UdoK

Pics of the anchor

I haven't had a lot of time to dedicate to the Morgan build lately so she's moving along slowly. I had to hold off building the bow sprit because of the lack of building space and my ability to break things during the build. You know, two steps forward...one step back! I'll upload some pics of the last work I've done on her. I should have swept or vacuumed the deck of build debris before taking the pics. But it's been a long time since I uploaded so maybe looking at the pics will help others.
 
 

Thanks for the looks and likes everyone, it's much appreciated, sincerely. 
 
 I've got another trip this weekend. So, knowing I wouldn't really get any 'days off' over the weekend, I decided to procrastinate some of my work during the week and head down to the shipyard and get some things done.
 
 Next up, the cheeks, hawse holes and trailboards.  Before I got started I did some fitting and measure, and prepping the figurehead etc.  
The first problem I ran into was paint color.  The rear decorations and etchings of the ship were done is straight "wood" color from Testor's Model Master line.  Although it looked good, it is considerably darker than the natural stained color of the hull, etc.  I liked this very much, as it made the details on the transom really pop.  However, when we get to the bow of the ship and painting those etchings and even the figure head that dark - it just didn't look right.
 

 
  After some experimenting, I was able to come up with a pretty good color with about a 60/40 mixture of "House Cream" and "English Oak".   Of course that meant repainting all the etching and window frames and details on the transom.
 
I was NOT looking forward to this... but necessary is necessary and I spend three days with a size 0 brush while my eyes crossed and my fingers cramped.  ;p
 

 
As a side note - I had to add a good coat of primer to the figurehead to get it to take the paint.  Remember, we swapped out the metal figurehead with the plastic molded one. 
 

 
Next up, the cheeks.  Very light sanding to get rid of the char, then a bit of reshaping to get them to fit to the bow snuggly.
 

 
No alternatives for the photo etched carved strips, so they required some careful painting.  I fitted them first to get an idea of what part of the bow needed to painted black, then did more painting.
 

 
The instructions call for some etching along the cheeks my gauging out lines on the sides, then smoothing them out.  But I found this little tool in my stash and thought it'd look pretty cool.  Overall, I like the way it came out with the etching attached.
 

 
Same process for the upper cheeks.  Some delicate sanding to get everything to look pretty seemless.  And I dry fitted the figure head to make it all work out.  You'll notice here that the gap between the figurehead's foot and the lower cheek extension is a bit too wide, so I redid the lower piece to get it closer.  That took some fiddling with the metal etch carving pieces, etc.
 

 
My next problem occurred when I dry fitted the hawseholes and trailboards.  The directions call for four pieces shaped to fit the bow of the ship.  But, after only three, I was running out of room quickly.  And bear in mind, I BARELY sanded the backsides of the cheeks. Just enough to get rid of the char and adjust the "roundness" to fit the bow ok.  Oy.
This wasn't going to do.  So i stuck with three, and fitted the bolster.  NO CHANCE any of this was going to fit.  
 

 
My first solution was to create and inset in which the bolster would fit.  After a number of different attempts, this failed miserably.
 

 
So, my final solution was to just have ONE layer of the trailboards and fit the bolster and drill out the hawseholes.  Overall, I think it's definitely passable.  All of the basswood is treated the same as the rest of the trip with a layer of wood conditioner, stain in Miniwax "Natural" then I'll add a layer of lacquer.  Ultimately, this as made the etching and wood pretty close to the same color.
 

To continue.
I made up some jigging to help me keep the bulkheads square, both in the vertical and to the former.
Just a base with a triangular section glued on.
Then the vertical trued up square on a face sander.
 

 
This is how they work.
One placed each side of the bulkhead and clamped to my base.
The bulkhead is then adjusted and checked with a square.
The jig moved to hold it there and a clamp added.
 

 
So here goes the first bulkhead.
 

 
Continuing to add bulkheads, up to number four.
I have to wait for the glue to dry each time because I only have one pair of jigs.
 

 
slowly getting there.
 

 
Last few to go on the Stern.
 

 
All bulkheads now done.
here I have added the re-enforcing parts onto the former between each bulkhead after sanding to size.
 

