAIN. THE FINAL RESULT WAS THE 2ND TIME AROUND MAKING THE BEAM.

THEN CAME THE SMALL TIMBERS THAT TIED THE LAST CANT FRAMES TO THE STERN FRAMES AND ADDING A STANTION.

THAT COMPLETED THE FRAMING OF THE HULL, AND I MADE THE DECISION TO REMOVE THE MODEL FROM THE BUILDING JIG. SO I CAN NOW DO SOME SERIOUS AND FINAL FAIRING OF THE HULL. THEN CUT OUT THE NOTCHES ON EACH FRAME. MAKE SURE THE RABBET IS CLEAN AND CLEAR FOR THE PLANKING.







 
 
THANK YOU FOR DROPPING BY!!!

The fairing of the starboard side transom went without a hitch. They look rough. But so does the rest of the hull. The final fairing will be done when I pull the model from the building jig.

I left a lot of material on the first set of transoms, being my first time doing this process I wanted to make I was good with enough material. It went well so I went ahead and removed enough material to make the fairing a bit less time consuming. The tape was there to protect the sternpost from the rough fairing.

Building this portion of the model did not seem to me to be very hard to do. Measuring and transferring those measurements from plans to material and rechecking payed off. The practicum for this part of the build was very informative.

And a few more pics...

Ok I am in the process of adding the other 4 transoms. I took all measurements from Hahns plans. All pieces are 1/8" in thickness including the basswood spacers. You will see pictures of the plans. To bar any issues from showing this online with all this copy rights thing going on, the pictures of the plans were taken at an angle to distort them a bit.
If anybody sees that I have an issue with my transoms please tell me because I am learning. I am following Bob's practicum. Which has been very helpful. Learning a lot here!

Thanks Denis and enjoy your snow...!
 
 
 






Well I'm trying to get back to my model, But here in California it is just a plain pain in the butt dealing with disability insurance. But back to my build.

I bought this kit a few years back. But I failed to purchase cherry for the rest of the build at that time. So I do have some cherry from another build left over, but the color between the two is just off. Which just bugs me. So since I am trying to do what i can internally before I pull the model from the jig, I decided to use basswood for the forward deck clamps. To save what I can of the cherry I got left. This won't be a problem because my plan is the plank the hull almost completely and the same for the deck. So this deck clamp won't be seen. I just like the look of these schooners. IMO they just look real good fully planked. So that is where I'm headed.









Now this next pic you will see a redline. I am going to cut this portion of the jig out exposing the last can't frame and the stern. I have to add all the support and the other transoms to the stern, but I can't get to it unless I cut this portion of the jig out. Leaving the rest will protect the bow and the full frames while I am dealing with the stern. So thanks for stopping by

Thanks for the likes, comments, and encouragement.  These two parts were harder than I thought they'd be but worth the effort for the confidence even if they won't be seen once the foredeck is in place.   
 
Steak?  BBQ?  Either works for me.  Although I'm sure the standard fare at that time was something less wonderful.
 
Well.. the stoves/fireplaces are just about there.  The chimneys currently aren't glued into place as with the work on the upper deck, I don't want to risk damage.  But I did put one into position to see how it looks.  I'm thinking mission accomplished.  There is a small pile of scrap now in the bin from the failures but I'm very pleased with the final result.  I still need to do the two pots per so will hit the mill hopefully tomorrow along with some planning for the next steps....  <looks at list of things to do><shrugs><pours fresh cup of coffee> Hmm... ship's boats it looks like... 3 of them stacked and secured over the hatches forward of the main mast.
 
Here's the pics...
 

 
 
 
 

Here's a pic of the one that the wood work and brick work are completed in "extreme" closeup.    I see that I need a bit of touch up paint.. hmm.. missed that I did when I effected repairs after the glue pulled the paint off.  And there's dust all over it. I took the picture outside so there's some "hotspots"... 
 
Needs the two brass pots and also the top with chimney.  I bought the brass to today so I'll start pushing my envelope tomorrow or as soon as the other fireplace is done. 
 
These are more of a test to push myself harder.  I'm not unhappy with them.... just realize I need to push a bit harder.
 

Since I'm working on the fireplaces, here's a picture now that the iron bars the pots sit on have been installed.  I still have the exterior to plank and the pots to make.  The flash made them redder than then actually are as they're more of a red-brown or rust color.  I wanted them to look like they had been used.
 

