Chuck Seiler
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Everything posted by Chuck Seiler
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A tool/resource/attribute often overlooked is 'patience'. There will be times when things are not progressing fast enough, or things are not working out as planned. Those are the times when you back away and either not worry about the speed of the progress, or slow down and work out how to solve the issue, and/or have a beer.
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I think they were placed there simply to perplex future modelers and researchers. -
Which one is Ragnar? A couple suggestions, if I may. 1. I recommend using a harder, finer grained wood than basswood. I personnaly like boxwood, but I am sure there are others. Folks here can advise better than I. Rockler, or other stores in your area might have small pieces of a suitable wood (for practice and final version). Alternative-check with the wood vendors that are MSW sponsors. You may be able to get suitable sized boxwood custom cut, rather than getting a big hunk. B. Be sure to scarph your figurehead. See attached (yellow lines highlight scarphed seams).
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Next NRG Conference
Chuck Seiler replied to YankeeClipper's topic in NAUTICAL RESEARCH GUILD - News & Information
Sadly so. We are still hiding from COVID. -
Frank, You are only talking about the cant frames, correct?
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Nooooooo. Not CA. If there are issues, it is much harder to unglue. I recommend regular wood glue, but holding in place until it sets. I find that my hands are the best clamps I have. Its a bit tedious, but you can hold it whilst watching TV.
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Jerry, What is/are the issue(s) with the frames? Bad angle? Too wide?
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Also check out Chris' article about starting out. If you want to get as much as you can out of this hobby, you will be doing alot of research and questioning. You found an excellent website for that. After you settle on the model you want, you will want to know which tools to get. That topic also exists. Happy modeling...and remember, you can never have too many clamps.
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Try Amazon. I have purchased individual AK paints from there.
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What will the final size be for that? By my calculation, it appears to be a little over a foot at the deck. Is that right?
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Looking good! "Pointy end" "Other pointy end"
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It sounds like you walked away from the first attempt with not much more experience, but alot more wisdom. The fact that you are trying again tells me much. This hobby is very much about going back and fixing things that went wrong. As mentioned above, sanding here or there, making a new piece, adding another layer of planking. I am a big fan of going back, ungluing something that is not right and doing it over again. This includes a large swath of planking. The first time around you find out how NOT to do it and hopefully gain insight on how TO do it. As Keith said,sometimes when you hit a snag you just have to set it aside. Sometimes I will do that for a couple days and my mind will work on the problem. As a friend and fellow modeler once told me 'if you can draw it, you can make it'. It need not be an engineers dream diagram, but sometimes if you pencil it out it makes more sense. No screw up is a complete lost. I had an old schooner ENTERPRISE model (y'all know the one) I screwed up. I kept it and later used it to experiment on before I tried the same thing on a "keeper" model. Good luck and remember, patience is one of the most important tools in our kit.
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Do we know what kind of ship it was? Hulk, caravel, carrack? 1495 was only three years after Columbus "discovered" America, but managed to NOT find a route to the Indies (where many of these spices came from). I don't recall if the Portuguese had established a route around Africa by then, or not. I don't think so. As a result, all trade from the spice areas was dominated by the Arabs/Muslims and subject to significant price hikes. The king and extremely wealthy were likely the only ones to afford them.
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Looking good Jerry. Be careful not to sand down too much or else it may throw off the alignment. I noticed that with the frame jig the charring was in ridges. I think if you lightly sand the charring to where the ridges are smooth but you still have some color...AND...smoothing the frame faces, you will get a snug (but not too snug) fit. Little at a time. You can always take more off. Harder to put more back on.
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Knowing that I am easily distracted, I attempted to make it semi-foolproof. On a piece of paper I made a side diagram of two frames. I marked one bow and one stern, so I would remember orientation. Then I marked :face up" or "face down". As I said, for me this is only critical at the ends. The middle frames will be left unbeveled until I get them into the frame. I them marked next to the end 3 or 4 frame slots on the jig "Face up" or "Face down". We'll see how that works out.
