Julie Mo
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As for the hide glue, I am not used to working this fast. The planks are going down one after the next and I find it's too fast for my comfort level. I like being able to absorb and analyze my work when venturing into new territory. I think I was letting the fact I had hot hide glue, waiting for me to use it, push me faster than I was ready to go. And I've got other irons in the fire waiting aka: the kitchen. But it's kind of exciting to see the planking taking shape so quickly. Being at an angle, the pieces are a fraction of what they would be if I ran it according to the directions so it will take much longer to do the 2nd planking than the 1st. That is, had I not changed to hide glue. One could conceivably lay one plank after the next, if working side-to-side. By the time the port side plank was clamped in place, the starboard side plank glue is set. Clean up the squeeze out, glue up the next plank, clamp it and switch sides. I was able to glue a plank, bow-side, pin it, then remove the pins from the stern-side plank and lay another. What I realized is I was getting caught up in a planking frenzy. I had to deliberately slow down and take my time. Haste makes waste. But this method certainly is fast, if that's what one wants. -
Hi David, Thanks for sharing that. I can see the benefits of making a better form for the tender. I never even thought of covering the wood with plastic wrap before zapping it. But I can see how that would more closely mimic steaming it.
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The kitchen remodel came to a grinding halt when I was about to face my mortal enemy - blown-in insulation! So I scurried to the workshop and fired up the glue pot. The hot hide glue was so new to me I didn't know what to expect. I started on the bow with an angle that looked right to me and glued up the first piece and held it in place for about 10 seconds. Not enough, at least when there's spring back working against you. I pinned it in place and left the room to do some other things. I came back about 5 minutes later and the plank was locked in place. I found it needs about 3 minutes to cure enough to hold against the spring back. This section took me about 30 minutes but I was leaving the shop after each glue-up to do other things. I'll have to actually time it to see how fast it really sets up but I think 3 minutes is pretty close. Clean up is a breeze. The squeeze-out is easily removed and the glue just washes off the hands with water. A nice change from PVA. I think I'm going to like this.
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Hi John, You know, the first thing I went to look for was a block of beeswax I have. But I couldn't find it. I still haven't found a way to get my new shop as organized as the one I left behind. Other than sticking my fingers together, CA glue and I never really hit it off until I found accelerator. There was a video showing using CA and an accelerator on a guitar fingerboard. One zap and it was done! Suddenly I became a CA lover. But maybe the accelerator did me in on this one.
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Hi Mike, Until looking at the amazing detail of your work, I never realized how much those cannons must have kicked back when fired. The closest I have come to seeing the real thing was when visiting Boston. We went to see the Constitution but failed the metal detector. It took an hour to get there and they wouldn't hold on to the "contraband" until we were done so we left. I don't need to see the full sized version of old battleships now. I have your beautiful work to enjoy.
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Mike, The thickness, or should I say thinness, of the frames is too small to cut by hand. The instructions don't even mention anything about frames and keel. I was just venturing out on my own (as I do too often) and seeing if I could pull this off. Everything was fine until I introduced CA glue to the project. When the time comes to build a tender, I'm thinking I may make something like a Yankee Tender. But I should probably built the kit's "lifeboat" as the instructions show just to hone some skills, if for nothing else.
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Hi Keith, The planks I used to bend the frames is 0.035". That scales out to 1.225". I would think steam bending a board that thick on a bend as sharp as what's in the bow might have been done with two boards to make a laminate. Looking back, I think the best bet would have been to make top forms for all the frames. As it was, I only made two. The bends are compound so having a top form to compress the "boards" probably would have produced results on the other four. We had a new frig arrive today (the old one died) and now the kitchen remodel has my attention. We weren't going to buy new appliances until we were ready to tackle the kitchen but the old frig kind of forced our hand. Depending on energy levels, I may have another break in ship building coming up.
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Yes, the burr would be the edge offered first to the wood. In the last video, Deneb shows how to find the correct angle to set the blade in the scraper plane body. The thicknessing gauge would not have that option. So you would have to create a very slight burr, toward the flat side of the blade, so as not to dig too deeply into the wood. The L-N website gives you little information about how much burr to create. Sharpening the Cutter:The thicknessing gauge acts as a scraper, and so both blades cut with a burr. To sharpen, first hone the bevel of the blade lightly on 150 grit sandpaper or a medium stone. Remove burr raised by honing, then re-establish the burr with a carbide burnisher. Using a 150 grit sandpaper seems pretty rough. I'll give that a try and see how it goes.
