US Brig Niagara by mikiek - FINISHED - Model Shipways - Scale 1:64 - First wooden ship build

[mikiek]

jbshan - I have heard the paper idea a few times. For sure it is a workable material.  Do you lacquer it or use some other type of finish for long term protection? It's pretty humid around here. I would think it would need to be sealed. But then I see you are on the coast as well.

 

BTW - the anchors look good!

Edited February 2, 2016 by mikiek

[texxn5]

Hey Mike, not sure if you noticed but we live off 1097 and Long Street, N of Bing's restaurant in Shadow Bay. What part do yo live in?

John

[jbshan]

WEST coast of NH, Mike.  Check a map. 

 

The glue (white glue) has soaked pretty much all through the paper by virtue of being wrapped tightly on itself.  You could paint to seal it, certainly.

The shank and flukes of the anchors are from the kit, I made the arms with wood as I think Lever shows.  The rings have puddening added, again as in Lever, but simplified.

[mikiek]

jbshan - Sorry, my geography gets a little confused up in the New England area.

 

After re-reading your post I got to wondering - if you don't use CA is there a quick drying alternative? At least from a rookie's perspective, that's where I find CA to be helpful.

 

I do try to use wood glue more than I did at first. I've switched from regular TiteBond to TiteBond - Molding & Trim. It doesn't run, is much thicker and gets tacky very quickly. But even with that, I still find the need for that instant holding power of the runny CA.

[mikiek]

Hey John - I live down the road in Bentwater.

[mikiek]

Progress to this point - I have finished the metal mast pieces I overlooked the first time. The spanker step and brace came out pretty nice. The square collar for the spanker halyard not as well. After wrapping it around the mast I had to use epoxy to close it and the joint is a little messy. Epoxy does seem to file OK so I was able to clean up the joint a little. I was also able to drill out the eyehole that got covered up. For such a simple piece it sure seemed like a lot of work. All that gluing was on bits maybe 1/16" in length. The epoxy was applied with a pin, but I still made a mess of it.  The good thing is the part is painted black and goes on a part of the mast that is also black.

 

The spanker mast is temporarily installed on the main. My original intent was to make the sail rings from brass rod - thinking that the laser cut wood rings were just an easy thing for the manufacturer. Plus I couldn't see how a small piece of wood could handle the stress. However, on another post  towards the end, Brian posted some great pix showing actual wood rings from various ships. That was enough to convince me to use the wood rings from the kit.

 

The port side gun/oar ports are framed. I've been fairing that out and am about ready to plank the bulwark. I need to be smarter with the painting this time. The planksheer/waterway and inner port frames need to be red. Airbrushing that before planking would be easiest. But that makes spray priming the planks a little harder - I'll have to mask everything painted red.  I better check my stock of masking tape. Speaking of masking I plan to paint all masked edges with Tamiya Clear in the hopes of reducing the bleed over that I experienced on the starboard. That side still needs some help. The problem is that the bulwark paint colors - black, yellow, red, green - are high contrast colors. So ANY little overlap sticks out like a sore thumb. I still have some time to think this one through.

 

A few recent pix........

 

Edited February 3, 2016 by mikiek

[Elijah]

Good luck!

[mikiek]

Well I thought I would get a few strakes of the bulwark planking laid tonight. Ain't gonna happen. All the outer port frames and timberheads are going to have to be sanded back some. When I held a plank up to the framing it was flush with the gunwale. It needs to be recessed a little. I'm not sure what happened. It's not like I just hosed up a couple of them. They all need work. Have not even looked at the frame from the inside yet.

 

Don't ya just love sanding?

[mikiek]

Hello Mike, I just found your log. Very nice job. I'm thinking this might be my next build since I've finished my Charles W Morgan. Interesting build order. What part of Texas? I'm on lake Conroe. I visited the Niagara back in July and tried to thoroughly photograph her since I plan to build her. I have a section devoted to those photographs on my website. Let me know if you need anything specific. I have been aboard her twice. Inf the museum there are some nice models, one is 1/2" scale. I'm enjoying reading your log and will follow along on your log.

