glbarlow

Chapter 5 is Complete
 
After 3 months that included assorted other distractions I’ve completed chapter 5, only seven more to go.
Nothing new to report but thought I’d add a few photos summarizing this long bold chapter of work. One of my distractions is a new camera, photography being my other hobby. I just got it so thought I’d give it a try instead of my usual iPhone work, still figuring it out. Nothing fancy with the lighting other than moving my work lights around and messing with shading and white balance for different affects - not work I'd put on my website, but fun.


First up is the rudder. It is now safely tucked back into my finished work cabinet until I permanently attach it near the end of the build, otherwise I’m sure I’d find a way to knock it off.


The captain’s cabin benches and rudder house followed. As I noted earlier, accurate or not I added my own personal touch to the cabin floor with cherry and boxwood.


Then the ship’s ladder’s, which naturally are a bit hard to photograph. These are designed so nicely and laser cut in boxwood, a step up from my scratch built ladders on Cheerful.

To avoid the port lids for a while longer in addition to shaping and adding cleats to the bulwarks I also made all and added all the eyebolts and rings for the 28 ports. You get pretty good at bending and cutting wire once you do it for a while.  I’ve learned to enjoy making these, just crank the music up and zone out with the pliers and flush cutters.


The ports took me a while, partially because while only ten are needed, I made … well, more than ten. There’s a lot that goes into making these little not-squares. In the end I’d like to say they were fun to make, as I said, I’d like to say…


The cheeks and hair brackets are another of the many things I’ve had to opportunity to do more than once, I’m probably a broken record on this. Someday I’ll do something right the first time and totally surprise myself. They are a pretty cool feature of the ship and really stand out from anything else I’ve done. From these macro photos I can see a few things to go back to try improving. I did learn here that there is no end to the opportunity to over-optimize.

The hawse holes - ok there is one thing I got right the first time, not much chance for a re-do on those so yay me. The bolsters are also something that nicely stands out. There is some sanding, ok a lot of sanding, involved to turn a flat square rectangle into a curved not flat bolster.


And finally more sanding to shape the two pieces of the bow knee into one. Even though it eventually won’t be seen under the forecastle deck, it doesn’t take away my obsession to make it look as good as I can.
 
Chapter 5 was everything I’d want and enjoy. A significant challenge and lots of variety from the rudder to the knee. Good Times!
Now I have lots of cannon to make and mix that up with building the stove and capstan. The journey continues.

Cheeks, Hair brackets, Bolsters, & Wash Can’t.
 
We decided to sell our lake house. Between that decision, the work we did to prep it for sale, it being sold and then the work to clear it for the buyers plus completely re-organizing our garage while we were at it, six weeks disappeared. Very little build time during all that, this section of Chapter 5 seem to take forever as a result.
 
There are a few very appropriate appropriate quotes from Chuck’s monograph in this section, here is the first: “this is tricky work so take your time and try not to get frustrated.”
 
Of course I counted. 46 distinct parts including the printed friezes make up this section all confined to the bow and stem. These are about 3-6 parts in an average kit, even if the kit includes them at all. A good time was had by all. It is worth it for the detailed realism of the result. 
 
I also admit to starting over more than once and taking advantage of Chuck’s generous offer for replacement parts. In some instance because I broke it, in others I just didn’t like what I had. I discovered, eventually, this is a section I could over-optimize time and again. At some point I needed to declare victory and move on.

It started with the paper template. The first challenge is making sure the spacing between the cheeks is correct for the bolsters, the lower hair brackets align with the feet of the figure head, the upper hair bracket aligns with the top of the stem, in short a lot of planning before anything goes on the ship.  My little spacers helped a little to make sure I was off to a good start. As I build I scratch into both the back of the thing to be added and the place where it goes to ensure good glue adhesion through the coats of WOP.

Also testing the bolster layer to fit between helps (it needed sanding later), as does knowing the fit for the upper cheek is along the top of the black strake, this also defines the location of the bottom strake. Piece of cake so far right.

That and double sided tape to check and recheck.

Then a glue stick, a sharp knife, and a very thin putty blade to add the printed frieze after they were cut and sprayed with fixative. I owe this cutting to my wife. Multiple times she pulled out her scissors to do what I couldn’t, cut them with no white showing to then be glued to the cheeks and hair brackets. Some do this after the work is glued on, my choice was to apply the frieze before gluing the work to the ship.

I can’t say it any better than the instructions in the monograph: “Now all of this always looks easier than it actually is. You will need to get in touch with our creative side here a bit. Each of these pieces will need some shaping and testing.....and repeat many many times the shaping and testing.” In case it’s that wasn’t clear…many, many times.

My photos are a bit out of sync based on my applying, then removing a couple of the cheeks. Yes this can be done with a very deep breath and the managed application of acetone with everything surrounding taped off, and even the tape folded to funnel the excess Acetone away. Did I mention the deep breath part. I did this twice, the patient lived.
 
Eventually though I had the three layers of the beneath the bolsters added and proceeded to drill in the hawse holes at the very upper angle required. first with a pilot hole with a small bit, then a larger bit, one more still larger bit, finished off with a soft edged round file.

My choice for finishing the hawse holes, with the several layers of wood involved to the deck wound up pretty deep, was to use Admiralty Paints Ironwood Black - followed by O’Brien’s Grungy Gray weathering powder - carefully applied.

The bolster started as a straight piece of 1/8th wood. It’s a process. First I filed, sanded, scraped the inside curve to fit the curve of the layered wood it sits on above the lower cheek, including the bottom for the angle of the cheek it sits on - no small task done very slowly. Shape and test…then do that again many many times, then match the outer side to that inner curve, more sanding and scraping, and finally fully rounding the top edges.

Before gluing it in place I added the scroll work. Another bit of finesse filling and sanding. I had to sand micro-millimeters to get a fit between the cheeks and and clear the figurehead’s foot. I was fortunate not to have to remove any portion of it - just make four sides a little thinner. 

