robdurant

Hi,
 
Hoping to make a fully framed frigate in the future in 1:64, so this seems the perfect place to try out some of those skills. I've only done plank on bulkhead before from kits, so it's a bit of a journey into the unknown, but how helpful to have so many others who've travelled the path before me!
 
I scaled the plans down by a factor of 0.75 to take them from 1:48 to 1:64 (where 3/16" is equivalent to 1ft).
 
Here are the picture so far. Parts are walnut. I've left the keelson, keel and false keel longer than the plans and intend to trim them down later on in the build.
 

 

Hi,
 
Hoping to make a fully framed frigate in the future in 1:64, so this seems the perfect place to try out some of those skills. I've only done plank on bulkhead before from kits, so it's a bit of a journey into the unknown, but how helpful to have so many others who've travelled the path before me!
 
I scaled the plans down by a factor of 0.75 to take them from 1:48 to 1:64 (where 3/16" is equivalent to 1ft).
 
Here are the picture so far. Parts are walnut. I've left the keelson, keel and false keel longer than the plans and intend to trim them down later on in the build.
 

 

Now we're up to date... I've been using the same strategy with the second planking to try and get really neat runs of planking without lots of drop planks and stealers... time will tell whether I end up getting bitten, but so far I'm pleased with it. I have a thermos flask with freshly boiled water in it, and then here's what I do for each plank:
 
Use paper to take a map of the curve of the plank (as though spiling) Mark out the width of the plank to fit and trim with a craft knife and sandpaper. Bevel the edge of the plank (I have good intentions, but I'm not very good at this yet!) Soak the plank in the _hot_ water for 30 seconds Edge bend the plank according to the paper prepared above. (with 1x4mm walnut, it'll hold it's shape fairly easily) Use plank nippers to bend the plank in for the bow and stern. Test, re-test, and glue in place with pins (or near the top, clamps to avoid pin marks)  
And here are the results so far...
 

 
There are gaps in between several of the planks, which I suspect may be shrinkage... I'm hoping next time I can spile, to avoid the soaking process, and that way avoid those gaps... Of course, it may not be shrinkage at all, but simply that my skills aren't quite up there yet
 
Anyway - I'm pretty pleased with how it's going, and the rest of the planks will be under the waterline and painting dull white, so it's not looking too bad now!
 
In amidst the planking I decided to start on something completely different to freshen up a little... I've begun the gratings. And I found a sailor left over from Pickle to keep eyes on proceedings too
 

 
Once the edging is on, I'll sand these to have curved tops...
 
But that's for next time.
 
Happy building
 
Rob
 
[edited to restore photos, 11, 13 July 2017]

Next up was planking...
 
I wanted to try spiling, but I didn't want to splash out on lots of extra wood at the time, so I thought I'd try edge bending the wood to see how well I could get it to fit. I was fairly pleased with the results, but even using the tick strips, it became evident just how much edge bending was required to get a nice run of wood without lots of stealers and drop planks... Next time I hope I'll be able to get the wider planks and spile instead. Nevertheless, not too bad for a first planking.
 

 

 
Again, you can see bulkhead 9 waiting to jump out and get me!
 
Next it was time to put the transom on - and this was where I had to deal with bulkhead 9. I tried just gluing the transom on and leaving a gap, but it looked really messy. I would have had to double-plank the bulkhead so that I could fill the gap between it and the transom, so I took the transom off again, and sanded down the bulkhead so it was even.
 
Now it plays nicer!
 

 
That meant I was ready for the second planking.
 
[edited to restore photos, 11, 13 July 2017]

The next task was the gunport patterns.
 
These were placed for 30 seconds in water straight out of the kettle, and then clamped round a coffee mug that was roughly the same radius as the bow of Sherbourne. A couple of hours later, they'd dried, and held their shape beautifully... In fact, I'd bent them slightly too far round, and putting them back into the hot water for a few seconds loosened them up and allowed them to be glued and clamped in place while the glue set...
 

 

 
This job's a little bit fiddly, but well worth taking time over, because it affects whether the guns will look right in their places later on, and has a big impact on the symmetry of the boat.
 
After drying overnight I took off all the clamps, and I was really pleased with how they'd turned out... perhaps .5mm down on one side, but not so much it'll be noticeable.
 
For those of you wondering how she sizes up against Pickle... here you go (apologies for the reflections / quality of the pic - I was in a hurry):
 

[edited to restore photos, 11, 13 July 2017]

The next task was to fill the gaps between bulkheads 1-3 and 7-9 with balsa to help me find a smooth flow as I finished fairing the bulkheads. You may notice in these photos that I clean forgot to add the bow formers that sit up against the keel former at this point, and had to cut into the balsa to add these retrospectively. Again - too much haste, and so less speed!
 

 
You can see in this photo how bulkhead 9 is at a slight angle - with the starboard side (on the left of this photo because it's keel up) slightly further forward... across its width, this adds up to ~6mm!
 
Eventually, it started to look like I was hoping it would... I added a strip of lime to the bottom of the keel former to help the rabbet.
 

 
[edited to restore photos, 11 July 2017]

So - to the build.
 
I started about a month ago, and unpacked the kit eagerly... having checked the parts I got the ply keel out and checked to see if it was flat... sadly it wasn't. It was about 5mm out lengthwise, and two or three from top to bottom, giving a shape rather like a bowl.
 
Attempted remedies of making one side damp and weighting it down for 48 hours seemed to work at first, but minutes after the weights were taken off, the ply sprung back.
 
Rather than give up, I decided to be brave, and use the keel as a template to make a new one from a sheet of walnut I had.
 
Several hours later, I'd made this (and included an extra frame to help with the planking).
 

 

 
It was only later on in the build that I'd realise that bulkhead 9, which forms the base of the transom was wonky because the back of the deck was not square... That's my fault for being in too much of a hurry! We'll get to that later, though.
 
I roughly faired the bulkheads to take off the worst of the excess material at the bow and stern, sanded a rabbet into the keel former, and then I used the deck to square up the bulkheads and glued the bulkheads into position, using lego blocks to square them up. Here you can see the results with the walnut stem and keel added.
 

[edited to restore photos, 11, 13 July 2017]

Well, I'm a little late starting this building log, but it's been an interesting model to build, so I thought I'd share my experiences. Hope it's helpful, anyway.
 
I'm hoping this will be an opportunity to try out some new skills and improve my planking skills before attempting something a bit larger!
 
First off, a quick look at the kit itself. It comes in a small, but really nice and sturdy box, with everything packed in very neatly.
 

 

 
The instructions are much more simple than the instructions for Pickle (a more recent kit, I believe), and reading them through I was glad I'd built Pickle first. Nevertheless, having build Pickle, these are perfectly adequate. The plans are excellent, and give lots of detail, including step by step illustrations for the construction of the hull.
 
Looking closely you'll see the the walnut ply used for the cannon carriages and capping rails has been cut out right to the edge... on the other side this has led to a slight split going through the capping rail itself, but nothing too major, and it should be simple enough to put right (I'll mount it good side up!)
 
So far I've found that all the materials are provided with plenty to spare, just as with Pickle.
 
[edited to restore photos, 11, 13 July 2017]

Very Interesting build Rob, and how you got out of some nasty scrapes.
 
One question on your other build(Pickle), how many figures did you have in the kit.
 
Am torn between doing My Pickle or getting this one to do first.
 
Great work and watching with Interest.
 
Frank.

Next up was planking...
 
I wanted to try spiling, but I didn't want to splash out on lots of extra wood at the time, so I thought I'd try edge bending the wood to see how well I could get it to fit. I was fairly pleased with the results, but even using the tick strips, it became evident just how much edge bending was required to get a nice run of wood without lots of stealers and drop planks... Next time I hope I'll be able to get the wider planks and spile instead. Nevertheless, not too bad for a first planking.
 

 

 
Again, you can see bulkhead 9 waiting to jump out and get me!
 
