jdbondy

Thanks, Phil! Looks like I need to add this book to my library.

When repeatedly test fitting these pieces, care had to be taken in order to maintain consistent placement of the two articulating planks against their stanchions. For this reason, I drilled a couple of holes in the aft plank and its underlying stanchion, large enough to accommodate a T-pin. One was also placed in the forward plank. These ensured that the planks were landing against the stanchions the same way every time. The forward end of the forward plank was shaped to meet the filler block. But besides the filler block, this end of the plank currently has nothing to land against. So, it’s time to model the visible portion of the knightheads, the solid gray pieces of wood on either side of the bowsprit. The hawsepipes for the anchor chain travel through these pieces. It’s worth noting that this picture exemplifies a difference between my model as built to the original builder’s plans and how it exists today. During the refit in 1999-2000, additional stanchions were added toward the bow that were not part of the original design. Those stanchions are visible in this photo but are absent from my model. The knighthead pieces were built up from a couple of pieces of scrap, and their surfaces sanded down to accommodate their angle against the deck and the area of the bowsprit. There is a small hole for the anticipated location of the hawsepipe where it emerges from the planking, previously estimated by eye. However, this photo from 2024 suggests that my initial attempt is located too far aft. So the position was adjusted and marked with a pencil mark. Then the old hole was filled with a dowel and cut smooth, then painted over. I placed a small pin in the bottom surface of the knighthead and drilled a corresponding hole in the underlying covering board, to give it some strength. Now it is fitted in place. This piece will be trimmed down in the future to accommodate the width of the 8-inch-wide bowsprit. The beginnings of a hawsepipe have been started in it; the hawsepipe will not be brought to its outer surface until the overlying planking is installed. Now it’s time to dry fit the first of the four bulwark planks, again ensuring that there is no gap between it and the covering board, but also ensuring that the plank is pressed up against the stanchions. I made these little things to sit on top of the plank so that a clamp could push against them and the underlying plank, forcing the plank down against the covering board. After a lot of dry fitting, and after purchasing many more clamps, the glue-up was performed and left to dry overnight. But first I attempted to reach any squeeze-out of glue between the clamps that would be visible inboard. Here is the next morning, with the clamps removed and showing the various support pieces of scrap that enabled a proper grip of the clamps on the plank. The scrap pieces on the stanchions ensured that the grip of the clamps on the plank was directly inboard and not on an angle. Voila!! No gaps! There are some areas on the inboard surface of the plank that will require some touch-up painting, but the overall result is really nice. These pictures remind me to say that the inboard surface of the plank was pre-painted, and any paint drifting into the areas where the plank meets a stanchion had to be scraped away before applying glue. Here I am dry-fitting the forward plank; I have not yet glued this one in place. Let’s have another look at that scarf joint area! (This one is actually for the opposite, port, side.) Very pleased with how that looks. So, once the remaining 3 planks are installed, then planking of the rest of the bulwarks should go pretty quickly, followed by installation of the rail. At the same time, I am working on marking out the waterline, plus I am continuing to work on the miniature carving of the trailboard. So much to do!

So, now on to the first bulwark plank. In this picture, I am mocking up how many planks there will be in order to get to the undersurface of the rail. The first plank is slightly thicker than the rest, and again it will feature that bead that is visible in the initial picture above. Next step is to create the bead in the top edge of the first bulwark plank. This required me to learn about how to make a scraper. There will be four strips of wood for modeling this plank, 2 on each side with a scarf joint at midships. I used a cutoff wheel on a Dremel to carefully cut into the edge of this X-Acto blade. I found that the gap between the top edge (on the left) and the barb of metal adjacent to it was too small to accurately cut using the cutoff wheel. The solution was to make the strips overly wide, then scrape in the bead feature, then run the strips through the thickness sander while tilted up on their edges. In this way, I could end up with planks of the right width, with the bead feature right at the top edge and in scale with the actual appearance. I had these great pictures taken through the microscope showing some of the process of cutting in the scuppers, but MSW has decided not to accept those pictures! Oh well. This picture shows that the first plank needs to be steam bent to accommodate the curve of the hull, of course along its thin dimension, but also including edge setting. This is particularly necessary in the bow, where the hull has a degree of “powderhorn” that leads to the first plank initially curving upward, but then curving in a downward direction as it approaches its end at the bowsprit. The powderhorn is accentuated in this picture. The plank ends against a temporary spacer applied to the stem, which corresponds to the width of a support block located below the bowsprit. The bowsprit itself will be much wider than this spacer. Here we have one of the aft planks, with its scuppers cut into it. Placement had to be precise due to the location of the scuppers as well as where the aft end of the plank meets the transom planking. In addition, the bottom edge of this plank had to be shaped so that it cleanly met the level surface of the covering board, accounting for how great or little the underlying stanchions leaned in comparison to the covering board. This picture illustrates that simply placing a clamp on the plank leads to a gap at its lower edge, in part due to the force placed on the upper edge of the plank by the clamp, but also due to the shape of its bottom edge. Shown here is the scarf joint and its placement relative to the underlying stanchions, as well as some gapping between the covering board and the plank. Here I am beginning to work the other side of the scarf joint into the forward plank. It’s always satisfying to see a scarf joint come together! And this one has the added complexity of a scupper within it, as will the joint on the port side. This shows how the scupper is worked into the joint. More posts will follow shortly...

