paul ron

ah correct! i forgot there are a variety of nail polishes out there. the uv cured, the traditional laquer based and gels, and water based. the laquer n uv cure types are removed with acetone nail polish remover. the uv cured is tougher so they let it soak in the acetone till it gets soft enough to peel n flake off. toxic smelling nail polish is the acetone based one for laquer types and will dissolve ca glues... $1.50 in the 99¢ stores.

nail polish remover.

but parts 1b and 1c are level. if the rib was low, then those parts wouldnt fit properly. we are talking about ribb #5 being too low? all the bottoms are even at the keel.

the deck steps down from the rear, then what looks low will step back up to the front deck?. .. 3 deck levels? does it have to bow up?.. what does the plan say? check this video...

lets see the next page? it looks right since the ribs are all seated in their slots and are all even at the keel. if its too low, you can add a strip of wood on top of the low rib to make the difference... but follow the plans. i doubt the kit is faulty. usually its the builder mistakes. miss number the ribbs?... cut the slots too deep? i like to read the entire instructions before starting so i can understand why things look wrong, but maybe not... the plans may make up that difference later.

it looks the same as the plan. whats the problem?

everthing on our models is prone to break and take out a slew of other things with it. the best thing to do is be more carefull. but thats easiest said than done. if you broke the piece so easy, its best to make it a bit more fortified so it wont break again. if you fix something so it will break, or at least you think it will be a controlled break... it will break again. you say you are concerned about it breaking the bowsprit. how about beefing up the bowsprit in that place too? my bowsprit on my clipper kept breaking at exactly the same place... a weak spot where a brass collar is fitted. it seems my clumsy arm kept catching the end of the bowsprit anytime i reached around the ship or turned the ship around to work on the otherside. all it took was the slightest touch and click, down she goes. i had it with gluing it each time in the same spot, also taking out the martingale with it where the tensioned rigging did most of the damage. i needed a better more robust repair. i cleaned the glue and the joint till it mated perfectly. i drilled a small hole in the centers of the halves, slightly oversized the pin i was going to use. my pin was the cut off shaft of a fishing hook. the reason for oversizing is so it can have room to center the mating halves. i used epoxy so it can fill the holes and secure the pin. i also did a better repair on the martingale so it too wont be damaged by the tensioned rigging.. i made it out of a bamboo toothpick. btw mine would break if you hit the rigging just right at any point in their travels. so a better fix has cured the delicate parts, but its not bullet proof! im sure its still a delicate part, but it will take a bit more than an little ooops to braek it now. with that, im also sure if i were to break it again, the break will be more severe and damage other parts. my other fix... red flags on the bowsprit and any other parts in danger. i also stopped reaching around or over the ship. roll up your sheeves and be more conscience of where you are working. good luck with your repairs.

yea we all had those oops moments. in fact we had a 5 page thread on oops moments complete with some very creative ways to repair them. i broke booms n bow sprits and many other parts by stupid accident so many times, i actually got good at fixing them. yup, reach over the ship and there goes the top mast and all its rigging you spent countless hours n days installing... snap in a blink of an eye! reach around the ship and off goes the bow sprit on the cuff of a sleeve... and its always at the same place. poke inside the rigging and there goes a rail, belays or stays. its not so bad if the damage was only the part, but it takes a load of other stuff with it. thats the price of working inside a spider web. i feel your pain brother.

are you talking about how to tie the sails to the yards or the associated control lines? bunts, leaches, clews, sheets... etc. to find these for your ship, you'd have to do the research. also scales makes a difference because these extra lines adds an enormous amount of belays in an already crowded rigging plan.

another overlooked possibility, when leaving the country of origin, they are fully loaded with cargo. it may be possible balast was picked up at other ports after loading and off loading along the way. also, im sure balast (logical conclusion) that has been dumped at various ports came from other parts of the trade routes so the balast doesnt necessarily have to be the country of origin. do you think they went scrounging new balast each time, or shared dumped balast?

how many coats is up to you. once you have a finish that pleases you, you're done. usually the wood sucks up the first, or even the second coat. be sure to let it dry completely between coats, then sand with a 600 grit to get the fuz down. .

it amazes me what exceptional work you guys do in such tight quarters. happy hollidays everyone.

elmers. makes a very fine finish, no shrinkage, can be watered down.

wow, stats, specs, charts n all. but... ive been using titebond or wood glue for the past 55+ years and can say without hesitation, not a single joint has come appart yet. so i find it hard to trust ca glue to last as long since i dont have any track record to compare. also ca glue out gasses for a long time.... which is very toxic as well as annoying when doing close work, burning eyes and skin irritations. besides... the acetone and other toxic waste involved doesnt sound like its better or advantageous to just using water for wood glues. are you wearing eye protection, gloves, a respirator rated for chemicals? soooo.... my question to all the ca users... what is your oldest project using ca glue?

i put my belt sander in my bench vice and square or round n shape my dowels to plan. then using a scraper i carefully finish them. its faster than the lathe, takes minutes to do. no centering, adjusting chucks n tool rests... etc.