Jack Panzeca

Hi Mike,
 
I like the flat too.

Well, she is complete in plenty of time for the Admiral's birthday.  The Admiral is happy and as we all know when the Admiral is happy everyone is happy.    
 
The build was 9 months of fun and learning.  Completion is very rewarding.
 
I would like to thank everyone who helped with the build especially Von_Kossa.  His log is what inspired me to build the Oseberg in the first place and his research kept me on the right track.   Also, thanks to Vivian Galad (we are watching your Oseberg) and all those who followed the build, your encouragement was necessary and wonderful.
 
I probably would not be involved in this hobby at all without the MSW community.  There was not much information out there the first time I tried years ago.  Now, whatever you need just ask.  Thanks for the help.
 

 
Time to move forward.  I will now attempt to catch up with Grant and Mobbsie with our first shot at the dark side "Bomb Vessel Granado 1742".

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.
 

Hi Marc,
 
This is the best result of my "bug and flower" hunt last week.
 

 
I am trying to work out attending the NRG Conference.
 
Good luck on your "Utrecht" I will follow along when you start the log.  I finished the Oseberg nails (unless I decide to nail the deck planking).  I am working on the deck planking now.  I should have an update soon.
 
Thanks for dropping in.

Time for another update.
 
The kit makes no mention of the iron nails that hold the overlapping planks together.  I felt that the ship would really be incomplete without them so I decided to spend a few weeks and do it.
 

 
The nails are about 200 mm apart on the Oseberg but do show some randomness.  That scales out to 8 mm.  I did a couple of test planks 1 at 8 mm and 1 at 16 mm.  I was hoping that the 16 mm spacing would look great and save me about 700 nails.  Oh well, no luck.  I did widen the spacing to 10 mm.
 
 
 
I bought the smallest brass nails that I could find and blackened them using the method sited in various places on MSW but I specifically read it in Augie"s Confederacy log (great log by the way!).  I marked the holes with dividers and patiently drilled the 720, ½ mm holes.  It took over a week to mark and drill and insert all those nails.  I broke several bits in the process.  I forgot to mention that this is only the port side.  
 

 
I will place a drop of CA at the base of the nail forest and cut them off before I glue the deck in place.
 

 
I decided to go ahead and stain after the holes were drilled and before the nails were inserted.  I spent some time cleaning up the glue that was left where the planks overlapped so the stain would go on evenly.  I had cleaned up carefully when the planks were glued but the best laid plans...
 

 
I still have some touch up to do on the stain and I will add the wipe on poly at the very end.  I have taken a couple of days off to decompress after the first half and it is back to work tomorrow.
 

Well I finally got the use of my right hand back.  It took three weeks when I optimistically thought it would be one week.  The little finger is still a long way from straight but it at least it is no longer (to paraphrase Bindy) stuck out like a poser drinking tea.  I feel a little lame whining about my little finger while Vivian is still in serious dry dock.
 
I finished cutting out the gunwales and placing them.  It took a few tries.  The oak really is a nice improvement.  I also completed the oak veneer on the keel between the scrollwork.
 

 
The next step before I start on the inside is the keel edge.  It is plywood with the scrollwork and oak veneer applied.  I could sand it and stain it but I think it will still be ugly.  If I stain it a relatively light oak it will be hard to hide the layers.I have been thinking of covering it with oak veneer.
 

 
The Oseberg scrolls at the top of the stem and stern look rounded so that presents a problem wrapping all the way around.  I will try dry fitting as many options as I can think of and decide which way to go.  Suggestions always welcome.
 

 

I am back from a business trip (I know, I am supposed t be retired) and I stopped in Sedona Arizona for a few days to enjoy my other hobby, photography.
 

 
The bad news is that I fell off a rock and damaged my camera and myself.  It is amazing how debilitating a disabled little finger is.  It is improving rapidly so hopefully I can get back to my build in a few days.  I am happy to be back and catching up on the true works of art underway on this wonderful forum.

Beautiful work Mobbsie!  
 
I can't wait to get back to work on mine.   I am a complete failure as a retired person.  Work sure gets in the way of my hobbies.  
 
Another 6 weeks before I get back to work on my build, I will never catch up now but I love following in your footsteps.  You and Grant sure make this easy for the rest of us.
 
Thanks,

Hi Grant,
 
Beautiful work as usual.  I like being in the following position.  You make the best cheat sheet ever.  
 
Holiday today in the USA so I got a chance to catch up on MSW posts.

Hi Guys
 
It's update time again.
 
It's been a while since I worked on the Cross Section due mainly to working on the Bawley, that's completed now so it's back to the main build.
 
I was / am playing catch-up to Grant and so have been a bit busy in the shipyard.
 
The Mortar Pit Support Standards are made, fitted and have been given a coat of Poly, at the same time I made the Centre Line Stanchions, these were made from 1/4" x 1/4" Walnut, these were turned on my lathe. I only had to make three but it took me eight attempts to do it ( need more practice ). These have now been given a coat of Poly and have been dry fitted.
 
It's now time to tackle the Upper Deck Beams, I really was not looking forward to doing these as I know for sure they will show up my extremely poor wood working skills.
With Beams cut out and sanded down on the drum and disc sanders the top template was lined up and pressed into place, the notches then had to be cut out, instead of milling the cut-outs I used a sharp blade to cut the outer edge of the notch then used a home made chisel and 3mm chisel to remove the unwanted wood, this for is the best way because I have little faith in my drill stand, I don't think I will get the accuracy that is needed, Beams 1, 2 and 3 have so far been made and are dry fitted.
 
I did receive a phone call on Friday evening from my Granddaughter asking if I can make her a Pirate Ship, it doesn't have to be very big but it needs to float and be robust, and can you have it ready to be taken to school on Monday, don't panic.
This request was met fully and you will see the result, I was told when she came to take it that weights were going to be placed on it to see how much it would take before it either capsized or sank, wish I had know before I started it.
 
I must thank Grant at this stage for pointing out some errors in the plans, these errors have been validated and corrections being made, thanks mate.
 
Pictures
 
The Black Pig, Captain Pugwash's ship

 
Pit Support Standards

 

 
2 of the 3 Stanchions dry fitted

 

 
The 3 Beams are dry fitted and should eventually match up with other Beams

 

 
So that's where I am guys, Beam building continues.
 
Any an all remarks and comments are welcome as usual.
 
Be Good
 
mobbsie
 
 
 
 

Hi Grant,
 
You've done a really good job on the beams mate, so good in fact that I'm thinking of re-doing mine, this time with the mill, at least I will give it a good shot.
 
I like what you've done and I think I quite like the idea of playing catch up as permanent position so you cant go back to work just yet.  
 
Be Good
 
mobbsie

Thanks very much everyone for all the kind words and "likes".
 
Jeff got back to me and confirmed that my observations about errors in the drawings were correct, and also confirmed that my corrections were….correct.
 
Deck Beams
 
I ummed and ahhed about the best way to prepare the Deck Beams with all of their various notches for receiving carlings, trimmer beams, beam arms etc. I then made the happy discovery that I possessed end mill cutters to exactly match these various sizes, so I decided to do as much of this work as possible on the mill in order to provide the maximum degree of accuracy and consistency.  In order to do that, I needed to start with beam blanks that retained a “square” face for use as a reference plane for the milling work. So blanks were prepared to match each beam location, with just the ends angled to match the angle of the hull sides (10 degrees as it happens).  Here are the beam blanks cut to size for each location and with a centre line marked for further reference:
 

 
I forgot to take pictures of the next stage, but this consisted of sticking the beam patterns onto the fore and aft faces of the beam blanks, using the centreline and bottom edge as a common reference.  The tops of the beam blanks were then cut down in height, using the mill, to align with the top of the pattern, while maintaining a parallel face with the bottoms.
 
By further happy coincidence, or clever design by Jeff, all of the notches, regardless of depth (top to bottom), were set back a common distance into the beams (fore to aft, or aft to fore). By milling the notches with the blanks lying on their sides, I could then use a common depth of cut for all milling operations, and would therefore only have to be concerned with the “length” of the cut.  That depth happened to be 1.5 mm. The length of cut varied with the size of timber to be accommodated, and was measured off the plans in imperial units (eg 7/32”) and then converted to decimal millimetres (eg 5.56mm) for application on the mill.  It sounds complex, but was actually pretty easy.
 
