KeithAug

Thank you Steve, Geert, John, Richard and Allan, and everyone else who has looked in or left a like. I hope to catch up with your respective builds over the next few days. But In the mean time a little more progress. I put coat of poly around the porthole cut outs before gluing the brass surrounds in place. I also made and attached the brass catch bars around the small shelves before starting to glue the deckhouse sides on to the previously constructed internal base which included the chart tables / cupboards etc. Its difficult to see but I also attached the between window recessed planks that the curtains partially sit behind. The walls were glued with PVA glue and held by elastic bands until dry. The forward wall of the deckhouse is heavily instrumented and the above table bulkheads, into which the instruments fit, were also added at this stage. I then started on the instruments. I think the builders had a job lot of computer screens because Germania has more than I can imagine a use for - at lease 4 large screens plus 2 laptop sized screens so far as i can tell. I did a bit of head scratching as to how to simulate the screens before I found a couple of inserts for holding CD's in long dead printers. These had some nice profiled ribbed sections of about the right size. I started by slitting off the appropriate strip before cutting out the holes for the screens on the mill using a .080" diameter end mill. The cut outs had to be spaced to avoid unwanted profiles / features. The screen surrounds measure a half inch square. I printed off screen images of the computer screens and instruments and manipulated them using photoshop. I also created a pattern for the seat covers and curtains using powerpoint and printed this on paper. I then started assembling the various screens into the screen surrounds and mounted the instrument images on backing pieces as appropriate. The instrument panel and keyboards were then installed. I tried making curtains from fabric but it was too bulky so I eventually settled for paper. The couch seat and back cushions were made from softwood and covered with paper. And that is all the progress I made this week.

Allan - just common o garden electrical lead free solder with fluxed core. I find soft solder works well for all jobs of this type. I apply a film of flux, wire or clamp the attachment parts in place, apply a small length of solder on the joint and then heat with a small propane torch. I rarely find it necessary to resort to silver solder and soft soldering is much easier and does not carry the risk of melting delicate brass parts.

Good progress Allan. The none level waterline is an interesting feature, it is beyond my comprehension why the builders would do that, do you know why? i find your comment about softening the brass before machining it very interesting, particularly as I have seen the same comment in another build log recently. I have always preferred the machining characteristics of hard brass, even to the extent of avoiding the use of soft brass whenever possible. The only time I soften brass is when I want to deform or bend it. However I am now wondering whether I am missing something?

Thank you Gary and Richard. Pat - thank you for the compliment but I think you undersell your own work. Michael - I am sticking with my "6 days off, one day on" plan for the moment. I seem to be adding to the household list which is a bit worrying. Thanks to everyone for the likes. I though I had better make the hinges for the 2 doors. They are a bit bigger than scale at 1/4" long but sometimes I need to compromise. I started with a piece of brass sheet .006" thick. I cut a strip and folded this to form a right angle. I folded this over a .020 steel wire and then carefully cut away one side to create the P shape needed. The steel wire was then pulled out. I then filed away parts of the P using a former made for a previous build. This was then cut down into .250" lengths to form the 2 parts of the hinge. I then carried on with building the cabin. I didn't have any details of the cabin door internal steps so I guessed what they would look like. The balustrade around the stair well was made and brass tube and wire was used to form the small section of handrail and the compression strut which controls the folding down of the balustrade. The inside portholes were simulated in brass. A tube was turned to the correct thickness and 3 axial slots were cut to take 3 small square section tubes. The tubes were soft soldered in place. The outer surface of the square tubes was then turned away on the lathe. And finally the porthole rings were parted off. And that is this weeks work.

It’s wonderful what a taxing hobby and dogged determination can achieve. You are a credit to the forum Keith. Keep at it and continue to impress us all for many years to come.

An interesting vessel Roger - I will follow with interest.

Thank you Richard, I am still rationing myself to one day a week while my house maintenance work continues. I made progress on rear face of the main deckhouse. The hole for the porthole frame was cut small with a drill and then opened out with an end mill. I find this produces the best edges (apart from the chip at the top)!!!!! The weakening of the sacrificial insert worked well and it came out a treat. You can see that I repaired the chip while putting the porthole frame in. I made the pair of doors. Then realised I had made the doors wrong. The curved plank across the top of the doors should be part of the doors, otherwise the sliding hatch above the door would be obstructed. The step was made and below the doors. The replacement doors were made. In the sketch the squares represent .100" x .100". Next the hinges.

