Richard Griffith

Some good comments above:

don't bother with a mill, the set up takes more time than using your hands and sanding sticks

don't use rotary drums for final sanding as these create wavy edges

I use sanding sticks with different grits on them, plus a couple of dowels with sand papers glued on

nail files from beauty salons work well for this

After you spile your mating line, just sand a little, trial fit the plank, file a little more, fit again, and you will sneak up to a great fit. 

Yes, it takes time, so you have to decide what fit and finish you want and the time it takes to get that fit.

Duff

Tag Max, excellent first attempt at a wooden model ship. 

With such a good first model, your confidence will increase and your next model will be more challenging and more rewarding.

Thank you for posting, and having the courage to share your work.

Am Besten.                      Duff

HI Nenad, to get a percentage between the two plans, draw vertical lines at the stern rabbet and at the bow rabbet on both plans, at the same place on both.  Then divide one by the other to get your percentage increase. 

You can double check this percentage by doing another calculation for another known dimension, such as the height of the main mast. 

Duff

Yes, I agree with Jim and Jud. 

There are people available who can rerig models, for a price. 

The work is still yours, the hull and all of the fittings.  A good restorer will endeavor to preserve your workmanship and not try to 'improve' the model.

Good luck and best wishes for your holiday season.

Duff

If imitation is the highest form of praise, then my build of the Vulture fits the description.  Dan, your build log inspired me to start my own, and your log is giving me much continued inspiration and encouragement.  Some say I am an expert builder, some are inpired by my work.  My take is I am an excited intermediate builder pushing into the master arena in some aspects and a rank amature in other areas, such as carving in the round. 

Well, your blog is a great memtoring help, and your choice of wood colors (colours) is supurb.  But your artistry in construction is what challenges me to higher levels of fit and finish.  I am enjoying the journy.

Thus far, I have finished the keel with staples, the stem, both aprons, and fore deadwood, and the capstan.  Next up is the stern deadwood.  The images from Greenwich show a different pattern than shown by David A. for the Pegasus so some drafting is actrually next.

Thank you Dan and keep building and posting.                            Duff

Hi Rob, yellowheart is a generic name which generally refers to euxylophora parensis-the scientific name.  This species grows in Brazil and is also known as pau amarello.  The problem with generic names is that more than one specie can have the same name. 

Anyway, this yellowheart is easy to work, moderately hard, close grain, pore difuse and has a nice yellow color.  I have used it for small parts such as for capstans.  It machines well although I had some chip out at the corners so I rate it somewhat brittle.  Perhaps my supply was over cooked in the kiln. 

So, try it, you might like it.

Duff

The bleaching of Walnut is interesting, as is the report of brittleness. 

I soaked some thick walnut in 50/50 ammonia and water overnight and the walnut broke at the bluff bow.  Perhaps it was brittle.

I then decided to laminat the walnut with the 50/50 solution which worked but tripled my work on the Half Moon wales, quarter scale.

Although the liquid solution leaches out some the tanin, my wood did not have the bleached out look.  Perhaps the method affects various wood species differently.  So, as others have said, test it.

Duff

Thank you guys~!  This is another excellent reason why I LIKE this forum.

Duff

Be careful with these.  You might have one that could work but here is a short and incomplete list of my concerns:

  anti bug chemicals, most are toxic to humans

  plactic impregnation so you may not know its type or best glues to use.  Industrial and construction glues are recommended but these are not designed  for the fine work we do on models.

  glues used in the manufacturing of the stuff.  For example, formaldihyde and urathane glues are toxic to us, as are expoxies and resins.

Thus, sanding and cutting this material would be hazardous.  These materials are designed to withstand the harsh elements mother nature throws at us.

Stay safe and have fun.

Duff

Hi Kim, I am delighted you are progressing with your build~!  Perseverence is the key, not patience, although patience helps. 

