Ryland Craze

The Continental Galley Washington was a lateen-rigged, two-masted row galley built in the autumn of 1776 on Lake Champlain at Skenesboro N.Y. On October 6 1776, she joined the small fleet established and commanded by Brigadier General Benedict Arnold. The fleet consisted of schooners Royal Savage, Revenge and Liberty. Also the sloop Enterprise, and 8 gundalows outfitted as gunboats: New Haven, Providence, Boston, Spitfire, Philadelphia, Connecticut, Jersey, New York, and the cutter Lee. Washington was among three galleys  built, the others being the Congress and Trumbull.

A Sketch of the New England Armed Vessels, in Valcure Bay on Lake Champlain
as seen in the morning of 11 October 1776 A Contemporary watercolor drawing
of the American line of battle by Charles Randle. In the drawing Washington is
shown as the second ship from the left.
 

good evening everyone
 
thank you for comments and likes
 
i didnt like how she looked in the last post,  to much yellow, so i have removed everything and had a bit of a redo
the decoration above the far right window needs a slight adjustment, and paint the inner sills

Great start Craig.  I have a couple of these in the stash - you're right that you can really pimp these old Pocher kits with sweet aftermarket, but at a very steep cost.  Looking forward to seeing this come along.

Thanks for all this detailed information, really appreciated!
 
Overnight in thinking about how I was using this, I realized I was often going back and forth between 2 or 3 different sized bits and having to constantly change. Therefore, the set if four vises actually makes good sense. So for the price, I'll probably just order both of the items Ryland linked in post #2.
 
This is still around 6x cheaper than the Starrett 4-piece set, which I'm sure is fabulous, but I don't think my skill level and usage warrants it.
 
Thanks again.

I purchassed the 4 piece Starrett set some time ago and never looked back. 

I have  the swivel head pin vise shown above and use it a lot. But it has several issues:
 
1. It will not hold the very small drill buts - nothing smaller than about 0.025 inch (0.6 mm).
2. If I am using several drill bits it is a nuisance to have to be switching collets back and forth.
3. It does not allow the use of long drill bits (no opening in the swivel part). This is a problem only if you are drilling very deep holes and I have done that only a few times in the last four decades.
4. Similarly, it cannot be used to hold long rods with just the end protruding from the collet. I modified my other pin vise (with a fixed wooden knob) to allow long rods and drill bits to be used.
 
Not long ago I purchased the four piece set also mentioned above. These have turned out to be invaluable! I may use them more than the first pin vise. The smallest size will hold the tiniest drill bits (#80, 0.0135 inch/0.34 mm) firmly. They do allow the use of long bits or rods, and they can be chucked into a milling machine, drill press or lathe (however, I doubt they are made with enough precision to use with the smallest bits in a milling machine).
 
Having said this, hand drilling with the very small bits is just asking for a broken bit! Chuck the bit all the way into the pin vise with just enough extending necessary to drill the depth needed!

My go-to pin vise is a very common one:
 

 
This is the Otto Frei pin vise linked above. The neat thing about this pin vise, which it took me years to discover, is that if you unscrew the collet nut, the collet can be pulled out and end-for-ended where there's another sized collect at the other end. If you unscrew the barrel of the vise, there's yet anothr double-ended collect in the handle tube. The OP may want to check his pin vise that only holds larger bits. I'd bet it has a similar arrangement. There should be a zero hole collet and another three going progressively larger from there.
 
The dedicated pin vise sized sets like the Starrett-style mentioned about and particularly handy for holding very small bits which can then be chucked into a drill press. The big bucks you would pay for the Starrett set reflects the machining tolerances that ensure very accurate concentricity of the bits. That level of accuracy is always nice to have, but it's not necessary for modeling wood working.
 
The "hand vise" or "jeweler's vise" is an entirely different animal from the pin vise, even though they are both called vises. The pin vise is for holding drill bits and awl points and things like that and is used as a tool holder. The hand vise is not a tool holder, but rather a workpiece holder. Hand vises come in many shapes and sizes, some being quite specialized. There's nothing better for holding small parts when you need to work on them. The one linked above that has a hole in the handle so a long rod can be run through is designed primarily for pulling long lengths of wire and rod through a draw plate to siize or shape the work piece. The ability to run the rod or wire straight through the handle permits long lengths of material to be puled though the draw plate while maintaining a grip on it close to the face of the draw plate.
 
