Erik W

I did a variety of things over the last week.  I built the jib outhaul block (shown in the painfully enlarged photo below . . . warts and all, haha).  Mike (stuntflyer) has an excellent tutorial for that on his Cheerful build, so I followed that.  I then made a card stock mock up of the starboard side seat.  I used the card stock templates as a pattern to cut out the parts.  As others have said this is a bit finicky.  I have a feeling the second one will be more of a challenge as I try to get it to match the first.
 
I spent some time this week reading ahead in Chuck's monograph chapters to get a list of the last little bits I need to finish the build.  I ordered some Albion Alloys brass tube.  I also messaged Chuck, Mike, and Glenn (glbarlow) with questions about the thread type/size/color they used with Chuck's scale rope for seizing and serving.  Today I went on a region wide road trip to fly fishing shops and fabric stores.  Most of my dark brown rope is Chuck's old style rope, other than the .012" new Ultra for rat lines (so I don't need thread for seizing or serving the brown Ultra rope).  My tan rope is a mix of his old rope and the new Ultra rope.  These tan colors are close enough in shade to mix on the model, but I wanted thread for seizing that matched each shade.  The photos below are color corrected to be as close to accurate as I could possibly get the images.  The Gutermann thread is for most serving and seizing.  The smaller diameter UNI-Thread fly tying thread is for tiny serving and seizing.
 
Here's what I came up with based on what I could find locally.
Using with Syren old brown rope - Gutermann 50wt CA02776 Polyester thread Color 593 - UNI-Thread 72D 8/0W Dark Brown
Using with Syren old tan rope - Gutermann 50wt CA02776 Polyester thread Color 512 - UNI-Thread 72D 8/0W Tan
Using with Syren new Ultra tan rope - Gutermann 50wt CA02776 Polyester thread Color 509 - also UNI-Thread 72D 8/0W Tan
 
Also, as Chuck had answered, the thread he uses for seizing and serving his new Ultra rope is as follows (I researched what actual size/diameter it is in wt and tex).
Ultra Brown rope - Gutermann Mara 150 50wt/20Tex  Color 682 or for smaller uses Mara 220 77wt/13Tex
Ultra Tan rope - Gutermann Mara 150 50wt/20Tex  Color 263 or for smaller uses Mara 220 77wt/13Tex
This is hard to find in the US, so Chuck recommended this place: https://www.williamgee.co.uk/product-tag/mara/
 
Erik
 

As always, thanks for the likes.  I do appreciate you all following along.  After all the metal work of making the chain plates, backstay plates, eye bolts, and deadeye strops, I decided I'd work on a relatively straight forward sub assembly.  I went ahead and installed the rudder, and gudgeons and pintels (I had shaped the rudder itself a couple of months ago).  I used Chuck's mini kit for those.  You have a choice in the mini kit of .010" thick paperboard material or .028" thick plywood.  I opted for the thicker plywood and sanded it down to .018" thick.  By my eye that's a good compromise.  I used .020" diameter styrene rod for the bolts.  Yes, yes, I know it's probably sacrilege among purists to use plastic on a wooden ship build.  Haha.  But since the bolt heads are covered in paint I chose the easier to cut and work with styrene rather than metal wire.  Everything was painted with black paint and then once mounted I taped the simulated metal straps off and applied rust brown weathering powder. I haven't glued the rudder on yet.  I'll do that at a later date after I drill the final hole to mount the tiller (I did drill a small pilot/locator hole though).  That said, the rudder sits correctly straight and true with the pintels snugged down into the gudgeons.
 
On a related note, I received the last few packages of blocks I'll need for the build, and a serving machine, from Chuck this week.  If I'm inventorying correctly, I think that may be the last stuff I need to complete the build.
 
Erik

I finished the deadeyes and deadeye strops this week.  And set a new personal record for the most discarded/rejected parts.  Haha.  I can laugh now, but at the time, it was the height of frustration.  I think to get the 8 usable deadeye strops shaped correctly and mounted, I wound up with an additional 15 or so I scrapped.  Admittedly most of that was trying to get the first couple formed.  Once I had a system down for shaping them, things went more smoothly.  I wound up chipping the paint off some of the chain plates, so had to touch that up.  And I wound up rubbing off the finish of the annealed wire I used for making the strops from handling too much, so had to blacken those again . . . which made a bit of a mess on the deadeyes from blackening smudges coming off of my fingers.  So, I had to re-sand some of the deadeyes to remove that.  All in all not the most fun part of the build.  So, I'm happy that buttons up Chapter 9 of Chuck's monograph, and I look forward to getting away from handling metal and back to working with wood for the next parts of the build!
 
Erik

I did a variety of things over the last week.  I built the jib outhaul block (shown in the painfully enlarged photo below . . . warts and all, haha).  Mike (stuntflyer) has an excellent tutorial for that on his Cheerful build, so I followed that.  I then made a card stock mock up of the starboard side seat.  I used the card stock templates as a pattern to cut out the parts.  As others have said this is a bit finicky.  I have a feeling the second one will be more of a challenge as I try to get it to match the first.
 
I spent some time this week reading ahead in Chuck's monograph chapters to get a list of the last little bits I need to finish the build.  I ordered some Albion Alloys brass tube.  I also messaged Chuck, Mike, and Glenn (glbarlow) with questions about the thread type/size/color they used with Chuck's scale rope for seizing and serving.  Today I went on a region wide road trip to fly fishing shops and fabric stores.  Most of my dark brown rope is Chuck's old style rope, other than the .012" new Ultra for rat lines (so I don't need thread for seizing or serving the brown Ultra rope).  My tan rope is a mix of his old rope and the new Ultra rope.  These tan colors are close enough in shade to mix on the model, but I wanted thread for seizing that matched each shade.  The photos below are color corrected to be as close to accurate as I could possibly get the images.  The Gutermann thread is for most serving and seizing.  The smaller diameter UNI-Thread fly tying thread is for tiny serving and seizing.
 
