iMustBeCrazy

I couldn't 'Like' this twice so I had to quote it. What, only four? I've got dozens

Aesthetically, no problem. However the transom will be smaller than the shape made by the planks unless the planks are narrowed. So moving the transom sooner means less to fix after. Or you could cut a new slightly larger transom. Life would be so much easier if we didn't keep stuffing up........... But where would the fun be in that!

G'day Justin, Only one step backwards before going forward is pretty good. Nice to see the planks bending better. Re. Plank 3, see the last pic in post 8. Fixing that would move all the next planks further aft. The other thing you can do if needed is remove the transom and shave a bit off the supports to move it forwards (by the way, what's holding your transom on?).

And the bitch of it is that they could easily have cut them all a bit longer. (they could have also left enough spare to cut another transom) For bending the planks, I just dipped them in boiling water until pliable (about 15 seconds?) then clamped them in place to dry overnight. You should be able to reheat the last section and apply more twist, but clamping is still not easy there. Later in the build I started using rubber bands with balsa blocks and wedges. Easy to cut and soft enough not to damage much.

I think I have to agree, what do you have to lose? I see you have a bending iron. I would wet the wood, apply the iron (starting maybe 1/2 an inch above the bend) let it sizzle for a while, perhaps adding more water with an eye-dropper, then try twisting. Rinse and repeat until it works or fails.

Well done! Don't forget to fair the ribs a bit. When glueing I used a syringe, it gave me nice control. One of the others used used an off-cut from where the stem was cut out to support/restrain the planks at the stem. If I were to do it again I would probably use two pieces of plastic cut to shape and clamped to the stem so I could work on both sides without moving anything. It was a bit fiddly just using a clip. You may have to reshape planks as you go, I think this one was to allow the next plank to reach the transom.

Also, do not just grab the end of the rib and bend as it will bend and probably fail at the weakest point. Start with say your middle finger pressing the rib against the frame at the keel then use your index finger to press the next bit down. Slowly Cautiously work down along the rib using your other hand to hold it as you move your fingers until you can place your first clamp below the sheer tab. Then go back and place your other clamps. I found the smallest bulldog clips worked best here. Remember to clamp the rib against the faired angle, not square to the frame. You may have to 'tilt' the clamp to achieve this. After they cooled/dried I glued the bottom below the sheer tab and faired the ribs, gently. Use clamps to hold the ribs on the frames next to the areas you are sanding.

The first thing to understand is that this is a model which might resemble the Bounty's launch (by the way, the term launch later became longboat) and despite the implied connection to the drawing I linked to above it's not the same. So don't panic about taking too much off, nobody really knows what the launch looked like. (original in grey model in green) Look how high he has the thwarts, the crew must have had really long legs. Don't forget you have to fair the transom. This is one of the reasons I glued the jig to a board. Taking more off will also help with the plank lengths Oh, it was the port planks that fitted better. Again, you need to bend 2 sets of ribs. My fairing stick, some 1/8" ply with the outer layers cut cross grain. Flexible enough but not too much. Push-pull with the handle while using three fingers of the other hand to curve it over the frames. Remember, frames 1-3 are faired separately as the don't have ribs during planking (but still bend some). Be careful if you mark/highlight frames 1-3 as suggested as it might stain the planks.

G'day maturin, I have almost finished my Bounty launch and need to get off my butt and do a retrospective build log I've been doing other things recently so this reply may be a little disjointed. First off, you probably haven't faired the frames enough. You need to go beyond what is suggested or you will finish up with a gap to fill. This was after I faired both the frames and the cherry ribs. Second, the laser cut planks have bevelled edges (from the laser cutting), this works for you on one side of the hull but against you on the other. You need to re-bevel the bad side so there are no gaps both inside and outside the hull then do the planks for the good side so they match the widths of the other side. All without taking off too much to help prevent the gap above. Third Transom, @#$@#$&%^$#$^% laser etched label. Anyway I chose to fully support the transom and it worked well. The ply on the back gives a small lip to hold the transom, about 1mm. Fourth, I finished up boiling the cherry ribs for 15 minutes and fitting them as 1 piece as my judging the middle of the keel wasn't great and some ribs kept popping out when I tried separate port and starboard ribs. That also worked out as I kept the first set for the intermediate ribs. One or two of the ribs still cracked but I just stuck a clamp on them to force the crack closed them superglued them later when they dried. Lastly (for the moment) there is a large copy of 'The Bountys Launch' plans for download at our state library here it's a little bit trapezoidal, you need to stretch both top corners out a little in some graphics software.

Minor update: As is usual for this sort of project, it reaches a point where to test it you need to use it for the job you built it for and if it works you don't need it and progress stalls. So it was with this project. However, as I can see a need in the near future I have done a little more work including safety guards and some steps towards dust extraction. No chance of the belt hitting me in the face now. On another note, I picked up this at a market for A$20 (US$14) new in box but I'm not sure I got a bargain. It is the worst kind of Chinese product, the drill press used to drill the pulleys and sanding disk wasn't set square so they wobble, the bearings for the axle driving the belt and disk are fixed to sheet metal not the nice solid casting - if you raise the belt to vertical you tilt the disk, if you want to swap belts to a different grit you need to undo 10 screws (holding the dust cover/guard) and loosen 3 bolts. I'm sure it will be useful....... eventually.

I have done or can do similar for any of the other drawings, let me know if you need something and I'll see what I can do.

I've played around with some of the RMG drawings, do these help? ZAZ6345 Basilisk (1822) enlarged Lapwing j8083ab bw.tif ZAZ6345 Basilisk (1822) enlarged Lapwing j8083a.tif

I will certainly be following this. My interest is that an Ancestor sailed on the Lapwing on her journey to Australia and Skylark was built to the enlarged lines of the Lapwing. Related vessels: Lapwing (1816) Kite Fancy (1817) Racer Sprightly Nightingale (1825) Speedy (1828) Snipe (1828) Vigilant (1821) Swift (1821) Basilisk (1822) Bramble (1822) Skylark Diligence

Nothing new under the sun is there The only issue I can think of with a sled is that the stock tends to bow slightly as the side being sanded get hot. May not be a problem but....

G'day Bob, I glued some sandpaper to a board and fed it through before putting sandpaper on the drum. Interesting thought, I dismembered a laminator the other day to see if I could use the heating elements for something and I thought one of the feed rollers could be used to draw the stock out. The tilting platen makes this hard. Interesting. Physically less compact but the double taper (wedge) height adjustment would make fitting an out-take roller easier. A threaded rod parallel to the taper could be used for finer height adjustment.