wefalck

Thanks for the kind comments. Actually the sails are rather stiff and water wouldn't do anything on them, as the tissue paper is now impragnated with varnish and covered in acrylic paint. On the other hand the original sails also would have been quite stiff, at least stiffer than untanned sails. Now the building has progressed far enough to be able to apply a base-coat of paint. After some preliminary trials I decided on a light terracotta as a base-coat for the hull, while the spars were painted in ‚bois’ (i.e. wood, Prince August Air). On top os this oak-tinted varnish will be applied to give the ‚wood’, that in the original was painted with tar and harpeus (a mixture of wood-tar and lineseed oil), some depth. The different base-coat colours where chosen to differentiate between the different woods, i.e. oak for the hull and pine for the spars. The matte base-coat makes visible the ‚rustique’ style of modelling by Artitec and also any imperfections in building. Photographic images even further enhance any imperfections that are not so obvious to the naked. There is a need to work over one or the other part. wefalck

I think we are mixing here two issues, what was done in real life and what to do for models. Garward, you were talking about models, while dafi was talking about the real thing. Yes, some of the 'quick blackening' agent contain selenous acid. wefalck

Contemporary to whom ? To us or the time of the prototype ? Actually, I don't think that bronze (not brass) guns where painted as the material is quite corrosion resistant and develops a protecting patina. Cast iron and steel corrode differently, due to the graphite content in the former. I believe cast iron was often painted on an artificial patina. The controlled 'rusting' means a passivation and a better key for the paint than the bare iron. When steel came into use in the second half of the 19th century, gun had become precision instruments that required a more controlled protection. The browing with vinegar etc. is not just throwing the acid over it, but it was applied carefully, sparing machined surfaces that had to retain their dimensions, such as seats for sightings, elevation mechanisms, or the rifling. However, some navies seem to have also painted their steel guns. In fact towards the end of the 19th century, when grey became ubiquitous, this became the general practice. wefalck

Thanks for the praise I am a bit apprehensive as to how they will stand up to being folded and crumpled when in a half-lowered state. As I said before, billowing or furled sails are not so much of challenge compared to limp ones, just hanging there to dry ... wefalck

Don't know. Would depend on the brass. I also don't know what colour solid copper-acetate (which is what you probably would make) has. To be on the safe side, I would use a commercial browning or blackening product. I do have an old-time recipe book for such concoctions used to create patinas, but in most countries, due to health and safety regulations, the chemicals needed cannot be obtained easily by private individuals anymore. In consequence the traditional technical chemist's stores have died out. You can also search the Internet for 'patina'. I have not tried this on gun barrels, but a good way of simulating the 'browning' could be to chemically blacken the parts and then give them a wash in 'burnt umber' mixed with a drop of 'gun metal'. I have done this on black paint and it looks quite convincing. The chemical blackening also provides a good key for acrylic paints (if you don't touch it with greasy fingers). wefalck

The vinegar for internal cleaning of brass and cast iron barrels was used to dissolve the residues of black powder. Normally, it was a three-stage procedure: vinegar, (sea)water, grease/tallow. wefalck

Personally, I don't like sewn sails. Particularly the hems tend to be grossly out of size, as the cloth thickness is way overscale. Anyway, if you do insist to sew, it is helpful to pin (or glue) the cloth down onto a piece of silk paper (the type used to make carbon copies in the age of the typewriter). This prevents the cloth from being pulled out of shape by the machine. It also facilitates sewing a predetermined path (not always straight for sails !), because you can draw the pattern on it. The paper can be ripped out easily after the sewing has been completed. On the same line, I have simulated in the past boltropes by reducing the stitching step to almost zero, i.e. to the diameter of the thread, stitching effectively a beading onto the cloth. The sail was cut out after the paper backing hat been ripped out. The beading can be stabilised with a bit of clear varnish to prevent it from becoming undone. wefalck

Frome a late 19th century German source for steel guns: rub down the barrel repeatedly with vinegar. Once a firmly attached brown iron-oxide layer has developed, paint in lineseed oil. To be rubbed down with a cloth soaked in lineseed oil for maintenance. Be sure not let the vinegare etc. into the barrel (particularly in the case of rifled barrels). This seems to implicate that the barrels were of a satin brownish colour, which is also evidenced by contemporary paintings. Cast iron guns, according to the same source were to be painted in oil paint. wefalck

