Mike Y

Finished the transom wings. It is an interesting area of the hull, a lot of fine tuning and shaping
Left the wings slightly oversized and with rough corners (too square), will properly shape them while fairing the hull. 
As usual, ignore the right side of the photo - it will be fully planked, so it is less accurate
 

 

 
Now starting the gunports.

Finished the transom wings. It is an interesting area of the hull, a lot of fine tuning and shaping
Left the wings slightly oversized and with rough corners (too square), will properly shape them while fairing the hull. 
As usual, ignore the right side of the photo - it will be fully planked, so it is less accurate
 

 

 
Now starting the gunports.

Thanks for the "likes" and comments everyone.
 
Life keeps getting in the way of this build right now...  I think we need a blizzard and I need no distractions.  Fat chance of that though.   
 
Just a minor (for ship.. big one for me)...  14 strakes left on the main hull planking and I won't need any drop planks other than the one I've already done at the bow.  Just some careful fitting as I continue working towards the keel.  The last plank will need to be a bit wider than the rest of the planking but not as wide as the garboard plank.   I'm smiling.....
 
Work also continues on the plug for the ship's boat, albeit even more slowly than on the planking.   Carving is on hold until time frees up a bit.

Good morning Don,
 
No, I haven't given up.
 
A number of things occurred to slow me down this summer.
First there was the warm inviting sunny days I hadn't seen for months.
Then extra work demanding more of my time.
Then I caught my finger on my table saw cutting stock to make a honey stick...it is healing and to my surprise the finger nail is growing back!
The end of my finger will almost look normal.
 
It has been an uphill battle with creating my templates, now using Autodesk Inventor.  My files were huge and going backwards to work on an earlier sketch caused crashes.
Then I learnt about dirty files and dumping the temp files to clean up.
I've just refined my process and starting over yet again (4th time) but not from the very beginning!
This time I honestly believe I will have it.
 
Hope to start reposting again soon.
I will also remake my keel and stern post assembly.
I know I can do a better job.
It is the learning curve that is killing me.
 
 
Alan

Hi Gents,
 
Thanks guys for your comments and remarks, also for all who hit the "like" button, their all very much appreciated.
 
Its update time again.
 
The deck area is now completed, I started rigging the guns before placing onto the deck, the Breech ropes were measured and the ends were then whipped into the ringbolts, the blocks are 5mm singles ( these blocks were made by Grant for my Agamemnon and were left over from her ), one block x 4 was tied to eyebolts and glued onto each gun carriage. These were then put aside.
 
24 Ring Bolts, 4 Kevel Cleats,4 Cleats and 2 Entry Port Ladders were made up and then fitted, I didn't take any pics of these items as they are a pretty standard item. The Kevel Cleats on the Sheer Rail are of 3/32 Ebony and is a very simple shaping exercise, the remaining Cleats are 3/32 Red Heart and again are a very simple shaping exercise, these cleats were drilled and fixed in place using glue and pins.
                                                          
The Gun Carriages were glued into position, the Hooks on the running tackles were positioned and the Breech Rope Ring Bolts glued in, 4 Flemish Coils were made and placed on the deck either side of the guns. The Entry Port Ladders were then glued on. The ladders were made from 1/16 Swiss Pear.
 
The Flemish Coils are made from 0.75mm natural thread on a bed of low tack masking tape, once the coils had been formed they were soaked in diluted PVA.
 
Next up will be the Channel Boards and Deadeyes and all the metalwork that goes with them, I have had a practice and I know what I will be doing with them. I have had a good go at making the Deadeyes but all attempts ended in complete failure, so with my mentors approval I will be buying them in, they will still be Boxwood so I will remain true with that.
 
Some Pictures.
 
One of the canons with it's rope work

 

 
Finished canon with Flemish Coils

 
The finished weather deck ( a big jump )

 

 

 

 
So there we are, next up is all outer hull work with the exception of the Swivel Guns, ( should be fun )
 
Be Good
 
mobbsie
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

David, I've looked at that New Bedford Whaleboat.  It looks pretty cool, but I'm not really interested in doing another boat at his point.  Also, there are enough low quality materials (basswood, etc.) in this longboat kit, that I don't think I'd build another ship from a kit. 
 
Mike, I haven't seriously thought about doing a fully framed model.  I like my framing covered , so a POB build would be ideal.  If I did built the Echo cross-section I'd leave half the model without planking though.
 
What appeals to me about the both Cheerful and the Echo cross section are that they are basically scratch-builders-light builds, with plans, instructions, and wood available.  They're a good intro into full scratch building.
 
Erik

Ever thought about starting a fully framed model? With your skills - I am looking forward to follow!

Ever thought about starting a fully framed model? With your skills - I am looking forward to follow!

Ever thought about starting a fully framed model? With your skills - I am looking forward to follow!

Thank you, Mark!  
 
A little step:

 

 

 

Beautiful work and I like the way your hiding the power strips for the LED's.  

I continued with the work on the bridge

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
I fixed also the electrical system for the feeding of small leds

 

 

 

Ivan I have just finished reading through this whole thread, and the side comments about why different people choose to use the woods they do. so to bring us back to your question.
 
You ask what are our suggestions.
 
As has been pointed out by a few, woods vary a great deal depending on where they grow.
You make the point that you use Swiss pear, boxwood, walnut which grow near you. we are not all so lucky to have dense fine hardwoods growing locally.
 
With respect to visiting the local carpenter to see the sorts of woods he uses. Where I live the local carpenters throw spruce and fir 2x4's together to build houses as fast as they can before the wood winds into a propeller. Fine cabinet work is of the plywood and moulding attached variety. There are a couple of hardwood stores that sells rough lumber in the city 50 miles away.
 
I just happen to like processing my own wood and have been doing so for 40 years, and also salvage old furniture when the wood is appropriate for a project. My local woods i.e. native ones are Aspen, Hawthorn, Pin Cherries, Saskatoon berry, Poplar, Birch, Willow, Spruce. Lodge-pole Pine. imported or non local varieties include Caragana, Lilacs, Apples, Mountain Ash, Elm, the non local varieties are generally not readily available unless you happen to be where some pruning is happening.
 
I particularly like the color and density of the wood from white lilac, I pruned a 4 inch tree 30 years ago and am still using small pieces from it.
sometimes I find a particularly dense piece of Spruce or Fir, these are generally from areas that are high altitude and very slow growing or starved for water.
 
Michael

I finished the windlass and handles.  I followed the prototype longboat model photos in the Greenwich Maritime Museum for inspiration.  The windlass has rounded ends and the holes in the windlass for the handles are offset.  Adds a bit of interest to that part of the boat.  As I've found on other parts of the boat, the soft, "fluffy" basswood is hard to shape crisp details from . . .
 

 

 

 

 
Erik

I've been sharing my photos of the build with my dad.  His reaction to the last set was that he couldn't see the detail of the windlass.  Point taken.  So here's a shot with the lighting at a low enough angle to show the shaped windlass to good effect.  It's a bit dark, but you get the point.  The holes for the handles are not centered because each side is offset, as seen in the photos of the longboat model at the NMM.  The ends are also rounded, rather than 8 sided.
 

 
David, I'm seriously considering Chuck's Cheerful as a second build, also the Echo cross section looks like a fun project.  Though different, both look like they'd be the same commitment level as far as build time.  My ultimate goal (3rd build?) is I'd like to build a fully rigged frigate (Chuck's Winchelsea maybe) or a ship-of-the-line (perhaps using Alex M's 64-Gun HMS Anson plans . . . or if Chuck does a 74-gun ship at some point . . . I see the background to this page is the HMS Cumberland.  A hint Chuck? ).  But I'm getting ahead of myself . . .
 
Erik
 
P.S. - I'm really looking forward to working with boxwood.

Danny,
 
I was committed to building this kit as-is when I started this project, knowing full well that upgrading the wood would produce better results.  So, I also am happy with the results I'm getting with this type of wood.    The main tests for me with this kit are the skill development aspects that are specific to ship modeling.  Also, I wanted to see how deeply the ship modeling bug has bitten before I spend more money on this hobby  That said, I'm happy to say this is a lot of fun and very fulfilling.  So, there will be a second build  . . . and it will most definitely involve using higher quality woods.
 
Erik

Can't wait to see what you can do with REAL wood then Erik, if you are turning out this excellent quality work with a softwood. Wait until you try using something like Castello or English Box - you'll think you're in heaven .
 
  Danny

I'm finally finished planking the outer hull. I don't know if all Cutters are difficult to plank, especially aft, but this one surely was.
 
Even though the bulkheads are spaced close together, the planks seemed to flatten slightly between some of them. I suppose that this is normal but it did require some additional sanding in order to get the right shape. I'm wondering if inserting spacers between the bulkheads before fairing the hull might have prevented this. Anyway, so much for my nitpicking! I'm still doing a bit of sanding here and there but I'm getting close to the end. I will apply some Wipe-on Poly to the hull after the Stern Post is attached.
 

 

 

 

Hello,
so it goes on with the construction report.
To stow the sloop on the deck, I have to build the poultry houses. These lie between the gratings.
For construction of the poultry houses, I show you the following pictures.
I hope you enjoy the pictures.

 

 

 

Hi there,
Mark, Ferit, Giampiero, Jesse, and all other
thanks for your kind words and likes.

Here's a little update ...
 

 

 
Note the feed troughs in the picture:

 

 

CAPTAIN PHILLIPS’ PATENT CAPSTAN
 
To this point, my build log has included detailed notes about my research into Franklin's ships, and is largely a mirror of my blog, Building HMS Terror. While I know some followers have enjoyed my research notes (thanks for all the kind words of encouragement), others find them tedious, and recreating them here every time I finish a part has become quite time consuming. 
 
 
For the remainder of my build log, I've decided to do something a little different, and keep this primarily as a photo essay of my build. I'll continue to post research notes, but those will only appear on my blog. This change will also allow me to post a few more photos here, for those who want to see more wood and metal. 
 
 
So, with that formality out of the way, here is my attempt to build plans and a model of an 1839 era improved capstan. For those interested in the historical research I conducted, please consult my blog!
 
 

An 1839 era Phillips, capstan, as I believe it may have been 
configured for use on HMS Erebus and Terror.
 

Cutting the capstan components on an Epilogue laser cutter. 
 

The completed pieces. 
 

Vellum was added to enhance the joints of the capstan.
 

The assembled capstan before sanding. 
 

Sanded to shape. 
 

Drilling the bolt locations. 
 

The completed drumhead. Some Phillips' capstan models 
show lined sockets, so I added boxwood liners. 
I admit that it was primarily an aesthetic choice. 
 

I cut the drumhead plate from an unused pipe fitting which I flared to the right size. 
 

I filed a lip into the plate by hand. 
 

I cut the pawl rim (ring) out of brass plate using a jeweler's coping saw.
 

I filed each stop by hand, after carefully scoring the brass
 

The pawl rims were each made from pipe fittings flared to the precise diameter. 
 

The pawl rim prior to soldering and sanding. 
 

The piece following soldering. I used  copper solder for the first
time on this piece - despite being very dirty, it worked well. 
 

To maintain the proper curvature, I cut the pawls from a copper fitting. 
 

The pawls cut roughly to length. 
 

Bolt holes were drilled before shaping. 
 

Each pawl was filed and shaped by hand. 
 

The completed pawl rim (ring) and pawls.
Two traits unique to Phillips' capstans can 
be seen here. First, the pawl rim was bolted through
each stop, rather than in the spaces.
Second, Phillips' capstans had between six and 
eight pawls, while earlier models typically had four. 
 

The pawlhead. 
 

The completed pawlhead with the top plate soldered in place.
Contemporary models show that the pawlheads on 
Phillips' capstans were made entirely of iron. 
 

Dry fitting the metal pieces. The pawls need some thinning here. 
 

Pieces prior to finishing and assembly. 
 

Blackening the metal parts. 
 

The metal pieces after blackening, buffing, and sealing 
(I use Krylon matte coat as a sealer). 
 

The completed capstan. The wooden pieces have been
treated with Minwax wipe-on poly. 
 
Detail of the pawl rim and pawls. 
 

The drumhead (the drop pins indicate it is in direct-drive mode).
 

Detail of the lower drop pins and drumhead plate (I couldn't find scale
chain small enough to model that feature). 
 

Mini-Crozier inspects his capstan, recalling his good times with  Parry. 

I have completed assembly and dry fit the keelson, a little fairing to be done. I am also looking into some different wood for the planking.
 
I do not see pillars in the cross section plans, but I see pillars of varying numbers on other builds?  I am curious where other builders got their ideas.  Any additional info on the pillars, spacing/design would be appreciated.  I would like to mill holes for them before installing the keelson.
 
Thanks,
Tony
 
 

Been working a little each day this week on the assembly. I have been taking my time and so far everything is going well.
 
Tony

Hello all, here is another update.
Regards 
Alexandru

That drum sanders for dremel do the same thing, very handy: