ChadB

13. Setting frames
 
Well, I finally finished mounting all the frames to the keel last night and included spacers in between the frames. I turned out to be a little harder than I originally thought it was going to be- but the finished product 
came out real well. Here's how I did it...  First using the jig I previously built, I'd put the frame in the correct position on the keel buy pushing the slide right up to lines on the drawings. The first couple frames I would then glue in place and treenail after, but I found that whle drilling the hole in the frame for the treenail, it would vibrate the frame free. This could have either been that I was using the drill press to drill the hole or that the keel had already been finished with tung oil. So after roughing up the top of the keel, I decided to dry mount the frame and drill the treenail hole freehand using my little battery operated Dremel..      ..I drilled the treenail holes on the floor side since I was terrified that drilling on the other side would cause the frame to split. Once that was done, it was glued and set on the keel with the treenail inserted. Using the cross spall built earlier, I was able to center the frame by matching up centerlines..      Once the frame was set and dried, I ripped a few pieces of scrap that would be used as spacers between frames. There are only two distances between frames- 1/4 inch and 1/8 inch. The next frame was mounted as desribed earlier and the spacer was sanded until it fit snugly between the frames at the keel.      I had drawn a line on the vertical part of the jig where the lower part of the spacer would go. Now I was able to trace the shape where the spacer would be fitted. Since the distance between frames at the keel was measured, the spacers would keep the top of the frames the same distance apart.      Trying to hold the wood straight and in place while trying to trace the shape turned out to not work well, so here's how I tackled it..      After the spacers were cut out on the scroll saw, I had two pieces that wouldn't leave a whole lot of extra to sand later      To set them was easy. I smeared each side with glue, lined them up on the jig, and clamped the frames to keep them tight..      I just repeated for all the frames, and now have them all mounted. The first thing I noticed was how solid everything seems. This will be good for the next step of sanding the hull, which I'm totally terrified of doing.  Onward! -Chad       

12. Updating the Jig
 
Just a quick update- I decided that there really isn't a reason to actually use a string, since the centerline on my jig would do the trick. I understand why it would be used on a full model since there's not as much room to work with a jig like this one because of the stem and stern getting in the way. So to make my centerline accurate I had to extend the board up like this.. 
 

11. Cross Spalls
 
Thanks for the tips Lee and thanks to everyone else again for the kind words. 
I decided to go Lee and Gary's route of a tight string down the centerline and cross spalls across the tops of the frames. I was kind of freaked out about glueing anything to the tops of frames, even though that whole area will be covered. Something about having to separate it at some point and the possibility of a frame breaking scares me a little- So I came up with something removeable that still does the job of centering the frame and keeping it in place.  I was lucky enough to have a few sheets of extra boxwood left over from my frames, thanks to Jeff at Hobbymill. I don't think I could say it enough that he provides the best quality milled wood around and has answered MANY questions I've thrown his direction about different types of wood. So back on subject- I ripped nine 5mmx5mm strips that were all long enough to cross the top of the widest frame (200mm or 8 inches would be a good length.      The next step was to take one of the spalls and lay it along the 'Top of Frame Line' mark on the frame assembly drawing and mark the inside of the frame. I then sanded down to this line on my disc sander and checked and resanded until both sides were where they needed to be..        So you'd think that would be good enough, right? But no- I'm a man, and it's in our genetics to over-engineer anything we make, especially something trivial like this. So I still had some of the small strips of boxwood left from making treenails (the stips that would eventually be cut down to toothpick size) and I glued one on each side along the top of the spall like so..      OK- so even though I joked about doing this- there was a reason behind it. I had a couple frames that that were a tiny bit too wide at the top for whatever reason. Nothing real bad, but enough that it seemed like it could be an annoyance down the line. So to fix that, I took some small square scraps and glued them to the outside of the strip affixed across the top of the spall. If the frame was a bit wide, I made sure that this little square was glued in snug against the frame to keep it in place.      Once everything was dry, I went back and just double checked that all the frames were fitted correctly and added the centerline on the top using the centerline mark on the frame assembly drawing. So now I have a frame that can be aligned correctly and ready to be mounted.       

