Chuck

That looks just fantastic. Well done. The finish is excellent. Chuck

Personally I prefer the bottom fill method to avoid bubbles and empty cavities. Here are some pics with off-the-shelf resin/mold kit...there are plenty of techniques to learn and a tutorial would be welcome. You can send it to me and I will post it in the database of articles. The part you are looking at is only about 3/4" long if I remember correctly. Chuck

Thanks... Thats what I am hoping....I know there will always be folks who just dont want to bother spending the time to make rope. Regardless of what tool you use it still takes time to learn and test. If you dont plan on selling it as a business then making rope once a year for a project isnt all that appealing. I hope...

Trial and error same as always. Just keep it lubricated...I spray some WD-40 on it every day before I use it. No real tricks...no real mystery. Rope making is a simple principle. You just have to get the timing correct and tension on each side after twister. You must establish an equilibrium after twisting that gives you a nice looking rope. This will be different depending on teh size of teh rope and the material you use and the amount of threads on each eye. Yes it looks cheasy but I wouldnt trade it for anything else. I do wish the diameter of the circular parts were larger. This would allow a forth eye on them for four stranded rope. But it works a treat. Now you know my secret...so much for my rope business now, LOl !!! I am no engineer either...look at that high tech piece of equipment... and stylish as well. A 21' length of rope in 8 minutes....try and beat that. See the pics of my rope-a-dashery below. I will be making 500 feet of brown rope today...joy!! Chuck

Not much to share...I removed the handles and put in a screw with a Phillips head slot on it. Thats it. Then I use a power drill at 2500 rpm's to lay up the rope. It just takes some practice. I also added some metal washers to reduce friction. Th efirst time I didnt use them the rope walk started smoking. Thats it. Easy-peasy

Dont be so quick to say its crap....I basically use it to produce all of my rope for Syren Ship Model company. With a modification or two....you can lay up a 21 foot length of rope in about 8 minutes. I have demonstrated this at my local club. I make approximately 5-6000 feet of rope on that so-called piece of crap every month. You can buy them for 20 bucks and when it gets used up...throw it away and get another. The average builder will never need to make 70,000 feet of rope per year so it will last a lifetime. In my case...I used one for three years....so I recommend them highly. I use a variable speed drill to power each end. The principle of making rope is very simple...I subscribe to the KISS philosophy. Why over complicate things. It does the job nicely. But if you want to spend a lot more.....on ...other machines...thats OK too. I just decided yesterday to retire my current ropewalk and built another in 30 minutes. I am good to go for another 100,000 feet of rope at least. The one I use is the Model shipways version but they are identical in every respect. The exact same design and parts. I think my rope is the best on the market today so if its any indication.....

Looking great Ryland. Glad to see you having fun with it. Chuck

Drillbitsunlimited.com

#70 or #69

Its an optical illusion actually. The trick is to make the line slightly off and upward towards the stern to compensate. Its a common thing. It depends on the hull shape how bad the illusion will be. It will most likely only become evident after you finish and you will always have to make adjustments. Chuck

I have seen contemporary models with lids on every port. These tended to be earlier. When I designed Cheerful though there was no indication of port lids at all. I will leave those off. The older cutters seemed to have some meat above the ports to bolt them in place. On the later cutters like cheerful this wasnt the case. Yes it is true they could be side hinged. But unless you see it on the draft for that particular cutter or any of its sisters I wouldnt paint with a broad brush. I probably would have included the side hinged ports on Sherourne. Only because its such an interesting feature. Who could argue that its wrong since it was clearly shown on the draft. Not being the case on many other contemporary models and plans though...its just safer to just leave them off. Case in point. Here is a photo of an early cutter with port lids. And another of Cheerful. If Cheerful (1803) didnt have any port lids....why the rabbet shown around each port opening. Why not have the planking end flush against the port framing. These questions will drive you nuts. There comes a time when you must decide whether you want a conservative approach or if you want to take a leap of faith based on thin assumptions. In the end...whatever you decide it certainly wont be the end of the world if you are wrong. I imagine it would pretty darn tough for anyone to prove that with certainty anyway, unless of course they are just being unreasonably self indulgent and full of themselves. Absolutes are pretty tough when considering these details. Oh and I realize that Cheerful was designed after 1800, but it was clearly carvel planked in my opinion. The outboard and inboard planking expansions are available. The outboard expansion shows a drop plank under the wales and an interesting shape of the rabbet that leads me to believe that it was clinker planked. I have never seen a clinker planked hull with drop planks at the bow. Does this mean I am absolutely correct. Not at all. But its just my opinion...and that is all any of this is. Even if it is based on primary sources such is the case with my planking example. I am sure someone will run across a model or a planking plan prior to 1800 that shows the same. So painting with such road strokes is dangerous. Yet I see it all the time. After examining so many plans you will see exceptions all the time. You will also see weird experimental features that may be unique to a particular ship. Check out the somewhat unique head facilities on the Niger class drafts. I dont think they were built but could have been on one of the many in her class. Who knows.

