kruginmi

Great save! Another idea for that bag of "tricks".

Thanks everyone for stopping by!
 
With a bit of time I decided to tackle the top gallant mast out of a piece of boxwood.  It was coming into shape pretty quick and I was liking the result when, bang, the top pole snapped off.  Too much pressure / not enough support.  From history I learned to take a breath (okay, I uttered some stuff first but then....) and calm down.  My first instinct was to go at it with another try, but it was a shame with the first one shaping up so well.
 
I leaned back and laid out my options.  I actually decided this was a good thing.  Better snapping now then when you are pulling on the backstay and the whole assembly comes off.  The wood here gets pretty thin so I decided to try something to provide some added strength.  I grabbed some thin walnut dowel I had nearby and drilled in a hole for it to sit - what could I lose.  With some glue and a good snug fit it didn't take too long to put in a much stronger replacement.  With some more walnut I added the cap and sanded to shape.  Lemonade out of lemons.
 

 
I am sorely tempted to not paint this piece and leave it as a nice capper to the mast assembly.  What started out as a negative has definitely turned into a huge positive.  I love this hobby.
 
Still some more sanding to do on the mast section itself.
 
Mark

Thanks everyone for stopping by!
 
With a bit of time I decided to tackle the top gallant mast out of a piece of boxwood.  It was coming into shape pretty quick and I was liking the result when, bang, the top pole snapped off.  Too much pressure / not enough support.  From history I learned to take a breath (okay, I uttered some stuff first but then....) and calm down.  My first instinct was to go at it with another try, but it was a shame with the first one shaping up so well.
 
I leaned back and laid out my options.  I actually decided this was a good thing.  Better snapping now then when you are pulling on the backstay and the whole assembly comes off.  The wood here gets pretty thin so I decided to try something to provide some added strength.  I grabbed some thin walnut dowel I had nearby and drilled in a hole for it to sit - what could I lose.  With some glue and a good snug fit it didn't take too long to put in a much stronger replacement.  With some more walnut I added the cap and sanded to shape.  Lemonade out of lemons.
 

 
I am sorely tempted to not paint this piece and leave it as a nice capper to the mast assembly.  What started out as a negative has definitely turned into a huge positive.  I love this hobby.
 
Still some more sanding to do on the mast section itself.
 
Mark

Hi Mark
 
Sometimes it's amazing how much good fortune can come out of a simple mistake.
 
Good turn around, for sure!
 
Cheers
 
Patrick

Thanks everyone for stopping by!
 
With a bit of time I decided to tackle the top gallant mast out of a piece of boxwood.  It was coming into shape pretty quick and I was liking the result when, bang, the top pole snapped off.  Too much pressure / not enough support.  From history I learned to take a breath (okay, I uttered some stuff first but then....) and calm down.  My first instinct was to go at it with another try, but it was a shame with the first one shaping up so well.
 
I leaned back and laid out my options.  I actually decided this was a good thing.  Better snapping now then when you are pulling on the backstay and the whole assembly comes off.  The wood here gets pretty thin so I decided to try something to provide some added strength.  I grabbed some thin walnut dowel I had nearby and drilled in a hole for it to sit - what could I lose.  With some glue and a good snug fit it didn't take too long to put in a much stronger replacement.  With some more walnut I added the cap and sanded to shape.  Lemonade out of lemons.
 

 
I am sorely tempted to not paint this piece and leave it as a nice capper to the mast assembly.  What started out as a negative has definitely turned into a huge positive.  I love this hobby.
 
Still some more sanding to do on the mast section itself.
 
Mark

To use a phrase from Monty Python:  'Not dead yet.'  Slow but sure the new frames have been generated.  Everything triple checked and locked in.  This morning I glued the framework to the base jig (excepting first and last frames) and everything is in its proper place:
 

 
I need to add the walnut chocks to the 18th and 27th frames prior to gluing those in and then fair the hull.  The hull is already so close to being smooth, which is how it should be.  Shouldn't take too much effort.
 
I did add removable spacer blocks (in the pics) at the mid-points either side and will probably not add spacer blocks.  Once the mid-section is good to go I will add the wales for strength.
 
One other difference from previous attempts was to get all the frames in place insuring everything measured out correctly before gluing anything.  I only added glue once in place and pushed it around where the frame and the bottom jig intersected.  No chance of it grabbing prior to being in its final place.
 
Mark

Final push to get the lower hold planks in place - the 1/16" basswood ones.  I couldn't leave it so close to getting buttoned up so I spent most of the day going back and forth.  The old:  cut, glue and clamp two planks (one each side), wait to dry, remove and do the next two.  Pretty straight forward stuff.  I opted to only use planks that traversed the whole cross section.  There will be so much stuff down here (eventually) I didn't think anyone would be able to notice any different later.
 
So yet another couple of shots showing the hold:
 

 
No smooth surface going up the walls here.  I realize it would be pretty easy to climb up the walls without any further assist.  Still some tidying up to do here and there.
 

 
Making that mast footing is going to take some time, but that is for another day.  Probably need to make some berth deck beams, if not orlop ones to start figuring out bulkheads and the well.  The cross section definitely feels pretty solid now!
 
Mark
 
 

Slow but steady.  I worked the inlays into the front frame using walnut - that should make them pop with the finish.  After everything looked good I glued the frame to the jig.  I have begun work with the 27th frame (opposite) to do the same.  I waited until this time for these pieces so I could accurately account for the bevels.  This is targeted for eye candy so I wanted the join pieces to be placed consistently to look their best.
 

 
Lots of time spent on the frames.  If you have a solid base that is correct, the rest of the build is sooooo much easier. Bummer most of this will not be seen/
 
The outside of the hull is now faired (the inside is not as is pretty clear).  After doing the 27th frame my goal will be to get the wales on for maximum strength and then work the rabbet into the keel prior to attaching that.
 
Stay Building my Friends,
Mark

Thanks everyone for stopping by!
 
With a bit of time I decided to tackle the top gallant mast out of a piece of boxwood.  It was coming into shape pretty quick and I was liking the result when, bang, the top pole snapped off.  Too much pressure / not enough support.  From history I learned to take a breath (okay, I uttered some stuff first but then....) and calm down.  My first instinct was to go at it with another try, but it was a shame with the first one shaping up so well.
 
I leaned back and laid out my options.  I actually decided this was a good thing.  Better snapping now then when you are pulling on the backstay and the whole assembly comes off.  The wood here gets pretty thin so I decided to try something to provide some added strength.  I grabbed some thin walnut dowel I had nearby and drilled in a hole for it to sit - what could I lose.  With some glue and a good snug fit it didn't take too long to put in a much stronger replacement.  With some more walnut I added the cap and sanded to shape.  Lemonade out of lemons.
 

 
I am sorely tempted to not paint this piece and leave it as a nice capper to the mast assembly.  What started out as a negative has definitely turned into a huge positive.  I love this hobby.
 
Still some more sanding to do on the mast section itself.
 
Mark

Hi Mark
 
Looking really nice! I also gotta say that she's turning out to be a big model, as witnessed by your last couple of shots.
 
Irrespective of size, beautiful work, as always!
 
Cheers
 
Patrick

I have spent most of my time studying rigging, but decided to produce some results.  Next up was the top mast:
 

 
With the jigs and the process talked about in TFFM this wasn't too bad, and done in an evening.  Truth be told it did take two tries.  It is hard to see the octagonal section above the bottom square section but it is there.  It should pop with some paint.  It fits just snug into the main top trestle trees.  The top rope sheaves or fid hole have not been cut yet.
 

 
The same process will be used for the top gallant mast, but with thinner stock.  I cut the rough square stock out of basswood but think it is just a little too thin.  I will use boxwood for this - as well as the topmast trestle trees.  I couldn't help putting the top gallant plug in place:
 

 
The topgallant mast and associated trestle trees is the goal for this week.
 
Mark

I thought about it, then thought about some more, then gave myself more time to think about it.  I could think of no overriding reason that the base was still needed with it's current state and all the lines transferred that I could think of.
 
So......
 

