Stuntflyer

With those last two planks installed, I could see where I over sanded a few of the bulkheads in the fairing process. I found five areas that needed a 1/64± shim. I ripped them from some laser cut soft ply I had lying around. Once glued, I sanded them to the proper curve.
 

When first reading chapter two I kept wondering how this was all going to come together smoothly. It's interesting to see how Chuck has put this to work in such a logical way thus making the process much easier than it looks.
 
Rather than cutting the stern frames individually, each frame X, Y and Z were stacked together and cut as one piece. Each of the two outer frames ZZ were stacked three together. A tiny amount of PVA was used to hold the parts together while cutting them with the jigsaw. I used Elmer's Washable School Glue to adhere the drawings to the parts. The disc sander and oscillating drum sander cleaned things up nicely afterwards. Given the accuracy of Jason's boxwood sheets and Chuck's laser cutting the fitting of the stern frames was a breeze with no sanding necessary. Frames ZZ were faired as Chuck describes in his practicum.
 
 

 
Though apparently simple, I found that the two stern ports were very challenging to make. They are awkward to hold and care must be taken while making adjustments to the angles. They should be positioned parallel to the waterline.

 
The square tuck piece was then added along with the filler pieces glued behind it. The photo shows the port side after being faired. A lot of material had to be removed in order to get a batten to run smoothly over the hull.

Looking really nice Erik!
 
Mike

Looking really nice Erik!
 
Mike

Looking really nice Erik!
 
Mike

Looking really nice Erik!
 
Mike

After a couple of false starts, I got the first part of the rigging compete.  It's a bit stressful to work on . . . I feel like I'm going to break something!  While trying to keep my knots small and unobtrusive, I had a couple of the them come out, and had to redo them and alter how I was gluing/handling them.  I didn't like the parrel beads that came with the kit so I wound up, buying size 11 seed beads at a craft store and using those instead.  They're 1.7mm long vs. the 2.3mm beads that came with the kit.
 
One of the things that has attracted me to wooden ship modeling is how boats and ships look when fully rigged.  I have high expectations of how this will turn out, tempered by being a complete novice though.    I'm happy, more or less, with the results so far.  There's room for improvement as I continue, but the results are in line with the quality of the rest of the build.  Can't ask for too much more as a beginner!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Erik
 
 
 
 
 

I feel guilty that I'm learning so much from your free tutorials (here and on your website)! Excellent work! 

Today I tackled the channels.  No easy way to make these.   You just have to go old school.   These are unlike the channels most have grown accustomed to.  These are much thicker (5/32") and they are not as wide.  When viewed from the side they gradually get thinner buy a little bit.  The bottom is beveled or angled so the outboard edge is just 1/8" thick.   Maybe a hair thicker.
 
Note how the usual cover or cap molding isnt shown.  Basically small notches are filed into the edge and the chainplates will be bolted to the edge.   Many cutters show this feature but there are other arrangements too.  But I figure the original draft should be followed here.  Its an interesting feature.
 
Then the profile along the edge is made old school with a round file, sanding sticks or whatever you are comfortable with.  Note how the gunport splits the channel in two lengths and the edges in the break are not profiled.
 
I had hoped to make the eyebolts and chainplates today but I dont have enough brass strip so it has been ordered.   While I wait I will continue finishing up the outboard details like the scuppers and rudder.  The channels are not glued on yet as I await arrival of more material.  They will be finished up first with eyebolts.
 
The outboard details shouldnt take very long to do.
 

 

 

 

 

The channels are in and I added the eyebolts to the exterior of the hull.  I also drilled the scuppers which was pretty straight forward.  Then I started to fabricate the plates for the backstays.   These were made using 1/64" x 3/32" brass strips.   The K&S strips are soft and can be filed easily to shape.  You can see the progression of steps used to make them.  There will be three chainplates on each side of the hull.
 
I started by drilling the hole at the bottom and rounding it off.
 
Then I used a round file to notch the strips on both sides as shown in step two.  This will be the top of the chain plate where it gets thinner.
 
In step three I used a flat file to extend that thinner portion on top so I could bend it into a loop like making an eyebolt.
 
Step four is where I cut off the top excess strip and tapered the bottom portion so it got slightly narrower as it worked its way to the top.
 
The last two examples show the chainplate completed with the thin portion of the brass on top bent into a loop.  This will get a hooked tackle when it comes time to rig the back stays.   I used small little brass pins....you know the ones...they come in every kit and I have a whole bunch of them.
 
Next its on to the deadeyes and chainplates for the channels.  Its really the same procedure to make those except we will add a stroped deadeye to the top of each.
 
