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_SalD_

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Everything posted by _SalD_

  1. _SalD_
    Thanks Tom, I use AutoCad everyday in work so I find it easy to draw out the parts I need and plan ahead for the things I'll be working on. Sort of like shop drawings.
  2. _SalD_
    Thanks Augie, This method seems to work well but I keep trying new things. Jimz66, I'd be happy to post more pictures but it will have to wait until next week. I'm on vacation in sunny Florida right now. 70 degrees today and not missing the cold weather back home . Thanks Joe, hope you're staying warm. I'm on vacation this week and next so I'm going to miss the meeting this coming Saturday. Thanks Patrick, It's going slowly but I'm getting there. Hull is going to need a bit of sanding I think. And thanks all for all the 'likes'
  3. _SalD_
    The hull planking is coming along. It took me a while to put that first plank on but now that I’ve started I’ve developed a system that seems to work pretty well for me. First I made two templates from the plank pattern I drew as part of my “planking-plan-of-attack”, one for the planking of the bow and one for planking the stern. I colored them with a red pencil to help distinguish them from other planks. Using these templates as a guide I sanded eight planks at a time, four for the starboard side and four for the port. The red color on the edge of the template came in handy as an indicator as to when to stop sanding. As soon as the red color became lighter I would know the planks were close to their final profile. I would sand each plank individually and compare it to the plank pattern to get its final shape. To form these planks to the shape of the hull I would first soak and steam them and then place them in position on the hull itself. I would do this on each side of the hull. After letting them dry overnight I would do any final sanding and then glue them in place one at a time. Planking progress to date One minor faux pas I discovered while laying out the planking at the stern was that I did not place the counter filler along the bulkhead former correctly. When placing the filler I stop it at the bearding line and not at the rabbet. Fortunately it wasn’t a hard fix so I added fillers to both sides of the stern and it sanded them smooth.
  4. _SalD_
    My feelings exactly
  5. _SalD_
    Patrick, very nice work on the stern timbers and your first picture has made me feel better about writing port and starboard on the sides of my ship. I thought I was like cheating or something to do that. Great work as always.
  6. _SalD_
    Thanks Patrick, I hope the wood planking will be as easy.
  7. _SalD_
    Prior to starting my planking I read “Planking the Built-Up Ship Model” by Jim Roberts , “Simple Hull Planking Techniques for Beginners” by Dirk DeBakker and Greg Brooker, and studied many building logs here on MSW. All these references were very informative, however, and I know this might be a little over kill but for me personally, having more of a visual type learning style, I decided to draw up, as Chuck calls it, a ‘planking-plan-of-attack’. I started by measuring the gap along each bulkhead between the planking by using a tick strip. Next I measured the length remaining to be planked along the curve of the bow and the total distance along the stern and counter and finally the distance between each bulkhead. With these measurements I drew vertical lines representing the centerline of each bulkhead at their measured length and spacing. The dimension at the mid-ship bulkhead was 2 7/8”, which would require 23 planks @ 1/8” wide to cover the area. I used this number to divide the length of all the other bulkheads to determine the width that the plank should be at each bulkhead. Using these dimensions I drew up a plank pattern for the port and starboard sides. To test this planking shape I made a few copies of the pattern, cut them out and pinned them to the hull. They appeared to fit well and had no puckers (clinkers). I will use this shape for planking the bow. For the stern I will either need wider (5/32”) planks or use steelers. My thoughts are that I would use this pattern for about 7 or 8 planks and then re-adjust if need be to account for creep or ,heaven forbid, I don’t shape every plank perfectly.
  8. _SalD_
    Thanks Dirk Thanks Augie, I needed to sand the planks a bit to get them to line up and I think the starboard side is a bit lower but if I stand far enough back they look perfect. Thanks Patrick, There are a few dents that don't show up in the photos but I'm happy with it so far. Lets see what happens with the remaining planking.
