Der Alte Rentner

I'm starting the port side gun ports now, and as mentioned several times, am taking a new approach. I'm going to make filler blocks and drill a pair of holes to fit the false cannons. For the first hole I'll use a 1/4" forstner bit to provide space for the width of the cannon. The second hole will be the same diameter as the holes in the false cannon backs provided with the kit. The filler blocks will be cover the full width between bulkheads. The outer and inner edges must be parallel to facilitate drilling the holes. First I took some spare basswood and made some 3/4 x 1/2" strips. These will be cut to fit between the bulkheads. To keep the outer and inner edges of the blocks parallel, I needed to angle the ends to accommodate the differing angles at the edge of the bulkhead. I measured the angle both on the plans and on the hull. Turns out they were the same. Once the first angle cut was made, I measured the distance between bulkheads to mark the cutting point for the other end of the block. I did the "rough" cuts on the bandsaw using a miter gauge. Fine tuning was done with a disk sander. Once the block was the correct width and shape to fit in between the bulkheads, I had to taper the top edge to be parallel with the bottom of the outer plank sheer. Once that was done, I needed to find the spot on the block where the cannon center should be. I marked the center point and drilled the 1/4' diameter hole deep enough to match the depth of the stop of the false cannon backs on the starboard side. After that hole was drilled, I went in for a second pass with the smaller drill. When it comes time to plank the port side around the gun ports, I'll insert a cannon, place the gunport covers where around it and plank to the cover. At this point, I've only done the one between bulkhead R and Q. Sadly, I did that twice. Worse, I did it correctly the first time and moved the hole a smidge to far forward the second time. The mistake is obvious in the photos below. I figure no one will notice that the sternmost cannon on the port side will be a couple of mm forward of its mate on the starboard side. I think this will take less time and provide a better fit than the method (Bob Hunt Practicum) that I used on the starboard side. It will certainly give me more accurate placement for the cannons and provide plenty of gluing surface for the gunport covers, which will be closed around the cannons. If I were to keep the covers open, I'd be repeating the process on used on the starboard side. rough cut using the miter gauge and the bandsaw Close the gap using the same angle at the disc sander. The distance from the bottom of the outboard plank sheer to the center of the cannon hole is 3/4". I had the 13/32" spacer from doing the starboard side and used it to get the filler block parallel to the plank sheer. (add the two fractions to get to the 3/4" distance. The mistake I made was forgetting that the 1/32" had to be subtracted from the bulkhead to the vertical center mark. In the plans the gunport opening needed 1/32" of bulkhead surface to allow for gluing. Not necessary for filler blocks... But to locate the cannons precisely opposite their starboard counterparts, I need to factor that into my calculations. again, this one cannon will be a smidge too far forward compared to its counterpart on the starboard side, but I'm not going to mess with doing this one a third time. One nice benefit of cutting the blocks this way is that the fairing will be minimal..

Fail... Clicking where it says "Click here" returns this: However, there's no place on the page where a cursor works. Assuming these were just directions, I searched for the part number from the kit (WP 3660 1/8" x 3/64" slats). The instructions suggest loading up the shopping cart, then providing detail in Comments at checkout. Since the part wasn't found on the search, there was no way to add the material to the shopping cart. And since the Contact Page has this warning, "(Sending Parts requests thru our regular Contact Form Below will Delay your Request, Please use the Link Above)", I didn't bother using the contact page. Emails and phone calls to Model Expo have never been returned, so why bother. I went with plan B for now. Bought 1/8" x 1/16" stock at Ace Hardware and used my thickness sander to shave off 1/64". Actually, that was plan C. Plan B was to contact the supplier that Model Expo uses to get the materials for their kits. I did order stock from him, but the wood he provided is decidedly darker and grainy. I will use this for all the planking starting two rows below the gun covers. At least both sides of the hull will match, and if I don't paint, it should look pretty nice. I am NOT impressed with Model Expo. They will not permit contact past point of sale. That seems like a lousy way to run a business. Thanks for the suggestion. Sorry it didn't pan out.

I may try again, though I've already purchased replacement stock. Unfortunately the supplier provided a much darker wood. I think as long as I'll use that below where I left off on the Starboard gunports, the color contrast won't bother me - if I decide not to paint... Thanks for the tip targa4403

They have ignored repeated emails and phone calls, and have not sent any replacement stock. I've unsubscribed to their site and won't buy another thing from Model Expo. I went another route on the stock. Yikes! how did I miss your post? You're probably right. But finding one isn't so easy. I'll be back in the shipyard starting tomorrow and will reassess my need for one. My beef with the one I did buy was the horrible clamping on the fence. Also, to be practical for small pieces that one would be cutting on a saw of this size, the safety gear only interferes. How well can you dial in the fence for repeated cuts? Does that screw clamp put dimples in the guide rod?

Now that's some advice I'll be taking to heart. Nicely done

excellent work!

