liteflight

Thanks, Balclutha and Eric
The state of Victoria is in a condition of stage 4 lockdown, so it is not possible to go and buy anything except food and pharmaceuticals
So I am working with what I have in stock.  Certainly the mahogany can be discounted, but I would like to try Oak and Antique in the same range.
 
It is possible to order online and collect, or have it delivered - so I expect to gather an order for house, home and hobby and have it delivered.  
 
As an aside I have just looked to find out what Tasmanian Oak is.  And, not surprisingly it is one of three related species of Eucalyptus!  
 
And thinking of oak, and the recovered Viking ships.  We know the dates when the timber was felled, but does anyone know WHERE the oak came from?  Dendrochronology would identify the area.  (Ah, yes, one of the Skuldelev ships was made from Irish Oak)
 
When I was a  nipper I was taught that common or
pedunculate oak (Quercus robor) was a Roman import to Britain, and is a Mediterranean native.  This is not necessarily literally true, but even if it was, there would still be time to grow a lot of oaks in the areas of Roman occupation (basically up to the Rhine) in time for late viking shipbuilding.
Certainly trees are rare and valued in many of the "viking" lands.
 
We live in a cool part of Australia, but semi-tropical nonetheless.  Our street has a lot of European oaks , and one was recently felled and cut up.  The growth rings were 3 to 5 mm apart, rather than 1/3 to 1/2 mm that I am used to from this species of oak!  Not trees to make Victory from!
 
 
 
 

Don’t know if it helps with the scarphing  question, but I recall seeing a video of a full size ship of this type being planked.  The planks were bent and held by wooden clamps until rivets had been fixed.  The planks were joined with a short scarph (not much longer than the thickness of the plank). The joint was sealed with something fibrous (?horsehair ) and something goopy (a blackish tar-based mastic?)
I don’t recall any rivets or reinforcement on the back of the joint
By the time the next strake is fitted and rivetted the joint will be well supported on a clinker hull
 
My big Oseberg shows a short 45 degree scarph in each strake, and I never thought to look on other people’s build logs to see if they lay on a frame.  There has been comment on the fact that all the joints land in a small area roughly amidships.
Perhaps it’s a non-event, and that is why it’s not mentioned in the logs?
 

Don’t know if it helps with the scarphing  question, but I recall seeing a video of a full size ship of this type being planked.  The planks were bent and held by wooden clamps until rivets had been fixed.  The planks were joined with a short scarph (not much longer than the thickness of the plank). The joint was sealed with something fibrous (?horsehair ) and something goopy (a blackish tar-based mastic?)
I don’t recall any rivets or reinforcement on the back of the joint
By the time the next strake is fitted and rivetted the joint will be well supported on a clinker hull
 
My big Oseberg shows a short 45 degree scarph in each strake, and I never thought to look on other people’s build logs to see if they lay on a frame.  There has been comment on the fact that all the joints land in a small area roughly amidships.
Perhaps it’s a non-event, and that is why it’s not mentioned in the logs?
 

Hwaet, Jarl Leofwine
so you stood with king Harold Godwinsson on Senlac hill!  
Respect!
I’m guessing you marched south with him and the Housecarls after marmelising Harald Hardrada at Stamford Bridge
Good yomping, that.
I always assume that the two attacks were co- ordinated as much as they could be, and the outcome at Hastings Would have more likely to go to the defenders if there had been more time and less exhaustion
And we would likely be talking  now a language more like Danish or Frisian with a lot less Romance influence
Perhaps
Onyhow, you tried!
 
Meanwhile, back at the shipyard
I have applied the stains I have, which are pure, spirit-based dye, to the 4mm ply from which the bones of the hull are made.  I have also tried it on Some sticks of roughly sawn obechi.  I will liberate some of the strakes from the 1mm ply sheets and try them, too
I know already what I think, but that might be altered by some other colours in the range (Feast Watson Prooftint range). There are a couple of possible candidates in the rest of the range, Teak, and Antique
As well as trying these, I want to see how it takes over glues, so I will intentionally do what usually I do accidentally, and drop, smear and fingerprint glue to see what happens
the stain is wet now, but I will take some photos tomorrow in natural light and see what the vast throng of onlookers think.
 
