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Freebird

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  1. Freebird
    When working on a project, I like to have everything possible ready to go. So today, I made the deadeyes using Chuck’s kit. They were easy to glue together and to shape. I remember seeing a post from a MSW build log (sorry I don’t remember who’s idea it was), on how to shape the deadeyes. It worked pretty well. You need a dowel, self adhesive sandpaper, a scrap block of wood and some T-pins. I drilled some shallow indents in the wood that were a little larger in diameter than the deadeye. The deadeye is secured to the dowel using 3 pins that are pushed into the end of the dowel. The pins reside just below the surface of the deadeye. I marked one pin for the bottom hole in the deadeye so the deadeye is always positioned the same. Now place the self-adhesive sandpaper over the indent and push it into the indent. With the deadeye secured on the dowel, twist the dowel and being the sandpaper has a radius from the indent, you get a pretty good rounded deadeye. See pictures. Best Regards …. Rick
  2. Freebird
    Deconstruction, and reconstruction has been completed. Mast thwart and iron work had to be remade to accommodate the thinner diameter mast. Many Thanks Chuck for the brass, much appreciated! Best Regards …. Rick
  3. Freebird
    I also decided today to finish the rudder. I painted the red and added the friezes. One thing I know about my skills is that I can’t cut something as small as these designs without having some rough lines. While I managed to cut out some that were satisfactory, I wasn’t entirely happy with them. As I sat and looked at them, I wondered if I could gently sand the edges smooth with some new 400 wet/dry sandpaper. I found it’s possible and the result was totally worth the effort. I held the frieze right near the edge and used a very light touch so the edge wouldn’t roll over. In the pictures below, the 2 middle ones are edge sanded. When done, I used a blue pencil that matched the base color and gently ran it on the exposed white edge. Results were excellent. Amazing what a little effort can accomplish. Best Regards …. Rick
  4. Freebird
    Spent some time seeing what my options were for making the mast cutout smaller in the thwart smaller in diameter so the mast would fit better. I managed to bend some yellow cedar to fit the mast cutout but I didn’t like the way it looked. So I decided to make a new thwart with a smaller cutout. One thing I learned many years ago was to never toss out the die cut sheets the same parts came in just in case you need to make replacement parts. That sage advice served me well today. All I needed was 1/16” and 1/32” sheet to make the parts. Fortunately, Chuck provides some spare wood on his laser-cut sheets. It was a simple exercise to trace the shapes and cut out and sand to shape. Now I just need to remake the iron work again. Best Regards …. Rick
  5. Freebird
    My first deconstruction, I took too much wood off the mast and its diameter is far smaller than the mast strap. After going through options, I decided to remove the thwart and all of the straps and start over. My project for the day. Best Regards …. Rick
  6. Freebird
    Ryland, thank you for the accolades! I refer to your Medway log often, lots of great info for this newbie. Rigging is again, something I’ve never attempted, but looking forward to learning the ropes (pun intended). I’ve throughly enjoyed this build, Chuck has done an outstanding job designing and explaining how to create a beautiful model. Cheerful is on deck and then Winnie. I think I have a problem…. Best Regards …. Rick
  7. Freebird
    Finally got to spend some quality time in the shipyard today and I again did something I’ve never done before. I made the main mast, bowsprit, the boom and the gaff. I had a lot of apprehension getting started, I followed Chuck’s instructions after some very slow and thoughtful carving and turning on a small lathe, I had 3 of the 4 parts made. They actually came out pretty good. The mast was a different story as the lathe couldn’t accommodate the mast’s length. So it was time look at other logs for ideas and I found a couple that used a clamped hand drill. I have a B&D Workmate to secure the drill with the help of a few blocks of wood I had. To secure the the opposite end of the mast, I removed the tail stock from the lathe and clamped it at an angle to the end of my workbench to match the angle of the drill. The jig setup worked very well. All have a coat of WOP and need to be painted and need to make the various fittings. This model has been a lot of fun and has really built up my skills. Best Regards …. Rick
  8. Freebird
    Walrusguy, I’ve been closely following your fantastic log and applaud your talents and efforts! Quick question for ya (perhaps Chuck can chime in also). I’m a big fan of Alaskan Yellow Cedar (AYC), because of its wonderful color and workability. The question is, do you think that using thinner 1/32 thick planks instead of 1/16 thick planks is doable? Thanks for your thoughts! Best Regards …. Rick
  9. Freebird
    I know this is an order post, but…. does anyone make any replacements for the cast metal parts (mostly the figurehead) that come in the kit? I’m not crazy about the supplied items. TIA! Best Regards …. Rick
  10. Freebird
    Thanks Chuck! The hunt is on! Best Regards …. Rick
  11. Freebird
    Thank you All, for the likes! Much appreciated! Question for the group. I’m very close to starting the sticks and strings, and I want to serve the shrouds as I have Chuck’s serving machine. What size and color thread have you guys used for serving? I’ve been reading the build logs but haven’t seen much on the subject other the lines being served. Thanks for the help! Best Regards …. Rick
  12. Freebird
    As I mentioned above, I made another tiller. I think this one (one on top), looks much better. Best Regards …. Rick
  13. Freebird
    More enjoyable work has been completed. I’ve dressed the nails on the port side and applied a coat of WOP. I also made and attached the fixed block on the stem. And last but not least, the rudder has been shaped and made the tiller. I’m probably going to make another tiller as I’m not happy with this one. Best Regards …. Rick
  14. Freebird
    Got the molding glued to the port side. I soaked a few inches in hot water for several minutes, clamped it in place around the bow and dried it with a heat gun. Worked very well. Now that was completed I could finish the treenails on the port side. I’ll clean them up tomorrow and reapply a coat of WOP. Best Regards …. Rick
  15. Freebird
    Still looking for ideas to bend the boxwood molding before gluing it into place. Any recommendations? Best Regards …. Rick
  16. Freebird
    Had some time to spend in the shipyard and accomplished a few tasks. Iron work has been blackened and attached to the thwart and the thwart has been installed and also the last of the thwart knees. Windlass and the bars are also completed and a couple coats of WOP applied. The iron work was a bigger challenge than I expected. So far, so good. Up next is the fixed block on the stem. Best Regards …. Rick
  17. Freebird
    Thank you Captn! I’ve learned a lot and have really enjoyed the build. Waiting in the dockyard is Cheerful, love the lines on that Cutter! Best Regards …. Rick
  18. Freebird
    Quick question to those that have gone before me. I'd like to glue the molding in place under the frieze, however the boxwood strip is very stiff and greatly resists bending at the bow. How do I overcome this? Do I set up a jig and soak the wood for a while and clamp in the jig? Or do I soak the wood and then clamp it in place on the hull and let it dry? I don't think that applying heat to the hull is a good idea. Also, what glue should I use? I don't want to make a mess. Need some thoughts here, Thank you! Best Regards .... Rick
  19. Freebird
    Thanks guys for all the likes and great comments, much appreciated! This has really been a fun and exciting project! Best Regards …. Rick
  20. Freebird
    Made the windlass and the bars today, still need to size and round the ends of the windlass. Not sure how to approach this as I don’t want to mess it up. Also added 4 of the 6 knees on the thwarts. I want to complete the mast thwart outside of the hull. As you can see, the paint has taken a beating, no worries though as a couple more coats are needed. Best Regards …. Rick
  21. Freebird
    This morning I wanted to do something a little different, so I cleaned up the pedestals and glued them to the cross braces. I also taped some sandpaper to the hull and tapered the arms to match the bottom of the hull. Best Regards …. Rick
  22. Freebird
    Rcmdrvr, I’ve read many of the build logs on this site and one of the themes I’ve noticed is that slow and steady is the path. Trust me, there are several belaying pins in the trash that don’t look anything like belaying pins and some planks didn’t make the grade. Also, don’t settle for substandard work, just about every task to date has taken more than one try. If there’s something I don’t understand, I stop and search other logs for possible solutions. Main thing though is to have fun. Best Regards …. Rick
  23. Freebird
    Still more progress. I wanted to get the mast thwart in place, so it was time to tackle the belaying pins. Again, I’ve never made anything like this, but using the photos in Chuck’s practicum, I was able to turn out (pun intended) some pins using my Dremel and 3/32 square boxwood. I know Chuck says to use 1/16 square stock, but I wanted to have a little more wood to work with. Best Regards …. Rick
  24. Freebird
    Thank you Chris, much appreciated! I have learned so much from this site. One piece of sage advice I believe was from Chuck, take your time and treat each piece/part as its own project. Never thought of modeling in that fashion and it’s making me a much better builder. Best Regards …. Rick
  25. Freebird
    Another first, I made a scraper from 1/32 brass and made the moldings. Looks good to my eye, even though I’d use some thinner brass next time. Best Regards …. Rick

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