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Elia

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  1. Like
    Elia reacted to michael mott in Bristol Pilot Cutter by michael mott - 1/8 scale - POF   
    Thank you Crackers, after all it was Doris that got me into the whole model boat building caper.
     
    Thanks Bob, My hope is to improve both the look and the time it takes to do it.
     
    Denis I take it you have experience the terrible twos?
     
    Greg Thanks , and I can see why it takes a few times to get it right.
     
    John I don't think my finger would take to kindly to getting skewered with fine wires.
     
    Mark thanks, your commendation is greatly appreciated.
     
    Texxn5 thank you for looking in and your kind remark.
     
    I have been "practicing" today and made some sequential pics of this splice here.
     

     
    Now all I have to do is learn how to taper the splice make some better thimbles. and make more shackles and blocks
     
    Michael
     
  2. Like
    Elia reacted to michael mott in Bristol Pilot Cutter by michael mott - 1/8 scale - POF   
    Thank you all for your nice remarks and for all the likes.
     
    Today I did do the eye-splice for the topping lift it was harder to do than I expected.
     

     

     
    I eneded up gluing the ends of the three strands to create a stiff end to thread under the lay.
     

     
    I found that it was a bit easier to have the rope clamped to the bench and then be able to pull on it while doing the threading
     

     
    Looped over the boom
     

     

     

     

     
    I also sanded the top of the cockpit walls ready to start on the cap.
     

     
    The first piece of wood for the boat it was 2 years ago this month that I began building this cutter, this first picture of one of the frames was taken on March 9th 2012,  it seems like it was both yesterday and years ago at the same time.
     
    Michael
     

  3. Like
    Elia reacted to michael mott in Bristol Pilot Cutter by michael mott - 1/8 scale - POF   
    Garry, Nils, and John, thank you for following along with the encouraging remarks.
     
    I worked at building the boom rest at the base of the mast today. I began by reshaping a stick of very fine grained spruce firewood. I stuck it to a piece of fir with some carpet tape so that I could clamp it in the vice to plane it to shape.
     

     
    Using just the block plane to start I rough shaped the stick to a sort of pear-drop type shape
     

     
    Then switching to my long small chisel I cut the recess below the curve.
     

     
    This was followed by a small gouge to completed the shaping, I decided not to sand the surface but to just leave the cut surface.

     
    Another piece of the same firewood was used to make the top ring to fit around the mast, I glued the sections together 2 at a time without clamps but by rubbing the two surfaced together , I find this works just as well as clamping if not better in some cases.
     

     
    The form piece was cut to short lengths to act as support blocks under the ring, their sides were hand sanded using the shooting board with a block of wood with sandpaper glued to it which acted like an sanding plane
     
    The blocks and the two halves of the ring were then glued to the mast.
     
    .
     
    Walter's viewpoint
     

     
    Tomorrow some parrel beads and then some more tackle. perhaps I will have a go at making the topping lift eye splice.
     
     
    Michael
  4. Like
    Elia reacted to michael mott in Bristol Pilot Cutter by michael mott - 1/8 scale - POF   
    Sherry, thank you for your comment.
     
    Bob don't sell yourself short your work is anything but.
     
    John, not only long sleeves, but I had to put on some long pants my knees were gettin cold.
     
    Denis, yes I do like making sawdust, it is good to be back at it.
     
    S.os, Thanks for the compliment.
     
    Greg, thanks there are so many here that keep raising the bar it is hard to keep up. I have nothing against the Joneses mind you.
     
    Mark, thanks for your kind thoughts, and yes the wind is the kicker with these low temps, they were warning about serious wind chills about the Province some as low as -49 wind chill.
     
    I finished the other reef comb and dropped in the sheaves they are 3/8th diameter and ebony.
     

     
    The next picture shows the Lignum vitae sheave for the clew out-haul at the end of the boom. It has a 3/8 x 1/8 ball race.
     

     

     
    The last one shows the rope that will be used for the adjustment I also notched the end of the boom for the Topping lift which will have a spliced eye to snug over the end of the boom.
     

