BANYAN

What a boon that laser cutter is Mark; the new piece is such a dramatic improvement.  Now, can you loan it to me to remove (cut away) the capping from my midship channel
 
cheers
 
Pat

De-Construction Time....  
 
The first pic shows some of the problem.. very rough, not symmetrical.  IF I had known then what I know now, it would have been done differently.  I tried to follow Hahn's method of small shaped pieces between the framing.  FAIL.
 

 
The second photo shows my solution.  This piece is the prototype out of basswood.  I'm cutting the real deal out of cherry for strength.  My plan is to remove the small bits of wood and mortise this piece onto the frames.  It's symmetrical and more importantly matches the seating for the taffrail.  The planking will cover the framing and this piece.
 

 
Here's another prototype shot.. the new frame piece and the taffrail.  The taffrail will be boxwood. I'm changing my wood choices for boxwood for the trim and decorations.  
 

 
Once the framing is in and the stern planked and sanded, I'll add the taffrail.  
 
To be continued........

Happy birthday mate; have a few coldies and a good lie down
 
cheers
 
Pat

Hi Pat, the noodles are the greatest thing since "sliced bread"!.
I have cut a "V" notch one end to help hold the ship in place and i think that it needs to be done both ends.
One thing i keep meaning to do is to add a duct tape strap in the middle to keep the sides from spreading.
Today's first job, I will do it. Since I am on the sick list, I will have to stay inside, stay quiet, and do ship modelling.
Anyway, make sense to me
Cheers Chris

Hi guys
Remember their are no exact plans of the HMB Endeavour. Whether the actual vessel had a 44' or 34' bowsprit ?
By posting the above, I am interested in others views or other information available to support a bowsprit length.
I am inclined to construct a 44' bowsprit because:
a) I have not done the rigging yet
in my limited knowledge of the period, I can only go by evidence available
c) Functionslly, design wise, a 44' bowsprit would be likely
d) but the bowsprit may of been shorter for a reason we do not know about.
 
I wouldn't go changing it it was already built.
 
I am fairly sure I will go for the longer, as my build is my interpretation of the Endeavour.
 
Dave R

Thanks Mark,  I am still debating whether to take the full length of the capping off the channel or just cut a slot and replace it after repairing the chain plate, and using the boat boom (when fitted later) to assist in masking the joints.  I am worried that in attempting to remove the full length of capping that I may cause even further damage and with all the rigging on the mast near complete, that would be a tremendous setback.
 
cheers
 
Pat

No worries Greg
 
Hi Paul, Greg is right - I only used the lathe as I had it - a (grown up) file or even sanding stick (with appropriate grits) will work equally as well (just take much longer).
 
The lathe I use is not a cheap solution as I have a Sherline (metric version with extended bed) and I used the compound sliding plate/rail.  Sherline is not cheap but you get what you pay for.  A cheaper mill will work for you but you need to do a lot more tuning and refining to it, and the accessories can be equally as costly in many cases. 
 
cheers
 
Pat

Nicely done on the buoy, Pat.  The overall shots are impressive.   Looking forward to seeing your fix on the chainplate.

Sorry to butt in Pat, Paul, use a grown up size file on a dowel, that's what I did.

Hi all and thanks for looking in.
 
The chain plate issue was caused by me putting too much lateral force (twisting) rather than longitudinal failure. I was trying to tie off a tackle running end on a shroud cleat and must have twisted the chain plate too much in trying to access it.  the plate failed where I had soldered the deadeye ring to the chain part of the plate (a photo will follow)
 
Anyways, still trying to determine the best fix.
 
cheers
 
Pat

Some further progress on the nun (anchor) buoys, with one complete.  Not really happy with it, but at this scale 1:60) it is only15mm (core) so I can live with it - next one should be better.  That said, still a bit unhappy with the gap due one slightly too long sling leg. I also made one of the ring ropes to large in circumference and it sits a little low.
 
