egkb

Planking 
 
I almost finished my planking on the Sherbourne. Just one ore two planks and the whale on the starboard side. 
 
What is there to say about this project. 
 
To be honest it was above my capabilities. And I mean by that woodworking and caracter. To eager to prove 
I was able do do it. But had not enough patince to carry the project to a better standard and most of all 
did not do the first planking to well. Because of the first planking being not to well I had to do this 
clinker planking to hide all the faults I made.
 
What to say about the end product is is what it is. I have learned a lot. About model ship building and about 
how I can do it better. First be more patient in working out, it will come in the end. Second technique. 
 
I am satisfied with the result it looks ok with all the faults and mishapes it is what i could do at 
the moment. And there are musch better plankings than this one.
 
It is my ship and thats what it is with all his or her inperfection. And most of all one side is musch 
better than the other side.
 
I will glue in little splinters here and there and go on with the build and leave the hull and planking 
for what is was. A proces with a verry steep learning curve and fun to do.
 
Her is a picture of where I am now.
 
Jan
 
 

 
 

 
 
I little remark the wood provided by the kit is ok it is very brittle and some of the planks for the second planking split easy.
 
All in all clinker planking can be done with the wood of the kit.
 
 
 
 
 

The next step was to try to figure out whether to cut the rabbet before or after gluing on the stem, keel and sternpost. 
 
The manual says glue first, rabbet later; Bob Hunt’s practicum says the reverse.
 
It would obviously be much easier (better access) to cut the rabbet first, but I was worried about trying to accurately glue a 3/16” piece to a 1/16” edge after thinning the centre keel.  In theory this would be the cross-section:
 

 
I wish these kits were metric, it would make calculations and measurements so much easier! 
 
So, I trial fitted the stem, keel and sternpost to the keel, and found small errors.
 


 

 

 
After a bit of careful sanding I got a reasonable fit, and glued them in place:
 

 

 
Before I finish this post, a word of warning to other beginners - don't force the bulkheads on to the keel if they are a tight fit.  Sand them looser first.  The two areas marked with pencil Xs in this pic snapped off, and had to be glued!
 

 
Cheers,
 
Brett

Well its been a bit slow in the shipyard with 10 hours spent since last post.. I am really taking my time to make sure i get things right.. lined bulwarks and added bulwark extensions.. will update again soon.. Ollie

And a picture of all of the deck furniture aft of the main mast set into place. I still need to install the various cleats and eyelets on the rails and stanchions before I install them permanently.
 

Spent a couple hours last night working on the engine controls.
 
There is a 3/32" discrepancy between the width shown on the details and the deck plan and the width of the coaming drawn on the frame plan. Since the coamings were installed before the decking there is absolutely no way to widen the coaming at this point so I simply made the part look correct instead of making it to match the plans.
 
I'm guessing that the frame drawing was measured from the inside of the part instead of the outside. It's exactly 3/32" smaller which is two of the 3/64" strips that the various deck boxes are made from.
 
I also messed up a little bit and attached the tops before staining. I got some stain on the side of the box so I went ahead and stained the whole thing to avoid having a dark spot bleed through. I will sand and then prime and paint the sides of the box in the cream color today. Going forward I will simply stain the underside of the tops before installing them like I had before.
 

What to do with an empty thread spool? Well, here's one item I was able to make from one - one of the two capstans I will need for my anchor hoy. The picture shows the three main stages of transformation. Sorry, the finished item will have to wait until later this month when I have it finished.
 
The small spool was one from Bluejacket and since I didn't have a suitable piece of round stock in my dowel stores, the spool worked out well! The only prep work was gluing in a suitable dowel to use as the center and for holding by the lathe chuck.
 
I turned the capstan (and its separate base) in about a half hour, give or take. It was turned on my PSI Turncrafter Pro Midi Lathe.  This will be the after capstan and I will turn another one similar (but without capstan bar holes) for the forward capstan.
 
Right now I have on hand about a half dozen small empty spools and several larger ones. Glad I kept them!

Time for cleats.  After a couple failed attempts at making wooden cleats for the bulwarks, I finally came across this entry from Floyd:
 
http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/1906-wooden-cleats/
 
which of course made me feel silly for not looking here in MSW first.  Doh.
 

