robbl

Looking at the full profile pic you put up, I had a thought that you could practice doing a cut away on the hull to show some internals

Having cleared the cupboards of some my old unmade plastic models and generated some spare cash, I finally splashed out and got a metal lathe, so I thought I might make a couple of notes about it. I am a lathe novice, so if I get terminology wrong, I apologise.
 
My requirements included:
Light weight so it can be stored in a cupboard or moved outside for use Able to turn 45 mm diametre (I hope to make a 1/24 scale cannon and a carronade) Able to use a variety of tools Able to take a CNC kit to repeat jobs accurately and to cope with tapers and curvey bits Locally in NZ, the Sieg machines and a lot of clones are available. They are cheap but quite heavy at between 35 and 55kg for the small ones. So in the end I chose a Proxxon PD230 which weighs in at 10kg with its clothes off, can turn up to 56mm, can use small lathe tools (up to 8x10mm tools) and has various CNC kits available on the market.
 

 
Technical specifications: centre distance: 230mm swing: 52mm height over cross slide: 28mm cross-slide travel: 60mm top slide travel: 45mm steel toolholder: accepts 8mm x 8mm cutters spindle bore: 10.5mm thread cutting capability: 0.5mm, 0.645mm, 0.7mm, 0.75mm, 0.8mm, 1.0mm, 1.25mm, 1.5mm spindle speeds with reduction: 3,000rpm, 900rpm, 300rpm automatic feed resolution: 0.05mm/rev or 1.0mm/rev tailstock spindle: MK1 bore (short) tailstock travel: 30mm internal chucking capacity: 2mm - 35mm external chucking capacity: 24mm - 68mm handwheel resolution: 1 revolution = 1mm feed (40 divisions) mass: 10kg dimensions: 530mm x 250mm x 150mm  
The lathe came with 3 jaw chuck and live centre and a few bits and bobs for threading and gear cutting, which I do not plan on using.
 
In addition, I got (over the following couple of weeks)
splash guard/tray Quick tool change post plus extra tool holders Proxxon's HSS tool set (5 tools) Fixed steady Boring tool set Tail stock drill Tool holder for rotary tools (Dremel etc) Set of 7 indexed tungsten carbide tipped tools (on special from sieg shop here)
The 8mm high x 10mm wide tools fit in the tool holders made for the quick change tool post. Out of the box, the PD230 is almost ready to fire up after a quick check on the various fittings. It runs surprisingly quietly, and is very compact (in fact the lathe could sit inside my HMS Blanche).
 
I got some Acetal (Derlin) rod for practising on and created a bit of a mess which pleased me no end. With the tools all adjusted for height and distance from the centreline, it is very easy to swap tools around in the middle of a job. I got used to facing and general turning (the lathe has an automatic feed if required) but the one task I am struggling with is parting and deep grooves. At the moment I am avoiding both tasks by using a saw.
 
The CNC kit came from Ideegeniali.it, and it arrived shortly after the lathe did. They claim it only takes 5 minutes to assemble, but it took me about 10 minutes ... but who's quibbling. Wiring it up wasn't difficult either, and then it was time to consider the control software.
 
I chose Mach3, which requires a PC with an printer port. That took a bit of finding, but after a bit I had everything hooked up and ready to go. Ideegenialli supply configuration files for Mach3, so apart from a couple of minor tweaks the computer soon had control over the lathe, with the ability to make moves in the X and Z axis rapidly or jog tiny distances. With the kit in place, I can still manually work the lathe, although I need to remount the original hand wheels onto the stepper motors to make that easier.
 
I already have a CAD/CAM program, so the next step was to create something. I worked up a drawing of a carronade and a cannon from Wayne Kempson's plans in Allan Yedlinski and his book Euryalus V2 and started testing. The testing taught me a few things about tool selection and pathing, as well as how to cope with the complex shapes, such as the breeches of the cannons and carronades. Under CNC control, the carronade can be turned in one job (several passes) with a single tool, while I am turning the cannon first from the barrel back with one tool, then flipping it in the chuck and turning the breech end using two tools (here the quick change post comes into play). I still do facing, drilling and parting off manually.
 

