DaveBaxt

3 hours ago, Jerry said:

Dave,

I will be busy for awhile in my shop.  The video you posted has nothing to do with what I was writing about.  I will try and sketch something next time to illustrate my method of merely tying a line (thread) around a block if you don't get what I mean this time..  It's really very simple once you understand what I'm talking about.  To begin with , yes, a square knot is a reef knot.  Lay the block flat on the bench.  Make the first loop of the reef (square) knot and slip it around the block.  Slowly pull the ends of the thread to close the loop around the grooves in the block.  Tie the second loop to complete the knot and put a dab of CA cement on the knot.  The ends of the thread should be long enough to attach the block to whatever you need to.  Hope you get this.

Jerry

Thanks for that explanation Jerry and now I know what you are getting at and I have managed to fit a couple of blocks to rings and then attach these to the tiller via very small eye bolts. I think the hardest part for me was attaching the eye bolts to the rings.They are so small. I have attached a photo of my work so far .The little cabin over the tiller is not attached yet as there is still some work to do on this yet. 

I am still stuck on how to proceed with the blocks A and E where I believe is where each end of the main steering rope is attached via a ring 266. Can this be done like the guy in the video by substituting the mast for ring 266 or is there another easier way. I appreciate your patience with me and it must be frustrating for you tying to explain something thats so obvious to you. So I must thank you once again. Best regards Dave 

1 hour ago, Jerry said:

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Hey Dave,

Since you are about to have your first experience (at least with Bounty) tying a block, just a quick word as to how I have always done it successfully.  I make the first half of a square knot  (a loop you might say) with the thread and then slowly close it around the block that sits flat on the table (bench).  Then I complete the square knot by tying the second loop.   Then I put a dab of CA on the knot.  I would say that 90% of the time this method has worked for me.  Hope you can picture what I mean.  Wishing you a meaningful day.

Best,

Jerry

 

Yes Jerry I am at that stage now that I have completed the littie hut and the tiller arm. I have been looking at this video but looks way more complecated  than your method sounds

 

assuming I am following what you are saying. By a square knot do you mean left over right and then under. ie the first part of a reef knot if so I get your drift otherwise I am lost. For the record I think I can follow what the guy in the video is doing. but instead of attaching the block to a mast it would be to a ring and then an eye bolt.I am just thinking  out aloud here Jerry so put me right if I go astray.

Here is a photo of the drum I had to make to fit the wheel. I must remember to check everything in the box when I first receive my next model.

                  Jerry please take a look at the drawing I have posted of the steering mechanism, specifically blocks 112 A and E seems there isan extra connection (ring  part 266) I assume this is where the two ends of the rope is attached to the rings. How is this ring attached to the block?

9 hours ago, Jerry said:

Dave,

Please check page 4 of our build for pictures of the rudder and wheel rigging..  I don't recall having to make any of the parts for this assembly.  I do believe everything was in the kit.  From all the missing parts you have experienced I would complain bitterly to the party who sold you the kit.  Kit bashing is a common practice but it seems you have an unfair amount of  missing items.  In the past, when I purchased a kit (Cutty Sark)  with a lot of missing stuff I demanded compensation and was given an in store credit which i quickly used up, I may add.  Keep a stiff upper lip 'cause you're doing very well.

Jerry

Thank you Jerry for confirming what I was starting to suspect. Strange  how everything in the box was in sealed plastic bags except for the ships wheel which was on its own and not in a bag. Anyway what I have learned whilst my life at sea was we never carried enough spares and it was always the thing that broke ,there was never a spare for it. So we just had to make it. Fortunately I have some spare 5 mm Walnut dowel and I have a few ideas on how to make it. Also I need to get some practice in with seizing those blocks for the steering mechanism. Just for the record .Do the crew always face aft when steering the ship and in a position where there is very little room between the mast and the steering. Be in no doubt this is probably factually correct but it is the first time I have come across this in a ship without duel controls ( where they have both Fwd and Aft facing controls which are used for manuovering the vessel in port) Sorry but I just found this very strange.

Regarding those really tiny 2 mm blocks which I believe are the smallest in the kit . I think I will struggle to work with something so small. However I will give it a go and will let you know how I get on. Best regards Dave

1 hour ago, Jerry said:

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Nice, Dave... Amazing how different finishes individualize the model.  Your Bounty has a completely different look than mine so we have Dave's Bounty and Jerry's  (and Charlene's)  Not much more to say at this time.  been working in the shop starting to assemble a chair and table that we have been making for about three weeks.  We're in the home stretch now.  take care and keep up your good work.

Best,

Jerry 

 

I have been looking at the next part of the build and see it is the rudder and wheel mechanism with really small blocks (2mm) According to the instructions the wheel drum which  the ropes are wrapped around is part no107 and is shown on fig 59. As I can,t find this in the kit I am assuming it will have to be made. It is basically a drum ( a 5mm diameter pin ) with a smaller diameter pin on either side (3 mm ). I am wondering if you can remember making this Jerry ? and if so how.? I have thought about using two different size dowel and drilling the larger one at both ends 3 mm and fitting the smaller dowel into the holes. Another way would e to just use 5 mm diameter dowel and file both end down to 3 mm whilst being rotated in a drill. I will take a look at your blog and see if there is anything on there. 

                   I think the colours I chose for the Bounty are the same as is on the box and probably nowhere near what is accurate, they may not be to every ones taste either but I quite like them. I think on my next model perhaps I will research the colours before buying paint.I still have one or two areas to touch up which I can see. There is also the lower masts to paint white and some of the yards are black too. It does look very striking but sometimes think it is a shame to cover up that lovely walnut.Best regards Dave

2 hours ago, Jerry said:

Good morning, Dave.

Once again I didn't sleep too well last night so I'm awake fairly early and immediately found your post.  Ah yes, display cases...Yes indeed, they are definitely not cheap.  There are several ways one can go in this area and glass and wood framing is one.  My friend, Lawrence Dalrymple made his display case for Victory with glass and wood.  To do this can be fairly simple especially if one purchases a display case kit of which several are available.  Four of my models are sitting in plastic cases, all of which I had custom made by a local plastic specialty shop.  They are definitely not cheap but in my opinion make the best way to show one's work.  I gave the shop the dimensions and they did the rest.  I like plastic cases because they offer viewing of your model with little, if any, obstruction.  The type of plastic I used is Acrylic sometimes called Plexiglas.  The case should be made of 1/4  inch thick material.  When you get ready for this step in your construction I will go over details as there are other things to think about, such as breather holes, etc.  My display case for HMS Victory (see page 30 of my Victory) is huge and very specially made.  It cost. at that time, well over $1000.  Most display cases are one piece and put in place by carefully placing it over the model.  It  is impossible to do that with Victory as most would find the room's ceiling to low to raise the case over the model.  So I designed this case with a removable panel.  The case was placed on its table, the ship was put inside and the panel added and closed.  Again check page 30 of my Victory log.  Plastic is not cheap.

Talk to you soon,

Best,

Jerry

 

Sorry to hear your struggling with sleep.It is always difficult when that happens. Anyway thank you for your advice regarding the display cases. I have found a company in the uk and makes exactly what you have discribed for maybe $300 . So will probably go down that route if the model turns out good enough. I am still making silly mistakes which are very frustrating.

                         Here is a few photos of the painting of the hull. I tried to paint the side castles and then scrape the paint off the high ridges but was not totally happy with the outcome . Fortunately I can have another go at a later date if I feel like it.

11 hours ago, Jerry said:

Hello, Dave...

and thanks for the update.  Mentor?  You flatter me.  There's nothing that I can add at this time that will add anything positive to what you are doing. You're obviously getting close to the rigging phase for which I am looking forward to.  Everything I see looks excellent.  You better start thinking of a display case as your model will bring you much accolades. Have a good evening.

Jerry

Jerry I know I am probably looking too far ahead but regarding the display case. I am assuming this is something we put together ourselves  in which case is it toughened glass and what sort of dimensions? I have just found a display case maker here in the uk and as a rough guide lets say $300 depending upon the exchange rate. Thats not inexpensive. Can we make these ourselves with a cheaper material such as plastic?

1 hour ago, Jerry said:

Hello, Dave...

and thanks for the update.  Mentor?  You flatter me.  There's nothing that I can add at this time that will add anything positive to what you are doing. You're obviously getting close to the rigging phase for which I am looking forward to.  Everything I see looks excellent.  You better start thinking of a display case as your model will bring you much accolades. Have a good evening.

Jerry

Thank you again Jerry. I too am looking forward to the rigging and hopefully I can manage ok with those very small blocks,eye bolts and rings. In my spare time when I am not working on my model I have been famiiarising my self with some of the rigging and trying to figure out what goes where. I have managed to identify each mast and there associated tackle and have a bag for each mast. ( mainly the standing rigging) Perhaps when we get nearer the time, I could lay out the contents of one of the bags and send you a photo of the contents. That way you would be able to let me know if anything is missing. What do you think of this approach? The fact that you have stayed with me throughout my ships blog has been very helpful and your encouragement has kept me going when I have wobbled a bit. Take care Jerry and I will give you another update probably tomorrow.Best regards Dave.

Final coat of sand n Seal then masked where I didn't want any stray paint going.Firstcoat of white acrylic paint followed by another 2 coats,all very thin coats. Marked off waterline after securing the ship in a level position and longitudinal and athwartships . Commenced applying first coat of black to stern castle,cut-water, channels and in between wales. Shame to cover up all that hard work on the planking.Ha ha. 

3 hours ago, Jerry said:

Good morning, Dave,

 

As you can probably see I haven't been able to sleep well last night so I'm up and at 'em quite early.  Lo and behold I find your posting first among my emails and actually was very happy to hear from you.  I think I read your post before you had a chance to attach your photos. Anyway, I was concerned about your silence the past couple of days but now I'm happy to see you are well and working.  As you know I have built a slew of ship models over the past several years and they're all on display in my home.  Now the first thing that people ask me when looking at them is usually, "Where did you get the patience to do this?"  And that's exactly what it takes...plenty of patience and that's what you are exhibiting as you glue, unglue, scrape, change, etc.  Let me assure you that you are doing an excellent job on your Bounty, probably as well as any I've seen, so just keep going along the way you are. And one other thing, maybe something you haven't even thought of...your postings are excellently detailed and will help the next person who decides to torture him or herself and build this ship model. 

Good to hear from you.

Best,

Jerry

Jerry thank you again for your kind words of support and its help me a lot. I have had a bit more success today and have managed to put right some of my mistakes. Unfortunately I am have a few problems getting my photos on line. Not being an expert at IT I am taking the photos with my phone  in my workshop and sending them via email to myself ( I know it sounds a bit weird but it did work for a while) I then open my email with my lap top and upload them to the website. For some reason I am not receiving the emails on my laptop. 

                    Anyway I have just finished giving everything a final coat of sand & sealer then after a very light sand I am pretty mush ready to paint. I understand as I have used sand & sealer I do not need to use an undercoat but go straight onto the top coat using the acrylic paint supplied with the kit. 

The only thing which I have not glued to the hull so far are the metal pieces which fit onto the cut water and the brass parts which go onto the stern castle. I believe these areas need painting black and the the parts attached afterwards. 

So now I will try and sort out those photographs. Best regards Dave

PS. You are definately turning into my Mentor Jerry so thank you very much indeed! Here is one of the photos after corrective surgery prior to painting

I have not updated this blog for a few days due to encountering a few problems with fitting the stantions that the remaining pin racks are fitted to. I  must of glued the stantions quite a few times but was never 100% happy with there position. Then as I am planning to paint the hull, after filling in some gaps and sanding down smooth again ended up accidentily knocking  the stantions off. I then Eventually ended up using CA glue and getting them onto the correct position I then moved on to the channels. I then went on to take my measurments from the main drawing and using the position of the masts as a datum. So far so good. I removed the section of the wales so could then glue the channels onto the hull. So far so good. Unfortunately No . I then realized that one of the channels could not possibly be in the right place as I then realized that the shrouds would be over the holes for the cannons. ( Ar this point I am starting to get annoyed with myself) I then had remove the channels in question remove the old glue. Remove a section of the wale and fit a new section of wale. Then re position the channels so the gap in the the shrouds would be over the cannon hole. All in all I have had a very frustrating time and dare I say the first signs of doubt started to creep in.

