gjdale

Great photos John - nice and sharp and very clear. Looks like you've given yourself a beaut Xmas present there!

Tedious maybe, Bob, but your execution is superb.

Nice to you see you back in the shipyard. Looks like you're almost done - and looking terrific too.

What about making a wooden cap or sleeve to go over the end of the punch? That might protect it a bit without losing the impact force. Very cool pick up by the way!

Sweet! And yup, stray from Admitalty instructions at your peril..................

Nicely done Cathead, she's really taking shape now.

Happy Birthday Frank. I trust you were duly spoiled all round!

Wise move to consult with the Admiralty, Bug! That might have saved you a flogging or three!!!

Great to see you back at the workbench Sjors. Looking good.

Sherline make a high speed pulley set for the mill (available as an accessory). Fitting it is a relatively simple job.

Happy Birthday Remco! I hope you were suitably spoiled.

If you're going to paint it, then styrene would be a good choice. Very flexible, easy to work, etc. Most Hobby shops will carry a range of it - Evergreen is a brand name that comes to mind. I think it's used a lot by model rail roaders.

Congratulations on achieving such a major milestone Mark! Definitely time for the happy dance. Then down tools while you do some serious celebrating with the adult beverage of your choice. No more power tools until the room stops spinning okay?!!!

Your sails look fabulous bug. If you like the look, there is no reason why you couldn't leave one (or more) sails unfurled. It would give the appearance of the vessel underway, which would be in keeping with the look you're trying to achieve. The mixture of furled and unfurled sails would look quite effective (IMHO).

Who's been a busy boy then, Bob? Lovely work on those details.

My lips are sealed ;)

Well played, Sir! A beautiful piece of machining Ed.

Great to see you starting this log Mobbsie - looks like I'm just in time for a front row seat. As others have said, this is a really nice little kit and fun to build.

Great job on the deck planking Bob, it looks beautiful.

Another interesting build Clare. I've grabbed a centre front row seat for this one!

That is just stunning Remco, as we have come to expect from you. I will join the others in asking for further description/explanation of the tube jig.

Robbyn, A "poor man's" waterline marker can be made by grabbing a takeaway coffee cup (preferably empty), turning it upside down, then inserting a pencil through one side and out the other at the required height. Then run the coffee cup around the ship. Voila - instant waterline!

Lovely job Ray - be justifiably proud!

Thanks Danny, No, you didn't send me the capsquares - but would be most grateful if you can spare some. Yes, will be filing off the flash and drilling the bore - these were just placed for the photo and to check size.

Thank you Crackers, and again to everyone else for the Birthday wishes. It seems that another month has flown by without an update on the build log. It had been my intention to wait until I'd finished the gun carriages before posting another update, but decided I'd show where I'm up to as it is going to be another couple of weeks before I get some more serious bench time in (life just keeps getting in the way!). Anyway, here is a small update to bring everything up to date. 4lb Gun Carriages (continued) The remaining components of the gun carriages were made up using measurements and templates as necessary from the drawings. The axles were made from square and rectangular stock, with the ends turned cyclindrical on the lathe. Here are most of the parts prior to assembly (although some of these required a ‘do-over’ later on): The sides of the gun carriages are not parallel when assembled and this caused a slight modification to be made by opening the angle of the axle slots in the carriage sides. The next problem to solve was how to hold the pieces in place during assembly while the glue dried. The solution was a fairly simply jig mad from some scrap plywood. A plan view of the carriage was place on the plywood, and two dados were cut to accept the front and rear axles. A section was cut off the end and then sanded to a wedge shape to match the angle between the sides. A couple of scrap blocks were glued in place to act as stops for the wedge to press up against: The axles were then placed in the jig, the wedge placed over them and pushed up hard against the stop blocks, and the sides were then attached: Once the glue had dried, the carriage was removed from the jig and prepared for final assembly. The following picture shows the remaining components, which include a copper bar that will pass through the centre of each side and will support the front end of the Stool bed (lower right in the picture – showing it has been dadoed for both the copper bar and the rear bolster). Also shown is the transom, which will be placed between the sides over the front axle (it will subsequently be drilled for a second copper bar). The transoms all required a do-over to ensure a snug fit in each carriage. Finally, the trucks (wheels), which were turned from some ebony stock. The Quoins were then made from some scrap boxwood, with handles from bamboo drawn through the Byrnes drawplate. The Quoins are used to adjust the elevation of the gun barrel and so would be free to move, but I have elected to glue them in place. I also drilled each of the axles and inserted a pin made from some more bamboo drawn through an even smaller hole in the Byrnes drawplate. Not shown in the photos, I have since added the copper bar through the transom above the front axle (the empty hole can be seen in the photos). Danny Vadas was kind enough to give me two gun barrels left over from his Vulture build, that seem to be pretty much spot-on for scale. These are the ones he imported from Russia, and come complete with the monogram. Thanks Danny! They still need a little cleaning up and blackening, but are shown here for effect. I’m still going to have a crack at turning a couple of barrels from ebony and if these work out, I will use two guns on the ship, and two as part of the display base. I have since given the carriages a coat of Wipe-on Poly, but have yet to manufacture the required eye-bolts, ring-bolts and cap squares. Soon……….