The outboard details are almost all complete.  Once the deadeyes are completed there is only the rudder and fixed block on the stem.  Then we finish up inboard!!!!
 

 

 

Mike,
 
Here are the links Mike (Stuntflyer) sent me.  He had said the top one was the most useful to him.  That short video (in the top link) on seizing was very helpful in understanding that.

http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/5295-rigging-blocks-how-to/
http://www.modelboatyard.com/stropping.html
http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/7277-stropping-and-seizing/
http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/3145-hooks-and-blocks/?hl=seize

Also, I found some good advice on how to handle things here:
http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/9180-how-to-work-with-teeny-blocks/

The part of the rigging that was confounding me was fastening the two blocks to the top of the mast. I had sent Chuck a message and his response was:

"Remember that the block must be oriented in the right direction. Meaning on those blocks the hole is on top if you are using the blocks that come with the kit. I basically took a length of rope and put it through the eye on the metal band first and tied a knot. The two tails were left extra long. Then I used the two tails to strop the block in position afterwards. You can use a drop of glue to fix the block against the original knot so it stays there. Then tie a simple knot with the tails around the block. Not a double knot.....just one time so you can trim the tails after applying some glue. This way you cant see its a big knot at the bottom of the block afterwards."
 
Hope this helps you a bit.

Erik

Danny,
 
Thanks.  I had seen how some oars (sweeps) even had squared off outer ends before the hand grip.  The balance thing makes sense.  I figured I'd pattern mine after the oars on Chuck's build, as well as the prototype longboat model photos on the National Maritime Museum website, which have uniform diameter handles on them.
 
Erik

I finished the oars, the last of the wood work on the boat.  Like others, I'll only display 4 of them in the boat.  No one really mentions shaping the oars, but after struggling to get one shaped correctly, I figured out the trick.  The laser cut oar handles are .064" (1.63mm) thick, by .090" (2.29mm)  wide.  If you file off the four edges so you have an octagon, it's not symmetrical.  Your oar handle then will be oblong rather than round.  I wound up sanding the .090" (2.29mm) side down to .064" (1.63mm) first.  I then was able to sand the handle perfectly round.  Using my digital calipers I was able to check all 4 handles several places along their length to make sure they were uniform .062" (1.57mm) diameter when finished.  Also, when carefully comparing the photos in Chuck's original build log, these laser cut oars are 1/2" too long.  So, I removed 1/2" off of the length so they won't overpower the boat interior when displayed.
 
In preparation for rigging, and tying small knots, I bought a magnifying lamp.  It is 2x with a spot that is 5x, and contains a bright LED light.

 

 

 
Erik

Remco, that is a relief! Or, just keep calm and cut the gunports

Nice port Mike.
 
I don't think there is a silver bullet to do this, maybe the closest thing might be 'patience'
 
Remco

I shaped and attached the bowsprit.  A couple of decades experience soldering in my model railroad hobby have made that element of the build easy.   Also, I'm getting the hang of my poor man's lathe using a drill, so I'll shape the boom and gaff now.
 

 

 

 

 
Erik

Looking really good Bob! The way I see it, Chuck will just have to finish the project sooner just to keep you going. You can sleep now, you're miles ahead of me. 
 
Mike

Looking really good Bob! The way I see it, Chuck will just have to finish the project sooner just to keep you going. You can sleep now, you're miles ahead of me. 
 
Mike

No...I will ship mine to Bob and he can finish it all up!!!! 

Looking really good Bob! The way I see it, Chuck will just have to finish the project sooner just to keep you going. You can sleep now, you're miles ahead of me. 
 
Mike

Looking really good Bob! The way I see it, Chuck will just have to finish the project sooner just to keep you going. You can sleep now, you're miles ahead of me. 
 
Mike

Erik,
 
Thanks for the tip. I will look into it.
 
Mike

Except for the two door handles that are missing, the Companion is done. They will go on when I get some wire with the right gauge thickness, 30 or smaller. I only have a 35mm lens so photos of these small objects are not really a good representation since I have to crop the image. This of course decreases sharpness. I can see where a macro lens might come in handy here. Anyway, you should be able to get the general idea of what it looks like.
 
Now it's back to the hull.
 

The mast is complete.  I haven't permanently attached it to the boat yet.  I'll do that after I get the bowsprit completed and attached.
 

 

 
Erik

Except for the two door handles that are missing, the Companion is done. They will go on when I get some wire with the right gauge thickness, 30 or smaller. I only have a 35mm lens so photos of these small objects are not really a good representation since I have to crop the image. This of course decreases sharpness. I can see where a macro lens might come in handy here. Anyway, you should be able to get the general idea of what it looks like.
 
Now it's back to the hull.