palmerit

Have just a bit of rigging to do and need to add the beckets (ropes).

Argh. A mismatch between instructions and parts. The instructions describe and illustrate the ring bolts as double width cotter pins and have you drill a hole to accommodate that width. The actual parts are single width, so my holes are too wide. I could have tried bending over the end but instead I used some filler and superglue.

I haven't replaced a blade yet, but I probably need to - the last time I used it (a few days ago) it seemed like the blade was getting a bit dull. These blades don't seem to wear down as much as something like the scalpel blades I use, which I replace pretty often. Maybe because I don't use it as much but probably also because they're always cutting straight down, as opposed to my scalpel blades that get used in all sorts of angles that will wear the blade down and sometimes get glue or other matter on them or get rubbed against something metal and dull. I ordered a few packages of replacement blades when I ordered the chopper. They're 10 blades for 5 dollars. I'm not at home, but I think they came with instructions on the specific kind of upholstery cutter blade you need to buy. You could email them and ask what specific kind of blade it uses: info@ultimation.ca I just found it easier to buy from them when I ordered the chopper originally. I probably got two packages of 10 blades. I suppose someday I'll need to research where to buy replacements. But I'll probably just order from them. The shipping is probably going to cost more than the blades I imagine. I think they use these particular blades because they're (apparently) way sharper than a regular razor blade. When I ordered it I also got some of the replacement rubber disks that fit inside. Those do seem to be proprietary. They're pretty cheap though. The cutter is pretty small. And since it's light and easily moveable, I just keep it (and my sander) under my work table. With their sander, they tell you what kind of sanding disc sandpaper to order. To be honest, I wish they just sold replacement sandpaper themselves. It'd be easier just to order through them since it takes a bit to find the specific kind they recommend. It's available online, but it's not just something you can buy at a local store.

I'm in the midst of both the Vanguard Sherbourne and the Vanguard Ranger (one of the six fishing boats). Both of these would use some similar kinds of construction approaches to the Occre kits you mentioned (though the Vanguard hull skeleton is way more robust). You'll also see recommendations here of the Model Shipways Shipwright series (Dory, Pram, Smack), which I built and are fun beginner models in a progressive series (if sometimes frustrating) but they're also a very different kind of model (especially for the hull) - some of the Midwest kits are similar to these in construction. If you want a model before doing one of the other ones you mentioned, I think the Vanguard models would be a better option. You can see the full sets of instructions for Vanguard models (and Model Shipways and some Midwest models) on their web sites. Occre I believe has most of theirs too, which are often just photos and often Youtube videos with no commentary, which is a different approach. I'm pretty new to this hobby, having just started last summer. I remember being lost in a sea of options, not knowing how to pick one. If I hadn't researched suggestions people made here, I probably would have picked a model in the middle of the difficulty hierarchy assuming I could handle it, got frustrated quickly, and likely abandon the hobby. It's easy to make a false analogy to the ratings on plastic models or a Lego models. I'm sure most adults could build a middle-level plastic model kit or any of Lego's 18+ models. Beginner plastic models are for 8 years olds, beginner Lego models are for 5 year olds. Wooden ship models are different beast. Novice wooden ship models are challenging to most adults. Maybe since you come from a woodworking tradition, you'll find them easier than many of us. I’ve never seen someone post that they regretted starting with a novice model because they found it was too easy - to the contrary, most end up finding lots of challenges, and a lot of the abandoned build logs are from people who started a model beyond their skill level. One thing nice about a novice model is that you can complete it in weeks to months rather than years. Olga Batchvarov has a YouTube channel with group builds (and lot of other content) - she's about to start one for the Model Shipways Philadelphia (not a beginner model, but also not an advanced one): https://www.youtube.com/c/OlhaBatchvarov There are also a couple of YouTube playlists on building the Vanguard Sherbourne. Even with great instructions from Vanguard, and lots of build logs here, it's sometimes helpful to see a video of someone building the model and talking about the approach.

