mspringer

Yes! I was right and you could do it. That looks great!!
 
Remember Nenad that You must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. You will face your fear. You will permit it to pass over you and through you. And when your fear is gone You will turn and face fear's path, and only you (and your deck) will remain.
 
(I really need to watch this movie haha)

Bindy, you give me great motivation injection ...
 
 

 
Or, to stay close to movie "Dune" and "the spice flow" thing
 
 

 
 

Glad you got the pre-stain.  On basswood, I always use it.  Helps keep out blotchiness.
 
On the color, the only reason I asked is that Chuck recommends diluting the golden oak down to about 20-40% with the natural stain.  Again, on basswood that keeps the color more even.  I think you'll find that 20-40% is what most folks have used.

Hi all,
I am working steadily on the build but the updates to the log are a little behind so I will try to catch up here. Also, have family visiting from California, with small children, so will probably not have much time.
 
The following is my build for the lower deck. I glued a few pieces together to test finishes. I used MinWax Golden Oak. I was having difficulty gluing the small planks side to side, so I used a piece of freezer paper as a base and glued some planking to it, then, after both gluing and staining, peeled the paper away. Pretty easy.
 

 
Next I made the lower deck full size. I found it easier to use the freezer paper as a glue and peel base rather than gluing each plank individually. I used a soft pencil for the caulking. Anything else I tried, watercolor markers, stain markers, etc., all allowed the color to spread through the wood so pencil worked best for me.
 

 
Next it was time for gun and sweep sills/lintels etc.
 
I found it really hard to cut and sand right angles. I was cutting a little large to enable fitting, but then my sanding ruined the angle. I tried two similar jigs.
For cutting:

 
and for sanding:

 
The piece to be cut was placed along the corner where the two jig pieces meet, then cut or sanded against the edge. These worked ok, but since I used the same wood as the kit, the jigs eventually were distorted. (I should not have been surprised at that outcome!!) And since I still was lousy at cutting right angles could not just cut away to reshape edge. (Catch 22??)
 
About this time my plastic hobby miter box arrived and that took care of the right angle cutting. Sanding was still a problem. Even with the right angle jig, the hand held sanding block was still not giving me a good right angle. So I took out the my new Dremel tool stand to see what I could cobble together.
 


You can see the that the Dremel holder is set up side ways. This allows me to use the handle to move the sanding head forward (laterally). I am using the dremel quick release sanding head because it is smooth all the way across with no screw head protruding. I also tried the Proxxon sanding head, which I like better, but it is smaller so more difficult to use. A ruined plastic Miter box is used to hold the wood piece. After squaring everything up, all I do is put the piece against the side of the miter, move the piece a small bit so it clears the end of the plastic miter box and then use the handle on the dremel stand to move the sanding head in towards it. It is producing a nicely squared sanding that I can keep going back to until the part fits. What's nice is that this sands to a square head even if the part is not cut squarely. (I'm so proud of me!!)
Also, you will notice the hose end from my shop vacuum clamped near the sander. It really works, and since I work in our sunroom, keeps everyone happy.
 
Below is the completion of the sills.
 

 
The bad news is that I am not really happy with the result. It is not as "faired" as I would want it to be. Part the problem is skill. Part was the need repair/replace many of the bulwarks (thin pieces at top of frames) because they were burned badly enough that the centery ply would crumble. My repair job was not... well, not great. So, the gun and sweep ports are difficult to fair. Also, the top of the lintel is not as straight horizontally across the ship as it should be, not sure how this will impact that top rail. I have tried to smooth and even out as much as I can without thinning the wood too much.
After much thought, I decided not to redo the work because that would mean reworking from the beginning with the bulkhead former. Instead, I will push ahead with the planking and see how it turns out before making that decision. I also checked the other laser cut parts and, now that I know what to look for, ordered replacements for those that look bad.
 
Next I painted the gun and sweep ports. I obtained an airbrush for another project and decided to use it when painting the kit. Lots of new experiences here.
 

 
 
And that brings it up to date for now.
 