10. Jig making for Setting Frames
 
 Today I was able to put together a jig for aligning and attaching the frames to the keel. This is a pretty vital step so I've been going through various building logs and coming up with ideas of how I was going to do this. Everything kind of came together this morning and here's what I came up with... 
  I started with two half inch thick by five and a half inch wide billets of poplar from Lowes which cost a total of 6 bucks. The first step was cutting a base that would be long enough to hold the keel and have plenty of extra working room- this one was about 1ft long. Next was something to hold the keel in place on the board. I ripped 2 pieces to run the length of the base with a height of a quarter inch, so as not to interfere with the rabbet. One of them was then glued to the base like so..      Next, I took a print of the 'cross section frames' and cut out a section that shows all frames and the keel. This was then cut into two, making sure to cut exactly perpendicular to the frames. I then attached one side of the drawing with 3M spray mount to the base like shown, using a square to make sure the frames will be perpendicular..      Next the other side of the drawing was attached in the same way to the other side. Two things to watch is make sure you have fore and aft facing the same direction on each side and that both sides are aligned correctly. This is what it looks like at this point..      I then put the keel up against the 'rail' and glued the other 'rail' in place (over the frame drawing). The keel fits snugly in place and has no extra movement. With the keel in the correct position, I then glued small stoppers made of scrap on each end to keep the keel from sliding out of place. You can see these in the last few photos..      Next was the vertical board that will align the frames. My goal was to have it contact as much of the frame as possible. I cut a notch in the bottom just wide enough to straddle the 'rails' and just high enough to clear  the keel..      Next came probably the most crucial part- creating the pieces that will keep that board on the correct axis when mounting the frames. After they were cut, I checked and checked and checked again that they were an exact 90 degree angle. The shape is totally arbitrary- it's the angle that counts.      Finally the assembly. Pretty simple from here, but still easy to screw up. I attached the 90 degree pieces to the board tight in against the 'rails' so there isn't any play side to side. It's also imperative to make sure the board lines up exactly against the frame drawing edge and is at an exact 90 degrees up and down.     And that's it. The final product..      

 
A long time ago I bought the fair- a-frame from Model Expo. I think I paid something like 40 bucks for it and what a piece of junk it was. This cost me 6 bucks and is essentially the same thing just alot more accurate and sturdier. Hopefully someone will see this (or the others throughout various build logs) and be saved the frustration of trying to use that god-awful thing.  So next up is the step that probably scares me the most- actually using this. I see attaching frames as the 'no-turning-back point'. I just always have this feeling that I'l get everything attached and remember some vital step that I missed, so I think I'll spend tomorrow making sure I have everything that needs to be done squared away. -Chad

4. Cutting the Rabbet
 
I cut my keel the other night and came up with this little jig to scrape out the rabbet... 
Pretty easy- just a scrap block of wood with another scrap piece used as a "slide". That piece was cut in half and half a razor blade was super glued between at the correct angle. I found the angle by taping the keel 
cross section to the end... 
I went through quite a few razor blades, but I found that with the super glue, the blade never moved during scraping and was easily removed with a pair of pliers. 
Overall, I was really pleased with the outcome- the rabbet has a nice, sharp edge and matches up nicely with the drawings. 
On to the False keel, keelson, and frames!
 

5. Screwing up Frames and Lessons Learned
 
Well, I was hoping this next post would be my 'frames are completed- Hooray!' post, but it's gonna be a 'lessons learned post' instead. 
I had cut out all my frame parts and started assembling the other day, when I came to the conclusion that I'm going to need to reorder some boxwood sheets and start over if I want to do a quality job. I made a couple major (and a couple minor) mistakes that led to this point that hopefully will help a few other modelers..    1.) Cut out your frame pieces with a little extra 'meat' on them- This was probably my biggest mistake. It led to me having to re-cut alot of pieces because I cut away too much. As many have said- you can take it off, but it's nearly impossible to put back on. I'm still a novice when it comes to scroll-sawing, I'll just consider it more practice.    2.) If buying milled wood, get enough and don't skimp for quality- Because of #1, I had to order more boxwood since I didn't expect to use as much. But I ordered from a different dealer since I wasn't too happy with the quality of the first dealer. I knew the second dealers quality was great, but had balked on ordering since I wanted to order all from one place. Well, the new boxwood was great, but the thickness was a little less than the original. This caused me to have to sand down the frame by hand if I had to make a replacement futtock. I ended up not sanding down enough on a frame, which left a gap between the second and third futtock. Trying to pry them apart after the glue had cured nearly caused a stitch in my finger.    3.)If using spray mount to tack the pattern onto your wood, don't put all patterns on unless you plan on cutting them all soon.- Maybe it was the humidity, but I had cut all the patterns out and placed them allon the boxwood at one time. As mentioned, I'm still pretty new to woodworking with power tools, so I took my time over a week or two to cut the frame pieces. Unfortunately I ended up having to re-tack alot of the patterns because they lifted before I cut, or had flapping patterns while scroll sawing. It was a minor thing, but a nuisance nonetheless.    ..Well- I'd be lying if I said I wasn't really discouraged last night when I came to the realization that I'd lost the work I'd done- but I told myself I was going to take my time and do everything right. I don't want to slap something together that looks crummy just to regret it later. Unfortunately my modeling time is close to nothing right now with a little one running around, another on the way, and my mother in law living with us, so it'll probably take another 2 months to get back to this point.  On the bright side, I guess I have been lucky enough to learn all these lessons now at one time, than slowly throughout the build! 

