Grimber

I know what you mean. I haven't done any hobby work in 25+ years and everything I had accumulated then is now long gone. So I'm starting over and I swear my budget is just as limited now as then. Was glad keith suggested harbor freight, just went there today and got some much needed items for about 40 and i know anyplace else it would have been 2-3 times the cost easy, but that also took my budget for this month and maybe into next . with limited tools and resources have to keep from going nuts at first on the hobby and slowly build into it, all the way around

another possibility is cast your own lead pieces. When I made painted miniatures for dioramas and war game military sets I use to cast allot of them myself. it can get expensive to get started doing your own molds unless you do some shopping around and pre-reading on it, but if you can make lead pieces that are popular you just started your own home business.

Thanks. I intend to hit harbor freight tomorrow since I have to hit the post office anyways. Probably spend the day making a long mental wish list. Want a scroll saw but it will have to wait a while as a save my pennies for one. After looking over more build logs, and what pictures I have found so far on the aft of schooners and clipper ships I committed to a shape. It may not be right, but I'm happy with it as I think it fits the kits illustration. The tricky part was sanding and shaping right along the line where it meets the false keel, I think a little more could come off it but to get a bit more smooth transition but I need to find something I can sand that concave shape. Might try steel wool on the tip of my finger. After running a plank bow to stern and checking it from keel to deck I'm still not happy with bulkhead 4 so I'll have to work on a shim for that. Other than those 2 things I think I'm almost ready to try planking. Just going to re read on it while I work these last 2 little things. End Section A.4

Thanks for the point out on Harbor Freight. The plane set looks awsome for only 11. Searched thier clamps and wow the prices are really lower then anywhere else I seen. Could get 3-5 for the price one of the same size in Home Depot or Lowes. Looks like is a store about 15 minutes away from me too. I know where I'm going shopping tomorrow I read giantdog's log so far. Everyones logs have helped point me in some directions, think I got allot more to even start looking at as well. Looking at pictures on line too at the Virginia, pilot boats, schooners and clippers the best overall lay of the aft end is that they got a margarita/saucer glass shape to them. I already have a bunch of pdfs downloaded I found all over the internet on modeling. I can send you a list of what I got once I sort through them all and remove duplicates.

I like the build log so far. Taking me a while to get to as many Swift logs I can find and find time to read through ( considering how long Keith's log is I may get my first build done before getting to the end of his log ) Your planking looks great and I hope I can pick it up and get as good of results on my first time out as you did. I like the info on the lead lining the scuppers ( never even knew what the deck drain holes were called before now) I got an idea you might look into instead of straight solder, try some solder tape maybe instead. It is solder but it keeps its shape. Used to make circuitry 'runs' on circuit boards. Got my roll off eBay just search for solar panel supplies as it is used to connect solar cells to make solar panels. It keeps its shape, just a little flux whee you want it, lay it down flat on the line you want to stick to and run the soldering iron over it edited may not stick to wood, but it bends and shapes super easy so could just shape it and glue it in

Sounds like you want the focus of your diorama to be on the bow section of your ship. with the dioramas I've made usually want your focal point placed somewhere near the center/off set from the center then the rest of the elements positioned to draw the viewer eye to follow a line towards that focal point. For your gluing problems a few things I have learned always clean your model parts with a degreaser before starting any work on them. They are almost always still coated in the 'mold release' that the manufacturer sprays on the mold between each injection so the parts trees won't stick to the mold. Since model glue is a welding agent that mold release will effect the chemical reaction that causes parts to weld. clear parts are not of the same formula of plastic as the colored parts. model plastic and glues for plastic models are formulated ( in US and europe) so that when the glue and the parts come together they don't just bond but they chemically react and 'weld' the surfaces. Since clear plastic isn't of the same formula you usually have to resort to something more like an all purpose clear household cement and even then you might have to 'scar' the surfaces to get better cement anchoring. model kits made in asia also don't use the same plastic formulas. With them you will also have to go with a cement adhesive than a model glue.

Well I filed and sanded down the inserted blocks between bulkheads 1-2-3. May hit them one more time but I think they are about there. Takes allot longer to file and sand a pine block then the ones used in the bow and stern Also cut down on the stern blocks so I got a straight line against the keel from bulkhead 8 to my guideline on the back of the ship and started rounding out the block based on the curvature of bulkhead 8. then I worked in the curvature of that line along the false keel. At this point I'm sort of stuck. I can't find a reference drawing or picture yet on the curvature of back part of the block as to how much angle/slope/curvature there is. (the curved back part of the filler block)

Well checked a few hobby stores near my house (10 miles or less) but they were all more geared for trains then models. Some had some balsa airplane kits and some sheets of balsa, but no blocks, base wood, or pretty much any wood. As I also expected the prices for any tools was insane. Fortunately today I won an eBay auction for a Model Expo Deluxe Hobby Craft set at 1/3 of the price Model Expo charges on their site and it has a hobby saw with miter box. Next to find a small plaining tool and some clamps. Also got a small cheap rotary tool set which I put to use already today. So didn't get too far on the build today but got a little work going. ................... Just have to work the stern half of the shaping before I need to think about the next section of planking the hull. This model kit doesn't provide the very back piece ( I think it's called the Transom ? ) and no direct measurement referances on it's shape, only a small projected illustration. So after taking a few measurements of the top and side cut away scale illustrations I put on some guidelines for a squared out outline of the shape to the aft end. With these lines and the guide of bulkhead 8 shape I just cut out the excess of the fill blocks. I'll leave the carving for later as I'll have to cut away excess from the false keel to get that basic shape of the curvature. Keith, as you suggested to put in blocks between bulkheads 1 and 2, I had hoped to get some balsa today to do that so instead I opted to use some scrap wood I had laying around. Found some old 1x2 I cut down to blocks that should work. Will be harder to shape but I got time to work it. After I squared off blocks and fit them to the bulkhead gaps I then just followed the keel and bulkhead lines to mark where to cut down. Glad I got the rotery tool today as it make quick work of taking off the excess wood so I could glue these blocks in. Now just have to wait till the glue dries then I can finish shaping them. Got a little excited playing with my new toy so made blocks between bulkheads 2 and 3 as well

This was a long time ago now but when I was trying my hand at a couple of the plastic sailing ships I had bought 2 different models. One was the constitution and the other a 'jolly roger' pirate ship. When I opened the boxs and looked them both over, the only things that were different was the box, front page of the instructions, the plastic stand nameplate and the little paper flag sheets. the models themselves were the exact same model even the parts were molded in the same colored plastic. talk about disapointment

Just found your build log. glad to see you got moved and setting back up to continue on your ship. Hope to see more of it, I'm just about to the first planking on my swift ( older model version) and this was the first I actualy looked at how the fanning worked. I'm sure some other swift build logs do it as well but I havn't got that far in my reading.

I hope you are still progressing with the restoration. I've been looking into artwork, pictures drawings anything for reference on the pilot crafts. as Keith pointed out what books that are out there can get pricey so I started using google on virginia pilot boats , pilot boats, schooner. both looking at web sits and then switch the search to images then video I found also a good place to start was http://www.schoonervirginia.org/ the official web site of the recreation of the original Virginia. this site has allot of articles and resources ( look in the resources section ) I remember coming across a few articles on the Katy but hadn't had time to look at them yet. http://www.modelshipbuilder.com/news.php

The ship is very sharp looking. Shows you put allot of time and thought into every piece.

I think its coming along good. I'm on my first build and having AL manufacturing problems too but after reading other posts of ships of other manufacturers it seems to be somewhat universal. I'm finding I have to take measurements off the cross cut diagrams when working on a part so I get it more accurate to the diagrams and pictures, and some parts just arnt shown well enough in their illustrations to get a clear idea what you are suppose to do with them.

if the planes will be mostly to her bow I'd say something like 3 but not so close to the edge she is near but more to the opposite side.

