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jim_smits

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Everything posted by jim_smits

  1. jim_smits
    They'll probably look slightly better to scale than the 3mm blocks I used. Good luck with the new carronades...!
  2. jim_smits
    Jason, Received Lever. So far has ben very informative, so thanks for that. Can I ask how you are serving all of your rigging at the moment? I've given it a go (no serving machine) and I have major problems with the lines twisting and then uncoiling if I release the tension slightly.... Puzzled...!
  3. jim_smits
    Hi Patrick, As 'egkb' mentioned earlier, I will be receiving a 'Ballahoo' kit for Christmas and will be starting a build log alongside my Snake. It will be my second build so I will be using it as a test bed for improving the skills I learned on my first build and hopefully trying out some new ones. It looks like a nice simple kit for a beginner and it is always nice to have someone building 'alongside'....! See you in the build section soon. Jim
  4. jim_smits
    Supplies have arrived from CMB! New keel has been cut to fit, I just need to sand it down to the correct thickness as it is 0.5mm too wide. Working and present wrapping this weekend so progress might be a little slow. I'll post picture updates when I can. I also bought myself some Christmas presents, just received a silver soldering kit and a airbrush and compressor. Time to learn how to use these.....!
  5. jim_smits
    Eamonn, In reply to your question, yes it's one I the two counterweights to my CGEM & 8" SCT set up. (Picture in Astrophotography thread in shore leave). This was the spare one......
  6. jim_smits
    Yeah, shipyard has had a complete 'refit' tonight. Rearranged build area well away from the cats window.....
  7. jim_smits
    The hull impacted the base so hard that it has left a tile dent in the wood.....
  8. jim_smits
    Broken channel and rigging now loose. This was really worrying before I realised I could just redo the lanyards only and not have to redo the shrouds totally.
  9. jim_smits
    Stem piece glued and pinned back in place. The crack is pretty obvious. Fortunately this will be covered by tiling.....
  10. jim_smits
    I have repaired the snapped main mast. It is glued together and pinned in two places. Next step is to glue and pin the mast cap back together.
  11. jim_smits
    Direct aftermath....! Box caught the top of the main top mast and is actually pierced before it snapped. Keel has snapped off and is still firmly glued to the base, but one of the column mounts has twisted round by 20 degrees or so and broken off the other column. I saw this last night and I was distraught. Had visions of a complete re-rig, and damage to the hull.
  12. jim_smits
    Drydock preparation complete and initial repairs underway. Let's get that ship back in the war....!
  13. jim_smits
    Thanks again everyone (especially you lurkers who have been tempted into the open....!) It's my own damn fault all of this. I dont have a large house currently, so the lean-to conservatory is a hobby room/store room at the moment, but it also the only way in and out of the house for the cats and their thoroughfare takes them right next and above the build area(they have a small cat sized window left ajar for them). I have known there might be an issue but got away with it for so long, assuming the counterweight wouldn't shift. Tonights task is a simple 'swap the room from one side to the other'. The storage area will then be next to the window and the build area will be opposite. This will instantly make the whole thing far more secure. And also next to the radiator...... Bonus this winter....! Re-rigging has gone from a complete reset to cutting and retying the shroud lanyards. Just a minor difference....! As for the Ballahoo, I will be starting a build log. It will be a nice distraction from the rigging (once I catch up....) and I am hoping to do a little side project with the ballahoo, which I will either unveil once it is complete or I might release some teasers along the way. Watch this space....
  14. jim_smits
    Right! Ordered some materials from CMB and I will await their arrival. Makes a huge difference a night of sleep and surveying the damage with a clear head. All I could see was having to cut all the rigging out and start from scratch. However the lower masts are undamaged and this is a massive bonus. If I can get the channels replaced and reattach the deadeyes I am laughing (well not crying anyway...). I hope that the reattaching the half of the stem wont be too bad but might have to be a little brutal and then liberal with woodfiller. I need to replace a fair few copper tiles though. I will get a fair difference between my old tiles and the new ones. Will a liberal scrubbing with metal polish o the rest of the hull help even out the finish?
  15. jim_smits
