gieb8688

January 11th, 2016
 
Hi all
before going on, I’d like to add some more details about weathering the copper plates. The reason comes from the need I had to repeat the chemical treatment, because I destroyed several plates while building the cheeks ... so I’ve taken a couple more pictures.
The following shots show clearly what anyone has to expect after a while of application of the vinegar-salt solution:
 


 
The white patina is very evident here, but nothing to be worried about: it is a standard phase of the copper oxidation with vinegar-salt.
 
I’ve prepared the solution with about 50ml of white vinegar (standard cooking product), 1cm deep into a 15cm diameter pot. Then started heating it, while at the same time adding full spoons of normal cooking salt. After each spoon added, I continued mixing well until the entire amount of added salt was melted. Then added another shot. When I noticed that melting was becoming more and more difficult and the vinegar was almost boiling, I added one more teaspoon of salt, mixed again and removed the pot from the fire.
I recommend using an inox steel pot, to avoid any side effect from solution-metal reaction (and also any concern from the admiral!!) and to activate the aspirator fan because the vinegar vapors are quite irritating for inhalation (if not dangerous, I’m not sure).
 
Of course the new copper was prepared in advance, with steel wools sanding and acetone degreasing (same as for the old plates). Scratching is needed because some copper producers use to apply a coat of protection material to keep the copper shine, for decorative reasons.
 
After preparation, I started immediately applying the solution to the copper. I noticed that the solution tended to remove the old weathered patina, which I didn’t expect. So I tried to blend the new treatment area into the old area... well it ended with almost the full port side re-treated and the bow portion of the starboard side, as clearly visible in the pictures.
Nothing happened to the new plates, which was quite weird because on the first time I used this method I had immediately noticed a change in the copper shine. So continued application of the solution, more and more and more... but still nothing! I was in despair, so decided to stop for a while and let it work while having dinner.
When I went back to the workshop, the effect was as shown above.
 
So attentively started to neutralize the acid solution with tap water applied with a rag, that removed 99% of the white patina and left only the weathered copper plates I was expecting!!! Only a slight amount of patina remained in the recesses of the copper plates, the joints and the nails, with an effect that I like very much.
 
Four other notes:
to apply the solution I used an old rag, initially used as a brush with long stokes and then just tapping it, wet of solution, on the copper surface. A sort of foam was left on the copper surface while tapping. while the solution was initially removing the old patina, the trickling down excess liquid became green with the same color of copper oxide: be careful with it, protect the wood because this liquid can stain the wood (which incidentally occurred to my just completed cheecks ... disaster!!! ) while the solution was cooling down in the pot, some more salt sinked to the bottom. This confirms that the solution is 100% saturated of salt, as it’s concentration depends from temperature (as far as I recall from my studies of chemistry and technical physics) the weathering layer, or copper oxide, is quite stable and strong after a few days have passed: removing just by scratching with the fingers is not possible  
And finally: I have no clear if oxidation is continuing even after neutralization of the solution or if the oxide layer is already a self-protection for the metal, like for Aluminum. I suggest neutralizing the acid solution as much as possible, and then I will wait to see what happens in... a minimum 6 months’ timeframe.
 
That’s all for today (cheeks reconstruction time ), I just tried to report all my observations in case they might be useful for anyone else.
 
Cheers
Fam

December 24th, 2015
 
Hi all
as I promised, I’m able to show the completely coppered hull.
Firstly a couple of pictures at an earlier stage, when the plates covering the keel thickness are still missing.
 


 
I tried to adjust the color rendering so to match the real color of new copper, which is amazingly bright and shiny.
The following pictures show how I set the copper foil into the narrow and shallow groove that separates the keel from the false-keel... I don’t know if the picture manages to render the effect... well it is not exactly like if the copper continues between the two parts, but is looking almost as I wanted.
 


 
Next picture is how I prepared the stamp for the plates covering the keel width. The holes will house the steel needles used to stamp the simulated nails on the copper tape.
There is no detail about these plates in the Ancre monography, but I needed a greater width to have some margin for bending each plate to the sides of the keel timbers.  The keel is 7mm thick, as I wrote above, and I managed to find a copper tape 12.7mm wide.
The layout of the nails is the same as for the other plates, just extended to the larger width of these plates. But, differently from the hull plates, I added another row of nails to the side edge, so that both left and right edges look correctly.
 

 
I imagined that the curvature of the bow timbers profile would have caused the plates to wrinkle at the sides of keel. To minimize this, I decided to reduce the plates length to about a half of the length of the hull plates: I firstly tried with 20mm length, but the wrinkles were still present and quite difficult to avoid. At 15mm length (instead of the standard 33mm) I managed to avoid the buildup of these wrinkles. So the final size I chose is 12.7mm width and 15mm length.
 
As for the hull plates, I started producing a small batch of plates for testing how they looked. When I laid the new plates on the side of those I’ve used for the first test, my heart almost missed a beat... OMG, the color was very different!!! More pinkish, as you can see in the following picture:
 

 
Probably a different brand of copper, or a different surface finish,  or whatever... I didn’t know what to think!
I stopped working for a couple of days, thinking at what to do to fix this problem. Then just tried: degreased both copper types with acetone (nail polisher), then rubbed them with very fine steel wool ... and the miracle happened!
I don’t know what the reason was, I cannot believe the older plates had already oxidized ... well I didn’t care: now both plates types showed the same color.
 
Ok, let’s go forward: the amount of wide plates was not much, just about 20. So it was a job quickly done.
The next two pictures show the final plates installed on bow timber and stern post... you can see that the colors are still different, I fixed it later.
 


