MEDDO

Post 56a.  Mast Cap and Topmast:
 
This Post is out of order and should have come before the last one (Post 57).  The topmast was made art the same time as the mainmast and dry fitted as shown here
 

 
The topmast was removed so that the lower the gangs for the standing rigging could be slipped over the masthead.  Now that this is complete the topmast can be installed.  The dimensions for the mast cap are given in the plans and two holes were drilled in the appropriate places - the forward one to take the topmast and the aft one was squared up to take the mainmast tenon.  There are four blocks located on eyepins on the cap.  I elected to install these prior installation of the cap rather than do it on the ship.  The for and aft blocks have al length of rope attached for the Jib halyard and the main boom topping lift and the respectively.  The ropes associated with these were installed and coiled in readiness for installation at a latter date.
 

 

 
Of course the topping lift was installed in Post 57.
 
John
 
 

The advantage of the wider table is that you can use the Byrne's sliding table without having to remove the rip fence. You just slide the fence over to the right. I go back and forth between cross-cutting and ripping frequently so the wider table was worth it for me. It would drive me nuts to have to keep removing and re-installing the fence.  I also bought the micrometer but after trying it a couple times, it has been sitting in the drawer ever since. I work at larger scales (typically 1:16), so that degree of accuracy is unnecessary for me.
 
Cheers -
John

So, based on previous experience, I shall remove the formed frames and wax the grooves as well as the rest of the plug before gluing the frame extensions to the blocks. This will, I hope, prevent any from detaching from the planking later. As you can see, the frames are merely clipped in place at present. 
 
The frame stock was first soaked in hot water, then bent in place using controlled heat from the iron I use for restoration work of easel paintings.
 

Elegant

Next was marking out and cutting the grooves for the frames I decided to put in every fourth frame. To assist marking out, I used a piece of thread wedged into two small cuts at the top of the plug. The grooves were sawn and then finished with a narrow pillar file. A piece of stock for the frames was used as a depth gauge.
 
 

The lining out of the planking has now been refined. Even the thickness of a thin pencil line makes a difference at 1:48! Pencil erases well over gesso. There was much erasure. I use 4H leads in order to get the thinnest lines possible. The beauty - or lack of it - in the final model will depend on precise marking out.
 
The next step in the process will be to mark out the frames on the plug. 
 
 

Thank you, Joe.
 
Next was to refine the planking layout. At this scale the width of a pencil line makes a difference!  As you can see, it's almost these now. Lining out is a science and an art. If one only scientifically divides the space for the planking, it does not always look fair to the eye. I had to then use a bit of art - and maybe a touch of alchemy - to make the lines run fair to the eye from stem to stern.
 
There will still be some minor adjustments before transferring the mark-out to the second side.
 

Just about completed the smoothing of the plug. It is worth taking time to refine this even though it isn't part of the model itself. A little filler was required in spots in order to create a smooth fair surface. Next will be several coats of gesso and sanding. The planking runs can then be marked out.

So, after many layers of gesso and sanding a good surface was achieved on the plug. While gesso coats were drying, I began construction of the backbone of the cutter. The stem and stern posts were cut out of wood a scale 2" and 3" respectively. The stern post was tapered to 2" at the heel. The rabbets were marked out carefully and cut. The drawings of this cutter showed both inner and outer rabbet lines. This established the changing bevels. The outer line was cut with a new scalpel blade and the bevel cut using a miniature chisel. Thinking ahead, the holes for the ringbolts were drilled using a #72 bit held in a pin chuck. Next will be the keel.

Next was to complete the spine of the cutter. Cutting the rabbet along the top of the keel was easiest for most of its length by attaching the keel (rubber cement again!) to a board and using a shaped scraper as shown. The stem and stern posts were scarphed on, the joints being accentuated with a little pencil. The aft scarph was unusually short, as shown on the surveyed plans.
 