 
Big day in the Krug household, the Druid-X is free.  I added the main mast to provide some sense of proportion.  This thing is going to be tall, that is for sure.
 
Next task is going to be the deck beams and then the mast step.  I am hopeful the completed decks will slide (easily) in and out.  That will help with fitting, gluing and access.
 
The vision is starting to take shape.
 
Keep Building my Friends,
Mark

Getting back into it means re-igniting a lot of brain cells and old memories.  Returning to the hull I spent a few hours sanding (and more sanding) (and more sanding) to get the whole hull trued up inside and out - primarily on the upper untouched surfaces.  I think I am now pretty close.
 
Using the power of the Hahn method, transferring the plan key points to the hull was done quickly and very accurately.  This included the top railing location (cut off point from the jig), gun and forecastle deck beams, and the four gun ports included in this cross section:
 

 
The biggest lines to add are the main chains, which I need to use another sheet of the plans to locate.  My next jobs are to cut and insert the gun port linings and also add the other deck clamps.  This will allow me to add the actual deck beams and get the mast footing in and all lined up.
 
As a side project I am starting to think through the crew.  This will not be a sterile cross section.  I got for last Christmas the following 1/48 figures:
 

 
My initial list shows the following requirements:
Cannon Crew:  3 figures
Officer:  2 figures
Deck Scrubber:  1 figure
Rigger on Spar:  2 figures
Ratline climbers:  2 figures
Person in hold:  1 figure
People in hammocks:  2 figures
 
Am I missing anyone?  That would be 13 figures.  I am going to sort through the 36 figures (2 of each pictured) and start defining who will be used for what.  There will be amputations, putty and maybe even some molded parts.  A nice side project when things are drying.
 
Another consideration I have to figure out sooner than later is what type of paint to use (and also primer).  This will be a painted ship.  The hull will be yellow and black (blue accents), gun deck red (except the floor), everything below deck white.  Mast will be white with Black tops.  I will need to start doing some experimentation on some extra basswood.
 
I need to get the wales black before adding additional planking next to it - much easier.  Still undecided on coppering the bottom or just painting white.
 
That is enough for now,
Mark

Excuse me while I get my sea legs again.....but with the start of fall my workshop has come alive again.
 
I wanted to start with something smaller, so opted for the mast top supports.  Nothing too huge or taxing but it did involve careful measuring and a couple of slots....
 

 
The whole mast will be primed and painted - the mast head black.  Doesn't look too shabby for something that will be almost totally hidden before everything is done!  It is still totally removable for work on the platform.
 

 
Stay Building my Friends,
Mark

On to the bibs.  One lesson learned I have taken to heart is when working with a complex mating surface (ie non straight) I do not cut the whole part to shape and hope for the best.  I always have to file a little here, scrape a little there with the result being the constructed piece is just a little 'off' on one face or another.  This is especially true for me for stems.
 
So, I focus on one edge at a time, starting with the mating edge required.  The target shape was cut out of the mast join and then (supposedly) transferred to the oversized piece and cut out:
 

 
Once the join was satisfactory I marked and cut out the top edge, insuring it totally aligned with the bib top on the mast.
 

 
Now the curving part is easy (compared to the rest).  The curves where drawn out, cut and sanded.  Before gluing I produced the other bib piece (marking the finished one with which side it belongs to FIRST).  Replicating the curve was much easier piece to piece off ship.  After all that work (maybe two hours in the workshop) I glued the bib pieces on.
 

 
Looking at the plans for  the two thousandth time afterwards I did realize the bibs were not only supposed to support the top beam but also slightly go into the topmast space.  Initially you wonder how the heck that happened.  I finally opted to laminate a 1/32" piece of basswood on the inside face for this issue.  The top will be painted (black) and it will be basically invisible (unless pointed out, which I try not to do).  So, reprieve and lesson learned for the next mast down the road.
 
Stay Building My Friends,
Mark

This 'step' is coming up soon (pun intended) and I ask for some recommendations.
 