I added these little stick-on small furniture pads to some clamps so to not mar the finish of the bolsters, they worked great.

Finally the wash cants. A lot of work to file the back edges to fit the bow and stem, then the front edge to a knife point. After painting them black they are barely visible installed, but I know they are there, so yay.
 
And with that a time consuming process of sand, test, fit, slowly do it all again is complete. Here are a few photos. I feel bad because I had to take a sizable chunk out of the figurehead’s shoulder and back for a reasonable fit. I doubt he’ll ever be able to play the mandolin again.


As always, thank you for stopping by. And if you are this time thank you for remembering I’m here - it’s been a while. Your likes and especially your comments are always appreciated.
 
A few last steps to complete Chapter 5, so here I go with that. 

The Port Lids
 
Well that was fun. You’d think making ten little more or less square pieces of wood would be easy, not so muck I discovered. 
 
First off, I sure wish I’d set aside the same pieces of planking used above the wales so long ago to now match up with the ports. As it was I spent a ridiculous amount of time sorting through my bin of ¼ AYC strips, having done that I only got so close. Anyway here’s what I did:

The first step, after the long and arduous process of trying, and I emphasize trying, to match wood to the hull I edge glued with PVA these little squares, each matched up to their future home. The extra size allowed me to match up the plank alignment and angles, different from port to port.

There are undoubtedly many carpenter like ways to proceed from there, I know none of those. I’ve have however grown confident in the extremely fine and accurate edge, size, and angles I can achieve with a delicate touch on my Byrnes Sander. With a light touch I micro-milimetered my way to the right size, shape, and plank alignment. It’s was a slow process but an accurate one. I’m sure seasoned wood workers laugh. It didn’t take long to get a rhythm and feel for how much and where to sand, after the first couple the rest just took patience.

Time for a little production run. My double sided tape held them in place for multiple coats of WOP, I had to catch them up to the hull planking in an ongoing effort to match them up.
 
I’ve noticed how my Cheerful’s hull turned a more golden color over the course of a year or more with indirect sunlight, so I thought I’d try to speed up the aging process by placing them in a window with direct afternoon sun. It seemed a dumb idea, but I had to put them somewhere. It actually sort of worked a little bit, it helped to have several days of warm Texas sunshine.

They started here.

The “aging” process got them here, it was worth all those coats of WOP and Texas sun, at least so I think. They will continue to age and blend in, this is a nice start.

First my thanks to @Gregory who was kind enough to provide me with 1/16th brass strips. However, the very day I was going to start on the hinges @Chuck announced his Winchelsea hinges made from a magical new material. I ordered them on the first morning they were available. So with apologies to Gregory and all my fellow Winchelsea builders who labored to make metal hinges…I didn’t. I didn’t have to try to make twenty identical things from a strip of metal. The new material looks about as metal as needs be and they’re absolutely uniform. So yay.

I still had some work to do. I made up eyebolts from 28 gauge wire using a smaller drill bit for shaping. Same with the 24 gauge split rings, also on a smaller bit than those on the deck and bulwarks. 

Whenever I have to do a lot of the same thing the first thing I do is create a jig. These two are made from a piece of cherry I had, maybe not the best use for such nice wood but it had to hold an edge for the mill to cut a groove, plus a reverse groove for the top, and another to make it reversible for the same fit on the lid’s other side. The lid slides under the jig 3mm from the edge, the hinge lays tight against the jig’s upper half with it’s top hitting the top groove cut the distance needed to match up to the hull mounted portion of the hinge. Both the port and jig are held firmly to the mat with, you guessed it, double sided tape, nothing moved as I laid the hinge in with tweezers and a gentle coat of CA onto the lid. 19 more times and then all hinges are in the same place and the same distance from the top and bottom.
 
The second jig, used separately after the first, has a slot milled under the leading edge, it’s placed flush against the bottom and lines up the spot to drill the hole through the hinge for the eyebolt and split ring, twenty holes later and we’re done.
 
I’m much happier with these than anything I could have made, so thanks Chuck for the hinges and for not announcing these two weeks after I’d fumbled about with metal.

Sometimes though I have to take a step backwards, in this case several steps backwards to get the result I wanted. The moulding cut through the top of the stern port on my model, as a result the hinges had to be cut into the molding. This went fairly smoothly on the port side but I didn’t like the cut I’d made on the starboard port. So to do it right I had to remove the moulding and fabricate a new piece between the hinges using the extra moulding in my Chapter 3 parts bag. With the judicious application of acetone while protecting the hull the moulding came off. In the process a small part of the frieze tore. Can’t have that so then with the judicious use of denatured alcohol I removed a section of the frieze, I lots of leftover sections ready to go. At that point I stopped for the night and consumed a different form of alcohol.

The next morning I was back to where I started, plus the hinges. A lot of work but worth the result.

I plan to put these three lids and their port side counterparts away until later in the build, before doing that I made sure I could complete the hinge with wire. The bow and stern post port are closed and don’t need the wire, especially with the tight fit of Chuck’s design.


With that my port lids are complete. I wouldn’t have guessed these would have taken me as long as they did, or that I’d write a post about lids as long as this one. I’m content with the time it took to make them relatively uniform and sorta match the hull, and kinda be a tight fit, and have the planking more or less match the plank lines of the hull at each port.
 
While the work isn’t complex it is complicated to make it happen, or at least it was for me. Judging by the high quality lids and hinges of other Winchelsea builders maybe I just made it harder than it needed to be.
 
On to the rest of chapter 5.  As always thanks for stopping by and especially for your likes and comments.
 

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.

Transom & Stern Near Complete
 
A short update.
 
The windows (or lights) have been sitting on my padded shelf for a long time, waiting for this moment. There is nothing special about installing them, all the readiness work in creating, measuring, and fitting their frames was done long ago with the installation of the stern frames and later with the transom and its associated work.
 

