Mike Y

Winter has not been easy for me in recent years. It is during this period that various problems pile up. And they “knock me out of the saddle”. And this winter was no exception. Therefore, in the winter period of time my shipyard on the table covered with cobwebs and dust. But fortunately with the onset of spring the work there began to come to life. So after a long break I have something new to show. So far it's still small steps. All that I will show are minor changes. But the ice after winter doesn't melt in a minute. I'm happy with this pace. 
That's the introduction. And now after the introduction, you can write something like this:
 
 
Chapter 3 (or 4, or even 5).
in which we learn about the balcony windows, the crooked moldings, and the author is furious. 
 
I finished work on the big screen on the transom of the ship, on which the crest with wings should appear in the future. And now it was necessary to go lower and deal with the decoration of that part of the transom, which is on the second floor of the officers' rooms. Where the balcony is. 
 


I thought this was the easiest part of the whole transom. It would be perfect for “warming up your hands” after a long break.

But it turns out it's not that easy. And the easy ride I was expecting didn't work out. I couldn't figure out the best way to make the shields and screens under the windows and the columns between the windows. I won't list everything, I'll just say that I didn't like some nuances and others. And I had to remodel several times. I will show only one of those variants, which were. 
 

 

 

 
It was also a very ugly design that I had to remove completely. I don't even remember exactly how many attempts there were. 
And now I'll move on to another problem. I need to make moldings for my job. A lot of them. This is the most basic part that is required all the time. They are used to make the edging of shields with fillets. Moldings decorated the joints between the parts. And so on. I made them with the help of a figurative scraper. The technology is so old and familiar that there is no point in describing it. But now when making moldings I faced a problem. Very often they turned out crooked, the pattern of the profile was not even along the rail, it resembled a drunken snake, which in addition still hiccups. 
 

 

 


In the photos, you can even see that the scraper cut into the lath during the movement and chewed off its side wall.

The reason for the defect in the moldings was most likely due to the wood. At least it seems that way to me. I think that the laths I made as blanks were from a board that had too wavy fibers. And that wood grain kept the scraper from going straight. The fibers had different textures, next to the area with soft fibers were places where the wood was harder. So it was easy for the scraper to go sideways and cut the wrong areas.
 
I primarily wanted to show how crooked the pattern is, that it doesn't match the rail. To be honest, I was very surprised when I got the discarded laths for the photo shoot. They had been lying in the garbage can the whole time. I didn't see them after the milling itself. And now it was a big surprise to me to see that the slats themselves had become crooked as well. So this again suggests that the problem is most likely poor quality material. From the same log I carved an English lion. The carving satisfied me. But as a material for thin laths this blank already showed a bad result. What can you do, wood is a living material. From the same billet I made moldings for the transom. And there everything was in order. The remaining laths are still even. But here the result is quite different. Wood is not metal, and not plastic. It has its own character. Although I may be wrong. After all, the laths were lying (exactly wallowed) in the trash. The rest of the trash that was lying on top could have also affected the warping. Maybe there was a different humidity from some wet wipes or something else.
Again, I got distracted.

Of course I started looking for wood with a straighter fiber pattern. But I still had concerns. What if there would be rejects now too? 
And at this point I decided to make a small bed, which can help in working with moldings. 
 
The principle is simple. I used to glue the rail to a piece of plywood and move the scraper by hand. But what if you do the opposite? What happens if the scraper is clamped and the lath moves? I can make walls on both sides of the rail, and then it will move like in a chute and can't run off to the side. A clamped scraper would also ensure that the wood cut would only be where it needs to be. 
I can make one side of the tunnel movable and the width of the channel can be adjusted for any lath size and handle laths with different sizes. So I decided to try this method. Perhaps this method has been around for a long time and I should have just searched a bit for similar designs and made one, taking into account other people's experience. But I have not met such a thing before. So I had to do everything on the basis of my own assumptions. Or maybe the fact that I haven't seen something like this from others suggests that it's not the best way to make moldings. 
I really like it when homemade machines or devices are made qualitatively and beautifully. But more often it happens that you need to make something very quickly and from the material that was lying in the corner. And then homemade devices look like Frankenstein's monster. This little machine became that monster. I just took the first materials I could find. We need to at least figure out if this system will even work. Why waste good material on such an attempt? So I apologize in advance for the fact that the device does not look very beautiful. 
But, you will agree that this is not the most important issue. More interesting and important is another one. Does this method work at all?
In short, yes, it is quite a working option. Although it also has its nuances or disadvantages. What are they?
 

