Bob Cleek

Probably.
 
For a good example of brass skeg fabrication see: 
 

Probably.
 
For a good example of brass skeg fabrication see: 
 

Probably.
 
For a good example of brass skeg fabrication see: 
 

It's not about the type of vessel or style of hull.  He has as 10" x 1/2" x 1/8" piece of "hard" brass to use as a skeg which he wants to bend in order to make it "3/4" lower at the middle to clear the prop."  If the stock is to be a skeg, given it's dimensions, I'd expect he wants to know how to bend it 3/4" across the 1/2" wide vertical face of the skeg.  "Hard" brass can easily be annealed with a torch, but there are limits to "bending across the flat" which would seemingly be exceeded in this scenario.
 

I'm sorry. Maybe it's me, but I can't figure out the bend you are contemplating. A picture is worth a thousand words sometimes.
 
I'm not sure how you want to bend it. If you're trying to do what I think you are trying to do, I'd have to answer "No can do."

I don't recall the Blairs, so cannot pass on any news about them. Sorry.

It's nice to hear of another who remembers Ray Aker, a man who certainly deserved greater fame than he realized during his lifetime. He was a very good maritime historian and one of the better draftsmen around. I still have the copy of his beautiful technical drawing of the remains of the 1840 whaling bark Lydia uncovered during excavations for the 1978 construction of the San Francisco Peripheral Sewer project which he gave us when I knew the archaeological impact report consultants on that project. 
 
 

http://library.mysticseaport.org/ere/odetail.cfm?id_number=1961.72
 
Without passing any judgment pro or con regarding your posting your research records on the Drake Navigator's Guild's website, as a fellow member of our generation, I would urge you to strongly consider making provision for the donation of your research files to the J. Porter Shaw Library at the San Francisco National Maritime Museum at Fort Mason, San Francisco. As you probably know, the J. Porter Shaw is the best recognized repository for such subject matter these days.  

Sorry for the confusion. I was in the middle of an edit, so you caught only the beginning of the post.
 
Check out the link I provided above to the U.S. Amazon and eBay websites and you'll see they are both offering new and used copies. Beyond that, I expect the cost of shipping is prohibitive. We keep hearing that in recent times on all sorts of modeling essentials. The cost of an item on the opposite side of the Pond seems to almost double when the shipping is added. We have U.K. books listed on U.S. eBay, so I'm not sure why it doesn't work the same the other way around. Is it possible the "not available" status is a result of some sort of E.U. customs issue?

It was an expensive book when first published and seems to have remained so. Apparently, it was until rather recently only available directly from the publisher, Ancre, in Nice, France. The Art of Shipmodeling - Bernard Frolich - Ancre There are now new and used copies available on U.S. Amazon (The Art of Ship modeling: Bernard Frolich: 9782903179847: Amazon.com: Books) and U.S. eBay: (https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1313&_nkw=The+Art+of+Shipmodeling+by+Bernard+Frolich&_sacat=0&_odkw=The+Art+of+Shipmodeling&_osacat=0)
 
Believe me, we feel your pain over here, as well. We have to pay the same exorbitant shipping costs from the U.K. to the U.S. that you apparently must in the opposite direction. I believe this increase in shipping costs was attributable to the fact that all shippers seem now to be sending everything air freight. Time was, you could order something from Europe and it might take three or four weeks to get here, but the shipping didn't break the bank unless you wanted to opt for air freight. Now it's all air freight whether you need it or not.  On top of that, you may also be paying the price for "Brexit," but I'm not really all that familiar with that issue, of course. Perhaps you might consider having a friend who is making a run to the South of France "smuggle" a copy back for you from Ancre.  It's really a valuable resource.

I believe that The Art of Shipmodeling has reached that pinnacle of universal reference work that it is simply referred to by its author's last name: "Frolich." I see where, inexplicably, Amazon has it for sale new for $70.00. That's a steal at less than half the price most of us paid over the last 22 years since it was first published. I'd grab a copy in a hot minute if I were you. There's a wealth of information in it. 
 
But beware! Do not confuse The Art of Shipmodeling by Bernard Frolich with The Art of Ship Modeling by Richard Mansir, which is an entirely different book. It's "Frolich" that you want to make sure you are buying.
 