The challenge of this task was to install the very nicely scaled, but as a consequence very fragile, boxwood windows without breaking them using the very minimum of PVA glue. Much of the frame shows of course, so only a very small amount of glue in the very edge of the corners works.
 
Following a lot of hold my breath moments, well more specifically five such moments, and without breaking anything next up was the acetate used as window glass. For this I used Liquitex Acyrilic Matt Medium. It takes little to hold the acetate and the medium dries clear, still I applied it only to the corners of the window.

Finally I added the sills below the windows to complete the transom interior. Using a ¼ by 1/32 strip of Yellow Cedar these require some work matching up the angles and lengths required. I did all the cutting and fitting before the windows were added to have more working room and less stress working around installed windows. Only minor adjustments, with WOP added before installing, were needed for the final fitting.

And with that my transom and stern are complete for now. There is a railing to add to top off the stern frames later in the build (I’ve already used the template to cut these to the proper height), below that rail the work is done.
 
Thanks for stopping by,  your likes and comments always appreciated. I’m off to continue Chapter 5.

The Rudder
 
By my count I’ve made and installed 12 rudders up to this point, unsurprisingly Winchelesea’s rudder is next level. Couple this fact with my inevitable way of making what might seem easy into something much more challenging given the annoying fact I can’t let go if I don't like what I've done no matter how many times I have to do it over. Anyway…

The rudder starts off nice right from the start, not simply a piece of wood but three laser cut pieces, the caulk being an opportunity not to remove char where they connect - of course there's plenty of char to remove on the outside edges. Then the addition of two thin strips on the aft on keel edges. I kind of enjoy the next step of shaping the rudder with the the aft side thinner growing more so towards the keel then rounding the fore edge. Who doesn't like to sand stuff.

Next up the pintles, fragile laser cut “U’s with the addition of straps from 1/32 wood. These are thinned further, bolt holes drilled, and the bolts, 20lb black mono-filament fishing line, inserted, glued  and trimmed. My simple jig allowed me to evenly space the bolts based on the plans. I used blackened little brass nails for the pins, the point of which allowed me to more easily steer the rudder home to the gudgeons later. I remove most of the point and place them to just be visible below the gudgeon.

Add a few more straps and a small slice of 1/8 wood to stimulate the tiller, all detailed by the monograph and the plans. This was all fun and straightforward. The description of which having bored all the Winchelsea builders that have gone before and wondering how Glenn can turn the rudder into a ten photo post.

The next part, not so fun. As I slide the first U gudgeon on the stern post, they having slide on the rudder so easily, it immediately broke. I sorted out that my sternpost was, this is true, 17/64th. Not sure how or why, but the ¼ gudgeon wasn’t going on even that small difference. After experimenting with options, none of which I liked, I was faced with reducing the very nicely finished stern post by 1/64th for the gudgeon to fit.
 
I really didn’t want to do that. The thing I said about sanding, not so much here, there are no photos recording this ugly process. Suffice it to say it takes a lot more than you might think to evenly reduce a piece of wood on both sides by total of 1/64th especially when that piece of wood connects to a bunch of planks I didn't want to reduce or damage their finish.

With the gudgeons finally fitted (so easy now to say that in five words) I added the straps using CA along with clamped on guides. My thin putty blade tool again came in handy to apply the CA as it did with the planking so long ago.

Then followed more drilling for more bolts, more gluing, more trimming. After painting I applied more coats of WOP with more sanding between, a slow careful process to not damage anything and to get it all back even in color as I could. The word 'more' in this case meaning tedious amounts of time taken on repetitive tasks.


In the end, after taking about as long as all 12 of those previous rudders put together, it all turned out ok.  I don’t know why I do these things but I counted it all. The rudder, including all the small parts to make up the various straps is 26 pieces, plus 17 more on the stern. I hand-drilled 156 holes for the black filament bolts, each of those glued, inserted, and trimmed.
 
All together, it is a well designed rudder consistent with the detail of Winchelsea and certainly worth the time spent. No matter how I might sound above, it's all good...now.

The final touch is the rudder trunk and benches in the Captain’s cabin. All straight forward laser cut pieces. A little work to get the angles to fit and match my particular counter but not overly so. Mini-me stopped by to check it all out. 

Finally, before I installed the trunk and benches I took a long look at my Winchelsea upside down for the last time. The deck gets more crowded from here on in, upside down it will be no more.
 
Thank you for stopping by and for your likes and comments. After a pause for non-modeling work I’ll move on the the remainder of Chapter 5. Then after that I get to make lots of cannon, lots of eyelets, lots of split rings, So much fun awaits.

Ring & Eyebolts
 
After a three week absence from Winchelsea I opted for an easy path back into action. I recalled a post from @Rustyj showing near 450 eyebolts and split rings he’d made and thought I’d get a start on getting a few of those behind me.
 
When I built Cheerful I had no idea how make my own eyebolts. I couldn’t find much on how to do them, so with experimentation and counsel from others I came up with a way. In a few photos I thought I’d share my method, some of which I lightly covered in my post on cannons early in this log. Of course there are many other ways, this is just what works for me.

I start with The Hillman Group Dark Annealed Steel Wire. I use these red pliers that have flat surface on the inside, really helps to not scratch up the wire.

Starting with a #61 drill bit clamped in my bench vice, I wrap 24 gauge wire to form as tight a loop as possible.
  
The next step is to center the loop with a bit of left right push and pull with the pliers on the stem of the eyebolt with the loop still on the bit. This is the part that takes a little practice and hard to describe. By the 10th or 50th eyebolt I’m pretty good at it.

Then using high quality (I’ve tried multiple brands, worth spending the money for these) flush-cut cutters I snip as shown. Sadly I can't find these particular ones again or I'd get a second pair for backup. Jewelry making supply websites are the best source for these types of tools. 

