Keith_W

Geez you are quick. I've been working on my ship for three quarters of a year and i'm nowhere close.

Thanks for the update RMC, she's beautiful. This ship is on my bucket list (I have a very big bucket) but i'm not sure if I should even attempt it given that yours is likely to be the definitive Vanguard build

Cute dog figurehead there! Are you planning to give it a Santa hat as well? But seriously, it's very nice work!

She's beautiful. I never knew what Leeuwin II looks like under the waterline, I did not realize she was so modern. Thank you so much for this build log. If anything, it shows me how little I know about a ship that I thought I was familiar with.

I suspect those are sprung planks? A sprung plank is plank which is not glued to the hull. When you try to sand it, it is pushed flat and then springs back out. You can never sand it flat. To deal with a sprung plank, use a sharp knife to force a larger gap, then use the same knife to apply a tiny spot of glue under the plank. Clamp it securely until the glue is dried. I find that CA works best for this, since these sprung planks are usually in inconvenient locations where clamping is almost impossible. If you don't use CA, you can use Titebond, but you'll be holding that plank for half an hour. Here are some strategies to PREVENT sprung planks: - Make sure the planks are shaped to sit on the hull "naturally". If they are not, they will want to come off. - Clamp the planks securely while you are waiting for the glue to dry. CHECK there are no sprung planks! If there are, you need more clamps! - Use a liberal amount of glue, and make sure the planks are edge glued. I apply enough Titebond so that it seeps slightly through the edges. I want to see it seep through the edges, because that tells me that the plank is edge glued. Once the plank is securely clamped, I clean up the excess Titebond before it dries with a cotton tip bud dipped in water. - If it is not possible to clamp, try this method I invented - alternate Titebond with CA. I apply a 0.5cm patch of CA, then a line of Titebond. The CA cures almost instantly and secures the plank to the hull, whilst the Titebond assures me that there is glue all the way to the CA joint. This is MUCH EASIER than using CA over a larger area, because the CA cures way too fast to make sure the plank has been correctly placed. Applying only a tiny spot of CA means you only need to worry about correct placement of a small amount of plank, and if you place it wrongly it is easier to remove than if the entire plank had been CA'ed.

Second planking which is 1mm thick is effectively double first planking. Might be difficult to get it to turn tight corners and will probably require steaming.

Domestic violence and sexism is not on, Denis. She is as capable of painting the house as you are, so give her a paintbrush and do it together We have a partnership like that in my house. I mow the lawn, she does the weeding. Or she might do the vacuuming, and I do the mopping. We cook together and wash and dry the dishes together. It works And yes, she sometimes helps with the ship as well.

I remember the STS Leeuwin very well. I have been on board her, but unfortunately I have never sailed on her. I look forward to seeing this model progress. Thanks for starting your log and sharing with us.

Yes Dennis, I recently put through another order with them. I have been using them regularly for more than a year now. I agree, they are fantastic. BTW they do not stock Proxxon themselves. You may have noticed that they take your order, then send the order to the actual Proxxon dealer, who send the unit to you. The return address on your MF70 should read some address in Tuggerah NSW, whilst Mytoolstore is located in Apsley in QLD. How about an update for your build?

Hey Richard, if you lack the space or the money for occasional use power tools, consider joining a local woodworking club. In Australia there is a network of woodworking clubs called "Mens Sheds". You go to their website and find the closest shed to you. Most of these clubs are stocked to the brim with various power tools. My local club has two bandsaws, a thicknesser, two disc sanders, two belt sanders, lots of drills, lots of lathes, etc. It would be a much cheaper option than buying the tools yourself.

Thanks George, Greg, Christian (is that right, Tuffarts?), Victor, and Pat. Christian, I have it on good authority that Forrest Gump was around to design the smiley in 1719 and not the 1960's as claimed in that revisionist movie! Smiley stays. And I am thinking of putting a "STAY CALM AND KEEP SAILING" poster in the drawing room, right next to a huge portrait of Justin Bieber. That should irritate a few people Victor, I think that most people consider your RW to be the benchmark to aspire to. For you to come here and say that my humble build is good is generous beyond words. For a start, mine is kit built. Newspapers won't be banging on my door asking to look at my model. And I won't be invited to write an article for Shipwright Journal. And I would be lucky if this log cracks 50 pages, let alone your 200 page thread on that other site. Pat, thanks once again for the tips! You really are a wealth of information. I should consult you before I do anything. My inexperience with some things leads me to consider solutions which are unnecessarily labour intensive

Very nice, can't wait to see it lit up! How about indulging us in a preview?

OK, so here's another question. I am under the impression that it is dangerous to add water to concentrated sulphuric acid (H2SO4) but OK to add water to concentrated hydrochloric acid (HCl). I might have been a champ in chemistry in high school, but that was a verrrrrrrry long time ago.

Can someone correct me on this? I thought that "white vinegar" is acetic acid (CH3COOH) whilst "muriatic acid" is hydrochloric acid (HCl)?

Thank you, Vic. I have looked through your build log in the R/C groups, bought the edition of "Shipwright" with your article in it, and getting to speak to you in person is really the icing on the cake! I will send you an email. And yes, you need a diamond tipped scribe to cut microscope glass. Like this: http://www.micromark.com/diamond-tip-scriber,6472.html

So glad to see you here, I have been looking very closely at your model of the Royal William (which I am building). I have a number of questions as to how you accomplished certain aspects of your build. I hope you don't mind me asking Your model of the USF Confederacy looks fantastic as well.

Totally off topic now! But since we are off topic, here is a 1980's joke: What do you get if you cross Lee Iacocca with a vampire? AUTOEXEC.BAT

Don that Bounty Launch of yours is beautiful. The colour you stained your wood looks like pear. May I ask what stain you are using? A link would be pretty helpful as well.

Hey Cap'n. It's 3:30am over there in Perth. Go to bed and dream of barrels!

Time for another update I have now attached the quarter deck. Prior to this, I installed supports for the marine walk and rigged the gun carriages that will be inaccessible once the quarterdeck goes on. Euromodel does not supply enough gun carriages for this deck - instead, the guns that will be hidden below the quarterdeck and fo'c'sle are dummy guns mounted on gun blocks. I was not happy with this arrangement, because the blocks can potentially be seen. So I ordered more guns from Euromodel. They arrived incredibly quickly, and I should thank Massimo for including a couple of free gifts with the package. I received some cannonballs, and a few buckets and things. Even with my scratch built capstan, I was not satisfied with its appearance. When I visited the Batavia Museum in Fremantle, I saw that that model had a capstan with a base and locks on it. I thought it looked really good, so I copied that idea. This looks much better than a naked capstan sitting on a deck. My laser marker arrived so I started the treenailing a few days ago. Wait, did I say "laser"? It is a cross-type marker. The horizontal line was taken against the keel, and the vertical line aligned with a set of plans to tell me exactly where the frames are. I can't take credit for this idea - the suggestion to use the laser marker came from Alexey Domanoff: http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/2430-simple-marking-jig/?p=62049and the idea to use the plans to find the frames came from Banyan. A close up view of the laser marker. This technique can also be used to mark gunports. Pity I did not have this marker when I marked out the gunports, it would have saved me a lot of effort. Faint lines drawn in with pencil ... Treenailing done on starboard side. The treenails were bamboo, pulled through a Byrnes draw plate. The Byrnes draw plate is really effective, EXCEPT that the largest hole on the drawplate is to small to accept a bamboo skewer! It would be nice if Jim made a larger size drawplate to pull dowels down to smaller sizes for use on his standard drawplate. It became really tedious, shaving a dozen bamboo skewers down to the correct diameter before I could even use the drawplate. Then it dawned on me that I own a Byrnes thickness sander and a Byrnes table saw. I pushed the bamboo skewers through the thickness sander, then cut it in half lengthwise with the table saw. Voila, correctly sized bamboo dowels! The treenailing on the hull was bamboo, but I decided to go with brass wire on the wales to give a bit of contrast. All sanded down. The effect is REALLY subtle, you can not see any treenails at all if you view the ship from arms length! ... but trust me, they are there

I would give it 24 hours It takes a long time for diluted PVA to dry. In reality I have trimmed it when it felt dry, but there's no harm waiting a bit longer. After all, you have a tonne of other rigging to do in the meantime!

For securing knots, I normally use 60:40 PVA to water.

You're welcome Brenticus. As for the feasibility ...it's wood. Anything is feasible. Bear in mind that the Golden Hind has a much higher forecastle, quarterdeck, and poop. The angle of the transom is much steeper in the Hind. All this will be laser cut into the bulkheads if you buy a kit. You can, of course, modify the bulkheads or cut your own, but then you are venturing into scratch territory. And don't forget that you have to come up with the carvings yourself, because (probably) no kit in existence will have carvings that will match the Kalmar Nyckel. This is what I suggest: - send a PM to member rshousha. He is an MSW sponsor, and he is able to render drawings in CAD and laser cut the bulkheads for you. - buy the planks from Crown Timberyard, and the fittings from Amati, RB Model, Artesania (etc) - take your pick. To be honest I don't think there is enough information in those plans to make a model. It might pay to write to the owners of Kalmar Nyckel, explain your situation, and ask for better plans.

Looks great, Nils. I am intrigued with that transfer paper method you describe. Unfortunately, I own a laser printer and not an inkjet! It would seem rather extravagant to buy a new printer just for this! Does it work with a laser printer?

Yes, I spent a bit of time wiping off blood from my pristine planking. I had a cut on my finger and did not even realize it until I saw all the blood!