David Lester

Good Morning,
The next order of business for the hull was the addition of the bulwarks, which were planked on the inside prior to installation. Then the waterways and the stanchions.
 
 

I decided to add the grating to the main deck at this point too -


I discovered that the stanchions tend to pop off pretty easily, so I decided to add some wire to secure the ones that will support the pin rails and kevels. I'll also secure the pin rails and kevels to the stanchions with wire when I get to that point. I'll do that before moving on to the planking of the upper hull.
 


That's all for now, many thanks for checking in.
 
David

Good Morning,
The next order of business for the hull was the addition of the bulwarks, which were planked on the inside prior to installation. Then the waterways and the stanchions.
 
 

I decided to add the grating to the main deck at this point too -


I discovered that the stanchions tend to pop off pretty easily, so I decided to add some wire to secure the ones that will support the pin rails and kevels. I'll also secure the pin rails and kevels to the stanchions with wire when I get to that point. I'll do that before moving on to the planking of the upper hull.
 


That's all for now, many thanks for checking in.
 
David

Good Morning,
The next order of business for the hull was the addition of the bulwarks, which were planked on the inside prior to installation. Then the waterways and the stanchions.
 
 

I decided to add the grating to the main deck at this point too -


I discovered that the stanchions tend to pop off pretty easily, so I decided to add some wire to secure the ones that will support the pin rails and kevels. I'll also secure the pin rails and kevels to the stanchions with wire when I get to that point. I'll do that before moving on to the planking of the upper hull.
 


That's all for now, many thanks for checking in.
 
David

Good Morning,
The next order of business for the hull was the addition of the bulwarks, which were planked on the inside prior to installation. Then the waterways and the stanchions.
 
 

I decided to add the grating to the main deck at this point too -


I discovered that the stanchions tend to pop off pretty easily, so I decided to add some wire to secure the ones that will support the pin rails and kevels. I'll also secure the pin rails and kevels to the stanchions with wire when I get to that point. I'll do that before moving on to the planking of the upper hull.
 


That's all for now, many thanks for checking in.
 
David

Good Morning,
The next order of business for the hull was the addition of the bulwarks, which were planked on the inside prior to installation. Then the waterways and the stanchions.
 
 

I decided to add the grating to the main deck at this point too -


I discovered that the stanchions tend to pop off pretty easily, so I decided to add some wire to secure the ones that will support the pin rails and kevels. I'll also secure the pin rails and kevels to the stanchions with wire when I get to that point. I'll do that before moving on to the planking of the upper hull.
 


That's all for now, many thanks for checking in.
 
David

Good Morning,
The next order of business for the hull was the addition of the bulwarks, which were planked on the inside prior to installation. Then the waterways and the stanchions.
 
 

I decided to add the grating to the main deck at this point too -


I discovered that the stanchions tend to pop off pretty easily, so I decided to add some wire to secure the ones that will support the pin rails and kevels. I'll also secure the pin rails and kevels to the stanchions with wire when I get to that point. I'll do that before moving on to the planking of the upper hull.
 


That's all for now, many thanks for checking in.
 
David

Good Morning,
The next order of business for the hull was the addition of the bulwarks, which were planked on the inside prior to installation. Then the waterways and the stanchions.
 
 

I decided to add the grating to the main deck at this point too -


I discovered that the stanchions tend to pop off pretty easily, so I decided to add some wire to secure the ones that will support the pin rails and kevels. I'll also secure the pin rails and kevels to the stanchions with wire when I get to that point. I'll do that before moving on to the planking of the upper hull.
 


That's all for now, many thanks for checking in.
 
David

Good Morning,
The next order of business for the hull was the addition of the bulwarks, which were planked on the inside prior to installation. Then the waterways and the stanchions.
 
 

I decided to add the grating to the main deck at this point too -


I discovered that the stanchions tend to pop off pretty easily, so I decided to add some wire to secure the ones that will support the pin rails and kevels. I'll also secure the pin rails and kevels to the stanchions with wire when I get to that point. I'll do that before moving on to the planking of the upper hull.
 


That's all for now, many thanks for checking in.
 
David

I've been working on various aspects of this build, in no particular logical order. This morning I turned my attention to the kevels.
 