Allan As it isn't built yet couldn't you just get the builder to make the wheel to match your design. It would avoid reworking it.

Such a pleasure to see your work Valiery. I would love to see more detail of your metal working. It hard to always see from the finished item how you went about the assembly

Hi Patrick, this one turned out rather well. Even looks like a boat. Plenty of monstrosities are still being built by oligarchs. What next?

Coming along very nicely JD. The planking always seems to me to be a much more satisfying process than building up the frames.

Ah! A ship from a era when luxury yachts were elegant, unlike todays monstrosities. i look forward to seeing her come to life.

What a giant, i am amazed. The display case is going to cost a fortune.

I just found your build Allan. I do like the elegant lines of schooner and the Boothbay 65 does have really elegant lines. I look forward to seeing her develop. Just one question about the ships wheel, is the rim to scale? It seems very substantial.

Good luck Rich. Scroll saws take a bit of mastering so don't get put off by your initial attempts.

Thoroughly enjoyed catching up Gary. All you work inspires but for some reason I particularly liked the bilge pump.

Hellmuht. Just caught up with your build. Very fine craftsmanship but more importantly you are teaching me so much about the construction of these ancient vessels. Thank you.

Eberhard I love the detailed explanation of the gun elevation mechanism as much as i admire the detail. Excellent work.

Richard Gary is the master of ship weathering

Richard;- Pity you spoilt the illusion. If you had given me a set of keys I would have tried to drive it away.

Keith Thats the problem and fun of scratch building, everything is an experiment - and not all experiments turn out as expected. Your final results however look rather nice. Keep well.

Just spent a pleasurable hour catching up Brian, all very impressive. I thought your approach to the paddle wheel frame was excellent. The boilers too have turned out really well. Beautiful work.

To be fair I wrote the list without consulting my wife, most of it was just in the "needs fixing category". The only thing she had moaned about was the power of the shower. Its now like a pressure washer and she is well pleased. Steve - She has often said I should try it and she would have the money . It seemed like a bad deal.

Sorry to have caused any concern. I sat down at the start of August and wrote down all the household improvement and maintenance tasks I had been putting off (some for years). I was a bit shocked by the length of the list and decided that I needed to get a grip. My wife refers to the ship workshop as the black hole, which is her way of saying I get immersed to the exclusion of all else. I decided the only way to make house progress was to take away the temptation. This list is now about half as long as it was so I am going to allow myself one day a week back in the workshop and see how it goes. Here is a bit of an update on progress. I made the front of the main deckhouse - from a lot of small panels and planks. In the next photo not is assembled but not glued. In the sketch one square represent 1/10" x 1/10". The panels / planks were glued with the exception of the top plank and the top profile was sanded to the profile of the curved roof. The top plank was then glued on while being pulled into shape with miniature clamps. I then cut out the circular porthole windows and turned the porthole frames from a piece of mahogany dowel I then drew up the aft face - this being a bit more complex due to the pair of doors (which will need some quite small hinges). More panels and planks were cut. Before being assembled. A sacrificial door inset was made to allow the curved top plank to be installed and bent to shape. Thats all for now folks - back to that bloody list. But I will try to get a bit of time to catch up with all of your builds.

Thank you Pat, Druxey and Richard. I am catching up my log with progress (such as it is). This is how far I got in the last post. I cut the perspex windows from a .025" thick sheet. Because of the roof slope all the windows are of a slightly different size. I masked the windows (in preparation for later poly application). The following picture shows the recess into which the windows fit. The windows were glued in with a dash of CA pending retention by inner mahogany layer (layer 4). The next step was to mill the sculpturing of layer 1 above the windows. The cut outs were made with a .160" diameter end mill. .030 thick planks were cut from this (roughly placed in the following photo). They were then glued in place and the vertical strips cut and applied. Followed by the bottom strip. Vertical cuts were then made using the Byrnes saw to represent further detail. I added the panel detail at either end of the run of windows. Before completing the panelling below the windows. This doesn't need detailing as it sits behind the cabin wings (excepting the fore end on the port side which is not hidden. The sides were fairly accurate relative to the 4.7" target.