Chuck Seiler

The balls on the forward rack would have been the 12 pounders (3/16").   Steel ball bearings.  Amazon has 144 for about $5.  The 9 pounders would be about 5/32"  about the same price.

Down 4 points, ball on the 1 yard line, 3 downs, 40 seconds 2 times outs and one of the best ball carriers in the game.  What could go wrong?  DOH!

Suggestions for the cannonballs to use on racks? size?

Nine-pounders 4 inch dia. and 12 pounders just shy of 4 1/2 inches.
 
Joel Sanborn

Down 4 points, ball on the 1 yard line, 3 downs, 40 seconds 2 times outs and one of the best ball carriers in the game.  What could go wrong?  DOH!

Chuck, you forgot the subsequent encroachment penalty which gave the Pats room to take a knee twice.  Insult to injury, and all self-inflicted.

Down 4 points, ball on the 1 yard line, 3 downs, 40 seconds 2 times outs and one of the best ball carriers in the game.  What could go wrong?  DOH!

Kurt, Thanks for the info!!!
Go Hawks! !!

Thanks everyone for stopping by.
 
Tonight was another big night for Druid-X:  I affixed the first plank.  I am putting the wales on at this time to provide greater longitudinal strength.  I traced the wale pattern off of the plans and defined three plank widths.  The curvature of the wales was transferred to a piece of 1/8" thick basswood (double the 1/16" plank width) and this pattern cut / sanded out.  After I was satisfied with the curve I used dividers to define the width of one plank and also cut and sanded this out.  This continued for all three planks.
 
The middle plank was to span entirely across the cross section, the upper and lower ones being jointed three frames in (different sides).  I affixed the middle plank first given it was the easiest one.  The following pic shows the top one being put on:
 

 
I now laugh looking at this.  It was with the click of the shutter that I made a mental note to insure the joint in the lower was made on the opposite side.  The opposite side of.the.joint.that.I.had.forgot.to.put.in.  The glue sets fast but I was able to pry off the top plank without too much damage, cut the joint and re-attach.  Here is a shot of what it was supposed to look like originally:
 

 
I added the third plank then sanded the edges flush with the frames.  
 

 
In this pic you can see the face on view and also the chocks completed on the opposite side of the cross section.
 

 
Trying to accomplish a little bit with every hour - Stay Building my Friends,
Mark

Here are the 9-pounders:

 
I still have to add the 'jewelry', eyebolts and ringbolts and retainer chain.  I'm not sure the sizes laid out by the kit are correct, they seem a bit thin.
 
Joel Sanborn

Floquil paints have been discontinued by Testor's - the owner of Floquil.  There may be some floating around on eBay or a hobby shop shelf but I seriously doubt that Engine Black would be one of the colors still not gobbled up.  I know one modeler who's bought 27 or so bottles of a specific Floquil clear finish - off eBay.
The attached photo is the 12 pound gun painted with Badger Modelflex Marine Color Wrought Iron Black (#16-413) an acrylic paint.  It is the same color as Badger's Dirty Engine Black  (#16-05).  This is a somewhat weathered Engine and/or Hull Black which are both dead flat black and look way too stark on guns.
Kurt
 

Gettin the 12 pounder figured out...

Wow!  Great job.  I am glad to see you have been working on this.  I feel bad about slacking off. (but not real bad)
 
Which coils?  On deck or rigging coils?  In both cases I made the coils as separate entities and glued them over the loose end of the line.   The coils for the running rigging was the biggest pain because there were so many of them.  I used the handle of a small file to make the coils.  I made several (6 or 7) wraps around the handle and tied an overhand knot to keep it from unraveling.  I also coated it with diluted white glue.  The handle was smooth and tapered so it was easy to slip the coil off once the glue dried.  I slipped the coil partially off so that I could wrap part of the overhand knot line around the coil and knot it so it would not unravel.  This was tricky and was the point many of my coils failed.  One end of the line is cropped and hidden while the other is allowed to hang out as if the bitter end if the line.

Wow!  Great job.  I am glad to see you have been working on this.  I feel bad about slacking off. (but not real bad)
 
Which coils?  On deck or rigging coils?  In both cases I made the coils as separate entities and glued them over the loose end of the line.   The coils for the running rigging was the biggest pain because there were so many of them.  I used the handle of a small file to make the coils.  I made several (6 or 7) wraps around the handle and tied an overhand knot to keep it from unraveling.  I also coated it with diluted white glue.  The handle was smooth and tapered so it was easy to slip the coil off once the glue dried.  I slipped the coil partially off so that I could wrap part of the overhand knot line around the coil and knot it so it would not unravel.  This was tricky and was the point many of my coils failed.  One end of the line is cropped and hidden while the other is allowed to hang out as if the bitter end if the line.