There are eight kevels on this ship and I don't really care for the cast kit-supplied ones, so I set out to make some wooden ones. Here's how I approached it.
 

I could see that there are two ways to do this. One would be to create two holes or slots in the cross member at the right angle and then slide the uprights through. Since I don't have a mill or a drill press and I'm working with basswood, I knew that would be an exercise in frustration, so I decided to try a second method, which is to laminate the cross member on the uprights.
 
I drew some lines establishing the dimensions on a piece of paper and covered them with double-sided tape.
 

I placed the first upright in position and trimmed the bottom of it along the pencil line -
 

I then added the second upright and the three pieces of the cross member. There's no glue at this point; only the tape is holding everything in place.
These pieces are all 1/32" x 1/16".
 

I then glued a piece across the cross member (1/16" x 1/16")
 

Peeling the assembly off of the tape. It's quite rigid by this point.
 

Then I added a second piece across the back of the cross member -
 

After some trimming and sanding. There may be some more sanding yet to do. I'm not sure if the cross member is still a bit too thick.
 

 
I think this method is going to work. Once they are all completely covered with rope coils, they should look just fine.😁
 
Thanks for checking in, much appreciated.
 
David
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

I've been working on various aspects of this build, in no particular logical order. This morning I turned my attention to the kevels.
 
There are eight kevels on this ship and I don't really care for the cast kit-supplied ones, so I set out to make some wooden ones. Here's how I approached it.
 

I could see that there are two ways to do this. One would be to create two holes or slots in the cross member at the right angle and then slide the uprights through. Since I don't have a mill or a drill press and I'm working with basswood, I knew that would be an exercise in frustration, so I decided to try a second method, which is to laminate the cross member on the uprights.
 
I drew some lines establishing the dimensions on a piece of paper and covered them with double-sided tape.
 

I placed the first upright in position and trimmed the bottom of it along the pencil line -
 

I then added the second upright and the three pieces of the cross member. There's no glue at this point; only the tape is holding everything in place.
These pieces are all 1/32" x 1/16".
 

I then glued a piece across the cross member (1/16" x 1/16")
 

Peeling the assembly off of the tape. It's quite rigid by this point.
 

Then I added a second piece across the back of the cross member -
 

After some trimming and sanding. There may be some more sanding yet to do. I'm not sure if the cross member is still a bit too thick.
 

 
I think this method is going to work. Once they are all completely covered with rope coils, they should look just fine.😁
 
Thanks for checking in, much appreciated.
 
David
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

I've been working on various aspects of this build, in no particular logical order. This morning I turned my attention to the kevels.
 
There are eight kevels on this ship and I don't really care for the cast kit-supplied ones, so I set out to make some wooden ones. Here's how I approached it.
 

I could see that there are two ways to do this. One would be to create two holes or slots in the cross member at the right angle and then slide the uprights through. Since I don't have a mill or a drill press and I'm working with basswood, I knew that would be an exercise in frustration, so I decided to try a second method, which is to laminate the cross member on the uprights.
 
I drew some lines establishing the dimensions on a piece of paper and covered them with double-sided tape.
 

I placed the first upright in position and trimmed the bottom of it along the pencil line -
 

I then added the second upright and the three pieces of the cross member. There's no glue at this point; only the tape is holding everything in place.
These pieces are all 1/32" x 1/16".
 

I then glued a piece across the cross member (1/16" x 1/16")
 

Peeling the assembly off of the tape. It's quite rigid by this point.
 

Then I added a second piece across the back of the cross member -
 

After some trimming and sanding. There may be some more sanding yet to do. I'm not sure if the cross member is still a bit too thick.
 

 
I think this method is going to work. Once they are all completely covered with rope coils, they should look just fine.😁
 
Thanks for checking in, much appreciated.
 
David
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

I've been working on various aspects of this build, in no particular logical order. This morning I turned my attention to the kevels.
 
There are eight kevels on this ship and I don't really care for the cast kit-supplied ones, so I set out to make some wooden ones. Here's how I approached it.
 

