NMBROOK

Stern counter and area behind balcony now planked in 3mm wide ebony.I have tack glued a strip of obechi in to act as a spacer for where a boxwood moulding will sit.This will be removed when I cut the windows openings out.Doing it this way made it easier to sand,not having to work around a raised moulding
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Stern counter and area behind balcony now planked in 3mm wide ebony.I have tack glued a strip of obechi in to act as a spacer for where a boxwood moulding will sit.This will be removed when I cut the windows openings out.Doing it this way made it easier to sand,not having to work around a raised moulding
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Stern counter and area behind balcony now planked in 3mm wide ebony.I have tack glued a strip of obechi in to act as a spacer for where a boxwood moulding will sit.This will be removed when I cut the windows openings out.Doing it this way made it easier to sand,not having to work around a raised moulding
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Stern counter and area behind balcony now planked in 3mm wide ebony.I have tack glued a strip of obechi in to act as a spacer for where a boxwood moulding will sit.This will be removed when I cut the windows openings out.Doing it this way made it easier to sand,not having to work around a raised moulding
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Thank you Nigel
 
Just want to get moved now,the 80 mile a day trip to work is wearing a bit thin
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Stern counter and area behind balcony now planked in 3mm wide ebony.I have tack glued a strip of obechi in to act as a spacer for where a boxwood moulding will sit.This will be removed when I cut the windows openings out.Doing it this way made it easier to sand,not having to work around a raised moulding
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Stern counter and area behind balcony now planked in 3mm wide ebony.I have tack glued a strip of obechi in to act as a spacer for where a boxwood moulding will sit.This will be removed when I cut the windows openings out.Doing it this way made it easier to sand,not having to work around a raised moulding
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Stern counter and area behind balcony now planked in 3mm wide ebony.I have tack glued a strip of obechi in to act as a spacer for where a boxwood moulding will sit.This will be removed when I cut the windows openings out.Doing it this way made it easier to sand,not having to work around a raised moulding
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Thank you Nigel
 
Just want to get moved now,the 80 mile a day trip to work is wearing a bit thin
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Thank you Nigel
 
Just want to get moved now,the 80 mile a day trip to work is wearing a bit thin
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Thank you very much indeed Nigel,Bob,Peter and Michael
 
I have never really lost my workshop Nigel,I have just brought some items back out of storage.After two house sales have fallen through,it is now going to auction at the end of September.This hopefully means we can finally get relocated.My only stipulation as to where we rent is that there is a garage It means I will loose workbench space,but that will just teach me to work tidier 
 
Kind Regards
 
NIgel

Finished re-planking port side hull below the main gun wale.
I used strips of 140 lb. water color paper.... Sprayed with gray primer and brushed three coats of white acrylic.... light sanding between each coat.

That's much more better....

Thank you very much indeed Nigel,Bob,Peter and Michael
 
I have never really lost my workshop Nigel,I have just brought some items back out of storage.After two house sales have fallen through,it is now going to auction at the end of September.This hopefully means we can finally get relocated.My only stipulation as to where we rent is that there is a garage It means I will loose workbench space,but that will just teach me to work tidier 
 
Kind Regards
 
NIgel

Thank you very much indeed Nigel,Bob,Peter and Michael
 
I have never really lost my workshop Nigel,I have just brought some items back out of storage.After two house sales have fallen through,it is now going to auction at the end of September.This hopefully means we can finally get relocated.My only stipulation as to where we rent is that there is a garage It means I will loose workbench space,but that will just teach me to work tidier 
 
