Ryland Craze

Thanks Tom for looking at my Longboat.  I would like to see a picture of your Pinnance with the stand.
 
I completed the forward platform using the method that BobF used on his Longboat and here is a picture of what I have completed.
 

 
The forward platform is made of boxwood that I purchased from Jeff Hayes at HobbyMill.  I am going to miss Jeff when he retires and closes his business as his wood makes my work look much better than if I had used the kit supplied wood.  Here is a closer look of the forward platform.
 

 
I am working on the rear platform and will post pictures when I finish that part.

Getting ready to finish the model. All the rigging is complete, and I just applied the first of 2 coats of poly to the inboard boarding ladder. All that is left is to mount the hardware on the cannon, deck and bulwark, install the inboard ladder, rig the cannon and glue everything down! Here's a shot of the cannon with tools, including a copper powder ladle, a worm and combination sponge and rammer. Note that I added a metal "tread" to each of the cannon trucks. I also plan to scratch build a couple of kegs and a bucket to mount on the deck.
 

Thank you all for the kind words and all of the likes. It is very much appreciated.
 
Well I’ve started chapter 6 now and started working on the stern. To start I have to cut the transom out of
 some 1/32” plywood. I pasted the plans on and then cut it out with the scroll saw getting it close. I then
used various sanding tools to get it close to shape.
 

 
The windows were cut out using an x-acto and finished with files too.
 

 
Then the assembly was glued to the frame work.
 

 
That's it for now!

Some hull pre sanded

Thanks, everyone for the comments and the likes.  I have finished the treenails.     I estimate that the whole process consumed about 25 hours of my life.  So my ugly duckling is now in the process of becoming a swan (class).  Sorry, couldn't help it.  I removed the hull from the board for the sanding process.  I find it easier to sand a curved object while holding it in my lap.  This gives me easier access to the various rabbets and the intersection with the wing transom.  In the process, despite using masking tape, the main wale has gotten fairly scuffed up and will require another coat of paint.  In the pictures the hull has been sanded down with 100 grit.  The treenails are hard to see because no finish has been applied yet.
 

 

 

 

 

I haven't sanded down the frames nor the keel, meanwhile I did make a copy of the plans and cut out the cap rail as for a dummy.
This just to get an idea how it will look like. The rap rail in the plans are correct and I can use the cut-out as a template for making the rail.

Using the Dremel idea from other builders of reducing the frames I cautiously started the project.
Here I noticed the frames are very thick. There is a lot of wood to reduce.
Then I thought why not use the soft head from Dremel, I cut out a slightly larger piece from regular sandpaper ( I used 320grit ), having the soft head. It became easier to sand the curves of frames.
I wondered how much "meat" from the frames on the inside needed to be sanded out, here I used the caliper and set it to 3/32" which is according to the instructions and marked each frame. There is a lot to sand down.

Okay, I'm finally back to square one. The "restoration" is complete. Planks didn't fit as nicely into the rabbet at the bow as originally but it's passable. In the process I broke off the top of the bow stem, so I have to either fabricate a new piece or use the "spare" stem that comes with the kit to graft a new top piece onto the existing but broken stem. I'll work on that next week. And I have to remove the frame braces I installed to protect the frames while I was trying to reattach the planks.
 
For now, here's the results:
 


 
Ryan: The Admiral gladly contributed the sponge to the shipyards tool chest
 

A quick update. The hammock cranes have been installed. This work went surprisingly quickly and easily. I used the kit photo etched brass parts which are nicely done. These were glued into holes drilled into the rails. Rather than using rigging line for the guidelines at the top of the cranes, I use wire to provide added strength and stability. After the wire was glued in place, the assembly is remarkably strong.
 
Now for the fun part  -- fitting and attaching the netting in the cranes.
 
Bob

Simulated Keel Bolts:
 
For the simulated keel bolts I used brass wire @ 0.45mm in Diameter.  Once the wires were all cut and installed, I used a flat file to gently sand the outside profile into a more gentle dimple, rather than the harsh break left by the wire cutters.
 

 

 

 
And that brings me up to the present state of my cross section.  Hopefully, I will have time to advance the progress of this model in the next month.  If not, I will have to content myself with looking at everybody else's great builds on this forum!

Installing the Rising Wood:
 
The rising wood was installed by gluing it on to the keel assembly, and placing the entire structure in a vise overnight to cure.  At this stage, both the keel and rising wood are oversized.  Once the entire assembly was cured, I clamped the structure onto my X/Y table and used an end mill to cut to the final length.
 

 

 

 

 

 
Next I will add the simulated bolts to the keel scarph.
 
 

I am not sure which is more tedious, treenailing a hull or tying ratlines.  At this point I am over halfway done with an estimated time so far of 15 hours.  This includes marking the locations for the treenails, drilling the holes (#75 bit), drawing the treenails (hole 20 on the Byrnes drawplate) and finally inserting the treenails.  I have used bamboo for these to give me the least color contrast with the holly.  I usually dry-fit treenails but for extra strength these are all dipped in dilute yellow glue.  I hope to finish them up next weekend and then start sanding the hull.  Right now it is pretty ugly, covered in lines and holes and little bumps which make it look more like a plucked chicken than a ship.
 

 

 

Using the new light-weight Dremel 8050 the reducing of the head was a breeze without touching the planks.
Now fine filing to get them to level for the cap rail.

Ahoy, Mates
 
This has become one of my most used tools. It has completely spoiled me in that I can no longer tolerate anything less then a razor shape blade. There is a slight learning curve but once mastered it only takes a few seconds to use. I use it on all my cutting tools and have not replaced my xacto blade in over two months.
 
 
 
For more info and a video follow this link
http://www.woodcraft.com/product/2004364/8962/flexcut-slipstrop-sharpening-kit.aspx
 
 
Highly recommended

Cutting away the bulkhead notches was something I didn't look forward to.
But using the new "type" of razor blade saw the cut is almost like laser cut.
The blade itself is 1 1/2" long.
In this picture it look huge.

After finishing the first layer of planking, I needed some time to regroup and reorient. I've been doing a lot of reading about techniques - this forum, the plans, and the practica. Then I did the walnut wale and black strake. It was straightforward and I feel good about the way it looks.



 
My one unique take on this fabrication is that I did the black strake in pieces - with one long piece that spans all the scuppers. To do it over, I'd use a single piece. But back when I was doing the basswood black strakes, I made an identical walnut copy at the same time by clamping two planks together. It was my solution to create scuppers in both layers.  
 
Yes, I now know I could have made artificial scuppers. And I still have to match them up with the insides scuppers when I put in the bulwark ceilings - which I hadn't figured into the equation the first time around. It wasn't a mistake so much as an unnecessary detour.
 
Anyhow, I find myself a bit immobilized and am looking for thoughts on which direction to go next.
 
I assume I ought to paint the wale and blackstrake before laying down the nearby planking above and below. 
Then I could do the ceiling buwarks like Brian did (http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/8085-armed-virginia-sloop-by-gunthermt-model-shipways-scale-148/page-16). I see the sense in it. Or I could do the hull above the black strake. I see the sense in that too. Or I could move right into the lower part of the hull. Also reasonable.   
I'm wondering what reasons others might have for going in a particular direction next.

As posted in another thread here, there are places where 3DP works, are there are processes that are usable... and some that aren't! Virtually no printer that you or I can afford will be satisfactory, and most all printed parts (for now) require a lot of surface clean up to remove the visible layering.
 
But it is possible. This 1:24 PT boat is 3D Printed from the deck up (all cabin parts, weapons, deck fittings, even the glazing), less a few bits of string, tissue, and and a few whittled parts.
 
 

Thanks Marty, Bob and the "Likes".  I appreciate everyone checking out my build log.
 
Marty, I look forward to seeing the photo of your Longboat.  I like to study the photos of everyone's Longboat build.
 
Bob, I am flattered by your comment about my build.  I have studied your build log and have used your techniques throughout my build.  If my build comes out half as nice as yours, I will be really pleased.  Your build has set the standard for Longboat builds.
 
I have completed the rear platform and the forward wall of the locker.  I used BobF's method of making templates to cut out the platforms.  The templates really help to get a good fit.
 

 
Here is a picture of the overall look at the interior of my Longboat.

Hi
 
I have been engaged on a project recently that I thought i might share.
To Design and build a Custom work station.
 
Problem:
I am now at the stage of my Victory build (Rigging) where I need the ship at the front of my bench for access to get amongst the rigging.
However I still need to use many tools and materails and use the bench for cutting, making bits etc.
So I have a bench cluttered with tools and materails. A ship that has to come forward to work or be pushed back to allow space for a cutting mat and work room. 
 
Solution:
Create a method of keeping tools etc close to hand, plus provide a secondary work surface.
First hunt around for a suitable exiting option, result - find nothing even close.
So I decide to make my own.
 
As the thought process developed I realised there are many features I could incorporate which would be useful.
 
Outline proposal:
I am a SolidWorks user so I would do all of the desing in detail in SolidWorks, refine it and go from there.
I want to have a tray, at a usable height next to my elbow, good size with well defined 'homes' for tools etc.
To prevent it getting in the way it will need to be on castors.
To prevent using up floor space it will need to push under my current bench top when not in use.
It should also have facitiy to act as a work space with a cutting mat.
It needs to be able to store all of my smaller tools etc which means I can dispence with my current tool box and various stogare devices.
Should it be a 'pretty' piece of furnature? - absolutely not, to attempt that would compramise the functionality and be beyond my skills so function rules!
 
Would this project be an effective solution, be a good use of time etc - absolutely not, but I will hugely enjoy the design and build process and that is reason enough - decision made.
 
Materials to be mostly MDF and timber sections.
 
Design underway:
First consider the worksurface.
Solution, set the size of the station to accomodate a cutting mat, include a thin surround to prevent the mat slipping around.

Then plan a tray to sit on top of this surface, slightly bigger, with a four sided frame on the bottom face so that it will sit securely on top of the cutting mat - lift it off to use mat, otherwise at hand for contents.
Include a couple of finger cutouts
This is a view on the base

I spent some time deciding which tools I wanted close and planned out the available space into compartments.
Constuction to be 4 & 6mm wide timber sections x 25mm high.
Cylinder represents the maximum height component

And sitting in place:

 
Thats it for the moment (out of time), i will continue soon.
 
Nick
 

Hi All,
 
Hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving. Latest status update is that the USS Saginaw project still lives! 
 
I actually finished coppering and painting the rudder a couple days ago and spent much of my free ship modeling time yesterday reviewing what needed to be done. 
 
Today, I actually started working on the paddewheels again and resolved how I will be making the hubs and axels and just finished making notes on the steps to finish their assembly. I think I've got a handle on it finally.
 
As it turns out, as much as I needed to try out the laser cutting, the design I did is off a bit. Looking back at the rims I made from copper, I've had a chance to step back and appreciate them a lot more. I think these will work though they are slightly out of round in spots. With half of the covered by the wheel houses, I don't think the issue will be noticeable, so I started moving forward again.
 
I finally learned how to correctly use the parting tool with turned brass on my Sherline lathe and I was able to quickly fashion the hubs for the paddle wheels. These aren't perfect. I'm going to end up centering the hubs on the axels, where on the actual saginaw, the hubs are actually slightly shifted on the axels. This makes the hubs slightly different in shape, but I wasn't able to work that out, so I'm simplifying here. See the edge view drawing in the center of the following attachment.
 
 

 
 
I'm ready to move forward, but just need a length on #129 K&S 3/16" brass tube. Tomorrow, I'll hit the hardware store for some and hope they've got it in stock.
 
Meanwhile, I'm laying out the steps I'll be taking to mount the rudder and start working on the gun ports. On the latter, I've identified a few reference photos that I'm using, but just need to find more detail on the drop-down ports used by the U.S. Navy around the time of the Civil War.
 
I also went back over some photos that are making me feel more confident on my ideas for the way the bridge area between the wheelhouses was made. It's not shown in any detail in the National Archives plans I'm working from.
 
More soon...
 
Clare

Well, this picture is not very good, it was taken from a cell phone, but it shows that I'm still plugging away, currently working on the thwart risers.
 

 
BUT, I've got a small problem that I know others have encountered.
 
The sheer apparently spread apart when I removed it from the form and some of the thwarts are too short.  Should I make new ones from scratch or try to squeeze the sheer together to make the kit thwarts work?

A long time has elapsed since I started the log, however today I am uploading the very latest pics, work has been done during the day.
The hull was fully planked earlier this week.
I had to do some mod's as I noticed some of the planks didn't attach fully to the bulkheads. All is CA glued.
The bulkhead support (coffee stirrer from a famous coffee chain) was cut into parts by the new Dremel Micro 8050

The machine itself is really nice to work with, it's re-chargeable Li-On batteries charges fast and it's easy to hold (low weight)
General Finishes Arm-R-Seal is the poly wipe on I am using.
I didn't even bother to let it dry the slow way, I used the hair dryer.
Some extra light sanding I and I should be ready for painting.

My keel is complete.
 
For my first pass I used black tissue paper which looked really great but I over sanded it and the keel ended up with a very nice taper to it. Too bad that wasn't the look I was going for. The problem was the glue was harder than the wood and so sanding to get rid of the glue squeeze out took a real toll on the wood.
 
For the he second pass I went back to using artist charcoal rubbed on the mating surfaces. This worked out well so I went with it.
 
The 7/8" bolt holes were drilled using a drill press with a #76 drill bit. I used copper beading wire that I roughed up with a green scratch pad to get down to clean copper. With the copper clean I dipped the end of the wire into CA glue and quickly inserted it into the hole. I used good side cutters to cut the wire off nearly flush with the surface. Once the glue was dry I carefully filed the wire almost flush. I used a stabilized liver of sulfur gel to blacken the ends of the bolts. I used the gel full strength and applied an almost microscopic drop onto the bold head using a hypodermic needle. Once it was blacked to my satisfaction I very carefully removed the liver of sulfur residue with a small amount of water on the end of a 30/0 paint brush. All in all I'm happy with the way the bolts came out. Liver of Sulfur gel cost about $10 for a 2oz. bottle but it has a very long shelf life and a little bit goes a long way.
 

 
The rabbet was cut using a 3mm dockyard V gouge. It is very hard to control such a small tool when cutting a straight line so I make the handle larger by sliding a long piece of copper tubing over the handle and then crimping it in place. Voila, a long handled micro gouge! With the rabbet cut pretty close to final size I used several different jeweler's files to get it just right. Greg suggested I leave a tiny bit of meat on the keel for when I start framing so I can get a perfect fit between the keel, frames and garboard strake.
 
With the false keel and keel assembled I very carefully marked out where the mounting bolts were going to go and I drilled all the way through the false keel and keel. I'm going to use 6-32 bolts and nuts to mount the keel assembly to the building board and later to a display board. The nuts for the bolts were too big to be covered by the rising wood so I filed them down to they are just a bit wider than the bolts. I also filed them down height wise so that they grab a little less than 3 threads. After carefully measuring how long the bolts needed to be I test fit the keel to the building board. Once I was satisfied that all was in good order I used 5 minute epoxy  to attach the now rounded nuts to the top of the keel. Here is a picture of the keel with the nuts attached.
 

 
Next I used my mill to cut the recesses needed in the rising wood to hide the nuts. These recesses were cut a bit oversize to allow me a little wiggle room when gluing the rising wood to the keel which was the next step. Here is what the keel assembly looks like on the building board.
 
The building board is nothing more than a piece of 5/8" / 15.8mm white shelf material. I printed the cross section on self-adhesive mylar stencil film from Treeline. Mylar is dimensionally stable and also fairly sturdy which is why I used it for the build board. At about $1 per sheet I won't be using it for frames.
 

 
This is where I'm at today. With a four day weekend ahead I hope to make progress on the frames.
 

Alistair - to your previous question about the trim piece on the black strake.  I'm still undecided, but for now it's just black.
 
Update - I got a new toy today!
 
One final slightly out of focus (somehow appropriate) picture from the old Canon point and shoot:

 
On to the AVS.
 
I continued working on the cap rails, first placing the rest of the port side on to match the already completed starboard side.  The scarf joint on this side came out great, with only a tiny gap on the inside edge (which you couldn't even see in the picture from the old camera).

 
I managed to trim the main kit piece of the cap rail too short, so I had to add a small shim at the back end of it, but it will pretty much be covered up (except edge on) by the vertical piece at the quarter deck step.  After completing the main cap rail, I added the stern bulwark planking above the cap rail.  For this I used two 1/8" x .030 strips, and left them full width at the stern, and tapered them down to about 1/2 width at the front edge.
  
 
Once those planks were done, I sanded the edges level for placement of the upper cap rail along the poop deck.  This requires the placement of a vertical piece to cover the front edge of the bulwarks at the quarter deck.  I decided to do my fancy edging (if a single line can be called fancy) on the upper cap rail, and I did it on all three exposed edges.

 
One potential downside of the new camera, it exposes all evils, even when they aren't my fault!  Here you can see how much detail (and mess) I can now show by simply cropping out a piece of the 6000x4000 original image.  This shows the small 'shim' I had to add at the back of the cap rail - the vertical piece is on top of the shim.  I can probably get even closer/better than this by over-riding the camera and shooting manual, but it will take a while to learn the new toy.  The wood itself looks pretty rough when zoomed in this close.

 
For the stern cap rail, I decided that edge bending the largish walnut just wasn't going to work, so I used some heavy card stock and made a pattern off the top of the stern bulkhead, measured it out to be the same width as the cap rail, and traced it onto the same piece of wood that I made the bow cap rails out of.

 
The stern bulkhead was too narrow in comparison with all the other bulkheads, even with an inner layer of planking, and I thought that the cap rail overhang would look too extreme, so I glued a piece of 3/64 basswood to a thick piece of walnut (1/16" instead of the .030) and 'bulked it out', so to speak.

 
I used a heat gun to pre-bend the new stern cap rail over the curvature of the stern bulkhead (I built a curve into the top, rather than having it flat).  This is just laying in place, it's not glued yet, I want to leave it off until I'm done with the tedious priming/sanding/painting process on that bit of inner bulkhead at the stern.  Should have done this piece earlier, but I don't think I could have made everything fit right without the cap rails in place so I could see how it all fit together, and trim the stern bulkhead down to the correct height.

 
Oh yea, and one 'artsy' shot with the new camera.  It has an interesting effects mode called false color, where it will shoot black and white except for specific colors that you tell it to show.

I could see this making some really interesting photo's after there are more colors and the deck is starting to get fleshed out.
 
Have a great Thanksgiving everyone, even if you don't celebrate it in your part of the world!
 

I was able to shape the fashion pieces today.  They are will be in one piece with the boom crutch added separately later.  The boom crutches wont be added until the cap rail is added way down the road.   For now I just left them extra long so I can file them back to where I want them. You can see in the photo how the bottom fashion piece was bent using heat.....no water or soaking.  The top one is the flat 1/16" thick piece which has not been bent yet.
 
Once these were glued on the model,   the second layer of the wales (two strakes) were added and painted.  I still have to paint them on the other side.  After thats done I will treenail above the wales.  That will be easier to do before I add the fancy molding along the sides of the hull per the plan.
 
Notice how the fashion piece covers the end grain of the planks on the stern transom.  When the stern is all done there shouldnt be any end-grain exposed for any of the planking.  The fashion piece and square tuck protect them from the elements.