CaptainSteve

Mischief managed. It was more difficult than I expected. The hook is in a little too far in the block and is blocking the hole near the hook on the blocks. It took some work but finally got the rigging through. Luckily the wire is soft and I was able to drill through it with a mini drill bit. I suspect I'm going to have this problem with more of my blocks with hooks installed. Live and learn.
 

I'm glad to see somebody gets some work out of their kids! What's your secret?
 

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate it!
 
I will be posting pictures of some of the wood to be sold next week over the weekend. All sales will be through the website. Emails are welcome, just please know that an immediate response may not be possible. Julia will be handling the orders as they come, and our son will be packaging them.
 
The pictures below are the whole crew. 

 

I'm sad for us who have used your wood, but happy that you've set the priorities.   As other's have said, "family first". 

I'm always sad to see hobby businesses close, but you seem to be doing this closing for all the right reasons. Enjoy and cherish the moments you have to spend with your children, they are irreplaceable. You can always start another business at another more opportune time if you wish.

Hi,
 
This is Jason from Crown Timberyard.  After 4 years of offering fine milled hardwoods to the model ship builder, musical instrument maker, woodworker, miniature artist, and hobbyist around the globe, it is time to close the virtual doors. In the last few years, my family has grown from 2 kids to 4, my career has gone from senior engineer to director of operations, and my volunteer commitments have grown. It has come to the point where if I am in the shop, I am not with the kids as they grow up.  As I am sure many of you know, that time doesn't last and doesn't come back. 
 
Since I can no longer offer the kind of service that I wish to provide and keep my commitments, it is time to close. 
 
On Monday morning, June 24th 2019, the store will be reopening to sell off what we have left. 
 
All items sold will be discounted and bundled. No custom orders, or regular mill work will be accepted. The sale will include the following items:
 
Packages of mixed strips Packages of mixed sheets Packages of Castello Boxwood sheets Packages of Swiss Pear sheets Packages of Walnut Sheets Packages of Holly sheets Packages of special large dimension sheets A once used (never for milling product) Byrnes Thickness Sander Small lumber including Boxwood, Swiss Pear, Cherry, Holly and More  
All packages are mixed dimensions and are great for stocking up on some great wood for cheap. No substitutions will be offered, and all sales will be final on a first come first serve basis. Shipping will be billed separately for each order due to the size and weight of all of these items. All items are in stock and will be shipped once shipping has been arranged.  
 
We also have a sizable stock of Castello Boxwood lumber that could be sold as a lot, or as individual billets. The lumber is 10/4 billets between 5 and 6.5 feet long and 4 to 7 inches wide. Approximately 100 -150 board feet are available. Serious inquiries only. 
 
We greatly appreciate all of the support that our customers have shown us over the past few years. You have all been great! I hope to return to the hobby by actually building some models and sharing the hobby with my kids.
 
Best,
 
Jason (Crown Timberyard)

I suggest anybody who wants to master bending wood, before they do anything else, read Bending Solid Wood to Form, a 1957 publication of the U.S. Department of Agriculture: https://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/usda/ah125.pdf There's really no point in "trying to reinvent the wheel" here, guys.
 
There are a few basics. In the sizes modelers need to bend, the task is an easy one. (In larger sizes, the rule of thumb is one hour in the steam box for each inch of thickness!) Remember that bending quality varies greatly with the particular wood species used. Hardwoods bend more easily than softwoods, as a general rule. "Green" (unseasoned) wood bends well. Dried wood, not so well. Even so, bending quality is a crap-shoot. It can vary even based on the location the wood was grown. You do your best with what you have to work with. Again, bending small stuff is a lot less hassle than bending thicker stock. 
 
The bad news is that the moisture content of the wood is a major determining factor is its bend-ability. Kiln-dried wood isn't good for bending and most all of what modelers will encounter will be kiln-dried. "Dry" is a relative term, however. It refers to the moisture content of the stock, not whether it's been soaked in water before bending! That moisture content has to be throughout the stock, not just on the outside. For the scientifically inclined, decent bending stock should have a moisture content of between twelve and twenty percent (of water by weight.) Air-dried stock stored at room temperature in average humidity should have suitable moisture content. 
 
Wood with a sufficient moisture content will be more "plastic," or bendable. If wood doesn't have sufficient moisture content, it can be steamed or soaked in boiling water to increase its moisture content (which takes time) and heat it. (The steam or boiling water is often more effective in transferring heat to the stock than in increasing overall moisture content, though.) Steaming or soaking is often necessary for larger pieces, but much less so for small stuff used in modeling. Generally speaking, you don't have to soak your planking material to bend it and have it stay put. All that usually needs be done is heat it through and through and hold it in position until it cools sufficiently to lose enough of its plasticity that it "sets."
 
In most every instance, it's about the heat, not the moisture. So, you should try to do your bending with dry heat, some sort of a heating iron or in the microwave, before getting involved in the complication and mess of steam and hot water. Use a clothing iron, a curling iron, or one of the commercial electric "plank benders."
 
When planking, do as Chuck Passaro says in some of his great build logs: first spile the plank accurately (cut it to a flat shape that will fit when bent.) You can read up on spiling in the "planking' instructions in the forum resources section. After you have the plank shaped, it should be bent to fit first before fastening it at all. The goal is to have a perfectly cut and bent plank that fits right where you want it. Some trimming may be required, or some further tweaking with the bending iron, but a properly cut and bent plank should be easily glued and fastened in place. You should not have to be trying to bend one end to fit while the other is already fastened. A pre-formed plank will also be much easier to clamp in place while the glue dries. Trying to counteract the spring of an unbent plank with a glue bond is a poor practice that often promises sprung planks down the road.
 