A few links of images of Stuka's dive brakes bomber-Junkers-JU87-Stuka-Ground-attack-divebomber-German-luftwaffe.jpg http://www.warbird-photos.com/gpxd/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=7754 Also has a cool in cockpit view of dive bombing ships in a stuka from the 'IL-2 Cliffs of Dover' game play. http://luftwaffesim.com/profile-luftwaffe-ju-87-stuka/

Oh, I think I will put in block like that in between bulkhead 1 an 2. If I can't come up with some balsa by tomorrow or friday I just cut something out of wood. I had this radical idea to reinforce all the bulkheads and then use that spray in expanding foam to fill all the bulkhead gaps. Not on this model but if I find something I don't mind if the whole thing explodes from the expanding foam I may give it a try once. .......... Well, i kept filing and sanding and sanding and filing and checking the curvature over and over I found that bulkhead 4 just sat to low and the planking would dip between bulkheads 3 and 5 so had to shim that. So now I think I got everything tapered and sanded about right from the bow to just past bulkhead 6 and finished the fall off of the keel taper between 6 and 7. (when I seen this pic I thought there was a curve in the keel but it was something about the camera angle, i checked it with a straight edge) Next step is the stern section and bulkheads 6-8, start that tomorrow. ........... Oh, one little modeling tip. If you plan to use that superglue and sawdust to fill small gaps, be sure you are saving sawdust on the side in a container..... and not taking it off the floor. Otherwise you may be sanding other things besides glue and sawdust.... like dog hair.

I'll have to see if I can get to a hobby store in the next couple days. Run out of options on regular retail stores as far as tools and materials I need ( at present) and buying from eBay can be hit or miss if you can get what you're after. If no luck with the few around here I may have to look at online hobby stores as a last resort. I got the tip from the book "How to Build Ship Models" by A.Richard Mansir Moonraker Publication. I think it pretty much covers everything from basic nautical terms to methods of building, rigging finishing even making your own sails. page 13 shows the part of bending planks. does cover 'wet' planks too.

I plan to add sails to this one. Long before I get that far I need to do allot of digging to see if I can find plans someone else has done or do allot of research and make my own. ( it's not just the sails but all the extra rigging that might be involved too). Thanks it's been an adventure so far already and I know I haven't even got very far into it. Keith the deck to the back bulkhead actually turned out good I think. The deck lines up right on the aft corners of the bulkhead, so when I get to shaping the aft bulkhead and blocks it should smooth right into place. (try to do a better picture to show the bulkhead and the deck) ................. I haven't finished shaping but I wanted to put up what I've done so far. Had a break in between as I didn't feel like cooking and went ahead and ordered pizza. Didn't get my files or find a hobby saw so it was 1 for 3 but the pizza was better than a saw or files Steps here were: Taper the keel edge to a point down to bulkhead 6 then the taper needs to gradual end between bulkhead 6 and 7. We want to taper the keel but not take anything off the straight line of the keel. The taper of the keel also has to transition to the curvatures of each bulkhead, so the curve of the bulkheads to the 'edge' of the keel has to be smooth. The fore and aft edges of the bulkheads have to also be tapered to follow the flow of the planking. Bulkheads 4 and 5 are the widest ( port to starboard ) so these will be the medium center so bulkheads 1-3 have to taper to the fore and bulkheads 6-8 have to taper towards the aft. So to keep this all straight in my head as well as my eyes while I sand away I drew some guidelines. First I drew a line straight down the middle of the keel to about midway between bulkheads 6 and 7. This is my center line for the keel 'point' so I will sand right up to the edge of this line but not take the line out. As long as my line stays intact I won't create any dips in the keel line and I can keep that keel 'point' going right down the center ( I hope ). I mark the 'fore' edges of bulkheads 1-3 to remind me that is the side I have to file on do the bulkhead tapering. I mark the 'aft' edges of bulkheads 6-7 (I'm ignoring 8 for now) to remind me that is the side I have to work the taper on. I also mark the edges of the keel where I have to file down to taper and get them to smooth out to the bulkhead edges. The 'fore' edge of bulkhead 4 and the 'aft' edge of bulkhead 5 I sand and file a bit to round that edge off as the planking will start it's bending on those edges, so I don't want it to bend on a sharp edge. I also wanted to put a curve into one of the first layer planking so I can use it as a guide along the bulkheads. Took me a bit to figure out which bundle was 'limewood' as I don't know one wood from another. I had to rely on the part count to get an idea, so I might end up using the wrong wood for the wrong parts guess I better stop before planking and figure out what is what and label it all. Curving the wood... I see many posts people use 'wetting or heating' to bend the planks. What I read in 'How to build Model Ships' book is for planking as long as it is not a radical bend you can just use a round object and with pressure rub the wood and it will curl/bend. Inventory says I should have 30 planks. I got 31 so figured what the heck, I'll try that. So I clamp one end to a flat board, set my dowl perpendicular to the plank and put a little pressure on the dowl and just 'rubbed it straight down to the end of the plank. ( didn't rub back and forth, just did a straight forward motion to the end of the plank ) After only 2 passes.... I figure that should be enough bend just for testing the bulkhead edge tapering. (edited note: while this does bend thin wood like this, but for thicker or hard wood it doesn't work as well. Also it tends to make the wood wider as it will 'flatten' the wood from the pressure) Starting at the bow on the starboard side I tapered the keel edge on prow and worked my way slowly down the along the bulkheads with my sanding block. I didn't have to work all that hard at it as working the block at about 30-45 degrees to the bulkhead lines I was hitting the bulkheads and keel at the same time. Would only get hung up where the bulkheads made that extra curve right at the keel. Worked that some with a dowel sander and emory board until I got to about bulkhead 6. I haven't fine tuned the sanding yet and I may have to do a tiny bit of shimming to make sure some of the bulkheads meet that keel better. Time for a break and another slice of pizza.

I seen the shimming along the bulkheads in your build log. Been trying to read it but at 100+ pages it's taking a while So I read a bit then bookmark where I left off, been reading along a few Swift logs that way a few pages on each every day. If I don't limit myself to how much I read on each I'd never have time to work on my own I did add a center line before I started any real shaping today as I seen I was going to have an aft end problem and I would also need it later on for the planking anyways. ............. Section A.4 Shaping With the shaping I see by the instructions we have several things have to accomplish: The Bow, Stern, Keel and along the Bulkheads. So divide and conquer I'll start with the easiest part first. To begin I'll follow the false keel line. Without sanding into the keel I want to get the lines perpendicular and flush to the keel. This will take out some of the excess blocking. I then follow the shape of the deck and file/sand downward to keep my work relatively parallel to the keel and bulkheads lines. At this point I'm looking over that overhang of the deck I have along the port side and I know I need to fix this now before going any further. I draw a guideline down the center of the ship, lined up on the center of the keel at bow and stern. Along the center line at the holes in the deck I check just to see how this line lines up on those keel pieces and it looks good, so I'm happy about that. I start taking measurements from the centerline out to the deck edges on the starboard side ( as this side lined up nice to the bulkhead outer edges I will use the starboard side as a benchmark) and compare that to the port side all the way to the of the keel. Lots and lots of remeasuring just to make sure I didn't read or mark anything wrong I got a line for the port side I needed to shave down. First thought that popped in my head was "wow, thats allot to take off. Something must be wrong". I spent allot of time rechecking everything. How straight the keel was, the squareness of the bulkheads, the distance port and starboard on each bulkhead, the curvature of the keel and bulkheads and the curvatures of the deck. It all seemed right, so how is this so wrong other than a possible problem(s) AL did with the kit in the first place. While I figure that AL ( and probably other model companies) probably give you a little leeway on the materials expecting you're going to make some mistakes. I also thought on my previous issues of the deck of not matching the holes and the overhanging of the deck on the stern. I think part of this issue is all the way back to day 1 step 1. I noted that my keel wasn't straight and the bulkheads had a sloppy fit in the notches. I didn't take the time then and there to correct those problems. I didn't straightens the keel before putting on the bulkheads. I didn't do additional measurements to make sure the bulkheads were equal distant port to starboard or didn't check that they had no rotation. I was just too excited to start my first build to do those steps right. Now I cannot fix them and I have to compensate for it. ( things you don't fix now will just compound issues later ) First boat, first build. Learn from it and drive forward. So I go ahead and shave down this excess. Don't know, but just by eyeball, it looks better by going ahead and cutting it off. and after some measurements it is far more symmetrical port to starboard too. I won't be surprised if I run into an issue with the first planking because of this. I'll just have to be ready for that if and when it happens. I'll continue on with the shaping in the next post. Off to work on the bow and the tapering of the keel and fore bulkheads. I'm going to leave the rest of the stern section and aft bulkhead tapering for last-ish.