 
The jobs are not perfect yet, as I have a couple of issues to work out:
When I flip the cannon to turn the breech end, the chuck marks the barrel. I am contemplating leaving a V groove oversized in the barrel to slot the chuck into the barrel, then manually turning that out at the end of the job. The finish is not as good as I would like, which I think is a result of tool choice. When turning from the left or right, it is really nice, but the 55 degree straight tip is leaving grooves. Multiple finishing passes clean these up, but a better tip might be a plan. Parting ... if I can't do something manually, then there is no way I'm going to do it under CNC control. I think I have the height correct (on or slightly higher than centre) and am feeding slowly, but it just doesn't work well for me. This may be due to the plastic bending away from the tip, then trapping the tool as it flexes - brass may be better. Or I am parting to far away from the chuck, or with the part still under pressure from the tail stock it is trapping the tip.  
Conclusions:
Pros:
The lathe is more expensive than others, but meets my requirements for space and capabilities.
Accuracy of the lathe is impressive, but I can't compare to other brands.
The CNC kit works well and lets me do things I think I would struggle with (complex curves and repeat jobs)
Both the lathe and the CNC kit worked straight out of the box.
I spent (and still spend) a lot of time looking for hints and tips on turning - that is time well spent.
 
Con:
The operator is a bit inexperienced and could do with a bit of learning.
 
Overall, a nice machine to have and I am glad I finally took the plunge.
 
Cheers
Rob
 
PS: some wood turned - old walnut dowel from an old damaged kit.
 

And this year's "Cannon Award" goes to ......
 

 
Getting better but a couple of fixes to make yet. Finish was ruined because, as I found out, turning the thin area behind the breech causes the rest of the barrel between that and the tail stock to move slightly .... tarnation! I will have to make that step happen after the fine finishing turn of the barrel.
 
To give an idea of accuracy, I had the lathe turn a length of brass down to 0.2mm. The rod connecting the barrel to the pedestal in the attached picture is .9mm
 
Cheers
Rob
 

Egen, that makes sense, I had not thought of that. Perhaps I should look closely at that part of the gundeck and do some planning.
 
Daniel, 42mm fore and aft (6ft 6in) x 57mm wide (8ft 11in). Even the doors are low, so it would have been a difficult place to work.  And, yes, your comment had me running to the plans   When the racks go in there will not be much floor space.

Well, long time no see....
 
Busy at work and home, and slack doing updates - these are my excuses. Also, there wasn't much visually happening so I just kept doing bits and not updating the log.
 
The work that has been done is to strengthen the frames ready for external fairing. To do that I wanted to get the quarter deck clamps on, which then lets me put the tops of the frames on where there are gun ports. Once I decided to do that, I had to do the orlop and lower deck clamps and then the stern timbers.
 
So I set to cutting top and butt planks using my table saw and two pieces of wood cut to the right angles as jigs. I glued a piece of wood to the end to serve as a pushing block, and two pieces to the side to hold the planks down and stop them climbing as they went over the blade.


 
The results looked ok, and more importantly they fit.

 
So I got the lower clamps done, then started on the stern timbers. To align the frames on each side up I cobbled together a plank with a copy of the plans of the tops of the frames, and glued strips of wood on. The frames then sat in that and were glued to the counter timber.

These frames still need cutting down to their correct lengths, but I'll do that after strengthening with the transoms.
 
So, now some shots of the whole thing. Still working on the quarterdeck clamps. Where they meet the strings of the waist I didn't put a proper scarph in, but simply cut a small scarph of one frame width to strengthen the joint.





 
As I do these small tasks, I am removing the original spacers from between the hull frames as the clamps take up the job of keeping everything in place. This is proving to be harder than I expected, mainly due to the good quality glue  , but they are coming out. 
 
