Der Alte Rentner

As nice as your first planking looks, I don't really think you need much by way of advice to deal with the second planking. I too have sought books on planking techniques and downloaded several articles from the MSW site. In the final analysis, I ended up incorporating techniques gleaned from other build logs. I devoted a lot of space in my build log to planking, as you know because you've seen these. I'm not necessarily holding myself up as the expert in the field, but I think I managed fairly well. Have a second look, and see if that gets you started. You will need a proportional divider and some variation of a spreadsheet, if you want to do proper job of tapering.

Once again, my apologies to those who have done this before. I'm documenting the procedure for creating the breech lines for my own use later, when I copy from these posts to my personal build log. Still, there might be one or two newbies out there who might benefit from this exhibition. To free up my hands for the seizing, I literally bolted two Proxxon vices to my workbench. The rest should be self-explanatory. Note: the carronade is not glued in. This was just a test fit.. I started working on the pin rails as well, but have yet to decide which I will install first - the pin rails or the carronades. So, I will make the breech lines first and postpone the decision until the later.

Thanks for checking in. Hope to see you back in action soon. Good luck with the Orchards. Coincidentally, some nephews of mine just bought an apple orchard in a small town outside of Erie, Pennsylvania. It's very recent news to me, so I don't have much by way of details, except that I've been told it's a lot of work. Back to the first course of planking: Remember, this doesn't have to be perfect. Use filler and sandpaper and make your life easy. And because you will have a decent foundation for adhesives, the next layer will be much easier to deal with than direct plank on hull construction. Best Peter

As I'm contemplating my next steps, I'm looking through build logs of others to see what the best order of construction is. In your case I noticed that the cleats and belaying pin rails all went in long before the carronades. In your experience, is it easier to install the carronades, bow chasers, breech lines and tackles after the belaying pin rails and cleats? My thought is, it should be easier to rig the tackles and breach lines without obstacles on the bulwarks or deck. Am I wrong?

We haven't heard from you in quite a while. I imagine that you're into some deep dive on some point of research and that will be seeing the result of that fairly soon?

I appreciate the compliment, Mustafa, but I'm never going to catch you. Unless you stretch your summer vacation into December. Then maybe I'll have a chance. 😁

No joke! Worse, maybe because I had a couple of coats of poly already on the carriages, the CA glue set super quickly. No room for error! I actually rehearsed picking up the straps before applying the glue to the carriage. I did drop two, but because I had the glue on the carriage and not on the strap, I just picked up a replacement strap and got the job done. For what it's worth, I tried really pointy tweezers first, they were a fail. An old fat blunt pair of tweezers held much better.

Another photo suitable for framing? Straps added to all Spar deck guns. Next up? Address gammoning issue? (Drill out the dowels I stupidly plugged the holes for the gammon chain with. See Gregg's recent posts about turning those holes into slots for rope gammoning.) Fabricate breech lines? Fabricate or ignore "eyebrows" ( gunport curtains? Start chain plates and channels? We'll see..

That is indeed my intention. Thanks.. But before I get that far, I'm going to attempt to make the straps for the carronade trunions. The thought of painting on a brass colored stripe ala Bob Hunt (Chapter 11.8 The Carronades) did occur to me. But you know me, I like the fiddly work. 😁 Borrowing a technique from Mustafa, I'm once again in manufacturing mode.

Then, by all means hold off fairing until the bulkheads are solidly in. Then proceed with caution. Use a strip of whatever material you plan to plank with as a tool to help you visualize the curve of the hull fore and aft as you fair. As great as I thought everything looked at the fairing stage, when I got to planking, I got a heaping dose of reality. However, given what I've seen in your build logs, I think you'll do just fine.

Should I take that to mean you're in the kiddie pool? 😄

Not as hot here (south west coast of Lake Michigan) at the moment. Enjoy your summer

Aha! Well done. You are reaping the benefits of your copious research at the onset. Sadly, it's a little late for me - on two fronts. Not the least of which is that the head supports are in the way of any gammoning. And worse!!! I even forgot to drill out those freaking holes. I guess I'll be dealing with this using a pin vise. (I believe I noted in my own log that I don't remember why I put dowels there to close those holes, but I do remember saying to myself, self, drill those holes out! The old grey cells, they ain'twhat they used to be.) You sir, are well ahead of the game.

If by "beveling" you mean "fairing", I would wait until everything is glued into place. Otherwise, please explain what you mean by beveling.

Done with tackles.

Hmmm, I was pretty sure replied to Mustafa's post above yesterday, but I must not have hit the Submit Reply icon. Basically, I agreed that Mustafa's technique is correct, but because I chose to use Model Shipway's eye bolts to make my hooks, instead of making them from scratch, I put myself on this path. Those eye bolts are brittle if overworked. Moving on.. I'm submitting photos of the process I used to fabricate the tackles. This may not be of much benefit to seasoned veterans of model ship building, but I know I'm going to pull the information from this website into my personal build log on my desktop later. So, in part, this is my own documentation of the process. I think the photos are self-explanatory, but I'll lead off with the comment that many hands make light work.. I used a drop of super glue and held the line against the eye of the hook until the line held fast. Then positioned the eye precisely against the single block. I tried other methods, but the simplest, most effective solution was to simply tie a knot. Note, this only works because I use the cotton rope. A knot in the polyester rope would not stay tight, nor would it take C/A glue readily. Then I added a tiny drop of C/A to lock things in place.. Then moved on to seizing.. Note, you don't see it here, but on the far left of the clamp with the blue rubberized end, I used a piece of masking tape to hold the other end of the seizing line. Once again, a dab of C/A glue to lock things down at the end. Cut away excess, Measure, Another dab of C/A glue before Slicing the line at a sharp angle to facilitate rigging. The holes in the Syren blocks were too small for the .45mm rope, so I had to take two passes to enlarge the holes without splitting the blocks. This needed to be done for both the single and double block. Rig the tackle. 36 tackles rigged, leaving 8 more to do on the weekend. (What are the odds that, before I hit "submit reply", I will succeed on one pass without typos or editing?)

Half way..

I know you're long past this build, but I had to comment on the mahogany. I have a mahogany piano (built in 2005) that I had refinished to satin black about 40 years ago. Man, do I regret that. I still use the piano but, some day, it will be replaced with Disklavier. When that happens, I'm going to have the harp unstrung and will dismantle the piano to reclaim the mahogany. Having worked on it for a jewelry box for the missus, I fell in love with it. I found it incredibly easy to work with, but then I was working on a slightly larger scale. Fine work on your part here. And thanks for a moment of nostalgia. Ironically, or coincidentally, I remember now that the person I got the idea from repurposed an old piano for the project. Ebony and Ivory, in his case, came from the piano keys.

And the winner is.... Ropes of Scale tan .45mm. While I prefer the color of the polyester, it would not take c/a glue. I had to revert to cotton to be able to tie knots and lock them in with a drop of c/a. I'm losing some time because I am doing the Hunt recommended seizing, so, Back to days of fiddly work.. P.S. For those who suggested I twist the hooks, here's proof that these eyebolts are fragile, and cannot be overly worked.

For what it's worth, the basswood split long before the drill went through far enough to consider throwing it into reverse. Had I been smart, I would have drilled the 3/16" holes first, then cut the lids to their final dimensions. Next time. For sure! Because "next time" 😁, I'll be making them all out of a better Hardwood.

Finally finished the starboard side gun port lids. Two coats of poly already applied, but I'll add a third and fourth on breaks while working on the tackles. Another decision needs to be made. Which color to choose for the tackles? This picture doesn't do the difference in colors justice. These are my options. Note: Ropes of Scale did not identify which of the 45 mm tan lines was their cotton or their polyester version. Also, why is there a difference between the tan on the .35 mm and the two .45 mm ropes? As far as color is concerned. My favorite is actually the model shipways WP 1242. Unfortunately this is too thick to get through the blocks, despite it being specified as the right diameter. My second choice would be the Constructo provided yarn, which likewise won't go through the blocks.

Sorry, I forgot to answer this in my last reply. Yes, indeed, I put waste wood behind the pieces being cut. Unfortunately the drill itself catches on the Basswood and sucks it up. Note: I had no problem with the one 1/16" drill. It's the 3/16" drill for center hole that proved problematic. Rookie mistake? This was not quite the same problem with the boxwood. In that case the grain of the boxwood split as I was drilling that Center hole. Part of the problem with the basswood is that I took the 3/32" material that the gunport lids came from to try to make the replacement pieces first. I've made this point several times in the past, but I'll double down on it now. The materials that come with this kit are abysmal. Had I known that at the onset, I would have replaced everything with boxwood on day one. Or chosen contrasting hardwoods to achieve the finish that I'm hoping for.

Sadly no. I cut the holes after I fabricated the rectangular pieces. Lesson learned. Thank you. And Gregg, you're wise to use anything other than Basswood on the Constitution. I've used almost none of it after I did the hull. And in retrospect I wish I'd known to do it for the hull.

Oh snap! I'm on the last three gun ports on the starboard side. Out of the blue, the holes for the false cannons are off center, fore and aft, by 1/32". While that doesn't sound like a lot, it's a chasm the size of the Grand Canyon in this scheme of things. Looks like I'm making three custom gunport lids.. My bad for not sticking with the scheme of doing one cannon at a time. I might have seen the offset before I glued the barrel in. At that point I could have made an adjustment to the hole on the back panel. They're solidly glued in now, and I can't see trying to break them out. Oh well... 🙄 I can't believe how many times I've had to remake these pieces out of Basswood - everyone a fail. No matter how careful I was with the drills, the 1/16" thick Basswood just kept splitting. I finally switched to boxwood, and I lost two of those in the drilling pass as well. But in the end, I got it done. I had hoped to get the hinges on today, but I'm calling it. Happy Independence Day to one and all.

No, I did not. If you go back earlier in my build log, you will see that I chose two different methodologies for creating the supports for the false cannons. Because of my filler block approach on the port side, leaving the lids open would not have led to a pleasant result. Look at the opening to the left of the Canon below. Lids up? I don't think so.. One plus to doing it this way is that with the filler block, gluing on the lids was a piece of cake. Not so on the starboard side where I've got the thinnest lip around the border of the opening. Furthermore, I always thought that the open lids would be subject to too much damage while handling the hull for other work. If Ever I attempt a second pass at the USS constitution, it will be at a much larger scale, and following the footsteps of everyone else with the black and white scheme. But let me get past this one first..