Aussie048

Thank you for your interest, sailor12...
 
And here She is
 

 

 
From distance with weak camera, She seems to look as decent model

Ahoy Aussie
 
I started with round toothpicks but now use anything I can fit in the Dremel chuck. The toothpick is a perfect size however.  Just cut your choice of wood into strips 2mm by 2mm and and about the length of a toothpick then plug them into the chuck. I generally use the largest collet in the chuck.. Then start pushing them through the draw-plate on the flat side. The length and how many treenails will be determined by your wood choice and the size of the treenail you want. I have actually used non wood items too. . With softer woods you might only be able to do enough for one treenail at a time.  I can push hardwoods through about an inch all the way down to the smallest hole but usually don't. Its just not worth the effort. Once I install a few treenails the wood just goes back in the Dremel for another round. I make a few, install a few, and then make some more. Once you find your rhythm you can do quite a few in a very short amount of time.  
 
When I make the treenails out of strips I usually have a piece of sandpaper near by. Once I turn on the Dremel it only takes a second to put a point on the wood to help guide the first pass. I also use the flex shaft but have made them with out it. 

Ahoy Wally
 
I use a Dremel. Adds warp drive to the draw plate 
 
The holes you drill should be slightly larger then the treenails. Without glue they should slide right in and come out with ease. Dilute wood glue, dip the treenail and send it home. The water will cause the wood to swell and make for a tight fit. once dry I use a pair of sprue cutters to snip them off. Then sand. 
 
Remember: Your kit is not for testing. That's what all those scraps are for. 

Oh how time flies when we're having fun.....
 
Ok.. got the shop back into shipyard mode and I'm working on the gunports.   I have to thin the frames down some (to 1/16" at the ports) so that their wide enough... Done!!!!
 
I then have to put in the sills, paying particular attention to the location at each end of the each sill.  I still check each one.  So far, 6 have been done.   I also check each one with check tool made from some yellowheart.  Actually not made.  Turns out the pen blank I bought as a sample to see what yellowheart looked like was about 1/64" inch too big.  A quick bit of sanding and it's perfect for the job.
 
I'm scratching my head as Hahn made most of his ships in 1:96 and just a few in bigger scales.  How the heck did thin the frames for the ports or get the level of detail he got, I'll never know.
 
Anyway.. the pic.  And like the rest of us, right now I'm hating the macro setting.       
 

Trying to fit the burton pendants...
I used black line 1mm from the kit and passed it three times on natural wax....
The wax's debris are inevitable (?) especially on the black rope...
Last pic after the debridement and a light black paint...

As I am not working this weekend for a change,I have decided to concentrate on big structural stuff and leave the gratings for the limited time I have on weeknights.
After a thorough rub down of the poly on deck spirketing and gunports I have made a start on the deck beams.Incidentally,the varnished areas have now had nine coats of poly,'knocked back' every three coats.There will be another coat applied before using whichever treenailing method I employ,if any,flatted again and then the final coat.
For the deck beams,I have borrowed a method from Russian master Dimitry Shevelev.The beams slot through the sides of the hull.This allows the beams to be adjusted by shimming to ensure perfect deck alignment in relation to the gunports.Any adjustments become invisible when the final covering is applied inside and out.In addition to this,the deck structure can be built inside the hull and fine adjustment can be carried out to the hull sides before the beams are glued to the hull sides.
The plan is that all the plain beams are dry fitted,then removed to allow the deck clamps to be fitted inside the hull.The beam slots are then extended through the deck clamps to allow refitting of the beams.I know this joint will be historically incorrect,but would look identical from the outside although this area will be nigh on invisible on the assembled model.
I do anticipate that these beams will be fitted dry and removed several times,to allow the joints to be cut in them and to allow varnishing of the undersides before finally gluing in place.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

I completed rigging the Mizzens shrouds today. I dressed the upper shrouds but will wait dressing the lower shorts until the other masts are in place and the rig is stretched out a bit. The upper shrouds have been tensioned for awhile now.  Next I will move forward to the Main. 

Second billboard was made, both billboards thined and shaped, and now it is a quite different story







Them are equial, at same position and symetrical, and I am happy. Even She asked "what did you put on me?"

I answered "wait and see" and left Her confused in shipyard in her dark and closed shelf

I was able to complete rigging the lower mizzen shrouds today. I had a small setback when I discovered that the forward most shroud was actually attached to a block. So I had to remove the deadeye that I had attached to it. Unfortunately I did not notice this until I had attached nearly all of the shrouds. So I spent awhile unlacing and relaxing the shrouds to the correct deadeyes.
 
I learned a trick. The laced deadeyes had a tendency to spin around once I actually put tension on them. This was due to the shroud untwisting. I know this would be sorted out eventually with the bar that is lashed across the shrouds just above the deadeyes but I still had rather they did not do it to begin with. What I figured out was once I threaded the lanyard through the top deadeye I would pull tension on it. This caused it to spin as the shroud untwisted. Once it stopped, I would hold it then lace it through the lower deadeye. Then once it was all laced and tensioned it no longer wanted to spin.
 
I also made a futtock brace out of brass wire then hand served this with black thread. I attached this to the third shroud from the back, which aligned it with the mast. I ran it between the mizzen mast and the spammer masts. I lashed the ends of the brace to the shroud, then brought the futtock shroud ends through the rings and affixed it to the shroud. Then I served the bundle to the shroud and tried everything up. 
 
The main and the foremasts all have Bentinck shrouds but the mizzen did not. Next I will work on the shrouds from the tip of the mast to the futtock shrouds. Currently I have a temporary stay run to the ring at the main which you can see in the photo.
 
Making progress.
 