One small disaster today (photos in a couple of days) with one of the chain plates giving way. I need to remove the leading edge /cap of the channel, remove the deadeye lanyard, repair the solder joint and reassemble - one for Danny's boo-boo forum I think
 
Anyway here is the completed nun-buoy - I left the wood natural to simulate a cork core.
 
cheers
 
Pat
 
     

I have also started on the next small job - anchor buoys
 
The stock is some left over material from my masts, which I have turned to 9mm then shaped using a compound slide mounted on the y axis plate of my mill.  Some worke still needed to finalise the final shape.
 
cheers
 
Pat
 
     
 
 

Another small update.  the spritsail topsail yard is now fitted and some rigging advanced.  The colour of the yards will mature to the darker colour in time but the photos show this much redder than they actually are - in reality they are more brown.
 
cheers
 
Pat
 
       
  

Enjoy the break - you may still be waiting on the US stuff when you get back - I have to agree it is painfully slow and very expensive to boot!
 
cheers
 
Pat

An update on the parrels - still experimenting so the following is not the actual completed product.  For example, the beads I used are just as they happened to come out of the packet.  Being cheap they are not graded to the same size and many are not evenly shaped etc.  For the real deal I will sort/grade these to get a consistent spacing.
 
The parrels are 0.75mm thick and the burning on the parrel pieces are caused by the saw blade - need a new one but will not ruin it cutting this hard wood.  I have sanded off some of the char, but then realised these would have been 'greased/tarred' and would end up looking blackish anyway - saved some effort .
 
I also found that stacking the parrels in the temp fixing jig caused the bottom ones to split and crumble when I was drilling so I have reverted to drilling  and contouring the holes (for the bearings) individually; more time consuming but less breakages.
 
Anyways - getting there.  The parrels are actually quite smooth; the close up and contrast I have added make them look quite rough edged  I am also going to try some privet (in the Boxwood family) to see if I get a better finish.
 
cheers
 
Pat
 
     
 
     
 
  

I made some further progress with the boom and jib but I have come to a temporary halt while I wait for some more beige line.  I had purchased the running rigging thread prior to getting my ropewalk and cannot match the colour, so until my new supplies arrive in the next couple of weeks I have statred on making the parrels.
 
The following photos show Endeavour at her current level of completion and in her display cradle. The top of the cradle is a copy of Cook's Chart for the East Coast of Australia that he drew while surveying his discovery of this part of our country - this has been sealed under a couple of layers of clear poly.  There are still many lines/ropes that are only temporary secured waiting for final tensioning and the footropes still need to be stiffened into their final position.  I am holding-off doing the final adjustments until I have stopped working in this area so that I don't knock them our or shape, or have to move a rope to fit another etc.
 
    
 
  
 
The parrels have been made from Red Gum which is a very dense timber, so it will allow me to cut thin clices from the milled shape shown n the photo.  I will drill the rope holes with indents for the parrels by hand using a template.  The photo shows the stock after thicknessing, the milled shape and the beads I will be using.
 

 
cheers
 
Pat

Some further progress on the nun (anchor) buoys, with one complete.  Not really happy with it, but at this scale 1:60) it is only15mm (core) so I can live with it - next one should be better.  That said, still a bit unhappy with the gap due one slightly too long sling leg. I also made one of the ring ropes to large in circumference and it sits a little low.
 
One small disaster today (photos in a couple of days) with one of the chain plates giving way. I need to remove the leading edge /cap of the channel, remove the deadeye lanyard, repair the solder joint and reassemble - one for Danny's boo-boo forum I think
 
Anyway here is the completed nun-buoy - I left the wood natural to simulate a cork core.
 
cheers
 
Pat
 
     

I have also started on the next small job - anchor buoys
 
The stock is some left over material from my masts, which I have turned to 9mm then shaped using a compound slide mounted on the y axis plate of my mill.  Some worke still needed to finalise the final shape.
 
cheers
 
Pat
 
     
 
 

Another small update.  the spritsail topsail yard is now fitted and some rigging advanced.  The colour of the yards will mature to the darker colour in time but the photos show this much redder than they actually are - in reality they are more brown.
 
cheers
 
Pat
 
       
  

Hi folks, an update on the parrels.  I have not been able to source new beads yet but I have remade the parrels from privet (I had a nice heart piece that worked much the same as boxwood - Thanks Jim Lad).  I had not mentioned earlier that the base shape was created by thicknessing stock to suitable size, then using my mill with a round over cutter down the middle and on both edges to create the profile.  These were then sliced off and cleaned up with small files and sanding sticks.  I stained them with an Aussie product (a stain made by bushies in the outback when they had nothing else which imparts a nice colour as it ages). The photos below also show the different items used to create the holes including a dental micro-motor with ball head which created a much neater dimple than the hand tools I used previously. 
 
     
 
The finsished parrels look OK and if I do not find bigger beads in time I think I can live with these.  The finished product phot also shows a privet parrel (raw and stained) compared to the red gum version.
 

 
cheers
 
Pat
 
 
 

Hi all and thanks for looking in.
 
The chain plate issue was caused by me putting too much lateral force (twisting) rather than longitudinal failure. I was trying to tie off a tackle running end on a shroud cleat and must have twisted the chain plate too much in trying to access it.  the plate failed where I had soldered the deadeye ring to the chain part of the plate (a photo will follow)
 
Anyways, still trying to determine the best fix.
 
cheers
 
Pat

Well worth the effort Danny, a beautiful piece of joinery that compliments the build very nicely!
 
cheers
 
Pat

Hi all and thanks for looking in.
 
The chain plate issue was caused by me putting too much lateral force (twisting) rather than longitudinal failure. I was trying to tie off a tackle running end on a shroud cleat and must have twisted the chain plate too much in trying to access it.  the plate failed where I had soldered the deadeye ring to the chain part of the plate (a photo will follow)
 
Anyways, still trying to determine the best fix.
 
cheers
 
Pat

My construction of the Well and Shot Locker differed somewhat from my previous attempt in the full model of Vulture.
 
This time I used the previously made lower deck beams as a reference, which resulted in a better fit all round.
 
First I temporarily fitted the corner posts, spot-gluing the beams above them into position on the deck clamps (no glue between posts and beams or floor). Next I cut and fitted the lower strakes of planking to stabilise the bottom ends of the posts, and also tempoarily glued braces under the beams to get the top ends square :
 

 

 
Then I removed the structure from the hull and completed the planking, removing the upper braces as they got in the way. The lids and hinges were added, and I gave the well a coat of Minwax Wipe-on Poly. Then I permanently mounted the assembly :
 

 

 

 
I left a large cut-out in the aft end of the well to show the pump tubes and mast step :
 

 

 

 
  Danny

Thanks everyone for the kind posts, it seems its been forever since my last update!
 
Have been working on getting the second planking complete, which is now is below the wale.  Frankenstein's monster may be the best analogy right now.  Didn't really want to obsess over the area beneath the waterline, planked with walnut as this will be covered.  This is most definitely not exhibit A in a 'how to plank' lesson.  I found planking the round stern challenging, especially as I'm not going to use paint so wanted to get all the planks as tight as possible, and fit into the sternpost rabbet. 
 
I knew I still had work to do finalizing the hull shape to elimate some small 'waviness' and ensure smooth curvature.  In some cases I had already sanded the first planking almost to zero, so I had to get the second layer on to continue to refine.  In one spot I did actually make a very small hole....This of course suggest I needed to have done a better job shaping/tapering/shimming the bulkheads in the first place, but I really don't think I cut a corner there and certainly did my best to get it right.  Think this boils down to the challenges of a larger hull.
 
Honestly, I did not enjoy planking with the walnut.  Despite buying a replacement wood which was better than that provided in the kit, it was still of poor quality; splintery edges, inconsistent dimensions and colour.  Don't really care too much about the latter, but only because it will not be visible.  Thankfully, its done.
 
I've drawn level lines to help confirm symmetry and flow of lines compared to AOTS plans.  Pretty happy, but some final fettling needed in some places...pretty easy.

 
As mentioned before, the keel is nowhere near thick enough and needs to be built up.  This is especially true at the bow and I added yet more maple strip to build this up.  This will ultimastely also receive a false keel, hence the step.

 
And the overall shot in all its horror.  The patient's looks can only improve from here :-)