Bill Hime

Thanks for the likes, the comments, and the ideas.
 
Carl, I think you might be onto something. I never thought about coming in from the top.  I'll take another look this week and see.  
 
Pat, I seem to recall that build also... too many years ago,.. <sigh>  Oh yes, I'm logging the lessons.
 
 
Here's the rudder in it's not quite or maybe it is, final form.  (Rudder coat notwithstanding).  I've added the strop and the chains.   Now that's back in it's jig, I'm going to attend to several things...  the rudder coat install from the top, the carvings <takes a deep breath>, the quarter galleries, and a bit if finishing up the sanding on the inside of the hull.
 
And the pictures.  I'm pretty happy with it even with some issues that the macro brings up..  
 

 

 

That is some pretty amazing work, Bug.  

I spend the weekend in the shipyard doing some initial repairs, then some new work.  Because Augie hadn't been able to work on the Confederacy for quite some time, it had collected a little bit of dust and had a small amount of disrepair, including some deck planks that had separated a bit and seemed uneven. So I cleared off some of the cannons and fittings, resurfaced the deck, filled in gaps with sawdust from sanded down Swiss Pear,  then applied some tung oil and a light coat of satin poly.  I also ended up touching up some of the black and red paint that had been negatively affected by dust, etc.
 

 
    During the course of that - I noticed that the steering wheels that had come with the ship, well - just weren't that awesome.  After doing some searching for bits and pieces, it turns out it's actually pretty difficult to find good wheels that are not metal and painted.  So I set about creating new ones. 
 
Attempt #1
 

 
I cut off part of a dowel that was 15mm in diameter - the same diameter as the existing wheels.  I mounted it onto my Dremel vertically, using a small screw attachment to create a version of a lathe.  Then I used dental tools to notch and carve the piece giving it texture.
 

 
However, because the kind of wood I used was hard, but a little too porous and brittle, it crumbled when I attempted to cut it off the end of the dowel with it's new shape.
 

 
Drat.
 
Attempt #2
 
During the second attempt, I used a softer, but more dense piece of wood for the framing of the wheel.  This wood is actually from an old pen case that I had from somewhere.    You never know what you're going to dig up in the extra supply bin.
 

 
I cut it square, rounded the edges, then mounted it on the Dremel as before.  I smoothed out the top and bottom and used my mini level to make sure it was even.
 

 
I used miniature files to care out the edges and give the wheel some shape. 
 

 
For the spokes, I used a strip of boxwood, split it to 2mm, then rounded it with sand paper.  Once again mounting it into my Dremel Lathe, I used a miniature file to shape the spokes. 
 

 
I then mounted them around a center piece, and sanded my frame out to fit, notching the edges slightly to give room to the spokes.
 

 
For the outer handles, I used the same process, and notched the frame out to fit the pieces.
 

 
Finally, I lightly sanded and added a cherry mini-wax stain.  When it's dry, I'll sand it out with 1000 grit sand paper.
 
Now I just have to do another one!  heh

your off to a great start Bug.......very nice  

Thanks gentlemen for the likes and comments.  And Thanks Mike - great suggestion, I'll definitely have to try it.

You go Bug. Great start!
Dave

Great work Bug !!!
I have the feeling that I look at the work of Augie !!!!!
 
Sjors

Beautifully matched, Bug.  

just found out...so sad....didn't know him much, yet i miss him....guess that't the kind of fellow he was.....much respect to his family....good to moonbug to keep the spirit alive....................vic

Bug or Sean; don't know which name you prefer to go with,
in my opinion that is what I think what Augie would have done.
Beautiful done!

Looks like a perfect match to me Bug! Nice work! 

I noticed this afternoon that there was a strip of molding missing from the bow of the ship. Not sure if it dropped off somewhere, or if Augie was waiting to put it on after the  timber heads were installed, but it was nowhere to be found.
 

 
  Now, I didn't inherit the handy little scoring tool from Chuck and the fine folks at Model Shipways, so I had to take a couple cracks at it old-school style. I laid my metal ruler along the wood, and first scored it with my X-acto knife to ensure a straight line.  Now, when I say "ensure" - I mean took me a couple of tries and a couple of wasted little strips of wood.
 

