newbuilder101

Hello there......
I'm back     
 
After a long period of doing a lot of stuff that has nothing to do with modelbuilding I will try to go further where I left a few moths ago.
Moved to another city but in the same country I have my own workshop again .
I found out one thing......don't move the model !!!!!!!!
I did that and a few repairs where in order.
As you can see I have not done all the repairs on the ropes at the gun port lids.
All the ropes are not straight anymore !
I have to change that.
But I want to show you that I'm still do something.
And I have only done the starboard side, so a small repair ( I hope ).
 
Sjors
 

Sorry for the long wait, 'life' got in the way....
 
Dave, the wood will darken over time, I like the color of free boxwood too.
Greg, the thought crossed my mind :-)
 
The new pumpwell is installed and the next set of beams too. A bit tricky as they are curved in two ways. 
 

 

 

 
Remco

Thanks everyone for the likes, it very much appreciated.
 
Thought it's about time for an update.  Have been busy with other things besides ship building but dit spend some good quality time in the shipyard.  Still busy with the gun tackle, which is going very slow due to the size of the pulleys.  In retrospect I should have made them 5 mm long instead of the 3.5 or so.  
Am still thinking about redoing them but now that I have put the brass wire braces on eight of them I may just stick it out.  Perhaps a few that are really too small to handle but we'll see how it goes. 
 
So far I guess that it takes me about 4 to 5 hours per cannon to make the hardware but not including the actual fastening the tackle to the ship and coiling the ropes.  
 
I decided to make the pulley strops from brass wire instead of thread.  It's a little more difficult but it allows me to make the strop, eyelet and hook for the single sheaf pulleys from one piece of brass wire.  The double sheaf pulleys are easier because they don't need the eyelet on one end.
 
Below are a few pics with explanations for my own records.  Years from now I like to know how I did things.  I did improve on them as time went by but that'll also be explained with the pics.   
 

This shows the method of making the eyelet on the single sheaf pulley strop.  A piece of brass rod winding the brass wire around it one turn.  I developed a simpler method the next day.  That'll be shown in tomorrow's post.
 

This shows a piece of 0.3 mm brass wire being wrapped around the pulley block.  I had to keep the eyelet from unwinding by pinning it with a sewing pin.  This too I fixed the next day by spot-soldering the eyelet.  By twisting the hook-end the tension tended to untwist it.
 

I tried to use only one twist on the hook-end to reduce extra bulk with too much of a brass lump.  One end will be cut off with nail clippers and the other end is bent into a hook.
 

This shows the completed strop with an eyelet on one end for the pull rope and the other end with a hook to attach the pulley to the deck or bulwark.  The rope trough the eyelet is now ready to be spliced.
 

How to splice scale rope fro rather thin cords.  I cut short pieces of very thin sowing thread and took it apart into its three single threads.  I removed the cotton parts to get to the nylon or Dacron threads.  I now had very fine but strong threads to use as splice material.  It looks thin here but it's about 3 X as thick as a human hair but a lot stronger.  It really blended into the "rope" to make it look like a real splice.  I'm happy with the result and simple method.
 

This shows the splicing procedure being started.  I made a single overhand knot with the thin thread just behind the eyelet.  From there I continued making single knots, alternating from one side then to the opposite side  with about 10 knots.  I finished it of with a good dab of nail polish that i squeezed into the "splice" with my fingers.
 

This shows the completed splice and completed pulley block.  The only thing left is the blackening, which will be done after all the pulleys are completed.
 

This shows the double sheaf pulley block with it's strop installed.  
 
Cheers,

I asked Gwen to scrutinize the railings after I stained the corner posts and put some poly on them.  She only found some fault with one of the middle stanchions not having the same width as the rest and the corner post is a little out of plumb.  She measured a few items and found that it was acceptable to her and not worth the effort to rip them off the deck and remake them.
So then, for now I'll leave them alone and continue with the cannon tackle gear.  That'll keep me occupied for some time putting the straps on the pulley blocks with their hardware hardware.  64 pulley blocks!
 
There are plenty other things to do to break the monotony.
 
This is what it looks like as of this afternoon.
 

The right arrow is pointing to the corner post that's not quite plumb to the deck.  I'll rework that one.  The left arrow is pointing to a stanchion that's also not quite plumb but that one is not cemented to the deck - yet.  Gwen said it was also thinner then the rest.  This might also be an optical illusion due to the light and shadow playing tricks.  As far as i am concerned I leave that one alone but cement it to the deck.  I little heavy CA works wonders,  
 
Cheers,

A little more work this evening, I milled the half round water channels into the bottom half of the top beam composition, this beam appears to be made of the lower channels and a curved top part that accepts the hinges and forms the top radius.
 

 
the middle channel on each side will get tennoned in when the sides are dovetailed to the ends.
 
Off to Calgary tomorrow morning to see my new granddaughter who was born on the 16th of October.
 
Michael

indeed I meant every word.  I enjoy the company.
 
As promised here are some step by step for making those pesky boom crutches.  Its important to start with an extra thick piece and cut the crutches out so the tail is extra wide also.
 
You will soon see why.
 
I find it easier to concentrate on one angle at a time.  To get these pieces positioned properly you must get the four angles done separately....one step at a time.
 
Start by filing the fashion piece flush with the cap rail.
 

 
Then viewing the boom crutch from the stern try and establish the correct first angle.  This would be the angle of the fashion piece along the transom as shown below in green.  You do this by filing the bottom of the crutch stem.
 

 
Then turn your attention to the angle when viewing the crutch from the side.  You are trying again to establish the fore/aft angle of the fashion piece as shown below.  This is why you made the crutch so much wider and cut it out of 1/4" thick boxwood.  Sand it to shape with a file.
 

 
Then.....we have to make the boom crutch face the lower mast.   On most models I see they are facing forward or even outboard.  This wouldnt serve its purpose to well.   The reason for making the stem of the crutch wider is so you can turn the crutch to face the mast.  Note how the fore edge of the crutch is flush with the fashion piece...BUT the aft corner hangs off the fashion piece.  Mark the aft side of the boom crutch as shown below and file this bevel into the outboard edge.  The round crutch remains untouched.  You are only beveling the stem.   Then also bevel the inboard edge of the stem to complete it.
 

 

 
Its at this stage where I glued it in position.   Then I filed and sanded it further to shape.  I filled the joint with wood filler and sanded it smooth so the crutch and fashion piece looked like one piece.  Thank God it is going to be painted black.  The last angle we should concern ourselves with is the angle of the top of the crutches when viewed at the side.  This is easier done while it is glued into position.
 
See the angles established in red so the crutches match the sheer or are at least level rather than slanting upwards.  This is important and the bottom of the crutch....inside the crutch should also be addressed and angled downward slightly or at least leveled off if need be.  Think about how the boom would REST in each crutch when establishing the angle inside the crutch.
 

 
When you are done....do it all over again on the other side and try very hard to get a matching pair.  Note how the stems are not very long and the crutches are so very close to the top of the transom.  If you hide the seam well and paint it the results are very convincing.  You will no doubt have many parts added to the waste pile as I did.  These are a bit tricky. 

Grant thanks for the vote of confidence. All those who added likes thanks for following along.
 
I laid out the skylights on the forward part of the cabin roof and realized that I needed to change the length a little to take advantage of the beams underneath.
I first marked out the hole with some blue masking tape and used a sharp #11 to knife along the ends to cut through the very top fibres the fir tends to be a little brittle and I did not want to upset any fibres during the cutting with the saw.
 

 
I cut from the ends to the middle because of the size, this made it a bit easier to handle I did break one blade cutting the piece out.
 

 
I used a 3 inch wide piece of aircraft ply with some sandpaper glued on with some double sided carpet tape as a large file to clean up the cut edges, making sure to only put pressure on the stroke towards the inside or bottom.
 
the opening is now 36" wide by 50" long. Time to add the inside framing.
 

 
Michael
 
 

Thanks again everybody for the kind remarks and the likes.
 
Dan, not sure about a book, but certainly I can develop some Step by step pages for the various parts.
 
I did more organizing in the new work space in the house today.
this evening I did a quick pencil sketch of the section for the cabin light. it will be Mahogany and will open.
 

 

 
I was reading in my boatbuilding manual by Robert M Steward that 1/2 inch lexan is a good material for the lights. I used the basic design that is on Carlotta as there are a few good photos of the restoration of her lights in the 2006 restoration gallery here and here I am making a guess at the thicknesses of the materials for the main carcass using 1 1/2 inch thick stock.
 
Carlotta had a very interesting history and I believe that she is still in based Canadian Waters.
 
Michael

Mike, Nils, Druxey, and John thanks for the positive feedback, and another thank you for all who added a like.
 
I spent a fair bit of time today looking for the gaff crane to fix to the mast before setting it up, went through all the possible hiding places all the bins and containers that I had stored various parts. Then it dawned on me that it was attached to the gaff with the halliard shackle and blocks.
 
I needed to rearrange the room a little and removed the sewing machine brought in the rolling base from the shop after changing the top for a slightly smaller one.
 

 
It is a good job that our ceilings are all ten feet.
 

 
Fiddling with the shrouds for the bowsprit seemed to take forever.
 

 
Now she is beginning to look like a cutter again.
 

 
Michael
 
 

Thank-you to all for your kind words! We do have quite a wonderful community here at MSW!

Steve: Thanks for the good wishes for my brother and daughter! Thanks for the link to the model railroading lights too - I checked them out and they look very interesting. The idea of flaming/flickering lights would add a touch more realism, but I have to confess the lights I bought from ebay were $2.00 and the resistors $1.50 and I like that price point better....we'll call this my budget ship.

Thank-you to all for your kind words! We do have quite a wonderful community here at MSW!

Thank-you to all for your kind words! We do have quite a wonderful community here at MSW!

Thank-you to all for your kind words! We do have quite a wonderful community here at MSW!

Thank-you to all for your kind words! We do have quite a wonderful community here at MSW!

Last job for today, I cut the mortices into the keel for the frames. This wasn't totally necessary as they won't be seen later, but I figure it makes it easier to line up the frames at the correct spacing.
 

 
Speaking of spacing, I've followed The Framing Disposition plan I got from the NMM. The spacings aren't even on the plan, some are 2 1/4" scale inches different to others, making them LOOK wrong even though they are correct.
 
  Danny

And another thank you to my new followers for looking in .
 
 
No Pat. The ones on the full model are clear enough to see all those details. The cross-section will only get a stub mast to about half the height of the lower mast. I'll detail the section that I fit of course.
 
Keel
 
Work has started by making up the Keel.
 
First I glued on the False Keel. Then I fitted two stainless steel mounting nuts into the keel itself - on the full model these went into the Rising Wood, but that created a few problems with exact placement under two frames to hide them.
 

 
The rising wood needed a little bit of scalloping out to clear the tops of the nuts :
 

 
I've also cut in the Rabbet. I used a 45° cutter in my Mill, as this section has a straight rabbet :
 

 
I managed to JUST cut through to the mounting nut on the port side - lucky that it's the side that will be planked :
 

 
  Danny

I finally thought I would have a chance to get back to the shipyard today, but you know what they say about  the best laid plans.
Instead I lost my father-in-law today - he was 92. He was truly a kind and great man and will be greatly missed.

I'm sorry to hear of your loss.  As others have said, it's the memories that we have that are important now.  I hope the memories are all fond ones and put a smile on your face.

It's hard losing loved ones.  Our prayers are with you.
 
Bob

Words are not easy at times, most of us experience what you are at the present time. Cherished memories help us through these moments of deep loss, both now and in the future. My condolences to you and your family.
 
Michael

Hi Sherry,
 
you really are doing a great Job on your first scratch built model....
 
the well built "San Felipe" is looking so fine, well done !
 
Nils

He'll always be with us so long as he's remembered,  Our deepest condolences to you and yours.

Thank-you Frank! 
 
Well, I have another update. I've been working on the rudder with its pintles and gudgeons. 
I used copper plate and cut it into strips which I formed on a 'dummy' rudder. Soldering was tricky for me at this scale, but I managed. I still have to fine tune and add faux bolts.
 

 

 
I've also made and added the midship set of spiral stairs with railings, and belaying pins are in place here as well. There is one more set of spiral stairs fore, yet to be made.
 

 

 
Last, but not least, I made the beakhead rails and supports. I'm not totally happy with them and some adjustments may follow.....or a total redo, I just haven't decided yet.
 

 

 

I finally thought I would have a chance to get back to the shipyard today, but you know what they say about  the best laid plans.
Instead I lost my father-in-law today - he was 92. He was truly a kind and great man and will be greatly missed.