Things are really starting to get interesting on the Mary Day hull! This photo was taken this past summer while on a trip with friends on the Mary Day. The picture shows the next area of interest, as I will finish off the covering boards by applying a strip to their outboard edge, then manufacturing and installing the first bulwark plank. The picture shows that there are numerous scuppers along the entire length of the first plank. There is also a bead detail at the top edge of the first plank that will be modeled. The interface between the covering board and the first bulwark plank is a critical joint in the appearance of the model and it will take some work to accomplish. After that, installation of the remainder of the bulwark planking should be much simpler. I will break this part down into a few posts. The covering boards are 3 inches in thickness, so the lower of these 2 pieces is ideally 3/64” thick. These are test pieces in order to make sure that things look proportional before cutting out the full length pieces. The width of the lower piece is arbitrary, as it will be cut and sanded smooth with the surface of the hull planking below it. That is shown here. In order to not have to deal with bending this piece in the bow area, I cut strips corresponding to the curve of the bow. This was not so necessary in the remainder of the hull, especially toward the stern. The top surface of the hull planking just below the covering board had a varying angle, so that in some areas this strip of the covering board would be canted inward, in some areas it was level, and in yet other areas it tilted outboard. It was very important to have this joint look clean and tight. Gluing down this strip in the bow area required clamps that compressed the strip in an inboard direction, but also some clamps that would force the strip downward against the hull planking. The clamps with wood pieces beneath their jaws are exerting downward pressure. How it looks from outboard. In the bow area, the top surface of the hull planking is canted in an outboard direction, so the strip in this area is thicker than in others. That meant that the inboard edge of the strip had to be slightly thicker than elsewhere, and its surface trimmed down level with the remainder of the covering board, in order to end up with a level surface. And then the width of the strip could then be cut and sanded smooth with the contour of the hull planking. This is my sanding board created for that task. Here are a couple of pictures showing the end result, after everything is trimmed level and painted up. Next post we will start into the bulwarks planking.

Mike, perhaps you are one of those aliens that has multiple appendages from the Men In Black series of movies?

I am going to be referencing this build log for many years to come! Thanks Johann for all these clever rigging insights!

It is good to hear that they were responsive to your request, Johann!

Very impressive! I may have to duplicate your jig.

Since the last post, the deck planking has been finished. Here are some overviews of how things look. The open areas along the centerline will be covered by cabinhouses. Plus an opening for the foremast and the foc's'le hatch. The aft end of the planking will be covered by the lazarette. Details of this process included leveling of the interface between the deck planking and the margin plank. There is a little stepoff in this area. Here this has been cleaned up. Another detail includes little gaps where some of the planks terminate in a fine point. These areas were filled with wood glue. Then the excess was scraped away. Still a little gap, but at distance it looks very clean. Not detailed in these pictures is the process of first sanding the deck planking with sandpaper up to 220 grit, then scraping the deck with the edge of a scalpel. After doing so, the deck feels wonderfully smooth! The area between the fore and main cabinhouses needed planking, which includes an area of planking that extends forward in the area of the companionway for the fore cabinhouse. Here the planking has been put in place. Then the edges were pared off using this very sharp chisel. One consequence of the finshing process for the deck is scrape marks on the paint on the bulwark stanchions. Fortunately this was really only present in the bow area. Everything is masked off, ready for touch up painting. After several coats, things are looking better. Here is a preview of upcoming work, in which I am working on a form that will be used to construct the fore cabinhouse. I don't plan on making this from a solid block of wood, but rather 3/64" thickness sheets. I also need to do touch up painting of the exposed deck framing. More to come!

Update: Both batches have sold.

Congratulations, Ben!

Update to this post: The wider pieces have been claimed. The narrower pieces remain on offer! JD

Attached are pictures of 2 batches of about 10 pounds of boxwood (Buxus sempervirens) that was milled in quartersawn fashion from larger pieces I obtained about 5 years ago. One picture shows sheets that are about 2" in width. They range in thickness but are around 1/4" in thickness (no thicker). They do contain various imperfections but there is lots of usable straight grain wood. Length range is 12-18". The other picture from the same batch shows additional sheets that are 1/4" in thickness but not as wide as these, averaging 1"-1.5". This is again a batch weighing about 10 lb, again with various imperfections but plenty of usable straight grain wood. In the case of either batch, there is plenty of wood for working out frames for your admiralty-style model. Let me know if you are interested by private message, and we can start a conversation offline! I would accept PayPal. I am located in Dallas, Texas. I do not have a specific price in mind yet.

Thank you Mark, I will hit the "Mark" as solution button in your honor! JD

Attached are pictures of 2 batches of about 10 pounds of boxwood (Buxus sempervirens) that was milled in quartersawn fashion from larger pieces I obtained about 5 years ago. One picture shows sheets that are about 2" in width. They range in thickness but are around 1/4" in thickness (no thicker). They do contain various imperfections but there is lots of usable straight grain wood. Length range is 12-18". The other picture from the same batch shows additional sheets that are 1/4" in thickness but not as wide as these, averaging 1"-1.5". This is again a batch weighing about 10 lb, again with various imperfections but plenty of usable straight grain wood. In the case of either batch, there is plenty of wood for working out frames for your admiralty-style model. Let me know if you are interested, and we can start a conversation offline!

Oh, I also created apertures in the foredeck for the foremast and the foc's'le hatch.

As I suggested in my last post, maybe I need to make more frequent posts, even if there is a little less content in each one. The planking of the port side after deck is completed; it ends abruptly at the frame reveal at the deck level. Now the port side foredeck planking is complete, again ending in the end of the deck framing reveal. This is the starboard side, where the planking forward and aft are coming together and the accuracy of the linearity of the planking will be determined. Of course, where the two came together, there was about ½ plank width difference in the location of the planks. As it turns out, there is appreciable angle difference between the layout of the forward and aft planks, which is difficult to appreciate on a fore-and-aft photo. This photo was even taken with maximum depth of field, and it is difficult to get all the planking in focus. So, the next step was to compensate for the step-off between the fore and aft planking, as well as for the angle difference between them. Fortunately, when viewed from abeam, I think it is difficult to tell that anything is off. Here is how things look after merging the fore planking with the aft planking. There is one plank that demonstrates a somewhat hourglass shape, wider at either end and narrower in the center. But overall things seem to be pretty well concealed. In addition, some very subtle bending of planking was necessary due to the change in angulation. But again, hard to find if you don’t know it’s there. So now the planking is almost finished. The final plank had to be very specifically tapered, of course. The final plank in place. Next task: the margin plank is flush with the covering board, but where the remainder of the deck planking meets the margin plank, there is a small amount of step-off. Directing the lighting in the proper direction really accentuates the step-off. Under the microscope, I used various shapes of X-Acto blades to bring the edge of the deck planking flush with the margin plank. This also helped to eliminate areas of glue squeeze-out where the fore-and-aft planking met the margin plank. Much better. Next issue is deck camber. Making corrections at the hull-deck joint led to changes in the shapes of the deck beams, with overly steep deck camber at the edge of the deck. The index card shown above has proper deck camber cut along its edge. The card sat appropriately against the planking where it meets the cabintop, but there was as much as 1/32” dropoff where the planking meets the margin plank. Additional cards with deck camber were set up along this area of the deck. These two cards show triangles of light where the bottom edge of the card meets the deck planking edge. A close-up shows how much of a gap there is. This great palm plane from Lee Valley has been waiting for jobs for which it is well-suited. Turns out it works very well for working down the surface of the deck planking to the appropriate camber. That is what I am working on now. After that, attention will turn to finishing of the deck as well as the hull surface. Plus the bulwarks planking needs to be installed.