 

 

 
Let me start with the scraper itself. In the process of work it is impossible to immediately set the scraper so, when it makes the last, clean removal of wood. When you hold the scraper with your hands, it gradually descends lower and lower. This is the same principle on this bed. This means that after each layer, the scraper has to be readjusted and lowered. And it is very important that it is lowered without any misalignment. Otherwise it can lead to defects. It takes more time and needs more attention. I would not call it a disadvantage, but rather a feature. But the following nuance definitely fits under the name “minus”. Since for milling it is necessary to push the rail, and it can be very thin, then there is a high probability that the rail can easily break when you push it. And the thinner the cross-sectional size of the rail, the more likely this problem is.

What can we say then? This method is not good? No, I will not categorically reject this milling method. It is possible to achieve a quality result even with very thin laths. All I did was to push the rail very slowly and adjust the scraper so that it removed the chips in very small portions. Plus I also covered the channel where the rail was moving from above. So there was nowhere for it to bend and therefore break. 
A little later, I added another stop to this bed at the back edge. At this end, I could install a scraper that would remove chips from only one edge. This position is convenient when you want to make a shaped edge on a convex part, for example.
 

 
This whole design was a bit of an experiment. I was prepared in advance that the method is not worth attention. And many “pitfalls” were obvious even before the experiments started. But I'm glad I tried it. And I'm happy with the result I got. Yes, I had some discarded parts. A few slats did break before I even got the idea to turn the channel into a tunnel. I won't say that I will reject the classical variant (when the scraper moves) now. Most likely I will use both methods. For the final comparison we need to take the rails that started the whole story. Those that turned out to be crooked by the classical method. And use the same ones, but already in this “depot”. Then it will be quite clear whether this device has such advantages that cannot be obtained by other methods. But I will do this when I have nothing to entertain myself with. For now, my head is already puffing with other tasks and problems.
And at the end, I'll come back to the balcony area. Here's what I've got. 
 

 


Compared to what came before this option I liked it. So I kept it. And after the transom, I decided to turn my attention to the sides as well. Where the side gallery is. And more precisely the upper tier of this gallery, where the dome is made in the form of a false structure.
 

 

 

 

 

 

The story about the rest of the false dome will already be in the next chapter. I already asked for advice in a previous post. So the intrigue about what will happen next will definitely not happen anymore, but I still have to pretend that everything is unknown and covered in fog. Let's see what I got. Did I get anything? Did I succeed in taking the advice.
Intrigue...

1/3 of all frames rough sanded and ready for assembly... there are few that needs to be made again, just to much pressure on the sander caused more removed wood that needed... 
 

Happy modelling..  

Thanks guys....Had a lot of fun and will be back this evening...
 


 
One Note
 
I was contacted while away with an issue about frame 2F.   Its really weird because I cant replicate this.  My laser files for this 3/16" thick top timber shows the correct part for the top timber.   No worries though.  This is an easy fix.  I have not been contacted by any others so it may even be a one off thing.  But if you have the same issue.  Just send me a PM or an email and I will send you a new set of top timbers for 2F right away.  
 
Dont reply here .....send me an email or PM!!!!  Include your name and address info as well.   I will ship immediately.   I will cut a whole bunch when I return and have them ready to ship just in case anybody else has this same issue.
 

Thank you guys...we leave tomorrow.
 
Yes I am headed out to the north and south fork of Long Island.   Gonna check out some maritime stuff including some museums that have small boat collections.  Still researching that block island Cowhorn.  There is supposed to be a nice one in the museum there.  I will be online using my phone though....me always needs some MSW time....lol.
 
Planking has started...today.
 
The facstle is completed.  Nothing to really add except that I followed the planking scheme provided on the plans.   You can see that here.  You guys may of course change it.  I cut these from a 3/64" sheet following the plans rather than use strips.  There is quite a pronounced curve to these and they are small enough so it wasnt a chore.  I basically traced the plan sheet.  Tweaked and sanded to suit.  I used a #4H pencil to simulate the caulking between the planks.
 
Progress below.  One plank at a time.  The outermost planks are the hardest but not terrible.
 



