jdbondy

My first plank on bulkhead kit was Bluejacket's America, the smaller one at 1/8" scale. On their web page it is shown as planked on only one side. I planked both sides fully, then painted it. I did not try to follow any strict rules of planking. I just used the kit to get a sense of how the process of planking worked.

Mikiek, I know exactly what you mean. I have some Unithread 3/0 and I cannot use it because it unravels into many tiny threads. But it's not much smaller than any of the natural fiber threads I am using, so I don't have much of a use for it anyway. If you got some Unithread 6/0, you shouldn't have the same problem. It does not fall apart into smaller threads. You will find that the 6/0 is not round; it is more flat in cross section. Seizings made with it will be slightly irregular in surface contour because of this, but you would have to be looking close. What I like even better is the Veevus 16/0, an incredibly tiny thread that is still slightly flat in cross section but so small that it doesn't matter. I am building in 3/16" scale, and the seizings made with the Veevus are incredibly fine and smooth. I am still working out when to make a seizing with 6/0 versus when to use the 16/0.

So now I have to go back and mouse all my hooks!!

Thanks, Druxey. The end loop of my long strops are each closed, since I had first fastened them to eyebolts. So I can't tie them to the shroud with a clove hitch, but I am working around it. Essentially, I am tying a very small knot with my finest thread to the shroud, to serve as a "shelf". After that has been secured with glue, I am tying the blocks with their long strops to the shroud just above that shelf knot and gluing that, so as to keep it from sliding down the shroud.

I have been working on building the POB II for the past, oh, 16 years. Raising kids has gotten in the way. I currently don't have a build log, but I recently started documenting what I am doing so I can better re-create a blog when I get around to it. I think it's a great ship! and super convenient that it is contemporary, so you can actually take photos of how it currently looks and use that information. I'm not one for doing lots of research into how something may have looked in the past. I'll be following along!

Gunther, glad to see that you did essentially what I am doing.

Oh, and now I have to migrate those 5 pairs of blocks from the topmast to the shroud, to which they should be seized. If anyone has any suggestions on how to securely tie the blocks to the shroud without allowing them to slide, I am all ears. The blocks have strops (probably not the right term to use) of varying length, that increase as you go toward the top. The stropping line forms an eye that I am currently using to tie the block to the shroud.

Repair of the topmast shrouds is complete. I was able to move the top of the shrouds down to the lower level, and take up the slack at the deadeyes. I redid the lanyards securing the deadeyes to more accurately reflect how they are on the actual vessel. They are wrapped twice around the shroud where it is seized to the deadeye, then brought back down to one of the lanyard strands between the deadeyes and seized to it. Some of the deadeye spacing is still pretty wide. I had to live with that when I ended up cutting the shrouds a little prematurely. But overall the result is an improvement. Making good use of that Flexament fly tying cement for securing the synthetic thread to the Morope. No, I don't own stock in the company...

Mikiek, regarding your question on the size of fly tying line, 3/0 is larger than 6/0, which is larger than 8/0, and so on. I am currently using a lot of fly tying line ranging from 6/0 (which is about 0.003") to the smallest I can find which is 16/0 (about 0.001", so like a human hair). Despite the small size, these synthetic lines are surprisingly strong. I am really enjoying seizing blocks to eyebolts using these synthetic fly tying threads. There is no fuzz; everything looks very neat. In a separate post, I have brought up the topic of Flexament cement, which is sold by fly tying kinds of places for bonding synthetic thread to natural fibers. It is working well for me so far. Look for Uni-Thread or Veevus. Veevus makes the really small stuff.

Les, I've been in touch with the makers of Flexament, and they describe it as intended for bonding synthetic and natural fibers, with the ability to hold up in adverse conditions such as wetness and sunlight. 10-15 seconds for it to start working, and set in 1 hour. I made a seizing using Unithread around some Morope, applied Flexament, and let it sit overnight. I cannot get the Morope to budge within the seizing without applying a really high amount of tension, far more than we would put on a model's rigging. For now I think my plan is to use varnish/topcoat on seizings or knots that are entirely natural fiber, and Flexament on seizings or knots that are a mix of natural and synthetic fiber. I am trying not to use CA at all, except for curing the tips of rigging line for threading purposes.

