Chuck

Planking these small boats is a challenge. Keep in mind that the curve on these planks was rather short and abrupt. I dont know if this helps but the shape for my latest barge is almost the same and these pre-spiled planks are a good comparison to the shapes you will need on the pinnace. Look closely at plank 1 and 3 and 5 which show the curved end for the bow quite well. Note how its an "s" shape overall. Because the curve needed is so tight at the bow being over only 2" or so it is probably easier to find and spile the shape and then cut from a sheet. You should give it a try on those strakes at the bow at least and for the first four down from the sheer. Keep in mind that this is a clinker hull but the shapes of the planks are the same. Chuck

Anyone can always contact me if the need some clarification.....and PDFs.

Now you know why I am doing my own kits and projects.....LOL I feel so bad about this guys, I hope you guys get it sorted out with Expo. Chuck

How hard can it be for these guys to print those templates correctly for the kit......seems like the easy part. Anyway.....hope these help. Remember to set your page scaling to NONE when printing them. And measure the scale bar for accuracy where each segment should be 3/16" wide. If these dont match your plans then they probably printed your plans incorrectly as well. Always measure the scale bar to find out. That is why it is there. These are the original files. Chuck colorcodedtemplate.pdf framingplan1.pdf framingplan2.pdf framingplan3.pdf framingplan4.pdf framingplan5.pdf framingplan6.pdf framingtemplate7.pdf sternframingsyren.pdf

Yes indeed...its on the list. I just have to catch up with making parts.....blocks....rope....inventory etc. Then I will start writing.

Thanks guys for the kind words and likes. Hopefully the next one wont take as long.

Thanks, They are laser cut mast hoops. They are place on the shaft of my Dremel and sanded so the the outside is round off as shown below. Chuck

Thank you all for likes and kind words.

Thanks Dirk. Rigged the anchors today. Also made the entry way stanchions. These were made just like the belaying pins. They were turned in my dremmel. I started with a 1/16" strip. I drilled the hole forst while it was square and then turned the four stanchions. They were painted black and then made to look like metal. I wont add the rope from them because they always lay funny. They are not heavy enough to lay correctly and leaving them like this is much neater. They werent glued in yet when I took the photo below. And that about does it folks. After 3 years or so I have completed the Cheerful. I enjoyed myself a great deal and learned so much with this project. Here are some preliminary images of the completed model. Hopefully I will find time to make the base and case soon. But now its onto the barge.....

Having come home last night I wasnt much feeling like making blocks or rope. So instead I am spending the day in the workshop. To go along with the anchors I am making the nun buoys...or anchor buoys. These are an optional detail and are not always presented on contemporary models. But I thought it would make a detail. I sourced some special beads the appropriate size and shape. The buoys should be about 1/4 to 1/3 of the length of the anchor, original sources are sketchy. These buoys are 15mm long. The beads have a hole through them already but it was too large. So I filled it and then re-drilled for the eyebolts. This is not how a real anchor buoy is fashioned but I have simulated the details for years and think it does a nice job of it with the eyebolts. It makes rigging the buoys easier. The eyebolts are not glued in all the way. They are left about 1/32" from the buoy end so I can seize the loose ends of the rigging around them. First the eye bolts are added and the buoy is touched up and painted. Then I prepare two rope assemblies for each buoy. Each assembly contains two lengths of .025 brown rope with an eye formed on one end. Then they are slid onto another length of rope to complete the rope assembly. Two are needed for each buoy. One on each end. Normally the rope is served for these but I just wasnt feeling it so I used the rope as is. This rope is spliced around the buoy and the two loose ends brought down to the eyebolt. Here is where I seize them around the bases of the eyebolt and snipped off the loose ends. see the photo which shows the second buoy in this stage but I havent snipped off the excess rope yet after seizing the two loose ends. I repeat this process on the other side but note how the two loose ends will now be run under the first assembly first as they work their way towards the eyebolt on the other side. Its difficult to explain in writing but hopefully the photo does the trick. Then I touch up the black paint and apply some weathering powder. I dont want them to be solid black. Tomorrow I will rig them along with the anchors. You can see the completed buoy in front (right). The anchor mini-kits are now in stock and they do include the two buoys. So you get the parts for the anchors and the buoy material.

There are no fumes at all when laser cutting. It has very little strength when any pressure is applied to it so it cant be used for stuff on your model that needs this strength. Like chain plates or eye bolts and other things. It will tear quite readily when any stress is applied to thin pieces. It also breaks when you hard fold thin pieces. Its great for some parts and just plain not useable for others. Chuck

Forgot the picture.....the rings are done with their pudenning. Wrapped with .008 dark brown rope. Next will be the anchor buoys. Then to rig them. Chuck

I used Badger black air brush paint. But its nothing special. What really gives it a smooth appearance is when you brush on some grimy ash black or even some dark brown weathering powders. Then buff it off. That is what gives it the texture and tone and reflective quality you see. Chuck

Keith These anchor kits should be out in a week or so. I have to finish them up for Cheerful first. As far as the Barge kit, That will sit waiting until I completely finish Cheerful now. I am just about done as you can see. Once completed I will resume work on the Barge. Here is what the anchors look like painted with the bands on the stock. Th e metal bands are just tape.....painters tape which is smooth....I lay a strip on my cutting board and paint it black. Then I cut the tape into strips the correct width. I wrap the tape around the stock two or three times. No more than that as it will look too clunky. I think its safe to say that unless someone picks up these anchors they would hardly know they were made from boxwood. They were painted black with an airbrush and then some weathering powders...both a rusty brown and a grimy black were added. That really does the trick and gives it a nice finish when buffed off lightly with a brush. The bands were added to the anchor stock only after it was positioned on the shank. This was because the stock opens up and putting the bands on ahead of time would have been problematic when the stock was closed. Next up is to make the ring for the anchors and do the puddening with rope. These anchors are 2 1/4" long or 58 mm. That measurement is without the ring. Chuck

Assembling the anchors was kinda fun. Rather than buy some commercially I decided to design and make my own mini kit. I am never really happy with the usual castings commercially available. The anchors were made to strict proportions and rather than try and fix a casting I buy somewhere I figured I would just make them from scratch out of boxwood. My metal working skills are not up to par with some others and once completed the wood anchor will look just as good. Its all about painting it properly. I hope. The image below is my design made based on Steeles info with a few added design elements to make assembly easier. Once I had the design I made the individual parts from laser cut boxwood. The assembly was quite self explanatory but I would note that the laser char was removed from each piece first and then the two main pieces glued together without the flukes/palms. This made it easier to sand the bevels in according to the drawing above. The shank is more or less an octagon and I used an emory board, files and sandpaper to shape it like the drawing. Then the palms/flukes were added and shaped along with the very points which needed some attention. I made sure all teh joints were tight and any cracks were filled. But luckily the laser cutting was so precise there werent any gaps. This should make painting them black and finishing them to look like metal easy. The stock is composed of the usual two pieces. The slot is laser etched for the shank but isnt quite deep enough. So I cleaned that up with some chisels. Note that I did not remove any laser char yet. Its best to remove it after the two halves are glued up. The whole piece comes out better shaped that way. I applied the glue only where you see the two circled areas in pencil. I didnt want any glue in the center because once glued up I will slip it on the shank and the center will spread apart slightly which is what you want it to do. This is an air gap and prevented rotting. Once the laser char was removed and the ends rounded off, I also tapered the ends smaller. The ends are gradually taper smaller when viewed from above. Here is what the stock looks like when slid onto the shank for a test fit. I will paint everything next and add the other details next. But for everyone that has made anchors the remaining tasks are of course pretty straight forward, I will be back with additional photos when the anchors are all done. Chuck

I think the photo says it all. With a little watered down glue....rub the three strands against the rope and wait for it to dry. You can also open up the rope where you want to begin the splice and run the three strands through. But it isnt necessary. You could just wrap them and glue them, especially with smaller ropes. Chuck

Laserboard would not be ideal for routing. Its not strong enough. Its also not strong enough to replace certain things you might photoetch like eyebolts or hooks. For those you should try these materials. http://www.ultra-grave.com/#bydesign Chuck

Exactly.....so even though you might find some other brands of backers easy to find. Dont use them because most if not all of them have high levels of the stuff. Just look for some way to get the polybak.

Guys Just found this topic. That is NOT Laserboard. Its just a company using the "nickname" for what laser cutters call "lsaserboard. Laserboard is basically resin soaked kraft paper. It is specifically designed for use as the backer for kitchen cabinets and veneers, etc. It is sold in huge rolls and 4 x 8 sheets. There are other backers available commercially BUT they are made with some nasty stuff that is poison. It has some nasty chemicals usually. But this one Brand does NOT have those chemicals (formaldehyde) that could kill you when you laser cut it. Before I tell you the Brand Name....let me say that it is almost impossible to get unless you are a cabinet maker or contractor. It took me years to find a supplier and basically I get the scraps from this cabinet maker whenever he fills up a box with the stuff. The Brand Name is "polybak". It is wildly successful and used by model railroaders....but for whatever reason it has NOT found acceptance by ship model MFGs. At least not yet. As far as I know I am the only one who uses it. Probably because its so hard to find. You cant order just one sheet. You need to order a ridiculous number of 4 x 8 sheets or a 250 pound roll of the stuff. It comes in varying thicknesses but mostly its really thin. The different sizes and colors have different properties depending on the commercial use it is being used for. Here is the MFG's website. They dont sell direct to the public. There are very few distributors.....because in the industry most cabinet makers will buy the cheaper stuff because even though its NOT a danger to them. It is a real danger to laser cutters. http://www.richwoodind.com/polybak.html Laser cutters affectionately refer to this material as laserboard BUT recently that other company decided to use the name for its completely different and thicker material which has now added to the confusion. The best way to find this stuff is to contact local cabinet makers or veneer makers and CONFIRM that it is Polybak and NOT another material that could kill you if you laser cut it. Then beg for scraps. Unless you can find a distributor that will sell you one or two 4 x 8 sheets. Chuck

Back by overwhelming request. I am re-stocking 2mm scale rope at Syren. I will make it in all for colors. Shown below is my 2mm light brown and tan colors.....the bottom photo shows light brown and dark brown. That is my favorite combination for standing and running rigging. This is very big rope and its super time-consuming to make. It is 4 strand rope with each strand also being 4 strand rope. The 2mm rope is all right hand laid and it is sold in 10 foot lengths per package. Super crisp.....NO LUMPS.....NO FUZZ!!! In stock now. Thank you for requesting this size be resurrected. https://www.syrenshipmodelcompany.com/miniature-rope.php

Thank You for the kind words. Here are some of the details for those folks that are building Cheerful too. To finish the half of the sling that is on the yard, I served a length of .035 dark brown rope. Then I seized a thimble into one end. I only made a few wraps of the thread when I seized it and then snipped off the loose end so it sticks out just a tiny bit as shown below. The longer end was cut so the entire span was 2 3/4" long. Then the long end was brought up to the thimble and glued into position. The seam is hardly visible after it was glued. The two ends were carefully butt against each other as well as the edges glue to each other. Then I waited for it to dry thoroughly. You can use Yellow glue for this but use is straight because if you dilute it the joint wont be very strong....I suppose CA would work but I know that is frowned upon. Once dry, I served the remaining area below the thimble so it strengthened the joint. Then I carried the serving around the between the thimble and the split area as shown...just two wraps more as this also holds that splice joint together. Then a thinned wash of yellow glue was brush all over the siezing and allowed to dry. It was quite strong and did the trick nicely. You can see this portion of the sling placed on the lower yard. The same thing is done for the sling on the topsail yard but this time .025 dark brown rope was used. and the length was much shorter. This is an image of the lower yard fully set up with stirrups and horses. The brace pendants were set up for the fore and aft braces and the clue line blocks hung from the center of the yard. I used .025 dark brown rope for the stirrups and horses. The stirrups were wrapped three times around the yard and then the end with the eye in hung down the aft side. It was 11/16" below the yard and a simple eye seized on its end so I could run the horse through it. The stirrups also hang on the outside of the yard as opposed to the inside of the three wraps. Hope that makes sense. Also attached is a PDF of the yards and all the rigging as it differs a bit from the earlier plans that we made. All new plans have been updated to show this layout. The yards were a bit too long on my original drafting for the project. I have shortened them up based on some research but the diameter of each yard stays the same as it was noted originally. yards for cheerful.pdf And the completed topsail yard

That is looking sweet Rusty...nicely done and very cleanly modeled.

absolutely.....it works like a charm. But the results will vary depending on the thickness and type of tissue paper you use. Its really strong stuff also once sprayed.

Thanks guys. The flag was made from the tissue paper you use to pack a gift with. Its white....you can buy this stuff anywhere but this particular stuff is very thin. I dont have a brand because I literally went into some old boxes we use to wrap up Christmas presents and took some out of the box. But you should experiment with different brands and thicknesses. I basically use a jpg. image of the flag which has been sized in Microsoft word. You could skew your flag ahead of time in the program to make it easier to shape but I didnt do that. I just printed out the standard rectangle. First you print out the flag on normal paper so you can see where on the paper the flag will print. Then you carefully tape the tissue paper over that image on all four sides...the tissue paper being slightly larger than the flag. Then print the flag again after placing the paper in your printer again. Cut the flag free from the tissue paper after it dries. Cut it right along the edges with no white space showing. This next step is important. The tissue paper is so thin that the ink will soak through to the other side but NOT entirely. So the first thing you need to do is flip the flag over and spray the REVERSE side with some Krylon Matt fixative. Dont be afraid to spray too much. This will facilitate the ink soaking through to the back side further and it will look like it is literally printed on both sides. Then after it dries flip it over and spray the front side. Shape it to suit with various size dowels. You can also spray the fixative more to really soak it because this makes it easier to shape...you can do this several times if need be. Once dry it holds its shape. Then I poke a hole with a sharp awl in the two corners so I can lash it to the flag halliard. Done!!! Hope that explains it well.

I know I am going a bit in reverse here, but I managed to rig the yards and complete all of the rigging today. I will have more detailed photos as I sort them out but since I havent posted in a while I thought I would show the model as it stands now. All that remain to be done are the anchors and buoys and the entry way stanchions. Plus a little clean up. But I still try to sneak in some model time even though it has been crazy nuts lately. The yards were made from square stock....taken to octagon and then the outsides tapered and rounded off. Once painted black the blocks and stirrups and horses were added along with the other half of the sling. The same was done to the topsail yard. I will have plenty of more detailed images of the rigging once Mike drops by with his camera. He doesnt know this yet but I plan on asking him to help me photograph this stuff. Photographing rigging with a point and shoot is impossible. Anyway here are the photos. The flag is just a test and I am living with it for now as I try new things. I like it but I dont know how much. Its printed on tissue paper for wrapping gifts with my inkjet. Then its sprayed thoroughly with flat clear fixative. It is soaked pretty good and molded before it completely dries. This stiff may be too thin though...but lets see what others think once they see it in person. It does shape nicely with various size paint brush handles.