John

 

link to Niagara on my website: http://www.charleswmorganmodel.com/us-brig-niagra.html

John - reviewing your pix again, I'm wondering about the colors of the unpainted wood. You may have seen my complaints about the Golden Oak stain - even though a lot of folks use it. The wood for many of the fixtures on the real boat looks like it has more of a red/orange tint to it. Even the decking in a few pix looks to have a rather dark color. I like the color in your pix a lot better than what I have tried. So 2 questions for you:

 

1. Have you come across any stains that are similar to the wood colors in your pix?

 

2. Were the unpainted fixtures all the same color? Were they the same color as the deck?

 

Thanks.....

[mikiek]

Hi everyone - just a quick check in.  Seems like I have been avoiding getting back to the port bulwark planking. I'm finding any excuse not to go there. Experimenting with new rope maker, making a few more yards, drilling out sheave holes on masts. The list goes on.

 

I did finally make progress last night. Come to discover I had to take a defensive driving course by Monday. So I did the online routine, which makes you wait a specific amount of time between pages. Took the laptop to my work area and did planking in between the pages. Started at 10PM last night and finished at 4:30AM this morning. The course is complete and the exterior planking is 3/4 finished. I'm wrapping up the rest of the exterior today. Not a bad 24 hours.

 

With the ropewalk, I am just trying out various types of thread right now and also just learning the basics of the machine. A few of the ropes look OK, a few will end up in the trash. Threads I've used:

 

Egyptian Cotton - not bad after wiping the rope down with white glue/water mixture. But this was my very first attempt so the lay of the rope is a little inconsistent. The color is a light tan so it has the look of new rope you might get at a hardware store. Not sure how accurate it would be on a build.

 

Polyester - This seems to be the favorite of a lot of people, but I was a little underwhelmed. I wiped the glue mixture on some of this but it did not set well. Lots of spotting.

 

Silk - my favorite so far. Very tightly wrapped and doesn't want to twist up on itself like the polyester did.

 

I have some linen thread on order. This seems to be another popular choice so we'll see.

 

Sorry for not having any pix, but the camera just will not zoom in on the rope. Maybe when I do some larger diameter cable laid it might cooperate more.

[Elijah]

A well spent 24 hours indeed !

[mikiek]

 Finished the exterior bulwark planking on the port side today. Did some sanding, applied a first layer of putty and wiped that down. I believe I mentioned way back that rather than try to just fill in gaps I smeared putty over the the entire bulwark and then before it is completely dry, wipe it down with lacquer thinner until the wood comes back. I will most likely end up doing this twice more.

 

Also on display is the spanker boom and gaff. Plans call for some very small stops/chocks on both. After trying to cut down several types of material to the proper size, I finally wised up. I cut larger pieces and glued them on and then shaped and sanded them in place. Much easier!!! They are shown in a pic, but after looking at them I think the need to be sanded smaller still.

 

Both spars call for a parral to hold them on to the mast. The gaff calls for a beaded one. We're talking small. After several tests I finally settled on some 1/16" styrene rod - drilling out the center. I cut that into pieces about 1/32" long. They are not really rounded, but at that size I don't think it will be noticable.

 

I am at a loss to figure out how this parral attaches to the gaff. There is a mystery piece (at least to me) on the plans that looks like it might be an eyebolt bent at 90 degrees. I included a pic of that below - please let me know what you think it might be. I'm kinda stuck on that.

 

I made some larger rope yesterday. First 3 pieces of 4 thread rope using the Egyptian Cotton thread again. Then I took those 3 pieces and cable laid those. It doesn't look too bad for a first attempt, but I think it needs a few more twists in it. I also blackened a bit of it with India Ink to see what that looks like. I have some linen thread on order. Looking forward to working with that. It is supposed to be one of the best materials.

 

 

[jbshan]

Mike, I think the circled item is a side view of the bead parrel.  You could certainly make the stop cleats, etc. a bit smaller.  They are to keep eyes in the rigging lines from slipping down the spar and if the eye is tight enough, it wouldn't take much of a cleat to do that.  Also, the plans call for 'all black' which would make them visually smaller compared to the white they are in the pics.

[mikiek]

Joel - I'm afraid my first pic was too general. I have attached another.  The object I am questioning appears to come out of the bottom of the gaff and then bend 90 degrees. Part of it is also a vertical dashed line that would make me think it is inside the gaff jaws.