For general modeling purposes, the engraver's hand vise, sometimes called a "universal work holder" is one of the most versatile of all hand vises:
 

 
$13.00 from Rio Grande jewelry supply house: Universal Work Holder with Handle - RioGrande
 
Work can be held between the open jaws shown above or work pieces of practically any shape that will fit between the pegs inserted on the face of the vise can be held by placing the pegs as necessary for the sides of the pegs in the holes to squeeze the sides of the irregularly shaped work piece. The wooden handle also screws off, leaving a square block that can be mounted in the jaws of a fixed bench vise to hold the "Universal Work Holder" securely for two-handed work. 

True enough. I looked at the four set and decided I didn't need it at this stage. I'm going to order the one Ryland posted, I think that will be ideal. Thanks.

It looks like the General pin vise that I bought when I started all this -  the early "70's.  It was/is better quality than the now stuff, the collets = two units - different bore at each end - there is a storage cavity at the swivel end. 
Still my go to- mostly. 
I have never been introduced to the Starrett version.  A four unit set would probably be worth it if the buyer was young.

Thanks Ryland. The first one you linked looks perfect, somehow I had missed it on their site.

Got some or done on my Buyboat. Deck is on, side rails, base for pilot house and cover for cargo hole. I also glued in a mast support . I cut out the doors.

(This was originally going to be part of the above post, but it was already pretty long).
 
At this point, I think I'm done with the furnishings. But, I've been working on a larger addition to the build: a mast and sail. I was especially inspired by the many fantastic build logs of the Bluejacket dory kit, which does include a sail. Although this dory won't have a rudder (or a centerboard) and isn't a dedicated sailer, simple spritsails were nonetheless common on dories, designed to be easily unshipped and used only if the wind was favorable. I plan to make mine so it can also be unshipped, which is not only an interesting possibility for displaying the model but also will make transporting it much easier.

The first step was preparing the mast step assembly. I noticed that the Bluejacket kit looks to be framed following the Shelburne dory style, with each frame made of three pieces held together with metal braces at the joints, while this kit, representing a Lowell dory, uses frames build of two pieces of wood. This means that each frame is rather thicker across the bottom than on the Bluejacket dory, which is relevant for the mast as the mast needs to be stepped through the number two thwart and down to a mast step on the bottom. The thwart in the kit sits centered on the frame, making it impossible to fit a mast as the frame is right under it. So, the first step for me was to make a new thwart from scrap wood, with the frame slots further back so that the thwart sits further forward. I also added a piece across the center on the bottom to reinforce the area where the mast step will be drilled, as I saw this on a photo of a dory in a museum (below). The mast step hole will have to be cut toward the front of the thwart to fit around the frame, but it will work. The photo below compares the kit's thwart (below) with my scratch-built one (above), prior to drilling the mast step hole.


Next, the mast step itself, which I made of scrap wood. Lacking any files, I decided the best way to make a square hole (measured for a 1/16th inch square piece) would be to cut the step in half, cut out half the step, then glue it back together. As can be seen, I first accidentally cut the wrong side, but I decided againat replacing the part. Instead, I filled it in with scrap wood and sawdust with glue. After sanding and painting, the mistake was invisible, as seen later.

 
After the glue was dry on the step, but before gluing anything to the dory, I drilled a pilot hole in the thwart and did a test fitting with the leftover 3/64th-inch thole pin material, just to check that nothing was horribly out of alignment.


It still wasn't time to attach the step, though--first I wanted to make the mast itself, so I could make sure to fit the mast step properly. I made the mast out of the scrap wood from around the display board. Following the suggestions given in the Model Shipways Norwegian Pram instructions (which are available for download on the model shipways site) I cut the 1/8th-square piece into an octagonal cross-section, making sure to always cut with the grain, and then carefully sanded it circular and tapered a bit at the ends by running it through a sheet of sandpaper that I held curved in my palm. I could do a better job getting it perfect in the future, but for a first attempt I'm happy with it. I also noticed that the basswood seems a little soft for making masts, and had to fill a divot that somehow got sanded into it with a mix of glue and sawdust, which seemed to work. I then drilled a hole at the top for tge rigging and added a bit of 1/16th-square wood at the bottom to slot into the mast step (I used the pin vise to drill a hole in the bottom to better hold the piece).

 


Finally, I drilled out the hole in the thwart for the mast. I did a test fitting, marked the location for the mast step, then glued it to the bottom after scraping a bit the paint that was where it would be. Then I painted the step.


I'm happy with how the mast fits!


As for the sail, I had no luck finding a really thin cotton fabric despite visiting multiple shops, but in one shop's scrap pile I did find a large number of pieces that are a good size for the sail (and extra in case I mess up). They're slightly thicker than I would like, but for now it will work, especially considering they were about 50 cents. I haven't started making the sail yet, but will be drawing on the Norwegian Pram instructions as well as the "Scale Sails For Your Model" pdf.
 
