Chuck

Thank you!!

Lovely work

To complete the rudder, we have to add the hinges (pintels and gudgeons). As is usually the case with me on such iron work, I wont be doing any soldering. You have heard me say often on this project and others..."Fake it till you make it"...this will be the case for these rudder hinges as well. To start, paint both sides of the laser cut pieces for the hinges black. You will be thankful you did later on. Then glue them onto position on the rudder. Glue them against the top edge of the slots for them in the rudder. Note...I wont be creating a working rudder with hinge pins. For the life of me I dont understand why folks do that at all. Its not like anyone will be playing with the rudder later. It will be displayed under glass forever so it doesnt make sense to me. But if you want to show this you can do so by inserting some 22 gauge black wire into the holes laser cut in these pieces. My rudder will be stationary but you wont be able to tell any difference once its all done. Hopefully. Both sides of these pieces should be flush with the sides of the rudder at this point so sand them flush if you need to. I have also prepared the hinge strips in advance. They are 1/16" x 1/64" boxwood strips. They edges were painted black in advance. Again you will be doing yourself a huge favor if you do that. These strips were added to the rudder using the laser etched lines as a guide so the correct angles are easily found. Just let them run off the forward side for now. Once they are all in position, you can sand the hinges to shape as shown below. You can also see the top hinge has not yet been trimmed or shaped. Once completed on both sides, sand the faces of the strips a little, especially if you prefer a thinner hinge strap. You dont want to make them too heavy. You can even taper the thickness thinner as they work their way towards the aft edge. Now its optional but this is the time where you can drill along those straps and insert some bolts. I used 20lb black fishing line. Then paint the straps black. You can even apply some weathering powder to these hinges if you want them to look more like metal. I brushed on a little brown powder although its hard to see that in the photos. Here is how the rudder looks all finished up and with black rudder hinges. Its a pretty effective way to make these and can be done on any model...and you dont even need a laser cutter to do it. With the rudder completed I will start making the married partners for these hinges in much the same way so I can attach it to the model. But at least you can get an idea of how it will ultimately look.

Started chapter 10. The rudder is first thing. The usual treatment for rudder. It is laser cut and etched on both sides with some lines for the ironwork and to simulate the two parts of the rudder. The laser char is removed from all edges until its pretty clean. Then the protective strip on the aft side is shaped and glued into position. But dont add the bolts yet. In addition, add the protective strip along the bottom of the rudder too. (1/16" x 5/16") The rudder must be shaped first with a taper. It tapers thinner from the top of this protective strip (1/16" x 5/16") down to the bottom on the aft side. And from the forward side towards the aft edge as well. I am sure you guys have seen this before yet so many kit builds still have a massively thick rudder. The forward edge is also beveled where the rudder hinges will be...again you have probably seen this detail before. Once the rudder is shaped and I applied some wipe-on-poly, I was able to add the simulated bolts with some 20lb. black line. Now it was time to do a test fit on the model and see how things look. You want to pay close attention to the height of rudder head. It will pass all the way through and into the rudder cover on the poop deck. This is why we didnt glue that top on the rudder cover yet. If the height looks good, you can actually mark where the tiller will be inserted into the rudder head. See below. I did bevel the top of the rudder head but it doesnt really matter since this will be all covered up anyway. After marking for the tiller I drilled part way through the rudder head with a 3/32" but. Here is a view from below...everything seems to fit nicely so I can proceed with the ironwork. Notice how I removed the brace on the build board but left the strips for the keel slot. The rudder sits in there good and this will be a great help when trying to get those rudder hinges on. It holds everything nice and steady. You just have to make sure everything is sittin properly in that slot and pushed all the way down to the baseboard.

That looks so much better and time well spent.

Thank you gents!!!

Milestone reached as this completes chapter 9. All of the deck fittings except for the binnacle have been completed. The last fitting was the rudder cover. Again very straight forward. All parts are laser cut. To begin you must build the jig. Just glue the part labeled "jig" on top of the square with the etched outline. Then start adding the sides of the rudder cover. Start with the back panel. All corners will be mitered or beveled. I just eye-balled it with a sanding stick. Work your way forward and then finish up with the front panel. Remember not to glue the rudder cover to the jig!!! In addition, you can build the lid or top of the rudder cover. It is in two layers as shown. But dont glue it on yet. This wont be done until after the rudder is installed and the tiller is added. I did go ahead and paint them red however. You can test fit this on deck...but notice the small step behind the rudder cover. This is the step for the ensign staff. This must be added first. I have laser cut a bunch for you as they are small. You must bevel the back side to fit snug against the transom. The front side should be beveled as well to sit flush against the rudder cover. You can glue them in position, but remember not to glue the top on for the rudder cover yet. If you do ... you will never get that till inserted into the rudder head. But you can sit the top in position and nobody will know it isnt glued on yet!! Thats it...all fittings completed. To begin chapter 10 I will be making the rudder and tiller. Fun times.

I am going to see how feasible that is. But that looks like a tight fit for those topmasts.

What I am gonna shoot for with color scheme and rig. Furled sails. Only not 3” long. Getting close to rigging so I must create my vision board of inspiration.

That looks great. It looks like you really had fun with that. Chuck

I hope my fellow Speedwell builders will allow me this indulgence. The breast rail at the fore end of the poop deck is actually quite plain on the contemporary model. I usually try to faithfully keep my models to historically correct details but I couldnt resist. The original draft for the Sloop Fly which is her sister has a very detailed and fancy rail quite different than the plain one on Speedwell. I have decided to go with that rendition. It is made in the usual fashion for my fittings. Nothing earth shattering. They are just laser cut pieces in layers. The top rail for example is made by sandwiching 3 thin layers together. The top and bottom layers are just .025 thick. The center layer is a robust 1/32" thick. I still thinned down the top and bottom layers even more after gluing them up as a sandwich. The only thing that is really important here is to make sure that the two outer columns are lined up with their partners below on the bulkhead between the windows. I also had had to take care in forming the curve on the column next to the dome roof. It had to be sanded to fit nicely around that curve and sit flush against it. The close-ups are brutal and yes I have a lot of paint touch up in my future. The top of the rail is painted black as was done on the contemporary model while the remaining areas are painted red. Only one fitting remains and that is the rudder trunk cover. I will make that next. I will add a binnacle as well, but leave that for the next chapter after the rudder is installed.

This is good to see. It is a monumental task for sure. Make sure you enjoy the process also. chuck

No …he will do the complete kit. But I will continue selling the mini kits for a long while in case some folks still need or want them. I have quite a few people buy those for other non-cheerful models.

OK well here a few pictures of the capstan painted red. At least folks will be able to see both choices and the decision will be easier for them. I do like it better red...what do you guys think?

Such nice progress....it brings back memories. Chuck

Im leaning that way also Greg. I have gone this far replicating the colors used on the contemporary model. Chuck

Beautiful...and yes that will make an awful mess. Bring it outside and sand it.

Nicely done!! She looks very nice i deed.

Thanks…Im on a roll for a change. At the expense of my inventory but this is too much fun to stop now. Next up will be the breastrail at the fore side of the Poop deck. Last there will be the rudder head box. That will complete all the deck fittings. Sadly I wish there more…but then I can complete all the exterior work to finish off the hull.

The step - by - step... The capstan is built almost exactly like the one for the Winnie. The main difference is the center drum. That added a bit of tedium to this task. With the 3D printer however it can be made in one piece and perfectly shaped. The benefit is that it saves so much time and it is so precise. It will also not be seen at all when the capstan is completed. You need to cut a 3/32" x 3/32" strip to use as the registration for the other layers. Its a little big initially by design. You need to sand it so the pieces are a nice press fit when you slide them on. But dont force the layers onto the strip because you could break the thinner layers. You can see some of the layers in the photo below. The two at the top have had the laser char cleaned from the sides. I used a sanding stick. Dont worry about the three at the bottom yet. Those are next...slide them onto the strip (or use an entirely different strip) gluing the three layers together. But dont glue it to the strip as you will want to remove it. See below To make it easier to remove the char from these assemblies, you can place them onto a 3/32" strip as long as its a tight fit...otherwise it will fly off. But then chock it in your hand drill and have at it. Use a fine grit sanding stick. Its soft wood so be careful. This is a later process when most of the drum is glued up in layers and being sanded. But I wanted to show you that you didnt have to sand them by hand. You need to do that to the three center layers with the square holes first. Then glue that on top of the slightly larger disc with the square etched onto it for reference. Then glue the top on and sand it as shown in the photo above with the drill. I also sanded a slight dome shape into the top side of the drum while on the drill. This makes the sides a bit thinner and gives the top a nice shape. But keep the center area flat for the last small top layer. I thinned the top this way until the side edge was 3/64" thick or close to it. I am not sure if you can see the top shaped like a dome or rounded off but now that last small disc can be added. But first go ahead and glue the drum assembly to the 3D printed center first. Then snip off any excess 3/32" strip sticking out above the center and sand it flush. Then glue the little disc on top and center it with the etched circle that should help you do just that. Then its time for the whelps. There are plenty of extra provided. But sand them free of laser char and glue them to each face of the 3D printed center. Make sure you but them flush against the bottom edge of the drum. Note the laser etched mortices on both side of each whelp. These are for the chocks. Take a look at them before you glue them in position and flatten them out if need be with a small file. Sometimes the etched surface isnt perfect and needs a little cleaning up. A few swipes with a file should do the trick. With the whelps all finished...start adding the chocks. These will take some time. The thicker chocks are the bottom row. You will most likely have to sand both sides of the pie pieces and test them in position. Make sure they fit tight in the mortices of the whelps. Dont rush this as a clean tight fit is what makes the capstan look so good. The sand the outside edge concave or convex with a curve depending on if it is the top or bottom row of chocks. The chocks are over-sized so you will be shaping and testing and repeating the process. Plan on spending an entire day building this capstan with care. Then add the simulated bolts with some 20lb blk fishing line. There are also bolts on the top of the drum. The holes along the outside of the drum are for the pins that hold the capstan bars. They are not for bolts and should remain as holes. All the other laser cut holes around the center of the drum were places there for your simulated bolts. So add those as well. Thats it...it will take some time to do a decent job. But remember that there are fewer deck fittings on this little sloop and therefor it is even more important to do a respectable job on them. They will all be front and center and a focus point when anyone views the model. You can pint it red or leave natural. The contemporary model is painted red. I havent decided yet. What do you guys think? There are also two pawls that were used to stop the capstan from turning. Only one side was engaged at a time. One goes to port and the other to starboard. See the plans. These were made from scrap 1/16" x 1/16" strips and glued into position.

Speaking of simulated bolts...someone was asking about them. Here is the capstan which I am literally finishing up this afternoon. So I figured its a good time to show the bolts in progress. It is all yellow cedar. It has many bolts which add so much to its look when finished. In this case I am using 20lb blk fishing line. I just cut some sort lengths and stick them into some pre drilled holes. Nothing difficult here. They need to be a press fit so no glue is needed. I am using a #73 bit for the holes. Then just slice them off so they are slightly proud of the surface. That is it. I will have a step - by - step for the capstan later today hopefully. The capstan is painted red on the contemporary model....sooo I have yet another decision. But it turned out well. Chuck

Looking very good!!!

I will probably start cutting more chapter 3 and 4 sets next week. Then I will start chapter 5 after that. Chuck

Moving right along... The elm pumps and mast coats were completed. The mast coats were straight forward. They were made by gluing three lasercut layers together. The same as on the Winnie and other projects. These are interesting however as the are octagonal. So are the masts partly up their length. The laser char was removed and the top edges were beveled or rounded off. Then they were glued together and painted as on the contemporary model. The pumps were a whole different story. On the contemporary model these pumps are quite elegant and light. They are shown with very thin parts and slightly different than others I have seen or built. There is a long slender metal post that supports the handle. The handle is also very thin and long. How these builders achieved this detail at 1/4" scale just amazes me. They are also painted red on the contemporary model. Just look at how thin and delicate the pumps are on the model below. Note the small carved panel detail on each face of the pump. I really wanted to see if I could replicate this same delicate look on my model at 3/8" scale. Although less worn and dusty, LOL. Anyhow...I decided to try my hand at 3D printing this. Not only to make construction easier but maybe I can incorporate some of those more delicate details this way. The photo below also shows the mast coats completed and painted. For the pumps I had to create a left and right matching pair. The body and its long slender metal post is all designed as one piece. My attempt at those very subtle carved panels can hopefully be seen in my poor photographs. You can leave the pumps natural and just paint the metalwork or go red as I have done. Its up to you and they are printed with a tan/boxwood color resin for this purpose. The handle is laser cut from actual boxwood since it will be left natural and ties in an actual wood element to help pull off the realistic look. I added a piece of 24 gauge black wire to the handle before gluing the handle onto the pump. There is a hole in the bottom of the pump hole for this but I did drill it out larger for the wire. I glued the handle in position trying to establish the same height and angle for them port and starboard. Here is what they look like on the model. There were holes in the deck where the pumps will go to help with placement so you can kind of match them to the pump tubes below deck. Its not very difficult to do. While not a perfect match to the contemporary model I think the slender and delicate look has been faithfully recreated. I also decide what the hay...and painted the bsprit step red as well as I complete more deck fittings. Oh and the mast coats are not glued in position yet. That will be left for later when we step the masts. One last fitting remains on the gun deck. That is the capstan and I will build that next. Then its onto the poop deck rail and details. Chuck

Import it into photoshop and skew it or enlarge it slightly. Even import a screen capture into MSword. And print it again. You can copy and paste a cropped corner and add it next to the area and then print anew. So many options. Chuck