glbarlow

Thank you for the comment. I’m sure there’s an equivalent on Amazon UK. 😊 Cuticle cutter

The Masting & Rigging Begins A new stage of building has begun. With the hull complete its time for the masting and rigging, beginning with the bowsprit. I kind of enjoy this part of the model, and once again (he said again), Cheerful is taking me into new territory. The bowsprit bobstay and guys, or as someone with my level of nautical knowledge calls them, the bow stringy things, require both served line and thimbles. So there was a pause while I assembled the Syren Serv-O-Matic I’d purchased a long while ago. It was time consuming and not at all fun removing all the char from each piece, but Chuck is right in the instructions to encourage us to do so. It does look much better once done and coated with WOP. Now to figure out how to use it, I thought it would be more complicated than the simple instructions explain. Turns out it wasn’t - its the perfect machine to serve rope quickly and easily. My first effort, which I thought would be practice, was good enough to use. It takes no more effort than turning the crank and a steady hold on the thread. Next up are the thimbles. I found this nifty brass tube cutter at Rio Grande Jewelery tube cutter which has a number of handy tools for modelers. It comes with a handle, I removed that and mounted in on my vise. It proved to be an excellent way to quickly generate short lengths of very thin brass tube with a neat cut. Just set the length with the screw guide, hold the lever down with one finger, place the jig saw in the slot and cut. My $17 (including a bunch of blades) Amazon jig saw proved its quality and value once again, cutting as many as I wanted without fail or issue. I found (thanks to @DelF ) that a spring loaded punch is much more effective for me at consistently generating an even “fold” on the both sides of the brass tube to create the thimble. While of course a hammer and regular punch work fine, I more often than not crushed one side or the other - why practice my hammering skills when the $9 spring loaded version (Amazon) does the job. After creating a number of them in different sizes I blacked them using my standard process. I have plenty of commercial hooks, eyelets, and rings - and I’m not using any of them. In fact I pulled off the ones I had placed earlier (down the center of the deck) and replaced them with home made versions, mostly of 24 gauge black wire. The heft of these on a 1:48 scale model is noticeable. After some practice and a bit of wasted wire, I now have my own way of knocking out all the eyelets, rings, and hooks I need for Cheerful. It was good I did because the thimbles require a hook with a larger eyelet to connect the hook to the rope. I learned my rigging technique from Bob Hunt’s practicums, his AVS was my first model many years ago. The “fishing lure” method of seizing has served me well, but I thought I’d look at other methods and did a little research. I came to the conclusion that while there are in fact many ways to seize lines and strop blocks, after experimenting with a few of them I’m content to continue with the one that I’ve been using. With two additions: First, thanks again to Derek, in some instances I’ll use thin fly tying line and in others I’ll continue to use 50wt Gutterman poly thread. My only issue with the fishing lure method has been the small thread ends that were left despite my using high quality Gingher embroidery scissors. Second, thanks to @Ryland Craze I now have the answer to that issue by using extremely sharp and close cuticle cutters, my newest ‘tool’ investment (again from my friend Amazon). They are so flush cutting and sharp they can also cut the wood of the block, which I did and consequently had to replace, so care is needed. I also vary the use of watered down white glue, hypo-cement, and CA depending on the situation. I'm comfortable with each, they each have their pros and cons, why fixate on just one or the other. Finally, I have a bunch of empty thread spools to transfer Chucks now historical rope, marked with the size. Not sure what I’ll do when these go empty for the last time, maybe a Rope Rocket in my future, but not for this model - I have what I need. And off I went. The bowsprit collar is shrink wrap plastic (but I also use black card or black masking tape again depending on the situation). The rings in this case are made from 22 gauge black wire for some extra heft and of course a little (very little) weathering powder brushed on. The blocks are seized to the hooks with fly fishing line while the served rope is seized with 50wt poly thread. The thimbles are from 1.6mm thin brass tube (yes, Amazon). The hooks have larger eyelets to accommodate the thimbles. Of note these where done before my “discovery’ of cuticle cutters, but I didn’t want to go in there after the fact for fear of cutting off more than I wanted to cut in such close quarters. This is one of this macro hi-res photo things. I didn’t even notice excess thread until I looked at the photo for this log entry. Here’s the bowsprit end of the bobstay tackle and guys, naturally I’m using blocks from Syren. And the bow side view of the same. The bobstay is belayed to its pin, but loosely. Like most I don’t tension the lines completely until later. The guy lashing took some experimentation (it was replaced more than once) and research, none of which was definitive. I learned many different techniques were used both by modelers and on the actual ships. In the end I opted to seize the line at the bow eyelet and tie it off at the center after two loops through the guy thimble and seize the running end past the knot (essentially a sheeps bend). And…I remembered to put on the traveler before the blocks, so it will just hang there a while. Next I turn my attention to the mast. Thanks for stopping by, the likes and especially the comments are always welcomed and appreciated.

Your workmanship is topped by your knowledge of all things nautical. Always an enlightening story to read.

I didn’t taper any planks at the stern. The model is so well designed I had a perfect fit with using the standard width around the tricky curve there. I did, but I don’t think anything drives you to at this point. The key is to have the back end flush with the counter before painting either the counter or the fashion pieces, since they are painted a different color. I think my log discussed how the fashion pieces, square tuck, counter, and planking all come together, and ultimately a trim piece later. Up to you though how to make that happen. Matching them to the wales is critical. I had to improvise to get a fit I was happy with. It becomes what works for you.

Just pull it through a stick of bees wax. One stick will last a life time of model building. It eliminates fuzz and helps the rope hang better. It’s all you need, I’ve used it for over a decade without issue.

You’re moving quite quickly, I’m enjoying your progress as I have this on my shelf to build as well. Excellent work and insights as always.

Thank you...oh, you mean the UK Glenn😂🤣

Not sure I buy that comment. The boxes on the shelves are all labeled. I don’t even have any sanding stick sponges🤣😂

Nice work. Brings back memories.

Thank you for saying so, but the collection will only be mine I’m sure. I doubt I could part with it after being so long together with her.

Thanks Garthog! There’s still more fun to be had and more things to do for the first time, I can’t stop now😁

Thank you! Me too 🙂

Thank you Chuck. I also love the color and tone of the yellow cedar. My focus on detail and willingness to do it over until I get it right is a tribute to your elegant design, instructions, and guidance.

I appreciate your saying so.

Thank you!

Thanks Derek. I’ve tossed and replaced so many things all the way back to planking I feel like I’ve built it twice.

I thought about it and replaced the ones seen in the photo with 24 guage wire versions but from clean deck it would go to cluttered deck in my opinion, especially with the rigging to come.

You can do this one for sure, but hilarious comment🤣

Two posts back to back. Thank you for the comments, hope you also enjoy the completed hull photos.

The Completed Hull It’s been a year almost to the day since I pulled out the starter kit, plans, mini-kits, and unmilled lumber to begin my build of HM Cheerful. At that point, as I read through the well written and photo supported monograph, there were so many things that I had absolutely no clue how I was going to do. It has been an adventure, I learned how to do all those things. I thought it worth a moment to pause and share a few photos of my build of Cheerful. I pulled out my camera gear to try and do her a bit of justice. The bowsprit was still installed in temporary mode and the mast is far from finished but there for contrast in one photo. So without further comment, here she is. Thanks for stopping by. I always appreciate your comments and likes.

Completing the Deck I built all the remaining deck furniture some time ago, now the time has come to mount it on the deck. The first step is the tricky one of aligning the bowsprit bits, bowsprit, and windlass so they all connect in the right spots with the bowsprit in a straight-line with the hull. This is compounded by ensuring the right distance from the forward hatch and that there is room in the crowded port bow for the long gun. The placement of the bits drives everything else. Once carefully marked and checked about ten times, I glued them to the deck with the bits having a brass rod inserted in the bottom of each post and drilled through the deck. I have a spacer held by the clothes pin on the stem, the weight to press the bits tightly to the deck, and tape to keep the bits lined up tight to the bow sprit. This is another of those take a deep breath moments, it’s get it right or start a new model time. Good news, nothing fell. As I’m coming to the close of the majority of the building it dawned on me how many different glues I’ve used on this model. Each of these has served some specific purpose and have been the glue that holds the project together …see what I did there. I use Smith Industries CA glues exclusively and have for years, you can find it on Amazon if you’re interested. My bottle of Admiralty Paints White glue has served me equally well over a number of models. Of course most know Tite-Bond, I like this version because it dries clear and sets up at about the right speed for me to be able to position things properly. The small bottle is my ready supply of watered down white glue. With the bits set next up is the windlass (not really sequential, as noted all have to be lined up together). I have fake bolts on the deck furniture, this was the opportunity to actually have bolts serving a purpose. So after careful positioning the windlass I drilled thru it and the deck and locked it in temporarily with 24 gauge wire. I then removed it to give me room to mount the two chase guns in the bow. As many have noted, the location of the port gun doesn’t make a lot of sense since there is no room to work it, but it looks right sitting there from an overall cosmetic perspective, so there it sits. Once the guns were mounted I replaced the windlass, glued it down, and snipped the wire, creating two new “bolts.” I’m quite fond of Wipe On Poly, my deck has multiple coats, I’ve learned however it doesn’t bond well with other parts. Under the bits and all the deck furniture I first used my chisel and #11 blade to scratch and rough up the service of both the item I was gluing and the deck where it was going. The challenge being to not mar any visible areas. The galley chimney serves as an example but I did the same thing on all the deck furniture. Once again I used weathering powder on the chimney, though this time I used Soot instead of Rust brown. It gave the wood much more of a metal look. As I’ve said before I’ve become a big fan of O’Brien’s Weathering Powders and my pack of specialty soft brushes. Next up was the winch, again careful alignment for distance from the mast, but easier to manage than up at the bow. Brass pins beneath the posts drilled into the deck. I want to make sure anything that will have rigging is firmly fixed. Tight Bond was used for all the deck furniture along with the pins. With that the bow and midships area is complete. I also added the elm tree pumps in front of the companionway but forgot to take photos. After I took the photos I decided to replace all the line of commercial eyelets and ring bolts along the length of the deck with my own using 24 gauge wire giving a beefier look. Time to do some rigging. Thanks for stopping by.

servo-Derek... Your maritime knowledge is always impressive as is your attention to the smallest detail.

It's easier starting with square stock and rounding the round parts with the lathe following the 7-10-7 rule - lots of examples of how to go about that in various build logs. Harder to make a round dowel squared and tapered. Just a thought...

Great work and creative solutions, I always learn something new from your posts. I found this simple tool for cutting brass tube using a jewelers saw. I took the handle off and clamped it with a vise. It works great. https://www.riogrande.com/product/tubing-cutter-jig-with-sliding-gauge/113841

I thin I described how I determine the taper in my LN log. You want to have all the planks terminating at the bow near the same width. Learning to do this comes only with practice, you’re doing great for a first model. The first step is caring about doing it right, your posts demonstrate that you do. It’s surprising to me how many don’t thinking painting solves everything.