At any rate, I used a very similar process starting with a 3mm X 2mm strip, measuring off every 10mm for the width of the cleat I needed. I used a 10mm dremel grinder for the bottom of the cleat and a 3mm to 7mm conical shaped grinder for the top.

 
I then sanded and rounded the edges with 400 grit sand paper. I did this BEFORE I cut them apart since sanding any kind of small piece is much easier for me if it's still on a stem.
 

 
After cutting the cleats apart I rounded the edges.

Eamonn, to answer your question, the frames were really delicate until  I installed the clamps that run from bow to transom. Then it was easier for me to taper the out side of the frames. on the inside, I glued fine grit sand paper to a dremel polishing felt pad and "power sanded" the inside taper. This is my first true plank on frame kit, and that any mistake can easily be corrected... and the Jameson You saw in the back ground REALLY helps with dealing with mistakes.
 
To All those who are watching this build ... thanks! Model Ship World is a wealth of information and inspiration. I have learned so much watching other build logs, many questions answered with out even asking.

Eamonn,
Sorry, I forgot to refresh the page before I posted.  Got taken away for a bit and didn't think... 

Happy New Year All.....
 I started building up the livewell, with the bed logs installed, I put on the upper deck beams, and built up to them. Beam @ frame 10 was notched to allow the proper length for the hatches. Trickiest part was  finding the proper angles for the front corner posts. According to the plans the outside of the live well is oiled/stained, I am using Testers bulwark red, with a drop of brown to get that red lead look.

Hi all...
I gave the front sole a coat of Pollys ghost gray. I made a small miscalculation with the front  bedlogs. they are 1/8" thick, and I used 1/16". This worked out ok, because the 1/16 allowed the new 1/8 to fit flush against the sole, nice clean fit, with extra support. I clamped wide stock to the sole to get the proper height for the bedlogs at frame #14.
A little model gossip... i stopped by my local hobby shop for supplies, They told me Pollys paint is being discontinued. Im a little bummed about this, there paint is great... flat is true flat and there military colors match perfect. I always prefered pollys to Tamiya or Testors. Oh well.

Howdy all...
I completed the front sole and started the live well assembly. So far the front bedlogs were installed. I think my plan of attack will be to build the base of the live well, install the deck beams that support the livewell hatch, and built from the bottom up.

Hello again
I started laying the front sole. 1st, the beams, then 1/16 x 1/16 for the floor boards. when all are laid, then off to the live well.

Hello everyone!
Well, with the days really short and it getting a bit cooler outside its time to get back to it and get the shipyard rolling again.
I finished installing the clamps, this really stiffened up the frame and made it much easier to taper and shape the frames. I did steam bend the clamps, but it did suck in a frame or two during installation, to correct this I will laminate thin strips of wood to the outside frames and shape to the correct height. 
 Using a 5/32 x 3/16 piece of wood to allow the correct height for deck frames, I found that I under cut some of the tops of the ribs, I will correct this by glueing a piece of basswood to the top and sanding to the correct height. Plus it will give it a clean appearance.
Have a good holiday to everyone .

Hi Everybody...
  Been awhile since I last posted, May has been a very busy month.
I Decided to use the laser cut transom, I will plank over it to give it a realistic look. I added a pic or two showing tracing out the bevel and the final product. 
  I pinned in  two temporary batons running along the frames, and across the top , to help gauge level and farness of the hull. Once i level up the frames, I will finish up the interior frame taper and install the clamps.
I had two remove the last pair of frames at the transom, I forgot a detail and there position was wrong. One problem I am having is that this is an old kit, on my shelf for over ten years. the laser cut parts are dry and brittle. I have to be careful and have a fresh tube of superglue ready to go!
I added a pic of a Scow that someone is building on Martha's Vineyard. I was there last weekend with my fiance for a little rest and surf.

Hello Everybody,
 
  All the frames are up, and installed the keelson. I brass-pinned the keelson to the frames for a little extra strength, drill, insert pin w/a dab o' glue and insert. nip end off and file clean. Next, taper and clean the inside and outside of the frames , start building the interior. 
Instead of using the supplied transom I might scratch build one.  Have to make up my mind...

Howdy All..
  Have a few more frames up. Its a slow process but it is starting to look like a boat! I have found a few errors but nothing that can't be fixed with a shim, or that will be corrected after the deck beams are installed.
Have a good weekend...