Glue 
I am using Titebond for the first time. My impression is that it is very thick and viscous, and prolly suitable for carpentry.
I normally use Pva diluted 1:1 with water ( or sometimes screenwash) to build wood models.  The wood is often balsa or 1/64 ply and I clamp the joint, scrape it with a balsa “chisel” to remove excess and make a small fillet.  Then I wipe down with a wet cloth.
i was planning to do similar with the Longship, but the viscosity of titebond means it smears , and does not seem to wipe off easily.  We shall see......
 
A thought that might help someone some time:
All the white glues (pvas, woodglues, aliphatics, etc ) are thermoplastic
so you can apply the glue, let it dry and then use a hot iron to cause the glue to bond.
when used like this it is a hot melt glue, and the bond is made as it cools, so it is very near instant
there is very little spreading or staining
It’s a good way to laminate parts, and it occurs to me that it might be a good way to fix a clinker strake , as it could be applied a bit at a time under good control.
I confess that I have not made a dragon ship by this method, but I have made many laminated wing outlines, and frames for boats
 
 
 
 

Feel free to vote for the stain colour you think most appropriate for a display model of the Oseberg longship.   
There should be some more stains to try before the first staining.
 
In the course to trying these I have discovered:
These stains are soluble in Iso-propanol! As I discovered by spilling some on my cork building board The narrow bottles ALWAYS get knocked over and spilled I now know this and prepare the area, and keep them upright in a deep container padded by cloths I applied a coat of stain to the 4mm ply that the frame is made from.  The large parts of the turnover jig are perfect for this

I have two bottles labelled Walnut and one labelled Mahogany

These are the two pots labelled Walnut, but I have a sneaking suspicion that I used one of them to trial-mix in a little Mahogany
I also stained an Obechi strip and some of my micro-veneer

I'm distinctly chuffed with the behaviour of the veneer, because A) it took the stain sweetly, and
B )  I was able to iron it flat without the stain misbehaving (or staining the sole of the Iron!).  Thank you GladBake (baking parchment)

 
So there we are.  The stain has been applied, and fully dried.
I expect to be able to glue the stained timber as easily as unstained.
The experiments with intentional glue contamination can now commence!
 
Why does the veneer (0.2mm thick) need to be ironed?
Well because it was bought rolled and stapled into little cones for use as dainty holders for something like sweets (US=candies:  Lincolnshire = clats)
So the veneer needs to be flattened by ironing or similar
 
Jack P used white oak veneer to cover the ply end grain, and since no mention was made of thickness I assume it was 0.6mm (25thou) which is more-or-less standard (I am told).  For Jack and Von Kossa the veneer was made to follow the concave curves on the frames (using Packing tubes already!) and the remaining part of the frame covered, I think, in  separate pieces of veneer
 
I aim to cover each frame top edge in a single length of veneer since
My veneer is thin ,
The tops of the frames are rounded off and I expect the veneer to be able to follow the rounded curve.  Its rounded because there are no square corners to fall against in my Longship!
I have experience of this both as a boat-user and full size builder of marine equipment,
 
I said that I was chuffed earlier
In fact my state is "chuffed to little Naafi-breaks" because I have just made my first box-joint
 

This is made with scrap ply, but now I have  a working jig, and the world is my lobster!
 

Feel free to vote for the stain colour you think most appropriate for a display model of the Oseberg longship.   
There should be some more stains to try before the first staining.
 
In the course to trying these I have discovered:
These stains are soluble in Iso-propanol! As I discovered by spilling some on my cork building board The narrow bottles ALWAYS get knocked over and spilled I now know this and prepare the area, and keep them upright in a deep container padded by cloths I applied a coat of stain to the 4mm ply that the frame is made from.  The large parts of the turnover jig are perfect for this

I have two bottles labelled Walnut and one labelled Mahogany

These are the two pots labelled Walnut, but I have a sneaking suspicion that I used one of them to trial-mix in a little Mahogany
I also stained an Obechi strip and some of my micro-veneer

I'm distinctly chuffed with the behaviour of the veneer, because A) it took the stain sweetly, and
B )  I was able to iron it flat without the stain misbehaving (or staining the sole of the Iron!).  Thank you GladBake (baking parchment)

 
So there we are.  The stain has been applied, and fully dried.
I expect to be able to glue the stained timber as easily as unstained.
The experiments with intentional glue contamination can now commence!
 
