CharlieZardoz

This area of the forum was a great resource for information on where to buy various types of wood. Let's rebuild that information using our collective knowledge and experience. I've given credit in parenthesis to those who have contributed the name of that source.

Sources of milled wood (Australia):
Modellers Shipyard (Shazmira) - A limited selection of sheet and strip stock. They also have kits, tools, and other supplies. Ships internationally.
 
Sources of milled wood (Germany):
Arkowood (TRJ) - A bit on the expensive side, but good for smaller quantities. All major wood varieties, including swiss pear, box, lime.
Massivholzwerkstätten Horschig (Redshirt) - Good assortment of wood, high accuracy and good price.
 
Sources of milled wood (UK):
Hobby's (AntonyUK)
JoTiKa (Marsares)
Cornwall Boat Models (Marsares)
The Model Dockyard (Marsares)
 
 
Sources of milled wood (USA):
Ocooch - Good source for milled sheetwood of all species but no Boxwood, swiss pear or holly.
Syren - sheets and strips of milled Boxwood, Alaskan Yellow Cedar and Swiss Pear.
Itasca - Mainly a source for basswood. Their "Half Price" wood is still of good quality and excellent value. $20 minimum order size. 20% military discount.
National Balsa - Another source for basswood, Maple, Cheerry. More expensive than Itasca, but they have a greater range of sizes and have lots of dowels.
tallships_model_builder (themadchemist) - An eBay store with several items targeted towards model ship builders (eg. Deck planking and sheet wood). May be willing to cut custom sizes for you.
http://www.northeasternscalelumber.com/shop/index.php?PHPSESSID=fbf4aea8bc5623641aa53ab405ec4c6a - Northeastern Scale Lumber
 
I'm adding my list of US suppliers of lumber.  Given the market they may or may not have the wood you want.  IF they do have it, order it, don't wait as they will run out.  
All Righteous Woods Bod Nosen Colonial Hardwoods, Inc. CookWoods Dyes Exotic Wood, Birdseye Maple, Curly Maple & Tiger Maple Bell Forest Products Gilmer Wood Company Griffin Exotic Wood--High Quality Exotic Woods Groffslumberr hearnehardwoods.com- Inlay Banding, Ebony and Holly Wood Products Kettle Moraine Hardwoods, Inc., Hartford, WI Midwest Products National Balsa Wood Co- Balsa wood, Basswood, Mahogany, Architectural Models, Model RC Aircraft, Savox Servos Ocooch Hardwoods - Supplier of Thin Wood for Scroll Sawing, Carving Blocks, Intarsia wood, Plywood for scroll sawing, and more. Rare and Exotic Lumber in Maine - Rare Woods USA Rare Woods USA Rockler.com S.H. Goode & Sons Workshop Specialty Wood Exotic Lumber Exotic Woods - Keim Lumber The Wood Database Tropical Exotic Hardwoods Welcome to the World of Hardwoods Wood Project Source - milled wood sheets and strips and wood carving blocks woodcraft.com- Woodfinder® Marketplace Woodworkers Source for Imported, Rare, Specialty, Exotic Woo    
Sources of rough lumber (Australia):
Trend Timbers (1492) - Local, imported and exotic timbers.
Anagote Timbers (Jim Lad) - Local and imported timbers. Named after a pet goat called Anna.
Australian Furniture Timbers (BANYAN) - A wide selection of timbers. Avilable in 1 meter lengths.
 