 
The last step of coppering was to try reducing the excessive shining of new copper by applying a weathering patina, so to simulate the natural ageing of copper.
I used the recipe suggested by Dirk (Dubz), a mixture of vinegar and salt, with as much salt as can be added to the solution before it starts to fall to the bottom of the pot. I also heated the vinegar to melt a bit more salt... a super-saturated solution I think it’s called.
Again, I used the tester plates to check the effect:
 

 
What above picture is showing is much more than the real effect, but I wanted to show it because three different areas are visible: to the left is the original copper, in the middle is the copper just covered with some mixture and to the right is the copper after the mixture has dried.
To be honest, I saw this result on the hull before, then I checked on the testers and noticed that a white patina had developed... in other words I was impatient to test the new technique and did not left enough time to the chemicals to complete their effects.
The effect of the mixture was treble: immediately the copper changed color, taking a more brownish tone. Then it lost great part of its shine. And finally the white patina appeared, probably a side effect of the excess of salt in the mixture...
 
Back to the hull: before applying the mixture I thoroughly degreased the entire hull with acetone, then passed all the plates with very fine steel wool... and the copper colors harmonized.
Then applied the mixture in several coats, using a ragged piece of fabric that I dipped into the solution: in this way I tried to avoid leaving any excessive amount of the stuff on the copper.
And this is the final effect:
 

 
I’m now thinking at how to face this patina, even though I admit that I’m not disliking the final look ...
 
A couple more shots of the coppered hull how as it is right now, before the shipyard was closed for Christmas holidays.
 
I used a different camera, with much lower performance, and this is the reason for such different color rendering...
You may see that I also added a third molding strip just below the water scuppers, an addition of the very last minutes. I’ve missed it during all my previous analysis of the plans, but discovered it when checking for the next job.
I’ve used Yellowheart wood strips that I had available in the scrap parts box: don’t be surprised for the strange color matching, because all this area will be painted black.
 
To set these strips I temporarily glued several 4.5mm wide spacers below the main molding (they are visible in the above picture), then used them as a guide for laying the new molding.
 


 
Next job, in the first days of the New Year 2016, will be the cheeks that laterally support the knee-of-the-head ... stay tuned!
 
I wish you Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year 2016
Fam

December 7th, 2015
 
Hi guys,
just a quick update from the coppering workshop…
 
In general I’m quite pleased with the “reverse” method, it’s quite easy and the result is pleasant. I only hat to introduce 1 drop "plank" at stern and to taper the plates a little bit at stem, as shown in the pictures below.
 
I only have a minor area of disappointment, that is the waterline close to poop: it should have got a nicely curved shape and instead it is a broken line, due to the length of the plates that does not permit following perfectly the waterline. I tried to cut the plates upper edge, but it was not enough.
Unfortunately the waterline row of plates was the first installed, so now fixing this area by removing the affected plates and replacing with others (curved) is at risk of definitely damaging the surrounding plates, in an area that will be very visible in the model.
 
Judge by yourself:
 





 
Another issue is related to coppering the “shoe” board attached below the keel: this item was already discussed in Dirk’s buildlog of USS Syren, with pros and cons.
Now in the latter picture I’ve shown the first two plates of the last row just cut at the lower edge line of the keel, thus leaving the “shoe” free from copper… I show you more in detail:
 

 
What do you guys think about it? Should I leave it this way or should I replace the two plates with two complete plates, also covering the “shoe”?
Opinions, comments and suggestions are more than welcome, as usual
 
Regards
Fam

November 30th, 2015
 
… Continuation …
 
Gunwales
Next scheduled step was building the gunwales, as they complete the upper edge of the bulwarks, protect them and give also more strength, that is not bad considering the hull will be inverted for some time.
The method is the same already described by my good friend JA, but I will show some more details about the procedure.
First step is to draw the profile of the gunwales: I used a piece of scrap cardboard (Corn Flakes boxes  ), laid it flat above the bulwarks and transferred the bulwarks profile to the underneath of the cardboard with a sharp pencil.
The gunwales total width can be measured on the plans, which also show how they protrude about 1.5mm inside and outside the bulwarks. So I had to add another “parallel” line externally to the one already drawn, spaced 1.5mm away, and a second one internally to the existing line, at the correct distance to obtain the total width.
 

 
The above is the final result, with several red lines also traced: the midship line (to check symmetry) and the lines showing how to split the gunwales in several pieces.
I wanted to simulate the use of wood boards about 7-8m long, joined with scarph joints. So added these lines, drew the joints and cut the resulting pieces:
 

 
Then glued these pieces to a 2mm thick Pearwood board and cut them out with a scroll-saw.
 

 
Starting from the transom, I positioned the gunwale pieces on top of the bulwarks, alternating port and starboard sides to increase the visibility of any asymmetry. The pieces were held in position by pins inserted in the toptimbers and gunport side-lining pieces:
 

 
Piece after piece after piece...I got to the bow optimizing the flow of boards and every joint.
 

 
The gunwale boards have a composite profile on their internal and external edges, so I used the experienced technique of scrapers by cutting the required profile in a steel blade. Then locked every gunwale piece in a vise and scraped the two sides…
 

 
...with this result:
 

 
To avoid any painting problem after the installation, I pre-stained the boards underside with black stain. Here are all the gunwales pieces:
 

 
And finally the installation started. Here the problem was to firmly hold each piece pressed against the top of bulwarks, so to obtain a strong glued joint. The pin holes provided the needed reference for the alignment.
 


 
Above is the final results completed and below the gunwales finished with black acrylic paint: two light coats, a light sanding, a third light coat as final finishing:
 


 
The preparation for coppering was then concluded by painting a black area just few millimeters wide upward of the waterline: I wanted to avoid having the need to paint the hull down to the copper, and also wanted to avoid the need to protect the copper from overpainting, so prepared the base well in advance.
The waterline is still visible below this painted area because it will be the reference for laying the first row of plates.
 
And finally… coppering!!
I protected the gunwales and inverted the hull. After a long exchange of PMs with Archjofo/Johannes (thank you very much, you were very kind!) I obtained several pictures of the hull of his Le Crèole corvette, which is coppered exactly the same way described in the monography of Le Cygnus brig (ref. above posts).
The only difference is a single line of narrow copper plates at the waterline instead of four lines.
 
So I started producing the plates for the waterline: they are as long as the main plates, 33mm corresponding to 1.60m in the real world, but only 5.5mm wide instead of 10mm (0.50m). The simulated nails heads are 0.6mm diameter, corresponding to about 30mm. They obviously have a different (mirrored) layout from port to starboard.
 
Laying of the plates starts at the rudder post timber and proceeds forward, with an overlay of the plates by about 1mm (41mm in the real world).
And I immediately had to face a problem… how to approximate a curved line with straight segments! The solution was probably to use curved plates, prepared ad-hoc by the master blacksmith of the shipyard.
I simply used the prepared plates and cut the upper profile round, following the waterline. The lower profile of the plates waterline row results in a split-line, but it will be covered by the following rows of copper.
 

 
The flow of the row at the bow is much easier:
 

 
And these are the first two rows of standard plates completed yesterday night, with the few plates I had already prepared... unfortunately I had to temporarily close the blacksmith workshop because my relatives loudly protested for the hammering noise
To find its correct shape (natura lcurvature line) I used a 10mm wide plank, placed on the hull and bent to naturally follow the curvature of the hull. The next rows are just following the upper profile of this first:
 

 
Next days will be busy with the coppering. I will have also to prepare a third stamp for the plates covering the thickness of the keel-sternpost-stem timbers.
 
Cheers
Fam

November 24th, 2015
 
Hi all
while playing with the copper, at the same time I’m proceeding with the preparatory steps that I’ve described above.
 
Hawse holes and water scuppers lining
Both these jobs are now completed with the method I’ve described in the previous posts: in the end I didn’t try with the brass tubes because the result I’ve got with simple paper is fully satisfactory for me. Here are a couple of shots (still not painted):
 


 
Bowsprit housing
Every preparatory job has...a preparatory job to be completed before!
So before building and installing the gunwales, I had to clear the housing for the bowsprit mast in the bow portion of the bulwark... but before being ready to do this task, I had to build the large bitt housing the foot of the bowsprit (btw, what’s its name?).
I used Cherry wood for it, and just followed the drawings in the Ancre monography. I left the two legs longer than needed, then cut two square holes in the deck planks to house the legs. The holes are as deep as the deck planks thickness, so the bowsprit bitt is fixed directly to the false deck plywood.
 

 
The final height of the legs is then adjusted so to have the correct distance between the deck and the horizontal beams of the bitt. Then, after adding a couple of brass pins to the center of the bitt legs, the bitt was positioned into its location. No glue for now, but the fit is so tight that it is not really needed while I’m checking the bowsprit position. The next pic shows the bitt before shortening the legs.
 

 
To carve the bowsprit housing I firstly prepared a dummy of the mast, using a 10mm diameter dowel.
First step was to measure the slope of the mast from the plans, with respect to the deck surface, which is about 19.5 degrees. Then I cut three faces into the foot of the dummy: first was a sloped surface (1) to match the deck: the easier way to do this is to use the disk sander with the tilting table set to 19.5deg.
Then I had to sand the foot of the dowel at 19.5deg from the dowel section (2), so that it remains vertical w.r.t. the deck. Again, with the disk sander help...
Third I cut two flat and parallel surfaces on the sides of the bowsprit foot (3), so that its width is exactly the same as the distance between the bitt legs.
 

 
After these steps were done, I started cutting the bulwark above the bow timbers: initially with 10mm width, the same as the bowsprit diameter, then progressively narrower until obtaining a ‘U’ shape sloping inward. In the end, the external and internal pieces of the bow timbers were joined in a continuous saddle for the mast. While slowly removing material from the bulwark, the bitt provided a stable stop to the mast foot and at the same time a reference for its slope. A third check point was the distance between the dummy mast and the top of the bow timber, where the figurehead will be attached (sorry, don't know the correct name of this part):
 


 
9pdr guns
Continuing with the 9pdr guns, I verified that the carriage cheeks were about 1mm too narrow for the gun barrel ... actually, it is the opposite, because the carriage is perfectly matching the plans.
So, some deconstruction time also for me: I disassembled the cheeks from the axles and forward piece, built a new forward piece 1mm wider and reassembled the 5 pieces. The following picture shows the new wider carriage (left) compared to the original. The next shows how the second barrel (still bare) sits comfortably between the cheeks and is able to be trained upward without interference.
 


 
The following picture shows both the carriages rebuilt, with all the bolts and ringbolts required and with the wheels completed by their iron bands. Next is a shot showing the two barrels painted: the first still with matt finish, the farther also polished with a nylon rotative brush and with some graphite powder from a 2B lead pencil.
 