    Thanks for the support guys. Ironically it was the very weight of the object that I thought would prevent it being moved by the local creatures. There was even a small sill on the shelf, so the weight was not pushed over but tipped over. The damage is not game ending but I can't face it at the mo. As I see it, the two stem pieces need tidying and pinning back together. The keel needs replacing and fixing in place. After that get the two channels in place and re-rig the fore and main mast. Think I can get away with removing lanyards and re rigging those only. I need to scratch replace one of the channels and the cross trees. It's achievable but need to step back a while.
  16. jim_smits
    It is with great sadness I have to announce the end of my build for the foreseeable future. My Snake has been impacted by a large and heavy falling object. This being one of the boxed counterweights to my telescopes. I presume it was knocked over by one my cats in a fight with one of the local cats that have been trespassing into my house of late. Got home and found devastation. Damage includes and it not limited to: Keel has been torn off. Stem has ripped in half. Main top mast has snapped. Main platform struts cracked. Crosstrees and trestletree assemblies on fore and main masts have all but vaporised. Two channels ripped out of the hull. Good few chains mangled beyond repair. Few carronades knocked loose. Couple of dozen copper plates scattered about. This will take me months to put right and I don't have the heart to even attempt it right now. I am going to box up the spare parts, plans and the hull and lower masts as they stand and move on. Maybe one day I will come back to this build and finish it. As to now. A full reorganisation of the workspace, ie no danger of falling objects (hopefully). Do some testing of some techniques of spare timbers. Hopefully will have a Ballahoo arriving at Christmas. That should be a fun little project to get my head back in order before attempting a big build again. Probably HMS Diana. Anyway, for the moment I am signing off. Back in the New Year.
  17. jim_smits
    Hi On my Snake I have installed it as 4mm walnut plank. It is sitting flush to the transom and between the wale and the bulwark rail. Haven't really got a decent image as I'm out at the mo.
  18. jim_smits
    Norman, The Fore and Main mast futtock staves are 1cm too low compared to the plans, as I miscounted the ratlines earlier in the build. I've dry-fitted the yards already and the doesn't seem to be a problem.
  19. jim_smits
    Shrouds on the main and mizzen topmasts are now complete. Back to my favourite task.... ratlines....! After that I can start work on the backstays for the top masts.
  20. jim_smits
    Hi Jason, I've still got two top masts to go, so not quite rid of the ratlines yet....!! I make the ratlines should be about 0.2mm at this scale, so yes a little smaller than the supplied thread. If you did go with thinner line I imagine it would make the tensioning between the shrouds easier as the 0.25mm does have a certain 'stiffness' to it. On the other hand the clove hitches might not bite as well if the ratline thread is that much thinner than the shroud thread, but this may have an advantage as I found the clove hitches had a tendancy to twist the shrouds. I'm committed to the 0.25mm but I may well experiment in the future with thinner line. Thanks for the heads up. I think that there is another error in the rigging for the back stays, that indicates two single blocks to be used. This makes no sense however as the line has to be passed twice through one of the blocks. I will substitute for a double block. Jim
  21. jim_smits
    I've just realised it is almost exactly a year since I ordered my HMS Snake kit. Just been looking back through my build images, and I am very pleased at how far I have come in that time. I still have a fair way to go with the rigging, and there are many techniques that I will now would like to apply to my next kit. Many thanks to those who have kept up with the build and given me encouragement, particularly Beef Wellington and Stergios who are my fellow 'Snakers'...! I have ordered yet more 0.25mm black rigging thread from CMB. The ratline process is so wasteful of thread, and it hasnt helped that I have redone a fair few of the lines. That should arrive tomorrow, so I will probably get on with the shrouds on the main top mast, and the add the ratlines. Once I have completed all three masts, I will then go back and complete all the stays and back stays.
  22. jim_smits
    Hi, Managed to get the ratlines completed on the fore top mast. I keep spotting duff ratlines on the lower masts, so got side tracked by cutting them off and retying new ones. Now trying to decide whether to do the backstays on the fore mast or move over and do the main top mast shrouds and ratlines.
  23. jim_smits
    Fantastic work there Jason. Your detail on the rigging reminds me of Gil's Victory build. Looking to improve the detail on my regging with the next build. Can I ask which Lever book you are referencing?
  24. jim_smits
    Great looking detail Jason. I may be setting the pace but you are most certainly setting the bar for quality. Keep it up!
  25. jim_smits
    Ratlines continuing on the Fore Top Mast. Also fitted the staves and catharpins. Starting to get really fiddly down at these small cramped areas. More ratlines tomorrow.....

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