 

On another note - the boom parral is described as just rope. I've seen enough sample pix in books to get an idea of what it should look like. On the other hand, the gaff parral is described as beaded. But I am wondering what the "beads" are strung on and whatever that is how it connects to the gaff?

 

I have sanded down the stops some more. They are actually very small on the plans. The pic showed them primed and I am planning on painting them today. I agree with you, the light color makes them appear larger.

[jbshan]

Where you have 'bead parrel' circled, there are two dots on the jaws of the gaff.  Those are knots at the end of a line on which are strung the beads, literally beads, balls with a hole through the middle.  The other view labeled 'what is this?' shows the beads below the jaws in a horizontal alignment and the line on which they are strung passing through the jaws to the knots on top.

The boom has the line through, but no beads.

[mikiek]

Got it!  I kept thinking maybe the beads were strung to a line that tied off on some eyebolts. Similar to the boom.

 

So the line the beads are strung on is just reeved through a hole in the jaws and a knot tied at the top.

 

Just curious - if you have done something like this before.  I'm wondering if there is some small enough jewelry beads to use for this. As I mentioned at the moment I am going with 1/16" styrene rod drilled out and cut in very small pieces. The downside is they are not completely round.  I could not make (and drill out) wood pieces.

[leclaire]

Mike,

 

Try going to Michaels. They have a great assortment of different size beads for making costume jewelry. That has worked for me.

 

Bob

[jbshan]

I looked through the little 'hardware' box that came with my Niagara, but saw no beads, worse luck.  Art and craft shops, certainly worth a try, Bob, also tackle shop that has stuff for tying flies or making up lures.

[mikiek]

Joel - I thought for sure you would suggest making them

 

How are these? Of course I should paint them and use some black line. So I suppose I reeve one end of the line thru the jaws and knot that, wrap the line around the spanker mast and then reeve and knot the other end?  Anyone know how tight the line is supposed to be? Tight? Loose?

 

Never made ANYTHING that small before.

Edited February 16, 2016 by mikiek

[Elijah]

That is VERY small! Great job!

[leclaire]

It should be loose enough to twist side to side and slide up and down the mast.

[jbshan]

Those look OK, Mike, if a little uneven.  You could perhaps make them a little darker.  Tight enough to hold the gaff to the spencer mast, loose enough to slide.  As the gaff is lowered the angle to the mast will change, so check that as well, to make sure it won't bind, though as a static model that's not as important.

[mikiek]

Joel - I will probably still go look for beads. I also found actual model parral beads in brass or wood on a few websites.

 

I dug out my Model Expo Block Shaper device last night. I had ordered it but never opened/used it. Sadly, it must be assembled and there are no instructions whatsoever. I have a call in to ME. I'm thinking that might produce a more consistent shape.

 

The ones I made were mostly just an exercise just to see if could do it. It was a worthwhile endeavor just for that. The things were so small I could barely focus on them. Maybe time to take out the reading glasses.

[mikiek]

Hi Everyone - there's been a lot going on with the build this last week so I thought I would check in.

 

When I left off last time I had fashioned some wood parral beads for the spanker gaff. Tiniest thing I have ever made or worked with. It was a good experience but I knew there were better options out there. As suggested, I found some beads at a hobby store and am using those instead. They are black glass and the bag had several sizes and shapes. What I used are the smallest round ones. I think it's a much better choice.

 

So, I took a piece of my homemade rope, tied a knot at one end, reeved the other end thru one side of the jaw, strung up the beads, reeved thru the other side of the jaw and was ready ready to tie that off. What a nightmare! I was just trying to tie a thumb knot but I could not get it to tighten down right at the jaw. Every time I ended up with 1/32" - 1/16" of space between the jaw and the knot. Finally I ended up putting a dot of glue on the rope right at the hole. I cut the rope leaving about 1" and then tied my thumb knot around the rope end, slid that down to the jaw, put another dot of glue on that and then trimmed all the ends. More than one way to skin the proverbial cat. So the spanker boom and gaff are now complete.

 

Which brings me to an observation. I know there are lots of good books on rigging out there - I have several. While the pix are good as are some of the write ups, I haven't really come across one that instructs on how to actually do it at scale. I mean using the small rigging tools and the like. If anyone has a suggestion there please speak up.

