TBlack

Great work Keith. Dad would be proud.
Tom

Keith, bro,

The spars are painted and the masts only at the doubling.

Tom

On pages 98-101 of my edition of the book bo'sun mate Mowett is explaining to Stephen Maturin the various masts of Sophie. He states that the main mast is 56 feet long. In 1:64 scale that's 10.5". Chris has the mast of Speedy at just under 10": OK close enough. The foremast, according to Mowett is 49 feet, or 9.2". Chris has it at just under 9, again close enough. For mast material I'm at a quandary. Here is a comparison of what is in the kit vs. a cherry dowel:

The picture doesn't really show the difference, but the kit supplied dowel has a gray tint to it while the cherry is a reddish brown. What are mast supposed to look like?

I just noticed that in Ron Neilson's build of Camilla, he uses Swiss pear for his masts. I might try that as well.

Tom

Now I've completed the helm and on to the spars and/or boats. For boats it will be a 12' jolly boat, an 18' cutter and a 24' launch. I'm going to take a shortcut and buy the resin hulls, just doing the finish out.

3 hours ago, Glen McGuire said:

 Keith definitely has a way with words!

Isn't that the truth! Almost poetic.

19 hours ago, Keith Black said:

 Very nice ship's wheel, Tom. Bob's your uncle. 

That means he is your uncle too?

Well, I'm getting there. This is not as good as Alan O'Neil's (which is the same scale), but as close as I'm going to get (I think this is the 8th attempt!).

51 minutes ago, KeithAug said:

 

Not very exciting but progress is progress.

Keith, it may not be exciting to you, but I find it very exciting...what a beautiful shape! She's looong!

Tom

16 hours ago, KeithAug said:

 

Happy new year to everyone, as now hopefully we have all made it safely into 2024. 

Yes, Keith, and happy new year to you too. You made it about 5 hours sooner than those of us across the pond!

Tom

8 hours ago, KeithAug said:

 

Possibly Tom but the set up time would probably be longer. My plan is to cut the slots using a home made table saw

sled thus avoiding all the clamping that would be involved in using the mill.

 

Keith, I learned a lot from your approach to Altair. Can't wait to see the slotting sled!

Tom

Keith,

If you had a 1/16" end mill, would that be more accurate in cutting the slots than doing it on the saw?

Tom

Rich,

I figured that a wheel is about 2-3" thick, which in my scale is about 1 mm. I can't get that small and have room for spokes. My spoke grooves are 1/32" square, so the total thickness will come out to something like what you are suggesting (2.5mm), depending on how fine I can sand the rim. BTW, I had been trying to get to the thin size, using my end mill. Too brutal. Your suggestion of sanding to final shape is the way to go.

Tom

P.S. Do you have a brand of cigar you can recommend? Mine don't have the cedar separator.

Rich,

Your wheel looks spectacular @ 1:48. Mine is 1:64, 75% of your size which means the rim of the wheel has to be 1/32" square, and I can't get the wood down that fine on either the lathe or the milling machine without it tearing up.

Brief up-date: still working on the wheel, following Ed Tosti's instructions from Naiad. I can get to this step, no problem:

Then he has me cutting off a cap and setting it aside, so I can make slits for the spokes; again, no problem:

Then I cement the cap back on and hollow out between the wheel's rim and the center hub. And here is where lies the problem which is the  same as with the previous (4th) 

attempt:

As you can see, the rim (1.5mm wide) keeps getting torn up. The 4th attempt, above was in the mill, while this one was in the lathe. Unless someone has a brilliant idea, I'm giving up and buying a wheel. I've spent too much time on this and I need to move on.

And presumably you will be making the slots the same as you did Altair?

Tom

Can’t wait until it hits the theater!

Fabulous find. Thanks for the reference, Bruce.

On 11/18/2023 at 2:38 AM, bruce d said:

Found on page 287 of my paperback that 'the launch and the cutter' pulled Sophie when becalmed. 

 

EDIT: A couple of pages later 'the jolly boat' is launched to rescue a man in the water. 

 

HTH, 

Bruce 

Bruce, the pages on my edition don't match yours. I have found the "man overboard" incident on page 285, but I cannot find the reference to the launch and cutter. Additionally, a jolly boat is about the same size as a cutter; could they be one and the same?

Take all the time you want, Keith. It validates my own off times.

Tom

Just an up-date. I'm on my 4th attempt at the ship's wheel. No point in showing you my failures. But the issue is using the right wood (I tried cherry; no good). I'm reluctant to use boxwood because the color is not what I want to see, so I'll try pear next (Ed Tosti recommends it as a substitute). And it also turns out that the glue is critical; not only its application, but also the type. Here's a photo of my last effort:

On 11/9/2023 at 12:39 PM, toms10 said:

Hi Tom

Somehow I think there is going to be more coming than just a walk. There’s always more. 😂

 

Tom

Tom,

I have two daughters; and it is true there will be more, but it will be fun for you. Remember that she will have a husband, but you will always be THE DAD!

Tom,

You aren't the only one who can't say no to daughters. Besides, your work on those items is spot on; now all you have to do is walk her down the aisle!

Tom

Here is our hero:

Roger,

I'm understanding that when you feed the brass/plywood through the saw blade that the brass is on the bottom?

Tom