Kind Regards
 
NIgel

Ok then,milestone finally reached.The square stern has gone hull is now fully faired in preparation for planking.I must fess up,I know I said the build will follow the kit plans,but I will be adding a tweak to the stern to bring it a little more in line with the builders model,the kit quarter galleries will still be used along with most of the kit castings,however the prominent balcony will be incorporated.I am not going to waffle on with the exact details,all will be revealed in due course.Some pics of the shaped hull,upper 'sub' linings to add to the stern chasers then on to planking the counter in Ebony
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Work this weekend has predominantly concentrated on reinforcement of the upper structure and fitting the deck beams.No external work can start without fitting these beams as they slide through the hull sides.
shaped plywood pieces were epoxied the length of the deck to provide support for the deck beams and to give a visual 'blackout to the lower deck.This is to counteract the fact that full internal detail and rigging of the cannons will not be carried out.Carriages will be authentic on the top but have a flat bottom to allow secure gluing to the deck.Careful studying of what is actually on show with the full cannons in place shows no other additional work is necessary.
 
The deck beams once inserted were packed with boxwood shim to increase the camber the required amount.These beams are insufficiently strong enough to be unsupported and were originally going to be set by the hanging knees and pillars.Further work after trimming the packs is to add pear chocks inbetween each beam.These will be sanded to follow the tops of the beams and the sheer.This provides further support for the sub deck but also tidies things up if a get anyone staring into the gunports
 
I have also commenced framing the counter.The width of the blocks used allows them to form the lining of the stern chasers.I milled a shallow slot in the bottom member to ease accurate positioning of these.
 
The pics show WIP,as that is it until next weekend.Then I hope to complete this work in readiness for the final shaping of the bow and stern blocks and general completion of the fairing.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Work this weekend has predominantly concentrated on reinforcement of the upper structure and fitting the deck beams.No external work can start without fitting these beams as they slide through the hull sides.
shaped plywood pieces were epoxied the length of the deck to provide support for the deck beams and to give a visual 'blackout to the lower deck.This is to counteract the fact that full internal detail and rigging of the cannons will not be carried out.Carriages will be authentic on the top but have a flat bottom to allow secure gluing to the deck.Careful studying of what is actually on show with the full cannons in place shows no other additional work is necessary.
 
The deck beams once inserted were packed with boxwood shim to increase the camber the required amount.These beams are insufficiently strong enough to be unsupported and were originally going to be set by the hanging knees and pillars.Further work after trimming the packs is to add pear chocks inbetween each beam.These will be sanded to follow the tops of the beams and the sheer.This provides further support for the sub deck but also tidies things up if a get anyone staring into the gunports
 
I have also commenced framing the counter.The width of the blocks used allows them to form the lining of the stern chasers.I milled a shallow slot in the bottom member to ease accurate positioning of these.
 
The pics show WIP,as that is it until next weekend.Then I hope to complete this work in readiness for the final shaping of the bow and stern blocks and general completion of the fairing.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Ok then,milestone finally reached.The square stern has gone hull is now fully faired in preparation for planking.I must fess up,I know I said the build will follow the kit plans,but I will be adding a tweak to the stern to bring it a little more in line with the builders model,the kit quarter galleries will still be used along with most of the kit castings,however the prominent balcony will be incorporated.I am not going to waffle on with the exact details,all will be revealed in due course.Some pics of the shaped hull,upper 'sub' linings to add to the stern chasers then on to planking the counter in Ebony
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Thank you very much indeed Nigel,Bob,Peter and Michael
 
I have never really lost my workshop Nigel,I have just brought some items back out of storage.After two house sales have fallen through,it is now going to auction at the end of September.This hopefully means we can finally get relocated.My only stipulation as to where we rent is that there is a garage It means I will loose workbench space,but that will just teach me to work tidier 
 
Kind Regards
 
NIgel

Hi All,
  Well, I’ve hit the 6th month mark and while I’ve not been keeping a detailed time log, I think I am at about the 250hr mark.   Work continued on the cannons to file off the casting marks using Ken's (xken) tips in his Niagara log (Thanks Ken!). I also opened up the cannon mouths...well tried at least!   Drilling out the mouths was a real challenge in terms of just holding them firmly and my Dremel drill bits, while saying were for metal, couldn't drill out the metal cleanly. After making rather a mess of the mouths, I then slowly filed out the mouths using the end of my round needle file.  I repaired the mouths as best I could using drops of CA, allowing them to harden, filing to shape and then repeating until they looked  passable before painting them.  Not yet sure I am happy enough with the cannons to keep them...back up plan is to buy some from Chuck and he also has some nice swivel guns that would be fun to add. Every cloud has a silver lining I guess  .   Capstan was assembled using the kit parts and then the brass work was blackened using Casey’s Birchwood solution. I also completed the doors, adding the hinges and door handles. Hinge bolts were made using the head from some brass planking nails. Smallest details I've ever tried to make by far!     Final item this week was I added the cannon port rings to the bulwarks. Kit only provided 4 rings for the outsides of the ports (really AL??), so now I need to figure out how to make some decent rings from some brass wire.    Images below and as always thanks for reading. Hope everyone on the States enjoyed their 4th July.   Cheers,   Nigel.                    

Hi All,
 
So, work on the Dragon has resumed after a great, but all too short, vacation with the family.
 
A few posts ago, Captain Steve wondered if there was a way to make the cannon carriages on the Dragon more authentic than those provided in the kit.  I decided to try and scratch out the carriages using a picture I found on the web as a reference. I also wanted to lower the height of the cannons to better center the cannons in the ports. 
 
Carriages were made by gluing eight 5mm walnut strips together and then slowly filing out the carriage shape using my needle files. After cutting the excess wood away, the glue was then loosened by soaking in water overnight to separate the pieces. The carriages were then assembled using another piece of 5mm walnut as the base and 1mm wide walnut strips to form the feet. I hope the finished prototype looks OK and certainly a little different from the kit carriages.
 
In other news, the Admiral and Captain looked after me this Father's Day and the Lady Confederacy has now docked in Saratoga Springs!  . Be a while before I start her as I must finish my Dragon first!
 
Thumbnails below and thanks for reading.
 
Cheers,
 
Nigel.
 
 

 

 

 

Ok then,milestone finally reached.The square stern has gone hull is now fully faired in preparation for planking.I must fess up,I know I said the build will follow the kit plans,but I will be adding a tweak to the stern to bring it a little more in line with the builders model,the kit quarter galleries will still be used along with most of the kit castings,however the prominent balcony will be incorporated.I am not going to waffle on with the exact details,all will be revealed in due course.Some pics of the shaped hull,upper 'sub' linings to add to the stern chasers then on to planking the counter in Ebony
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

NIgel,
 
Always such a pleasure dropping onto your build logs. Your latest window details are also marvelous. Beyond bashed might be an understatement.
 
Michael

Work this weekend has predominantly concentrated on reinforcement of the upper structure and fitting the deck beams.No external work can start without fitting these beams as they slide through the hull sides.
shaped plywood pieces were epoxied the length of the deck to provide support for the deck beams and to give a visual 'blackout to the lower deck.This is to counteract the fact that full internal detail and rigging of the cannons will not be carried out.Carriages will be authentic on the top but have a flat bottom to allow secure gluing to the deck.Careful studying of what is actually on show with the full cannons in place shows no other additional work is necessary.
 
The deck beams once inserted were packed with boxwood shim to increase the camber the required amount.These beams are insufficiently strong enough to be unsupported and were originally going to be set by the hanging knees and pillars.Further work after trimming the packs is to add pear chocks inbetween each beam.These will be sanded to follow the tops of the beams and the sheer.This provides further support for the sub deck but also tidies things up if a get anyone staring into the gunports
 
I have also commenced framing the counter.The width of the blocks used allows them to form the lining of the stern chasers.I milled a shallow slot in the bottom member to ease accurate positioning of these.
 
The pics show WIP,as that is it until next weekend.Then I hope to complete this work in readiness for the final shaping of the bow and stern blocks and general completion of the fairing.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Some pics of the completed quarter badge with window unit bonded in place
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel