Erik W

Another new item will soon be in stock.  I had run out of my old swivel guns.  Those were cast in the traditional way and not 3D printed.  They has casting marks etc.  So now that I ran out of them I figured I would do a redesign.  Here are photos of the new 3D printed swivel guns.   Two pieces.   The yoke is flexible-ish.  This enables some manipulation to just slide the yoke into position from the bottom of the barrel and into the the holes.  Once you get one done the others will be easy.
 
I am pretty thrilled with these results because as some of you may be aware, black 3d printing resin is somewhat less than desirable.  The results often look too much like plastic or are too shiny and doesnt really show details well.  So I have conducted many tests yet again on my resin of choice.  The black finish is not to stark a black or but nice and warm and on the touch of a dark warm gray.  Very dark.  The material is also matte or barely satin.  So its a win-win.  I tried very hard to make these look like blackened brass or brushed metal which I think I achieved pretty darn close actually.  This batch is 13/16" long not including the handle.  (What is used for the Winnie).
 
Use these straight out of the bag. 
 
I should have some more sizes and these will be fully stocked in a few days.
 
 

 

I haven't posted an update in a while.  With warm weather and long days, I've been enjoying springtime outdoor activities, so work on my Cheerful has been on a seasonal back burner.  I have found some time to get the shelf built where Cheerful will eventually live.  I'm using a shelf that is made from edge glued pieces of wood,  I've sanded it down, rounded the edges, and stained it using an oil based stain.  It's an odd size of 33 1/2 inches long by 14 3/4 inches wide.  It looks big compared to the hull of the ship, but as you can see from the spars I've temporarily laid out, when fully rigged, the ship will be much larger.  The shelf is a couple of inches longer at both the bow and stern than the length of the ship with the boom and bowsprit installed, and an inch and a half wider than the main spar.  I located the studs in the wall and attached the shelf with two 10" x 10" L shaped steel brackets screwed into the studs with 2" screws.  As a fan of overkill, I think the shelf would easily hold 100 pounds.  The goal was to have it be as solid as possible so that when the ship is finished, if I ever bump the shelf, it won't move at all and damage the ship.  I'll just have to live with a bigger bruise if I bump it.  Haha!  Also, I put a lot of thought into what height I wanted to display the ship.  After much measuring, and taping the fully rigged plans to the wall, I settled on a shelf height of 46 1/4 inches, which when the Cheerful is on it's base, puts its cap rail height at 52". The photo is taken from my eye height.
 
This photo is a quick grab shot with my phone.   When the ship is finished and ready for display, those pictures on the wall will be moved.  Also, it's hard to see in the photo, but there is a 2 inch gap between the stern end of the shelf and the wall.  I didn't want to center the shelf between the wall on the left and the edge of the closet door on the right, because with it sticking out almost 15 inches I'm concerned it would be too easy to bump into.  That, and it will be easy enough to view the ship from straight in front of it as is.
 
Erik

A quick update.  Yesterday I received the brass name plates I had custom made for me.  They're not permanently fixed to the base yet.  The small one gives a shout out to my dad who got me into modeling as a kid, and always has been my biggest cheerleader when I showed him what I was building.  The name plates are a little hard to see in the photos with the Cheerful mounted.  The photos are taken in front of a window, so are backlit.  The ship will be displayed on the opposite wall, so the base won't be shaded, and the plates will be easy to read.  My next steps now are to get the shelf and mounting hardware, and get that built.
 