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Bob, As I was working on the "lifeboat" I was wondering how a 13' boat could be a lifeboat for a yacht that would typically require 15-25 crew? And since Endeavour was built to race around the buoys, it would need a tender more than a lifeboat. So I was thinking of making the lifeboat into a tender. But I didn't really like the lines of the lifeboat. The glue pot arrived yesterday so I can begin the 2nd planking now. I think the little boat will have to wait...
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Figure 2 is still unfinished. You have to draw that burr out by running the burnisher parallel to the thin edge and then angle it down a bit until you reach Figure 3. With the inlay thicknessing blade, you already have a sharp edge. That needs to be rolled over toward the flat side of the blade, creating that burr. I have a couple L-N scraping planes. With the larger one, I created the same kind of burr, as shown in this video, as you would with the thicknessing gauge.
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I notched the keel to accept the frames so they would sit flush when viewing inside the boat. Thinking using CA glue to be the best method of gluing the frames to the keel, I prepared the form by coating it with 5 coats of shellac and 3 coats of lacquer. THAT should keep any glue from sticking to the form. WRONG! Not only did the skeleton adhere to the form where the keel and frames meet but the capillary action of the CA went almost to the outer edges of every part in contact with the form. Fortunately, I had the sense to glue just one of the frames to the keel so I was able to pry it off with only a little finessing. Round 2: Since the CA was sticking to the sealed form, I ran painter's tape over all the edges, just like the instructions showed. When in doubt, refer to the instructions! I set up the remaining 5 frames and proceeded to glue them to the keel, believing I could easily remove it because nothing will stick to the tape. HA! It was almost as bad as it was without it. What a mess! Getting that tape off was a real challenge, At one point I broke one of the frames where it had already splintered. I mended it with CA glue. This thing is such a wreck I'm considering starting over. Since I have gained experience and knowledge about how to better do this, I just may. I wasn't really all that happy with how it was progressing anyway.
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The blade is actually very sharp, but what is curled over is where the sharp edge is. It's a little different than a card scraper because you begin with an angled edge but this picture shows how that edge is rolled over in a 3 step process with a card scraper. With the blade already sharpened at an angle, all one would have to do is roll over the tip of the blade creating something like in step 3. I'll let a seasoned pro show the process of sharpening a card scraper. It gives an idea how little pressure is required to create the perfect scraper edge.
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So, Mike, when are you going to start the next one. Your fans are waiting...
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The blade does not slice into the wood. It scrapes it. It did not have a curled edge, like a scraper, when it arrived. But this discussion compelled me to do some research. And I found out I needed to curl the edge. That I didn't is why I was getting a burnished surface. I guess we should let the inventor explain it.
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Mike, The wood came with the kit. I think it may be a cheap "mahogany", something sold as African mahogany but is a very distant cousin. I know Honduras mahogany, African mahogany and sapele very well. This wood doesn't look or act like any of them. It kind of reminds me of lauan but it's much darker and it doesn't look like it's been dyed. Your guess is as good as mine... I have an Amati plank bender that I bought with the kit. I wasn't too impressed with it at the time and it got lost in the cobwebs of my mind. Next time I will give it a try and see how that goes.
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It was, Keith, until I learned the "massage" trick on the tightest bend. When I was bending the others, I would push the steamed wood down firmly against the form. I just kept going from one side to the other. And fibers would break. I didn't see it until I pulled my hand away. When I got to the last frame, there was no way that method would work. So I put the steamed piece in between my fingers and squeezed tightly. Then I gradually began to bend it. When I felt resistance, I could feel that's where the fibers were about to break. So I put it back in the cup of hot water and let it soak some more. What I found was even though I had boiled the wood and let it soak to the point that the wood sunk to the bottom of the glass, it still wasn't wet through the center. By bending it a bit, I think I exposed the dry wood. In the end, that last piece gave me less resistance than the previous pieces, even though the bend was much sharper. This morning I removed the top half of the forms. I was pleasantly surprised to find the sharpest bend turned out the best. I guess wood likes a good massage. I also made a 6th section of the form so I could add another frame. I didn't notice the little nib that needs to be removed until I saw this picture. Now I need to get out the water glass and zap another piece in the micro.