Sorry Peter...but we have been taken to the cleaners before. This is not what the project was created for. No reason to redraft the plans. Then the arguments begin about who owns the redrafted plans....it just gets ugly. Folks seeing the parts take shape and asking you privately to sell them the pieces. Putting you and the site in an awkward position. It happens all the time. We already have other sites distributing the plans to its members after they signed up here for them and the funny thing is they arent continuing the logs here. Instead they continue them on other european sites along with others who now have the plans. Its just not right and this is an unusual request beyond the scope of what the project was intended for. The project was started to allow folks to learn how to make the parts by hand using various means. Not have them laser cut or milled and the plans redrawn. Sorry, we mean no ill-will but as others have said. Simply get a set of plans from the NMM and make something electronically. I am actually doing the same as well. You will learn a lot more about lofting frames and such rather than just copy what is already drafted by someone else. In addition the plans are only given to folks who have shown they have built the keel and other parts initially. Just redrawing them doesnt count. Chris only has two posts on the site and none since attempting to get the plans. That is also a red flag. No interest shown in the other logs or other areas of the site or our members. Look at it from our perspective. We dont know you at all. Chuck

Oh boy...you are only limited by your imagination. Check out the NMM site and the gallery of contemporary model here at MSW. Chuck

That will do just fine. Chuck

Planking at the bow should have a gentle "S" curve where it flattens out as it butts the stem. This creates the flat area from one side of the stem to the other. To better explain see this new doctored image which is a corrected version of your planking. Although exaggerated a bit. Chuck

Just taper the extreme bow of the sheer strake. It will be fine. The frieze strip will fit fine. Remember not to over-think the process. It will look great. NO need to start over. Chuck

Very nice...although the photo of the bow fully planked should be flatter,. See this image of your model. You planking comes to a point on an angle and this may make it difficult to put the caprail on effectively. The cap rail should be flat just abaft the stem. I am not sure how you will achieve this however if the sheer planks followed the path of the green line it would be much easier. Hope that helps. Chuck

Very nicely done!!

That is looking so good Len. Very nice job. Your paint work is very precise and that is evident in your pictures. The rigging is coming along nicely, you are certainly kicking it up a notch.

Thats exactly how I do it. Wonderful explanation. The one thing I might add is that the twisting can be put into the plank ahead of time as well. I usually dip the plank in some water for about 5 seconds. Then clamp the bow end of the plank to the table. Twist the plank carefully as to not change or remove the edge bending. Heat it up with a hair dryer on the hottest setting. This will lock in the twist. You can shape the plank so it will fit perfectly without any coaxing required to put it into place. Chuck Well done Augie.

Unfortunately we will not be able to give you access to the drawings. This is one of the stipulations of the original drafters and the admin agrees. There is really no need to redraw them as they are already drawn electronically and made available to model builders. I dont understand why you would simply copy them in CAD since they are already done. Sorry, but we can not allow. The only reason I can think of would be to have all parts available to laser cut or fabricate. Something the original project was not intended for. Plus there are no controls to ensure the parts are not sold or reused for other purposes. It would not be fair to the folks who worked for years researching and drafting the electronic plans we already have. Chuck Admin.

That looks very good. Well done. Chuck

If you are going to make a mold and cast the others. Why not buy just one each of the proper sizes. That wont be costly and you could castthe rest from those masters. Chuck

Who would of thought my twelve pounders would ever be used as swivel guns. They look very good and if your hand was not in that picture to show scale, you would think they were small and the to scale as if on a 1:48 scale model. Chuck

Looks good. But you you should absolutely taper that stem more where the figurehead will go. It should be a gradual taper so the sten thins down quite a bit where the figure sits. Chuck