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The capstan bars are roughed in--

 
I need to soften some of the transitions between the square end and the rounded part, but they are dry fit into the capstan head, and on deck--




 
They'll also need a coat of Tung oil finish when done.   
 
The list is getting smaller of what is still needed before stepping the masts and starting the rigging.  At this point I still need some inboard boarding steps, and I think I'll make some mast collars.  I am also contemplating redoing the gratings, with a tighter grid.
 
All for now,
Ron
 

Thanks Tom. I have a mill attachment for the lathe but I don't have a good way to hold and rotate the dowels when using the mill. I have a rotary table but it does not have a hole through the center so can only hold the dowel on the very end, which is nowhere near secure enough. I am a little worried about the fences on the tops but I wasn't sure how hard it would be to add them later. Hopefully I won't break them off too many times.
 
Just a quick update on the cutter. I drilled the holes in the deck and slid the pins under the supports in place. I added the oars, rudder, boat hooks, and grapple to the inside of the cutter too.
 

 
I am not sure how well that ladder works with the cutter in the way. Onto the anchors and upper yards.

The capstan bars are roughed in--

 
I need to soften some of the transitions between the square end and the rounded part, but they are dry fit into the capstan head, and on deck--




 
They'll also need a coat of Tung oil finish when done.   
 
The list is getting smaller of what is still needed before stepping the masts and starting the rigging.  At this point I still need some inboard boarding steps, and I think I'll make some mast collars.  I am also contemplating redoing the gratings, with a tighter grid.
 
All for now,
Ron
 

Update: 
 
I wanted to do 2 strakes with the dropplank at the bow and that difficult corner at the stern before I going to line off the hull.
So I did these yesterday and I am quite happy with the results for a first try. Found it challenging and didn't really know what I was doing regarding the drop plank, but
it looks okay to me. It needs a bit of sanding, but for now it's good. For the stern part...I had a really small gap there and gave myself permission to use some glue and sawdust to fill that up   It sits against the lowerside of the wales...so it won't be seen anyway  
 
Now trying to line off the hull...still feels a bit uncertain if it's right or not, but you don't know if you don't try  . Glad the tape does stick to the hull...did have great difficulty to stick it onto the MDF frames, but this goes well. I shall study a bit more the contemperary models to see the run of the planks.
 

The capstan bars are roughed in--

 
I need to soften some of the transitions between the square end and the rounded part, but they are dry fit into the capstan head, and on deck--




 
They'll also need a coat of Tung oil finish when done.   
 
The list is getting smaller of what is still needed before stepping the masts and starting the rigging.  At this point I still need some inboard boarding steps, and I think I'll make some mast collars.  I am also contemplating redoing the gratings, with a tighter grid.
 
All for now,
Ron
 

The capstan bars are roughed in--

 
I need to soften some of the transitions between the square end and the rounded part, but they are dry fit into the capstan head, and on deck--




 
They'll also need a coat of Tung oil finish when done.   
 
The list is getting smaller of what is still needed before stepping the masts and starting the rigging.  At this point I still need some inboard boarding steps, and I think I'll make some mast collars.  I am also contemplating redoing the gratings, with a tighter grid.
 
All for now,
Ron
 

I’ve faired most of the hull except for below the wales, the reason is that I want to plank the upper sides and make sure they are stable and epoxied before I turn the model on its side to fair the lower sides, so I’ve faired below the wales a decent amount. The bow and the counters are faired as well.
 
The upper planking where all the moldings and friezes go is laser cut basswood, it has etched reference marks for the QG’s, moldings, fenders and chesstrees. The one you see on the model now is only a test piece and  not the final design. 
 
The lower counter will be a laser cut piece of basswood that will also double as a fairing guide for the counter structure, you can see I used a paper template, I had to make about 6 of them before it finally fit right. So the wood one is coming soon. 


Now for the resin printed QG’s, this was an ambitious project but I thought why not give it a shot and so far I’m quite happy with how they fit. I wanted to attempt this because as I was designing laser files for a two deck QG out of wood, I just felt there were too many ways for it to go wrong if one isn’t careful and spoil the model, thankfully this is going to work and save a lot of trouble.

Now once you fit the QG’s and everything lines up then they need to come off and be finished. You will have to paint them, add the roof tiles, friezes, scraped moldings, windows and a few other decorations and when complete they should be indistinguishable from built up wooden ones. I’ll go into more detail later about how to install them but they will require a little finesse, but not much. 



I have some boxwood on order and will start producing the laser files and testing  for the windows. Also I’m going to begin adding the upper and lower wales, this will be important to get the planking right.
 
Thanks for looking in.
 
JJ

Thanks Joe, and all looking in.
 
The hammock cranes and cloth are done.   It was more work than I anticipated, but I think it was worth it.  I got some practice making jigs and drilling small holes on the mill, and I learned about Silkspan.
 
Here one side is done, and the other has been "strung".  I was tempted to leave it this way, but elected to complete both sides--

 
Done.   Work on the capstan bars continues--

 
Knotted boarding ropes hang over the boarding steps.  I don't know why Lieutenant Woolsey is falling all over the deck in the previous photos, but he's found his feet here.  I'll secure the ropes with a dot of glue on one of the lower steps, but for now the clips make them hang straight and give the idea--

 
I am reminded of something I read about Oneida being reported by an early crew member (I think) as being a "warm cozy" ship.  They were probably talking about below deck, but the more enclosed and protected feeling with the hammocks in place on the rails does give me that impression--
   

 
All for now,
Ron

Thanks Joe, and all looking in.
 
The hammock cranes and cloth are done.   It was more work than I anticipated, but I think it was worth it.  I got some practice making jigs and drilling small holes on the mill, and I learned about Silkspan.
 
Here one side is done, and the other has been "strung".  I was tempted to leave it this way, but elected to complete both sides--

 
Done.   Work on the capstan bars continues--

 
Knotted boarding ropes hang over the boarding steps.  I don't know why Lieutenant Woolsey is falling all over the deck in the previous photos, but he's found his feet here.  I'll secure the ropes with a dot of glue on one of the lower steps, but for now the clips make them hang straight and give the idea--

 
I am reminded of something I read about Oneida being reported by an early crew member (I think) as being a "warm cozy" ship.  They were probably talking about below deck, but the more enclosed and protected feeling with the hammocks in place on the rails does give me that impression--
   

 
All for now,
Ron

Thanks Joe, and all looking in.
 
The hammock cranes and cloth are done.   It was more work than I anticipated, but I think it was worth it.  I got some practice making jigs and drilling small holes on the mill, and I learned about Silkspan.
 
Here one side is done, and the other has been "strung".  I was tempted to leave it this way, but elected to complete both sides--

 
Done.   Work on the capstan bars continues--

 
Knotted boarding ropes hang over the boarding steps.  I don't know why Lieutenant Woolsey is falling all over the deck in the previous photos, but he's found his feet here.  I'll secure the ropes with a dot of glue on one of the lower steps, but for now the clips make them hang straight and give the idea--

 
I am reminded of something I read about Oneida being reported by an early crew member (I think) as being a "warm cozy" ship.  They were probably talking about below deck, but the more enclosed and protected feeling with the hammocks in place on the rails does give me that impression--
   

 
All for now,
Ron

Thanks Joe, and all looking in.
 
The hammock cranes and cloth are done.   It was more work than I anticipated, but I think it was worth it.  I got some practice making jigs and drilling small holes on the mill, and I learned about Silkspan.
 
Here one side is done, and the other has been "strung".  I was tempted to leave it this way, but elected to complete both sides--

 
Done.   Work on the capstan bars continues--

 
Knotted boarding ropes hang over the boarding steps.  I don't know why Lieutenant Woolsey is falling all over the deck in the previous photos, but he's found his feet here.  I'll secure the ropes with a dot of glue on one of the lower steps, but for now the clips make them hang straight and give the idea--

 
I am reminded of something I read about Oneida being reported by an early crew member (I think) as being a "warm cozy" ship.  They were probably talking about below deck, but the more enclosed and protected feeling with the hammocks in place on the rails does give me that impression--
   

 
All for now,
Ron

Congratulations, Matiz, on your beautiful model.  I will look to it often for inspiration.
 
Ron

Thanks Joe, and all looking in.
 
The hammock cranes and cloth are done.   It was more work than I anticipated, but I think it was worth it.  I got some practice making jigs and drilling small holes on the mill, and I learned about Silkspan.
 
