TBlack

What Keith said is spot on. I find getting those wedge pieces just right a horrible task.

Tom

Great photography, Gary. You continue to show great attention to detail in this model, following a fine tradition 

Tom

Various spars/yards shaped. Next is to add hardware and paint. I'm going to join several others that thought the PE fittings for the stun'sl booms didn't look right But on closer inspection it turns out that they're perfect.

Those are the buntlines. If you were to add a sail to the yard, the line (knotted end) would be attached to the sail.

Tom

11 hours ago, Frank Burroughs said:

 

IWhen I woke my friend had ordered it for me.  She seen how small the blocks are and took pity on me!

 

How do I get to be friends with her too?

I’m not sure from where you are starting, but alligator clips are a good place. Additionally, if you have a vice into which you can secure the clip by its tail, then you can secure the block in the jaws of the clip. This eliminates the number of moving parts. Stropping becomes easy now. Enough info, or more needed?

Tom

I couldn't get the text in the right place around those pictures, so this is a continuation of my previous post:

I'm on to yardarms. I've made the two lower ones with the help of my mill for the octagonal section and my lathe for the tapered round sections. The top mast yards are too delicate for the mill, so hand filing for the center sections. Pictures later.

Tom

I meant to mention that Ron Neilson (Hollowneck) seems to be our resident interviewer, and he deserves a lot of credit for the aforementioned interview. I wonder if he went to England to conduct it?

On other fronts, I've finished the hardware on the main masts. None of the masts are glued together yet.

Toni,

This is a fantastic tutorial that you are doing. No wonder that you are the head of the NRG.

Tom

Tom,

The cutter looks great, well done. You’ve positioned it perfectly; let the crew worry about getting below.

Tom

Keith, You continue to exhibit the old saying about “think outside the box”. I’m in awe.

Tom

Tom, we’re about at the same stage in our models (mine is HMS Sophie). I’ve left off the fences on the tops until,later as I know I’d knock them off during the rigging. Fortunately, I have a milling machine to do the flats on the yards. Let’s see if I can duplicate your excellent results.

Tom

I see I’ve still got Chris Watton’s attention, which reminds me to salute him for the wonderful interview in the recent issue of the NRG magazine. Also, nice to put a face to all of his communication on this site.

Tom

I've gotten all the hardware on the various fore masts:

The topmast is posing, it's not affixed yet until after the lower shrouds and stays are looped around the foremast. I'll turn to the hardware on the main masts now.

Tom

That laser level is neat! I need one of those. Think waterlines?

I'm in awe of your talents, and eager to see you in New London!

Tom

I've gotten the hardware on the bowsprit/jib booms. At one point there is a need for 4 deadeyes in one loop around the bowsprit. Again, I'm resorting to Derek's method of getting them in the right positions: 12 o'clock, 4, 6, & 8. I managed it, although maybe the one is at 3:30. Always good to be a little early!

Now I'm on to the fore masts.

I don’t remember ever disagreeing with Keith A. Or cathead, for whom I have great respect, but try “food wishes” on YouTube.

Keith, I use YouTube for my recipes. You get to see what it’s supposed to look like.

Tom

I've been working on the hardware to the bowsprit: chocks and blocks. I'm not using the PE chocks supplied by the kit; making my own wooden ones. At the same time I'm borrowing a technique from Delph (Derek) on the problem of placing 3 blocks on the bowsprit: one on the bottom, one on either side, and how to get the spacing just right. Derek has a smooth solution that I've copied:

make 3 blocks like this:

Then thread them like this:

Then it's a simple matter of wrapping the larger line around the bowsprit and sliding the blocks into position. Incidentally, I, apparently have an older version of the Speedy kit because, as you can see, the blocks are of the rudimentary type. I thought I can live with that, but I can't. I'll leave the ones on the bowsprit, but I've just placed an enormous order with Chuck P. for something that looks better for the rest of this craft. 

The other interesting thing is that Chris Watton has no record of selling me a kit; which makes me wonder how I bought it in the first place.

Tom

Interesting way of sorting out the problem.

Must be an old kit. I have one of those and the newer one with separate planks.

T, I used a light oak stain with a drop of walnut. Applied it liberally and then wiped it down. It’s not a perfect match, but I imagine that in real life the masts weren’t a match either. BTW, in the book Aubrey mentions that Sophie carried royals. This doesn’t sound right, and I’m going to write that off to O’Brian’s lack of knowledge.

Chuck, I see some differences there. In the first picture the top level of window panes is all that visible while in the second photo we get to see two levels of window panes. I am discerning that you haven’t decided which way to go yet.
Tom

Looking forward to seeing this in New London