DelF

Hi Glenn Apologies if you’ve mentioned this and I’ve missed it, but have you applied a finish to your copper, or do you plan to? I see some people use varnish or lacquer whilst others prefer the copper to tarnish naturally. What’s your preference? Derek

Good point. I have a cabinet scraper I use for full-size jobs but it’s much too big for model work. But I should be able to make something similar on a smaller scale. I might just cut down the scraper as I rarely use it nowadays. Derek

More great progress. Will you mount all the swivels? I recall Chris saying that would have been unlikely on the real ship, but on the other hand it might seem a shame to leave any off. Derek

Thanks Vane - good tip about CA. I’ll try it on a spare piece before risking it on the ship! Derek

Thanks again for the likes and supportive comments. Much appreciated as always. A quick update. I wasn’t very happy with the waterline I’d drawn so I dug out my laser level – a tool I normally use for DIY jobs around the house. Along with the Proxxon stand which has a ball & socket joint, I was able to shine an accurate line on the hull, connecting the three points on the waterline I’d marked at the bow, stern and midships. Then came the hard bit. I wanted to follow Glenn’s lead in using a batten to define the upper edge of the copper. I understand this was full-size practice when the copper strakes were cut into the waterline rather than running parallel to it. Likewise on the model, the batten should make it easier to get the cut edges to line up along the waterline. I milled the 0.8mm X 0.5mm battens from some boxwood strips. The hard part was getting them to stick to the hull. I didn’t want to risk getting CA on the uncoppered parts of the hull, and after some abortive experiments with glue sticks I decided to try Super ‘Phatic as also recommended by Glenn. This very thin aliphatic resin has a comparatively fast drying time, and by pressing a few inches of the batten at a time against the hull with my fingers I was able to get it to stick. I started in the middle then worked outwards, first to the bow then the stern, holding each section for about two minutes. Laborious but it worked. It doesn't look straight, but I understand that's an optical illusion caused by the shape of the hull. The deeper draught aft is also very evident. I've now learned (thanks to a query to the MSW community) that this is called positive trim. Derek

Believe it or not I'm quite enjoying the coppering, despite the CA fumes. It's a new challenge, and for me that's half the pleasure of modelling. Having said that, I suspect I may not want to do it again once I've finished Speedy! Derek

Glad to hear you've managed to move, although it sounds like you're still in the wars. Moving home is stressful enough at the best of times! I hope you can get going with Speedy again to help take your mind off things. In the meantime stay safe, and best wishes to you and your wife. Derek

I haven't seen you on the forum for a while Spyglass - hope the move went OK? Derek

I have just found your log for the first time after seeing your completed model in the gallery. I wish I had found it sooner! I am very impressed by the beauty and precision of all your work - in particular your rigging and woodworking skills set a very high standard for the rest of us to aim for. Derek

The CA-related symptoms have calmed down a bit so I've had another go at coppering today. In the meantime I'd finished a bit more deck furniture: I've not used photo-etch before and I'm really impressed with the detail you get - particularly on the deck pumps. I'd struggle to scratch build work of this quality. The recommended AK 174 burnishing fluid leaves a nice finish. The fluid looks like Casey's Brass Black, which I normally use, and works in a similar fashion. I mentioned the importance of cleaning the brass in a previous post. I should add that, as with Brass Black, I find I get the best finish by dipping in the fluid until the brass is sufficiently black all over, taking it out and rinsing in cold water, rubbing all over with a cotton bud to remove any surface powder then repeating. This leads to a deeper and more consistent black. On with the copper. I'll just show one area that I struggled with initially - the bows. You'll see from the photos that I didn't get it right straight away and I'm going to replace at least one of the plates. This is the area I'm working on - I wasn't sure at first how the curved plates on the hull should meet the flat plates on the stem. This is the approach I developed.: I started with a strip of paper the same width as the copper plates and laid it on top of the last row of plates on the stem. Holding the strip flat I pushed the paper into the join between the hull and the stem, and marked the join with a pencil. The following photo shows that I cut the paper template just outside the pencil line - this is to allow a small strip to overlap the hull: Using the template I cut the plate with my Xuron scissors. These are very sharp and precise - great for cutting thin metal and planks. I'd tried using a small pair of tin snips but they tended to raise the edge of the copper plate. Next, I used a piece of scrap wood with a mitred end to crease the plate into the join, before gluing it: A simple matter then to complete the row with another small piece of plate. I then used the same paper template method to cut out the next plate on the hull. This time I cut the template exactly on the pencil line so that the copper plate overlapped the plate on stem: The next shot shows the area in close-up: Things never look as neat in close-up! I'll definitely replace the first of the curved plates, but the next two actually look OK from a normal viewing angle. I should add that I'm using surgical gloves every time I handle the copper. I was lucky enough to buy a box of 100 pairs well before CV-19 was heard of. They certainly help to keep the plates free of marks. As for the CA sensitivity, a fan and face mask certainly help. I'm still sneezing a bit, but nowhere near as bad. Ideally, I should have a vacuum pump exhausted to the outside to suck the fumes away. Anyway, I'll persevere - at this rate it'll take longer than the planking and I'll never catch up with Glenn and Vane (not that I'm competitive ). Stay safe everyone. Derek

Great progress Glenn. Looking really good. Derek

Thanks Guys, much appreciated. HMS Speedy will keep me occupied for a while. Alongside that I'm currently torn between your Queen Anne's Barge (having read Meddo's log) and your 18th Century Longboat. I love your small vessels. I will also get back to HMS Winchelsea when I can get my act together. I started well on her but hit a block when I found the keel pieces didn't fit together well. Basically, I'd messed up copying the plans. I've had other projects to keep me occupied so I think I've been putting off getting back to Winchelsea. But I shall. Derek

To be sung to the tune of Paul Simon's 50 Ways to leave your lover: