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Rick01

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Everything posted by Rick01

  1. I'll follow your 2nd planking with interest as I'm starting a scratch build of a local ship shortly ( topsail schooner Enterprize out of Hobart) and may just try shorter length planks. By the way we may have a little problem in a weeks time. I'm heading up country to Mildura and Lake Mungo so may not be as well off for internet connection - you may well be on your own for a few days but I do think we've covered most of the harder problems that may occur. Sorry can't change my plans as this was arranged before we started on this voyage but I'm sure you'll cope. Rick
  2. That's a question that I've never really considered. What constitutes "proper length" with a cutter? I'd have thought that a 50 ft plank wouldn't have been out of the ordinary during the 18th century. This one is a question for someone like Chuck or someone with more historical knowledge than me. I'd suggest asking it in the Building Framing, Planking section. Don't know that it would be harder - manoeuvring shorter lengths would make life easier in some aspects. Rick
  3. No I did check the plans for the reference first!! With the points that Tony's photos have brought up, it seems that cutters are a pretty individual ship with each shipyard/builder having his own idea as to where and what to place deck fixtures and fittings. Most have the top mast forward of the mainmast and the double bracing for the square sails also is common to the style of rigging. The hand cranks were only fitted where a "drop keel"was fitted see http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/86094.html so you may ignore this completely. Personally I planked the gunwales continuously then cut the ports out as it did help maintain rigidity whilst working on the hull. Hope this all helps. Rick Ps One last suggestion - get the basic hull finished to the point that the painting and decking is done and stop. Then we look closely at the variations for deck furnishings, belaying points, rudder arm, etc. I didn't do this and now have a number of items that really could have been applied better. Pps Cleats - before painting the bulwarks you may want to fit the cleats shown on sheet 4 marked 3 (top left illustration), however I'd put them much nearer the left hand cannon either above or just to the left of the scupper. Fits better with the rigging per Peterssons book.
  4. Don't forget to watch out for the problem with the "wobble" in one of the gunwales you found earlier on! Rick
  5. I think it's all pretty well covered - the counter is a bit fiddly and needs playing with to fit tidily but once that's done final planking should go smoothly. You need to decide if you're going to plank over the cannon ports then reopen or cut sections to fit between. Capping rail - sheet 2 part 45 (bottom right hand corner of the plan). You also now need to contemplate removing the bulkhead tabs, then planking the interior of the gunwales before the decking is laid. If I think of anything else I'll pop it on later today but as of now I'd say you ready to do the final planking. Rick
  6. I think I originally mentioned that if you weren't going to paint the fascia then you should plank it before mounting it, assuming that you'd also plank the exterior! I have planked mine as I don't see the ship builders getting a single slab that large in real life. My thoughts would be to use the black on the section that the rudder pierces if you go with the hull painted in white and the holly for the upper section. This latter has a surround which would look great then in black. However if you go with the natural wood hull then I'd switch the black and white timbers around. Please be aware that I'm not allowed to chose any sort of colour scheme at home and am required to carry a note from my wife if purchasing paint/stains! Just as a refresher - you're using a different thickness timber to for final planking and the capping rail assumes 1mm planking inside and outside the ply gunwales so you will probably need to make some sort of adjustment to the planking thickness on the inside of the gunwales when you get that far. Rick
  7. It'll be like that until you tie the last knot in the last bit of rigging and then you have to decide how you're going to display her! Not withstanding the hiccups along the way I must admit the whole exercise is pretty satisfying. Rick
  8. You've done it exactly as I do - building up and down with a final plank (hopefully only needing a slight trim) somewhere in the middle. Looks good so far - no problems with the twist into the stern? Rick
  9. Try the spread sheet here - it should give you a general idea of sixes at least. http://modelshipworldforum.com/ship-model-rigging-and-sails.php Rick
  10. I didn't expect you'd be throwing in the towel - just popped the comment in for any beginners in the hopes that they will not give up but push on past this point. Rick :-)
  11. You're right in taking your time and getting the first planking correct even if it won't be seen - you can't exactly experiment with the second planking when it's on show. I find that tapering starts one bulkhead past centre and should be a gentle taper on each plank with bevelling on the tapered (upper) edge only. The first couple of planks shouldn't need a taper as the prow and sides are pretty well vertical - as the hull starts to curve so the tapering is needed (hope that makes sense). I'm pretty sure this is the point where many beginners throw there hands in the air and the kit in the bin, but pushing past it is well worth the struggle. Rick