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I have the 'John Smith SHALLOP". It appears to be a good representation based on the reproduction in the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. I have ordered, but not yet received, the Oseberg Drakker. The laser etchings on the bow and stern look superb. So far, I am happy with the quality of the SHALLOP. The instructions are a bit light on verbiage, but oherwise complete. Email responses from "Pavel" have been quick (although so far I have only dealt with Denis...not Pavel). As noted above, shipping is pricey. Another issue is that it takes a long time to get the package, It took over a week for them to send the package and several weeks to arrive. Part of this is due to the war. IIRC, this is a small operation so they only crank out a few kits at a time. It is even slower when bombs are dropping around you and knocking out your electricity. Also, it is my understanding that there is no commercial air currently in Ukraine, so everything has to go by ground until it gets to a place with air.
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The micro drill bits Mark is talking about run from size 60 (largest) to 80 (smallest). I tend to mostly use 72 and 76, which (coincidentally) are the years I graduated from high school and college. I normally work in 1/64 or 1/72 (or there abouts) and they work well for me for eyebolts and such. I get mine on Amazon.
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I heartily agree with Cap'n Birdseye in his recommendation. While it might not be a "first model" it makes a good early learning model. If done well, it can be a good presentation model as well. I would recommend substituting Alaskan Yellow Cedar for basswood planking.
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Now that the St. Paddy's Day beer has worn off... I checked my pieces-parts, and it appears (with my kit) if you install the parts in the jig as directed (left and right futtocks) frame 19 is face up while frames 20 and 21 are face down. Anybody else with the kit, please confirm or refute these findings.
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When the frames go in, the floor futtock is always forward of the first futtock. The first futtock goes into the frame assembly jig first and the floor futtock on top of these. Since the frames taper towards the ends of the boat, the tapers should be towards the "floor" side of the frame in the bow and the "First futtock" side in the stern. With this in mind (if I have figured it out correctly) the side of the frame pieces with laser markings for sanding should be face down in the stern and face up in the bow. The frame parts SHOULD be marked in such a way to ensure this occurs. Looking at the parts and how they are number (with left and right first futtock identified), it doesn't seem to be the case. As I get closer to that step, I will look closer. In the middle frames, the taper is so slight, I don't plan on fairing until the frames are in place, so face up or face down is not important. When the taper becomes severe, however, ensure bow frames are face up and stern frames are face down.
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In my experience, VERY few people can scratch build well right off the bat. A friend of mine made a 6inch near-museum quality HMS VICTORY on his first build...but he had alot of skills. It is better to practice on an inexpensive kit, where all the angles and dimensions are already figured out, that on a model you have spent much time, effort and passion on. Another option is the "18th-Century Merchantman Half-Hull Planking Kit " sold by the Nautical Research Guild (NRG). It is invaluable in terms of learning to plank properly and can be a great display model when complete. Click on "NRG Home Page" at the top of the page. When scratch building in the manner you showed in above photos, I used Baltic birch craft plywood...usually 1/8 inch. Available at MICHEAL'S, in hobby shops or online.
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They are also a MSW sponsor. You can find their link in the right hand margin.
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I strongly agree with Vossy. If new to wooden ship modeling, jumping in with scratch builds can be overwhelming. Check out the topic "New to ship modelling? But what do you build first? " to get an idea of first time builds. While these first time builds are not all that glamorous, they give a feel for how the wood works and insight into the various techniques. I respectfully disagree with Gregory about the 16th Century Longboat. I found that to be more advanced in that you need to be near the top of your game with your planking. LIttle room for error. ....but your question was about tools. Some of the tools I find most valuable are; Dremel or similar rotary tool, #11 Exacto knife or similar surgical scalpel, sand paper/sanding sticks (I use finger nail Emory boards and sandpaper glued to popcicle sticks), wood glue. Clamps...you can never have too many clamps. Acquire them as you need them. Magnification.
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Jerry's parts have arrived or should be arriving shortly, based on timing of previous shipping. I look forward to the shipyard restarting production. I wanted to take this opportunity to ask a question about real construction. Based on building practice of the day, would the frames have been bolted together or treenailed?
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Pulling up a seat. Chris, pass the popcorn. Another fine offering from Pavel. At 34 inches, this will be bigger than Imbir. I am looking forward to the build.
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