tkay11

Looks like an interesting book. What does 'Rundhölzer' mean? Tony

You have to take inflation into account. Tony

I think they were referring to the kit. Tony

Thanks for the tip about the Gutermann Skala 360. Really beautiful work, by the way! Tony

Nicely executed. I'm impressed by the speed at which you have been able to work. Congratulations! Tony

There are some very simple jigs you can make to ensure the deadeyes are all in line (though on real ships they quite often were not that straight, so this is more of a model-making convention). I made mine with paper clips. See the following, a few paragraphs into the post: By the way, I strongly recommend the late Hubert Sicard's site Wooden Ship Modeling for Dummies. This is now maintained by his family. A lot of it is free, but you can get a lifetime subscription for $40. I used it extensively. It has plenty of free videos and focuses on using the most basic equipment with the minimum of power tools. Tony

I based my own rigging of the Sherbourne on Petersson's book, and found it very helpful. However, I did augment it with more precise details from Steel, Marquardt and others. The original plans in the NMM came with no rigging plan, so it really is up to you how you rig it, within the various options that these different authors and paintings portray. Not only were there many different approaches to the rigging of a cutter at the time, in terms of number of yards, positioning of the topmast, and belaying plans but every shipyard had its own way of doing things, and captains would often change the rigging to suit their own requirements. Finally, I do recommend that you go with the sail plan, and therefore the rigging plan, that pleases you most -- especially if you plan to show the model with sails. It should be noted that the kit differs from the original plans in some details, notably the windlass, so you also have to decide whether you want to attempt to go for some original recreation (which to my mind is impossible) or whether you see this as a generic reconstruction of what these lovely ships used to be. There's a huge amount of discussion on most of these aspects on this site, either in detailed build logs or in discussions of each of the different details. You are doing a really nice job so far, and whatever you decide, it's going to end up as something deeply satisfying to you and to those around you. Tony

Crisp and lovely paintwork. Tony

Good neat work. Very pleasurable. Tony

It's been a pleasure to watch. Congratulations! Tony

I think every builder has problems with boo-boos. There's an entire topic devoted to just this aspect of a modeller's life. Tony

Very neat work. Tony

Nice progress. Normally the hull planks would go over the edge of the transom timbers as they would be nailed from the outside to them. However, if you are going to paint the hull, you should be able to hide the fact that they are lying on the inside of them. Even if you don't, I don't think it would be worth tearing off your planking to re-do it as it is quite neat. You can check this with some of the build logs of the Sherbourne. Tony

Very interesting. Nice one, Dirk. Good to follow. Tony

@mjh410: The machine I use for milling is a straightforward adaptation of a 50W Proxxon Micromot drill, which I made in 2013 for my earlier builds and is discussed with photos at the beginning of this build log. The only essential adaptations are (1) a clamp for the drill stand made of wood which has an old tuner knob glued to a 6mm bolt to act as a height adjuster, and (2) a dial gauge on its own stand. You can see this in the section on Stem, Stern and Keel on the first page of this build log, and the link to the post is: You'll find my instructions on making the clamp on this site at: Many people have said that these small Proxxon drills are not made for milling as the bearings are not designed for lateral thrust. However I have not had any problems so far as I keep my cuts shallow and I only use it on wood. The advantage of these Proxxon drills is their high speed (up to 20,000 rpm) which is ideal for using small diameter milling bits (1-3mm) in wood. A key problem is ensuring that the drill clamp on the drill stand holds the drill truly vertically. I had to insert a strip of wood between the drill clamp and the stand as the stand I have is the cheapest possible and not build to such good tolerances as the Proxxon MF70 mill (the standby for a vast number of modellers working with model ships). Tony If you want to know more, please do ask.