michael mott

Matt it is a Myford ML7 Sarah, thanks Thanks John, I'm not sure about the lesson though. Before moving on to finish the rest of the tabs I was tired of hitting my index finger with the locking screw of the jewelers saw. So I made a new one this morning with a smaller head end The handle is rosewood the locking bar is ebony the rest is brass and steel. after fretting out the rest of the tabs it took about 1/2 hour to set it up to solder with some soft iron wire to hold it all together, the silver solder was slug over the tabs like saddles The wire did get attached in a few places but will clean up easily enough. The rest will wait till tomorrow. Michael

Many Happy returns Daniel, It was interesting that Sarah thought you were much older than you are , I too had the same thought, It seems that Sarah is still quite young as well judging from the picture in the builder thread. I must echo the thoughts about working with the finer grained hardwoods. Basswood is nice but has it limitations as do all woods. if you have a Lee Valley store close, they sell small blanks of the fine grained woods for turning pen bodies etc, they are very reasonably priced as well. The hull shape looks great. Michael

Sherry, I cut another today but it is not going to work for me this time, I made a couple of errors doing the rest of the work. Bob,thanks. Russ, thanks for the comment regarding the shape of the bowsprit, Quite a few of the cutters and smacks that I have seen on the web seem to follow this basic design. John thanks for looking in. As I mentioned above I did some more cutting today, but before I get to it I worked on the Gammon Iron I fabricated it from a couple of pieces the ring came from an old bronze plumbing fitting, I cut off the end with a hacksaw then turned and parted off the ring. Next I pulled a strip out of the strip tray and laid out the hole positions with a felt pen. Soldering was a bit cranky I had to pickle it and rework the solder. Then the time consuming clean up with the usual assortment of files, wet and dry paper, steel wool. Then it was a fairly straightforward wrap of some soft rope made from embroidery floss which makes a nice soft rope. After the gammon iron I began working on the cap for the end of the bowsprit, another 20 minutes of cutting with the jewelers saw (same blade)from the previous cutting, I am always amazed at how well these blades stand up to use. I was pleased with the cutting but then had to chuck it up in the lathe to open the hole up to 11/16 because I did not have an end mill that size. this allowed me to put in the taper as well. Then I cleaned it up with files getting the ring even and drilling the holes, then it came to filing the tabs and the first pair I filed the angle backwards to the taper. I was a bit peeved, but though I could still save the day by rounding them and was going to rotate the ring so that they could act as the bowsprit shrouds lugs. Started to file the bob say and jib tabs and well you guessed it I went and filed them backwards as well. This was the straw that ..... Went back to the brass bins and found a section of 3/4 inch brass pipe which was thick enough to accept the taper both inside and out. So forward to the next bowsprit end cap, this also gave me the opportunity to increase the size because apart from the fabrication shortcomings the first attempt was a little small overall. a piece of 1/16 by 3/8 strip was drilled for the tabs this where it is at so far. I will finish cutting them out tomorrow, Ive had enough fretting today already. Michael

Zbigniew Very fine work on your stern section, I look forward to the continued updates on this interesting model. I have a question regarding the way that you are fixing the planks to the hull. Your model shows metal nails (treenails) and on many other ships of this period there seem to be wooden ones. Was this something that changed with different builders on full sized ships of the period ? Is this a modelers choice. I wonder because the metal would be more difficult to smooth than wooden ones. Michael

Daniel, Daniel, John, Alfons, Druxey, Ron, Matt and Mark. Thank you all for you congratulations and kind thoughts and comments. Later on Tuesday I was able to change pace and finish shaping the tops of the bowsprit bits. The bits are rock maple 1/2 inch square and the knees have been glued now to the bits I will add some through bolts and the other fittings before the final gluing to the deck. The brass pin is just a place holder for a larger top retainer. I am looking next to working on the boom fittings including the the fitting that will attach to the stem ( cannot think of the name of it right at the moment) I will set up the fore stay similar to this one on Betty. Michael

Mario, I Loved it the first time around, and it was just as delightful the second. Michael

