Jim M

i use titebond for gluing and i avoid ca as much as possible. i will give wipe on polly a try. i however do have a collection of airbrushes so what do you recommend for spraying?

thanks the knees are square to the transoms though the pictures are off they at quite loose in the frame and i may add another support to keep square

@GGibson Greg what do you use for stain?

Good evening. I made an adjustment to the planking belts. I am going to sleep on the change before making the final commitment. Cheers

Good evening, I spent some time today determining the planking bands. I was a little confused on the the counter, but after re-reading the instructions a few times, I noticed that I should keep 4 planks at 9" for the upper band, so I added a mark there. For the bow, again it was a little confusing, but I ended up using the distance from the first broad strake, to the whale using bulkhead 5a, and there i created the marks for the bands there. On the stern, I did not calculate the split, but after rethinking it, I decided the stern plank should be 11", and I set the second band 1/2 way between the first strake, and the third belt. The plank count turns out to be 4.5 per band, so I will create a steeler between first and second bands. After correcting for 11 inch planks at the stern, the curve for the third band will need some adjustment tomorrow from left of B. Cheers jim

thank you @druxey

Today, I was able to complete step 5, building out the building board. I found that the forms needed some fitting, so I had to expand the joints. Pre fitting the parts, I noticed that the bow and stern posts where a little loose, whereas the frame forms where to large for the opening. I am noticing a trend with the Model Expo kits they are not fully uniform. I then made some re-enforcements for forms to maintain their strength and to help keep them at 90 degrees to the building board. When mounting to the building board, I had the numbers printed on the part going towards the bow. I broke the stern post while I was dry fitting the piece. I then cut a couple pieces reinforcements for the joint as I glued it back together. I also added some more stock to help support the bow stem post. Similarly with the stern post. Overall here is the final after the glue had a chance to set. The bow. Finally the stern.

I thought I would start to work on the Norwegian Sailing Pram in tandem with my Half hull planking project as I can optimize my time while glue is setting. Instead of doing a out box photos, I decide to just get right into the build. Yesterday, I cutted out the knees and transom pieces from the kit. I rounded first removed the char, and then proceed to mark out the center, and on the transoms. I also marked the upper stern transom with a 1/8 inch line so I can attach the lower and upper transoms together. I then glued on the knees. I then proceeded to bevel the transom, being careful to keep the facets intact. This concludes steps 1 - 4 in the documentation.

Good afternoon, Sorry for the lack of progress the last week, I was in Vegas for a week long conference for work. I was able to get the other two planks in for the first strake yesterday. My next step is to start to determine the planking bands.

Looking good @Bryan Woods

very interesting Gregg. I was thinking of one his kits in the future but I may not until the quality issues are sorted.

@GGibson I am really surprised how this kit has so many challenges. Do you feel that is it poor quality or just bad design?

Good evening, The countdown has begun for dead turkey day; I have a lot to due this week, with brining the turkey, making apple and pecan pies, along with my cranberries, and stuffing. However I was able to get some work done on my planking project. As a recap, I was not happy with the garboard last time. I had already cut two planks, and they just where not working. After taking a couple days from the project I was able to get the offending plank done. I first re-scribed the plank. I found that using a small piece of wood I was able to properly burnish the rabbet a lot better, and the length in the template was much more accurate. I then cut the plank a little oversized and used my planner and sanding sticks to bring it the right size. I would check against the marks I made at each the bulkhead. As you can see below, I was able to get the full garboard mocked up nicely using this technique. A close up of the stern A close up of the bow. Next I then glued the planks to the model. I then proceed with the bow for the first strake. However, after I pulled the clamps I noticed that the there was a gaping whole between the planks. It took me three tries to get this plank correct but I was able to finally obtain the results I was looking for. With this plank I decided to wet the plank as I was putting the clamps on for a dry fit so that it would bend a little better. After waiting for the plank to dry, I then glued it on. I did forget to add the pencil to simulate the caulk but I will go back and do it in the morning. Cheers Jim

I found on the second plank having the ability to iterate over it was better. When I worked on the transition, I placed my scalpel in the wrong spot and it slipped. How did you integrate the slicer on these custom planks? Just for the length?

Good evening, I spent some time relining my wale line this afternoon. I received some better chart tape yesterday, so I was able to map out the full wale, get the lines correct. The calapiers helped in visualizing the wale, and where it needs to be. I ended up using some green marker to mark the final positions. I also did some more fairing on the stern to make it a little more smoother. I suspect I may need some more when I get closer to the deck. I then marked out the 14 inches at the stern for the garboard, and the 12 inches for frames D - 3. I also spent some time making tick sheets. Here is the stern And here is frame B After I was happy I took a break to look at the garboard how it is going to lay down. I then marked out and cut out the first half of the garboard on a piece of scrap planking material. I definitely did not like this result. I repeated the process and you can see that the scribing is larger than my fist attempt. I also cut the plank outside of the lines this time so that I can shape it a little better. After cutting it out, I it definitely was a little better in the fit category. I had to do some sanding. However, I am not fully satisfied with this plank; I did not cut the notch correctly, and the plank does not sit in the rabbit correctly. I decided to take a break tonight. However, I think I am going to redo this plank again. Cheers Jim