JSGerson
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Everything posted by JSGerson
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I DID cut down the bulkhead gun deck to compensate for the additional gun deck planking and yet my mock-up gun was too short as well. I was surprised that your guns were short, but you stated that was because the MS carriages were too short. For you, that should have cancelled each other out - the higher deck and the short carriages. That's odd it didn't. However, since I have to do what you are doing with the carriages, I really appreciate your little jig on how to accomplish this task. I've put this little task off until I do more work on the hull. Jon -
Since my last posting, I’ve had my first of two eye surgeries, actually on my lower eye lid. Once the outpatient procedure was done, I looked like I had a bout with Mike Tyson. I had quite the shiner on my right eye. My eye is still blood shot, but the swelling has gone down a bunch. Needless to say, it has added another in a long list of excuses why I haven’t made much progress this past week. I did try though. In preparation for the trim work for the quarter galleries, I needed to make some more trim from stock. That meant setting up the Dremel drill to make more scrapers. All I managed to do was break two grinding discs before I even turn on the tool. Realizing I could not see well enough yet to make the trim, I did managed to paint the transom black which had to be done anyways.
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Just started to follow you. You are moving along very nicely. I also am putting in a gun deck, but my model will reflect what the ship looks like today (minus the tourist accoutrements). I admire anyone who can extrapolate what the ship looked like before photographs and accurate detailed plans. Paintings and old models are nice guides, but as any model builder knows, no two models of the exact same ship (or paintings) are identical. The artist/builder always puts in or leaves out details as he/she feel fit. Even though the US Navy has provided some of the ship's plans, I wish they would provide more. There must be more for the contractors working on the restoration of the ship all these years. Keep up the good work and even though you claim to work slow, I think you will surpass me soon enough. I've been working on my model since Feb 2017. Jon
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The frames were then inserted and glued into the window openings of the quarter galleries. Simple process, it only took me …breaks out the calculator…60 days.
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Using just a bit of double-sided tape to secure the template to the mica, the mica was cut to size with scissors and a very sharp X-acto knife. Then the template was pried off with the blade. In most cases, the mica cleaved apart from itself leaving a fine layer still stuck to the tape. The mica was then placed inside the back of the window frame and secured there with a few tiny dabs of PVC glue in the corners of the frame.
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It’s been just over 5 weeks since my last post and like an old-time movie serial, left my readers hanging as to what happened. Well, I had some distractions like Thanksgiving where I took to week trip to visit my sister whom I hadn’t seen in two years due to the pandemic, getting my bathrooms renovated (master bathroom finally done just last week and the guest bathroom this coming week), dealing with my eyes, (I have surgery scheduled for the right eye next week), and overall frustration that I could not get the window sashes made to my liking. After a lot of interruptions as noted above, false starts, do-overs, lost pieces (the rug gets very hungry), clogged CA glue applicators, and other gremlins all well known by model builders world-wide, I finally got all six sash frames completed. Some came out better then others, none was perfect to my standards (which were probable over my skill level). Once the frames were touched up, voids filled, tweaked the frame openings for fit, and painted, individual templates were made from card stock for the mica pane inserts.
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Well, you've accomplished a lot more than I have. Nicely done.
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Kirby - Thanks for looking in
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Slowly making progress, but progress, nevertheless. 2nd window, starboard side dry fit, sans mica. From these close-up shots I see that I still have to clean them up a bit.
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The more I looked at the sash, the more I didn’t like it. So, I started over and made a fourth attempt, using the same method as the third, and although not perfect, the results were more acceptable. So much so, I’ve started on the next sash. The picture below shows the dry fit of the painted, sans mica, fourth attempt as well as my progress on the second sash. The close-up shows waaaaay more flaws than a normal viewing would reveal. Luckily, most people will not see them. The next few days is the week before Thanksgiving, I’ll be preparing my visit to my Sister’s home for the holiday, my bathroom renovation continues, and ophthalmologist notified that I still need some minor surgery on my eyes. The surgery is out-patient, and hopefully won’t hinder me too much on my model. So, if my lightning building pace slows down a bit, I hope you followers will understand.
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The front surface of the frame and all but the back surfaces of the muntins were painted white. Once dry, the frame was flipped over, and a piece of mica was place inside the back of the sash and secured with four dabs of Wellbond at the interior frame corners. The results, to my eyes, were acceptable but not the great. I attribute that to my building skills, not to the method. Although the window fit, the horizontal muntins should have been more parallel with the base of the window opening. I will see how the next window goes. I may go back and do this first window a fourth time.
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Once the frame was formed and solid, any voids in the frame were filled in (sorry for out of focus image). Next came the window muntins. Using my fine hand miter saw, grooves were cut into the frame, one vertical and two horizontals about 1/64” deep. Because the grooves provide a solid gluing surface, the 1/64” square horizontal muntins met at the vertical muntin and touched. No support at this point was needed. The excess material was removed, and the surfaces sanded very carefully.
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The first corner (in this case the lower left in the image) was glued together with a very small dab of Weldbond glue at the joint. This allowed for final adjustment. Before the joint cured, CA glue was used to get glue into the joint seams. The other three window joints were glued in the same method. The sash was NOT glued to the window opening at this time. Scrap wood was jury-rigged to provide a backing to prevent the pieces from falling into the model.