Sources of rough lumber (UK):
Workshop Heaven (AntonyUK) - Various sized chunks of exotic wood
Yandles (Kevin)
 
Sources of rough lumber (Spain)
Maderas Barber (ymperivm)

Sources of rough/billets lumber (USA):
Gilmer Wood Company - Mainly Exotic wood and much of it highly figured. The main species of interest for ship modelers will be boxwood, ebony, and holly. $100 USD minimum order for Internet purchases, no minimum for walk-in purchases. Ships internationally.
Cookwoods (mtaylor) - Exotic hardwoods. Ships internationally.
Righteous Woods (davec) - Domestic, imported and exotic timbers. $100 USD minimum order for Internet purchases. Ships internationally.
Tallgrass Custom Wood Productsfff382 (Thairinker) - Domestic hardwoods. Located in Kansas, does not appear to offer shipping.
Woodworkers Source (Sephirem) - Domestic and imported. Lumber is organized based on geographic region that it comes from.
Rare Woods USA (ChrisLBren) - Ships to Continental USA only for online orders, but is free for orders >$100 with conditions.

Sources of rough lumber (global):
A local hardwood store - Usually a great place to buy domestic wood and some exotics. I have seen ebony and purpleheart at Woodcraft.
A local hardwood flooring store (muzzleloader) - Mahogany, maple, cherry and other hard woods. Inquire about sales of remnants at bargain prices.


A note on Gilmer:
This is a local business for me so I am fortunate that I can visit. If you've purchased milled Castello Boxwood for your model then it probably came from here. They told me that they don't have a source for this wood anymore, but in addition to the large stack of wood towering over me they also had a bunch more in another warehouse. The Castello Boxwood starts out as rough 8/4 (2" thick) boards around 6" wide and 7' long. When the stock on their website gets low they pull down a board, clean it up in a planer, spray with shellac to bring out the color, then seal the ends with wax. They told me if I was to buy a board off the top of the stack it would be $30 a board foot (1"x12"x12") but that if I wanted to dig through the stack they'd up the price to $35 per board foot. Indeed, the chunks on their website were about $35 a board foot when I last ran the numbers. Ebony is tricky stuff as it all looks the same in pictures so ask them to select a board with straight grain, if you tell them it is for a ship model they will understand what you need. When I was there last they showed me how to hold the ebony to the light to check the grain for straightness. Also don't be too concerned if the description of Castello Boxwood on the website is "figured" as that is what they listed my piece of wood as and it was actually fairly straight. Not all wood can be sold to customers outside of the USA because of laws to protect endangered species.

Model Shipways has the Bluenose, Mantua has the Britannia Royal yacht, Amati has Endeavor, Corel has the Corsaro 2 all at around 32"  Your best bet is to go on www.agesofsail.com type in yacht and show the misses the list as that is pretty much the options for yachts as far as I know of.  Also there are Bark's like Gorch Fock and Eagle out there which are kinda modernish?

Thanks, CharlieSandoz!
 
I have just run my own suggestions up the flagpole, and got told I'm wrong (again!).
 
However, your non-warship ideas sound like what she is after, so I'll check those out.  Apparently a more modern sailing ship/boat would be ideal.
 
Cheers,
 
Brett

I have uploaded the Sultana practicum here.....
 
http://modelshipworldforum.com/ship-model-build-and-practicums.php
 
Chuck
 
 
I will add the Phantom in a little while.  Once I find it...I know its here somewhere. 

I think the Syren may be a little too small for the space SWMBO has in mind.  I fear the same may be true of Snake and Cruiser.
 
However, I am currently assembling some photos for a line-up!
 
Based purely on size, I'm wondering about Bounty, Vanguard, Constitution, or Confederacy?
 
I know size isn't everything, but try telling my wife that! 
 
Cheers,
 
Brett

The burton pendants, shrouds stay and preventer stay are now done on the lower main mast. The rope sizes were, of course, larger than for the mizzen, but the procedures followed were the same. This phase of the work will be completed next with the same lines on the lower foremast. This may be delayed a bit since my kids and grandkids are all arriving for an extended holiday visit.
 
Let me take this opportunity to wish all who visit this log a very happy holiday season and a healthy New Year.
 