 
I thought that the bulkheads still had a bit of fore/aft movement in them.
So to stop them moving when I fair the hull I have used some cut up pieces of scrap to re-enforce between the bulkheads further out from the former.
Here are the first few.
 

 
And with a full set in place.
They also help confirm the squareness of bulkheads.
 
Will continue on next post
 
Nick
 
 
 
 
 

HI ALL
SOME MORE WORK HAS BEEN DONE.
 
DECK CLAMPS HAVE BEEN FITTED..I FIRST HEAT BENT A SHEET OF 3/32 BOX ABOUT 1" WIDE AROUND A FORM AND ONCE THAT HAD COOLED DOWN A CARDSTOCK PATTERN FOR THE FORWARD SECTION OF THE DECK CLAMP WASGLUED ON WITH SOME PRITT AND THE PLANK CUT OUT.
 
 PROCESS FOR THE THICK STUFF .....SPILE THE BASIC SHAPE AND THEN HEAT BEND AND TWIST TOO THE REQUIRED SHAPE.
 
THE JIG IN THE PHOTOS WAS USED TO BEND THE DECK CLAMPS TO SHAPE
 
FIRST ROW OF THICKSTUFF IN PLACE AND TREENAILED.
JUST STARTING THE NEXT THREE ROWS OF THINNER PLANKING.
 
SWEEP PORTS HAVE FINALLY BEEN LINED OUT ASWELL
 
THATS ABOUT IT FOR NOW...THE INEVITABLE "BACK TO WORK" LOOMS LARGE!
 
CHEERS FOR NOW....MICK

I've seen quite a few posts referencing that these exist and apparently some are having a hard time to find them.   I hope Chuck doesn't mind but I'm putting the links here.   
 

Adding on the Bow pre-cut pieces.
 

 
And at the Stern.
 
I am going to put filler pieces at the Bow and Stern to help maintain the shape of the planking and to provide greater gluing area.
So that's my next job.
 

 
First I cut some 1/2 thick balsa into rough shapes.
This set is for the gap between first and second bulkheads.
 

 
Then I offered them up and marked bulkhead profile on the edges.
Then removed them and roughed a line across the upper and lower face to correspond to the edge marks.
Then carve an approximate shape following the lines.
 

 
I am doing them for the first three bulkhead gaps.
 

 
Here the Bow fillers are now glued in place.
 

 
And as the manual advises I have added temporary bracing pieces across the tops of the more exposed bulkheads.
 
Next I will making lots of sawdust by fairing the frame.
 
Nick
 
 

So, it's about time for an update.
I got to work on the stem:
 

 
Here it is fitted together and with the leading edge faired down.
 

 
And now going into place.
I found two thin strips to act as shims, they were the stem thickness minus the bulkhead former thickness /2.
Put one each side then laid strips on top of them and clamped it up.
Did that in two places.
That helped insure that the stem was glued as central to to former as possible.
 

 
Here it is now in place.
 

 
And where the edge is faired. made sure that the figurehead was a good fit.
 
Next job is the keel.
 

 
Used my keel clamp (here it all finished)
 

 
Mounted the former inverted and clamped it for a solid working position.
 

 
Put on the rabbet strip, and the Keel sections.
Drilled them off to simulate tree nails (as per Chuck's method)
The false keel will then follow.
 

 
Then stood the former on it's Keel and clamped it tight.
Now ready to start on the bulkheads.
 
I will continue later (next lunchtime at work )
 
Nick
 
 
 
 
 

The Roundhouses
 
   The Roundhouses seemed to be pretty straightforward, however Augie had written in his notes that he was intending to use the Swiss Pear instead.  I really liked this idea, as it would surely set off a bit of color on the bow of the ship. 
 
   It really didn't change how I approached the Roundhouses initially, but soon after I discovered the slightly thicker Swiss Pear was going to involve a little more intricate bit of beveling than the stock parts.
 

 
    In addition to mitering the edge, I also sanded the inside of the strips with a round file to try and match the shape of the guides.  Then I marked the inside seams with a sharpie to simulate the caulking between the planks.
 

 
    Chuck's instructions call for a bit of 28 gauge wire glued under the overhang, which is a very nice touch.  Instead - for me to pull in a little bit of the natural color of the bow, I used the original light colored overhang, sanded it down, then covered it with the swiss pear roof. 
 

