Jack12477

I cut the stern pieces on my scroll saw.  The "Z" and two of the "ZZ"  pieces were cut from 1/4" stock, the "X" & "Y" from 1/8".  I cut and test fit all the pieces, not just "Z".  They all inter-relate. Most of the notches in the bulkheads  The angle of fitting is important for "Z".   Any minor variation in the notches on the last two bulkheads makes a big difference in ultimate top of the stern frames.  They are in roughly, but I need to make a bunch of measurements to confirm angles and heights. 
Maury

And I'll add to what's been said also - glad to hear Judy is home; hope her health  continues to improve.
 
Magnificent job on the spark plugs. I'm glad you include the "hand shot" for scale ! Impressive !

And I'll add to what's been said also - glad to hear Judy is home; hope her health  continues to improve.
 
Magnificent job on the spark plugs. I'm glad you include the "hand shot" for scale ! Impressive !

Thirds are charmes,
but all good things come in fours, don´t they ?? ;-))
My best wishes for a good and lasting recovery to Judy. Spring is around the corner, and all things are going to be "bright and beautiful".
Good luck to both of you
 
 
P.S. : the Most Honourable and Noble Swiss Watchmakers´ Society at Geneva would be pleased to send you their application form. They are constantly looking for new masters of their trade and will surely and with the greatest pleasure accept you as their new fellow. I neither saw any really working spark-plugs of 2 cm length, nor did I ever hear of such things. Mein Gott, Michael, where is this going to end ??
 
Germanus

I'll third it.... that's very good news.

I second Patrick's remarks, Michael!

Hi Michael
 
It's great to see you back in the workshop, but most importantly, it's fantastic that Judy's well enough to come home.
 
All the best to you both.
 
Cheers
 
Patrick

Thanks to all for the likes and comments
I have not been able to spend much time in the shipyard this last few weeks, but things have improved a great deal this week, Judy is home now.
 
I did manage to get some time today to make some changes to the spark plugs. I was not happy about the way the plug were integrated into the head structure so after a couple of experiments I now have proper spark plugs they are made from some Allen key, that I annealed.
 

 
The thread is a 6x40 I had to make them long reach which meant it was a bit tricky drilling a .028" hole almost 1/2 inch long through the Corian core which is only .078" diameter.
 

 
The hand shot for scale
 

 
The brass now functions as it was intended to hold down the oval cap to enclose the water cavity, and the spark plug threads into it.
 

 

 

 
All I have to do now is add a brass  0 x 80 or a 00x90 threaded section to the top of the electrode in order the be able to make a good positive connection with the ignition cables. i will need to see how easy it is with the 00x90 which is a better scale size.
 
Michael
 

Believe it or not....I now know....and will forever know....where all those braces, sheets and halyards go. A month ago I was plain stumped!

After reading all the build logs of other members, I decided to get this kit and start building it before I start all the other model kits in dry dock. This is my first build log so please bear with me while I become accustomed to this system.
 
First the customary opening photos:
 

 
Laying the keel. (The miniature shoulder plane really works and is great for small parts)
 

 

 
Building the frames:
 




 
Planking underway:
 



 
Planking completed:
 


 
I think the planks are either set too low or the frames need trimming down ? (Always have trouble getting the first plank set at the right level below the bulkhead/frame top edge.)
 

Nice shot !

Nice shot !

I was measuring the ship for a case when I got this bird's eye view of her and took these pictures.

Magnificent model, table and case, Bill.  A museum quality model and display. Congrats !

This will be the last posting for the build log. I was able to get the ship installed into the display case. The Connie is now in her berth. I cut the pedestal out of the spar material. I chose to leave the back side rough. It still shows the wear as well as paint from when it was part of a spar on the mighty ship.
 

 
I spent quite a bit of time researching LED lighting. The top of the case was only ⅞" thick and most of it is glass. I wanted LED lighting that would accurately produce the colors of the ship and be bright enough to allow everything to be seen well. The high CRI led's from Flexfire worked perfectly. They also do not produce much heat which is important in the contained environment of the display.
 
I had a number of goals when designing the case. I wanted black walnut to match that in the ship. I wanted to minimize the size of the surrounding frame to maximize the view of the ship. I wanted a glass top, and wanted the case lit. 
 
By utilizing ¼" tempered glass, I was able to use the strength of the glass to augment the rigidity of the frame. The glass is glued in with a GE Silicone household glue. This provides the holding power required and the give needed to allow for any seasonal movement. I also used low iron glass which is the most optically pure on the market.
 
The display case bottom contains a hidden compartment that is large enough to hold the full set of original plans, printouts of the CAD drawings I used for the ship's boats, and a full bound copy of the build log. 
 
It has been a fun and rewarding build. Now on to my next ship, a scratch build POF of the Brig Eagle. Thank you all for all of the encouragement, technical and mental support during this build.
 

Big step in the case construction today. I have completed all I can do with the case in the shop. Today, I staged everything up in the foyer where it will be located. We moved the table into the center of the foyer to give us a work place. Then we put the case together without the glass so I could fit the access door to her. The largest thing this entailed was running the light wires down through the corner post and into the base. I knew the door would require some final shaping to allow it to clear the sides of the slot as it was slid in place. After a bit of sanding we got the door installed. It fits like a glove. I have to admit, we did put the ship in the case (without any of the glass and turned the lights on. They will work well with her.
 