Bob

Drat! I knew I should have downloaded all those practicums when I had the chance, got most of them though, worth their weight in gold

I’ve just about finished with the lower standing rigging.  The only thing left to do is the shroud cleats.  The problem is the kit didn’t come with any.  So I’ve asked Model Expo for shroud cleats from the Armed Virginia Sloop; they are the perfect shape and size.  Don’t know if they will comply.
The lower ratlines were done with thin sewing thread and fastened with clove hitches as the FA instructions recommend.  I found clove hitches were not hard to make – I was worried about using them.  I also added an extra ratline above the futtock staff since I know the only way I will ever get to the top is through the lubber’s hole, and an extra ratline would be most welcome.  We land lubbers have to stick together.

Aha! Yes some of these are just what I'm looking for and there are a lot of options I can also modify if need be yay!

Charles,
 
Check here:  http://www.cornwallmodelboats.co.uk/cgi-bin/ss000001.pl?page=search&PR=-1&TB=A&SS=lantern   It looks like they might have what you need. There's a bunch of pages of nothing but lanterns.     I know I saw some from Mantua that looked similar to what you want.

Here is something I have been toying with. LED lit cannons. Controlled by an led flasher unit (from an online auction site) with sixteen led's and eleven programs. Each led has four or five fibre optic cables held in place with heat shrink. The cannon has been drilled through with a two mm drill this also removes the fixing pin on the back of the cannon but will be held in place with the fibre optic. Smaller F/O could also be used. With a  bit of playing around with the placement of the cannon end of the F/O broadside firing patterns can be achieved.
 
Is it too cheesy. Please let me know what you think.
 
Bootes

Tony,
 
My gut instinct is that Goodwin doesn't show a bobstay, because there wasn't one - on the particular vessel he is writing about. Personally, I wouldn't have thought he'd have left it off the drawings if one were present. Regarding Petersson, there would seem to be a discrepancy between his drawings, which as you say don't show one, and the 'Science Museum' cutter of 1785 – which he says he based them on – which does! (This further begs the question, can Petersson be trusted 100%?)
 
Further, the earlier pictures of the Hawke, in the AOTS Alert book, show that she didn't have a bobstay either and you mention that the NMM model of the Trial of 1790, like the cutter of 1785, has one fitted. This is interesting and suggests, yet again, that the dates are important here – as with the questions regarding the topgallant backstays and yards. Could it be that around that magical date of the mid 1780's bobstays began to be adopted, with regard to the changes in the rig and caused perhaps by an increase in the upward strain on the bowsprit due to an additional sail area?
 
Michael, your pictures would all seem to be later cutters, where bobstays might be expected.
 
As to the question as to whether Sherbourne had one, again I would say no, since she is one of the earlier cutters like Alert, and the upward pull on the bowsprit probably wasn't so great. I also have a theory that, to a certain extent, both the two martingales and the traveller outhaul on the starboard side, may also have acted partly as bobstays. The lower blocks of all three are situated down on the wale, or at least they are on my Sherbourne, so that the line of all of them point downwards from the bowsprit – suggesting that their combined downward pull might be enough to offset the upward one of the headsails. Any thoughts on that? One other point, perhaps, is that the end of the bowsprit was quite 'busy', with all that was attached there, so would a bobstay have been fitted unless absolutely necessary?

You could always use if for the grill outside.....
 
Salmon does real well when cooked on cedar planks  

Mizzen mast progress, and a few more outside shots
 

Charlie,
 
ModelExpo used to but I'm not sure if they still do.   You might also check Ages of Sail.

Good day in the shop.  Here are a few sequence shots of how I am building the tops with planked sides.
 
1st Pic....Split shot showing the block of pine wood as it is marked on both sides before being shaping into the form used to build the sides.  Note, the thickness of the block is exactly the height of the finished top.

 
2nd Pic.....After shaping the block and fitting the 16 vertical planks equally spaced around the form and beginning to fit the first row of planking.  Note the glue used to fit these vertical planks is diluted to facilitate removal later.  Also note, I have begun with the form placed upside down on a metal surface in order to keep the outer edges of the starting planks perfectly aligned.  Also note the alternating pattern of end cuts.