     
    Michael
     
  5. Like
    Elia reacted to Remcohe in HMS Kingfisher 1770 by Remcohe - 1/48 - English 14-Gun Sloop - POF   
    Thanks all for the kind comments.
     
     
    I did, at 1200 dpi it managed to keep the font readable. A couple of years back this wouldn't be possible on a home printer.
     
    So back to the more mundane cabin building. The doors have louvered openings, the rest is pretty straight forward but involved a lot of testfitting. alle the bulkheads are assembled off the model as this was easier to build. 
     

     

     

     
    It's getting pretty crowded on the deck and there is more to come, a pantry, the bitt's and pump's
     

     
    Remco
  6. Like
    Elia reacted to EdT in Young America 1853 by EdT - FINISHED - extreme clipper   
    Young America - extreme clipper 1853
    Part 49 – Hull cleanup, Port side ceiling
     
    Before moving to the interior of the port side, I wanted to remove the protruding bilge ceiling bolts on the starboard side of the hull.  There will be many more of these to be added but the installed wires are a hazard.  The first picture shows the epoxied through-bolts being clipped off.
     

     
    The remaining bolt stubs and epoxy were then filed off as shown below.  A fine cut file works best for this because it doesn’t “grab” on the wire.
     

     
    The next picture shows the lower hull sanded after removal of the bolt heads.
     

     
    The next picture is a close up showing how the iron strapping will appear between the frames.  Most of the strapping on the inside will be covered with planking.
     

     
    The copper wire bolts are bright in this picture and will be blackened later, just before applying finish to the hull.
     
    The next picture shows the start of work on the port side with the installation of the first strip of bilge ceiling near midship.
     

     
    This first strip is installed just below the heads of the first futtocks.  This sets the line of the bilge ceiling that the other strakes will follow.  There are four more thick strakes below this.  Above it, thick members extend up to the lower deck clamp as on the starboard side.  It may seem odd to install this before the strapping, but I did it for two reasons.  First, I wanted a very secure joint with the frames, especially on this side where a number of frames will be removed above this joint and below the middle deck clamp – to provide view ports into the hull.  Secondly, the pins shown in this picture were used to correct any irregular spacing between the frames.  This had to be done before strapping.  After gluing and before removing the clamps, most of these pins were replaced by copper bolts.
     
    The next picture shows the first section of lower deck clamp being installed.
     

     
    In this picture and the one that follows, the frames marked “X” will be cut out between the lower futtock heads and the middle deck clamp to provide the view ports.
     
    The next picture shows the strapping covering all but the forward view port area.  There will be three of these view ports, one at each mast.
     

     
    Sections of the deck clamps have also been added.  The lower deck clamp is not glued or bolted to the “X” frames, but the frames are securely bolted to the clamps above.  Note from the “X’s” that there are three groups of three frames to be cut out. This will be done much later when the structure has been well reinforced by additional members.
     
    The last picture shows the strake of bilge ceiling extended forward along the lower futtock heads to intersect with the lower deck clamp.
     

     
    All of these members are being epoxy bolted through the frames as they are installed to provide the primary strength to the joints with the frames.  Glue alone is not enough, especially where there is strapping.
     
     
    Ed
  7. Like
    Elia reacted to captainbob in Lettie G Howard by captainbob - FINISHED - 1:48 - POB - schooner   
    Finally it’s painted.  Filler, sand, filler, sand and sand and sand, then paint, mask and more paint . . . finally.  Well here it is.    
     
    Oh, yes.  I still need to add that gold stripe.
     
    Bob
     

     

     

     

  8. Like
    Elia reacted to tlevine in HMS Atalanta 1775 by tlevine - FINISHED - 1:48 scale - from TFFM plans   
    Druxey and David, thanks.  The only thing I could think of as I finished the deck was...thank god this isn't a frigate!
     
