Bill Hime

Yes, if it's just a few 'offenders', you are much better off bringing them in line with everyone else.  I'm with Alistair on getting the stem and keel on while you can keep everything flat.  But remember, we're not looking at your plans to see if that might cause any problems down the road....always keep that in mind.
 
Looks great so far.  Get those bulkheads in squarely.  As a carpenter you know how important this is.  You'll be doing the final fairing once everything is in place and solid.
 
Do they call for any filler blocks or supports between the bulkheads?

Faired the bulkheads today. Took quite a bit of tweaking to get them to settle into the center keel slots. Below is my first initial dry fit. I took some close ups, you can see there is little space for the bearding line across the mid keel length. My first thought is to buildup the top of the center keel and raise the bulkheads up to meet it flush. I'm thinking 3/32". This seems easier than altering the shape of the bulkheads and thus the shape of the hull is preserved..
 
Your thoughts are welcomed as always !
 
 

 

 

 

 

 
 
Again, thanks to all of you!
 
Bill

Bill,
 
I hope you will enjoy this small scale work--how different is it from your cabinetry experience?
 
Your enthusiasm is great.  I'm following along. 
 
Ron

Lou,
 
Thought I'd stop in and see what you're building over here. Wow, this is a beautiful build! I'll definitely be following along . Thank you for following me through my first build. I greatly appreciate your input.
 
Bill

I had the same issues with the bulkheads. I simply soaked some of the included 1/4" basswood in water for 30s and thin CA glued it to the bulkheads as needed. Seems like I had 4-6 that needed this treatment after fairing including a couple at the top. One set of bulkheads needed no sanding at the top.
 
I had no issues with the false keel matching the plans. There are no references on the plans to make sure they are to scale so it is possible that the printer was out of whack that day or your plans have swollen. The important thing is that the keel matches the false keel and that the bearding line is true.
 
My plans were accurate enough that I used the planking diagram to mark the hull and ended up within a few thou of what the plans called for.
 
I also had some warpage to my false keel but not nearly as extreme. When you go to install the first set of planks be sure to true the false keel as you go. It is very very easy to warp it as you glue and it's impossible to fix after you start planking and it will haunt you for the rest of the build.
 
Having never built a ship before I find that the plans can be a bit vague in places and the instructions are good for the first few pages and then they give up when it comes to the hard details.

Lou has you in the right place....again!  Your wood is probably a little dry and the variance is in the ballpark.  You'll be fine tuning everything when you fair the hull.
 
Plans are also affected by ambient conditions to some extent.  I tend to treat them like the Bible.
 
I have a feeling I'll be learning more from you then I can ever return!

Brilliant little tutorial there Bill re Scoring & Gluing to remove a 'Bow' ... thanks again for taking the time out to explain! had never heard of that method
 
Best of Luck with the build, am watching and learning over here!
 
Eamonn

Hi Bill
I agree with Lou in all respects. The plans are just plans. You can be very intuitive about the build around the planking. Get the planking flow right with respect to the frames you have and go for it. If the hull shape doesn't exactly match the plans; no one will know.The biggest lesson, that I still forget, is getting the relationship between the deck, wale and gun port sills right...but that is later. Good work on the keel flattening - you are underway and your woodworking skills make this one to watch.
 
Cheers
Alistair

Oh, and you might want to add a bit of support behind the forward 5 (or so) bulkheads. A 1/2" block of balsa would be sufficient.
 
The #3 bulkhead on both sides warped aft about 1/16" from the planking process. It caused no visible problems but it does make the planking spacing a bit off. It won't be visible on mine since I will be painting but if you are going to leave it natural it will be visible.

Eamonn,
 
Definitely! Scoring is basically etching a line in wood. Often used in mortise and tenon work to create a stopping point when trimming out with a chisel so the cut does not peel out past the intended area.
Scoring can also be repeated cuts across grain to relieve stress in the wood and relax a bow in a board. My center keel had a significant bow in it's length. After scoring the keel in several spots along it's length, I then applied glue brushed deep into the scoring lines followed by clamping/pressing. The glue was to protect the joints from chipping out.
I cut approx. 1/2 the thickness of the center keel lumber. I'm delighted to say my center keel came out flat  See example below:
 

 
Thanks for asking, Bill
 

Bill can I back-track you a bit.. you mentioned 'Scoring and Gluing' earlier to straighten the false keel (sorry to bring you so far back, but a lot of posts happened in the middle there whilst I was away from the computer:) )
Could you describe this technique to me as I haven't heard of it before.
 
Thanks in Advance
 
Eamonn

Casey,
 
I've posted more pics than text thus far, lol. I'm only using Wenge for the keel, plankshears and rails. Perhaps some other small details. Wenge is a great wood, and as long as you select pieces with a tighter grain and cut your pieces to run with the grain it should look quite nice
 
Sudomekh,
 
You should start a build log and reference it when wanting to give an example..
 
 
Bill.

So here is last night's dry fitting of the bulkheads, as you can see, bulkheads G-K do not sit down in their slots. 
 

 

 

 
 
The next series of pictures are of the center keel after pressing. She still is a good 1/32" off of being straight, so I am going to score, glue and clamp her for about 24-48 hours and see how that comes out.
 
 
 

 

 
 
In doing all this, the biggest problem I have come across tonight is that bulkheads G-K are significantly cupped. Pressing them is not out of the question but the bigger issue I am running into, is that unlike newer kits, my bulkhead and false keel are all made out of true lumber and are not plywood. Fixing plywood is much simpler than fixing such thin pieces of wood that have sat in a box since 1999. So with that said, we will see how the keel turns out when I pull it out of the clamps, scoring is not an option as with the bulkheads I would have to run with the grain, whereas with the keel I was running across the grain. In the meantime I will be cutting out my keel, stem and stern post and making templates to transfer them onto the Wenge wood that I have selected as their replacement. 
 
