michael mott

Bob Thanks for looking in on the tiny build. I have a whole new appreciation for Donald McNarry let me tell you. It took me an hour to make a new mast that is a scale 12 inches in diameter at the base. .024" it is bamboo I used a draw plate and a sanding stick but did most of the final sizing by scraping with a knife blade. It looks like the mast now needs a bit of tapering, it is definitely tricky working with these big splinters.
 
The photo shows the mast to be smaller at the middle than the top I did not see that while working on it I will try some other woods for this small stuff.
 
Here is mini sitting on the stem of the 1:8
 

 
and a shot in daylight with the thinner mast. I took out the 12 inch thick tiller handle.
 

 
Michael

Adeline, the pencil is a regular full size drawing one. your comment reminded me that I did make a couple of yellow pencils for a customer survey station about 15 years or so ago, My son has those pencils now they are about 5 feet long about 3 inches in diameter.
 
Thinking about fine line for rigging it occurred to me that most threads are made from a number of smaller strands.
 
I first took some .025mm nylon canvas thread and unraveled it (tricky) but once the end is spayed you can pull out a strand with a pair of fine tweezers. the brown and sharp gauge puts the .0014 at 47gauge
 

 
I have a bench micrometer that is metric but the charts I have for wire gauges are all in imperial so I made a small stand for my imperial Moore and Wright 1" micrometer I need a fixed micrometer to measure the tiny stuff this way I can adjust the micrometer until the thread just slips between the anvils. The metal strands in the background are 35 gauge.
 

 
I laid one of the strands on the deck and it looks right for the fine standing rigging plus 500 times .0014" is .7 of an inch at full size so it is still a tad on the large size.
 

 
The key will be tying a knot. I have not tried that yet.
 

 
 
Time for some shut eye.
 
Michael

John, no.
 
The inner core is some brass cross bored to accept a couple of small 1/4 inch diameter ceramic magnets the dial is a drawing done in cad I'm still playing with the final design.
 
 
 
 
 
The centre is bored out to 1/2 inch diameter.
 
 
 
The base which still need the holes bored for attaching it to the deck, has a 1/8th diameter rod with a dressmakers steel pin cut and glued into the top, At first I just used the pin but the magnets pulled to it , so with just a short piece the magnets are OK. the diameter is 1 3/16 or 9 1/2 in scale.
 
 
 
My silver smith  friend had given me a piece of copper that she had drawn into a cup shape on her press the OD is 1 1/4 inches in diameter I had to dome the top a bit because it was rounded but flat in the middle a bit like a copper end cap for plumbing pipe.
 
 
 
I machined up a ring of brass that will get the holes drilled for mounting on the deck  and some copper rivets to attach it to the copper.
 
 
 
 
A rotation to check that it is still working.
 
 
 
placed in front of Arnold who is sitting in the cockpit.
 
I still need to make the glass cover plate and brass ring. and nameplate.
 
I know its not fully gimbled, perhaps the next one.
 
Michael
 
 
 

Sherry, thanks for your kind words.
 
John, thanks yes I think I will get a round tuit.
 
I had to rearrange the workshop again today, I was bumping the build table every time I used the mill, and I was walking round it too much to do any other work. so basically I have just swapped the build and work tables positions and kept them lengthwise in the shop.
 

 

 
This arrangement will work better I think.
 
Today I thought for a change of pace I would try a cleat the model one is 1 inch long which equates to an 8 inch cleat in scale. I modeled it roughly on the one in the background.
 

 
Thinking about the complexity of the shape and realizing that the most complicated area to make is the underside I tackled it while it was still part of the 1 inch bar
 

 
First the lower sections were cut off with the jewelers saw,then the bottom sides were filed with a couple of needle files  then the wings were tapered with a flat file and given a wire wheel treatment. which makes it look a bit like a casting.
 

 
Next the top curve was cut with the jewelers saw to remove the cleat from the stock.
 

 
Then a couple of .011" counter bores down .050 and then drilled through with a .067" drill some # 1 round headed wood screws were reworked on the lathe to make them a facsimile of a domed cheese head screw. and the cleat cleaned up with files and emery first 220 then 320 then 600 a final polishing with a bit of steel wool.
 

 
Mounted it on the deck, and cleated the tackle for the bob stay. then coiled the rope without any glue or other means, one of the beauties of working rigging.
 

 

 
Michael
 
 
 
 
 

John, if you do eventually get here, there are some great views in the Rockies not too far from here just three hours away. and we do have a spare room.
 
Joe thanks for the kind words.
 
well the bowsprit shrouds were a bit more fiddly than I thought they would be, Had to make a few more thimbles and shackles
 
I decided on the dark rope for the shrouds and a light rope for the tackle.
 

 

 

 

 

 
I need to make some cleats now so that I can tie ropes and lines off better, just need to sort out where to put them and what type to make, they will probably be brass.
 
Michael

Hi John thanks I just have to round off the corners a little more for it to fit back in the bottom of the cockpit.
 
After supper I made a little block that fits to the shrouds to hold some belaying pins, I have seen this arrangement on a number of the pilot cutters and Smacks seems like a good way to deal with lighter lines like flag pennants and getting rope off the deck.
 

 
The wood is mahogany and the plank was split and bolted back together then the shroud holes were drilled at a slight angle right at the split line and the three holes for the pins were drilled in the wider section. the bolts are 2x56 cap screws I made the nuts.
 

 
This is so much fun I am really enjoying myself.
 
Michael

John I'm retired
 
This evening after supper I finished off the rough fitting of the grating in the bottom of the cockpit. it still needs the edge wood and I'm not sure yet whether to use a contrasting wood or to go with some more of the Yellow Cedar that the grating is made of.
 
I cut a slab of 3/4 x 3 1/2" yellow cedar from a 4x4 of it that i have had for a while now.
 

 
Then stripped it up into some scale 1 1/4 inch thick boards and made a couple of passes to create the square stock and the wider stock was milled with a "19 modified twist drill into an end mill The drill is .166" diameter this gave a nice snug fit to the square stock when it was assembled.
 

 
checking the size to mark out for sanding.
 

 
next the assembly was rough sanded to fit into the cockpit on the disk sander.
 

 
Michael
 
 
 

John It is! its all smoke and mirrors anyway
 
Bob, sometimes I do wonder about the aches we tend to endure doing our hobbies.
 
Elia thanks for stopping by and thanks for the compliment on the hardware.
 
We had snow overnight and so it was good not to do anything but saunter out to the shop and do a little recreational boat-building.
 
I began working on the reinforcement plate for the opposite side of the Gammon Iron and incorporated a roller for the anchor chain. In some photographs of the anchor stowing arrangement the anchor is laying over the roller I do not like that arrangement but will set up a different cradle set up for the anchor. Since the owner of this pilot cutter to recreational yacht has an unlimited penchant for doing things differently, I suppose I will have to go along.
 
The first thing I wanted to accomplish was to replace the round headed machine screws with some hex bolts. The roller is bronze and the major diameter is 1/2inch which represents 4 inches in scale.
 

 
These were made by machining down some 5/16th hex stock that I happened to have on hand, the 5/16 needed to be reduced so I got down to some serious filing.
 

 

 

 

 

 
I machined down a section to the correct diameter for a 4x40 thread then threaded it  then a small section was reduced to the minor diameter of the new hex leaving a thin web of the full 5/16 to act as a template for filing, 10 strokes of the fine file on each face brought down the round section to a smaller hex of 5/32 This was then put back into the lathe and the large hex web was turned to represent a washer, then polished.
 

 

 
So the strength of the gammon iron fitting has now been finished.
 
I will put some protective sheeting over the cap rail where the anchor chain drags over the roller.
 
The last picture shows the new Bob-stay tackle 
 

 
It feels good to be getting on with some work on the cutter.
 
Michael
 
 

John yes that would be a problem.
 
today I made a new eye-bolt for the mast for the topping lift. and added the small block.
 
Also made a .156 mill bit for slotting the inside of the block shell cheeks, basically I snapped of the bottom part of a .156 drill bit and reground it on the bench grinder it works like a charm.
 

 
Also today I worked on a jig to create the small curve at the bend of the metal frame of the block, I basically used the same method as for the thimbles for the eye-slices.
 
I cut a slice of 1/8th gauge plate and filed it smooth then rounded the end and filed in a small groove using a needle file.
 
Next I bent some 1/8th diameter hard steel rod (heated it to cherry red) into a sort of hook and attached a handle so that I could keep my fingers away from the hammer.
 

 

 
After removing from the form.
 

 
I did anneal the very middle section before bending it to fit over the form
 

 
The new 6 inch block I made today with maple, I like the look of it as much as the apple and I have lots of strips of maple so I will probably use it for the rest of the blocks.
 
Michael
 
 
 

John yes it does seem that way, the lake is still open, we have had some very nice warm weather this last month.
 
After supper I managed to nearly finish the new block , I like this way of building them much better than the earlier method , perhaps because it is the way the full sized ones are made.
 

 

 

 

 

 
using the new twisted shackles as well, I like the look and texture of the apple block.
 
Michael

Mark that might be true but I am sure that there are lots of details that you builders of fully rigged ships add that I would not.
 
John thanks for that.
 
Russ thanks, your own restoration work and attention to detail and research have given me inspiration.
 
Druxey you are absolutely right the hard knocks of being a working boat will no doubt take its toll.
 
 
Andy Busted! I told Gulliver it would be found out one day.
 
Greg thank you.
The proof will be in the pudding as they say.
 
 
Jaerschen, thanks Like everyone here I am always looking to do a better job on the next piece.
 
 
Jay and Sherry thanks you for those kind words.
 
Last night and today I did a little bit of woodwork on the gaff.
 
I had already planed up the spar and so the jaws were cut out of a piece of Apple wood that I have had kicking around for a while now. I started to fret it out with the coping saw and discovered that it was tougher than cutting brass, so I dragged out the scroll saw(I don't really like using it )and put in a brand new blade and still struggled with the apple.
 
Then a lot of work with a coarse sanding stick to rough shape them. then planed a couple of flats on the sides of the spar and glued on the apple rough shapes.
 

 
After the jaws had glued overnight I set about doing the final shaping, using some small carving chisels and the #11 blade
 

 
A couple of hours later I did some final sanding and then a good rub down with some fine steel wool, and a coat of golden oak polyurethane.
 

 

 

 
Next I need to cut the slot for the Tumbler and fit the throat halliard attachment and the parrel beads. I will use Lignum vitae for the beads, I also need to add the through bolts for securing the jaws to the spar..  I am torn whether to add the leather over the jaws because I like the look of the apple. But some fine leather stitched might look pretty as well.
 
Perhaps I will do an experiment with some leather on a bit of scrap and see how it looks.
 
Michael 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Matt missed you on the last post sorry about that.
 
Daniel, John, Russ, and Druxey, thanks for all you kind words, at the rate I'm going I sometimes wonder when it will get to the lake.
 
Today I managed to get enough time in to make a double block with a Becket. The sheaves are .375 diameter and the axle is .062, the brass is .125 x .031
I remembered a quote that one should treat every part as model in itself and this seems to work well for me.
 

 
Machined up a block of Degame (lemon-wood)
 

 

 

 
Did a lot of sanding and finishing with some fine steel wool. Made a pin for the Becket. the ring is .011 music wire.
 

 

 
Set it up on the mast with the other double block to see how it looks for the Gaff up-haul, I just used the weight from the ropewalk to give some body to the rope. I must finish those seizings on the shrouds.
 

 
The blocks work well together, this is a lot of fun, I need to get on and finish the gaff now, and of course there will be a few more blocks but the next few will be singles.
 
Michael

John, Bob, thanks for your observations.
 
Today I felt like I was finally getting somewhere.
 

the shrink was first cut to just the length around the deadeye, then a copper clamp was added then a couple more lengths of shrink and the next copper clamp and on to the top. I added a short piece to cover the end and let it protrude about 3/32nds. The copper was crimped in the centre between the cables, with a pair of pincers that have had the edges honed to not cut, this also added just a slight relief between them, which helped with the shrink.
 

 

 
The shrink was then shrunk down and the first seizing was added to the end closest to the deadeye.
 

 
In order to make threading the nylon thread a little easier I made a small Marlin spike, and so that I would not loose it among the pins and needles I added a scrap of ebony as a handle, it also helps to hold it.
 

