Landlocked123

Beautiful work.......and you're moving along quickly. I'm looking forward to continued posts. Best, John

Hi EJ, I've been following along pretty religiously (though quietly) but I have to tell you how beautiful she's turning out. Planking that monster was a monumental job and you pulled it off fantastically. After the first planking I was a bit apprehensive and now she's beautiful. Best, John

Hi Danny, I'm late to the party but I'll definitely be following along now. By the way, what is the finished length? Best, John

Hi Chuck, I've been using the machine rather intensively the past few weeks and it is dream to use. I'm finishing up the standing rigging on Bluejacket's Smuggler and there are yards of serving on the model. Shortly after I bought the Servo-o-matic I came up with virtually the identical jig. One small difference is that I used a dowel slightly larger than the inside diameter of the brass tube, chucked into a drill and created a taper. I get a good tight friction fit and don't have to otherwise alter the machine itself. Thanks for making such a useful tool, John

Hi Nils, I'm looking following your excellent craftsmanship and I'm sure I'll learn more than a thing or two. Best, John

Ken, You have applied all your fabulous skills in building what is, and will likely be, considered as the definitive Constitution model. You have my sincere admiration and kudos for a wonderful accomplishment. I especially want to add my thanks for all the techniques you have taught and shared. Best, John

Saint Red Leaf......I've heard of Saint Swithens of the Meadows but not Red Leaf.

Hi All, Everytime I look at this wonderful build log, I can't help but think that the ship is large enough for a Viking funeral. Best, John

Hi All, For what it's worth, old floquil paints which haven't been used go for very high prices on eBay. John

Hi Folks, I want to start this with a disclaimer. I AM A NOVICE IN THIS AVOCATION AND HAVE LEARNED EVERYTHING I KNOW (or don't) THROUGH EXPERIMENTATION AND MSW. I've read a lot of posts over the last few years about people having problems with chemical blackening of brass. After a a lot of trial and error I've had a lot of recent success. I've using Birchwood Casey Brass Black, Acetone, and Sparex. I first take any brass I want to blacken and soak in acetone for 5-10 minutes to remove any solder flux, lacquer, or finger prints. I've taken a small piece of window screening and pushed it into a steel can (tomato sauce) to strain the solutions and the pieces being blackened. I make a solution of Sparex (acidic pickling) by putting warm water (125-130 degrees) in a glass container. Add the dry Sparex in an amount greater than recommend. After 15 minutes or so stirring the mixture with a piece of wood, pour off the liquid into a jar with a cover leaving the undisolved Sparex behind. You now have a saturated pickling solution. Taking the pieces to be blackened out of the acetone, place in the warm Sparex solution for about 10-15 minutes. Keeping the Sparex warm makes it work faster, but you can use it cold, just give it more time. You should take the pieces to be blackened out of the Sparex and rinse under cold running water, but I just put into a jar with water and shake vigorously. I then strain into to the can with the screening. I make a solution of Brass Black to water of 1:7.5. I use a paint pipets, but any way is fine. After taking the rinsed pieces out of the water I place them in the diluted Brass Black. I then watch them carefully until mostly black. I then remove, strain, and rinse vigorously then returning them to the blackening solution. I will generaly do it twice more, following the same process rinsing after each immersion. I then place on a paper towel to dry for a couple of days. By following this routine I've gotten deeply blacked pieces without having any of the blackening rubbing off and making a mess of my hands and everything else. Now here comes comes the chemistry question for all my brilliant colleagues out there. I would much rather darken the pieces with one longer immersion in the blackening solution. But when I do that, the blackening flakes and gets everywhere making a mess. I've been thinking about being a small kid in my Grandfather's darkroom. As I've alluded to, I am dolt as far as chemistry is concerned. But in a process in developing film and prints, my Grandad would talk about the "Fix" which, I understood was the chemical which stopped the development process. Given my limited understanding, Brass Black and other blackening processes involve an acidic solution. Therefore, would a immersion in a base, like a baking soda solution, "fix" the reaction and allow for one blackening run as opposed to a number? I'll try some more experiments and let everybody know if I have a "Eureka" moment, but in the interim, would certainly appreciate any corrections, feedback, or other comments. Best, John

I'm no chemist or finishing expert, but I would think if you tried to mix oil based anything with water the only thing you would get is a mess. John ps Or you can go traditional and use pure beeswax dissolved in turpentine. Chop up the beeswax, cover in the turps and let it dissolve over a couple of days. Adjust the the mixture until you get a thick paste. Wipe on a thin coat and then buff off. Repeat as desired. J.

Kurt, I've never laminated layers of veneer to make plywood, but I have often used a great technique to laminate veneer to a substrate. You coat both pieces with Titebond and let it dry completely. Then using a household iron set high, but not high enough to scorch the wood, and iron together. I've used this trick on fine furniture I built as long as 30 years ago and have never had a separation. Best, John

Sweet Doc!!!!!!!!👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼 Best, John

Hi Jack, That's a very clever and interesting way to do a stand/mini-diorama. Will you be bringing it to new London? Best, John

Hi Vossie, That's a very interesting shape they came up with to show off the the blue putty. 😊😊😊🤔 Best, John

Hi Bruce, I'm a member of Mystic Seaport and have visited New Bedford and the whaling museum a number of times. As a matter of fact my next build is going to be the MS New Bedford Whaleboat with a scratch built section of the Lagoda. Anyway, I've never seen reference to your question, but it seems to me that if you think about the nature of the endeavor, I'd bet those boats were fully outfitted the moment they got anywhere near the whaling grounds. It was incumbent on the crew to be off the davits and on the chase soon as humanly possible. Again, I'm no authority, but this makes sense to me. Best, John

Reminds me of my daughter when she about 5. I walked into the kitchen where she was holding a glass of water. She promptly let go and the glass and water was all over. I said " Annie, why did you do that?" She responded that it wasn't her fault "it was gravity.........it's everywhere". True story. Best, John

Sent PM - John

Hi Dragonfly, Is that $100 each? Thanks. Best,John

Hi Jay, I've just read your build from the beginning and want to congratulate you on what you've achieved thus far. At this pace and level of quality work, your really going to end up with a beautiful ship. You've made a couple of references to Chuck's Cheerful. On page 45-46 (or so) of the build he shows how to make thimbles, which you mentioned was of interest. It took me a bit of practice but I'm now able to make them in virtually any size. Also, early on you mentioned shooting boards and plank benders. Chuck has a video of a planking technique which obviates the need for either of those. Here's the links: Video 1 - http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/8131-hm-cutter-cheerful-1806-148-scale-by-chuck/page-16 Video 2 - http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/8131-hm-cutter-cheerful-1806-148-scale-by-chuck/page-17 I will be following along to watch the remainder of the build and am really looking forward to it. Best, John

Wayne, I, too, appreciate Ed's putting together this list. When I try to open any of the links in Chrome, I get the error message "404 Not Found". When I look at the url, I don't have any additional characters after the 5 digit ID. I hope you might be able to help, some of those titles look intriguing. Thanks. Best, John

Keith, All I say is fantastic! The winch is quite fabulous as well. You have my kudos. Best, John

Hi Keith, Did you make the bow sprit foot? If so, would you please share how you did it? Thanks. Best, John

Hi All, One of things it is so easy to forget is that these ships, especially the "high end" merchant ships, and war ships, were at the apex of technology for their times. In some ways they were the equivalent of the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station. I think about that often when I build and it provides me with a great sense perspective and appreciation. Last year I was able to go to Mystic Seaport and see the exhibit on Benjamin Harrison's Chronometer on loan from the UK. Harrison was the winner of the the longitude award (see Dava Sobel's book). It was fabulous. One of the best "take always" from the exhibit was a quote from Neil Armstrong (for you idiots the first man on the moon) that the Eagle's voyage was the culmination of the journey started with Harrison's chronometer. We all stand on the shoulders of giants and it would serve us well to remember it. Best, John

Gemma, Will you please post a link? Thanks, John