Any thoughts are more than welcome. Looking forward to hearing what you have to say, in the meantime, I'll keep working away because there is always something that needs to be done in the shipyard.
 
Warm regards,
 
Bill

So here is last night's dry fitting of the bulkheads, as you can see, bulkheads G-K do not sit down in their slots. 
 

 

 

 
 
The next series of pictures are of the center keel after pressing. She still is a good 1/32" off of being straight, so I am going to score, glue and clamp her for about 24-48 hours and see how that comes out.
 
 
 

 

 
 
In doing all this, the biggest problem I have come across tonight is that bulkheads G-K are significantly cupped. Pressing them is not out of the question but the bigger issue I am running into, is that unlike newer kits, my bulkhead and false keel are all made out of true lumber and are not plywood. Fixing plywood is much simpler than fixing such thin pieces of wood that have sat in a box since 1999. So with that said, we will see how the keel turns out when I pull it out of the clamps, scoring is not an option as with the bulkheads I would have to run with the grain, whereas with the keel I was running across the grain. In the meantime I will be cutting out my keel, stem and stern post and making templates to transfer them onto the Wenge wood that I have selected as their replacement. 
 
Any thoughts are more than welcome. Looking forward to hearing what you have to say, in the meantime, I'll keep working away because there is always something that needs to be done in the shipyard.
 
Warm regards,
 
Bill

Very nice Augie. I always learn something from your post !
 
 
Bill

Hi bill, good to see you starting. I have to agree about flattening out the bulkhead former before doing anything else as per alistair, I have found that soaking the ply in water and then drying out over a day or so works well, just don't soak the ply to long as the glue between the plys will make it come apart.
Whatever way you decide to do it, just make sure the former is perfectly strait or you will be in for trouble.
 
Look forward to watching your build.
 
Ben

No major milestones but time for an update.
 
Planking continues.  The mishap with the flying paint jar on the port side was eradicated by removing most of the planking on that side, including 2 of the simulated sheaves, and starting over:
 

 
The starboard side is at the same point.  All of the sweep port openings and gun deck gun ports are completed:
 

 
I'll be working my way up to the forecastle and QD with the planking.  Then a good sanding before I add the second layer of planking to the main and channel wales.
 
 
 
 

Love your work area ! Can't wait to see your work.

You two have done a fine job with the workshop.  VERY nice.  And that's a great looking selection of wood.
 
And yup, straighten that bulkhead former.   We don't want you building a banana.
 
Best of the Holiday!

You're off to a great start, Bill.   I agree with with others about the keel and being straight.   Oh.. while you are at it, scatter some sawdust on that work area so the rest of us don't feel bad. 

Hi Bill,
 
Sorry that I'am to late to the party.
The start is good.
I will follow you further on in silence ( ok, now and then I will comment )
 

Alistair,
 
Thanks for popping in! Yes, you are right about needing to get the center keel (false keel) straight. If I need to address it after gluing and pressing, I will most likely score the offending areas, fill with glue and press until dry
 
 
Warm Regards,
 
Bill

As you can see, the shipyard has finally come to life!
 

 
Here you can see that everything has been inventoried, separated and tagged.
 

 
Upon examining the laser cut sheet stock, I found the center keel sheet and the bulkhead sheet to a lesser extent, were cupped. Something I will keep in mind when gluing and squaring the hull frame.
 

 

 

 
Next, then, all the bulkheads and the center keel have been removed, with the center keel given a light sanding. Bulkheads have been lettered and each marked with a reference line.  
 

 
At this point, I have put a lot of thought into changes I want to make to this kit. I plan on incorporating Wenge Wood into the keel and rudder, as well as the deck railings and plank sheers. I will also be using boxwood instead of basswood for the hull planking and I will be using Yellowheart  for the decking. Here below are an example of two of the woods.
 

 

 
I am going to cut out the keel pieces and plank sheers and use them as a finishing template for these pieces. I will use the laser cut outline, then, to lay the pieces out directly on the hardwood for cutting so they will be larger than needed. From here they will be rough cut and finished. Below, you can see that I have laid out dimensional stock on each of the pieces to determine how much wood would be needed and what size pieces of wood I would fit them into.
 

 

 

 
So tonight, I will be gluing up the center keel and pressing it under some weight as it dries. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving so it'll be back to the shipyard on Friday for some bulkhead gluing. Until then, happy Thanksgiving to all you guys and have a great holiday!
 
Warm regards,
 
Bill
 
 

Thank you John - I like it now .
 
A small "Tutorial" on how I made the Hances.
 
One trick I learned long ago is to make small pieces that are awkward to hold on the end of a long piece of stock which can be used as a handle for more control.
 
First I Milled the inside curve. These will all come out the same for the four of this type - the planking is finessed to fit the radius :
 

 
Next the outer curve is sanded down to follow the shape of the inner one. I started off with the Byrnes disc sander and finished with a sanding stick :
 

 
I could only use the molding scraper for the straight grained section :
 

 
The curved sections were cut with a very narrow Xacto chisel :
 

 
The piece will be cut off the longer stock when it's all cleaned up.
 
  Danny

OK, here you go Ben and the others who commented on my Hances v1.0 - I've remade the Planksheers and the first Hance using a dark shade of Swiss Pear. I'm much happier about the result - crisper definition and far less chipping out. There are minor irregularities which you can see under high magnification, but to the eye they look pretty good if I say so myself . They will look even better when a finish has been applied.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
  Danny