jim_smits
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jim_smits got a reaction from Jonny 007 in HMS Ballahoo by jim_smits - FINISHED - Caldercraft
Further build update for everyone. Thanks for the likes and comments as always!
The four carronades are now in and 95% rigged up. I just need to decide what I am going to do with the trailing ropes and whether to have them coiled on deck or lashed up to the tackle or a combination. Any suggestions?
At the moment I am leaning towards lashing to the tackle as it looks clean and tidy and because coils are a pain.....!
In addition to the carronades I have added the deck eyelets....
And finally added in the rudder post and painted as per the waterline. Getting the eyelets and the brass rod to line up perfectly for the rudder hinges was slightly tricky but got there in the end.
I've also cut out and sanded the tiller piece and drilled holes for the pin. I have shown the tiller in place but I will wait to glue in place for a while as it is screaming break me......
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jim_smits got a reaction from Jonny 007 in HMS Ballahoo by jim_smits - FINISHED - Caldercraft
Two down..... Two to go......
Glad there are only four to rig up, but I may have to steel myself when I build another larger ship........
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jim_smits got a reaction from Jonny 007 in HMS Ballahoo by jim_smits - FINISHED - Caldercraft
Result!
Managed to get the technique to work and I will now be applying this to all my future block stropping.
Looped some thread around the block and fixed with a tiny spot of cyano.
Threaded an eyelet over one end of the thread and doubled back over the block and fixed with a clip.
Next, seized the three lengths of thread together to give the impression of a simple loop around the block and eyelet.
Once the seizing was completed, I soaked the area in diluted PVA and allowed to dry. Once dried, all the loose ends were trimmed off with a sharp knife. This left a very nice tidy block stropped to an eyelet. Very happy with the result.
Repeated for four sets of blocks and glued in place on the bulwark. Fixed the carronade in place and threaded the rigging through all the blocks. Really pleased with the result and just three more carronades to go.
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jim_smits got a reaction from Jonny 007 in HMS Ballahoo by jim_smits - FINISHED - Caldercraft
Hi Jason,
Yes, the barrels were drilled out as well. The casting process tends to leave one side of the barrel filled in.
Picture as requested....!
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jim_smits got a reaction from Jonny 007 in HMS Ballahoo by jim_smits - FINISHED - Caldercraft
Cheers as always Eamonn.
Made a start on the carronades today. The kit supplied carronades are pretty basic, there are simple blocks for the stand with no rear wheel detail, the elevation screws were very bent and one had snapped, and the carronade itself does not have a ring for the breaching rope.
First step - cut off the dodgy screws and replace with some 1mm brass rod. Not perfect but it will do.
Second step - cut a notch out of the rear block and sanded the two remaining square to rounded 'wheel' shapes.
Third step - drilled a couple of small 0.5mm holes and added small 0.5mm brass wire for the breaching ring.
Just need to repeat for all four carronades, drill holes for eyepins and paint.
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jim_smits got a reaction from Jonny 007 in HMS Ballahoo by jim_smits - FINISHED - Caldercraft
Thanks for all the likes everyone!
Bit more progress. Put together the grates and surrounds, sanded the corners round and also a slight curve to the top of the grates. Varnished and glued to the deck in the appropriate position. Also added the mast bases and sanded a circular hole for the rudder.
Next steps:
Drill holes for all the deck eyelets and carronade rigging points.
Put together the carronades and rig up.
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jim_smits got a reaction from Jonny 007 in HMS Ballahoo by jim_smits - FINISHED - Caldercraft
Quick update.
Varnished the deck twice and now have a lovely hue to the maple decking. Also added the bulwark rails. The rear piece wouldn't fit properly, so I cut a new piece from the sprue that was slightly wider and gave a better fit. Finished off the rails with black paint.
The rails give a great final look to the hull now. Now onto adding fixtures and fittings.....
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jim_smits got a reaction from Jonny 007 in HMS Ballahoo by jim_smits - FINISHED - Caldercraft
Decking is now complete!
Had a minor issue on the port side. After dry fitting multiple times and being happy with all the plank shaping, I proceeded to glue all the pieces in place. Got to the final plank that was to fit against the amidships margin plank and suddenly there is a gap....! Only about 0.5mm but seemed to appear from nowhere after all the dry fitting had been very snug. It's not very noticeable so I have gone with it and fitted the plank so that the gap is on either side and so makes it less noticeable.
Filed the gaps for the anchor rope and the masts and given a coat of satin varnish. Will give it another couple of coats tonight and then move onto the bulwark capping rails.
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jim_smits got a reaction from Jonny 007 in HMS Ballahoo by jim_smits - FINISHED - Caldercraft
Planks between the deck fittings have been replaced as per advice - thanks Jason.
Also, added the nibbling and planking at the port bow section. as before replaced the margin plank amidships. Still need to finish the stern section and then sand down the deck for a fully smooth finish.
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jim_smits got a reaction from Jonny 007 in HMS Ballahoo by jim_smits - FINISHED - Caldercraft
Crazy decking fun today!