Flawed as the Practicum sometimes is, without it, and the build log data base here at the site, I would not even have attempted the Conny build. Glad to have the company! I have maybe another week of diversions to attend to before I return to the shipyard.

That makes perfect sense (5mm planks). I wish I'd thought of it, but I think I'm committed to the 3/64" (1.19 mm) planks now that I've started. And I agree that it's a good idea to add the counter extensions earlier than later for exactly that reason. Thank you.

Makes me feel better to know that. I've been sidelined with two projects that need to be done before I can return to the shipyard. While I may not achieve your exemplary results, I will follow your example and adopt a relaxed pace. Thanks for the inspiration.

I noticed that the width of the planking seems to be substantially wider then the 1/8" slats provided with my kit. Where I use four strips around the lower gun ports, you're only using three. I'm not a stickler for exacting detail, but wonder about your thinking here. And I'll repeat the question asked by scrubbyj427. Do you plan to paint? I'd like to avoid this, but the replacement stock of 1/8" x 3/64" and 3/32" x 3/64" material is decidedly darker than the basswood stock I've used so far. I don't want the ship to look like a random kaleidoscope, and am still considering options. Maybe stain to a uniform-ish shade of light brown? (Sorry, just thinking aloud). Also, you've done something I've been wondering about with regards to planking the hull first - as prescribed in the Practicum, or adding the counter extension first. I look forward to borrowing from you going forward. Great work!

Night owl much? "Three hours ago" places your post at 2:20 am. I'm very nearby your shipyard, and up early for the rest of my drive to Lost Wages. Looking forward to seeing your jig, which, if successful, will likely be borrowed... Best

Thanks. Coming from you, I take that as a complement. I'm watching your build with equal interest.

Last post until I get back to the shipyard in mid October. I forgot to upload the process I used to plank around the lower gun ports. Pretty much done on the Starboard planking around the lower gunports. . As mentioned previously, I'm going to do the port side differently. Stay tuned. I'm back in the shipyard.

I posted a couple of days ago and the details are there. I responded separately to your two side bar messages. Looking forward to seeing your progress on Conny version 2.

Thanks, but not necessary. I'm using the ones that came with the Constructo kit.

The lions heads that came with the constructo kit will indeed be used. As might the dummy cannons. The quality of the MS is not great - too much filing involved to get these looking clean, or to get the inside end round. Granted, I'll have to make plugs for the backs, but much less work in that than countless hours with a file. Thanks again.

2023 Oct 02 Cathead catastrophe resolved, outer plank sheer installed, and starboard lower gun ports framed. To continue on with the catheads.. I broke out my new Proxxon mini milling machine. I practiced setting up for, drilling the three holes, and cutting out the slots for the simulated sheaves at the end of the catheads. I didn’t have a small enough milling bit for the slots to match the holes but have one on order. Now that I know how to do it, when the cutter arrives, I should get excellent results.\ The mill is a pretty cool tool and working with it takes me back to my apprentice tool and die days under the tutelage of my Uncle Karl. This milling machine has the potential to make easy work out of some of the fabrication required later in the build. I moved on to adding the outer plank sheer. This was relatively straight forward. I followed the Practicum’s directions to get this done. Photos on next page are of the milling machine and the experimental cathead drilling and slot cutting. And one of the hull with the plank sheer almost completed. Next up: the lower gun ports… I spent a lot of time scratching my head over the method outlined by Bob Hunt. This business of marking the location of the top of the upper sill by using four 1/8” x 3/64” planks, then adding a 1/32” to leave room to glue in the gunport covers seemed silly. Now, maybe Bob had the same problem I had. Model Shipways planks in this dimension were woefully misshapen. The widths varied from as little as 3/32” to as much as 9/64”. My first thought was that using this method of holding four planks in place to make marks on the bulkheads solved the problem of inconsistently dimensioned planks. Not so! One would have to hold in reserve all the plank segments used for marking and glue these in exactly where they were used to make the marks. Furthermore, how accurately can anyone actually mark that second line 1/32” below the first? I didn’t see the sense in this. Instead, I ran to Ace Hardware to buy some 1/8” square basswood strips. Kudo’s to Ace Hardware’s supplier. The dimensions on every piece was spot on! I milled this down to 3/64” using my thickness drum sander. I was concerned that this might be too thin to do successfully on the Jet but was very pleasantly surprised. I made enough to get me through the planking above, beside and below the gunports. Replacement strips were ordered at Modelers Sawmill, but this wouldn’t have arrived for a couple of weeks, hence the DIY project. Now that I knew I would have consistent stock, I went to work on making spacers to facilitate the installation of the sills – upper and lower, as well as the vertical frame members. Bob Hunt’s Practicum instructs installing the upper sill, then planking to that sill. Why? I decided to do both sills, side frames and false cannon backs at the same time. To aid in coming up with the proper dimensions for the spacers, I made a large scale drawing of a gunport frame. My initial cocktail napkin math conflicted with Bob in the matter of locating the position of the lower sill. My drawing and subsequent test fitting of the gunport components confirmed my math. The distance between sills is 7/16” not 13/32”. See drawing below. ( This confirms my dimensions. There’s exactly 1/32” on all four sides of the gun port covers, where the covers will be glued to the sills and frames.) Given the curved nature of the hull, almost none of the sill ends could be cut at 90 degrees. So, measuring the angles where the sills met the bulkheads was required. \ I may have goofed in the way I installed the sills and vertical frames. Looking at the plans, I realized that the false cannon backs needed to be perpendicular to the wide surfaces of the sills. To accommodate this, I attached spacers to the forward face of the false cannon backs. How thick did the spacers need to be? The same thickness as the overhang of the vertical frames at the upper sill. Difficult to describe. ( Two spacers required for false cannon back to compensate for the overhang in the front that will be trimmed away in the hull fairing process..) There was a lot of going back and forth to the plans to find the locations of the vertical frames. Several of the false cannon backs had to be trimmed because the gunport itself was up against a bulkhead. After installing sills, frames and cannon backs, the overhangs needed to be trimmed and faired before planking can happen. How did Bob do this with planks already glued in and finished? Before moving to the port side, I'll plank the starboard side, but that's for another day. This is how I chose to deal with the gun port at the bow.