Hi All.
 
It has been a while since I updated this buildlog, but progress has been continuing.  I am mostly done with the rigging at this point and am trying to figure out how to get nicely formed coils of rope.  Anyway, here are some pics showing the current state of the build.
 

 

 

 

 
Mark

Oh!  Eyebolts, not grommets.  Yes.  Some people paint.  I used "Blacken it", which takes more effort, but I think the result is better.  <it's late.......>

I'm not sure what the instructions say.  They look white on the SMITHSONIAN model.

 
 
 
....so that's how I made mine.  I used styrene tube.

Thanks for all the likes.
 
Big day in the Krug household - time to glue the frames to the jig.  I did not glue the outermost frames, saving those for further refinements off board.  The keel is still removable.
 
I glued the outermost remaining ones to provide a firm grounding on opposite ends to keep everything in line (the keel riser notwithstanding).  I then worked inward gluing one at a time.  The frame was pushed below it's required level, the keel re-attached to the existing frames, then the new frame pulled up into position in its slot.  Wait a few minutes and on to the next one.
 

 
As can be seen, the keel was cut to the correct depth and the false keel also cut.  No longer any need for the keel risers.
 

 
Next is to add some frame spacers at the wale location to really lock everything in before sanding, and detail the outer frames.
 
Interesting to note with this building style the keel rabbet is not finished at this time.  In fact I used the frames as installed to determine exactly where the rabbet should be.
 
Mark

Hey Chuck, some of those pics were pre-grommet. Here's one with it. It was funny, I opened a tool box organizer that I keep drum parts in, and 4
of these grommets were sitting right there. I don't even know where or what they were from..

Lookin'good.  I am about to post some myself, but I am not as far along as you.
 
I don't see the grommet on the inside.

Just continuing to motor right along.
 
The sled on my Byrnes saw almost made this too easy (take'em when you can get'em).  I rubber cemented the required keel slot locations onto a piece of basswood (will cut to correct depth later on).
 

 
After it was dry I adjusted my Byrnes saw to the correct depth and using the sled cut all slots perfectly out in less than 5 minutes (test fitting a frame for each slot as I went).  
 

 
I also cut a slot on the keel height holders - which was a mistake, but no harm done.  The keel holder was the proper height of the keel BEFORE cutting.  With out the slots, the frames had actually been adjusted a tad too low in the previous pics taken.  Amazing how things like this pop up!  Glad I caught it now.
 
Then everything was put together with the frames into the slots (the picture has the incorrect slot in the keel holders).  Amazing how rigid and strong the structure became.
 

 
I now need to fix that keel holder and I will be good for starting to drill some trunnel holes as well as cut my purpleheart false keel.
 
Stay Building My Friends,
Mark

Happy New Year! It has been a while, so here are a few pics of progress. I did not like the brass rings for the hawse hole flanges, so rummaging through my drum parts box I found some small grommets that almost fit exact.. I like the look better. I also stained the knees for contrast.

Chests installed..

The New Year brings with it ....... a small update!
 
There are two bulkheads under the quarterdeck.  They are constructed from laser cut pieces and laminated:
 

 
Here they are, laminated and the blackened brass hardware affixed to the doors:
 

 
The farthest aft of the two encloses the Great Cabin.  It, in combination with the deck beams I've put in, pretty much covers the checkerboard floor.  But we'll still be able to see it as only 1/2 of the quarterdeck will be planked:
 

 
Another view, showing the first of the hanging knees installed:
 

 
There will be both hanging and lodging knees installed for each of the deck beams as we move forward.  I've installed wire inserts to simulated the bolts in the knees.
 
Here's the aft bulkhead taken from the front.  I've also added the mizzen mast cap, some eyebolts and the speaking tube (only temporarily).  It's made from painted brass tubing and extends up to the quarterdeck just where the ship's wheel will go.  I'm not sure what the helmsman would communicate to those down below but I can't shake the mental image of John Wayne at the helm bellowing down "Engine room, more steam".
 

 
We'll be moving forward now to install that second bulkhead.  But first some gangway railings and the capstan need to be installed.
 
Best to all for 2015 !
 
 
 
 

With some free time on this New Year's Day (everyone sleeping in) I dashed down to the shipyard.  Things seemed to go pretty fast at this stage.
 
I removed all paper from the frames and added the missing support wood.  I then methodically worked the positioning of the ten frames onto the jig.  Lots of back and forth to the scroll saw but well worth it.
 

 
Still some cleanup to do on each frame, primarily around the keel slot before I glue them into the base slots.  Then it will be on to the real keel.
 
I know the hull is centered on the jig and correctly positioned.  Any measurement on either side will match.  The base is parallel to the keel.  This should limit the 'surprises' in the future.
 
Stay Building my Friends,
Mark