Mike Shea

Very nice! Great little tool indeed. Mike

Ha! Yeah, I've had my eye on that one for awhile. The problem was that the Sweet Pea wasn't too happy about my purchase of the Violin Plane so right now I'm trying to 'launder' my money so she won't know if and when I jump up to the 102! Perhaps a Swiss account. Once it's in the house I'm fine as all tools look the same to her - it's just when the FedEx guy shows up that I seem to get put in the doghouse.

Thanks for the reply Moab. To answer your question, yes, at first I did but it wasn't long until I discovered that I was trying to take off too much with a single pass. Once I adjusted the depth it then worked like a champ. Since this is a very tiny plane for delicate work the trick seems to be adjusting it to take very thin slivers at a time. The sweet spot for me seems to be where I can gently rub my thumb over the bottom without it catching. Mike

Measuring just 3 1/2'' by 1 1/4'' I do believe this little palm sized plane is filling a niche in my model ship making. From cutting out the rabbet to helping shape the tapering of the masts it's definitely making life much easier and enjoyable on projects that can sometimes be a bit too tedious with the standard hobby blade. I find myself really liking this little plane.

Well, good news John and Russ! Thanks to your help, the National Archives responded to my request and they have the original plans of the Corwin as she appeared when first built as the USRC Thomas Corwin. I'm currently getting copies ordered. The drawing plans aren't restricted by copyright and I can post what was sent to me by the National Archives if you or anyone else is interested. The plans, albeit faded somewhat, are beautiful! In further research I found that her last rebuild was around 1904 at Moran's Shipyard in Seattle. I am waiting on a response from the Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society to see if I can get any info on plans (if they exist) of her last rebuild in 1904. Thanks again for all your help Gentlemen. Mike

Ha! Is this the one? I've read it about 3 times so far! Lol! Great read. Thanks for the other recommendations, will give those a read soon.

If you're a fan of WWII naval history I would recommend "Japanese Destroyer Captain" by Tameichi Hara. It's a pretty decent read from the Japanese perspective of the naval battles of WWII. Naval Institute Press re-released this book a few years back. Mike

Very nice build! It's looking fantastic.

One of my favorite movies.

In my family archives we have hundreds of letters written by my 2nd great-grandmother and her children from 1903-1914 after they departed Alturas, CA for the gold fields of Nome, Alaska. One such gem in our collection is my great-aunt's 'Travel Diary' that she kept after their departure for the gold fields on May 20, 1903. It must have been quite an adventure for a mining and ranching family. I could go on and on about their life, however, for the sake of nautical history, I have posted a few pages from her diary as she records the departure from the Arlington Docks in Seattle, WA aboard the SS Ohio of the Alaskan Steamship Company. The diary was written in a small "Miners Memorandum Handbook.'

Thanks for the info Russ. I'll definitely check into that.

Very nice build.

Thanks for your help John. Very gracious of you to take the time to do a little research on my behalf. Come Monday I'll be contacting the Smithsonian and even the Anchorage, Alaska museum to get this ball rolling. Even if her original plans are lost it will be fun to research this vessel in detail. Would it be okay to perhaps post a few copies of those old family letters that mention the Corwin and other various ships of that era in the Historical topic thread? Not the entire letter mind you but just where the ships are mentioned. Perhaps they would benefit other researchers and/or modelers. One letter dated around 1909, my great aunt mentions the Corwin being tossed about in a severe storm off Port Clarence Bay, Alaska where her rudder and anchors were ripped out. Other ships mentioned by my ancestors during the Nome gold rush era were the Victoria, the Ohio (merchant) and Mary Dodge. Thanks again for all your help. This site is simply amazing.

Thanks for the kind words Jim, much appreciated. As for the Corwin, yes, I'll definitely look into the Smithsonian. From looking at the photo's of the USRC Corwin before her rebuild into the merchant service it seems the changes in appearance were quite extensive. I'm pretty new at this kind of stuff but do you think she was a specific class as when originally built? Perhaps there were other ships similar to her. It will be worth looking into and is part of the fun of researching.

Thanks Haliburton. Just browsing over this site I am simply amazed by the incredible knowledge you folks have. I think I found my second home. Ha!

Hello Everyone, My name is Mike and I have been a model builder since I was a kid. My main interests are the sailing age from Magellan's era to about the 1920's and steamships of the late 1800s - early 1900s. Not only models, I am an avid reader of books of the sailing age; both warfare and exploration. As far as books go one of my most prized possessions is a Naval Institute Press hardcover edition of '20,000 League's Under the Sea' - a story that never gets old with me. My experience borders on intermediate to experienced with plastic but I am a beginner when it comes to wooden model ships. A few years ago my dad bought me the USS Constitution by Model Shipways (leave it to a family member to buy me one of the most difficult kits - Ha!) but I think I'm going to cut my teeth on something a bit more easier in skill level before tackling that big boy! I have built several balsa airplanes and wooden buildings over the years but never a wooden sailing ship. As a side note, I'm also very much into genealogy and my great grandmother and her children were in Nome, Alaska during the gold rush era from 1903 to 1914 and frequently traveled aboard the SS Corwin (formerly the USRC Thomas Corwin) as noted by the over 200 letters we have in our family archives. I would love to find copies of the building plans for the Corwin as it appeared during the Alaskan merchant trade during the early 1900s. Is that even possible? My dream is to one day scratch build that ship since my ancestors wrote about her very often in their travels. Those letters are fascinating to read and we're very lucky to have those letters in our family collection. Anyway, thanks for letting me aboard and hope to share some knowledge and model building tips from you folks. Cheers! Mike