Here's what I came up with based on what I could find locally.
Using with Syren old brown rope - Gutermann 50wt CA02776 Polyester thread Color 593 - UNI-Thread 72D 8/0W Dark Brown
Using with Syren old tan rope - Gutermann 50wt CA02776 Polyester thread Color 512 - UNI-Thread 72D 8/0W Tan
Using with Syren new Ultra tan rope - Gutermann 50wt CA02776 Polyester thread Color 509 - also UNI-Thread 72D 8/0W Tan
 
Also, as Chuck had answered, the thread he uses for seizing and serving his new Ultra rope is as follows (I researched what actual size/diameter it is in wt and tex).
Ultra Brown rope - Gutermann Mara 150 50wt/20Tex  Color 682 or for smaller uses Mara 220 77wt/13Tex
Ultra Tan rope - Gutermann Mara 150 50wt/20Tex  Color 263 or for smaller uses Mara 220 77wt/13Tex
This is hard to find in the US, so Chuck recommended this place: https://www.williamgee.co.uk/product-tag/mara/
 
Erik
 

I did a variety of things over the last week.  I built the jib outhaul block (shown in the painfully enlarged photo below . . . warts and all, haha).  Mike (stuntflyer) has an excellent tutorial for that on his Cheerful build, so I followed that.  I then made a card stock mock up of the starboard side seat.  I used the card stock templates as a pattern to cut out the parts.  As others have said this is a bit finicky.  I have a feeling the second one will be more of a challenge as I try to get it to match the first.
 
I spent some time this week reading ahead in Chuck's monograph chapters to get a list of the last little bits I need to finish the build.  I ordered some Albion Alloys brass tube.  I also messaged Chuck, Mike, and Glenn (glbarlow) with questions about the thread type/size/color they used with Chuck's scale rope for seizing and serving.  Today I went on a region wide road trip to fly fishing shops and fabric stores.  Most of my dark brown rope is Chuck's old style rope, other than the .012" new Ultra for rat lines (so I don't need thread for seizing or serving the brown Ultra rope).  My tan rope is a mix of his old rope and the new Ultra rope.  These tan colors are close enough in shade to mix on the model, but I wanted thread for seizing that matched each shade.  The photos below are color corrected to be as close to accurate as I could possibly get the images.  The Gutermann thread is for most serving and seizing.  The smaller diameter UNI-Thread fly tying thread is for tiny serving and seizing.
 
Here's what I came up with based on what I could find locally.
Using with Syren old brown rope - Gutermann 50wt CA02776 Polyester thread Color 593 - UNI-Thread 72D 8/0W Dark Brown
Using with Syren old tan rope - Gutermann 50wt CA02776 Polyester thread Color 512 - UNI-Thread 72D 8/0W Tan
Using with Syren new Ultra tan rope - Gutermann 50wt CA02776 Polyester thread Color 509 - also UNI-Thread 72D 8/0W Tan
 
Also, as Chuck had answered, the thread he uses for seizing and serving his new Ultra rope is as follows (I researched what actual size/diameter it is in wt and tex).
Ultra Brown rope - Gutermann Mara 150 50wt/20Tex  Color 682 or for smaller uses Mara 220 77wt/13Tex
Ultra Tan rope - Gutermann Mara 150 50wt/20Tex  Color 263 or for smaller uses Mara 220 77wt/13Tex
This is hard to find in the US, so Chuck recommended this place: https://www.williamgee.co.uk/product-tag/mara/
 
Erik
 

Channels
 
Initial progress on channels, a really fun opportunity to cut away some of that moulding I so lovingly added a long time ago.

But before starting that I decided to bite the bullet to remove and replace the port lids. As I’ve mentioned a few times I have broken and glued back these lids too many times to count, all of course due to carelessness. It took some delicate work to remove them and the hinges without damaging the hull, especially the friezes.
 
This time I used the wider, thicker hinges @Chuck offers. Unlike I failed to do before I kept these movable rather than fixed.  I can now display these more like the right most port. My lesson learned is to install the port with both ends of the hinge on the lid, not one part on the hull and the other on the lid then threading the wire to connect them. This time I was able to keep the hinge tight enough to hold position. My first effort ended up with ‘floppy’ lids so I had to glue them into a fixed position, and by consequence made them vulnerable to my careless movements.
 
Though it took several days it was a good call to take this step back and get a better result. I’m happy to report the friezes all survived as did my sanity.

Well the friezes survived around the ports anyway.  Cutting away moulding the exact width and shape needed for the channels was pucker time, go slow, measure once, twice, three times before cutting, did I mention go slow. @FrankWouts was wise to factor this in at the time he installed his moulding, wish I’d thought of that.
 
I did remove and replace the frieze below the fore channel, it didn't prove necessary for the main and mizzen.

The beauty of this forum is the willingness to share means and methods. Something I always try to do and certainly take advantage of myself. This surgical tool, for podiatry I think, is absolutely perfect. My thanks to @Blue Ensign for sharing it. Two choices for replaceable blades: The wider chisel blade is thin, sharp and the perfect width for pushing through the moulding, keeping a clean edge on the remaining moulding either side. The smaller blade that opens up the slot for the strap perfectly. I have used this tool repeatedly for many varied purposes when my even my mini-Veritas chisels (@DelF) prove to large. A multi purpose sharp, light tool for model work. I have not yet tried them on my feet.
 