 

One other quick rigging topic. I have begun to use the ropewalk and am making some samples. So far I prefer the Egyptian cotton thread. My gripe there is there is nothing to tell me what size thread it is. Just something off the rack. I've dyed some in India ink (for black) and walnut crystals for brown. Both look OK.  But FINALLY the linen thread I ordered has arrived. It was so cool being able to order the exact size. I got some 18/3, 25/3 and 35/3. Wow - the stuff feels really good in my hands. Every thing I read says linen thread is the ultimate for rope making. We'll see. I got some spooled up but have not made any rope with it yet. Stay tuned.

 

Back to the boat. I finished up the outer port bulwark using the kit planks - sanded and primed. Moving to the inside, I was excited to try the planking from Crown for that. Model Shipways uses a 3/64"x3/32" plank for the inside. I don't know how but I noticed it was all gone as I was planning out the bulwark. They don't give you that much and I guess I must have used some where I shouldn't have. And try finding that size plank online. Model Expo doesn't even have it. So, as I said I had Jason cut some for me - out of boxwood.  This was a great comparison, planking the outside with not so great basswood and then switching to a much better quality cut of boxwood for the inside. For me at least the difference is night and day. I'm not having to bevel the long edges, what sanding I do is a real pleasure. No feathering or fraying. The planks fit together wonderfully!

 

The one issue was having to replace the plank stop square strips with something larger as the strips really are 3/64". I can sand the planks down to the stops around the gun ports, but the stops around the oar ports had to be replaced. There's a few pix to show what I'm talking about.

 

I feel like I am forgetting something, but if so I'll get it on the next post.

 

 

[mikiek]

Niagara moves forward.  The port bulwark is planked now - kit supplied 1/32"x3/32" basswood on the outside, custom cut 3/64"x3/32 boxwood on the inside. This was interesting jumping from one to the other in quick succession. The boxwood strips were easier to work with. They fit together - long edge to long edge - so well that I really considered not using any filler. Ultimately, I did apply a few dabs but it will be a one time task rather than 2-3 times.  So the ease of work also turns into a time saver.

 

I sprayed a coat of primer, but genius here forgot to mask the fully painted starboard side so I got some overspray there. After that, I made the decision to reprime the starboard side and will re-paint that. I hate to have to rework but in the end it should be better. Both the yellow (exterior) and green (interior) I had mixed had dried up due to lousy mixing bottle tops. So I would have had to mix more for the port and then try to match colors. That never works well.  Plus hopefully I have learned a thing or two about painting so my edges - one color against another - should improve.

 

If anyone is interested I have found mixing bottles from Tamiya. The tops are just like the paint bottles which, for me,  have preserved open bottles for months. The mixing bottles are a little larger than the paint bottles.

 

 

I have a question regarding decking. I built the deck on a frame outside the hull. I also followed the deck plans explicitly with the plank strakes narrowing radically towards the stern and leaving nibs on all the strakes at the bow. I'm thinking about the nibbing strake now, and how best to implement that. I want the nibbing strake to fit edge wise with the deck and nibs rather than on top of and cover up the nibs. The plans mention this as one option but give no details. My Niagara praticum shows the guy tracing the outline of the deck on something but doesn't tell what. The nibbing strake must fit between the deck edge and the waterway and run from bow to stern. The only thing I can think of is using some 1/16" sheet. Trace the deck edge on the sheet then leave about 1/4" outside of that. The outer edge would then have to be sanded to fit snug against the waterway.   Does this sound reasonable???   Is there a better way to do this?

 

I've also tried to make a few lengths of rope using the new linen thread I mentioned previously. I have to say, the results so far are disappointing.  The thread strands are unraveling and twisting up before the thread ever gets to the point where it is twisted together. I've tried speeding up/down the rope walk, right lay, left lay  but I have not yet come out with a good piece of rope. It's sad because the thread really has a good feel to it and it takes color very well. I haven't given up yet.

Edited February 23, 2016 by mikiek

[mikiek]

Niagara has a tail !!!  The transom is now planked. I can't tell you the number of times I looked at that aft framing and just didn't want to go there. Getting those ports right was part of the issue.