  9. _SalD_
    I finished placing the two 5/32” wales below the top most wale and the first 1/8” plank below them. I also completed placing the garboard plank and the two 1/8” planks above it. To shape each plank to conform to the shape of the hull I soaked and steamed each plank and then temporarily pinned them to the hull. After letting them dry in place I removed them and glued them back into position. The one deviation I made from the instructions was that I decided to skip Step 2 and not install the counter planking or the transom at the stern until I finished planking the hull. I decided to do this for two reasons. 1) Because of the way the counter planking and transom fit over the ends of the hull planking, I thought it would be easier to shape the counter planking if the hull planking was already in place. And 2) I thought it would be easier to ‘tuck’ the hull planks around the counter if the planking was not on the counter yet. I guess I’ll find out if it was a good or bad decision. Forming the second wale in place Wales glued in place and forming the first 1/8" plank Bending the plank around the 'tuck' of the counter Garboard glued in place Forming the first 1/8" planks above the garboard. Did both port and starboard sides at the same time. Push pins seemed to work very well at holding the planks in position. Planking at the counter Garboard and first two planks in place Port side with simulated butt ends of planking on wales to get an idea of how the second layer of wales should look. Stern. Pencil line on the counter denotes, what should be, the location of the bottom edge of the last plank of the counter. Sorry for all the photo's, just a few more
  10. _SalD_
    Patrick, glad to hear from you. Use whatever you'd like and thanks for looking at my new build log. This ship is certainly a lot different than the solid hull Phantom, a little bigger too, which is good so I can see it better.
  11. _SalD_
    Finished planking above the wale on the starboard side. I used the same procedure as the port side gluing the planks on in one piece. The only difference on this side was that I used my old drafting square template as a guide to cut out the gun ports and sweeps. For the gun ports I used the 17/32” template based on the 15/32” gun port frame plus 1/32” frame width all around. For the sweeps I used the 3/16” template. Once the template was in place I used my x-acto knife to cut the plank. You just need to be careful not to cut too deep to avoid cutting into the frame. Finished starboard side. Planning ahead, I thought it would make planking the hull easier if I could steam the planks to make them more pliable. This is what I came up with. Used a two foot long, 4” diameter pvc pipe with an end cap and a thread end cap; drilled a hole in the end cap and inserted the hose attachment for my HAAN’s steam cleaner; used a small wire basket inside the pipe to support the planks. It works fairly well, tried it out and the plank came out very pliable after a few minutes.
  12. _SalD_
    Thanks RR, and thanks to everyone for all the 'likes'
  13. _SalD_
    SgtSki, Funny you should ask. I just did something similar for the planking above the wales on my Syren where I used one continuous piece instead of smaller individual pieces. Take a look at my latest Syren post to see if this helps make up your mind. I know it's not how it was done on real ships so I guess it all depends on how realistic you want to be. (don't tell anyone and they'll never know )
  14. _SalD_
    I tried a little different approach for placing the planking above the wales than what is described in the instructions. After pondering the pros and cons of placing these planks in a number of pieces as per the instructions or in one continuous piece I went with the one piece. I know it’s not the way it was done way back when but the practical side of me took control and decided to deviate a bit from the norm. Before setting the planks I use my jig to pre-bend the bow end of the planks. Prior to setting the first plank I cut in four grooves across the plank to denote the faux ends that would have been made by the individual pieces. For the second plank I notch out for the gun ports and sweeps but kept it as one long plank. Clamping the first plank in position First and second plank above the wale The remaining five planks were all set as continuous pieces from stem to stern. Then using the notches in the second planks as guides I cut out the gun ports. I still need to do the sweeps. I took care not to get glue on the exposed portion of the gun port frames so the planking would not stick there.
  15. _SalD_
    Brian, great work on the ship, I like your fancy edging. Looks like your new camera takes terrific pictures, I like that B&W picture with color. Happy Thanksgiving to you too.
  16. _SalD_
    Thanks Chuck, Measuring up 7/8" up from the top of the wale the top of my last plank will be a tad (+1/16") over the bow fillers. Is that acceptable or should I move the wale down?