  12. Hands up anyone who has never had to make this sort of adjustment in a build! I find Mk I eyeball really comes into play all the way through planking, doesn't matter how carefully you measure something creeps in when your back is turned. Rick
  13. It's surprising what we define as a tool here - flexible emery boards and double sided sticky tape come to mind. Rick
  14. I also use the broad rubber bands plus lego bricks for additional pressure where needed - the bricks are also useful when something needs squaring but you have little space to place any tools. Rick
  15. Actually no - it's the one area I rather dislike and know that it has to be taken pretty slowly so I'm expecting you to be pretty quiet for a while once the first couple of planks have been fitted. Is the second planking going to be .6mm or a thicker variant - reason I ask is that the capping rail assumes that the bulwarks have been fitted with two layers of 1mm timber so bulking out the bulwarks would be needed if using .6 mm Rick Rick
  16. Looking good Can't see any problems arising in the next steps given the way you're setting it all up. Rick
  17. Don't know if this helps or hinders Frankie but this is a sKetch of a similar size/era cutter showing two sails running off the bowsprit - maybe pushing it out allowed for extra canvas to be flown. Rick
  18. So "no" :-( I'll try not to do that to you any more, but I just couldn't live with the thought of you mounting the bowsprit and then finding a problem. Any chance of getting a dispensation and maybe having a single oxen sacrificed at the finish? We could all come over for a barbecue then. Rick
  19. Just had a horrible thought - did you increase the height of the prow when you drilled it for the extra couple of holes? If not then another goat will be needed as the bowsprit sits fairly high along side it. If you didn't then you may want to drop the bowsprit and its supporting timbers a couple of mm. when you get that far. Rick
  20. Sounds good to me - I found the direction change at the stern less of a problem with properly soaked timber than ensuring I got a smooth line of planking at the prow. At this stage I also slowed down in build speed - two or three planks a side daily with deck furnishings being built between times to relieve the boredom. Rick
  21. Only one variation that I'd make. I'd make the first couple of planks under the gunwales full (non-tapered) planks visually you then seem to loose the appearance of an up-swept planking line especially if you then taper the rest only slightly rather than have a few with slightly greater tapers. Hope that makes sense! Being the first layer it does give you room to experiment. Rick
  22. "BTW Rick what is up with these uneven and different on each side curves on the tops of the bulkhead strips?" You may want to buy a small herd of goats before you've finished. The upper edge of the gunwale should run parallel to the deck - so in this case there should be a smooth curve for the full length of it. Looks to me as if the laser cutter had some sort of hiccup or maybe just a bit of a wobble, the gun ports either side of the dip actually look distorted slightly as well. Shouldn't be as much of a problem as your redo of those elbows however, When it gets planked just ensure you get a nice line with the top plank ignoring the wobble, the capping rail will conceal the dip nicely. Next time you start to get that feeling of burning one of the more recalcitrant bits go ahead, just remember to make a good copy first!! I've got half a ships worth of junked items where it was a better idea to junk it rather than continue the fight but I've always either got a good copy or been able to reconstruct the bit from the outline from the blank that it was lasered from. You're going to have a brilliant model when finished , plus this build will be pretty well the definitive manual for beginners building "Lady Nelson". Rick
  23. Hey Vossie at least you didn't have your decking laid before you had the "do over" - it's sheer hell when you have a nice clean deck with a spot of paint on it (speaking from experience). Rick
  24. So you're about to start on what I find as the scary, boring, frustrating bit of ship building. Only one bit of advice here, if you haven't already, then you should read some of the articles here http://modelshipworldforum.com/ship-model-framing-and-planking-articles.phpand consider using a PVA glue - i found it much easier to remove bits that don't work properly (like half a side of second planking that I hated) than with CA. Rick :-)
  25. I finished the prep work after fixing the bulwarks because of the stability problem myself, even then I broke one of the inner elbows off the deck once. The fascia should be flat in the vertical plane with a reasonable curve horizontally. I do recall that it took a bit of time/work shaping the elbows to get a proper fit - I also made three ( I think) fascias before I got the fit right. These niggles are sent to try us! Rick
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