Stuntflyer

A milestone was reached today along with a a few small updates. . .
 
Not surprisingly, it was pointed out at the last club meeting that the starboard side boom crutch was leaning a bit outboard compared to the other one. I was able to correct this after removing it and re-sanding the bottom surface to a slightly different angle. The back of each crutch was also sanded to mimic to the overall curve of the transom. Maybe not perfect, but overall I'm satisfied with the result.
 

 
I quickly found that making the strops for the deadeyes (those attached to the chainplates) were going to take some trial and error fitting in order to determine the proper length. A small change and they would rise above or fall too far below the cap rail fancy molding.
 
With that in mind I made a simple jig to make uniform strops at the proper length. 22 gauge wire was bent around .045 music wire (Photo 2) and formed to the proper length (photo 3). After inserting a 5/32" dowel into the hole (photo 4) the wire is crisscrossed and pulled tight against the dowel (photo 5). The wire was then ready to be cut and wrapped around the deadeye.
 

 
Prior to attaching the chainplates and a number of eyebolts, the wales were lightly sanded, taped off and given final spray coats of Grumbacher "Mars Black" Acrylic paint. I have switched over from the W&N acrylics since having difficulty getting their "Mars Black" acrylic paint to brush on evenly and dry thoroughly. The outer hull details are now completed other than some weathering detail on the plates.
 

 
Moving to the inboard details, I drilled out the inboard scuppers and made the catheads.
 

A milestone was reached today along with a a few small updates. . .
 
Not surprisingly, it was pointed out at the last club meeting that the starboard side boom crutch was leaning a bit outboard compared to the other one. I was able to correct this after removing it and re-sanding the bottom surface to a slightly different angle. The back of each crutch was also sanded to mimic to the overall curve of the transom. Maybe not perfect, but overall I'm satisfied with the result.
 

 
I quickly found that making the strops for the deadeyes (those attached to the chainplates) were going to take some trial and error fitting in order to determine the proper length. A small change and they would rise above or fall too far below the cap rail fancy molding.
 
With that in mind I made a simple jig to make uniform strops at the proper length. 22 gauge wire was bent around .045 music wire (Photo 2) and formed to the proper length (photo 3). After inserting a 5/32" dowel into the hole (photo 4) the wire is crisscrossed and pulled tight against the dowel (photo 5). The wire was then ready to be cut and wrapped around the deadeye.
 

 
Prior to attaching the chainplates and a number of eyebolts, the wales were lightly sanded, taped off and given final spray coats of Grumbacher "Mars Black" Acrylic paint. I have switched over from the W&N acrylics since having difficulty getting their "Mars Black" acrylic paint to brush on evenly and dry thoroughly. The outer hull details are now completed other than some weathering detail on the plates.
 

 
Moving to the inboard details, I drilled out the inboard scuppers and made the catheads.
 

A milestone was reached today along with a a few small updates. . .
 
Not surprisingly, it was pointed out at the last club meeting that the starboard side boom crutch was leaning a bit outboard compared to the other one. I was able to correct this after removing it and re-sanding the bottom surface to a slightly different angle. The back of each crutch was also sanded to mimic to the overall curve of the transom. Maybe not perfect, but overall I'm satisfied with the result.
 

 
I quickly found that making the strops for the deadeyes (those attached to the chainplates) were going to take some trial and error fitting in order to determine the proper length. A small change and they would rise above or fall too far below the cap rail fancy molding.
 
With that in mind I made a simple jig to make uniform strops at the proper length. 22 gauge wire was bent around .045 music wire (Photo 2) and formed to the proper length (photo 3). After inserting a 5/32" dowel into the hole (photo 4) the wire is crisscrossed and pulled tight against the dowel (photo 5). The wire was then ready to be cut and wrapped around the deadeye.
 

 
Prior to attaching the chainplates and a number of eyebolts, the wales were lightly sanded, taped off and given final spray coats of Grumbacher "Mars Black" Acrylic paint. I have switched over from the W&N acrylics since having difficulty getting their "Mars Black" acrylic paint to brush on evenly and dry thoroughly. The outer hull details are now completed other than some weathering detail on the plates.
 

 
Moving to the inboard details, I drilled out the inboard scuppers and made the catheads.
 

A nice introduction to your new project Bob,.....
 
I will with pleasure be following along, wish you a good keellaying session in due time and just as much fun with the build as you had with the "Cheerful"
 
Nils

Druxey, your work is such a delight to watch, exquisite work with the triple zero, the boats not too shabby either.
 
Michael

Thank you very much!!!
 
I have started on the pumps today.
 
Basically I started with a 3/16" square and used the 7/10/7 ratio to convert it to an octagon.   You can see how I carefully marked the blank and then filed the piece to shape.   The end was drilled out afterwards.
 

 
I also laser cut the handle from 1/64" thick boxwood.  The handle bracket was made from 3/32" thick stock.   The bracket was tapered where it attaches to the pump tube.  Then it was notched out with a fine file to make it look like a fork.  The handle will fit into this.  But first I must paint the pieces and then assemble them.  Maybe tomorrow.
 
Chuck

Nice bit of filing, Chuck. Looks like it was turned!

Just a small update even though I have been working on her steady.   The guns on the starboard side are completed.   The deck rings for the inhaul tackles were added as well.
 

 
Then I made the galley stack. This was pretty straight forward.....four thin pieces glued together.   Measurements were taken from the plans.   When it was all glued up I sanded the four sides even more to thin it down a great deal.  The thickness of the walls were needed to look like metal so the thinner the better.  It was painted black and then treated so the finish looked like the cannon.   Hopefully it looks different than the wood parts painted black.
 

 

 

 
Finally I made the mast coat.  It is a bit of self indulgence.  I realize it wouldnt look like this in actuality but many times they are shaped like this on contemporary models.   I prefer it over seeing those pie-shaped wedges.  I think that looks very clunky.   You can see in the photo how it looked before and after.  It started out as a plain washer of boxwood.  The I shaped it by hand with the two files and emery board.
 

 
Next up is the pumps and winch.... 

Thanks Ken and all those likes.
 
Next was another of Chucks mini kits, the sky light.
 
It is very small and delicate but as you can see Chuck gives you extra pieces and it all 
went together with no problems.
 

 

 
Companionway and windless are next!

Congrats Bob!
 
A nicely done model and I have learned quite a lot from watching you throughout the process. I'm looking forward to following your new build.
 
Mike

The roof of the coach has been completed and installed. As this is curved, a suitable strategy for building it is needed. I considered carving it from solid, but this would be difficult to keep a consistent thickness. I decided to cooper it, that is to say, build it up as one would a barrel. 
 
The first step was to carve a form to build it on. I hollowed a piece of basswood to the appropriate radius, which in this case was 3½" full size (first photo). It was then shaped to the shape of the roof and marked out for the six planks that are nominally 1' 0" (scale) wide. These were cut and shaped with a slight bevel on each edge. They were then glued up on the form. 
 
Once complete, two 'rafters' were glued on the underside to maintain shape and integrity. A piece of fine sandpaper was rubber cemented to the form and the upper side of the roof sanded (second and third photos). The outer side edges of the roof were sanded flat, to fit the coach top edges. 
 
Following the color used on Prince Frederick's barge, I painted the roof a blueish green to imitate a verdigris copper roof. On the actual barge, the roof appears to be covered with painted canvas. I used a mix of viridian green, some white and then toned down with the addition of a touch of black. The top of the capitals on the coach were also painted this color and the roof glued in place. 
 
Next is the decorative work at the stern.

Very nice Eric. There are a lot of us using hi-tech towels out here and I'm glad you were able to get one.

Here are a couple of photos of the port side of the Cheerful. You can see my high tech set up of how I'm holding it while planking this part . . . an old towel. It's something soft that won't damage the hull, and I can position the ship the way I want it. Also you can see the small clamps and clothes pins I'm using to hold the planks in place while the glue sets. These photos are the raw look before any sanding has been done . . . with finger prints, glue smudges, etc. 


 

 
Erik

Wonderful build Bob. It will be a great reference for cheerful builders, myself included.

Congrats Bob!
 
A nicely done model and I have learned quite a lot from watching you throughout the process. I'm looking forward to following your new build.
 
Mike

Congrats Bob!
 
A nicely done model and I have learned quite a lot from watching you throughout the process. I'm looking forward to following your new build.
 
Mike

Well, I finally made up my mind on the braces. Let's just say that my heart  overcame my head (the purists can line up over here and start beating me around the head    ). This completes the rigging.
 
While I was agonizing on the brace issue, I made up the two anchors. Given my longtime aversion to metal work, the anchors are made entirely of sheet and strip boxwood. The bands on the stocks are black painted paper. The rings are wire bent to shape, with .025" line wrapped around them for the puddening. I'm still at a loss, even after consulting with Chuck and reviewing photos of contemporary models, as to how to mount the anchors. I've tried a few ways and nothing seems quite right.
 
Bob

Thanks again for all of you who are dropping in on this log.
 
Further progress sees the completion of the gunwale and its extension aft as a moulding. The aft section of gunwale is 1½" thick, rather than ¾". You can see the step up forward of the cabin area. The moulding section was wet-formed on the plug (lowest photo), then painted and applied to the model. It has a C-curve in one plane and an S-curve in the other.
 
It was necessary to complete the gunwale before proceeding with the coach sides. I'm now cutting and fitting card pattern pieces for the coach sides.

I finished the 2nd long gun as well (see images below). I am quite happy now to move on to something else .
 
Thomas
 

Image 1
 
 

Image 2
 
 

Image 3

I reached a mini milestone by getting the above-the-wale portion of one side of the hull planked up to where the cap rail will be.  The planking between the gun ports is fun, but a bit tedious.  I've done the preliminary sanding of what I've planked so far, and a rough faring along the top of the bulwark.  Still needs more work, but I'd rather wait until both sides are done before I tidy things up.  So . . . it's still a bit rough looking.
 

 

 

 
Erik

Installed the false keel. It is the first time I work with ebony, and probably the last. Working with ebony is all about cleaning, cleaning, cleaning and again cleaning. Bleh!
 

 
Shaped it with the Veritas mini block plane, its blade is really hard, cuts ebony without any issues:

 
Result:

 

Well it’s time to start chapter 6 which covers inboard work. The first step
requires making a lot of dust again. The bulwarks need to be thinned down
to 1/16”. I placed a piece of strip wood to show 1/16” and how much needs
to be removed.
 

 
To accomplish this I used a dremel tool with a course bit and then a fine
sanding drum to get close and finished with sandpaper. Here you can see
the tools I used  as well as the down draft table to collect the majority
of the dust.
 

 
Here you can see a section roughed in. Once all has been sanded like this I’ll
go back and clean it up and finish it off.
 

 
After finishing the sanding it will be time to install the false deck and plank
the bulwarks.  

I'm a little behind in my posting, because I've had some computer issues that have kept me from accessing or using my photos. Hopefully, all is resolved now.
 
The topsail yard has now been fitted out, mounted and rigged. As with the lower yard, the fitting out included adding the foot ropes, blocks, the yard portion of the halliard, the lifts, the clews and the braces. With all of that completed , I mounted the yard to a pin on the topmast and completed the rigging. This involved running the halliard through the masthead sheave and then adding it's tackle, running the lifts through blocks seized to the masthead, completing the clews and adding the sheets which were then run down through the sheaves in the lower yard and running the braces through a block hooked to an eye at the bowsprit tip.
 
From here, it is on to the gaff and boom.
 
Bob

I've been busy over the past few days with the timberheads, those pesky boom crutches and painting. The timberheads proved to be not too difficult as long as I was careful while filing them to shape. The boom crutches proved to be another story as making these put my patience to the test. I only had to make three to get the required two though the process took the better part of a day. I was relieved to get them glued on the boat. The cleanup painting continues. . . .
 
Viewing the boom crutches from this angle distorts the symmetry of the two pieces but you should be able to get the general idea of how they look.

 

Today's post is the result of the last two weeks work. A little embarrassing perhaps since it seems that little was accomplished. Still, I'm pleased with the result so I really can't complain. 
 
The eyebolts and ringbolts were made from 24 gauge dark annealed wire. For consistent positioning I made a simple jig. The wedge shape allows the jig to angle so the ledge on the bottom can sit tight against the gunport. The small piece on top is a handle. I was a bit nervous about using CA here for fear of messing up the paint so I used slow drying epoxy. I placed a tiny bit onto a pin and worked it into the hole. The cleats along the bulwarks are all 7mm from Chuck. They were pinned and painted. Again, they were glued in with slow drying epoxy.