Chuck Seiler

Below are some pics of my SULTANA. I don't want to hijack your blog, but I wanted to show how nice the SULTANA looks when completed. The model is solid/unplanked below the wale. Planked above the wale. I got to the point of rigging, decided I didn't like my shrouds and nevermanaged to finish.

No, unless you have a very very good eye. If you fudge the measurements you will end up with errors that will compound later. Get a cheapie set of calipers from Harbor Freight and a ruler. That will get you started. SMA meeting is next Tuesday.

Sorry for not responding sooner. Chris has provided the info on the two SOCAL clubs. The SMA would be closer to you, although some SMA members belong to both.

Well done!

December 8th and I am finally underway. Everybody else has shown you the various parts that come with the kit. I got the same stuff. The first thing I 'get' when opening the box is the cedar aroma. Very pleasant. It increases when sanding or sawing. The first order of business is the keel. As most others have chosen, I am going to attempt the lap joint method and to do that I will be using the iGaging depth gauge discussed elsewhere. First step is to test the process. Above is my Byrnes Saw with iGaging depth gauge and some test pieces. I cut these from the same sheet that included the keel pieces so when I got the right depth dialed in, I would be ready on the actual keel. The gauge told me that my test keel was .167" thick. I would set the blade at .083, giving me .001 to play with. Fine tuning the height those last .001 inches was a chore. I finally got what I thought was correct and started my cuts. The above photo shows the basic process. The fence gives me a constant cut length, cut depth has been set into the blade. These will be square cuts. The cuts on the actual keel will require a little more creativity. A close-up of the cut. First cut is at the deepest part of the cut (lengthwise) working my way to the end. That keeps the whole piece stable. Once the end is finally cut I have to be careful not to push down on the piece, thereby taking off more than desired. Moving the piece back and forth over the center of the blade ensures a smooth cut. Cuts complete.... ...and glued in place. Once dry and unclamped I could see that the cuts were a little too deep and the joint was uneven. Test showed that I did not measure from the center of the blade. Blade height was actually .086". I reset and tried again, ensuring I measured from center. Right on target. We'll see how this works on the real keel.

Dremel, Exacto (or scalpel), magnification, lighting oh, and clamps and sand paper.

Hey! That's cheating!

Andrea, From where in SoCal do you hail? If you are interested in getting involved with a club, there are a couple available. One in San Diego and one in the L.A. area. Both PHANTOM and SULTANA are great starter kits. I prefer SULTANA because I am more into the colonial era but PHANTOM provides the same benefits and challenges.

What are you using for glue? If wood glue, just soak the joint in rubbing alcohol (soak a cotton ball). It should deconstruct easily.

Jean-Paul, I did my coxswain seats the same as you did. I think it helped get the seat back positioned better.

I am currently on road trip in Brian's (GuntherMT) neck of the woods: Casa Grande and Yuma, AZ. I thought I would be able to work on frames in the motel at night. Yeah, well....................... Here is a model of the Yuma Territorial Prison instead.

You are on MSW (Model Ship World). I was referring to the sponsors on the front page. Includes models, books, wood, etc.

Huzzah! My ship has come in!!! I ordered the kit on 20 Nov and it arrived yesterday. Pretty quick considering Thursday was a holiday. I'll start practicing making lap joints.

Mike, Thank you for your kind words. Don't give up completely on kits. They can be the source of some great kit-bashing. ...and there are some VERY NICE kits on the market and about to come out from smaller businesses such as MSW sponsors. When I refer to 'milled' I am not referring to individual planks. I was referring to sheets. Chuck (Syren Ship Model Company) has Alaskan Yellow Cedar, boxwood, Swiss pear and others. Crown also has boxwood, cherry, maple and others. I get various thicknesses of sheet, then use my Byrnes to cut, using for planking, structural and other pieces parts (deck furniture, gratings, etc). For me, that is more cost effective and easier than getting a larger board and cutting it down to sheets.

What is your next project? If you can live with a smaller amount of pre milled sheets, get it from Chuck (Syren).

I have a Dremel. Not bad for general drilling but too sloppy for precision. Whatever you gt, make sure to also get an X-Y table.

Phantom is a good starter. It includes a number of 'disciplines' one needs to learn as they progress in the hobby. Unfortunately it does not appear to include hull planking, but all the others will keep you busy and will provide a learning experience. A couple thoughts: As suggested, keep the tools simple at first and get what you need when you need it. You can never have too many clamps. Make sure to have both medium and fine grit sand paper. I have never needed course, but others may differ. Magnification! Definitely....and lighting. Alcohol is your friend (rubbing, not drinking). Don't be afraid to unglue parts that don't look right. Enjoy the build. Ask questions.

Rob, Is the top picture the old keel assembly or the new? The center notched section appears to be a little off-center. When inserting your frames into the build board, make sure they fit snug. You don't want them moving around during the build. I found that out while building the Queen Anne Barge. On the other hand, don't make it too tight or else you might break something trying to get the hull off the build board later own the road. Sand the frame ops down so they are snug but not too snug. If you over-sand, use some blue painter's tape to snug it up (see Chuck P's build log),

Woooooo hooooo! I made it! I'm in. Which one of those is mine? Seriously, thought....great job Chuck. We appreciate the effort. I hope to do you proud.

I agree with Jim, except the water based gave more of a splotchy finished didn't care for it at all. I have an old can of oil based gloss. Many have recommended the satin. When I tried to find here in California, I was unable to find oil based satin, so I got water based. Tried it on my Queen Anne Barge. You see my thoughts above. I reverted to the oil gloss. I had i discussion with another member (Claire I believe) at the NRG Conference who suggested that I might not be able to get oil based in Cali....so I stopped on my way out of Nevada and got some. Don't tell Guv'ner Brown. Go with the oil.

To combine the thought of the 2 previous posts....getting familiar with the bend and twist of each TYPE wood. Some woods bend and twist very easily, whereas if you do that with other, more brittle wood, they snap or split.

Ryland, Well done!

I am looking forward to getting started so I can try using a method Kurt VanDam suggested during one of the NRG Conference technical sessions. Using an iGaging multi-use huzzywutchet (purchased for a mere $19 on Amazon) I plan to measure the thickness of the piece to be joined, cut it in half to determine the depth of the cut. "What is so new about that?" you might ask. I will then use the huzzywutchet to set my Byrnes-saw blade to the correct height and mill away. (Don't tell Kurt I might be doing this free-hand.) I will try it out on a test piece first.

I dunno. Alaskan Yellow Cedar (AYC) is great for planking, small deck furniture and structural for small models but I am not sure I would want to use it for something the size Brian is envisioning.

Brian, It depends on how badly you want the keel to be boxwood. If the answer is “absolutely” I would get a ¼” thick sheet from either Crown or Syren and slice off a few 3/8” pieces for the keel. You are also going to need ¼ inch thick for the sternpost and stem assembly. Its a bit pricey ($15) but you will have a decent piece of boxwood leftover that you can use later...and box is only going to get MORE expensive. Option B is “other”, but not basswood. After working with cherry in the Queen Anne Barge, I find I really like that wood. Also much less expensive. Darker though. Chuck