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Another engineering masterpiece Ian - no less than we have come to expect from you. Marvellous job Sir!

Your daughter is a lucky girl indeed Richard. Simply lovely work. Well done Sir!

Thanks Frank - I suspect you're right on both counts.

Frank, Thanks so much for posting this. You've answered many questions and your pictures illustrate your explanations beautifully. I think I can now follow suit. One question I do have though. Do you think there would be any benefit in using a bearing on the end of your "feather board"? I'm thinking that it would hold the timber against the fence while still allowing to move freely past the end of the feather board (much like in my thin ripping guide for the Byrnes saw). Or would that just be overkill and difficult to make?

Nice to see an update Sherry, and what a lovely update to behold! Wonderful work.

John, An interesting review - thanks for sharing. Can I ask why you opted not to buy Sherline's own QCTP?

Very nicely done Erik - neat and precise!

Sorry to hear you've been in hospital Charlene and do hope that all is well now. I look forward to the continuation of your build. You're certainly in good hands with Jerry to guide you (and to make sure you don't over-do things post-hospital!!!).

Thanks for the update Slog. Good luck with the house move - I know just how traumatic they can be at times! I look forward to "resumption of play" once you're settled in.

Glad to hear that Frank! I look forward to seeing/reading about your results. It's been one of things I keep thinking, "surely there must be a fairly simple way to do this". I'm just glad that you are a little further down the path with this one. (BTW, I too have the Sherline Mill, upgraded to the 10,000 rpm pulley set).

You don't believe in making things easy do you Danny? This I've just got to see!

Frank, Do you have any more pics of your 'router table' in action? I've been wondering how this might be possible and clearly you've solved the problem.

Congratulations on getting underway Tom. I'll follow along with interest too. This one is on my bucket list of builds.

Looking pretty darn good from here Bob!

Hey Slog, Any action on the Bismarck lately? It's been a while since the last update.

Nicely done Danny. Enjoy the Scotch!

Nice looking ratlines Ken. Your build is looking great!

Great looking paddle wheels Cathead. Hope you have an enjoyable holiday.

Carvings look great Nigel. I'm with Nils though, it would seem a shame to paint them now. "Painting with wood" is very effective in its own right.

That looks great with all the deck fittings in place Marc. Interesting choice to leave them off until the rigging is in place - I'm sure that will work very well.

Have to agree with Mark, Nigel - excellent work and a great start on the carvings. If this doesn't drive you mad first, they will be a lovely addition to your model.

Thank you so much one and all for the very kind comments and all the "likes". The next job is construction of the Mortar Bed. The Mortar Bed The Mortar Bed is an interesting model in itself, although it is quite straightforward thanks to Jeff’s excellent drawings. All of the components are made from Swiss Pear of varying thicknesses. The side pieces are each comprised of three ‘strakes’ and after cutting stock to the appropriate sizes, these were made as a pair by spot-gluing the over-length stock together and completing all drilling and milling operations together to ensure symmetry. The groove for the trunnion was cut on the mill, and holes of various diameters for bolts and eyebolts were completed on the mini drill press. Three pieces in the base have a 1/8” hole to take a brass spigot which goes through into the deck below to allow the turntable to turn. Centring these holes was probably the trickiest part of the operation. Here are all the components overlaid on the drawings (a few of these ended up with a re-do): The rear of the mortar bed is rounded and a bevel is added to the top edge just to add a slight degree of difficulty. The rounding was done on each component piece individually using the Byrnes disc sander, and then the whole piece was touched up once assembled. The bevel was achieved by first marking the inner edge of the bevel by tracing around the edge of both top and side with a compass point set to the appropriate distance and then carefully filing to shape before finishing with a sanding stick. Eyebolts and Ringbolts were then added according to the drawings. I will leave the cap squares until the mortar and its trunnions have been fashioned. Finally, here’s a few shots of the mortar bed in position:

Great to see back Paul and nice to hear of your good news.

Great to see you back in the shipyard Augie.

Mine arrived in the post today! Complete with decorative towel, duly handed over to the Admiral. When I went to order from the website it said out of stock, so I sent them an email expressing my interest. They confirmed when they were expecting more in and politely asked me if I would like them to send me an invoice. I agreed, received the invoice, which I promptly paid vis PayPal, and my order was shipped the next day. Took about two weeks to get here, which seems to be pretty standard for anything ordered from overseas, regardless of country of origin.