No Idea

No problem mate I’m glad you’ve got it sorted. I’ll put mine back together again now! Only joking these are old pictures that I took 😂. Good luck with your milling 👍

You are correct there is a large washer on either side of the blade. If you have a look one of them has a small step machined into it. The blade locates on the step which makes it central and run true. If the blade is not properly located on the step it will visibly not run straight.

Yes of course - they are what you describe as the washers that secure the blade. If installed correctly they look like this and the blade runs true with no vibration or wobble.

Hi - If you had the arbours wrong the blade would not run true and give you all sorts of problems - you would know it wasn't right. So assuming they are ok if your wood is tapering during a cut it could be one of many reasons. 1. The edge of the wood that is on the fence is not straight and true. This will need correcting. 2. You are not keeping the wood tight up against the fence as you cut? 3. The blade is too thin and is deflecting - what size blade and with how many teeth are you using? Cheers Mark

Cheers @druxey that worked nicely. I've tried it on one and slowly enlarged the hole up to 3mm. Then I used a small milling bit to remove some of the excess material and finish the hole with a chisel and file. I now have a nice rectangular scupper running through the hull. It should look good when lined with pewter.

Thanks 👍 Thats a great idea using a small drill I hadn't thought of that so I am going to give this a try. I do have a lot of material to remove from the water way to join the holes up as a square opening. When I made the waterway I couldn't quite see how to cut the opening and get the angle right. I can see it now and would do this differently in the future. What a learning curve ship building is.

Hi All I hope that you all had a really nice Xmas and are looking forward to new year tonight like we are here in the UK. Also thanks very much for the nice comments Some more done on Le Rochefort - I got on with the planking between the whale and rail. As this blog is aimed at new builders like myself I thought I would share how I go about planking. Funnily enough I see planking as a mathematical problem which just needs solving. So first off at various places along the hull I measure the gap that the planks need to cover. I then use this as my basis for the plank widths when shaping them up but also gives me my widest point which is what I cut the planks too on the table saw. The picture shows that I need 3 planks 8.2mm wide that this point. Then I cut the planks and shape them to my measurements that I have already taken. I use a plank vice to hold them whilst planing them as I find I get the best results this way. Then I just get planking - you can never have too many clamps. I also pierced the hawse holes and scupper holes at the bow too. For some reason I always seem to plank one side better than the other! Then I marked and cut out the scupper holes and also marked out the nailing pattern. At this moment in time I must be honest I don't think I'm going to go all of the way through with the scupper holes along the hull. I don't think I'm brave enough. I've only nailed one side at the moment as for some reason I just can't get into it at the moment but so far the results are quite nice. In-between nailing the planking I decided to have a go at making the bowsprit. It is 14.5mm in diameter so to get a piece this thick I started by gluing two 10mm pieces together. I don't have a lathe so I thought that I would give it a go on my rotary table on the milling machine. Now this was fun as I don't have a support of any kind yet but I thought well let's give it a go anyway. I guess I could have made something but the chatter wasn't too bad and I left some on to sand down at the end by hand. I was going to cut the square location pin on the mill but in the end I simply did it by hand using a small saw and chisels. The end result looks ok and its a pretty good fit. I was never going to have full size masts on this build as rigging at this stage just does not appeal to me. Maybe it will later in my building career? So I just need to complete the nailing on the starboard side and then I can think of my next move on the ship. Cheers Mark

Very nice work Tobias and happy new year to you too

Anything that involves watchmaking then from what I've read on the forum wefalck is the man and I would take his advice. If I'm drilling into brass I always use cobalt drills. I don't know the availability of these in the US but here in the UK I can pretty much get any tiny size and they last for ages.

Without a doubt yes they are but it does depend on your previous experience. Before I started building my current and first plank on frame ship I seriously considered a cross section first. The reason I personally chose the ship was because I knew deep down I would prefer the final outcome of a complete ship. I also thought that if I thought I was capable of building a cross section - well I could probably build the whole ship. I was seriously mistaken as the commitment is so much more as is the learning curve. I will say though that the experience for me has been amazing and I would not change my personal journey. So - If you don't feel that a complete ship is for you yet then this is a fantastic way to test the waters of scratch building and learn loads along the way. It also requires far less capital to get it done too.

