fnkershner

Attention Syren Builders!! I may have solved the Carronade issue.  Read below -
 
As many of you know I have been working to find a solution to the terrible Carronades that are provided with the Syren kit. Well as you will see from the pictures below. I have a low cost solution. I have been working with several others to create a CAD drawing for the these carronades so that they can be 3D printed. Many of you may know about Shapeways.com.
This is a web site that offers 3D printing services. There is a section for model ships. The number of available parts is amazing. I was able to make contact with one of the designers of the parts offered there and share with him the plans for the Syren Carronade. He already had USN Carronades to offer, but they were the wrong scale and had slight differences. I explained to him what I wanted and he has now created a set that is exactly what is called for in this kit. He has drilled to hole for the elevation screw, added the eye for the breaching rope, and had the pivot mount as part of the design. He charges $12.80 for a set of 8 carronades that are 1:64 scale. I have just received mine yesterday. I cleaned them as instructed and I have painted 1 set. I am very pleased with the result. You can see for yourself below.
 
They require a very little amount of sanding after the cleaning. As you can see the paint needs some touch up. but I am excited about the results.
 
 

Attention Syren Builders!! I may have solved the Carronade issue.  Read below -
 
As many of you know I have been working to find a solution to the terrible Carronades that are provided with the Syren kit. Well as you will see from the pictures below. I have a low cost solution. I have been working with several others to create a CAD drawing for the these carronades so that they can be 3D printed. Many of you may know about Shapeways.com.
This is a web site that offers 3D printing services. There is a section for model ships. The number of available parts is amazing. I was able to make contact with one of the designers of the parts offered there and share with him the plans for the Syren Carronade. He already had USN Carronades to offer, but they were the wrong scale and had slight differences. I explained to him what I wanted and he has now created a set that is exactly what is called for in this kit. He has drilled to hole for the elevation screw, added the eye for the breaching rope, and had the pivot mount as part of the design. He charges $12.80 for a set of 8 carronades that are 1:64 scale. I have just received mine yesterday. I cleaned them as instructed and I have painted 1 set. I am very pleased with the result. You can see for yourself below.
 
They require a very little amount of sanding after the cleaning. As you can see the paint needs some touch up. but I am excited about the results.
 
 

As promised here is a Picture of the other Jim inspired Jig. And about 1/2 a day of garage cleaning and its back to modeling!!
 
Dang it got cropped. So here is the same picture but rotated.

Attention Syren Builders!! I may have solved the Carronade issue.  Read below -
 
As many of you know I have been working to find a solution to the terrible Carronades that are provided with the Syren kit. Well as you will see from the pictures below. I have a low cost solution. I have been working with several others to create a CAD drawing for the these carronades so that they can be 3D printed. Many of you may know about Shapeways.com.
This is a web site that offers 3D printing services. There is a section for model ships. The number of available parts is amazing. I was able to make contact with one of the designers of the parts offered there and share with him the plans for the Syren Carronade. He already had USN Carronades to offer, but they were the wrong scale and had slight differences. I explained to him what I wanted and he has now created a set that is exactly what is called for in this kit. He has drilled to hole for the elevation screw, added the eye for the breaching rope, and had the pivot mount as part of the design. He charges $12.80 for a set of 8 carronades that are 1:64 scale. I have just received mine yesterday. I cleaned them as instructed and I have painted 1 set. I am very pleased with the result. You can see for yourself below.
 
They require a very little amount of sanding after the cleaning. As you can see the paint needs some touch up. but I am excited about the results.
 
 

I see another modeler using pill bottles for Chuck's parts! I have an idea, why don't we all ship our pill bottles to Chuck so he can fill them up.  Just kidding.

I see another modeler using pill bottles for Chuck's parts! I have an idea, why don't we all ship our pill bottles to Chuck so he can fill them up.  Just kidding.

Thank you all for the words of encouragement. We had Abby for about 12 or 13 years. I'm gonna miss her a lot.
 
Worked on the deadeye strops. likns, preventer links, etc. that are involved with the chain plates. Made the standard jig using different size nails and pins. Did the way the instructions showed. I would rather solder the joints but I am not set up soldering much so i had to settle for dabbing each spot with CA glue and hope it holds well enough. Got them all in the channel slots and got the molding over the ends. It is all still in a rough state. Still need to sabd paint, and touch up the glued spots on the links with gun metal enamel paint.
 
Sorry for the out of focus pictures. My camera was dropped a few years back and the screen is mostly black now so you cant tell how the picture is focused or centered until you put the card in the computer to look at.
 
Jesse

started some rigging 

making some parts by hand , did not like the ones in the kit

placing some blocks ahead of time on the deck, some work on bowsprit

some rail work

more color on hull

sanding down the hull and touchups

As promised here is a Picture of the other Jim inspired Jig. And about 1/2 a day of garage cleaning and its back to modeling!!
 
Dang it got cropped. So here is the same picture but rotated.

Jim - I have almost finished the other jig for my Chop Saw then it is back to modeling. I will post a picture this weekend. Also cleaning out the shipyard (garage) 

The base kit will just contain the hull details.  But there is so much information available thanks to the work of David Antscherl and Greg Herbert.  It would be very easy to adapt this kit and add whatever details a builder chooses.  With the books available this becomes very easy.  In addition....if enough demand exists I would have no problems developing additional upgrade add-on mini kits.
 
Many of you have seen the 3D work Denis Rakaric is doing on the Pegasus.  I am very thankful for this and it will be yet another way for builders to d an exceptional job building this.  The added details will be of enormous value.  Here is one such image of the framed section I am working on.  The small spacers will be an optional detail but you can see how this project will be like no other cross section kit yet developed.  I am even working on a method to develop those shifted toptimbers you see.   Denis is doing fantastic work and I thank him for it.
 
This will be a long haul project for me and progress will be slow while I work on building the Winnie but I will do my best to keep you guys posted on the developments and progress.  Showing such images is proof that it is so beneficial to collaborate with others to make these projects even better than anyone could possibly do on their own.  Its a pleasure to work with these guys.
 

Floyd (fnkershner),
 
I would be happy to provide some Sketchup coaching for your project at no charge. I am a retired professional educator and enjoy helping people learn new things. What you want to do utilizes just basic functions of Sketchup. Solid objects created in Sketchup are inherently manifold and 3D-printable unless you break the envelope or introduce extra geometry in an uncontrolled fashion.
 
Please PM me with your email address if you are interested.
 
Terry
Colorado Springs, CO

Ok further update on my journey. I attended my class yesterday. The class was billed as Tinker CAD & 3d printing. I found that all 3 of the printers in the workshop were down for 1 reason or another. I also found that the TinkerCAD training was geared for a beginner. Someone who had never seen CAD or a computer. So frustration for me. I explained my project. I also asked why TinkerCAD instead of SketchUP. He said tinker CAD was easier to learn and teach. But he agreed SketchUP was better. Then he tried to sell me his services. He offered to design my Carronade and print it for a price. That was not my plan. I wanted to use this opportunity to learn CAD and 3D printing.
 
So My question to you is can you suggest SketchUP training. Most of what I see on the web is intended for a business and priced accordingly. I don't see much for the hobbyist. I will continue my search for access to a quality 3D printer. Grrr

As promised here is a Picture of the other Jim inspired Jig. And about 1/2 a day of garage cleaning and its back to modeling!!
 
Dang it got cropped. So here is the same picture but rotated.

As promised here is a Picture of the other Jim inspired Jig. And about 1/2 a day of garage cleaning and its back to modeling!!
 
Dang it got cropped. So here is the same picture but rotated.

As promised here is a Picture of the other Jim inspired Jig. And about 1/2 a day of garage cleaning and its back to modeling!!
 
Dang it got cropped. So here is the same picture but rotated.

Just quick update.   I've fixed my mistake, I think.  I also noted how the plans show stern and rail cap really flaring upward above the transom.  It is more noticeable here than on other models of America that I have seen, and perhaps more pronounced than shown on contemporary paintings.  It also seemed the transom area is less thick and heavy than mine was.   So, in addition to fixing the issue with the frames, I took the carving knives and sanding block to my stern filler piece, and cut it down a bit.  I also put a few additional pieces at the top of the rail around the back to give it least a little bit more of an upward flare.  I failed to take a "before" picture, but I can show what it looks like now.  I think I still need to take a bit more off of the stern, though it is a bit tricky carving it now that it is attached.
 

Whoops
 
I started to think about the planking, trying to figure out how to do it and where it would go.   I wanted to establish the location of the sheer plank, so I knew just what space I had to fill with the planks.  And looking closer, I discovered a mistake that I made.  Fortunately it should be pretty easy to fix, and the fix will be covered by the planking. 
 
On the last 20% or so of the hull of the America, the bulwarks are notched in a bit from the side of the hull.  This feature has already been a bit of a thorn in my side, as I felt the pre-cut frames in that area were a bit off, so the tops of the frames required more shaping than the others.  And that is also where this mistake occurred. 
 
Here is a scan of one cross section from the plans, with the indented bulwark circled in red.
 

And here is a picture of the stern of my hull:
 

See the problem?  In the cross section, the deck beams extended to the outer edge of the frames, and the sheer plank and quarter cap lined up with the deck.  On mine, I chopped the deck beams off to line up with the outer edge of the bulwarks.  And worse, I also carved that stern piece to line up with the tops of the frames while it should have lined up with the tops of the deck beams.
 
So, I'll have to glue in some small chunks of wood on top of the frames, and around the edge of the stern piece, to raise up the outer edges in this area, so that everything lines up the way it is supposed to.  Once I do that, I'll be able to identify the exact position of the top of the sheer plank all the way across the hull.
 
 
 

Dave,
I used the stem and stern piece as a guide creating the other scarf joints.