 

First off, I used a lot of literary license on this part of the build. The stern timberheads never lined up correctly - the 2 center ones protruding to the rear slightly more than the outer ones. This kept the archboard and subsequent planking from having the slight curve shown in the plans. Also I beleive the archboard is supposed to have a slight curve upward in the center. I had to get creative to add the curvature by spiling the first plank (right above the archboard) into a thin almost crescent shaped piece.

 

My practicum has a scale print out (I think it comes from the plans) that shows the exterior transom planked, with ports. If you print it and then cut it out, it fits the aft end of the hull perfectly and shows exactly where the ports go and the angle that they lean in. Of course cutting a hole into the side of something is never easy. I finally found a use for a surgical tool that I had originally filed away in the junk box. It's a scalpel blade & holder. The blade has saw teeth that start at the bottom, go up and around the front and continue on top - I posted a pic. The teeth easily rip away at basswood and using the front end of the blade, cut the edges of the ports. The tool has been promoted to the toolbox now.

 

OK, so the ports are open and filed to shape, but they need some trim around the edges and in between the inner and outer plank walls. I did this using some very thin scrap veneer I found. Anything thicker would have made the port openings smaller. Unfortunately, I installed these before I sanded and filled the planking so this task now becomes a bit more challenging.

 

I had to do some more gouging on the keel and tops of bulkheads so that the deck would sit flush. I think I am done there although the keel and bulkheads look a mess.

 

Speaking of the deck, I finally got the nerve to drill a couple of holes for the masts. I knew my hand wouldn't be steady enough so I pulled out the drill press. I did knock out one small piece of deck planking during this process but that was an easy fix.  The holes were too small, but rather than drill again with a larger bit I used the Dremel to grind out the holes.  Now that the holes are there I can lay the deck on the bulkheads and actually step the masts. Nothing permanent yet, but it is nice to see the build take shape even temporarily.

 

I am still struggling with the nibbing strake. I have not had any answers to my post here at MSW, but I have found some pix. Most show the strake as several pieces joined by scarf joints. I think this is the route I will take. I'm considering do the strake in styrene. I think a wood piece would be seriously weakened by all the small cuts and difficult to handle. We'll see. Pix to follow:

 

 

[jbshan]

Mike, I saw your post on nibbing the margin plank.  I did mine as I was planking the deck and was able to lift the margin and deck plank in and out to get the fit right, one plank at a time.  You already have your deck plank together and I didn't think my method would have been any help to you so didn't say anything.

Yes, you'll want to use shorter sections for the margin plank and use hook scarphs between sections.  I believe the plans show this.

When it comes time to place any deck structures, since you don't have any sub deck and no supports under the deck where the structures, bitts, etc. will come, I have to assume you'll shape the underside of the hatches, houses, etc. to match the curve of the deck at that spot, yes?  If you try to cut the plank again, as you found with the mast holes, you'll probably have to do more repairs as some of the cuts will be close to an end, and some will result in a long skinny piece remaining.

[mikiek]

Joel - actually when I did the initial frame for the deck I did add strips for all the structures. That was really easy, and accurate because I was gluing directly to a full size copy of the plans. 

 

That's the reason the tops of the bulkheads are such a mess now. Every place one of the structure frames crosses a bulkhead I had to gouge out a spot on the bulkhead so the frame didn't elevate the deck. Eventually all that will get covered over so it is just a temporary eyesore.

 

I'm hoping when it comes time to do the cutouts for the structures I can drill a SMALL hole and then use a scroll saw to slowly cut the rest of the footprint.

 

 

I have to say after admiring the deck work for so long, it was painful to have to start cutting into it. And that adventure is just beginning.

[mikiek]

Last night and this morning I took a break from the hull to make the pieces for the bowsprit and jib boom. It's coming along well - I will post pix later - but I came up with a question from the plans regarding the dumb sheaves indicated at the ends of the boom pieces.

 

They are are calling for a dumb sheave right at the end of several pieces. The plan shows a blown up top view and it looks like all I need to do is cut a groove into the end.  Correct?  Probably easier said than done.

 

There is another dumb sheave about 1/2" from one end of the jib boom. Would that be just a couple of holes drilled?

[Elijah]

I don't know about your question, but somebody does!