The largest difference this jig has over push sticks and feather boards is the ability to control both sides of the wood through the entire path of the cut. This ensures there is no kickback since the wood does not veer side to side during the cut. It does not allow for cuts smaller than 1/8th but as Mike said, that does leave lots of cuts it does work for. The interior of the jig is movable so it can be adjusted for the various size cuts.
 
It still can be used to cut smaller thicknesses if you have the cutoff to the left of the blade. The jig would just not straddle the blade and only be used on the part to the right. This still leave you more in control than just pushing the wood through from the end. 
 
I know others have used feather boards for this, but there is a guide for ripping thin sections for the table saw. It rides in the miter slot to the left of the blade. It has a wheel in the end to allow the wood to easily slip past. You set the width of the cut you want ( to the left of the blade) then slid the wood between the fence and the wheel. Make the cut and shift the fence to the left until the wood contacts the wheel again and make the second cut, snd so on.  This allows for consistent thickness cuts to the left of the blade. 
 
Anyway, both of these jigs/guides make my life easier and a bit safer. As Mike said, I don't have any interest in these companies other than I use their products. If you are interested both of these are available for a number of different sources on line.

Well, I bought two types of beading needles. Flexible with a big collapsable loop, and open eye which is two needles welded at each tip with a big center opening. They both worked very well along with the CA tipped line. Thanks to all I now have three ways to thread the blocks.

Thank you, dear friends for likes and support. Your likes and comments give a lot of steam to my engine

Next - billboards

BTW , can anybody tell me what is their purpose on sail ship?

This is goal



Opening question - what material to use ? Them are iron made. I decided to use wood because I do not have (?) tools for precise metal/alum cutting



Rails had to be thinned a bit, and first billboard sit well on its position



Preliminary painting and a little touch of very thinned black with little drop of gold to get a little "metallic" shine

I installed the sub gun deck platforms today. I sanded them lightly and stained them with minwax natural (applied pre stain first). I also created braces for the frames, which do seem fragile at this point. I think I'm going to brace the frames a bit more before fairing the hull. (I just know im going to smack one of the frames will sanding)

Lower mast construction continues. The fore mast and it's top are now complete and installed. The work included adding the blocks for the spritsail and spritsail topsail yard braces. These are hung below the top and held in place by pegs on the deck of the top. These will be the only blocks that I will attach to the tops, since I do not intend to rig buntlines, leech lines, reef tackles etc.and won't show the blocks for them.
 
After gluing the top to the mast, I added the bolsters, the jeer sling cleats and the lead blocks for the main topmast stay and preventer stay. Lastly, I permanently mounted the mast.
 
Work now continues on the main mast and top.
 
Bob

I've been working on the fore lower mast. This involved shaping the mast and mast head, making and adding the bibbs and cheeks, adding the bands to the mast and head ( black painted paper), making and adding the front fish (notched to fit over the bands), adding the wooldings, making and adding cleats and making and adding the mast coat. I also made some cleats for the jeers to be added to the mast head after the top is attached. The top is still awaiting blocks to be attached, as is the mast head. The mast has not been permanently set yet.
 
Bob

Both holes done

Gratings Mk 4 part 2
 
1.5mm wide battens were glued into the grouves and allowed to dry.I used alaphatic applied with a cocktail stick and excess was vigilently removed with a wet brush.When dry,the back was sanded off and the battens flushed off.I used a small disc in the Proxxon IBE to do this.Before final trimming and profiling I am going to apply two coats of heavily thinned matt poly to prevent any splintering.Mr Frolich does mention this in his book and seems like a good insurance policy.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

I passed a milestone today. I started rigging the Mizzen Mast to the ship. I first took the jig I built to keep the mast centered to the deck and looped a thread around that to hold it to the mast. Then I started rigging the upper dead eyes on the foremast lower shroud. I did not lock the servings to the line yet with glue since I wanted to look it over tomorrow with fresh eyes before I do. I attached the deadeyes to align with the rail or slightly above. Once I have them rigged I can adjust them to set the mast rake. I think tomorrow I will run a temporary line from the bow and stern to the mast top to assist in setting the rake where I want it. Then I can fine tune it once the shrouds are in place.
 
Once the mast is in place and rigged, I can put a touch if PVA under the mast ring on the deck. This will still allow the mast to be easily removed if needed.

These boats are just so time consuming, mostly because I don't know what I'm doing. Progress is really slow. Here they are so far. I have to figure out how to plank the yawl now.

I just put a coat of varnish on the masts. Constructo's instructions for the standing rigging are not too detailed at this point. I'll be looking at your builds for guidance. Constructo wants me to permanently glue the masts at this stage. I'm holding off for now. 

There is also a very nice tool called the MicroJig. It allows the control of both sides of the cut wood all the way through while keeping your hand away from the blade. 

Activity on the ship has been light the last few days. I am installing my new toy (a very early Xmas gift from Rob) in preparation for my next build the Eagle. A new SawStop table saw! I can't wait to start making more sawdust but alas once it is built and installed it will have to wait. The new deadeyes arrived and I need to get back on the Connie. I hope to have the new saw completed by sometime tomorrow and return to the ship.

Attorney strike still lasts, so I am at home, with plenty of time. Weather turn to rain with low temperature ("Winter is coming"), first activation of home heating system done, thinking about Hothead and his first move in-move aut ( flat changing) ...

After finishing mooring pipes (outside) faster than expect, continue working with simillar parts ( do not know right name)



First steps





Long telephone call with sister interrupted me, and this is it for today

All four mooring pipes finished





Tools used with Einhell

More progress made... (get lots done when on vacation!). The frames have been glued in place. Everything is square. I do have one frame that is a tad high and one that is a tad low. I will fix before installing the gun deck. I also installed the fillers between the frames, the bow filler, which lines up correctly with the rabbet. I also installed the half bulkheads.
 
Next up, installing the sub gun deck platforms.