Cheers all
Rob

Egen, I was going to mention the dust and scratches.......honest
 
I have a Canon 550D SLR. A couple of the photos have been done on the phone camera, but the Canon is the "go to" camera, and as you say, it is very useful for highlighting things. There have been a few times that I have dismantled frames after taking a photo.
 
And I have a macro lens that I sometimes regret buying as well - it is veeeerrrrry sharp......
 
There is a program called helicon remote that is worth looking at which lets you take a series of shots at different focal distance, then merge them into one for a fantastic full length shot of a long subject like the ships. I must dig out a test I did and post it.
 
Cheers
Rob

Hello again.
 
The last while has been busy with all the unimportant things in life, like the dreaded work, so I have not made much progress at all. After seeing Egen's last update, I have to resist the urge to jump ahead of myself .....
 
After running the floorhead thickstuff along the wrong lines, I ripped them all off and started relaying them. Most of the damage done by my wild flailing about with my chisels is now conveniently hidden by the new planking, but I do have a little cleaning up to do.
 
These consist of two runs of 12 11 x 5 inch (22 inch total) with 2 runs of 11 10.5 x 4 inch (21 inch total) each above and below.Midships this totals 6 planks wide, reducing to 4 planks at the ends. Midships and aft, there is little curve, so I just steamed the planks and clamped them while gluing. Where the planking meets the keelson at the bow, it was easier to spile the planks than bend them.
 
Where the number of planks reduced from 6 to 4 at each end, I used a drop strake on the thinner planks above and below the two main planks to merge the two into a single plank running to the ends.
 
The photos are not very good, so I hope to replace them later this week with shots taken outside in natural light.
 
Midships, middle two runs of thickstuff done, the first run above that being clamped in place.

 
Towards the bow, and both the top runs are being fixed in place. The last planks at the bow are spiled as the curve was too great to bend the planks.

 
At the stern, the lower of the two top runs is cut to allow the top run to "drop" into it forming .....

 
.... a single plank to terminate at the aft fashion piece. The same happens forward, and a variation happens to the lower two runs at each end below the main thickstuff.

 
And so far, the planking is done except for 4 lengths which "drop" into the last planks at each end.

 
Cheers
Rob

Cutting the gun ports went ok, up until I realised I should recalibrate the vertical gauge more often



 
Keelson went in no problems:

 

 
Followed by the limber strakes:

And so onto the square frames. These I found easy and work rate accelerated during this phase as the ends came together.
 

 

 

 
Close up of the pump wells

 
And done ....

 
So with the framing done, time to get on with the gun posts and keelson.

Hi Allan, same to you! You'll be able to post your Euraylus log now!!
 
So - on with putting the bits together and making it look like a ship.
 
The fore and aft cant frames were the first to go up. At the beginning, I ignored all the sage wisdom of the site and authors, and was going to cut the gun ports as I went. That idea was short lived....
 
The cant frames were straight forward. When I do this again, however, I will build square frames off the ship to get "into the groove" before doing the more difficult cant frames.
 


 


 

First up, the beginning of the build.
 
The keel: This was straight forward, although I now have 3 keels, 2 stems and 3 stern posts and deadwood.


 
The Hawse Timbers and Transoms: Surprisingly, these actually went to gether very well. Ok, I admit I have two sets of hawse timbers ....


 
The frames: I tried a few ways of building the frames, but in the end settled on doing the job as it was done in the yard, by using chocks. This has resulted in a strong frame (I can attest to the strength  )
 
This is some of the Totara being used.

 
And some shots of the frame making process:
 

 
 

As my first scratch build project, I chose to build the frigate HMS Blanche (1800), one of the 27 Apollo class frigates of 36 guns built to the design of William Rule (see wikipedia).
 
The Blanche was built at Deptford by John Dudman and launched in 1800. In 1805, after some success in the West Indies, she was captured and burnt after a battle with 4 French vessels.
 
