Chuck

Thats great. Thank You. He has the list of wood required for the Cheerful wood packages. So if you want the pre-milled strips for the model in the Option B wood package....you can order it from him. Because he can do that now, I am even go to go back to offering an all Boxwood Cheerful starter package. You will be able to buy the parts all in Boxwood once again and get both the wood packages in Boxwood from Joe. That will be in stock next week sometime. He will start keeping lists of what is needed for all of my Syren projects for the strips needed and even other kit MFG's. Chuck

Joe is all set up and ready to go. Here is his website. He should have Swiss Pear in a couple of weeks. But for now....Boxwood, Yellow Cedar and Cherry. Contact him for stripwood needs. http://www.modelerssawmill.com/ Joe will be coming onboard as a sponsor real soon....so look for his banner. He has signed up as a member as well. If you need to send him a PM. His username is "Joe V" Chuck

I am helping him look for it but other than Domex its hard to find folks selling raw billets thicker than 1”. This is problematic. And when you do it is selling for $65 to $75 a board ft. With no guarantee it will be white like we expect. So the search continues. so for Holly it will be the last thing he probably sources and mills. Prices are crazy.

A bunch of people were PMing me about what he will offer.....I have this from his website under development.....wood sheets. He is starting with just these three species as he is awaiting delivery of others like Swiss Pear and Walnut etc. As he gets organized and gets the other stuff I will let you know. I asked him to sign up here and he will be a sponsor of MSW too.....just takes time to get it all off the ground. and strips will be for sale.... So all those folks who were reluctant to sign up for the Winnie project because you couldnt mill your own strips. This should solve that issue. Its gonna be a week or so before he opens up for orders. Chuck

Looking great. Nice and tidy. The ratlines will go just fine. Just keep them straight and evenly spaced. The worst thing that could happen is pulling in your shrouds to get that dreaded hourglass shape. No pressure.

Yes you could do that. Absolutely.

Once he gets going he will join MSW as a member so he can get to know his customers. I will keep giving updates.

Just a heads up. A new company…actually a one man shop like Hobbymill is starting up in the USA. Finally another source to by stripwood and sheets of precision milled wood. His name is Joe Volpe. He will start off slow increasing the species he offers over time. To start, He will be offering Boxwood, Cherry and Alaskan Yellow Cedar. Joe is the guy who currently mills all of my wood for Syren Ship Model. He has decided to open up to everyone. He also has some swiss Pear coming soon. He is finalizing the website and I will announce when he opens. No online store as its going to be very similar to Jeff at Hobbymill. You send Joe an email with what you need and he will give you a price. You pay via PayPal and he lets you know when the order ships. At least for now anyway. Joe is a really nice guy and mills with precision. I am very happy with his product and if you ever bought wood from me then you have seen his work. I encourage you to give him a try once he opens.

This is a fantastic project and I have given Adam my support and signed up. He has a poscast started which I think all of folks would be interested in. Its sole focus is to get enough interest to convince them to invest in the TV mini-series. It will be along the lines of Downton Abby and the Crown. I recommend it highly. I believe he may be interviewing a model builder or two as well. Please support this by signing up as well. Each episode of the podcast will talk about life onboard the ships and some history and development of the ships themselves. Have a listen to these very short 7 minute episodes of each podcast... https://shows.acast.com/trafalgar-squared/episodes Chuck

Thats looking good. Your progressing nicely.

She looks great Rusty. Better every time I see it. 😃 Chuck

That is looking fantastic. Yes I designed that model with far more rigged ropes than you typically see on a model. Its tedious but when completed it really does look good. Especially when done so nicely as you have done. Really great work.

Real nice….it gets easier as you go. They look great so far.

I deleted the off topic stuff so guys please just concentrate on the wonderful model. Everything has been before at some point so no need to for that off topic discussion. Thanks and lets keep the build log focused on the tasks at hand.

Beautiful work. The carvings are excellent.

It could just be age as the finish might have worn off. Most often these old models have a nice patina on all the metal work. They may have been painted but its hard to see any evidence of that so many years later.

