Loracs
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Everything posted by Loracs
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Another Question on RATLINES: I often see the cross section (horizontal segments) in light colored rope rather than dark like the vertical section. Is it a preference from the builder (for contrast) or those were never coated with Tar back then? Same for the rope between the two deadeyes... always light colored or they were coated with tar usually?
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Question: Likely one of many as I started thinking/working on rigging the ship. I'm reading that the fore-most shroud on the fore and main mast are typically served the whole length of the rope while the others only at the portion around the mats... why only the first? there must be a practical and/or functional reason it was done that way.
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Deadeyes racks and gunport doors installed to the ship. This is no small task... amazing the number of little parts... all having to be fixed with nails. The good news, it is done and no major break (couple of minor ones though). Mark, drill and push in... all the while holding my breath that nothing fall apart. And those little corner parts on top of the racks!! each need to be adjusted to fit, what a pain. With this done, this officially start the rigging segment of the build, starting with the deck cannons.
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Thanks for the review. Those are indeed really nice.
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@Knocklouder thank you ;_)
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Triangular deadeye platforms are ready to be installed. A little messy with the label... but they will go away.
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Eyebolts, Racks and Cleats: Various small parts are installed on the ship. Those are quite a challenge. Each is re-enforced with nails for stability. A comment on Bibetou: I seriously hate this wood. It is far too fragile to be used as construction material. So far each piece has been strengthened by planking it with walnut strips... it is almost a requirement.
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Hey Patrick, you have a nice eye. Thanks for the catch. It is a lot easier to fix now than later. hehe
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Small Palissade is finally done... only a few cosmetic touches once the glue cured. Made more progress but only in building small pieces to be fixed later. Gunport doors look tricky to place and remain put on the ship. There are times like now where not much is "seen" to be happening but it is advancing slowly.
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Small Palisade: This turns out to be a real pain. It's hard to align and provides only a small surface area to set in place. This is a recipe for a disaster down the road. So, I decided to modify my approach. I planked the side facing inward with interlocking sections to act as a guide to keep everything straight and increase strength when fixing later. Pictures show the design. Dry fit (no glue) is reasonable. Time to finish planking outside.
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Hello Cleat, a very nice build. Quite a different ship and stylish. I'm curious where did you get that height-adjustable plane? Quite interesting!
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Rigging Cannons: A year ago, I could not deal with less than 5mm blocks and 0.5mm rope. Fast forward 2.5mm block and 0.25mm rope are now manageable. Start rigging the cannons. Using a 3mm hook from Syren. Seen ok in terms of proportion, 30% less would be great but may not hook very well. It is still a go as is. First two blocks done... 54 more. Patience Loracs, Patience.
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ouch... that a lot of ropes in a day. I don't envy you on that one. ;_)
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Just added a picture of the recent group. Mara 120 right turn, 70 left turn, 70 right turn, 30 right turn. All are 3 strands.
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I figured out my unraveling mistakes. The successful ones were likely the ones I forgot to do, roughly 1 in 5 I'm guessing. A pretty bad fails rate (80% or so). The more careful I was, the worse it seemed to get. I realized my mistakes today and ET VOILA! 100% successful. I'm almost too proud to admit it... but HEY! If I make a mistake someone else may one day. Here it is: My Syren version 2 did not have arrow(s) pointing which way to twist. For some reason, I put in my head that I had to reverse drilling orientation (flip the reverse switch on the drill) when going from one stock to the other. Big mistakes... I basically keep adding tension to the rope without releasing it. If I was not careful when cutting the rope at one end, it would twist on itself aggressively. Then I read one of Chuck's comments on rope making: that when you carefully balance the tension from the first and second twist, the rope would just lay flat (without much curling, unwinding) when you cut it from the stock post. That was the clue. Corrected the mistake and BANG, released one end and the rope just lay there. Did 5 other ropes of different sizes, and YES!!! each almost seen better than the previous. A nice sight.
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This Mara 120, 4 strands was still under tension when you replied... so I increased the temperature to 400 degree/5 min. It did quite ok this time. However, I will be switching to 3-strands with more twisting on individual strands, as you suggested. I may be more forgiving ;_) Here are the Mara 70, 4 strands and the Mara 120, 4 strands. I think they are ok.
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thank you for the pointers... will give it a try.
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Hello, first few times with the Syren ropewalk. P.S. beside my inexperience... I like Chuck ropewalk a lot! Looking for suggestions on the following: Using mara 70, 4 strands (0.7mm or 0.025 inch): having no real issues twisting and after 4-5 min at 350 degrees ===> no unraveling. Using Mara 120, 4 strands (0.25mm or 0.008 inch): The final rope keep unraveling, even after 5 min at 350 degrees. Not sure which variable to look to resolve this issue. Longer cook time or raise to 400 degree? Anything else I may oversee, such as a) twist more tightly or less? b) more/less tension while twisting? c) or longer time under tension after watering? a thousand thanks for your help!
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Shaping Mats: Build a rig for shaping mats. It is basically a holder for interchangeable v-groove pieces (a couple with different depth/width) for shaping using a plane or rounding off with sandpaper using a variable-speed drill. Hope it works... first time shaping round dowels. Now, I have to figure out how to accurately square the end of the dowel (likely a little table saw).
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Completed planking inside the deck and stated to tackle the bow. In keeping with the color theme, both areas were planked using walnut strips. The bow was quite fragile... and thus was reinforced underneath, above and on the sides. Here's what it looks like so far. Note: the bow side panels are not glued yet. I still need to add the canon door first.
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I don't know how you can work with cardboard has building material. I can see that it will be easy to form each piece but... holding it together to get the shape of the ship just right, that seen to be an art form. It seen so fragile. Well done.
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Final look with the side panels up and planked. This is a moment I have been waiting to see for quite a while now. Wood inlays were incorporated as I planked so they don't stand out too much. Walnut strips from 1mm to 5mm complete the overall layout. It adds a little dimension to the sides. Overall, I'm pleased with the result. Ready to complete planking inside and tackle the bow and the stern.
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Slow progress (the ship is emerging from the dark): Working on the last segments of the ship. This is the time where all the small imperfections start to haunt you. 1 mm here and another there, curved deck not perfectly glued or wood taking back its original shape (does not want to be curved), missing a couple grooves in the deck for the inner walls changing slightly the angle of the upper deck, etc... This means that several hours are spent making small adjustments before considering adding the final side panels. In addition, I have to plan the changes in decorations carefully, with all the risk it entails (i.e. not really knowing if the end results will be ok... or not and potentially jeopardizing hundreds of hours of work). Here's what it looks like now. Note: @Ferrus Manus, @Darivs Architectvs, I did not have the courage to remove the monograms... they were already glued when you posted. ;_) Note 2: I took the liberty to reenforce the mats junction to the decks (plywood + hardwood). A little thicker but a tradeoff I'm ok to accept. The reason is that the mats won't be glued. They need to be temporary (but really solid), since they will need to come off (and part of the rigging) when we move in few years from now. Currently, it is a thigh fit and will hold really well.
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A nice one... and very original design. Loving it!
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I have not pay attention to the lettering. Indeed, it is E R. 😉
Our Emblem ®
