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Tigerdvr

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Everything posted by Tigerdvr

  1. Looking good Gary. May I ask where you acquired the orange clamps. They look very efficient. Thanks, Harley
  2. Just imagine this if they somehow kept the stern chasers and you are the First Lieutenant peacefully sitting in the head and one of the stern chasers is fired! Wooooooo- Cheers, Harley
  3. Nice start to your new career. You will find the Syren a breeze (so to speak for a sailing vessel). The rigging will be the biggest challenge. I did the Syren first and am working hard on the Confederacy. My Syren pictured before it went under the case. Regards, Harley
  4. I'd be the last one to take issue with Chuck but I have to think the early American Navy had to have some sort of light in and on their ships during the night. I am considering some sort of illumination for my Confederacy. Cheers, Harley
  5. Like your style Gary. "Engineering" the safety timbers like you did instead of just squeezing some scrap wood in the frames shows me your Confederacy is in good hands and has a bright future. Cheers, Harley
  6. Not meaning to steal your post but I feel I should, unfortunately, suggest caution by our brother and sister shipwrights regarding MEs quality control. I hope I am not breaking forum rules. Short version, I requested replacement strips from them because the kit (Confederacy) was short of this item. Previously ME had been good at providing replacements. The first set of strips was the wrong dimensions. The second set, some weeks later, the same, wrong dimensions again. Now I'm lucky to get any response at all. They told me that they would ship them a week ago. I am using upgraded lumber from other providers. I had no problems with the Syren kit. Unfortunately we must use caution with this provider. Regards, Harley
  7. Congratulations Chris, your Confederacy has a certain character about her as a result of your skill, determination, and patience. This log is definitely on my reference list while my Confederacy is under construction. Your ship is, in deed, a true inspiration. Regards, Harley
  8. Jud, thanks for all the good information. Although I didn't serve in the Navy I, for some reason, have always been fascinated by the Bofors 40mm, particularly the quad mount. May I ask if the mount was being controlled by the director, did the director have control of all functions. Were the trainer and aimer just along for the ride? I could never remember which those two did what. Regards, Harley
  9. Welcome to the Confederacy crew Gary. I'm a bit ahead of you, working on the wales. I took a break from the hull construction and made the ship's wheel (Chuck's stuff) and the stove. After the Syren, Confederacy is, in deed, a large project. You're doing a nice job on producing your log too, pictures are first rate. Enjoy the adventure Regards, Harley
  10. I'm afraid Chuck S. is correct about the dark side. I just ordered lime for the Confederacy decking. Now tell me how I get enough will power to blacken the beautiful brass cannon that I just received. Cheers, Harley
  11. I am working on the Confederacy and was short of 1/16 x 5/32 strips for the wales. I was experiencing difficulty obtaining the basswood replacements (another story). I have always wondered what was so special about using other than kit supplied lumber. I was going to stick to the kit lumber and do my best. I happened to purchase some boxwood and pear from Crown just to experiment. Well brother and sister low experience shipwrights it only took one strip of planking with boxwood to understand why many of the more experienced builders use other than basswood. The boxwood was harder, kept sharp corners and was just a pleasure to work with. Looks good as it came from the vendor. I don't know how much of more expensive lumber I will use on Confederacy but I learned a valuable lesson. Regards, Harley
  12. Pompey, as a brother Confederacy builder I am enjoying browsing your log. I was looking at your beakhead bulkhead planking. Something didn't seem right. I checked further, the planking should be 1/8 x 1/32. I think yours is a bit wide. You have helped me find an oversight on my bulkhead, I goofed and used 1/8 x 1/16. If that is my biggest error I would be happy. Keep up the good work. Cheers, Harley
  13. Your Juno project is fascinating particularly when I am heavily into the Confederacy. It would be interesting to have some of your photos (very well done by the way) with a ruler along side the project. Regards, Harley
  14. Geetings Doris, Gary is right on with his suggestion of the Syren. See if you can hunt down a copy of the instructions for the Syren's big brother, the Confederacy. It takes a great manual and improves on it. I have gone that route so I can speak from experience. Some folks would suggest starting with something more simple. Get on Model Expo's email list. You will find that the kit prices vary a lot from week to week. Enjoy, Harley
  15. I think I'll always be a beginner. I've gone through most phases of model building and spent the last 4 years building the Syren which is completed. I think an important thing for a new builder to do, regardless of which ship they may chose to build, is to have a realistic outlook on their own skill level. It's easy to look at the beauties on this site and get discouraged because you can't match the skills of a craftsman who has been doing this for many, many years and has already made all the mistakes that the new builder will probably make. This is supposed to be fun. When it gets to be a chore, take a break. I adopted " an inch rule" which is how close can I get to a model before it starts looking unacceptable. Take a look at the whole model from a couple of feet away, it will probably look better than from a couple of inches. Another item comes to mind. In the time it takes to build one model your skills will probably improve so the things you did when you started don't look as good as you thought they did. You'll do better on the next ship. This website is wonderful for us beginners as long as we don't get intimidated. Turn off the rant now, cheers
  16. Great start. I just finished my Syren and the Confederacy box is calling me. Did you use the kit stem pieces? Thanks, Harley
  17. Welcome to the Syren clan Marsares. Your picture looks like a 2.5mm deadeye. I'm working with some of those now as part of the mainmast standing rigging. Take your time and enjoy your Syren project. There is a ton of good information here on MSW. Cheers, Harley
  18. The good and the bad. The good was that I did my first ratlines on my Syren's mainmast, portside. The rats were a bit too tight and caused the forward shroud to curve in a bit. I thought it was acceptable for my experience level. I used Neutral Ph adhesive to secure the knots not CA. On New Years Eve I even found an inebriated seaman who was willing to climb my rats even if they weren't finished-see attached. The bad, today I thought I would start the ratlines on the foremast while the knots on the main futtock stave set up. I checked to make sure I was using the correct rope. Then I checked again and again. Nuts, the rope I used on the main ratlines was a hair (literally) too large. It might pass but knew it was wrong. I ran a couple of line on the foremast and could clearly see my error. So I spent the last hour removing the "fat rats" and their knots. fortunately I didn't slice any shrouds. Thank goodness I didn't use CA and caught my mistake before I got any further into the project. Another learning experience--
  19. Thanks, I'm in the same boat so to speak, coming up on 41 years on a marriage to my best friend and she wants to buy me something for the shipyard. Maybe I'll just get some upgraded lumber.
  20. Greetings Augie, may I ask what, if any, power tools you have used on this project? Thanks, Harley
  21. Doris, this is my first opportunity to review your work, truly amazing. Thank you for sharing with us mere mortals.
  22. I'm about to start the ratlines on my Syren brig. I haven't been able to find the proper method to lash the sheer poles to the shrouds. Any advise would be appreciated. Thanks, Harley
  23. If I may ask Augie, what "wrong thickness" snuck up on you. That information might help those of us who are going to tackle the Confederacy in the future. I guess the good part is that you caught the error before installing the wales. Today will be a brighter day. Thanks, Harley
  24. Merry Christmas Augie, your workmanship continues to be inspirational. Can you share where you finally decided to use boxwood rather than the kit supplied lumber. Thanks, Harley
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