Why does the veneer (0.2mm thick) need to be ironed?
Well because it was bought rolled and stapled into little cones for use as dainty holders for something like sweets (US=candies:  Lincolnshire = clats)
So the veneer needs to be flattened by ironing or similar
 
Jack P used white oak veneer to cover the ply end grain, and since no mention was made of thickness I assume it was 0.6mm (25thou) which is more-or-less standard (I am told).  For Jack and Von Kossa the veneer was made to follow the concave curves on the frames (using Packing tubes already!) and the remaining part of the frame covered, I think, in  separate pieces of veneer
 
I aim to cover each frame top edge in a single length of veneer since
My veneer is thin ,
The tops of the frames are rounded off and I expect the veneer to be able to follow the rounded curve.  Its rounded because there are no square corners to fall against in my Longship!
I have experience of this both as a boat-user and full size builder of marine equipment,
 
I said that I was chuffed earlier
In fact my state is "chuffed to little Naafi-breaks" because I have just made my first box-joint
 

This is made with scrap ply, but now I have  a working jig, and the world is my lobster!
 

Feel free to vote for the stain colour you think most appropriate for a display model of the Oseberg longship.   
There should be some more stains to try before the first staining.
 
In the course to trying these I have discovered:
These stains are soluble in Iso-propanol! As I discovered by spilling some on my cork building board The narrow bottles ALWAYS get knocked over and spilled I now know this and prepare the area, and keep them upright in a deep container padded by cloths I applied a coat of stain to the 4mm ply that the frame is made from.  The large parts of the turnover jig are perfect for this

I have two bottles labelled Walnut and one labelled Mahogany

These are the two pots labelled Walnut, but I have a sneaking suspicion that I used one of them to trial-mix in a little Mahogany
I also stained an Obechi strip and some of my micro-veneer

I'm distinctly chuffed with the behaviour of the veneer, because A) it took the stain sweetly, and
B )  I was able to iron it flat without the stain misbehaving (or staining the sole of the Iron!).  Thank you GladBake (baking parchment)

 
So there we are.  The stain has been applied, and fully dried.
I expect to be able to glue the stained timber as easily as unstained.
The experiments with intentional glue contamination can now commence!
 
Why does the veneer (0.2mm thick) need to be ironed?
Well because it was bought rolled and stapled into little cones for use as dainty holders for something like sweets (US=candies:  Lincolnshire = clats)
So the veneer needs to be flattened by ironing or similar
 
Jack P used white oak veneer to cover the ply end grain, and since no mention was made of thickness I assume it was 0.6mm (25thou) which is more-or-less standard (I am told).  For Jack and Von Kossa the veneer was made to follow the concave curves on the frames (using Packing tubes already!) and the remaining part of the frame covered, I think, in  separate pieces of veneer
 
I aim to cover each frame top edge in a single length of veneer since
My veneer is thin ,
The tops of the frames are rounded off and I expect the veneer to be able to follow the rounded curve.  Its rounded because there are no square corners to fall against in my Longship!
I have experience of this both as a boat-user and full size builder of marine equipment,
 
I said that I was chuffed earlier
In fact my state is "chuffed to little Naafi-breaks" because I have just made my first box-joint
 

This is made with scrap ply, but now I have  a working jig, and the world is my lobster!
 

Not sure that toothpicks would work in a draw plate, but it would be easier to try that opine.  Whet I locate my draw plate I will try some different woods
treenails will always strengthen a joint - Harold Underwood made his of split bamboo as I described, and dipped tham in “knotting” as a glue before tapping them into pre-drilled holed.  I have not seen or heard of knotting for sale for the past 50 years.   I would use white glue!
Ok, got you.  Now cedar is a stringy, fibrous wood.  Split a shingle and that would work in a draw plate 😀

A stand of any sort for your Drexel is like having another hand! And if it held it vertical you would have either a drill/mill or a spindle Moulder (molder)
I stand In awe of your computer model.  I can see it snaking over the rollers with huge bone in its teeth.
 

Hwaet, Jarl Leofwine
so you stood with king Harold Godwinsson on Senlac hill!  
Respect!
I’m guessing you marched south with him and the Housecarls after marmelising Harald Hardrada at Stamford Bridge
Good yomping, that.
I always assume that the two attacks were co- ordinated as much as they could be, and the outcome at Hastings Would have more likely to go to the defenders if there had been more time and less exhaustion
And we would likely be talking  now a language more like Danish or Frisian with a lot less Romance influence
Perhaps
Onyhow, you tried!
 