At this point, while I still haven't made the sprit or sail, there's something I'd like to ask for help to clarify. The Bluejacket kit depicts a spritsail rigged with a snotter and with lines tied off at cleats. This seems like the classic way to rig a spritsail. But, a different method seems to be used in the examples I've found online. The dory at the Mariner's Museum, seen below, seems to have the sprit basically just tied to the mast (which might technically be a snotter, just an extremely short one). The sprit-rigged lobstering peapod below also seems (it's a bit blurry) to be similar. No cleats in sight. (Image links: https://iscc.marinersmuseum.org/watercraft/grand-banks-dory/
And
https://maineboats.com/online/boat-features/evolution-maine-lobsterboat )

 

 
So, how should I go about rigging this? Part of me wants to just base it on the Bluejacket model and include cleats etc, which would look nice and be good for building experience. But part of me thinks I should follow the photos and go for accuracy. If I do the latter, though, there are two things I'm unsure of. 1) How does the loop of the snotter that goes around the mast stay in position and not slide around, especially given the taper of the mast? (I mean, I could glue it, but that seems like cheating). Reading online about spritsails on smsll boats, it seems like a sliding snotter could be used to adjust the sail, but that still doesn't tell me anything about how it would stay in position when you didn't want it to slide. 2) No hoist--I think that's the term for the line used to haul up the sail, but I might be wrong, different articles seemed to use different terms with one calling it a halyard--is visible. Where would it be tied off without a visible cleat?
 
If you have any suggestions, please let me know, I'd really appreciate any help. I've tried looking in David Steel's 1794 book "The Elements and Practice of Rigging and Seamanship," but while it's useful on the sails themselves it's not very clear on the questions I have. 
 
In any case, I'm learning a lot from this build, and really enjoying it!
 

Thanks, I'm really enjoying making the fittings!

The University of Maine's Lobster Institute lists a gaff hook among the tools used in lobstering, especially for hooking the line connected to the buoy. Sounds good to me! I decided to make the shaft out of a toothpick, and the hook from a paperclip. I started by cutting off the tip of the toothpick and using the pin vise to drill a hole, about 1/8th to 1/4th of an inch deep, to secure the paperclip hook. I've found that, given the limited pressure you can exert on a pin vise, it's best to start with a small pilot hole and work your way up. Despite the small diameter of the hole I drilled, I still needed to use three drill bits to cut it! (This might in part be because I bought a very cheap pin vise and many drill bits are not very sharp at the tip, although for all I know that's normal for tiny drill bits). The photo below shows the toothpick, end-on, propped up by the pin vise.


I don't have a wire cutter, so I used some pliers to twist the paperclip back and forth at a certain point until it broke, making the hook. I rubbed the broken end on some sandpaper in hopes that that would wear down any jagged bits. Then I was able to fit the hook into the shaft. Thinking back to when I used to tie fishing flies, I used black thread as a serving on a makeshift jig. The serving was a bit messy but it worked.


I realized then that I should have painted the shaft before serving. Thankfully, I was able to carefully paint it without painting the serving. I didn't want it to be the same color as the trap, so I gave it a few coats of a thin ochre wash, followed by a light black wash to bring out the texture of the wood.
 
I also painted the buoy. I thought a thin white coat over a black wash would look good, but it ended up a little stark and grey. I mixed a tiny bit of ochre into the white to make more of a cream color, which I used to paint the buoy. I added a dark red stripe, then a very light black wash for texture. The photo below shows how the buoy and gaff hook turned out after painting--note that I left the end of the hook unpainted, as it will be cut off. Also note that, after finding in a test that the paint doesn't adhere very well to the paperclip, I decided to leave the hook as natural metal. Maybe in the future I'll experiment with aging effects on metal, but for now I can live with the hook being a bit shiny.


I finished the gaff hook by cutting off the end, painting the cut end black, and adding serving again as a sort of handle. I also glued in a loop of string to the end of the buoy to finish that part, as well.

 
About the rope/string: I wasn't crazy about how the beckets had turned out, so after some experimentation I found that the string looks better and more consistent if it's first lightly soaked in the cream-colored wash, then, after that dries, quickly dipped in a black wash. The photo below compares the original, right, with it after the cream wash but before the black wash, left. It's a subtle difference, but it takes some of the sheen off the string. The effect with the black wash can be seen above with the buoy, or later. I think adding the black wash makes sense for lines that would spend a lot of time in the water, like the lobster trap line, but I like the cleaner look of the cream wash for something like rigging. Hmmmm, shame there's no rigging on this dory... more about that later.


