vaddoc

Dear all
 
Thank you for your likes and for visiting. I certainly have missed MSW!
 
@Bedford I will seal the wood Bedford both inside and out. I doubt though this will stop the beech changing its dimensions and I am certain the paint will crack along the plank edges. But it's ok!
 
@Wintergreen I will paint the hull Hakan and I ll fill the few dimples at the bow. Not sure if it will look authentic though! I was actually thinking of using enamel paint for this boat not sure if the wood moving makes it a worse or better choice.
 
In the last two months the only thing I have been able to get done is sanding of the hull. But the amount of sanding needed has been epic: starting at 60 grit, then 80, 100, 120, 180 and finally 240. It is a big girl and both the filler and beech wood are hard so hard work.
 
The photos bellow show the hull as it is after the 240 grit sanding. I ll do a bit more filling, then sand to 320 grit, seal and re-sand to 320. The hull will be painted after the interior is complete so that it is rigid.



The hull is very smooth and started to reflect light. A long way to go but it is getting there.
 
Regards
Vaddoc
 

The small proxon one is very good. Very precise, very robust, small foot print. Combined with cheap carbide drills is a wonderful tool.

The small proxon one is very good. Very precise, very robust, small foot print. Combined with cheap carbide drills is a wonderful tool.

The small proxon one is very good. Very precise, very robust, small foot print. Combined with cheap carbide drills is a wonderful tool.

Dear all
 
It's been almost two month since my last post. I have been working on the boat when life permitted - which was not too often.
But even so, there has been progress.
To start with, all the screws have been replaced with tree nails. Unscrew the screw, re-drill the hole by hand, dip the tree nail in glue and insert in the whole, wipe the excess glue and trim the nail - then repeat many hundreds of times. 
 
Then, I started filling the large gaps between the planks with filler, both from the outside and the inside. It is a shame really, these gaps are due to the shrinkage of the wood. When I cut the planks they were tight against each other. However, beech really has a tremendous movement in service and huge changes in dimension with changes in moisture. I will not be using beech again!
 
So here is how the hull looked like after the filler liberally applied. Not an elegant sight!




Then I started sanding inside. The little Proxon pen sander was very helpful.

Then I started sanding the outer hull. This is how one side looks, this is with 80 grit. Beech is very hard wood. There is a dimple in one of the planks at the bow. I think I ll paint this hull so it will be filled.


Now, just to show how much the beech moves, this is the hull of the Launch. There are cracks everywhere! I think I will not repair it, I ll just leave it as is.



Till next time
 
Vaddoc
 

Dear all
 
Thank you for your likes. 
Indeed Bedford, there are some tasks in model building that are certainly therapeutic!
 
So the first bunch of nails came out just about acceptable, still trying to standardise the process and solve issues.

However, from then on things went much better and lovely tree nails produced

This is about 2000 nails. I ll make another 1000, and since I am at it I ll process that slice of cherry for future use. Then I ll be ready to start replacing screws.

I had make a thread on making nails, I ll update that as well.
 
Regards
Vaddoc

Well, it has been so long since my last post, I had to look to find my log!
 
So a lot of things have come to pass: I lost some more weight, gained a belt in Tae Kwon Do, injured my hamstring and converted to an electric car to name a few. In the shipyard though, progress has been far more modest - I have been very busy lately.
 
I finished all ribs but the foremost one. This was left in place until the screws at the stem are replaced with tree nails. There were a few ribs that needed a lot of twisting and bending but steaming the ribs worked miracles. Most of the ribs are beech but I think I must have mixed my strips a bit and some birch and alder may have sneaked in.
Also, I think I should have had more cant ribs at the bow - it's ok though




So, each screw holding the plank to the temporary frame had to be removed, the rib installed, the hole re-drilled from the outside in, through the rib now, and a new screw inserted from the inside to push the rib against the planks. 13 planks x 2 sides x 2 screws each x 32 ribs( +stem) + a few here and there = 1700 screws.
 
So, 1700 screws to attach the planks to the temporary frames, then another 1700 to attach the ribs to the planks. But now, all these screws need to be removed and replaced with tree nails. So we need 1700 tree nails + wastage.
 