 
 

Small update.  The pumps are done.  The pic shows the "old" one on the left and the new one on the right.   I've spent the last day or so blackening various brass bits... still more to go along with working on the rigging list.  The pumps are just about 5 foot tall as this seems to be the size.  I'm giving thought to having one rigged to show how they were operated.  For those not into French ships, here's a video of the ones on the  L'Hermione replica: 
 

Hi Mark -
 
Yes, working with very small blocks is tedious, but I have developed some techniques that have simplified the process for me.  Here is a quick overview of the one that I use the most.  I hope that it can give you some ideas for your own work:
 
The central concept is that the stropping line is always under tension until the stropping is complete.  To do this, I took a Helping Hands tool and added a small alligator clip and a light spring to one of the tool's end clips, the left one in my case because I am right handed.  The selected stropping line is wrapped around three sides of the block and clipped into the stationary jaws on the right, with the tails held firmly in the spring clip (a).  The selected serving line (always smaller than the stropping line) is looped or tied around the strop tails (b), then wound tightly up towards the block, forming a nicely tapered siezing (c).  This is glued with your favorite glue and left to dry.

 
Once the glue is dry the extra seizing line is snipped off and the block is released.  At this point it has two tails, making it suitable for tying the block to a spar or other rigging point (a).  If the block is going to be at the end of a pendant or other similar location, one of the tails is cut off very close to the seizing and a loop is seized into the end of the tail in a similar manner (b).  This technique works for me from the largest down to really small blocks.  In photo (c) the block on the left is a 7mm triple; the middle is a 4mm single which is the one in the photos, and on the right is a 2mm single.  The technique is the same, just the choice of stropping and seizing line changes.  The smallest block is seized with fly tying thread, which is about the smallest that my old hands and eyes can still work with.  On that note, an added benefit is that with the tails on it is much harder for the block to get itself lost when I am opening up the sheave holes.

 
Of course there is more - seizing in hooks or eyebolts to the blocks, double stropping, etc.  but you get the idea, I am sure.  You can probably think of some improvements.
 
Hope that helps a bit.
 
Dan

Thanks for the likes and comments.
 
Well, I finally hit the brick wall.  So rather than let it stop me, I'll go around it.
 
Attached photos show the blocks for the gun rigging.   Unfortunately, even at 5/32" they're still too big. I tried Chuck's 1/8" blocks but had to give that up after sending an even dozen flying across the room.  Too tiny to handle and to chase the holes for the .017" line.  A bit frustrating to say the least as I was enjoying doing the seizings for the lines. I'm going to look for some smaller line and hope I can use these small blocks for the 6 cannons up on the weather decks.   In the meantime, I'm telling myself that all that work would be hidden anyway under the decks and gangways.  I think the next model will have to be 1:48....
 
Anyway, here's the closeups of the cannon that tested with. 
 
Footnote1:  Somewhere around the shop are 7 or 8 of the 5/32" blocks which I'm sure I'll hear the vacuum suck up.
Footnote2:  The black hook in the first photo is one of Dafi's 2mm hooks.  Even the thin sowing thread looks huge when blown up.  
 
Time to go install deck furniture and build her galleys.
 

Thank you for the likes and the comments.
 
Meanwhile back in the shipyard, the guns are all installed and have their breeching ropes.  I put in temporarily two markers for the ends of the quarter and fore decks to check for tolerances and to think things through more on the rigging of the mainmast.  So far, so good.  There should be about 12 or 16 eyebolts with blocks for rigging behind the mainmast but that's not going to happen so I'll have to move those lines up to the quarterdeck.   Next up is making and installing the cannon traversing tackle which will be fun but also a pain as the parts are so tiny.   I'm using 5/16 inch Chuck Blocks for these.  I thought about using the 1/8" blocks but they're too tiny for these guns.  Oh well.. maybe for the 4 pounders topside and also for some of the rigging.
 
Here's the photos...
 

Thanks for following along, for the likes, and commentary...
 
Still fussing with cannon... I drilled the holes for the rings and hooks that fit to the bulkhead.  The first photo shows the machining jig and drilling tool.  All the barrels are in the carriages and the appropriate hardware added to them.  I also added the trunnion caps made from black paper soaked in CA. (Barely visible in the last photo).  The 2nd pic shows 6 in position to check alignment, etc.   So far... so good.   Now for the fun part... hooks, blocks, and rope for the training gear.  Once that's completed, I'll start adding the breeching and installing the hardware to the bulkhead and connecting everything up.   My only comment is "This stuff is tiny.  Next time, a bigger scale. Admiral permitting of course."