Chuck

Moving forward towards the waist....the one fitting on deck that needed to be done next was the mast coat for the mizzen mast. I decided to do all three mast coats and get them done. These are laser cut for you in boxwood. The mizzen mast coat is only in two layers. The thicker top layer should be rounded off on the top edge and then glued to the really thin disc which is slightly larger. The laser char was carefully removed while paying attention to keep these round. I didnt bother with the inside because this will be painted black or dark gray. Making these in layers is a great way to avoid using a lathe. I just sanded and shaped them by hand. The main and forward mast coats are made in three layers. Basically another thin layer is added on top after rounding off the TOP edge of the thicker center layer. If that makes sense. The main mast coat also has some eyebolts along each side which were added. See the plans for details. That means I can now build out that forward bulkhead next.... The center section was added first just like before but this was worked in conjunction with the panel that spans both bulkheads. See below. You want to position both and shape both to fit. Dry fit them and when satisfied glue them into position. This next part is optional because you wont see any of it. But I went ahead and did it anyway. To avoid having a gap above that cross panel once the qdeck is planked....I added some 1/16" thick laser cut pieces between the beams. The beams were placed in position only temporarily. Then the strips were glued to the top of the panel. You can see the last one ready to be glued. Then you can remove the two deck beams and it will look like this. I removed those beams so I could build out the rest of the forward bulkhead. It makes it easier to get your finger in there. You can proceed to build out the remaining panels for the forward bulkhead just like you did for the aft version. Build the doors and then add the outside pieces. See the pick below. Once done you can absolutely glue the other two deck beams into position. You can also add the 3 lodging knees on both sides. There are no hanging knees here. Sand them to fit snug and make sure they face the right way. You can simulate the bolt head pattern on these if you want. But on my model they wont be seen at all so why bother. I would use 20lb. black filament for the bolts if you want to show them. Dont forget to glue your cannon in permanently so it wont come loose. Otherwise break out the tweezers because it will be hard to work under those beams should anything come free or if you get any debris down there.

That is looking fantastic...nicely done...

You need to ask for it in the comment section of your order so the person who packs up my orders knows to include it.... Chuck

You are getting close! Almost done.

That is correct.

Beautifully done Mike... Chuck

Thanks guys. Greg...i havent really caught up. Still have lots of inventory to make. But I really wanted to make some progress. Luck for me, with no more rope to make, I can work on the model as the laser cuts other parts for inventory.