I have decided next to spend my time removing any evidence of glue which ended up in several places I did not want them.

I have now realized that it is inevitable that I will make some mistakes as this is only my second model and my first of this type of ship. I made mistakes on my first ship  but did a better job of the planking on this my second ship. Anyway here is a few photos of my work so far. Please do not look too closely.

Hopefully I can proceed without too many errors.

22 minutes ago, Jerry said:

Good morning, Dave.

Looks like you were up early this morning; that's good because a good dose of enthusiasm will get you going in the right direction.  If you use CA cement it won't matter if the hull is painted or not.  This glue will hold (use accelerator).  Since we copper clad the hull below the water line on our model and left a good portion above the water line natural, we didn't have much painting to do. However, I would choose to apply the external paraphernalia (such as ladder steps) before painting.   Hope you have a  nice weekend.

Best,

Jerry

Thanks for the heads up regarding the painting. AS I bought the painting kit for that particular model I will probably stick with those colours,, which I think is the same as on the front of the box. although I do like how Charlene has painted hers. Always a good idea to go with a womans touch.I always let my wife pick the colours for decorating.

          Anyway I managed to fit the forward rails and the other pin racks this morning and thats me done for the day. I usually watch football on a saturday afternoon,so I am having an easy day today. I will start on the ladders in the next couple of days before painting but first I will fit the channels which I understand the positioning is very important. So will make sure they are where they should be. The instructions also say that the channels should be fitted to the hull and not the wales ,Just wondering if I could use CA glue for that as it would make life a bit easier,especially now I have the accelerator? Hope you are now feeling well Jerry and in the moodeto continue answering my questions. Thanks again for your help. Best regards Dave.

I am now taking stock of where I am with the build and what to do next. After looking at Jerry's blog of the Bounty and thinking before I go much further  its time to maybe paint the hull before I add too much more to the hull. However before that I need to add the channels  and the forward pin racks. For some reason the guy in the Amati video does not start painting the hull until he has glued on the pilot ladders and the metal attachments to the break water. Surely it would be easier to paint everything before attaching these items or does the glue hold better before painting ? Just a few things to think about before I start the day.

31 minutes ago, Jerry said:

Dave,

I tried to do some woodwork this morning but I'm afraid my body is still suffering from fatigue.  So here I am sitting in my favorite chair reading my email and up comes Dave with another missive.  So I looked at your pin racks and I have a suggestion for you in the future.  To make the racks with pin holes in a straight line what I do is draw a pencil line down the center of the rack from one end to the other.  Then I mark the location of each hole with a very sharp pencil.  Once I'm satisfied that the location of the center of every hole is correct I use an awl to make a small hole on the pencil mark.  This small hole  acts as a guide for the drill bit.  This usually results in a nice straight line of belaying pin holes.  I  hope this is helpful.

Jerry

Jerry I am sure you are correct but it must be different for me as that is exactly what I did, I even put a wooden guide along the edge of the drill so it would not wonder about. However I always seemed to get one or two that strayed. I am not trying to make excuses but do suffer from arthritis but I did start to get the hang of it after several goes. After using the bradawl I did not always find it with the drill so perhaps I need some better drills? Anyway hope it doesn't look to bad once the pins are in and the ropes are attached. Just been working on the hinges which are really tiny and are impossible to see whithout a magnifying glass.Thanks again for your input. Best regards Dave

31 minutes ago, Jerry said:

Hello Dave,

If you have read our log on the Bounty, you will see that the admiral, Charlene also had a lot of trouble when trying to make the racks using the material suggested in the kit.  She too ended up using plywood and as you can see it worked out well.  The hinges were made using some copper stripping that was actually 5mm wide and came with the kit.  That's as far as I remember.  I asked Charlene and she wasn't sure either.

 

Before I forget, when I was building the HMS Victory,my second venture in ship model making,  (Cuttysark was  my first about 20 years ago) I received a lot of advice and help from another builder named Shipyard Sid.  His real name is also David.  You mentioned that you lived in the NE of Britain and so does Shipyard Sid. Just wondering  if you ever heard of him.  Checkout his logs some time.

