Keith Black

Absolutely lovely, I could stare at these images for hours and never tire of them.

Keith, Mark, Pat, Gary and Talos, thank you for your kind comments. To all that hit the like button, thank you. Without benefit of the encouraging comments, the likes plus the benefit of being able to look over the shoulders of the MSW community, I would not have had the wherewithal to make the progress that I have. A hearty "thank you" to my MSW community and friends! Quick update on the tracks. These photos are of the tracks after poly coating less deck clutter.

Mark, at almost 74 I'm not big fan of snow. It seems like every time I watch the weather you guys are getting snowed on and I'm not talking about small amounts. Sure would be neat to have a Michigan ship modelers club centrally located.

Mark, very nice work. Where do live in our wonderful state of Michigan?

That gun acquired the nickname "short round". And like Reesse's......not sorry

Brian, this is a museum owned 30 lb Parrott rifle showing a little muzzle swell. This is a 10 lb showing no muzzle swell. A 20 lb showing a very slight muzzle swell. I know the 60 lb and the 100 lb had no muzzle swell. Tis a bit of a puzzle this Parrott muzzle.

Brian, beautiful work. I am enjoying your build and look forward to each new installment. One thing if I may, while your turning of the 30 lb Parrott rifle is beautiful, it looks like there is too much muzzle swell. I've seen photos of 30 lb Parrott rifles that have no swell as per the attached photo but then other 30 lb photos show a very slight swell. I once had tons of Parrott rifle photos when doing research for the Parrots on the Tennessee but have since deleted them when I finished the guns. Please don't take this as criticism, merely a small point that you may want to look at more closely......Keith

The carriage trucks were brass, I think the tracks were iron, note photograph. The two coal scuttles (at the end of the companionway) appear to be brass, the tracks beyond are darker. The Dahlgren guns plus carriage were 20,000 pound lumps, not sure how brass would have held up under that weight?

I struggled with the gun tracks (tracks, sweeps or traces) I spent countless hours viewing the H and H photographs trying to to make sure I wasn't missing something as I consider the tracks to be every bit as important as the guns. Years ago I thought about not adding the tracks because at the time I didn't have a clue has how I would go about making them. Even when I started trying to make them I doubted if I was going to be able to make a convincible representation. I think my attempt has accurately included all the elements, the tracks are not to scale due to the method I used to make them. I made a rough drawing of what I was seeing but the actual working layout had to made on the deck, consequently there a many compass point indents. Hopefully they'll disappear when the tape/tracks and deck get a coat of poly. The poly acts as a binder to keep the tape from lifting. To make the tracks I used one inch masking tape and a compass cutter. I placed strips of masking tape on porous wood butting the long edges together for the large circles and a singe strip for the small circles. The porous wood allowed the masking tape to be removed without tearing but as I said, the tracks are not to scale. When I tried making them to scale (.06 inches) the tape would tear when removed. After may tries the best I could do without tearing was .09 inches. The deck planking isn't to scale, .1 inches vs what should be no more than .08 inches so the tracks don't look too ghastly out of proportion/scale. Before removing the circles they were painted black and allowed to dry. Once dry I had to pick gingerly at the edge till I could get a dull blade under both edges and continue to gently remove from the board. This was/is an exercise in patiences as haste makes for a lot of torn circles. The bigger circles being in two pieces made them easier to remove from the wood but harder to apply to the deck. Did you ever notice how masking tape wants to stick to everything except where you want it to stick? Well, I have. Another exercise in patiences. I'm sure you'll notice there is a difference between the two Dahlgren gun tracks. This due to the different relationship between the stowed position and gun port. The stern Dahlgren's port is more abreast where as the forward Dahlgren's port is to the rear of it's stowed position. I'm sure that in actuality the stowed position and their respective guns ports were the same for both guns. When I started this project I couldn't see this far ahead and work out a solution more accordingly. The first photo is a work in progress photo, all the rest are of the completed work.

Thank you, Pat Keith, bless you for those kind words, I am truly humbled. They mean so much coming from someone I consider not only a mentor but also an ambassador of the hobby. Thank you, Jonathan. I so hope your wife is regaining her health. And a "thank you" to all who have checked in on my humble project and have hit the like button.

Gary, this build is like a good book that you can't put down but you put off reading too quickly so as not to rush the ending. This log may have come to an end, stuffed with all your beautiful work from page one to the last but the lessons and wonderful images will live with me forever. Thank you.........Keith

Nicely done, Olha. I'll be using your case design when it comes time to build my case .

Oh heck, Keith. When you get to that stage you'll have come up with some magic lathe brail system and have one of the neighborhood kids caddying for you. I feel blessed to be one of the group to see the domed ceiling lights. In hundreds of years from now when those ceiling lights are exposed, I'm quit certain that the restorer will be as amazed at their discovery as we are at seeing them before being entombed. I agree with Allan's comment, "I think most of us have run out of words to use on how beautiful your work is. Maybe monumental is still available" though monumental really doesn't do your work justice. When I look at your work I get the same feeling as when I see the historical ruins at Orkney. And maybe that's the word I search for to describe your work.......historical.

Olha, Glad Tidings really turned out swell, job well done! Do you have a model in mind for your next project?

If your crew stopped all those impromptu meetings they'ed get a lot more done. But I must say, what they're doing is beautiful.

It's a neat little boat, Chris. You're doing a bang-up job. How did you overcome the gap issue?

A true beauty, excellent work!

Great work on the sail, Jonathan. My thoughts are with your wife, hopefully she puts this behind her quickly.

Great detail work, Eberhard.

A steady progression of little beauties, Keith. Sweet work.

Grant, a beautiful achievement.

Olha, absolutly beautiful work as always. I always look forward to your videos. A question if I may, does potato starch increase the likelihood of insect damage to the sails and line? If so, what mitigating efforts might be taken to lessen the risk of insect damage?

Of course you will, I shouldn't have bothered you asking the obvious.

Keith, beautiful detailed work as always. Are you going to add the light fixture in the deckhouse ceiling even though there's no apparent means to see it? "Unfortunately the children and grandchild are still in London where more significant restrictions apply which means that we are again isolated from them." Hopefully a safe and reliable vaccine will soon be made available worldwide where everyone on earth can once again be with those they love and return to their normal lives.

Rob, thank you.