Meanwhile, back at the shipyard
I have applied the stains I have, which are pure, spirit-based dye, to the 4mm ply from which the bones of the hull are made.  I have also tried it on Some sticks of roughly sawn obechi.  I will liberate some of the strakes from the 1mm ply sheets and try them, too
I know already what I think, but that might be altered by some other colours in the range (Feast Watson Prooftint range). There are a couple of possible candidates in the rest of the range, Teak, and Antique
As well as trying these, I want to see how it takes over glues, so I will intentionally do what usually I do accidentally, and drop, smear and fingerprint glue to see what happens
the stain is wet now, but I will take some photos tomorrow in natural light and see what the vast throng of onlookers think.
 
Glue 
I am using Titebond for the first time. My impression is that it is very thick and viscous, and prolly suitable for carpentry.
I normally use Pva diluted 1:1 with water ( or sometimes screenwash) to build wood models.  The wood is often balsa or 1/64 ply and I clamp the joint, scrape it with a balsa “chisel” to remove excess and make a small fillet.  Then I wipe down with a wet cloth.
i was planning to do similar with the Longship, but the viscosity of titebond means it smears , and does not seem to wipe off easily.  We shall see......
 
A thought that might help someone some time:
All the white glues (pvas, woodglues, aliphatics, etc ) are thermoplastic
so you can apply the glue, let it dry and then use a hot iron to cause the glue to bond.
when used like this it is a hot melt glue, and the bond is made as it cools, so it is very near instant
there is very little spreading or staining
It’s a good way to laminate parts, and it occurs to me that it might be a good way to fix a clinker strake , as it could be applied a bit at a time under good control.
I confess that I have not made a dragon ship by this method, but I have made many laminated wing outlines, and frames for boats
 
 
 
 

Stand looking good.  And bracing the formers a wise plan.  
Would you consider glueing  on a temporary gunwale with balsa cement to stabilise the tops of the bulkheads? Or has your bracing Sorted them?

Like the dark colour and contrast with untreated wood

The little beetles are still used to make cochineal /carmine, used as a food dye nowadays.  I have noticed that there have been several “eeeeugh! Did you know that red smarties are made from squashed beetles?” Articles in the press recently.  Truly people are getting remote from their food these days.  I have seen the beetles on cacti in the 
Canary Islands, where they still make cochineal
As a linguistic aside, ladybirds (ladybugs to Americans) are of the species Coccinella, so the 7-spot ladybird is coccinella septipunctata, and gave their name to cochineal.  I have not traced the linkage yet, but it might be as simple as someone calling the squashed-bug dye “red like a ladybird”
 
On holiday in Crete ( highly recommended when permitted) I learned that the fabulous wealth of the Cretan kings based at Knossos came from a monopoly on successful farming the murex shellfish, and the ability to extract the exudate without killing the creature.  Sounds good, but I seem to remember that it took the dye from 20,000 murex to dye the one inch stripe round a Roman senators toga.  Imperial purple also called Tyrian purple, because it was thought to come from Tyre.  It probably sorta did, because why would the Phoenician traders say where it really came from
 
You mention the associated smells.  They may have been only a footnote to the whole dyeing business which was ( and often still is) radically odiferous.  For example the mordant used to attach the dyestuffs to wool was urine.

 The  natural dyes are fascinating, and the introduction of the early industrial dyes is a saga of triumph, disaster and some linguistic interest.
Magenta, for example! Named for a Redshirt battle and I think the first of the azo-dyes
But the leader, Garibaldi, became a biscuit rather than a colour!
 
Sorry to ramble.  You lit my touch paper
Rowers almost there and naturally dyed in the wool

I was always taught that “the Pune was the lowest form of wit.”
But I like them!
 
 

Not sure that toothpicks would work in a draw plate, but it would be easier to try that opine.  Whet I locate my draw plate I will try some different woods
treenails will always strengthen a joint - Harold Underwood made his of split bamboo as I described, and dipped tham in “knotting” as a glue before tapping them into pre-drilled holed.  I have not seen or heard of knotting for sale for the past 50 years.   I would use white glue!
Ok, got you.  Now cedar is a stringy, fibrous wood.  Split a shingle and that would work in a draw plate 😀

A stand of any sort for your Drexel is like having another hand! And if it held it vertical you would have either a drill/mill or a spindle Moulder (molder)
I stand In awe of your computer model.  I can see it snaking over the rollers with huge bone in its teeth.
 

Having had a helpful and clear how-to from Cathead on how to insert links into posts: I thought that this would be a safe and useful place to give it a go
 
Link to my Oseberg build
 
Being digital, this will either work, or conversely, fail to do so
 

Good hooking axe, Steven
And a fine body of men!
Did you form a skaldborg?  I see you have what I would call kite shaped shields
 
 
Yes, the multiple reflections just form a texture and not a shine.  Steel mail?
i often imagine keeping this from seawater in a Drakkar!  The mail might go in a chest, but weapons would be stowed beneath the floorboards, as would everything else.  Viking WD40 with added phosphoric acid?

Hi, Nelson
I have been following your build, and appreciate the thinking behind the steps you take. 
Indeed, there will be a veritable fleet of longships setting out from the viks next spring.  I can see them now, with the men in their gleaming silver mail coats, Ak47s akimbo and the Jarl in his winged helmet at the prow holding on to the dragon head.
 
I know, I know! Titanium mail was not common, guns a long way off and NO WINGS, {I was seeing it with Hollywood goggles and to exercise Louis-da-fly’s eyebrows}
 
I reviewed my stock of stains yesterday, and indeed I have only oak and mahogany on the shelf (And a couple of bottles of mixes of the two).
we are in Stage 4 lockdown at the moment, and the suppliers Bunnings are closed to the public.  Still open for online ordering, tho.  I hope to try some trial staining today
 
Did I mention the I do not love obechi wood?  It has a very open grain and I have had sad experiences of it in my youth in model aircraft building,  I am telling myself that the grain will resemble riven oak when used for the flooring timbers; and myself is replying that he will use some of the lime we got!
 
linguistic aside:  I hail from the northern part of the Uk, and the language and accents are greatly influenced by the Scandewegian settlers.  So “riven” is common as an adjective in most of English, but my father ( who was from Cumbria) would use the verb “rive”, but not with the splitting meaning.
the question  “What are you riving at?” Suggested that you were applying lots of energy to little avail!
 

Cathead
It works!  and your explanation was perfect
Many thanks
 
Steven
Many thanks for your comments.  Genuinely useful!
 
Bit of biographical info:  I'm a native Scot and arrived in Oz about 7 years ago, so I speak a wee bit of the language.
One word I do know in Australian is "Isocol"  -the sovereign remedy for wrong-gluedness.  I confess I learned from and with Bindy,
This forum provides me with inspo
 
Having poured out my woes about differing thicknesses (which of course have also required different close-fitting slots in the jig) I consumed a large mug of Rosie Lee and realised that I need to know rather than worry.
 
So I shall liberate the scrollwork and find how it fits and how it must be when complete.  Ditto some of the strakes to see how they nestle in the rabbit made by the doublers.
Then I shall know better how to proceed!
 
The lurking Drakkar
Behind my shoulder is the sailing version of this boat - which will be made with similar parts but of different materials. 
It will have provision for a removable drop-keel and I need to give serious thought to sail control as the sail needs a wide range of angle to be able to sail close-hauled on both tacks.  The rotating mast could still be a favourite way of achieving this, but this makes difficulties with mast stays, etc
I am very aware that Queen Asa's ship was not made for ocean-going, so I expect to take some liberties with freeboard, etc.  Certainly the model will be sailing in scale storm conditions more often than not
I also find the Oseberg cross-section a bit awkward where the strakes join the upper planks.
I would want to "hourglass" this a bit more in conjunction with  raising the freeboard a bit
And - I need to consider just where to fit the hydrofoils 😁
 
So now I  go to liberate some strakes and the scrollwork and establish in my mind how this will work best
Also to dig out of the shed the assorted stains I have, and try them on representative woods
 

Hi, Nelson
I have been following your build, and appreciate the thinking behind the steps you take. 
Indeed, there will be a veritable fleet of longships setting out from the viks next spring.  I can see them now, with the men in their gleaming silver mail coats, Ak47s akimbo and the Jarl in his winged helmet at the prow holding on to the dragon head.
 
I know, I know! Titanium mail was not common, guns a long way off and NO WINGS, {I was seeing it with Hollywood goggles and to exercise Louis-da-fly’s eyebrows}
 
I reviewed my stock of stains yesterday, and indeed I have only oak and mahogany on the shelf (And a couple of bottles of mixes of the two).
we are in Stage 4 lockdown at the moment, and the suppliers Bunnings are closed to the public.  Still open for online ordering, tho.  I hope to try some trial staining today
 
Did I mention the I do not love obechi wood?  It has a very open grain and I have had sad experiences of it in my youth in model aircraft building,  I am telling myself that the grain will resemble riven oak when used for the flooring timbers; and myself is replying that he will use some of the lime we got!
 
linguistic aside:  I hail from the northern part of the Uk, and the language and accents are greatly influenced by the Scandewegian settlers.  So “riven” is common as an adjective in most of English, but my father ( who was from Cumbria) would use the verb “rive”, but not with the splitting meaning.
the question  “What are you riving at?” Suggested that you were applying lots of energy to little avail!
 

The little beetles are still used to make cochineal /carmine, used as a food dye nowadays.  I have noticed that there have been several “eeeeugh! Did you know that red smarties are made from squashed beetles?” Articles in the press recently.  Truly people are getting remote from their food these days.  I have seen the beetles on cacti in the 
Canary Islands, where they still make cochineal
As a linguistic aside, ladybirds (ladybugs to Americans) are of the species Coccinella, so the 7-spot ladybird is coccinella septipunctata, and gave their name to cochineal.  I have not traced the linkage yet, but it might be as simple as someone calling the squashed-bug dye “red like a ladybird”
 
On holiday in Crete ( highly recommended when permitted) I learned that the fabulous wealth of the Cretan kings based at Knossos came from a monopoly on successful farming the murex shellfish, and the ability to extract the exudate without killing the creature.  Sounds good, but I seem to remember that it took the dye from 20,000 murex to dye the one inch stripe round a Roman senators toga.  Imperial purple also called Tyrian purple, because it was thought to come from Tyre.  It probably sorta did, because why would the Phoenician traders say where it really came from
 
You mention the associated smells.  They may have been only a footnote to the whole dyeing business which was ( and often still is) radically odiferous.  For example the mordant used to attach the dyestuffs to wool was urine.

 The  natural dyes are fascinating, and the introduction of the early industrial dyes is a saga of triumph, disaster and some linguistic interest.
Magenta, for example! Named for a Redshirt battle and I think the first of the azo-dyes
But the leader, Garibaldi, became a biscuit rather than a colour!
 
Sorry to ramble.  You lit my touch paper
Rowers almost there and naturally dyed in the wool

I was always taught that “the Pune was the lowest form of wit.”
But I like them!
 
 

Cathead
It works!  and your explanation was perfect
Many thanks
 
Steven
Many thanks for your comments.  Genuinely useful!
 
Bit of biographical info:  I'm a native Scot and arrived in Oz about 7 years ago, so I speak a wee bit of the language.
One word I do know in Australian is "Isocol"  -the sovereign remedy for wrong-gluedness.  I confess I learned from and with Bindy,
This forum provides me with inspo
 
Having poured out my woes about differing thicknesses (which of course have also required different close-fitting slots in the jig) I consumed a large mug of Rosie Lee and realised that I need to know rather than worry.
 
So I shall liberate the scrollwork and find how it fits and how it must be when complete.  Ditto some of the strakes to see how they nestle in the rabbit made by the doublers.
Then I shall know better how to proceed!
 