Beautiful workmanship!

I'm so sorry to hear that. On the other hand, given ALL the tweaking I've had to do to those laser-cut bulkheads, I too have contemplating a restart. I'm progressing on the lower gun ports, and so far so good. This is however very time consuming and I won't post pictures until at least the entire starboard side is finished. One question/observation for you Woodartist: if you're going with the Bob Hunt Practicum, and using dunny cannons, I would suggest scrapping the elaborate construction of the lower gun ports and going instead with filler blocks between the bulkheads. These would be easily shaped to confirm with the hull shape. Mounting dummy cannons would really only require drilling well positioned holes. Adding the (closed) gun port covers should then be a snap.. Stupidly, I did not take thus approach on the starboard side, but will reevaluate when doing the port side. What ever you do, be wary of Hunt's dimensions. It should take you a while to get to the lower gun ports. By then I will have posted my commentary along with what I think are the right dimensions for positioning the sills. Lastly, remember that Bob's waterways don't conform to the plan. This is not too critical, but should be considered when adding the catheads. If you plan to cut the waterway to fit the catheads, instead of shaping the catheads to fit the waterway, then it doesn't really matter if you go with the Practicum's instructions. Best of luck to you.

My browser strikes out on any search for Model Shipways. Instead, one is directed to Model Expo, where I purchased the kit. I've tried calling that number, but it goes straight to voicemail, which then instructs you to send an email, which in turn is never responded to. I didn't think my thickness drum sander was capable of sanding down to 3/64", but it works beautifully, so I took Ace Hardware 1/8" x 1/16" stock basswood and worked it down to 1/8" x 3/64" planks. Any basswood strips I've gotten at Ace have been spot on dimensionally. So, my work around for the miserablely made stock in the kit will be to find the nearest size standard stock at Ace and sand it to the dimensions I need. As for the Byrnes Saw, they seem to only be available through e-bay - at a price. Byrnes itself i on "temporary" hiatus. Given the plethora of woodworking gear I have, I can probably make due without it. BTW, the MicroLux miniature table saw is useless. Thanks for the feedback. Best Peter

Jon, I reached out to Model Expo for replacement planking stock. They don't seem to want to reply. I tried a Google search for Model Shipways and haven't found any contact information. Do you have a web link for Model Shipways? or a phone number? Thanks Peter

In case you're still occasionally checking in... I'm at this stage in the Practicum (framing lower gun ports) and was considering the same technique you used here. If the stock that came with my kit was consistently 1/8" wide, then this should work nicely. My stock varies as much as 1/64" and I need to source (or figure out how to fabricate my own) 1/8" x 3/64" plank stock. I noticed that the text in the quote above disagrees with the photo that follows. 9/32" vs 17/32". I assume the photograph of the spacer has the correct dimension marked on it. Since you used Bob Hunt's Practicum, and did such a nice job, I plan to touch base here anytime I run into issues - which seems to be fairly frequently. Thanks for keeping the build log at MSW for us newbies to follow.

Jon, while whiling away some time in a hotel room in Pittsburgh, I did a search at MSW on "lion head", thinking I would find more easily find the references you cited earlier. That led me to a hit in Rich's (Hipexec) build log of his Constructo kit. When I return, I'll check to see if my copy of that kit has the lion head sculpture that Rich mounted to his cathead. If so, I'll see if I can get away using it, the difference being model scale sizes. Who knows, it might be close enough, and I'll get some value out of the unused kit.

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I'll order today Best Peter

Wow. Taking out bulkhead A after you've installed the bow filler, timberhead and frames? I can't imagine what kind of issues with the bowsprit could cause this much rework. I'm really interested to see those pictures when they materialize.