Erik
 

Thanks for all the likes folks.  I wasn't planning on posting an update today, but I think the display turned out well, so here are some photos.  I had no idea what I wanted to do for a display base.  After browsing through what other folks have done, I settled on brass pedestals on a solid wood base.  I liked the look of Glenn's (glbarlow) base for his Cheerful build.  So as they say, with imitation being the sincerest form of flattery, I pretty much duplicated what he had done.  The pedestals are from Model Expo and the wood base is made by Amati (which I ordered from Ages of Sail).  When the pedestals arrived I was disappointed that not only did they appear different colors, but the profiles were actually different.  I purposefully ordered them different heights since the Cheerful's keel rides deeper at the stern.  The photos on the Model Expo site are just generic and aren't of the actual pedestals.  The profile of the lower pedestal is fatter at the bottom of the shaft and flares out more gradually.  I could have lived with the different profiles I guess, but I figured out a way to chuck the pedestal into my power drill.  Using a couple of sharp files and my calipers to measure, I turned the pedestal to better match the profile of the taller pedestal.  Once I had this done I began the slow process of filing the notches in the pedestals to exactly match the keel of the ship.  This took days, but I'm happy with the results.  The keel fits in snuggly enough to have no room to move or wiggle, but still not be tight enough to damage the wood.  To finish the pedestals off, I dry sanded them with 400 grit sandpaper.  This made the finish look the same between the two, and gave them the brushed brass look I wanted. 
 
The hardwood base from Amati is great.  It's a rare piece of wood these days that is level and square with no warping (if you've shopped for wood at your local hardware store, you know what I mean).  I thought I had ordered the bare wood version, so was surprised when I opened the box that it was stained.  Since I like the color though, it saves me from picking a stain and doing it myself.  The base has a satin finish, which I like, not too mat and not too glossy.
 
Erik

I haven't posted an update in a while.  With warm weather and long days, I've been enjoying springtime outdoor activities, so work on my Cheerful has been on a seasonal back burner.  I have found some time to get the shelf built where Cheerful will eventually live.  I'm using a shelf that is made from edge glued pieces of wood,  I've sanded it down, rounded the edges, and stained it using an oil based stain.  It's an odd size of 33 1/2 inches long by 14 3/4 inches wide.  It looks big compared to the hull of the ship, but as you can see from the spars I've temporarily laid out, when fully rigged, the ship will be much larger.  The shelf is a couple of inches longer at both the bow and stern than the length of the ship with the boom and bowsprit installed, and an inch and a half wider than the main spar.  I located the studs in the wall and attached the shelf with two 10" x 10" L shaped steel brackets screwed into the studs with 2" screws.  As a fan of overkill, I think the shelf would easily hold 100 pounds.  The goal was to have it be as solid as possible so that when the ship is finished, if I ever bump the shelf, it won't move at all and damage the ship.  I'll just have to live with a bigger bruise if I bump it.  Haha!  Also, I put a lot of thought into what height I wanted to display the ship.  After much measuring, and taping the fully rigged plans to the wall, I settled on a shelf height of 46 1/4 inches, which when the Cheerful is on it's base, puts its cap rail height at 52". The photo is taken from my eye height.
 
This photo is a quick grab shot with my phone.   When the ship is finished and ready for display, those pictures on the wall will be moved.  Also, it's hard to see in the photo, but there is a 2 inch gap between the stern end of the shelf and the wall.  I didn't want to center the shelf between the wall on the left and the edge of the closet door on the right, because with it sticking out almost 15 inches I'm concerned it would be too easy to bump into.  That, and it will be easy enough to view the ship from straight in front of it as is.
 
Erik

Thank you guys.
To Chris - I don't like the black caulking between the planks to be too prominent, so the caulking here is created only by blackening the edge of the plank with a pencil so that it is not too prominent. The only exception is the planks on the decks, where the caulking is created with black paper. Here this color contrast makes a bit more sense (at least from my point of view).
I continue by planing the "thicker" part of the bow.

Planking between wales and molding rails completed.

Last elements before starting with the masting: the nets of the gangways.
I used a cardboard holder of a suitable size, threading very thin cotton thread diagonally between the cuts and then using another thread in the opposite direction by tying knots in it
 

I hit what I consider a major milestone.  I finished all the woodwork on my Cheerful today!  A big accomplishment considering I started work on this model over 9 years ago!  Admittedly with a 6 1/2 year hiatus . . .  After my years long break, I started working on Cheerful daily again in August 2023. 
 
The last wooden bits to finish were the entryway stanchions and the anchors.  The stanchions were turned on my Dremel from 1/16" square stock.  These were straight forward, and very similar to turning the belaying pins in the Dremel.  All 4 are close to identical, but later on when I mount them I'll use pairs on each side that match one another the most closely.  The anchors were made from Chuck's mini kit.  These were pretty straight forward as well.  Since wood is representing the iron of the anchors, I used 1000 grit sand paper to finish the surface to remove any trace of wood grain before painting.  I carefully sanded any sharp edges slightly to give a realistic cast iron look.  I thinned the paint more than I usually do to avoid any hint of brush strokes.  The pudenning on the rings at the top of the anchors was a real pain in the rear to do!   I didn't have any .008" brown rope on hand (since it's not listed on the Cheerful rope list, I hadn't bought any).  I did have some brown thread I had bought at a craft store for seizings way back when I built my Longboat, that turned out to be too big for that use.  It measures in at around .007" diameter, so it's the right size.  Once the pudenning was done the thread was a bit fuzzy so I wet it with thinned white glue and pressed it tight with my fingers.  That did the trick.  The pudenning isn't my best work, but the anchor rings turned out acceptable, all things considered.   Lastly I lightly applied dark rust weathering powders to the stanchions and painted parts of the anchors to enhance the iron look.
 
The last photo below shows all the woodwork completed.  I realize it's not the norm to complete all the woodwork before starting any of the rigging.  One of the main reasons I did this is the ship is still compact in size at this point, before adding the bowsprit, mast, etc.  My space is very limited, so rather than start the rigging now, my next steps are actually to figure out what I'm going to do for a shelf.  I know the location in my house of where the Cheerful will live.  I just need to actually get the shelf acquired/built first, so I have somewhere off my desk to put a partially rigged ship if need be.  While I'm at it, I also want to figure out what I'm going to do for a permanent display base, and get that built too.  The ship is already fragile enough, so I don't want to be trying to fit a base to the ship when it's fully rigged.
 
Erik
 
 

I finished the topsail yard and the lower yard.  That brings an end to the spars.  I still have the last couple of items to work on before I'm done with the dusty woodworking part of the build.  Those being the entryway stanchions, and Chuck's mini-kit for the anchors.
 
Erik

First 3D print test and assembly of two French style lanterns after Boudriot.  There is no glazing insert in these....yet.  Thats a bit more complex than the other Royal Navy shaped insert.
 

I haven't posted an update in a while.  With warm weather and long days, I've been enjoying springtime outdoor activities, so work on my Cheerful has been on a seasonal back burner.  I have found some time to get the shelf built where Cheerful will eventually live.  I'm using a shelf that is made from edge glued pieces of wood,  I've sanded it down, rounded the edges, and stained it using an oil based stain.  It's an odd size of 33 1/2 inches long by 14 3/4 inches wide.  It looks big compared to the hull of the ship, but as you can see from the spars I've temporarily laid out, when fully rigged, the ship will be much larger.  The shelf is a couple of inches longer at both the bow and stern than the length of the ship with the boom and bowsprit installed, and an inch and a half wider than the main spar.  I located the studs in the wall and attached the shelf with two 10" x 10" L shaped steel brackets screwed into the studs with 2" screws.  As a fan of overkill, I think the shelf would easily hold 100 pounds.  The goal was to have it be as solid as possible so that when the ship is finished, if I ever bump the shelf, it won't move at all and damage the ship.  I'll just have to live with a bigger bruise if I bump it.  Haha!  Also, I put a lot of thought into what height I wanted to display the ship.  After much measuring, and taping the fully rigged plans to the wall, I settled on a shelf height of 46 1/4 inches, which when the Cheerful is on it's base, puts its cap rail height at 52". The photo is taken from my eye height.
 
This photo is a quick grab shot with my phone.   When the ship is finished and ready for display, those pictures on the wall will be moved.  Also, it's hard to see in the photo, but there is a 2 inch gap between the stern end of the shelf and the wall.  I didn't want to center the shelf between the wall on the left and the edge of the closet door on the right, because with it sticking out almost 15 inches I'm concerned it would be too easy to bump into.  That, and it will be easy enough to view the ship from straight in front of it as is.
 