Thanks for dropping in and having an interest in this project! The next step was to fit the backbone and plug so the slots at bow and stern were widened to accommodate them. The run of the planking was next sketched on. Looking  at the photos from Venice, it appears that there are ten strakes below the sheer rail. As you can see, the run aft looks quite good already, but the fore body needs correction. The planking will be delineated far more accurately as corrections are made. This comes next.
 
The deliberate gap at the forefoot is that the hull form is so fine here that, if the plug were in the way, the planks will not run smoothly into the stem rabbet.
 

Thanks guys. You are a very welcoming group. I started drawing when I was about 50 or so and quickly interacted with many artists - an experience I found very daunting. In art, you find a great many people who keep their techniques close to the vest, so to speak, and are reticent to share with anyone, let alone newbies. I found initially, anyway, that I had to teach myself how to do things which ended up meaning I draw somewhat differently than most. I am not the least bit shy so I pestered those more skilled than myself and eventually discovered things I wanted to know. That is something I have noticed in reading the logs here - everyone is very open about answering questions concerning how something was done which is very refreshing. I do the same thing in my teaching elsewhere because information can be hard to come by. Drawing, for instance, is a good deal more than picking up a pencil and making marks on paper. Layering, for instance, is crucial but nobody talks much about that as if it is some great secret. It also requires tremendous patience - a typical drawing for me will take a minimum of 120 hours. Most people need to develop that skill from my experience. But the fact is that no matter how much of my techniques I might teach someone, they will still never draw exactly as I do - nor I as they do. We are all unique with our own gifts so being selfish about sharing really makes no sense to me at all.
 
Anyway, the point of all this is that I am pleased to be here among such generous people and feel somewhat at home because you are all artists as well - just working in a different media than I am used to. I spend a lot of time playing with doctors these days so time can get away from me - and I have some trouble getting around as I lost a leg so am wheelchair bound but the intention is to make a start on the Syren shortly so I expect to start a build log. You will find I am not the least bit shy about sharing errors and mistakes - we all make them. Others may learn from mine and I've enjoyed reading logs where others went astray for whatever reasons. Thank you for your warm welcome.
 
Ken

Hello. I am not all that new to modeling or woodworking for that matter, but I am now retired and decided to take up a new hobby. I have always loved tall ships and admired their models so I decided to try one myself. I have been a professional musician for decades, owned a computer repair shop for years, taught myself lampworking (solid glass work) and been a professional artist (graphite) One of my drawings is on the cover of a book at Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M65CKO0/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1 Hopefully a link like that is allowed here ... I only share that to show I have an eye for details. I am a moderator at an art site teaching drawing so I am comfortable with WIPs (works in progress) which you call logs on this site. In any case, I am ready to start my first wooden ship model. To that end I purchased Model Shipways' USS Syren and have been carefully reading the instructions by Chuck as well as going over the logs here. Some unbelievable work!! I can only hope to complete the kit but not to have skill on the level you guys do ... I will undoubtedly need assistance along the way so I hope to interact with some of you.
 
Ken

Post Twenty
 
Completing the First section
 
This involves cleaning up the hull, fixing blemishes, and re-coating the topsides.
The moulding rail has been extended onto the Bow stem, and paint added.
A Further coat of wipe-on-poly was applied to the unpainted areas.
I will leave the painting of the capping rails until I have fixed the internal panels.
 
Progress photos to complete this stage.

0114(2)

0115(2)

0116(2)

0118(2)

0124(2)

0127(2)

0153(2)
 
Moving onto the internal fittings.
 
B.E.
16/04/21
 
 
 

Fantastic progress Glenn.  Very motivating to come here and see this coming together 

The Masting & Rigging Begins
 
A new stage of building has begun. With the hull complete its time for the masting and rigging, beginning with the bowsprit. I kind of enjoy this part of the model, and once again (he said again), Cheerful is taking me into new territory.
 

 
The bowsprit bobstay and guys, or as someone with my level of nautical knowledge calls them, the bow stringy things, require both served line and thimbles. So there was a pause while I assembled the Syren Serv-O-Matic I’d purchased a long while ago. It was time consuming and not at all fun removing all the char from each piece, but Chuck is right in the instructions to encourage us to do so. It does look much better once done and coated with WOP. Now to figure out how to use it, I thought it would be more complicated than the simple instructions explain. Turns out it wasn’t - its the perfect machine to serve rope quickly and easily. My first effort, which I thought would be practice, was good enough to use. It takes no more effort than turning the crank and a steady hold on the thread.
 

 
Next up are the thimbles. I found this nifty brass tube cutter at Rio Grande Jewelery tube cutter which has a number of handy tools for modelers. It comes with a handle, I removed that and mounted in on my vise. It proved to be an excellent way to quickly generate short lengths of very thin brass tube with a neat cut. Just set the length with the screw guide, hold the lever down with one finger, place the jig saw in the slot and cut. My $17 (including a bunch of blades) Amazon jig saw proved its quality and value once again, cutting as many as I wanted without fail or issue.
 

 
I found (thanks to @DelF ) that a spring loaded punch is much more effective for me at consistently generating an even “fold” on the both sides of the brass tube to create the thimble. While of course a hammer and regular punch work fine, I more often than not crushed one side or the other - why practice my hammering skills when the $9 spring loaded version (Amazon) does the job. After creating a number of them in different sizes I blacked them using my standard process.
 

 
I have plenty of commercial hooks, eyelets, and rings - and I’m not using any of them. In fact I pulled off the ones I had placed earlier (down the center of the deck) and replaced them with home made versions, mostly of 24 gauge black wire. The heft of these on a 1:48 scale model is noticeable. After some practice and a bit of wasted wire, I now have my own way of knocking out all the eyelets, rings, and hooks I need for Cheerful.  It was good I did because the thimbles require a hook with a larger eyelet to connect the hook to the rope.
 

 
I learned my rigging technique from Bob Hunt’s practicums, his AVS was my first model many years ago. The “fishing lure” method of seizing has served me well, but I thought I’d look at other methods and did a little research. I came to the conclusion that while there are in fact many ways to seize lines and strop blocks, after experimenting with a few of them I’m content to continue with the one that I’ve been using. With two additions: First, thanks again to Derek, in some instances I’ll use thin fly tying line and in others I’ll continue to use 50wt Gutterman poly thread. My only issue with the fishing lure method has been the small thread ends that were left despite my using high quality Gingher embroidery scissors. Second, thanks to @Ryland Craze I now have the answer to that issue by using extremely sharp and close cuticle cutters, my newest ‘tool’ investment (again from my friend Amazon). They are so flush cutting and sharp they can also cut the wood of the block, which I did and consequently had to replace, so care is needed. I also vary the use of watered down white glue, hypo-cement, and CA depending on the situation. I'm comfortable with each, they each have their pros and cons, why fixate on just one or the other.
 
Finally, I have a bunch of empty thread spools to transfer Chucks now historical rope, marked with the size. Not sure what I’ll do when these go empty for the last time, maybe a Rope Rocket in my future, but not for this model - I have what I need.
 

 
And off I went. The bowsprit collar is shrink wrap plastic (but I also use black card or black masking tape again depending on the situation). The rings in this case are made from 22 gauge black wire for some extra heft and of course a little (very little) weathering powder brushed on.  The blocks are seized to the hooks with fly fishing line while the served rope is seized with 50wt poly thread. The thimbles are from 1.6mm thin brass tube (yes, Amazon). The hooks have larger eyelets to accommodate the thimbles. Of note these where done before my “discovery’ of cuticle cutters, but I didn’t want to go in there after the fact for fear of cutting off more than I wanted to cut in such close quarters. This is one of this macro hi-res photo things. I didn’t even notice excess thread until I looked at the photo for this log entry.
 