Ulises, my point about cleanup was that I was typically applying the varnish with a brush, which I then have to clean up with spirits. So I was tending to keep that to the end. However, your comments have made me rethink the application process. I've started applying varnish like I do CA, with a pair of tweezers dipped in the varnish. Now, cleanup consists of wiping the tip of the tweezers with my fingers! Much easier. Now I have 3 separate tweezers, one for CA, one for varnish, and one for Flexament. Each is appropriately labeled.

The problems I am encountering using varnish as an adhesive are: 1. I'm not sure how secure of a bond is created between a synthetic fly tying thread and a cotton/linen rigging line with varnish. 2. Since varnish has to dry overnight, I have to leave my knot gluing until the end of the work day, so I just have one cleanup after gluing multiple knots. As a result, I lose track of which knots I have tied and need to be glued up. It would be nicer to have something that can be applied when the knot is tied, bonds pretty quickly, and doesn't require cleanup. I'll see what info I can find out from the manufacturer.

Progress has been made. As I mentioned earlier, I was able to wiggle the seizings at the top of each shroud loose, without using acetone or other chemicals. I think that's because I had used flat topcoat on them rather than CA. I then cut them free. Since then, I have cut two of the shrouds where they were attached to the deadeyes, and brought the slack portions of the shrouds around the deadeyes. I have re-seized the 2 shrouds to the deadeyes using 6/0 Unithread, and I am trying Flexament cement (as I have mentioned in a separate post). The process of re-seizing the shrouds to the deadeyes has gone pretty smoothly; I put a prelim seizing on the shroud, scooting it up the shroud away from the deadeye, and then apply the proper amount of tension to the shroud and lanyards. Then I tie the final seizing so it is right up against the deadeye. At this point I am not adjusting the length of the lanyards between deadeyes, so that it remains fixed while I repair the shrouds. I'll try to send more pictures later today.

Has anyone tried using a fly tying adhesive called Flexament? I am trying it on seizings that are done with synthetic fly tying thread. Since I am trying to swear off of the CA for fixing seizings, I have tried dilute white glue (doesn't bond well to synthetic thread) and flat topcoat/varnish (requires setting overnight). Flexament appears to be a possible solution. It appears to be thinned rubber cement, or at least it certainly smells that way! So far, testing a seizing made with 6/0 Unithread appears to be giving a pretty fast and durable bond.

Will take a look at that deadeye spacing, druxey. Although the perspective is skewed, I have attached a pic of the rigging I took a few years ago. See what you think.

Thanks Gunther. Without having to apply any acetone, I was able to loosen the seizings at the top of the shrouds and then cut them free. I have re-seized each of the shrouds at the correct level on the topmast, which of course leaves tons of slack at the level of each deadeye. Now those seizings I cannot free up. I think I did them differently than the seizings at the top of the topmast. So, I have cut one of them loose and plan on re-fastening it to the deadeye. One nice thing is that the deadeye lanyards remain intact, so getting the tension right should be pretty easy. I'll post some pictures when I get them moved to this computer. All in all, less work than I anticipated (thus far)...

Help! I just realized that when I painstakingly installed the topmast shrouds, I took them way too far up the topmast. They need to end at the level of the uppermost pair of blocks that are installed on the topmast. (Picture is attached.) The shrouds are each seized to the topmast, and of course they each terminate at a deadeye at the crosstrees. I am afraid that when these were installed, I applied CA glue to the seizings (I have since stopped using CA on seizings). I am ok if we think I just need to cut them and start over, but before doing that, I wanted to see if anyone has any other ideas. If they were not glued with CA, I could just shorten each shroud at the deadeyes. But I haven't tried moving anything yet to see what happens. Once I'm done with that, I'll need to move those 5 pair of blocks off the topmast and seize them to the shrouds, like the plans said I should have done in the first place...