 
Then, I gouged out the score a little wider with these handy tweezers.  And finally, I folded a piece of 400 grit sandpaper in half, and sanded the groove.
 

 
After mounting the strip, it was time to dig back through the log and find out how to match the coloring.  Turns out, Augie favored a coat of Miniwax prestain, followed by Miniwax "Natural" color, and finally an acrylic coat.  As luck would have it - I have a pretty extensive "Mini-wax" collection, so I think I got her pretty close match to the upper strip.
 

Good morning,
 
      One additional bit - As I've said, I think it's obviously pretty important to be familiar with the gal you'll be spending so much time with, so I ordered a couple books, looked at a couple Augie had, and did some research on the Confederacy when she came to the shipyard.
  
       I didn't want to post it here, because I'm sure most people following Augie's log are already much more familiar with her than I; but if anyone is interested, I put a short synopsis of the Confederacy's history on my blog: http://lehmanshipyard.blogspot.com/2016/02/usf-confederacy-history.html for the other folks who follow along but don't have access to MSW.
   
         It's a combination of a few different sources, and there are of course some inconsistencies from author to author. History seems to be nothing if not malleable.   

Good start, Bug.

Bug,
Seems like you are doing what Augie did, Confederacy will be a masterpiece.

Good morning,
 
      I accomplished some actual work last night on the Confed.  After several hours of research and trying to get a good handle on where Augie was headed, how some of his ideas differed from the the plans (leaving some rails natural instead of painting, etc.), what he'd left for later, and what he'd done -  I picked up with something simple just to get me going; adding the timber heads to the railing. 
 

 
      After separating the timber heads, I beveled the top of each one.
 

 
      I started by mounting the lower portions of those on the bow, then matched up the top half. 
 

 
     Finally, I spent a little time looking up and matching paint combinations and painted.  I still owe them a couple more coats then a finish of clear lacquer.  
 
 
Off we go...!  

My friends,
 
I see that there are some builders who put a memorial in this build log.
Popeye has opened a topic in shore leave as a memorial to Augie named Augie Bruno.
Please use that topic for expressing your feelings and not this build log.
We will thank Moonbug for the task he is willing to do.
I know that there are a few builders who are using this build log as a guide.
So please, let it be a build log.
 
Thank you all.
 
Sjors

Hello all,
 
      We all lost a dear friend, great supporter and member of our Shipbuilding family when Augie Bruno passed in December.  No one was as proud of his work or shared in his enjoyment of the hobby more than his lovely wife Diane.
 
    After being contacted by Popeye, Diane expressed how helpful and wonderful it would be if someone were able to finish Augie’s work on the Confederacy – both as a tribute to Augie, and as a way to keep us all connected with his memory. As Augie and Diane’s home is only about 15 miles from me, I was asked if I would be willing to take over Augie’s build.  
 
    I had the pleasure of sharing a cup of coffee, some delightful cookies, and even more delightful stories with Diane – and she assured me that this is indeed what Augie would have wanted.
 
     So, it is with a warm heart, and substantial amount of humility that I’ll pick up where Augie left off.
 
     Thanks already - and in advance to Anja, Popeye, Mark and Sjors for their support. I’ll do my best give Augie’s build justice, and do right by Augie and Diane.  
 
    As it stands – I’m embroiled in research, as this is my first American built ship, and I feel it’s important to get to know her as much as I can before I continue the build. Hope to have some actual progress to show soon, but in the meantime – here she is in her new shipyard.
 

 
 
- Bug

Wow, FINALLY!!! It's here! I chose the Pride of Baltimore as my side build while building the USF Confederacy. I'm waiting to see if the Confed might be marked down during the holiday shopping season. So I ordered the Pride so I can dig in and get the doors of the C.W. Hime Shipyard open for business.
 