That is a HUGE facelift to that ship. giantdog I would try and make a replacement rear bulkhead if you have the materials and still have the outline of it to follow. but if you want to go with just the balsa I would then make a pattern of it out of some stock cardboard ( like a cereal box) and draw it on so you have a guide when sanding. I ran into my own aft end issues today as I been working on it ( I'll post it in my log later tonight after work through this)

Yeah, I noticed just how much flex the wood of the false deck had and with the grain line running straight bow to stern I figured there would be no problem bending it just as it is. Also figured if I can get enough pressure along all the bulkheads lines it should take care of holding it all down till it sets up. The problem I had at bulkhead 6 looks like you loose allot of the bulkhead and deck curvature from there till the aft, so couldn't get enough pressure down on the middle. I seen the pictures got smaller too. I think when I uploaded to the image host (postimage.org) I probably had the wrong size setting in the upload. So tonight I went back and fixed the images and redid the last post. I've used syringes before. I prefer the metal and glass one you can get at agriculture stores that sell generic meds for livestock. They use screw on needles of various sizes and lengths and pretty easy to clean up. ............ I didn't get too much done today as I was giving the deck 24 hours to dry before removing the rubber bands. Looking it over it turned out pretty good I think, other than the two openings didn't line up (where parts #15 came out of) and the aft end of the deck overhung bulkhead 8. It was all off by about 3mm aft even though the tip of the deck was still right flush with the prow and the false deck was down tight all the way down the false keel. The false deck is flush all along the starboard side of the bulkheads and only a 2mm overhang on bulkheads 7 and 8 on the port side. Think it got off on that side as my big clamp was not exactly on center but a little on the port side, it probably pulled on the deck more to port. If I would have lined it up starting on bulkhead 8 I probably would have been on right for these parts but would have had an overhang at the bow. I think I rather have it this way so when I get to shaping the bow i won't have to adjust for that overhang. So before shaping I decide to fix these little problems ( fix what you don't like, before moving on). I cut 2 pieces off the sheet the deck came on and filled where it was short on the 2 holes in the deck. Since the wood is laminated 3 layers I cut them large so not to flake off the outer layers of the sheet when cutting. Cut them to length, glued them in and clamped the outside edges so they sat flush and then they would curve over that little bit of the keel. I then put some super glue on the areas I needed to file to strengthen the laminated layers so they wouldn't flake off while filing and sanding. Lots and lots of carving with a hobby knife, sanding and some file work I got it more evened out on the openings. The overhang of bulkhead 8 was more of a pain to do. The distance from the false deck to the poop-deck sheet was so small it was hard not to gouge into the poop-deck. Also the corners of the false deck had glued down to the poop-deck as well. When I think about it I should have waiting on putting in the poop-deck until after the false main deck had dried. In trying to file this down to get the main false deck flush to bulkhead 8 I got off and dug into the bulkhead along the starboard side to where I needed to shim it then file and sand the shim down. Last bit I did tonight was shim the area on the aft blocks that came up short of the bulkhead then I cut off some of the excess of the blocks by following the back end of the keel. Hit the stores tomorrow and see if I can find a hobby saw and hopefully my set of small files I ordered will be in the mail too.