If it's classic books on modeling technique and "tricks of the trade," I'd strongly recommend:
 
 The Techniques of Ship Modeling, by the late Gerald Wingrove: The Techniques of Ship Modelling by Wingrove, Gerald A. Hardback Book The Fast 9780852423660 | eBay There are always a few used copies on eBay (both hardcover and quality paperback) so shop for the lowest price, usually less than ten bucks used. 
 
Ship Modeler's Shop Notes, Volumes 1 and 2 from the NRG. There are always used copies of these on eBay and Amazon. New copies are available from the NRG store through this forum. As for Volume 1, I'd advise you get a newer printing with the spiral binding which permits the books to be laid flat on a workbench or tabletop when working from them. The original binding was a glued spine paperback and the glue dried out and the pages come loose. My copy of Volume 1 is held together with a bulldog clip. I should bring it to Staples or one of those places and have them spiral bind it for me.
 
William Frederick's (1874) Scale Journey: A Scratchbuilder's Evolutionary Development, by Antonio Mendez C. This book was "remaindered" on eBay a couple of years ago for seven bucks a copy and I grabbed one. It's focus is radio controlled sailing scale models, but its content is a survey of technique, and it is full of subjects not found elsewhere, especially regarding tools and shop practices. It would take you years of following build logs on MSW to pick up but a fraction of the how-to-do-its in this book. Unfortunately, it appears to have become something of a collectable at this point and Amazon is now selling them for $47.00. If you watch out for a copy on eBay, you may get lucky and snag one for closer to the price when they were selling off the remainders new. William Frederick's (1874) Scale Journey: A Scratchbuilder's Evolutionary Development: mendez, antonio: 9780975577202: Amazon.com: Books  I checked eBay just now and see where they have three between $50.00 and $169.00! (Let this be a lesson to modeling library builders everywhere!) 
 
Plank-On-Frame Models and Scale Masting and Rigging, Vol. 1: Scale Hull Construction and Plank-On-Frame Models and Scale Masting and Rigging, Vol. 2: Scale Hull Construction by Harold A. Underhill. This two-volume set is a classic and there are lots of used copies on eBay for surprisingly reasonable prices. (Still in print, new copies run around $90 per volume!) plank on frame models underhill for sale | eBay
 
Masting and Rigging: The Clipper Ship and Ocean Carrier by Harold Underhill. This is what I'd call the Bible of the last days of commercial sail. If you are interested in clippers and windjammers, as well as general rigging practice at the highest level of its evolution, this book is it. Used copies are available very reasonably priced on eBay.  Masting and Rigging: The Clipper Ship and Ocean Carrier for sale | eBay
 
These titles are recommended for their treatment of general modeling practices and techniques more than for specific research data on specific types and periods. When your interest becomes focused on a particular type of vessel in a particular period, there are specific reference works that become "must haves," but they tend to be expensive (some running more than a hundred dollars and up) and sometimes very difficult to find. If you continue to pursue your interest in ship modeling, you will find yourself acquiring a library of some value and doing that easily becomes a related hobby in and of itself.
 

Ahh, thanks for the reminder.
 
A Hitchcock model named Pilgrim was commissioned from Mike Wall's gallery by the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum many years ago.
Mike told me the basis was the 1837 US brig Washington. A vessel way too sharp in form. The model is finely crafted and still on display.
Those plans are probably in Chapelle's The History of The American Sailing Navy (1949).
 
The Hitchcock family often made more than one model of a particular vessel, so I imagine that's how/why Larry Lannan has/had one as well.
 
Although I have a paper set of the Spillane drawings -- for both Pilgrim and Alert (the latter completely speculative based on the scant descriptions of her in Two Years Before The Mast) I will not propagate copies. A personal preference as an historian to not encourage more models of any vessel where we know that depiction is demonstrably in error.
 
If you saw my study of Hannah (1765-1775) published in 2022 on the NRG web site (Extended Content) and still available there, you will more fully understand why I believe as I do.
ALL the earlier depictions of Hannah in model form, and most notably those built from my friend Harold Hahn's plans are incorrect. This study proves it.
 
Yes, I call my new depiction an "informed speculation" and not a reconstruction or some such. But the "informed" part comes from primary sources about that Hannah, and what we know about vessels of her type, size and purpose of that time period.
 
I try very hard to discourage other builders from wasting their precious time with such fictions.
Which also perpetuates false impressions and understandings of significant vessels in our history.
 
See Mike Morris's build log of his exceptional model to these drawings.
 
Sorry, enough of my "waxing pontifical".
 