One reason I chose to start this build was the book Frigates of the Royal Navy, HMS Euryalus by Allan Yedlinski and Wayne Kempson. Without this book and the accompanying plans, I would not have even contemplated a start. Along with the book, this site and the logs on it written by extremely skilled modellers is a fantastic resource.
 
This will not be a fast build, and there will be some work done over a few times, but a after year into the project it remains a lot of fun.
 
Thus far, I am using Totara for the keel and frames, Kauri for the inboard planking and intend to use Rimu for some internal  work. All these are New Zealand native and are sourced from old floor boards, church pews and scrap fence posts.
 
I have the plans from Greenwich (although Wayne's plans are superb and all that is required), and also got a print from them.

 
So, here is my Blanche .....
 
 
Cheers
Rob
 
 

Current build status

This is a top down view of the magazine to show how small it is. Note that Admiral the Lord Bob is a tad rotund and unlikely to fit through the access passage and doors. It is not glued in place yet as I will do the floor pallets (perhaps) and the cartridge racks off ship, as well as needing room to fit some bulkheads below the platform.
 
(Actually this photo was taken before adding the internal doors and access steps.)

Getting there Allan, just have to finish these platforms ....
And Druxey, I suspect the blood is a sign - a message to suggest it is time to wrap it up for the night.
 
This update is just a note to show that I'm still at work, even if the progress doesn't show. I had been working on the aft magazine and got to the point of working on the light room. As there will be more light rooms in the forward magazine, I decided to see if I could mass produce these. To do this, I ripped a length of wood (Matai), then using the tilted blade on the table saw, cut the angles profile of the light box.

Then I milled out the enclosure to make a rough box ....

(this was a test piece that was discarded)
Which I then carved to form my interpretation of the light box ....

....Which was then discarded as the door was
Too high
Too wide
The cross boards were round the wrong way.
But the photo was quite good so I kept that
I then added the window frames to the box (but haven't done any glass for it), and it now resides in the magazine.

 
I had also added the "spiral staircase" access ladder as well

 
By this stage, I had spent considerable time working on this tiny room that in all likelyhood will never be seen ..... when the Vacuum God visited and sucked up my newly built light room access ladder
 
I took this as a sign that I should take a break from the Aft Magazine, and move on to the middle platform and lower well. So I left the aft platform in this state ....


 
And moved on. The deck beams were easy enough to do. I chose not to do any round up on them, milled the rabbet for the deck planks and chiseled the mortices for the carlings. Having checked their heights when sitting in the notches chiseled in the orlop deck clamps, I then started on the lower well. At this point I found I had a problem. The main mast step sits too far back if I allow room for the elm tree pumps (frame 7 aft), so has to be moved forward over the recesses.

 
I am unsure what I might have done wrong here, but to be honest I am comfortable with the way everything is sitting. I wonder if the elm tree pump recess should have been in frame 7 fwd and not 7 aft, or perhaps 8 aft, aft of the step and fwd of the chain pump recess? In this shot, the aft of the step is sitting on 8 fwd and extends over 7 aft, covering the recess.

This is the well in place, the main mast step has had the bolts and wedges fore and aft added, and I have put two blocks with dowel in place for positioning the chain pump shafts later.
 
Regardless of the above issue, I am more than happy with how the middle platform is turning out so far.

 
I am adding limber boards under the platforms as I go, mainly to try and stop all the scraps falling into the channels. When I get to the forward platform, I will be returning to the aft as well to add the racks and other furniture.
 
Cheers
Rob

Hi all
 
A little bit of progress internally. First, I added t-track and bolts to the building board so my gantry can be used for height measurment and clamping. Then, a new assistant supervisor was appointed.....

Retired Admiral the Lord Bob brings experience to the task.
 
Then, to learn about making decks and platforms, I decided to start with the aft magazine and platform, as it looked a lot simpler than the fore platorm. First I used the bulkheads I had made from Matai in the last progress post to construct the walls of the aft magazine.