Today's the day! This is a Model Shipways kit. I ordered it through ebay from a wholesale hobby outlet. As advertised, everything remains in it's original packaging. It even had an enclosed invoice dated 1999. 
Tonight the Admiral and I are taking inventory of the kit. I'm also paying close attention to the integrity of the wood since this kit has been sitting since 1999.
I'm already planning on replacing the Basswood planking/decking with Boxwood. as of now, I do not plan on painting the Pride except for her mast where black is noted.
I have built cabinets of the highest grade. I have done historical restoration in libraries, manor homes and more. But I do not kid myself for a moment, this is a very different endeavor. Here, among all of you, I find myself once again an apprentice.
 
I look forward to the challenge and most of all learning, adding to my skill set, and perusing what has beckoned me my entire life, building tall ships.
I welcome all of you to pick up a chisel, choose your favorite mortise and set a peg!
 
 
Warm Regards,
 
Bill Hime
 
 

After reading jcoby's last post I decided to play around a bit and see what the transom might look like installed with the knees aft edge flush with the end of the stern. I cut a piece out of the 1/32 sheet included in the kit approximately the size of the transom. After a little trimming of the slots the outboard knees sit in and a bit of sanding here and there this is what I came up with. The piece I made in the last post is not glued in place. It does push out the transom into very gentle curve, which the plans seem to indicate is normal as opposed to perfectly perpendicular to the stern. Of course I am no expert at reading plans. There will be a trim piece installed across where the deck and transom join All in all I think it will do, but welcome more thoughts.

One piece not included in the laser cut plank shear is the aft piece. However, it is in the plans. In Bobs Practicum he does not include this piece and simply runs the deck planking in solid runs across the deck. In keeping with my goal of trying to build the ship as true to life as my skills allow I made this piece. In addition, I will be planking the deck based on previous guidance from jcoby in his build log. Thanks again for that. I started by marking a 3/16 line across the shape of the stern. I then used part of the scrap from the plank sheer (so inboard curve was already made for me). Then I just trimmed up the aft edge. Photo is before aft edge was trimed.

Now that that is done I have a lot of tough decisions to make on how to go about doing the deck and bulkheads. I plan to stain my deck. Can anyone tell me if paining over stained wood is a problem?  I am trying to decide what I need to painting before or after construction of upper deck area, the plank sheer, bulkheads, and supports will all be painted.  I am also still on the fence whether it is best to build the cabin comings first or after laying the decking.  I also plan to add a few details jcoby did not.  There is separate planks under the windless,fife rail (larger then deck planks) and a small round hatch in the bow I want to add.  They will hardly be noticeable in the end but I am trying to come up with a plan on how to do all this.  In addition, as I want to make her as she is in real life, I will be adding the props and drive shafts to the hull.  I have not seen anyone add this feature so I will be running solo.  My first thought is silver solder metal bands and support tubes for the prop shafts.  I will need to order tools for that from some ware as I have no experience with this kind of soldering. Which is a great reason to go that route .  I also thought plastic, or wood could be used.  The prop shafts will be brass rod and the props are cast parts that came with the kit.  Any additional thoughts are welcome.     

There is probably an easier way to fix this but I will try and illustrate how I fixed the problem.  I started by trimming off the ends to the proper length with the knee in place.  I then used the laser cut portion as a template to draw a new piece.  I did this on the same sheet that held the original plank sheers.  I then used a straight edge and x-acto knife to trim what would be the two prongs.  These I then carefully glued in place.  I then carefully used the x-acto knife and a jewelers file to widen the slot as needed for the stern knees to fit in place.  Then I sanded the top and sides to match the rest of the plank sheer.

Finally here are a few shots after the repair, sorry the photos are not  great.  I hope this helps at least document the problem for other POB II builders

The second problem with the Plank sheer is it is to short aft, approximately 1/4" .  The second photo shows this and you can also see a piece of the starboard piece has broken off as well.  There are eight knees that mate with the hull and the stern here. The two outboard fit in this slot in the plank sheer.  As is this will leave a gap.  This is the problem jcoby mentioned previously.  Here are two photos showing what I am talking about.