 

Some inner sanding was done for few frames using oscillating sander and paper burr was removed with a small piece of sander paper. Result is very nice and acceptable. This is rough sanding, still leaving some meat close to the line for final sanding..
 



Happy modelling..

Thanks Mike Y,
 
yeah, I was experimenting with few other sanding ways/options but appears that slow and careful way is always a winning combo..
 
Appreciated your comment. 
 
Cheers
 

Your build looks beautiful and with clear quality standard!
Used a disk sander to shape frames, so it was never an issue since the disk always pushes the part down.
The concave parts are sanded on the edge of the disk, slow and careful.
When you got close to a line - then I guess you can smoothen it on a spindle sander. You don’t need to get too close, better leave some ”meat” for the fairing once the frames are in place. 

Your build looks beautiful and with clear quality standard!
Used a disk sander to shape frames, so it was never an issue since the disk always pushes the part down.
The concave parts are sanded on the edge of the disk, slow and careful.
When you got close to a line - then I guess you can smoothen it on a spindle sander. You don’t need to get too close, better leave some ”meat” for the fairing once the frames are in place. 

Your build looks beautiful and with clear quality standard!
Used a disk sander to shape frames, so it was never an issue since the disk always pushes the part down.
The concave parts are sanded on the edge of the disk, slow and careful.
When you got close to a line - then I guess you can smoothen it on a spindle sander. You don’t need to get too close, better leave some ”meat” for the fairing once the frames are in place. 

I've created a suction adapter for the Proxxon DH40.
It can be downloaded from my website and printed out yourself. The diameters have been increased by 0.2 mm so that the tube can be fitted without any problems.
 
https://www.olivers-historic-shipyard.com/

Milling and beveling of frames.

It has been a while since I last posted any update - and to be honest I haven't had a lot of time to devote to modelling in the last few weeks. What time I have had has mostly been spent either reorganising tools and workspaces or taking just a few steps forward and then a few steps backwards with the build!
 
I thought it would be a good idea to get a proper spindle sander setup and as space doesn't allow me to have a dedicated spindle sander I instead purchased some sleeveless sanding drums to use in the drill press. The sleeves are 1 inch, 2 inch 2.5 inch and 3 inch in diameter. I made a little spindle sanding station so that there was a nice flat baseboard on which to place the pieces when they are being sanded - here is the 1 inch drum in the press.

I have made and then subsequently discard two attempts at making the stemson. The stemson is made from 15" stock and in each case I found it difficult to get the join between it and the stem nice and uniform. I am now on my third attempt and rather than using a cut out template from the plans I have this time traced the shape of the inner curve of my stem onto the piece of wood. This has then been cut out on the scroll saw and now needs sanding to ensure a snug fit. I have purchased a cheap A5 lightboard to help me with checking the fit of the joint and hopefully that will help me improve on my earlier less successful attempts!
 
One useful piece of knowledge I have recently acquired is that it isn't a good idea to use tracing paper as a template for any of the pieces. I had traced the shapes of the aft deadwood pieces on tracing paper and then glued then to some 15" stock but when I came to cut them out on the scroll saw I noticed that the act of gluing the tracing paper to the wood had actually resulted in the tracing paper becoming stretched in one dimension. Luckily this meant that my templates were too long rather than too short and so the pieces were still useable, but at least now I know not to do that again! 


I have glued the three aft deadwood pieces together with black tissue paper in the joints. The top curve of the assembled pieces have been sanded to the correct shape but the base and the rear line of the aft deadwood is still a little oversize. I will sand those to size once I have milled in the shape of the stepping line. I also need to drill holes in the base of the aft deadwood so that it can be pinned to the centreline of the keel at some point in the future.

 

This is how this detail looks like on the HMS Victory in Portsmouth.

Hello,
it is done. At least the wheels are ready build. Next to build are the two supporters for the wheels.

Hello,
because today the summer ended we had here the last weeks and it rained again the whole day, I was busy at the yard. 
This is cutter No. 3 and I think now it works. The handles are a little too bulky, but when they are slimmer they would break. The spooks have a Ø of 1,6 mm!


Now are only 17+ spooks left

Preparation for the production of frames.

Coming soon.   Resin cast barrels.
 
I have three sizes of cast resin barrels that will soon be available on my site.  Currently I have the 11/16" tall and the 1" tall barrels.  I am waiting for my casting guy to make the third smaller size.  I may even make a fourth smaller size later as well.
 

 
I have the two smaller sizes and I am waiting for the last larger size not shown. They are cast in white resin or a light tan like my carvings for the ship models I make.   This makes it so much easier to prepare than building my laser cut versions.   Those will still be available but these resin versions will give you guys more options.   These can be prepared in minutes...
 
Just clean whatever flashing which is minimal.   And remove the small vent hole plugs with a sharp #11 blade.   
 
Then brush on some gel stain...in my case pictured,  I used General Finishes Fruitwood gel stain as usual.   I have one coat of stain on these.  You can add more to deepen the color as you see fit.  Then I just used a black sharpie to color the raised iron hoops.   You could use any color you want for those as well.  You could use a copper leaf pen for example.   It isnt difficult....and takes just a few minutes vs. a much longer time to build my laser cut versions.
 
Each size will be sold two per package.
 
Its unfortunately too late for me to add these in the hold of Speedwell....but when you need to make a dozen or more barrels for the hold its nice to not have assemble them one at a time.
 

 
And Buckets...crates...and other items will soon follow.   And whatever else I can possibly think of...please let me know if you guys fancy something in particular.

This is another short term project. I'm focusing on new experience, so I'm building this kit quickly, regardless of quality.
 
- Kit name: Szkuta Wiślana XVIII w (Vistula barge XVIII century)
- Maker : Seahorse
- Scale : 1/100
- Num : 2022/01
 
Here are the errors I found for two days.
 

The frame consists of three different parts.
 

It is a clever design that solve hull fairing... only if the printing is all correct.
 

Some parts, such as 11, 12, 39, and 40, are printed wrong.
 
If I corrected the reversed parts and polished color parts, I had two options.
 
i) Scan, fix, and reprint color parts.
ii) Using white paper and painting on it, like the Shipyard 1/72 scale kits.
 

Many frames are larger or smaller than the guide lines on the boat's bottom. I didn't hide the white guide strips.
 

Here is another printing mistake. The 26-P-c part is missing, so I slightly modified one of the 28-P-c parts to replace it.
 

I estimated the frame position usingthe part 10's treenail marks. The marks indicate that the placement of frame 40 was incorrect.
 

The next procedure is planking.
 
The manual is a bit confusing, so I reorganized the diagrams of each planking strip. Each planking strip consists of 2 inner and 2 outer parts.
 

There is a guide paper at the stem.
 

I didn't pay attention to the guide. Take care of it!
 

There are some missing parts or misprints on name tags.
 
46-L-a-Fore ← 48-L-a-Fore
46-R-a-Aft - missing 
48-L-a-Fore - missing
48-R-a-Aft - missing
 
I patched the missing parts with other colored parts.
 

Day 2 of building...
 

My test cuts are done and now it is time to sand them all correctly; some parts are already sanded to the lines. 
Since the wood is ticker that needed and once all parts are sanded (or before, will need to decide), wood need to be run thru the table saw or band saw to reduce the thickness to correct dimension.  
These steps might looks too much but need to test the process and tools required and "repetitio est mater studiorum".
 

Happy modelling..

Hello everyone,
the deck is finished and has all the iron nails in place, now it's time for the bulwark planks.
 

 

 

 
 

Hi all,
thanks for your interest and likes, much appreciated.
 
Over the last few days I have been able to get a bit further with the interior. Making the front bulkhead, the hold floor and the front false floor.  According to the monograph, the middle 4 (2) rows are not nailed to be able to remove them to access the limber boards underneath. Here I have provided them with small ring eyelets, I hope this is correct, as I could not find anything in the monograph.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

A little insight into my workshop, Le Coureur is in the top right of the display case, next to it on the shelf is my first model of the whaler Essex, on the bottom right is La Palme and on the left is Le Rochefort.


 
The next step was to grind or scrape the inside. This is only done with various scrapers, then I inserted and adjusted all the wedges.
 

 

 

 

 

 
 

In the following pictures I have marked the spacers in the frames, as a reference I use plan no. 11 (red arrows) they are embedded a little in the frame. Milling and nailing was the order of the day for a while.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Construction of the stern.
 

 

 

 

 

A few more pictures of the construction of the keel, front and stern stem.