Erik

On the last day of our 40th Anniversary vacation, on the way home from Stonington I went to the Mystic Seaport Museum, South Entrance. On the 2nd floor of the Stillman building is an exhibit "From Clippers to Carriers." Ed Tosti's spectacular 1853 Webb, NY clipper Young America build is on display. Other 1:72nd scale replicas by Carl Davis are the 1850 Webb built packet Isaac Webb the Mystic, CT clipper David Crockett as well as the 1883 Bath, Maine Downeaster Benjamin F Packard. My sweet wife Peggy waited in the car so I was as efficient as possible to cover the entire floor. Other than one couple who soon left, the room was empty. That made my goal of documenting the sail portion of the exhibit much easier. I have additional photos of the entire sail based portion of the display but to save time didn't take pictures of the modern cargo carriers. It doesn't seem appropriate to post the rest on Ed's build log.
 

Continuation: Fore yard – Leech lines and bunt lines / Cargue-fonds et cargue-boulines
Among other things, I am currently preparing to attach the leech lines and bunt lines to the fore yard. The corresponding blocks are already in place both on the yard and in the form of guide blocks under the fore top.

Since I am rigging my model without sails, these ropes must be secured against slipping from the corresponding blocks. Knots have been tied to the lines for this purpose, as seen on many models, including contemporary ones.
However, what I have also occasionally seen in illustrations of these on models from the Musée de la Marine in Paris are loop-shaped knots, presumably buntline hitches, but could also be bowline knots or similar. The leech lines and bunt lines are then securely attached to the corresponding cringles of the sail using buntline hitches.

Source: Manual of Seamanship, Vol. 1, 1951
 
In any case, a knot that can be easily untied when the sails are hoisted back up.
Here, using the example of L'Egyptienne from 1799, the "loops" are clearly visible upon closer inspection.

Source: Image detail from the original model of L'Egyptienne 1799 in the Musée de la Marine in Paris
 
A third way to secure the bunt lines against slipping out of the blocks would be to simply tie the ropes, as can be seen on the original Paris model of La Créole.

Source: Image detail from the original model of La Créole in the Musée de la Marine in Paris
 
Three possibilities, which naturally raise the question of which one is closest to historical reality.
 
Therefore, I would be very grateful if you could share your expertise with me.
I look forward to your contributions.

I haven't posted an update in a while.  With warm weather and long days, I've been enjoying springtime outdoor activities, so work on my Cheerful has been on a seasonal back burner.  I have found some time to get the shelf built where Cheerful will eventually live.  I'm using a shelf that is made from edge glued pieces of wood,  I've sanded it down, rounded the edges, and stained it using an oil based stain.  It's an odd size of 33 1/2 inches long by 14 3/4 inches wide.  It looks big compared to the hull of the ship, but as you can see from the spars I've temporarily laid out, when fully rigged, the ship will be much larger.  The shelf is a couple of inches longer at both the bow and stern than the length of the ship with the boom and bowsprit installed, and an inch and a half wider than the main spar.  I located the studs in the wall and attached the shelf with two 10" x 10" L shaped steel brackets screwed into the studs with 2" screws.  As a fan of overkill, I think the shelf would easily hold 100 pounds.  The goal was to have it be as solid as possible so that when the ship is finished, if I ever bump the shelf, it won't move at all and damage the ship.  I'll just have to live with a bigger bruise if I bump it.  Haha!  Also, I put a lot of thought into what height I wanted to display the ship.  After much measuring, and taping the fully rigged plans to the wall, I settled on a shelf height of 46 1/4 inches, which when the Cheerful is on it's base, puts its cap rail height at 52". The photo is taken from my eye height.
 
This photo is a quick grab shot with my phone.   When the ship is finished and ready for display, those pictures on the wall will be moved.  Also, it's hard to see in the photo, but there is a 2 inch gap between the stern end of the shelf and the wall.  I didn't want to center the shelf between the wall on the left and the edge of the closet door on the right, because with it sticking out almost 15 inches I'm concerned it would be too easy to bump into.  That, and it will be easy enough to view the ship from straight in front of it as is.
 
Erik

A quick update.  Yesterday I received the brass name plates I had custom made for me.  They're not permanently fixed to the base yet.  The small one gives a shout out to my dad who got me into modeling as a kid, and always has been my biggest cheerleader when I showed him what I was building.  The name plates are a little hard to see in the photos with the Cheerful mounted.  The photos are taken in front of a window, so are backlit.  The ship will be displayed on the opposite wall, so the base won't be shaded, and the plates will be easy to read.  My next steps now are to get the shelf and mounting hardware, and get that built.
 
Erik
 

Thanks for the nice words guys!..  Yeah, my Cheerful suddenly looks to be in a more finished state as it sits temporarily on the base.  Glenn, I have my order in with the local place that makes all the brass name plates for my projects.  Using the same style name plate also gives a familial look to the models displayed in my home office.
 
Erik

Thanks for all the likes folks.  I wasn't planning on posting an update today, but I think the display turned out well, so here are some photos.  I had no idea what I wanted to do for a display base.  After browsing through what other folks have done, I settled on brass pedestals on a solid wood base.  I liked the look of Glenn's (glbarlow) base for his Cheerful build.  So as they say, with imitation being the sincerest form of flattery, I pretty much duplicated what he had done.  The pedestals are from Model Expo and the wood base is made by Amati (which I ordered from Ages of Sail).  When the pedestals arrived I was disappointed that not only did they appear different colors, but the profiles were actually different.  I purposefully ordered them different heights since the Cheerful's keel rides deeper at the stern.  The photos on the Model Expo site are just generic and aren't of the actual pedestals.  The profile of the lower pedestal is fatter at the bottom of the shaft and flares out more gradually.  I could have lived with the different profiles I guess, but I figured out a way to chuck the pedestal into my power drill.  Using a couple of sharp files and my calipers to measure, I turned the pedestal to better match the profile of the taller pedestal.  Once I had this done I began the slow process of filing the notches in the pedestals to exactly match the keel of the ship.  This took days, but I'm happy with the results.  The keel fits in snuggly enough to have no room to move or wiggle, but still not be tight enough to damage the wood.  To finish the pedestals off, I dry sanded them with 400 grit sandpaper.  This made the finish look the same between the two, and gave them the brushed brass look I wanted. 
 
The hardwood base from Amati is great.  It's a rare piece of wood these days that is level and square with no warping (if you've shopped for wood at your local hardware store, you know what I mean).  I thought I had ordered the bare wood version, so was surprised when I opened the box that it was stained.  Since I like the color though, it saves me from picking a stain and doing it myself.  The base has a satin finish, which I like, not too mat and not too glossy.
 
Erik

Thanks for all the likes, and thanks for the kinds words Rick, Al, and Todd.  The encouragement and support are always appreciated.
 
Erik

I hit what I consider a major milestone.  I finished all the woodwork on my Cheerful today!  A big accomplishment considering I started work on this model over 9 years ago!  Admittedly with a 6 1/2 year hiatus . . .  After my years long break, I started working on Cheerful daily again in August 2023. 
 
The last wooden bits to finish were the entryway stanchions and the anchors.  The stanchions were turned on my Dremel from 1/16" square stock.  These were straight forward, and very similar to turning the belaying pins in the Dremel.  All 4 are close to identical, but later on when I mount them I'll use pairs on each side that match one another the most closely.  The anchors were made from Chuck's mini kit.  These were pretty straight forward as well.  Since wood is representing the iron of the anchors, I used 1000 grit sand paper to finish the surface to remove any trace of wood grain before painting.  I carefully sanded any sharp edges slightly to give a realistic cast iron look.  I thinned the paint more than I usually do to avoid any hint of brush strokes.  The pudenning on the rings at the top of the anchors was a real pain in the rear to do!   I didn't have any .008" brown rope on hand (since it's not listed on the Cheerful rope list, I hadn't bought any).  I did have some brown thread I had bought at a craft store for seizings way back when I built my Longboat, that turned out to be too big for that use.  It measures in at around .007" diameter, so it's the right size.  Once the pudenning was done the thread was a bit fuzzy so I wet it with thinned white glue and pressed it tight with my fingers.  That did the trick.  The pudenning isn't my best work, but the anchor rings turned out acceptable, all things considered.   Lastly I lightly applied dark rust weathering powders to the stanchions and painted parts of the anchors to enhance the iron look.
 
The last photo below shows all the woodwork completed.  I realize it's not the norm to complete all the woodwork before starting any of the rigging.  One of the main reasons I did this is the ship is still compact in size at this point, before adding the bowsprit, mast, etc.  My space is very limited, so rather than start the rigging now, my next steps are actually to figure out what I'm going to do for a shelf.  I know the location in my house of where the Cheerful will live.  I just need to actually get the shelf acquired/built first, so I have somewhere off my desk to put a partially rigged ship if need be.  While I'm at it, I also want to figure out what I'm going to do for a permanent display base, and get that built too.  The ship is already fragile enough, so I don't want to be trying to fit a base to the ship when it's fully rigged.
 
Erik
 
 

I finished the topsail yard and the lower yard.  That brings an end to the spars.  I still have the last couple of items to work on before I'm done with the dusty woodworking part of the build.  Those being the entryway stanchions, and Chuck's mini-kit for the anchors.
 
Erik

Thanks for the kind words Todd, and thanks for the likes from other folks.  In a cloud of sawdust I shaped the last two spars this week.  Here are a few photos of the topsail yard and the lower yard.  They still need the additional wood pieces fabricated and added before painting, but the shaping stage is complete.  For some reason the taper on the topsail yard looks off in the photos, but when I measured again, it's accurate to .005" diameter when compared to the plans.  Chalk it up to foreground lens distortion then.
 
Erik

@shipman
@SaltyScot
Hello,
Thank you very much for the nice comments.
I'm very happy. Thanks also to everyone else for the many likes.
 
Continuation: Fore yard – Bowlines / Boulines
I've also since read up on the arrangement of the bowline bridles in the contemporary specialist literature "Manuel de Greement" by F. A. Coste from 1829, starting on page 167, and it fits. The only thing is that it refers to thimbles through which the individual rope limbs are threaded.
I also looked again in Marquardt, which also covers the rigging of French ships, although again only up to the end of the 18th century.
If I now incorporate the aforementioned contemporary illustrations from the early 19th century and models from the Paris Museum into my considerations, I come to the conclusion that the bowline bridles on my corvette could well have looked the way I have since attached them to the fore yard.


I can't clearly verify the attachment of the bowlines without sails for the French, as shown in the K. Schrage's book – Rundhölzer, Tauwerk und Segel – . But I think it's quite realistic that the French did it the same way as the British.
I'm currently building a jig to make rope coils for the belaying pins.
I imagine it might look like this:

More on that soon...

 

@jdbondy
Yes, the Paasch is really very helpful for translating old nautical terms.
I can therefore recommend it.
 
Continued: Fore yard – Bowlines / Boulines
Since I don't equip my corvette with sails, the question inevitably arose as to how the bowlines are attached. Originally, I intended to simply tie the bowlines around the yard, like on the original Paris model, without bridles. Since I was naturally interested in how bridles work, the next question arose: What happens to the bowline bridles when the sails are taken down?
I found the answer to this question in K. Schrage's book – Rundhölzer, Tauwerk und Segel – on page 144. There, you can see an illustration of how the bridle legs are attached to the yard with timber hitches when the sails are taken down.

Source: K. Schrage – Rundhölzer, Tauwerk und Segel – p. 144
 
Since I find this arrangement very logical, I decided to show it this way for my model. Regarding the number of bridle shanks, I'm guided by the monograph, as diverse variations can be found in relevant contemporary illustrations.
I intend to implement the bowline bridles as in the original, using real eye splices. The bowline bridles in the foreyard had a diameter of 19 mm (1:48: ø 0.35 mm – 2 x 3 Kimono Japanese silk yarn). Splicing the thin ropes is now very easy.

In order to finally attach the bowline, I still had to tie the guide blocks to the bowsprit, as shown in the next picture.

I'm also currently working on the correct mooring of the running rigging.
But more on that soon.
To be continued...