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jgodsey

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Everything posted by jgodsey

  1. CORRECTION: Bonehead move. While bragging to the admiral about the progress, I realized that the spring stay will get in the way of placing the main mast shrouds. The spring stay will need to be cut off and restrung once the main mast is set. Two steps forward. One step back.
  2. Working on the standing rigging this week. So far, the Fore Mast is stepped as well as the Jib Stay, Fore Stay and Spring Stay set. The thread tails will be cut tight to the knots after the white glue wash dries and I double check the distances one more time.
  3. While waiting for the white glue wash to dry on the newly served shrouds, I stropped a few more blocks. This time I used 26 gauge wire that was blackened using Bluejacket Brass Black 52. That stuff is easy to use and works like a champ on the wire.
  4. All I can say is Thank You! Thank you for sharing this amazing build and your amazing skills! It may be a poor little boat, but its's a real gem. One question - what CAD software do you use for your schematics? Thank you, Jim
  5. It's been a couple of weeks without a posting, but not without activity. I needed to wait for parts and tools - Syren boxwood blocks and a Syren Serv-o-Matic. Of course, then you have to put it together. Any way that's all done now. The gaffs needed their blocks attached. I used heavy black thread (50 wt) to strop and tie all the blocks to the eyebolts. Step 1 - use a little CA to glue the thread to one side of the block. Step 2 - pass one end of the thread through the eyebolt and clip the thread together. Leave a small space between the block and the eyebolt for the seizing knot. Step 3 - Use another piece of thread to seize the block to the eyebolt using a clove hitch knot. Step 4 - finish stropping the block using a square knot. The tweezers were helpful in keeping the threads aligned on the sides of the block while tying the knot. Step 5 - secure the knots with a white glue wash. 1 part white glue diluted with 8 parts water. Then, the long thread tails were trimmed. The entire process takes about 10 - 15 minutes per block. Step 6 - Once the glue dries, trim all the thread tails back even with the knot and give the knots another coat of the white glue wash. And here's both gaffs finished... Next, serving all the mast shroud lines. Fun stuff! Cheers, Jim
  6. The gaff jaws just didn't look right. So, they were re-worked again and again. Here's iteration 4 and 5. These will work much better.
  7. The masts, boom and gaffs are underway. The main, fore, fore top mast and the main top mast (not pictured) are measured cut, shaped and stained. The crosstrees were fitted to the main and fore, along with the main boom saddle and a few eyebolts. That white paint will definitely need to be touched up after everything is mounted. The main and fore masts are in the final stages. The mast caps were added, as well as the holes drilled for the bails. The white paint on the top masts was scratched when I test fitted them onto the crosstree and mast cap. No worries. That will get a touch up once everything is together. Here's the three bails shaped and painted black. Once the paint dries, they'll be pinned to the mast caps - 2 on the fore and 1 on the main. The boom and gaffs are still a work in progress. Fabricating the jaws is a bit tricky and I'm not sure they're quite ready yet. They seem a little thick relative to the boom or gaff. I'm sure with some careful sanding they'll shape up better. Slow and steady. Cheers, Jim
  8. The deck furniture and fixtures are complete! The advance preparations really paid off. The deck came together smoothly and I think it looks pretty good. I took a few liberties with the instructions to add some additional details. Here at the bow, the anchors bills were fitted to chocks. Next, rather than lash the twin boats down with eyebolts directly to the deck, fore and aft beams were made and the lashing rope was tied to those. The rope was dyed tan by sitting in a cup of coffee for an hour, then waxed. Here's the scratch built skylight that was shown earlier. Once glued to the deck, a coat of black paint was given to the inside to give it some depth. And, here's the cockpit. I've left the traveler bright, but will probably paint it black when I touch up a few areas. Now, it's on to the Masting and Rigging! Yeah! Thank you again for all the Thumbs Up. The positive encouragement is truly appreciated. Cheers, Jim
  9. A bit more work on the hull and it's now complete. Shaped, coppered and mounted the rudder. As recommended in the instructions, paper strips painted black were used for the gudgeons and pintles. Two pins and CA glue were used to adhere the rudder to the hull. Eye pins for the port and starboard bowsprit shroud eyes were added to the hull and two bobstay eyes inserted on the stem. After all the glue dried, the hull was removed from the pedestal and given a light coating of Testor's dullcote. This really toned down the copper shine and smoothed out the paint finish above the waterline. Finally in preparation for the rigging work to come, all the Britannia blocks and deadeyes were blackened using BlueJacket's Pewter Black solution. This worked very well. These are LITTLE. So, I strung them together on a piece of thread and immersed the entire string of "beads" in the blackening 1 : 10 solution for about 10 minutes. After they turned dark black, the string was dunked in clean water and dried. Once dry, the string was tumbled in sawdust to even out the blackening.
  10. In addition to getting the deck and cap rails completed, I fashioned the bowsprit from the 3/16" square piece. I used my power drill as a lathe and it worked like a champ. First, I wrapped one end of the 3/16" square blank with electric tape so it wouldn't get damaged in the drill chuck. Then slowly using 100 grit sand paper, I spun the square sanding it round. As it become round, I pull the sandpaper more towards the tip end so it would taper. Once the tip end was the 1/8" diameter needed, I marked off 3/16" from the end to make the footrope shoulder. Just this final end was sanded to 3/32". I gave it an overall smoothing with 400 grit and called it done. Here's the result. Then, a coat of black paint to match hull was applied. This will need to be sanded and painted again to match the evenness of the hull and cap rails. And, I played around with the brass blackening chemicals. Seemed to work OK. Mostly they came out brown rather than black, but I'm happy with the result. Here are anchor chain, eye bolts, mast hoops and belaying pins. I gave them all a light spray of Testor's Dull Kote to further hold the color. All in all, a very good weekend in the shipyard. Cheers, Jim
  11. The weekend roundup. It's been another very productive weekend. Focusing on the deck, all the holes were drilled - masts, fife rails, samson post, smokehead and various eye bolts. Some of the black paint from the outer hull bled through the masking tape to the inside of the bulwarks. So, I spent a bit of time touching up the white paint. Once that was dry, the cap rails were placed. The deck is ready for the furniture. I read ahead in the book and prepared most of the deck furniture already. They're patiently waiting placement.
  12. Took the major step and mounted the hull on the temporary working base. I've turned the corner on the hull and now the attention goes above the waterline. Great feeling! I removed all the masking tape from the deck and bulwarks. Felt like removing the bandages after surgery. It's Alive!!! Having fun now. Thank you to all for all the thumbs up and comments. Jim
  13. The starboard side is now coppered. I'm pretty pleased with the result. To my novice eye, using the copper tape strips appears more scale appropriate than individual plates. The only thing that bothers me is the shiny. The copper tape is really shiny. I tested coating the copper with Testor's Dull Cote. I'm not sure this picture does it justice, but the coated side is definitely less garish. Any thoughts? Cheers, Jim
  14. Now, it is time for coppering the hull using the 1/4" copper tape that I had previously marked using a pounce wheel. This went surprising well. Go slow and carefully line up the edges and the plate marks for that bricklaying pattern. Here's the port side complete. Now, on to the starboard side. One thing I did do first was practice laying down a few strips on a piece of scrap. The copper is really shining, so I sprayed my practice strips with some Testors Dull Cote and will see how that looks in the morning. Cheers, Jim
  15. The hull painting is complete with 3 coats and a bit of sanding in between. It was now time to mark the waterline. First, the hull was leveled on some very technically advanced paint bottles and cardboard layers. Once the waterline was drawn in pencil, thin striping tape was laid down on top of the pencil so I could see it better.
  16. Shipwreck totally recovered. It was a painful, but fruitful lesson. This second result with the bulwarks, transom, waterways and timberheads is so much better. I understand glue and the process better. After a bit of putty and sandy, the hull is ready for painting. The deck is fully masked off and a primer coat is applied. I even drilled holes for the pedestal. That will come after the coppering is applied. The primer revealed a few much areas that need putty. After the putty dried, a nice sanding with 400 grit leaves that hull smooth and ready. Now, the first coat of black is applied. I'm using Floquil Engine Black. This is a deep inky black that covers well, but I want to build up the color slowly in thin layers. I thin the paint by about 10% - 15%. And hey, while I have the paint out, let's paint caprails and some of the britannia fittings too. Once this dries, it will get another light 400 grit sanding and another coat of paint. It may take 3 - 4 coats before we call it done. Now for an adult beverage (or two) and some mindless TV. Cheers All. Jim
  17. After a couple of days internalizing the shipwreck, I got back to work. Step 1 - Salvage. What remained of the bulwarks still attached to the hull were removed. The waterways were removed from the deck and the timberheads removed from the bulwarks. Only the bulwarks were saved. Step 2 - Rebuild. A new piece of 1/32" plywood was cut and spliced to the end of the broken bulwark. The rabbit on the hull was re-squared and sanded. The bulwarks are refitted. At this point, I start thinking deeply about the glue I'm using. Why is the CA not holding? After some internet sleuthing, as well as an excellent glue discussion on this site, I realize my CA glue is too old. It seems that without refrigeration or freezing, the CA shelf life is maybe 1 year. The bottle I was using was easily 2 years or older. I threw out my old CA glue and buy new - Loctite Super Glue Ultragel Control. I also decide to use PVA glue for the bulwarks. Using Elmers Carpenter Wood Glue, 4 pins on each side and 24 hours under clamp, the bulwarks are reattached to the hull. The result is as desired. The bulwarks are holding and fit is within tolerance. Any gaps can be filled with wood putty. The transom is reattached using PVA as well, but the Loctite Super Glue is used to glue the bulwark and transom corner. Next came the waterways. I took a different approach to bending. I traced the hull shape on to a cardboard templete, then used small finishing nails to create a form. I soaked the wood strips for 5 minutes in boiling water, then gently bent them around the form using masking tape to hold them in place. They were left this way for 24 hours. The next day, the waterways held their shape and fit along the inside of the bulwarks perfectly. Using the new Loctite Super Glue, a single small drop held for 10 seconds worked like a champ! Next, the 43 NEW timberheads were cut and glued using the Loctite Super Glue. Again, small drop, 10 seconds and super strong hold. Eureka! Using the right glue makes this so much easier. While waiting on the various wood, glue or putty to dry, I started preparing the coppering for the hull. Using another great tutorial from this site, I made 50 6" copper strips using a pounce wheel to simulate the bolts. I chose to keep the copper in 6" strips rather than individual plates. There is only so much patience to expect at this point.
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