Stuntflyer

I dont own a drum sander.  Many folks dont.   I dont have a bandsaw either.   Many folks dont.   I also find my most precious item these days is time.   Like with other items and kit products available,  the last thing I want to do is buy something only to have to fix it so it meets my standards.   As a guy who would rather spend his limited time on the fun stuff,  I am just happy there is one wood supplier I can count on that supplies me with a product I dont have spend hours making usable.  OR spend extra money buying the tools to do so.  
 
I see nothing wrong with being extra happy about one thing that is actually supplied as advertised. So few things are these days.  There arent many places like this and I am very fortunate to have the resource.  Literally....Syren Ship Model Company would be out of business if I had to spend the time needed to re-thickness the amount of wood I use.   
 
I am sure everyone can mill their own if they wanted to and if they had the tools.   I just dont want to.   Thank you Jason for making my life a whole lot easier.   And the same goes for countless other model builders.     I ve got nothing but love for ya baby!!!  It made the difference between me being in business and out of business. 

I believe those tolerances and quality are better than any other supplier for pear and box.....so it is lucky for us that he is around.  If you were to try that exercise with any other supplier of boxwood.  Let me know what the measurements are.    That is fantastic.   
 
I agree with Druxey however in that it is over analysis.   I havent heard of anyone doing that with any other wood supplier.   So in fairness and a way to show just how incredible Crown is.  I would love to see what the results would be for other vendors.  You would be an even bigger fan of his milling if you did.

For those that are building the model or even just following along....I just added another chapter of the monograph to my site.
 
Its covers the planking and lining off process and I describe it in more detail than in my log.  I have had a lot of questions about how to line off the hull and to plank by bending edgewise etc.   Unlike the tutorial i posted on this site that talks about cutting the curved planks from wider stock,  or using tape to find the curve.... this chapter shows how I pre-bent the planks edgewise to achieve the same thing.  Neither technique is better than the other.  They are just different.  I hope it helps along with those videos posted as nobody could actually see how I was marking each plank etc in the videos.
 
Let me know if you have any questions.  I have posted all of the chapters through chapter four.....I am almost caughtup with writing. Yippee 
 
http://www.syrenshipmodelcompany.com/revenue-cutter-cheerful-1806.php
 
Chuck

Thats looking very good.  You will be catching up with me in no time.  I better start writing the next chapter!!!

As a general rule, serving was only applied (over worming and parcelling) where there was the possibility of chafing. The foremost shroud could get rubbed by the sail and the shrouds, where they pass around the mast head, would also be served.
 
Apparently, on some ships, the captain or commander disliked served strops because it would hide signs of deterioration of the line or its splice.
 
So, it's really model makers' choice!

I used some 1/16" basswood to build up the stern frames so there is a 1/16" notch per Chuck's instruction.  I dampened the short pieces and bent them with my bending iron, then glued them in place and after 24 hours, faired them.  I'll spend some time tomorrow checking the fairing of the bulkheads from every angle.  It seems painting the inside of the ports is next, then on to planking.
Maury

Well thought out and superbly executed. I second the WOW!

Well thought out and superbly executed. I second the WOW!

Well thought out and superbly executed. I second the WOW!

Your Mayflower turns out beautifully! It is a pleasure to watch the progress.
Where the "hardening" of the basswood is concerned I noticed that I ended up with a pretty smooth and hard surface when I prepared the Syren hull with sanding sealer before I applied the copper plates. Now how well such a surface can be painted afterwards I have no idea and probably would need a little experimenting 
 
Thomas

● Stem, Keel and Stern Post: I used both boxwood and basswood to make these parts. I'm hoping that this wasn't a mistake. Everything looks good right now but I'm now wondering if the transition point between the boxwood and basswood will look the same once painted. I think that it would be a good idea to harden the basswood in order to protect its edge and fill the grain with primer. Any thoughts or suggestions?
 
The kit supplied laser cut stem post was used as a template for cutting the boxwood and then used on the bottom to complete the part. 
 

 
The stern post was done in boxwood since a small portion at the top will be unpainted. It has a slight taper as per the plans.
 

All of the deck planking, waterways, stanchions and pre-planking are now finished.
 
It was more time consuming doing the upper deck this way. 1/32" edge joints are fragile. The only real advantage being that it's easier to sand the planking off the ship. Just something I wanted to try.
 

 
The deck planking glued to the false deck
 

 
The last 2 planks and those in front of the grating were installed and covered by the waterway.
 

 
Upper deck with stanchions, grating, hatch and pre-planking installed. The bulwark template has been thinned down gradually exposing the inboard planking at its top edge. This will make the bulwark 1/16" thick after the second layer planking is completed.
 

● After Cubbridge Head: The After Cubbridge Head and false deck were completed with stanchions below the false deck in place. The false deck has a strip of boxwood glued to its forward edge to maintain uniformity.
 

 

Correct!!!  Bottom of ports follow the run of the deck.  Sides are vertical and straight with teh frames.  Port lids will be the same.  Typical mistake seen on kits.  Not all ports are completely square at all.  Take a look at this original draft.  The red dashed square is at right angles.  Note how the port is not.   It follows the deck.
 

Installing Sills and Lintels in the stern...The sills and lintels need a very slight bevel so I used my Miter-Sander with the 1 degree block.  Flipped over for a parallel bevel on the other side.  The starboard sill went in first, carefully measured position from the plan sheet (about 1'32" above the knuckle of the frame).  I used a long beam set on a block well forward so the sill  (fore and aft) would be roughly parallel with the deck and the port and starboard sills would be the same.  Clamped and waiting to dry.   Once both sills were in, I used a 25/64" block (the inside measurement of the ports) to set the height of the lintels.
Maury
 

● Stem, Keel and Stern Post: I used both boxwood and basswood to make these parts. I'm hoping that this wasn't a mistake. Everything looks good right now but I'm now wondering if the transition point between the boxwood and basswood will look the same once painted. I think that it would be a good idea to harden the basswood in order to protect its edge and fill the grain with primer. Any thoughts or suggestions?
 
The kit supplied laser cut stem post was used as a template for cutting the boxwood and then used on the bottom to complete the part. 
 

 
The stern post was done in boxwood since a small portion at the top will be unpainted. It has a slight taper as per the plans.
 

● After Cubbridge Head: The After Cubbridge Head and false deck were completed with stanchions below the false deck in place. The false deck has a strip of boxwood glued to its forward edge to maintain uniformity.
 

 

It looks very good so far.
 
Once painted they should be fine. If you seal the grain on the basswood, someone would have to look far too closely to tell the difference.
 
Russ

And to show how the port lids fit when installed.
 

 
The blank lids without hinges were positioned first and while they were in....I glued the hinges in without there little pins.   It was easier to line up the hinges visually that way.  At least for me.
 
They are actually working hinges as you can see.  I am pleased with how well the laser board worked for this application.  That is one less element I need to rely on photoetch for in the future.
 

 
Chuck

Here are some photos of the completed cockpit area and the thwart that supports the mast.  Some changes to the cockpit were based on photos of contemporary models.  Apparently, it was quite common for these craft to have additional bracing on the interior side of the transom.  Here is one such model.

If you look closely, you can see a metal plate in the notch that would have supported the anchor davit.  This makes sense since the davit probably exerted considerable stress on the transom while working with the ship's anchor.  Here's my interpretation of that photo:


No modifications to the thwart were made, other than the fact that I substituted boxwood belaying pins for those supplied with the kit.



Some of the thwarts have not been glued in place yet.  I placed them in position for these photos.  I think the additional room will help with the installation of the windlass, which is next.
BobF

All of the deck planking, waterways, stanchions and pre-planking are now finished.
 
It was more time consuming doing the upper deck this way. 1/32" edge joints are fragile. The only real advantage being that it's easier to sand the planking off the ship. Just something I wanted to try.
 

 
The deck planking glued to the false deck
 

 
The last 2 planks and those in front of the grating were installed and covered by the waterway.
 

 
Upper deck with stanchions, grating, hatch and pre-planking installed. The bulwark template has been thinned down gradually exposing the inboard planking at its top edge. This will make the bulwark 1/16" thick after the second layer planking is completed.
 

Hi Mike,
 
It was great meeting you last night at the Ship Model Society of New Jersey meeting. Your work on the Mayflower is meticulous. Using boxwood in place of basswood where the wood will be seen really adds to the overall impression of it being a quality build. You have a real eye for detail. I look forward to seeing you at future meetings and watching your Mayflower evolve.

After seeing your model last night, I was happy to discover your build log. 
So, I will be following along.
Cheers.

Maury, Thanks,  but ....No,  not at all.  Whats the point of that?   In reality they were let into the keel by about half their thickness.   At least according to Lavery and Goodwin.  Its a detail that wont be seen at all and its a difficult task.  These are just glued right on.  They would still stand proud of the surface of the keel and stern post.
 
Goodwin states that the fish plates and horse shoe plates were about 1" thick and let into the wood by 1/2".  They were fastened with copper bolts from one side through to the other.   
 
What did they do later when hull's were plated?  There is no real source as to how it was done.  It makes sense that they would simply let them into the wood by the full thickness. But I have never found any hard and fast source about it.  They werent let in completely on the Victory and she was plated.  But I would like to add two points.  Just so folks know where my head is at with such minutia.  I get asked a lot about some of these details and this is actually one of them.
 
I have no record that Cheerful was actually plated anyway to add another complication.  I imagine at this time most ships were but I am not sure if it was reserved for larger vessels only.  I have never seen a period cutter model plated and havent read that in general they were not, saying that I would not have plated this model anyway.
 
In addition,  that is such a small detail that I am not real worried about it either way.  When I weigh the pro's and con's..even the best model builders have trouble doing this.  I have seen some attempts by the best and it still looks sloppy to me. I applaud them trying but in reality dont understand why they would even try.  I would rather bend a bit on the accuracy here if its actually the case and opt for a cleaner crisp look.  Something that was regularly done by contemporary ship modelers.  Not every detail has to be executed.  Just my thoughts as I look for another excuse not to make any more rope today.  So please excuse the longer response as I procrastinate a bit more.  Sometimes I laugh softly to myself when I see the level of detail some builders insist on trying to put on their models.  Just my opinion.
 
Having said that.  I made the mistake of adding up the number of treenails on this hull.  Its about 6500.   I drilled 6500 holes.  So although I am a bit crazy as most non-modellers tell me,  I think there are even a few others that have gone a bit further off the deep end.   I am not there yet.
 
So Maury..... long story short.  Thats a ride on the crazy train I am not willing to take just yet.   But knock yourself out and give it a try.
 
Chuck

All of the deck planking, waterways, stanchions and pre-planking are now finished.
 
It was more time consuming doing the upper deck this way. 1/32" edge joints are fragile. The only real advantage being that it's easier to sand the planking off the ship. Just something I wanted to try.
 

 
The deck planking glued to the false deck
 

 
The last 2 planks and those in front of the grating were installed and covered by the waterway.
 

 
Upper deck with stanchions, grating, hatch and pre-planking installed. The bulwark template has been thinned down gradually exposing the inboard planking at its top edge. This will make the bulwark 1/16" thick after the second layer planking is completed.