 
And I also cut the aft platform beams from Totara, and checked their positioning for height along with the magazine.

 
I started with the idea of milling the mortices, but that took longer than cutting them with a scalpel and small chisels. This effort highlighted two things - I need smaller chisels and I need to cut away from the hand ... blood is on the underside of the beams.
At this stage I realised my potential for getting all the angles and measurements wrong while working inside the hull was immense, so made slots in a piece of offcut wood to allow me to construct the platform off ship.

 
This allowed me to line up the timbers and their mortices and hold everything nicely in place while I worked, so I ended up with this....

 
Which when placed back in the hull with the magazine looks like this ....

 
So I still have to do the knees, and until I do, the platform will not be fixed inside the hull. You might notice, in the close up of the top down image attachment below, the magazine has its floor planked (Rimu), next for it will be the internal bulkheads, lightroom fittings and doors. The "jig" for the platform worked so well, I plan on continuing that method for the orlop deck and fore platform, however I want to finish this aft area first.
 
oh, almost forgot, another "take-away lesson" from this was to avoid the use of blu-tack to test fit the beams in place ... it was difficult to get off afterwards.
 
Cheers
Rob

More sanding done, yet more to do. While doing this, I contemplated my first attempt at the foremast step and was not impressed. So I ran it through the mill, then gave it a good sanding (does that task never end!!)

 
And am now happier ..... while I was at it I did the first two breast hooks as well,
 
The other thing I have been thinking about is the building of the internal structures, such as the aft magazine. First on the agenda was experimenting with creating the bulkheads.
Starting with a length of tounge and groove floorboard

I cut lengths of 4mm thick strips

Then glued 3 of the strips together

and then ripped them down to 2mm strips ending up with 2mm thick lengths of 3x4mm boards

 
which I then glued edge on to make wider sections, which I then ran through the thickness sander to get them smooth and down to 1.6mm thick.

 
So, a successful few days avoiding sanding
 
Cheers
Rob
 
 
 

Thanks for the comments guys.
 
A little progress..... I have fitted the 3 crutches aft. Each of these was roughly cut based off cardboard templates, then sanded, sanded and finally sanded some more until they fit ok.

There is "air" between the ends of the crutches and the frames which I am comfortable with, however I am considering slipping some planking under them. Next on the agenda is fitting the lower hooks at the bow and the foremast step. I am also experimenting with some wood to build some of the internal structures, so hope to have some progress shots of that soon.
 
So, feeling that I was close to finishing the external fairing and then I could charge (figuritively) ahead with internal work, I took her outside for a bit of a cleanup. Started sanding lightly with a fine sanding stick ... moved onto a rough paper .... ended up using a wood rasp and chisel. Ok then, perhaps there are a few more hours of sanding to go then ...
 

 
I can say that I am happy with my decision to fit the deck clamps and gun ports before doing the external framing, as it has provided a lot of strength to the hull. I have been able to use a powered hand sander and twice knocked her against objects while carrying her outside for sanding without any frames getting damaged.
 
And since I get quickly tired of sanding I started a little side project  (admiral thinks I have the attention span of a gnat)

Cheers all
Rob

Håkan, if I told you where I found the time, there would be less for me!
 
Mini update ..... I finally released Blanche from the building board she has been bolted to for so long.
 

 
It was with considerable relief that I didn't see any sag or hogging. More relief was due to the fact the whole thing didn't spring apart ......
 
So to avoid breaking off all the tops, I built a little support from some polystyrene glued to some timber ....


 
Which will be clamped into my portable workbench
for external fairing. I quickly took it outside to create some dust and the arrangement worked well. Less pleasing was seeing how much I have to do, as my early woodwork leaves something to be desired .... this is going to take a while.
 
Still, it was nice to see the undersides after all this time.
 

She looks a bit like a beached whale....
 
 
Cheers
Rob
 

Hello all
 
After a long hiatus, I felt guilty enough to pick up some tools and do a bit of work on Blanche. Things have been a bit busy, and will be for a while to come, so I am only doing small bits and pieces for the foreseeable future.
 
When I last posted, I was doing deck clamps and gun ports to stiffen up the hull and strengthen the framing, as I have not yet removed her from the build board for external fairing. As a result, the external side view has not changed much except for the addition of the tops of several frames, and port sills for the forecastle and quarterdeck.
 

 
Internally, I finished putting in the deck clamps which I had previously started, and repositioned a couple that looked poorly aligned. I have also done the fore and main mast steps, and I think they look ok for a first attempt.
 
First is the main mast step....


 
Then the foremast step......
1st - the rough shaping was done by copying the plans for the frames on which it rests (R to S), and cutting a slab of wood to the shape of the inside of those frames.

 
Then I sanded the block so the fore end matched the inside shape of the forward frame. After that, I used my little mill (Proxxon MF70) to cut the groove for it to sit over the keelson, followed by more sanding and shaping. Then finally I used the mill to create the slot for the mast.

 
The steps, and the hooks and crutches that I will do soon, are all from old Totara wood that was once fence posts and is much darker than the Totara I used for the frames, which was old flooring boards. The keelson is from a slab of Totara, and is a slightly richer colour than the frames. Clamps and thickstuff/planks are Kauri.
 
So that's my catch up as it stands now. Next work will be crutches and hooks, and maybe try and do some internal structures.
 
Cheers
Rob
 

I am happy to see the end of 2014, as it was a year of health drama in the family and not a lot of building work at all, but there has been a little bit of progress in making the forward magazine and platform.
 
I intended to build this in the same way as the aft magazine and platform, by building the both off the model to make it easier to work on them. I think it went ok, however I got seriously confused with my measuring and the platform was way too high at the bow, Some sanding of the platform and the clamps remedied that, and the magazine fits comfortably under it in place.
 
Next for these will be completing and fitting out the magazine and adding the filling room, light boxes and structure that surrounds the foremast step before fixing the platform in place over it. I think I will have to fit the bitt pins in place as well.
 
The first few pictures show the magazine being formed by first laying out the beams then the planking. It currently finishes where the light boxes will go and will later be extended forward.
 



 
As I mentioned above, the platform was built mainly off the model. There are still a few ledges to be fitted, but it is mostly complete apart from planking and a couple of timbers forward.
 



 
Finally, where would I be without my toys. Making the knees has been relatively easy since I fitted some CNC gear to the Proxxon mill 

 

Hi all
 
Being distracted by new toys, followed by work, I haven't done much that was photo worthy, so I thought I would post a couple of "proof of life" shots having just finished the orlop deck framing.
 

 
In the background of the photos you can see the aft magazine with roof and hoods on. Some scratches still need to be smoothed out on this, and the flash makes it look worse than it really looks.
 

 
There are bulkheads still to go in either side of the aft magazine, and the platforms will be planked, but until I start work on the forward magazine and platform I won't decide how much to plank.
 
At this juncture I would say I am not a fan of carlings and ledges .... only the fore platform, two full decks, quarter deck and forecastle to do, then no more of them - yay!
 
Cheers
Rob
 

Hey Daniel, there's no such thing as a bad question. If people didn't ask "why is that like it is" I wouldn't go back and correct the deliberate errors I make to test peoples' observational skills.......
 
Nils, every time I look at the forum I see new things to try and parts to make - the work done here is inspirational to say the least, for example your Pamir.
 
As for me, no progress this week.
 
Not even a little bit.
 
I have a good reason though.
 
The Admiral wanted some special knitting needles made to knit rugs with, so it was plain to the simple deckhand that a tool was required for the task.......
 

 
Obviously a CNC kit would be beneficial to optimise said deckhand's time in the yard......(What can I say, I work in IT, lived with computers since 1976 and remain fascinated by geek stuff, love toys of all types and this thing is just immense fun.)
 
Haven't started on the needles yet, but have done some test subjects just to be sure I get them right ....

Here we see examples of a "pointy" end that didn't meet specifications for wool handling. And apparently they were too short .... sigh, I shall just have to try more "tests"
 
and , ok, I admit the whole needle idea came up after the lathe arrived....
 
This is the third attempt on both the carronade and cannon (we don't like to talk of the 2nd attempt at both - hair raising would be an appropriate comment, if I had any). I am practising using Acetal (Derlin) plastic rod which I believe is hard to glue bits to, so brass will be the final material - I just have to get brave enough to see the metal fly and then relearn soldering - fortunately there is a very good thread on soldering on the forum.
 
However it is back to the "real" work this weekend, I promise.
 
Oh, and the needles.....mustn't forget the needles.......

So, where it is now:
 
I have added the waist strings to give some strength to the upper timbers in the waist. To align the planks to the bottom of the upper sills, I clamped small blocks to the upper sill so that the planks sat onm these at the correct height.

 

 
 
I laid the floorhead thickstuff by first working out the line of the planks where the two thickest (the middle 2) planks run along the hull. I then laid the lower of those two planks from stem to stern until they met the keelson. Then I looked at what I had done, and realised I had run them to meet the keelson where the top plank should have met .... arghhhhhhhh
 
Naturally, I had managed to run several of the planks adjacent to these, so everything needed to be removed. I commented before how strong this hull is.....very little damage has been done even after rough abuse with chisels.
 
One thing I have noticed - every little scrap of wood in the hull ends up in the limber channel or the pump wells. It is almost as if it was designed with this in mind!
Ripping out the bad ....

 
But to finish this summary - I'll use this tidy picture
 

 

As my first scratch build project, I chose to build the frigate HMS Blanche (1800), one of the 27 Apollo class frigates of 36 guns built to the design of William Rule (see wikipedia).
 
The Blanche was built at Deptford by John Dudman and launched in 1800. In 1805, after some success in the West Indies, she was captured and burnt after a battle with 4 French vessels.
 
One reason I chose to start this build was the book Frigates of the Royal Navy, HMS Euryalus by Allan Yedlinski and Wayne Kempson. Without this book and the accompanying plans, I would not have even contemplated a start. Along with the book, this site and the logs on it written by extremely skilled modellers is a fantastic resource.
 
This will not be a fast build, and there will be some work done over a few times, but a after year into the project it remains a lot of fun.
 
Thus far, I am using Totara for the keel and frames, Kauri for the inboard planking and intend to use Rimu for some internal  work. All these are New Zealand native and are sourced from old floor boards, church pews and scrap fence posts.
 
I have the plans from Greenwich (although Wayne's plans are superb and all that is required), and also got a print from them.

 
So, here is my Blanche .....
 
 
Cheers
Rob
 
 

Current build status

I am happy to see the end of 2014, as it was a year of health drama in the family and not a lot of building work at all, but there has been a little bit of progress in making the forward magazine and platform.
 
I intended to build this in the same way as the aft magazine and platform, by building the both off the model to make it easier to work on them. I think it went ok, however I got seriously confused with my measuring and the platform was way too high at the bow, Some sanding of the platform and the clamps remedied that, and the magazine fits comfortably under it in place.
 
Next for these will be completing and fitting out the magazine and adding the filling room, light boxes and structure that surrounds the foremast step before fixing the platform in place over it. I think I will have to fit the bitt pins in place as well.
 
The first few pictures show the magazine being formed by first laying out the beams then the planking. It currently finishes where the light boxes will go and will later be extended forward.
 



 
As I mentioned above, the platform was built mainly off the model. There are still a few ledges to be fitted, but it is mostly complete apart from planking and a couple of timbers forward.
 



 
Finally, where would I be without my toys. Making the knees has been relatively easy since I fitted some CNC gear to the Proxxon mill