I would appreciate getting your input, not just to the build itself, but whether this log is ok or if I am being too wordy!
 
Richard

Here is a link to some "small" brushes.  They are SMALL...  
 
http://www.amazon.com/La-Corneille-Miniature-Detail-Cornell/dp/B007Z1NLW6
 
I also know tiny brushes can be found at all the chain hobby shops (Hobby Lobby and Michaels).  I like the synthetics but most would probably say to go with sable.  Also, look for those that end in a small tight point...that enables the brush to put the paint only where its needed.
 
Sounds like the paint you are using is good stuff.
 
I usually hated it when my parents said this, but "Practice makes perfect"  
 
Good luck!

Cutting the copper tape to make plates and coppering the hull.

Sorry to hear about the job difficulties...  I work in the oil industry which is very cyclical.  I have seen my share of cutbacks.  But, I am still here and there was a beautiful sunrise this morning to start the day off for me.  Life is good.    
 
Uh, what is sadoline?  
 
I've had to redo lots of stuff and decks I never really minded...no complex curves...just laying straight wood in straight lines. 

Kimberly, I too have struggled with painting the small stuff.  My last attempt was for the transom of the 1:96 Revell Constitution.  I had some success using the side of a small wide brush to transfer paint to the raised areas...almost like dry brushing.  I'm going to go over it again with a mag glass and tiny brush like Nenad suggests...I think that will help.  Also, like others have said, good brushes are important as is good quality paint that is not too thick.  Thick paint with a cheap brush is going to be very hard to work with.
 
Nenad, thanks for that tip...I had seen others mention it, but your explanation with the picture finally caused a light bulb to go off for me.   

And a drink to everybody !
 
Of course, popcorns
 
 
Today is littlle thing to celebrate: over 30.000 visits to topic and at the same time promotion in rank
 
 
 
Thanks everybody for support, interesting and likes

Well, we've been back on course now for several days.  The result is that at the 400 hour point (and 6 months on the calendar), we've completed the hull planking.  I'm not completely thrilled with it and a few planking 'rules' were shelved here and there.  But all in all I'm satisfied.
 

 

 

 

 
At this point it's been sanded but no finish applied.  Need to make a decision there so we'll move over to the testing bench.  In 1780, copper plates were not routinely used.  'White stuff' would have been SOP so I'll take a look at that.  Rusty used holly on his lower hull and it gave the light effect nicely.  But having gone with kit-supplied basswood I can look at using a natural stain finish.  Or I may decide to stain to match the upper hull (Admiral's preference).  A lot of touching up to do first on the britework (battle damage).
 
I'll figure this all out and the next time she's here we should be ready for a step back and relax moment.
 
Oh, in Ben's Confed log it took him 6 months to reach this point.  Chuck must have built this into the kit (just like he figures everything else out). 
 
 
 
 

Another trick you might want to try; after applying proper masking tape (like Tamyia) spray with a coat of Dullcote to seal the edges. This will help eleminate paint bleed. Also make sure that the masking tape is firmly stuck to the ship, run a rounded dowel, or the back of your fingernail along the tape edge to press the tape adhesive to the model.
 
Andy

@mspringer
 
That six books are classical SF literature, but not superb literary achievement. Frank Herbert had some very good ideas, but I think he lost himself somewhere in the middle of writing, so, whole thing is very interesting, but, unfortunately, without great point it could have. Herbert has opened an important and major philosophical sociological and psychological issues of human nature, but he could not, or did not have the power or will to bring them to an great end, and a meaningful completion. At the end of last book you stayed "little" confused. What he want to tell ? Even today after 3-4 passings over all books, I do not know
 
But some thoughts  and reflections planted and painted here and there... WOW !!! Just keep you in thinking about, during your whole lifetime, and force you to come back to this books from time to time
 
On the other side, David Lynch`s SF movie "DUNE" from 1984 has also place in history of SF movies. Only watching it in the time surrounding and the circumstances in which was created 1984. movie have some values. Good music costumes and scene , but very bad acting, with on that time great visual effects, without any success in implementation of main and background story and point of first Herbert`s book
 
"Children of Dune", TV mini series from 2003 - piece of scrap trying to be something more than SF soap, without any sense for Herbert`s thoughts
 
All in all, along with the music of Led Zeppelin  (quote under picture is from song "Stairway to Heaven"), and some other "spices" they are integral part of my youth, and surely have some influence and meaning in forming my personality and today point of view. And I love metaphors and comparison
 
Isn`t  building complex ship model something like Stairway to Heaven ? Not verbatim as in lyrics, but generally ?
 
Per aspera ad astra !!!
 
Isn`t every marriage and family something which spice contents ? Little everyday things with meaning of life ?
 
I think so
 
Happy modelling to all followers and friends

...  from time to time, my poor nerves also look well after him ...
 
 ... Spices for everyday life ...
 
And a spice must flow !!!
 
Great Serbian children poet, said in humorous way, great truth
 
" ... beat you children as soon as you notice it starting to resemble you ... "
 

 
" ...Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run
     There's still time to change the road you're on.      And it makes me wonder ..."

Got a few other thinks out of the way last weekend...
Got my ladders done with a simple jig using the kids' lego.
Painted and installed the barricade assembly and rough tree rail.

To continue on dealing with the gun deck, I set up my Dremel tool in the Workstation with a sanding drum to sand down the area on the bulkheads to be removed. This set up let me quickly switch bulkhead sides and change bulkheads by raising the Dremel tool. There is a hole in the base of the workstation that allows the drum to fit into, so I could get the whole width of the bulkhead in one shot.
 

 

 
The drum doesn't fit in the corners, so after doing what I could with the Dremel, I put the bulkheads in a vise and used a razor saw to cut out the material in the corners.
 

 
I then used a flat file to clean up the cuts.
 

 
When I had all of the bulkheads cut, I stacked them together and aligned the top rails, then used a flat file to get the cuts even. Here is the before picture:
 

 
And here is the after. I think I could do more clean up but I don't want to remove too much, so I am going to wait until the final sanding after removing the center posts for any additional material removal.
 

 
Finally, to remove the material on the hull former, I just used a razor saw to cut close to the lines, then a sanding block to finish off the cuts so they were all straight. I had to deepen the notch for the main mast, which I did with some careful chiselling. Well, not really so careful, but the pieces broke off cleanly and I was able to cut the notch out with a razor saw at that point and glue the two side pieces back in. For plywood, this stuff splits pretty easily.
 

 
The next task will be to carefully glue the bulkheads to the hull former.

Stern filler blocks:
 
The first one of these took me much longer than I thought it would, but the second one was a lot faster. Isn't that how it always goes.
 
I first glued up two blanks to use for these. Instead of the 2" wide block that came with the kit, I used a a 1" piece of basswood that I had and glued on a 1/4" piece at the top, just to reduce the amount of waste.
 

 
I then made templates form the plans and traced the edges onto the different sides of the blank.
 

 
I cut the side profile with a coping saw, then taped the pieces back together and cut the S shaped back profile on the scroll saw. This took a while since my little scroll saw and thin blades didn't want to follow the lines nicely. But, I eventually got it cut out.
 

 

 
I then used the belt and disk sander to square up the top and side edges so they fit flush to the last bulkhead and the keel.  I used them to remove a lot of the material in the middle of the blank, and I also used my Dremel tool in the workstation with a sanding drum to get into the tighter curves. I finished up with a rounded file and some sanding blocks, and used the profile templates I made form the plans to check the overall shape of the block. I got the overall shape but the top edges were too small compared to the transom filler. Instead of remaking a whole new piece, I cut about 1/2" off the top of the blank and glued on two 1/4" pieces that were wider. After they dried, I sanded them to fit the existing shape of the blank but left the tops a bit wider than the template.
 
It was at this point that I realized that I had left the underside of the transom filler piece too long, since the stern filler piece did not fit all the way to the back edge. I flipped the hull over and held it in a keel klamper, then used a sanding block to sand the back edge of the transom filler back to the correct length. I left about a 1/16” flat area so the planking can end nicely into the transom filler. I found it much easier fitting these filler pieces with the hull upside down.  I then used the disk and belt sander to sand down the added top pieces to match the templates and flow into the original filler piece. I had to remove material in the middle of the filler to match the profile templates. For this I used the sanding disk in the Dremel tool in the workstation. I left the drum above the base so I could get the piece under the disk if I needed to.
 

 

 

 
I ended up with a nice general fit, but then I worked the edges some more with sanding blocks and the rounded file to get the edges to flow into the bulkhead R and the rabbet along the stern post. I ended up increasing the rabbet depth some with an X-Acto chisel so a 1/16” plank would fit nicely into the rabbet. When I had a good fit, I gave the whole piece a final sanding with medium and fine sandpaper. I was very happy with the way this filler piece turned out, but it took about 6 hours for make it.
 
The second one was a lot easier. I bought a few tools to make this process a little easier for this and the remaining filler pieces, which included heavier scroll saw blades with larger teeth and a small hand saw. I found this saw at Home Depot and it worked really well:
 

 
I used the hand saw to start the cut of the excess off the side profile, then the coping saw to finish it. I drew the side profile on both sides of the blank this time so I could check that I was not cutting off too much on either side. I taped the cut off pieces back on and cut the back S profile with the scroll saw with the new blades, which worked much better, especially after I increased the speed of the saw.
 

 
I then sanded the edges to the template lines. I again removed the center material with the Dremel sanding drum set up, and finished off with the sanding blocks and file. The rabbet on the starboard side was in good shape so I did not need to so anything with it. This side only took me 1.5 hours, and the two piece seem to match very well. I'll give them a final sanding along the edges when I fair the hull. You can see that the tips got pretty thin and ended up breaking off, but there is plenty of support from the bulkhead at those points, so I didn't bother to replace the tips. The pieces are not glued in yet, but will be soon.
 

 
Lots of saw dust created to make these two fillers, but it was pretty fun overall.  

Adding the bulkheads:
 
This was pretty straight forward. I had made these Lego corners for a previous build, but they were about half as tall as I needed for this one. A quick trip to the attic to find more of my son's Legos and I had what I needed.
 

 

 

 
And here they are all attached. Overall, this process took a few days as I was only adding them two at a time and letting them dry a few hours before the next two. The deck beams seem to have a nice run to them without any high or low spots. I know the sides of the bulkheads still need some fairing, which I will get to soon.
 

 
While this was going on, I started making the transom filler block. I used the supplied basswood block and cut out the templates from a copy of the plans, which I glued onto the top and bottom. I then used a disk sander to thin the block down and rough in the shape, then a variety of sanding blocks to get it close to the final shape.
 

 
I drilled the rudder hole, which is at a slight angle, by holding the filler piece in an adjustable vise and setting the angle to match the stern post angle, then hand drilling a series of small to large holes, finishing the hole with a couple of rat tail files. I used the raw kit supplied rudder to test the fit, so I left it a little tight, since the rudder stock will be sanded round later.
 
I test fit the transom filler piece to the stern, using the center line on the plans to line up with the center line of the last bulkhead. Getting the piece to be aligned horizontally was a bit of a challenge, but I used the transom pieces as guides, so that when they were level all the way across that was the right angle for the filler. I had to reduce the thickness of the filler a bit more and may still take some off before adding the transom pieces. I glued it on with white glue but did not find a good way to clamp it, so I held it in place until the glue was tacky.
 

 
I am working on the two filler pieces that sit under this piece and will have pictures when I finish them.

Some more content pictures:


Some photo etched brass parts:

I organized the blocks, deadeyes, and bulls eyes in these small containers:

For the wood strips, I used these plastic golf bag tubes that I got from my father. I had originally planned to use these to organize all the extra wood strips I had in the workshop, but I had to go to something that could handle more strips, which you can see in the picture after this one. I was pretty amazed that the strips just in this kit filled up these tubes.

