glbarlow

I really like the cherry, I came very close to doing the same thing. Having rigged just 12 carronades on Cheerful I know the time I spent doing it. You’ve done 28 and they all look exactly the same, no small feat! Very precise, very nice. Your lighting makes for fun and interesting photos. Such a great looking model, congratulations on chapter 6 and of course the work you’ve done well beyond that. 

Of Wires and Wood

An update on the visually small but fun stuff on and about the deck.

First up were the ladders. Always fun to square up these. Very nice that I didn’t have to scratch make them as I did on Cheerful. The laser cut ones provided by Chuck are a step up (see what I did there) for anything I could make. As others have noted I had to thin the edges of rounded steps for a tight fit into the ladder sides. While this is time consuming (since when did that matter) it made for a better and easier fit.

Char removal is essential and so much fun on the small steps and ladder rails. I’m getting the hang of it by now, especially after a short post Chuck provided on this a while back. A single edge razor blade to remove the gummy part, then lightly, and the key is lightly, sanding with a 320 grit flexible sanding stick, one I repeatedly clean on the big rubber bar I described in an earlier post (and yet another thing learned on MSW).

A light coat of WOP and they are installed, following the plans for height and location. I managed to do this without them disappearing forever inside the lower deck. Very happy about that.

Avoiding the port lids and hinges for a while I moved on to the staghorns and cleats. The mill was feeling left out so I used it to drill centered holes for the pins used to attach them the bulwarks. An under utilized tool in this case but it made for quick work and a constant location. I inserted those little nails we all have in abundance for the pins.

More char removal on the very small cleats. The red paint I use in thin coats won’t cover the char so it all must be removed. In the process each cleat was rounded and shaped with the fluted ends common to all cleats. The staghorn ends were also shaped up.

The pins are a nice hold point while painting, I used four coats. They stood on their pins in the foam block between coats. The blue tape on the pliers served only to protect them from the paint brush. Once the last coat was dry I cut off the pins to about 2mm in length so I didn’t go all the way through the hull. I decided that would not be good.

There are many many eyebolts and split rings on our models. Both to avoid the hinges a little longer and to continue to tackle (I did it again) the wire work in stages I elected to add all I needed for the 28 ports. The first step was coming up with a jig to ensure a consistent location. I cut out a port from the plans, glued it to a piece of 1/32 cedar, measured and drilled the holes through the paper and by consequence the wood, and cut out the port itself.

There has to be a constant and I didn’t feel like the deck was it. What is constant is the spirketting running along the bottom of every port. First I used the deck for the 4 ports with cabin walls then I cut off the jig to the exact bottom of the port (on the paper cutout) and I had my jig. The top piece you see is just to stiffen up and reinforce the 1/32 wood. Once it was made I remove the paper, just easier to see the holes. With this and a couple of clamps to hold position I made fairly easy work of drilling the holes. Yes I did it by hand, no way was I going to trust even a slow turning drill, or more precisely trust me, not to go through the hull. As I mentioned I decided this would not be good.

There are four eyebolts and two split rings for every port. Because I count these things that meant 112 eyelets and 56 split rings. Of course I made more than that, there were one or two rejects, I forget how many, maybe more than two. Now there are just that many less when I start making guns.

With that done and the cleats installed I’ve run out of things to do to avoid making lids and hinges. So off I go to do that.

Thanks as always for stopping by with your likes and comments. They are always appreciated.

18 hours ago, Blue Ensign said:

use my own logs as crutch to my memory

Right there with you🫣🤔

Excellent planking!

Wow! Really well done. Where is the not perfect part, I can’t imagine them done any better. Always look forward to your posts and imagine a day when I get this far, and only hope I do it near as well.

I might as well ask for that third set now. 

Well done, I will remember using those lines to line up the carlings. Nice and crisp!

22 hours ago, Blue Ensign said:

Joining all planks at the central bulkhead is a practical approach, but the look of it offends my eye

Not only does it offend the eye I’m not sure how practical it is. Much more practical to me is like you’re doing, shifting the joints of the planks. Not only is it a practice run for the second planking it makes for a sound hull, as well as showing the true run of the planks.
 

Nice work!

1 hour ago, scrubbyj427 said:

Thanks @glbarlow for correcting me.

Not correcting JJ, just amplifying, the square stock is indeed useful for leveling and keep the respective sides lined up, it takes a village.

4 hours ago, James G said:

been referring to your log

Glad it’s helpful, I refer to JJ’s and others all the time. It takes a village, oh I already said that 😊

Just remember that ultimately the ports aren’t square as they follow the sheer. This gets to be fun planking above the wales. 

No way, my eyes would give out and I’d break every part. 

Late to the party…

Is the second planking going to follow the pattern of the first?

On 4/1/2023 at 10:00 AM, ccoyle said:

model is a Hachette parts work kit,

Well that was impressive Chris. Right on point of the post with a clear and sharp answer, and one founded on just the least bit of information. Nice!

Why is dying a question, thread and rope are available in every color needed. Wasn’t dying a thing with old, long ago kits that just through in white cordage.

I’ve used both CA and diluted white PVA (my formula is simple, it’s right when it’s milk not milkshake) both work fine in different ways with different results. I now prefer clear matte acrylic (my choice is Liquitex) for most rigging and especially ratlines. It dries clear and near invisible leaving no shine or lumps. 
 

Rather than read all our opinions, do a test abs see what works best for you. 

Congratulations and well done James, very cool!

Looking nice, glad you’re returning to the bench. 

I’ve had mine since 2008, great tool. next up is the Proxxon mill, my third favorite tool after the sander and the saw. Then of course there is the thickness sander…

There’s clearly patience and skill displayed in this step. 

On 2/11/2023 at 6:06 PM, Dave_E said:

it’s the cutting that I’m having issues with.

Use black annealed 24 gauge wire, i prefer Hilmans found on Amazon. A number 61 drill bit is the proper size for a split ring at 1:48 scale, I’m sure there is a 1:64 equivalent. Check out one of my recent Winchelsea posts for how I make them. The requirement for cutting them is a high quality (the normal modelers wire snips or regular wire cutters won’t do) flush cut wire cutter. The best source for these are jewelry making websites like Rio Grande  I like this particular flush cutter found Here on Amazon.
 

Most cutters smash the wire, these provide a clean cut. Just cut through the spiral of wire a few at a time, there will be a little waste with each first cut, but with a little practice you’ll have just what you need. That same wire can be used to make eyelets, I showed how I do that in my Winchelsea build log as well. 
 

Here’s the result:

It is a chunky thing. I guess that’s what a razee looks like. Seems it would be heavy at the stern, but it worked. Good looking infrastructure. 

1 hour ago, TheDuckDetective said:

Thanks for this great build log!

Thank you for the comment, glad it was of help. Enjoy your build!

Just now, scrubbyj427 said:

hard work with the frames and sills has paid off.

Thank you!  That is so true. I was thinking about that, how way back when I spent all that time on aligning stern frames ad fitting those sills using the frame blocks.  The windows at the stage just dropped into place.  

Nice hinges!

Welcome to the “I Faired a Winnie” club. You’ve won a large bottle of Advil and a trip to the chiropractor🤣

A reference build for all who follow!

There is no reason to edge glue any planking, especially on the deck. I’ll suggest a different experiment ,try medium gel CA, not the thin stuff, and just on the bottom of the plank. I suggest you taper with a straight metal edge and a #11 blade, you’ll get a much cleaner edge. Many of us have done it successfully with this method, just takes a little practice. As Chuck describes a #2 pencil on only one edge of facing planks is all you need for caulking. 

I used CA on the hull planking, it came out ok. However I used ordinary white PVA for the deck using scrap planks as a deck clamp, photos on my log.  
 

I know you like to go your own way, but there’s a lot to learn from others.