 
3rd Pic....The pattern of the planks is more evident showing the third row being fitted.  The joint gaps are desired as glue cavities for the outer vertical planks. 

 
4th Pic.... Split shot showing the removal of the block form with very course rasp bits.  
Note in the left shot, the outer "seam" at each of the 16 joints has been sanded flat to provide a good glue surface for the vertical planks.
Note in the right shot, the outer vertical planks have been fitted before final removal of the remaining pine form material.

 
5th pic.... There you are.  Ready for floor piece, knees, and top rail, to be fitted....not included herein.

Got in some real good shop time since last update.....
Finished up the tops, including ripping out the oversized knees and replacing them with smaller scale.
Created main and mizzen masts, fitting and staining them and stepping all three masts.....

She is now tall....I do like shots from high above....

Close in on one of the completed tops....note that I widened the rails on each side where the deadeyes will be fitted (builders choice).

Shot of the fitted main mast....

For what it's worth....
 
Gammoning....

 
Bow Collar....

 
Main Collar....

 
Standing Rigging.... just beginning.....

 
 

Several milestones in every build are worthy of small celebrations. The final hull plank is one of those "Miller Time" moments.

Getting the complex geometric three color paint scheme within reason has been a major challenge. Not going to say how many times I ripped it off and started over. That's modeling, huh?

Update....Mayflower #2
Watching this guy pressure washing my neighbor's house, using bleach....gave me an idea.  That dark plank that I was so put out with - could it be bleached to a lighter shade?
 
The photo on the far left shows how dark that plank was....
Photo's center and right.....After sanding, painting with bleach, and placing it in the sun for several hours is still darker but appears much lighter and more acceptable in my eye.
What say ye?   

Thanks, Salty. Your numbers for the Ranger match mine. Note the plans and the manual are at different scales in the kit.. my deck was slightly off when matched to the plans. Those perimeter thingies are I think the bulwarks. I like your style!

I did some length on deck measuring on the two plans and worked the scale thing backwards to see how it worked out with Chapelle's descriptions. Using highly nautical terms, I measured the length along the centerline to the raised edge board thingies around the perimeter of the deck. I went to the closest 1/16". In the picture below, the Ranger deck plan is above the yellow yardstick and the Dallas deck plan is below that.
 

 
In "The History of American Sailing Ships", Chapelle says the Dallas was a sister ship to the Surprise built to William Doughty's 69'-6" plan (pg 194). I measured 17.25" on the AL Dallas plan and at 1:50, that would be 17.25 divided by .24 = 71.875'. If the scale were really 1:48 instead of the more Euro 1:50, the 17.25 would be divided by .25 = 69' which matches Chapelle's info more closely.
 
On the Corel Ranger plans, I measured 10-15/16" to the perimeter board thingies. Dividing that by .1875 for the 1:64 scale, that ends up at 58'-4". On page 186, Chapelle describes the Massachusetts as being 58'-6-1/2".
 
So the Dallas would be the largest tonnage and the Ranger would be the mid-size one. I don't know if this is helps, but it was fun to open the boxes and look stuff over!

I completed rigging the mizzen today. Tomorrow  I will start working the spar control rigging (fore to aft). This starts with the spritsail yard and moves aft ending with the spanker booms. This will include the rigging for the main hatch ship’s boat. Once these are complete I will rig the lower mizzen shroud ratlines. Given the interior rigging remaining holding off on the ratlines seems to make sense.
 
Remaining work will be the control lines running fore and aft in the spars then the three ships boats.
 
 

Thank you Alistair
 
Red is a very transparent color to paint with.   If you use thin coats it will be somewhat transparent.  I have many more coats and more sanding to get it where I want but it will most likely have some transparency.
 
I found some workshop time....so I finished planking the starboard side.  Its a big milestone but then I look at the port side and have to repeat the entire process, including the square tuck   But it all worked out very well.   Once the other side is finished I can start treenailing.