 
Final steps were to build the brass strips fixing the barrel trunnions to the carriage. They are cut from brass 0.5mm thick sheet, bent to match the trunnion, drilled with two holes and fixed by a 0.5mm brass hook (to the rear) and a 0.8mm pin (to the front).
 

 
Finally, several shots showing the completed guns on the deck, occupying their position at the first gunports. The barrel is now correctly aiming upward, even though the elevation quoin is still not in its final position.
 


 
The above closer picture shows the elevation quoin, with the pin handle lathed from a Birch toothpick, and the brass pins through the wheels axles. All the metal parts have been chemically blackened.
Finally, I also tried to position the guns at the stern chase gunports ... again satisfactory !!
 

 
To be continued...
Fam

Just to make life more interesting for all, here are a couple of photos of the 'Edwin Fox' (1853) in Picton, New Zealand.
 
The lower plates clearly overlap the upper plates - oh, the bow is to the left in these photos.
 
John
 

 

October 30th, 2015
 
Hi all
it’s been a long time since my last update from the 'Brik de 24 dockyard'... I was definitely lazy in this period, but the truth is that I was really bored by this phase!
 
Anyway, second planking layer is now completed. In the end I decided to continue with the spiling technique also on the starboard side. The following is the final result: the planks are barely visible on the stbd side, which I have already roughly sanded with 80 and 120 grit sandpaper. A bit better on port side of the hull, second picture.
 






 
Next jobs will be to prepare the base for the copper sheeting. But before getting to this step, I have some other phases planned:
continue sanding the Tanganyca planks, until I get a smooth finish. apply 2-3 coats of acrylic wood sealer, with other intermediate sanding. before applying the last sealer coat, I will also re-open the water scuppers and the hawse holes, and will line them with the method I’ve shown before (only on the outside, for now). draw the waterline, a task that needs preparing a dedicated jig then I’ll apply the first coat of black paint, from the gunport sills molding downward to the waterline. I’ve not yet decided if use an acrylic paint or a wood stain: I will test the efficacy of the stain on the Yellowheart wood, which has a very closed texture. preparation for coppering will end with opening the housing for the bowsprit mast in the forward bulwark (with the help of the bitts holding the mast foot to get the correct slope) and to fit the gunwale on top of the bulwarks.  
I’ve read all the discussions by my good friend JA about the materials and method to use for copper sheeting. I think I will give a try to this:
 

 
With 9.53mm width it is pretty close to the 9.8mm width of the copper plates I measured on Ancre plans.
The strips are self-adhesive, but I’m not sure whether trusting in the adhesive power characteristics (mainly in the long period) or gluing every plate with some type of glue...   any suggestion from the forum members is really appreciated!
 
Have a nice building day
Fam

June 8th, 2015
 
Hi all
this will be the last update from my “Brik de 24” shipyard for a while, since I’m going to close it for one month due to another business trip for the Company I work in.
In these two weeks I completed several long lasting works and started preparation for the hull second planking.
 
Keel, stern post and “shoe”
Before doing this job I had to refine the hull shape at the junction with the keel parts. These are 7mm wide, so I had to measure and sand the hull in the junction area until its thickness was 6mm, to take into account for the 0.5mm thick 2nd planking layer.
After this, I glued the stern post, the two keel pieces (joined with horizontal scarph joints) and finally the piece that I call “shoe”, the one protecting the keel in case of contact with the undersea floor. All junctions were strengthened by wooden pegs (the usual 2mm toothpicks). Of course the holes for the supporting screws were drilled before adding the keel parts.
Here are three views:
 



 
Obviously addition of the stern-post required refining of the rudder tiller hole, which I later completed by adding the 2nd planking to the counter in order to have the correct and final shape for the rudder hole:
 

 
Second planking strips are obtained from Tanganika wood veneer, 0.5mm thick.
 
Wale and bulwarks mouldings
Next in the sequence, so to complete the preparation for laying the 2nd planking, was the addition of several mouldings that are needed to better define the upper boundary of the wale. Additionally, I prepared and installed also the mouldings for the gunport sills, inboard and outboard of the bulwarks.
The first moulding is obtained from 3.5x2.5mm Pearwood strips that are shaped, as three-lobes, using a scraper. I was really pleased to see how simple is this method... several light passes and the moulding slowly takes shape under my eyes The important is to stick the wood strip to the work surface and hold the scraper at right angle to the wood.
The gunports mouldings are obtained by cutting 1x1mm strips from Yellowheart wood: not an easy task, because this wood is extremely hard but also fragile and tends to split apart under the table saw blade, when cut in very small strips.
The next pictures show the results:
 



 
I really like this other picture because shows the beautiful curvature of the hull, as it is highlighted by these mouldings:
 

 
The lines defining the bulkheads positions are also traced on the 1st planking and will be used to calculate the shapes of the second planking strips using the method described in C.Passaro tutorial.
 
Bulwarks treenailing
Very few to say about this boring work. I didn’t want to leave it behind, as it is another milestone to be passed for the preparation of the deck. The interested area was the interior of the bulwarks and the interior of the transom. Technique has been thoroughly described before, so the only detail worth noting is the total amount of nails I installed... 2860, plus or minus ten! It’s not the biggest number I’ve seen here on MSW, but gives an idea of what anyone has to be prepared to when the decision is taken!
After having completed the job I have to admit I’m very pleased by the result, the treenails add a beautiful texture to the look of both deck and bulwarks... just wondering how much of it will remain visible after installation of all deck fittings and guns...
Here are a couple of pictures:
 


 
As I had the hull in the upright position, I also finished the top of the bulwarks by removing the tips of the gunport framings and sanding the bulwarks top flat: now they are ready to receive the gunwale.
Also visible in above pictures are the hawse holes and the water scupper holes.
 