Thanks
 

The Art of Shipmodeling - Bernard Frolich
This arrived today.  Fantastic !  This something to aim for.

Well, I am a long way from building the Soleil Royal, and is a century before the era of my interest.  That being said, I look forward to expanding my knowledge.  Reading has become the number one use of my time.  Then while gluing and painting these pages are mulled over.  This is a rich hobby with a wealth of books.  Rather be broke with a new vision then unaware of what is out there.

One of the best - if not THE best - sources of information about clipper ship rigging is Harold A. Underhill's Masting and Rigging the Clipper Ship and Ocean Carrier (Brown, Son and Ferguson, Ltd., Glasgow, 1972). It has detailed descriptions and illustrations of all parts of the rigging, including complete rigging and belaying plans for a clipper ship. It is an excellent reference with a great index of about 1500 entries for just about everything he describes.

I don't recall the Blairs, so cannot pass on any news about them. Sorry.

It's nice to hear of another who remembers Ray Aker, a man who certainly deserved greater fame than he realized during his lifetime. He was a very good maritime historian and one of the better draftsmen around. I still have the copy of his beautiful technical drawing of the remains of the 1840 whaling bark Lydia uncovered during excavations for the 1978 construction of the San Francisco Peripheral Sewer project which he gave us when I knew the archaeological impact report consultants on that project. 
 
 

http://library.mysticseaport.org/ere/odetail.cfm?id_number=1961.72
 
Without passing any judgment pro or con regarding your posting your research records on the Drake Navigator's Guild's website, as a fellow member of our generation, I would urge you to strongly consider making provision for the donation of your research files to the J. Porter Shaw Library at the San Francisco National Maritime Museum at Fort Mason, San Francisco. As you probably know, the J. Porter Shaw is the best recognized repository for such subject matter these days.  

Couldn't agree more about our beloved pal Ray Aker.
Glad to hear from another of our crowd celebrating Ray's life and contributions.
It is sad that his work has not received the recognition due.
 
Regarding the JPS Library... Gina Bardi (World's Finest Reference Librarian) is a special Friend of mine. And has contributed generously to my research in a number of areas.
About 8-9 years ago she hosted my presentation on Pilgrim at the JPS. Other institutions did as well (Santa Barbara MM, LA MM, Dana Adobe, Dana Point Historical Society)
 
Coincidentally, I just snapped photos of a collection of images of Steam Schooners which I will probably soon donate to JPS, if not duplicates.
 
Pretty sure the JPS has a copy of the Annotated Bibliography I mentioned, because I sent it (MS Word) to each of the major institutions which helped me.
None of the other material has been placed or shared except as noted with the HSOY, and my guidance for modeling Pilgrim, I think in the Ship Modelers Association of Southern California in a newsletter. I was a member there for decades until we moved to Idaho in June 2017.
 
My interest in the Drake is that the material could be accessible online.
I've not discussed any of this with them, or with Gina.
 
Happy to get to know you Bob.
 
p.s. I have lost track of Jerry and Arlene Blair. Have you heard from him?

@druxey
Hello,
I'm glad you like it. Thanks !
I would also like to thank everyone else for the LIKES.
 
Continuation: Equipment of the mizzen topgallant yard – Vergue de perruche
After a suggestion from model building colleagues, I secured the mousing of the hook for the tye with a thinner three strand rope with a diameter of 0.15 mm that was specially made for this purpose.

We then continued with the quarter blocks (clew lines and sheets), which are among the smallest double blocks on the model.
For the block ropes I used ropes with a diameter of 0.25 mm, which were served with silk yarn.

The last two pictures show the arrangement of the quarter blocks with the truss already attached.


Up soon …

Thank you very much, gentlemen, for your appreciation !
 
**********************************************************

Installing the ship’s boats 3
 
The installation was movd further to completion by tidying up the loose ends and producing the bunts for runners of the boat tackles. The runners are about five times the distance between the head of the davits and the waterline long, plus some extra for handling. However, as the rope is slightly overscale the runners were cut a bit on the short side in order to make the bunts not too bulky. The actual runners were cut above the cleats and the bunts were formed over two clothes pins driven into a piece of wood and have a loop pulled out with which they can be hung over their respective cleat. 

Note that the runners for the ‘ready’ boat are not arranged in bunts but in coils, ready to be thrown loose so as to allow the boat being lowered quickly e.g. in a case of man-over-board.