 
The spike worked well I am happy to report.
 

 
I think this is the way forward I am pleased with the results only three more to do.
 
Michael
 
 

Adeline, the pencil is a regular full size drawing one. your comment reminded me that I did make a couple of yellow pencils for a customer survey station about 15 years or so ago, My son has those pencils now they are about 5 feet long about 3 inches in diameter.
 
Thinking about fine line for rigging it occurred to me that most threads are made from a number of smaller strands.
 
I first took some .025mm nylon canvas thread and unraveled it (tricky) but once the end is spayed you can pull out a strand with a pair of fine tweezers. the brown and sharp gauge puts the .0014 at 47gauge
 

 
I have a bench micrometer that is metric but the charts I have for wire gauges are all in imperial so I made a small stand for my imperial Moore and Wright 1" micrometer I need a fixed micrometer to measure the tiny stuff this way I can adjust the micrometer until the thread just slips between the anvils. The metal strands in the background are 35 gauge.
 

 
I laid one of the strands on the deck and it looks right for the fine standing rigging plus 500 times .0014" is .7 of an inch at full size so it is still a tad on the large size.
 

 
The key will be tying a knot. I have not tried that yet.
 

 
 
Time for some shut eye.
 
Michael

Mark, Harvey, John, Popeye, and Matt,  thanks for your kind words.
 
Yes Matt the translucence did surprise me a little because the apple wood was quite dense. I measured the thickness and it was scraped down to .005" which in scale is still way to thick. if it were blown up to full size it would be 2.5 inches thick.
 
 
I cut the curve out with a pair of regular scissors and then the curl by pulling between my index finger and thumbnail. the hardest part was getting the glue on. I used a dental pic and put the glue in the tip of it, I could have used a pin as well I suppose.
 
Once the glue was good and set I used a tiny sanding stick with 600 grit and gently stroked back and forth lengthwise to get them down to the right size above the deck I also used it to shape the transom once it was glued on.
 

 
Michael

Well John putting the bulwark on was tough enough for me. it is amazing what the camera sees that I don't. this is all for now.
 
 
 

 

 

 
Michael
 

Håkan, thanks for the compliment
 
I did a little more work on the mini pilot cutter today I worked on the final shaping of the deck.
 


 
Tricky little devil to hold. Then I remembered the Milton Bradley mock up clay.
 

 
Heated up an exacto blade to cherry red and let it cool down so I could file the notch for recessing the hull to accept the bulwarks.
 

 
I cut some .005" apple and also some white lilac so I will see how each look before deciding. The white lilac smelled like aromatic cedar which surprised me.
 
Michael

John, thanks, it is fun, and break up the tasks which gives my mind a variety of focus.
 
Mark, absolutely, the small cutter works out to a scale 12 inches long LOA as a model in the big one.
 
Harvey, thanks for your kind comment
 
Druxey, thanks for the compliment and actually it is quite the opposite I find it easy to switch scales, I have been a "rubber gauger" all my life. (Sorry about the reference to railways)
 

 
the top off cut looked promising for the proper rudder.
 

 
Fretted out and ready for shaping,
 

 
The rudder was a little tricky to hold and it took five minutes to find it after dropping it, I think it did a sycamore seed thing as it fell. When it was almost finished I snapped the shaft which was carved as an integral part of the rudder. I glued it with some ACC and since it is hidden inside the hole through the hull, and there will not be any sideways torquing pressure I will leave it. At the moment it is just a very light push fit and it does swivel from side to side. I was reading that Donald McNally actually planked the decks of all his ships with actual strips of planking. ...... I'm thinking about it.
 

 

 
I Also shaped a new mast out of maple and tapered it to .010" at the masthead and .024"  at the base, I am pleased enough with it now.
 
Michael

Bob Thanks for looking in on the tiny build. I have a whole new appreciation for Donald McNarry let me tell you. It took me an hour to make a new mast that is a scale 12 inches in diameter at the base. .024" it is bamboo I used a draw plate and a sanding stick but did most of the final sizing by scraping with a knife blade. It looks like the mast now needs a bit of tapering, it is definitely tricky working with these big splinters.
 
