Shotlocker

Well, here are some. I'd forgotten that I filled in between all of the frames.🥴
 
 

Bill,
 
Yes, I did build the model, actually started it back in the mid-seventies but it kept getting put aside due to
many many moves. Over the years all of the hull planking became warped and, like your kit, I had to completely
rebuild it...dang thing still isn't quite finished. I've modified it so much that I'm certain it only has a passing
resemblance to the real  ship. As for the "ribs", they're simply pieces of wood glued onto the bulwarks. One
thing I suggest you do before you begin the planking is to fair in some balsa wood fillers in the bow; makes it
much easier to attach the planks there. I have some photos of how I did it if you're interested.
 
Thank you very much for the compliment and I hope you enjoy your salvage job as much as I did mine!
 
Best Regards,
Gary
 

I haven't been making a whole lot of progress on my model, but I thought I'd post what has been done so people don't think I've given up. 
 
Lately I've been working on the boat davits: They are highly-detailed little pieces and I've run out of the 3mm square light-coloured wood so I have only made eight out of twelve of the vertical posts. They fit into little sockets I have made from slices of brass tube, and brackets on the rail made of brass strip. I've also made the actual davit arms, which I bent after steaming them in the rice-cooker and laminated, but I'm leaving them off for the time being because I still need to make the brackets they fit into. 
 
Using "Lee's" book, I worked out the taper ratio for the lower masts, and tried it out on the main mast first. I thought it turned out OK so I proceeded to apply the hounds and cheeks, and paint, hoops, and bands. It think it looks pretty good so I will proceed with the other two. 
 
I don't have a lot of time for model-building lately, because of work, but I spend a lot of time reading Lee's and thinking about how I want to depict certain parts. 
 
I like photographing the model in the sunbeam through the kitchen window, now that it's early spring and the sun has come back.
 
 

Bill,
You might consider finishing that model, it builds up into a nice looking ship; the instructions are terrible but there's a lot
of info on this site and on the net to go to for help.
 
Cheers,
Gary
 
 

Marie Celeste was built 50 or more years  after the American Revenue Cutter that you are considering.  The hull forms are completely different.  If you have the skill and knowledge to transform this  hull into an accurate representation of an early Nineteenth Century American Revenue Cutter you have the ability to carve a new hull from scratch.  Get yourself some decent quality wood, pine will do, some drawings, and make some sawdust.
 
Start a built log and you’ll get lots of help.
 
Roger

Bill,
You might consider finishing that model, it builds up into a nice looking ship; the instructions are terrible but there's a lot
of info on this site and on the net to go to for help.
 
Cheers,
Gary
 
 

Bill,
You might consider finishing that model, it builds up into a nice looking ship; the instructions are terrible but there's a lot
of info on this site and on the net to go to for help.
 
Cheers,
Gary
 
 

Bill,
You might consider finishing that model, it builds up into a nice looking ship; the instructions are terrible but there's a lot
of info on this site and on the net to go to for help.
 
Cheers,
Gary
 
 

The engine was a bit fiddly but came together nicely I think.  

I sincerely thank the words of encouragement as I continue to struggle. I’m trying to take my time and really understand what I am doing on this one.  The bulwarks have pre-notched lines for planking and I’m not sure they help or hurt a novice like myself. Putting a plank on...work on the other sub-assemblies...repeat. I need more clamps...

More progress on 1/600 Queen Mary 2.

Welcome aboard Matey,
You're in the right place. Look around the build logs and search for a San Francisco log. I have learned a great deal simply reading logs and looking at pictures. Don't be afraid to ask questions and pick our brains, at least those who still have some.
 
Dave B

The bow had been a struggle point in my mind since starting this. I designed and redesigned it more times than I can count. I wanted it to look as ship like as possible, but not be too difficult to make and most importantly be strong enough to support my crazy kids playing in it. 
 
It consists of four half rings and a floor. I used ellipses for the shapes so they would taper into the sides smoothly. I rough cut them with my jig saw and finish cut them on the bandsaw. 
 

 
The stem is a piece of 2x4 that I notched to accept the rings. My cad software was critical for figuring out the angles. I was very excited that it fit on the first try (not typical)!
 

 

 
I used my drill press and a forstner bit to make pockets for 2” dowels for the railings.  Hoping that it will be strong enough. 
 

 

 


 
The bow will be detachable for transportation. I used two layers of plywood to make a bulkhead. 
 

 
A little test fit...
 

 

Kirby,
That has to be a very satisfying build. I imagine you occasionally step back and just look at your work and feel pretty good about it.
I know that I would. Great job. Looking forward to seeing it done and in place with maybe your son peeking over the bulwarks with
a pirate hat and a patch over one eye and a plastic cutlass between his teeth!
 
Gary

I wanted a reasonable quality vise for my drill press. I had a cheap Amazon one that I threw away it was so bad. I have one of these:
 

Which is ok but not great. As well as having a small opening size, those enormous mounting slots are useless.
 
You can get really good machinists vises but they're expensive and I'm not milling big chunks of steel.
 
So I decided to make one. 
 


 
I used rods, bearings, and brackets designed for CNC machines on a 1/4" aluminium plate. The body is 9 and 12mm birch ply.
 
I wanted it to look nice because I'm planning on keeping it a long time, so I covered the ply in some old walnut sheet I had. The jaws are bolivian rosewood which is definitely a bit over the top but I had a couple of pieces left over from making a box at Christmas.
 
There are 5/16" holes drilled in the base so I can mount it on my XY table at an accurate 90 degree angle.
 

 
It's heavy and rigid, and I had fun making it. 😀
 

Oh yeah! And not just "looks like the same...," either. Some years back I bought a set of bathroom fawcets to replace the ones in a remodel we were doing. They were a name brand, Delta, I believe. I got them from Home Depot, I recall. When my buddy, a plumber, came by, he asked where I got the fawcets and when I told him, he shook his head and said, "If you want to pull these ones out and return them, I'll get you better ones. I pulled them out and he came by with what looked like the identical fawcet set, new in the box from the same manufacturer. I said, "These are the same." He smiled and opened one up and pulled the valve cartridge out of it. It was some sort of plastic. Then he opened up one of the replacements he'd brought from his shop and pulled the valve cartridge out of it. It was all metal. In short, the outside castings were the same, but the "guts" of the two models were very different. I was happy to pay him the lower (wholesale) price for the ones he brought me and I returned the cheapo ones. He explained that the big box stores often buy huge numbers of units and have the manufacturers cut quality to bring the price down. You think you are buying the very same name-brand product, but it isn't.

Before I could say, "Don't get me started...."  
 
Wen Tools used to be a mid-range US electric tool manufacturer of fair repute during the last half of the 20th Century . They were perhaps best known for their "second best" or "DIY quality" soldering gun, which competed with Weller's, and their "second best" rotary tool which competed with Dremel's . Wen has always targeted the occasional, non-professional user, rather than the professionals and its greatest selling point has been its lower price. Now the Wen brand has, from all indications, become just another casualty of the power-tool market.
 
Remember reputable brands like "Bell and Howell," (movie cameras,)  "Emerson," (radios and TV's), and just about every tool company you've ever heard of? Times have changed. Today, the brand names themselves have become commodities, monetized for their "customer loyalty" and established good reputation. The business model is 1) buy out a brand name with a good reputation, 2) "value re-engineer" the products by reducing the quality, plastic parts replacing metal where possible, etc., 3) close domestic manufacturing operations and move manufacturing to low-labor-cost Third World factories, 4) slap the reputable label on "generic" offshore products, 5) flood the market with advertising touting the brand name without disclosing the change in ownership and manufacturing origins, and 6) reap the profits for as long as possible until the consumers finally, if ever, figure it out. You still get what you pay for, to a large extent, because the higher priced units will generally have better quality control, warranties, and customer service, although, sometimes you get lucky and find a lower-priced brand of the same unit, built in the same factory in China by the People's Patriotic Power Tool Collective which just happened to be assembled "on a good day." 
 
If you think today's Milwaukee are any different, think again. Milwaukee is Chinese-owned and Chinese-made, one hundred percent. Unfortunately, these new offshore "name brand owners" are very internet savvy. If you go trying to find reviews and comparisons of their products, you'll find multiple websites posing as "neutral reviewers" which, using the identical language, wax eloquent about how great their products are. It's all a big con job. 
 
While Wen tools were once "Made in the USA," Wen is, by all indications, simply selling Wen-branded generic Chinese-made tools these days. Wen never was a top tier tool manufacturer, anyway. It's market niche, even in the 1950's, was the homeowner interested more in price point than quality. 
 
Find the Wen:
 

 
Read the links below to get some idea of how pointless it is for us to even begin to look to a label as any indication of the quality of a tool these days!  With all the internet purchasing, we can't even hold one in our hand before buying it. About the best we can do is to ask the guy who has one, and be careful of doing that if it's just an Amazon review!  
 
https://pressurewashr.com/tool-industry-behemoths/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tool_manufacturers
 
So, sorry for the thread drift, but I couldn't help but rant about the sorry state of tool quality these days. 

Hi everyone!
 
I've been looking around in the build logs now for a while and have to say I'm very impressed with the builds here! Particularly I liked the Pickle build by Blue Ensign and off course some of the scratch builds makes demonstrate how much there is to this craft.  I'm new to this and have just received the Havmågen / Norden litt from Billing that I am looking forward to build 🙂
 
Looking forward to getting in touch with you!
 
Best regards,
Halvor in Norway

I haven’t read the book by Sea Watch so I don’t know very much but I always thought fireships were generally ships that were destined to be decommissioned. I guess that could explain why they were decorated, because they were not built with the intention of being fireships, they just ended up being one do to old age or damage. I could be wrong here but that could be a reason. 
 
Thinking about it, I’m not sure they would have ever intentionally built a fire ship, that seems like a huge waste of money to me. But if you get 20 years out of a vessel then it’s final stand is used to break up an enemy formation that seems pretty useful to me. 
 
Bradley

Mike,
I'm not able to assist you on your first question but concerning the second one, if it were me, I'd definitely rig the cannon before
doing any rigging...lots easier to do without having to work around those pesky lines.

Hi - to all the members here. 
I am just getting back into ship building after a 30 year hiatus. Am retired now so have lots of time to hopefully complete some great projects.
My last build was HMS Bounty in the late '80's. I absolutely love the historic ships with their elaborate styles.
 
My first inclination was to build the San Felipe or Victory but after reading the many "...uh-oh. Rookie mistake," I have decided to knock it down a bit. 
I do have lots of experience building 1/4 & 1/3 scale wood R/C planes so am not totally inept with modeling but must admit that planking has me a bit skittish.
 
Hope to be able to tap into the knowledge of the members here for needed guidance.
 
 

The model is HMS Fly. The interior of the frames have been faired. Now on to the square frames. 

Richard,
Looks like a great (lengthy!) start with the most difficult assemblies done. What ship is it?
 
Cheers,
Gary

Thank you Shetlocker that should help a lot, much appreciated. 
Popeye that was going to be my next question, hopefully when I have enlarged plan 3, I can see the details clearer.

Plan 3 shows the termination points, numbers with arrows: