Julie Mo
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Keith, The deck flex issue was a concern, in part, when thinking about banding around the deck during the glue-up. I would have to make sure the bands were on the frames and not half way between two of them. To a lesser degree, I wanted a solid feel when the boat was handled. Since it won't have raised sails, I can see the model being handled more often. -
Maybe I am taking this whole fairing thing too far but I'm having fun. I had a cheap ruler that had some good flex to it so I decided to see if I could make a fairing tool. I cut a dowel for handles, drilled and countersunk holes in the ruler and screwed in the handles. Then I sprayed some adhesive on the back of a strip of 80 grit sandpaper and gave it a try. The smaller piece just behind the fairing tool will be an attempt at a smaller version. I ran the fairing tool back and forth several times, paying attention to when the sandpaper started to contact the plywood frames. I found it a much better tool for fairing than anything I have used so far. And I'm finding this phase of model building the most enjoyable to date.
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I'm working on a 1934 J-Class sailboat at 1:35 scale. I already knew the LOA and beam of the model were scaled correctly but watching a RC video of J-Class racing, I noticed an unnatural movement of the boats. So for grins, I decided to take the original specs on the 1934 Endeavour and divide them by 35. LOA - 129' 6" / 35 = 44.4" Beam - 22' / 35 = 7.5" Displacement - 143 tons / 35 = 8,171 pounds Sail area - 7,651 ft2 / 35 = 219 ft2 I'm going to need a lot of lead and a whole lot more canvas! How does your model size up?
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Keith, when you say, "perfectly solid", do you mean there are no weak points, such as when pressure is applied and there is no give? My thoughts on backing the deck were along the line of the deck passing, not only pressure tests, but tap tests, so it sounds solid, too. Another question, I was considering running the sub-planking at around 450 to the finished planking. I know this will create more work but the finished planks won't be running parallel to the sub-planks. I believe this should make laying the finished planks easier. Your thoughts? BTW, I got the idea from this build:
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Keith, Thank you for the sequence. I have said before that while the instructions are reasonably good, I could not build this model as well were it not for the help of the members here. You, in particular, have been an enormous help. Going into this build, I wanted something of which I could be very proud. Thanks to you and other here, I can see that coming to fruition. Thank you, S. As far as using a plane on the con-caved hull surfaces, I have been using a convex sole block plane thus far. But it can't get into some of the tighter curves. For those areas, I have been using a curved Microplane rasp. It's good for roughing out but still leaves more work to do. I bit the bullet and ordered some Auriou rasps (that I don't have locked away). They are supposed to be here Tuesday. I will fine tune the hull with the rasps before going to a fairing sander.
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I completely understand. I came into this totally blind. Though I had woodworking skills, there are aspects of model building I have had to learn and am still learning. Responsibly, every kit should rate the skill level not only on the skills needed to build the model but also on the skills needed to decipher the directions.
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I guess you could call this an "off" day. I ended up ordering the balsa wood and it is supposed to be here tomorrow, but I was getting itchy so I worked on some fine tuning. After I flipped the boat, I worked on fairing the deck. I began wondering if the build would be better if I also backed up the decking Looking down, you can see the variation in backing thickness. I'm still learning... The deck structure looks sufficient but the plywood sub-deck that comes with the kit is cardboard-thin. I am enjoying the fairing process. I feel like I'm actually working on a real boat. So the prospect of adding backing for the deck doesn't bother me.
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Many companies today don't even provide instructions other than to tell you a web address to go to to get the instructions. I thought Amati might have done that until I saw someone selling the drawings, included with the kit I bought, for $75.00. The Amati instructions are okay if you're experienced but if it weren't for this website, I'd be struggling and would never have made the build improvements I have.
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Starting backing fill on the starboard side This is as far as I got before running out of balsa wood. Two (2) 2x4x12 inch blocks of balsa are pretty much used up. You can see the frames just being touched by the fairing.. The last fairing was done with that 3M sander. This is the first sanding I have done. I'm going to need a respirator!
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The hull will be left natural. No paint for this girl! I was drawn to woodworking because I love the natural beauty of wood. When I made new cabinet doors for our kitchen, I chose Honduras mahogany (HM) for the rails & stiles and African sapele for the panels. I got the HM for a song! Sapele has a beautiful chatoyance. Most mahogany family woods, less so. I've worked a lot with African mahogany (AM) and I am reasonably certain the mahogany that comes with the Amati kit is AM. AM is very porous and it can be hit or miss, depending on the tree and what part of the tree the wood comes from. Some AM can be really pretty and some can be downright ugly. I redid the cabinets in the bathrooms of our old house. Like the kitchen, the panels were sapele but I used AM for the rails & stiles. I started with a very nice slab of AM yet it was just not as pretty as the HM. But on another shopping trip, I picked up an AM board, took it home, shaped it, finished it and ended up throwing it away. It was flat out ugly! The quality of the Amati AM seems to be fairly good. But I can see the dark flecks inherent in the species. You usually can't tell how attractive the particular AM is until you apply a finish. If what you see doesn't dazzle you like you hoped, it's probably AM. It can be pretty but you know there's something lacking. You usually don't get this with HM but HM is becoming endangered and rapidly more expensive.
