GGibson

The chain pots and chain look really nice, Mustafa! Perhaps I missed it earlier, but where do those chains go as they come out of the chain pots and underneath the spar deck? Was there a windlass underneath they wrap around? Are these anchor chains? Sorry for being inquisitive! Trying to absorb everyone's great work on their respective Constitution logs!

Great sail work, Tim! and I love the rope coils next to the belaying pins! Sharp looking! A question on your picture just before your "Finished Sail" text, the one with the single block right next to the fife rail. Where is that rigging going up to on the mast? Not seeing this in the Sheet 5 or Sheet 6 Rigging details, but am overlooking it, I am sure.

Hope this post isn't a jinx, but... after trying to learn an efficient way for me to do the little soldering I need for these model ships, and being terrible at many different attempts and methods, I think... I hope.... that I have found a method and combination of materials that have (so far) been working very well for me. Having no previous history in soldering before my venture into model shipbuilding a few years ago, I have been a complete novice at this, and have read through multiple "how-to" websites and videos on recommendations for everything from equipment to technique. I have tried resistance soldering, silver soldering, purchased various setups and tools, and nothing has really been working well for this old man! Had to share the fact that I think I've finally hit the right combination of equipment and technique. I am using a Weller WE1010 soldering station with soldering iron. After some good swipes with some sandpaper at the solder spot to clean and prep it, I am using Nokorode Regular Paste Flux and applying just little dabs on my small brass rods and brass strips (all the materials I've needed to solder so far) and touching just a bit of Alpha Fry 4 oz. 60/40 rosin core solder on the location, and... boom... success! May be trivial to many, but had to share! 👍

Mustafa, love the symmetry of this spar deck! It looks awesome!

Just did another quick scan of Sheet 6 - Rigging Details, and I was probably thinking of the numerous shackles, not turnbuckles. Continued great work, John! 👍

Excellent work on the turnbuckles, John! My $0.02 would be either aluminum or a brass-like gold. For my bowsprit turnbuckles, I purchased some "pre-made" ones that turned out... ok. But, now that I have a mill machine, I believe I could make some even better like yours here. And all of the tubing that I have is brass. Hmmm... I think there are some more turnbuckles higher in the rigging, isn't there?

Great work, Jon, as usual! I am always looking for new and interesting hobby tools. Where did you find the four-corner brace/brackets in the 1st photo of this post? And... for what it's worth, I have admiration for what both you and Mustafa (and Peter aka Der Alte Rentner, as well) are doing with your Constitutions! I took advantage of Model Shipways recent sale and have added the Constitution to my shipyard. Couldn't pass up a great deal on an iconic ship. Besides the fact that I have some great modelers who have paved the way in front of me! Carry on, sir!

Let us know which one you get, Tony! Will be watching. And yes, vossy, I added the Pavel Nikitin version to my shipyard for.... someday! <shrug> 👍😁

Absolutely fine, Bob! Always appreciate additional encouragement and criticism! I have no less than 10 Bluenose build logs that I refer to, as well, for insight and inspiration, including @John Ruy, @Fubarelf, and @JohnU, who all have active, awesome build logs, in addition to several finished Bluenose build logs from @genericDave and @Ed Ku20. I encourage you to find all of their build logs, as well! Speaking of following build logs, though, did you have a build log for your Amati Santa Maria? I was intrigued by Pavel Nikitin's Santa Maria, so I have added that to my shipyard shelf, and may do that one next... if I ever finish this Bluenose! Speaking of which... BACK TO WORK! 👍🤣

That looks interesting, Bob! I'm saving that one. I have this one saved for reference and have used it several times... Rope Knots - All Rope Knots Animated and Illustrated | How to tie all knots for Boating, Climbing, Scouting, Survival, (netknots.com)

Thanks, John! Appreciate your peeking in and commenting. Yeah, a few things I wish I'd done better, but as many have said countless times, only us as the ship builder will notice. For the friends, family, etc who will look at, they will be amazed... 😄 <shrug> Just finished the peak halliard bands on both lower masts and... I think I'm getting better at this soldering thing... 🤣🤣 The cranes and the mast caps pose additional challenges...

Hi Bob! No doubt John's Bluenose has been turning out great from the get-go, which is why I've been following his progress (and stealing ideas!) for a long time. Yours looks equally as magnificent! Congrats! For alternative options to the hull color, on my Bluenose hull, I used Liquitex Basics Acrylic Alizarin Crimson Hue Permanent (brushed on with multiple coats) and sealed with Minwax Polycrylic Crystal Clear Topcoat. I was really pleased with the outcome.

Thank you, Mustafa! Appreciate your encouragement!

