newbuilder101

Thanks !!, luckily everything turned out “ok” after the repair.
 
So continuing with the galleries..
When using the provided  bases, the middle base (the top one in the picture) is far off, so i decided to make a better fit.
 

 
I planked the gallery like it was a hull.
 

 

 
I always had the intention to used the supplied casted gallery ornaments, but now after having “some experience” with woodcarving, i decided to give it a try to carve my own.
 
I started by cutting the rough outlines and made sure it fitted "perfectly".
I then copied all the gallery lines and used this as the “base shape” for the ornament.  
And started carving ..
 

 
As you might notice, I’m still using abachi wood, as this wood is very soft it will break easily when trying to carve very thin surfaces or very fine details.
I found a nice solution to prevent this from happening:
When dripping very thin CA glue onto the wood it will immediately be drained completly into the wood and it hardens the wood quite well.
I agree that it slightly colors the wood, but it is not that bad anymore after carving ..   
 

 

 

 
Same thing for the top ornament ..
 
The result so far..
 

…

Beautiful.....again!

After considering several methods of creating the Great Cabin floor, I decided to use Chuck's method.  In my experience, doing so is never a bad idea!
 
The floor will be made from walnut and boxwood 3/16 x 1/32" strips.  A paper template of the area to be covered was made and a piece of 6 x 6 x 1/32" plywood was used as the base.  First, the strips were cut to approximate length and glued to the plywood base:
 

 

 
The curvature you see is created by the camera.  Next, a jig was made in order to create 3/16" strips to be cut with an Exacto blade:
 

 
The individual strips were then cut:
 

 
The strips were offset and then edge glued together to create the pattern:
 

 
The paper pattern was then used to cut and sand the floor for a tight fit.  Here's what we got:
 

 
Finally, just some overall shots.  The floor was finished with natural stain, WOP for protection and Dullcoat to give a flat finish:
 

 

 
Although most of the floor will be covered by the (open) upper decking and deck beams, I think we have a nice overall detail.  I'm pleased 
 
Will be closing the shop for the upcoming Holiday festivities (Happy Independence Day to all of my fellow Americans).  When we return, the strains of DECK PLANKING music will be heard in the Rockies.
 
Oh, we have just passed 600 hours into the build.

Damage? What damage? Great job!

While I don't envy you the re-do Remco, it is re-assuring to we lesser mortals to know that even someone of your skills and talent sometimes needs to do so. I look forward to seeing your solution to this pesky problem.

Thank you Michael and Robert.
 
..Pfffffff..
The repairs are now completely done and here is the result of an hard working weekend.
 

 

 

 

 
a few minor "scratches" can still be seen.. but the pictures are too dark to reveal those     
 

Every time you include a shot with your hand I shake my head! I could swear that I'm looking at a much larger boat and then that last picture brings it all into perspective! Spectacular little boat!

Every time you include a shot with your hand I shake my head! I could swear that I'm looking at a much larger boat and then that last picture brings it all into perspective! Spectacular little boat!

Every time you include a shot with your hand I shake my head! I could swear that I'm looking at a much larger boat and then that last picture brings it all into perspective! Spectacular little boat!

Thanks again everyone for all the encouraging comments and the "likes".
 
Mark - not having a unicorn to hand, I just asked the dog.  He's not sure, but as long as I keep feeding him he's prepared to say I'm sane!
 
Remco - I've been following (mainly) my Warrior practicum for constructing these boats.  Thanks for the reminder about the Antscherl cutter practicum - I'm pretty sure I downloaded that some time ago, so I'll have another read through that as well before I start the clinker planking.
 
Ship's Boats continued:
 
Today I concentrated on constructing and installing the Sternsheets, along with the lifting rings fwd and aft, and the Caprails.  For the Sternsheets, I opted to include a seat-back as well. To keep the colour theme going, I trimmed the sternsheets with 1/32" square Boxwood, but for the seat-back, I used two laminates of 1/64" Holly to achieve the curvature required.
 
Here's couple of overall shots of the sternsheets in place.  Continuing the photography experimentation, I've gone back to a black background for this series of shots.  I think that for this little boat it works better than the blue, particularly with the white hull.
 

 

 

 
Here's a couple of close-ups of the Lifting rings installed:
 

 
Note in this pic, the cutouts at the fwd end of the sternsheets.  This is to allow some extra leg room for those on the aft most thwart.
 

 
And here's a couple of shots of the Caprail in place.  This really makes the whole thing really pop.
 

 

 

 
And finally, just for another scale check, here's a pic of that giant fake hand again
 

 
All that's left now is the washboards/oarlocks.  I've started preparing the stock for these, and all I can say is thank goodness for my Byrnes saw, and all the practice I had in preparing stock for very small blocks!!!!
 
That's all for now folks.

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 72 – Lower Deck continued
 
The lower deck ceiling planking is almost complete.  The breadth of the filling planking - and therefore the number of strakes - varies along the length due to the hull shape.  The first picture shows an area aft of midship between view ports where a drop plank will be inserted.
 

 
The planking has been rough sanded only in this picture.
 
Other work has started as the last remaining planks get installed.  The two forward hooks have been installed as shown below.
 

 
The first middle deck beam has been fitted in this picture.  The next picture shows the run of ceiling completed on the starboard side.
 

 
The next picture shows the bolts at the planking butts installed and holes marked for drilling of treenail holes.
 

 
I will not bother installing treenails where they will be covered by the middle deck hanging knees – every other frame.
 
The next picture shows the short planking pieces over the viewport frames that will be left in place.
 

