AON

Saturday, 23 May 2015

I do not know whether to laugh or cry

Is this an opportunity or....

Earlier this week my trusted old Bessie (my ancient computer) went down for the count quite unexpectedly, right in the middle of my creating the individual cant frame and transom templates at the stern.

She took everything with her.

I had backups.... on the hard drive.

I had just gotten one of those mega-tetra kajillion byte external hard drives.... I just didn't bother to get around TUIT.

At times like this I dearly miss my draughting board

God give me the strength to start over and the wisdom to have learnt along the way and to do a better job all around this time.

The smartest thing I ever did was listen to members here when planning to build my table

I cannot imagine having a table for just sitting when modeling but then I might be a special case

with three vertebrae in my neck fused and a bad lower back (extra parts) I have to re-adjust occasionally, including standing quite a bit, to be comfortable

A titling table with auto height adjustment is what I needed.

I would highly recommend you install height adjustable legs so you can work at various sitting heights dependant on the task... and even stand when the occasion arises.

I feel bad that you did not get the results you hoped for.

If they are not glued down yet please try re-wetting them (water and matt) and re-shaping.

They can be soaked right through and it will not harm them as they dry clear.

You can do this as often and as tight as you feel necessary.

Practise on a piece of scrap.

I'll PM you a photo.

I keep coming back to look at it over and over again

I have to say I really like your stove

I learned about it at the sail  and flag making workshops through Admiralty Models

It can be purchased at any hobby painting shop

Just wet your brush dab the tip into the jar and brush it over the coil... then let it dry.

It dries clear.

If you don't like how it looks, wet it again and reshape.

When you are happy dabs of clear drying glue on the underside will lock it in shape to the deck.

I live in Welland and work in Saint Catharines about 20 minute drive between them and Niagara Falls... where I worked for 32 years

AH!!! London and Kingston.... I'm much further south... we never ever get any snow down here.

(Excuse me... my nose is growing again)

I would wet my brush with water, dip it into a bottle of acrylic matt medium and then brush it onto the line (rope).  Finally coil up the line as I wanted it displayed and lay it down onto waxed paper to dry.  Once dry a dab of clear drying glue on the underside will hold it to the deck .... remove the waxed paper first of course    

OMG

just goes to show you never know what tomorrow will bring

Praying all your tomorrows are exponentially better

wow!

Every time I start a piece I say a small pray for guidance from above:   Please Lord tell me "when"

Thank you very much for the note about the error in TFFM

(even the masters are due their one misteak)

Printed out your correction description and inserted it between the pages of my volume copy for future reference!

seems like possibly Cherry (?)

hard to tell

Sunday 27 April 2015

Completed the bow support frame and plate assembly.

Presently the lowest position is too high but it is standing ready for the next piece

Also chewed on Druxey's recommendation.

Have decided to increase my work... I will do it both ways, one plane as started which I can turn off and one plane with timbers shifted.

The latter will be more work than the former.

I should mention the gun port cutouts are on a separate plane also which I turn off for the templates.

I think it more prudent to cut out the gun ports after the fact rather than build them in

Understood and now I need to reconsider the amount of work I've done, done again, have been redoing and may now have yet another do over.

Thank God I'm enjoying myself otherwise this might be considered "work".

Yes Druxey, I understand the shifting and can see it clearly on the frame drawing I purchased from NMM

Shifting will not show in the end view 2D plan for my templates so I am not worried about it yet and do not intend to work it into the 3D model

I had planned to work in the shifting when I cut the pieces....

at least that is the plan as of up to today!

(might change if I suddenly realize it was yet another misteak)

I also worked on my new fangled Plexiglas goose-necked shaped support plates.

The Plexiglas was taped (I used painters tape) and the shape traced onto it.
The sheet was clamped down securely and the shape cutout using a special Plexiglas cutting blade.
If you don’t move quickly enough the plastic melts and sticks back together or leaves a blob of material on the edge that I found was easily removed.
The edge was then filed smooth and sanded (various papers, scotch brite pad, micro fine pad).
I then polished the edge.
The final step was to wash the piece in warm soapy water.  I used Dawn dish soap. If it’s gentle enough for oil soaked water fowl it is good enough for my work.  (Never use glass cleaner or such products on Plexiglas).
Finally I cut out my slots in the wood frame, installed the T-bolts to the table and assembled it in place.

Easy, right?
Well here is what went wrong…
By the time I worked on the second sheet and frame things started to go south.  One of the slotted wood uprights on the second frame was installed backwards (slots out) and the space between the two slotted uprights was a wee bit tighter so my second sheet is about 1/16” too wide and needs to be filed down to fit… hence no pictures of the bow support assembly as yet.

Saturday, 25 April 2015
While merrily working on my frame templates I suddenly realized I was putting in upper scarph joints that likely overlapped the gun ports and sills.

I drew in all the gun ports and sills as measured off the plan and the contract.
This showed many of my upper scarph joints to be in or overlapping the holes.
These were removed and/or relocated.

Below is a small sampling (I turned off all other frames) ... you can see the joints in the one frame (all others are turned off to make it clearer)

Slow progress drawing up the frame templates.

The more I look at the small amount woodwork I've done to date the more I want to start over.

I am not completely happy with my joinery and feel with some practice I can do a much better job.

I will complete what I've started and then decide if this would have been all for practise, at which point I may then put it aside and do it all over again.

I will need to do more joinery practice work on pieces out of the drop pile.

If I keep going down this path I may need to grab another bundle of lath out of my son's wood pile!!

I also signed up for the Admiralty Models Spring Workshop being held in beautiful Niagara on the Lake on May the 1st ans 2nd

This one is on Frieze Painting and Flag Making

I know I am years from needing to know this stuff, but when opportunity knocks....

www.gates.com offers a design booklet for their cogged or toothed pulleys and belts that should answer your questions and help with your selection but wq3296 is correct... it will not slip so the safety aspect of the slippage is lost.

I see with your last photo you have started a new scratch build kit   

Congratulations!

it is difficult to comment on the former when looking at the latter

This next kit will take a lifetime but like most you'll get so much more from it then you give. 

Looks good to me too.

I find that when I take my time and think things through, develop the plan, and eventually take a step... I should have wrote down the plan because I forgot a step.

So now I write down the plan on my computer because it is easier to reorganize it there then with pencil, paper and eraser.

And yet somehow I continue to skip a step!

I blame it on age.

As you are much younger it might work better for you!

check out the scratch build of Young American by EdT page 5 post 74

I've tried to copy a link but no success.

I managed an hour to make another "goose necked" prototype support plate and re-attach the lower stem piece to the keel.

In my dealings with Druxey yesterday he had mentioned how the usual fixed position support plate had managed to leave a sun bleached mark on one of his stem/stern post assemblies so another plus to the adjustable support plate height would be to reduce this bleaching effect caused by lighting.  I would never had thought of that... I was just attempting to allow the area to open up if I needed to get my big clumsy hands in there!

Not much to show this weekend.

I completed my transcription of the contract after having had help with the last few terms and phrases from my NRG mentor and then the final push yesterday for 2 hours with help from Druxey. (Thank you very much!)

There are 79 typed pages in total of transcriptions, descriptions, explanations and detailed reference sources I can go back to at any time if I need to.

Earlier today I took the lower stem piece connection to the keel apart (boxing joint) due to it being slightly skewed.

It is thicker than it needs to be to allow sanding to shape but as I will not know if the skewing was too much until the sanding is done, and to do the sanding I need to glue the other stem assembly pieces to it... I felt it was prudent not to tempt fate.

Thanks to the forum I found many references on how to dissolve/soften the glue and after having wetted the joint with Isopropyl rubbing alcohol (70% USP), wrapping with plastic wrap and waiting 24 hours it came apart without any effort at all.

I had plans to complete my supports and shape the deadwood assembly... but stuff tends to happen and derail the best of plans.

Happily this is not a race.

His 'about turn' is not very military like.

Must be a volunteer.... like me!

but seriously... very life like!!

Started making the post supports and have one end assembled less the T-handle clamps to lock it in place on the rails.

I made the horizontal support plate adjustable on 3 tiers so if it is in the way I can lower or raise it.... or remove it.

Presently the plate is meant to be a prototype (1/4" Plywood)

My intention is to make the final version out of 1/4" Plexiglas material of which I have a sheet outside the room with the wood stash.

I am not 100% happy with the plate.

The bracket can be moved back another 3" on the table top and then the neck on the plate can reach out 3" further to open it up a bit.

In the end, as always, the sheet of plastic is pulled over it all to keep the dust at bay.

I also glued up some paper onto a piece of scrap for the test mentioned in yesterdays post.

It will sit for a few days (as did the real pieces) before I peel the paper off, erase the glue and test wood finish on the glued versus bare wood surface.