Next it was time to put the transom on - and this was where I had to deal with bulkhead 9. I tried just gluing the transom on and leaving a gap, but it looked really messy. I would have had to double-plank the bulkhead so that I could fill the gap between it and the transom, so I took the transom off again, and sanded down the bulkhead so it was even.
 
Now it plays nicer!
 

 
That meant I was ready for the second planking.
 
[edited to restore photos, 11, 13 July 2017]

The next task was to fill the gaps between bulkheads 1-3 and 7-9 with balsa to help me find a smooth flow as I finished fairing the bulkheads. You may notice in these photos that I clean forgot to add the bow formers that sit up against the keel former at this point, and had to cut into the balsa to add these retrospectively. Again - too much haste, and so less speed!
 

 
You can see in this photo how bulkhead 9 is at a slight angle - with the starboard side (on the left of this photo because it's keel up) slightly further forward... across its width, this adds up to ~6mm!
 
Eventually, it started to look like I was hoping it would... I added a strip of lime to the bottom of the keel former to help the rabbet.
 

 
[edited to restore photos, 11 July 2017]

Well, I'm a little late starting this building log, but it's been an interesting model to build, so I thought I'd share my experiences. Hope it's helpful, anyway.
 
I'm hoping this will be an opportunity to try out some new skills and improve my planking skills before attempting something a bit larger!
 
First off, a quick look at the kit itself. It comes in a small, but really nice and sturdy box, with everything packed in very neatly.
 

 

 
The instructions are much more simple than the instructions for Pickle (a more recent kit, I believe), and reading them through I was glad I'd built Pickle first. Nevertheless, having build Pickle, these are perfectly adequate. The plans are excellent, and give lots of detail, including step by step illustrations for the construction of the hull.
 
Looking closely you'll see the the walnut ply used for the cannon carriages and capping rails has been cut out right to the edge... on the other side this has led to a slight split going through the capping rail itself, but nothing too major, and it should be simple enough to put right (I'll mount it good side up!)
 
So far I've found that all the materials are provided with plenty to spare, just as with Pickle.
 
[edited to restore photos, 11, 13 July 2017]

So - to the build.
 
I started about a month ago, and unpacked the kit eagerly... having checked the parts I got the ply keel out and checked to see if it was flat... sadly it wasn't. It was about 5mm out lengthwise, and two or three from top to bottom, giving a shape rather like a bowl.
 
Attempted remedies of making one side damp and weighting it down for 48 hours seemed to work at first, but minutes after the weights were taken off, the ply sprung back.
 
Rather than give up, I decided to be brave, and use the keel as a template to make a new one from a sheet of walnut I had.
 
Several hours later, I'd made this (and included an extra frame to help with the planking).
 

 

 
It was only later on in the build that I'd realise that bulkhead 9, which forms the base of the transom was wonky because the back of the deck was not square... That's my fault for being in too much of a hurry! We'll get to that later, though.
 
I roughly faired the bulkheads to take off the worst of the excess material at the bow and stern, sanded a rabbet into the keel former, and then I used the deck to square up the bulkheads and glued the bulkheads into position, using lego blocks to square them up. Here you can see the results with the walnut stem and keel added.
 

[edited to restore photos, 11, 13 July 2017]

Think I've got a bit of catching up to do.  Firstly, heres the Captain Cook Monument in Waimea, no undercooked beef wellington shots in this one   .  Found the beach he landed at, nothing special but couldn't locate the plaque that allegedly marks the spot according to guide books.
 

 
I have managed at least an interim milestone, the completion of the starboard copper...this task just goes on and on
 
Couple of items I've found to be helpful:
Super Solvent - I've found this product to be highly effective at getting rid of any CA glue residue (at least the Admiralty Pro thick stuff).  Wiping over the surface of any potential smearing is usually enough Some plates plates require very acute angles to be cut and when using scissors (which I find by far the easiest), the ends tend to curl and distort horribly.  I found that cutting these as part of a larger section this problem is eliminated, although care is needed still to separate them.
 