6. Back on Track Making Frames
 
Well, I think the little setback is the best thing that could have happened to me. I'm back on track now and have a little over half the frames built and they look a heck of alot better than the first ones. Restarting was definitely the best way to go.    So I thought I'd break down how I've been building my frames. It's alot like some of the other ways I've seen, but with a few little twists. It's been changing a little bit with each frame since I've found little ways to  make it more efficient. but here's where I'm at now.  1 - cut out pattern pieces for frames Pretty self explanatory here- just make sure there is extra "meat" one all four sides of the edges. I probably leave at least 4 mm just so I can get a good adhesion for cutting.    2- apply the pattern to the wood For this I used 3M Spray Mount. I have mixed feelings about this product since sometimes it peels off in the middle of cutting and other times it takes forever to try and remove it all from the wood. I can't find any correlation between dry time, cleanliness of wood, or the amount of spray- so after this project I'll probably be looking for something else. If anyone has any suggestions I'm open to them.  But back on track- Because of the shapes of the floors and futtocks, it's pretty easy to conserve wood and tack everything to the wood close to each other. I tried to avoid doing that since thats what led to my demise the first time around. Maybe when I get better at scroll sawing I'll feel more comfortable cramming everything together, but for now I've given each piece some air to breathe. I tried to stay with the grain but was not horribly worried about it on this model. It seems like that becomes very important with cant frames on full models. One last note on the 3M Spray Mount- it gets everywhere. I'm using a pair of needlenose pliers to hold the pattern while I spray it so it doesn't cover my hands. I've also since learned that spraying over the garage floor will cause the wife to ask questions like "Why is the floor all sticky?" - so I do all my spraying over the garbage can now.    3 - cut out the pattern I gave myself about a 1mm cushion on the sides and about 5 mm cushion on the heels of every piece. I think if there's ANYTHING taken away from this post- this is it. It's save you lots of future trouble and money.    4- file out the floor where it will sit on the keel. I just used a couple small square files I got at the hobby shop for this. Took off a little at a time until the floor fit snugly on the keel.    5- Assembling the first side of the frame. Once I knew the floor would fit on the keel, I sanded down the heels right to the edge of the line. For this I used a disc sander which has made things go really quick. It's important to make sure the table is squared up to the sanding disc to avoid problems later. Then I taped the floor down in position on the assembly drawing- which you won't see in the photos since that was something I just started doing last night. Everything else gets based off the floor, so it helps having to recenter it all the time.  Next up comes the second futtock. I sanded down the heel where it'll join the floor right to the edge of the line, then checked the fit. The goal was to have the heels sit flush AND have the frame eventually fit naturally into the jig without any pressure. Most of the time the futtocks will have to be resanded by just "touching" them to the sanded to get the correct angle. This was what I shot for..      After it "looked" good, I peeled back the edges of the pattern to see make sure the heels were fully flush..      Once everything looked kosher, I glued the floor and second futtock together. I found that poking the heel with an exacto to leave some small divits for the glue seems to give a better joint..      From here I just repeated the same steps to apply the fourth futtock, which gave me the first side of the frame.   
 
6- assembling the other side of the frame One half the frame is done, the rest was pretty easy. I started by peeling the pattern off of the floor and second futtock, but I guess there's no reason not to take all the patterns off. It's important to watch for residue from the pattern or glue that could prevent both sides of the frame from sitting flush and leaving gaps. This is a little extreme, but a razor will scrape it all off..      Now I was ready to line up the first futtocks. The hardest part was having both heels sit together and still line up with the floor and second futtock. But once I got that, I just sanded the heel for the third futtock and got ready for glueing. I did the same thing with the divits on the heels and also on the face that was being glued down. Then just a little glue and a bunch of colorful clamps..      Once this was done, the rest is just repeating what was done above. Making sure the heels are flush and everything lines up with the assembly sheet in the plans are the biggest points. I sanded down a couple of the first frames (but have since left all frames unsanded so I can do all them at the same time) and have found that the joints are so good I had a tough time finding them. Two of my friends have taken a look and thought each frame was made from a single piece of wood! This is the finished result..     - file out the rest of the seat for the keel Since the floor is correctly filed for the keel, I just had to match up the first futtocks. Here's the right side done and the left side ready to be filed..      ...So that's it so far. I have to make a few more frames before moving on and may remake a frame or two also. I tried out some treenails on one and found that the Dremel workstation does not take the place of a good drill press, so that may be my next investment. I know this was a pretty long and detailed writeup on making frames, but this was one thing that I had no idea how to approach coming into this build, and like I said in the beginning- hopefully this will help someone else in the same boat as me. Oh yeah- here's how it's looking so far     far After the frames are done, I'll be working on sanding them down and treenailing.  -Chad

7. Dry Fitting Frames
 
So I now have all the frames cut and together, but they are still rough. I decided I'm going to fair down the frames all together once they are mounted on the keel like it would be done on a full framed model just for a little practice. I don't see this being a problem once the frames are treenailed down and the keelson is in place. I think I will also put spacers in above the wales since both sides will be planked wales up, which will add a little sturdiness. 
  I'm now doing a final fit of all the frames to the keel and cutting the notch for the keelson. I had cut it very roughly- and in hindsight probably could have cut a little tighter- so there's alot of sand a little and check, sand a little and check... . Luckily this can all be done in the house and not in the garage where it's getting a little chilly.  Here's where I'm at..   
 

 
these are the tools I've been using for the keelson. The large file was an impulse buy at Harbor Freight for a dollar that has come in very handy for this. It seems big but for some reason is easier to use.. 
 

 
..So once this is done, I'll be treenailing the frames, finishing the keel and keelson with tung oil, then treenailing the frames to the keel. Onward! -Chad

Hey Patrick,
 
I'll be following along on this one! I served on the USS Barry (DDG-52) and had a friend on the Curtis Wilbur back in 99-03. We both worked on the AN/SPY-1D radar- those things that look like giant stop signs under the bridge lol.  It looks like a fantastic kit!
 
Chad

Ok... Earlier I mentioned a YouTube channel. It's new to me and I'm learning as I go. If you wish to view a video version of my USS Curtis Wilbur exploits, you can see them at the following link:
 
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2OLZJD_BYzN_99bynZ8wyQ
 
That's right, it's called Patrick's Scale Studio; don't blame me, blame AI. AI's channel name ideas were waaaaay better than mine. I'm just trying something new and I get that some of it may be remedial for most, but I also used my wife and two daughters as sounding boards and their advice was "Pretend like I don't know anything about this hobby, and truly I don't; just convince your audience in case they're like me." At least they're supportive 😆
 
That said, I'll gladly receive any and all constructive criticism. I don't necessarily put that to use always, but I can take it.
 
Thanks!
Patrick

Hi Chad! I'm hoping you can help me avoid any huge mistakes with your experience. I have done some very light reading on the Aegis system and really think it's cool. I really took for granted that it was so revolutionary in radar coverage. Also sounds like this kit would easily convert to the USS Barry.
 
Glad to have you following,
Patrick

Hey Patrick,
 
I'll be following along on this one! I served on the USS Barry (DDG-52) and had a friend on the Curtis Wilbur back in 99-03. We both worked on the AN/SPY-1D radar- those things that look like giant stop signs under the bridge lol.  It looks like a fantastic kit!
 
Chad

Hey Patrick,
 
I'll be following along on this one! I served on the USS Barry (DDG-52) and had a friend on the Curtis Wilbur back in 99-03. We both worked on the AN/SPY-1D radar- those things that look like giant stop signs under the bridge lol.  It looks like a fantastic kit!
 
Chad

Hey Patrick,
 
I'll be following along on this one! I served on the USS Barry (DDG-52) and had a friend on the Curtis Wilbur back in 99-03. We both worked on the AN/SPY-1D radar- those things that look like giant stop signs under the bridge lol.  It looks like a fantastic kit!
 
Chad

Hey Patrick,
 
I'll be following along on this one! I served on the USS Barry (DDG-52) and had a friend on the Curtis Wilbur back in 99-03. We both worked on the AN/SPY-1D radar- those things that look like giant stop signs under the bridge lol.  It looks like a fantastic kit!
 
Chad

Hey Patrick,
 
I'll be following along on this one! I served on the USS Barry (DDG-52) and had a friend on the Curtis Wilbur back in 99-03. We both worked on the AN/SPY-1D radar- those things that look like giant stop signs under the bridge lol.  It looks like a fantastic kit!
 
Chad

Only half a year late to the party, but the finished product looks amazing, Justin! Bravo!

Very nice work throughout Mike! Does Jeff sell his plans or have them downloadable somewhere? I've been interested in the Washington for quite some time and it looks like Jeff did a great job on the plans. I'm sure you've read it, but for anyone checking in who would like some good reading- Benedict Arnold's Navy by Jeff Nelson is a great book on the Battle of Valcour Bay, and really makes you understand why Benedict Arnold turned traitor.
Again, great work Mike!  -Chad

Very nice work throughout Mike! Does Jeff sell his plans or have them downloadable somewhere? I've been interested in the Washington for quite some time and it looks like Jeff did a great job on the plans. I'm sure you've read it, but for anyone checking in who would like some good reading- Benedict Arnold's Navy by Jeff Nelson is a great book on the Battle of Valcour Bay, and really makes you understand why Benedict Arnold turned traitor.
Again, great work Mike!  -Chad

Hey Brian,
 
Looks like a good start! I am pretty sure I have the drawings of my transom at home that I can share with you if it would help. Even if I don't I could take some measurements to help you out! I don't think I'd want to go through the process of trying to figure that all out again...
 
Chad

Deck Planking
As I've said before, I'm using this build just to experiment with different ways of doing things- whether it's something I just haven't tried before or some hare-brained idea that pops into my head that could possibly ruin all my hard work. So for deck planking, I wanted to try a different caulking method than I've tried in the past. I've only tried the construction paper method and I wasn't too keen on the result, although I chalk it up more to my inexperience than the process itself. This time I decided to try John0868's method of using putty for the seams, since I really liked the look.
First step was to find a product that fit the bill, so I actually picked out a few different ones and rant hem thru a small mock-up to see how they looked. long story short, I ended up with Minwax ebony colored wood putty and a syringe that came in a set I bought from Rockler woodworking for inserting it.
 

Next I started laying the planking, which was done in Maple and set the spaces for the putty using a metal quarter mm shim. I also used the four butt shift shown in Goodwin's book for the planking..
 

Once the planks were laid from the centerline outwards, I had to make the waterway. I used the concave design found (again) in Goodwin't book. It shows the edge that sits against the bulkhead to be at a 45 degree angle and the side facing the planking to slope down to the planking in a concave manner. The 45 degree angle was sanded down on a disc sander and a jig using the drill press and a small dremel bit used to cut the concave side..
 

..the waterway was just pushed thru and then the jig board was adjusted to take off the remaining lip. It was then finished by hand to clean it up. Overall it worked well, but the bit I had was a bit too rough and left some slight gouges. Luckily they can really only be seen if you are looking for them.
Once this was laid, the deck was treenailed and covered with a wax paste (the waterway was finished with tung oil) to seal it before inserting the putty. This was a really important step because otherwise it will stain. Treenails were done using maple and apple for the waterway (which was made from apple). Once thing I've gotten from this build is that I love the way treenails made from the same wood as that they are going into looks. It can be a bit more trouble to pull some hardwoods but well worth the trouble in my eyes. Laying the putty withthe syrings was a bit of trial and error, but I found leaving the syringe tip off and just holding it tight against the deck while pushing it in worked best. Getting closer to the sides got tricky, though. Once I laid a line I used a razor to just scrape the excess off and then a rag to get any residue..

When everything looked good, I gave it another coat of wax. Overall I really liked the way it came out and looks with the maple. I can see how it would be a bit troublesome on a full model, so the verdict is still out on if I'll use it on something besides the cross section.
The "finished" product...

Hey Brian,
 
Looks like a good start! I am pretty sure I have the drawings of my transom at home that I can share with you if it would help. Even if I don't I could take some measurements to help you out! I don't think I'd want to go through the process of trying to figure that all out again...
 
Chad

Karl-
 
 Beautiful work as usual! What type of finish do you use on your pearwood? I believe I remember reading in one of your logs at some point but I could be mistaken.
 
Thanks,
Chad

I'm surprised you do not have "From a Watery grave: The Discovery and Excavation of La Salle's Shipwreck, La Belle." It's a fantastic book with boatloads of information on the ship, artifacts, and history of the expedition. It's written by the gentleman who oversaw the excavation.
 
 
https://www.amazon.com/Watery-Grave-Discovery-Excavation-Shipwreck/dp/1585444316  

100% agree with Mark. There's no reason you won't be able to make the display case also. Worst case you give it a whack and it doesn't work out, right?
 
Glad the build log is helping... your comments are the exact reason I spent so much time making it so detailed. Keep up the amazing work!!
 
Chad