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Well, I finally got some work done in between maintaining an eye on my bathroom renovation. Over a dozen people have come in and out of my home and its not over yet. Plan C worked…mostly. To create an accurate window frame, I measured directly from the model’s window opening, skipping making a template. Boxwood stock was place along the window opening and cut and trimmed to fit. Once the four sides pieces were made, a lap joint was made using the Byrnes saw.
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Well, Plan B failed. I did what I intended, built the sash in reverse and it was easier as I had hoped, but like Plan A, not practical nor accurate. This time the problem was removing the partially constructed sash from the tape without breaking it. I thought I would be able to paint it before the mica was attached and secured with a backing bringing the total thickness to about 1/32”, but when I checked to see if it even fit properly in the window opening, well you can see what I saw in the image below. I hadn’t even cleaned it up, no point. I believe the basic problem is that the component is so small and delicate, any error compounds and magnifies any distortion. I still have at least Plans C (another method), D (jacknastyface2 method*) and E (Practicum’s method). So, its off to Plan C where I will forgo using a template and get my sash shape directly from the window opening. Stay tuned to the next installment of “Crash & Burn or Possibly Survive.” * jacknastyface2 is a fellow model builder on another site
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Finally, I was able to get everything glued together. Peeling the completed sash from the tape was a delicate maneuver which didn’t go as smoothly as I would have liked it. The mica surface lifter off the inner frame which had to be glued back down…again.; some sash pieces had to be reglued into place. Finally, I was able to trim the excess and smooth the edges. I had a complete window sash with just one minor problem…It didn’t come close to fitting the window opening. Somehow through all the machinations of gluing, parts coming apart, re-gluing, etc. the vertical angle of the side of the sash changed. But I proved the concept through trial and lots of errors. To make things slightly easier (not simpler), my next attempt will attempt to build the window sash from the outside, inward as opposed to the way this one was made, inside outward. All 15 pieces of the outside sash component will be placed on the tape first and glued all at once, then the mica, and finally the four larger pieces of the inside sash. Hopefully this will work better, go faster, and everything will be cleaner, neater, and remain glued together.
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It was at this point; I saw the major flaw in my modified cunning plan. I didn’t have a sticky surface anymore to hold the remaining 16 pieces to complete the sash. Everything now had to be glued to the slippery mica. Mica is very smooth and CA glue needed something to grip to. Even worse than that, because the sash pieces were very short, thin, and narrow, they tended to jump from the surface of the mica to my CA needle applicator due to surface tension of the liquid CA. Needless to say, there were numerous “do overs.” I should also point out that all the pieces had to be pre-painted while still a stock of wood, then cut to size.
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Next came the mica. Using just scissors, a slightly oversized piece was cut from the main sheet. I planned to trim everything at the finish. CA glue was applied along the top surface of the frame and the mica laid on top.
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Following my plan, by laying down the inside frame pieces on the template which was fastened down with double sided tape once again. These were glued together at the joints with CA glue. I tried to only paint white the inside surfaces of the muntins. I wanted the gluing surfaces bare wood. I tried sanding off the excess. It looks worse in the photos.
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It’s been about 10 days and I am still working on the first sash, and it’s been a b*tch of an effort. I contemplated what material to use for the “glass” panes. Some years ago, I spoke with the master builder, David Antscherl at one of the NRG yearly conventions. He’s also authored numerous ship modeling books. I was admiring one of his models he had on display and asked what material he used for his windows. He replied that he used mica. A friend of his had giving him a large quantity of mica scraps which David said would last him a lifetime. Well, here was my opportunity to try that out, Not having a friend with excess mica to dispose of, I found what I needed on www.etsy.com for a reasonable price. When I received the package, the mica was all that I hoped it would be, free of defects, crystal clear, and very thin.
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Ah, you're a Frank Sinatra fan😄
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Well, I was surprised that you decided to use the kit's windows. I tried to warn you of the problems.
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Because Mr. Hunt used styrene, he didn’t have to think about paint. I knew that I had to paint the sash before the last step installing a transparent material (not determined yet) for the windowpanes. Additionally, I noted that Mr. Hunt’s windows had a gap between the muntins and acetate he used for the panes. When he finished constructing his sash, he’d flip it over and applied the acetate to the inside surface of the window border. Therefore, his muntins were 1/64” above the acetate. This required that I modify his method slightly. As shown below, the modification would require that the transparent material be sandwiched between bottom and top elements of the window border pieces. This would also increase the gluing surface for the muntin installation thus increasing the structural integrity of the window sash… Or so goes the theory. Next immediate steps: remove the vertical muntin, remove any excess glue, smooth the surface, and paint the outside border of the partial sash white.
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The sill, header and styles were laid down on the tape which held them fast. Next came the vertical muntin which was laid down very carefully into position. Most of the pieces were made a bit long so they could be handled easier. The excess would be filed off later. A few fine drops of CA glue at the joints and everything was what it should be…or not. Here is where my cunning plan started to fall apart.
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The first thing the practicum tells you to do is make a template for each window opening, which I did. It then has you double side tape the template to a piece of card stock, which I did…wrong. I laid down the tape on the card stock and then stuck the template on the tape, so it was card stock tape, then template. That left the template without a sticky top surface, which was the whole point of the double-sided tape. Got it right on the second attempt.
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