Another small update on my Bluenose progress... this time working mostly on the upper portions of the lower masts, specifically the trestle tree area. Before attaching anything to the top of the lower masts, though, as Bill reminded me in the post above, I needed to place the necessary mast hoops around the lower masts. Whether I decide to do full sails, furled sails, or no sails at all, I think I will still want the mast hoops attached to rigging in some form, so... let's get that done first. The mast hoops were provided in the kit but needed to be carefully cut out from the laser sheets. Once I had them all cut out and cleaned up a bit with sandpaper, I wanted to stain them. I used the same red mahogany stain that I used on the deck buildings. I dipped them in a stain bath and then hung them to dry. They came out much darker than I expected, but I still think the contrast between the cherry stained masts and the hoops look good, so we'll go with that. Once they were completely dried and ok to stack on one another, I placed the larger ones on their respective masts, saving the smaller ones for the upper masts when the time comes. Now to the trestle tree assemblies. I first worked on the main mast band for the futtock shrouds, using a 1/16" x 1/64" brass strip. I wrapped it around for size and then soldered. (I'm getting a little better at soldering!) I then fit it onto the mast and drilled two holes in port and starboard sides for placement of U-shaped wires on both sides for the shrouds to ultimately tie to. Using my recently-acquired Proxxon mill, I shaved/flattened some spots on both sides of each mast for the cheeks and made up all of the needed parts for the trestle tree configuration. The spreaders were made from 3/32" square strips. I put pencil marks on the appropriate sides of each strip to help identify which ends were not to be tapered for sanding, which helped keep things straight in my mind. The trestle trees were made from 1/8" square strips. I lined them up together and used some parallel pliers to grip them as a guide for where they needed to be filed down, and that seemed to work well. For the bolsters, I sanded a long piece of 3/32" square stock down to 1/16" and rounded one corner. I then cut them down to size to fit between the spreaders. The slabs were cut from scrap sheets. I glued the cheeks and trestle trees in place on both masts, masked above and below the areas and painted white. I decided to paint the spreaders off the mast and added the end clips (using the 1/16" wide brass strips) before gluing the spreaders to the trestle trees. After the spreader trees were secure, I added the bolsters and slabs and painted the entire assembly sections white. For the iron gates, I had a 1" x 6" x 0.3mm thick brass sheet and cut a 1/8" wide strip and trimmed two of them to fit securely around the two trestle trees. 1/16" brass rods were then soldered onto the strip ends and cut to size to simulate the pins on each end. (Another chance to get better at soldering!) Spreader rods were made using 0.020" brass rods and were attached to both masts' spreaders using CA glue. The quarter lift bands were placed under the main mast trestle trees using the 1/16" brass strips. Four eyebolts were attached to the top of both foremast spreaders, four eyebolts were attached on the sides of the foremast spreaders for the fairleads, and two eyebolts were attached to the sides of the shorter mainmast spreader for fairleads. (I hope I got everything where needed!) All in all, I think the trestle tree assemblies came out well, considering. Now it's on to more mast work... and more soldering! Yippee! Appreciate the follows, likes and comments. I continue to learn from many others!

Very impressive dory work, Richard! 👍

I'll keep on squinting... <shrug> 🤣🤣

I purchased this caliper/divider a couple of years ago on Amazon and I love using it when needed. The bow spring and fulcrum screw are strong enough to hold their position well when using for measuring or scribing. Amazon.com: Starrett Toolmakers Spring-Type Caliper and Divider with Bow Spring and Hardened Fulcrum Stud - 6" Size and Capacity, Spring Joint Type - 277-6 : Industrial & Scientific

Yep! In fact, I keep going into the grandkids' stash kept in the storage room for when they aren't here dragging them out, and I stealing some more! <shrug> 🤣 Looking very good so far, Andre!

Awesome shipyard, Richard!! 👍🏆

Great job, Doug! They all look awesome! Looking forward to starting my Santa Maria version soon. Will no doubt be looking back at some of the things here on your build log. Thanks! What's next for you?!?

Amazing photos, Jon! Are these a part of the USS Constitution Museum website? I have it linked/saved. but have not perused through all of the sub-pages. Thanks for sharing! Been wavering a bit, but still have the Constitution on my "add to shipyard" shortlist.

They really look sharp, Chuck! Amazing what can be produced at this scale! 👍🏆

Nice work on those barrels, John! Nice lathe work. If I stay in this hobby too much longer, I may have to add a lathe to my shipyard arsenal!

Ooooooohh!! A new tool for the shipyard! Seems to me like the Rockler one with the digital readout would be better than the Lee Valley ones, as you would have to measure and adjust the setting on the Lee Valley's Veritas gauge using a separate scale/device, whereas the Rockler has the gauge built-in like a digital caliper, correct?

Hi Andre... Great build so far, love following your progress. I have a really nice digital micro-caliper that I use all the time. I'm sure most of them are very similar, but mine can switch from millimeters to decimal inches to fractional inches with the press of a button. The proportional divider you linked to MicroMark looks interesting, as well, though! No such thing as "too many tools" in the shipyard!! <shrug> 🤣