for deck plate glue I'm going to use a clear gel glue. Won't discolor the wood, doesn't soak through the wood like CA will so if I'm liberal with it and it doesn't get on the plank visible surfaces it shouldn't be an issue with finishing. anything visible I'd try to get a clear adhesive ( not just dries clear but is clear from the start) for the stern I'm about up to that part on my ship as well. difference in mine vs keiths is mine didn't have solid blocks but pre cut down and they wer pre cut too far and so I'm filling. Also the drawing show a pronounced concave curvature to the block from last bulkhead to the back of the stern right along the keel board and then tappers off as you get out away from the keel. I figure I'd have to make a template of that line along the keel out of stock cardboard, using that to get the line along the keel surface, then get the outter most edge of the block to bulkhead worked down then slowly work the transition between the 2 sides

Thanks that is what I'm hoping to get from this first build log. Being new at this mabey being a bit more step by step -ish well help some other beginners, plus it helps me on rethinking what I did a particular day when I have to actually put it in words. On words... We need to finish up section A.2 which consists of our first step in shaping the hull to be able to attach the false deck pieces in the next step. This consists of sanding and filing down ONLY the TOP surfaces of the false keel, bulkheads and the reinforcement blocks. we only want to follow along the top surfaces here for 'sculpting' for this step First I am going to just sand following the false keel line to get a smooth line from bow to stern. While sanding run your finger along the surfaces to 'feel' for any bumps, humps, dips that sometimes your eyes just can't see. For the reinforcement blocks we can use the bulkheads as guides for sanding, just like we did earlier with the 6" wood clamps when we installed the blocks. This time I made a small sanding block vs trying to use my bigger dowel sander. Occasionally stop and use a straight edge from bulkhead to bulkhead looking for high spots you may be missing. (remember, the bulkheads grain go straight up and down here so don't accidently hit them or you can snap them off) on the Aft end blocks I use my sanding block to get it down to the top of the false keel. I can't get the block too close to bulkhead 8 as I may just sand into it and take off more than a light sandings worth. So I get the last in the aft near bulkhead 8 with a small file, fingernail file and emory board. Note: being at the end of the ship, as you sand the keel won't be as strong here so it will wiggle as you sand, so hold it steady by hand. Don't want to break it off We left the bow for last as we only have one bulkhead to follow for the curvature and being it sticks out it will move allot as we sand. I took this much slower starting from the false keel top edge and tried to keep my sander parallel to the keel line and follow the bulkhead curve. I also had the added problem that when I shimmed the port side block I used a much harder wood. But by taking plenty of time with it I got it to curve without falling off the keel line. I finished up the sanding by running over the bulkhead tops lightly and then hitting it all with an emory board and did my finger 'touch' testing over all the surfaces. I made sure I was happy with all the surfaces because the false deck plates have to fit right. If you find you don't like how something is turning out, Stop, look it over and see what is going wrong and fix it right then. Letting it go just compounds what you don't like and you probably won't be able to fix it later. I think I spent nearly 4 hours sanding not including breaks in between. End of Section A.2 Section A.3 False Deck #13 and Poop-deck #14 40 minutes and re-sharpening my knife 2 times I got the False Deck and Poop-Deck out of the sheet. Going reverse of the instructions I wanted to put the poop-deck in first. I sanded the edge of the deck that will fit up against bulkhead 8 and after test fitting and doing a little extra sanding of the aft blocks I glued the poop-deck in with thinned glue and clamped. I went with the poop-deck first as it sits lower than the main deck and I see that my deck piece will end up overlapping bulkhead 8 (until I can trim it down later). So didn't want to fight to get the poop-deck in after the deck is down. I'm also not going to use the nails as they suggest, I'll just clamp the best I can. Now, the key here is we have to line up the 'Point' of the bow end of the false deck to the bow end of the false keel. The very point has to be flush and centered on the end of the keel. When we get to the rest of the hull shaping that keel board has to be filed and sanded to a point, so if any of the point of the deck hangs out over the keel our sanding and the deck will be off. ( note I added screws along my mount board. They are in line with all the bulkheads on both sides to be used when I 'strap' the deck down) I water down my glue less and apply a good amount all along the top edge of the keel, bulkheads and over the reinforcment blocks. I then lay down the deck making sure I am lined up on the bow tip and centered to the aft on bulhead 8. I then push straight down on the deck at bulkhead 3 and wrap a rubber band across at that point, then repeat at bulkhead 6 then add rubber bands at bulkheads 4 and 5. I then recheck my alignment and make sure I am spot on, then added rubber bands on the rest of the bulkheads, I didn't double wrap any of the bands at this point. Just one time across to hold the deck down. Still being lined up good I add more rubber bands until it has enough tension to pull the sides of the deck down to the bulkheads. A few I had to double wrap. After checking how good the contact the deck is making to all the keel and bulkhead surfaces I find one spot at bulkhead 6 that the rubber bands just wasn't enough. Had to dig around in my junk and I found an old broken clamp, managed to get it to work enough to get the right pressure on that spot. Let it set up a couple hours then I went back over all the joints and with straight glue this time. The brush comes in handy here as you can't get the tip of a glue bottle down into allot of spots. Now, I'm just going to let that sit until it is 100% dry so I'll wait at least 24 hours. That ends section A.3 next section is shaping the hull to get ready for hull planking.

