Ryland Craze

Outstanding. I am totally in awe of your metal work, especially the studding sail brackets. I wish I could do this type of thing. But somehow, the soldiering iron and I just don't seem to get along. Any advice on the how to would be greatly appreciated.
 
Regards

I have been making the stunsail booms, plus I added a few more items in preparation for the rigging. The bowsprit traveller, the iron horse, and some cleats. I fitted the belaying pins to the bow, I used brass ones that are blackened because the are a better more realistic size and I reckon the look just like dark wood once blackened.

Just finished a fantastic, great buying experience with Clare for one of his Woody Joe kits. 
Communications were excellent, shipping lightning fast, and packaged professionally for the trip to my address. 
I hope to have the good fortune to trade with Clare gain one day soon!

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 201 – Lower Mast Coats
 
When I decided to wedge the masts with pieced wedges, it was clear that some sort of mast coats would be required to cover the openings between wedges – not to keep out water as in real life practice, but to simulate the real coats and to improve the appearance at the bases of the masts.
 
Apart from terse descriptions, there was not a lot to go on in making these.  My usual search through photos gave some ideas, but ultimately the solution came from the question, "What would I do to make a watertight canvas 'flashing' over the mast wedges?"  I am comforted by the thought that many ships' carpenters asked similar questions – and came up with a variety of solutions - as the few pictures I have seen illustrate.
 
The canvas for the model coats is tissue and in the first picture a strip of this is being wound around the glue-coated main mast and its wedging.
 

 
Several strips were used with plenty of glue and not too much effort to smooth out the result.  Canvas would most definitely have wrinkles when forced into the required shape.  The next picture shows rope being tied around the top to clinch it tightly around the mast.
 

 
In practice the coat would have been caulked and tacked around the mast and deck, but rope cinches would keep it from tearing out from the nails and risking damage to the high-value cargo these ships often carried.
 
At the bottom, a flange was simulated using card and fitted around the mast at the base as shown in the next picture.
 

 
When this was glued in place and allowed to dry, a second rope cinch was added at the base.  The next picture shows the coat being "tarred" with fairly thick, dark grey, artists' acrylic paint,
 

 
After drying the coat was brushed with black, thinned, acrylic wash to highlight the wrinkles in the canvas and the ropes as shown below.
 

 
Those that have been following the project will note that the glistening brass pump wheels, by now well tarnished and lacking their original appeal, have been painted.  Next job for the painters, the equally tarnished poop monkey rail.
 
Other true followers may also notice in the picture that I have finally gotten around to adding the central posts to the fore and aft fife rails that were previously omitted.
 
 
Ed
 
 


 

 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 202 – More of the same - Tops
 
Seeing pictures of Young America's tops may be getting tedious, but repetition is the soul of ship modeling, so I will show some more.  There is not much else to do at this stage.  First are the six mizzen top deadeyes, almost ready to be installed.
 
 
 
These are 8" (~.11" in diameter) – not the smallest.  There are some 6".  These were dyed, finished with Tung oil, and then drilled.  This keeps the heavy soak in oil from clogging holes.  In the picture they have just dried after dipping in LOS with their straps attached.  They will get a light buffing with Tung before being fitted.  I've tried different sequences.  This seems to be the best.
 
The next picture shows these - after some more finishing - installed in the rim of the top.
 

 
The top and mast head have been trimmed out with bands, eyebolts, topmast fid plates, and chafing battens.  The next picture is a view from astern.
 
 
 
And finally, the full lower mast from above.
 
 
 
The next picture shows the foretop with the roughed-out mast cap fitted. 
 
 
 
These are coming up on the agenda.  They have some interesting ironwork for the lower topsail yard fittings and for the lower yard topping lift block fastenings.
 
All is at a bit of a standstill however, as the shipyard has become a woodworking shop for a few days as may be seen below.
 

 
These are the frames for the dust case mentioned in an earlier post.  It will also serve as an ever-present photo background for the rigging work.  Its turning into one of those projects that lasts, because of trying to do it on the cheap.  The wood is scrap from my collection – not a problem – but the plan was to use less expensive photo background paper over it, instead of the foam board I used on Victory – until one newly papered frame got punctured leaning against a not-too-sharp corner and a floor broom tipped over and fell through one.  Foam board is on order ($50).  Stay tuned.
 
 
Ed

Thank you, Albert!
Here is an update on the construction of the masts and topmasts.
 
On the first picture is to see how I just made the hole for the sheave of the top ropes.

The next picture shows the topmast heel with the fidhole and the fid.

On the last picture, the components are provisionally composed.

 
 
 
 

That's one handsome looking model! 

Thanks Bob and Pat!

Fantastic work Elijah, beautiful job!  Looking forward to your next project.

Well done !! You did a great job on your first build. Looking forward to your next one...

Hello Bob,
 
If you don't mind, I would like to follow along to watch and learn.
I have the schooner Hannah, also from the Lumberyard, waiting patiently on the shelve.
 
Good luck with your build and have fun.
 
Regards,
Anja

Good morning all.  I've seen this model up close.  Very well done as others have said.
 
Tom

That is really terrific work Ken. I'm not usually a fan of sails, but those furled sails of yours look great.
 
Bob

...door bangs...dishevelled Aussie stumbles in.....pant, pant, puff, puff.......
 
Whew! Just made it in time for a front row seat. I see Sjors has the popcorn set up already and no doubt Mark will be along shortly to run the bar. This is going to be a real treat! Pour me a beer when you get here would you please Mark?

Once again, welcome aboard to all. your interest is always appreciated.
 
A few words about what I received from the Lumberyard, and about the direction that I intend to take. To begin with, this is a build using Hahn plans (included in the package), and the Hahn upside down construction method (a laser cut framing jig is included). The package contains laser cut framing pieces, including the keel, stem, stern post, rudder, keelson and frame futtocks. I ordered all of that in boxwood. There are various other laser cut pieces such as deck beams. I also got a sheet with laser cut pieces for the stern transom windows and carvings and the quarter badges and windows. The package also contains a good deal of sheet and strip wood in boxwood, pear and some other woods for planking and other purposes. In general, the laser cutting appears to be very good and the strip and sheet looks good, but not as smoothly finished as that from Crown. One potential problem looms. The jig and the keel assembly ( which I have put together) don't match the drawings in length. They do, however, exactly match up to one another. Hopefully, this means that the construction will proceed without difficulty, although yielding a model slightly longer than that shown in the drawings.
 
I have obtained a copy of Hahn's book "The Colonial Schooner 1763- 1775" to assist in construction. It is my present intention to plank both sides from the wales up and to leave the lower hull unplanned, although I may decide to fully plank one side of the lower hull. I intend to detail the interior of the hull, with lower decking, partitions, etc. Upper decking will be left partially open to allow a view of the lower interior.
 
I am attaching a photo of the jig, a rather poor photo of the package contents and a photo of the assembled keel. It's now time to get to work on the frames.
 
Bob
 
 
 


 
 





 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

It's been a while since I've redone something. So here it is- revised backstay pendents. Smaller seizings and a cleaner rope coil. 
Steve

Some pictures of the further work on the rabbet and fitting the garboard plank and keel in place.    Re the last picture, have a little problem with the fit of the false keel meeting the slot on the 
stem.   A gap of a mm or so.   Anyone else encounter this?   If so a solution.     Have to think about it and check some other builds.    Don't want to sand anything at this point and find out down the road I have another problem when copper plating.  
 
Blaine

Hello Michael
 
I thought you might like more detail about my approach. Like you I didn't like the commercially available units.
 
The press was designed around my micro drill (now very old - at least 25 years).
 

The base is the face plate off the lathe - rarely used with the lathe.
 
The main column is the central rising shaft from a broken camera tripod ( the legs are still waiting to be made into a 3rd hand ). If you look you will see the pinion gear which engages the rack. It was originally part of the hand lever which raised and lowered the rack.
 
The horizontal plates at the top and bottom of the rack are rigidly attached to the rack and they carry, and are rigidly attached to, the vertical bar which sits to the right of the rack. This forms a very rigid structure on to which the sliding frame which carries the drill sits.
 

 
What is a bit odd about this arrangement is that the 3 armed handle for raising and lowering the drill actually goes up and down with the drill.
 
The photos are probably clearer than my explanation. 
 

 
Interesting how the same problem can spin off many solutions. Not quite as elegant as yours but it works and appeals to my need for recycling.
 

It has been a busy couple of week but I wanted to be able to drill small holes with very small drills in metal using the 3/32 shank and 1/8th shank drills.
After looking around at what is available I decided I would build my own.
 
It went through a number of iterations during the build
 

The first version had a round quill but i was not happy with it so went for a square one with a dovetail slide.
 

The other thing i was not happy about was the mistake of putting the rack at the front, this created an issue of direction so added a second pinion, needless to say is was beginning to feel like a rabbit hole that was getting deeper.
 
This is the current state of the press the motor is a 9v dc one and seems to have enough Jam for the tiny drills.
 

 

 
I have been drawing it up as a design build and making the changes as things change.
 
Michael
 
 

I can't say much more than what the rest have said, nice work!

WOrking a little this evening scale is off on several pieces .somthings may change

COPPER PLATES....
Now that I'm adding a few planks to the hull (around the gun deck gun ports).... I am looking out to the copper plating and the thousands of copper plates eventually required.
Resources indicate there are over 3,000 of these 14" x 48" plates.
I am using 8 cm X 20 cm plates to represent the plates on my 1:60 model.
 
Used a paper cutter to slice the 8 cm strips from the 4" x 10" sheet purchased from a local hobby shop. 

Also purchased this little pattern wheel I found at WalMart, then cut the notches to create a pounce tool.... (the tools I found on the market do not have the right spacing of the serrated tips)

The results appear to be a pretty consistent pattern of dimples to represent the surface rivets....

So I figure I need to create about twenty five per day to accumulate a good starting supply by the time I get around to the need.
  
 

Thank you, Per. I try not to use CA at all. Hate the stuff and it dries shiny, which is why I used it under the knot. I'm trying new things and learning a lot! 
Steve

I roughly sanded the 5 rows of strakes I've been working on.  Working my way up from the keel.  Only 5 more rows to go!
 
Erik

Nice work.  She looks like she's been out on the river for quite a while.  And like the way you didn't blacken the stacks but added some rust