Overworked724

fife rail even  I musta had soccer on the brain, errr bean. 
Carronade rigging yep it's time for the inevitable. Good luck! 

Outstanding!  Yep....filing the bell was a nice idea. That piece really shines!

Binnacle is finally completed!! Funny how I was almost going to mention how fun this part of the build is, up until I started working on the bell. That was a total nightmare!!! I bent so many wires to get the right shape, and when I did get the right one, I found out that the bell was too large to fit (not enough clearance from the wood...). Then had to start all over. But that's not where it ended, the hardest part was gluing the two wires. I somehow managed to do it by using some scrap wood to balance one while holding the other. And... gluing the bell onto the wires was also troublesome... but again, I somehow managed to get it done.
 
Also, I intended to paint the bell gold, but when I applied primer, it looked too blotchy, and without primer, the paint was just sliding off. So I decided to file the bell to be shiny, and I am happy with the look (would be happier if it was golden in color but this will do 😅)
 
Anyways... enough rambling, here are some pics:
 

Flat screen TV with satellite dish!!!  (Kidding)
 
brilliant work!!!!!

Toothpicks for the win!  I used them on the Sultana in same way.  Nice modification!!!!  Looks beautiful.

Yeah...I took my time with the transom...especially when it is finally glued in place.  Until you get the bulkhead planking in position and glued along the sides (after you have trimmed it to shape) it just screams, "Break me!!!".  LOL  Also a bit of advice is to add as much support wood between those frame as possible to increase the strength of it so you can sand it without as much fear of breakage.  I actually did the same thing - assembled it off the ship and added it as a single piece when I was ready.  It worked out well.
 
Looking good!!!

@Matt D Thank you!  I was very happy with the end result. 
 
Four key things I learned on the transom cap rail adventure.
 
1. Using a ‘bending block’ to shape the cap made the job much less stressful. After I got the shape (those sharp bends are troublesome), I let it sit on my ‘transom shaping block’ for a day. Then rewet the entire strip in hot water before putting on the transom for final shaping...This step was cake as it molded to the transom shape easily, then let it dry there for a couple days. 
 
2.  1/16” strip was just too thick. I think thinning down is almost a must (3/64” was a pretty good fit...)
 
3.  Pins...gotta use em. Trying to align and glue the cap rail on your transom (especially a single piece cap) is simply impossible without a guide which the pins provide!  A touch of filler in the tiny holes is all that’s needed after setting it in place. Pins for the win. 
 
4. Basswood for the transom cap rail is really difficult. I tried 4x using basswood strips and each one snapped. I then switched to cedar and made 4x caps of varying thicknesses and not one snapped. Take that at face value as it’s only my experience. 😆
 
Notice that I’ve not painted anything yet. I figure I would attack it all at once after the inner bulkheads are finished. I’ll probably make but not install my cap rails until after I’ve put in the deck...jury is out on that decision. 
 
Moving on to inner bulkheads.....😎

I really had a tough time getting 1/16” cap rail to fit snugly around the transom. Finally decided to trim it a bit...think my cap rail was about 3/64” thick but it still looked like a good dimension for the rail.  Again, using the cedar makes bending those sharper corners a bit easier. Not certain if I’ll use the same thickness for the bulkhead cap rails...we shall see. 
 
I did a single piece. Chuck’s suggestion to do the transom cap rail in sections (2 parts) seemed more difficult to me somehow as I have no background on how that is done. So I used pins in predrilled holes to center the single rail around the transom and had no major issues. 
 

 

 
I touched up the uneven edges after gluing in...then a touch of wood filler around the edges where there were some gaps, and then sanding again. 
 

 

 

 
And....moving on!! 
 
🇺🇸👍🏽

Yep...taking note for future. Much much more realistic looking in terms of scale. Well done. Clean work!!!

Yep...taking note for future. Much much more realistic looking in terms of scale. Well done. Clean work!!!

Much happier after seeing Wally's I knew mine was going to bug me. The wider looks so much better, also 1/16 higher. I will paint it red and add the blocks in black, with a few bolts in the disk on top of the head. I am  glad I redid it  

 
 

I can say:  Without a doubt, I am gaining a lot of respect for early wooden ship builders.  After sanding, I think I have more dust in the shop-vac than left on the bulwarks  ....LOL  I have been on a few, mostly museums, but never really sailed a wooden one, just a 253" Windjammer.  
 
Anyway, I have completed the shaping (read sanding) the gun port sills and lintels and am next to put in the cross braces (red) and take out the stanchions on 2 bulkheads.   As soon as I get my order of X-acto Saw Blades, I am going to do the last gun ports at the stern.  Weird, I have big saws, little saws, hand saws and razor saws. but never just a plain old saw blade.  Who would have thunk it?  Now that it is starting to look like a ship, here is a picture. 
 
I really need to figure out how to open up the depth of field on my camera.  I do know I have to up the focus area so that not just the center is in focus.

Thanks Patrick for the nice comments and thanks to everyone for the likes.
 
 
 
Started the top rails by sanding off all the laser char (that was very deep) and smoothing all the surfaces. I found the best way to smooth the basswood was to use very fine sandpaper with a very light touch. Actually I used 600 grit wet-n-dry but only without water and it almost made a surface nicely prepared to carve the lines. Shaping the timberheads was a problem with the soft wood and I broke one off, thank goodness the kit gives you extras. That all done it was time to stain them. I used the prestain conditioner and then stained them with golden oak. Measuring the mounting position was somewhat problematic as I couldn't hold them and measure at the same time then I remembered the glue I use to glue the Washington frame patterns unto the wood to cut. I use elmers glue sticks as kids use in school. Elmers worked great and allowed me to measure and visually make sure that both side were symmetrical and the beauty is it is water soluble. I carved the line using the same tool used with the cheeks and whiskers.
 

 
Next on the catheads and middle rail. Yippee 
 
 
Stay well and be safe
 
Will  

Hehe. Just kidding!  😂 Those microblades worked well for me. They take about 200 passes but it gives you a clean cut!

@Matt D Thank you!  I was very happy with the end result. 
 
Four key things I learned on the transom cap rail adventure.
 
1. Using a ‘bending block’ to shape the cap made the job much less stressful. After I got the shape (those sharp bends are troublesome), I let it sit on my ‘transom shaping block’ for a day. Then rewet the entire strip in hot water before putting on the transom for final shaping...This step was cake as it molded to the transom shape easily, then let it dry there for a couple days. 
 
2.  1/16” strip was just too thick. I think thinning down is almost a must (3/64” was a pretty good fit...)
 
3.  Pins...gotta use em. Trying to align and glue the cap rail on your transom (especially a single piece cap) is simply impossible without a guide which the pins provide!  A touch of filler in the tiny holes is all that’s needed after setting it in place. Pins for the win. 
 
4. Basswood for the transom cap rail is really difficult. I tried 4x using basswood strips and each one snapped. I then switched to cedar and made 4x caps of varying thicknesses and not one snapped. Take that at face value as it’s only my experience. 😆
 
Notice that I’ve not painted anything yet. I figure I would attack it all at once after the inner bulkheads are finished. I’ll probably make but not install my cap rails until after I’ve put in the deck...jury is out on that decision. 
 
Moving on to inner bulkheads.....😎

Hey...I’m not a whelp expert, but those whelps look pretty darned good!!!  👍🏽

Great job Pat that is one tricky piece to deal with done!

Many thanks Richard! 
 
Finished with the companionway. I carved the door to create some more detail using the same method as the head rails. I also opted for framing the outer structure, similar to what Robin and Thomas did on their builds. Here are some pics 
 

Hahaha.....Sorry, I was referring to using the blade by hand only.  Of course, I have a circular saw that would make quick work of it.  🤪  I will get some of the micro mark blades.

@Matt D Thank you!  I was very happy with the end result. 
 
Four key things I learned on the transom cap rail adventure.
 
1. Using a ‘bending block’ to shape the cap made the job much less stressful. After I got the shape (those sharp bends are troublesome), I let it sit on my ‘transom shaping block’ for a day. Then rewet the entire strip in hot water before putting on the transom for final shaping...This step was cake as it molded to the transom shape easily, then let it dry there for a couple days. 
 
2.  1/16” strip was just too thick. I think thinning down is almost a must (3/64” was a pretty good fit...)
 
