Chuck

Looking great…nice clean work.

Wonderful step by step. And the mode is looking fantastic.

Just test those before you cut anything. Depending on how accurate the work needs to be, probably 6 out of those ten will have the poi nt off-center. They will still cut beautifully but the cut line will be wider than your drawing by a lot. I regularly use those exact bits. So I take each of the ten bits and test them by turning the spindle on. Then as I see a bit wobble I will mark the shaft with a sharpie and set it aside for less accurate use. You can easily see the wobble once you get a perfect bit that spins true. This caused me much heartache until I realized what a difference it makes. If working with small parts this matters a great deal. I mainly use 10, 15 and 20 degree V engraving bits.

Let me know how it works out…i have a prover and thought about getting this one as well.

Wonderful work David

Thanks…this is also how I will probably approach the rails along the shear. That should work and make life a bit easier. But you still have to shape the tops of each. That takes some careful slow work but its worth it.

Beautiful stuff!!!

Very nice work....beautiful.😀

Thank You Moving on to the belfry rail. This is pretty straight forward. All of the parts are laser cut for you. I carefully removed the laser char from each piece and then glued each rail together. One thing worth noting is that the tops of the rail uprights are shaped like the typical timberheads you have all seen. But they can only have the shape laser cut on two sides. You will need to sand or file the shape on the front end of each. I just used a sharp #11 blade actually to cut in the angle for the top. There is a laser etched line already on the piece to act as a stop-cut. So I just sliced the angle back towards the etched line. You can see one that has been shaped before painting below. Another detail to mention is the fact that the fcastle deck has a roundup or camber to it. In order to ensure these uprights for the rail are actually vertical, the bottom of each of them is laser cut at the appropriate angle for you. Just make sure you face them all the correct way when you insert the uprights into the rail. Insert them top-end first as I also laser cut a small stop into the bottom half of the uprights so you can keep the height of the rail consistent along all three pieces. There is also a small "L" shaped piece that is glued to the inboard end of each rail port and starboard. Make sure you glue it to the correct side....otherwise the rail will not sit properly and will lean to one side because of the angled bottoms. These "L" shaped pieces once glued to each rail also help position it on the fcastle. It makes it impossible not to center them on the fcastle edge properly. The one side of the "L" actually sits against the belfry. It butts up against the belfry sides. Oh and I almost forgot...you can round off the sheaves on the rail just like on the other fittings you made from parts like this. Paint them black. Slowly but surely the fcastle is filling up with details. Next up will be the large knee at the bow followed by the catheads. Any questions or comments? Feedback...

Just beautiful....nicely done.

Thats just what happens when I try to draw a line on a photo in the software I am currently using. It really screws up the image. LOL Plus those were just taken with my phone. I do that a lot because its quick when I am doing testing of parts. Lighting isnt important I just need to check placement and shape etc. I take dozens with my phone and then I can sit and really examine them... Then I toss the part and tweak it and make another...rinse and repeat. Thats the process.

Thats way too much...it wouldnt fit...it just needs a slight adjustment on the forward end so the curve isnt as severe. This has already been done, I am just waiting to get the shear rail completed around the fcastle along with the catheads. It will be easier to finalize the upper headrail once those are in place. More to follow. Chuck

Yes they will be a bit long as I always do. But I dont think I can supply two of everything for these. That would cost a fortune and take too long to mfg. It would be an enormous amount of parts to make as well. I would never be able to make enough of them to keep them in stock in a timely manner. Thats why the headrails will be a stand alone chapter.....those that need to redo them might need to buy a second chapter at some point. Otherwise those that dont need the extras would be paying way more than they need because these will be made out of boxwood which is very expensive. It would literally double the cost of that chapter. And most of it would be wasted if not used. Maybe I can set it up so folks can buy extra parts for these. Just the headrail they need to do again... For example...."extra main rail port side" and then a separate store item for "extra main rail starboard side"..."head timbers port side".....Eking rail...etc.

That is actually how they are they made....Its a good thing that you couldnt tell, unless you think the results are not satisfactory. All are different versions of that concept. In fact that one rail is made up of 4 or even 5 different thickness of wood... Chuck

Still plugging away on experimenting guys…i have made probably a dozen of these already all with different shapes and approaches. These are all with the laser cutter but when time permits I may also give it a try on the cnc. Just trying to manage my time to get it all done. Each iteration takes a few hours. Adjusting for grain direction and number of parts etc These are just down and dirty experiments. I am leaning in the direction of the one on the right. But nothing will out do a scratch built rail but I am trying to get you guys close enough to be happy. One of the many tests made in just cedar. This one was discarded for obvious reasons. I started using cedar for the tests because I was going through too much of my boxwood stash. The shape isnt correct on this version and its a bit too heavy. Too much sweep and curve toward the forward end of the rail. These headrails will take a long while to get right. I have to take a step back and turn my attention to finishing the next two chapters but I think its good that you see how many iterations I work up and the thought process. It takes me forever to work on each element. I am never entirely satisfied. Feedback?? Any would be appreciated as it would let me know if I am on the right path or not.

It depends on the pieces to be cleaned…I would certainly post an image from this log of say the hair brackets but that might upset some folks….the methods for those are very different then those use to clean the char entirely from thicker and wider pieces. for example….the two halves of the belfry roof below. That needed a completely different approach than cleaning the char from thin molding. But as you can see from the photo it is very possible to remove the char almost completely even from the corners on the roof. But I spent 50 minutes and maybe longer cleaning the char from those two halves of the roof. It takes time. Not everyone is willing to do that and its fine. So before you work on a piece in your log, just pose the question if you want to and I will do my best to make suggestions. You are working on the gun carriages now. They are tiny. Attempts to sand the steps along the tops of the carriages usually round them off. Painting them red without removing the char wont work because red is very transparent and it will show. So i would do something very different which many might find odd but it works for me. it requires very little sanding actually. I have to pack up my orders for the post office and do some morning clerical stuff but I would be glad to show you how I do it on small pieces that would eventually be painted red. Sorry about using your image. If folks just want “attaboys” in their log thats fine. But it also takes a lot of time to read all these logs and reply with what I would like to think is helpful advice. I will have to do some set up and take some pictures of some gun carriages to show you….it might be later on. But I hope at least a few folks will appreciate that time spent and discuss its merits. This will take some time but I am more than willing to do it. I will post it in your log.

I was hopeful that because this log by your own account was going to serve as a teaching tool that we could really make it a teaching tool. The char can absolutely be removed from most pieces. There are techniques and methods to accomplish this. I thought you wanted to improve things on your second attempt especially after spending my guess is $1800 on Sphinx up to this point … I thought this would prompt questions of “This part is fragile, how can I safely remove the char”. Then we can discuss the methods. I think the group would like to know how to do so. But its fine I will refrain from posting or encouraging you to try. Its fine if you want to simply “assemble” your second attempt as well. Its just a hobby. I just thought you wanted to do more the second time around. The laser does not leave a smooth surface at all. If you look closely at the cut edge you will see rough lines where the laser cuts through the wood. Smoothing these out greatly enhances the finish even after painting them black. Black has a tendency to reflect the light in a way that actually makes these laser cut marks more noticeable. Especially if a shinier finish is applied afterwards which I would try to avoid if no attempt to clean the char is made before painting. If you decide you want to try a technique to do so please dont hesitate to ask.

I was just trying to give some advice. It makes a huge difference. I will remain silent and let you get on with it. I am not sure why you would build it again however. I am not saying you are a bad modeler at all. Just an impatient one. I was thrilled to hear you were building another and slowing down.

I am glad to hear you will slow down a bit. I cant see anyone being able to build the hull of 3/16” scale model of an English 5th rate frigate in just 3 months and have the parts all fit together properly and look decent. Three months…that is indeed way too fast. One thing I would recommend to all Sphinx builders is that you carefully sand and clean all the char off of the parts before you glue them on the model. That will make a huge difference. Even on the main deck which is laser etched with details. There is so much laser residue being left on these parts. If you would allow me to offer all the Sphinx builders a bit of advice. All of the laser char I am seeing left on many Sphinx build logs really detracts from the the models overall finished appearance. Its not something that takes that long to do. It seriously knocks the model down a few pegs when its not done. This is true even if the parts are glued together with care. This is especially true with all all of the fancy hull moldings and fenders and knees. The edges of the railings and coamings, and deck beams, etc. Those fancy molding parts should be sanded and shaped with the top and bottom edges of the molding rounded off. Otherwise it looks too flat and rather kit-like. When you pay $800 to $900 on a kit these seem like rather easy steps to take to elevate the finished models appearance. It really doesnt take that long to do , nor is it very difficult. Unless Im missing something, why has this particular kit convinced folks to leave the laser char on all the parts when building the model. I have looked at quite a few of these being built. When Chris assembles his prototypes without removing the char its for a reason….which is just to check that the parts fit. No need for other Sphinx builders to follow suit as Chris made sure everything fits. So go ahead and slow down and clean off all that char. Even if you plan on painting those parts. Its great surface prep. I can even see the connectors where the parts were held in the laser cut sheets. You shouldnt be able to see that on a finished model.

Beautiful work..... I also painted the top of the roof black because it made the fine filigree carved details on the roof rail stand out more. Really nice work Ben. That certainly doesnt look like laser cut parts from a kit. It looks like the finest of scratch built quarter galleries to my eye. The carved drop is a perfect match. Chuck

Yes ...any good laser operator/kit designer knows that you should make allowances for the kerf of the laser as well as the removal of laser char. Too bad though that many do not or havent figured out how. For parts that are to be shown finished you should always remove the char. Nothing shows a lack of patience more than not removing the char from finished pieces. You dont want your model to look like a kit when its done if the design is good enough to not to make that apparent. In most instances however it will fall short that without some level of kit-bashing. Use the edge of a blade to scrape the bad char as much as possible and then some fine sand paper to remove any remaining brown stuff. .

Thats the plan....and I hope that folks will start slowing down as well and really doing some more precise work. There will need to be more shaping and some extra tweaking on some of these parts. And I have been noticing the opposite is actually happening sadly...some are not even removing the char from these pieces and just gluing the parts together. Everyone needs to take a deep breath also and treat each fitting as if its an actually mini project. More on the fcastle to come soon. Chuck

Thank you all for the kind comments. I am happy that all you (at least those that gave feedback) want to continue as is. I am glad I am frustrating you guys with these designs. I will of course continue as is. I am enjoying it very much but just wanted to make sure you guys were as well. Greg…yes that Amazon model is one of my absolute favorites. I came so close to building that instead of the Winnie. But anyway….six years later I am still thrilled with the Winnie. Chapter 9 may be a while so for all you folks who have caught up, please have patience…I do not want to rush through it. And please do slow down a bit as I wasnt kidding…the headrails will need a bit more care and understanding build. So those will be a stand alone chapter as I suspect a few of you may beed to redo some of those parts along the way.

That looks very good. Really nice work planking the hull. Just remember to go slow and take your time. I will be following along.

I have collected them over the years and also know where to find them and yes many I have taken myself. But there is a treasure trove closer than you might think. Just look in our gallery. The gallery of "contemporary" models is an absolute treasure. Many of these photos are taken right from there. I wish that folks would use that resource more and post more in there. Every chance you get to see a contemporary model...just pick one or two and take about 50 photos of each. Get close up detail shots of everything. Then post them in the gallery. No other forum in the world has such a valuable source of wealth. Take some time and go through some of them.....some I took but others have contributed a great deal. If you are close to any museum...help add more. For example....check out one of my favorite albums in the gallery.