 
   Finally, I dug up in the "extra pieces" bin, some small circular brass rings with a lip that came from who know's where, and I used those to bring out some detail int he ventilation scuttle.
 

 
   Ultimately, Augie nailed it with his approach (as he always did), and I really love the way the swiss pear looks on the bow.
 

So, the catheads were pretty straightforward given Chuck's instructions.  It did take a bit of fiddling of course, to match the sanded size of the catheads and then properly notch out the side of the ship for a snug fit.  There was a lot of delicate sanding and tiny bit at a time with varying sandpapers and files, then fit the cathead, then sand some more.  A patient process to be sure.
 


 
   
   Though I fitted the cathead with the wedge as outlined in the schematics, I ended up sanding it almost all the way down. This was a little challenging as the wood here is pretty soft.  But all in all it fit together pretty tightly.
 

 
   To make the sheaves, I filed down some boxwood then cut out ovals.  Although obviously they'd have been circles, the ovals made for a better fit and ultimately finalized look.
 

 
  Then the catheads in place.  Because the fore of the ship is not perfectly symmetrical, I did my level best to get the catheads to look as symmetrical as possible.  The discerning eye will notice they're not quite exact - however, I don't think it'll be noticeable for the most part.
 

The shipyard has been taking care of a couple of small items.
 
Scuppers: 3 per side, one with a hose so the AOTS indicates.
The starboard side ones >>
One with hose.

 
2 others, plain pipe

 
 
Rudder Coat:
The black flange(third one I made) is plastic with black paint over it.
Thanks to Greg Lester, I used same foil wrap for the coat, painted brown.

 
Close up photos show up all sorts of scratches, dint's, dirt, imperfections etc.
 
Next > onto the Anchors.
I ordered some anchors from Cornwall Model Boats, which have arrived.
Another post another time..
 
 
Dave R

In the Shipyard - Anchor Update.
Following on from post #431
 
I received the new anchors I ordered end of last week.
What I ended up using(with modifications) for the 4 Anchors are:
These are very similar to the style as depicted in the AOTS.
Main difference being the flukes are not set back at the ends, thought I could live with this, however now that I am writing this piece, will modify the ends to a spike. I suppose the anchors had a spike to "dig" into the bottom.
 
For the 2 Sheet/Best Bower Anchors:         Caldercraft # 87049
Modified:  5mm off the shaft to give a 67mm shaft(13' 2")
                71mm wide stock (14' 4")
                Fluke overall 45mm(4' 5") close enough
 
For the Small Bower Anchor:              Caldercraft # 87049
Modified:  7mm off the shaft to give a 65mm shaft(12' 10")
                69mm wide stock  (14' 0")
                Fluke overall 45mm(4' 4") close enough   Stream Anchor:                                   Caldercraft # 87021
Modified:  5mm off the shaft to give a 48mm shaft(9' 3")
                52mm wide stock  (10' 3")
                I filed the end of the flukes to reduce the overall width to 34mm, should of been 32mm but close enough(3" 1")
 
So the lengths(n' n") are same as in the AOTS.
 
The stock lengths are the Shaft Length plus 4"(half the ring diameter of 8").
These are slightly wider by 2mm. I forgot to trim them back, which I may still do(drop saw them off)
Where did I derive this from ?
 
Steel's - Anchor Rigging Section
The length of the stock is the length of the shank and half the diameter of the ring. The depth and thickness in the middle is as many inches as the stock is feet in length.
The ends to be kept square, half the depth or thickness in the middle. The upper-side next the ring is always kept straight, as is the lower-side half the depth on each side the middle; and thence it tapers to each end in the above proportion. It is necessary to leave an opening in the middle of one inch and a half, between the two pieces, that the hoops may be driven nearer the middle, in case the stock should shrink. 
 
Stocks rough fitted to the Shafts:

 
Stock ends held whilst glue dries(just used CA)
Gluing the stock half ends and onto the shaft.
I had small 0.5mm spacers either side of the shaft to keep a gap between the 2 stock halves. ~1.2 inch gap(ref. above)

 
Packing the stock rebates
2 of the shafts needed packing to the stocks, as the rebates were cut deep.

 
Steel's description of the fixing of the stocks: "STOCK is composed of two long pieces of oak tapering from the middle, fastened together with iron hoops and tree-nails, and fixed on the shank transversely to the arms. "
 
Tree-Nails and Hoops
I added 4 small nails about the centre of the stocks/shaft, 2 per side, facing opp.
The other 3 holes per end I used pin off-cuts driven through.
Aim was to simulate the tree-nails. 
One(1) stock has the 4 "hoops" on it. The ends hoops are ex. 1mm wide square brass tubing and the middle 2 hoops ex. black card wrapped about.

 
Nearly finished
Started undercoat with satin black. May go for a gloss black final coat ?
The rings are yet to go on, along with the Puddening.
I am wanting to keep the stocks with the timber finish, with clear over them.

 
When I was looking at the photos I noticed a huge ? minor ? mistake.
The Small Bower Anchor stock is too wide. Should be more the same width as the 2 Sheet/Best Anchor stocks.
Bla bla bla. May get away with it as it is. Not the energy to fix it at the moment.
 
Well the shipyard is closing down for the weekend.
All deck hands, shipwrights on shore leave.
The Brother in-laws 60th in Newcastle-NSW.
 
 
Dave R

Well, I got the first two issues today. 
 

 
Unlike the Victory and such there is no magazine, only the building instructions.
 
There was also a poster of the Vasa.
 
3 frames, stern decorations, thread  and one cannon is what you get in these first two issues.
 
I promised my 10-year old son that he could "help" me build it so I have to wait until he comes home from school before building can start.
 
I will continue later this evening.
 

Thanks Dash and thanks for the likes Pat, Slog, Greg and Ron
 
This pic shows how the Endeavour with the taller mizzen and with all the lines and dimensions right looks like a normal 1770's sailing ship

Mizzen topmast and main topmast trestle tree completed today.

Good to have another build on it's way, I will follow.

The other mini project I am running in parallel whilst I wait for timber is the first of the ships boats.
 

 
First off get the Bulkhead former and thin the edges to form a Rabbet and for the bearding.
 

 
Then add on the keel and stem. The joint does not match properly but I will get back to that.
 

 
Then real carefully glue in the Bulkheads a pair at a time making sure they are square and even in two planes.
 

 
Then I glued a couple of scrap plank strips along the top.
They do a really good job of keeping the bulkheads square and the structure rigid.
the bulkheads can easily flex as you try to fair the edges down.
They have also proved to be helpful when placing clamps.
They are glued to the inner parts of the bulkheads which get removed later so they don't present any problems
Once the strips were done I faired the hull down.
 

 
Then added the Transom, the scrap bits also helped keep it in place whilst the glue dried.
 
Nick
 
PS - I could kick myself. Just reviewing my photos and realised that I could have easily re-cut the keel to get that badly lasered joint correct, dooh.

I decided not to go with the Basswood for hull planking.
So I have ordered some Maple to do the planking.
My wood order included some to allow me to reproduce the Stem parts so that I get a good match with the planking, which means I will have to wait a bit before the Hull can move forwards.
 
In the mean time I thought I would start a couple of the smaller project while I wait.
 
The first one will be the Guns, well carriages at least.
 
The instructions say to paint the separate parts before assembling.
But I decided to put the main parts together first and then i will air brush them.
 

 
First step was to build a little jig on a piece of scrap to get the two axles and the sides aligned correctly for gluing.
 

 
Then start the production line. 1. glue the first parts. 2. shape and glue the Transom across the front axle. 3 shape and glue the Bolster across the rear axle. That little production line is now in full swing, a couple of gun carriages come off each session.
 
I also wanted to clean up the carriage trucks (wheels), there are attachment pips and laser char to get rid of.
Doing each one by hand would be a real pain, plus I would have ended up with a bunch of oval trucks.
So got to thinking of an approach.
 

 
First I loaded a couple of dozen trucks onto a long needle and used a clamp to keep them in place. You can see the char and pips.
 