Russ, Carl, Matt, Mark, Mark, John, Yambo, Popeye, Bob, and Druxey. Thank you all for your kind thoughts. I had to rearrange the shop today again! the boat was blocking the light on the bench. so I also took the opportunity to rebuild the building bench. The model was longer than the bench and I kept almost walking into the bowsprit or the stern, I had an old office desk top that was 90 inches long so I used it to ensure that I cannot walk into the boat. Also lowered it to 30 inches high. Then I was able to continue with the hounds cheeks and bolster ready for the topmast. The fitting at the top of the main mast is a metal component that I wanted to make out of a single piece of metal instead of soldering up a group of parts. I used a scrap of 1/4 inch thick brass bar and drew the shape with a felt pen and cut it out with the jewelers saw after drilling the two holes. The roughed out shape ready to drill the holes in the tabs.I was pleased that I did not break any blades doing the cutting which took about 20 minutes. After the holes were drilled I sat in front of the wood stove enjoying the warmth and filed the filling to the final shape. Next it was cleaned up with the wire wheel which gives it a cast appearance. Now to make the topmast. Michael

Which is a pity because some of our best learning comes from those mistakes. Michael

Dan, I just checked in on your build, what graceful lines this boat has, I am looking forward to seeing the build develop along. Michael

Hello Mark, it is great that you are able to make this work. In reading about your clamp to the table issue, a though comes to me that you could simply drill and tap the surface of the saw and bolt the stop body down to the table. and in retrospect I believe this would be a more stable and safer option. It would depend of course on the thickness of the table top but if it is 16 gauge or more or you could still use a fine thread to set it down. Michael

Ed, very fine work indeed. Michael

Matt I am simply having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that this last picture is almost twice the size of the model!!! The other pictures are lovely. Michael

Gimo, That is some very fine parquetry on the flooring. Michael

Hi Mario it is just as much fun the second time around. Michael

Very nice work Dan. Michael

Rusty , A beautiful model, I would be very happy to have done such a fine job. Michael

Since it is my 65th birthday tomorrow I felt that the shop should be clean for my new life of retirement ....LOL I cannot imagine not being busy doing a dozen or more things every day. Anyway I moved the boat to a new position and did a major clean up organized all the strip wood I have cut over the past year. And spent the evening working on the port side cap rail. refining the profile and getting it ready to be glued down. It was great to get a bit of time this evening to work on the boat again, it is snowing again! Michael

Hi Borge Just came to your build. What a beautiful sailboat, all of the brightwork and the varnished hull really make her stand out. I hope your elbow heals quickly. Michael

Hello Bill, I have just read the whole build that you have re-posted I missed it on MSW-1. Your tenacity regarding the working and reworking of details as your research progressed Is beyond what many of us would consider doing. It was also great to see the progress in your skills at carving which support my first impressions about your care and dedication to a work of research and beauty. Thank you for taking to time to rebuild your albeit condensed progress report of your model build. Michael

Sarah a nice finish on this fast build. Michael

Nico tell me more about your nickle plating. How do you accomplish this. Chemicals, electricity, etc. michael

Matt.........mind boggling I have run out of words. Michael PS love the little boat!

Any tool that is purchased and not used! The whole Metric/Imperial debate is funny. The martians were laughing all the way to Jupiter eating their fig newtons about that crash. A bigger issue than Imperial /Metric is Chinese language versus English or Malian or Hindi or Turkish or Russian. Were all different it's a big world and it would be so boring if we all used the same language and measuring systems, there would be nothing to debate. All this is better than pointing sticks at each other though. Michael

I think we have forgotten just how skilled many craftsmen and skilled artisans were in the past. I believe that their skill was predicated on a greater amount of time honing their skills and being taught the value of doing a job with the greatest care and attention, and not necessarily the fastest cheapest way. 250 years ago some extremely fine optical and scientific instruments were made, not to mention clocks and watches, so I am not surprised by the quality of work done then. I am more surprised by that same quality today. We seem to be living in an instant world that is in a constant hurry to finish everything at the lowest cost. What I find so refreshing about this hobby is that this hurry is for the most part ignored. Michael

Blue skippy I am guessing but your list looks like it comes from http://www.cornwallmodelboats.co.uk/acatalog/timber.html I would suggest an internet search that will give you the alternate names for these wood names and then information on their properties. I suggest this as one who lives in an area that is lacking in both supply and types of woods. Walnut is a fairly porous wood with an open grain structure, it sounds like you are looking for a more dense wood, of those you have listed the maple and cherry are both much finer grained (more dense) the Maple being mostly lighter in colour (can be quite variegated in colour depending on the minerals in the soil where it grows) but holds an edge very well, and the Cherry is a more reddish brown wood that also holds an edge well one of the things I have found with wood names and this seems to be a consistent issue is that different importers and suppliers of various hobbies and trades call a particular wood by a variety of names. Some of the names you list I had not heard of before, probably due to my being new to the hobby of model shipbuilding myself. I am sure that some of the model builders here will have more experience with the woods you have listed than I have.. I hope I have not confused you too much with my ramblings. Michael