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_SalD_

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Everything posted by _SalD_

  1. _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.
  2. _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’
  3. _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.
  4. _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.
  5. _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.
  6. _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.
  7. _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.
  8. _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.
  9. _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.
  10. _SalD_
    It seemed like I worked all weekend on the ship but didn't get much accomplished. First I beveled the bulkheads slightly just shy of the guide lines. Then I glued all the bulkheads to the BF being careful to align each one 90 degrees and vertical to it. I did one at a time and waited three to four hours for the glue to set before gluing the next one in place. One thing I discovered while dry fitting the bulkheads in place was that Jenga blocks suck for lining up the bulkheads (scratch that idea). I used a modified version of Floyd Kershner’s aluminum angles and a drafting triangle. I also attached the bow fillers and filler material to bulkhead ‘P’ prior the gluing it in place. I just thought it might be easier to get the basic shape down before gluing it in place. Bulkhead 'P' with fillers attached Finished product
  11. _SalD_
    RR, I think you have a leg up on me with your Constellation. You should post some pictures of her. This should be an interesting build and I'm sure we'll be helping each other out along the way.
  12. _SalD_
    Hi Rev. Kenny, It's one of the benefits of having kids, you get to raid all their toys after they leave the house.
  13. _SalD_
    Thomas, thanks for taking the time to look at my build. I've read through your build log and will be referring to it often. Your ship is beautiful.
  14. _SalD_
    Thanks Dirk, I have been through your build of the Syren a number of times. What can I say that everyone hasn't said already, your talents are truly amazing.
  15. _SalD_
    Hi Brian, thanks for looking in. Hi Joe, I'm counting on you and the guys at the club to help me through this build.
  16. _SalD_
    Thanks Augie, I've looked through your build of the Syren and it's excellent. I will be referring to it as I go.
  17. _SalD_
    Hello all. This will be my second wooden ship, and build log, that I will be attempting. The first ship I built was Model Shipways’ Phantom which I found to be most enjoyable, so much so that I thought I’d try it again. For my second build I wanted to try a POB being that the Phantom was a solid hull kit. I looked at a number of kits and finally decided on Model Shipways’ U.S. Brig Syren. Although this kit may be a little advanced for me I chose it for a few reasons. First it’s a POB kit, second it comes with an excellent instruction manual by Chuck Passaro that pretty much gives me a step by step guide on how to build the ship and, last but not least, there are a number of excellent build logs here on MSW of the Syren that I can study. I wasn't going to start this kit until next month in order to finish up some chores around the house but the kit came and it was just sitting on the work bench calling my name and having an addictive personality I couldn't resist. So I opened the kit and took inventory. Everything was there except for some of the belaying pins and the ships wheel was broken. I sent a replacement parts form to Model Expo. Mandatory photo of the box and inventory. The Bulkhead Former was removed and checked for straightness. Not bad. Steam bend (used a little travel steamer) the rabbet strip around the BF and let it sit over night, then glued it into position. First small faux pas was to use the clamp at the top of the stem to hold the rabbet. With the basswood being wet and soft the clamp compressed the rabbet strip down to about half its thickness. Carved the rabbet along the BF, tapered the stem knee for the figurehead and removed the bulkheads (very carefully) and filed down the slots. Glued the stem knee and keel onto the BF and made up a keel clamp with a scrap piece of white particle board shelving and pine strips. I also test fit the bulkhead onto the BF and found that Jenga blocks work very nicely to square up the bulkheads.
  18. _SalD_
    Chris, Russ, Wayne, Brian, Tom: thank you all for the continued support and kind words. Patrick, thank you. It’s nice to hear from you and I’m glad you were following along. I hope you are doing well. For my next build I wanted to try a POB to give planking a try. I had given it a lot of thought and decided it’s time to leave the swallow end, take the swimmies off and jump into the deep end of the pool so I ordered the Syren by Model Shipways. I hope it’s not too big a leap but I figured with ‘mother’ Passaro watching over me I’d have a better chance of staying afloat. We’ll see. Best regards to you all,
  19. _SalD_