Again, working from the inside out, the next items to go on were the stays for the davits. Luckily, the stays are drawn in the lithographs so that their points of fixation are known. I had to deviate a bit from those drawings, as they pertain to the longer, turning davits for the boats stored on rack, which belong to a slightly later period. The stays are supposed to keep the davits aligned, rather than helping to swing them around.
 
It was a bit of a trial-and-error procedure, before I came up with a protocol for making miniature fake chains of exactly the right length and with loops at both ends. The chains would have been shackled into ring-bolts at the head of the davit. No way of making shackles in this scale, so I just tied the fake chains to ring-bolts with fly-tying thread.

Some people may think now that’s it, but in fact there still is quite a long to-do list for little details:
 
- davit for the stern-anchor
- flag-poles and flags
- for the gun: tampon, wiper, rammer, and two gun-sights
- and the … crew!
 
To be continued ....
 

I have to agree with Kurt. I've broke my own tool-buying rule more often that I'd like to admit: "Never buy a tool until you actually need it and then buy the best quality tool you can possibly afford." Like Kurt and probably most serious modelers, I have a "collection" of small power tools that I bought before I knew better, or when I was trying to save money, and which turned out to be a waste of money rather than a savings. A lot of them are still made and sold by companies that offer them for modeling use. Some, such as the Chinese-built knock-off sanders mentioned above, are "adequate" for those who haven't had the opportunity to know the difference. Quality tools do cost more, but when one considers how long they will last, the value of the work they can do, the pleasure to be had in using them, and even the resale value if one loses interest and wants to unload them, they are a wise investment and a bargain, considering their intrinsic value. 
 
I've highlighted the differences Kurt notes in his post above. I'd opt for any of the three power tools Byrnes makes, the table saw, disk sander, and thickness sander, over any other for the fact alone that they are virtually "dust free" when hooked up to a shop vac. You could use them in your living room and never have to think about dust.  There's more to it than that, though. For the purpose of scale modeling, accuracy is everything. Fine tools cost more because they are manufactured to operate at close tolerances.... in the case of Jim Byrnes' machines, tolerances of a thousandth of an inch and even half that, consistently and dependably. They have considerable mass because weight equals accuracy. For that reason, their working surfaces and adjusting mechanisms are made of CNC-machined solid aluminum plate, not stamped sheet metal and plastic or pot metal castings. Their fit and finish is impeccable, like a fine scientific instrument. They have expensive bearings because those also ensure accuracy. They have expensive motors because horsepower again means accuracy. If you examine the lower-priced products, you will note that their miter gauges and fences are often plastic, which wears and soon becomes useless for producing highly accurate work, The indexing on the low-priced tools is stamped or cast into the plastic parts, rather than machined or photo-etched into metal parts. There is no way a plastic setting knob is ever going to be capable of dependably holding a position to a fine tolerance. 
 
Plenty of ship models have been built with a razor blade and a tack hammer, but if you are going to spend money on tools, cheap ones are the most expensive ones in the end.
 
 

Just a note on the Frolich book....  it is more for French ships than U:S or English as there are some differences in ship design and all the equipment just as gun rigging, stoves, crew accommodations, etc,  Having said that...it is a great reference and well worth at least a read.

Sorry for the confusion. I was in the middle of an edit, so you caught only the beginning of the post.
 
Check out the link I provided above to the U.S. Amazon and eBay websites and you'll see they are both offering new and used copies. Beyond that, I expect the cost of shipping is prohibitive. We keep hearing that in recent times on all sorts of modeling essentials. The cost of an item on the opposite side of the Pond seems to almost double when the shipping is added. We have U.K. books listed on U.S. eBay, so I'm not sure why it doesn't work the same the other way around. Is it possible the "not available" status is a result of some sort of E.U. customs issue?

It was an expensive book when first published and seems to have remained so. Apparently, it was until rather recently only available directly from the publisher, Ancre, in Nice, France. The Art of Shipmodeling - Bernard Frolich - Ancre There are now new and used copies available on U.S. Amazon (The Art of Ship modeling: Bernard Frolich: 9782903179847: Amazon.com: Books) and U.S. eBay: (https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1313&_nkw=The+Art+of+Shipmodeling+by+Bernard+Frolich&_sacat=0&_odkw=The+Art+of+Shipmodeling&_osacat=0)
 
Believe me, we feel your pain over here, as well. We have to pay the same exorbitant shipping costs from the U.K. to the U.S. that you apparently must in the opposite direction. I believe this increase in shipping costs was attributable to the fact that all shippers seem now to be sending everything air freight. Time was, you could order something from Europe and it might take three or four weeks to get here, but the shipping didn't break the bank unless you wanted to opt for air freight. Now it's all air freight whether you need it or not.  On top of that, you may also be paying the price for "Brexit," but I'm not really all that familiar with that issue, of course. Perhaps you might consider having a friend who is making a run to the South of France "smuggle" a copy back for you from Ancre.  It's really a valuable resource.

I believe that The Art of Shipmodeling has reached that pinnacle of universal reference work that it is simply referred to by its author's last name: "Frolich." I see where, inexplicably, Amazon has it for sale new for $70.00. That's a steal at less than half the price most of us paid over the last 22 years since it was first published. I'd grab a copy in a hot minute if I were you. There's a wealth of information in it. 
 
But beware! Do not confuse The Art of Shipmodeling by Bernard Frolich with The Art of Ship Modeling by Richard Mansir, which is an entirely different book. It's "Frolich" that you want to make sure you are buying.
 
If it's classic books on modeling technique and "tricks of the trade," I'd strongly recommend:
 
 The Techniques of Ship Modeling, by the late Gerald Wingrove: The Techniques of Ship Modelling by Wingrove, Gerald A. Hardback Book The Fast 9780852423660 | eBay There are always a few used copies on eBay (both hardcover and quality paperback) so shop for the lowest price, usually less than ten bucks used. 
 
Ship Modeler's Shop Notes, Volumes 1 and 2 from the NRG. There are always used copies of these on eBay and Amazon. New copies are available from the NRG store through this forum. As for Volume 1, I'd advise you get a newer printing with the spiral binding which permits the books to be laid flat on a workbench or tabletop when working from them. The original binding was a glued spine paperback and the glue dried out and the pages come loose. My copy of Volume 1 is held together with a bulldog clip. I should bring it to Staples or one of those places and have them spiral bind it for me.
 
William Frederick's (1874) Scale Journey: A Scratchbuilder's Evolutionary Development, by Antonio Mendez C. This book was "remaindered" on eBay a couple of years ago for seven bucks a copy and I grabbed one. It's focus is radio controlled sailing scale models, but its content is a survey of technique, and it is full of subjects not found elsewhere, especially regarding tools and shop practices. It would take you years of following build logs on MSW to pick up but a fraction of the how-to-do-its in this book. Unfortunately, it appears to have become something of a collectable at this point and Amazon is now selling them for $47.00. If you watch out for a copy on eBay, you may get lucky and snag one for closer to the price when they were selling off the remainders new. William Frederick's (1874) Scale Journey: A Scratchbuilder's Evolutionary Development: mendez, antonio: 9780975577202: Amazon.com: Books  I checked eBay just now and see where they have three between $50.00 and $169.00! (Let this be a lesson to modeling library builders everywhere!) 
 
Plank-On-Frame Models and Scale Masting and Rigging, Vol. 1: Scale Hull Construction and Plank-On-Frame Models and Scale Masting and Rigging, Vol. 2: Scale Hull Construction by Harold A. Underhill. This two-volume set is a classic and there are lots of used copies on eBay for surprisingly reasonable prices. (Still in print, new copies run around $90 per volume!) plank on frame models underhill for sale | eBay
 
Masting and Rigging: The Clipper Ship and Ocean Carrier by Harold Underhill. This is what I'd call the Bible of the last days of commercial sail. If you are interested in clippers and windjammers, as well as general rigging practice at the highest level of its evolution, this book is it. Used copies are available very reasonably priced on eBay.  Masting and Rigging: The Clipper Ship and Ocean Carrier for sale | eBay
 
These titles are recommended for their treatment of general modeling practices and techniques more than for specific research data on specific types and periods. When your interest becomes focused on a particular type of vessel in a particular period, there are specific reference works that become "must haves," but they tend to be expensive (some running more than a hundred dollars and up) and sometimes very difficult to find. If you continue to pursue your interest in ship modeling, you will find yourself acquiring a library of some value and doing that easily becomes a related hobby in and of itself.
 

Contact cement would not be a good choice for gluing  planks to bulkheads.  It can be useful if applying a second layer of planking when 100% of the surface has contact with first layer.  Occre suggests it for their double planked models, and it works well with the extremely thin second layer they provide.  I am not sure I would use it with thicker material.