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Jim, I think it was Steve Latta who designed the tool. Interesting thing is when you pull the strip through, it cuts it on the angled part of the blade then sort of burnishes it as it thins it out. I tried pulling into the flat part of the blade and it didn't work so well. I had to keep adjusting the blade to make thinner and thinner planks. One plank slipped down and it snapped as I pulled it. I thought it would work like a scraper but that's not the case.
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Thanks, Bob. I really am enjoying this experimental phase. I've always been an experimenter and when things go right, you get a real sense of pride. I didn't have a chance to work on the lifeboat until late but I at least wanted to get those other two frames bent. I went back to the boil the planks in a glass of water and zap in the microwave method. 3 minutes was enough to make the lesser bend and, coupled with a press form, it made the bend pretty easily. For the final frame I tried using the same technique but the plank snapped. I cut another and zapped it in the microwave for 3 minutes and let it sit in the hot water another 5 minutes. When I took it out, I pinched the center and began to massage it into a bend. As soon as it felt stiff, I threw it back in the hot water. I did this several times and each time it became more pliable. When it came time to make the form, it complied more easily than any of the others. I will let them sit overnight and hopefully when I remove the forms I will have a smile on my face.
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Keith, your mention of your rudder looking monolithic started the wheels in my head rolling. Obviously no large rudder would have ever been made of solid timbers. There would be a skeleton frame that would be skinned with wood planks. As I envisioned that I was reminded of trim tabs I used to see on racing boat rudders. And another idea is born! As much as I liked the pinstripes, I do see your point. I'm glad you were able to use what you had and change directions. But I believe you might be the record holder for the most parts used to make a rudder!
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I love it, Keith! Do you mind if I steal your idea? This is so much better than a single piece of timber.
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Jim, If you want to give it a stab, here's a closeup The wood should be pulled into the beveled part of the blade, not the flat side. The face you see above is the feed side and the wood should be pulled into it.
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Back in the LABORATORY (like EYE-gor would say...) the experimentation continued with Dr. Frahkunshteen at the helm. I took some of the smaller 2nd planking and thinned it out to something that would hopefully make it over some serious bends. I then cut some rough length pieces for the lifeboat frame and placed them in boiling water. That was easier than waiting for the steam box to fire up. The first try wasn't pliable enough so I took the glass of hot water, with the frame cutoffs floating inside, and placed it in the microwave for another 2 minutes. The tannins were bleeding out. Ultimately, the wood sunk to the bottom. Waterlogged... The tightest bend didn't make it because I cut it too short. But these did The fibers broke somewhat. They can be easily repaired. But I still have the two tightest bends to conquer. The bow has a complex bend. It may require two pieces, glued side-by-side. When you are making sharp bends, you need something like spring steel to back up the wood so the fibers don't break. I have that on a larger scale but I'll have to find something much smaller for this job. I AM having fun in the lab.
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I just "discovered" this today. It's used for inlay work but I pulled it out to thin out some planks and it worked pretty well. The blades are adjustable but you have to sharpen them well. This could be easily made by in the average workshop, especially if you're good at metal work. And, of course, for anyone who likes sharp tools, the universal sharpening stones, found pretty much anywhere woodworking tools are sold.
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Taking Mike's advice, I modified the keel to accept the garboard planks. First attempt was freehand but that was too iffy. So I took out the Dremel work station and set it up for routing a rabbet. I used that tool with the steel shaft and black bell end to score the line I would rout to. The depth of the cut was precise but I should have used a fence. The cut is good but there were some "coloring outside the lines" errors.
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For this thread I will define crossover tools as tools made for one purpose but are useful in model making. Please feel free to share your own finds. I get catalog updates from a luthier supply outfit. While browsing through their latest catalog, I saw a number of items that could be useful in model making. Here are a few: Fineline applicator Angled head vise 6" saw blade with .023" kerf and 5/8" bore (I used this recently on a jobsite tablesaw for cutting planking.) Ibex mini planes (5 sizes) Drill press sanding station And there are others, all available at StewMac.com.
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