Howdy All. 
Just started working on the Emma C, my first true pof kit. The first frame was the most nerve-wracking to me, because all follow suit after that. I posted a few pics, nothing to exciting yet. Laid the keel, built the building jig and mounted frames 1-4.
This is a great site, tons of talent and great photos of build-ups. So far many questions I've had  have been answered just by reading posts.
I have been up close to the Emma C, I have a relative who worked at the Mystic Seaport back in the early 80's. have seen all the vessels there up close and personal, even been aloft on the Morgan, too bad digital cameras weren't available then...

With the 300 hour mark just passed, thought I'd update with her new look:
 

 

 
Work on the upper hull is completed (for the moment) with the painting up to the rails.  Same process as the wales.
 
Now, there are some moldings that will be attached later on.  Toward that end, some scrapers are provided with the kit to put a bead in the 1/16" square basswood moldings:
 

 
I was a little pessimistic about this process at first.  But here's a sample of four strips treated with the scrapers then stained:
 

 
Looks like these will actually work !!  I'll hold off installing them for now so as not to damage them during the next step.....
 
............. planking the lower hull.
 
Need to do a little reading and planning before I begin.  This is NOT my strong suit  --- but then little falls into that category.  For this hull, Chuck has included a 'spiling jig' to do some edge bending so I need to work with that for a bit.  So it'll be a while.........
 
But I shall be watching everyone's progress
 
So STAY THE COURSE !
 
 
 
 

I think that's a little unfair. I re-read the posts and the majority are sympathy for Dan or having a pop at Del Prado. Okay one or two could have been phrased a little more tactfully but on the whole I have no problems with what has been posted.
 
What I do agree with is your sentiment that the members of this site are very supportive when you need help. I guess if the chap had known/used MSW then the model might have looked a whole lot better.
 
I'll get off my soapbox now

I won't be finished for a while yet , but here's a couple of pics of the "current state of play". I'll do a full set of progress pics when I get home next week - it's too hard to do with the laptop I'm using at the moment.
 

 

 

 
Craigb - sure, the old guy had a go to the best of his abilities on a very poor kit. The more I read the "destructions" the more I realise why he did it the way he did - they even confuse ME .
 
If he'd have been on MSW from the start we'd have helped him through and I'd have had a much easier task now. Or we'd have talked him out of attempting the kit in the first place and gone with something a lot easier which he probably would have finished before he passed away.
 
  Danny

I will go the other way and say that if the model was indeed the guy's first attempt at building a ship, good for him.  He got pretty far along and was still building it and presumably having fun doing it before he passed.  
 
Danny, it is very nice of you to continue the work and re-work it to your standards. You are doing an excellent job. 
 
But I disagree with the replies making fun of how the model looked.  I doubt people would say such things if he had a build log on this forum and posted those pictures. They would instead do the standard (great!) MSW thing and encourage him on his build and to have fun and enjoy the hobby. 
 
So I will repeat, good job man! Sorry we didn't get to follow along with you and see  you finish the project but you got a really nice guy helping for you.  

Dan,
 
I can tell from just a few photos that you've already taken this wreck up quite a few notches.  Cudos to you for sticking with your commitment.
 
At the risk of seeming uncaring (which I have the feeling you are NOT), I would probably be thinking of balancing my efforts with your friends' expectations--in other words, what seems only mediocre to you, might be fabulous to them.  But knowing your standards, I bet it's very difficult to do a sub-par (to you) job. 
 
Wishing you a good and speedy outcome,
Ron

Hello
 
I have come a long way with the clinker planking on one side of the hull. But I had some problems.
Because the first planking was not that perfect, Bumps and dents. The second planking was, when I went higer 
on the hull comming further and further out. In my opinion there was a way to solve this and that was to 
construct the main whale and work may way op to there. The whale was my reference in the planking.
 
The thougt was to make a whale - stop the walnut planking there - place the whale and go on planking the last 
planks. The extra was that the last planks would go straight on and shoud solve my problem, how to end the 
clinker planking in a nice looking way, so I did.
 
I constructed a whale out of a couple of first planking planks bend it in shape sanded it and this is 
the result. 

 

 
There is one major thing can I repeat it at the other side so there will be a good look and not musch 
difference? None I hope! The whale will not be to difficult to remake but the clinker planking has to 
be the same at least.
 
This is the result of all that planking. Whale in place and one plank glued.
 
jan