Martin W
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Everything posted by Martin W
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Beautiful work, Bob. I find myself just staring -- both with admiration and to try to learn how much one can actually do. Bravo! Martin -
Nice details on the head, Jon. That gammoning can be tricky -- mine came loose numerous times as I was wrapping it, and then I realized I had done it incorrectly and had to redo it. I like the way your Seats of Ease worked out -- they make me wish I'd been more persistent in trying to fit them in. Good work, Martin
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The experience of kick back, even on the little Byrnes saw, will definitely make you respect (if not fear) that tool.
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Terrific, Mike, I like that Grr-Ripper well (and grr to you, too! ). So where'd you get it, Lee Valley? I have something like that (homemade) for my regular full-size table saw, but have never seen a micro version. Safety is a must. Cheers, Martin
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Hi Mike -- I, too, am fascinated by your experiments with the stains. I can't quite make out the labels on the stained wood, but, like you, I find the walnut a bit on the dark side. The light brown and antique oak look to be in the middle of the scale, and so about right to my eye. Are you leaving the gratings un-stained? That decision will affect the overall appearance of the hatches, so you might want to stain some scap gratings and set them alongside the different stained coamings. Cheers, Martin
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Hi Scott -- Terrific work. Those chainplates are always tricky to align just right. I like the way you've handled them. Cheers, Martin
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Great work, Nils. And I suppose it's good to have a photographic record of the seat of ease in use. We can all consult your log to understand its purpose. Cheers, Martin
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Mike -- when I was cutting the redheart for my capstan, I ended up wasting several pieces that just crumbled the way you describe your bulkhead doing. I didn't see any knot, but the wood just literally fell apart. Hmmm. Martin
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Mike -- I just want to add one Swan voice to the chorus of things unseen. I remember (I hope!) that Remco put a Norwegian rat down in the bottom of his build, and I always thought that was a delightful touch. In an old issue of either the NRG Journal or Model Shipwright, there's an article about a model from the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century -- the article includes photos & xrays that show that quite a bit of attention was paid to details that haven't been seen for centuries. I say, if it's fun do it. And if it gives you a chance to learn the technique -- without your mistakes being laid bare to the world -- then try it out. On the other hand, ahem, I didn't do the curved deck planks, mostly out of laziness, and concern that I might use up my wider stock of holly. Cheers, Martin
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Hi Mog -- If you're in the UK, the NRG meeting would be a bit of a long haul for you, but, yes, it is a good organization. My recollection of the Ratt's blocks is that a few went on top of the platform (without the plans right in front of me, I don't know that I could name them), but most went under. They really followed Petersen's drawings pretty closely. If you're building the Model Shipways Ratt, then you have the best rigging plans -- they are nicely detailed. If you study them closely, you won't go wrong. Cheers, Martin
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Hi JPett & Mog -- thanks for checking in, guys, it's always good to know the Ratt Pack is still around and active. JPett, thanks for the advice. I do have a cradle for the hull that I made from scrap whille working on the Ratt. It's bascically fashioned out of the plywood forms that held the bulkheads; I widened them a bit to accommodate the broader beam of The Fly, reinforced the padding for greater softness, and bingo. Right now, I'm pinnig battens along the hull, then unpinning them and moving them, then moving them again -- all in hopes of outlining a kind of "plan" for the first planking. The challenge right now still comes from those accursed gunport strips, that set the top edge in a way that makes an upward curve inevitable for the strakes at the bow, and makes the distance from imaginary wales to keel quite odd, so that both stealers and lots of trimming will be unavoidable. A longer update, with photos will be forthcoming soon (probably after the NRG conference next week -- see you guys there?) Cheers, Martin
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Mike -- I've had that exact same experience with Woodcraft. But once I've gotten the in-process email, the order has usually arrived in the next day or so. Good luck, and don't gnash your teeth. Martin
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Good looking joints, Mike, and it's great that you had fun making them. A clear record exists of my incapacity to read plans, so take this provisionally, but the way I see the NMM plans of The Fly, the ladders seem to run from starboard to port. I'm afraid I agree about the colors of the pear & royal oak -- the pear might need darkening somehow and the oak lightening. Maybe the oil will do that. Cheers, Martin
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Adding my wee voice to the chorus of praise, I have to say that not only are your skills in joinery admirable, but your historical knowledge as well. Always a pleasure. Cheers, Martin
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Stunning work, Nils (could I say stunning stun'sail?). The bird decoration makes for a delightful touch. Is that PE, or did you devise it yourself? Cheers, Martin
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Hi Bob -- Your work is breathtaking as always. I visit your log regularly, even though I don't always comment, just to get inspiration for how well this can be done. As for your figurehead, has anyone suggested you look at Bill Short's practicum? He has a link here on MSW: http://carvingbook.weebly.com/ I got this book when I wanted to carve the figurehead for my Rattlesnake. I'm not an experienced or skill carver by any measure, but golly I found that it was as much fun as any other aspect of modelling. So I'd say, give it a go. Bill's instructions are nicely detailed with clear illustrations, showing you the step by step process to carving figureheads & other decorations. Cheers, Martin
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Mike -- have you posted any pictures of the antique oak stain on maple? I've been building some bookshelves with maple plywood & veneer, and have found that just oiling them (I'm fond of oil) does in fact darken the maple, changing from a very light beige tone to a deep gold. I tried putting some "maple" stain on a piece of scrap, and immediately rejected it for looking yellow. One interesting experiment might be to set the different types of wood you're thinking of using alongside each other, and judging the contrast that way. And it's worth remembering that wood will mellow and darken a bit with age. I should also say that because of your experiments, I'm thinking that my next build (whatever it may be, in, oh, six or seven years) will have a maple deck. Cheers, Martin
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Hi Mike -- That's an interesting question about staining pear. I've never done it, since I figured that if I was using a particular species I should highlight its own qualities. I have rubbed some lemon oil onto some pear, however, and found that it still kept its pinkish tone but got just a wee bit darker, and the depth of the grain stood out more. I don't know how walnut would look for small pieces like the coamings, since its grain is very broad, and tends to conflict with the scale. I used some for the railings on my earlier build, The Rattlesnake, and regretted it. You might think of something like cherry, if the aim is to get contrasting wood tones, since it is darker and less pinkish than pear. It's not that much fun to work with, though, since -- at least in my "experience" -- it splinters and splits pretty easily. Staining does offer some interesting possibilities. I like the way you've shown the different shades, and will be looking forward to what you experiment with further. Cheers, Martin
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Nice work, JPett. I'm glad to see you've resolved your nagging problem of the ports, and have moved on to the deck. As an old Ratt man myself, I can say that this is the stage when the build starts taking on its nice appearance, so there's nothing wrong with just leaning back and admiring it. Cheers, Martin
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Mike -- I'll also be interested in the effect of time & light on the redheart. That I used on my capstan has stayed quite red -- I put 3 coats of poly on it, but no oil. I found that after just a bit of sanding it developed a glass-smooth surface, so I was tempted to leave it bare, but thought the poly would preserve it, and keep it from drying. Cheers, Martin
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Mike -- I really like the combination of woods you're going to use. I'll especially be interested in seeing how the maple looks. I hadn't thought of planking the bulwarks in redheart, but, golly, now that you mention it, hmmm. I might also mention that the deck for my Fly came in 2 pieces just like yours. Now that it's planked, it seems solid and tight, though the starboard seems about 1/16" narrower than the port, and I can't figure out why -- I only noticed it when I laid the last planks. Oh well. Cheers, Martin
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That's right, Mike, those holes line up for th bitts, the masts, and the capstan. The bitts are quite long pieces extending far down. I assume you'll replace those (I am), since they're made of ply -- at least in the Fly kit.
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Thanks for the close-up Mike -- very nice. When I added reinforcements to the bulkheads amidships, I just copied the camber from the bulkheads on either side. The only problem I ran into is that one of my reinforcements interfered with the coamings of a hatchway, and I had to sand it back. Cheers, Martin
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Spy's advice is good, Mike. I think just about everyone has had that bulge down the middle of the deck. I found that in a text fitting it looked really bad, and then in a second fitting, for some mysterious reason, it didn't. In the end it fit well, but, like Spy and others, I reinforced it from below. I also got some good advice to glue blocks on the bulkheads to help prevent any twisting of them or the keel. Don't know if that was absolutely necessary, but better safe than twisted I guess. How about a close up of one or two of your extensions? Cheers, Martin
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