 
Here’s the bowsprit end of the bobstay tackle and guys, naturally I’m using blocks from Syren.
 

 
 

 
And the bow side view of the same. The bobstay is belayed to its pin, but loosely. Like most I don’t tension the lines completely until later. The guy lashing took some experimentation (it was replaced more than once) and research, none of which was definitive. I learned many different techniques were used both by modelers and on the actual ships. In the end I opted to seize the line at the bow eyelet and tie it off at the center after two loops through the guy thimble and seize the running end past the knot (essentially a sheeps bend). And…I remembered to put on the traveler before the blocks, so it will just hang there a while.
 
Next I turn my attention to the mast.  Thanks for stopping by, the likes and especially the comments are always welcomed and appreciated.

Post 57: The Main Boom
 
The main boom was constructed in post 54.  It is now rigged and installed on the model.  There was nothing special about this process but no ropes are tied off permanently yet.  I used black Parrel beads as that is what I had in stock.
 

 

 

 

Post 56:  Standing Rigging
 
As mentioned above, I am not sure that old hands can cope with seizing shrouds etc around the mast-head on the ship.  So, I have elected to install most of the standing rigging for the lower mast first so that I can slip the gangs over the mast.  Most of this is pretty standard stuff - seizing blocks to line using the method described above, making a few hooks, and installing the gangs in the correct order.  So here are the running back stays:
 

 
And also the mainstay which is secured to the stem via a five hole deadeye:
 

 

 
Cheerful will largely be on hold for a while as the autumn sailing competition starts at my club next week and the community orchestra in which I play is also in full swing now.  So it may be a few weeks before there is another update.
 
John

I didn’t taper any planks at the stern. The model is so well designed I had a perfect fit with using the standard width around the tricky curve there. 
 
I did, but I don’t think anything drives you to at this point. The key is to have the back end flush with the counter before painting either the counter or the fashion pieces, since they are painted a different color. 
 
I think my log discussed how the fashion pieces, square tuck, counter, and planking all come together, and ultimately a trim piece later. Up to you though how to make that happen. Matching them to the wales is critical. 
 
I had to improvise to get a fit I was happy with. It becomes what works for you. 

Thank you Chuck for your kind words. But when you have a model of this quality, so well designed, it is easier to get a good result. A lot of the credit goes to the designer...
And thank you to all the 'Likes'.
 
Setting up the fashion pieces.
I decided to choose Alaskan Yellow Cedar as my wood for the fashion pieces. This wood has many advantages: it is easy to cut (I was able to use my cutter to cut the 1/16" thick pieces), it is easy to shape, and you get clean angles. Really a great wood!
 

 
First, I cut my pieces into perfect replicas of the plan. But then I realized that it was difficult to position them correctly... So I got inspired by the method used by Stuntflyer (Mike). I traced on the model the front location of the parts with a pencil. I cut my pieces with the back part slightly wider. Once glued precisely to the line, I simply sanded the back part. Be careful not to forget to leave a space of 1/32" along the transom while in the part that runs along the counter you have to sand level.
I glued the pieces with Titebond wood glue, which means that the preformed pieces must be held in place while drying.
 

 
The pieces are then sanded on the back side and reduced to a thickness of 3/64".
 

 
To finish, I simulated the reinforcement dowels by drilling 4 holes with reference to the plan. A sharpened pencil tip is inserted in the holes to round them perfectly and toothpick tips are glued. The whole is then finely sanded. I know that you won't see much once the fashion pieces are painted black but I hope that you will be able to see them under the layer of paint.
 

 

 

 
I will now proceed as many modelers have done to lay the first two strakes of planks directly under the wales before adding the second layer of the wales.
 
I have several questions that come to mind:
- Is it time to paint the outside of the counter red?
- I purposely left my fashion pieces slightly longer (they extend slightly past the bottom of the wales). Should I wait until I have installed my first 2 rows of planks before sanding them to the right length?
- If the manual contains precise indications on how to tapered the first 2 strakes of planks at the bow, nothing is indicated on the width of the planks at the stern. Should I keep them at their 3/16" width or should they also be tapered?

Thank you in advance for your help!
 
 

Post Eighteen
 
Ears and Cap rail mouldings.
 
These are provided in the form of pre-shaped Boxwood pieces for the ears and Boxwood strip for the mouldings.
These items require a shaped profile to be scribed into the face.
 
I start with the ears; the profile must be simple given that the edged surface is a mere 1.2mm wide.
 
The means is a single edged razor blade, and the way is to cut the profile shape using the edge of a mini file. This is a method I have used on all my models requiring a fancy edge to rails.

1550
Several passes along the ears, and the centre groove is cleaned using the point of a micro file.
The same procedure is used to create the profile in the Boxwood strips six of which I think will be required, barring mishaps.
 
The big danger with the fragile Boxwood strips is running off-line as the profile blade is drawn down its length. These strips are 1.20mm wide and 0.90mm thick, and 325mm in length.

1554
I use a simple guide jig to hold the strips to prevent lateral movement. Well, that’s the plan.

1561
The very tiny profile shape can be seen here cut into the blade.

1552(2)
The ‘ears’ go on first, needed a tiny bit of fettlin’ to get them to fit reasonably tight against the cap and stem.

1578(2)
I used pva to glue the ears on.

1576(2)
With the glue set, a little re-shaping was necessary, which resulted in re-scribing of the profile pattern where it meets the stem.

1584
I used ca to fix the top moulding along the cap rail, and heat bent the forward end to de-stress the curve around the bow section.

1585
For the stern section I found it better start at the Flying transom and move forward, as the moulding finishes at the forward edge of the FT and is angled to suit.

1575(2)
I now need to establish the position of the lower moulding to allow for the frieze work and decide at what point I will paint the area between.

 
B.E.
09/04/21
 

Thank you Christian and Glenn for your kind words and thank you to all the 'Likes'.
 
In the end, I decided to opt for a cleaner finish on the inside because I felt that the joints between the planks were too visible. So I fill in all the joints and sand the whole thing to prepare the surface for the painting phase.

 
You will notice that in the meantime the transom has been completed.

 
I realized after the first layer of the bottom molding was installed that the rabbet at the bottom of the port opening was twice as wide. So I decided not to leave a rabbet on the upper part to respect the height of the port opening. As we will install the port lids later, we should not notice this small mistake...
 
I then traced the upper curve of the stern with reference to a copy of the plan and gently sanded the top plank. In the picture above, the starboard curve is finished.
 
And finally an exterior and interior view once the sanding is completed.

 

 
Since I have a week's vacation for Easter, I'm taking advantage of it to make progress on this superb model.
I now have to move on to a more delicate phase with the fashion pieces... I will first consult a lot of existing logs
and reread carefully the manual.
 

Well, having read the thread on an article seen the drawings and photos about a cutter preserved in Venice, the beautiful form has inspired me to attempt to build a model in 1:48 scale. 
 
The first step was to download the photos of the pages in the article that showed the surveyed drawings.  These had to be stitched together and distortion removed, which was done in PhotoShop. Then  the drawings had to be re-sized to 1:48. Having  the overall length, width and depth helped define the reduction required.
 
Once the drawings were to scale, I could begin. The first step was to begin preparing a plug on which to build the hull. Leaves of yellow cedar were cut from blocks (1) and sanded. Four layers a scale 4" thick, two layers 8" and one layer of 15" were needed for each half of the plug. These thicknesses matched the waterlines on the plan (2).
 
Tracing paper was used to transfer the waterlines to the leaves of cedar and laid down using graphite paper (3). The opposite pairs of wood leaves were rubber cemented together before cutting them out on the scroll saw.
 
To be continued!

The Navy did not 'burn' a fireship, they 'expended' it: a much more refined method!

As far as I know this is the first log on this site for Model Shipways’ cross section of the USS Constitution.  I bought the kit last summer, when I think it was pretty newly released, and when I was about midway through my Spray build. I have never done a cross section, and I was attracted to the novelty (for me), the detail, and the fact that I wouldn’t be spending many months simply building a hull. So far I am not in the least disappointed.
 
Upon opening the relatively small densely packed box I soon realized this was not going to be a simple, quick build.
 
There are five sheets of plans (although only two are really plans; the smaller three show the location of  the hundreds of laser cut parts as laid out on their sheets of wood as well as some photo-etched brass fittings).  The two plan sheets are three feet by almost four feet (that’s a two foot ruler in the photo of them laid out on my floor). I found a couple poster hangers  on Amazon and hung them on the wall to better view them.  The fittings are extensive, as is the number of laser cut wood parts.  The only thing that seems underwhelming in volume is the number of wood strips and dowels, but that kind of makes sense for a cross section.  




 
The really amazing thing for me are the instructions.  Almost 100 pages, with an average of 3 or more color photos per page!  As with most Model Shipways kits, the instructions can be downloaded as a pdf from their website, which makes choosing an appropriate build a lot easier.  With instructions this voluminous, it is helpful to have them on a computer and able to be searched, if there is a specific issue you want to look ahead about (as I mention below).  
 
First step is to cut out the three frames, or what I might have called ribs, which are the skeleton of this part of the hull. The laser cut pieces are securely attached with a minimum of tabs, and the laser cutting is sharp, precise and complete -- well done.  All three parts are attached to a building stand, that will be cut off later in the build. Two lengthwise pieces connect those stand parts, and the slots all need to be sanded so they fit.  I made those connections quite tight, as they will not be disassembled for quite some time. Eight additional crosswise laser cut pieces (identified as spacers) are provided to connect the frames and to keep them a precise distance apart at the level of each deck. These will be moved around a bit from time to time during the build, and I sanded their slots so they are a little looser.  The instructions assign six of them to what seems like a random distribution among the orlop, gun and spar decks (there is also a berthing deck, which for some reason gets none of these spacers). Interestingly, I haven’t found anywhere in the instructions or the plans where the deck names are expressly identified, but it is pretty easy to figure out by looking ahead at the pictures in the instructions (orlop, berthing, gun and spar, from bilge to sunshine).


 
Assembling and gluing the keel (which needs a rabbet cut in it), the keelson pieces, and the keelson cap is all quite straightforward. The instructions suggest, and the pictures show, writing “B” on the bow end of the keel to assure that it is properly installed. That struck me as a bit odd, until I realized that the three frames vary fairly significantly in shape and that things are not symmetrical for and aft.  No big deal as to the keel, but a good habit to get into when dealing with other pieces later in the build.  The slot in the frames for the keel is a loose fit, and I used a couple of rubber bands to press the keel up against the frame when gluing it in place (careful to glue it to the frame and not to the building stand).



 
A mast step is then made out of a 1½” length piece of the remaining ¼” x ½” strip.  To avoid chewing up the soft basswood with a large bit, I drilled the ¼” hole for the mast by starting with a ⅛” bit and working my way up to ¼” with the three or four intermediate bits I own. I then chamfered the hole with a Dremel tool.  Note that I did not cut the mast step off of the ¼” x ½” strip until I had finished all of this -- it’s nice to have something to hang on to when working on a piece like this.


 
Limbers (I had to look up the nautical definition) on either side of the keelson cap are shaped from ¼” square strips.  Here the change in shape of the hull fore and aft makes shaping them a little like shaping a propeller.  The instructions complicate that quite a bit by having the limbers slope up to the base of the mast foot where the two intersect, but the plans show the mast foot simply continuing straight down on each side to intersect with the limbers.  In one of the photos below I tried to draw in red what the instructions direct. I chose to follow the plans instead, and added a 1/16” strip to the bottom of each side of the mast step to fill the gap between it and the limber below.