Gregory

For the upper capstan, which is the part I plan on using, I made a jig to get a more even surface to fix the whelps. I just take a couple of strokes on the sand paper on each surface that will be visible after whelps and chocks are in place.. For the upper capstan I made a jig to help me hold the whelps in alignment while I glued them up with the chocks. This time I drilled the holes for the simulated bolts in the chocks before going forward with the assembly. Here the lower chocks are glued in, with finishing to follow. Here are some of the parts for the upper drum. I thought I was on a roll ( yes a drum roll ), but I did this before I had the discussion above with Chuck, about how those holes should line up.. Here is the condemned effort before I realized my mistake and proceeded to rip it apart. To be continued..

So, just empty holes without the arms? OK, then.. Opinion. Do you think some brass wire pins would be out of place in the iron ring? For contrast?

Good to know. I was thinking the holes represented bolts that would go between the square openings,, Not so? It seems to be the case on the model we were looking at..

I recently reviewed this kit over in the Reviews forum: 1:48 Double Capstan for HMS Winchelsea I discussed it with Chuck, and he felt this forum would be the best place to put my build log. First, a little background about why I am building this capstan even though I don't foresee building Winchelsea. Back in June of last year I posted an item about the capstan I built from scratch, for my Corel kit Resolution. I thought it was pretty decent and as good or better than a lot of kit provided or third party parts. ( I had actually upsized the 1:72 kit from Master Korabel ) I'm glad Chuck looked in on my log, because he pointed out how kits rarely get the relative size ( thickness ) of the various parts; whelps, chocks and etc. of a capstan correct, if even close. It requires several thicknesses of wood, and therefore drives up the cost of the kit/part.. He showed me a picture of this model: ...And I decided at that point, that my model would never launch with the sub-par capstan that had been delivered by the contractor. Fast forward six months and Chuck unveils the capstan mini-kit for the Winchelsea project. I knew right away that Chuck had saved me the trouble of designing my own new capstan. I waited a couple of weeks to order my kit/s so that the Winchelsea project participants would have first option to get their kits. The packaging is typical of Syren mini kits, and the detailed instructions are available for download at Syren. This is the Cherry version. It will fit in with my Resolution. I also ordered the Alaskan yellow cedar version for another project I have in mind. The kit has 7 different thicknesses of wood as well as some black monofilament and black laser board pieces for detailing. I recommend keeping the various parts in their sheets until called for in the instructions. Many are similar and i know I would be scrambling to find the right part if I had removed them all early on. The first step calls for building the central column of the lower capstan. The instruction are very precise in describing which parts are needed for each step and which sheet to find them on. Example: Glue one ¼” thick column section along with three 3/16” Column sections together after sliding all of them onto the 1/16” strip. These column sections look like five sided pieces. The ¼” piece can be found on sheet A. The 3/16” pieces can be found on sheet B. There are relatively few steps, covered in eight pages of instructions, but each step involves several pieces. The next step calls for putting the lower whelps on the center column. Each step has information about when and how char should be removed. Naturally we want it removed from surfaces that will be visible after assembly. The lower column has five flat surfaces to receive the whelps, and there will be a small visible strip between each whelp. I over-did the char removal a bit here and paid for it later. The cherry has some dark streaks that can be a little confusing when removing char, so I would keep this in mind throughout a cherry build. Also, the AYC may be a little less forgiving when it comes to sanding, so a little extra care may be required there. Looking ahead, I chose to drill the holes for the simulated bolts before assembly. This is an image from the instructions. It calls for gluing the whelps on to the column in preparation for adding the chocks. I ran into some problems here, because I think I over-sanded the column, and did not get a tight, even spacing of the whelps. So I added the chocks at this point to help me align things before the glue ( PVA) set, and did the best I could to even things up. I had intended to drill the detail holes in the chocks before assembly, but my botched efforts got in the way.. You can see some gaps at this point, but I managed to recover somewhat, and I think you will see the final result with the lower capstan doesn't look too bad. I don't plan on using the lower part, so I am depending on it more for a learning process. At this point, I want to elaborate on those grooves for the chocks in the whelps . Looking back at the model I posted earlier. Note the chocks in the grooves. You will find those grooves in some plan drawings from the NMM. Structurally, they make sense. You won't find those grooves on any other kit model of a capstan. ( that I am aware of ) When Chuck chose to include those grooves in this kit he took laser part making to another level. It created a lot of additional work in cutting the parts. The grooves had to be etched precisely on both sides of the sheet, unlike cutting, or engraving on one side. The piece would have to be flipped and placed with pixel level preciseness to make this happen. Probably, once he had it all planned he created a jig that enabled him to more easily repeat the process, but getting there would have taken many hours and lots of scrap.. When all is said and done, those grooves really contribute to a realistic and more precise build. I ended up with some ugly gaps, but I hope to show I overcame them to some extent later. Just something for other builders to keep in mind. Next is building the drum for the lower capstan. Really an easy process of making a sandwich of three parts. Char cleaned off and added to the assembly.. I won't go over the detail of putting the base together. It is really straight forward. The biggest challenge is getting the words in the right order.. A little polly to bring out the cherry, and here is my version of the lower capstan. I have continued working on the upper part, which i plan to use for my Resolution, and should have it completed shortly.. I hope to be able to show a little improvement with my lessons learned..

I commented in the other saw thread about the blade options for Proxxon.

I'm happy with the Proxxon FET, that Hyuda looks like it would be worth a try.. Better than doing without if you can't spring for Byrnes at this point.

I bought mine from Amazon a few months ago. I'm not sure about the version. I'll see if I can find a date stamp on it. The plastic parts are all quite robust and don't appear in danger of failing any time soon. I find the fence to be very accurate and capable of very fine ( micrometer-like ) adjustments. I believe the arbor is 10mm, but you can use this 1/2" arbor adapter from MicroMark and use the excellent blades available from Malco Saw. No doubt the Byrnes saw is the Rolex of small saws, but I find the Proxxon to be very capable.

I feel fortunate that I am able to be the first to show off this beautiful little kit from Chuck and the Syren Ship Model Company I know quite a few Winchelsea builders already have this, because I had to stand in line for a couple of weeks to get mine. Here is the no frills packaging ( I ordered one each of the cherry and Alaskan yellow cedar versions ) next to the comprehensive assembly instructions, available for download at Syren. Winnie Capstan Instructions Here is the cherry version spread out. The wood is as high quality as I have ever seen. It reminds me of pear, in that there is very little noticeable grain. However, having worked with a lot of cherry lately, I look forward to the color I know will pop out with a very light finish. Chuck has provided five different thicknesses of material, from 1/32" to 1/4". The attention to detail is what you have come to expect from Chuck and Syren, with the included black monofilament to simulate bolts and the black laser board ring detail. There is just nothing else out there, kit or molded, to compare to the realistic look of this kit. Sure, we might see a 3D printed one any day now, if they are not already out there, but they will not be wood, and we will know it.. I can't imagine how Chuck found the time to design this and bring it to production. He never sleeps. At $23.00 it is a steal.. It will be a great addition to any 1:48 project, and in an historically accurate way. The design and look of these things did not change much over a 100+ year period. I don't have any plans to build the Winchelsea, but I have a couple of projects in mind where this kit will fit right in. The quality and completeness of the kit is fairly self explanatory, so I don't know what else I can say at this time. Please hit me with any questions you have. I plan on putting it together in the next few days and will create a build log to document the experience. I hope I can get close to the bar Chuck has raised.

I am very pleased with the Proxxon FET. I have made a lot of strips as thin as .5 mm from a variety of wood. I particularly like the very precise fence adjustments. The tilting feature is also great to have. If you decide to get it, you may want to explore getting some finer blades than those Proxxon provides.

There are various cure times depending on available moisture and the formula of the glue itself. Often it can be instantaneous. Acetone dissolves cured CA, and can be used to clean up unwanted residue, and when approached proberly, to break a cured bond. Of course acetone will also dissolve most varnish and paint, so you may have to do some refinishing if it ends up in spots you don't want.

It's a good thing Moab isn't planning on using veneer..

Here are my boom jaws.. Fresh from the laser on the left, and finished up on the right.. I have the mast and topmast broken into smaller parts that make it easier to shape the pieces, rather than try to shape one long part. It also makes it easier to make a new part if something goes wrong. it should look something like this eventually.. Still working on cannon. This breaching rope looks frayed because I did a lot of twisting and untwisting. I hope to come up with a cleaner look.. Stay tuned..

That may be one way of measuring it, but I have bought 1/32 sheets, usually 4" wide and various lengths from any number of places including Syren Shi Models. Syren sells .025 inch yellow cedar. It's very workable depending on what one is doing. It does take care, but it is not as fragile as most veneer.

I will be interested on the pricing for a special order. I have bought quite a bit of the listed sizes.. Say, compared to 1/16 x 4 x 24 cherry for $3.40 ..

Getting 1/32 milled pear, apple or boxwood would be a challenge. I suspect the pricing would be interesting as well. Those would certainly be my first choice if they could be had, and if I wasn't going to paint or stain it. I'm thinking Moab is wanting to get something to work with in the near future.. I hope that when someone finds a good source for any of those, they will let us know right away..

Contrary to some rumors, I have not been sleeping on the job. I have been working on the masting and some other odds and ends, as well as some non modeling projects that have been taking me away from this one. A little of my technique and results follow I refer to my laser a lot, and here I chose to take care of the initial tapering of the topmast by cutting it with the laser. If the plans look familiar, I'm taking some ideas from my Cheerful plans. I follow up with my Black & Decker unimat, which also drives my disk sander and ropewalk. A couple of other things before I show the almost-finished mainmast/topmast assembly. I have some nice Syren cleats that are the right size, but I wanted to stay with cherry as my main wood of choice for fittings on this build. I cut them out, but found the little mounting pegs broke off too easily because of the grain orientation, so I made a modification that makes for a strong mounting peg. The joint will not be very noticeable when rope is in place. Next up, some mast hoops that will need to go on the mast before it is assembled. I made these from cherry, with a method that Chuck demonstrated with Cheerful. I spin them and finish them on the rotary tool. Who wants to guess how many of these I started with to get the few that ended up on the mast? I like the way the cherry looks.. ( No, I did not hide any breaks on the hidden side of the mast ..😁 ) I need to take a break tonight, but I will have a few more pictures of mast details tomorrow ..

I would recommend Ocooch Hardwoods as a source. Their prices are very reasonable. They ship very quickly and they communicate very well. They don't list 1/32 on their site, but it is my understanding they will cut it for you if you send them an email. Keep in mind, tight grain might mean they are more difficult to stain. My choices would be cherry, maple, beech, ash and poplar, not necessarily in any order. You may get some more informed and educated opinions than mine..

Syren Ship Model

What is the basis of your model? Kit ? Scratch build? The only legitimate kit is the one from Panart; perhaps someone here could give you a block count from the plans. However, I would not rely on it for being accurate. The rigging lines are another matter. The kit will not have a list of the " number of lines " .. I see in another post that you have the AOTS book. That would be the best source for determining the type and number of blocks, as well as the size and amount of rigging line you need.

Oh no.. That is the shape that blends with the rudder..

No trial and error.. It stays the same from front to back Using the rabbet strip, at the stern, the bearding line is made flush with the rabbet strip.. ( GBarlow's Cheerful ) At this point, very little, if any of the thickness of the planks has been removed.. At most a small amount of beveling on some edges. ( Thanks to Glenn for providing a lot of detail in his build log.. )

I guess a lot of our members feel that it is complicated, because we get a lot of questions about these things.. That is why we depend on the more experienced members like yourself, to give us ideas that have worked for us.. AL might have a good method but they do not give detailed instructions that would provide a nice looking outcome.. Rabbet and bearding line do not seem to be part of their vocabulary, but are essential to well finished planking on ship models.

Do you plan on offering the gun carriage jig in the store like you did for the grating jig?

If you want to try something just use the Dremel mandrel and cut out your own with some kind of rubber backing.. I don't think you will find anything ready made that is very robust..

Here is something that works really well for most kits, and should work in your last example, with a back-bone type keel, where you add the separate keel, and stern post: You add a 1/16 ( smaller or bigger depending on the size of the model ) square strip along the center of the piece. As seen here on Chuck's Winchelsea. This serves as a groove in which to fit your planks, and serves the same purpose as the rabbet.. It only adds a fraction to the dimensions of your model and should not cause any problems, while making the fitting of the planks easier and better looking.. So, instead of something like this: You get something like: This! Gregory