I am honestly not sure. I think it might throw the run off. But its hard to say unless I line off the deck to check. Here is an overall shot of how the fittings are progressing beneath the quarter deck. I have placed those two forward qdeck beams back on the model temporarily. Next up will be the two posts on the forward side of the gallows. These are usually made of metal but I have seen wooden posts on contemporary models. I prefer the look of the metal ones however. Here is a good example of what those metal posts for the pump cranks look like. This first one is what I will try and replicate. Both actually have really small cotter pins on those cranks for the pump. How insane is that? I wont be attempting that.

Im not sure what you mean

I did them individually. That doesnt mean it cant be do e the other way. I just like to custom fit each piece for the best fit possible.

Really is looking good. It should get easier now at the stern. Just those first two are a bit tough.

Positioning the chain pumps its finicky. No silver bullet here. I positioned and glued the gallows in permanently first. Then I carefully inserted a 1mm brass rod through the chain pumps. I guess each length was about 5" give or take. This will help me position the pumps so the brass rod touches the inside edge of the gallows uprights. Once I am satisfied, the chain pumps were glued in permanently. The brass rod was pulled back so I could repeat the process with the jeer bits. You can slide the brass rod back and forth to help you line things up. Then I glued the jeer bitts in position. With those elements glued in finally I can make my Rhodings. You only need four so you might as well make some nice one. No need to rush these after spending so much time on the other details. You can use wood or brass. Brass would be best. But a hard wood like boxwood works well too. I used a 1/6" x 1/16" boxwood strip. Just take your time and file them to shape. These should be about 5mm long when done. Make sure the 1mm brass rod fits as is shown on the photo below. It should slide under the rhoding easily. Paint them black and glue them on. BUT...when you glue them on...use the brass rod through the pumps to guide you but make sure you can still slide it back and forth freely. We will need to remove these ultimately to shape proper crank handles soon. You dont want to glue the rod in permanenetly. Its just a guide at this point. Rhodings were glued on permanently and then the brass rod was used again to help align those two columns. A hole is drilled through them as shown. Use a #59 drill bit. But by sliding the brass rod up against the column first you can mark the location for the hole before you drill it. Then glue it in position....keep them straight and vertical and all lined up. I pulled the rod out of the column so you can see how it was used as a guide first.

Nice progress....

Looks fantastic greg. Really well done. Greg’s was one of six capstan kits I made in all boxwood. I would certainly not recommend that rotary tool for the cedar. It would take too much off and make the size too small. You would need to be very very careful and use a light touch. It really does build i to a nice little model. The trick is to go slow and take your time.

For the carving. Just remove and refit the lower molding. It was designed to actually sit on the planking line so you will have plenty of room for those carvings. Just where the acanthus leaf carvings are as I can see a bit of an upward run which when evened out will allow your carvings to fit perfectly. Use the planking seam as your guide.