What we are creating is an illusion, a model that looks like the real article.  If the model looks good to the viewer from a normal viewing distance, then we have acchieved one of our key objectives.  Thus, if gluing ratlines to the shrouds looks better than tying knots, then use glue.  I avoid CA one lines due to several problems with it, and instead use dilute white glue.

My first objective is to have fun, then to please others with my - our artistry.  As others have said, we all started at step one, made lots of mistakes, learned from them, learned from more advanced modelers, and made our next build even better.  When I started, there was no web or internet, so I had to find other modelers and get help by asking them.  With the website such as this, we all have access to modelers around the world!

Another tool I find indespensible is the forecep.  These are like scissors, can clamp the rigging line, and you can leave it on the line to act as a weight.  So, I have various sizes, some curved, some long, some short.  Tweezers are a must have, some short, some curved, you get the idea.  Start with a couple of each and you will find the ones that work best for you.  Crochet hooks and similar are extremely useful on a complicated rig like the Cutty Sark and the USF Constituion when you are well advanced with the rigging.

Enuf sed.  Have funl~!         

Duff

Throwing in a few more comments:  Lever, Steel, Harland are all excellent authors of rigging and all have valuable information.  Other authors include Lavery, Hahn, Napier, Ronnberg, Marquardt, Underhill, Longridge, Chapelle, White, Goodwin, Biddlecombe, McKay and others.  Petersson is OK but be careful as he made a number of errors. 

The Niagra is a very different ship from the Connie meaning that you cannot find a single book for both types.  You might find one for each ship but more likely you need to verify the instructions in the kit by consulting the authors noted above.  Rigging also changed on each ship so you will need to pick a time frame and then do some research. 

Personally, I enjoy the research and associated discovery, plus this gives me a more representative model (as soon as I finish one and get to another...)

Above all, enjoy the process and the discovery!

Duff

hmmm, I'll have to try this.

Thanks Bender.

Duff

You could even consider an inexpensive wood called popular (populus spp. - this 'spp' means various species) which grows in Europe and North America.  Cottonwood is a close relative (populus deltoides).  These are white in color, tending toward grey, sometimes with pinkish brown and greenish streaks.  Both are medium weight and medium hard and tend to fuzz up like basswood so finishing is more involved.

However, both take stains, paint and glue very well, are widely available as above and in North America the costs are low.  As long as you are staining or painting, then these might work well for you.  As with most woods, avoid breathing the dust and wear eye protection.  These woods are not considered toxic, unless you are sensitized. 

Other names for popular:  peuplier in France, Pappel in Germany, and many others of related species. 

Hope this helps.               Diuff

Cronis, mahogany woods are beautiful and are often used on model ships.  Some mahagonies have open pores so if you are building a model in a very small scale, you may need to use a different wood, one with close pores and no annual rings.  Larger scales, generally about 1/48 and larger, are large enough for this wood. 

Good luck.

Duff

Very nice storage systems~! 

It boils down to how you want your work space to work.  As long as you can find the tools, and protect them, then any system will work for you.  For me, my shop evolves, changes as my focus and circumstances change.  When I change my shop, though, I tend to 'lose' tools until I learn the new location.....

Duff

Another item is the shape of the sails. 

The images you posted show an extreme gore at the foot of each sail (a gore is the curve of a sail at the foot or sides).   The kit manufacturers appear to have misinterpreted the shape from paintings.  In the paintings, the shape of the sails appear gored when there is a strong wind. 

In the book I cited above, all sails are shown straight at their foot and sides.  This is probably accurate as square sails would have been stronger.

Duff

Hi Pawel, prior comments are excellent and can be supported by references.  However, since we have no archeological evidence of the Santa Maria (a Nao), and no extant plans, then ALL models and ALL replicas are conjectual.  That is, no one knows for sure what the details were.  So, where do we go from here?

