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Timmo

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Posts posted by Timmo

  1. The gratings are nearly all cut. These were made with a light timber of unknown type. It might be beech. I'm after a contrast with the surrounding coaming as these will be among the only natural timber finishes aside from the mast and deck.

    A billet about 5-6mm thick was cut on the bandsaw and slots cut with the table saw using the micrometer. The slots were 2mm wide and the Byrnes saw is amazingly accurate.

    The individual battens were then sliced off and the gratings assembled with a vice pushing them all together title and diluted white glue securing them.

    The excess was sanded flush for vice looking gratings.

     

    A test grating with matai timber

    post-271-0-60648300-1471768890_thumb.jpeg

     

    A final version under construction.

    post-271-0-82320600-1471768969_thumb.jpeg

     

    Finished gratings. One has lost some sections but these are easily replaced with cubes from leftovers.

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  2. Jib boom, gammoning cleats and martingale completed today. Pics to follow.

    I'm quite liking the copper now. It's dulled off nicely and has a fairly random gentle tarnish to it that's looking quite nice. I expect it will develop more as time goes on and it's nice to have a living element to the ship that will change.

    I'm thinking I'll apply a bit of very gentle weathering to the rest of the paintwork to get away from the freshly painted vessel look.

     

    Jerry, I've got to round up some more ballast yet but I'd love to have her in the water and doing something by the end of the year. It'll be a mate's swimming pool first.

  3. Ever had a one of those moments where you think - before embarking on a major step in a project - this is the moment that I wish I could go back to if it all goes wrong?

     

    A shade of that today with getting an aged finish on the copper plating.

     

    Here's what I was after:

    post-271-0-71869200-1471164791_thumb.jpeg

    The test plates on the left were done yesterday with a tarnishing solution found in Aliluke's fine Fly build log. The curious can look it up. I'll say no more.

    The result is a little lighter in the pic than in reality but is just what I was after with a dulled copper finish and slight hint of verdigris in the plate lines and nail holes.

     

    When applying to the hull it beaded in droplets as per the test piece but little tarnishing occurred. In order to get a consistent spread I overlaid with some paper towels soaked in the solution to create an even contact with the hull.

     

    The opposite happened.

     

    Cue tiger stripes..

    post-271-0-91128900-1471165315_thumb.jpeg

     

    This was from the wrinkles in the covering.

     

    Vinegar and salt with some steel wool took it back to almost original.

    post-271-0-27001800-1471165492_thumb.jpeg

     

    The steel wool leaves the plates looking a little lightly scratched and beaten rather than the pristine article they once were. Some corners have also pulled up a little.

    But it's better than a total loss and it looks like Harrier has been a long time between refits in the East Indies.

    Lesson learned. I'll leave the copper from here to naturally dull. You could see it already starting with the difference between the first laid rows and the last so it should have plenty of time given I'm likely many months off sailing at this rate. If it didn't work I was considering stripping it off and starting again but glad not to have to do that. If it was a display model in smaller scale I might have.

     

    On a brighter note the jib boom has been made from fibreglass rod with a timber base for octagonal section. That gives an idea of the overall length of the Harrier. This is the last major piece of the masts/ sprit assembly.

     

     

     

    post-271-0-37401400-1471166162_thumb.jpeg

  4. Nice Jason. I can see why you didn't have your SNake close to hand for a pic.

    Looks like an interesting spot.

    My summer holiday haunt is where Cook and Banks tried to observe the transit of Mercury on their first voyage. I bore the kids to tears talking about it and pointing out where they would have anchored and filled the ship's casks.

  5. A question on coppering for those with more knowledge than me-

    The first three rows are on following the line of the keel.

     

    post-271-0-60592100-1470522473_thumb.jpeg

     

    I can see the tape already fighting this line in an effort to maintain its natural line and it's only going to to become more pronounced. The options are to continue following the line and do short lengths of tape to allow for lateral adjustment. Note the cruiser's stern is quite a bit deeper below the waterline than the bow so more plates in a vertical stack on one end than the other.

     

    Or...

     

    post-271-0-41553100-1470522497_thumb.jpeg

     

    Add a gore line as per pic above demonstrated with a plank in order to allow the copper to maintain the natural run of a plank line. This will enable tape to be all applied in largely single strips and less fighting against it. But it will also mean a bit more noticeable spilling of copper plates at bow and stern I want to avoid the appearance of stark belts heading off at different angles and get something that looks natural like this...

     

    post-271-0-07415100-1470522971.jpeg

    (The work of one of those Russian or Ukrainian masters).

    Advice welcome.

  6. Mass production of copper plates begins with a stamping and scoring jig made from offcuts. Line the end of the plate up with the end of the rails, stamp it and then score through the slot with the back of a blade.

    post-271-0-64899700-1470080862_thumb.jpeg

     

    Another small task was making a rudder extension. This is acrylic sheet that came free as an offcut from a local supplier. It will be epoxied into a slot cut into the rudder one that is painted and coppered.