3.  Pins...gotta use em. Trying to align and glue the cap rail on your transom (especially a single piece cap) is simply impossible without a guide which the pins provide!  A touch of filler in the tiny holes is all that’s needed after setting it in place. Pins for the win. 
 
4. Basswood for the transom cap rail is really difficult. I tried 4x using basswood strips and each one snapped. I then switched to cedar and made 4x caps of varying thicknesses and not one snapped. Take that at face value as it’s only my experience. 😆
 
Notice that I’ve not painted anything yet. I figure I would attack it all at once after the inner bulkheads are finished. I’ll probably make but not install my cap rails until after I’ve put in the deck...jury is out on that decision. 
 
Moving on to inner bulkheads.....😎

Started the dreaded chapter ten and it started as I feared, difficult. Snapped out the cheeks and whiskers and tried the carving method described in the instructions without any success. I made new cheeks, out of cedar, using the panel as a template. Tried Chucks carving method again with better results, not sure if its the cedar or I was getting better, but I still didn't like the look. I remembered from a log how they'd made a wire tool to carve small parts. I made a tool out of .031 diameter steel wire. The end of the wire was rounded and polished to the shape of a dull pencil point. I bent the wire in a "U" shape with on side longer to use as a guide. To keep the form while using the tool was wrapped with a thin copper wire keeping both sided aligned.
s
 
Securing the tool in a bench vise and then dragging the part across the point repeatedly with light pressure made very nice lines in the cheeks and whiskers. Reversing the process made a line parallel to the first giving a nice finish. The cedar was nice as it didn't fuzz up as the basswood did with the same tool.
 

 
Parts made and stained were assembled without any drama. Now the hawse holes and the .031 plates.
 

 

 
Next the top rail but before I do that I decided to put the ring bolts in place.
 
Stay well and be safe
 
Will

I really had a tough time getting 1/16” cap rail to fit snugly around the transom. Finally decided to trim it a bit...think my cap rail was about 3/64” thick but it still looked like a good dimension for the rail.  Again, using the cedar makes bending those sharper corners a bit easier. Not certain if I’ll use the same thickness for the bulkhead cap rails...we shall see. 
 
I did a single piece. Chuck’s suggestion to do the transom cap rail in sections (2 parts) seemed more difficult to me somehow as I have no background on how that is done. So I used pins in predrilled holes to center the single rail around the transom and had no major issues. 
 

 

 
I touched up the uneven edges after gluing in...then a touch of wood filler around the edges where there were some gaps, and then sanding again. 
 

 

 

 
And....moving on!! 
 
🇺🇸👍🏽

I literally just finished this step yesterday.   I too had some trouble, I wound up cutting a wider piece and bending it over only to shape it back.   Yours looks fantastic.   Still finishing mine up today but hope to share by this evening.   great job!   

I really had a tough time getting 1/16” cap rail to fit snugly around the transom. Finally decided to trim it a bit...think my cap rail was about 3/64” thick but it still looked like a good dimension for the rail.  Again, using the cedar makes bending those sharper corners a bit easier. Not certain if I’ll use the same thickness for the bulkhead cap rails...we shall see. 
 
I did a single piece. Chuck’s suggestion to do the transom cap rail in sections (2 parts) seemed more difficult to me somehow as I have no background on how that is done. So I used pins in predrilled holes to center the single rail around the transom and had no major issues. 
 

 

 
I touched up the uneven edges after gluing in...then a touch of wood filler around the edges where there were some gaps, and then sanding again. 
 

 

 

 
And....moving on!! 
 
🇺🇸👍🏽

I really had a tough time getting 1/16” cap rail to fit snugly around the transom. Finally decided to trim it a bit...think my cap rail was about 3/64” thick but it still looked like a good dimension for the rail.  Again, using the cedar makes bending those sharper corners a bit easier. Not certain if I’ll use the same thickness for the bulkhead cap rails...we shall see. 
 
I did a single piece. Chuck’s suggestion to do the transom cap rail in sections (2 parts) seemed more difficult to me somehow as I have no background on how that is done. So I used pins in predrilled holes to center the single rail around the transom and had no major issues. 
 

 

 
I touched up the uneven edges after gluing in...then a touch of wood filler around the edges where there were some gaps, and then sanding again. 
 

 

 

 
And....moving on!! 
 
🇺🇸👍🏽