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TBlack

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Everything posted by TBlack

  1. TBlack
    Bob, We can see the concave/convex problem from your picture in entry #50 above, I guess I'd be using a "keel bridge" too to try to knit it all together, but at the end of the day the planking has to flow smoothly throughout all of this. Maybe the flow will become more obvious as you apply the planking? Best of luck with this, Tom
  2. TBlack
    Interesting device. So how long does it take from plug in to get the plank to the shape you want? And does the steaming operation effect the surrounding hull? Tom
  3. TBlack
    I totally agree with you Michael; especially since I'm not doing a galley! Tom
  4. TBlack
    Danny, That is clever. I'm assuming that's boxwood that allows you to make those cuts. Do you have to support it in any special way as it goes through the saw? Tom
  5. TBlack
    Popeye, You started this! I'm just trying to keep up! What would they have had in 1900? Coffee mugs OK, but certainly not a plug-in coffee pot. Tom
  6. TBlack
    I've made a little more progress: The window frames are a real challenge. The ship probably only had a voice tube down to the engine spaces, which are right below the pilot house, but the EOT looks more dramatic. I'm still trying to figure out how to make the handle/indicator for it. The barrel is 5 mm across and 2 mm radius. And the face was an example of a successful operation where the patient died. I got a picture of an EOT off the internet and reduced it to my size, so it's all there, you just can't read it! Tom
  7. TBlack
    Andy, I'm a little late; I got the last of my college alumni things done today...it's been busy. I HAD to second David's comments above...your work is beautiful! BTW, that Rattlesnake model looks like the Mamoli version. Tom
  8. TBlack
    Algay, It's not really clear where your problem lies. If you look through both the kit and scratch build logs on this site, and particularly at the pictures of mast tops, doesn't that provide you with the necessary information? Or am I not understanding the problem? Tom
  9. TBlack
    Popeye, I can't begin to get to your level of detail, but it's fun to try. Tom
  10. TBlack
    A little more progress. A binnacle and an EOT in the construction shop.
  11. TBlack
    I know I'm coming to the discussion of shrouds and deadeyes late, but I looked in my copy of Lee's, and here's what he shows on page 42. Which seems to be the opposite of the discussion. Tom
  12. TBlack
    Dan, This is fabulous. Your artistic skills and patience are phenomenal. I particularly love the winches, but how do you make that self-tailing fixture on top...it's pretty small. Tom
  13. TBlack
    John, I'm not sure about the mugs. When I was in the Navy we used to bring a mug up to the bridge to stay awake while standing watch at 0200. The XO got so fed up with dirty coffee mugs cluttering up the bridge that he threw them all over the side! Tom
  14. TBlack
    More on the pilot house. I'm working on the interior, although I've also cast the windows. They won't go in until I've put the" skin" in place, and I'll do that after I've installed the pieces that go on the flat parts of the pilot house, namely the doors. On the left, in the picture, is the form I used for making the doors. I'm using the sandwich method that Danny uses to build his doors. So between two door panels will be a window and 3 wooden panels. The picture also shows the beginnings of the door from the pilot house into the captains cabin. Then there's the pilot house floor and chart table. There will be a seat on the other side of the door. Tom
  15. TBlack
    Well, Mike, don't leave us in suspense! How DID you catch the sheave before the saw spun it off to eternity? Nice photography, by the way. Tom
  16. TBlack
    Frank, I'm coming late to this party, and I have no excuse except that there are so many parties on this site that it's hard to keep up. Nevertheless, I wanted to join the chorus of praise on 3 fronts: first, your return from the hospital (many of us are getting to the age where the medical profession looms more largely in our lives!), second, for the sails work. I've often wanted to include them in my models, but I get scared off by the needlework involved...They look good! Finally, the video, which played fine for me with Chrome, a nice idea, especially because we get to hear your voice which just adds another dimension to our connections to one another. Thanks for posting. Tom
  17. TBlack
    Andy, I'm inclined to think that the masts breaking when they did is the good news. Suppose you were in the middle of rigging and attaching shrouds, putting on a little tension, and then... well let's not go there, as they say. Tom
  18. TBlack
    Michael, You're pretty adept with that CAD program; I'm not sure I can measure out to the ten thousandths on my ruler. I'm reminded of the days when I was a real estate developer. My architect would provide detail plans on some aspect of the build, and my contractor would look at the plan and then "build to fit". What I'm seeing from you is that the mullion and the center of the frame needs to be pushed forward to nearly flush with the outside skin. Tom
  19. TBlack
    John, Steve, Michael, Thanks so much for your attention and thoughts. I hope I'm worthy of your efforts; I'll try to be. Michael, Of course, my pilot house dimensions are a guess simply from looking at the photographs. One of the reasons to build the pilot house "plug" was to see how it fit on the model and did it look like what was in the photos. I think I'm pretty close. Having said that, I've got to hand it to you. The radius of the pilot house is, indeed, 48". Or, it's 8 feet across from outside wall to outside wall. This scale is 1:48, so the actual dimension is 2 inches wide. Also, just as a construction tidbit, when I built the windows for the salon, aft of the pilot house, I used the same window mould as on the main deck, and cast the windows from that mould. But the salon windows required a mullion similar to the pilot house windows. I inserted a piece, gluing it top and bottom, in the window frame. The window pane behind it gives it some stability.
  20. TBlack
    Bob & Michael. I'll grant you that the middle window of the first picture looks like it might be in 2 planes, but look at the window next to the door above; it's flat. And, I'd argue, so is the middle window above or else the reflection wouldn't be consistent on both sides of the mullion. So how about we compromise and make the 4 windows on either side of the center window in 2 planes and the remaining 3 windows flat? Tom
  21. TBlack
    Michael, Now I know you want that beer! But doesn't your approach end up with a window with an angle in it? Look at this picture; the windows look flat to me.
  22. TBlack
    Michael, Art Downes, Paddlewheels on the Frontier check on Amazon; readily available for little money. I'm new to this styrene stuff and am just learning how to handle it. I haven't tried the scraping yet, but it's in my future. Here's the close-up of that moulding around the roof. Also, notice the window insert; on the sides, it's maybe an inch wide? My first shot at casting those had them showing too much around the edges (see photo back a couple of entries). So, I've got to re-do those as well. But I think this is going to be doable. The end result, I hope, will be a lighter, thinner structure than building up in pieces. Tom
  23. TBlack
    Meredith, welcome back to good health! I know nothing about stains/paints, so I can't be much help there, but your joinery work looks first rate! Good luck with this; it seems to turn into a proud little ship. Tom
  24. TBlack
    Popeye, I don't know what kind of an idea it is, but it's different! Love your yacht America! Meredith, Thanks for looking in. Somewhere on this site is a thread about why we build the ships we build. I can tell you that I'm doing this as a break from tying ratlines, and I wanted to do something with a state of Maine background. And I can draw up the plans either, so I just throw myself at the mercy of my community (please see M. Mott's entry above). This is a great place. Interesting place you come from...can you give me a phonetic spelling? Tom
  25. TBlack
    Thanks guys, I did actually manage to break the rib...glad I've got spares! Anybody know how long it takes to fix these things? Michael, I woke up this morning at 2:00 AM with the realization that you've put quite a lot of thought and work into my project. I'm not sure I thanked you adequately in my last message. I think the uprights are narrow enough that they won't need "rounding". But the rabbet concept is brilliant!(If Andy's reading this, it's a wabbit!). When I'm next up in the Edmonton area, I'll buy you a beer! Tom

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