jim_smits

Hi All,
 
It's been a while. So here's lifeboat n°1 ( the smallest one - 18ft. cutter ).
I went for the clinckerplank-effect, which succeeded-more or less. The strips are styrene-made, due to the annoying behaviour of  planks lifting upwards in the bow section, I've found it quite impossible to cut walnut strips following a suitable curve.
 
Aside from the floor elements & thwarts, there's little wood involved. The hull is made out of cast resin and supplied together with interesting parts such as oars, hooks,...in a Caldercraft mini kit.
I know : this is cheating, for which I pledge guilty, Your Honour. 
 
Another point : the "gratings" are as fake as can be : just paper strips over a black cartridge paper and I preferred external rowlocks rather than cutting & filing the hull
 
But after all, I'm quite satisfied with the end result
 
One done, 3 more to go
 

Morning Chaps,
 
This weekend was rather busy in the Shipyard, with the rigging of the standing rigging and construction of the display cabinet!
 
So it is photo-update time on Sherbourne before a "Pupdate"!
 
Standing Rigging Photos....
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Display Case Photos...
 

 

 

 

 

 
There is still a lot to do in regards to the rigging and the display case. I need to find a way of removing a few superglue stains from the Plexiglass and I need to trim a few corners down for the brass corner pieces to go over the top of them. I could also use my Dremel to neaten up the back of the case, but I can only do this one the model and backboard are in place.
 
PRESS RELEASE..... Time for a Pupdate!!!
 
I'd like to introduce Lily to you all as the new Shipyard Surveyor and Master Shipwright. She will be taking on this role from 21st August 2015. The Admiral has ordered all Ship Building to cease from 21st August for one month to get the new team member used to her new surroundings! Sherbourne is to be near to completion by this point.
 

 

 
As you can see, she will need a good wash before she starts Surveying!
 

 
Cheers
Jonny

Walnut and basswood would not be my choice when it comes to carving small items like cleats. The grain is too large for walnut and basswood tends to create fuzz and soft spots. The shape of cleats includes a small base to anchor it to the yard (or where ever) and it is this part that splits off easily with large grain wood. Drilling holes makes this problem even worse.
 
I would really suggest you get some boxwood, holly or pear wood. They are marvelous when it comes to machining or carving.
I have used pear for tiny parts, stained them and coated them with wipe-on poly, and they came out very nice and even looking. 

The rudder:
 
One I'd made my mind up to try to reflect an appropriate taper on the sternpost, I realized I didn't really know how it would be shaped, so I decided to make up a new rudder as that is clearly illustrated in the AOTS book, thinking I could then use those dimensions to determine the taper on the sternpost.
 
Bottom line, this was slow going as I don't have a huge assortment of power tools, but I had a lot of fun doing it!  5mm sheets of box were cut into approx. 9mm wide sections to allow final shaping and laminated together.  I kept the front and back sections until the last moment so in the event of a catastrophic error I'd have less rework.    I completely forgot to take progress pictures, but hopefully its relatively obvious.  After studying many diagrams and plans, I tweaked the location of the pintle cut outs to match the AOTS dimensions, the biggest change was the uppermost one, which I raised a fair bit.
 
Overall, very happy with the result compared to supplied part, I'm sure some final fettling will be needed before finally fitting.
 
Should also add a public service announcement, did need to buy a small amount of wood from Jason at Crown Timberyard, - easy online ordering, lovely boxwood, and reached my house approx. 7 days from ordering - great service.
 

 
The difference in dimensions can be seem compared to kit supplied rudder

 
The rudder head now looks much more in scale within the counter rudder hole.  Shots from below show how much of a 'build-up' will be needed to match the rudder dimensions.

Finally part of the gear arm for Venus can be added to the support column. There will be two gear wheels attached but the second will be sent in the next batch. Two interlocking pieces of plastic are used to hold the gears in place with a tapping screw. Attached the first gear and awaiting the second.
 
The gear arm is currently loose on the support column as, again, the grub screw to attach is sent with the next batch.
 