Making the Chain Pumps... As mentioned all of the wood parts are laser cut from boxwood. You will get all the parts for the port side on one sheet and the starboard on another. So just build one at a time. The first part that needs our attention is the 7/32" thick core. Step one- Sand the laser char from all of the edges. Take your time and keep the edges straight. Dont bother sanding the front or back face as these will be covered up. They will remain nice and flat if you dont touch them. In addition....dont clean the char from the bottom of the piece. Keep that flat as well. But all of the edges including those two pump tubes at the bottom should be clean of char. You can see one core that has not been cleaned of char yet. Note the arrow...this will be important. REALLY IMPORTANT: For this mini kit you will see me call only for certain areas to be sanded free of laser char. This is important for many reasons. It has to do with the build sequence and keeping the parts properly sized and shaped. Keep that in mind when you read through this and dont jump ahead and clean off all the char on every piece. I will let you know when you can do so. The results will be much better. STEP 2 - Glue the bottom base of the pump into position. Note that the extended, curved side is on the end of the pump where the arrow points. Also note that I have NOT cleaned the char off of any of the edges yet. That will come later. But if you want...you can sand the top surface clean before gluing it in position. STEP 3 ...Glue the larger side panels onto the core. Sit the bottom edge of these side pieces right down on the base. Dont sand the char from the edges yet. Make sure the arrows are pointing in the right direction. They follow the arrow on the core. The important thing with this step is to line up the center hole for the crank shaft. That is crucial. Because these layers are so thin they will bend and warp with titebond. I used titebond so I can slide these pieces into position. One side layer at a time. Use clamps to prevent the layer warping....trust me it will lift up if you dont clamp it. It is slightly over-sized all around except the bottom edge. Just line up that hole!! After both first layers are in position you can sand the char from certain edges. Allow me to explain. The photo below shows the sides sanded FLUSH with the core and clean from char. But leave the rounded edges of the top and dont sand that at all. But the little edges on either side should be sanded flush with the top of the core. Note the back edge of the floor or base is now sanded as well as the back side is all flush with the core. In that same photo you can see the next layer added to the back face of the pump. This is there to show you why you must sand the ends flush with that first layer in position. This next outer layer wont be flush and you will never get clean and neat otherwise. The same is true for the other side....Note how the first layer you put on is sanded flush with the edge of the core. AND the top is also sanded flush but the rounded section is left alone. Dont remove the char on that. You want the rounded hood to be perfectly shaped. Leave the char on it. This is important again because the next layer will extend forward. You can see it also added in the photo below. You can also see that the floor or base is still not cleaned of char except for that one side which is all flush with the core. STEP 4... That next layer you saw in the previous photos can now be glued on the model. But you should absolutely clean the char from edges of these before you do so. Clean the edges before gluing. But as you can see....only clean the side edges and the top edge. But leave the clamp in the center with the shaft hole alone. Dont bother cleaning the char from the edges. It is fragile and leaving it as is will look great. Dont sand the bottom edge either because then the hole wont line up with the other layers. It will sit too low. You can see how the back end of the pump is all flush....but this last layer will extend forward on the other side. Start with the layer showing the cut-out for the plug first. That should help you get alignment correct. You can see the other sides layer ready for gluing.....all the edges you need to clean are sanded nicely. STEP 5...I think... As the photo above shows....now you can sand the edges of the base all around to clean up the char. The front and back edges are sanded flush....nice and clean. The extended side of the floor is also finally sanded clean. Its starting to look like a chain pump now. Now the fun parts...just a few little details to add. STEP 6... In this step you will be adding the two legs. The fancy legs are cleaned of char and glued to the bottom side of the base. Just remember to put it on the correct side. One side is longer because of the mast partners. The fancy legs go on the side shown. Then do the other side which is sanded flush all around. You can also glue the drain plug into position. I left the char in place as it looks good that way. It will stand proud of the chain pump box. Then there are two long skinny pieces that are glued on the inside where the outside layers extend beyond the core. You can see them on the chain pump plans. Just clean them up and glue them on. Step 7...in that same photo you can see that the round hood for the chain pump has many thin boards that need to be glued in position. This isnt difficult but they are small pieces. You should bevel the edges slightly so they fit tightly. If you dont bevel the edges the seams between each plank will be too wide. I just lightly sanded a bevel by eye. No need to measure and obsess about the angles. Now if you are afraid the math wont work out and when you get to the other side you will be left with a space....fear not. I also included two wider planks just for this occasion. When you get close to planking the whole top of the hood....test a few dry fit planks to see how much space needs to be filled. I did this when I had four remaining planks to add. Turns out I only needed to adjust and use one wider plank. You cant even notice it. Sand the sides of the hood flush so its nice and neat when they are all added. They are initially just a hair longer than needed. To finish up the chain pumps....add a tiny length of 28 gauge black wire for the drain plug handle. The add the tongue. Thats the long metal piece on the front end of the pump. I used a small length of 1/32" x 1/64" brass strip. Just bend the end and round them off. I blackened it and glued it in position. Apply a coat of Wipe on Poly to bring out the nail patterns and you are good to go!!!!