Keith Black

Greg, welcome to MSW. Glad to have you aboard.

Tom, great news. I've got the champagne on ice.

Keith, that cold shop may limit the amount of time you can spend out there but it sure doesn't affect the quality of your work. Beautiful work as usual.

The second and third photo are the floorboard of a Ford Model T. We owned a 1919 T fairground racer for awhile years ago, I never got the hang of driving that thing.

I didn't know if it was the gas or the brake pedal?

Thank you, Brian. This wire is also softer and is much easier form. Thank you, Mark. I don't envy folks with good eyesight, too many mistakes. Thank you and you're welcome, Glen. Thank you, Lynn. I have to stop and give my eyes a rest more frequently now than I used to but thank God for the ability to still see somewhat well. Gary, thank you. I'm not sure as to the exact number but I think I'm roughly a quarter the way through. I'm working one the last yard to populate with blocks, the main topsail. The total number of blocks for the yards is 105 I think the mast and gaffs will take approximately 200 including the backstay deadeyes. Deck blocks, 25 to 30? Channel deadeyes, 140. Geez, I just added those up and the total is 475! I'm only 20% there. I think it's safe to say that blocks will be a prominent feature as long as my fingers hold out. I still think back to the thought I had years ago, "how hard can it be". It's I good thing I didn't know otherwise I would not have met you nice folks. Thank you to all for the likes and for for following along.

Lynn, you don't get a 'thumbs up' for this post but you don't get an admonishment either. From time to time all of us rush parts of our project for whatever reason. Breath through your eyelids and release the beauty from within that block of wood. I'm glad to see you're taking Cathead's advice and purchasing the chopper, I think it will serve you well.

What beautiful engineering. What is the purpose of the foot switch at 1 O'clock?

Leo is a class act. He takes the time to explain the how and why of the piece he's making. There are no half measures when it comes to the work or materials invested in the Tally Ho. He could stand to see a barber more often but maybe that's jealousy talking.

You have a lovely home, Lynn. Thank you for inviting us in. It's not clear to me why you're having the problem cutting three inch pieces? Are you using a metal ruler to measure? A tape measure is OK for building shelves but more accuracy is needed when working in these small scales. I suggest purchasing a machinist ruler as shown. The one I own has tenths of an inch marked but I don't think you'll find that useful for the scales you'll be working with. Instead of cutting each piece individually, try to gang cut them. If you can stack all the pieces together like a brick, they you can cut all of them together. Once you have all the pieces made into a brick, keep them together by wrapping them with masking tape. Clamp a piece of wood to the left side of the work surface (if you're right handed, right side if left handed) to act as a stop. You butt the pieces up against the stop to steady them when cutting. This should insure that they're all the same length. They maybe a bit off but they'll all be off the same amount.

Beautiful work, Siggi.

Valeriy, phenomenal realism. It's always a pleasure to observe your work.

Herring is big deal in Bristol Bay. Crazy times, at least one mid air every year as each boat had a spotter overhead. I wonder what impact drones may have added in that fishery?

Ian, welcome to MSW. Did you ever driftnet in the Bearing Sea along the Alaska peninsula for salmon? I fished one season out of Egegik, July 4th was always fast and furious.

Eberhard, a elegante solution. I'm always amazed with your problem solving at this scale.

Steve, welcome to MSW.

Eric, I retired. we were moving from Texas to Michigan, and cars had run their course. It takes a lot of money to pour down the drain when it comes to messing with old cars. Going from getting a paycheck every week to being on a fixed income, it was no longer a viable hobby. I never got into making car or airplane models, this wooden ship biz is my first foray into modeling. Your hull is looking super but I hope you haven't caused a potential problem for yourself. When you start coppering the hull, if the tiles won't stick to the paint, you'll need to seal the hull bottom. I seal my paint with polyurethane and I'm able to use CA on the poly with good results.

Mark, Gary, Pat, Brian, Keith, Lynn, and Keith......thank you so much for your kind and supportive comments. Thank you to all for the 'likes' and taking the time to follow along. Here's how I strop blocks with wire. This is the wire used. Tools used to form the wire. For blocks that require a thimble I made a wood form (stick) for the first step in forming the wire. The different block sizes required. Top row, left to right, in inches, .12, .15, .175, and .19 Bottom row deadeyes, left to right in inches, .11 and .16 The doubles and triples used (not pictured) are the same size as the top row. I cut and form enough wire to strop as many blocks possible as I can before I have to give my eyes a rest. The wire on the left is for a block without a thimble, the one on the right is for a block with a thimble. Block stropped with a thimble. First step in forming wire for a block without a thimble. I've marked the jaws of the pliers for the different block size widths. The wire is bent over the jaws. The wire is squeezed to set the width. The wire is the squeezed at the top to square the shoulders. If the 'legs' aren't at 90 degrees to the top, they need to be pulled till they are otherwise the top will not be square when the wire is twisted. The blocks I purchased are single sheave hole blocks. The sheave hole closest to the block end always goes to the twisted end of the wire. When twisting the wire the block must be held firmly but gently. the .175 and .19 blocks can take a bit of pressure, the .12 and .15 not so much. They WILL crush if too much pressure is applied with the pliers and will also split if the wire is over twisted. Once I'm satisfied with the twist length and tightness I give the block a final squeeze to even the wire height along the block's sides. I am drilling a hole where a block needs to be placed, cutting the twisted end to length, and CA glueing in place. For larger scale projects the twisted end can be made with eyes or hooks. That amount of detail for this scale is not feasible. Again, thank you to my MSW family for all your kindness.

Durning our life in Alaska we discovered Caribou tongue which was a considered a delicacy. It was boiled, peeled, cut into medium chunks, and used as an horderve. Served along with smoked salmon made for tasty treats on a snowy afternoon.

Marc, the question should be in the past tense. I stopped messing with cars in 2010. It was a drug habit I finally managed to kick but while still an addict I mainly messed with British iron. I did some American cars....1919 Model T fairground racer (real deal out of Wisconsin), 27 Nash rumble seat roadster, and 32 Model A set up for the Great Race. The British stuff was a 1937 MGTA, 49 Morris Minor convertible, 58 Triumph TR3A, 59 MGA, and a 64 box Sprite. Got too old to twist wrenches, only thing I've still got is a 48 Farmall Cub tractor. Marc, I love tours. Do you throw in a free lunch?

Short kid, bout inch tall, freckles, name Lochie. He's OK but his mother is a bit flighty.

Chris, welcome to MSW. I look forward to seeing your build log.

Chris, that all appears to be a bit fiddly, well done.

Marc, thank you. As I said, I've not a clue but I've always wondered how they managed to cook on deck without burning more than the Captain's supper. There had to be embers aplenty flying about?

Marc, because the ship would be sailing with the wind, with the stove under the forecastle, wouldn't wind be a problem? If the stove was under the stern castle, wouldn't that afford more protection? I know nothing of ships from this time period, just trying to understand the why of things. I look forward to seeing the stove painted, lovely bit of work.