texxn5

Hi Larry, the planking looks great.  It really is kind of fun to see it start shaping up.  I always try to keep a good 12 year old Scotch around, really good with good cigar.  The only thing better.....is an older Scotch......I really enjoy sipping a good single malt, or "malt whiskey" as the Scotch say.....especially a good old MacCallen....18-25 or 30....unfortunately it's gotten out of my price range.  I've found a reasonable replacement in the Glenlivet 15 French Oak Reserve.....usually around $50-60 for a bottle, and it is smooth and flavorful....enjoy

Hi all,
 
Big news - I'm finally feeling human again!!!  And that means - sawdust!!!!!!!      
 
After almost three weeks of being able to do nothing and feeling like s&@%, my body seemed to flick a switch sometime yesterday and today I'm feeling almost normal - dangerously so!
 
So, I'd been thinking about what's next in terms of preparing the yards and decided it would be a good idea to make a small jig to hold the yards while I was working on them.  I can't take credit for the original idea as I found it in my Warrior practicum books.  It showed a picture of one, from which I made my own design.
 
It's pretty basic really.  It consists of a base and a pair of uprights, with two "arms" for supporting the yard.  The base has a series of holes to allow the width of the uprights to be adjusted.  The uprights have a dowel glued into the bottom end for locating in the base holes.  The "arms" are rebated into the uprights and have a slot cut into them to take the yards.  The "arms" are also covered with some velvet drawer liner to protect the yard paintwork while in the jig.  I also made a dummy mast that attaches in the same way as the uprights.
 
The best part was, I got play with a bunch of my toys, er, I mean tools.......including Byrnes Saw, Lathe and Mill - not so much because they were needed - more because I could.
 
Here's a pic of the parts pre-assembly:
 

 
 
One question I do have though is regards to milling.  I'm hoping some of you experts can set me straight on this.  I get confused about direction of cut and/or feed.  I've read about the difference between "normal" cutting and "climb" cutting, but can't get it into my head in a way that makes sense.  Here is a picture of the set-up for how I cut the slots in the "arms" using an end mill.
 

 
It should be clear from the photo the direction of feed/cut that I used.  My question then is, is this the "right" way to have cut, or is this a "climb" cut (and why)?
 
Okay, so here's the assembled jig, complete with yard in place.
 

 
And here it is back on the modelling desk.  It holds the yard at a very convenient height for attaching all those fiddly bits.
 

 
Having been inspired by a recent thread by Janos, I've decided that I'm going to have a go at making some blocks tomorrow.  Along with that, I'll be making a sanding tumbler following Janos's simple but clever design.  I'll post more pics when that is complete.
 
 

CONGRATS LARRY.  You should actually celebrate with one 'belt' for each belt.  Sounds like you have the plank width right as well.
 
Don't be intimidated by the bowsprit.  If you can handle planking you can handle anything  .  Trust me.

Something I've meant to do before now but kept forgetting, was show the planking size with a reference item. When I purchased this ship, I did not realize how small the width of the planks would be (bearing in mind this is my second purchase). Since it's a 1/64 scale, the full scale planks would be in the 8” to 10” width if I calculated this correctly.

Today, I completed the starboard side belt B planking. I believe I'm officially 50% complete on planking the hull based on the ship having four belts.     
 
While I was waiting for my replacement plank bender to arrive, I thought I would work on something else, which I thought would be the bowsprit. I pulled out the wood and drawing stared at it for a while and promptly place it back in the box.  what a complex piece of wood. I'll hold off on tackling that job for a while – yes, it completely intimidated me for the time being so I went back to planking without the tool.
 
Now I need to plan out belt C by measuring the width of eight planks on the plans and see how it compares to the hull. It looks like I will use 5/32" boards for this belt and maybe a stealer or two according to the plans.

Today, I completed the starboard side belt B planking. I believe I'm officially 50% complete on planking the hull based on the ship having four belts.     
 
