Jack Panzeca

I bought mine to replace an aging and underpowered Preac. It is as good as the others say. It handles hardwood well. Nearly every piece of oak on my Oseberg build (almost the entire ship) went through the thickness sander and I have not had to change the paper yet. It's a great tool and easy to use. I do not know how I got along without it.

Here is the oar update, I have been working a little slower lately because a little consulting work has gotten in the way of hobby time and the Oseberg is a birthday present for the Admiral and her birthday is not until late December.  I don't want to finish it too early because then I will have to come up with another present.
 
The first step was to cut oak strips 2x12.5 mm.  I cut five strips and taped them together and copied the shape of the kit supplied paddle portion, then cut them into individual pieces.  Originally I intended to cut them out with a scroll saw but since there was so little material to remove I just used a 1 inch belt sander.  I cut the notch where the dowel joins the paddle with the scroll saw and filed it out to the correct size. 
 

 
For the round portion of the oar I cut 3x3 mm square dowel and routed off all four corners and got them close to round and finished them off in a drill motor with hand held sandpaper.  The routing was tricky since the dowel is so small so I rigged a feather board and guide to keep my fingers away from the blade.
 

 
Then I sanded one end flat to fit into the paddle and the other end reduced the circumference to make it into a handle.  The last step was to glue them together and finish the fine sanding.  There were a lot of steps and a LOT of sanding in this process.  30 oars stained and ready to row.
 

 
 

Hi Mobbsie,
 
I have been working on the tiny bits and I am down to the sail and rigging.  I will spend a little quality time with my daughter today while she sews the sail for me.  Anyway, I am almost finished and will have an update soon.  
 
Your timing is perfect.  I noticed Grant's comment about starting a group build of the Bomb Vessel Granado cross section with you and I asked if I could join in.  If it's alright with you too I am in!  
 
I have been searching for my own entry into the "dark side" and this looks like a great place to start and having a couple of mates to work along with engenders confidence.  
 
Talk to you soon.

Removed the nasty laser char. In hindsight, it is good that I selected a timbering set without laser cut frames, the char removal process is messy and definitely not pleasant. In his youtube videos, Dave recommends to remove the char using the shaving blade. It works only to small extent, because char is pretty deep in the wood.
 
Here are the laser cut pieces on a different phased of cleaning:

 
Another issue is a bad precision of a laser at some lines, they are cut with "steps", so lots of wood should be filed away to make that surface smooth:

 
Some joints are too wide - they fit tightly with char, but if you start to remove the char (and the "steps") - then the joint is too weak: 

 
So I cut away that joint and scratched a new one
 
Another improvement was a deadwood - supplied laser cut deadwood was made of a single piece, which is too far from desired level of correctness. So I made a better one. 
But it was a hell of a job to nicely fit all the curved timbers together! It is easy to make a tight fit when parts are straight, but when they are curved - it really needs a skill. Here is how ugly it looks when just cut:
 

 
Next time will try to cut smoother... It took around 4 hours of sanding and filing and sending and filing to make them fit. 
Resulting fitting is not great, but next time will do better:
 

End result:
 

 

 

 
Now the fun part - cutting the rabbet. I do not have any power tools to do it, so will make some hand jig and will slooooowly cut it with chisel and knife. Now when the keel is assembled, it would be a pity to ruin it by making a bad rabbet.

Here is the oar update, I have been working a little slower lately because a little consulting work has gotten in the way of hobby time and the Oseberg is a birthday present for the Admiral and her birthday is not until late December.  I don't want to finish it too early because then I will have to come up with another present.
 
The first step was to cut oak strips 2x12.5 mm.  I cut five strips and taped them together and copied the shape of the kit supplied paddle portion, then cut them into individual pieces.  Originally I intended to cut them out with a scroll saw but since there was so little material to remove I just used a 1 inch belt sander.  I cut the notch where the dowel joins the paddle with the scroll saw and filed it out to the correct size. 
 

 
For the round portion of the oar I cut 3x3 mm square dowel and routed off all four corners and got them close to round and finished them off in a drill motor with hand held sandpaper.  The routing was tricky since the dowel is so small so I rigged a feather board and guide to keep my fingers away from the blade.
 

