Chuck

The NRG has now started publishing book reviews online in addition to in the Nautical Research Journal. https://thenrg.org/resource/books If you have a moment, please check it out. It may be of interest to all of you. Chuck

Very nice planking...shaping up to be a great looking Syren model. Chuck

Cannon look really good nice work on those hooks. Well done.

Thats looking great Grant. I would try and make the holes farther apart as the would be closer to the ends of each block. Other than that they look perfect. Great work. Chuck

Yes I know the salt can be a problem...but believe it or not. You can drop an entire ball in a pot of Rit dye with salt. If you leave it in the pot of hot dye solution you get some pretty good penetration. The color comes out rich. I actually mixed rit brown with the black just so it wasnt so dark....but the results werent consistent so I just started using black. Chuck

For my black I used Rit dye. It works well and doesnt make the rope stiff like using water-based wood stain. You can basically buy any colors you want. Just mix a little with water and add salt in a bucket. Coil your finished rope and dip it in for a while. Then pull it out and rinse. To get a really rich and deep black you have to leave it in the dye for a while.

You are correct as far as I have seen but consider this. The becket of the block. Usually this isnt added. Or at least not so its as visible. You can see in this picture that the eye of the hook is very small in comparison to the becket and the hook. So by not making them perpendicular it simulates this in a way. You would have to make a very small eye in that hook so it doesnt look oversized. Its a small detail but one to be considered. The eye instead could visually take the place of the becket and looks a lot like the picture I posted. Especially on really small scale models.

The only way to combat this 100% is to create a rope with only one thread on each first...no issue there. Then take those ropes and make a larger one. You will never get a square rope that way. Although you will go left handed then to right-handed rope etc. It takes a long time to make rope that way. But, you may have more success trying this. I know I t has worked for me. Forget using two on each of the four whirls. Instead, use three on only three whirls. Then, if you were turning the initial strands 150 times....simply double it, or even triple it. The initial twisting must be really tight. This will cause the strands to condense significantly but will combat the squareness effectively. For example, I start with three on each whirl where they are 25' long. I twist them until the strands become 20.5' long. I twist them until they are just about to knot up upon themselves. Then when you twist all three together, make sure you keep the rope taught as it lays up. In this case, I dont over twist at all. Over twisting seems to amplify the square profile. Give it a try...see what happens. Remember to really make the initial strands on each whirl tightly wound together. Thats the key. if its not when you twist all three together to make the final rope...its the looseness that creates the square shape. The three strands have too much room between each of there loosely wound threads for the lay to form correctly. I hope that makes sense. This black line was made that way. I have taken three strands on each whirl and made them tight. You can see the rope is not square. While experimenting I initially had the strands much looser and it did result in the square shape you are talking about. So this corrected that issue nicely. Chuck

This usually only happens when you put two threads on each spindle or even three. If you are only using one thread this is something that doesnt happen. From my experience, there is only one sure way to combat this. But can you confirm that you are indeed having this issue when putting two or more threads on each spindle of your ropewalk in order to make thicker rope? There is another method too but it requires more space. Chuck

AHH!!!! very nice....that saved me the trouble. I make mine the exact same way. It just takes some practice. Chuck

Woops....good catch....30 gauge for those small ones. Chuck

Dave..its really hard to explain this in writing. But the general shape is presented below. I use a needle nose pliers and just start shaping. Each hook takes some time. To make the end of the hook...just cut the wire on an angle so you get a point. When I get rolling I can only make about 50 in a half hour. Its a lot of precise bends. The secret is to have a good set of pliers that has very small pointed ends. The kind that jewelers use or watch makers. This will enable you to get very small eyes and hooks. The wire I use is very soft. It wont allow for much pulling pressure. You should only apply enough pressure to make the lines taught. Dont over tighten or the hook will bend. I use 30 gauge black annealed wire for small hooks. Those for the 2mm and the 3/32" blocks. Then I go up to 28 gauge wire for 1/8" blocks and 5/32" blocks. I plan to start making them for sale as well but like I said it takes a lot of time to churn out many of them and keep the shape and size consistent. Chuck Here is a look at Gary's Alfred that shows the hooks on his rigged cannon. These are large ones for 5/32" blocks. I will try and make a few tonight in intervals and take some pictures. But I am sure it will be tough to follow how it was done and with what hand movements. Chuck

I almost forgot...Hard maple is a great alternative and it is much cheaper wood. I have tried it as an alternative and may possibly be offering them as a less expensive alternative to boxwood or pear at some point. Chuck

What a fantastic mod to the box jig. That look incredible. Getting a drill press makes the whole process easier. The holes line up very easy and come out clean. Your blocks look really good. The slot depth is basically something you have to eyeball. Too deep and you will get some chipping on the mill. Too shallow and it wont look right. For my strop slot, I just make it visible. I go very shallow on it. As you can see, if you go deep on that the sheave holes will break the surface and leave a hole in the strop groove. It just takes some time experimenting and finding tolerances. Chuck

Go for it...That model was created for MSW before it was a Model Shipways kit. I designed it to be a great first scratch project and many of our members did just that. Have some fun and dont hesitate to ask me any questions. Chuck

Gary The guns look good. I am glad the bigger size of blocks worked out for you. Your hooks look very nice as well. Good stuff.....as usual

Excellent... As far as the windlass bars are concerned. This is a tricky subject as most of the info I have found is for a larger windlass on a schooner or sloop. But as you guys mentioned, I kept the bars to within 4-5 feet long. I made mine 1 1/8" long. Its just a guess seeing as I never found any actual primary documentation on it. But if you look at the images of the contemporary model I posted the kit was based on...the windlass bar looks to be about the same size. I used it as the basis to create mine. I think your windlass bars may be a bit long in comparison. Not much though. Chuck

Yes indeed...I agree with Russ. You are doing very well with the kit. It looks great. Chuck

No preference but the wider is more accurate. The odd size was not available to include in the kit. I could have made the thwarts 1/8" to match the material I had to work with, but instead I decided to keep the plan accurate to the original draft. Chuck

Yupp...you should absolutely bevel the planks. Beveling is always required when planking a ships hull. The edges of each strake should be beveled to fit snug against the one already on the hull. Hope that helps. Chuck

Lovely progress. Really nice!!!

I id the whole model using yellow carpenter's glue...That is except for the planking. For teh planking I used CA. I was able to glue the plank across the first few bulkheads at the bow after pre-bending the strake. You should have to force it into position if the bend is close enough. Then I am able to slowly glue two or three bulkheads more as I work the plank towards the stern. The CA should hold the plank in the rabbet at the bow. If you add a drop of glue in the rabbet and the filler at the bow along with teh first bulkhead...that should do it. That is how I planked my Pinnace. Chuck

That looks simply fantastic.

You are very welcome. Please do let me know if something needs some clarification. I am here if you need me. Just shoot me a PM with pictures if possible too. Chuck

Glad to see you are OK. Take it easy. The workshop will be there in a few weeks. Rest up and heal. Chuck