texxn5

Just came back from a week at Disney with the kids, but had made a little progress on my Morgan before I left.  First up was to house some nuts into the center keel for the mounting pedestals.  I epoxied a couple of nuts for #6-32 machine screws about 3/4" (18mm) up into the center keel:
 

 
 
I ended up cannibalizing the nuts from my Unicorn/Lyme build - the epoxy really held the nuts in place without needing any other support for the nuts.  I originally bought 2" machine screws, but forgot that the screws had to not only go through the model and the pedestals, but also any mounting base.  Thankfully I was able to find some 3" screws which hopefully should be long enough.
 
The kit's instructions had what I thought was a helpful tip to install dowels or rods to pin/support the keel and stem into the center keel.  I never did this on my prior builds, but I figured a little extra support never hurts - particularly since this kit uses basswood for the framing pieces.  I ended up going with brass rod.  I forget the diameter, but I think it was around 1.8mm or so.  At that diameter the rod is pretty sturdy, yet small enough not to disturb the rabbet joint.  Pretty easy to do:  drill a hole, stuff a little epoxy into the hole, then hammer the brass rod into the hole.  Even more fun in that I finally got to use the ball peen hammer that I got as a bonus from my first order with Micromark years ago when starting my first build.   I installed four support rods:  three along the keel (one near the stern and one through each joint between the keel/stem pieces) and one at the fore end of the stem just below the copper line).
 

Welcome back! Looks good.

Made a little more progress on my Morgan this week in adding the bulkheads.  I found I had to open them up a bit to seat them into the center keel, but nothing too major.  The nice thing about the kit is that the plans use a reference line on both the center keel and the bulkheads so that you can make sure that everything is lined up properly.  I found that the center tops of the bulkheads ended up just under the top of the center keel, which gives some wood as a margin so that the deck planking ends up smooth.  Another nice feature was that the plans give the bevel for each bulkhead.  I was a little conservative and didn't sand the bevel completely, but in checking out the planking runs, they actually looked like they were pretty spot on.
 

 
 
The first bulkhead ended up being slightly off square, which is why you see a bit of scrap basswood that I put in between the first and second bulkhead on the starboard side to push it back into alignment.
 
I have to say that I'm not a big fan of the use of basswood for the skeleton of the hull.  The Caldercraft plywood and the Amati MDF were much better in my opinion.  Like other Morgan builders, I snapped off some of the thinner extensions at the top of the center keel     Not a big deal in the long-run, but just an annoyance.  The bulkheads themselves split here and there (especially near the extensions) too.  The bulkheads also seemed to have a bit of flex to them that I did not find with the Caldercraft and Amati kits.  I'm considering whether to install additional bracing blocks like the one I used above between each bulkhead to keep them all square.  This was not an issue in my Badger and Pegasus kits due to using stronger materials.

Hi guys, this is a good topic. Glad to see people using their tools. Being a Proxxon Dealer, I have access to these tools, however, I found that for the model ship work I've done the milling process that I needed mostly was the x-y function of the Compound Table. I used my Proxxon TBM Drill Press with the X-Y table and MS 4 Machine Vise and controlled the "Z" function manually. This works perfect with the 1,2 or 3 mm Mills. Anyone looking for such a set up PM me and I'll make a special deal for any combinations. I also carry the full line Proxxon Mills and Lathes. The PD 230 Lathe has been discontinued, but is to be replaced with the PD 250 shortly...it's just a little bigger.
John

Hey Mike, not sure if you noticed but we live off 1097 and Long Street, N of Bing's restaurant in Shadow Bay. What part do yo live in?
John

Hey Mike, not sure if you noticed but we live off 1097 and Long Street, N of Bing's restaurant in Shadow Bay. What part do yo live in?
John

Mike, we live in Shadow Bay off of Long Street and 1097. we're real close.
John

Hello Mike, I just found your log. Very nice job. I'm thinking this might be my next build since I've finished my Charles W Morgan. Interesting build order. What part of Texas? I'm on lake Conroe. I visited the Niagara back in July and tried to thoroughly photograph her since I plan to build her. I have a section devoted to those photographs on my website. Let me know if you need anything specific. I have been aboard her twice. Inf the museum there are some nice models, one is 1/2" scale. I'm enjoying reading your log and will follow along on your log.
John
 
link to Niagara on my website: http://www.charleswmorganmodel.com/us-brig-niagra.html

Mike, we live in Shadow Bay off of Long Street and 1097. we're real close.
John

Hello Mike, I just found your log. Very nice job. I'm thinking this might be my next build since I've finished my Charles W Morgan. Interesting build order. What part of Texas? I'm on lake Conroe. I visited the Niagara back in July and tried to thoroughly photograph her since I plan to build her. I have a section devoted to those photographs on my website. Let me know if you need anything specific. I have been aboard her twice. Inf the museum there are some nice models, one is 1/2" scale. I'm enjoying reading your log and will follow along on your log.
John
 
link to Niagara on my website: http://www.charleswmorganmodel.com/us-brig-niagra.html

Don, Elija and John - thank you for your kind words. As I mentioned, it is really nice to begin to see some of the fruits of all my labor. This build began on 10/1/15 so I am 4 months in now. I knew there would be some ups and downs. Yesterday was a real high!
 