Well, that's the first set of parts used and the basic structure is in place. Got to wait a month now for the next parts, but the mechanism should start to come alive then!

Finally part of the gear arm for Venus can be added to the support column. There will be two gear wheels attached but the second will be sent in the next batch. Two interlocking pieces of plastic are used to hold the gears in place with a tapping screw. Attached the first gear and awaiting the second.
 
The gear arm is currently loose on the support column as, again, the grub screw to attach is sent with the next batch.
 
Well, that's the first set of parts used and the basic structure is in place. Got to wait a month now for the next parts, but the mechanism should start to come alive then!

Next stage is adding the drive shaft.
 
At the top of the shaft is the Sun. This is a brass plate and weighs an impressive amount. The sun simply screws onto the top of the drive shaft. After this the driving gear is slid onto the driveshaft up to the sun and fixed in place with a grub screw. This gear also has a couple of holes for attaching the support for Mercury when it arrives with the next batch.

Onto the first real stages of construction with the unpacking of the second week's items.
 
The main column support was attached to the bottom of the base plate with three screws. I'm very aware that the screws are brass and could be very easy to strip so very carefully threaded them in and then tightened with a hex key multitool.
 
Secondly added the main column to the main support, flush at the bottom and then fixed in place with a grub screw.
 
This gives the main support structure for the orrery. After this is the addition of the sun and planets and the various gearing mechanisms.
 
 

Repeated the boot polish treatment on the calibration ring and again happy with the results. The black really picks out the engraved details nicely.

First step I have decided to take, after looking at some advice on Sky at Night forum, is to use boot polish to colour the etched markings in the base plate so that they stand out nicely.
 
Bought a tin of black kiwi polish, and using my finger gently rubbed the polish into the engravings in the baseplate. Once an initial coverage had been applied I gently used a rag to wipe away the excess polish. I'm please with the result but I think it will probably require a couple more 'coats' to get full and proper coverage and get the best detail to stand out.
 
 

The package I picked up yesterday contained the first three issues and an introductory issue. Each issue comes with a selection of parts that gradually build up the orrery over the year, like the partworks Victory and Bismarck models.
 
All the parts are either solid brass or brass plate, with a few plastic washers and clips. So far looks really good quality.
 
The parts I have received are the baseplate and calibration ring, the central column and drive shaft, the Sun and the start of the drive section for Venus.
 
 
 

Next stage is adding the drive shaft.
 
At the top of the shaft is the Sun. This is a brass plate and weighs an impressive amount. The sun simply screws onto the top of the drive shaft. After this the driving gear is slid onto the driveshaft up to the sun and fixed in place with a grub screw. This gear also has a couple of holes for attaching the support for Mercury when it arrives with the next batch.

Onto the first real stages of construction with the unpacking of the second week's items.
 
The main column support was attached to the bottom of the base plate with three screws. I'm very aware that the screws are brass and could be very easy to strip so very carefully threaded them in and then tightened with a hex key multitool.
 
Secondly added the main column to the main support, flush at the bottom and then fixed in place with a grub screw.
 
This gives the main support structure for the orrery. After this is the addition of the sun and planets and the various gearing mechanisms.
 
 

Finally part of the gear arm for Venus can be added to the support column. There will be two gear wheels attached but the second will be sent in the next batch. Two interlocking pieces of plastic are used to hold the gears in place with a tapping screw. Attached the first gear and awaiting the second.
 
The gear arm is currently loose on the support column as, again, the grub screw to attach is sent with the next batch.
 
Well, that's the first set of parts used and the basic structure is in place. Got to wait a month now for the next parts, but the mechanism should start to come alive then!

Next stage is adding the drive shaft.
 
At the top of the shaft is the Sun. This is a brass plate and weighs an impressive amount. The sun simply screws onto the top of the drive shaft. After this the driving gear is slid onto the driveshaft up to the sun and fixed in place with a grub screw. This gear also has a couple of holes for attaching the support for Mercury when it arrives with the next batch.