Hi Wefalck, The lathe is a Sherline 4400. I am using a collet on the tailstock of course; I guess you are suggesting another collet for the headstock. I used a file to cut the groove because I was just too lazy to go back to the bench grinder and create another cutting tool for making the groove! The file worked fine but I agree that another cutting tool with a pointed tip would be more optimal and reproducible. I received the K&S tube cutter recently but I can't get it to work on the relatively small size of the brass tubing I have (1/16"). I'll put it away for when I have larger tube that needs cutting. JD

Thanks, everyone. Jud and mtaylor, I suspect that the error lies more with the tailstock, as it currently has a lot of play in it. I'm going to invite a machinist friend over to see what he thinks. I'll keep it in mind that we could true up the inside surfaces of the 3 jaw chuck. Jose and Duffer, I have just put in an order for a K&S tube cutter! We'll see how that goes; I think it's going to be hard to beat the quality of the turned thimbles. Hopefully I'll get around to creating an actual build log of my model... JD

PS, I just can't quite figure out how to make my images appear smaller in my posts! I substantially reduced their size (25% of original size) using Paint but that didn't seem to do it. JD

My model of Pride of Baltimore 2 requires some thimbles. The model is in 3/16" scale, so the thimbles would have to be pretty small. I tried cutting segments of 1/16" brass rod with a Dremel cutting wheel and peening them with a jeweler's punch, but the results were not consistent or satisfactory. I recently acquired a Sherline metalworkers lathe, used and at good cost. So I am finally having to learn how to properly use it for metal turning. To this point I have only used it to turn some wood pens. So the first step was to clean the sawdust out of all the crevices of the lathe... I purchased 3/16" brass rod stock and cut off a suitable length (about 2"), then faced the cut surface smooth. (Oh, to get to this point, I had to learn how to grind my own cutting tool, then mount it so it was at the appropriate height. A process in and of itself.) Then I used a center drill to just barely touch the surface and create a dimple so my smaller drill bit wouldn't wander when drilling a center hole. I used a 0.031" drill bit (which required purchasing the small collet that accommodates such small bits, yet another step...) to drill a depth of about 0.1". I turned the outer dimension to 0.050", then used a triangular file to carefully file a groove into the outer surface of the cylinder near its end. Then I parted off a thickness around 0.025-0.030". Getting to this point required extensive trial and error as I learned how to eliminate vibration of the parting tool so it wouldn't fracture the cylinder instead of parting off the final product, and also learned how to adequately sharpen the cutting and parting tools. But it was worth the effort to get such a consistent product. Three photos are attached, the final picture obtained after blackening with Birchwood Casey. Thanks for the tip, Dr. Toni Levine! JD

Sorry, didn't mean for that picture to be quite so big... JD

I recently had great success turning some small thimbles, with an outer diameter of 0.050" and inner diameter of 0.031". I will try to do a fresh post later today describing the process. Above is a picture of the (unblackened) finished product.

Here is a 1/8" block I stropped and attached to an eyebolt on the foremast for my Pride 2. The line is .008" line from Syren, and the seizing is done with fly tying line. The technique I used was the s-shaped technique shown on the video in the post above. I think it has turned out pretty well. I think the only way to improve on it is to use the technique of David Antscherl, where you create a small closed loop of line, then seize it to the block. The closed loop is big enough that it leaves a loop available on the other side of the seizing, where the eyebolt or spar would go. The second picture shows an overview of the area, where the foremast and the foretopmast meet.

Great build log! Since I just started following it, I have a question about an early entry. When you installed the floor timbers prior to beveling the frames to accept the keel (January 12th entry), how did you securely attach them to the ribs without the floor timbers becoming stuck to the molds? Were the molds masked with tape? It seems to me that there wouldn't be much available gluing surface between the edges of the ribs and the floor timbers.