Chuck

Everyone is quietly and carefully micro carving!!!! Admiralty carving workshop 2023. so much fun…

Thank you guys. Hopefully will have more updates soon. Currently I am down in Annapolis MD for the Admiralty Modes Carvings workshop. It is so much fun. Chuck

Its been a while since I worked on Speedwell. But I managed to steal some time to get some minor progress done. The next step was to permanently add the stern lights. I glued the laser cut stern lights together as shown. There is a little top portion that is glued on top of the larger laser cut stern lights. In addition, there are three laser cut cedar inboard pieces shown on the top of this image. The aft side is painted black/Gray where the stern lights are false. Meaning they wont be windows you can see through. It may be difficult to tell but the stern lights are placed in the appropriate openings from the inboard side first. Then some laser cut acetate used to simulate the window glass is placed in the same openings from the inboard side. Lastly the painted laser cut pieces are placed on top as the final layer with the painted gray portion facing outboard. With these glued into position I will be able to plank the inboard side of the hull next but only the two strakes along the sheer. Instead of doing that however I decided to add the sweep port hinges and horse shoe plates to the outboard side of the hull. This can be done whenever you like really but I figured why not do it now that I am in the mood to see the hull with some details. The sweep port hinges are available as a laser cut min kit. I have several sizes but these are the "large" hinges I have developed. One package is enough for Speedwell.

Lovely progress.

Excellent progress. chuck

Looking good….but thats not a fair fight… the Winnie is hopelessly outgunned!!!

Crazy thing...I rarely shop for rigging blocks for obvious reasons. But I was searching online for info on rigging blocks so I can start making CNC fiddle blocks and Hearts... LOL...I came across the typical square blocks which are abominations that come in most commercial kits. I couldnt believe the price. They are selling these things for $5.50 per package of 30. It just hit me that my bargain blocks are the same price....I think my bargain blocks are a steal for the price. I cant believe how out of touch I am when it comes to how much money folks are charging for this stuff. I thought they were maybe charging $3 for a package. Crazy stuff. Anyway....enjoy them while I can offer them. I should have another size in stock tomorrow some time.

Beautiful work!! Lovely

Thank You I havent tried but I dont know why you would do that. At least once the pear blocks are available I mean. But while you wait You could try dying them. Several people do that and it looks great. Greg Herbert did that with my blocks on his Speedwell model. These are basically my BARGAIN rigging blocks dyed with Fiebing's dye. You can see these are darker than those posted by the other Greg...I dont know what color dye he used or how long you have to soak them for.

More Choices... As I wait to restock my new CNC rigging blocks...I wanted to also let you know that I am very aware of the fact that they are quite expensive for some. After all this is just a hobby and not every ship model will end up in a museum. At $7.50 per package they could be a lot for most folks to spend. The process to make them is very expensive and time consuming. Although I outsource the manufacturing of them so this frees up some time for me, they are still far cheaper than the other guys who charge $8.75 for an inferior product. So in addition to offering these high quality almost perfect CNC blocks...I am announcing a second tier BUDGET MINDED rigging block alternative to give you guys more choices. They are still leaps and bound above the quality of most suppliers. I think its important to offer more choices for all of you guys. I am calling them SYREN BARGAIN BLOCKS These are not awful blocks by any stretch. In fact they are my ORIGINAL rigging blocks from when I started making blocks 10 years ago. The OG premium rigging block you might say. They were used on my Cheerful above and as you can see they look pretty fantastic. Many of you have asked for me to bring them back for various reasons. Maybe you guys still have a hoard but need some sizes to fill any gaps in your stash. So I thought this would be a good idea and a way to bring high quality rigging blocks within reach for those who are more budget minded. Still with 25 blocks per package. They will not sell for $8.75 They wont cost you $7.50 You will be able to buy these for the crazy price of just $5.75 per package of 25. In some cases they will be even cheaper depending on the size. Start looking for them on my website. I will ramp up stocking of these starting today. 3/32" single BARGAIN blocks are now in stock. Tomorrow I will make doubles and just keep it up until all the sizes are made. And dont forget that my rope is still available and in stock as well.

I really dont know if they are being resold. yes I hope to also have pearwood blocks but first I have to get it so I am fully stocked with boxwood. So it will be a while before I have those. The two on the right are a test in pear. The second one is a different mystery wood that I liked and tested. Its a beautiful lighter brown color. The first is boxwood. Chuck

Its crazy stuff…i cant fathom it. chuck

Less than 24 hours after placing thousands (seriously thousands) of rigging blocks for sale on my site.... Yupp, you guessed it. Nearly sold out. Will be making more but seriously this was a lot of blocks. Keep checking back to see when they are restocked. It will take a while to get fully stocked at this level of demand. But I will do my best.

I have one LOL But I want cull out any bad or chipped blocks so it will be slow going. Chuck

I have them all. I just have to update the site and get them all packaged up. This includes a new larger size of 9/32” single double and triple blocks. Some sizes are in short supply for this initial batch but I have more on the way. Probably today and tomorrow I will have the packages up. I have lots of labels to stuff i to small bags for the packaging. That takes a while. chuck

Very nice progress. chuck

Looking good. chuck

Getting close now.... Check my site regularly as I start to package these up later in the week. They have a bit of sawdust on them but I get them in bulk....so some dusting off before packaging them up is in order. A huge thank you goes out to Jack for his hard work these last six or seven months helping to make these a reality. He is a super knowledgeable guy when it comes to cnc.

Hudson River Sloop I am working on plans for a model of the HRS Amelia.... I have several projects going at the moment. Models from the Mystic Museum of various HR sloops for research and design purposes. The last photo is Portias Victorine.

Fishing is good right off the pier. Bluefish, blowfish, and the occasional sand shark. Playing cards but no sailing sadly. Lots of reading and research.

I am still at the beach!!! But the store is now reopened. All orders will be shipped on Monday. and from this deck with such a lovely view…been working on one of the new designs. There is only so much UNO you can play with the family in one week!! So a little design work on that Hudson River Sloop project seemed interesting while checking the crab traps every so often. A little Jimmy Buffet and some libations.

It looks good...its a little high but you should be OK. If you wanted to sand it down just a bit that would work...maybe 1/64" or 1/32" The other thing you could do is raise the transom height by just 1/64" as well. That would work too. But you should be good either way. Chuck

Yes indeed there will be.

I am so close to having blocks...the best available in stock on my website once again. I hope you will agree that the wait was well worth it. It shouldnt be long... I am going on vacation in a week or so but hopefully once I get back I can slowly start listing them as available. A much needed break down to the beach with my extended family. About 16 of us crammed into a house on the beach. Thanks for your patience in waiting for these...a small batch of each size initially but then more will follow pretty quickly I hope. Some sample photos.

Nicely done.