Finally, I wanted to make a rope loop for the line connecting the lobster trap to the buoy. I decided against a line bucket for now, but thought a rough loop (instead of a tight coil) sitting on the thwart wouldn't look bad. I made a jig using plastic brush protectprs and used watered-down glue to make the loop. My first attempt, pictured below, tried to make it look like the line had been simply looped around someone's arm from elbow to hand. But, it not only didn't turn out looking right--it was too tall--but also the glue was too watery, failing to hold its shape. 


Thankfully, the watery glue also meant the line could still be shaped. I simplified the jig to make more of a circular loop and gave that a try.


Ultimately, I'm reasonably happy with how it turned out, although I think it could be shaped to better fit, and hang more naturally, at the stern thwart. The line is by now soaked in enough glue that it's hard to shape it more. The gaff hook looks decent in the dory as well, albeit a little shiny, and I'm not totally sure where they would put it. All fittings are currently not glued in place, so if you want to suggest a more accurate way to place things, I'm all ears!

 

 
 
 

Thanks Mike decals and stencils have been laid.

Here is the first 1:72 kit. As you se I have stared to do these in flight mode. The pictures are bigger than the kit
 
Model: Hurricane Mk1
Scale: 1:72
Manufacture: Airfix
Extras: None
Colors: MRP 
 

Next is a Yak3 and here I experimented long time to find a good locking way to make to make a stand so I can build the planes in flight mode. I ended up to using a cheap round tree base and a stainless steel welding wire. In my opinion it looks clean enough. I will do this for all my 1:72 airplanes in the future. This experiment is in 1:48. 
 
Model: Yak 3
Scale: 1:48
Manufacture: Eduard
Extras: None
Colors: MRP 
 

Hi again.
 
I haven't post anything here for a while but I have continued to build. So it is my intention to catch up on what I have been doing. I hope you like the photos and objects. I will try to do it in the right time order. So first out is one kit were i was trying to do winter camo that starts to wear off:
 
Model: Lagg 3
Scale: 1:48
Manufacture: ICM
Extras: None
Colors: Mr Paint, Tamiya
 





 
 

This was the first pin vise that I purchased 25 years ago and I still use it: https://www.ottofrei.com/products/swivel-head-pin-vise
 
I also have this set that I also use: https://www.ottofrei.com/products/pin-vise-set-of-4-range-0-0mm-to-4-8mm
I mainly use the smaller ones that hold my #61 to #80 mini drill bits.
 

This was the first pin vise that I purchased 25 years ago and I still use it: https://www.ottofrei.com/products/swivel-head-pin-vise
 
I also have this set that I also use: https://www.ottofrei.com/products/pin-vise-set-of-4-range-0-0mm-to-4-8mm
I mainly use the smaller ones that hold my #61 to #80 mini drill bits.
 

This was the first pin vise that I purchased 25 years ago and I still use it: https://www.ottofrei.com/products/swivel-head-pin-vise
 
I also have this set that I also use: https://www.ottofrei.com/products/pin-vise-set-of-4-range-0-0mm-to-4-8mm
I mainly use the smaller ones that hold my #61 to #80 mini drill bits.
 

If you look at the constitution they do not use hooks on the double block attached to the side.  Anyway, I finished my extra work and can now move on to finishing the gundeck

All done! 8 months! Phew!  This was the most first 1:196 wood kit and was the most PE I've dealt with.  Just to remind everyone... this is a model of a Sumner Class DD FRAM II on which I spent the first 5-1/2 year of my naval career.

Post Forty-seven
Nearly there!
With ten strakes to go the trickiest part is the sharp bends and twists where the planks abut the stern post.

1292
In this example the plank is wider at the end than the otherwise tapered run.

1340
The planks sometimes take on a serpentine shape.
 
Over the weekend I made a concerted effort to push ahead with the planking and I put in two longish days at the workbench.

1327
The serpentine shape of the planking runs is evident here but I am now happy that there will be no crowding of the planks at the stem.

1333
I have concentrated on the bow planking as this is the most critical area, and I am pleased that there is no excessive sny as the planks follow the round of the bow.
 
Two days later……..

1363

1361
Two strakes left and they will be of pretty uniform shape - I’m relieved to see.

1351

1360
A small satisfaction to be had when both sides match.

1355
My shipyard assistant casts a critical eye over my efforts, is he impressed, hard to tell, but I'm satisfied. 🙂
 
Cheers,
 
B.E.
11/07/2023.