The lurking Drakkar
Behind my shoulder is the sailing version of this boat - which will be made with similar parts but of different materials. 
It will have provision for a removable drop-keel and I need to give serious thought to sail control as the sail needs a wide range of angle to be able to sail close-hauled on both tacks.  The rotating mast could still be a favourite way of achieving this, but this makes difficulties with mast stays, etc
I am very aware that Queen Asa's ship was not made for ocean-going, so I expect to take some liberties with freeboard, etc.  Certainly the model will be sailing in scale storm conditions more often than not
I also find the Oseberg cross-section a bit awkward where the strakes join the upper planks.
I would want to "hourglass" this a bit more in conjunction with  raising the freeboard a bit
And - I need to consider just where to fit the hydrofoils 😁
 
So now I  go to liberate some strakes and the scrollwork and establish in my mind how this will work best
Also to dig out of the shed the assorted stains I have, and try them on representative woods
 

The little beetles are still used to make cochineal /carmine, used as a food dye nowadays.  I have noticed that there have been several “eeeeugh! Did you know that red smarties are made from squashed beetles?” Articles in the press recently.  Truly people are getting remote from their food these days.  I have seen the beetles on cacti in the 
Canary Islands, where they still make cochineal
As a linguistic aside, ladybirds (ladybugs to Americans) are of the species Coccinella, so the 7-spot ladybird is coccinella septipunctata, and gave their name to cochineal.  I have not traced the linkage yet, but it might be as simple as someone calling the squashed-bug dye “red like a ladybird”
 
On holiday in Crete ( highly recommended when permitted) I learned that the fabulous wealth of the Cretan kings based at Knossos came from a monopoly on successful farming the murex shellfish, and the ability to extract the exudate without killing the creature.  Sounds good, but I seem to remember that it took the dye from 20,000 murex to dye the one inch stripe round a Roman senators toga.  Imperial purple also called Tyrian purple, because it was thought to come from Tyre.  It probably sorta did, because why would the Phoenician traders say where it really came from
 
You mention the associated smells.  They may have been only a footnote to the whole dyeing business which was ( and often still is) radically odiferous.  For example the mordant used to attach the dyestuffs to wool was urine.

 The  natural dyes are fascinating, and the introduction of the early industrial dyes is a saga of triumph, disaster and some linguistic interest.
Magenta, for example! Named for a Redshirt battle and I think the first of the azo-dyes
But the leader, Garibaldi, became a biscuit rather than a colour!
 
Sorry to ramble.  You lit my touch paper
Rowers almost there and naturally dyed in the wool

I was always taught that “the Pune was the lowest form of wit.”
But I like them!
 
 

The little beetles are still used to make cochineal /carmine, used as a food dye nowadays.  I have noticed that there have been several “eeeeugh! Did you know that red smarties are made from squashed beetles?” Articles in the press recently.  Truly people are getting remote from their food these days.  I have seen the beetles on cacti in the 
Canary Islands, where they still make cochineal
As a linguistic aside, ladybirds (ladybugs to Americans) are of the species Coccinella, so the 7-spot ladybird is coccinella septipunctata, and gave their name to cochineal.  I have not traced the linkage yet, but it might be as simple as someone calling the squashed-bug dye “red like a ladybird”
 
On holiday in Crete ( highly recommended when permitted) I learned that the fabulous wealth of the Cretan kings based at Knossos came from a monopoly on successful farming the murex shellfish, and the ability to extract the exudate without killing the creature.  Sounds good, but I seem to remember that it took the dye from 20,000 murex to dye the one inch stripe round a Roman senators toga.  Imperial purple also called Tyrian purple, because it was thought to come from Tyre.  It probably sorta did, because why would the Phoenician traders say where it really came from
 
You mention the associated smells.  They may have been only a footnote to the whole dyeing business which was ( and often still is) radically odiferous.  For example the mordant used to attach the dyestuffs to wool was urine.

 The  natural dyes are fascinating, and the introduction of the early industrial dyes is a saga of triumph, disaster and some linguistic interest.
Magenta, for example! Named for a Redshirt battle and I think the first of the azo-dyes
But the leader, Garibaldi, became a biscuit rather than a colour!
 
Sorry to ramble.  You lit my touch paper
Rowers almost there and naturally dyed in the wool

I was always taught that “the Pune was the lowest form of wit.”
But I like them!
 
 

The little beetles are still used to make cochineal /carmine, used as a food dye nowadays.  I have noticed that there have been several “eeeeugh! Did you know that red smarties are made from squashed beetles?” Articles in the press recently.  Truly people are getting remote from their food these days.  I have seen the beetles on cacti in the 
Canary Islands, where they still make cochineal
As a linguistic aside, ladybirds (ladybugs to Americans) are of the species Coccinella, so the 7-spot ladybird is coccinella septipunctata, and gave their name to cochineal.  I have not traced the linkage yet, but it might be as simple as someone calling the squashed-bug dye “red like a ladybird”
 
On holiday in Crete ( highly recommended when permitted) I learned that the fabulous wealth of the Cretan kings based at Knossos came from a monopoly on successful farming the murex shellfish, and the ability to extract the exudate without killing the creature.  Sounds good, but I seem to remember that it took the dye from 20,000 murex to dye the one inch stripe round a Roman senators toga.  Imperial purple also called Tyrian purple, because it was thought to come from Tyre.  It probably sorta did, because why would the Phoenician traders say where it really came from
 
You mention the associated smells.  They may have been only a footnote to the whole dyeing business which was ( and often still is) radically odiferous.  For example the mordant used to attach the dyestuffs to wool was urine.

 The  natural dyes are fascinating, and the introduction of the early industrial dyes is a saga of triumph, disaster and some linguistic interest.
Magenta, for example! Named for a Redshirt battle and I think the first of the azo-dyes
But the leader, Garibaldi, became a biscuit rather than a colour!
 
Sorry to ramble.  You lit my touch paper
Rowers almost there and naturally dyed in the wool

I was always taught that “the Pune was the lowest form of wit.”
But I like them!
 
 

Time to modestly make my number with you all.  
I have been lurking , awestruck, for several years; but feel a build log coming on
 
A little about myself: 
retired Mech.  Engineer living in the (locked-down) edges of Melbourne lifetime aeromodeller and boat modeller main boat interests are scale sailing, so even when building a scale model ship my mind (for want of a better term) will be wondering about ballast and sail control
veritably I have a lot to learn, not least about the practical details of posting of this forum
 
I have read large numbers of build Logs on the forum, and notice the helpfulness, patience and darn good advice offered, so I want to get my toe in the water
 
I need to learn How to size and post pictures, how to caption them, if this is possible.
 
Andrew

Standing on the shoulders of Giants
 
The choice of Longship came down to size, as always at the back of my mind is a sailing model. 
On this count Billings won as it is, afaik, the largest Viking ship model kit on offer, and at 1/25 scale it makes into a substantial model
 
I had also read all the relevant build logs in the Kit section, and KrisWood's absorbing saga in the scratchbuilt Forum
 
I mean no disrespect by omitting excellent builders, but the Build Logs of Von Kossa and Jack Panzeca are the lodestars I am steering by - I cannot hope to achieve either their learning or excellent results, but I can learn a lot from them.  Thanks guys!
 
Billings kit 720  Oseberg Ship 1/25
 

 
 

Double-sided full size plan (with ruler for scale)
 

In my view these plans are excellent.  The instruction book is at the top of this picture

 
(Thank you Steven for the pic-shrinking tutorial)
The instruction book appears to be straightforward, but leaves a lot unexplained - hence my gratitude to the members who have posted their journeys of understanding and achievement.
 
 the Kit includes all required for the jig shown apart from the base-board, and this seems to earn Billings 30 brownie points.
All is not, of course as it appears :
Obechi 4 x 8 mm is supplied to hold the keel, and I chose to pin these to the base board such that the keel is a squeaky fit and held straight
There are two parts in 4mm ply designed to hold the prow and stern timbers.  They have a slot which does not fit any stage in the build, so they have been sleeved with soft balsa to be a neat fit
The build jig also neatly holds the hull inverted for planking and other fun and two formers are supplied to make a frame allow the hull to be clamped securely to the frame
The formers are shown (?glued) to the board using more 4x8 as a reinforcing block
To me this means that either the keel holding members or the formers have to be cut away to allow them to fit.  No great problem, but why?
Next:  Friday Kit
andrew
 

Bill, you sound pretty laid back
 
You have it right: very similar expressions in the spectrum of discombobulation.  
 
Louie da fly
Many thanks for the food for thought and references.  I was aware that the Sutton Hoo ship was really a not-ship (or ship-shaped void) and I admire the early diggers recognition of what they had and calling in archeologists.  I believe that the owning family  had broken one plough too many on the stern or stem as they came near the surface, prompting the initial digging.
More later ; we moved to Vermont and are loving it. 
 
Pronunciation note for our American friends.  that's VER-mont here; not ver-Maant.  but we have similar moonlight
 
Next:  the experts I am following with this build
andrew