I have a wood chisel set for my lathe that until now were a bit too large to be useful. However one of those with a tight, sharp curved edge was perfect to notch and shape the moulding to match the channel. You can see the wood handle in the background, I failed to include it in the photo.
 
The tall height gauge, courtesy of @Stuntflyer, was very helpful in keeping the channels level with the waterline, I added the bubble level to make sure it was first level itself.  I need a better platform for it than a bowl, but it does the job. The tumblehome of the hull distorts what level seems just looking at it, the gauge brings it to actual level.

Long ago I acquired ebony deadeyes I wanted to use, however the center diameter of these proved too large for Chuck’s nice acrylic strops. So after splitting a few to learn that I went to Chuck’s make your own 5mm and 6mm versions. I still had a desire to go with ebony, but didn’t like my result just painting them black so I went with this ebony wood dye. With the thickness of water it takes 4 coats (and maybe still one more) to get them there, I like the  resulting look. It’s hard to tell in the photos but the boxwood grain still shows through and they look more “natural,” not perfectly black. The little paint stand is a strip of wood with the mill cutting a groove its length.
 
I didn’t take any photos of constructing the actual channels. Not much to it, just removing char, minimal shaping, and gluing together the three layers, and of course multiple coats of WOP.



So here where it stands. I’m going to wait until I have all the 5 and 6 mm deadeyes finished and both port and starboard channels installed before finishing these (including straightening the smiling faces) to ensure uniformity. Not too much to go on chapter 11 after that, I’ve been working on the gangways, posts and ladders in parallel to the channels so it's fitting and mounting them. I’m of mixed thoughts on the swivel guns - so decision deferred for now.
 
As always thanks for stopping by - I appreciate your taking the time with your likes and comments.

That is kind of difficult to do with planking.  The planking needs to be sanded. afterwards to be neat and smooth and it will only get wrecked.   At least for me.  Most items are indeed painted beforehand but I just dont see how you can do it with bulwark planking and have nice neat planking.

I did a variety of things over the last week.  I built the jib outhaul block (shown in the painfully enlarged photo below . . . warts and all, haha).  Mike (stuntflyer) has an excellent tutorial for that on his Cheerful build, so I followed that.  I then made a card stock mock up of the starboard side seat.  I used the card stock templates as a pattern to cut out the parts.  As others have said this is a bit finicky.  I have a feeling the second one will be more of a challenge as I try to get it to match the first.
 
I spent some time this week reading ahead in Chuck's monograph chapters to get a list of the last little bits I need to finish the build.  I ordered some Albion Alloys brass tube.  I also messaged Chuck, Mike, and Glenn (glbarlow) with questions about the thread type/size/color they used with Chuck's scale rope for seizing and serving.  Today I went on a region wide road trip to fly fishing shops and fabric stores.  Most of my dark brown rope is Chuck's old style rope, other than the .012" new Ultra for rat lines (so I don't need thread for seizing or serving the brown Ultra rope).  My tan rope is a mix of his old rope and the new Ultra rope.  These tan colors are close enough in shade to mix on the model, but I wanted thread for seizing that matched each shade.  The photos below are color corrected to be as close to accurate as I could possibly get the images.  The Gutermann thread is for most serving and seizing.  The smaller diameter UNI-Thread fly tying thread is for tiny serving and seizing.
 
Here's what I came up with based on what I could find locally.
Using with Syren old brown rope - Gutermann 50wt CA02776 Polyester thread Color 593 - UNI-Thread 72D 8/0W Dark Brown
Using with Syren old tan rope - Gutermann 50wt CA02776 Polyester thread Color 512 - UNI-Thread 72D 8/0W Tan
Using with Syren new Ultra tan rope - Gutermann 50wt CA02776 Polyester thread Color 509 - also UNI-Thread 72D 8/0W Tan
 
Also, as Chuck had answered, the thread he uses for seizing and serving his new Ultra rope is as follows (I researched what actual size/diameter it is in wt and tex).
Ultra Brown rope - Gutermann Mara 150 50wt/20Tex  Color 682 or for smaller uses Mara 220 77wt/13Tex
Ultra Tan rope - Gutermann Mara 150 50wt/20Tex  Color 263 or for smaller uses Mara 220 77wt/13Tex
This is hard to find in the US, so Chuck recommended this place: https://www.williamgee.co.uk/product-tag/mara/
 
Erik
 

I did a variety of things over the last week.  I built the jib outhaul block (shown in the painfully enlarged photo below . . . warts and all, haha).  Mike (stuntflyer) has an excellent tutorial for that on his Cheerful build, so I followed that.  I then made a card stock mock up of the starboard side seat.  I used the card stock templates as a pattern to cut out the parts.  As others have said this is a bit finicky.  I have a feeling the second one will be more of a challenge as I try to get it to match the first.
 
I spent some time this week reading ahead in Chuck's monograph chapters to get a list of the last little bits I need to finish the build.  I ordered some Albion Alloys brass tube.  I also messaged Chuck, Mike, and Glenn (glbarlow) with questions about the thread type/size/color they used with Chuck's scale rope for seizing and serving.  Today I went on a region wide road trip to fly fishing shops and fabric stores.  Most of my dark brown rope is Chuck's old style rope, other than the .012" new Ultra for rat lines (so I don't need thread for seizing or serving the brown Ultra rope).  My tan rope is a mix of his old rope and the new Ultra rope.  These tan colors are close enough in shade to mix on the model, but I wanted thread for seizing that matched each shade.  The photos below are color corrected to be as close to accurate as I could possibly get the images.  The Gutermann thread is for most serving and seizing.  The smaller diameter UNI-Thread fly tying thread is for tiny serving and seizing.
 