Vanguard Models has great kits, great materials, great instructions and plans.

Completed the oars and added the thole pins.

Making the oars. In the Model Shipways Dory, oars were in laser cut sheets that needed to be sanded to shape. In this Dory, they’re constructed from a dowel for the handle with flat pieces of wood for the blades. After the glue dries I’ll need to shape the oars per the instructions and plans.

Added the thwarts. I ended up staining them ipswich pine.

This the single sail for the fairly large scale Midwest Dory kit. The only effect I’m trying to achieve is “sail”. As in I’m still a novice trying to understand why I would use water+glue vs. shellac vs. nothing. I’m guessing the first two add stiffness. I’m don’t know why I’d pick one method over the other. Maybe it doesn’t matter?

I hadn’t thought of adapting other hardware. Sadly, no lathe. Someday maybe. I asked about options because I was looking to see if there might be something other than Amazon or Model Shipways. In a previous post I asked about pin vises and drill bits. Yeah, I can find a ton of cheap imports on Amazon. But some people suggested other places with a wide selection that I never found googling around.

The interior has you add faux timberheads. I tried to sand off the char but to get all the char off I’d have to sand these tiny parts pretty far down. So after installing, I decided I would airbrush the interior black. That meant lot of tedious application of Tamiya tape to protect the etched deck before I could paint.

I picked up a couple more stain colors (these are the small 8oz), gunstock and ipswich pine.

When I set mine on my green cutting mat, it stays in place for me. I can imagine if you had it sitting on a wooden table top it might move around.

I ordered my Oseberg directly from Pavel Nikitin and was able to have them include the patina and stain kit. I don't know if you can also get that if you order their models from other resellers.

The instruction recommend a bare wood layer. I’m not happy enough with the planking along the top so I’m going to paint that section green instead of leaving it bare wood. Laying down a white primer layer.

I know this is an old post, but Model Expo recently re-issued the Midwest San Francisco Bay Scow Schooner: https://modelexpo-online.com/midwest-san-francisco-bay-scow-schooner.html?srsltid=AfmBOop9OnLk-m3Ep5S6xX3uBuC9oQCTqTKFUGE08JyG0ZqA_O4r5K2m

For some of my models, I'd like to possibly mount them on brass, other metal, or wood pedestals with a screw into the keel that are then attached to a wood base. I attached a screen shot of one I found online. Does anyone have suggestions for a good North American supplier of these, ideally that might be in different dimensions and materials? I would want to get one that has the right dimensions for the keel and shape of the ship I am planning to mount. Any suggestions on how to get the right dimensions on these? I've found other posts on how to mount them. I haven't found any on where to buy them and how to dimension them when buying.

Ultimation makes a great hand chopper and hand sander: https://ultimation.ca/collections/all-products This is the one Olga highlighted on her YouTube channel I believe. Note the blade for the chopper are not proprietary. They're just a particular kind of single-bevel blade I think used in upholstery. I ordered extras directly from them when I ordered my chopper because it was easier than hunting for them elsewhere. I use both the chopper and sander quite a bit. They're small and I can just set them on my work table when I'm using them and easily set them aside when I don't need them (on another table or on the floor).

While you probably won’t find any build logs here for that old kit, you might learn something from build logs of their more modern version of it. It looks like they kept everything the same except change from solid hull to POB construction. The online instructions for the current model says they kept the plans and a lot of the instructions unchanged from the original solid hull kit.

Testing out some stain colors (on scrap basswood) for the thwarts (seats). Leaning toward colonial maple (far left) I think. Might try some other stains I ordered. Saw that Dory oars are often made from white spruce. Don’t know if the thwarts would be the same.

