captainbob

hey Ron.......no.....the Goth looks like that......for now anyway     I'll be picking up on that build when I begin again.  the Goth is on the table,  along with the America........I need to fix it from a separate problem that it suffered.   almost back on track   thanks for the good word!
 
thanks Adam.........hmmmmmmmm rum and whiskey........sounds like a nip and tuck.........one nip and they tuck you away for the night!   Hee.........Hee!!!!!   tell ya what........I'll forgo the fruit,  and just chase'em with a beer!   OK......gotta go drink....errrrrrrr take,  my meds now! :D :D :D
 
put the lime in the coconut
an' drink'em both together
put the lime in the coconut
an' den you feel'in better!

Sewing progresses very slowly.  I’m still learning how to handle the sewing machine.  You would think this would be fairly simple, but no!  I’m finding that the most difficult part of sewing the seams in the sails is starting a line to stitching.
 

 
If you don’t control the top and bottom threads, keeping them taught with a finger as you begin the stitch, the bottom thread will sometimes snag the top thread and pull it under the cloth.  This causes it to be tangled into the stitching.  Of course you don’t discover this until after you’ve finished the entire line of stitching.  Sometimes I can very carefully pull the thread out and tighten the stitching.  Sometimes I can’t and then it requires taking out the entire line of stitching and doing it over again.  I’m learning!
 
Once I have the seams sewn into the sail pattern it leaves “Irish Pennants” along the hem line.  Using a regular sewing needle I bring the top thread back through the cloth and tie it to the bottom thread with a square knot.
 


 
Once all the seams are sewn in I dampened the sail cloth and ironed all the wrinkles out.  Now it’s time to start cutting out the patterns.
 

 
I’ve used Fray Check along all the sail pattern outlines to prevent the cloth from unraveling after it’s cut.  I also painted a thin solution of white glue to all the outside areas that will be folded to form the hems.  I’m hoping this will add just enough stiffness to allow for a nice crisp fold.
 
As I said; slow progress, but, “softly, softly, catchee monkey.”
 

I always took Hot sweet tea with a shot of whiskey.
Whatever take care of yourself.
 
Bob

Well, only a very small update again.  I seem to have spent most of my day today running around doing almost everything except model making.  However I did manage to get the stem on, so after cleaning up the basic backbone, the next job will be to cut the rabbets and then make the frame extension for the overhanging counter before making a framing jig and starting to give her some bones.
 
John
 

What a fine pair.  They are really coming along.
 
Bob

Okay, I have finally made some time to get some work done.
 
My plan is to paint the inside of the bulwarks and the margin plank and then install the deck planking which will be left natural. By doing it this way, I am avoiding the need for masking to get that clean edge between painted and natural surfaces. I have painted the inside of the bulwarks and now I have begun laying the deck planking.
 
Questions and comments welcomed.
 
Russ
 
 

I think I'll just put my head down on the workbench and whimper.  

Good grief!  He builds his own working model compass and then apologises because it's not fully gimbled!   
 
John

I did not like the supplied tiller with the kit so I decided to try making my own. The first one I made by copying the plans for the tiller and flipping them so I had a template for each side, which I glued to a piece of basswood using a glue stick. Thanks to EdT for his great build logs that inspired me to try his technique. I sanded the wood down to close to the edges of the template using a belt sanded and a Dremel sanding drum in the drill press, then finished up by hand filing and sanding. It came out OK but was too round at the rudder end, but it showed me that this was possible.
 
The second one I did similarly but with a few changes. I found it hard to line up the templates on both sides, so this time I added a small dot besides the tiller end. I also scaled the template up by 5% because I thought the previous teller was a little too small. This time when I glued the templates to the basswood, I drilled a hole through the dot and the tiller bracket pivot hole and used straight pins to line up the templates on both sides. This made this step a lot easier. I also used just the Dremel sanding disk and not the belt sander, which I found gave me more control and avoided taking too much off. I again finished up by hand filing and sanding. I left the rudder end square so the tiller brackets have better attachment points, but rounded the rest of the tiller.
 
Here is the wood strip I started with and the first tiller:
 

 
Here is the second tiller being made, with the templates being glued to the wood strip:
 

 
Sanding the rough shape on the drill press with the Dremel sanding drum:
 

 
Second tiller after hand sanding compared to supplied tiller:
 

 
New completed tiller, supplied tiller, and first made tiller:
 

 
After staining the new tiller, I realized it was a bit wider than the rudder, so I sanded the flats down more to make them the same width, then restained it.

Here's my technique, Antony. It's very simple.
 




 
 
 
 
 

Crikey, Andy, I thought it was always like that in Canada!
 
John

Michael,
 
Are you sure that this isn't really full size and you're just telling us it's a model?
 
John

The Kit build has Its first of 4 coats of paint (gloss white) I may have a few pics later today. On the scratch build I cut out the cockpit/cabin coaming and have installed them. next will be alot of sanding to get the hull faired out

Looks like you're having as much fun building the model tools as building the model.  Good work.
 
Bob

Sherry, thanks for your kind words.
 
John, thanks yes I think I will get a round tuit.
 
I had to rearrange the workshop again today, I was bumping the build table every time I used the mill, and I was walking round it too much to do any other work. so basically I have just swapped the build and work tables positions and kept them lengthwise in the shop.
 

 

 
This arrangement will work better I think.
 
Today I thought for a change of pace I would try a cleat the model one is 1 inch long which equates to an 8 inch cleat in scale. I modeled it roughly on the one in the background.
 

 
Thinking about the complexity of the shape and realizing that the most complicated area to make is the underside I tackled it while it was still part of the 1 inch bar
 

 
First the lower sections were cut off with the jewelers saw,then the bottom sides were filed with a couple of needle files  then the wings were tapered with a flat file and given a wire wheel treatment. which makes it look a bit like a casting.
 

 
Next the top curve was cut with the jewelers saw to remove the cleat from the stock.
 

 
Then a couple of .011" counter bores down .050 and then drilled through with a .067" drill some # 1 round headed wood screws were reworked on the lathe to make them a facsimile of a domed cheese head screw. and the cleat cleaned up with files and emery first 220 then 320 then 600 a final polishing with a bit of steel wool.
 

 
Mounted it on the deck, and cleated the tackle for the bob stay. then coiled the rope without any glue or other means, one of the beauties of working rigging.
 

 

 
Michael
 
 
 
 
 

So what does this make, six or is it seven in the works? 
 I always hated moving but did it several times.  I never found an easy way. 
Good luck,
 
Bob

John, if you do eventually get here, there are some great views in the Rockies not too far from here just three hours away. and we do have a spare room.
 
Joe thanks for the kind words.
 
well the bowsprit shrouds were a bit more fiddly than I thought they would be, Had to make a few more thimbles and shackles
 
I decided on the dark rope for the shrouds and a light rope for the tackle.
 

 

 

 

 

 
I need to make some cleats now so that I can tie ropes and lines off better, just need to sort out where to put them and what type to make, they will probably be brass.
 
Michael

Finally finished.  I'm delivering this to it's new home in PA next week and won't be sorry to see it go. I have had more delays and distractions with this model than anything I've built that's twice as complicated.!
 
On to the next one..

All that talk of Smoothness and Creaminess kinda makes me want a pint of Guinness
E

John, Andy, Bob, thanks for checking in.
 
Yesterday afternoon and today I worked on some more rope on the ropewalk. I used some Guttermann 100% Egyptian cotton Ce 50 to make up some more standing rigging parts
I used 39 strands to make some 5/8' scale rope and 27strands for some1/2"
 
and also some more blocks for the bowsprit shrouds the rig will use a single block with a becket and a double block on each shroud, tomorrow I will finish the second single block and make the brackets for the hull and drill the holes through the bulwarks.
 
This series of shots shows the parts of the block and the sequence of the gluing and shaping.
 

 

 

 
The brass bars were originally drilled inside all the previous blocks but I have refined the process a little and now am drilling them in a flat jig first
 
The top and bottom pins are .437" apart and the sheave is 1/4 inch diameter the wood is hard maple. I keep thinking about Remco's byline about treating each part as a complete model and it is really helping me with this build.
 
The port side belaying pins
 

 
Michael

Michael,
 
Beautiful work, but like Andy says watch out for that “fun” stuff . . . oh wait it’s supposed to be fun.  Now what?   
 
Bob

Well what a week, I feel like Shaz, always something else going on. Back and forward to Sydney with dad in and out of hospital, all well now hopefully.
 
Time to start the hull so I marked out and cut card templates and have started cutting the ply.
 

 
I started cutting with a fret saw but it didn't take long to realise that not only was it going to take forever but it wasn't going to be accurate enough. struggling to hold the piece with one hand and saw with the other isn't the best way so I bit the bullet and bought another tool for my workshop....
 

 
Three ribs cut but I will cut all the centres out in one go when I have them all cut to the ouside profile because the saw blade needs to be dismounted and fed through a drilled hole before re-mounting to cut out the centres.
 

 
The keel..............that is long !!!
 

 
 

Glad to have you aboard, Mark.
 
Made some progress. Click an image for the full size photo.
 

Image of Ogallala inside the bottle. The blue tape indicates the planned "waterline" (actually soil line) inside the bottle. Good fit with about 3/8" (9mm) clearance between the masthead and the bottle.
 

Hull piece templates attached to 1/64" (.4mm) and 1/32" (.8mm) plywood. Templates were printed onto the paper side of freezer paper, arranged on the plywood, then ironed (waxy side down) to the ply. The pieces will be cut out with scissors and sanded to size. During assembly the paper is easily removed.
 

Hull under construction, plank on bulkhead technique - never mind that individual planks cover the entire bottom, sides and ends. The two inner decks are spaced about 1/64" apart - the upper and lower hull sections will be separated between those decks at a later stage of the construction.
 

Decking section, print-out of decking plan and the left over piece of raw deck material. Planks were made from 1/16" (1.6mm) basswood with thin black paper glued (thinned white glue) to one side then the wood cut into strips about 1mm thick. After cutting planks to match the decking plan they were glued black edge to wood edge. Black paper was glued to the end of one plank at the butt joints. Ordinary transparent tape applied to the assembly fixture's bed prevents gluing the planks to the fixture. After the glue dried the deck was sanded to less than 1/32" thickness, ready to glue to the deck former after it is in place.
 
 
Thanks for looking.
 

 
Dave
 
 

Guy, Thanks but I mixed up a light green and painted.  The Wheel house is less than a one inch cube.  That makes it fun to work on the inside but I’ll do what I can.
 
Paul, Thanks for stopping by, feel free to browse any time you like.
 
Bob

Hi Bob, You're not late to the Party at all , and it has been alot of fun building these