 
These small planked areas will allow hanging knees to be installed. The excess lengths of plank on one of these is being trimmed back with a small saw.  The exposed frames will later be removed - from the lower futtock heads up to the underside of the middle deck clamps. 
 
There will be minimal planking on this deck, but the hatch coamings need to be installed first.  the forward hatch parts are being fit up in place in the next picture.
 

 
After assembly - in place - the coaming will be removed and trimmed.  The completed main hatch coaming is shown below.
 

 
The lower deck coamings were not very high.  This one is just 12 “ – 8 ½” above the decking.  There is a 3” x 3” rabbet in the head ledges to seat the covering planks.  “Iron” bolts have been installed.  There is some confusing terminology with these.  The term “coaming” refers to both the entire assembly and the fore and aft members themselves.  The cross-deck members that clamp down the coaming ends are head ledges.  The above-deck corners have been rounded – common practice.
 
 
 Ed

Ohhhhhh.........I feel the pain!! So sorry this happened. I did the exact same thing a few months ago. It's a stomach turning sound when they hit the floor! I was able to fix mine and I'm confident you"ll be able to do the same. 
Here's a link to my damage and then you can see the fix - just as an encouragement to you that it can be done: accident

More terrific little boats! I know these little cutters will be as amazing as your other boats! If you set the miniature boat building bar any higher, I'm going to need an extension ladder just to see it!

So back on the real topic, I sanded the planking and now I'm in the process of cutting out the gun ports. A piece of sanding paper on a stick makes the process a little easier. The sweep ports will be a different challenge....
 

 

 
Remco

Psst.. how many bricks?  I know a guy who knows a guy.... 

Yes, we must be a bit daft spending inordinate amounts of time on things that will later be mostly concealed.....but we know they're there.
 
Now, where do I sign for the exchange of bricks for gun carraiges  ?  

Here’s the update I promised earlier today..
 
I decided to glue the stern-plate in its final position before gluing any ornament or the balconies in place.
 

 
and I think this was a wise decision as it would have been an delicate task if they were.
 
After this it was just a matter of gluing the ornaments & balconies on the correct spot.
This is how she looks now ..
 

 

 
.. up to the next challenge : the quarter galleries 

Your last comment made me laugh.
Your balusters look great Theo! If I had the proper tools, I'd be using them too, instead of my labour intensive method. I did try a drill, but there was nothing left of the wood!    The scalpel just worked better for me. Keep up the good work!

Thank you all for visiting and for all the comments & likes
 
So.. next challenge: the balconies.
 
I made previously balusters on a lathe with a setup shown in the following picture.
 

 
But now after several attempts (even with different sorts of tree) I gave up that idea.
Mainly for the following reasons.
The balusters are so “thin” that it is becoming very difficult not to snap the wood. When cutting them free from the stick the length variation is becoming a problem with this setup.     Because the wood has a tendency to bend away from the cutter, the shape consistency still varies a lot. They may not look that bad in the following picture, but when glued in position on the stern it certainly didn’t looked good.
 

 
I had to revise my ambitions and find another way to produce them.., after some brainstorming I came up with the following.
Using a drawplate I made a (mahogany) stick in the needed diameter and prepared an setup on the stationary router.
 
With help of a “guiding-stick” I placed the stick into position on the jig and “rotated” at the same time the stick into the running router-bit with my fingers.
After this I moved the jig 2,25 mm with the X-Y table and repeated the previous task.
 

 
.. Too bad I don’t own a "rounding end mill" with an smaller radius as this would have given a nice curved look to the balusters.. (now added to my wish-list)
 
After this I could have cut each baluster in the correct length on the table saw.
But instead I used an 2 mm "end mill" and positioned it in such way that it would leave an Ø 1mm tip (when turning the stick with my fingers)
 

 
This Ø 1mm tip I used as a guide to position and glue the balusters on the handrail.
 

 

 

 
Off course I could also have “cut” the balusters individually with a scalpel like Sherry &  Doris did/would do.    

Thanks for the likes and compliments.
Piet I will take an order from you, but be aware I will do the assembly on site only
 
So I have a new apprentice in the shop, 9 weeks old Pebbles is taking a real intrest in ship building. She's already very skilled in making small parts disappear, I think that is a sign of a great shipwright in the making 
 

 
 
In the background you can see progress of planking above the wale. They will be sanded before I add the sheer strake.
 
Remco

Thanks Sherry....... I'm really enjoying the planking this way, hopefully the rest will be as enjoyable!!
 
Frank

Those bricks look fantastic! I'll have to remember this method.

Looking good Frank - you're off to a great start on the planking!

All I can say is beautiful! The block and tackle assemblies do look even better, but I thought it looked good before.

Hi Guys,
 
It's update time again.
 
Been fairly busy on the rigging and it's not been without it's problems, which is to be expected.
 
Apart from the Back Stays, Breast ropes and the Jibboom Guy Pendants the standing rigging is done, I want to try and keep the Back Stays and Breast Ropes off for as long as possible to allow easier access inside for the running rigging. 
 
Following AEW's (Arthur) enquiry regarding the Mizzen and Main Topmast and Royal anchor points I decided to make a few changes, I undid the fixings and replaced them with block and tackle, I used hooks on the eyebolts with a single 3mm block with tail rope attached, the running end had a 3mm double block tied on, the tackle was tied off between the lower block and hook, it's much better, thanks Arthur.
 
Bowsprit is fitted along with the corresponding ropes, Boomkins are also on with brackets scratch built and fitted.
 
I'm going to get some photography lessens when you know who arrives so you'll have to put up with my efforts for now, sorry.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Before the change ( Topmasts & Royal Stays )               Half way through
 
 
The end result, better I think

 
So that's it for now.
 
Be Good
 
mobbsie