Here's what I came up with based on what I could find locally.
Using with Syren old brown rope - Gutermann 50wt CA02776 Polyester thread Color 593 - UNI-Thread 72D 8/0W Dark Brown
Using with Syren old tan rope - Gutermann 50wt CA02776 Polyester thread Color 512 - UNI-Thread 72D 8/0W Tan
Using with Syren new Ultra tan rope - Gutermann 50wt CA02776 Polyester thread Color 509 - also UNI-Thread 72D 8/0W Tan
 
Also, as Chuck had answered, the thread he uses for seizing and serving his new Ultra rope is as follows (I researched what actual size/diameter it is in wt and tex).
Ultra Brown rope - Gutermann Mara 150 50wt/20Tex  Color 682 or for smaller uses Mara 220 77wt/13Tex
Ultra Tan rope - Gutermann Mara 150 50wt/20Tex  Color 263 or for smaller uses Mara 220 77wt/13Tex
This is hard to find in the US, so Chuck recommended this place: https://www.williamgee.co.uk/product-tag/mara/
 
Erik
 

As always, thanks for the likes.  I do appreciate you all following along.  After all the metal work of making the chain plates, backstay plates, eye bolts, and deadeye strops, I decided I'd work on a relatively straight forward sub assembly.  I went ahead and installed the rudder, and gudgeons and pintels (I had shaped the rudder itself a couple of months ago).  I used Chuck's mini kit for those.  You have a choice in the mini kit of .010" thick paperboard material or .028" thick plywood.  I opted for the thicker plywood and sanded it down to .018" thick.  By my eye that's a good compromise.  I used .020" diameter styrene rod for the bolts.  Yes, yes, I know it's probably sacrilege among purists to use plastic on a wooden ship build.  Haha.  But since the bolt heads are covered in paint I chose the easier to cut and work with styrene rather than metal wire.  Everything was painted with black paint and then once mounted I taped the simulated metal straps off and applied rust brown weathering powder. I haven't glued the rudder on yet.  I'll do that at a later date after I drill the final hole to mount the tiller (I did drill a small pilot/locator hole though).  That said, the rudder sits correctly straight and true with the pintels snugged down into the gudgeons.
 
On a related note, I received the last few packages of blocks I'll need for the build, and a serving machine, from Chuck this week.  If I'm inventorying correctly, I think that may be the last stuff I need to complete the build.
 
Erik

I did a variety of things over the last week.  I built the jib outhaul block (shown in the painfully enlarged photo below . . . warts and all, haha).  Mike (stuntflyer) has an excellent tutorial for that on his Cheerful build, so I followed that.  I then made a card stock mock up of the starboard side seat.  I used the card stock templates as a pattern to cut out the parts.  As others have said this is a bit finicky.  I have a feeling the second one will be more of a challenge as I try to get it to match the first.
 
I spent some time this week reading ahead in Chuck's monograph chapters to get a list of the last little bits I need to finish the build.  I ordered some Albion Alloys brass tube.  I also messaged Chuck, Mike, and Glenn (glbarlow) with questions about the thread type/size/color they used with Chuck's scale rope for seizing and serving.  Today I went on a region wide road trip to fly fishing shops and fabric stores.  Most of my dark brown rope is Chuck's old style rope, other than the .012" new Ultra for rat lines (so I don't need thread for seizing or serving the brown Ultra rope).  My tan rope is a mix of his old rope and the new Ultra rope.  These tan colors are close enough in shade to mix on the model, but I wanted thread for seizing that matched each shade.  The photos below are color corrected to be as close to accurate as I could possibly get the images.  The Gutermann thread is for most serving and seizing.  The smaller diameter UNI-Thread fly tying thread is for tiny serving and seizing.
 
Here's what I came up with based on what I could find locally.
Using with Syren old brown rope - Gutermann 50wt CA02776 Polyester thread Color 593 - UNI-Thread 72D 8/0W Dark Brown
Using with Syren old tan rope - Gutermann 50wt CA02776 Polyester thread Color 512 - UNI-Thread 72D 8/0W Tan
Using with Syren new Ultra tan rope - Gutermann 50wt CA02776 Polyester thread Color 509 - also UNI-Thread 72D 8/0W Tan
 
Also, as Chuck had answered, the thread he uses for seizing and serving his new Ultra rope is as follows (I researched what actual size/diameter it is in wt and tex).
Ultra Brown rope - Gutermann Mara 150 50wt/20Tex  Color 682 or for smaller uses Mara 220 77wt/13Tex
Ultra Tan rope - Gutermann Mara 150 50wt/20Tex  Color 263 or for smaller uses Mara 220 77wt/13Tex
This is hard to find in the US, so Chuck recommended this place: https://www.williamgee.co.uk/product-tag/mara/
 
Erik
 

What a difference some paint makes.   Bulwarks are painted however as usual, I will be applying many more thin coats over the next few weeks as I progress.   
 
Before and after...
 

 

I did a variety of things over the last week.  I built the jib outhaul block (shown in the painfully enlarged photo below . . . warts and all, haha).  Mike (stuntflyer) has an excellent tutorial for that on his Cheerful build, so I followed that.  I then made a card stock mock up of the starboard side seat.  I used the card stock templates as a pattern to cut out the parts.  As others have said this is a bit finicky.  I have a feeling the second one will be more of a challenge as I try to get it to match the first.
 
