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

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

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

Another quick update
 
I started steaming and installing the ribs. As expected, beech responded wonderfully to wet heat becoming as pliable as boiled spaghetti. My steam box is working great and in no time I had bent half of the ribs.



I made a simple spacer to make sure the rib is placed at equal distances from the frames


Then I started screwing the ribs to the planks. 


Regards
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

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

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

Hi @Gregory
I do not come across any specific information, but these are my thoughts:
Probably transoms were made from a few pieces, edge to edge like the planking but thicker. It is much easier to find very wide short segments so maybe it would only take 3 pieces to make a Transom. Most of the transom is well above the water line so no caulking would be needed. I do not think any particular framing would be needed as usually there would be a sternpost or at least a knee, and also the planking, to keep the transom securely in place. In the boat I am building, each transom piece would be nailed to three planks on each side.
In more modern larger vessels, on top of the sternpost there are extra pieces of timber as the photo bellow shows. This would be easy enough to use also for boats and would result to a very strong transom. However in "The boats of men-of-war" by May, for a 22 ft long boat it states:
Transom: Broad or moulded at the upper part 3ft 9 in, thick or sided 3 inch, knees sided 2 3/4 in. 
No mention of framing.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It will still stretch. I found Mara threads very good alternative as suggested by Chuck. A lot of discussion in relevant threads.

The good quality cotton threads will produce excellent rope. The only problem is that if there is any tension, the rope will stretch. 

It will still stretch. I found Mara threads very good alternative as suggested by Chuck. A lot of discussion in relevant threads.

The good quality cotton threads will produce excellent rope. The only problem is that if there is any tension, the rope will stretch. 

Have a look at this. I actually made two of these benches. Made a large one and then an even larger. Very heavy, very solid.
 
 

Have a look at this. I actually made two of these benches. Made a large one and then an even larger. Very heavy, very solid.
 
 

Have a look at this. I actually made two of these benches. Made a large one and then an even larger. Very heavy, very solid.
 
 

Have a look at this. I actually made two of these benches. Made a large one and then an even larger. Very heavy, very solid.