A heat source is a matter of personal preferance. I prefer my old Aeropicola plank bender pictured below. It has a "French curve" shaped heated head that permits bending a fair curve to whatever shape one wants. It also has a spring-loaded bail on the end under which the plank can be slipped to hold it while it is bent and/or twisted while the heat is applied. These two features, which I haven't seen on any of the other "plank benders" on the market, put it head and shoulders about the competition. Unfortunately, they are no longer made, but do come up on fleaBay occasionally.
 
With decent bending stock and sufficient heat, bending shouldn't be anything to intimidate the modelers starting out. It actually is rather satisfying work. Bending wood is the difference between "carpentry" and "boatbuilding!"
 
 
 
 
 

I often use the method of:
 
taper plank as required for position to be fitted, either fore or aft. Soak plank in hot water clamp in required position till dry remove ( should retain shape) then glue and clamp in place The only down side is if the model does not have enough bulkheads the plank will look to be stepped rather than a gradual curve. This is where shaping with an iron wins.

Yes, on my first two models I tried this. I did not like this method, it may have been my lack of skills, the wood type/thickness or not enough soak. If I had to use that method again I think i would cut the strips in to shorter pieces.
 
You could also remove the strip after it has dried on the hull - don't glue or fix permanently when wet, it should retain it's shape, and then soak the other end.

I use these hair curlers to do most of my plank bending. Have about five with different radius to make almost any bend.

Or use steam, you can even do it in the microwave, just wrap the wood in wet paper towels and nuke it on high. Then pin around a form and let cool. 

I use the same tool as Ulises.  One word of advice.... Do not under any circumstances use the Admiral's.  Either buy your own or better yet, buy her a new one and use her old one.

I use some round thingies women use to curl their hair. They come in different diameters. To me they work wonderful.

I have had some success adding the seizing to served lines but not tightening it. I could then carefully slide it into place with tweezers and tighten it then.

What he said.
 

A small strip of paper placed between the two parallel served standing parts to be lashed together will permit the served parts to slide against each other for adjustment after they are lashed, after which the small strip of paper can be pulled out and the serving shellacked to hold all in place. 

I just finish replacing a part of the deck...at home , not on the 74.
To synchronize 3 Profoto and 3 Canon flashs together, I got a module called Youngnuo YN622C. 
Here is a  picture  to verify that everthing works together and trying to light every part of the model at the same level.
 
Even if it is artificial light, color are very close to what we see. 
We can clearly see 2 tone of cherry wood; natural and  1 coat of tung oil.

Gaetan, 
This has been an education in more ways than just a ship.  Thanks.  

Lovely work Jeff. Out of curiosity, how did you anchor the guns to deck to achieve the taught rigging? 

Unconventional method of figuring out where the decks go on each of the bulkheads. 
 
Took the longitudinal lines plan, divided the plan into 38mm by  38mm squares and colored in some key areas. The decks are colored green. 
Created cardboard templates from each bulkhead. 
 
Y which are the numbers on the bottom of the plan and is from 0 to 100 (left to right) and X which are the numbers on the plan on the right side and is from 0 to 35 (bottom to the top). 

 
Lined up template for bulkhead 75 where Y is 75 and X is 10 and marked on the template where the deck intersects at these points.

 
Once all created the paper templates are transferred to bulkheads and with pencil mark where each part of the deck goes. 
 
Hope you understand what I am trying to explain. I do everything using math when building a ship. 
Marcus 

All bulkheads and spacers have been glued together. All bulkheads have been reinforced with extra wood. 

 
 
I have spent a considerable time copying some of the plans at twice the size and then with a glue stick putting them together. 


 
Paper template of each bulkhead so I can figure out how to place the decks. I will make a notch on the inside of the bulkheads. 

 
Question :
Three types of anchors x 2 total of 6. Where do I place all of them? It's going to be crowded at the bow. 
 
Marcus 

Belt sanded balsa blocks which are all 34mm wide and fit in between the bulkheads. 

I inherited this monstrosity from a cabinet maker. If I don't watch what I am doing the wood disappears in no time :-)
 
Balsa spacers in between the bulkheads. 

 
Added a notch on top of the bulkheads so they are all aligned with each other. Something I have not done before and it helps in keeping the bulkheads in a straight line. 

 
Started glueing the bulkheads to the balsa spacers 
Marcus 

Hi Marcus
 
Mmmmm, I reckon you’re gonna have a lot of fun putting this beauty together.  Lots of nice curves and shapliness in the hull to keep you busy.
 
No doubt, the final result will be well worth the effort.
 
Cheers. 
 
Patrick

Put all the bulkheads in a wooden clamp with computer foam in between them. This setup will give me an idea of the forms of the fluit. 

Side view 
 

Stern view 
 
 

Bow view 
 
The foam will be replaced with balsa. All the balsa will be 34mm long between each bulkhead and that is what is next. 
 
Creating the transom and where the tiller goes into the ship is going to be a difficult exercise. I am not so worried about the bow. 
When I build a ship the most difficult areas are the bow and the stern  
Marcus 
 

Finished rough cutting the 20 bulkheads out of 5mm thick Baltic birch. They will be carefully sanded to a width of around 8mm. 


 
The keel is in 2 pieces and will use N. Witsen book, the one Ab Hoving translated, to create this. 
Been looking through that same book and will use many of the examples in creating the various items for the fluit. This is a great way for me to learn how Dutch ships were built in the 17th century. 
 
Marcus