Now with a rig to hold my false keel straight it was time to cut out those 2 #15 pieces. So a few tips on cutting wood with a hobby knife: 1. be sure the blade is sharp. obvious but as you use your knife it will dull and you can forget to check that it is still sharp. On plastic kits I've had to sharpen my blades more than once in a single day. 2. cut on a cutting surface, not your work surface. You don't want knife cuts on your work table plus a good cutting surface will let the blade tip pass into it as you cut through your parts vs mashing the tip of the blade on a hardened surface. 3. be mindful of the grain direction as you cut. cutting across the grain can make your blade jump on tougher fibers and if your knife is not sharp you can 'pull' the fibers vs cutting them making you rip fibers out of the wood. cutting with the grain if your not holding your knife straight up and down you can snag a fiber and that fiber can pull your blade off the cut line. 4. cut like your sanding to shape a piece, in passes and layers. don't try to cut it all out in one pass of the knife. 5. when you start cutting through you can feel and even sometimes hear the difference. So flip over your piece and look at how complete you have cut through. Keep checking this as you go. 6. if cutting out a piece with corners, don't try to cut that line all in one direction, cut about half then rotate your piece and cut the other direction. 7. if it looks like you got through don't try to 'punch' out the piece. flip to the back side and cut it out. If you cannot see the cut lines, flip over and cut some more. If you punch push or pull the piece out you can damage the wood in spots it is still connected to. cut till it is completely free. You want a quality model, do your best quality work On my parts sheet I seen that the laser cut didn't go through the sheet just a bit into the surface. (top side ) after about 20 or so passes down each cut line I got through enough to finish cutting it out from the back side. (notice that the cuts that are with the grain can be hard to see. also at the bottom cut that is against the grain you see the bulge there in the middle? shows the tip of my knife blade is getting dull as the bulge is where it pulled on some of the fibers) after a test fit of the 2 parts ( which both are too big to fit ) I need to sand and file down the notches at bulkheads 4 and 7. Unfortunately my small set of files I ordered have not come in yet so I went to two of the tools you should have in your modeling tool box anyways. Versatile, flexible and best of all... cheap. A nail file and emory boards. Only down side of these are they are more for light to fine sanding, not good for taking larger bits off. So combining these with a little whittling with my hobby knife I got corners squared out and the keel and bulkhead lines flattened. I'm sure a dremel type tool with some grinding bits would make short work of this, another addition to my wants list ( along with a note if I get one to practice allot with it before using on a boat) I test fit the parts and sand them till I get them to fit in place. Don't want to have to push them down to make them fit so take your time and sand little bits, test, sand, test till it goes in. I then apply my thinned glue to the top surfaces of the keel/bulkhead cross and put my parts in. I just eyeball them in to be squared to the keel and bulkhead lines. I'll add straight glue to the joints after this sets up a few hours. This is a good place to stop as it is almost the end of section A.2 and the next section we have to work in the false deck. Reading over the instructions it will be allot of work to get the false deck to go in right, so lots of rest and clean up the work area.