Today I started some deck details. The way I work the gun deck fittings is to start at the stern and work my way forward. With that in mind, the first thing to be done is the aft bulkhead that defines the great cabin. The aft few deck beams were permanently glued in position. But I left a few off so I could get my fingers in there while working the bulkhead sections. The bulkhead sections are all laser cut for you. This aft bulkhead will have all parts labelled as "G" when you get them. They are actually laser etched with the paneling on both sides so no need to glue two halves together or anything like that. The sections are 1/16" thick. You start by centering the "center" section of the bulkhead under the beam and on the separating line between the checker floor and deck planking. I have cut these slightly taller just in case there are subtle difference from model to model. So sand a bit from the bottom and the top until you get a nice snug fit.... But not so snug that you can see beam raise up under the pressure. The beam must stay where it is so dont force it under there or you will suffer later when you try and plank the qdeck. That beam should flex at all. Remember to face the correct side facing forward which has a laser cut reference line for another panel that span the gap between the two bulkheads and create two cabin spaces. Check out the plans for that. In that same photo you can see two doors that will go in next. But first you have to build them. Its laser etched on both sides but you still have to add the window which is thinner.....and add the door kn0b and hinges. First glue the 1/32" thick window into the opening so its uniform and shows the laser char evenly around it on both sides. Dont remove the laser char because these were cut with care to fit perfectly in the opening. You can also see below that I stuck a 28 gauge black wire through the door knob hole and clipped it off so it sticks out. You will be gluing the door Knob on this wire. So ensure it sticks out on both sides. Push it all the way through the hole and clip it so maybe 3/64" is sticking out on both sides. Note the knobs and hinges below as well ready to go. The door knob is carefully placed on the wire but dont push it against the door. Let it sit proud of the door a bit. Then paint it black These are laser cut for you also. The hinges are laser cut from black laser board. Glue these on but make sure you allow the other side to hang over the edge. That part of the hinge will be glued to the bulkhead panels and hold the doors in position. Make sure you evenly space these so they are all at the same height across all the doors or it will look awful. To finish the doors add the small acetate window pains on the aft side of the windows. Or you can just leave those off the model as they tend to be dust magnets. Finally glue the one door into position only by its hinge. The one that gets glued to center panel section below. But then place the second door in position only so you can mark the deck and beam with a light pencil reference line. You want to know where the hinged side of the door ends so you can shape that last panel against the bulwarks to fit perfectly. Remember that the doors are also slightly taller just in case. Sand them to fit nice under that beam. After you mark the end of that door for reference set it aside. Finally the last outside panel needs to be shaped and fitted. This shape should be pretty close but everyone's model will vary slightly. It depends on how much you faired the frames before you planked the bulwarks. That curve of your bulwarks may vary.... This last panel is a bit wider and taller so you can shape it to first fit tight against the bulwarks. Match the curvature of your bulwarks first. Then sand the top and bottom so it fits under the beam. Last you can test it to see if that second door fits alongside of it to close the gap tightly. You can show the door open or a variety of open and closed. Its up to you. I prefer them closed. Here is a look at the finished bulkhead wall spanning across the deck. With this bulkhead done I can glue a couple cannon in permanently now and move forward to the work on the mast coats and then the next forward bulkhead. I will slowly work towards the waist in this fashion.....slowly adding the beams and knees as I finish making the fittings that will go under them.

Frapping Is what that is called. I dont much care for it. They do that on a lot of museum ships because folks wont trip over the tackle coiled on deck. Its not something I would ever do on a model but I have seen some do that. They choose to do it rather than create coils on deck. Its just personal preference. Chuck

Really nice pics. It shows how careful and attentive to craftsmanship you have been. i also love the tone and color of the cedar when its cleanly worked. Just beautiful.

Nicely done!!!

That looks great Jack. The wood has a wonderful color and texture.

Thanks... Today I finished this beam along the transom. I removed it from its temporary placement and painted the inboard side of the transom red. But you can see where I stopped at the bulwarks. Dont paint the area above the q galleries. You can also see some iron straps which form a right angle along the ends of the beam. These were laser cut from black laser board and glued into position in two pieces to simulate the strap. It really finishes it off nicely although the straps wont be seen anyway. Before adding them however I added a strip of 1/8' x 1/32" cedar to to deck clamp between both beams to clean it up and make the deck clamp flush with the paneling below it. Then I added the strap section on top of that....I am referring to span between the deck beams.

That looks pretty good to me. I think you did an excellent job.

Here it is with the top 3/64" thick layer (margin). See how it creates a rabbet or ledge for the deck planking. The last beam is actually a pretty good width and leaves a nice size ledge for the deck planking. I may leave it as is or just sand it a little. But hopefully this helps you guys visualize how it works. Chuck

I actually think its a bit wide as well. I am going to make it just a tad narrower...but i will paint the transom after its glued in. There is another board that goes on top which makes the rabbet so i dont have to be so careful.