 
Then I sanded one end flat to fit into the paddle and the other end reduced the circumference to make it into a handle.  The last step was to glue them together and finish the fine sanding.  There were a lot of steps and a LOT of sanding in this process.  30 oars stained and ready to row.
 

 
 

I just happen to have both saws and the Micro Mark feather board set and extended fence.  
 
This is the older Micro Mark (Proxxon) saw with the extended fence and feather board.
 

 
This one is the Byrnes saw with the Micro Mark accessories and as you can see the slot is larger on the Byrnes saw.  You could probably solve the problem pretty easily by replacing the aluminum piece with a custom wood part.  The opening in the extended fence is not wide enough to fit over the Byrnes fence.
 

Hi Vivian,
I am happy to be on the front row for your new build. I can't wait to see the modifications, especially the scroll work. Great work so far. Good luck and happy building.

I just happen to have both saws and the Micro Mark feather board set and extended fence.  
 
This is the older Micro Mark (Proxxon) saw with the extended fence and feather board.
 

 
This one is the Byrnes saw with the Micro Mark accessories and as you can see the slot is larger on the Byrnes saw.  You could probably solve the problem pretty easily by replacing the aluminum piece with a custom wood part.  The opening in the extended fence is not wide enough to fit over the Byrnes fence.
 

Hi Mobbsie,
 
I have been working on the tiny bits and I am down to the sail and rigging.  I will spend a little quality time with my daughter today while she sews the sail for me.  Anyway, I am almost finished and will have an update soon.  
 
Your timing is perfect.  I noticed Grant's comment about starting a group build of the Bomb Vessel Granado cross section with you and I asked if I could join in.  If it's alright with you too I am in!  
 
I have been searching for my own entry into the "dark side" and this looks like a great place to start and having a couple of mates to work along with engenders confidence.  
 
Talk to you soon.

Hi Mobbsie,
 
I have been working on the tiny bits and I am down to the sail and rigging.  I will spend a little quality time with my daughter today while she sews the sail for me.  Anyway, I am almost finished and will have an update soon.  
 
Your timing is perfect.  I noticed Grant's comment about starting a group build of the Bomb Vessel Granado cross section with you and I asked if I could join in.  If it's alright with you too I am in!  
 
I have been searching for my own entry into the "dark side" and this looks like a great place to start and having a couple of mates to work along with engenders confidence.  
 
Talk to you soon.

I have been working on the shields.  Finding the right center ornament has been very time consuming.  I settled on cone head Hungarian hob nails.  The shield on the left is supplied in the kit.  The hob nails are next in the image below.  I cut the head off and ground it close to flat.  The construction of the new shields is documented earlier in the log.  To finish them off all that was done is to ease the edges, glue the nail head onto the center and odd a coat of wipe on poly without stain.  I did tests and the poly alone worked best on the mahogany.  The hob nails were right size and crudeness for a ninth century shield.
 

 
I finished 8 of them and here is how they will look on the ship.
 

The ship has come to a nice milestone so I decided to take some studio shots for this update.
 

 
This is what the set looks like.  I pulled out the big Spiderlite soft boxes for the shoot.
 

Greetings Everyone,
 
This is my first build log and I missed the ritual box opening.  I was already putting things together before I realized I should have photographed it first.  The plans and directions are pretty sparse but it is a fairly straight forward ship.  The keel had a slight bow in it but I used a little warm water and bent it a little past straight and it dried nice and flat.  This is the kit version with the plywood scrollwork and shields.  The keel and bulk heads leave a lot of exposed plywood edges and my plan is to cover them with oak veneer.  The deck planking is Obechi which is soft, brittle and in my eye a little ugly.  I have already ripped a few oak planks and they should work fine. 
 
I am happy to be here and doing this.  More soon.

Hi Vivian,
I am happy to be on the front row for your new build. I can't wait to see the modifications, especially the scroll work. Great work so far. Good luck and happy building.

Hi Vivian,
I am happy to be on the front row for your new build. I can't wait to see the modifications, especially the scroll work. Great work so far. Good luck and happy building.

Hi Grant,
 
Congratulations!!!  Truly spectacular.  The thought of 100 gun ports and miles of rope boggles the mind.  A wonderful accomplishment.         

Well, it’s done!  After almost 19 years in the making, I’ve finally finished my Victory.      

           

       

 

 

The end wasn’t without incident though……… After taking a series of photos before placing her back in the display case, my son came over to give me a hand lifting the case cover back on.  He was at the bow end, and as we were lowering it, he managed to catch the end of the case on the tip of the bowsprit.          

 

Fortunately the damage was minor - a couple of sprung rigging lines that were easily repaired is about all - although it came very close to snapping the Fore Topgallant Mast in one of the places where it had been broken and repaired before.  Close call, but all is well now.       

 

I took a range of photos and have cut that back down to a dozen or so, so with your indulgence, I’ll split these across two posts.

 

Before I do though, as this will be my last progress update, I think it timely to make a couple of observations and offer a few votes of thanks. 

 

When I joined MSW almost exactly three years ago, I had anticipated that I would be finally finished this model in about six months from then. I was, like everyone else who joins this forum, given a very warm welcome and almost immediately the advice and encouragement started to flow in.  Although it took me three years and not six months, the end result I have achieved is light years from what would have been without MSW.  So a couple of thankyous.

 

Firstly to Chuck, for making this site possible and for giving so freely of his time and expertise to help all who venture this way.  Chuck was also kind enough to share with me his techniques for mass production of rigging blocks - a technique that I was eventually able to replicate, thanks to his tutelage.  Thank you Chuck for teaching me to fish.   

 

Secondly, to all of the Admins and Moderators, who also give freely of their time to keep this site running in the way and with the spirit it has been intended.  A more friendly and supportive site could not be imagined.  Thank you ladies and gentlemen.   

 

I’d like to make a special vote of thanks to Danny Vadas. From a very early point in my MSW existence, Danny became something of an informal mentor to me.  But it was when I was contemplating re-doing my stern and quarter galleries that Danny really stepped up to the plate.  Danny did the design work and drawings, including the design of some special jigs, that enabled me to re-make these tricky parts.  Perhaps more importantly though, he gave me the courage to even attempt this in the first place, by offering to guide me through the process via remote control and email exchange.  The results speak for themselves, but while I may have provided the labour, the kudos belongs to Danny.  Thank you Danny - I look forward to sharing a nice single malt with you again someday soon.   

 

It was through this learning experience that I started to gain the confidence to try a few other things for myself as well.  The fleet of four scratch built boats are a direct consequence of this, so again Danny’s mentoring has pushed me to much greater heights in my modelling, and I continue to learn every day.

 

And of course, I’d like to thank all of you who have followed my journey and offered words of encouragement, or have simply hit the “like” button from time to time.  Knowing that you all are watching has kept me going at times, and has also helped to keep me “honest” - there were a number of times when I’ve thought, “no, that’s not good enough - the guys will never let me get away with that”.  And some of you weren't backward in coming forward with constructive criticism - thank you all for that (you know who you are!   )

 

Enough already.  Here are some pics.  A few general shots to start with, and then some more details and close-ups in the next post.

 



 



 



 



 

This last view shows both the rebuilt stern galleries and the clinker planking on the two 25' Cutters:

 

Just continuing from the previous post, a few more shots of the finished ship:
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Now, a number of you have been wondering what’s next. 
 
As you know, I’ve been leaning more and more to the “dark side”, but I also want to take on a slightly smaller project - hopefully one that won’t take 19 years to complete!  I’ve also been encouraging my very good mate Mobbsie to come with me to the dark side.  So one evening while we were chatting on Skype, we decided that it might be fun to do a “group build” together and that is what we shall do.  The subject will be a cross-section model of the Bomb Vessel Granado in 1:48 scale.  We will be using plans drawn by Jeff Staudt (available through our neighbour site Model Ship Builder), and we are using timber from Jeff Hayes at HobbyMill. 
 

 
I’ve promised Mobbsie that I won’t start until he’s finished his Aggy, which he reckons is another couple of weeks away (yeah, right - so far, he’s achieved in 19 months what it’s taken me 19 years to do!).  So for a group build with a difference (since we're in opposite hemispheres), keep an eye out for our respective logs - coming to MSW in just a few short weeks.
 
I have also had a hankering to do a non-ship related build, so I will be doing this in tandem.  It is a (relatively) small kit from OcCre of Stephenson’s Rocket. 
 