I could see that there are two ways to do this. One would be to create two holes or slots in the cross member at the right angle and then slide the uprights through. Since I don't have a mill or a drill press and I'm working with basswood, I knew that would be an exercise in frustration, so I decided to try a second method, which is to laminate the cross member on the uprights.
 
I drew some lines establishing the dimensions on a piece of paper and covered them with double-sided tape.
 

I placed the first upright in position and trimmed the bottom of it along the pencil line -
 

I then added the second upright and the three pieces of the cross member. There's no glue at this point; only the tape is holding everything in place.
These pieces are all 1/32" x 1/16".
 

I then glued a piece across the cross member (1/16" x 1/16")
 

Peeling the assembly off of the tape. It's quite rigid by this point.
 

Then I added a second piece across the back of the cross member -
 

After some trimming and sanding. There may be some more sanding yet to do. I'm not sure if the cross member is still a bit too thick.
 

 
I think this method is going to work. Once they are all completely covered with rope coils, they should look just fine.😁
 
Thanks for checking in, much appreciated.
 
David
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

I've been working on various aspects of this build, in no particular logical order. This morning I turned my attention to the kevels.
 
There are eight kevels on this ship and I don't really care for the cast kit-supplied ones, so I set out to make some wooden ones. Here's how I approached it.
 

I could see that there are two ways to do this. One would be to create two holes or slots in the cross member at the right angle and then slide the uprights through. Since I don't have a mill or a drill press and I'm working with basswood, I knew that would be an exercise in frustration, so I decided to try a second method, which is to laminate the cross member on the uprights.
 
I drew some lines establishing the dimensions on a piece of paper and covered them with double-sided tape.
 

I placed the first upright in position and trimmed the bottom of it along the pencil line -
 

I then added the second upright and the three pieces of the cross member. There's no glue at this point; only the tape is holding everything in place.
These pieces are all 1/32" x 1/16".
 

I then glued a piece across the cross member (1/16" x 1/16")
 

Peeling the assembly off of the tape. It's quite rigid by this point.
 

Then I added a second piece across the back of the cross member -
 

After some trimming and sanding. There may be some more sanding yet to do. I'm not sure if the cross member is still a bit too thick.
 

 
I think this method is going to work. Once they are all completely covered with rope coils, they should look just fine.😁
 
Thanks for checking in, much appreciated.
 
David
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

I've been working on various aspects of this build, in no particular logical order. This morning I turned my attention to the kevels.
 
There are eight kevels on this ship and I don't really care for the cast kit-supplied ones, so I set out to make some wooden ones. Here's how I approached it.
 

I could see that there are two ways to do this. One would be to create two holes or slots in the cross member at the right angle and then slide the uprights through. Since I don't have a mill or a drill press and I'm working with basswood, I knew that would be an exercise in frustration, so I decided to try a second method, which is to laminate the cross member on the uprights.
 
I drew some lines establishing the dimensions on a piece of paper and covered them with double-sided tape.
 

I placed the first upright in position and trimmed the bottom of it along the pencil line -
 

I then added the second upright and the three pieces of the cross member. There's no glue at this point; only the tape is holding everything in place.
These pieces are all 1/32" x 1/16".
 

I then glued a piece across the cross member (1/16" x 1/16")
 

Peeling the assembly off of the tape. It's quite rigid by this point.
 

Then I added a second piece across the back of the cross member -
 

After some trimming and sanding. There may be some more sanding yet to do. I'm not sure if the cross member is still a bit too thick.
 

 
I think this method is going to work. Once they are all completely covered with rope coils, they should look just fine.😁
 
Thanks for checking in, much appreciated.
 
David
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

I've been working on various aspects of this build, in no particular logical order. This morning I turned my attention to the kevels.
 
There are eight kevels on this ship and I don't really care for the cast kit-supplied ones, so I set out to make some wooden ones. Here's how I approached it.
 

I could see that there are two ways to do this. One would be to create two holes or slots in the cross member at the right angle and then slide the uprights through. Since I don't have a mill or a drill press and I'm working with basswood, I knew that would be an exercise in frustration, so I decided to try a second method, which is to laminate the cross member on the uprights.
 
I drew some lines establishing the dimensions on a piece of paper and covered them with double-sided tape.
 

I placed the first upright in position and trimmed the bottom of it along the pencil line -
 

I then added the second upright and the three pieces of the cross member. There's no glue at this point; only the tape is holding everything in place.
These pieces are all 1/32" x 1/16".
 

I then glued a piece across the cross member (1/16" x 1/16")
 

Peeling the assembly off of the tape. It's quite rigid by this point.
 

Then I added a second piece across the back of the cross member -
 

After some trimming and sanding. There may be some more sanding yet to do. I'm not sure if the cross member is still a bit too thick.
 

 
I think this method is going to work. Once they are all completely covered with rope coils, they should look just fine.😁
 
Thanks for checking in, much appreciated.
 
David
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

I've been working on various aspects of this build, in no particular logical order. This morning I turned my attention to the kevels.
 
There are eight kevels on this ship and I don't really care for the cast kit-supplied ones, so I set out to make some wooden ones. Here's how I approached it.
 

I could see that there are two ways to do this. One would be to create two holes or slots in the cross member at the right angle and then slide the uprights through. Since I don't have a mill or a drill press and I'm working with basswood, I knew that would be an exercise in frustration, so I decided to try a second method, which is to laminate the cross member on the uprights.
 
I drew some lines establishing the dimensions on a piece of paper and covered them with double-sided tape.
 

I placed the first upright in position and trimmed the bottom of it along the pencil line -
 

I then added the second upright and the three pieces of the cross member. There's no glue at this point; only the tape is holding everything in place.
These pieces are all 1/32" x 1/16".
 

I then glued a piece across the cross member (1/16" x 1/16")
 

Peeling the assembly off of the tape. It's quite rigid by this point.
 

Then I added a second piece across the back of the cross member -
 

After some trimming and sanding. There may be some more sanding yet to do. I'm not sure if the cross member is still a bit too thick.
 

 
I think this method is going to work. Once they are all completely covered with rope coils, they should look just fine.😁
 
Thanks for checking in, much appreciated.
 
David
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

I've been working on various aspects of this build, in no particular logical order. This morning I turned my attention to the kevels.
 
There are eight kevels on this ship and I don't really care for the cast kit-supplied ones, so I set out to make some wooden ones. Here's how I approached it.
 

I could see that there are two ways to do this. One would be to create two holes or slots in the cross member at the right angle and then slide the uprights through. Since I don't have a mill or a drill press and I'm working with basswood, I knew that would be an exercise in frustration, so I decided to try a second method, which is to laminate the cross member on the uprights.
 
I drew some lines establishing the dimensions on a piece of paper and covered them with double-sided tape.
 

I placed the first upright in position and trimmed the bottom of it along the pencil line -
 

I then added the second upright and the three pieces of the cross member. There's no glue at this point; only the tape is holding everything in place.
These pieces are all 1/32" x 1/16".
 

I then glued a piece across the cross member (1/16" x 1/16")
 

Peeling the assembly off of the tape. It's quite rigid by this point.
 

Then I added a second piece across the back of the cross member -
 

After some trimming and sanding. There may be some more sanding yet to do. I'm not sure if the cross member is still a bit too thick.
 

 
I think this method is going to work. Once they are all completely covered with rope coils, they should look just fine.😁
 
Thanks for checking in, much appreciated.
 
David
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

I've been working on various aspects of this build, in no particular logical order. This morning I turned my attention to the kevels.
 
There are eight kevels on this ship and I don't really care for the cast kit-supplied ones, so I set out to make some wooden ones. Here's how I approached it.
 

I could see that there are two ways to do this. One would be to create two holes or slots in the cross member at the right angle and then slide the uprights through. Since I don't have a mill or a drill press and I'm working with basswood, I knew that would be an exercise in frustration, so I decided to try a second method, which is to laminate the cross member on the uprights.
 
I drew some lines establishing the dimensions on a piece of paper and covered them with double-sided tape.
 

I placed the first upright in position and trimmed the bottom of it along the pencil line -
 

I then added the second upright and the three pieces of the cross member. There's no glue at this point; only the tape is holding everything in place.
These pieces are all 1/32" x 1/16".
 

I then glued a piece across the cross member (1/16" x 1/16")
 

Peeling the assembly off of the tape. It's quite rigid by this point.
 

Then I added a second piece across the back of the cross member -
 

After some trimming and sanding. There may be some more sanding yet to do. I'm not sure if the cross member is still a bit too thick.
 

 
I think this method is going to work. Once they are all completely covered with rope coils, they should look just fine.😁
 
Thanks for checking in, much appreciated.
 
David
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Good morning everyone. After my dismay about the laser cut parts and the way they did not fit well settled down, I went to work. I’m learning that there are “kits” and then there are “kits”. One has parts that fit together pretty good and you just put it together with relative ease. The other, you must “work” the parts so they will fit together. I got everything cut out, sanded and then did the shim thing that my fellow Rattlesnake builders found before me. Looking good. I feel kind of silly that I bashed the Amati Lady Nelson kit. Compared to this one so far, the Lady was a breeze at this stage. 😊

I used some scrap wood from the lady. This is what I had left over from the build.

Futtock staves & lower mast stays
 
Before getting on with the ratlines I realised I needed to fit the futtock staves. Those fitted, I then decided to fit the lower mast stays while access was still reasonable. Also, given the extreme rake of the mizzen mast I was concerned that without the lower stay in place it was leaning too far back and touching the binnacle. 
 
I think I picked up the method for fitting the futtock staves from @glennard2523. Much easier to hold a long length of brass rod against the shrouds than trying to seize a short piece. When I'm rigging on the ship I find it better to take the quadhands off their big base and use them individually - in this photo the one holding the brass rod is stuck to a heavy piece of scrap steel:
 
 
I made the stays on my Syren ropewalk and serving machine. The upper part of each lower stay would have been served to about six feet below the mouse. I dry fitted each stay to judge this distance then served them using Gutermann Mara #150, leaving a long length of serving line free at the end where I wanted to form the eye. I cut this end at an angle:

...made a loop in the end, held by a clamp:

...wound the excess serving line round and soaked the join in dilute PVA:

...and trimmed to produce the eye:

I made the mice (mouses?meeces?) on the Proxxon lathe from a wooden rod with a hole drilled through the middle:
 

I shaped each mouse using small turning tools (as described in my Speedy log, here) and files, aiming for an outside diameter about three times that of the stay. I secured the mouses in position using pva, and when set rigged the lower end of each stay using deadeyes and lanyards exactly as for shrouds. Here's the main preventer stay rigged to the foremast with the mainstay visible just above it.

...and all the lower stays rigged:

One minor point of interest is the fore preventer stay, which I thought should normally sit above the forestay. Chris's plans show it below, and when I checked Rigging of English Ships of War Lees notes that this was sometimes the case on smaller ships.  I should have known - Chris is usually right!
 
On to the ratlines (unless I can discover some more displacement activity )
 
Derek
 

It's full of junk (aka items waiting to be repurposed). Ironically, the scrap steel came from my wife. She was upgrading a die cutting machine (one of her craft tools - she's nearly as bad a toolaholic as me) so I stripped her old one for useful parts. I found several useful heavy lumps of steel, all now pressed into service:
  
Kind of you to say so Glenn. Coming from a master planksmith that's much appreciated. I enjoy trying to improve, but there's still a few people on the forum who's work I'd like to match.
 
Derek

Ok… after getting a couple anchors about as scratch built as I can… time to do something else. 😀

Just for something different I have dressed Lord Cochrane.  Here he is on his pedestal.  He'll be losing it later.
 


 
 
 

Tom, your CWM is looking wonderful. That white edge is a nightmare to paint. My wife almost had me committed before I was finished. Yours isn't looking too bad, but I just could not get a decent job. In the end I painted some paper white, cut it into strips and glued it on. That worked really well and it was completely undetectable what I had done.
 
I agree with John - I think you've nailed the bulwarks colour. It's a hard colour to get just right.
David

Boring little update for you -
I have the bulkheads installed and faired. Everything fit together well with only very minor tweaking needed. It's a fairly blunt bow, so I added some filler blocks to help retain the profile.
 
There's really no need for me to say anything more at this point. Very straightforward so far.
 
Thanks,

David