I have a fair few left from other projects but there is no consistency in colour, material and size. So I need to make them. The photo bellow shows my tree nail making station:

Now, I have made many thousands tree nails using the needle method but I really struggled. The needle burned the wood, the nails constantly broke off inside the needle, couldn't find the right size needle, in short mayhem. I spend a lot of time experimenting and finally got things to work. These are the tree nails I made today, ready to be released by aggressively sanding the underside. I think there are about 600 or so.

Every missing nail was a blockage in the needle that had to be cleared.
So, these were the changes I made that fixed the problem: I used a needle with thin wall. I slowed the speed of the drill press from high to medium (low speed led to breakages). I realised the wood was too dry so I soaked it in water overnight and allowed it to dry. Finally, I made sure the end of the needle was sharp.
 
Now, the best nails are made from hard wood with straight grain. This is the wood I am using (slices already soaked):

The right wood is cherry. Very nice wood, I ve already made thousands of nails from these wood but lately it has been playing up. The wood on the left is either Howthorn (most likely) or apricot (I had two logs but I could find only one in the garage, so it is either or). It is a hard wood though so it does not matter.
(The little piece of wood at the bottom of the photo is indeed apricot. I tried a slice but it is too dry and did not work.)
 
So, next few sessions in the shipyard will be devoted to tree nails. 
 
Best wished
 
Vaddoc

A quick update. Little progress due to fevers and aching throats with the whole family out of action. Not Covid!
A few pics, I think it is going reasonably well.

Dear all
 
Many thanks for your likes and good words!
Planking continues, I am making an effort to get the planks to sit nicely without big gaps. It seems to be going well so far and the most difficult planks are behind me. I did not have to remake any plank, they all came out fine on the first attempt. 
 
One thing that surprised me was the amount of adjustment I had to do on the frames. The two more forward and the two more aft frames had to be trimmed quite heavily, despite my CAD drawings looking good. I am not sure why, however: the two forward frames were the ones I had problems with at the drawing stage and I suspect I may have sanded the bevels at the Transom wrongly. 
 
It does not matter though as the planks do act as batens and show where wood needs to be taken off to have a fair curve. I think it is all fixed now.
 
A few pics:
 
All planks up to the level of Transom finished. The next plank sits at an angle at the transom and needs extra care to sit handsomely.




These are the paper templates for the next plank. 

And the process is repeated. This is a difficult plank but I think it is coming out fine and fits well with the previous plank on both sides.






This is how I steam my planks now, I just stick them in the kettle for a few seconds and then immediately place on the boat. The beech will take any shape with ease.

Till next time
 
Vaddoc

It has been a very long time since my last post, progress is at snail pace but at least things are moving along.
 
I had some equipment issues: My Dremel moto saw suddenly died. It had 8 years of continuous hard use. I opened it, cleaned it, repacked the bearings with grease and put it back together. Still dead. I suspect the brushes are gone but I thought best to get another one. I like it very much due to small footprint and the ability to take side cutting blades.

The garboard planks are in place, so I started work on the first broad plank. It is much easier to use scarfed planks than very long single piece ones and I will stagger the scarfs.
So here it goes:




So far, the time invested on the 3D plans pays off. The distances seem identical on both sides and the two plank halves are identical.

Planking continues



I switched to 1 mm card, much better than the 2 mm I was using




The plank halves are not too curved and I don't think they ll get any worse. They would have needed very narrow blanks.



Now, I am paying much more attention cutting the plank in this boat than I did on the Launch. The planks are sanded to line, with the disc sander on the convex edge, with hand on the concave edge. The result is very close fitting planks so far:

The twist at the bow is pretty acute, I hope it is not going to get worse. Just wetting the beech though is enough to get the wood to fall into place. Interestingly, I had to trim the second frame a bit for the plank to sit nicely, exactly the same area that I had problem during my lofting. 


The beauty of the hull slowly starts to emerge


I used a sander to trim the bow end of the second plank, much more accurate result

It is getting there slowly

With the hand held belt sander, the scarfs are very easy to make

The bow twist is indeed significant
And a final photo, boats are beautiful things.

Till next time
 
Vaddoc

Dear all
 
It's been almost two month since my last post. I have been working on the boat when life permitted - which was not too often.
But even so, there has been progress.
To start with, all the screws have been replaced with tree nails. Unscrew the screw, re-drill the hole by hand, dip the tree nail in glue and insert in the whole, wipe the excess glue and trim the nail - then repeat many hundreds of times. 
 
Then, I started filling the large gaps between the planks with filler, both from the outside and the inside. It is a shame really, these gaps are due to the shrinkage of the wood. When I cut the planks they were tight against each other. However, beech really has a tremendous movement in service and huge changes in dimension with changes in moisture. I will not be using beech again!
 
So here is how the hull looked like after the filler liberally applied. Not an elegant sight!




Then I started sanding inside. The little Proxon pen sander was very helpful.

Then I started sanding the outer hull. This is how one side looks, this is with 80 grit. Beech is very hard wood. There is a dimple in one of the planks at the bow. I think I ll paint this hull so it will be filled.


Now, just to show how much the beech moves, this is the hull of the Launch. There are cracks everywhere! I think I will not repair it, I ll just leave it as is.



Till next time
 
Vaddoc
 

Dear all
 
It's been almost two month since my last post. I have been working on the boat when life permitted - which was not too often.
But even so, there has been progress.
To start with, all the screws have been replaced with tree nails. Unscrew the screw, re-drill the hole by hand, dip the tree nail in glue and insert in the whole, wipe the excess glue and trim the nail - then repeat many hundreds of times. 
 
Then, I started filling the large gaps between the planks with filler, both from the outside and the inside. It is a shame really, these gaps are due to the shrinkage of the wood. When I cut the planks they were tight against each other. However, beech really has a tremendous movement in service and huge changes in dimension with changes in moisture. I will not be using beech again!
 
So here is how the hull looked like after the filler liberally applied. Not an elegant sight!




Then I started sanding inside. The little Proxon pen sander was very helpful.

Then I started sanding the outer hull. This is how one side looks, this is with 80 grit. Beech is very hard wood. There is a dimple in one of the planks at the bow. I think I ll paint this hull so it will be filled.


Now, just to show how much the beech moves, this is the hull of the Launch. There are cracks everywhere! I think I will not repair it, I ll just leave it as is.



Till next time
 
Vaddoc
 

Dear all
 
It's been almost two month since my last post. I have been working on the boat when life permitted - which was not too often.
But even so, there has been progress.
To start with, all the screws have been replaced with tree nails. Unscrew the screw, re-drill the hole by hand, dip the tree nail in glue and insert in the whole, wipe the excess glue and trim the nail - then repeat many hundreds of times. 
 
Then, I started filling the large gaps between the planks with filler, both from the outside and the inside. It is a shame really, these gaps are due to the shrinkage of the wood. When I cut the planks they were tight against each other. However, beech really has a tremendous movement in service and huge changes in dimension with changes in moisture. I will not be using beech again!
 
So here is how the hull looked like after the filler liberally applied. Not an elegant sight!




Then I started sanding inside. The little Proxon pen sander was very helpful.

Then I started sanding the outer hull. This is how one side looks, this is with 80 grit. Beech is very hard wood. There is a dimple in one of the planks at the bow. I think I ll paint this hull so it will be filled.


Now, just to show how much the beech moves, this is the hull of the Launch. There are cracks everywhere! I think I will not repair it, I ll just leave it as is.



Till next time
 
Vaddoc
 

A couple of things on epoxy Mark:
It can be very messy, uncured epoxy though can be cleaned with vinegar (Epoxy is alkaline)
Different epoxies can be very different, some flexible and some not, however they are generally all brittle. Epoxy thickened with something (I use gypsum) is far stronger. It also fills gaps very well.
In cold weather, if the 2 parts become very thick, a few secs in a microwave restores them.

Dear all
 
It's been almost two month since my last post. I have been working on the boat when life permitted - which was not too often.
But even so, there has been progress.
To start with, all the screws have been replaced with tree nails. Unscrew the screw, re-drill the hole by hand, dip the tree nail in glue and insert in the whole, wipe the excess glue and trim the nail - then repeat many hundreds of times. 
 