    Brass rods have been added for strength but will be hidden inside the slot. The extension should be all but invisible once in the water and also not too noticeable when the Harrier is out of the water.

    I know this because this is the second extension I've made. I took the protective cover off the first to see what it looked like and now can't find it because it's all but invisible.

     

    post-271-0-33229100-1470081125_thumb.jpeg

  7. Thanks Jerry, your instructions were very helpful around coppering.

    I'm keen on copper over paint to get a nice aged patina and this project is a bit of a test of materials and technique so given its still way cheaper than a kit another $40 for the real thing looks like small beer.

    Did you use any CA glue or anything else to stick it down or just rely on the adhesive backing and if so how has it lasted? I've tried a test run as below and the adhesive bond feels very solid considering the tape is very thin. I'd like to just do this and maybe a dash of CA here and there but worst case scenario is applying a thin coat of resin to it after the patina is how I want it. I'd rather avoid the resin though.

     

    Anyway, as per the inventive Jerry Todd and a few other builders like Fam http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/8675-brick-de-24-by-fam-scale-148-1809-pob/page-7, a stamp was made from timber with holes drilled for the small brass pins that come with ship kits. The plate size 1:1 is about 13-14inch x 4 ft. The vertical plate join is scribed onto the copper tape with the back of a blade. A small overlap on the horizontal edges was tried on the uppermost join but not on the bottom. It's so imperceptible I don't think I'll bother with overlap as I'm going for the 3ft rule - if it looks ok from that distance it's worked.

     

    The tape is Masterfoil plus copper tape from venture tapes. It's aimed at the stained glass industry and is 3/8inch or 9.53mm wide.

     

    post-271-0-57482900-1469607447_thumb.jpeg

  8. Hi john,

    Nice project.

    What's the size of the model?

    Although it's cheaper here in NZ depending on quality the timber price sounds reasonably fair given postage to the US and it'll probably be a nice clean piece. It's ironic that I have bought timber for boatbuilding from the US and here you are importing something that seems relatively common to me. I guess we always want some thing exotic.

     

    Like most nz native timbers Totara is protected and can't be felled commercially anymore as vast tracts of it were on the way to disappearing before it was stopped a few decades back.

    Totara available now is either recycled from previous use ( there's still a lot of fence posts out there made from this lovely dense timber) or single trees from private stands.

     

    Let me know if you need any reference pics of waka. A fleet of probably the most impressive in the country are based not far from me and are brought out for a big annual regatta. They are quite a sight when on the river.

     

    The newspaper I work for has pics on file that while showing them manned and in the water should also show some carving detail. I could send some if it's any help.

     

    Wayne

  9. The main paint work has been applied.

    Yellow went on first, followed by a day's worth of masking and then the black.

     

    I'm using a brand called ironlaq which looks to be aimed at the crowd painting on the side of railway boxcars in the dead of night but it's quite good. I ran out of the black and had to use a rust-oleum black which takes much longer to dry and harden.

     

    A downside of a yellow boat was that it was easy to miss masking bits with yellow tamiya tape. Lots of spot touch ups to be done yet, especially on the head rails. I'm not showing the finished version until I'm happy with those.

     

    But in the meantime. Here's the stern, just in need of some touch ups on the lettering as it looks like a deco font without the TImes Roman serifs

    ...... Yes her name is Harrier.

    post-271-0-65669000-1469132130_thumb.jpeg

     

    She was an active little vessel, although fir built, and served a spell in home waters before being involved in operations in the East Indies. She foundered in the Indian Ocean in about 1809, I think, with the loss of all hands. May my Harrier not share her fate.

    post-271-0-26251200-1469132064_thumb.jpeg

    post-271-0-23576800-1469132102_thumb.jpeg

  10. The deck is now finished.

    Treenails were done with holes drilled and filled with putty with the excess scraped off. I didn't want them to be overpowering so went with fairly small holes and a light coloured filler. They disappear from sight at a distance and certain angle and reappear when you change your view. It adds nice interest.

     

    post-271-0-01160900-1467836515_thumb.jpeg

     

    The varnish has turned the grey card caulking blacker than I would have liked but waterproofed it all nicely. I'm happy with it.

    post-271-0-07512800-1467836550_thumb.jpeg

     

    The join in the margin plank was a little too close to one of the plank nibs for aesthetic purposes but it'll be covered by a carronade so problem solved. Next task is adding the spirketting and scuppers and then the gratings.

    post-271-0-91647100-1467836590_thumb.jpeg

    post-271-0-13131300-1467836613_thumb.jpeg

    post-271-0-80993600-1467836654_thumb.jpeg

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