Thanks Keith. Yeah I did a search in the kit build logs for swifts and I have that searched bookmarked, so I can just click that and brings me up a new updated search vs typing it in every time. The work on it tonight has already shown me what I've read in other logs, that the kit has its problems out of the box. But that just adds to the challenge and fun Continuing on with the blocking from last nights work. The glue has dried nice so I started on the starboard side blocking. Considering the problems on the bow and stern I decided I would repeat the same steps on those as well for the starboard side of the ships so the work will be symmetrical. If you're going to mess up, mess up evenly so later work also will come out evenly. Don't think we need pics of all that work as I did exactly the same steps ..... But ... everything did NOT turn out the same: I trimmed the bow filler block #11 exactly as I did on the port side, even the measurement was almost exactly the same, but this one fit in right without needing a shim. I even went back and checked pictures I took of the port side work (that I didn't upload) so I know I did them both the same. I also noticed something on the stern blocks today.... The pre cut filler blocks don't reach all the way to the bottom of bulkhead 8. This got me pulling out the other Swift kit I have and I looked at these blocks, all precut like the ones in this kit. Measuring the bow blocks I seen they were not the same size, almost 1/4 inch off one side of one block, an the stern blocks were also short of covering the full height of bulkhead 8. Now, on the illustrations of the instructions they show a dotted line outline of full rectangular blocks for bow and stern. So it really comes down to this... I didn't actually mess up yesterday, its a flaw in the kit. To save the modeler some time they pre trimmed the blocks but they took off too much and the blocks are also not cut to the same sizes. So I went ahead and glued like i did before.. watered down glue to weld parts then went back over them to strengthen the seams and joints. Yay! I feel better. Time for a Mnt Dew and a cigar. Good time to do some shopping for things on my wants/needs list but that was a bust. 5 stores and all I came up with was a compass, protractor, nuts, bolts, washer,s and 2 bottles of root beer. The last step in section A.2 was to put in the two part #15 pieces: (the washers on the wood parts sheet show where the 2 parts were located. Right in the middle of the false deck piece for the next section of work) I noted in the beginning of this log that the false keel was not straight and that these 2 pieces glue to a crossing of the false keel and bulkheads and If I glued these in and let them dry without getting the false keel straight then those 2 areas would cause me problems down the road. So, after rummaging through my boxes of junk I came up with some 1" corner brackets and I made an impromptu rig to hold the false keel straight. This was just another scrap piece of wood, sanded a bit so it lays flat and marked where the gaps were between the bulkheads. Then placed a straight edge down as a guide and put in the first row of brackets. Then using a piece from the sheet I took the false keel out of I used that as a spacer and clamped a second bracket to one already screwed down, and screwed that bracket down. Did a little final tweaking for fit with pliers and screwdriver. (edited note... I should have made this rig on day one before starting any of the keel and bulkhead assembly) While I had my drill and other tools out I went and did my 6" wood blocks and turned them into something more like clamps: just a 4" bolt, wing nut, hex nut, washer and then a T-nut driven into the back of the opposite 6" board.