Here one side is done, and the other has been "strung".  I was tempted to leave it this way, but elected to complete both sides--

 
Done.   Work on the capstan bars continues--

 
Knotted boarding ropes hang over the boarding steps.  I don't know why Lieutenant Woolsey is falling all over the deck in the previous photos, but he's found his feet here.  I'll secure the ropes with a dot of glue on one of the lower steps, but for now the clips make them hang straight and give the idea--

 
I am reminded of something I read about Oneida being reported by an early crew member (I think) as being a "warm cozy" ship.  They were probably talking about below deck, but the more enclosed and protected feeling with the hammocks in place on the rails does give me that impression--
   

 
All for now,
Ron

It was mentioned earlier that it's best to sand pieces prior to removing the from the billets. The way I do it is with a sanding block. I use 180 the 320 grit sandpaper. It's self-adhesive. It is also handy for finish sanding completed pieces like the stem. I usually use Minwax wipe on poly. My local store was out but they did have Watco satin wipe on poly. I've used other Watco products and liked them so I gave it a try. It's a little thicker than the Minwax but covers nice and looks the same.
 


 
Next I'll start working on the keel. Oh this is fun!

Thanks Joe, and all looking in.
 
The hammock cranes and cloth are done.   It was more work than I anticipated, but I think it was worth it.  I got some practice making jigs and drilling small holes on the mill, and I learned about Silkspan.
 
Here one side is done, and the other has been "strung".  I was tempted to leave it this way, but elected to complete both sides--

 
Done.   Work on the capstan bars continues--

 
Knotted boarding ropes hang over the boarding steps.  I don't know why Lieutenant Woolsey is falling all over the deck in the previous photos, but he's found his feet here.  I'll secure the ropes with a dot of glue on one of the lower steps, but for now the clips make them hang straight and give the idea--

 
I am reminded of something I read about Oneida being reported by an early crew member (I think) as being a "warm cozy" ship.  They were probably talking about below deck, but the more enclosed and protected feeling with the hammocks in place on the rails does give me that impression--
   

 
All for now,
Ron

Thanks Joe, and all looking in.
 
The hammock cranes and cloth are done.   It was more work than I anticipated, but I think it was worth it.  I got some practice making jigs and drilling small holes on the mill, and I learned about Silkspan.
 
Here one side is done, and the other has been "strung".  I was tempted to leave it this way, but elected to complete both sides--

 
Done.   Work on the capstan bars continues--

 
Knotted boarding ropes hang over the boarding steps.  I don't know why Lieutenant Woolsey is falling all over the deck in the previous photos, but he's found his feet here.  I'll secure the ropes with a dot of glue on one of the lower steps, but for now the clips make them hang straight and give the idea--

 
I am reminded of something I read about Oneida being reported by an early crew member (I think) as being a "warm cozy" ship.  They were probably talking about below deck, but the more enclosed and protected feeling with the hammocks in place on the rails does give me that impression--
   

 
All for now,
Ron

Congratulations, Matiz, on your beautiful model.  I will look to it often for inspiration.
 
Ron

I find it hard to believe there is a rat in a ship this clean. 😆

I find it hard to believe there is a rat in a ship this clean. 😆

I find it hard to believe there is a rat in a ship this clean. 😆

I find it hard to believe there is a rat in a ship this clean. 😆

More hammock crane work.
 
I decided I needed a better way to make the modeling clay form for the hammock covering cloth.   I had just kind of rolled it out and mashed it into rough shape, but it was a little TOO rough and varied in height and thickness.  So I made a mold out of scrap wood.  This is the length I need for the forward sections.  The previous clay form and removed covering paper are above it--

 
Then I mashed the clay into one side of the mold--
 
And clamped the outer mold piece against it.  There are spacers at the end to make the right thickness, and I used my calipers to make sure it was the same width at the middle.  They also worked as a clamp.  I mashed additional clay into the top where needed--

 
Then scraped the top smooth--

 
This gave me a piece of clay that was uniform in height and thickness--


 
I ran a finger along each side of the top to round and smooth it--

 
New pieces of Silkspan were moistened and folded around it--

 
When this dried, I tucked and glued the loose ends at the bottom, and let that dry--

 
Here it is fit into place--


 
 
I am much happier with this attempt.   It may be more uniform than it really should be, but it will be easy to go back and make it a little "lumpy" if I decide it needs it.  Here's a view from inboard--

 
As I finish up the hammocks I'm adding the capstan bars to the capstan.   It's always one of the things on a model that catches your eye, and I've been waiting a long time to add this touch!   I cut some blanks, and test fit a few times to get the length I thought was appropriate.  They look pretty chunky, but they haven't been tapered or rounded yet, hence they are also not glued to the capstan yet--

 
I numbered each hole and bar on the underside just in case it matters which one goes where--

 
As the afternoon light starts to fade--

 
That's all for now.
 
Ron
 
 

I find it hard to believe there is a rat in a ship this clean. 😆

I find it hard to believe there is a rat in a ship this clean. 😆

I find it hard to believe there is a rat in a ship this clean. 😆