Then, I started filling the large gaps between the planks with filler, both from the outside and the inside. It is a shame really, these gaps are due to the shrinkage of the wood. When I cut the planks they were tight against each other. However, beech really has a tremendous movement in service and huge changes in dimension with changes in moisture. I will not be using beech again!
 
So here is how the hull looked like after the filler liberally applied. Not an elegant sight!




Then I started sanding inside. The little Proxon pen sander was very helpful.

Then I started sanding the outer hull. This is how one side looks, this is with 80 grit. Beech is very hard wood. There is a dimple in one of the planks at the bow. I think I ll paint this hull so it will be filled.


Now, just to show how much the beech moves, this is the hull of the Launch. There are cracks everywhere! I think I will not repair it, I ll just leave it as is.



Till next time
 
Vaddoc
 

Dear all
 
It's been almost two month since my last post. I have been working on the boat when life permitted - which was not too often.
But even so, there has been progress.
To start with, all the screws have been replaced with tree nails. Unscrew the screw, re-drill the hole by hand, dip the tree nail in glue and insert in the whole, wipe the excess glue and trim the nail - then repeat many hundreds of times. 
 
Then, I started filling the large gaps between the planks with filler, both from the outside and the inside. It is a shame really, these gaps are due to the shrinkage of the wood. When I cut the planks they were tight against each other. However, beech really has a tremendous movement in service and huge changes in dimension with changes in moisture. I will not be using beech again!
 
So here is how the hull looked like after the filler liberally applied. Not an elegant sight!




Then I started sanding inside. The little Proxon pen sander was very helpful.

Then I started sanding the outer hull. This is how one side looks, this is with 80 grit. Beech is very hard wood. There is a dimple in one of the planks at the bow. I think I ll paint this hull so it will be filled.


Now, just to show how much the beech moves, this is the hull of the Launch. There are cracks everywhere! I think I will not repair it, I ll just leave it as is.



Till next time
 
Vaddoc
 

Dear all
 
It's been almost two month since my last post. I have been working on the boat when life permitted - which was not too often.
But even so, there has been progress.
To start with, all the screws have been replaced with tree nails. Unscrew the screw, re-drill the hole by hand, dip the tree nail in glue and insert in the whole, wipe the excess glue and trim the nail - then repeat many hundreds of times. 
 
Then, I started filling the large gaps between the planks with filler, both from the outside and the inside. It is a shame really, these gaps are due to the shrinkage of the wood. When I cut the planks they were tight against each other. However, beech really has a tremendous movement in service and huge changes in dimension with changes in moisture. I will not be using beech again!
 
So here is how the hull looked like after the filler liberally applied. Not an elegant sight!




Then I started sanding inside. The little Proxon pen sander was very helpful.

Then I started sanding the outer hull. This is how one side looks, this is with 80 grit. Beech is very hard wood. There is a dimple in one of the planks at the bow. I think I ll paint this hull so it will be filled.


Now, just to show how much the beech moves, this is the hull of the Launch. There are cracks everywhere! I think I will not repair it, I ll just leave it as is.



Till next time
 
Vaddoc
 

Dear all
 
It's been almost two month since my last post. I have been working on the boat when life permitted - which was not too often.
But even so, there has been progress.
To start with, all the screws have been replaced with tree nails. Unscrew the screw, re-drill the hole by hand, dip the tree nail in glue and insert in the whole, wipe the excess glue and trim the nail - then repeat many hundreds of times. 
 
Then, I started filling the large gaps between the planks with filler, both from the outside and the inside. It is a shame really, these gaps are due to the shrinkage of the wood. When I cut the planks they were tight against each other. However, beech really has a tremendous movement in service and huge changes in dimension with changes in moisture. I will not be using beech again!
 
So here is how the hull looked like after the filler liberally applied. Not an elegant sight!




Then I started sanding inside. The little Proxon pen sander was very helpful.

Then I started sanding the outer hull. This is how one side looks, this is with 80 grit. Beech is very hard wood. There is a dimple in one of the planks at the bow. I think I ll paint this hull so it will be filled.


Now, just to show how much the beech moves, this is the hull of the Launch. There are cracks everywhere! I think I will not repair it, I ll just leave it as is.



Till next time
 
Vaddoc
 

Dear all
 
It's been almost two month since my last post. I have been working on the boat when life permitted - which was not too often.
But even so, there has been progress.
To start with, all the screws have been replaced with tree nails. Unscrew the screw, re-drill the hole by hand, dip the tree nail in glue and insert in the whole, wipe the excess glue and trim the nail - then repeat many hundreds of times. 
 
Then, I started filling the large gaps between the planks with filler, both from the outside and the inside. It is a shame really, these gaps are due to the shrinkage of the wood. When I cut the planks they were tight against each other. However, beech really has a tremendous movement in service and huge changes in dimension with changes in moisture. I will not be using beech again!
 
So here is how the hull looked like after the filler liberally applied. Not an elegant sight!




Then I started sanding inside. The little Proxon pen sander was very helpful.

Then I started sanding the outer hull. This is how one side looks, this is with 80 grit. Beech is very hard wood. There is a dimple in one of the planks at the bow. I think I ll paint this hull so it will be filled.


Now, just to show how much the beech moves, this is the hull of the Launch. There are cracks everywhere! I think I will not repair it, I ll just leave it as is.



Till next time
 
Vaddoc
 

Dear all
 
It's been almost two month since my last post. I have been working on the boat when life permitted - which was not too often.
But even so, there has been progress.
To start with, all the screws have been replaced with tree nails. Unscrew the screw, re-drill the hole by hand, dip the tree nail in glue and insert in the whole, wipe the excess glue and trim the nail - then repeat many hundreds of times. 
 
Then, I started filling the large gaps between the planks with filler, both from the outside and the inside. It is a shame really, these gaps are due to the shrinkage of the wood. When I cut the planks they were tight against each other. However, beech really has a tremendous movement in service and huge changes in dimension with changes in moisture. I will not be using beech again!
 
So here is how the hull looked like after the filler liberally applied. Not an elegant sight!




Then I started sanding inside. The little Proxon pen sander was very helpful.

Then I started sanding the outer hull. This is how one side looks, this is with 80 grit. Beech is very hard wood. There is a dimple in one of the planks at the bow. I think I ll paint this hull so it will be filled.


Now, just to show how much the beech moves, this is the hull of the Launch. There are cracks everywhere! I think I will not repair it, I ll just leave it as is.



Till next time
 
Vaddoc
 

A couple of things on epoxy Mark:
It can be very messy, uncured epoxy though can be cleaned with vinegar (Epoxy is alkaline)
Different epoxies can be very different, some flexible and some not, however they are generally all brittle. Epoxy thickened with something (I use gypsum) is far stronger. It also fills gaps very well.
In cold weather, if the 2 parts become very thick, a few secs in a microwave restores them.

What a wonderful way to describe modelling! These last few weeks I seem to spend more time on my knees looking for pieces on the floor than on my stool.

A couple of things on epoxy Mark:
It can be very messy, uncured epoxy though can be cleaned with vinegar (Epoxy is alkaline)
Different epoxies can be very different, some flexible and some not, however they are generally all brittle. Epoxy thickened with something (I use gypsum) is far stronger. It also fills gaps very well.
In cold weather, if the 2 parts become very thick, a few secs in a microwave restores them.

A couple of things on epoxy Mark:
It can be very messy, uncured epoxy though can be cleaned with vinegar (Epoxy is alkaline)
Different epoxies can be very different, some flexible and some not, however they are generally all brittle. Epoxy thickened with something (I use gypsum) is far stronger. It also fills gaps very well.
In cold weather, if the 2 parts become very thick, a few secs in a microwave restores them.

A couple of things on epoxy Mark:
It can be very messy, uncured epoxy though can be cleaned with vinegar (Epoxy is alkaline)
Different epoxies can be very different, some flexible and some not, however they are generally all brittle. Epoxy thickened with something (I use gypsum) is far stronger. It also fills gaps very well.
In cold weather, if the 2 parts become very thick, a few secs in a microwave restores them.