Hull lining for planking
Just before temporarily closing my shipyard, this was the last task I did. It needed an entire work-session of measurements and comparison with Ancre plans of planking, but I think I’m pretty close to an acceptable result.
I ask all of the readers to write their opinions, and also ask Chuck to drop by here and give his judgment, so that when I’ll go back home in a month I can copy-paste to the opposite side and start planking. I will really appreciate any suggestion and apologize for posting maybe too many similar pictures!
 







 
Bye
Fam

May 20th, 2015
 
Hi all
here I am to satisfy someone’s curiosity...
 
Firstly, my own personal porcupine! LOL
 

 
The lighter spot on the deck, in front of stbd gunport #3, is where I had to sand off the sealer to correct a defect, still to be fixed with another coat of sealer.
 
And now the tests for the water scuppers lining.
I drilled 3 holes 2mm diameter (left, for the scuppers) and 2 holes 5mm diameter (right, for the hawse holes) in a scrap wood piece. Then cut 2 disks from a piece of thick paper, about 4mm diameter, and 2 other disks of 7mm diameter. The problem with this method is to give the paper a sufficient lip surface to let the glue hold down the paper on the border of the holes when the paper is pressed into the hole... I tried with 1mm wide lip, but maybe 0.5mm is feasible if a thinner paper is used.
 

 
The last 2mm hole is used for the second method, using a paper roll (standard printer paper) to be inserted in the hole. The roll is then cut with scissors as close as possible to the wood surface, then the paper is soaked with glue and pressed to the hole border using a conic tool that creates the lip. This is similar to the technique plumbers use to prepare the ends of metal pipes for leak-proof connections.
 

 
And this is the final effect after a coat of dark gray acrylic paint... I didn’t even try to be precise with the brush tip, and the lining lips are far from perfect, but considering the size I think the result it’s not bad!
Maybe a slightly lighter shade of gray...
 

 
Just one consideration about the technique: gluing a paper disk above the hole borders, then pressing the tip of a tool trough the disk center to create the hole, is easier where accessibility for scissors is poor. Conversely, the pipe method seems to give a better result (well, to me), but free space for the scissors is needed.
So I think I’m going to use the first method on the inside, which will be also partially hidden by guns and various deck fittings, and the second method outside, where the lining will be perfectly visible.
Finally, all these holes were at 90deg to the wood surface, things may be slightly different when the hole is angled...
 
Next test: the sheave block pulleys.
The scope was to simulate the pulleys with something that gives the ‘idea’ of a pulley, even if the grove is not visible. Also consider that most pulleys will have a rope passing through, so will be only partially visible.
The method I used is the one I’ve already described, and you can see in the picture below the tool I used to punch the styrene disk out from the 1mm sheet. The sequence is straight-forward, no need for further explanation I think.
 

 
I painted the disks with bronze acrylic paint, but the result is maybe a bit too dark...
 

 
The look is not a shining brass as I’ve seen in many models, but I prefer not seeing any shine in my model, I think it’s too evident and not realistic... well maybe with the exclusion of the ship’s bell!
Don’t know, what do you think?? Any comment is really appreciated.
 

 
And finally yesterday evening I added the stem pieces/cut-water to the bow: the piece is made of three main parts, the other joints lines are just simulated... well, it will be partially painted and partially copper sheeted, so simulating the joint is a non-sense, but I wanted to see how it looks!
 


 
I had to cut a slot in the bulwark external layer of Yellowheart planks, because this layer is glued externally to the extension of the false keel, while the internal profile of the stem timber exactly follows the false keel profile.
Ideally, the hook of the stem timbers (the upper appendix for the main stay that is hold by the clamp in the above picture) has an extension internally to the bulwark that I added as a separate piece before planking the bulwarks: you can see it in the first picture of today, same color of the stem pieces.
If you compare this detail to the same in JackAubrey’s build-log, he cut all the way through the bulwark and the extension is integral with the stem timbers... definitely a better approach, but I was too late !
 
I also had to cut a slot in the forward side of hull basswood planking, to 2/3 of the height down from the wale (about where a darker strake is laying), to let the cut-water reach the false keel profile. Apart from this, the matching is quite good and there is a little slot left free for the second planking layer.
 
I’m now preparing the keel pieces; they will be two, and will be joined to the cut-water and to each other by scarph joints (where the green headed pin is visible). Cut-water and keel pieces will be fixed more strongly to the false keel by means of 2mm wooden pins. On top of the keel, the ‘shoe’ will be added covering the fixing pins. The second step in front of the green pin is just the housing for this piece.
Two holes will have to be drilled in the keel and shoe pieces for the bolts of the model supports.
 
And this is the end for today
Cheers
Fam

April 29th, 2015
 
Hi all
A new small update from my shipyard of “Le Brick de 24”: I’ve finally completed the deck planking!
The last lateral planks were really hard to set, because I had no more room to set wedges or to force them in position with any tool other than fingers ... aching fingers in the end!!
Anyway, it’s done and I really like the way it come out.
 
Here is a general bird-view... I’ve already started sanding the port side but the planking will be more visible only after application of a coat of sanding sealer.
 

 
A shot of the forecastle area ...
 

 
... and another of the quarterdeck area...
 