I'm building a Midwest Model and it has something in the section about paints and what kinds to get that quaintly said something like "talk with your local hobby shop for options". Oh, how I'd love to be able to do that. Nashville is a pretty large metropolitan area and outside of Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and (the closing) Jo-Annes, I don't know what hobby shops we even have. I've never found one. I think there is one large local toy store that has a middling collection of plastic models and some model trains. Maybe a few small wooden models. I bet there were more hobby shops around town years ago. There were probably stamp collecting shops too. I remember as a kid in the 1970s and there were probably 3-4 stamp shops I'd go to with my dad in Buffalo. I imagine those have been closed for decades. My wife is a quilter and when we moved here there were several quilt shops around town. Now there are one or two. We actually make trips to Paducah, KY and (in a few weeks) to Hamilton, MO because those are famous "quilt towns" with several shops. When in NYC, I think my wife found the only quilt store in Manhattan, and it was on the 10th floor of an old office building in midtown. Years ago, my in-laws opened a hobby shop in my home town. They owned the building and my mother-in-law was the only employee. We tried talking them out of it, unsuccessfully. They owned a small business doing roofing and siding, so they thought they could just open up a store when my father-in-law could not do the physical work anymore. We tried to get them to add an online store and pointed them to resources that would make that easy but they were convinced that they could make it work. After a significant outlay of funds to buy merchandise, much of which they never sold, they closed the store after a couple of years, had to sell their house to pay off the loans, and had to live in the back rooms of the store. Their store had a good bit of traffic when the store first opened. It quickly trickled down to a handful each day. It was small, not in a place that attracted walk-in customers, and they made the mistake of having merchandise that could easily be purchased online and at big box retailers. I really try to buy local when I can. But when I'm buying hobby stuff, I know what model I want, I know what tools I need, I know what paints I need. I'm not going to just buy a model that the local store has in stock to support a local business if it's not the one I want. I'm going to order the paint I want, not just take what's in stock locally. I'm going to order online and get what I want when I want it. And I'll get it in a few days usually. There's usually no rush. When I was a kid, I'd go to hobby shops that had a huge variety of models but that was my only option. I love the thought of having a local hobby shop. If you have some unique items and you're in the right place it could work. Just sharing my thoughts. I would not be surprised if model companies agree to only have one or two distributors in a fairly wide geographical region. agesofsail.com sells Vanguard kits. I don't know of another company in the US that sells Vanguard kits. Maker spaces are kind of popular, but that's a different space from a hobby shop. On the hobby wood working side, I visited a Lee Valley store in Niagara Falls, Ontario a while back while visiting family. It was nice to be able to browse and see things in person, though I probably would still have just bought stuff online. I think because they do so much online business, the brick-and-mortar (at least this one) seemed more of a maker space with classes you could take and machines you could use - they had a big glassed off area in the back for those spaces. I think the idea was to get people interested and skilled in the hobby and then you have a captive audience for selling them (expensive) tools.

Engraved deck is in place.

I’ve seen some that suggest starching the sails. Some suggest putting a lacquer on after they’re starched.

I suppose under “any clear finish such as a lacquer” that could include shellac. Not sure the relative advantages of diluted PVA, clear enamel, clear lacquer, clear shellac, or leaving them bare. I’ve seen recommendation of using clear shellac on knots in rigging and to shape rope coils. I suppose it would do the same with sail material. I don’t know if it would be better to use diluted shellac. I suppose I’d dilute with alcohol.

I’m curious about the different approaches to preparing cloth sails that come with kits. In the Model Shipways Pram and Smack kits the instructions have you brush on diluted PVA glue. I think the reason is to stiffen the sail. I made the mistake of letting the sails dry on Saran Wrap, which left them with too much of a glossy sheen. The Midwest Dory kit has you brush on clear enamel or any clear finish such as a lacquer (their instruction), working the finish into the cloth. I’m guessing this is also to stiffen the sail. The Vanguard Ranger has you dye the sails but has no instructions about applying anything to the sails. Is there a preferred method? Why one over the other?