Onto the first real stages of construction with the unpacking of the second week's items.
 
The main column support was attached to the bottom of the base plate with three screws. I'm very aware that the screws are brass and could be very easy to strip so very carefully threaded them in and then tightened with a hex key multitool.
 
Secondly added the main column to the main support, flush at the bottom and then fixed in place with a grub screw.
 
This gives the main support structure for the orrery. After this is the addition of the sun and planets and the various gearing mechanisms.
 
 

First step I have decided to take, after looking at some advice on Sky at Night forum, is to use boot polish to colour the etched markings in the base plate so that they stand out nicely.
 
Bought a tin of black kiwi polish, and using my finger gently rubbed the polish into the engravings in the baseplate. Once an initial coverage had been applied I gently used a rag to wipe away the excess polish. I'm please with the result but I think it will probably require a couple more 'coats' to get full and proper coverage and get the best detail to stand out.
 
 

The package I picked up yesterday contained the first three issues and an introductory issue. Each issue comes with a selection of parts that gradually build up the orrery over the year, like the partworks Victory and Bismarck models.
 
All the parts are either solid brass or brass plate, with a few plastic washers and clips. So far looks really good quality.
 
The parts I have received are the baseplate and calibration ring, the central column and drive shaft, the Sun and the start of the drive section for Venus.
 
 
 

Hello all,
 
I've just started collecting a partworks magazine to build a mechanical solar system, so I thought I would start a build log of sorts. Clearly doesn't belong in the ship build logs so I thought I would post it here in the Shore Leave section. Hope you all find it interesting.
 
Its a weekly magazine by Eaglemoss, although they send out batches of four weeks at a time, and should take around a year to complete. I picked up my first batch today.
 
 
 
 

Finally part of the gear arm for Venus can be added to the support column. There will be two gear wheels attached but the second will be sent in the next batch. Two interlocking pieces of plastic are used to hold the gears in place with a tapping screw. Attached the first gear and awaiting the second.
 
The gear arm is currently loose on the support column as, again, the grub screw to attach is sent with the next batch.
 
Well, that's the first set of parts used and the basic structure is in place. Got to wait a month now for the next parts, but the mechanism should start to come alive then!

Next stage is adding the drive shaft.
 
At the top of the shaft is the Sun. This is a brass plate and weighs an impressive amount. The sun simply screws onto the top of the drive shaft. After this the driving gear is slid onto the driveshaft up to the sun and fixed in place with a grub screw. This gear also has a couple of holes for attaching the support for Mercury when it arrives with the next batch.

Onto the first real stages of construction with the unpacking of the second week's items.
 
The main column support was attached to the bottom of the base plate with three screws. I'm very aware that the screws are brass and could be very easy to strip so very carefully threaded them in and then tightened with a hex key multitool.
 
Secondly added the main column to the main support, flush at the bottom and then fixed in place with a grub screw.
 
This gives the main support structure for the orrery. After this is the addition of the sun and planets and the various gearing mechanisms.
 
 

Repeated the boot polish treatment on the calibration ring and again happy with the results. The black really picks out the engraved details nicely.

First step I have decided to take, after looking at some advice on Sky at Night forum, is to use boot polish to colour the etched markings in the base plate so that they stand out nicely.
 
Bought a tin of black kiwi polish, and using my finger gently rubbed the polish into the engravings in the baseplate. Once an initial coverage had been applied I gently used a rag to wipe away the excess polish. I'm please with the result but I think it will probably require a couple more 'coats' to get full and proper coverage and get the best detail to stand out.
 
 

The package I picked up yesterday contained the first three issues and an introductory issue. Each issue comes with a selection of parts that gradually build up the orrery over the year, like the partworks Victory and Bismarck models.
 
All the parts are either solid brass or brass plate, with a few plastic washers and clips. So far looks really good quality.
 
The parts I have received are the baseplate and calibration ring, the central column and drive shaft, the Sun and the start of the drive section for Venus.