 
Of course, I won’t be able to run a log of that here, but will provide a link for anyone interested.  And don’t be surprised if you see something “rocket-like” in the background of the Cross-Section updates!
 
Catch you all on the other side.  Thanks for following.       

Sorry to repeat what everyone else has said but the boats are stunning.  The shot with them in the hand is brilliant.  Wonderful work.

25' Cutters Ver 2_5 continued
 
The next step for the cutters was to create some mast support bands to attach to the thwarts.  Each cutter has two of these.  I used some thin brass strap and bent them to shape by using a jig, the idea for which I "borrowed" from Ian Major's lovely Unicorn log.  Ian machined his in metal, however I cheated and used MDF for the pressing surfaces, with a brass rod inserted as the former.
 

 
After blackening, they were attached to the thwarts, which had been shaped for the other half of the "hole".  In this pic, the thwart hasn't been finished sanded yet.
 

 
After that, it was a simple matter of cutting the stern sheets, which I did using a paper template and cutting from a single piece of 1/32" pear stock, and then finessed to fit.  The remaining thwarts were cut to size and finish sanded, putting a slight bevel/curve on the upper outside edges.  The timber was left natural, only polished with successively finer grades of sandpaper.  I also installed mast steps under the appropriate thwarts - you can just make these out in the photos.  And here is a finished Cutter.  The macro lens is not my friend today!  I swear those blemishes on the cap rail aren't visible to the naked eye!!!
 

 
Here's a picture alongside the 28' Pinnace for comparison.  Note the very different hull shapes.
 

 
And here's both Cutters, with my usual "scaling" shot:
 

 
The Cutters (and all boats) are now FINISHED!!!!!!  Doin' the Happy Dance!      
 
To celebrate, I thought I'd take a few shots of my Lilliputian Fleet. I had to remove the Launch from it's home on the "mother ship" for these shots, and was surprised by how large it looks in comparison to the others.
 

 

 

 

 
And finally, one last "scaling shot"
 

 
That's it for ship's boats.  I do not intend to make either the Barge or the Jolly Boat.
 
Next up, fitting the Quarter Davits, finish and fit the Anchors, and install rope coils throughout.  Almost there..........
 
 

Thank you for all the "likes" and comments. 
 
Hawse timbers... version 4.5 (1 side was replaced once, the other twice).   The hard part (to me) is that lines drawing give no shape to the bow forward of the first cant fram so I'm fumbling with templates and photos.  I think I'm close.  I've filled in most of the low spots and sanded down the highs.  Cherry has this nice feature  that if it ages a bit and darkens, when you sand it the sanded parts become light. This, coupled with a batten and templates gives you a pretty good idea of where one stands in the fairing.
 
They still need more fairing but I need to hold off a bit.  Frankly, I'm getting tired of the sawdust in the air at the moment.     The reality is, I need to put in the gunport sills and fair those in.  And then the interior.  The deck clamp "knees" (actualy just nubs of wood) need to be worked such to give a smooth sheer to the clamps.  I'll have to hold on the clamps though, until the stern is finished.
 
Yes, I'm avoiding the stern like the plague.  Hahn doesn't give you a template on the plans for the transoms so I'm sorting this out.  I have the stern framing showing height and width of the timbers, the side showing the location and depth but no top view showing the shape.  Again, much staring at the prints and Hahn's limited build photos.  This seems to be one of those areas that are "up to the builder" to sort out like the quarter galleries.   Speaking of which I'm also sorting out that area as it's not really defined on the prints as to timbers.  However, I'm putting together a plan, which if it works I'll happy dancing for weeks.
 
So... to the pictures.  The first three show the hawse timbers and cant frames.  None of this will be visible when planked.  The last is kinda' artsy-craftsy looking at the interior so I can get an idea of amount of fairing in there to be done.
 




 
 
As always, feel free to click on any picture to enlarge it to full size.  Oh.. sorry for the sawdust and debris.  I really need to hit this with the shop vac.

I like the lights too. What a "bright" idea!

Curse you and your recipe Greg! Now I have to get a planer that I don't really need!!! ;) :)

I do agree with the majority, especially Grants psychological evaluation and practical analysis as well as Greg's recipe.  All I can say is that it brings a smile to my face and it has improved my accuracy.          What's not to like.