AON

Great update 

Next, the fore and main upper stay stoppers : small single stoppers applied.
 



 
Now the dead eye fixture on the crow’s nest. I decided to follow the original plan - fixing the 5mm dead eyes with cotton thread instead of bronze.
 




Finally, minor additions to crow's nest supporting structure.

Hello shipmates!

Latest progress report on GH1 & GH2: prep work for crow’s nest underbelly rigging (installing bolts for block attachments),  installment of stoppers for stays, deadeye fixture on the crow’s nest, and some other minor additions.
 
First the bolts on the underbelly of the crow’s nest. I started our with 4 (2 on the front, 2 on the back), but later I decided to add 4 more bolts on the front side (just in case).
 
 




 

 
Next, the stopper for stay (between lower part of main mast and mizzen mast) For this one, I devised a larger and wider single design instead of applying multiple small stoppers.
 
 





 
Same procedures applied to all masts for both GH1 & GH2.
 

I had been working on the lower cheeks and have since started the upper cheeks.
I began by making a card template of the hull using my profile gauge.

Then I traced the stem works to fit the upper cheek between the gammoning slots.

The lower cheek was made in two pieces, glued and pinned with wooden dowels requiring #57 drill bit holes.
The upper cheek will be in three pieces of which I have two pieces roughed. The piece against the stem works is longer than needed. I will make the mating piece longer and trim the two to fit.


Tomorrow I will make up the hawse bolster and backing plate pieces to help with spacing and alignment of the upper cheek pieces.

I had been working on the lower cheeks and have since started the upper cheeks.
I began by making a card template of the hull using my profile gauge.

Then I traced the stem works to fit the upper cheek between the gammoning slots.

The lower cheek was made in two pieces, glued and pinned with wooden dowels requiring #57 drill bit holes.
The upper cheek will be in three pieces of which I have two pieces roughed. The piece against the stem works is longer than needed. I will make the mating piece longer and trim the two to fit.


Tomorrow I will make up the hawse bolster and backing plate pieces to help with spacing and alignment of the upper cheek pieces.

I had been working on the lower cheeks and have since started the upper cheeks.
I began by making a card template of the hull using my profile gauge.

Then I traced the stem works to fit the upper cheek between the gammoning slots.

The lower cheek was made in two pieces, glued and pinned with wooden dowels requiring #57 drill bit holes.
The upper cheek will be in three pieces of which I have two pieces roughed. The piece against the stem works is longer than needed. I will make the mating piece longer and trim the two to fit.


Tomorrow I will make up the hawse bolster and backing plate pieces to help with spacing and alignment of the upper cheek pieces.

I had been working on the lower cheeks and have since started the upper cheeks.
I began by making a card template of the hull using my profile gauge.

Then I traced the stem works to fit the upper cheek between the gammoning slots.

The lower cheek was made in two pieces, glued and pinned with wooden dowels requiring #57 drill bit holes.
The upper cheek will be in three pieces of which I have two pieces roughed. The piece against the stem works is longer than needed. I will make the mating piece longer and trim the two to fit.


Tomorrow I will make up the hawse bolster and backing plate pieces to help with spacing and alignment of the upper cheek pieces.

I had been working on the lower cheeks and have since started the upper cheeks.
I began by making a card template of the hull using my profile gauge.

Then I traced the stem works to fit the upper cheek between the gammoning slots.

The lower cheek was made in two pieces, glued and pinned with wooden dowels requiring #57 drill bit holes.
The upper cheek will be in three pieces of which I have two pieces roughed. The piece against the stem works is longer than needed. I will make the mating piece longer and trim the two to fit.


Tomorrow I will make up the hawse bolster and backing plate pieces to help with spacing and alignment of the upper cheek pieces.

I had been working on the lower cheeks and have since started the upper cheeks.
I began by making a card template of the hull using my profile gauge.

Then I traced the stem works to fit the upper cheek between the gammoning slots.

The lower cheek was made in two pieces, glued and pinned with wooden dowels requiring #57 drill bit holes.
The upper cheek will be in three pieces of which I have two pieces roughed. The piece against the stem works is longer than needed. I will make the mating piece longer and trim the two to fit.


Tomorrow I will make up the hawse bolster and backing plate pieces to help with spacing and alignment of the upper cheek pieces.

I had been working on the lower cheeks and have since started the upper cheeks.
I began by making a card template of the hull using my profile gauge.

Then I traced the stem works to fit the upper cheek between the gammoning slots.

The lower cheek was made in two pieces, glued and pinned with wooden dowels requiring #57 drill bit holes.
The upper cheek will be in three pieces of which I have two pieces roughed. The piece against the stem works is longer than needed. I will make the mating piece longer and trim the two to fit.


Tomorrow I will make up the hawse bolster and backing plate pieces to help with spacing and alignment of the upper cheek pieces.

Coming along

Hi dear friends photo Anson.

I should complete the bottom today

The Bellona balcony and corresponding quarter galleries are undoubtedly the most difficult things I have ever attempted to make! Progress is slow but moving along.
 
To make accurate card patterns for the panels in the balcony, I first needed to construct the balcony moldings both at the level of the deck and the level of the railing. I had decided to capture the panels in rabbets, so I constructed the moldings in two parts (see below). The molding at the railing level will have a seam between the fore and after parts, and it will prominently show, so I needed to fair these two together as accurately as I could. To make it more interesting, the aft part runs all the way across the stern, while the fore part is trapped between the two sides of the hull. I pinned the aft one in place and then used graphite paper squeezed between the two to locate high spots. Trim and check, trim and check.....
 

The fore piece also needed the rabbet in its lower outer edge, and a molding on the fore face. Here it is:

With these pinned in place, I could then make up card patterns for the panels and the stanchions between. I made up small pieces of card that could fit firmly on the lower rabbet, and glue to the next card fitting firmly in the lower rabbet. With the lower curve firmly established, I could then trace the lines of the upper and lower moldings on the face of the card assemblage. You can see this in the second row first column below. I then scanned this and put it into my CAD program to trace and then draw in the detail.
 
This proved to be surprisingly difficult. It seemed every time I drew one, glued it to card and installed it, the curves were wrong. Here is a selection of failures:
 

I finally got one to work.
 

The moldings top and bottom are still oversized and unmolded to keep them rigid until I can install the panels.
 

Meanwhile, I finally painted the blue on the quarter galleries. Here we can see for the first time what the original Bellona ornament might have looked like on the quarter galleries. these are just resting in place, not yet glued down. So they are not entirely in place and not tightly pulled down to the underlying surfaces. But it shows what we are headed for.
 
I give full credit to Chuck Passaro for this. He offered his laser cutting skills when I was bemoaning how I would ever make these, then he cut them beautifully, and then he pointed out in an earlier version that everything needed thinning down. What it looks like now is a great deal due to his skill and practiced eye. Thanks, Chuck!
 

 
 
I now need to do some experiments with super gluing these together. I think the wide panels need to be glued at their edges into the red stanchions. And then the filigrees over the red stanchions need to be glued down onto the mating surfaces of the panels. I have to avoid at all costs any glue on the blue or red surfaces. But these parts are only .026 inches wide. I am going to experiment with 1) taping everything in place, then applying super thin glue for a capillary action into the joints; and then 2) thicker glue at a few spots along each edge, then eased into place. There is no room for failure at this point!
 
Anyone has good advice on how to glue these, I am open!
 
 
 
 
 

Good Job Mark. You have put a lot of work in to the stern and it show's. Keep up the good work and great to see that Chuck is helping were it's needed. Guess I am  going to have to study the info that you have research and who knows maybe I get mine to look like it should be, some were down the road. Gary

They can easily be cleaned up with a very narrow chisel, if you have one.
If not, possibly I can bring you one  😃

Yes Alan i do have very fine chisels. But i want to horn the technique to film it so that i can share what Greg showed in the book. The reason i had trouble cutting the squares is that i did not have a mill end the exact size so used a center end instead. I was more interested in the technique than in the exact finish. I also  went about constructing the part different than what Greg showed in the book. Stretching my skill to try figure it out my self. . Next  time i will construct  it the way he built it and then decide which method is better.  I need some  new mill ends to do it his way.
 
I only have a few days left before i leave for New York so the next video will be last week of January next year so i  have time. Also my rotary table has most of the numbers missing so i have  written to  Sherline  to see how i can have them replaced. perhaps with a sticker. Failing that i will just have to mark the major stop points temporarily.  Thats the only way to get them to line up exactly. 
 
also Greg used a dark wood insert, Ebony, i used a brass strip which was not the correct width. I may stick with that as it worked well, but might try cutting it out of a brass sheet.  

They can easily be cleaned up with a very narrow chisel, if you have one.
If not, possibly I can bring you one  😃

With a couple figures done and the three rows of 4" planking completed, it is time for a change before I go back to yet more planking.
 
I decided to complete the assembly of my 3D printed viol/vyol block. The strapping is blackened card stock. The hook is copper wire that has been twisted and filed to shape. The completed block is placed on a 5cent piece for scale.
 
I then started on the outer lower halves of the lower cheeks. Used some scrap pieces (of which I have plenty) for this first attempt.
They fit up quite nicely. Still require shaping and rounding the edges. I'll need to make myself a scraper.
Now to attempt the forward halves of the lower cheek assembly.

 

Well there is always something to force you to change plans
Yesterday, I started shaping the extension on the bow but didn't like where it was going, so I cut off the glue and started over.
Last night it looked much better and I felt I wouldn't need to shape it. Just let it cure and then apply paint.
This morning I got up, took a look at it and was quite pleased.
Started working on something else and when I was done that I looked up and the whole extension from the strings out was gone!

Couldn't find it anywhere. I must have knocked it.
I cut the complete bow off at the hand and replaced the full length with a piece of bamboo.
I'll paint that later today and pack it away.

 

Worked on repairing the broken fiddle bow today. 
As the broken part is missing I brought up my bow stretcher from the shop.
I keep it next to my sky hooks.
😁
All joking aside.... I use WeldBond to rebuild the missing part.
I suspend the bow vertically downwards so I have gravity working for me.

I applied a drop to the broken end and let it dry for about 20 minutes before applying another drop.
It slowly grows in length 1mm at a time!

Once I have it long enough, I have to let it cure (dry and harden) for 24 hours.
Tomorrow I with break out the sanding board and gently file it to shape.
Finally, it will get painted and after another couple days (to let the paint dry thoroughly) it will get a matt spray sealing coat.
 

Well, that's enough for one day.
I don't know when the tip of my bow broke off.
They are quite delicate.
Guess I'll lengthen it tomorrow.

Use a extra good fine brush.
A dot of paint on the tip.
Spread a little on.
Wet the tip of the brush and dab it on a paper towel then brush what you applied to smooth it out. Let it dry before touchups.
I mounted the little fellas on a dowel using a drop from a hot glue gun and use the stick or a finger from my one hand to steady my other hand on.
Don't forget magnification and good lighting.
 

On August 21st this year, I had posted a couple 1:64 scale 3D figures that were made for my build.
Today I decided to paint one large figure to "get the hang of it".  A practice run if you will.
This figure is a larger version... of me with my fiddle. I had broken the bow off so had made a new replacement (wooden bow and hair from my shop brush).
The bow was removed for painting. Acrylic paints and brushes. Letting it dry for a day or two before I give it a protective spray matt sealer coating.
I was going to do my plaid shirt but that is too difficult to replicate.
I was also going to add a small tuft of hair on my dome but, what the heck, I'm certain I'll get there one day soon! 😉

Now having "mastered" that I feel I've learnt nothing when I put the 1:64 scale mini me next to it.

I'll give him a go tomorrow.
 
 
 

Working on the installation of some exterior hull planking above the main wales.
Two rows of "thick stuff upon the wales". First row 6-1/2" thick, second row 5-1/2 inches thick.
Now working on 3 rows of 4 inch thick planking above that.
One row installed.
 
Thought it best to get this on while I can still use my 4" bar clamps through the gunports. If I attempt this after the main deck is installed I'd be in trouble.
Turns out it was a lucky thing I had to tear that deck out earlier.