Chuck

This will mark the beginning of my project to build the prototype for the Cutter Cheerful.  The plans are completed and I am getting ready to release the plans in a few months.  I will be building her out of Boxwood or possibly even Pau marfin.  I havent decided.  This project is a POB build as you can see from the details in the plans posted below.  Its not a very cumbersome project with just a cutter rig to deal with.  She is carvel planked and not Clinker planked.  This is one of the reasons why I chose it as a subject.
 
Once I have the skeleton built and the hull planked,  the plans will be released. The remainder of the project is pretty straight forward and doesnt need much of an explanation.  I just need to prove out the design concepts for the hull skeleton.  It shouldnt take too long.  I will be writing a monograph as I build her and posting it on my website for free download as well as here on MSW should folks want to read it.  But as I stated,  I wont need to finish the entire project to release the plans as they are really straight forward.  At a 1/4" scale...the hull will be 28 inches long and 26" tall.  A nice size yet built at a larger scale to show some great details.  
 
I am finally at a point with the Syren store where my inventory is quite full and I will be able to enjoy working on both the Winnie and the Cheerful for several hours each day.  I just cant wait to get started.  Having a laser cutter doesnt hurt either.  It will save me much time.
 
Chuck
 

 

 

Thanks,
 
I used a hair dryer and slowly bent it to the desired shape while heating it up.   The hair dryer was on the highest the hottest setting.
 
Chuck

I was able to shape the fashion pieces today.  They are will be in one piece with the boom crutch added separately later.  The boom crutches wont be added until the cap rail is added way down the road.   For now I just left them extra long so I can file them back to where I want them. You can see in the photo how the bottom fashion piece was bent using heat.....no water or soaking.  The top one is the flat 1/16" thick piece which has not been bent yet.
 
Once these were glued on the model,   the second layer of the wales (two strakes) were added and painted.  I still have to paint them on the other side.  After thats done I will treenail above the wales.  That will be easier to do before I add the fancy molding along the sides of the hull per the plan.
 
Notice how the fashion piece covers the end grain of the planks on the stern transom.  When the stern is all done there shouldnt be any end-grain exposed for any of the planking.  The fashion piece and square tuck protect them from the elements.
 

 

 

 

Thanks.....  That is still the plan.  As soon as I complete the exterior planking with the square tuck and write the first few chapters of the monograph (which will be posted on my site as a free download)   the plans will be released.

Thanks,
 
I used a hair dryer and slowly bent it to the desired shape while heating it up.   The hair dryer was on the highest the hottest setting.
 
Chuck

Thanks,
 
I used a hair dryer and slowly bent it to the desired shape while heating it up.   The hair dryer was on the highest the hottest setting.
 
Chuck

My keel is complete.
 
For my first pass I used black tissue paper which looked really great but I over sanded it and the keel ended up with a very nice taper to it. Too bad that wasn't the look I was going for. The problem was the glue was harder than the wood and so sanding to get rid of the glue squeeze out took a real toll on the wood.
 
For the he second pass I went back to using artist charcoal rubbed on the mating surfaces. This worked out well so I went with it.
 
The 7/8" bolt holes were drilled using a drill press with a #76 drill bit. I used copper beading wire that I roughed up with a green scratch pad to get down to clean copper. With the copper clean I dipped the end of the wire into CA glue and quickly inserted it into the hole. I used good side cutters to cut the wire off nearly flush with the surface. Once the glue was dry I carefully filed the wire almost flush. I used a stabilized liver of sulfur gel to blacken the ends of the bolts. I used the gel full strength and applied an almost microscopic drop onto the bold head using a hypodermic needle. Once it was blacked to my satisfaction I very carefully removed the liver of sulfur residue with a small amount of water on the end of a 30/0 paint brush. All in all I'm happy with the way the bolts came out. Liver of Sulfur gel cost about $10 for a 2oz. bottle but it has a very long shelf life and a little bit goes a long way.
 

 
The rabbet was cut using a 3mm dockyard V gouge. It is very hard to control such a small tool when cutting a straight line so I make the handle larger by sliding a long piece of copper tubing over the handle and then crimping it in place. Voila, a long handled micro gouge! With the rabbet cut pretty close to final size I used several different jeweler's files to get it just right. Greg suggested I leave a tiny bit of meat on the keel for when I start framing so I can get a perfect fit between the keel, frames and garboard strake.
 
