shauer

Chapter 3 is now complete, took about 6 weeks to work through it. I had a lot of fun learning how to create and use scrapers for the first time to make the fancy moldings. It was very satisfying to work through this chapter as almost every part added brought the exterior of the model to life. However my patience was tried more than once with all the tiny pieces involved in the tops and bottoms of the fluted columns. QG shots showing the now complete look with the rails in the roofs added. I will likely come back and add fancy molding above the windows once I permanently install the windows much later in the build. Right now they are just placed in position with friction holding them in. Included previous picture of the complete stern. And some pictures along the sides of the hull. I've known that my gun ports are slightly high since I completed chapter 1. The friezes and moldings worked out but I will have a little more work cutting in relief for the gun port hinges into the molding on a couple of these in future. I also placed the joints in the upper molding at the catheads on the bow and at one of the swivel gun locations at the stern. You can also see where the channels will be located. Another minor mistake from chapter 1 is that the bollard timbers are a little low. I lined up the opening for the bowsprit with the top of the stem in chapter 1 which ended up being a little low. I ended up removing a little material from the bottoms of the timbers when I should have just left it alone. The bottom side molding therefore lands a little high on the bow. Only those who know what it should look like will ever be able to tell. Now on to chapter 4 Steve

Working on my build today and decided to take a break from applying the friezes and post some progress pictures from the past 10 days or so. I completed the fluted columns and remaining transom details. Then jumped into working on the fancy moldings and friezes along the sides. I liked the approach I saw in both Frank's and Greg's build logs where they built up the channels and used them to lay out the placement of the center molding to prevent needing to remove large pieces of glued-on molding later. I built up the channels from the chapter 11 parts per the instructions. Never used the spray mount before but it was really easy to use and worked well. I then made up some patterns from the assembled channels to use in placing the center molding. Back to scraping the center molding. This one took 3 tries to get the width of the scraper correct. I kept making it too wide. I now clamp the work piece on my table and push the scraper along with both hands to control the angle of the scraper and make nice smooth linear passes. Locating the channels along the hull and positioning the spacers. Mounting the center molding. Testing to see if there is such a thing as too many clamps... Friezes mounted on starboard side. Still need to mount the lower frieze on the port side. Between the slight stretching of the paper, and the fact that the port and starboard sides will be slightly different lengths, I'm going to need to squeeze or stretch the segments a little to match the start and end positions to match the starboard. I'll pick aspects of the frieze design that are forgiving to this adjustment and hide them under the channels. Next steps will be to wrap up chapter 3 with the lower & upper moldings and the rails on the QG roof. Steve

Looking good! Thanks for sharing the details on dealing with the fitment issues. Hoping to be where you are in a month or two. Steve

Thank you, Frank. I appreciate the feedback and the compliment. I forget who's build log I got the paint mix from but it's approximately 2/3 - 3/4 cerulean blue, about 1/4 - 1/3 yellow ochre, and a dab of titanium white to lighten it up to match. Then adjust as needed. I've enjoyed working on this chapter 3. The stern details and the quarter galley construction provide a wide variety of challenges after doing nothing but planking for a couple months. Steve

Thank you everyone for the likes and comments. Spent the week and much of Saturday this weekend working on the transom details including the cove and related trim around the false lights, and the resin carvings. I also completed the fluted columns on the quarter galleries and started the same details on the transom. Almost done with the detail work on the stern. Still need to add the rails on the QG roofs and complete the fluted columns on the transom in the next few days. Then I need to work on the fancy moldings and friezes along the sides of the hull. I also painted the stem and bollard timbers black so that I won't need to work with black paint so close the the friezes in the future (I hope) Progress on the transom details. I'll call out one of my mistakes here. I completely messed up the painted edge along the upper portion of the cove. I fixed it by applying a very thin veneer strip of cedar over the mess and sanding it down to paper thin, You can see the edges of the fix along the ends of the upper cove. Overall this looks 100% better than having crimson splotches along the upper edge. scraping the base and top of the fluted columns. column details added to the QGs. This was a real trial, I think I dropped and lost one piece for each 3 that I placed. The instructions suggest using needle files to shape the sides of the base and top moldings. I found it was easier to use a fresh chisel blade and cut downward across the grain along the sides to remove the material. The material parts along the grain cleanly and leaves nice clean edges. I think I may add some left over fancy molding along the tops of the QG windows in between the columns the way that Frank has done with his build. I really like that look. And where I am currently at. Started the fluted columns on the transom. These are so much easier to work on than the QG columns. Steve