The photo shows the mast to be smaller at the middle than the top I did not see that while working on it I will try some other woods for this small stuff.
 
Here is mini sitting on the stem of the 1:8
 

 
and a shot in daylight with the thinner mast. I took out the 12 inch thick tiller handle.
 

 
Michael

I thought that a challenge to build a small model at 1:500 scale similar to the ships in bottles might make a satisfying change from working in 1:8 scale
 

 
 
the hull is carved from a small piece of the English Boxwood

 
 
I decided to use the larger part of the block as a holding jig so I carefully fretted out the profile and plan with a jewelers saw, by not completing the cuts I was able to hold it easily until the end.

 
 
The hull blank was reatached to the cut along the deck line saw cut with a little acc glue.

 
 
The beginning carving most of the actual carving was done with the #11 blade then some files.

 
 
Some .024" holes were drilled for mounting to a board and a similar hole was drilled for the rudder.

 
 
The first trial assembly to get an Idea of how it will look. I think that the mast is a bit big in diameter yet and the hull still needs a bit of fairing in a couple of spots.

 
 
Three quarter from the bow Still a fair ways to go but I am satisfied with the progress this evening.

 
 
The brass tiller is just a placeholder it is a bit on the big side. Next the bowsprit and topmast gaff and boom.
 
Michael

I have been mixing black ink into the Lepages Carpenters glue with no problems noted over a couple of years so far.
 

 

 

 
Michael

Well I did not get to work on any models today see my post about Maria. However I had a wonderful conversation this afternoon with a Roger Dyment who is the owner of Skipjack the sister to Floss, the boats are identical except for the engines, and since i have not heard from the owner of Floss I think I will be building her sister.

Roger told me that he would be happy to give me any assistance, and take photographs of the hull as she is out of the water for winter. Roger told me that about 70% of the hull timber is original, and although the Buffalo Engine is not it is the correct vintage here is a link that roger passed on about Skipjack
Michael

John, yes I was very happy to hear from Roger.
 
Dan, I just make time and my wife is very understanding, I do all the maintenance and building and do the dishes. I did not get much sleep last night because I was out putting wood in the stove every 2 hours, a better wood stove would be good.
 
Pete thanks and welcome.
 
Ed, Thanks for looking in, The method will be proved one way or another, your own dedication to research and accuracy has been one of the things that has inspired me to have a go at making an accurate model of a real existing classic boat. I am looking forward to finding out a number of various sizes and distances from Roger. I am particularly interested in the sizes of the frames, beam width, free board and the shape of the stern under the waterline.
 
One of the things that I am most interested in regarding the build, is bending the frames inside the ribbands rather than over a solid form., I might have to pre bend some but I will find out soon enough. Roger informed me that the planks are affixed with iron nails, so copper will work on the model as a substitute. It will be interesting to see if the nails are bent or were fixed with roves. 
 
Tom, Yes I agree good and bad but I have not given up hope of hearing from the owner of Floss yet, the good news is that the hulls are identical and were built at the same time, the only difference being the engines, there does seem to be a good deal of info about the Buffalo as well. The engine will certainly be a bit of a challenge but I can be like a "dog with a bone" sometimes. Regarding a visit to the real boats it is on the other side of the country and travel here is not cheap, it would definitely make a great holiday destination next summer though.
 
Michael

John Thanks for pointing me to the site.
 
Today I did a little more metalwork, made the bob stay fitting and then mucked about sorting out a shackle. The fitting on the stem was fretted out folded and then the holes drilled and tapped then the tab was silver soldered on.
 

 
The shackle was a lot more work than I thought it would be. At first I bent up some different diameters of brass rod, but was not really happy with any of it.
 
So opted to make one out of some 5/16 x 1/16 brass strip.
 

 

 
Bending it to shape was a bit harder because I did not want to anneal the brass I wanted to keep it hard.
 

 
After the main body was bent to shape I tapped the locking side and then turned up a pin and flattened the end to facilitate winding it in, I still need to drill a small hole in the flattened end to add a safety wire.
 

 
I had a little chain not quite the right stuff but good enough to get a good Idea of how the final will look.
 

 

 
Michael

Wow!..... where are my knitting needles..again!
 
Amazing work Karl, you set a very high bar.
 
Michael