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Good point about installing the backing on both sides. Thank you! I have a few pieces glued in on the starboard side but I think I need to rotate the hull and work from there until the backing is balanced. I will be out of balsa today. So far I can't find any stores close by that sell balsa. The nearest one is about 30 miles away and their selection is very limited. I may have to order online again.
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Like a slow boat to China, the backing plods on... The most enjoyable part of this is using those little Lie-Nielson planes on the left. I can see them taking the backing right down to the frames and fairing the hull quite well. All the fairing has been done with the L-N planes thus far.
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The biggest problem I am having is finding balsa "boards" in 3/4" thickness. One place wanted to charge almost as much for shipping as the wood. I need more so I just may have to order big blocks and keep ripping away.
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No, Yves. I bought the backing separate. I picked up a couple of blocks of balsa that were 2x4x12 inches. I wish I had bought 1/2" and 3/4" thick pieces. It would have made my life much easier. Trying to rip cut with a Japanese saw doesn't work so well.
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Wow! You're fast! Looking good, Styrmann! Keep the pictures coming.
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Power Precision Screwdriver
Julie Mo replied to Julie Mo's topic in Modeling tools and Workshop Equipment
Hi John, Before I got into doing shell inlay, I was looking at buying a Foredom. I ended up going with Dremel. I made up an on-off foot pedal and that really helped make the Dremel easier to use. If I knew I was going to do a lot of inlay work, I could have justified the cost of the Foredom but I couldn't say that at the time. As for doing another model after this one is done, I don't know. I think I may have more work than I can handle very shortly. Julie -
Micro-Mark sells a cordless power precision screwdriver and runs on (2) AAA batteries. They also sell a chuck adapter designed for the screwdriver that takes drill bits from 1/64 to 1/8. I ordered the screwdriver, chuck and some mini drill bits. They arrived yesterday. The screwdriver is made by General. It operates in forward and reverse but is single speed. The speed is around 100 RPM, too slow for most drilling tasks. I will probably put the chuck in my 12V variable speed drill when drilling, unless space constraints demand otherwise. BTW, Micro-Mark sells the screwdriver for $27.25. Amazon sells the same thing for $19.23. Amazon also sells that same screwdriver with an LED light for $26.49.
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Don't fight the Hyrda. I have spent a lot of time debating installing backing and I can't convince myself of anything other than install backing. I'll have to pull out skills needed to make it happen. Thanks, Keith
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Hi Styrmann, I'm sure you know boats back then were painted, above and below the water line. Endeavour had an aluminum hull. Thomas Sopwith used his aviation design experience to design and build Endeavour. It was believed back then, Endeavour was a state of the art America's Cup racer no one could beat. Were it not for the crew striking, Endeavour could have been the yacht that ended US dominance in the Cup series. Your hull is now painted. Let it cure, then wet sand it. If it needs filling, go ahead and do that and let that cure some more before adding more paint. Be patient. It's a beautiful boat. Treat it as such. When the hull looks true, then use the directions that show how to paint the water line, I know there are language barriers here. Maybe translate programs will help or some of the other members can help. Stay with us and you will do well my friend. Julie
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Hoping I can get some feedback on how to proceed... I'm at the point where I have to decide to install balsa backer between the frames or proceed without it. If I had precision tools here, I'd do the backer. But without that, I am doubtful I can do a proper job. What I am seeing I need to do is fair the frames just like they would be if the backer was installed. This is what I have set up now: The clamps keep the hull fairly rigid and straight. But when I begin to take a rasp or file to the edges of the frames, there is some movement in areas not directly attached to the clamps. And without the backers, there is some guesswork as to whether you are creating a proper fairing of the hull. Yet I see most model builds do not have any kind of backer. Keith, did you install the backer because of the size of the model and the space between the frames? To anyone who has built a larger model, did you do so without backers? If so, how did the hull look? Was it properly faired after the first planking or did you need filler?
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Taking another look at how I will proceed, I am seeing both good and bad regarding tacking the deck down. The good is that it will provide the contour for helping shape the bow and stern as well as fairing the frames. The bad is if it's tacked down well enough to remain in place while doing that work on the hull, it will probably be very difficult to remove, especially if it is left on through the planking process. Indecision reigns. If I go ahead and install balsa backer, I can see how that would stiffen everything up and eliminate the need for tacking the deck down. I just need to figure how I will cut up the balsa for a snug fit with the limited tools I have. Here's some more pictures of that new wooden 12-meter, from log to finished hull. I think I want one.
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Styrmann, you're moving along quite well, though sorry to hear about the deck problem. Your last picture looks like the deck problem never happened. She looks like she is screaming, "I want to sail!" Very nice work!
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No matter what anyone else sees, we can spot every detail in the things we've made. And since this will be something I will keep, I can see it driving me nuts if I didn't stagger the planking like they used to on wood-hulled ships. This reminded me of a wooden 12 meter that I saw in Chicago back in the 80s - US 23, Heritage. I remember being hypnotized by her beauty. As I was doing the web search for Heritage, I ran across this: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/2015/06/22/photos-a-new-wooden-12-meter/ Some pretty cool pictures of the build there.
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Dee Dee, I don't envy the snow but I do miss the city. I'm on a silly quest to see how long I can stay in shorts and sandals but Chicago will always be my home.
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