Once all of the milling was completed, the beams had their respective curvature applied while the paper patterns were still in place, using a combination of the spindle sander and disc sander to achieve the required curves.  Here is what the beams looked like after all of these operations were completed and the residual paper patterns were removed:
 

 

 
You can see in these photos, that the milling process leaves a rounded end.  These had to be cleaned up and squared off using a chisel, which again seemed more daunting than it was in practice to achieve.  The only real difficulty was in achieving the 45 degree angled notches to take the angled carlings that will eventually support the outside of the Mortar Pit.  To achieve these, I used the mill to cut the “straight” bit in the middle, to provide a reference plane, and then completed the rest with a chisel.  It was the 45 degree undercut that was particularly difficult – I’m sure there is an easier way than the method I used, but we got there in the end, and with no feeding of the scrap bin along the way! Here is a picture of the cleaned up joints:
 

 
And finally, here is a picture of the completed beams dry-fitted in place.  The “Trimmer Beams”, which will surround the Mortar Pit, are sitting loosely on top of the main deck beams.  These will be trimmed to final length once the deck beams are permanently affixed.  You can see in the photo that the centre lines of the beams seem to line up quite well, so the installation of the various carlings etc, should be relatively easy.
 

 
Next up, cutting the various Hanging Knees, Lodging Knees, Beam Arms, and Carlings – all of which will also need to be notched.  Progress may very well slow down from here as my period of convalescent leave ends this week and its back to work next week.

Thanks again folks for all the kind words and the "likes".  
 
Just a small update today.  I have completed preparations for the Upper Deck framing.
 
The next step was to make the Upper Deck Clamps.  These comprise an Upper and a Lower Clamp and I opted to include “iron bolts” using copper wire blackened in situ using Liver of Sulphur.  To make life easier, I prepared a card template for the bolting pattern and inserted the bolts prior to installation on the model.  Here are the clamps ready for installation (the bolts to the right appear not to be blackened, but this is just a trick of the light in the photo):
 

 
Clamping them securely was a little tricky and I was grateful for the mini Spales I had made previously:
 

 
The final preparations prior to moving on to the Upper Deck construction were the Mortar Pit Support Standards (knees) and the Centreline Stanchions. The knees were easily cut on the scroll saw, ensuring the grain was oriented on the diagonal, and then given their final shape using the spindle sander and disc sander.  The Centreline Stanchions introduced another timber – Walnut.  These were turned on the lathe.  My extremely limited turning abilities managed a reasonable approximation to the stepped shape at either end of these.  The Walnut is not a particularly good wood for machining, but it was finished up by a series of increasing grit sand paper, to an almost polished finish prior to being coated with Wipe-On Poly.  During the turning process, each end of the columns were drilled to take a 1.5mm brass locating pin.
 
Here are the Stanchions and Standards (Knees) in place, along with a view of the completed Deck Clamps.  The Stanchions are only temporarily placed for the photo – they will be permanently fixed once the Deck Beams are ready to be permanently fixed in place.
 

 
I have now started work on the upper deck beams, but have discovered a possible error in the drawings.  I have sent a message to Jeff Staudt for confirmation before proceeding.
 

Tested two different types of wipe-on poly. Same producer, one is shiny, one is flat.
Test pieces are cut from the same piece of wood, same part of the piece, so without finish they are completely identical.
 
The difference is quite obvious with a real eye, and my camera (and/or photo skills) is not good enough to show it properly
Shiny finish is unnaturally shiny, and makes wood look a bit darker.
Will go with the flat one, it is barely visible, and preserves the natural color of the wood, while providing some basic protection.
 
Natural light:

 
Flash:

Please do not go away! Your critics is always very welcome! And I have a hard time trying to name different sides of a frame...

The rigging is now done! I added the crossjack, topsail yard and the gaff and boom to the mizzen mast. The yards and their rigging are virtually identical to the fore and main and need no further description. The boom and gaff were made up with their jaws cut and shaped from strip and bead parrels added. The boom was rigged with topping lifts, sheets and guys. the gaff was rigged with peak and throat halliards and vangs.
 
The access clearances got really tight between the main and mizzen, particularly in doing the braces, which basically run between the two masts .This work resulted in a number of "accidents" and some very colorful language. 
 
I have a few comments on the rigging process. I used Chuck's blocks and rigging line throughout. I tried to keep as close to scale sizes as possible. As a result, the majority of the blocks were quite small and the majority of the line of small diameters. The blocks are really good looking and well made. I did find that drilling the sheave  holes with a very slightly larger drill size made them easier to work with. The rigging line is also very good looking and generally easy to work with. As I've mentioned before, my only problem with it is a tendency to stretch or sag once in place. This presented some issues when running rigging lines had to be attached to the standing rigging.
 
With completion of the rigging, the only remaining items of work are the anchors, the stern lantern and possibly a boat to be hung from the stern davits.The kit castings for the anchors and lantern are not usable. I will scratch build the anchors and I'm continuing to look for a suitable lantern. I probably won't do the boat.
 
Bob

Hi Karl
 
Congratulations on finishing such an incredible work of art!  And thank you again for sharing your talent with us.
 
The display looks fantastic!!!
 
I can't wait to follow your next project and be inspired by your skills.

Hi friends,
many thanks for the comments and Likes.
 
 
 
Unfortunately, a picture with three model segments of the BHR is not possible together.
Every model segment is for itself in a seperate glass cabinet / protective bonnet and
stand on different places.
Here, however, some pictures of my private ship model -museum.
 
Karl 

Hello friends,
 
construction end of the model.
Originally, the model was planed with a complete main mast
and complete rigging.
Massive objections and pressure through my admiralty and government
with regard to the enormous size of the display case required an
amendment to the plan.
 
Karl 
 
 
T e i l  59    /   Ende

Hi Mike,
 
Thanks for the link.  That is exactly what I was looking for, even the correct size.  When I did not find anything at the time I got the idea of using ebony.  I had so much fun cutting the 1/32 by 1/32 square dowels and using a draw plate to get them down to .032 inch round dowels that I am happy that it worked out this way.  Ebony is tough on the saw blades and the dust is a pain but  my original problem was that I could not keep the Liver of Sulphur off the Swiss pear.  The ebony was not a problem.  It would smudge a little when first cut off but then a quick pass through the thickness sander and all is well.
 

 
Your Cromwell is looking great.

Time for an update and the celebration of a milestone.  We've reached 1,000 hours into the build !
 
The planking of the quarter deck has been completed and some of the details (speaking tube, mizzen rail) added.  The deck is planked only to the midline to allow some of the gun deck and great cabin work to be seen:
 

 

 
 
 
 
 
The planking is, of course, Swiss Pear and the treesnails done with the 'drill and fill' method  The finish is Natural stain under WOP.  I'll provide some more detailed photos as the final details are added.
 
 
 
 

Thanks for the likes and comments.
 
Dan,
I'm absorbing all I can.... Your post is big help.  I rechecked the Belle Poule and La Venus monographs as they have the same planking style as Licorne.   The pics show the re-positioned (this morning) batten.  Not much from the red pin back but definitely moreso at the bow. 
 
My dead flat and the widest frame is frame 20 (black arrow in full length picture below). The batten at that point is 41 mm which is 8 planks wide.  I examined the planking schemes and did some rough measurements from the plans and moved the bow piece towards the wale.  This flattened the plank out so there's not a nasty twist/bend in it. It's 17.5 mm.   I measured the last strern frame and I get 37 mm.  The area between the batten and wales is for the wider planks of 5/32" (5mm).
 
For reference, the dead flat frame dimension from keel to wale is 129mm, first frame forward is 80 mm and last frame is 123 mm
 
These plans also show that the fore part of the garboard doesn't taper down like an English ship but goes up.  I need to double check this as could just be a drawing distortion. (see the red line).  Nor does it appear that they used a broad strake next to the garboard (which was wide) but a wide stealer near the stern. <scratches head> The other oddball (to me) thing is that the planks are not uniform in width at the midsection for those but the NMM cross-section plan for Licorne is.  
 
I'll give the tape method a shot and see what it does... sounds like a good idea.
 

 
 

After reading all the theories and "how-to's" where the rubber meets the road....  I'd like some feedback on my batten.  I'm planking from the wales down to the batten first.  The batten represents where the wide wale planks will end... or should end.
 

One small step for Licorne, one big step for me.    I got the forward outer bulwark planked to my satisfaction.   Happy Dance!!!! 
 
The planking goes from one plank to three.  I got the middle one cut in as a proper stealer topmost goes under the ebony strip per the planking diagram (a different French frigate, but it showed me how it was done).
 
Here's the pic of the starboard side, and onto the aft ones.... The pic is super macro from about 4" out.  Looks better at galloping on horse back scale.
 

 

Time for another update.  Unfortunately, my pace has slowed due to a consulting gig that has been looming for a while and has finally kicked in.  I hate it when real life gets in the way of my hobbies. 
 
The frames are completed.  At least they are made, there is still a lot of work to do to call them "complete" and glue them into their permanent home. It is a shame that when I finally get them figured out there are no more of them to do.  They are fitted loosely and the first double frame has a coat of Wipe-On Poly.  The rest are very raw with a lot of sanding left to do.
 

 
The next step is to do the frame cutouts for the gun-ports, sweeps, etc.  
 
Grant:  I hope that you are doing well, I will still never catch up!         Good luck on your recovery.
 
Thanks for looking in and thanks to all the "likes", always appreciated.