    Finito!! I have finished the display base and have mounted the ship and launching ways. I made a temporary name plaque and just need to have a final one engraved. Although I'm excited that I've finally finished the ship and pleased with the way it came out I'm going to miss working on her. Deck is a little too clean, need to throw some more rope coils on the deck And now for the acknowledgements. I would like to thank Model Expo & Model Shipways for putting together a great kit that has been most enjoyable to build. The quality and quantity of material was first-rate. I think I only needed to fabricate four or five eye bolts. There were more than enough blocks, plenty of copper tape, plenty of standing rigging and just enough running rigging (could have used a little more to make some rope coils with). All in all I am very pleased that I chose this kit for my first build. The only issue I had, and this is not a fault of Model Shipways, was the instruction manual that came with it. If not for the practicum by Chuck Passaro, that supplements the kit’s instructions, this ship would have looked a lot different and would have taken me much longer to build. For that I am most grateful would like to thank Mr. Passaro for his fine practicum. I would like to thank all my followers and fellow Phantom builders for taking the time to view my build log. I hope this log will help others as past builds have helped me. I would also like to thank everyone for their help and comments and for everyone’s ‘likes’. Last but not least I would like to thank Model Ship World for hosting a great site. It’s truly amazing the expertise, knowledge and craftsmanship that can be found on this site. I've learned a great deal by reading other peoples build logs and hope to use this knowledge on my next ship. And on that note, good night and may God bless.
  20. _SalD_
    The rigging of the flag halliards is complete. I decided to use the American flag and the 'pilot’s on board' signal flag that came in the practicum but not the number flags. I did a little research into signal flags of the period and found in Captain Marryat’s Code of Signals, dated 1847, Part III, under merchant vessels that there is a listing for the name ‘Phantom’ with the corresponding numbers of 9574. I used these numbered flags along with the First Distinguishing Pendant and seized them to the flag halliard. Before printing any of the flags I reduced their overall size by 20% of what was in the practicum. Although they may not be dimensionally accurate I didn't want them to stand out so much that they would take away from the ship itself. The ship is complete and the only remaining task is to mount it on the launching ways and a display base. I made a base from a piece of oak that I purchased at Home Depot and just need to give it a few coats of polyurethane.
  21. _SalD_
    Thanks again Russ and thank you for following my build.
  22. _SalD_
    After doing a little reading on naval signal flags I've decided to use the tenth edition of Captain Marryat’s Code of Signals, dated 1847, for the flags I’ll use for ‘Phantom’. In part III of this code under merchant vessels there is a listing for the name ‘Phantom’ with the corresponding numbers of 9574. I will use these numbered flags along with the First Distinguishing Pendant above them all, if I interpret the code correctly. Although the International Code of Signals was already in use (1855 to present) at the time the Phantom was put into service (1868), I decided to use Captain Marryat’s code for a couple of reasons. First, because his code was still in use up until the late 1870’s with the last documented edition being printed around 1879. Secondly, the Captain of this Phantom is an old sea dog who’s been sailing for what seems like an eternity and as he nears the end of his illustrious career the powers-to-be keep changing the codes for no apparent reason. For the better part of forty years everything was fine with the old code but then some intellectuals decide to justify their employment by coming up with a new “improved” code that no one can understand, except lawyers. And being a frugal man, having handmade his one and only set of signal flags many years ago, he’ll be damned if he’s going to spend money on a new set of flags or spend the time learning the new code so close to retirement. Not wanting to rush his life along or anything, but he’s counting the days to when he retires and anchors his houseboat in the Keys, sipping pina coladas (actually scotch, single malt, neat) on the poop deck. But I digress….. Here are the flags I will be using.
  23. _SalD_
    I started studying the layout of the Staysail and Jib Halliards with their corresponding downhauls and noticed the falls for the Halliards are to be belayed to the fore fife rail. However there aren’t enough belaying pins in the fife rail to tie these lines off. To remedy this I drilled two additional holes in the rail and added two new pins. The appropriate blocks were tied to the Fore and Jib Stays and the rigging was completed as detailed in the practicum. Rigging the Staysail and Jib Halliard I also started work on the signal flag that is rigged to the top of the main topmast. For this flag stave I used a toothpick and filed it down to the appropriate thickness. Added a parrel bead and tied the tan rigging line to it. I also drilled the hole at the top of the main topmast for this rigging line. Drilling this hole was a little nerve racking because I didn’t want to screw up the mast now that I was so close to finishing. I wish I had remembered to do this while making the masts. All went well however.
  24. _SalD_
    I'd like to thank everyone for there input and it appears I have some reading to do. Wayne, those are great references I'll let you know what I come up with. Thanks
  25. _SalD_
    I’m nearing the completion of my model ship kit of the ‘Phantom’ and would like to add nautical signal flags on the flag halliard for the ships name and home port. After doing some extensive research (3 or 4 Google searches) I've learned that a four flag signal usually designates the name of the ship and where it’s from. What I can’t find is how you go about arranging the flags to say ‘Phantom of New York’. If anyone can tell me what four flags to use or if it's even possible I would appreciate it. Thanks ps If the name isn't possible any suggestions will be considered, just keep them PG-13. Thanks again

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