    I deferred making any of the items that attach on to the upper deck (except for the fore and main mast partners) until the entire deck was completed.  Now it is time for some small projects which will vastly improve the monotony of the appearance of beams and scantlings.  The first thing made was the capstan step. The shape of the step varied among the Swan class ships.  In TFFM, David shows a three piece rectangular step.  Atalanta has a tear-drop shaped step.  At this point I was still psyched from finishing the deck, so I forgot to take pictures of the step fabrication.  The step is made of three pieces of wood rabbeted together.  The inner piece was 14" thick and the outer pieces were 10" thick.  The edge of the 14" thick wood was highlighted on both sides with archival ink. The top of the step is flat, stands 7" proud of the beam and is parallel to the waterline, not to the deck.  There is a hole in the middle for the capstan post.  The step is secured to the beams and carlings with bolts.
     
     
     

     
     
     

     
    The mizzen partner is a simple plank, in contrast to the complex structures of the fore and main partners.  The most difficult part is placing the hole in the correct location because of the rake of the mizzen mast.  I do not plan on masting and rigging Atalanta so I took the location of the opening off the plan rather than make a dummy mast.
     

     

     

  9. Like
    Elia reacted to tlevine in HMS Atalanta 1775 by tlevine - FINISHED - 1:48 scale - from TFFM plans   
    I have finally finished the upper deck framing.  The first three photos show the deck before final fairing.  The last two are after everything has been sanded down.  I started with 100 grit and progressively sanded down to 400 grit.  I finished with a razor blade scraper.  There was a slight hump in beam 20 which was corrected with the sanding.
     

     

     

     

     

  10. Like
    Elia reacted to threebs in Pennsylvania by threebs - 1/72 scale   
    I live  just outside Tucson, Arizona  USA.  This is my first scratch build.  I built a mantua 1/96 scale Victory about 25 years ago.  When I retired, I moved here from Fargo, North Dakota
    So far this ship has really been a learning experience.  I am embarassed to say how many times I had to redo things.  The hull was the hardest by far.  I was manually reducing all the measurements form the 1/48th scale plans I got from the Smithsonian Institute.  I have started the USS Columbus, and had a print shop reduce her 1/48th plans down to 1/72.  that build on the hull is going WAY faster and error free so far.  For now, I build my models in the bulkhead format.  I am going to do the USS United States as a plank on frame though.  I have almost 200 photos of the ship, I will post them a few at a time, at least the better ones.  I  am currently working on the ratlines.  I hate this part.  I had the whole port side done, but was not happy with it, the lines were toclose together.  I am doing the Starboard side and I am much happier with the results.  Two things I will try to remember, make the Shrouds as taut as possible, and do them BEFORE the back stays, they get in the way of my hands.













  11. Like
    Elia reacted to EdT in Young America 1853 by EdT - FINISHED - extreme clipper   
    Young America - extreme clipper 1853
    Part 47 – Bilge and Floor Ceiling
     
    The first picture shows the 8” thick bilge ceiling being extended up the underside of the lower deck clamp.  The clamp would have been edge bolted down into these thick members.  With the clamps and frames they formed a sort of girder over the length of the hull to combat hogging.
     

     
    I mentioned earlier that these 8” x 8” bilge ceiling members required some serious clamping to close their joints.  The next picture shows some remodeled clamps used to assist in this work.
     

     
    In these clamps the old jaws were replaced with stronger versions.  I used the strongest wood I could find in my old scraps collection.  The dark colored jaws are black walnut and the lighter ones hickory from and old axe handle.  The walnut clamps had the ends of their jaws narrowed down to fit between the frames from the outside.  The next picture shows a pair of these being used to close up a joint.
     

     
    Up near the deck clamp, soft pine wedges could be used to close the joints as shown in the next picture.
     

     
    The next picture shows the hull inverted so the epoxy bolts on the outside could be sanded off – to help save my hands when working from the outside.  There are many more of these bolts to add as the bilge ceiling progresses.
     

     
    The next picture shows the first few strakes of 4” thick floor ceiling installed.  The contortions from the convex to the concave hull shape made this interesting at the ends.
     