With the false keel and keel assembled I very carefully marked out where the mounting bolts were going to go and I drilled all the way through the false keel and keel. I'm going to use 6-32 bolts and nuts to mount the keel assembly to the building board and later to a display board. The nuts for the bolts were too big to be covered by the rising wood so I filed them down to they are just a bit wider than the bolts. I also filed them down height wise so that they grab a little less than 3 threads. After carefully measuring how long the bolts needed to be I test fit the keel to the building board. Once I was satisfied that all was in good order I used 5 minute epoxy  to attach the now rounded nuts to the top of the keel. Here is a picture of the keel with the nuts attached.
 

 
Next I used my mill to cut the recesses needed in the rising wood to hide the nuts. These recesses were cut a bit oversize to allow me a little wiggle room when gluing the rising wood to the keel which was the next step. Here is what the keel assembly looks like on the building board.
 
The building board is nothing more than a piece of 5/8" / 15.8mm white shelf material. I printed the cross section on self-adhesive mylar stencil film from Treeline. Mylar is dimensionally stable and also fairly sturdy which is why I used it for the build board. At about $1 per sheet I won't be using it for frames.
 

 
This is where I'm at today. With a four day weekend ahead I hope to make progress on the frames.
 

I was able to shape the fashion pieces today.  They are will be in one piece with the boom crutch added separately later.  The boom crutches wont be added until the cap rail is added way down the road.   For now I just left them extra long so I can file them back to where I want them. You can see in the photo how the bottom fashion piece was bent using heat.....no water or soaking.  The top one is the flat 1/16" thick piece which has not been bent yet.
 
Once these were glued on the model,   the second layer of the wales (two strakes) were added and painted.  I still have to paint them on the other side.  After thats done I will treenail above the wales.  That will be easier to do before I add the fancy molding along the sides of the hull per the plan.
 
Notice how the fashion piece covers the end grain of the planks on the stern transom.  When the stern is all done there shouldnt be any end-grain exposed for any of the planking.  The fashion piece and square tuck protect them from the elements.
 

 

 

 

And just to round out the images of where I spend 10 - 12 hours per day...
 
This is the other side of the shop which is in my basement...yes I know it is an absolute bloody mess.  In total its about 25 feet long and 18 feet wide with that little hallway which leads to my kids man cave.
 
This is my block making station where yesterday I finished up milling 2000 2mm blocks.  Theres a lot of sawdust on the floor....and my shop mascot snuck in the picture.   You can see a drill press behind my hi-tech dust control system...the fan. , Byrnes saw and Sherline mill.
 

 
This is one half of my rope making station...You can see one half of that cheapo ME ropewalk on the table as well as all of the scraps from making a few thousand feet of rope over the last few days....I WANT TO BELIEVE.
 
I will be bringing all of that rope making stuff to St Louis to do a demo for the NRg Conference.   I will be showuing how I make 20 - 23 foot lengths of rope on that little Model Shipways rope walk....thats how I make all of it.
 

 

 
And then looking down the length of my basement and down the 30 foot long hallway to the other end of the rope making station.   This is where I make my rope.  Nothing too terribly exciting.   Alond the wall is my library and a bunch of old models...including the 18th century model that I should really find a better place for.  There is another old Dutch model there too that is crying out for some love and restoration.  I have no idea what it is but looks about 60 - 70 years old.  Maybe.  By God I have to tidy up this place...there is crap all over.  I am embarrassed.
 

I was able to shape the fashion pieces today.  They are will be in one piece with the boom crutch added separately later.  The boom crutches wont be added until the cap rail is added way down the road.   For now I just left them extra long so I can file them back to where I want them. You can see in the photo how the bottom fashion piece was bent using heat.....no water or soaking.  The top one is the flat 1/16" thick piece which has not been bent yet.
 
Once these were glued on the model,   the second layer of the wales (two strakes) were added and painted.  I still have to paint them on the other side.  After thats done I will treenail above the wales.  That will be easier to do before I add the fancy molding along the sides of the hull per the plan.
 
Notice how the fashion piece covers the end grain of the planks on the stern transom.  When the stern is all done there shouldnt be any end-grain exposed for any of the planking.  The fashion piece and square tuck protect them from the elements.
 

 

 

 

Thanks.....  That is still the plan.  As soon as I complete the exterior planking with the square tuck and write the first few chapters of the monograph (which will be posted on my site as a free download)   the plans will be released.

I was able to shape the fashion pieces today.  They are will be in one piece with the boom crutch added separately later.  The boom crutches wont be added until the cap rail is added way down the road.   For now I just left them extra long so I can file them back to where I want them. You can see in the photo how the bottom fashion piece was bent using heat.....no water or soaking.  The top one is the flat 1/16" thick piece which has not been bent yet.
 
Once these were glued on the model,   the second layer of the wales (two strakes) were added and painted.  I still have to paint them on the other side.  After thats done I will treenail above the wales.  That will be easier to do before I add the fancy molding along the sides of the hull per the plan.
 
Notice how the fashion piece covers the end grain of the planks on the stern transom.  When the stern is all done there shouldnt be any end-grain exposed for any of the planking.  The fashion piece and square tuck protect them from the elements.
 

 

 

 

I was able to shape the fashion pieces today.  They are will be in one piece with the boom crutch added separately later.  The boom crutches wont be added until the cap rail is added way down the road.   For now I just left them extra long so I can file them back to where I want them. You can see in the photo how the bottom fashion piece was bent using heat.....no water or soaking.  The top one is the flat 1/16" thick piece which has not been bent yet.
 
Once these were glued on the model,   the second layer of the wales (two strakes) were added and painted.  I still have to paint them on the other side.  After thats done I will treenail above the wales.  That will be easier to do before I add the fancy molding along the sides of the hull per the plan.
 
Notice how the fashion piece covers the end grain of the planks on the stern transom.  When the stern is all done there shouldnt be any end-grain exposed for any of the planking.  The fashion piece and square tuck protect them from the elements.
 

 

 

 

Thanks.....  That is still the plan.  As soon as I complete the exterior planking with the square tuck and write the first few chapters of the monograph (which will be posted on my site as a free download)   the plans will be released.

Well that is very interesting.    Thank you Sjors.  I have printed it and will stick the printout in the model so when I am ready to restore her I at least have a starting point.
 
Here is the model in question by the way.  I havent had time to give it a thorough researching yet.  That is a big help.  The name on the back is "Margareta" or "St. Margarethen"
 
Chuck
 

 

Well that is very interesting.    Thank you Sjors.  I have printed it and will stick the printout in the model so when I am ready to restore her I at least have a starting point.
 
Here is the model in question by the way.  I havent had time to give it a thorough researching yet.  That is a big help.  The name on the back is "Margareta" or "St. Margarethen"
 
Chuck
 

 

I use a nail clipper.  Gives a nice crisp snip and doesnt make the edges of the rope ragged.  Both cutting edges are flush so you can get close in on a know or anything you want to cut.  Buy a good pair though....cheap ones wont work as well.

Its been so long I am not entirely sure.  Tough to remember every last detail.  Best to be safe and move it down by at least 1/32" do give you a bit of wiggle room.
 
Chuck

I use a nail clipper.  Gives a nice crisp snip and doesnt make the edges of the rope ragged.  Both cutting edges are flush so you can get close in on a know or anything you want to cut.  Buy a good pair though....cheap ones wont work as well.

Thanks.....  That is still the plan.  As soon as I complete the exterior planking with the square tuck and write the first few chapters of the monograph (which will be posted on my site as a free download)   the plans will be released.

Thanks.....  That is still the plan.  As soon as I complete the exterior planking with the square tuck and write the first few chapters of the monograph (which will be posted on my site as a free download)   the plans will be released.

Thanks.....  That is still the plan.  As soon as I complete the exterior planking with the square tuck and write the first few chapters of the monograph (which will be posted on my site as a free download)   the plans will be released.

Thanks.....  That is still the plan.  As soon as I complete the exterior planking with the square tuck and write the first few chapters of the monograph (which will be posted on my site as a free download)   the plans will be released.

Thanks George....No kit but definitely some other parts....see this post in the build log.  But I havent ruled it out entirely.  I Never say never.
 
http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/8131-hm-cutter-cheerful-1806-148-scale-by-chuck/?p=244654

Thanks.....  That is still the plan.  As soon as I complete the exterior planking with the square tuck and write the first few chapters of the monograph (which will be posted on my site as a free download)   the plans will be released.