That looks great! One additional word of caution, allow each coat of wipe on poly to fully cure before applying another. I ended up with a variation of your original problem using wipe-on. The first coat looked so good that I applied a second coat after only a couple hours. The first coat was not fully cured and the whole thing turned gummy and thick with the second coat resulting in a gloss finish that should have been satin. Waited a couple days, sanded, and re-applied just like you. So it is possible to run into the same issue even with wipe-on if doing multiple coats. Still working on the patience thing myself I guess... Steve

I feel like I've been living under a rock. This is very enlightening, never considered this as an option. I'm definitively in the camp of having a full library of books with great pictures / illustrations but have always been intimidated by anything with a carving. Thanks for sharing this Chuck! I'm feeling the need to order a resin printer to set next to my FDM printer. Steve

Welcome! Looking forward to following your first build. I'm also a native of the finger lakes region. Steve

I have the QG closed in and all trim complete with the exception of the the fluted columns. I'm going to hold off on these until I can do the same detail on the transom at the same time. Also have the shingles on the roof as well as the drops installed under the galleries. I'm pretty happy with how things have turned out so far. The window fit is good. The windows are just set in for now. I'll be removing them and waiting to install them at a later time. I also did a little painting on the transom then added the frieze to the upper portion as well as the fancy molding around the top edge. There is one small gap in between the pieces on the upper middle left. Fortunately this will be covered later. Also prepping some more of the resin carvings for placement on the model. I have been very pleasantly surprised at how well these look after following Chuck's instructions on using the fruitwood gel stain. I brush a liberal amount of stain on the piece and wipe it off with a clean rag about a minute later. I then found that if I work the piece with a clean dry brush a couple times over the next hour or two that the stain evens out and lightens up a little more. The more you work a spot with the dry brush, the lighter it gets. Plan is to fabricate and install the cove on the transom, then work on the fluted columns. I'll also be painting the upper portion of the stem and the bollard timbers prior to adding the side moldings and friezes. Steve

More progress on the quarter galleries. I have the uprights installed on the port side QG and about to start that process on the starboard. Definitely a fiddley bit of work getting all the angles correct on the base of the uprights and along the side of the hull. I went back and forth a couple times and got all 3 windows to fit but it was a really tight squeeze to accommodate the width of the uprights and the 3 windows along the arc of the QG. I ended up cheating a little by making the upright along the transom slightly narrow and really drastic bevel on the forward upright as mentioned in the instructions. A few pictures taken along the way Got the seats installed. Easiest to assemble the seat and seat front outside the model and then place in the QG. Then added the top piece. It looks like most of my measuring back in chapter 1 paid off as I was able to use the planking lines as a guide for the angle of the top piece. Working on adding the uprights and using the windows as spacers. I temporarily tacked the uprights along the top piece but this step was similar to building a house of cards. Port side uprights with windows placed as spacers. I still need to try the other windows provided to see if I can get a better fit but this is pretty good. Steve

I completed the moldings and friezes for the lower portion of the QG, upper counter, and lower counter Had to redo the upper counter frieze due to not leaving good enough alone. I was done and happy until I saw a small spot that needed trimming. Managed to take off too much of the frieze leaving a big spot of white paper in its place. Time to rip it off and do it again.. I discovered a use for my used, dull chisel x-acto blades. They make good blanks for scrapers. Adding the facilities to the QG and then I'll start in on closing them up. Steve