 
Now the planks curvature is evident, mainly at the bow. The forward-most and rearmost planks of the most external strakes have been spiled, because that amount of curvature was too difficult... well, to me, because I didn’t dare to try the extreme bending techniques shown by some other master shipwrights here in MSW  
 
Now the next jobs are:
scraping/sanding the planks even tree-nailing the entire deck (already started yesterday to mark the holes locations) drilling the water scuppers in the waterways, only drilling the in-out pilot hole and finishing the scupper inner portion drilling the hawse holes, only finishing their inner portion applying a coat of sanding sealer to the deck planks I think this will take a couple of weeks, after which I can switch to the hull exterior to install the keel, the stem and the rudder post.
 
Best regards
Fam

April 24th, 2015
 
Works in progress ... I really love it, but it's not that easy
 

 
The amount of taper and edge curvature is evident, and increases the further I go.
Still 3 strakes to go, and have to use soak&heat method to bend the planks.
 

 
Regards
Fam

April 13th, 2015
 
Hi all
I’ve some new pictures to show with a small update from my shipyard of “Le Brick de 24”.
Not a busy period this, with several days of relaxing holiday and marvelous food in the beautiful Tuscany (before) and in the even more gorgeous Emilia (after), from the cuisine point of view I mean!!
 
I’ve left the shipyard with the start of the deck planking, and some discussion about hook scarph joints for the master planks.
So here it is the central band of thicker planks (2.2mm ramin wood, 5 planks of various widths, 2 bulkheads of plank shift). The caulking is simulated with 2B lead pencil, which I think it’s still a usable method even in 1-48 scale: visible (a bit better after a coat of finishing is applied) but not imposing.
The texture of Ramin wood is visible here and even better in the following pictures: it’s a bit large but I like it.
 

 
This is my first attempt at cutting the hook joints. As I was totally new with this type of joint, I printed several paper templates and pasted them to the pearwood planks. The hooks are 20mm long and their end width is 1/3 of the plank width (which is 5.5mm wide). I also tried 10mm and 15mm lengths, but the 20mm just looked better! Above in the picture are the glued templates, below my first hook joint...
 

 
... and this is the completed starboard strake with 3 joints:
 

 
After having completed the pearwood strakes, I realized that the color contrast was a bit too low: I expected something more conspicuous! So I prepared a couple of templates to test the effect of the final finishing and some stain.
On one sample I used a Teak stain to darken the pearwood a little bit, the other sample is left with the natural color. In the first picture are the unfinished samples, in the second picture the samples are shown after a coat of sanding sealer that I’m accustomed to use as final finishing.
By comparison, it is evident that the color shade is not significantly changing with the finishing, but only becoming a bit more ‘honey’-ish (well, maybe it is not so evident in the pictures, I see, but it is in the real wood: see last picture below). So in the end I decided to go with the stain for the pearwood, but only after having completed the installation and sanding of the master planks and tree-nailing of the entire central band.
 

 
Above pictures also show the tree-nailing that is done with Birch toothpicks. The size is 0.6mm, corresponding to about 29mm in the real world... I hope this is not too large. Its pattern is quite standard, but I noticed from the plans that the layout of the tree-nails should be reversed from port to starboard... too late now! This is the aft deck while adding the tree-nails...
 

 
... and this is the central band completed...
 

 
... with a couple of zooms on the tree-nails work with different lighting:
 

 
Again the complete deck after re-drilling the holes for the dummy masts:
 

 
And finally this is the central band after application of the Teak stain to the two side strakes of pearwood and also after the application of the finishing sealer, that enriches the depth of wood colors:
 

 
Maybe it is not evident in the pictures above, but the planks are tapered toward the bow and the poop, and consequently they are curved inward toward the center-line. Not too much so far, but it’s going to increase greatly with the next planks.
 
This weekend I spent most of the time in doing what we in Italy call “Spring house-cleaning”... not meaning that we clean our homes only once a year... just a deeper cleaning that wives require sometime But while cleaning, we also had to face an invasion of ants, which decided our home was worth visiting just in this period of the year ... maybe they wanted to participate to the extraordinary event!!
In the few spare time I had I tried to cut the remaining deck planks, but suffered a major fault to the table saw: so I’ve spent another hour completely disassembling the machine in every possible part, checking (and cleaning of course) and reassembling...
why I do have this screw remaining out??! Re-open the case, check where a screw is missing, re-close, test... ok, now it’s working smoothly as required!
So I’ve got my 80+ planks ready only yesterday night and only managed to glue the first two at the bow.
I did some calculation: 10 strakes are needed for every side, each is made by 4 planks, so in total 80 pieces are needed (plus some spare just in case!).
 
Deck planking in progress... stay tuned
Fam

March 30th, 2015
 
Hi all, here I am with another update from my shipyard!
During these 2 weeks I managed to complete 4 tasks on the deck structures:
- completion of the bulwarks internal planking
- completion of the waterways, with the addition of those at the transom
- planking of the transom
- preparation and fitting of the 6 sheave blocks in the bulwarks
 
The first internal plank at the bottom of the bulwark is a wider one and needs some adaptation to match the curvature of the waterways. The technique I used is described in the previous post, so no need to repeat.
The next picture shows two planks with their paper templates...
 

 
... this shows the first strake completed, with a bent plank for the second strake ...
 

 
... and this shows the last strake of the starboard bulwark fixed and glued...
 

 
The transom required a special attention due to its double-curvature: I had firstly to prepare the waterways for this area... the plans are not very clear about this, they show what appears to be a smooth transition from the deck planking to the counter planking more than a sloping waterway as for the bulwarks. So I prepared a sort of margin plank, only creating a small step to house the deck planks on one side and the counter planks on the other side.
The counter planks are curved and tapered and are interrupted in the middle for the rudder hole. The starboard transom margin-plank is done (just left to cut to final length) and the port one is being shaped...
 

