Chuck

Nice work!!!

Nice!!! What other small craft at 1/2" scale would you like to do? Maybe I will take the plunge as well. Chuck

That really looks nice.....I am so glad you left the planking off to match the barge. It looks really nice that way. I was tempted to do that myself. Chuck

Variation is a good thing. Your model is progressing very nicely. Looking forward to seeing more

On this model at 1/4” scale the planks are much wider. Therefore they need more heat in my opinion. In addition, the hair dryer will work but it will take a lot longer to heat up the plank enough. I think mike is using a hair dryer and its fine. The method of heat delivery isnt as important as the overall concept. But i do find that the iron works quicker and is more effective. i am still using a hair dryer elsewhere when a plank needs to be bent the other way or twisted. For example at the stern where the planks bend and twist into the tuck of the counter. So i am really using both. Different tools for different situations that work best for that type of bending.

Really nice work there. Well done.

Cherry looks really good if you like the darker color after it oxidizes. The annoying part is getting good boards. You have to get the best grade that doesnt have any sap or gum pockets. You need to shoot for as little grain as possible and I prefer the lighter boards. I have had a great deal of success getting super clean 30" long boards 2" x 6" from Cherokee woods on the west coast. I have talked with them extensively and they understand what we need as ship modelers. They dont sell sheets but if you can mill your own with a band saw and thickness sander its really nice stuff. The shipping from the west coast to new jersey wasnt bad either. I usually by 20 of these boards at a time and it costs me $90 for shipping. About $300-$350 for the cherry. Look at these two boards of cherry.....bottom came from Cherokee. The one on the top is considered the same grade as the one on the bottom. The top board came from a source in vermont. They were both called black cherry. These are boards I milled myself. Because I wasnt there to pick them out in person you will sometimes get some clean boards that arent perfect for ship modeling. The grain is too pronounced on the top board but its still considered a clear top grade board. The grain on the bottom is more muted and about the best you can hope for with cherry. They also have an excellent quality of Alder wood which is super clear. Alder tends to be knotty but if you ask for crystal clear cut-offs 30" long they have a bunch in this length range. They are happy to get rid of them. Excellent finish and it is a bit lighter than cherry....although not my preference. It has small rays in it similar to birch. https://www.cherokeewood.com/store/alder-dimensional-lumber/ Cedar is super soft....you really need to get used to it. But it finishes wonderfully. It holds a sharp nice edge. Here is a partially framed cross section model in yellow cedar. Edges of the frames are crisp and the end grain doesnt darken or turn black when you apply a finish to it. Along with it is a close up of planking in cedar. I buy mine locally believe it or not at http://borosawmill.com/alaskan-yellow-cedar.html because they use it for log cabins and to make moldings for houses. They have huge beams 12 x 12 and 16 x 16. Its amazing to watch these guys. Check out there site. This is the only wood they have that I can use for ship models. Its unfortunately cash and carry. Unless you want to buy a truck load. Again I get 2 x 6 x 30" cut offs that are crystal clear and I can pick them out in person. Dont get the port orford cedar....its not the same stuff. Not good at all for ship models. You would be surprised where you can find it..... Its a west coast wood so you need to look in British Columbia......see here. https://www.carlwood.com/lumber/softwood/yellow-cedar/

They are the same thing....its just another to way to say 1/4" scale. It should really read 1:48 whenever anyone uses that terminology but they sometime type it wrong. 1/4" and 1:48 are the same size........same scale It like 3/16" scale is the same as 1:64. Its just another way say the same thing. Its all the same size.

Cherry for sure.....But many dont like the dark color that develops. On that list if you prefer a lighter wood that is hard, I would choose yellow birch. It is as hard as cherry. BUT....you must really pick out your boards by hand because you have to hunt for the pieces with little to no grain. Grain is a problem with most of those woods. So you need to select the clearest premium boards. On the softer side.....if you like the lighter woods.....Yellow poplar is really good. But again you have to pick out the good pieces that arent greenish and have little grain. Then there is of course Yellow cedar which isnt on your list. But it has very little grain at all but is very soft like basswood. It holds a sharp edge but takes some getting used to in order to use it especially after you have been used to a harder wood. It is my preferred wood after boxwood but it is about 1/4 the price. Here is my 1/4" scale frigate in yellow cedar which is common and easy to get in large 2 x 6 or 2 x 12 billets. Chuck

Exactly😀

Looking really good.

Lou....It was giving me a heart attack....literally, way too much stress and labor with zero benefit. Only about a dozen or so people bought them. You know, those few guys hung up on only building in 100% pear. It wasnt worth it. I couldnt justify buying so much pearwood to keep around the shop and have two kinds of blocks in stock. It takes too long to make them. 24 sizes and configurations of pear blocks..(1000's of pear blocks takes time and then they just sit there)...those few people were really asking a lot when they wanted me to keep making them. Some havent stopped holding a grudge about it either. They didnt care that I had to spend $1000 to buy a slab of pearwood that half was bad and thrown away, then I had to pay to have it milled, then I had make 24 variations so a few people could buy $50 worth of blocks every two years. As far as the special runs and custom jobs.... What I have learned over the last six years doing this is that those guys who ask for special orders and custom jobs with special wood. The ones that want you spend hours and $$$$ doing something on the side....those guys dont buy much in the end, if much at all. You know the guys.....everything asked for is preceded with "this shouldnt be too hard or take long for you to do". They spend peanuts yet they do the most asking and the most moaning. So for piece of mind and less stress I just stopped making the stuff and consolidated my inventory for the other 97% of my customers. Because they would literally spend $25 bucks a year and thought they were doing me the favor. It was just getting ridiculous and I was close to having a heart attack. Mix it up a bit and use the boxwood blocks. They also stain beautifully so it really doesnt matter. To really take your model to the next level....try dyeing them black or dark brown as David Antscherl does. You should have a look at his rigging on Comet or Resolution. Beautiful stuff. Chuck

I havent finished chapter two yet.....but soon. Nobody is that far in the project yet anyway. Remember that chapter two is planking the outboard hull. I am not even finished doing that yet. So for now, folks will need to use my log which is very detailed. It has all teh info needed which will basically be copied into the actual chapter. Lou its OK......because you can still buy them from me until that times comes. LOL... Chuck

Nope....unfortunately you have to make it without the column. Just make the back of it flat. I will be providing the columns as klaser cut pieces and they wont match otherwise. It will be hard to cut away the cnc column at that point.

When its time to retire......I will gladly show one and all how I do it.....with videos and everything....LOL

i could try....but block making is a trade secret. Dont want explain how I do that. Its my bread and butter. Chuck

Nice....remember to cut outside your lines and then sand up to them later. Especially at the bottoms and tops of those bulkheads. It does make a big difference.

I am not the best guy to do that. i would give you guys all sorts of bad habits. Dangerous habits. LOL Keep your fingers and maybe someone else can tackle that one.

Thanks guys. Its really weird to make these but if it is something that works for you guys I will try and do more when subjects lend themselves to video. I just dont know which ones would.

See here.....for black line. There are many different sizes and you should buy one roll of each and it will last a lifetime. https://www.ebay.com/itm/AMNESIA-MEMORY-FREE-FISHING-LINE-20-LB-BLACK-SS08420/120483332146?epid=1362639651&hash=item1c0d5dc032:g:kPcAAMXQqBxRGxq-

Nope. I never do that. i havent found a need to do that.

both. I will use a metal straight edge and a sharp #11 blade to cut most of it off close to my line. Do this with several passes of the blade. Dont try and cut th excess off in one pass. Then I sand the remaining bit off to my line carefully with a sanding stick or emory board. I use one of those wide nail files. They are 180 grit on one side and 100 grit on the other.

I took a stab at making some videos that show how I plank the bow of any ship model. Specifically how to taper and edge bend a strip so that it lays flat against the bulkheads. This is basically how I plank every hull at the bow. I shot these videos at 720 HD quality so rather than string together the four videos into one long 20 minute session, I kept them individual. They take forever to upload to you tube when they are 20 minutes long. Literally hours. So these are four short 5 minute videos instead. A lot easier to upload and process. I will edit this post and add the other 3 as I finish processing them for upload. Basically each part is split into an intro.....then tapering.....then edge bending.....and test fitting on the hull. Let me know if you have any questions. Keep in mind its weird making these when I am alone in my shop and basically talking to myself. I had to reach around the tripod i order to get to the model and I was hitting it and had to start over many times....not my cup of tea all this video stuff!!!! 😂 Let me know if you think its worth the time as it is a real pain in the biscuit . But I will continue if you guys get anything out of it. I also must have had the camera too close to the hull so the first two videos are not as crisp as the others. Live and learn.....next time it will be better but I tried to get as close to the hull as possible so you could see everything. The videos are posted here.....in the discussion about chapter two.

I took a stab at making some videos that show how I plank the bow of any ship model. Specifically how to taper and edge bend a strip so that it lays flat against the bulkheads. This is basically how I plank every hull at the bow. I shot these videos at 720 HD quality so rather than string together the four videos into one long 20 minute session, I kept them individual. They take forever to upload to you tube when they are 20 minutes long. Literally hours. So these are four short 5 minute videos instead. A lot easier to upload and process. I will edit this post and add the other 3 as I finish processing them for upload. Basically each part is split into an intro.....then tapering.....then edge bending.....and test fitting on the hull. Let me know if you have any questions. Keep in mind its weird making these when I am alone in my shop and basically talking to myself. I had to reach around the tripod i order to get to the model and I was hitting it and had to start over many times....not my cup of tea all this video stuff!!!! 😂 Let me know if you think its worth the time as it is a real pain in the biscuit . But I will continue if you guys get anything out of it. I also must have had the camera too close to teh hull so the first two videos are not as crisp as the others. Live and learn.....next time it will be better but I tried to get as close to the hull as possible so you could see everything. Planking the bow of HMS Winchelsea....part one - Intro to tapering PART TWO.....Tapering your plank... PART THREE....Edge bending with heat PART FOUR.....Testing the plank on the model

let us know what you find out....