Here are photos of the door in the case.
 

 
Then we removed the door and all the clamps and started installing the glass. We started with the side the wire ran through since the top and corner could not be moved apart much without stressing the wire. I put wood glue on the corner top and bottom, then ran a bead of the GE silicone adhesive completely around the glass channel. Once cured this will also provide a great deal of rigidity to the case.
 
 
Once that was in place we worked our way around next with the front glass then the remaining side. Once these were in place, I applied clamps on each corner and checked for square. Once I was satisfied, I replaced the back access door. 
 
Here are photos with all the side glass in place. The black handles are suction cups used to move and handle the glass. These will also be necessary should I need to remove the access door to get to the model. Otherwise there is nothing to hold on to and the frame is inset into the case.
 

 
Tomorrow I will remove the clamps and clean up the glass and any glue squeeze out. I will also solder the connections between the LED dimmer control and put it all in shrink tubing to dress it. Then we will move the case into position and place the top glass in the top. This just lays in the top on felt. This will allow outgassing slowly since air can filter through the felt around the glass and out. The door will allow some air exchange but not much. I also will touch up the finish where necessary, primarily around the top of the door where I had to fit it. The good news is all of these areas are actually hidden in the joints so not much touch up will need to be done.
 
Tomorrow we will also pick up the printed build log. It follows this log pretty closely but is more extensive and detailed. It also contains more photos of the build. Rob (my Admiral) was kind enough to clean it up and send it off for printing and binding. I have two printed copies. One for our library, and one to be placed with the plans in the hidden shelf under the case's base. The log in the library also notes the plans are in the case.
 
I still need to cut the pedestal for the name plate. This will be cut from the real Connie's spar material (thanks again Popeye2sea). I have waited on the final design of this because I want to see what I need once the ship is installed in the case. That will inform me on the final design of the pedestal. The plate is already made.
 
So barring unforeseen complications, the ship will probably be in her new berth tomorrow evening! I will post a final entry here with some photos of her in place and close this build log.

I know I said it would probably be a few days before I updated this again, but I finished the new ship's base today.  I still will be adding the poly/oil to it along with the display case. Anyway, since I was updating, I thought I could also show the case after the first two coats of the poly. It really brings out the colors and wood grain. Also, there is a shot of the glass waiting for the case to be finished.
 
I also started working on the LED lights today. I wired the power supply to the controller and tested it.
 

 

 

 

 

 
 

The table is done. I still have to actually screw the top to the base, but that will be easy. I placed the table where it is going to go today and tried the Connie out on it. As I expected the base that she is mounted to will definitely need to be changed. It does not go well with the walnut. While the table looks a bit bit, the base of the case will step in about 2" all around. We also need to move the column with the salt block somewhere else. So other than being better lit, much better protected and about 4 " higher, this will be the view of her in her new berth.
 
Now to start on the case!
 
 

So I started the display case today. I milled all the rough walnut and started on the table top. They are cut to length and width and ready for cutting the biscuit slots and glue up tomorrow. The biscuits add very little strength to the joints, but they help massively in aligning and keeping the boards aligned during glue-up.
 
My current plans are to glue the table top up then cut the profiles into it on the router table. Then it will be ready for sanding and finishing along with the rest of the table. I have attached photos of the milled boards along with the table top ready for the biscuit cutter (it is sitting on the top). The router table right now is being used for storage of the various bits and assorted ship making fittings. I need to move those into the cabinets. I just haven't gotten to that yet. TH4e chunk of wood in the background (on the table) is a part of a Connie Spar. I used pieces of this in the ship's boats and I will carve the stand for the name plate from it as well. The real Connie is permanently a part of my Connie.
 
I still have to work out how to slot the corners for the LED lighting. I have a number of ideas such as deepening the slots for the glass, or possibly even drilling a hole though it. I will work that out. I have tested the LED lighting and can;t wait for it to shine on the model. I think it will really set it off.
 
Anyway, I took a much needed night off for the National Symphony and the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto. 
 
Here are before and after shots of the walnut.


 
A photo of the top ready for biscuits and glue up.

 
The new router bits waiting on their chance to bite into the walnut!.

I did the Peterboro in Golden Oak stain under 2 coats of WOP......came out nice.  Of course that's what it's supposed to look like.
 
Now the Indian Girl is a different story.  The inside would probably look nice with a natural finish.  But I'll wait to see your rendition on the exterior.  Don't chop down too many birch trees 
 
The CA idea is just plain BAD!

Thanks Jack,
 
I actually have a plan, but I'm going to reveal it later, because I'm a big meanie.

Another alternative would be to coat the hull with two-part epoxy resin then imbed a fine mesh fiberglass hobby cloth - smooth it out well - sand and leave unpainted. You can get the epoxy and cloth in any good hobby shop.  I did a model of a Coast Guard utility boat that way many years ago and it came out really nice.

Ed, please take the photos.  I find shop clutter in the background to be both charming and instructive.
 
By the way, the photo of joggling the planks I thought was an entire tutorial on the subject.  Truly well done, as is all your work.
 
Wayne

Bill,
Can you shoot some pics of how you hung coiled lines to your belaying pins? I did what you suggested and ran the lines through the pin holes then re-inserted the pins. Now I want to give the impression of neat coiled lines hanging from each pin.

Yeah---You gotta love the natural wood look on her.