John - we are practically neighbors. I am just off 1097 near the big bridge. Your site is quite helpful. Most of this build has gone on based on pix and build logs. I use the plans mostly just to make sure I didn't forget something. I've tagged your site for future reference.

That kind of response and actions keep all of us coming back. Well said Frankie, and thanks Marc.

I am inclined to agree with all aforementioned comments, however, on the negative side I would like make a mention of the lack of any sort of guarantee on these kits.
  My first build, one year ago, was the AVS(an awesome kit) and there was no guarantee. Since then I have bought the Connie, Pride of Baltimore, Rattlesnake and Fair American none of these with guarantees. I now want to get the Syren, but than again no guarantee.
  So could you please guarantee I will live long enough to build all of these fantastic kits.  
  I for one love your kits and will continue to promote them. We are some times lost in the "perfection" of kits, but in reality it is wood that we are working with and it is not perfect and that is why we should love it,
  In closing all I can say is you are doing great and keep it up...........get new rigging    

You can't deal with a better company than Model Expo. They make every attempt at correcting any issues that you may have with a kit that they manufacture and will even assist the best they can to short comings of foreign manufactured kits as well. Try dealing with Artesania Latina or Constructo or Mamoli, I have on a few occasions and what a real pain in the butt it was on each occasion. I have built a number of Model Shipways kits and have yet to be missing any parts. The Constitution is one fantastic kit so I don't doubt for a minute that it's popular Marc. I have built a few Constitution kits and the Model Shipways version is by far my favorite and quite realistic too.
 
Way to go Model Expo.
 
mike

This is what I like with MSW, the sponsors are truly reading and follow some of the inputs from us.
I also take my hat off for Marc.
So I was both right and wrong in my previous statement. Sorry.

That kind of response and actions keep all of us coming back. Well said Frankie, and thanks Marc.

You know I just thought about the Billet Head. Mine was very poorly cast and I really am not pleased with it. I'm not going to change it since I''m finished, but it could have been a lot better. I like your idea about carving it - you should have good results. It will be interesting to see your results.

Hi Mike, she's off to a great start. To answer your question, seems like I just measured the height of the rail from the plankshear for the stanchions, and then the same for the Knight heads. The Profile drawing on Sheet 2 shows a scale drawing and you can take that measurement right off the plans. It should be right on the mark. The stanchions were a little on the long side so that they would move up or down to match up with the rail. The Knight head as well as a couple of stanchions are cut into the filler blocks and then trimmed. Hope this helps, you can probably see this in my pictures.

That kind of response and actions keep all of us coming back. Well said Frankie, and thanks Marc.

That kind of response and actions keep all of us coming back. Well said Frankie, and thanks Marc.

Note also Marc Mosko's more lengthy explanation here:
 
http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/12679-whats-going-on-with-model-expo/
 
My hat is off to him and all the other small businessmen and women who have the interest, skills and fortitude to persevere for the rest of us.
 
Richard

Well said Frankie. 

ooh ok I'm starting to believe you are right about the Constitution kit
                                   Ronald

Since the buck stops on my desk I want to answer the question. 
 
Constitution is a daunting kit to manufacture. It has a myriad of parts. Yes, we make most of it .... meaning we laser cut the wood and cast many of the casting in house. We do all of the final assembly. But the problem lies in making sure that every part is accounted for and is available for assembly when needed. Right now we are waiting on 5 mm (3/16") Walnut deadeyes sourced in Italy. Our last shipment did not contain them. Our supplier ran out. They will be available next week and we'll be making another 25 Constitutions, which are not enough as demand for Constitution continually surprises us. We frequently run into problems such as these even though we try hard to keep enough material on hand for at least a 90 days supply for all 30 kits we produce. It ain't easy.
Thanks for your patience .. but this is unlike making pizza or other simple products. 
 

Its not every day on the internet that you see the CEO of a company step in personally and address the complaint of one of the companies customers! And even on the rare occasion we see this happen, seldom do you hear more than some platitudes and vague generalities.
Its refreshing to see this kind of response, an actual precise explanation from a person that could have very easily pretended not to know about a problem.
Model Expo has been an important part of this hobby and I wonder how many of us would be making models today if the company had not been there over the years offering tools and kits? I wish all hobby companies were as attentive to their customers.