Maybe another twist or so to center it up, snip off the stem a little longer than needed, then do it all again for the next one. I work from a long strand of wire to keep production moving and minimize wasted wire.

The split rings are easy, I just tightly wrap 24 gauge wire around a #41 drill bit, remove the coil and snip a straight line down the coil with those same flush-cut cutters. The flush-cut version is essential, regular wire cutters crush the wire at the cut, not good for this purpose. The photo shows the larger 22 gauge split rings that are also part of the deck plan. This tool (whatever its called) comes in handy for this purpose, the section I’m using is near the equivalent of the #31 drill bit size called for in the instructions for the heavier split rings. The eyebolts for these are also made from 22 gauge wire, but with the same #61 drill bit as before.
 
I realize this isn’t useful or new info for many, but honestly I wish I’d found a post like this when I was trying to sort out how to do these for Cheerful. So maybe it will help someone come up with their way.

Winchelsea's main deck has 32 eyebolts and split rings plus eight eyebolts on the main mast partners. How to align them per the plans and have them mirrored on the other side of the deck was interesting. The eight on the partners were easy, I’d drilled the holes for them with the mill back when I assembled it and before installing it on the deck.
 
I printed two copies of the plans at the outset of the project. It’s paid benefits over and over using one set to cut up as templates, here was another chance to do so. Being as precise as I could on cutting the inside line (the outside edge of the cargo holds as alignment guides), using my favorite double sided tape to fix them tightly to the deck,  checking, measuring and lining them up per the uncut set of plans, then measuring and checking that the other side mirrored the first (this took some time, only one chance to get it right). Once that was done I just drilled the holes right through the corresponding location on the paper and through the deck below.

Making your own eyebolts and split rings initially sounds a little daunting. For Cheerful I was temped to use the easily available commercial ones but so glad I didn’t, it made such a difference. On Winchelsea there are SOOO many to make but it was never a question I’d make them. The scale is much more realistic, even if everyone isn’t perfect it just looks so much better. I especially like the look of the eight heavier ones in contrast to the smaller ones.

The ship slowly is coming to life, each little detail like these makes it more so. An now I have less to make, just 96 eyebolts and 48 split rings for the bulwark ports, another 112 eyebolts and 32 split rings for the remaining cannons, and some other number for other parts of the deck and hull I don’t want to think about right now. So instead I’ll go make a rudder.
 
Thanks again for the kind comments on my off-topic photos of Patagonia and as always thanks for dropping by for a look. Your likes and comments are appreciated.

Making some progress these past few days. More detailed post later but just one photo for a quick update on forecastle work. 

Margin and outboard Planking
 
Time for the margin planks, waterway, and outboard planking.

I started with the quarter deck. The margin planks are heat bent with my trusty travel iron (I had a brief flash back to those long months planking the hull). I elected to use one long strip and then once shaped I use the template as a pattern to cut a scarf joint midway.

I did the same with the four planks, all ¼ widths I’d ripped and run through the thickness planer, tapering the planks towards the stern per the template and using a razor saw to simulate the planking end cuts and then adding #2 pencil along the long edge for caulking. Running a single long plank with the simulated break made for a cleaner run and easier fit. (the angle of the iPhone photo makes it seam the port side planning seem wider than starboard, it isn’t).
 
I half-rounded a strip for the waterways to finish up the outboard work. This small strip adds a lot, it won’t wash away any water but it does a nice job of bridging the deck and bulwarks.
 
After sanding and 4 coats of WOP it’s done. I may WOP the beam tops late,r for now I haven’t. The q-deck was easy enough and done fairly quickly, the forecastle not so much.

The forecastle margin planks are too curved to bend a plank so they are cut from 3/64 sheet. I started with the template (template beams and actual beams were lined up for measuring, just not for this photo) then added Tamiya tape to make up any differences (really not much, but some) with my hull and transferred the outer edge to the sheet. The outer edges were then cut roughly with a #11 blade.
 
Using dividers, and a technique learned from Rusty, I drew the proper width for the inboard side. This step is done after the cut and completing sanding of the outer edge.
Once again I again did the full length and cut the scarf joint after the fitting, amazing how nice they match up that way.

My Byrnes sander does a nice job of rough sanding the outer curve smooth. The new version with the reversible direction makes it even easier. I converted my mill into a sanding table for rough sanding of the margin and forecastle planks inner curves.

The same process of starting with template, modified by tape, transferred to sheet with double sided tape, rough sanded and finally the time consuming part, final sanding by hand with sanding sticks to a tight fit.

While there are only 6 planks plus the margin plank they are all cut from sheet and sanded to custom fit, a slow process but a rewarding one with the final result.  Once again the waterway and 4 coats of WOP are added (four because that’s how many I used on the main deck so the finish and tone match up). The WOP is wiped on and off and lightly sanded between the second and third coat.

A lot of cut up templates and Tamiya tape were used to make it all work. My blue canary tape is also shown - it serves as an early warning before an elbow snags a cannon barrel. Kinda dumb, but it works.

There is a pronounced curve to these planks, while they were cut with that curve, clamping while gluing keep them that way.


The completed quarterdeck.

 

The completed forecastle.
 
On to the center planking and deck furniture. As always thank you for your comments and the likes and for stopping by.

Main Deck Complete
 
I’ve returned from my two week journey to Argentina and Chile pursuing my other hobby of photography, it was incredible.  Before I left I completed the deck but didn’t have time for a post, so I’m now catching up.
 
With the challenging center belt completed the belts either side are straightforward enough. I’ve had some issues with my Byrnes saw and ended up sending it back to Byrnes Model Machines for some repairs and a tune up. I’ve had it since 2008 so it was probably time. The Thickness Sander was a joy to use in providing consistent thickness planks for the deck.

The deck became a construction zone as I followed my marked out butt shift plan on the lined deck. The lining out showed me where the tapered planks began to achieved the desired subtle but curved planking. I used the same double-sided tape, metal ruler, and #11 blade method I described earlier in this log for the hull planking. My goal was to keep the tapered planks to near the same width for each plank for a consistent look. The lining off of the deck was the guiding force in doing this, though I doubled down with tick strips to confirm and mark the planks.

The actual builders probably didn’t use little strips of woods to ensure tight seams between planks, but it works well for the model as I opted to use white PVA for the deck and drying time was necessary. I spent a lot of time sorting planks to keep the colors as even as possible. As we know there is generally some color variation in AYC. Even with that sorting the 5/16th billet I had was darker than the ¼ planks, but it’s consistent so it’s ok.

The master gunner stopped by for a trial fit of the waist battery, he was satisfied with the look.

With the planking complete, I did some aggressive sanding with 220, 320, and 400 grit sandpaper in turn. That resulted in a nick here and there on the coamings, easily corrected with Tamiya tape and the Admiralty Ironwork Black paint, 10/0, 3/0, and 20//0 paint brushes as needed. The tape job was excessive, there were just small paint dings to touch up.

I applied three coats of WOP with light sanding after the second (the first is absorbed deeply into the sanded wood), buffed it up and the deck is done. You can see here the difference in the 5/16 wood either side of the center belt. This will hardly be noticeable at all once the deck furnishings and especially after forecastle and quarterdeck are later installed. It’s really not all that noticeable now.






With that the deck, and Chapter 4, are complete. Here are iPhone photos sharing the state of my Winchelsea. I really ought to get the good gear out at some point for photos.
 
Thank you for stopping by. Your likes and comments are always deeply appreciated. Chapter 5 will have to wait until after I’ve selected, processed, edited, and published from the over 1,000 images taken during my Patagonia trip.

When I'm not building ships I'm off about the world doing this, near Chalten, Argentina.

Main Deck
 
The center belt of main deck planking is a process requiring precision and patience. Making those first cuts around the coamings is very enjoyable, its when I’m making the same ones over again for the third, or more, times it gets a bit less so. Did I mention patience.

The first step was spending a good deal of time making sure of the center plank alignment. Filling the remaining six rows between the coamings and partners was straightforward enough, a process made easier by my new cutter. With its sharp thin blade and with its ability to make precise angled and length cuts I was able to quickly make consistent angles (one arbitrarily chosen to visually match plans….sorta).



With the old cutter making set lengths and the new cutter set for the angles filling between deck furnishings all went smoothly completing the first seven rows. I made three of the angled planks for each space, two for the deck and one for the next step.

After a good deal of fumbling about to match up the the tabs between the seventh and eighth rows I kind of tripled down on a process. I started with a card template cut to match, made adjustments to it after making a practice cut on a scrap plank, used those two plus the third piece I’d made earlier to check and make the final cuts on the plank, one tab at a time, slowly. Did I mention patience.

I got there, obtaining three good matches on a single plank, both sides, a triumph in the end.  It’s not just the cuts, there is a taper to account for at both the stern and bow that proved equally fun. This gave me ample opportunity to cut and carve planks, long after I didn’t want to cut and carve planks.

In the end I have a result I like and made ready for the next belt by lining the deck and marking the butt shift pattern with blue X’s.  I’ll wait to line the outer belt once I’m near complete with the inner, as I’ve frequently discovered I am not perfect in all things, planking included.





My 1:48 scaled mini-me gives a nice perspective to the size of the actual Winchelsea (though why he went into the hold in one photo I don’t know). He also invited his Winchelsea color coordinated friend to also stop by for a look.
Thanks for looking in, your likes and comments are always appreciated. On to more planking.

Main Deck
 
I had a great holiday season with my family, I hope all of you did as well. So after a lot of “time off” from the workshop I guess its back to work - at least until I head off to Patagonia next month for the 2020 photography trip that, paid for then, can finally happen.

Time to make the coamings and gratings. The coamings are laser cut and a lot quicker and easier than making them scratch as I did on Cheerful. I got this RPToolz cutter after seeing it on James’ Indy build page. I’ve had my Chopper for years, this cutter though makes much more precise cuts, they don’t require a post cut visit to the sander. They’ll both have a home in my workshop, can’t ever have too many ways to cut stuff.

Here they are assembled and loosely positioned. The char removal wasn’t as essential beyond shaping and removing the crust since I’m painting the black. I’m using my favorite Admiralty Paints Ironworks Black, which as I’ve noted in earlier posts works nicely in providing a matte look to wood. I only used three coats with 600 grit sanding between coats as it covers well.


The gratings are easy to initially assemble using Chuck’s kit and jig but that’s just the beginning - I did a good deal of sanding to get the two crossed layers much thinner. The left is as assembled, the middle is sanded and coated with WOP, I then lightly sanded it once more for the finished look shown on the right. 

Next up was the partners. Once assembled including #2 pencil to simulate caulking off to the mill to drill bolt holes. Not a fast process but an accurate one, as long as I didn’t loose track of the turns of the axis wheels, 1mm, 2mm, 3mm……… While I had the main mast partner on the mill I included the holes for eight eyelets that will come later. It pays to look ahead in the monolog (and at all the wonderful build logs so much further along than I am).

After I’m done building models I really need to consider deep sea fishing. Per Chuck’s recommendation I have black monofilament fishing line in multiple weights, it’s something you can’t buy just a little of. Here I used 20 weight for the capstan partners and 15 for the fore and main partners. It really does work perfectly, easy to install with PVA and a nice crisp look once flush cut (no shiny silver or crushed look that might happen with wire).




So with the first phase of the main deck complete and loosely dry-fitted here I’m ready to plank the deck beginning with the center pieces. It won’t take as long as the hull, but it will take a long while.
 
Thanks for looking in, your likes and comments are always appreciated. So many good Winchelsea builds to see and enjoy.

The Bulwarks and Cabin
 
It’s been a minute. While the bulwarks seem like an easy and quick task, for me it wasn’t. A lot of adjustments and time to get what I wanted to get. Plus the holidays and family time reduce time in the workshop.
 

Other than this one with the scroll I failed to get any photos of the lower deck planking and beam installation seen in the outer edge of the photo. There are two of these openings for eventual hatch covers, and make for a nice touch. There will only be a glimpse below once the deck is built out, I still added a little red paint down there for the hope of a little color showing. Even if it doesn’t these were fun to construct.

Next up is adding the false deck. It’s in six pieces and important to get lined up along the centerline  Having the lines lasered for deck furniture placement and the grid lines are a big plus. The deck openings helped line up 6 pieces along with temporary pins, I took the time it took, including a plumb string, to get the centerline correct, starting with the center pieces, then aft, then the bow.

I probably didn’t need this much weight to hold it down while the glue dried but I do now know its firmly in place. I used white PVA to allow me time to make any last minute adjustments for fit. Getting the first half of the center was a bit of a challenge, the rest fell into place as they should.

I got caught up in the building and didn’t get many photos. There are multiple widths of wood, ¼, 3/16, and 7/32 making up the first layer to get the proper fit deck to rail. Once it was complete I went back and touched up the paint on the ports.
 
A few things to note:
 
This was a good time to check the run of planking at the waist. I pulled out a strip of the 5/16th wood used for the eventual cap rail and made a few minor adjustments for a good fit with the moulding on the hull exterior. Much easier to do this now before painting and without apprehension of damaging anything else, ok, less apprehension.
 
I’m sure the build order as described by the monograph is done with good purpose. However, if I were doing it again I’d install the false deck and bulwarks before doing the exterior work of chapter 3. I did a lot of clamping as I installed bulwark planks and was constantly concerned about damaging the fine detailed work on the exterior the of the hull with the clamps. It would have been easier, I think, without the frieze work and moulding to clamp the outside. Again, that’s just me.
 
One absolute mistake I made was gluing on the quarter panel roofs at the end of chapter 3. I absolutely should have set these up in my cabinet and added them much later.  I try to be careful, but I’ve knocked off and had to replace the ornate fence on its top twice now. Just me being rushed with hand movements as I painted but still why have them there as a target for reckless movement.

Naturally, me being me, I wasn’t always satisfied and pulled a plank or two I didn’t like. The Byrnes Thickness Sander once again proved its worth, I ran all the planking through it before adding them to the ship and minimized the planks I wanted replaced.

The deck clamps are important to get right. I was glad to have chapter 7 parts on hand to test fit a couple of beams, I took the time for careful measurements to ensure they’d be squared up. With the port clamp fixed I adjusted the starboard side for an accurate fit, the beams are now square and the clamps in alignment with the etched laser grid marks on the false deck.

The laser etched cabin panels are another nice touch. I did have to make a number of adjustments to fit my model, but fortunately they were minor. I guess my placement of those port sills way back at the framing stage were pretty much where they were supposed to be. The tape at the stern came in handy in preventing small pieces from disappearing forever into the dark hold.

When installing these panels it’s important to find out just how many clamps you can get in there to hold it while the PVA dries.  I think I did pretty well in achieving max, and likely not entirely necessary, clampage. Once again affirming the rule, when you think you have enough clamps, buy more clamps.


The second layer of planks, just 1/32 thick (actually a bit less), add a really nice look to the bulwarks, it takes time for alignment and installation but fun to see the result it brings.

Here’s really weird iPhone pano of the starboard side. It’s obviously warped but still a fun look at the completed bulwarks.

Ready, set, paint. I pride myself on being extremely neat and organized as I mask the deck and ship for bulwark painting, or maybe not. I’m am a firm advocate for Tamiya tape. It is perfect for this task, flexible and once applied no paint is going to leak beneath it. In this regard for my model work it leaves the usual blue painters tape in the dust.
 
On a side note, @kurtvd19 recommended the large “eraser” block also shown in the photo for cleaning sandpaper of embedded sawdust. It does this quite well. It has the added benefit of being the perfect size to lift and tilt the build board for better working angles. Unlike wood blocks, being rubber, it doesn’t slip. It's worth the purchase for this alone (available on Amazon).

Back at the beginning I chose Winsor & Newton Galleria Crimson Acrylic for my bulwarks, ports, and other deck work. I thinned it with Liquitex Matte Medium. I’m sure there are better explanations for this verses water, for me it imparts more translucence to the paint as well as more of a matte (hence the name) finish than water thinned acrylic. I’m sure this is debatable, everyone has their own choice and thoughts for paint work.



Seven coats of paint and many days later the bulwarks and cabin are complete. It’s difficult to get a photo of showing this in any interesting way. The paint is matte, but the work lights impose a bit of a glare, it’s either that or photos in shadow. I hope you can tell how nice the 2nd layer adds to the affect. I’m really happy with the color. It may not be historically accurate (though some shade of red was), it does make for a nice model. I like a similar shade of red on my Cheerful. Like then I decided if I’m going red, I should really go RED.

While I was painting, and under the premise of paint early often, I also painted the deck side of the transom. The paint is still drying and there is touch up underway including the black of the transom top. I’m glad to get this done now, much easier access at this point. Finally the stern cabin ‘wall” is complete to include the stern margin plank. A rudder housing and benches come later.
 
On I go to margin planks and deck planking. I’ve already milled a batch of planks and run them through the thickness planer. I also get to build some coamings and the first of the deck work in the process. I guess the big sanding and paint work is done for me and a year of two of detailed (and fun) work is ahead.
 
Thanks for stopping by, for the likes and especially the comments, they are appreciated.
 
 

The Transom & Chapter 3 are Complete!
 