 

Your work is progressing very well,

 

Jerry

Jerry you are so quick with your replies and I am truely thankful for it. Yes I have been reading your blog and the photos show rhat charlene's pin racks are excellent . After 2 days of trying I have finally got them made but persevered with walnut but they are not as good as Charlene's. Even with the use of a guide I still managed to get one or two holes go astray. By the time I finished I was just about getting the hang of it. Here is a photo of the racks eventually glued in place. 

Jerry. I have decided to make new pin rack as I wasn,t happy with the once I made using the plywood. I used some walnut sock which I had spare and supported the piece whilst drilling and this stopped the wood splitting and also acted as a guide to get the holes more in a line. Here are a couple of photos of the 15 hole rack. 

              I have been looking at your blog to see how you managed to do the hinges as I can,t find any 1 cm wide metal strip in the kit to make the hinges. I can see that you have made something different and wondered if you used the same copper strip that is used in some of the yards. ( It looks to be about 4 mm wide or something like that) to make your hinges .

32 minutes ago, Jerry said:

Dave,

From aft to forward, I count 15,  7, 12.  You need to do a little research on these matters such as checking my log on the Bounty.  It clearly shows at the bottom of Page 3 of our Bounty log how many belaying pins are mounted.  However, as the rigging progressed some of the belaying pins were not used.  This is determined by the need of the rigging.  I'm sorry that you have had a problem with the rack material but it's obvious that you know what to do as you have correctly solved the problem.  Incidentally, I don't know where you got the n umber of belaying pins from as the information I just gave you is spot on.  Hope you had a nice dinner.

Best,

Jerry

I have just checked and you are correct. 15,7 and 12 . Thats  what I meant to say.Its been a long day. So I will continue the way I am going. I have managed to also firtted the chains to the rudder and the little sheave holes in the bulwarks and fitted the bottom bulwark caps. Thanks for clearing that up for me. I can now proceed with a bit more confidence. Catch you later. Best regards Dave

Jerry. I need your help regarding the belaying pin racks. Would you be so kind to let me know how many holes are in each rack. Not to worry if you cannot make them out properly .On the main drawing I have counted 15, 12 and 8 holes working from aft. When I checked the Amati video the guy has one less in each rack. It also states in the instructions that the racks are 1 mm x 5 mm. This is very small to get the 15  x 1.5 mm holes and there is very liitle space between the belaying pins. I am also having a problem with the 1 mm x 5 mm strips splitting whilst trying drilll holes so close together. I have resorted to using 1 mm plywood which has solved the problem but the plywood is much lighter than the walnut. However I do have some Walnut stain.Looking at the belaying pin drawing there are a few spare holes so do I need to drill the exact amount on the drawing. I made the holes 1.5mm as this allows the belaying pins to slide in quite easily but wondering if these need to be tight, in which case I could make the holes a bit smaller. 

Thanks again Jerry for your kind words. I still think the stern castle looks a bit odd,but perhaps it will look better when its all painted. Unfortunately I cannot see the colors from the photograph on the box the model came in,so will just have to go off the photos you have gave me and the Amati video. I see the back drop to the stern castle is black. I also quite like the colours on the Amati video which seems to be mainly black & white but with some areas a Yellow  ochre. Whwn I bought the model I also bought the paint kit as well so will see what colours are supplied.Take care jerry and thanks again for your input.

Today I finished off the pieces of wood to mount the stern castle to the hull. I then fitted the hinges to the rudder and mounted the rudder to the hull. I found this very tricky indeed. The brass plates did not fit and had to be widened so as to fit the rudder and rudder post. I managed to do it but ended up gluing the pins to the bushes so as to hold it all together whilst pining the hinges. This therefore means that the rudder will be in a fixed position but found this the easiest way forward.It has taking me nearly all say to fit the rudder but got there in the end. Yesterday I completed the internal planking to the Bulwarks and fitted the upright stantions to internal Bulwarks

1 hour ago, Jerry said:

Dave, thanks for the video which I looked at.  I see what you mean and of course I have no idea at this time what I did.  I can't even remember my  middle name.  Anyway, here's a picture of the stern on my Bounty which, when looking at it close up now, looks terrible.  Things don't look too tidy at this point (on my ship).  Keep  moving. bro.

Jerry

Jerry looks to me that you build yours up with something as well.  Looking at the windows can you see if they are sat back from the suround and the name, if so then you have done the same. I wonder if this is a common theme with this type of kit or type of ship. Anyway I have just managed to glue it all into place so no going back now. I have also been looking at the rudder bearings and they don,t seem to be a very good fit and will probably need some adjustment. I am now finished for the day.Best regards Dave

1 hour ago, Jerry said:

Good morning, Dave:

First of all I must say that the deck finish looks excellent.  The satin finish looks perfect and the planking is top notch.  You are well on your way to a beautiful model.  From here on in you will find yourself enjoying the build more each time you sit down to work on it.  You are doing meticulous work and I'm happy that you have been able to understand each procedure.  By the way I'm glad you didn't spend the money for a fancy "slip."  

I hope your day is going well.

Best regards,

Jerry

 

Thank you Jerry hope you are feeling better and for your kind words. I still believe that I need to a give everything another rub down with very fine sand paper just to smooth the tiny hairs which I understand is what happens after using sand & sealer. Then one i am ready to paint give every thing another coat of sand and sealer. I also understand you can use varnish on top of it if you feel it is necessary. I am currently sorting out the balsa wood required for the stern castle which is looking a bit odd. However I am just going off the Amati video which is what the guy makes on his model. I have to agree with him I can,t see for my life how the pieces supplied in the kit would fit. Here is a link to the video. Look at about 6.5 minutes in.

Regards the slip. I have saved the money towards my next ship which I am thinking of  the Endeavour  by Caldercraft, however it looks very much like the Bounty so not sure whether or not to try something different like the HMS Snake or something with a lot of guns. Eventually I would like to take on the Victory, but feel I need to learn a lot more before I tackle anything so grand. Best regards Dave

Internal stringers completed and cap rails at the bow fitted. I think the 1mm x 5 mm walnut cap rails would be impssible to fit without a combination of soaking for 24 hours, roughly shaping to the hull and finally using CA with the accelerator to help. Here is a few more photos after treating the hull and deck planking with sand & sealer which has definitely enhanced  the wood grain. Next step I believe is fitting the rudder,planking the internal bulwarks and mounting the stern castle. Now it gets to the interesting part .Although so far there have been parts that have got me thinking.

45 minutes ago, Jerry said:

Hello Dave...

well i didn't expect anything different; our deck planking is excellent.  Real decks also have color variance so I would not try to do anything to change  the appearance,  I'm still a little under the weather so I'm slow in answering your posts; please forgive me for that. I meant to ask you where in Britain do you live?  Was it London? My wife and I have spent the good part of two summers in Hertford a few years ago.

Best,

Jerry

Hello jerry. Sorry to hear you are still a little under the weather. I live in the North East of England and fairly near the border with Scotland in a town called Washington which has historical links with George Washington's great grand parents  De Wesstington .There home ,Washington old hall is in our village.

Hope you enjoyed your visit to our little country as much as we have enjoyed our many visits to the states. Hope you recover soon Jerry.Take care best regards Dave

Deck planking completed and holes cut out . Not too shabby. Decided to just go with the planks supplied in the kit so quite a variation in colours. The planking still requires sanding  a little bit and stringers fitted. I think I have done a reasonable job but will take a bit more care with marking the edges .Planks were a 4 plank configuration and 120mm long. Seems to me a reasonable pattern but not sure if they are of scale and maybe I should consider 100mm length. 

Just received the CA accelerator and what a difference. I would like to thank yo Jerry for pointing me in the right direction.. I have managed to fit the 3 x 1mm internal stringer although still difficult due to bending edgeways It was a lot easier than without the accelerator.I have left the capping rail 1 x 5 mm until tomorrow and allow the thicker walnut strips to soak over night.

37 minutes ago, Jerry said:

Dave,

Again I have to go by memory...I believe all I did was soak them  And remember, use Cd and accelerator.

Best,

Jerry

Cheers jerry I am still waiting for my accelerator but shouldn't have too long to wait.I can always get on with something else while I am waiting. The instructions say the rudder next job after the internal stringer or I could give the hull a coat of sand N Seal.Hope you are feeling better.