alde

So Captain Steve, I was not the only one to notice the wine rake taking up a lot of room in the corner, Fair play.
 
 

That's going to be one very nice work-space when you get it all set-up, Tom. You've even got the makings of a bar in the back corner.

I have some work to do now getting everything set up...

Wow Dowmer. That's a nice looking flag. I love that it has some translucency. 

Wow Dowmer. That's a nice looking flag. I love that it has some translucency. 

Thanks Chuck, I did a little research and found a reference to the use of toggles. At this scale for the boat I’m making at 1:48 it was a pain but it sort of worked.  I love your method of using tissue paper. It does the trick.
 
 

 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

So, you cut those boat parts with the Death Star? Very nice.

Agree. It's so nice to be able to mill that perfect plank as needed.

Finally back to the model building. To prepare, I need to make a set of Jorgensen-style clamps (also locally known as Tosti clamps on MSW for Ed, who popularised them in his Naiad build  ). I bought a pair in Lee Valley, but they are way too big for the modelling purposes. But I loved the way they work, and I quickly got used to them.
 
It is also my first time using tap & die (since that clamps require a mix of left-hand and right-hand threads) - I know the basic theory, but never had a need for cutting my own threads. So it was definitely a learning curve! More experienced man will chuckle reading that, so enjoy  Bought a high quality tap&die tools from Völkel, famous Swiss manufacturer. So at least I am sure that my troubles are not because I was using a cheap chinesium tools. 
 
First drilling the holes in the round bushing. It went surprisingly ok with just a mill and a Proxxon metal cutting drill bit. I thought it would slip and bend, and was ready to pre-mill the flat surface first, but it was ok even without it:

 
Second is tapping:

 
And threading:

 
Threading was harder than expected, the force required is quite high, so it was not easy to find a way to clamp the brass rod without damaging the thread that is already cut on its other end. I followed the rule of rotating it back every now and then to break the chips. 
It also took forever! 
 
To my surprise, the result was not good, especially on the left hand side - the bushing was rotating properly on some part of the rod, but getting tight or even jammed on the other part of the rod. I could not find a problem with a bare eye, no particles and the thread was looking quite even. Few extra runs of the die back and forth improved the situation, but just a bit.
 
The next test rod I cut with a lubrication. That was easier, but lead to the same quality of the thread, and much more mess (also brass chips not falling out but getting stuck because of the oil).
 
It helped to clamp the rod into a screwdriver and make a few passes with the bushing instead of a die. That way the rod and the bushing kind of adapted to each other, I guess..
Few more passes - and I ended up with a thread that is too loose. Whoops!
 
Then I tried to use the screwdriver to cut the threads instead of manual cut. That was much better! 
 
So the next test rod was cut much faster and had a good fit from the start. Maybe a bit on a loose side, but I suspect it is because I was cutting too fast, and die and rod became too hot -> hence they expanded a bit -> and the thread ended up too loose because too much material was cut. But at least it worked!
 
Few more cuts on a mill - and the test version of the clamp is done:

 
It works, but needs some tweaking of proportions to look good. Once I am satisfied with its proportions - will start cutting the real clamps out of pear, lined with a super soft basswood on the inner surface, to avoid damaging the model parts.

Mike,
 
Very nice--great noted comments. I will be using pear wood for the first time. Lovely color - much to like with this wood.
 
PS: I was in your neighborhood a few weeks ago - ride back many hours of just white. Wonderful indeed.
 
Regards,
 

 
 
 

Phew, it's done!
The film removed, no scratches underneath it. 

 


 

 
No more display case photos, I promise! This log will finally get some model updates.
 
To summarise the experience from this case build:
1) Designing your own construction is fun and adds a lot of experience. It is difficult to estimate the proportions in SketchUp, I should have done some 1:1 mock-up with cardboard and sticks. If I do it again - I would make it flatter and lower.
2) Same for LEDs - test how the light hits the model. Both top and bottom strips are angled incorrectly (top one is hitting the wall, while bottom one is highlighting all the dust on the floor). Not a super big deal, but not as nice as I planned. 
3) Epoxy is a blessing, holding together tiny crossgrain-to-crossgrain joints well enough.
4) Be super pedantic about square angles, even a tiny misalignment sums up to a big skew on a long distance.
5) Pear wood is nice.
6) Sanding is magic!
7) The Admiral is a keeper for tolerating that "hamster hut" in our living room  Though I secured my daughter's support by promising her that her model would also be in that case. 
 
 

Wonderful workmanship Mike.

We are a society of "accumulating things", yet when you work with quality products such as the Byrnes line of tools it is not so. I have owned, for example the Preac table saw. Which, in itself was a decent product, but limited. Now that I own both the table saw and thickness sander I have come to appreciate them more with each use. They are peerless!
Joe

Agree. It's so nice to be able to mill that perfect plank as needed.

Ditto, Bob!!!
 

There aren't too many tools you can enjoy without even using them, are there?

Just received my Byrnes thickness sander and gave it a “road test” this morning. Just like all his tools it’s solidly built, runs very smoothly and with the ability to have two different grits installed should you need to remove lots of material, you can run it through the coarse grit side then fine tune the thickness on the finer grit side.
Also, I found that the fine dust produced can be used as a wood filler when mixed with a little adhesive giving you the same filler as the wood you are building with.
It now sits next to my Byrnes table saw and disk sander. 
 

I' sorry to hear your throwing in the towel on the Connie. At least you'll come away from it with more knowledge for the next project.

Trig,
I keep it separate so not to contaminate the "new" stuff.  I also do what Jim says..  use it over and over until it stops working.