How are you parting the discs off of the brass rod? Is that a wire of some kind I am seeing in that image? Thanks in advance.

Wow, what a beautifully executed fine detail of the rigging! Just another piece of the puzzle that is adding up to a fantastic masterpiece.

It has been entirely too long since the last post. Life just seems to get in the way of progress on the model. The Mary Day’s deck is planked in teak, with fore and aft planks and one margin plank. To match the teak color, I used Swiss pear from my collection of wood obtained from Gilmer Wood in the Pacific NW. I parted off sheets from a block, then ran them through the Byrnes thickness sander to reach a consistent thickness of 3/64” (0.047”) that would determine the width of each plank. That way I wouldn’t end up with wandering plank lines (at least I am hoping). Then I used the table saw to part off individual deck planks that were initially too thick (about 0.05-0.06”), but then sanded down to the necessary thickness of 0.047”, again using the Byrnes sander. This surface would be the showing surface of the deck, which would ultimately be scraped smooth anyway. The first task was to install margin planking all the way around the inboard edges of the covering boards. It’s a very satisfying appearance seeing the Swiss pear wood adjacent to the gray covering board, and it exactly duplicates the appearance in real life. In order to simulate deck caulking, each plank edge was rubbed with a pencil, which burnished the upper corners of the plank, narrowing it very slightly at deck level. The graphite of the pencil effectively simulates the dark deck caulking. This process required some trial and error. Initially I was only rubbing one edge of a deck plank with the pencil, but I wasn’t happy with how the deck seams looked. So in this picture I am cutting out some of the planking that then got redone in the manner described above. I started the process of deck planking in the area of the aft deck. In this area, there is a king plank that is 1.5 times the width of the adjacent planks. It is 4.5” wide, while the rest of the planks are 3” in width. Determining the centerline is a bit tricky and involved running a string (fly tying line) from the center of the stem in the bow through to the area of the transom. Pin pricks were then used to mark the centerline, then subsequent prick marks to determine preset distances from the centerline. A helpful feature about planking the stern deck is that the aft ends of the planks could terminate arbitrarily, as visible above, because their ends will be covered by the lazarette. And the forward edges will be covered by the edge of the cabintop. Carrying the planking forward from the aft deck is tricky, because ideally the planking will follow a symmetric pattern as the planks articulate with the deckhouse and with the margin plank. One forgiving feature of my model is that there will be an unplanked area of deck on the port side at midships, in the same approximate area as the frame reveal in the hull. So in that area, there won’t be any issues of symmetry to worry about. Next, planking was laid out in the bow, again being careful about determining the centerline. In the bow, there is no king plank as there is on the aft deck. The planking as shown here covers openings for the foc’sle berth and the mast partners. Those areas will be cut away when the time comes. From here, I will finish planking the forward deck, then work the planking aft to gradually merge up with the planking that has already been laid in the stern. I am hoping that everything will meet up straight and true! You can see that I have planking laid out on the work surface that is of diminishing length, as the next pieces to go into the bow. Thanks to everyone I met while cruising on the Mary Day 2 weeks ago for inspiring me to get back to work and perhaps to posting a little more frequently! I hope some of you navigate your way to this build log and find it interesting.

I would be interested in seeing more details on how you did the FC stanchions and rail, because that looks to me like a complicated process to get the stanchions vertical while accurately cutting the holes in the rail to accept them.

Lovely appearance! I love those Veritas chisels.

I had the pleasure of spending this past week on board the Mary Day with friends! There were a total of 19 passengers. I quickly became known as the guy who was measuring every single detail. Hopefully this will inspire renewed and rapid work on my model!

Your polyurethane topcoat, is it oil based or water based? I just used some water based polyurethane on a non-ship model project, and the question arose in my mind.

And don't forget about rigging from inside to out...