Happy Xmas Kev to you and yours 🎅

The accuracy of your bulkheads is CAD perfection its almost a shame to cover them up.

Hi Oliver - love your work mate it's absolutely fantastic to see it coming together. I really like the tool you have made for marking out the hull on the inside. This is something that I have found difficult during my build I I would like to make a tool similar to yours. Is there any chance you could send me a picture of this tool so that I have a better idea of what I need to make - Thanks Mark

Thank you all for the replies this has been extremely informative for me 👍

Hi Keith that makes sense regarding mortar I hadn't thought of that. Here's a picture of the hearth - it's a very simple thing for the crew of 8. The base bricks sit on a base of sand or salt and there is a simple metal framework within. I asked about the colour of the bricks to ensure that I put them in correctly.

Ah ha! I think you are mentioning the tiles and stone on the floor whereas I’m talking about the bricks that actually go inside the fire. The bricks I’m curious about basically lined a wooden box to stop the box from catching fire. I would imagine that they also made the hearth much more efficient and easier to use.

Hi Keith where abouts are you looking mate. I can see coals in an iron stove but no mortar around fire bricks?

Thanks for the replies - In Le Rochefort the hearth is simply a brick lined wooden box with a metal lattice. The whole thing simply sits on a sheet of metal to protect the deck and was the most basic of cookers. I am also guessing that due to the heat the bricks were placed with no mortar of any kind?

Hi All Does anyone know what colour bricks would have been used in a ships hearth? For some reason I can't help but think that they would have been made from grey clay. I see many ships with red bricks in the hearth so I could be completely wrong. Your thoughts would be appreciated Mark

What a beautiful build - As Dave E said this is top shelf work!

There's some very good advice you've been given there already 👍 Looking at your pictures I would say that you are pretty much there but as has been said use a plank to check. What I would say though is that if you do go too far all is not lost at all. Simply glue some thin strips of wood onto the bulkheads to build them back up and start to shape them again. Although some builders may see this as fail it's not - we all make mistakes it's just part of building model ships. Once the planking is on the fix will never been seen but a badly shaped hull always will be if the error is not corrected. Good luck with your build as it looks very good so far

Hi All I just wanted to share my experience with Wolfcraft regarding their small one handed clamps. The one's I am talking about are in the link below https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wolfcraft-3455100-miniature-one-hand-clamps/dp/B0001P19KY/ref=asc_df_B0001P19KY/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=222086461140&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=2479218987862035583&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006884&hvtargid=pla-421121069499&mcid=20d8ad9ddff138ff8bf636d6cd9c8a34&th=1 I have had mine for quite a few years now and I have used and abused them to the point where the jaw pads are pretty much worn out now. They are in fact extremely good clamps as I have had other makes but these have lasted the longest. So with worn out pads I contacted Wolfcraft in Germany to see if they supplied replacement parts. To my amazement they contacted me the very next day asking me how many pads I required. I explained that I have 10 of these clamps and as such need 20 new pads. Not a problem they said - send us your address and we will post them to you for FREE!!!! What can I say - If you want good clamps with good customer service I cannot recommend these one's enough. Well that's my experience anyway Cheers Mark

Another update I bottled it and decided not to put scarf joints into the moulded rail so I'm using simple butt joints instead. I wanted the rail to look as best it could with all of the details lining up. So I marked out the position both sides - I like to use automotive lining tape to see the run and I leave it on until the glue has dried. I then bent and glued the rails on which needed quite a lot of heat to get a tight fit around the bow. I have got a very tiny crack in it on the starboard side but I think it will be ok. I really wanted to get a good joint into the rabit with this plank - I think it came out ok So next I am going to make and fit the planking in between the whale and moulded rail. Mark

So where do you place your much valued NRG stickers??? Mine - well it's on my best machine. I couldn't think of a better place - so where is yours? Oh and so that MSW doesn't feel left out here's your's

Marc your attention to the historical details of your ship are mind blowing for me. Very impressive work indeed!