What I use now to organize my wood supply in the shop:

Planked!!! The lower hull planking is finished.  I have done some sanding but need to do more.  I am very pleased with the way it turned out. 
<<Gary>>
 

OK - I have installed the garboard strake and one full strake below the wales.  Here is my plan for the rest of the planking.  Firstoff, I decided to do the calculations in millimeters as they are MUCH easier for me than fractions.  The supplied planks are 3/16 inch and that equals 5 millimeters.  I measured the distance along each bulwark from the garboard strake up to to one recently installed using a strip of thin wood and cutting it to length.  I did this for bulwarks 2 - 15.  Then I measured the length of each strip in milimeters.  See photo below.  I recorded this information on a spreadsheet.  (column B ).  Notice that the lengths decrease progressively from stern to bow.  Then I divided each total length by 5 (width of each plank) to determine how many planks would be needed at each bulkhead.  In column D I rounded the number in column C up to the next whole number.  Examining the results, it appeared that using either 14, 15, or 16 strakes to fill the space would be workable.  Columns E, F, and G caculate the strake width in millimeters at each bulkhead for values of 14, 15, or 16 strakes respectively.  If I used 16 tapered strakes, I could theoretically do the whole thing with no stealers.  I chose to do 15 strakes.  This would let me fully plank back to bulkhead 13 with no stealers.  I expect that because of the complex curves of the buttocks, some fancy additional work will be needed here anyway.
 
To taper the planks, I will lay one out along the bulkheads and mark the center of each bulkhead on the plank.  Then using a metric ruler, I will mark the plank width at each bulkhead location.  To achieve the long smooth taper, I will clamp four or six planks together and use coarse sandpaper and a long sanding block, sanding until I have the correct plank widths.  I plan to do half of the planking and then repeat this process to insure a good result.
 
Sound like a plan?

Yes, I agree...very expensive.  I'll also say that unless you just really want a book to look through, all the content that is contained in the book is covered at some point on this site and is in greater detail than the book.  Plus there are quite a few build logs on the Constitution in plastic that are very active at this point that also cover the same material as in the book.  But with that said, there is still nothing like holding a real paper book...  

As five hands sometimes are not enough for rigging, I build myself a small rigging bench.
 

 
An inclined plane with a pin in the middle ...
 
 
 
... and two hairgrips on a holder. The holder can be fixed also pointing the other direction - or being left off - ...
 

 
... and even tiny bits can be worked on with ease :-)
 
For serving small parts I included a hook on a thread. Turning the part in between the fingers, it is still nicely held under tension and does not wobble around  :-)
 

 
These are the nice bits one can do with it ...
 

 
... and even to be repeated precisely :-)
 

 
Gruß, DAniel

JP, I had thought about that, but this room is also Lego Central...so it would be selfish of me to lock the babes out.   There is nothing else they can hurt aside from themselves with the tools.  Thanks for the thought.
 
Jeff, I think you hit the nail on the head.  That is exactly what i've been imagining.  I had forgotten about HF and there is a store about 20minutes away from me.  I think I'll make the trek this weekend and check those out.

Next step in the instructions is to glue 34 eyebolts to various positions along the hull. Previously I had made the decision to make my own from 26 gauge beading wire, so I spent the day making them. I thought I would document the process for anyone who's interested. 
 
I cut 34 lengths of wire approx 4cm or 1.5 inches long

 
I loop each wire around a pin vise bit, chosen to give a good sized, but not too large, "eye"

 
34 loops ready for twisting.

 
To twist, I secure the loop with needle nose pliers and use my fingers to twist each of the two ends equally

 
All twisted and ready for trimming

 
Trimmed up and ready for dry fit

 
Glued into the stern:
 

 
 

JP, I had thought about that, but this room is also Lego Central...so it would be selfish of me to lock the babes out.   There is nothing else they can hurt aside from themselves with the tools.  Thanks for the thought.
 
Jeff, I think you hit the nail on the head.  That is exactly what i've been imagining.  I had forgotten about HF and there is a store about 20minutes away from me.  I think I'll make the trek this weekend and check those out.