 
Note that the transom gunports are shut: I had to add a thin layer of pear to get the correct thickness of the gunport lining. I re-opened the gunport just after planking the transom.
So, here are the bulwarks, counter and transom completed with their internal planking. The waterways are still temporarily positioned, not glued yet. The bulwark planking is 1mm thick boxwood, while transom-counter planking is just 0.7mm thick.
 



 
The bulwarks are not completed without their multiple-sheaves blocks. There are 6 of them: two with 6 horizontal sheaves each at poop, two with 5 horizontal sheaves each at the waist and two with 1 vertical sheave in the forecastle area.
The multiple blocks are as wide as the bulwarks, so tapering upward from 5 to about 4.5mm. They are 5.5mm high and about 15.5mm large to house two series of 3 sheaves. The slots for the sheaves are about 1mm high, as can be measured on the plan, so I had to build a block 5.5mm high with 3x1mm slots, and the remaining thickness is left for the 4 spacers... just 0.6mm each!
I think I reached the limit of my KS230 table saw, or very close, as I managed to slice 0.6mm layers from my 8mm thick boxwood with almost no imperfections... I’m a big fan of the Proxxon machines, even if this table-saw is a bit underpowered it always gives me great satisfaction!
Next I prepared the spacers, 1x1mm, and also a 6.5mm square batten for aligning the spacers while gluing. Here are the steps:
 



 
One slot in two of the above blocks is than blanked with a scrap piece of boxwood, so to create the 5 sheaves waist blocks. Preparation of the vertical single blocks was similarly accomplished, just with different measures.
All the blocks were left wider than the thickness of the bulwarks, to permit a following better and easier finishing.
 
The following task was to locate the blocks’ positions and to create their housings: easy-peasy for the forward-most 4 blocks, but it was a nightmare for the 2 rearmost blocks which are upward sloping and almost in contact with the transom.
 



 
I had to partially dismantle the bulwarks where they join the transom in order to create the housings, then rebuilt them after having positioned, fitted and glued the blocks. Here is the result:
 


 
After all the blocks were glued, I only had to sand them flush with the internal and external surfaces of the bulwark, and the job was completed with a good pass of abrasive paper for a smooth finish. The sheaves will be added later: they are 1mm thick (or slightly less) and 5mm in diameter... I'm thinking of using styrene plasticard ... will see how it works!
 
The fourth and fifth pictures above also show the completed oarports, from inside and outside: their pearwood lining is also partially visible. The gunports are similarly prepared, but will be cut only after applying the second planking or, depending on how I will schedule the works, before fitting the gunwale.
 
Finally, yesterday I’ve spent 3 hours cutting the deck planks with the table saw.
The deck has a central area of thicker planks, 3mm, where all the deck fittings are installed (companionway, pumps, capstan, bitts, binnacle, boat supports and so on) and two side areas where the planks are thinner at 2mm. These thicknesses are referred to the top of the deck beams, so must be diminished by the thickness of the plywood false deck (i.e. 0.8mm).
 
The central area has planks of different width, not too much but very evident. The central plank, along the ship center-line, is 5mm wide; then there are two planks each side of it, of 6mm width; finally another plank per side of 5.5mm width (total 7 strakes). These measures are taken at bulkhead 0, or M1/M2 in the model, where the planks have their maximum width. Then they are tapered toward bow and poop (with the exclusion of the central one) and slightly curved inboard.
 
JA has found a brilliant way to set a guide for planking the deck with all the above variations, that is gluing to the false-deck several paper strips directly taken from (a copy of) the deck plan: this gives a continuous reference for the planks width to be used, as well as  for tapering, greatly helping in preventing any error or inattention... thank you very much JA!!
So, here below is the deck prepared with the paper guides:
 

 
After this, I glued all the waterways pieces and smoothed their joints with some wood filler: these will be painted black later.
Finally I started laying the center-plank from stem to stern: lot of care is required to lay correctly this first strake, as it will be the guide for the remaining deck planks.
About the wood: it is Ramin for all the deck planks with the exclusion of the two “king” strakes, those by 5.5mm width at the boundaries of the central thicker band, which will be light pearwood.
 


 
In the last picture the first plank of the second strake is being glued. To build this plank I measured its width at the stations were the paper guidelines are set (bulkheads nn.VIII, VI, IV and II), and pasted these measurements to the plank; next I tapered the plank with the disk sander. This plank will not be bent, because the center strake is not tapered nor curved, but with the following strakes I will have to add a slight bend after the tapering... hope it works, or I will need to take advantage of the full original plank width (10mm) to cut-out the correct shape including bending and tapering (that's to say spiling it!): this is why I only cut the amount of planks sufficient for the central thicker area, just in case they do not fit!
Last details:
- the planks are cut to 200mm length, equivalent to a bit less than 10 real meters.
- I used a plank shift equivalent to two bulkheads
- the butt joint of the planks with the waterway is apparently flat in the plans, but only the central portion of deck planking is shown. So I’m planning to use joggled planks starting from when the planks need to be mitered about 45° to match the waterways... same method as explained in the fantastic tutorial by Ed Tosti, a method that I’ve also used in my Pinco:
 

 
To conclude, I have a consideration about deck planking: the deck fittings were fixed to the structures (beams) under the planking, so in theory they could be installed right now and then the planks cut to fit around them. I tried this approach with the Pinco, but then had lot of difficulties with the deck sanding, right because of the many obstacles in the way.
So I’m now trying to add the fittings ‘on top of’ the planking, by cutting the required slots where needed for greater strength (for example for the bitts and pin-rails).
 
That’s all for today... my best regards
Fam

Happy New Year to everyone!  
 
It's been six months since my last post and I have not been at the bench as much as I would have liked, but thats life.  Here is a  current photo of the 80' ELCO.  I must say she's very close to being completed.
 

 
Cheers,
Tim

Greetings, I did get some work completed on the ELCO this weekend.  I've started to install the small deck fittings along with the torpedo tube turntables.  Below is a photo of some of the bow deck mountings, the other to shots of the boat are with the assembled parts setting loose on the deck.
 
Cheers, Tim
 

 

 

Greetings,
 
Once again, I've stent too much time away from the bench so last week I decided to get back to it during a rainy weekend.  I got tired of looking at the hull one color so I decided it was time to add the waterline.
 
 

 
Cheers,
Tim

Greetings,
 
I was able to get some more time in at the bench today which is always a good thing, because the prospect isn't too good this coming week.  I finished mounting all the windows, mast, mast supports to the Day Cabin.  The yard was glues to the mast along with the cleats on each side at the mast base.   
 
The Day Cabin hatch, non-skid, speed wrench and boat hook will be installed after a coat of primer has been applied, which will be at the mercy or the weatherman.  I still have to attach the blocks at each end of the yard then thread the flag halyards through each.
 

 

 
Cheers, Tim

Greetings,
Today was a rainy gloomy day here in Virginia Beach which means it's a good day to hit the building bench.  I managed to get the Day Cabin about 80% completed.  As you can see, I still have to paint the torpedo tubes.  Our weather hasn't been warm enough to get out on the porch for that yet, hopefully in the next week or two.  I included a shot with most of the toys placed on the deck just for kicks and a photo op.
 
Cheers, Tim
 

Greetings,
I've been working in the ELCO just over two years now and I can finally see a light at the end of the tunnel.  Today I finished work on the four torpedo tubes, they still ned to be painted and the torpedo head mounted in the forward end of the tube but the hard part is finally behind me.    
 
The impulse chambers have been mounted along with all the brass photo-etch parts on the tubes, the hardest part was cutting and mounting the rings to the reinforcing plates, (see photos below).
 
Reinforcing rings for torpedo tube still on the tree.
 

 
Reinforcing ring in first step for sizing to fit the tube, the forward and rear rings are two different sizes.
 

 
Test fitting reinforcing rings until final size is obtained.
 

 

 

 
Torpedo tube complete with all brass and reinforcing rings attached.
 

 
Cheers,
Tim

Greetings,
 
I happy to say the BlueJacket 80' ELCO PT Boat is finally finished after a little over two years!    
 

 

 

 
Cheers,
Tim

The Builder's Yard (Workshop)
 
I originally started building this model in a spare room in the house.  I have since built a workshop (aand many more "honey please do! small jobs) which have contributed to the extended model build time.  However, finally, I can concentrate on the build!
 

 

 

Update
 
am now making the breakwaters. These have to be cut from two / four brass  halves due to placing the railings on to early. Trust this is a good solution
There where the parts penetrate the railings I put on some small metal reinforcements to the railing. The shapes of the breakwater halves are made from card templates.  I hope to get the metal work on the forecastle deck done by end of this week. The stud-link chain parts are allready blackened and look good
 
Nils
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 
 
 

Ok ok ......
Mouses , mices , meese ,things that's hanging against the stay's.....whatever ....
 
I just told Hennie ( the other Dutch builder who is also building a Aggy ) that everyone can read my English and see.........I'm right             Pffffffffff
 
Thank you very much for the comment and likes !
 
@ Ulises,
 
I take the easy way.....and I mean totally easy !!!!!!
My rope server has let me down a few day's ago.
So the mouse is only painted !
And from a distance you don't see it.....so please, look from a distance !!!!!!!  
I know ., it's not right but......I think I'm gonna keep it this way ( or not ? )
And don't wish to much my friend.
The Victory will be waiting for us   
 
@ Bob,
 
Thanks.
 
I'll be waiting for your rigging.
Can you please hurry up ???
 
@ Hennie,
 
Also thanks and I will take a look at your build log when I have finished all this ChineesEnglish   
Somebody else gives you an answer what about the pictures......
 
@ Elijah,
 
Also thank you !!!!  
 
@ Edwin,
 
Thank you,
 
Greetings back from my Moderator and say hello to your Admiral from both of us 
 
@ Bill,
 
Are you using a magnifier ???????
I didn't see it and I'm sitting with my nose above it !
The deadeye turned around when I put the tension on the lanyard.
But I fix it         
At the end of the post you will see a picture with the fix........
 
@ Moonbug,
 
Look at the beginning of this post     
 
@ George,
 
You have more faith in me then I have in myself.....
That first mouse take me almost 3 hours to do the job !
And then I mean also attach the stay from mizzen to main mast.
 
Sjors

Shrouds are done on all the masts.
Ofcourse also the deadeyes and lanyards.
I have try to make a mouse and put it on the mizzen stay.
Now I need 4 more mouses.
Who's idea was that ??????????
 
Sjors

Yeeeey...............succes :D
I used office picture manager and it went smoothly.
Here some more pictures!
I finished the lower gundeck today. Cant show pictures because I forgot my camera at my brothers birthday
Will see him again in a few weeks,  so ........patience.............
 
Hennie