davec

Mario - I'm really enjoying your log, particularly all your detail. Your frames look great. I'm looking forward to your next update. Dave

Thanks everyone for all the responses. I finally had some success with my ropewalk last night, and will head over to woodcraft over the weekend. I want to stay away from dyeing with coffee - I usually drink it while working, and have so far not gotten any of it on my model. Putting it on deliberately just doesn't feel right. The general finishes stain sounds really good, but I think I will try the transtint dye first. The person who had responded when I asked before the site went down (I wish I could remember who it was) mixed it with alcohol, and said it dried quickly enough that he could use the line as he made it. It comes in pretty similar colors to the general finishes stain. If I can't get the transtint to work, I'll use the stain. It would also be easier for me to use something that I could do inside. Virginia isn't California, and does get pretty good weather, but it is more of a daylight issue. By the time I finish work and exercise, I'm usually out of daylight. Jay - your website looks great, and should be really helpful. I'm looking forward to reading it more carefully over the weekend. Dave

Tim - the hull looks great! I'm looking forward to seeing it in person at the club meeting. Dave

Bob and Mario - thanks! Greg - I have DMC Cordonett in a range of sizes and will bring to the workshop. I had a breakthrough last night, and am now getting line I am happy with. I can bring my ropewalk too if you want. Dave

looks great! the clear framing jig looks really neat. I look forward to meeting you next week. Dave

My old log was lost, as was the Hannah one. After a lot of thought, I have decided to just restart both where I left off. I didn’t save them, and given the choice between spending time on the computer and spending time in the workshop, it was an easy choice. I’m looking forward to the workshop in 2 weeks. I redid my keel (pictures below are the fifth redo). I had originally planned to use the previous one, but had made that with the dimensions from the contract, which are slightly different than the plans. When I made the framing jig and it was loose on the keel, I realized I might have other problems down the road, so I made another keel using the wood Greg sent. I have also made the dead flat and dead flat one frames. I’m going to hold for now and play with my new ropewalk. I don’t want to make any more frames until after the workshop as I think they will be a lot better after. Dave

I’m still struggling with getting adequate results on my new ropewalk, but am thinking ahead to when it is working and I will need to dye my rope. I had asked some of this before, but much of the information was saved in my PM box, and is now lost. My questions fall into two categories, color and product. In terms of color, kits traditionally come with black and tan line for standing and running rigging. My understanding is that tarred rigging was more very dark brown, and running rigging would have initially been more yellowish hemp color when new, and would have faded with sun exposure. Some of the books talk about using dark walnut for standing rigging. Bottom line question is what color to use for standing and running rigging. For standing rigging, some of the books and others who emailed before suggested dark walnut. The standing rigging I saw on the Consititution looked blacker, so the question is whether a black dye, or ebony, which has a little brown in it would be more appropriate. For the running rigging, the question is if I use ecru DMC cordonett, can I just use the original color, or should I dye? If I dye, what color? This is the DMC cordonet undernatural light: and this is it with a flash: In terms of actual product, there were two suggestions from before that didn’t sound too messy. Someone (I think Chuck) suggested using General Finishes water based dyes, and if I remember correctly suggested Dark Walnut for standing and Amber for running (please correct me if I remember incorrectly). Larry suggested using transtint dyes, which can be mixed with alcohol and are very fast drying. When I looked this product up, it didn’t say what kind of alcohol. Is anyone familiar with the product, and if so, can you tell me whether it is supposed to be isopropyl, denatured, or some other type. Thanks! Dave

I got my ropewalk a few weeks ago, and have just gotten a chance to really try it out. I initially got a bad power supply, and am very grateful to Jim for quickly sending me another – great service. I also was working on Echo cross section for the upcoming admiralty models workshop, and will restart my log for that. Like others, I’m having mixed results with the ropewalk. I’m trying to determine the best material, but mostly am having issues with the quality of the winding. My best luck so far has been with DMC Cordonett crochet thread, which I am leaning towards using for all my rope. I want to use cotton so it is easy to dye and so thinned white glue will soak in to make coils. There is a nice table in Frolich’s book where he lists how many threads of each size he used to make different diameter line. I’m open to other suggestions, but was frustrated using morope to make coils on my last model. I plan to start a separate thread about coloring the rope, as this one is already covering a lot of ground. The first picture is #80 DMC Cordonett Ecru colored thread with a single strand on each spindle. I have been most happy with this thread. It resulted in .02” rope. Although there are a few areas along the rope that the wind is a little off, it mostly reflects me getting distracted on the take up reel. I used a .032” hole in the die. The other picture reflects the problem I have been having more frequently. It is 30 wt Egyptian cotton with 3 strands on each spindle. It is a little out of focus, but shows the third strand being a little less tight than the other two. I have had this problem a lot, and can’t figure it out. The spools are wound as per the drawing, and threaded correctly. Tension is consistent on all 3 spools. Did anyone else have the same problem, and if so, how did they get around it? I also saw Meredith’s question about how long to hold the tension wheel. I have been assuming it should be held the entire time – is this not correct? I have been thinking about the die hole size. Any thoughts on what sizes to drill them to so that I can cover the range of rope that I will need for a 1/48 model? So far, I have a .032” one, and the one that came with it, which appears to be about 1.2mm/.045”. Thanks! Dave

When I lived in Boston, I used to buy wood at http://www.righteouswoods.com/woodmenu.html They were great. They regularly had Swiss Pear, Holly, Cherry, and Ebony lumber and slabs, and intermittently had European boxwood half logs. The quality was great, you could pick the wood out, and there wasn't a minimum order. I have only bought at their shop, and haven't tried ordering. Dave