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woodartist

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Everything posted by woodartist

  1. My condolences to the family, i just purchased Byrnes new variable speed disc sander in the last month it is another awesome creation of Jim. He will surely be missed!!
  2. I ordered one of the new variable speed sanders about a week ago, no word back from Jim when it will be ready. Anxious to receive it for sure.
  3. You have made great progress in the last three weeks, it really looks good. I like the wider planks. I finally got Conny 2 back to where I was when I trashed Conny 1 due to all the errors I made. I am much happier with Conny 2.
  4. Well as promised, I started from scratch on Conny 2 and I am ready to start on the waterways. I rebuilt/cut out all the bulk heads and keel sections. I used 1/4" birch plywood which had actual thickness of 3/16" just like the laser cut bulkheads, I used yellow cedar for all the keels sections, the bow sections and the stern pieces. The only parts I was able to use from Conny 1 were the four 1/8" stern frames. I am so glad I wet this route rather than ordering new laser cut pieces from the kit builder. I tried to use some cherry for the keel sections but I did not like the way the bearding line/rabbit cuts turned out. So I cut out new ones from the yellow cedar which I am happy with how they turned out. I realized from Conny one that I was going to have to figure out a way to use clamps and other methods when doing parts assembly. When I tried to do it with just my one hand I did not get them properly aligned and so as I progressed parts just did not fit correctly. So far my measurements are all consistent with the plans and the parts all fit. It looks so much better. Now I will start on the waterways.
  5. you are making great progress, love the grates and the stairs, your bow looks really good and accurate, looking at you bow was the final push I needed to start over. I m glad I did, the parts i cut myself for the bulkheads and keel are so much more accurate that the laser cut pieces, The bulkheads are much sturdier. I have not broken any and I had several broken ones on Conny 1, the waterways are so much easier to install now too. Thanks for your log!!
  6. Thanks for the suggestions!! I really like how it is progressing now with the bulkhead and keel being in sync with the patterns. It is an amazing difference in how well things fit together. I wish I had done this earlier, and saved myself some of the frustration. I have all the bulkheads in place and the bow and stern filler blocks in place. I never thought about putting filler blocks in all the bulk heads. That would sure simplify things. I will put together the size of pieces I need for the filler blocks ad see if i need to get some more wood. I have a lot of leftover basswood from my bird carving tht may just be enough. I will watch your progress and look forward to your commentary on the right dimensions for positioning the sills.
  7. As a novice reading thru your build log was like a graduate level course in boat modeling. Thanks so much for sharing.
  8. Der Alte Rentner was absolutely correct, I was not successful in replacing bulkhead A. So, I threw the whole thing in the garbage and started over. This time I cut out my ow bulkheads from 1/4" birch plywood which is actually 3/16" and the keel from 1/4" cherry. They turned out well, and accurate, and will proceed to repeat the prior process but hopefully without the mistakes made in round one.
  9. I have not been happy at all with the quality of my workmanship and the endless issues I was having with the bowsprint. I have rebuilt it two times and it is still not fitting the way it should. This became even more obvious when I was installing the waterway and planksheer. So I am going to redo it again including replacing bulkhead A. I will not let this deter me!! Next post will be a few days but it will have something that looks like it should.
  10. This looks really good! I am glad you are ahead of me on this build. I almost completed the waterways today will start the planksheers tomorrow. I keep reading your log to make sure i have not missed anything. Keep up tyhe freat work, I am always looking in on your progress.
  11. i read your build log religiously and never start the next section until I have read your log. I do not have a computer in my shop so I print pictures from your log almost daily. Thanks for putting in the time and effort to do the log!!
  12. Working on the waterways, finished inside bevel for port side, waiting for more wood to arrive before I can do starboard side or planksheers. I still need to bevel backside of waterway before I can install. Soaked wood for 2 hours then set in the jig of push pins in cork board.
  13. When you were installing your waterways, after you had beveled the inside edge to meet the planking, did you have to clamp in the waterway as you cut the bevel for the side that backed up to the bulkhead? Did you do any wetting of the waterway before you forced it next to the bulkhead?

    Thanks for your build log it has been of great assistance on this journey.

