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Hubac's Historian

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Everything posted by Hubac's Historian

  1. Hubac's Historian
    Hi Ken, I'm loving your build-log, so far. You're off to a great start, and I look forward to following along. I've always loved the RW, as one of the last great, albeit transitional, ships of the spritsail topmast era. She's an elegant vessel, and I have every confidence that you'll be able to pull this off, nicely, considering the lovely pictures of your easier build. All the best, Marc
  2. Hubac's Historian
    Sharpening chisels is a subject with much variation according to personal preference. The nice thing about "micro" tools is that it is a micro job to tune them up and keep them sharp. This is what I do with all of my edge tools. I bought a two-sided oil stone at Home Depot a number of years ago. I use the coarse side to shape my bevel, and the fine side to refine my edge. Then I move to a ceramic "stone" that I bought from Woodworkers Supply that never dishes out from wear, to further refine the edge. Then I move on to a 5000 grit wet stone. At each stage, I'm lapping the back of the tool to help work the "wire" that forms along the edge, so that at the next and final stage, the wire releases and I have a truly razor sharp edge. The final stage is to strop along a piece of leather that I've loaded with a superfine abrasive compound make by Tormek. The key to all of this - whether or not you manage to keep the bevels of your straight chisels perfectly flat or slightly rounded - is to always pull the tool across the stone or strop so that the edge is trailing. Often, you will see someone working a single edge tool back and forth across a stone, but I have found this to be counter-productive, as you inevitably end up grinding micro-bevels into the tool edge that prevent you from refining a consistent hone along the length of the edge. a final micro-bevel is considered, by some, to be a desireable feature, but that, in itself, is a whole other subject of conversation that doesn't even apply to micro carving tools. In the absence of stones, one can achieve the same degree of bevel shaping and edge-refinement with non-loading sandpaper, in a number of grits, upon a thick piece of glass (1/4" or thicker). When it comes to gouges or any other type of curved, edge tool, it does take some practice to learn how to roll the tool along the stone so that the whole edge gets honed with each pass, but this is not so difficult to master. Usually, micro chisels are not made of such hard steel that it is laborious to re-shape and sharpen an edge, if you mess it up. If you follow some sequence of sharpening like I laid out, you'll he able to keep a razor edge for quite a while, simply by stropping, before the compound deforms the edge enough to necessitate re-sharpening. Even then, I find that the ceramic stone is as far back as I need to go to quickly re-shape and hone an edge.
  3. Hubac's Historian
    Of course, I'm offering this advice without having done much small-scale carving myself. All of my relief carvin has been for furniture projects with a few full-figure reliefs, in my mix of experience. I can well appreciate how much more difficult it must be to follow the grain, at small scales. The upside, it seems to me, is that very little material has to be removed, in order to achieve a nice effect. The trick is removing the right material. I will say, though, that the few times I have tried to use EXACTO type blades for smallwork - i have found it difficult to control depth of cut. The longer blade bevel, of even miniature carving gouges and chissels affords you more control over the cutting action.
  4. Hubac's Historian
    Hi Meddo, I'm not sure if you are doing this already, but one thing that I have always found helpful, with this sort of relief carving, is to trace in a center line throughout the length and all details of the carving. This gives you a reference line to carve to and makes it easier to smooth out and shape the surfaces. It should be said that this line isn't always an exact centerline; on a leafy scroll, for example, you may skew the line closer to the top of the scroll, in order to carve a more accentuated cove, on the other side of the line. Or, sometimes, the opposite would be more appropriate. Whichever you do, though, it's going to always be a constant back and forth with the blade edge to adjust to the ever changing grain direction, as you work your way through the carving's shapes.
  5. Hubac's Historian
    She's really taking shape, EJ. It's amazing how big these models are.
  6. Hubac's Historian
    I love the light EJ - the cabin looks great! I'm glad that you have decided to re-create the six window configuration of Berain's stern. Doing so, however, will mean that you will need to re-scale and re-create all of the window framing and ornament from scratch. I was curious to know how you were going about mapping out a new layout and also what your plans were for reconciling the ornamentation.
  7. Hubac's Historian
    Vossie - you are speaking my language! Ha ha! I see what you mean, now, about workflow as it relates to building up a design. That three-D stuff you're doing is incredible. And I have thought about the potential for using 3-D modeling, not just to develop a valid hull-form for Soleil Royal (whenever I get around to a full scratch build, but of course, I'll have to build a few smaller models from scratch to learn that kind of modeling), but to do a virtual tank test to see what sort of handling characteristics my mock hull might have. I mean, why not? The technology is there to work as a virtual naval architect. All it takes is time, which in middle-age, is in remarkably short supply.
  8. Hubac's Historian
    I must be making progress, Vossie, because I mostly understand what you just said! Again - many thanks for taking the time to explain this stuff. It really is a foreign language to me.
  9. Hubac's Historian
    Tonight, I did manage to work out those path-closing/adding issues, and they speed up the process immensely. Thank you, Vossie, for so succinctly explaining boolean operations. I can see the tools that enable me to do those things. I just need to fiddle around with them a little.
  10. Hubac's Historian
    Yes, Vossie, GIMP does allow layer grouping, and luckily I realized early on that I would need to name my image layers and my path layers in a way that I will understand because I am starting to realize that there will be hundreds of path layers, and probably 15 - 20 image layers. As for adding one path to another, for example, every Youtube tutorial makes it seem so easy to create a geometric and/or bezier curve closed-path. For some reason, though, when I try and close my path back onto the first node, it won't connect and I end up faking it (for now). Or, if I'm drawing something with a lot of convolutions and I break my path, when I resume noding the shape, I can't seem to just pick up where I left off, and resume a continuous path. I'm going to experiment with these basic operations, tonight, and hopefully I'll figure them out. I'm not sure what you mean, though, about "leave only the intersection between two paths." Do you mean, bringing one path to the foreground and another to the background, where they intersect?
  11. Hubac's Historian
    Well, digitization is underway, and going well. Ultimately, I chose to go with Gimp's latest version of their free, open software. It has some ideosyncracies that make it a little tricky to learn, but I've familiarized myself with working in layers and organizing the drawing, accordingly; The first layer is an outline/sheer plan from the waterline to the caprail, there will be a layer for the main wales, as well as individual layers for the chanels, assorted other structural details, lower deck guns, upper deck guns (etc), quarter gallery, figure ornaments, frieze, headrails, figurehead, stern, etc. One of the biggest discoveries was figuring out how to copy a path and paste it into a new path layer so that I can repeat an element over and over. Now that I know how to do this, much of the drawing should move along fairly quickly (I'm measuring in weeks and months, here - that's quick, according to my available time), but the ornament will take time. Right now, I'm tracing over the end-rail cap ornaments and having great success, but it is time consuming to adjust the many nodes that make up this one small ornamental detail. One thing that I haven't figured out, yet, is how to group multiple paths that make up something like the end-rail cap, into one path so that I can copy and paste the whole assembly into a new path layer. Any shortcuts, or just process notes here are welcome. The other thing I think I am learning is that it doesn't make sense to stroke your paths until you have the whole drawing set, really. I can't seem to erase one stroke line without erasing them all. I'm sure there's a way with selection tools, I just haven't learned how to do it yet. I'm also enjoying Chuck's tutorials on small parts casting, which I will need to do later, as well as the carving tutorials that various members are engaged in, using Chuck's ornament for the ceremonial barge. All great stuff!
  12. Hubac's Historian
    I have no experience with boxwood, but I carved a cane handle out of American pear, once. The wood was amazingly dense and difficult to carve, but I hadn't much experience in relief carving, at that point, so my lack of knowledge was a factor. As for planking material, as long as it bends well, I think the tight grain and color would make for a very nice finished surface. I know the model is expensive, but a little extra for premium wood will be well worth it, IMO. You won't regret the added expense, but there is a strong likelihood that you would regret using sub-standard wood, in the hope that sanding and finish will bring it up to par. What was nice about that cane handle was how it oxidized over time. Will you be filling in between bulkheads, with balsa, for a smoother first run of planks?
  13. Hubac's Historian
    Jorgen, thanks for the link. I will reach out to him. So, I had some time to look into this D'Agostini kit, this weekend, and am just now coming to the realization of just how different this kit is from Billings or anything else. The finished model, what little I can find of it, is REALLY impressive; it looks to be truly museum quality. Although, I was also reading through Pucko's log and it seems as though quality was great until the first planking underlayment. This made me wonder what, if anything, you intend on replacing and/or making from scratch. the installment nature of the build makes it a little more difficult to make a fair assessment of what you would be better served by replacing. Wondering what your thoughts are at this stage of the build. Regards, Marc
  14. Hubac's Historian
    I just visited that link to the digital museum of the 1:10 Vasa model, and it's interesting; it appears that the carvings are all carved from some form of plastic or polymerized clay. When I saw this model, in person, back in 1998 (circa), the carvings had not yet been painted. I had always assumed that they had been carved from wood. I would love to know what the museum modelers used for their carving substrate, as I am debating carving ornament for my current build out of styrene, or polymerized clay, or both - depending upon the application.
  15. Hubac's Historian
    I've recommended this to a builder on a separate thread, but have you picked up the book Vasa by Fred Hocker? This is an invaluable resource for anyone modeling the ship. She is beautifully photographed and her entire origin story, loss, recovery, restoration, structure and iconography is described with amazing clarity.
  16. Hubac's Historian
    Passer, I can see with your willingness to re-work your frames until they are right, and the care and attention with which you are doing your paint work that this is going to be a really good model. I'm really excited to see this one through!
  17. Hubac's Historian
    That's the greatest feeling - to see this thing you've been working on really take shape. Congrats, Dude, she looks incredible!
  18. Hubac's Historian
    Well, that's the weird thing; I work on a Mac and the operating system is current. When I open the files directly from my email, it isn't a problem. They show up. However, when I try to click the link from within the MSW site (just to make sure it was a working link), I get that message. Weird. As long as everyone else can access the information, then I am happy.
  19. Hubac's Historian
    I appreciate the fatigue factor, but you are getting really good at them. Ratlines look amazing, dude!
  20. Hubac's Historian
    I will definitely pass along everyone's thanks and appreciation to Mr. Saunier. I would totally understand if someone had spent years of their life trying to track down information on a subject - I would totally get it, if they didn't feel like just handing over that information to whomever. It only reflects brilliantly upon the generosity of Mr. Saunier's spirit and his desire for the subject to be treated with respect. Vossie, I appreciate what you are saying, although I don't fully understand what you are saying yet. I'll have to consult my old pal YouTube, and then I'll probably private message you wih some specific questions. Computer-ese is not my first language, unfortunately. But, thank you for weighing in.
  21. Hubac's Historian
    P.S. I was just trying to open the above links, and was told I couldn't because they were from an "unknown web developer". Not sure whether that is just a problem for me. Although, I was able to open them on my computer, directly from the email that Michel sent me. Let me know whether you have trouble opening the links.
  22. Hubac's Historian
    Michel Saunier has very graciously agreed to share some of the specific information he has compiled about Soleil Royal, over the years. In his working life, Mr. Saunier was an engineer, and the following spreadsheet is a sort of mathematical portrait of the ship. There is more than enough information, here, to make a really sound reconstruction of Soleil Royal, just as Mr. Saunier is doing. For his part, he combined this dimensional information with the work of Jean Boudriot, who drafted plans for L'Ambiteaux, in order to arrive at his hull form. Below is the Google Translated version of the letter he sent me, accompanied by the spreadsheet, which is staggering in its completeness. As he implores me to do at the end of this letter, I hope we will all make good use of this tremendous gift of scholarship. For so many of us who are lacking the means to go visit the archives for the many weeks it would take to sift through and assemble this information, this truly is a tremendous gift of intellectual effort and demonstrates his absolute commitment to the project of resurrecting Soleil Royal. Perhaps this information exists, somewhere, on-line. But, go find it. I've been searching on-line for years and have only come away with the basic dimensions of the ship. I will not attempt to translate the XCEL spreadsheet, for fear that I may in-advertently make a mistake that is mis-leading. Frankly, I have yet to sift through the document in any detailed way, but I can see just how complete it is. Everything you'll see is in the antiquated French foot, so just multiply by the Battle of Hastings (1.066) to arrive at the modern English foot. Thank you Michel Saunier! From M. Saunier via Google Translate: good morning MarcI recovered in its time a document of the "Havre de Grace" which indicates a survey of the dimensions of a ship in Brest on the shipyards. This vessel is marked "drilled at 16", that is to say with 16 ports on the first battery. At that time only the Royal Sun was pierced at 16 and moreover all the dimensions correspond. It is therefore a document of a survey of the SR in 1688.On the other hand I have found another document which gives the dimensions of the elements of the mature of the Royal Sun.I have other documents found elsewhere that supplement this data.I have gathered this data in an EXCEL file. I join him to this message.All that is missing are the water lines, but I have reconstituted them to the best for my project.Make good use of this gift.Michel SR Dimensions.webarchive Keel, Stem, Sternpost.webarchive
  23. Hubac's Historian
    That is really fascinating how the gloss undercoat impacts the gold topcoat. Great tip. I wonder, though, whether gloss white would result in an even brighter gold, or does the black somehow create greater depth in the creases.
  24. Hubac's Historian
    You are also welcome, EJ. What we can know for sure is really limited, but I think we can draw reasonable inferences. I will ask Michel Saunier whether I can share the list (a much more complete list than I would ever have expected, or have ever found on my own) of the ship's known dimensions and armament. One might ask - if it is known, then why must I ask him to share? I think, because he has spent a great deal of time and effort tracking down the answers that it is a matter of respect. That information is not known by many and he has gone through many archived examples of correspondence between Colbert and many others involved in shaping Louis XIV's navy, to extract those dimensions and many other insightful tidbits of information. His commitment to the project (his project of re-constructing Soleil Royal) is really astounding; I've made forensics analogies, here before, and Mr. Saunier is really living that. One could, with that information, construct a reasonable framework for a ship of SR's time period, just as he has done. So I will ask.
  25. Hubac's Historian
    I know you guys are 110% right about this. When I was experimenting with my week-long trial of Illustrstor CC, it took a few nights, but I started getting the hang of fairing a curved line. It's just that there are so many tiny curved lines that have to be traced over😱! Anyway, at this point, the build won't progress until I digitize. I just needed to see that the whole thing was actually feasible. Thanks for the support guys - it is very much appreciated!

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