Since the sprit sail on this ship was small (probably 8 meters square), it likely did not have a doulbe line, that is no block at the clue.  A single sheet would then have been run up to the forecastle and belayed at a cleat, kevel, timberhead or pin rail, most likely at at timber or timberhead. 

Blocks cost money and add weight so if the owner can make do without it, they did.

The two largest sails are the courses, both would have had a single block at the clue.  These sails needed the block and double line in order to handle the higher pressures. 

A key question that most of us must address is how 'accurate' we want our model, and how much research we are willing to expend.  We could spend years researching and never make a model.  So for me, since I try to balance the two, I get the latest research and make the model from that.  The latest research I know about is the book "The Ships of Christopher Columbus" by Franco Gay and Cesare Ciano, ISBN 88-240-3768-2, published 1996. 

In any case, enjoy your build and please keep us posted on your progress.

Duff

Bob, Nenad's quote above is one of those truisms that applies throughout the ages. 

For your model, the copper plates will pick up other drops and 'blemishes', and the overall patina will come into its own.  If you replace the plates for these blemishes, you may have a life time of maintenance.  On the other hand, it is your model and if pristine plates are what you want, go for it.

I like the look you have achieved.

Duff

Hi Tim, the bees wax is a very good idea for controlling the fuzz and for keeping out moisture. 

After you drag the line across the wax, either run the waxed line thru your fingers or slowly drag it across a hot 60 watt light bulb then your fihgers.  The light bulb treatment is my prefered method as it gently melts the wax driving it deeper into the fibers.

The heat tip is for synthetic threads.  I have not used it because most of my lines are cotton, linen, silk. 

Diluted white glue is much prefered over CA because it dries clear.  CA is reportedly damaging to the lines and may outgas for long periods meaning it creates an acidic environment iin cased models.

Duff

Hi Richard T, box and boxwood are the same (it is easier to say and write 'box').

Ebony (diospyos) makes a mess as others have said.  Diospyros is a genus of about 450–500 speicies of deciduous and ever green trees, shrubs and small bushes.  This means there are MANY ebonies. 

Caution: many of the ebonies are toxic.  The dust can cause acute dermatitis, skin inflamation, conjunctivitis and sneezing; possible skin sensitizer (source-"Wood" by Terry Porter ISBN 978-1-60085-465-1). 

Although I have used an ebony for a couple of small parts, I personally do not favor this wood due to its toxiticy.  People who do must use dust collection systems, and if not collected efficiently must use respirators. 

Duff

Hi Slog, the seizings around the anchor rings are generally known as snake seizings.  Two should be next to the anchor shaft and two at the sides of the ring so as not to interfere with the cable.  I reommend smaller thread for these seizings. 

Thus the two seizings next to the shaft will hide the start and finish of the puddening.  Cool, eh?  And if your worl looks good to you with opti visors, it will look great to those without such assistance. 

Persevere, and have fun~!  You are doing nice work.

Duff

Very nice work Dan~! 

Your work is setting a gold standard for me.

Duff

I've had good results from Weldbond glue, which is similar to Glue All.  Dilute both the same way. 

I had not considered a drop or two of dish soap but will give that a try.

Duff

Great adice.  Some of my bookls are covered, and I plan to cover more. 

Another cover is called Brodart, which is a speific brand.  They also sell the rolls.

Duff

Bill, Wayne and others have correctly stated that this subject is so vast that no single book can cover the range. 

My library is moderately large at about 85 volunes and stll growing, so I still rely on this forum and others to expand my knowledge and to get answers to technical questions.  You may have to focus on certain areas, to study that area and then to move to another area.  For example, there are several very good books on English constrution practices.  Pay attention to the era as the building practices changed over the decades.  If you need the same info on French or Dutch or Swedish practices, you will need to look at other sources. Same for rigging. 

As your knowledge grows, so will your questions.  This hobby encompasses a huge range of data, so huge that no one person can be an expert in all areas.  But that is the challenge and the fun of it.

Duff