    1. Show previous comments  1 more
    2. woodartist

      woodartist

      I pre-bent my waterways today. I soaked them in the laundry tub for 2 hours, then secured to pattern with push pins onto corkboard. They bent enough I could easily put them in place. Still have to bevel backside against bulwarks.

      my waterway.jpg

      my wterway 1.jpg

    3. Der Alte Rentner

      Der Alte Rentner

      I did something similar. I traced the curves onto a piece of scrap plywood.  Then where you used pins, I used dowels protruding to a smidge below the height of the waterway.  I soaked the waterways about an hour, set them between the dowels, and used a steam iron to set the shape. I saw that technique somewhere at the website but can't remember where.  

       

      Like me, you followed Bob Hunt's direction on the waterways.  I think they're too flat and the bevel isn't steep enough.  If you look at pictured of the waterways on the Constitution, and/or consult the plans, you'll see that they should be a smidge taller and less deep.  Not being a stickler for absolute fidelity to the original, I have no problem with keeping them as they are -  just pointing it out in case you feel differently.  

       

      I noticed you got the sanding tools I mentioned in my log.  They're great, aren't they?

       

      Lastly, hard to tell in the photograph above, but did you not bevel the waterway at the stern?  I think the angle where it will mate with the section going across the stern should be about 45 degrees.  No? 

    4. woodartist

      woodartist

      yes i beveled the waterway at the stern, I have not installed it yet. I am waiting for some wood I ordered to arrive so I can complete the waterway and planksheer. I love that sanding tool!!

  14. Work proceeded on the stern transom structure. In the process i needed to saw some non standard angled pieces. I was having issues holding them in place and sawing at the same time, the metal mitre box did not have slots for the angle needed. Then I discovered that if you turned the mitre box upside down and put it in the vice you could freehand a saw cut and hold the wood against the back wall of the upside mitre box. As many others have documented in their build logs the two outside stern supports were difficult to align. i placed a 5/16" wedge between the backside edge and the adjacent support and that seemed to work to finish the alignment. There was a lot of discussion about the bevel on the front edge of all 6 supports and the bottom of the two outside supports. There is definitely a bevel but be careful it is very easy to over do it. i did over do it on the first one and was more gentle on the rest.
  15. well Der Alte Rentner was totally correct! I was not successful in cutting the notches in place. I ended up removing the bow filler and had to make new ones. Thankfully, I had used weldbond to glue the bow filler in so I was able to use alcohol and get them to release.Secondly, the spar deck framing pieces broke while trying to install them. I discovered that my notches were not accurate enough and I had to find a better way to cut the notches. I had a set of micro chisels from Veritas and had seldom used them but the 1/8" Veritas chisel was perfect for the job and a lot more accurate than the xacto blades. I cut the new notches in the bow filler with the chisel as well. I tried multiple ways to get all the pieces assembled and was having no success and getting very frustrated. I went back to member build logs to see if any of them had advice. Sure enough once gain JSGerson had the same problem and decided to first install the spar deck framing piece and the insert the other 5 pattern timbers. He said he had to "fudge" to get them in place. I appreciated his honesty because that was the only way I got them installed as well. Upon completion I checked the measurements with the plans and Hunt's practicum and they were correct. I have also installed the strengthening timbers. If you notice a difference in colors for the wood I used some cherry for timber #4. I have not yet sanded the bow structure, waiting for it to dry. Next onto the transom.
  16. I like your solution better than Bob Hunts, the fewer seams the better, less chance of error. The thickness of the stems varies a lot, I have not figured out a way to make them uniform yet without using shims. The other part of that problem is the only way to know the correct distances between the stems is to transfer a measurement from the plans.
  17. I think it is a good idea not to make the notches. Once the other framework is in place it will certainly be strong enough. I put the filler in with Weldbond so i can undo the pieces without too much trouble. I think I will try that first.
  18. Now I have started work on the bow framework. After I cut out the pattern and found the 3/32" X 2" X 24" piece of wood in the kit, I cut out 2 pieces from the wood strip with a jewler's saw. You can see how close I could saw the piece to the lines, Then I sanded it down to the lines and cut out the notches with a Xacto blade. I used a thin blade and after marking the perimeter to be cut I cut tiny slits, the cut sideways and removed chips, then recut the perimeter and repeated the process.
  19. The bow fillers are in and the notches marked for removal. I had to go back to them several times in order to get them reduced enough. I wish I had cut out the pattern for the bow notches earlier because it is a very good guide to ensure you are on the right course. I followed the suggestion by Der Alte Rentner and used a piece of planking to see if it would smoothly fit.
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