I spent some time this week reading ahead in Chuck's monograph chapters to get a list of the last little bits I need to finish the build.  I ordered some Albion Alloys brass tube.  I also messaged Chuck, Mike, and Glenn (glbarlow) with questions about the thread type/size/color they used with Chuck's scale rope for seizing and serving.  Today I went on a region wide road trip to fly fishing shops and fabric stores.  Most of my dark brown rope is Chuck's old style rope, other than the .012" new Ultra for rat lines (so I don't need thread for seizing or serving the brown Ultra rope).  My tan rope is a mix of his old rope and the new Ultra rope.  These tan colors are close enough in shade to mix on the model, but I wanted thread for seizing that matched each shade.  The photos below are color corrected to be as close to accurate as I could possibly get the images.  The Gutermann thread is for most serving and seizing.  The smaller diameter UNI-Thread fly tying thread is for tiny serving and seizing.
 
Here's what I came up with based on what I could find locally.
Using with Syren old brown rope - Gutermann 50wt CA02776 Polyester thread Color 593 - UNI-Thread 72D 8/0W Dark Brown
Using with Syren old tan rope - Gutermann 50wt CA02776 Polyester thread Color 512 - UNI-Thread 72D 8/0W Tan
Using with Syren new Ultra tan rope - Gutermann 50wt CA02776 Polyester thread Color 509 - also UNI-Thread 72D 8/0W Tan
 
Also, as Chuck had answered, the thread he uses for seizing and serving his new Ultra rope is as follows (I researched what actual size/diameter it is in wt and tex).
Ultra Brown rope - Gutermann Mara 150 50wt/20Tex  Color 682 or for smaller uses Mara 220 77wt/13Tex
Ultra Tan rope - Gutermann Mara 150 50wt/20Tex  Color 263 or for smaller uses Mara 220 77wt/13Tex
This is hard to find in the US, so Chuck recommended this place: https://www.williamgee.co.uk/product-tag/mara/
 
Erik
 

Glad you were able find the Uni-thread. 

To allanyed: Material used for this part is boxwood. The part is made using a cnc milling machine, which enables precise milling from both sides. The procedure can be seen in the photos in post 8.
I continue with the construction of the wing transom.
     

As always, thanks for the likes.  I do appreciate you all following along.  After all the metal work of making the chain plates, backstay plates, eye bolts, and deadeye strops, I decided I'd work on a relatively straight forward sub assembly.  I went ahead and installed the rudder, and gudgeons and pintels (I had shaped the rudder itself a couple of months ago).  I used Chuck's mini kit for those.  You have a choice in the mini kit of .010" thick paperboard material or .028" thick plywood.  I opted for the thicker plywood and sanded it down to .018" thick.  By my eye that's a good compromise.  I used .020" diameter styrene rod for the bolts.  Yes, yes, I know it's probably sacrilege among purists to use plastic on a wooden ship build.  Haha.  But since the bolt heads are covered in paint I chose the easier to cut and work with styrene rather than metal wire.  Everything was painted with black paint and then once mounted I taped the simulated metal straps off and applied rust brown weathering powder. I haven't glued the rudder on yet.  I'll do that at a later date after I drill the final hole to mount the tiller (I did drill a small pilot/locator hole though).  That said, the rudder sits correctly straight and true with the pintels snugged down into the gudgeons.
 
On a related note, I received the last few packages of blocks I'll need for the build, and a serving machine, from Chuck this week.  If I'm inventorying correctly, I think that may be the last stuff I need to complete the build.
 
Erik

After pulling some hair out, and the remainder going gray, haha, I have finished the backstay plates and chain plates . . . on the port side anyway.  I revisited blackening them, using advice here and on the internet.  My test brass strips looked OK, but I couldn't avoid bare brass spots being rubbed off after lightly wiping them down with a dry cloth.  I'm pretty sure I didn't clean the brass well enough beforehand.  After being left frustrated by that, I just went ahead and followed what Chuck had done on his, and painted them black and used a rust brown weathering powder to give them that iron look.  I'm happy with the results.  A trick I learned years ago as a model railroader with brass, is to bake the brass after painting.  Just put the parts under a hot halogen or incandescence light bulb, about an inch away from the bulb, for about five minutes.  This hardens the paint on the metal surface and makes it much more scuff resistant.  The nails themselves I ordered from ModelExpo (being my first ship build I didn't have any extras from prior builds to use).  They are the smallest ones they offer.  They're slightly rounded on the bottom of the heads, so don't appear the sit flush when pushed in.  So I used a larger diameter drill bit than the holes in the brass were drilled with, and counter sunk all the holes in the backstay and chain plates.  I also ran a sharp angled file on the underside of the heads of each nail.  This helped get the nails to snug down flat when pushed in.  After getting the parts mounted and nailed in place, I went ahead and touched up the paint and weathering powder.
 
Of all the processes involved on this build, metal working is probably the one I have the least experience in.  The backstay plates and chain plates have taken a lot longer than I thought they would.  That said, I've learned a lot, even with the error part of Trial and Error being frustrating at times!
 
Erik

This week I decided to mix things up a bit, taking a break between making the backstay plates and the chain plates.  I made the 22 eye bolts for the hull exterior and cap rail top.  While I have every manner of small diameter wire -  lead, brass, copper, phosphor bronze, steel - down to .002" diameter, I didn't have the type of wire best used by ship modelers for these types of things.  So after some research on this forum I ordered both 24 and 22 gauge Hillman Group dark annealed wire.  I must say, trying to make 22 identical eye bolts was more of a challenge than I thought it would be!  I never did get to a point where they were consistent.  That said, I selected groups that were close to identical to one another to fasten in the same area.  I figure if the port side eye bolts are slightly different than the starboard, a viewer would never know since you only see one side of the ship at a time.  I followed what Mike (Stuntflyer) had done in his Cheerful build log, and filed a little channel around the holes so the eye bolts snug down a bit.
 
I also drilled the scupper holes in the outside of the hull.  This was pretty straight forward, other than when I went to photograph the model I could see the bright wood on the inside of the bulwark.  I wound up taking a fine brush and painting the interior black, followed by running a pencil around the plank edge of the hole.
 
My next step will be to drill the scupper holes on the interior bulwark/deck area.  Does anyone have any advice or wisdom on that?  Am I drilling all the way through the interior planking?  I know I need to make the holes so they notch into the lip of the waterway at deck level.
 
Erik

A little bit of progress this week.  I'm new at metal working, so it took some trial and error to figure out how I am going to make the backstay plates and chain plates.  One of the main issues to getting the ball rolling was figuring out how I was going to make these without the availability of 1/64" x 3/32" brass strip.  It would appear that K & S has discontinued nearly its entire line of brass strip, and I couldn't locate any of the size I needed in my internet search.  Many years ago I had bought a package of various sizes of 6" x 12" brass shim stock (used to shim the plates when molding parts in plastic injection molding machines so that they align correctly) just in case I ever needed sheet brass.  These sheets came in thickness of .001", .0015", .002", .003", .004", .005", .006", .007", .008", .010", .012", and .015".  The .015" thickness is the decimal measurement of 1/64".  So I have my material.  I used a pair of ancient tin snips I have in my toolbox to cut 3/32" wide strips off the sheet.  I then had to flatten the strips since they curled both along the face and the edge.  Next I filed the sharp edges flat.  Then used flat pliers to eliminate the lengthwise cupping caused in cutting the strips off the sheet.  Now that I had my self-made strips ready, I then shaped the backstay plates following Chuck's instructions in his monograph.  Since the strips I created were rough and with blemishes, I polished the finished backstay plates with a fine file after shaping was complete, just because I'm a perfectionist, and that's how I roll!  Yes, I know they'll be painted black.  Haha.
 
Erik

I did a variety of things over the last week.  I built the jib outhaul block (shown in the painfully enlarged photo below . . . warts and all, haha).  Mike (stuntflyer) has an excellent tutorial for that on his Cheerful build, so I followed that.  I then made a card stock mock up of the starboard side seat.  I used the card stock templates as a pattern to cut out the parts.  As others have said this is a bit finicky.  I have a feeling the second one will be more of a challenge as I try to get it to match the first.
 
I spent some time this week reading ahead in Chuck's monograph chapters to get a list of the last little bits I need to finish the build.  I ordered some Albion Alloys brass tube.  I also messaged Chuck, Mike, and Glenn (glbarlow) with questions about the thread type/size/color they used with Chuck's scale rope for seizing and serving.  Today I went on a region wide road trip to fly fishing shops and fabric stores.  Most of my dark brown rope is Chuck's old style rope, other than the .012" new Ultra for rat lines (so I don't need thread for seizing or serving the brown Ultra rope).  My tan rope is a mix of his old rope and the new Ultra rope.  These tan colors are close enough in shade to mix on the model, but I wanted thread for seizing that matched each shade.  The photos below are color corrected to be as close to accurate as I could possibly get the images.  The Gutermann thread is for most serving and seizing.  The smaller diameter UNI-Thread fly tying thread is for tiny serving and seizing.
 
Here's what I came up with based on what I could find locally.
Using with Syren old brown rope - Gutermann 50wt CA02776 Polyester thread Color 593 - UNI-Thread 72D 8/0W Dark Brown
Using with Syren old tan rope - Gutermann 50wt CA02776 Polyester thread Color 512 - UNI-Thread 72D 8/0W Tan
Using with Syren new Ultra tan rope - Gutermann 50wt CA02776 Polyester thread Color 509 - also UNI-Thread 72D 8/0W Tan
 
Also, as Chuck had answered, the thread he uses for seizing and serving his new Ultra rope is as follows (I researched what actual size/diameter it is in wt and tex).
Ultra Brown rope - Gutermann Mara 150 50wt/20Tex  Color 682 or for smaller uses Mara 220 77wt/13Tex
Ultra Tan rope - Gutermann Mara 150 50wt/20Tex  Color 263 or for smaller uses Mara 220 77wt/13Tex
This is hard to find in the US, so Chuck recommended this place: https://www.williamgee.co.uk/product-tag/mara/
 
Erik
 

I did a variety of things over the last week.  I built the jib outhaul block (shown in the painfully enlarged photo below . . . warts and all, haha).  Mike (stuntflyer) has an excellent tutorial for that on his Cheerful build, so I followed that.  I then made a card stock mock up of the starboard side seat.  I used the card stock templates as a pattern to cut out the parts.  As others have said this is a bit finicky.  I have a feeling the second one will be more of a challenge as I try to get it to match the first.
 
I spent some time this week reading ahead in Chuck's monograph chapters to get a list of the last little bits I need to finish the build.  I ordered some Albion Alloys brass tube.  I also messaged Chuck, Mike, and Glenn (glbarlow) with questions about the thread type/size/color they used with Chuck's scale rope for seizing and serving.  Today I went on a region wide road trip to fly fishing shops and fabric stores.  Most of my dark brown rope is Chuck's old style rope, other than the .012" new Ultra for rat lines (so I don't need thread for seizing or serving the brown Ultra rope).  My tan rope is a mix of his old rope and the new Ultra rope.  These tan colors are close enough in shade to mix on the model, but I wanted thread for seizing that matched each shade.  The photos below are color corrected to be as close to accurate as I could possibly get the images.  The Gutermann thread is for most serving and seizing.  The smaller diameter UNI-Thread fly tying thread is for tiny serving and seizing.
 
Here's what I came up with based on what I could find locally.
Using with Syren old brown rope - Gutermann 50wt CA02776 Polyester thread Color 593 - UNI-Thread 72D 8/0W Dark Brown
Using with Syren old tan rope - Gutermann 50wt CA02776 Polyester thread Color 512 - UNI-Thread 72D 8/0W Tan
Using with Syren new Ultra tan rope - Gutermann 50wt CA02776 Polyester thread Color 509 - also UNI-Thread 72D 8/0W Tan
 
Also, as Chuck had answered, the thread he uses for seizing and serving his new Ultra rope is as follows (I researched what actual size/diameter it is in wt and tex).
Ultra Brown rope - Gutermann Mara 150 50wt/20Tex  Color 682 or for smaller uses Mara 220 77wt/13Tex
Ultra Tan rope - Gutermann Mara 150 50wt/20Tex  Color 263 or for smaller uses Mara 220 77wt/13Tex
This is hard to find in the US, so Chuck recommended this place: https://www.williamgee.co.uk/product-tag/mara/
 
Erik
 

I did a variety of things over the last week.  I built the jib outhaul block (shown in the painfully enlarged photo below . . . warts and all, haha).  Mike (stuntflyer) has an excellent tutorial for that on his Cheerful build, so I followed that.  I then made a card stock mock up of the starboard side seat.  I used the card stock templates as a pattern to cut out the parts.  As others have said this is a bit finicky.  I have a feeling the second one will be more of a challenge as I try to get it to match the first.
 
I spent some time this week reading ahead in Chuck's monograph chapters to get a list of the last little bits I need to finish the build.  I ordered some Albion Alloys brass tube.  I also messaged Chuck, Mike, and Glenn (glbarlow) with questions about the thread type/size/color they used with Chuck's scale rope for seizing and serving.  Today I went on a region wide road trip to fly fishing shops and fabric stores.  Most of my dark brown rope is Chuck's old style rope, other than the .012" new Ultra for rat lines (so I don't need thread for seizing or serving the brown Ultra rope).  My tan rope is a mix of his old rope and the new Ultra rope.  These tan colors are close enough in shade to mix on the model, but I wanted thread for seizing that matched each shade.  The photos below are color corrected to be as close to accurate as I could possibly get the images.  The Gutermann thread is for most serving and seizing.  The smaller diameter UNI-Thread fly tying thread is for tiny serving and seizing.
 
Here's what I came up with based on what I could find locally.
Using with Syren old brown rope - Gutermann 50wt CA02776 Polyester thread Color 593 - UNI-Thread 72D 8/0W Dark Brown
Using with Syren old tan rope - Gutermann 50wt CA02776 Polyester thread Color 512 - UNI-Thread 72D 8/0W Tan
Using with Syren new Ultra tan rope - Gutermann 50wt CA02776 Polyester thread Color 509 - also UNI-Thread 72D 8/0W Tan
 
Also, as Chuck had answered, the thread he uses for seizing and serving his new Ultra rope is as follows (I researched what actual size/diameter it is in wt and tex).
Ultra Brown rope - Gutermann Mara 150 50wt/20Tex  Color 682 or for smaller uses Mara 220 77wt/13Tex
Ultra Tan rope - Gutermann Mara 150 50wt/20Tex  Color 263 or for smaller uses Mara 220 77wt/13Tex
This is hard to find in the US, so Chuck recommended this place: https://www.williamgee.co.uk/product-tag/mara/
 
Erik
 

I did a variety of things over the last week.  I built the jib outhaul block (shown in the painfully enlarged photo below . . . warts and all, haha).  Mike (stuntflyer) has an excellent tutorial for that on his Cheerful build, so I followed that.  I then made a card stock mock up of the starboard side seat.  I used the card stock templates as a pattern to cut out the parts.  As others have said this is a bit finicky.  I have a feeling the second one will be more of a challenge as I try to get it to match the first.
 
I spent some time this week reading ahead in Chuck's monograph chapters to get a list of the last little bits I need to finish the build.  I ordered some Albion Alloys brass tube.  I also messaged Chuck, Mike, and Glenn (glbarlow) with questions about the thread type/size/color they used with Chuck's scale rope for seizing and serving.  Today I went on a region wide road trip to fly fishing shops and fabric stores.  Most of my dark brown rope is Chuck's old style rope, other than the .012" new Ultra for rat lines (so I don't need thread for seizing or serving the brown Ultra rope).  My tan rope is a mix of his old rope and the new Ultra rope.  These tan colors are close enough in shade to mix on the model, but I wanted thread for seizing that matched each shade.  The photos below are color corrected to be as close to accurate as I could possibly get the images.  The Gutermann thread is for most serving and seizing.  The smaller diameter UNI-Thread fly tying thread is for tiny serving and seizing.
 
Here's what I came up with based on what I could find locally.
Using with Syren old brown rope - Gutermann 50wt CA02776 Polyester thread Color 593 - UNI-Thread 72D 8/0W Dark Brown
Using with Syren old tan rope - Gutermann 50wt CA02776 Polyester thread Color 512 - UNI-Thread 72D 8/0W Tan
Using with Syren new Ultra tan rope - Gutermann 50wt CA02776 Polyester thread Color 509 - also UNI-Thread 72D 8/0W Tan
 
Also, as Chuck had answered, the thread he uses for seizing and serving his new Ultra rope is as follows (I researched what actual size/diameter it is in wt and tex).
Ultra Brown rope - Gutermann Mara 150 50wt/20Tex  Color 682 or for smaller uses Mara 220 77wt/13Tex
Ultra Tan rope - Gutermann Mara 150 50wt/20Tex  Color 263 or for smaller uses Mara 220 77wt/13Tex
This is hard to find in the US, so Chuck recommended this place: https://www.williamgee.co.uk/product-tag/mara/
 
Erik
 

I did a variety of things over the last week.  I built the jib outhaul block (shown in the painfully enlarged photo below . . . warts and all, haha).  Mike (stuntflyer) has an excellent tutorial for that on his Cheerful build, so I followed that.  I then made a card stock mock up of the starboard side seat.  I used the card stock templates as a pattern to cut out the parts.  As others have said this is a bit finicky.  I have a feeling the second one will be more of a challenge as I try to get it to match the first.
 
I spent some time this week reading ahead in Chuck's monograph chapters to get a list of the last little bits I need to finish the build.  I ordered some Albion Alloys brass tube.  I also messaged Chuck, Mike, and Glenn (glbarlow) with questions about the thread type/size/color they used with Chuck's scale rope for seizing and serving.  Today I went on a region wide road trip to fly fishing shops and fabric stores.  Most of my dark brown rope is Chuck's old style rope, other than the .012" new Ultra for rat lines (so I don't need thread for seizing or serving the brown Ultra rope).  My tan rope is a mix of his old rope and the new Ultra rope.  These tan colors are close enough in shade to mix on the model, but I wanted thread for seizing that matched each shade.  The photos below are color corrected to be as close to accurate as I could possibly get the images.  The Gutermann thread is for most serving and seizing.  The smaller diameter UNI-Thread fly tying thread is for tiny serving and seizing.
 
Here's what I came up with based on what I could find locally.
Using with Syren old brown rope - Gutermann 50wt CA02776 Polyester thread Color 593 - UNI-Thread 72D 8/0W Dark Brown
Using with Syren old tan rope - Gutermann 50wt CA02776 Polyester thread Color 512 - UNI-Thread 72D 8/0W Tan
Using with Syren new Ultra tan rope - Gutermann 50wt CA02776 Polyester thread Color 509 - also UNI-Thread 72D 8/0W Tan
 
Also, as Chuck had answered, the thread he uses for seizing and serving his new Ultra rope is as follows (I researched what actual size/diameter it is in wt and tex).
Ultra Brown rope - Gutermann Mara 150 50wt/20Tex  Color 682 or for smaller uses Mara 220 77wt/13Tex
Ultra Tan rope - Gutermann Mara 150 50wt/20Tex  Color 263 or for smaller uses Mara 220 77wt/13Tex
This is hard to find in the US, so Chuck recommended this place: https://www.williamgee.co.uk/product-tag/mara/
 
Erik
 

I did a variety of things over the last week.  I built the jib outhaul block (shown in the painfully enlarged photo below . . . warts and all, haha).  Mike (stuntflyer) has an excellent tutorial for that on his Cheerful build, so I followed that.  I then made a card stock mock up of the starboard side seat.  I used the card stock templates as a pattern to cut out the parts.  As others have said this is a bit finicky.  I have a feeling the second one will be more of a challenge as I try to get it to match the first.
 
I spent some time this week reading ahead in Chuck's monograph chapters to get a list of the last little bits I need to finish the build.  I ordered some Albion Alloys brass tube.  I also messaged Chuck, Mike, and Glenn (glbarlow) with questions about the thread type/size/color they used with Chuck's scale rope for seizing and serving.  Today I went on a region wide road trip to fly fishing shops and fabric stores.  Most of my dark brown rope is Chuck's old style rope, other than the .012" new Ultra for rat lines (so I don't need thread for seizing or serving the brown Ultra rope).  My tan rope is a mix of his old rope and the new Ultra rope.  These tan colors are close enough in shade to mix on the model, but I wanted thread for seizing that matched each shade.  The photos below are color corrected to be as close to accurate as I could possibly get the images.  The Gutermann thread is for most serving and seizing.  The smaller diameter UNI-Thread fly tying thread is for tiny serving and seizing.
 
Here's what I came up with based on what I could find locally.
Using with Syren old brown rope - Gutermann 50wt CA02776 Polyester thread Color 593 - UNI-Thread 72D 8/0W Dark Brown
Using with Syren old tan rope - Gutermann 50wt CA02776 Polyester thread Color 512 - UNI-Thread 72D 8/0W Tan
Using with Syren new Ultra tan rope - Gutermann 50wt CA02776 Polyester thread Color 509 - also UNI-Thread 72D 8/0W Tan
 
Also, as Chuck had answered, the thread he uses for seizing and serving his new Ultra rope is as follows (I researched what actual size/diameter it is in wt and tex).
Ultra Brown rope - Gutermann Mara 150 50wt/20Tex  Color 682 or for smaller uses Mara 220 77wt/13Tex
Ultra Tan rope - Gutermann Mara 150 50wt/20Tex  Color 263 or for smaller uses Mara 220 77wt/13Tex
This is hard to find in the US, so Chuck recommended this place: https://www.williamgee.co.uk/product-tag/mara/
 
Erik