Thanks everyone for the likes and positive comments and encouragement. Posting updates to this thread is one of the ways I keep myself motivated on a multi-year project. Yes, doing any new skill for the first time is daunting, I try to not over think it (I'm an engineer so it's an occupational hazard). Just jump in and start doing it, plan on making mistakes and move on. So far it's working. The moldings that follow the upper counter have a pretty good curve to them edgewise. Did anyone need to do anything special like edge set them similar to the upper counter planks? Or is the boxwood flexible enough to take the curve with just some judicious use of clamps? Plan for this weekend is to get the QG moldings mounted, get some of the friezes glued into place, and start closing in the QG. We all know what is said about making plans, so we'll see where I am at on Sunday evening. The gel stain for the resin parts is arriving Monday so that will be on next week's list. Steve

Tried to make my first moldings ever tonight. Been reading and studying how several others have done it and it is time to create the fancy moldings for along the upper counter and the quarter galleries. I used a razor blade for the scraper and mounted my rotary tool in my bench vice with a standard cutting disk installed. The set up has the disk spinning away from you on top which is where I held the razor blade to shape it. I found the most difficult part was getting the width of the cutout just right. I ruined half a piece of boxwood trim because there was just a little play in my first attempt. I found you want what is almost a light press fit over the stock material. First attempt is on the left and is just a little too wide. The one that worked is the one on the right with the arrow pointing to it so I don't get confused. What the molding used on the upper counter and quarter gallery is supposed to look like from the plans The 1/8 inch strips for the upper counter and quarter galley moldings. I'm happy with the results. Still need to make a scraper for the lower counter molding profile. I wanted to install these moldings now before the galleries are closed up and clamping becomes more difficult. The 1/16th inch thick molding is in the center. 1/32 inch pieces to the left and right. Steve

Some more progress on chapter 3. I've got the transom and upper counter pretty much complete and started on the quarter galleries. Adding the cap pieces to the top edge of the transom. I had to learn the hard way to use some scrap wood as pads under the clamps to prevent marring the thin cap pieces. The obligatory picture of the quarter gallery templates in place to locate the forward edge of the galleries on the hull. This port side gallery lands exactly where shown in the instructions. The starboard side is around 1/32 - 3/64 if an inch higher. Looks like The angle of my transom is off just a little bit from side to side. Fit and installed the top frames of the quarter galleries. Fairing the frames to match the intersection of the upper counter on the transom was a little tricky. Going to stop here tonight and sleep on it and see if I'm still happy with my work in the morning. If not, I still have the spare set of frames provided in the kit if I want to do them over again. And a picture of the stern. You can see the transition from the upper counter into the quarter gallery frames on each side. If I'm still happy with this in the morning, I'll add the lower frame and maybe the lower planking to the quarter galleries tomorrow. Steve

Enjoy your trip Chuck! Niagara on the Lake is really nice and western New York State is beautiful right now with all the fall colors. (assuming you are driving across NY) Steve

Thank you all for the kind comments. Having some fun with chapter 3 already. Have the transom and upper counter installed and working on fitting the 3/32 thick quarter gallery pieces. Transom installed and centered as good as I could get it. Spacing from side to side is even and the top of the transom has been rough sanded to fit. Upper counter planking is also installed. Fitting the quarter gallery pieces to the side of the hull to get the window spacing even from side to side. And a picture with all the window frames in place. Looks like the window frames sit a little high. Should I leave them alone or risk cutting about 1/32 off the bottom edges of the window frames to get them centered? Otherwise they all fit really nice. Friezes are laminated templates I made to check size and placement, just held on with tape. I really need to sand down the finish on the hull and do it again. The glossy hull is killing me... Steve

Thanks Chuck, yes it feels very nice to have this step behind me. Of course I know where all my mistakes are but I'm overall pleased with the results. If I had one thing to do differently, I would have fully blocked the bow and stern areas 2-3 spaces deep each. I have seen really great work from some using only the bulkheads to control the shape of these areas, but I struggled. For me, I think having the solid blocking to completely control the curves in these areas is the way to go in the future. Steve

Chapter 2 complete (mostly) I completed all construction on chapter 2. I need to spend some more time on sanding and re-applying some wipe on poly. Pictures below are with 2 coats applied and I didn't wait long enough between coats and the second coat softened the first coat making it too thick and glossy. Down to the last strake on each side. Showing pretty much all the tools I used for the planking. Steel ruler, pencil, a #11 blade and a chisel blade, some sanding sticks, and a little water to use with my hand iron for edge setting. The short scrap of plank is a critical tool used to check the width of two planks butting up to each other. Last plank going in. Marked the locations of the bullheads and transferred the dimensions using my calipers. Then slowly sand and check the fit being careful to only remove minimal material each time. I used a flashlight to backlight the planking while I was fairing the hull. It makes it easy to see when you are getting too thin in a specific area of the hull. On the second picture showing the stern you can see where a couple of planks have become very thin. I've also added the stern post. All chapter 2 construction complete and back on the build board. I need to fabricate a couple more pair of supports but the model is surprisingly stable and level with just the one support midships. Steve

Nice update, thanks for taking the detailed pictures of the important steps. I'm hoping to be able to have this be my next project after I complete my Winnie build, so I appreciate the level of detail you are documenting. Steve

This week's update. I made better progress than I thought and am down to under 4 strakes on each side to finish. Had a couple false-starts on the garboard, I documented one above and also took a few failed attempts to figure out a method of getting the forward ends of the planks tucked into the lower rabbet at the bow that worked for me. Spending all the time on lining off the hull and working with the tape has paid off. With only 2-4 plank widths remaking down the length of the hull, I have some pretty consistent spacing on both sides. I've started studying chapter 3 and related work in the build logs. Looking forward to a new challenge. Steve

Another example of "don't be afraid to rip it up and do it over" This is admittedly pretty basic planking technique but might be of value to someone. Better to do it more than once and be happy with the results. Started on the garboard strake at the stern and shaped the aft-most planks separately. There is a taper that continues across the two and I messed up the dimensions when shaping them separately. Result is an ugly gap when the next strake is placed along side. So I removed the planks and started over, this time placing both unsized planks on the model and holding them in relation with each other with some painters tape. Then cut both planks together to ensure a smooth transition this time. Much better the second time around. The dark shadow at the joint is a pencil line and not a gap. Steve

Thanks for the kind words and the likes. I love the larger scale but still getting used to the quantity of work involved in areas like this. Finally getting to that spot on planking where each additional strake placed noticeably closes the gap. Starboard side now matches the port side. 8 strakes remaining on each side. Starting with the garboard strake tomorrow. Steve

A quick update for the week then back to work planking. Got another 4 strakes completed on the port side, spending the afternoon / evening doing the same on the starboard side today. Already have the stern on the starboard side planked to match, need to complete the bow and midships. Really happy to be finished with the tight compound curves at the stern. After I complete that work, I'm going to start working my way out from the keel. Hoping to start the garboard maybe tomorrow. At the pace I'm going (about 4 strakes on each side per week) I should have the hull planking complete in about another 2 weeks. Things are going pretty well. I'm happy with the results so far. First planking I've done in about 25 years. Steve

Another update. I'm almost half way done with the planking of the lower hull. Finished the tuck at the stern. This was the most technically challenging area. It came out okay, not perfect but about as close as I'm going to get it after re-doing about half of my first attempt. The edge set on some of the planks is pretty extreme and I ended up shaping as much of the curve into the plank as I could prior to applying heat and water. This yielded a more consistent result for me. I do some rough fairing as I go along. Only enough right now to blend the edges of the planks. I won't attempt to ease any high or low spots until the entire hull is planked. I also take care to leave the leading edge of my work untouched with the rough fairing as I work along. Steve

Looking very nice! I also like the look of having all the swivel guns mounted and plan on doing the same. Thanks for posting all the details as you have been progressing through chapter 3. It's been helpful to follow along as I plan (hope) to begin chapter 3 in the next month or two. Steve