Ryland Craze

Ash would weather grey, or at least our cutter sweeps did.

Like Keith says, it's already weathered! Perhaps some additional weathering where the oars meet the boat and where hands grip the oars. Wefalk mentions grain,so another option would be to use Holly, which has very small grain.  I have a log pile outside full of small Holly logs, aged for about two years, which I'm going to try and rip on the table saw, if it ever stops raining here in Virginia. If that works, I'll have a never ending supply of that species. Thanks Tim

Using the real wood species for a model usually does not work, because the grain patterns are too coarse. For a model some wood without visible grain is more realistic.

The oar looks great and if it looks a little dark it's due to weathering.  

Thank you Keith. It's probably best I pick up a chunk of white ash. This photo of the Acadia wood shows it may be too dark.

Ash seems to be more frequently used. 

Building Bluejacket's Grand Banks Dory, I've searched with no luck for the specifications with regard to typical oar construction. I would like to scratch build them, and have already made one from Acacia wood, which is very dark. The print lays out the size, and I have read through research they were usually made of clear pine or fir. Was oak ever used for oars? Thinking about it, oak oars would be very heavy so I don't think oak was used, but that's just my thought. The kit also calls for one set but I'm seeing photos with two in the Dory. One extra set as backup for a single occupant and two for 2 occupants? Thanks, Tim

Thank you!

Well thank you very much for your kind words. Doing the build logs is also a new adventure for me. 

Very well built and handsomely documented. Very impressive photography as well! congratulations

Thank you ! the Norwegian Sailing  Pram.

Thanks

We’ll done! What’s next? 👍😀

Nicely done,     

Thank you for the compliment and for viewing my build.

Everything was going so well, and then I started what would surely be the easiest part of this whole model: putting together the building board. Based on some comments about how the board was a little flimsy, I glued a few cross pieces on the bottom to make it more sturdy. Somehow, this ended up slightly warping the board from end to end. I tried to fix it with some weights and water, and then it warped in a different, unexpected way, then I flattened it out again and it looks better. If I'm lucky, assembling the building board will be the most frustrating part of this build.   I made some adjustments to the build board with tape and small strips of wood so both transoms would sit square to the building board; neither was flat against the board as initially assembled.   Sanding the the bevels on the bottom planks wasn't hard, it just took some time and care, stopping often to check out the remaining char.    I bent the keel and bottom planks on the build board and forms, using hot water to soften them.   It took some time to figure out the gluing strategy for the bottom planks - the bow transom moved around a little on its support, and there are three points of gluing that have to be lined up: the planks need to come in centered, glued to the transom while touching, and the bottom of the transom knee needs to be centered and glued.   I drew marks on the knee and transom to indicate the centers, and aligned those while gluing. I held the planks, transom, and knee with my fingers while gluing, because it would have been too hard to line up and hold everything perfectly together using rubber bands or clamps. I tried to sight along the center line to make sure the knee was in the right place.   When the glue was initially dry, I put a rubber band on to hold it in place for a few hours while it dried.     The transom is loosely held in place with rubber bands, and that means some effort is needed to make it line up properly for gluing. The transom knee eventually needs to glue squarely to the keel plank, which means the bottom of the knee needs to be flush with the bottoms of the bottom planks. My strategy was to hold a piece of scrap across the two bottom planks, and press up from underneath with another finger to register the knee flat to the scrap piece, and thus even with the bottom plank surfaces. Holding it this way (I think!) makes the transom meet the bottom planks at the right angle, and sets up the right surfaces for the keel plank.     I noticed after inspecting the bottom planks that there isn't a perfect alignment of their surfaces with the rectangular transom cut-out that the keel plank is glued to - the cut-out was too shallow.      Some options: Put a very thin piece of wood in there to build it up, then do the same to the knee so that everything continues to be level and straight Unglue it and sand down the transom more to create the appropriate shoulder. Step 2, but don't take as much off. Then, sand the bottom planks a little to try to bring them in line with the shoulder. Plan to use filler.   I chose option 1. I sanded down some very thin basswood strips with a sanding stick, then cut them to size to cover the necessary parts.     After gluing those in place, I re-glued the bottom planks, holding them the same way as before. This looks a lot better, and should help avoid filler later.            

I have started the case. Milled up some white ash and walnut. The case will be 42 x 13 x 14. Using my Shaper Origin I am going to I set my Pegasus Stands about 3/8 inch into the Ash and then carve the name on both sides. I think this is going to be a real nice case. I actually felt lazy so I asked a guy that does this for a living to give me a quote. Came in over $500 plus almost $200 for shipping in a knockdown configuration. So much for lazy wood ran about $100. Here are some photos of current status. Will update as I move along.

You’ll want to install the cap rail after you sand the frames because you’ll need the space inside the boat to work on and install the cap rail. Chuck’s instructions are pretty solid. Careful when sanding the frames. There’s a lot of it to do. It took me several sessions for this step. 
Steve

Removing interior frames. Planking turned out better than I thought after filling and sanding. Great learning experience. Instructions state to now sand interior frames and install cap rail. I would think that I want to install floor planks and seats before the cap rail. I will go back through the directions again.
 

Hi Ghost029,
You need to taper the planks and properly shape and bend them before gluing to the hull. Prior to that you need to line off the hull. There are many resources on planking on this forum. You should check them out before you proceed. 
 
Don’t feel bad or be afraid to remove things and do things over. No one gets things perfect on the first attempt. 
Steve

Slow start on the Pram. On the beginning, I was a little confused about the beveling of the transoms. I just couldn’t visualize it until I went through past build logs (that I had read earlier but didn’t have the question then). 
 

 


The bevel guide took a minute for me to figure out.
 

 


 
 
Placing the stern knee on the lower stern transom, I noticed the knee extended further then the image in the instruction manual. I’m back to the trusted past build logs looking for the perfect image I need to see.
 

 
Now I need to purchase a bench vice before I begin to bevel the transoms and drill through the bow knee.
 

Thank you, Toni. I appreciate your comments!

A bit late to this thread but I love your list.  When I was at the point of deciding on my second model (first "real" model was the Revell Connie), the PC hadn't been invented and the only wood kits I could find were sold by a now-defunct craft retailer called Lee Wards.  They sold two kits, Mantua's pirate ship and Peregrine Galley.  I bought the better-looking of the two and was thrilled to find a catalogue included with the kit...Model Expo.  It is so much easier now to find something that appeals to one aesthetically or historically or simply for the challenge.

There have been many discussions of the pros and cons of CA glue here on MSW and there is not definitive consensus that it is hazardous to your health and is to be avoided like the plague. CA is widely used safely without allergic reactions by most users. That doesn't mean we need to not be cautious in it's use and, certainly, if you have found that you have a sensitivity to it, you should avoid it or take precautions to protect yourself.
 
I personally do not like the CA fumes but I'm sensitive to just about any strong odors like perfumes and household cleaning agents etc. However, I have found CA  glue to be very useful especially for planking without the need for extensive clamping and for other situations where I need a quick, strong hold that would be very difficult to achieve with other adhesives. When I do use it, I use it with good ventilation and I have CA debonder readily handy.
 
Have I glued my fingers? Yes. Have I messed up with it in other ways? Yes again. Is it my favorite glue? No, but it certainly has it's place at my modeling table and sometimes just a tiny spot of it applies with a needle or something similar will get the job done very effectively.     

All good points on the CA glue.  I'd definitely rather not use it at all as there are just too many things that can go wrong.  Given your experience and insights, I'm going to try to avoid it altogether as I work through my Philadelphia.