While I was waiting for my replacement plank bender to arrive, I thought I would work on something else, which I thought would be the bowsprit. I pulled out the wood and drawing stared at it for a while and promptly place it back in the box.  what a complex piece of wood. I'll hold off on tackling that job for a while – yes, it completely intimidated me for the time being so I went back to planking without the tool.
 
Now I need to plan out belt C by measuring the width of eight planks on the plans and see how it compares to the hull. It looks like I will use 5/32" boards for this belt and maybe a stealer or two according to the plans.

Am guessing you would recommend a plank bender then..
 
Are they pretty much all the same (just 'branded' differently) do you know ?
 
Great build by the way, hope you don't mind me sneaking the question in .. :)
 
Eamonn

Whoa......... those sails are GREAT!

Looks good Randy, try taking off the spray nozzle on the can and rinsing it with hot water. I did not have the trouble when I sprayed mine, it came out in a nice fine mist

Hi Grant, wonderful work, it's going to look great on the ship.  Thanks for the photo of your yard gantry jig.  Would you be able to post a couple of pictures of it so us underlings can make one.  It looks like a great way to handle and pre rig the yards.  You seem to come up with some wonderful jig ideas and thank you for sharing.  

Hi Grant, wonderful work, it's going to look great on the ship.  Thanks for the photo of your yard gantry jig.  Would you be able to post a couple of pictures of it so us underlings can make one.  It looks like a great way to handle and pre rig the yards.  You seem to come up with some wonderful jig ideas and thank you for sharing.  

very nice first attempt on the skylight.    with how good that one looks....when you figure it all out,  it's gonna look even sweeter! 

Aha.... a bit of Googling...
 
http://shipmodeling.net/photopost/member535.html

Slog,
 
Just pictures is gray area indeed.  You can PM them to John.
 
 
Sadly, I can't find that copy I had from DDM,  Missing some other ones also, guess I need to dig out that HD from my old 'puter.

Hi Mark/John,
 
I have most of his build photos, but no words.  I wasn't sure of posting bits and pieces of them for John since they are Dragons etc.
 
Let me know if I can be of assistance.
 
Cheers
Slog

Hello John, yes, your assessment is correct, it's a little too large when comparing it to the pic of the real ship.  I agree with using boxwood.  It's a fine grained wood that you can cut down into very small pieces and can still work with, like drilling small holes in it.
What kind of material (metal) is it for the protective grill rods in front of the windows?  Did it come with the kit or do you have to supply that yourself?  What did the kit manufacturer recommend?  
 
Like all of us, sometimes we have to redo something, so don't feel bad.  You are doing a great job to make your ship look as close to the original and you'll lick this minor setback too.
 
Cheers,

Hi John,
Its a pity it is too big as it looks really well executed.
 
I have kind of been doing this build in my head in preparation for eventually obtaining it trying to work out any problems. My solution for you would be to buy the required section sizes out of Evergreen styrene strip.
 
It will be painted 'yellow' any way and the styrene will be dimensionally consistent.  Surely cheaper and easier to obtain than Jeff's beautiful wood, unless of course you are leaving it natural.
 
Anyway I think I will use styrene when dealing with small square strips.
 
Cheers
Slog 

I agree whit Augie and Mark, the is some very nice work. I also think the Boxwood is the way to go but the is only my option, talk with Jeff I am sure he can help you out. Keep the pictures coming.

Thank you very much Kevin, Marc and Old Collingwood for your kind words.
 
Marc - you asked for it, so here it is.
 
I finally got some time today to start the long process of attaching all these blocks to the yards.  I started with the Fore Lower Yard.  My main guide for this has been Longridge and this diagram has been most helpful:
 

 
In that diagram you can see the 26" Quarter Blocks with 9" Slabline blocks attached.  You can also see that the Quarter Blocks are attached to the yard by the means of a collar with two eyes that are lashed together.  For these large blocks, and indeed for the 26" Jeer Blocks, I decided to try to match the process.
 
Here is a picture of the Quarter Block / Slabline Block assembly, complete with collar and eyes.  The Quarter Blocks are represented by 9/32' (7mm) scale blocks and the Slabline by 3/32" (2.5mm) scale blocks.
 

 
Here are a couple of pictures of it attached to the yard.  I actually decided to put the lashing on the aft side of the yard instead of the fore side.  Not absolutely correct, but I thought it might look neater, so "Captain's Choice" called on this one!
 

 

 
The Clew Garnet Blocks are actually a "shouldered" block, so I improvised by adding a small piece of 1/64" thick boxwood to the outside and shaping it to match the block (a 5/32" (4mm) scale block).  The photo is atrocious - I swear it actually looks pretty good
 

 
I decided not to try to do the collars, eyes and lashings on the smaller blocks, so took a bit of a "cheat" with these.  Having seized the blocks into their stropping (using my usual series of overhand knots), I simply tied these around the yard and did the best I could to hide the knots.  Here's a few overall shots and some close-ups of the almost completed yard:
 

 

 

 

 
This last one shows the yard mounted on my home-made "yard gantry" that I made quite some time ago in anticipation of this stage of the build.  It works quite well.  Oh, and there's a ship in the background too - that would be the final destination for this yard!
 

 
I still need to add Stirrups and Horses (for which I need to order some more rigging line from Chuck) and then Truss Pendants, Nave Line and Studding Sail Booms.  Then it will be ready to attach.  Not sure yet if I will attach them one at a time as I go, or fit all the yards out first and then attach them.  Plenty of time to consider that one.
 
In the meantime, the above lot of pictures should keep even you-know-who happy for at least a week!
 
 
 
 

I wish Mark!!!
 
Although at times it does feel a little like "ground hog day"......

From my assessment, it is about 1/4" too wide, and about 3/8" too tall.  The scale size of the framing is also too bulky looking.  Most of it is 1/16" ( 1.65 mm) square frames, with 3/64" x 3/32" (2.45 x 1.10 mm) side planking, and the corner posts are 7/64" x 7/64" (2.50 mm).  The piece I tried to use first was .1" x .24" (2.45 x .6 mm) for the side planking and was too flimsy to work with without splitting and breaking. I'm calling it side planking, but in cabinetry it is known as styles.  It is a quite large piece of furniture as you can tell from the real ship photo's. 

Well, it looks like there will probably be a delay in progress for the Skylight.  I was moving along finally after figuring out a few things, only realizing after setting it on the deck that it was quite a bit Too Big.  It kind of grew as I was building it, and it is way out of scale.  This means I'm going t have to scrap a week's worth of work and start over.  I would check it periodically for size, and thought it would be ok, but then when I got it to where I am now, I realized it's a lost cause.  So, after many bad words (sailor's do that you know) I have come to the conclusion that it is too big to use.  Part of the problem is figuring out the proper size of wood that should be used.  The basswood won't allow me to drill holes for the brass bars to go into without splitting or breaking.  I think I might need to consult with Jeff at Hobbymill for some replacement wood before I waste a lot of time and frustration.  So, it is now time for me to ask from the forum, a suggestion on type of wood I should use for this.  Also, about how long it takes to get a shipment from him.  It sounds like he ships pretty fast, and I assume he makes some very small scale wood strips.  Any and all advice is appreciated.  Meanwhile, once I get my composure back, I'll work on the rest of the hatches and another deck house farther forward.   Here are a couple of pictures to show my delema......

Looking cool my man, excellent work as usual......here is an interesting link you might get a kick out of.....kinda whimsical...
 
 
http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2013/11/flying-boats-by-luigi-prina/   since you're into planes & ships.......(or boats as they're known).....glad you enjoyed a good Leffe....

texxn5,
 
       Thanks for the link, I really enjoy that. That man has some talent and you can tell he love doing them. Thanks.

John,
 
What you have showed the promise.   Hmm... I'd go with either boxwood or pear.  Maybe 1/32" for the framing ?????