I started my Winchelsea November 10, 2021, one year later I have completed Chapter 3. The framing, planking, and a good deal of the external hull work are now finished with the first three chapters. Chapter 4 takes me inside to the bulwarks and the deck, I’m looking forward to doing something new and different.
 
The transom and the stern in general on Chuck’s design is certainly a signature element that separates it from other models, at least ones I’ve seen or built. From the very first step of carefully mounting the frames on the bulkhead framer to adding the last carving it has been a journey all in itself. For those that follow, take whatever time is needed in Chapter 1 to frame it up right, it pays big dividends later.

First up are the top and side mouldings, laser cut and for me a near perfect fit, though with lots of char. The sanding sticks I made up helped, but the biggest help was rubbing on Gojo Pumice Hand Cleaner, it takes most of the char right off. Credit @Stuntflyer for sharing this with us, it works great. Just wash it off and let the pieces dry before installing.
 
I had added the mouldings and decorations for the upper and lower counter a while ago, covered in an earlier post. The transom is another adventure. There are these beautiful carvings, I am fortunate to have a boxwood set, they are pure art. Following Chuck’s direction I sealed them with Sanding Sealer. “Not WOP?” I asked, ‘no’ was the answer and I now know why. The sanding sealer (Old Masters) imparted a beautiful golden touch to the already perfect boxwood. Buffing them out with a soft cloth (pieces of old cotton t-shirts) brought them to life.

Now the goal was to glue them in the right spots and in a way they are all interconnected once complete. It’s crowded back there, not a lot of room to negotiate space for each, I spent a good deal of time looking at the plans, studying the work of other builders, and of course checking it against Chuck’s model, then it’s clamp on, clamp off, test fitting (as shown in the above photo) each piece and each piece together.
 
There is an order they have to go on starting with the cove, which has to fit window edge to window edge, be the right height (or what’s above it won’t fit) and depth (other carvings use it as a seat). It includes the most intricate and fragile of carvings in two pieces, I was very careful with it when building this little bit of artwork.

Once on the wreaths (wreaths, who thinks to put wreaths around some port holes, 18th century ship builders that’s who) and the center medallion go next. You could almost stop there and have a nice looking transom.

I mentioned the figures are inter-related. After lots of clamping I decided the fish need to be set at the right angle for the other figures feet with fire coming out of them (not sure about the feet on fire thing, I’m sure there’s a story) to fit below.
 
After I had spent time carefully painting the transom I now sliced it up with my # 11 blade and also gouged the back of the figures (carefully) to help (or help me believe it does) the glue to better adhere and mate the two for eternity. As I mentioned it’s crowded back there and Neptune’s head goes above the moulding. So naturally, me being me, I screwed that up and had to request a replacement part, which Chuck kindly provided.
 
I also added the columns using the same process as the quarter galleries, the extra upper moulding pieces again making great caps for each column. There is also a six piece set of moulding connecting the cove to outside edges and rounding the window. Another fun thing to carefully match up both alignment and thickness, and, me being me, the extra’s Chuck includes were extra no more.
 
Note the fishy on the left has a little extra carving on his tail, Neptune’s trident staff must neatly lay in there. I also had to round the staff and cut a little notch where it meets the tail. The benefit of multiple looks at clamping pieces to determine fit and location before the glue left the bottle.


Finally Neptune and his bare-breasted lady friend take their place. Here was another moment for clenched teeth and held breath, a notch must be cut in the bottom of both so they sit convincingly on the cove moulding. Slow and steady wasn’t enough, I went at a crawl constantly checking the fit and wishing I had no more to do, until I didn’t - then a sigh of relief. Chuck recommended rounding the legs and shoulders, it is a nice touch that gives a more lifelike look to my stern riders.
 
Two naked ladies looking at each other were added, sitting there on the on the columns and the lower moulding along with a pot-bellied king and another bare-breasted women to the side coves. So, did sailors spend a lot of time leaning over the side looking at these not-bashful ladies…
 
As I mentioned, the stern was a journey by itself, here’s a little short movie sharing that journey.
 

winnie stern.mp4  

And it’s done.
 
This photo makes the figures appear gold, they are not at all or even close to it. I'm still learning my iPhone 14 Pro, it’s supposed to be a much improved camera, so far I'm thinking I liked my 12 Pro photos better. Gotta work on that.
 
With that Chapter 3 is complete. To record the moment and my first Winchelsea anniversary here are a few more photos:


As always, thanks for stopping by. The likes and especially the comments are always appreciated. I recognize I’m but one of many Winchelsea builders and little I offer is new from those that have gone before, I just try for the entertainment value of seeing how this one is put together.
 
Next up, my ship gets a deck.

Cannon - It’s a Process
 
I managed to break a couple of parts preventing me from completing Chapter 3, of course Chuck has since kindly provided replacements. In the interim I elected to start production on the 32 cannon I’ll ultimately need for my war ship by building the first eight.
 
This many of anything for me requires a repeatable process, doing these eight helped work out that process. Upfront I acknowledge some of what I describe below comes from Chuck’s excellent instruction, some of it is my own, some from other builders like @Rustyj, @DelF, @James H, and @Stuntflyer, some of that I modified, some I probably absorbed from others and think its my own. That’s the wonder of this forum, many of us have built many cannon in many different ways, we all learn from each other and in doing so make it our own. I’m just out to efficiently make the many cannon needed for Winchelsea - So with that disclaimer and for your reading entertainment, here’s how I'm doing them.

Like others I’ve opted for red carriages with natural wheels and axels. All edges and backside of all parts have a lot of char to remove. It’s a slow tedious process that can only be done one part at a time. There are no shortcuts. The red paint I’m using, Winsor & Newton Crimson, won’t cover char so it all has to come off. This photo is at the end of a lot of sanding with 320 and 400 grit paper (with 8 axels still to go).

With all the char removed, first up was the combination of the carriage bed and quoin. I drilled a hole for the handle, I’m using 8mm belaying pins from Crafty Sailor, they look great and for me are the right scale. On a side note, this little bottle, learned from @DelF or more specifically his wife I recall, is a great applicator for PVA. I have a large bottle of quality white wood glue I transfer to this little bottle found on Amazon under Fine Line Applicator, standard tip.

I put my Proxxon DB250 lathe and these home-made sanding sticks to work, turning the trucks to remove the char. 32 trucks later …

I put the lathe to work again rounding the axels, a brass tube (which I later cut to a shorter length) helped with the rounding and confirming a consistent size to match the wheels. 16 axels later…

I had this little jig from Cheerful (I keep all my old jigs) I put it to work on the mill drilling the required holes in the carriage sides. I set the right location for one then rotated all the carriages through drilling the one, set it for the next hole and did all again. There are 4 holes on each carriage side. 64 holes later …

I made a new jig to hold eight carriage sides, again marking first location on a row, moving the mill back to front to drill the same hole 8 times, marked the next row, then the next. Once all three rows done, loaded the other 8 and did it again. 48 holes later …

On to the barrels. The resin barrels are excellent for the detail they show. So much better than applying the tiny King’s crest to a brass barrel as I did for Cheerful, but he sprue has to be gently removed without breaking off the cascabel, ask me how I know this. I chose the same method I’ve done in the past by next painting the barrels with Admiralty Ironworks Black. Its nice matte finish is fine on it’s own.

Instead I added Doc O’Brien’s Rusty Brown by cycling through this brush set left to right, each to its purpose from application to buff out. I don’t know why Rusty Brown produces such a nice gun metal gray on top of the Ironworks Black, but it does.

It doesn’t show up very well in this photo but here are the three stages, starting resin, painted black, weathering powder applied. 8 barrels later …


After assembly of the char-free parts, using the perfect jig provided by Chuck shown in the first photo, it’s off to the paint shop for the carriages.
 
I’m not super confident with an airbrush, specifically getting the paint from the tube to the right consistency. I seemed to have gotten it right this time using Liquitex Airbrush Medium and remembering the mantra ‘milk not milkshake.” Good that I remembered to tape the axels since I want them natural. 8 painted carriages later …

Next up, a coat of WOP to the axels and the trucks, threaded through a line and left overnight to dry. 32 wheels and 16 axels later …

Not done yet, time to do the metal work - lots of eyebolts and split rings to make from 24 gauge wire. I’m using a #41 bit to form the split rings and a # 61 bit for the eyebolts. It took me a few times to remember how I did them for Cheerful, I got the hang of it again and methodically wrapped, twisted, cut repeat.   For me the smooth surface (so not to scratch the wire) needle nose pliers and quality flush cutters are essential.  I’ve found jewelry makers supply stores have the best tools for this type of metal work. 56 eyebolts and 16 split rings later …. (I was on a roll and made more, I'll need lots more later)
 
The eyebolts take up seven holes on the carriage, the remaining eight are bolts simulated with 25lb black monofilament fishing line. Just glue, insert and snip a little proud of the carriage. 64 cut lines later …

I’m using black card cut in 2mm strips for the cap squares and following Chuck’s look with a “hinge” and the front and hook bolt on the backside. Simulated with 25lb  black fishing line (so I don’t have to paint cut wire) and 24 gauge wire for the hook. I re-imaged a jig I used for Cheerful to pre-shape the card so it will lay easily and consistently on the carriage for gluing. I found it easier to add the front hinge on the jig. 16 cap squares and 32 hinge sets later …

I finally have one completed cannon, here being inspected by mini-me, I still have seven more to mount barrels and add the cap square and hinges. Once the eight are complete I’m going back to finish Chapter 3 - knowing I still have 24 more to do, part of my reason for this post is a reference for me to look back to when I start the next set. They do look pretty cool once complete.
 
It is though, a process.
 
Thank you for stopping by, hope this was helpful or at least mildly entertaining. As always thank you for the likes and the comments.
 

Making some progress these past few days. More detailed post later but just one photo for a quick update on forecastle work. 

Not at all, that makes it all the more impressive. 

What a process doing this all from scratch. Amazing work.

Very interesting background and project beginning. 

Making some progress these past few days. More detailed post later but just one photo for a quick update on forecastle work. 

What a process doing this all from scratch. Amazing work.

Making some progress these past few days. More detailed post later but just one photo for a quick update on forecastle work. 

Making some progress these past few days. More detailed post later but just one photo for a quick update on forecastle work. 

Outer Hull Complete (for now)
 
After installing, ripping off, and replacing the hull moulding and friezes for a while I’ve now completed the Chapter 3 outer hull work.  So Yay!
 
I turned my attention to completing the quarter galleries with the addition of the nice rail on the top. I say nice because it looks good finished. Nice wasn’t necessarily a word I was using as I cleaned, lined up, and installed the little tiny pieces that make it up. 


So here’s a few fun facts, the rail consists of 9 parts, it is part of the roof which including everything to sand and glue together consists of 43 separate parts. One quarter gallery, including the roof and rail, is a total of 91 separate parts, large and small, sanded, scraped, glued, fitted, and installed to make it up.  So 182 separate pieces in the two photos above.
 
 
 
In my humble opinion the assembly of all those pieces of wood and paper make for an outstanding signature component of Winchelsea. While there are a lot of parts, every aspect of the design not only amazing it is logical, Chuck’s instructions make total sense and are easy to follow.  It isn’t all done at once, I started the first step in July, it follows the course of the build. While I’m quite happy with my quarter galleries, I know the reason they look good (at least to me) is in very large part due to @Chuck design and the laser cut components he provides with Chapter 3.
 
Finally..., on to the stern. Thank you for your likes and comments - they are always inspiration.