Continuation in small and sometimes tedious steps. The sails were further completed by adding cringles and eyelets. For the cringles the sail was punched with a needle to simulate the eyelets. A piece of 8/0 yarn was threaded through, twisted with itself and secured with a blob of lacquer. The free ends were threaded cross-wise through the second eyelet and secured with knots. The cringle was secured with a bit of lacquer. For eyelets in the sail itself blobs of acrylic gel were set on both sides and once dry punched with a needle. Sails ready to be painted The foresail runs on small iron hoops along the forestay. These were reproduced by small rings of copper wire that were sewn to the cringles using 16/0 size yarn (Veevus, http://veevus.dk]http://veevus.dk). Hoops of the foresails There are various eyelets in the sail, e.g. for reefing points. These were immitated by a drop of acrylic gel medium glue on both sides of the sail that later was pierced with a needle. The painted sails The sails then were checked for any joints having come loose and more wood-filler was applied if needed. Now the sails were ready for painting. The original sails were tanned. Hence, a terracotta colour ('terre' by Prince August Air, http://www.prince-august.net) was chosen as the base colour that was applied with an airbrush. Once on the model some weathering and shading will add more plasticity. The eyelets etc. were ‚metallised’ by turning a soft lead pencil in them. ’Sailmaking’ tools wefalck

And the show continues ... The next thing to go on was the bolt-rope. The rope was made on the miniature rope-walk from 8/0 size tan fly-tying yarn (UNI-Thread). According to the authors cited above, it was left to the individual sailmaker whether the bolt-rope was sewn to the port or starboard side of the sail. I attached all doublings to the port side and decided on the starboard side for the bolt-rope. Again it was glued on using the wood-filler. Applying the bolt rope On the prototype the bolt-rope does not continue all-around the sails, but rather ends at the respective head in spliced eyes. The mainsail is attached to corresponding eyebolts in the gaff with hooks or shackles in these eyes. Owing to the springiness of the fly-tying yarn, I found it impossible to recreate real eyesplices. I took some artisanal license and bound the eyes, pretending they were served eyesplices. The eyes at the other corners of the sails were fashioned in a similar way. To increase the stability of the sail, the corners of the bolt-rope were 'sewn' to the tissue paper using 14/0 size fly-tying yarn (Sheer). Fake eyesplice wefalck

We are metric here in Europe, so the mat has markings with 10 mm distance ... Based on the information in BEYLEN and DORLEJN I made the individual cloths 6 mm wide (in 1/90 scale). wefalck

First of all, thank you very much to all well-wishers With many parts of the boat actually now completed, I turned my attention to the sails. I did this before painting the model, as various fitting and shaping actions will be required that may damage the paintwork. The plan is to show the sails in a sort of semi-set stage, as they would be when the boat is in harbour, in order to allow them to dry. This going to be a much bigger challenge to represent convincingly than fully set or furled sails. As the boat will be shown in its winter rig, there will be only two sails. The raw material is a very thin tissue paper that I found in my stock. The first step was to draw a sail plan 'as built', i.e. with the actual dimensions of the mast, boom and gaff. Sail-plan ‚as built’ Sail-plan ‚as built’ (detail) The shape of each panel of sail-cloth was pencilled in also with the help of a french curve. The drawing then was backed with a piece of stiff cardboard and covered in clingfilm. Based on this pattern the individual sail-'cloths' were cut from the tissue paper with the addition of 1 mm for the seam. This is rather wide at this scale, but inconsequential as the sail will not be translucent, being tanned and dressed (i.e. soaked in a broth from bark and smeared with a concoction of tallow, oil and ochre) on the prototype. This treatment prevents the formation of mildew and permits one to furl the sails when still wet. The ‚cloths’ of the mainsail. Using the drawing as a template, panels were stuck together using wood-filler (CLOU Schnellschleifgrundierung) as glue. The tissue paper soaks up the filler, turning it into a sort of compound material. I prefer wood-filler over diluted PVA-glue because it does not swell the paper and the joints can be loosened and re-adjusted by applying a drop of thinner. After completing the basic sails, outside margins and doublings were added in the same way, based on the detail drawings in VAN BEYLEN, (1995) and DORLEIJN (2001). Glueing together the sail cloths To be continued ... wefalck

Actually, depending on period and circumstances the hoops may not have been made from iron at all, but rather from split twigs of hazelnut or birch (I believe). There is a special technique to hook the ends together without nails or the likes. Such barrels would not contain any ironwork, but would be constructed entirely from wood. I have seen photographs of such barrels being made well into the 20th century, e.g. for shipping herring. wefalck

Thanks, gentlemen, for the kind words. Back to the subject ... This building-log is a recreaction of the one started on MSW 1.0, so that the updates now may follow in short intervals, while the actual work was spread out over a considerable time. There were several delays due to some technical difficulties and the work was further delayed by some tool-making projects, numerous travels and too much work in general. I have been thinking very hard on ways to make really convincing rigging blocks of late 19th century model. Some of the blocks would have to be as small as 1.6 mm long, while the typical block would be just under 2 mm long. Most of the blocks would have to have external ironwork. The ropes for the running rigging typically would have a diameter of somewhere between 0.15 mm and 0.25 mm in 1/90 scale, depending on the particular rope. This would mean that quite a large number of holes of equivalent diameters would have to drilled to a depth of around 1 mm, which is a bit of a challenge. I wanted to avoid this by cutting slots into the material and inserting real sheaves turned from brass. The slots at the bottom would have to be filled in later. Shape-milling of blocks with a fly-cutter Set-up for shape-milling the blocks in a dividing head on the milling machine The outside shape of the block was to be milled in the dividing head from round stock. A table was prepared that calculated the exact distance of the cutter from the centre-line for each pass, so that eventually the oval shape would emerge. This raw part then was transferred to the lathe for cutting the slots. While perhaps a good idea from a theoretical point of view, the slotted material proved to be too flimsy for further manipulation. Slotting the blocks on the lathe The set-up for slotting on the lathe Therefore, a different method was devised, for which the material was changed from brass to Plexiglas. The outside shape was cut as before, but instead of using a flycutter, a dental burr was used, which due to its smaller diameter exerts less force on the part. Then the holes were drilled at pre-calculated positions. The cross-section of the future blocks were positioned in the round Plexiglas stock in a way that the axes of the sheave would coincide with the rotational axis of the dividing head. This arrangement allowed the sheave to be milled out of the solid. The holes then were drilled through with a miniature drill. Milling of the sheaves from the solid stock Many shipmodellers just drill their blocks and perhaps, if they have a thin enough tool, attempt to file the edges of the hole round to give an indication of the sheave. However, this never looks quite right, with the ropes sort of sticking out sideways from the hole, rather than running around the sheave. These blocks then were cut off from the stock on the lathe. It should be noted that the stock was turned down at the end, so that it could be inserted into the collets against a shoulder, ensuring repeatable positioning. The latter was needed, as the dividing head on the lathe and the one on the mill use different types of collets. The botter has a variety of rather special blocks that also needed to be made, such as the sheepshead-block for the foresail. They were produced the technique described above, but in some instances were 'eyeballed' from the stock in the dividing head. One violin-block was also built up from hard paper with real brass sheaves and filed to shape by hand. The blocks were completed with 'ironwork' from copper wire. On the prototype this ironwork is forged from different sizes of bars. The blacksmith shapes the cross-sections as needed either flat (around the shell of the blocks) or round/oval for the hooks. This process was repeated up to a point by flattening the round copper wire used. In order to flatten the wire in a controllable and repeatable way another watch-repairing tool was adapted: a so-called jewelling press. This tool has a piston the movement of which is controlled by micrometer stop. In watchrepairing it is used to set bearings, i.e. the ‚stones’ or ‚rubies’ to an exact depth. I made some anvils and pistons for it that allow to squeeze the copper wire to a preset thickness over a particular length. The thickness is set with the help of a feeler-gauge. Jewelling tool with die for flattening wire A selection of unpainted blocks The results from all these labours are by no means perfect, but I think better than what I have seen around in this size. I am not certain, however, whether I would go down the same route again. It would be useful to be able to solder together the straps, which is out of question for blocks made from Plexiglas. Using hard paper/Pertinax would be an option, but drilling this material is not so easy, considering the small sizes of drills required. Perhaps one should use boxwood. In both cases round rods would have to produced first from the available stock. Or at least one would need to turn-on a round end, so that the stock can be taken into a collet – square collets for watchmaking lathes don’t exist ! (this is another of my future projects, to make a set of square-holed collets. wefalck

Jules van Beylen (I think he was the conservator at the museum in Antwerp) has written many books on Dutch/Flemish boats and ships. There is also a monograph on the hoogars: BEYLEN, J. VAN (1978): De hoogaars, geschiedenis en bouw.- 184 p. (De Boer Maritiem). Most of the books cited above are packed with drawings. Van Beylen's books are actually written for modellers and have very detailed description for building a model in a 1/20 scale. Full size drawings seem to be available separately. Dorleijn's book contains also folded plates, but seems to have become extremely expensive over the past. I have almost all of the books cited in my library. wefalck

Yep, got a copy, but it doesn't have a date in int. wefalck

Garward, liked your Estwing geologist's hammer ! Bought one like this in my first year at university ... wefalck

Here a couple of interesting books on botters and boeiers, albeit in Dutch: CRONE, G.C.E. (1926): Nederlandsche Jachten, Binnenschepen Visschersvaartuigen en daarmee Verwante kleine Zeeschepen 1650 -1900.- 309 p., 85 Abb., Amsterdam (Swets & Zeitlinger, Nachdr. 1978 bei Schiepers, Schiedam). - with English translations. BEYLEN, J. VAN (1985): De botter - Geschiedenis en bouwbeschrijving van een Nederlands visserschip.- 223 p., Weesp (De Boer Maritiem). DORLEIJN, P. (2001): De Bouwgeschiedenis van de Botter. Vierendertig voet in de kiel.- 168 p., Lelystad (Uitgeverij Van Wijnen ). KAMPEN, H.C.A. VAN, KERSKEN, H. (1927): Schepen die Voorbijgaan. Een verzamling Afbeeldingen en Beschrijvingen die de Nederlandsche Binnenwateren bevaren.- 351 p., Amsterdam (A.N.W.B. Toeristenbond voor Nederland). OSTROM, C. van (1988): Ronde en platbodems schepen en jachten.- 144 p., Alkmaar (De Alk b.v.). SOPERS, P.J.V.M. (196?): Schepen die verdwijnen (bearbeitet von H.C.A. van Kampen).- 162 p., Amsterdam (P.N. Van Kampen & Zon). VERMEER, J. (2004): De Boeier. – 528 p., Alkmaar (De Alk & Heijnen Watersport). wefalck

Thanks, ssd. No botters and boeiers are different types. Botters are fishing boats, while boeiers where originally used for local (market) traffic and as pleasure boats (a use that continues until today). Boeier tend to be much more rounded and have a lower length to breadth relationship than the botters. Also their leeboards are much broader, almost a quarter of a circle. Here is picture of the boeier DE SPERWER in the Zuiderzeemuseum in Enkuizen: More pictures here: http://www.maritima-et-mechanika.org/maritime/zuiderzee/zuiderzee.html wefalck

Thanks. I have been collecting (and restoring) these machines for about 25 years now. The machines themselves are between 50 and 100 years old (I guess). Next installment will come soon. wefalck

Continuation ... The cast mast was nicely done by Artitec - in principle, but was too short for a boat of this size, did not have the right chocs for a boat from Marken and above all was warped. A new mast was fashioned on the lathe from a piece of steel rod - I did not have suitable stock of boxwood or similar and brass, aluminium or plexiglas would have not been stiff enough. The mast was turned in steps on the watchmakers lathe. This also allowed to turn-on the mast bands. It was then transferred to the dividing attachment (http://www.wefalck.eu/mm/tools/dividingapparatus/dividingapparatus.html) on the milling machine to mill on the squares. The various eyebolt and cranes were fashioned from copperwire and soldered or glued on. As the mast, the boom was turned on the lathe from a 2 mm steel rod. The flexing of the rod was utilised to obtain the taper towards both ends. Again the bands were turned on and the boom was tranfered to dividing apparatus for drilling the holes for eye bolts etc. The goose neck was turned from steel and the square, where it attaches to the boom, milled on using a very small end-mill. The gaff has a rather odd, pear-shaped cross-section. In addition its longitudinal shape is rather crooked. It was fashioned from a piece of brass wire that was tapered off and bent to the right shape. A piece of brass sheet was cut to follow the curve of gaff and hard-soldered to the brass wire. The pear-shape was filled-up with soft solder. Then the claws that were fashioned from brass were soldered on. Finally, the 0.2 mm holes for the line with which the sail is attached were drilled. The gaff was completed with various bands fashioned from partially flattened copper wire. wefalck

Thanasis, didn't you mix up the scroll saw (or fret saw) with the circular saw ... ? wefalck

Blackening only works on the brass itself, not on soldered joints. However, blackening first and then applying a light coat of black with an airbrush might be a good solution - the second best would be applying the paint with a brush. The blackening gives the brass a 'tooth' as well as being obviously being already black. In any case careful degreasing and not touching the parts with bare hands before either blackening or painting is essential. wefalck

Bought the Proxxon drill press almost 30 years ago and it is still good in spite of some abuse. I cannot comment on the band saw, but have their scroll saw. Somehow I always seem to fight with the scroll saws, perhaps I am pushing too hard, but I found that the cut is never vertical in material of any thickness. A band saw is probably better in this respect, but has limitations to the minimum radius you can cut due to the width of the saw band. I don't think it is a particular good proposition for cutting out frames at the usual model scales. wefalck

Didn't know the English name of this nut, In German it is called Steinnuß, i.e. stone nut. The Latin name, Phytelephas macrocarpa, means big-fruit plant-ivory. I knew that until the middle of the 20th it was used to make buttons. Didn't know you could still buy it. Could also be an interesting material to make very small blocks from. By heat-treatment you seem to able to change the colour into a light brown, wefalck