     
    All of this 4” and 8” thick ceiling was of hard pine, so I am using Castello for it.  Pear is being used for all oak.  The next picture shows a strake being installed using .021" pleating pins in tight drilled holes to hold it in place when glued.
     

     
    The dark area is wet from washing off glue from between the strakes.  One edge of these planks is coated with dark brown latex paint (before ripping) and dark glue has been used on that face.  Plain yellow glue was used on the frames and washed off from the outside between the frames with a wet toothbrush.  In the next picture the floor ceiling has been completed down to the limber channel.
     

     
    Several stealers had to be installed so the final strake would be parallel to the keelson.  The next picture shows the limber channel.
     

     
    When this picture was taken, the planking had been leveled out with rifflers and some sanding.  Bolts were then installed at the ends of each plank.  Each plank will next be treenailed at every frame.  Can’t wait.
     
     
     Ed
  12. Like
    Elia got a reaction from Timothy Wood in 80' ELCO PT Boat by Timothy Wood - FINISHED - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - Scale 1/4" = 1'   
    Tim,
     
    The detail on that little structure looks fantastic. I've never worked with photo etched brass, but think it must be difficult to work with, it being so thin and fragile (appearing). You've clearly got a good technique going with it. Those details all look quite realistic and to scale. Very nice update!
     
    Cheers,
     
    Elia
  13. Like
    Elia reacted to Timothy Wood in 80' ELCO PT Boat by Timothy Wood - FINISHED - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - Scale 1/4" = 1'   
    After some sanding and a quick coat of primer it looks much better.  I admit I still have work to do on the paint to smooth out many rough spots but it isn't anything that can't be overcome!  
     
    Cheers,
    Tim
     

     

     

     
  14. Like
    Elia reacted to Timothy Wood in 80' ELCO PT Boat by Timothy Wood - FINISHED - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - Scale 1/4" = 1'   
    The first part I glued to the chart house was the Dead Light, no problem with this even though they are extremely small and a real very to work with.  
     

     
    My next step was to assemble the side window frames.
     

     

     
    I was successful attaching the starboard window at the correct height, the port window set up to quick and it was attached too low on the chart house. 
     

     
    The same error happened while attaching the forward chart house windows.
     

     
    As you can see the port window is out of line and needs to be reattached.
     
     
    Cheers,
    Tim
  15. Like
    Elia reacted to Timothy Wood in 80' ELCO PT Boat by Timothy Wood - FINISHED - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - Scale 1/4" = 1'   
    I have sinned!  
    I've spent too much time away from the building bench!  My goal it to attach all the photo etch on the chart house today, below photo shows the marks I have marks I have made for the placement of those parts.
     
    Cheers,
    Tim
     

  16. Like
    Elia got a reaction from PeteB in Arethusa 1907 by Elia - Knockabout Banks Fishing Schooner   
    continued...

















  17. Like
    Elia reacted to druxey in HMS Bellona 1760 by SJSoane - Scale 1:64 - English 74-gun - as designed   
    Look on the bright side, Mark: once you've solved all the problems associated with making and setting the counter timbers, you'll be able to do this in a fraction of the time on your next model! It looks as if you are well on your way now. She's looking great. And three cheers for Alvin's assistance.
  18. Like
    Elia reacted to SJSoane in HMS Bellona 1760 by SJSoane - Scale 1:64 - English 74-gun - as designed   
    Thank you, Grant, Gary, druxey and Ben. It feels like a team effort, with all of the help everyone has given on this. Ben, you can count on help with your Pegasus!
     
    Mark
  19. Like
    Elia reacted to Trussben in HMS Bellona 1760 by SJSoane - Scale 1:64 - English 74-gun - as designed   
    Wow, the discussion here is incredible?
    I hope I can learn 1/10 about it with my Pegasus, help me out guys!
     
    Ben
  20. Like
    Elia reacted to SJSoane in HMS Bellona 1760 by SJSoane - Scale 1:64 - English 74-gun - as designed   
    Hi everyone,
     
    It is getting more interesting. I have attached a drawing based on the NMM photo of the 1760 Bellona model, highlighting where the transoms appear to be. It looks to me like the one I have labeled helm port transom does sit down on the vertical counter timbers, and then drops down to the side of the stern post. So it definitely is not on top of the post, or there would be no room for the tiller. But Gary is right that it is not aligned with the aft side of the stern post as I had originally drawn it. It appears to line up a little abaft of the rabbet in the stern post, which, if it is 10-12 inches thick, would put it right in the middle of the stern post. It either has a bridle joint, or the two halves tenon into the side of the post. Also note that the heads of the gun ports are a little lower than the helm port transom.
     
    More difficult is that when I draw the helm port in this new more forward location on the stern post, the two sides are now too high to sit on the vertical counter timbers. I have got to keep playing with this in section, before everything lines up to look like the photo of the original model...
     
    Best wishes,
     
    Mar
     

  21. Like
    Elia reacted to garyshipwright in HMS Bellona 1760 by SJSoane - Scale 1:64 - English 74-gun - as designed   
    Hi Mark
     Good drawing sir but I believe that the helm port transom would have intersected on the forward part of the stern post. Other then that sir I would say your drawing is right on.  Not one of my better views of the stern Mark but should give you at least ideal's about how I approach this on my  stern. Since these photo's, I didn't like my helm port transom and have taken it out. At the same time a few more items may come out and be replaced also. Guess items do have a way of coming back to haunt you untill you just have to change them out. Gary



  22. Like
    Elia reacted to SJSoane in HMS Bellona 1760 by SJSoane - Scale 1:64 - English 74-gun - as designed   
    Hi everyone,
     
    Thanks, druxey, Gary and Ed. It is so helpful to have your expertise and critical eye looking at these reconstructions. This website supports the most remarkable community of learners. This shared detective work is almost as fun as the actual construction...
     
    So, here is the latest reconstruction in light of recent insights from all of you.
     
    The biggest change is information that there was likely no rabbet into a transom for the upper deck planking. To give the planking some landing, I have shown a "nailer" fayed to the fore side of the lower counter moulding. Some of the planks are going to run right into the fore side of the vertical timbers and vanish down to no thickness at the sternmost end, but it is what it is.
     
    I have also shown chocks like the ones Ed shows in his book, because the lower counter planking will need something to land on at the edge of the rudder port. There may be chocks further down, but I can't visualize that yet.
     
    And I am showing a rabbet where the helm port transom intersects with the top of the stern post. I don't know how I am going to cut that rabbet in the post at this point, but we'll see. Gary, do you think this is the way they likely intersected?
     
    Thanks again for your outstanding help.
     
    Best wishes,
     
    Mark
     
     
     

  23. Like
    Elia reacted to SJSoane in HMS Bellona 1760 by SJSoane - Scale 1:64 - English 74-gun - as designed   
    Looking at the images of the Bellona stern again, I see that there is a square transom at the upper deck level, which has to be cut to leave room for the rudder head.
     
    Looking at the images pointed out to me by druxey, there are a number of 74s with curved beams around the rudder head. So here is another interpretation, with a curved joining piece fayed to the fore side of the two halves of the square transom that I see in the Bellona photos.
     
    I am also showing a smaller transom to serve as a landing for the decking just fore of the vertical pieces.
     
    I'll try to build it....
     
    Mark
     

  24. Like
    Elia reacted to chompsalot in Benjamin W Latham by chompsalot - Model Shipways - 1:48 Scale   
    It's starting to take shape! There is a slight warp in one of the middle bulkheads that I couldn't straighten out. I'm not sure if it will be an issue or not? All the rest of them are square so I think it will be ok. My next step is checking the fairness. However, I was wondering if I should install the transom first? Or am i thinking to hard? 
     
     
     

     

     

  25. Like
    Elia got a reaction from newbuilder101 in San Felipe by newbuilder101 (Sherry) – Scale 1:96   
    Sherry,
     
    Your San Felipe looks fantastic. I very much like the finish effect on the planking.
     
    Cheers,
     
    Elia
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