Thank You guys... I didnt feel like rigging that one gun today but maybe this weekend. So I jumped right into chapter seven instead. I posted this picture earlier as a test for the deck beams. Thats the first step of this chapter. Sand the laser char off the tops of every beam. You dont even have to touch the bottoms of the beams because they will never be seen. You dont want to risk making them too thin. But this pic shows them all in place and left natural. I started at the waist and worked aft and did the same for the fcastle beams. I did this because if I cut one beam too short I could still use it further aft. So work the longest beams first. Cut them to length and test them in their respective slots. Number them as we wont be permanently positioning these for a while. In fact we will be removing them and testing them quite a lot depending on what fittings we are working on at that moment later. Here is an image of the same beams with the front and side faces painted red. This was common practice on those contemporary models. Its up to you. But this will allow you to paint the knees red as well. It will tie everything together nicely. Close up pf the qdeck beams. Notice how I left the beams with the cabin areas bright and natural which was also common practice. One of the benefits of not rigging the guns is they wont get in the way when you start doing other stuff. None of them are glued in yet so I can remove them and also close the port lids so I dont damage them. I want to get that last deck beam in that is up against the transom at the stern. This beam has the round up of the others but also conforms to the curvature of the transom. Its a tricky beam to make. The margin plank will sit on this leaving a rabbet at along the front edge to seat the deck planks in. It is laminated in two layers of laser cut parts. Here are the parts.....or layers. Note that one layer is narrower. This is the bottom layer. These layers were glued together and pre bent at the same time before the glue dried. I used thick slow setting CA for this. Hold the two layers together with the narrow one on the bottom. The forward edge of both layers is flush together. If you bend them slightly to match the round up or camber of the other deck beams ...while the glue sets, it will hold that shape with the camber once dry. It only takes a few seconds so work quickly. You dont have to bend them too much either. There is only a slight round up to these beams. You should do a dry run without glue to see how much pressure to apply to bend them while together. You wont have to apply too much pressure. I applied the CA and while both layers were together....I worked quickly to bend them to the same curve as the other deck beams. Once dry it was tested on the model. Also not that I did carve the notch really wide in the deck clamp because it made testing the beam easier. No worries on the gap you see because that will be covered up in the next step. You can see that I nailed the proper round up needed which can be tested by using a planking strip. Use this across the beams to test how well the plank sits on all of the beams including this last one. If you bent too much its OK....you will be able to bend the other way to lessen the round up. But try not to over bend it so that wont be necessary. Slide that planking strip port to starboard to see how well you did. The aft edge of this beam was also beveled to fit snug against the transom as you can see. This beam isnt glued in permanently yet but it will be very soon. and some pics of Amazon to show you guys again what I am shooting for......or similar.

Thank you!!! Chuck

OK finally the guns are all done.....I just have to make one more eyebolt per gun carriage....for the inhaul. I always forget those until I take pictures. The corresponding eyebolts and split rings were added to the bulwarks. They were made the same as those for the gun carriages. I used 24 gauge black wire. The split rings were the same also using a 41 drill bit to make them. There are also eyebolts/split rings on deck for the carriages which were also made the same. BUT, if you examine the plans there are also 8 larger rings which need to be added. I added those at this time also. Those were made from 22 gauge wire using a #31 drill bit. You can see I forgot the one eyebolt on the back of each carriage....so I will add those at some point. Man that was a lot of eyebolts and split rings to make....sheesh!! Remember that I wont be rigging them so they will look just as you see them here. But the beauty of not rigging them means that I dont have to glue them into position permanently yet. I will wait in case removing them makes it easier to work on the other fittings in the next chapter. But if you are going to rig them....this would be the time. I will rig one just to explain how I do it but then I will take it all apart... Also remember that you wont be able to rig 4 of the guns yet because the eyebolts are actually located in the hanging knees. Those will be added early in the next chapter. So no worries there. Check the plans for those.... And the proverbial pic leaving the camera on deck facing aft showing all the guns....Next up I will rig that one cannon for you folks and start on chapter seven.

Thank you...... A quick tip....try more twists and get it a bit tighter lay. Both with the initial twisting and final twisting.

Very nicely done!! 😀

So how is it going with your winnie?

Hows it going with your winnie? Any progress?

Set the print setup to “no scale” that will print them at 100% very strange indeed. I would see if someone else can print one out at a friends house or like was mentioned go to staples or something like that. Your printer seems screwed up a lot.

It was usually a canvas floor cover like a rug. But made from canvas like a heavy tarp. That looks great. I also want to know how you painted that so cleanly. chuck