Completed the starboard side of the deck. Nibbing and joggling initially went well and got the first few sets of planks fitted properly. However ran into a potential problem with the planks amidships, with the last plank laid leaving a gap of only 2mm. Gave it some thought, and decided to redo the margin planks from amidships back to the stern. Used a wider plank, shaped to fit the bulwark but left the other side flat to fit against the existing planking. This gave a good result but took a while to redo.
Dry fitted all the pieces and ensured everything was correct, and then removed them all, varnished the edges and coloured with a sharpie. Then glued all the pieces back into place starting with the margins.
Just need to repeat with the port side of the decking.
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jim_smits got a reaction from Jonny 007 in HMS Ballahoo by jim_smits - FINISHED - Caldercraft
Some good progress on deck planking last night.
I'm using 120mm deck planks, sanded to size and to give a smooth finish, then a coat of satin varnish is applied to the edges and allowed to dry before using a sharpie to colour the edges black to simulate caulking.
I've started with the centre line of the deck and gradually working my way out towards the margin planks. The margins are not yet glued in place as I want to be able to cut the nibbles and 'caulk' the margins outside of the ship before fixing in place.
Made a start on nibbling the foremost margin plank on the starboard side. Using test deck planks for the moment, but got the first three nibbles cut in place. Used a heavy duty x-acto blade and VERY carefully cut the nibble. I used the test planks to mark the two points at which the deck plank 'intercepts' the margin to mark out the size of cuts to make. The test planks were then shaped to fit for a final check on the shape. Minor adjustments made using a needle file.
Happy so far with the process but it is quite stressful the more nibbles are cut as there is more work to lose if an error is made. If in doubt, cut less and then file to shape.....!
Once all the nibbles are finalised for each margin plank, it will be varnished, 'caulked' and glued in place. The proper deck pieces can then be cut to fit and glued in.
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jim_smits got a reaction from Jonny 007 in HMS Ballahoo by jim_smits - FINISHED - Caldercraft
Another update.
I've now marked the waterline and painted the lower hull in white stuff.
I used my helping hands to hold a B pencil at the desired height and carefully marked the waterline onto the ship.
Mixed up a paint for coating 'white stuff' onto the hull using 80/20 white to yellow ochre to give a off white cream colour. Gave the hull a three coats to give an even finish. Need to smooth the finish with some ultra fine grit sandpaper but essentially ready to start the decking process.
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jim_smits got a reaction from Jonny 007 in HMS Ballahoo by jim_smits - FINISHED - Caldercraft
Got the main painting of the ship out of the way finally!
Took several layers of black sprayed on with the airbrush. After each layer any cracks located were filled and gently sanded back and a further layer of black added. eventually got to a point where I as happy with the finish.
Next step was to add a coat of yellow ochre to the top section above the wale. Needed two or three coats to get decent coverage over the black undercoat but the airbrush made this fairly quick and painless. Finally, some Tamiya tape was used to cover over the band of yellow to be kept over the gunports and a further couple of coats of black used. Stripped back the tape to leave the finished look.
Got a couple of small bleeds under the tape but nothing major, and a slight touch up on the top edge of the wale is required. Also need to paint the transom area by hand.
Painted the inside bulwarks with red ochre by hand with a couple of coats.
After final touch ups, I'll almost be ready to start the decking process.
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jim_smits got a reaction from Jonny 007 in HMS Ballahoo by jim_smits - FINISHED - Caldercraft
Had a couple of days off work leading upto Easter, including my Birthday on Wednesday (Thanks btw Eamonn!), and managed to make some more progress on the build.
Planked the inside of the bulwarks and re-cut the gun ports. Applied filler to the planks and sanded back. Also added in the main wales.
Finally got to a position to start painting the hull inside and out. Also gave me a chance to really stretch the legs of my airbrush I bought a couple of months back.
Bit of playing round with paint and thinner combinations, and came to the conclusion that only a hint of thinner is really needed. Gave the outside of the hull a coat of dull black from Admiralty Paints. And....... there really is nothing like a coat of paint to show up all the flaws in a hull....!
Loads of micro cracks in the planking and filler sections. I think I will need to apply some additional filler with a metal scraper and really drive the filler into the cracks.
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jim_smits got a reaction from Jonny 007 in HMS Ballahoo by jim_smits - FINISHED - Caldercraft
Finished starboard side of margin planking. Just one more piece on starboard and the scarfing to go.
Eamonn - this picture should show the bow piece I have used.
Completed port side margin planking.
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jim_smits got a reaction from Jonny 007 in HMS Ballahoo by jim_smits - FINISHED - Caldercraft
Margin planking continuing.....
Another length should fit on each side before I reach the curve of the bow section.
Also done some testing of marking the maple planks with a sharpie and getting a slight bit of bleed into the planks, so I will varnish the edge of each plank before marking the edges for caulking.
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jim_smits got a reaction from Jonny 007 in HMS Ballahoo by jim_smits - FINISHED - Caldercraft
Made the decision to do all of the dry fitting of the margin planking. I can then use the margin planking as a gauge to plank the inner bulwarks and remove prior to painting the hull and inside. Ordered some 1mm Maple from CMB to do all of the decking.