The ship plans only show the mast step from the side:
 

 
This shows a step on the keelson that appears to be parallel the keelson.  Note that the forward well wall pushes against the forward part of the step (no space for wedges).  For my full ship model oh so many years ago I made my best guess at how to do this:
 

 
From other builds (and the TFFM) the steps tend to lie perpendicular to the keelson with wedges forward and aft on the keelson to affix at a particular spot.  I am leaning towards using this perpendicular step and not what I did on the original build.
 
Thoughts?  Again, this was originally an American built cargo vessel from 1774.
 
Mark

Now where was I?  It seems a common question this time of year.  First off, a pic of my primary hobby the last couple of months, finishing a local sprint triathlon (my sixth).  Not even close to a podium finish but I enjoy them.
 

 
So on to the main mast.  The Druid plans I have show a max width approaching 1/2" so a wood blank was first cut to this dimension:
 

 
I then transferred the dimensions at the identified portions of the mast and planed, chiseled, and sanded to the correct profile:
 

 
next up was to make the appropriate portions of the mast octagonal and for this a jig was required.  I ended up making a small and large one at the same time for future spar work.  I put a stop block on the bottom for solid footing against the edge of the bench.
 

 
I dialed in the correct proportions on each face to render an equal octagonal face and hope it works out.  It didn't take too long to construct so if the first one has issues I will easily use it as a learning exercise and construct another better one.  No worries.
 
So tonight the mast sits in the jig ready for taking off some wood.  I intend to leave the tenon and the cap area square to allow laying flat if required.  I added an extra area near the 45 degree slot for this flat work.  
 

 
However, my next race is a week from Saturday so tomorrow AM I need to do some running.....
 
Mark

I have spent most of my time studying rigging, but decided to produce some results.  Next up was the top mast:
 

 
With the jigs and the process talked about in TFFM this wasn't too bad, and done in an evening.  Truth be told it did take two tries.  It is hard to see the octagonal section above the bottom square section but it is there.  It should pop with some paint.  It fits just snug into the main top trestle trees.  The top rope sheaves or fid hole have not been cut yet.
 

 
The same process will be used for the top gallant mast, but with thinner stock.  I cut the rough square stock out of basswood but think it is just a little too thin.  I will use boxwood for this - as well as the topmast trestle trees.  I couldn't help putting the top gallant plug in place:
 

 
The topgallant mast and associated trestle trees is the goal for this week.
 
Mark

With the hull structure totally accessible adding the berth and gun deck beams was straight forward:
 

 
This caused one of those, ummmm moments.  You can see my 1/48 scale figure posed on the orlop deck - all 6 ft of him.  Looking at it from a different angle:
 

 
You can see the guy would have to almost crawl to get around down there.  My guess is 6 ft wasn't the optimum height for sailors.  Do I need to modify the figures for height??  Luckily the only thing that will be going on in the orlop will be 2 people in their hammocks grabbing some shut eye so I can skirt the issue.  But I need to think about even those on the main deck (and above).  Would 6 foot tall crewman appear correct with the rest of the scene?  On a side note I am working on having the beams/decks as assembled being removable as a unit until I choose to affix them permanently.  Much easier to work the details and paint this way.
 
For painting I visited a local wood specialty shop and was steered towards General Finishes water based sanding sealer for my first coat (usable over even wood that won't be painted).  Then I had been thinking about using Model Color acrylics for the actual paint.  I created a test paint area and laid down the sealer and paints.  Where their was no sealer the paint was absorbed very quickly and faded out as expected.  The sealed areas still seemed moist 5 minutes later, but much more vibrant color.  I still will need a couple of coats (more if white / lighter colors) but that is to be expected with acrylics.
 

 
Finally I turned my eyes (and brain) skyward and have started the compressed instruction set of understanding all rigging.  With a subset of rigging (one mast) I need to start to understand what is and what is not present.  Secondly, what blocks are required and why.  Not an easy task.  The only thing to state is to keep at it and keep reviewing and things will start to fill in and make sense.
 
Stay Building my Friends,
Mark

I have spent most of my time studying rigging, but decided to produce some results.  Next up was the top mast:
 

 
With the jigs and the process talked about in TFFM this wasn't too bad, and done in an evening.  Truth be told it did take two tries.  It is hard to see the octagonal section above the bottom square section but it is there.  It should pop with some paint.  It fits just snug into the main top trestle trees.  The top rope sheaves or fid hole have not been cut yet.
 

 
The same process will be used for the top gallant mast, but with thinner stock.  I cut the rough square stock out of basswood but think it is just a little too thin.  I will use boxwood for this - as well as the topmast trestle trees.  I couldn't help putting the top gallant plug in place:
 

 
The topgallant mast and associated trestle trees is the goal for this week.
 
Mark

I have spent most of my time studying rigging, but decided to produce some results.  Next up was the top mast:
 

 
With the jigs and the process talked about in TFFM this wasn't too bad, and done in an evening.  Truth be told it did take two tries.  It is hard to see the octagonal section above the bottom square section but it is there.  It should pop with some paint.  It fits just snug into the main top trestle trees.  The top rope sheaves or fid hole have not been cut yet.
 

 
The same process will be used for the top gallant mast, but with thinner stock.  I cut the rough square stock out of basswood but think it is just a little too thin.  I will use boxwood for this - as well as the topmast trestle trees.  I couldn't help putting the top gallant plug in place:
 

 
The topgallant mast and associated trestle trees is the goal for this week.
 
Mark

I have spent most of my time studying rigging, but decided to produce some results.  Next up was the top mast:
 

 
With the jigs and the process talked about in TFFM this wasn't too bad, and done in an evening.  Truth be told it did take two tries.  It is hard to see the octagonal section above the bottom square section but it is there.  It should pop with some paint.  It fits just snug into the main top trestle trees.  The top rope sheaves or fid hole have not been cut yet.
 

 
The same process will be used for the top gallant mast, but with thinner stock.  I cut the rough square stock out of basswood but think it is just a little too thin.  I will use boxwood for this - as well as the topmast trestle trees.  I couldn't help putting the top gallant plug in place:
 

 
The topgallant mast and associated trestle trees is the goal for this week.
 
Mark

I have spent most of my time studying rigging, but decided to produce some results.  Next up was the top mast:
 

 
With the jigs and the process talked about in TFFM this wasn't too bad, and done in an evening.  Truth be told it did take two tries.  It is hard to see the octagonal section above the bottom square section but it is there.  It should pop with some paint.  It fits just snug into the main top trestle trees.  The top rope sheaves or fid hole have not been cut yet.
 

 
The same process will be used for the top gallant mast, but with thinner stock.  I cut the rough square stock out of basswood but think it is just a little too thin.  I will use boxwood for this - as well as the topmast trestle trees.  I couldn't help putting the top gallant plug in place:
 

 
The topgallant mast and associated trestle trees is the goal for this week.
 
Mark

I have spent most of my time studying rigging, but decided to produce some results.  Next up was the top mast:
 

 
With the jigs and the process talked about in TFFM this wasn't too bad, and done in an evening.  Truth be told it did take two tries.  It is hard to see the octagonal section above the bottom square section but it is there.  It should pop with some paint.  It fits just snug into the main top trestle trees.  The top rope sheaves or fid hole have not been cut yet.
 

 
The same process will be used for the top gallant mast, but with thinner stock.  I cut the rough square stock out of basswood but think it is just a little too thin.  I will use boxwood for this - as well as the topmast trestle trees.  I couldn't help putting the top gallant plug in place:
 

 
The topgallant mast and associated trestle trees is the goal for this week.
 
Mark

I have spent most of my time studying rigging, but decided to produce some results.  Next up was the top mast:
 

 
With the jigs and the process talked about in TFFM this wasn't too bad, and done in an evening.  Truth be told it did take two tries.  It is hard to see the octagonal section above the bottom square section but it is there.  It should pop with some paint.  It fits just snug into the main top trestle trees.  The top rope sheaves or fid hole have not been cut yet.
 

 
The same process will be used for the top gallant mast, but with thinner stock.  I cut the rough square stock out of basswood but think it is just a little too thin.  I will use boxwood for this - as well as the topmast trestle trees.  I couldn't help putting the top gallant plug in place:
 

 
The topgallant mast and associated trestle trees is the goal for this week.
 
Mark