Geoff Matson

Here are some examples of the rope cards that I am making All the lines on the card are made with Cloats and Clark 30 wt cotton thread. I know it might hard to see but that is what my camera gives me.The twist detail is really good. You can see by the thread sizes you can get a lot combinations by increaseing the number of strands you twist. Still a lot more experimenting to do before I start to rig.

Great tip on forming the bow plank. Nice to see it all coming together for you.

Anything that helps rigging is a great idea. Thanks for the post

Jay I will be taking your advise and checking out the general finishes and see how they work out.

Jay Thanks I am in the process of putting some rope cards together. When I do I will post them. What I have been doing is making the rope in about 20 foot lenghts,(the width of my room), and then harding the line with some weights. Seems to work prety well. RIght now I have an assortment of plactic bags with different sizes of rope in them. A lot to keep track of.

I have been using my Byrnes Ropewalk and experimenting with making rope. So far I have I had good succes with Coats and Clark Cotton Thread. I like the Cotton for several reasons. You can dye it, when you glue it the clue soaks in and is not seen, and it is not shinny like the synthetic threads for starts. Here is the thread I am using: With one strand of 0.007" thread I am able to make sizes of thread 0.007", 0.014", 0.017", 0.021", 0.024", 0.028", 0.037", 0.039", and 0.043" This is done by twisting strands from two to 12 strands. Sounds more complicated than it really is.

I liked your tip on the gratings. I will be sure to file it away for future use.

Glad to have your build log posted. Great job so far.

Outstanding carving details. The finish is really great. NIce job

Great discussion, I have learned a lot and plan to make some.

What an undertaking. Great job so far.I am amazed you could sort all the stuff out.

David I agree with you and do my in a very similar way. In the end they are pretty even. My dividers are a tool I use alot. I use them to adjust my ratlines instead of a card. Thanks for the post.

Hey Robin Go to any good gun shop and ask for( Birchwood Casey Brass Black Metal Finish). Works great and easy to use.

Sorry about the accident. Those thing happen. Hopefully you will retry another Conny at a later date.

Boats are looking good. It is amazing how many details you can include in these little boats. Can't wait to see more.

Ulises Just came across your build and was greatly impressed with you rigging of the Vasa. Great Job!. I also have a Byrnes ropewalk and I am going to make all my rigging for the Constitution. I have been experimenting will all sorts of line. DMC, Guttermann, nylon, cotton, etc. I need to make some choices. I was wondering what material you used to make your line with? And also did you dye any of it and if so what stain did you use. Thanks.

I really like your last post. So all this rigging has finally drove you off to the mountains, or are you looing for a little shine to calm your nerves

+Thanks for the tip on the neeting. Looks like a real labor of love but the results were really woth the effort.

Harvey, if you have any questions I will be glad to help were I can. In Harold Hahns book (Ships of the American Revolution and their models) he gives some great information about making scale rope. Well worth the read. In going over the Riggins sizes off the plans. The line goes form .005 all the way up to .049. About 21 different sizes. Most of them only .001 to .005 difference in sizes. In the kit you have six sizes of black thread and three sizes of tan thread. Here is what the kit says to do in reguards to Rigging line: Kit Rigging Line Because more line diameters are shown on the plan provided in the kit, use the following guide: Lines on Plan Lines in Kit Less than 0.009" 0.005" thread 0.009" to 0.015" 0.008" 0.016" to 0.026" 0.021" 0.027" to 0.036" 0.028" 0.037" to 0.046 " 0.040" 0.047" to 0.055" 0.051" To enhance the model's scale like appearance, use every available diameter or purchase more separately. I plan on using the same guide lines but will make my own line. Basically .005,.008,.021,.028,.040,.051 out of DMC or Coats and Clark or some other material. I know you can go nuts over this so I am going to try to keep it as close as possible. I will be making some rigging cards showing what I came up with for my sizes. Will let you know what I came up with.

Looking good Bob Thanks for sharing with us.

I am in the process of figuring out my rigging line sizes and colors. I do not like the kit supplied line and plan on making my own using the Byrnes Ropewalk. I have narrowed the line down to DMC cotton for most of it and Coats & Clark cotton for some of the smaller sizes. I also think I will be using General Finish water based stain to color the lines. Right now I am making some test lines and checking the sizes to see how the sizes come out. So far I am pretty impressed with DMC and Coats &Clark results. They look a whole lot more to scale than the line supplied. Once I get it all finalized I will then rig the bowsprit, and the masts off the model. For those of you who haven't checked out Jays web sight he has a nice explanation of how he made his rigging line as well as the MSW article for down load. www.brentjes.com/conny.html .

Great job on the Creole Queen. I think your paddle wheel details were outstanding.

Great build and I love your tips.

Thanks for sharing your way to make caring chisels with the group.

Jay Sorry to hear your boat trip turned into a bus trip. Mother nature always seems to have plans of her own. WHile you were gone we also went on vacation. We went to the Beaches Resort in the Turks and Caicos. Great time. Only complaint ....We had to come home!