I pour mine in a plastic container with a lid and use it over and over and over. No worries

Post 39
A return to the inboard - Fitting the False Deck
The False Deck has been formed as detailed in Post 37, but before fitting it is useful to mark the deck beam positions which of course don't follow the bulkheads but relate closely to the centre line fittings where in reality carlings' ledges, and framing would be involved.

2517
I have taken the 'beam' positions from the kit deck plan where they are marked.

1972
They follow fairly closely the deck beams as shown on the Admiralty plans for Cheerful.

2518
You will note they do not butt to the edges of the centre line fittings template marks but allow for the coamings etc.

2519
A final bit of tweaking to ensure both halves fitted together without buckling and that the reference lines matched.

2537
But before gluing into place...
One of my little foibles is that I like to have a realistic view below decks where lights or openings are concerned.
I made a small modification below the skylight to give the impression of a lower deck.
 
The bulkhead was cut away to form  false deck beams and create a space.
A false deck was fitted which was then planked over.

2545
I followed this up with a similar modification for the Ladder way; I am thinking of having the lid cover/doors open.

2550
I will probably end up also creating space beneath the gratings, I don't really like sticking them on solid board.
A short break now while I adjourn to enjoy the delights of Dorsetshire. 🙂

2549
William also looks like he's ready for a break from the shipyard.
 
Cheers,
 
B.E.
05/09/2018
 

Thanks Guys for your comments and likes. much appreciated. 🙂
@ Dave - I'm not averse to a bit of scratch building but if one of Chuck's mini marvels will do the job I am more than happy to go with that; I do have the set.
                 Thanks for the heads up on the yard dimensions, not sure yet if I am going to fully rig her (space issues) but that decision is a way off yet.
@ Martin - I do have steady hands, it's the eye sight that's my issue, but with this sort of item gentle hands are certainly required.
 
Post 38
A check around the exterior hull.
The wale has again been recoated using Admiralty Metal Black, hopefully for the last time.

2454

2458

2459
A very light sanding to the hull followed, and a further coat of wipe-on poly applied.

2448
The Horse shoe and Keel plates were added to complete my action on the outer hull for the present.

2450
Still having thoughts about the counter and whether to paint it.
The older I get the more  indecisive I seem to get! 🙄
I wonder how the real Cheerful would have been painted. Built post Trafalgar with the war grinding on, navy under pressure with patrol and blockade duties, and now in an era of austerity where elaborate decoration had given way to plain paintwork .
By 1780 the 'approved' colour for British Naval ships was Black wales, yellow painted sides, with a black ground to the topsides. Inboard Red Ochre was the order of the day, had been since 1715 but shortly after the start of the new century yellow ochre which had been used unofficially for some years became officially approved.
My own inclination is that Cheerful would have had painted yellow sides, black wales with the counter and capping rails painted black, and red inboard works throughout.
She may also have had her topsides painted black.
Cheerful was a small unrated vessel and as such I doubt  any Commander would have put his hand in pocket to 'personalise' the scheme.
In naval circles of the time to be appointed to the Cutter Service was not something to be particularly desired especially by those with ambition.
Still I am not trying to reproduce a working appearance, otherwise I would have painted or coppered her bottom and there was a fair bit of licence taken by even model makers of the day when it came to decoration.
I don't want an excess of paint to cover the natural wood but I have come to feel that the expanse of the counter did require something.
To my conservative eye Red was too much, and Blue too fancy for this small working vessel.

2466
I overlaid the counter with some black planks to gauge the look, and know what I like it.
So decision made black it is.

2475
Not particularly obvious on this shot I was also concerned that the plank lines showed thro' the paint I'm not really a fan of the solid sheet look.

2487
Thinned coats of Admiralty Metal Black were applied with sanding between coats.

2478
Moving on...………….
 
B.E.
03/09/2018
 
 

Cheers Dave, I have more or less decided to restrict the paintwork to the wale and inboard .
I enjoy the rigging and fitting element of a build far more than basic building stages, do you have any photo's of your progress to date?
Thanks, Bob, Thomas, and Al,  I'd almost forgotten the mind numbing hours of treenailing, but I have to admit I am quite pleased with the look. 🙂
 
Post 37
Tidying up inboard and installing the false deck.
This involves final smoothing down inside the bulwarks and fairing the deck beams prior to  getting the deck down.

2296
All this handling, sanding and chiseling has taken its toll on the paintwork, both the inner surfaces of the ports, and the already re-painted wales.
I will leave all red paintwork now until I line the inner bulwarks.

2298
I have got the thickness of the inner bulwarks close to finish.
Almost forgot the outer stern frames also need fining down.

2301
Using Limewood strip to check the clean run of planking along the bulwarks.

2303
Limewood strips also used to check the fairing of the bulkhead tops.
 
The False deck
To aid alignment of the template I fitted a length of dowel in the mast hole which also helps to hold it position. Weights were also used to keep it in position while I added Tamiya tape around the edges.

2306
For the false deck I am using (2) 1.5mm x 100mm sheets temporarily  held together down the centre line.

2308
Reference lines extended across boards.

2311
Transfer completed.

2316
Fitting the False deck; I found it useful to cut out the mast hole and Skylight opening to assist aligning the two halves.

2320
Trial fitting completed, a five hour job to get the fit.

2322
Before I install the deck I will return to the outer hull  to complete  the finish.
 
Onwards...…..
 
B.E.
30/08/2018
 

I'm looking forward to it Steve. You add a lot of value to the form with your skill and humor. And besides you've become what I consider to be a friend.

I'm looking forward to it Steve. You add a lot of value to the form with your skill and humor. And besides you've become what I consider to be a friend.