  17. _SalD_
    After pre-forming the port wale to the curve of the bow in a jig similar to what Chuck described in his instructions I ... (takes deep breath) glued and clamped it to the hull. After that side dried I glued the starboard side. Note to self; buy more clothespins in order to do both sides at the same time. I like using the clothespins because they seem to be gentler on the wood surface. Still working on the sheaves. The prototype I made from basswood doesn’t appear to be that bad however the first attempt at the final sheave….not so good. I tried using pear wood for the sheave but I don’t have a proper tool to carve out a small enough slot in the hard wood. Oh well, back to the drawings board or maybe I’ll just use the prototype.
  18. _SalD_
    Thanks Augie, I ended up removing the battens and repositioned them a little higher. I like the way they look now. Thanks SgtSki, I do some of my best work using my kids old toys. And thanks everyone for all the ‘likes’
  19. _SalD_
    Fellow Syren builders, I have a dilemma . I think I know what I need to do but I would just like some verification. Using the laser inscribed marks on the bulkheads I’ve positioned the temporary batten on the side of the ship marking the location of the top most wale. Now if I measure up from the top of the batten 7/8”, corresponding to the width of the seven planks that are placed above the first wale, the bottom of my top plank will not clear the top of the gun ports at around mid-ship. From the photos in the instructions it’s clear that the top most plank is a full plank and not cut around the ports. Also at the bow from where my batten is positioned the top of the seventh plank is flush with the top of the bow filler where as in Chuck’s model (see picture below) the top plank is well above the bow filler. My question is; should I move the first wale up so that the topmost plank clears all the gun ports? If I do then this plank will now be above the bow filler also. I think I should but I don't know what impact it will have on things down the line. What I’m not sure about either is the amount of creep that will occur in placing seven planks. In theory the seven planks at 1/8”/plank should be 7/8”, but what is it in actuality? Maybe I’m fine where the batten is now. Maybe I'll do some more painting while I think about this. On another note, I did cut out for the sheaves and made up a dummy sheave out of basswood for fit. I want to use a harder wood for the real sheaves. Also finished painting the gun ports And sweeps.
  20. _SalD_
    I decided to make two solid filler pieces for below the counter rather than using the two strips as shown in the manual. For me, I find that I can better visualize the shape of the hull with the solid pieces instead of the two strips. I also decided that to shape the fillers more easily I would make them up separate from the hull. I formed the fillers from some scrap pieces of basswood and glued them together. After drying overnight I traced the profile of bulkhead #26 on the back of the filler pieces to give me its basic shape. Using a jig saw I cut the excess material away from the filler. Then using my dremel I formed the rough shape of the filler. Next I glued the roughly shaped fillers into place below the counter and finished sanding them. I am finished with chapter 4 as per the instruction but I am debating whether or not to cut in the sheaves near bulkheads ‘D’ & 4. I like how they look on Dirk’s Syren build, but then who wouldn't. It’s not so much cutting the openings, that’s the easy part; it’s making the sheaves that concerns me. Maybe I’ll try making the sheaves first.
  21. _SalD_
    Stern framing I pretty much followed the instructions for assembling the stern framing. Inserted the spacers along bulkhead #26 and glued the frames in between. One thing I did different was to add a temporary support below the counter to give the spacers and frames something to sit on to help support them. After all the frames were set and the glue dried I cut and inserted the gun port sills. For this I used a temporary batten to establish the top of the sill. I also checked their position with the cannon template to make sure the sills were not too high. After the sills were set and dried I did the gun port lintels and added the rest of the filler material. I still need to mark the outside frames to get the proper shape of the stern so I painted the frames white so I'll be able to see the pencil marks to trim along a little better. Old eyes ain't what they use to be. Before I start sanding all this framing down I have a question as to what the final profile should look like. I’ve looked at a few of the current logs here but I’m still unsure. I guess what I’m not sure about is how does the stern planking match up to the hull planking? The filler pieces added below the counter in the directions shows a smooth transition from the filler to the stern framing. If I add the filler called for in the manual I have a little lip between the filler and the framing. Do I use a wider filler or do I sand the stern frames down to eliminate the lip? I think I should use a wider filler. I hope this makes sense. Duh.....Well after rereading the instructions again I think I found my answer. and I quote..."The strip under the counter should be set flush to the edge of the counter". Unless I am misinterpreting this I need to use a wider strip.
  22. _SalD_
    The templates that I cut from Sheet #2 of the drawings worked out very well. I marked the locations of all the gun ports and sweeps and then proceeded to cut and assemble all the pieces. After installing each group of pieces making up the gun ports and sweeps I sanded them down to their rough shape. After the sweeps were glued and dried I sanded everything down to their final shape. This was a lot of sanding. For sanding I used my dermal to take off a majority of the material, for the final sanding I used the sanding blocks shown below. I had seen the red blocks in Marsares's Syren build and liked their shape so I purchased two. The 20mm wide sander was very handy for doing the inboard side of the bulwarks, the 40mm wide one was good for doing the outboard side with its rounded surface. The one I made from a cardboard tube with sandpaper taped to it also worked very well for the outboard side. The emery boards and pencil sander I used to clean up the inside of the gun ports.
  23. _SalD_
    Augie, It helps a lot reading other peoples logs and learning from their experiences. At least I was aware of the problems with the templates so it wasn't TOO much of a shock when they didn't fit. Joe, the word ‘great’ is a long ways off for describing my ship building abilities but thank you. I’m going to miss the club meeting this Saturday, going to visit my daughter at college, see you next month.
  24. _SalD_
    After sanding the gun port sills and lintels my next step was to cut out the templates provided on the heavy card stock for laying out the vertical sides of the gun ports. I cut the starboard side templates out, taped them together at the matchline and positioned it on the side of the ship lining up the end bulkhead of the template to the #26 bulkhead of the ship. After comparing the positions of the bulkheads on the template to those of my ship’s I thought to myself… “Well, either I totally screwed this up or, as others have written in their logs, these templates are way off.” Trying to determine if the templates were off or if I should retire from ship building, I decided to cut out the gun port layout shown on Sheet #2 of the drawings. I taped it to the ship and, phew, much better. Just to confirm that I could use this template instead of the ones supplied on the card stock I PM’ed Chuck Passaro and he in fact confirmed that it was acceptable to use the template on Sheet #2. For a side by side comparison of the two templates see photo below. The template cut from the card stock is at the bottom. So much for the starboard side, how about the port side you might ask. Fortunately I have access to a large scanner at work where I can scan the drawing and then import it into AutoCAD. From there I was able to make a mirror image of Sheet #2 and then printed it out to use as the port side template.
  25. _SalD_
    I glued in all the bulkhead fillers using balsa wood and now my ship looks like a tanker. Next I sanded down the blocks along the hull while fairing the bulkheads. One thing I didn’t notice until I was reviewing the pictures was that I broke off the port side number 20 bulwark while sanding down the top of the balsa. Fortunately I found it on the floor and glued it back in place. For the lower deck I decided to assemble the planks together and then install it in one piece between bulkheads 16 and 20. I cut all the planks to length and glued them together. Prior to cutting the pieces I stained the wooden strip with Min Wax golden oak stain. I also shaded one edge of the planks with a pencil to simulate the caulking before gluing them together. I know treenailing the lower deck wasn't required but since I've never done this before I thought that I would give it a try. I figured if I screwed it up no one would see it. I just arbitrarily assumed a place for the joint in the planks and drew a pencil line. I then used a 0.5mm bit to drill the holes in the planks and then cleaned them up by inserting a compass point into each hole. I filled the holes using a dark colored blend stick. Please let me know what you think because I was going to use this method on the hull and upper decking. Next I laid out the batten for the gun port sill, cut and fit all the pieces and glued them in place. I need to sand them all down next. Is there an easy way to sand the inboard side of the sill? It appears to be an awkward place to reach.

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