And the results.  Some of the photos are before I cleaned to plates with copper cleaner, which I did to ensure that there was no CA residue anywhere.  These will need to be done again once all the plates are on as I can guarantee more finger prints.  Managed to do the copper plate pattern at the bow that seems to be prevalent on so many models and AOTS drafts, slight discrepancies in the plates will only become less noticeable as the copper ages and darkens.  Overall I'm very happy with the Amati plates, and slight plate misalignments that just seem to be inevitable when using CA glue are tolerable.  Not sure I could do it any better if I were to do it again, so I think that's the yardstick to meaure to.
 
At the bow, I plated the cutwater first and tried to shape the plates on the planking to match the required curve.  Its far from perfect but will do.  I think these areas are inherently limited given the thickness of the plates, I suspect using copper tape would allow a more scale appearance.
 
I drilled some small holes in the waterline batten to simulate nails and highlighted with pencil, these are not to scale but felt it gives it a little bit more functional relevance.
 

 
Et voila!  The pinkish hue of freshly cleaned copper reminded me on the AOTS Diana picture, I was very pleased with the lines that appear once the waterline is apparent. Obviously next step is to continue with the other side.... 
 

Thanks for the likes and the helpful comments. It's the first time I've soaked planks so I'm on the learning curve.
 
It is encouraging to have other builds going on at the same time. Bit more time today so I'll try letting the planks dry before I fit them finally. Might make a start on some other bits while I'm waiting for that to happen.

I agree with Cobr@ above. I also use water to help the planks bend better but I never glue them wet. Better to take the extra time for it.

Hello
 
Nice to see another Sherbourne on the building table and it is fun to see that we are at the same stage:). I will follow along. 

Fascinating! Didn't realize how much smaller she is against the Pickle 8)

Glad you're posting the log. I look forward to following the rest of the build.
 
Tony

Now we're up to date... I've been using the same strategy with the second planking to try and get really neat runs of planking without lots of drop planks and stealers... time will tell whether I end up getting bitten, but so far I'm pleased with it. I have a thermos flask with freshly boiled water in it, and then here's what I do for each plank:
 
Use paper to take a map of the curve of the plank (as though spiling) Mark out the width of the plank to fit and trim with a craft knife and sandpaper. Bevel the edge of the plank (I have good intentions, but I'm not very good at this yet!) Soak the plank in the _hot_ water for 30 seconds Edge bend the plank according to the paper prepared above. (with 1x4mm walnut, it'll hold it's shape fairly easily) Use plank nippers to bend the plank in for the bow and stern. Test, re-test, and glue in place with pins (or near the top, clamps to avoid pin marks)  
And here are the results so far...
 

 
There are gaps in between several of the planks, which I suspect may be shrinkage... I'm hoping next time I can spile, to avoid the soaking process, and that way avoid those gaps... Of course, it may not be shrinkage at all, but simply that my skills aren't quite up there yet
 
Anyway - I'm pretty pleased with how it's going, and the rest of the planks will be under the waterline and painting dull white, so it's not looking too bad now!
 
In amidst the planking I decided to start on something completely different to freshen up a little... I've begun the gratings. And I found a sailor left over from Pickle to keep eyes on proceedings too
 

 
Once the edging is on, I'll sand these to have curved tops...
 
But that's for next time.
 
Happy building
 
Rob
 
[edited to restore photos, 11, 13 July 2017]

Next up was planking...
 
I wanted to try spiling, but I didn't want to splash out on lots of extra wood at the time, so I thought I'd try edge bending the wood to see how well I could get it to fit. I was fairly pleased with the results, but even using the tick strips, it became evident just how much edge bending was required to get a nice run of wood without lots of stealers and drop planks... Next time I hope I'll be able to get the wider planks and spile instead. Nevertheless, not too bad for a first planking.
 

 

 
Again, you can see bulkhead 9 waiting to jump out and get me!
 
Next it was time to put the transom on - and this was where I had to deal with bulkhead 9. I tried just gluing the transom on and leaving a gap, but it looked really messy. I would have had to double-plank the bulkhead so that I could fill the gap between it and the transom, so I took the transom off again, and sanded down the bulkhead so it was even.
 
Now it plays nicer!
 

 
That meant I was ready for the second planking.
 
[edited to restore photos, 11, 13 July 2017]

The next task was the gunport patterns.
 
These were placed for 30 seconds in water straight out of the kettle, and then clamped round a coffee mug that was roughly the same radius as the bow of Sherbourne. A couple of hours later, they'd dried, and held their shape beautifully... In fact, I'd bent them slightly too far round, and putting them back into the hot water for a few seconds loosened them up and allowed them to be glued and clamped in place while the glue set...
 

 

 
This job's a little bit fiddly, but well worth taking time over, because it affects whether the guns will look right in their places later on, and has a big impact on the symmetry of the boat.
 
After drying overnight I took off all the clamps, and I was really pleased with how they'd turned out... perhaps .5mm down on one side, but not so much it'll be noticeable.
 
For those of you wondering how she sizes up against Pickle... here you go (apologies for the reflections / quality of the pic - I was in a hurry):
 

[edited to restore photos, 11, 13 July 2017]

The next task was to fill the gaps between bulkheads 1-3 and 7-9 with balsa to help me find a smooth flow as I finished fairing the bulkheads. You may notice in these photos that I clean forgot to add the bow formers that sit up against the keel former at this point, and had to cut into the balsa to add these retrospectively. Again - too much haste, and so less speed!
 

 
You can see in this photo how bulkhead 9 is at a slight angle - with the starboard side (on the left of this photo because it's keel up) slightly further forward... across its width, this adds up to ~6mm!
 
Eventually, it started to look like I was hoping it would... I added a strip of lime to the bottom of the keel former to help the rabbet.
 

 
[edited to restore photos, 11 July 2017]

So - to the build.
 
I started about a month ago, and unpacked the kit eagerly... having checked the parts I got the ply keel out and checked to see if it was flat... sadly it wasn't. It was about 5mm out lengthwise, and two or three from top to bottom, giving a shape rather like a bowl.
 
Attempted remedies of making one side damp and weighting it down for 48 hours seemed to work at first, but minutes after the weights were taken off, the ply sprung back.
 
Rather than give up, I decided to be brave, and use the keel as a template to make a new one from a sheet of walnut I had.
 
Several hours later, I'd made this (and included an extra frame to help with the planking).
 

 

 
It was only later on in the build that I'd realise that bulkhead 9, which forms the base of the transom was wonky because the back of the deck was not square... That's my fault for being in too much of a hurry! We'll get to that later, though.
 
I roughly faired the bulkheads to take off the worst of the excess material at the bow and stern, sanded a rabbet into the keel former, and then I used the deck to square up the bulkheads and glued the bulkheads into position, using lego blocks to square them up. Here you can see the results with the walnut stem and keel added.
 

[edited to restore photos, 11, 13 July 2017]

Well, I'm a little late starting this building log, but it's been an interesting model to build, so I thought I'd share my experiences. Hope it's helpful, anyway.
 
I'm hoping this will be an opportunity to try out some new skills and improve my planking skills before attempting something a bit larger!
 
First off, a quick look at the kit itself. It comes in a small, but really nice and sturdy box, with everything packed in very neatly.
 

 

 
The instructions are much more simple than the instructions for Pickle (a more recent kit, I believe), and reading them through I was glad I'd built Pickle first. Nevertheless, having build Pickle, these are perfectly adequate. The plans are excellent, and give lots of detail, including step by step illustrations for the construction of the hull.
 
Looking closely you'll see the the walnut ply used for the cannon carriages and capping rails has been cut out right to the edge... on the other side this has led to a slight split going through the capping rail itself, but nothing too major, and it should be simple enough to put right (I'll mount it good side up!)
 
So far I've found that all the materials are provided with plenty to spare, just as with Pickle.
 
[edited to restore photos, 11, 13 July 2017]