First made up two pieces to fit against the transom and the stern frames. Not sure if this is entirely accurate but they fit nicely and set up for the rest of the margin planking.
I cut some initial lengths of maple and did some 'gauging' to try and work out some optimal lengths to cut to. The rearmost pair have started at 8cm length. Then cut some initial shaping into the planks and fine tuned using sandpaper, checking regularly for the fit and adjusting as necessary.
Once the fit against the bulwark was as good as I could make it (bearing in mind the leeway given by the bulwark planking to come), I then used a compass set to 6mm to draw in the shape of the other side of the plank to be cut. Very happy with the results achieved so far. Completed the rearmost pair.
The next plank I will aim to overlap by about 1cm to allow notches to be cut to lock in both planks.
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jim_smits got a reaction from Jonny 007 in HMS Ballahoo by jim_smits - FINISHED - Caldercraft
More progress this morning.
Managed to plank the inside of the transom ready for the gunports to be cut. Used a piece of decking to get the correct height of the lower planks and then planked up to the top of the transom.
Gave the planks a coat of 50/50 PVA and water mix and allowed to dry. I then drew a guide mark for both of the rear gunports, drilled out the four corners and used my dremel to bore out the majority the ports. Finished off with a sharp blade and file.
Also repeated for all of the port and starboard gunports.
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jim_smits got a reaction from Jonny 007 in HMS Ballahoo by jim_smits - FINISHED - Caldercraft
Second planking complete!
Spent this morning finishing off the main strakes and then went back over and added all the stealers that were required. Next step after this was a coat of 50/50 PVA and water to soak into the walnut planking and help reduce any splintering.
Once fully dry, gave a full sanding with 120 grit over the entire planking and get rid of any major lumps and bumps. Then gave the second planking a layer of walnut filler, smeared into the cracks with the mark I thumb. Again allowed to fully dry and a major sanding back down to the wood with 120 grit, followed by 180 grit and finally 240 grit.
Finally gave another coat of 50/50 PVA and water, allowed to dry and a final sanding with 240 grit.
I am hoping that the two soaks of PVA mix will prevent any potential splintering when I come to cut out the gunports, which was something that was a tedious and frustrating task with the Snake build.
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jim_smits got a reaction from Jonny 007 in HMS Ballahoo by jim_smits - FINISHED - Caldercraft
Starboard side second planking almost complete!
I just need to add in a few stealers at the stern and one more at the bow. Then onto the port side.
Had a tricky little section where the planking from the keel started to meet the planking at the bulwarks but nothing too horrendous that a bit of though and sanding couldn't resolve.
After this a generous sanding, filling and sealing with watered PVA before cutting out the gunports.
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jim_smits got a reaction from Jonny 007 in HMS Ballahoo by jim_smits - FINISHED - Caldercraft
As promised earlier, here are the latest images.
Second planking underway, with most of the bulwarks covered and two planks down by the keel. Lots more to go though....!
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jim_smits got a reaction from Jonny 007 in HMS Ballahoo by jim_smits - FINISHED - Caldercraft
Quick update for you all.
Managed to complete the first planking. It was interesting comparing the planking of this smaller vessel as compared to the Snake that I had previously done, with a far greater emphasis on the angle between the keel and the top of the bulwarks. I was adding in stealers from the word go. No great problems however, although the final couple of planks were not the most 'regular' shaped in the world but it will not matter in the big scheme of things.
Next steps will be to continue sanding to a smooth finish, adding a few bits of filler in a couple of places with a slight depression and also to 'paint' the entire hull with a bit of diluted PVA to strengthen the build.
The first planking really does the ship a sudden sense of being. The lines are now there....!
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jim_smits got a reaction from Jonny 007 in HMS Ballahoo by jim_smits - FINISHED - Caldercraft
Fully caught up now!
The false deck has been pinned and glued in. All the bulkheads have been shaped to fit the bulwarks and planking.
Shaped the bulwarks by immersing in boiling water and then pegging to the bulkheads.
Both bulwarks are a good approximate shape now, so next step is to pin to the bulkheads prior to planking.Y
Everything looking a lot better this time....!
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jim_smits got a reaction from Jonny 007 in HMS Ballahoo by jim_smits - FINISHED - Caldercraft
Got my replacement parts from JoTiKa today. Great service from them as I only spoke to them on Thursday.
Next step for the build is to gradually shape the bulwarks. Using a mug and large clips at the moment. Once they are roughly the correct shape I will bend to the bulkheads on the ship.
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jim_smits got a reaction from Jonny 007 in HMS Ballahoo by jim_smits - FINISHED - Caldercraft
Bit more progress last night. I have airbrushed black any areas that are likely to be visible through the deck. I need to have another look at the Haddock plans though to confirm as they are different to Caldercrafts Ballahoo layout.
Added mast supports from a little scrap wood and used balsa to make fillers at the bow and stern to aid planking.
Finally, the stern has been built adding the supports and pieces of the transom.
Next step is to soak and shape the bulwarks to shape and add the false deck.
Coming together nice and easily so far......
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