Thistle17

Your due diligence (13 months REALLY?) and extremely fine work have yiekded something very special. Thank you for sharing! Joe

Lovely work Bob. You waste no time moving ahead. If only i could have the focus and drive you do. Joe

You do such nice work Bill. Even your jigs exemplify the quality of your work. Joe

I have been so busy with other tasks, some apart from modeling, that I have neglected checking in here. Our gun tub is being modeled by one of our members, a retired Navy Captain, who was responsible for propulsion systems on neuclear craft. as such he has incredible talent for detail and has been using references of a detailed nature. I have seen the results of his recent work (since the Covid relaxation of restrictions) and it is outstanding. The Patriots Point information we had has led us a bit astray as that now appears to us as a creation out of need and lack of authentic elements. Please do not interpret that as a lack of gratitude of their support. If you PM me I will put you in touch with our member and he should/would be happy to help you out. Joe

The creation of the reveal in the gun port openings was one of the most annoying elements of this build. I did it as the instructions indicated but found when all was done that it could have been better. Your method was one I thought of well into the execution of my Cheerful gun ports. I will be following your expeiience carefully and will be anioux to hear your feedback. Joe

I am still scratching my head bitao; incredible work in an incredibly short period. I used to work in a software development group and the manager I assumed responsibility from had a saying. "You can always tell the quality of the work by the sharpness of ones tools". So I look at your table saw top and see not a scratch or mar. I have studied your shop made tools. I have witnessed your execellence of work produc and I am dazzled by your speed of execution. What else can I say but well done indeed! Joe

Roger I can't tell from the drawing as it only shows a side profile with not much detail. I just posted a new reference from the NC Maritime Museum via its curator so I will give him a shout to see if he knows. Thanks for the heads up. The aforementioned reference is under the topic "Discussions for ship plans etc." on this site. Joe

The drawing from the Smithsonian came today so there is no excuse for me to proceed with the restoration. If you send off to them count on about a 2 week delivery. I will say that the drawing is quite good in quality reprint and is faithful in its scale to the model i.e. 1:24. The recorded length is 53' 2" with a beam of 11' 11". I remain mystified or perplexed at how the original modeler acquired the subtle information that the drawing either does not show or depict in sufficient detail. I have scanned the web for Florida commercial fishing history articles and pictures to no avail. I have looked up Florida museums that might have some documentation again without results. The one thing i do have now is a very good idea of the ship's wheel size. It is fortunate that missing elements can be replicated with confidence from surrounding works. Joe

David thank you for the excerpt. I will revise my methodology for the ships wheel and proceed. Joe

Another rendition Bob. It really looks beautiful! And so neatly done too! Now you give me something to think about when I get to your state. Joe

Oh, the scrutiny of our peers! You take the feedback with such a healthy attitude. That, plus your skill will see you through. Joe

I must be getting senile, just saw the dimensions in the earlier post. Sorry . It is a tad too small for my project. Still a good deal for someone. Joe

Can you supply dimensions? Joe

Paul the build is pretty staight forward because of the fine instructions. However read them very carefully as it is easy to misinterpret sometimes without going to and fro his build log, the drawings and his instructions. Some of his photos were taken at times a bit out of phase to when the instructions were written. For example I made the stern fashion pieces but did not paint them until after application because I forgot and was led astray by an accompanying photo (I did the wales correctly). So do excercise your own deliberate thinking. Also I did not lay the deck planks from stern forward. I started at the bow because when i started the other way the runs were not long enogh to establish the needed symmetry as they were broken up by deck furniture. When you get to the masts, yards and booms send me a PM and I can supply you with more info on how I did them. If you are a wood turner and have the equipment then my suggestions may not help. Joe

You brought the model to life with your renditions of the figures. really nice work! Joe

Just tuned in to your build. I too am working on Cheerful. At this point I am working on all the sail parts masts, booms etc. I did not post my build as I wasn't sure how it was going to go. Some trial and error fixing of the planking until I slowed myself down and wasn't afraid to fit a plank a second time to get it right. Nonetheless she is a fun project full of subtle detail. You are doing just fine! Joe

I have never looked back having purchased this mill 2 years ago. Bill is so correct about the accessories especially the tilt table and the rotary table. Sherline has made these very utilitarian as some of the lathe accessories will work with the rotary table. I think it is a common lament that part capture on any mill, large or small is always problematical. This mill elevates my capabilities! Joe

Maybe I should rethink modeling and go back to bagging groceries as I did when I was a teenager! Just 2 months stem to stern David. You are driven. Joe

If i may ask? You seem to move ahead at great speed yet with incredible accuracy and precision. I am always mystified how one does so and yet maintains the quality you present. Do you spend many hours in a day at this and do you mass produce your elements via CNC or do you hand machine every part? Joe

After licking my wounds on the terrible results of the ships wheel I have decided to make my own or at least try my hand at it. Using the one I made I took dimensions off the wheel and created a drawing suitable for replication. I did increase the diameter of the wheel a bit after sizing the one I made on the model. It was a tad smaller than what i would imagine. It will be checked out when the drawing finally arrives. While I had the model out I managed to remove the hub of the missing wheel. I speculate the original modeler may have purchased one as the hub seemed at first glance to be a molded element. In addition it is an 8 spoked wheel rather than the 10 of the one I fabricated. My appraoch to the fabrication attempt is as follows: - Fabricate and glue 4 pieces of boxwood segments such that end grain will be minimized - Laminate 3 overlapping layers with the outer 2 layers of thinner stock such that the glue joints are not aligned - Mount this on my end mill and turn the outer diameter. - Mount the turned element on my revolving table vertically to drill the 8 spoke holes - Return the piece to its normal postion and mill the inner diameter but with tabs. - The hub is somewhat problematical because of its dimuitive diameter and the need to drill 8 more aligned holes. That is going to take some thinking. Now the spokes solution. I think I have found suitable 13mm belaying pins of the correct scale and length (Crafty Sailor) to use for the wheel spokes. We will see. I hope to have some fabrication photos along the way but will await the drawing to check my dimensions. Do I have backup plan? Yes I do! Harbor Models has a wheel that appears to do the job if this fails. Joe

You have to bring her to one of our fall meetings Rusty! It is turning out to be such a beauty in the wood you have chosen. I should think it will inspire us all especially our newest members. Joe

Your religous adherence to faithful reproduction is astounding! I need to go to confession. Joe

I still await the drawing from the Smithsonian and assume "I am in the queue for a drawing next week" was abit optomiostic on their part. In the meantime I built the correct scale ships wheel from the minikit from Syren. I would offer that it was a humbling and frustrating build experience. I have to give myself a C- of a grade on quality. I followed the directions quite closely and I don't feel my small motor control capability has dimished to the point where I am not able to achieve a decent job on most any component. The challenge with this assembly is two fold in my estimation. The parts are incredibly small and when Syren expresses a caution about sanding it should be taken seriously. The parts unsanded fit snugly into the build jig, however any over sanding of the char yields too loose a fit. Secondly the outer bands are made from .025 thick boxwood. Invariably they are prone to breakage especially the larger arc as it's lower sections run with the grain. Turning the spokes even with careful turning with a fine cut watchmakers file to round over the elements was challenging as well. I would recommend a purchase of two kits using one for practice. This is likely a practice piece. I am possessed! I just can't live with this failure. I have to find a better solution or get much,better at this mini kit. Joe

Glenn I think you meant Crafty Sailor. The web site is Wooden Belaying Pins (10pcs) – Crafty Sailor Model Store I first bought a couple packages just to see for myself. i was quite satisfied of with the quality so I went back and ordered more of each size. I spoke to him about updating the web site with the missing dimensions and now appears he has. They are quite good in my estimation and he too is a responsive business person. Joe