 
Then by holding the clamp and rolling them along the edge of the table I can apply a sanding stick and work it back and forth as I roll. This is how they come out, still perfectly round, consistent diameter and cleaned up. Might do them a bit more yet.
If you decide to try this then switch them around part way through because the middle ones get cleaner more quickly.

Good to have another build on it's way, I will follow.

Next the rabbet strip. I wanted to try an idea I had a while back for plank bending so tried it here.

I had bought a flexible curve, the sort often used for draughting (a lot in my past).

It was a cheap one but holds the bend very well and can go to a pretty tight radius.

I set up the flexi curve, soaked the bow part of the strip for an hour or so and gently bend it round the curve. I overlaid some scrap, very thin strip to avoid clamp marks then applied clamps all along.
Gotta say I’m pretty pleased. The curve held the radius completely and once dry the strip was just right.


Glued and clamped the strip to the bottom of the former. My keel clamp comes in handy already as a work holder.

Once set I transferred to bearding line on the former to the other side and tapered down to the rabbet strip both sides with chisel and sandpaper.

Here we are all done.

I won’t photo the kit contents, most of you will have seen the like before.
However some first impressions.
Chuck’s stamp on the kit stands out a mile.
His instruction book with many many colour photos and detailed descriptions is a joy.
Also the drawings are first rate.
There are a lot of features that show a really good eye for the detail and the build has been very well thought through.
The decorations in the form of the etched brass and castings are also numerous.
The timber strips are pretty good quality and consistency. However I’m not a big fan of Basswood for external finish. So I am ordering some replacement timber for Hull planking. I will think about deck planking later, may stick with Basswood, not sure yet.
The many sheets of laser cut Basswood and Ply parts are all good quality.
One downside (for me at least) is that the laser cutting means I will have to spend time removing the char caused by the cutting. My Caldercraft Victory used machine cutting so no char, maybe I’m a bit spoilt.
Also after reviewing some of the parts I decided to revisit Syren
A lot of the line was quite shiny so I replaced it all with Chucks line. Plus I like his Deadeyes so threw in some of those.

And lastly the cast ships wheels were a bit poor.

So imagine my delight a few weeks back when Chuck announced a ships wheel kit at a very suitable size. Two of them also included.

Good to have another build on it's way, I will follow.

Several days of work to produce the bits of the blubber tackle and mount/rig it all.
Anyone building this model is strongly advised to get high quality blocks for this bit, especially the two large double blocks that hold the hooks. It's front and center when you look at her, so it should look its best. I used Syren Shipyard block sets from Chuck - they look great!
Thanks for the "likes"
(I know the anchor chains and the blubber tackle lines shouldn't both be hooked up to the windlass at the same time, but I took the liberty for visual effect anyway!)

So I've been working on the shrouds for the lower level masts. Serving those lines was a real patience-practice, and after serving they were stiff and a bit of a pain to work with.
For the "full size" deadeyes for the fore and main mast shrouds, I made a couple simple jigs from a piece of scrap wood and four fine metal wire pieces to hold the two deadeyes the correct distance apart while I determined the length of the end without a deadeye attached. This worked pretty well. For the mizzen and its smaller deadeyes, I just eyeballed it with acceptable results.
I think next, as per John's advice on his website, I'll make and mount the various bits of cutting in tackle, before I continue with the standing rigging.
As always, my eyes always go immediately to what I could have done better!
Here's what it looks like now:

It's almost sort of shaped like some sort of a boat now. I continued adding bulkheads using the same system for alignment that I started with, but adding a couple more clamps as I got to the wider bulkheads.
 

 
At a rate of 2-4 bulkheads per day, eventually all 16 bulkheads were completed earlier today (yay for work from home days where I can sneak in every couple of hours for 10 minutes to do the next bulkhead).
 

 
One evening I even had some time to work on the windlass, and got the first section that's angled done. Took less than an hour by switching to a sanding stick instead of the tiny file so I could sand across the entire width instead of along the grain. The sanding stick takes off material much faster than the file, so have to be very careful, but massive difference in time. Here it was after gluing, then after finish sanding once dried, and finally, where this piece will drop into the overall windlass model.
 

 
Next up is bow fillers & port fillers before I can start fairing the hull, which will be a very time consuming task, but as we all know is the most critical part of any build.