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

[texxn5]

Keep it up you're on a roll....looking good....fun?

[mikiek]

Joel - she is scantily covered in the rear. I have 3 hull strakes below the wale right now. At the moment they extend past the transom, but I assume they will be cut somewhere.

 

 

I have also pulled the rear plank on the 3rd strake p/s . My corner blocks may not have enough elevation. I found I should have begun twisting those planks to transition from the vertical lay to the horizontal. According to the plans, that is early. Should be more like the 4th strake and even then just beginning to twist.

 

 

 

You might be able to see I have a garboard pinned in. What a wrestling match that was! Those hull planks I pulled seemed to really fight back as well when I tried twisting them. Is that normal?

 

Experiment in progress: I soaked a plank, gripped one end in a vise, gave the other end 2 twists and stuck that end in another vise. Will let dry and check the outcome.

[mikiek]

Hey John - I would say "one plank at a time" but I am seeing it's more than that. Thinking one plank ahead in the strake and also how the plank from the next stake will contact that one I'm focusing on.

 

The extra time seems to pay off (even though it's only the 3rd strake) as the planks are fitting together well.

[texxn5]

Sounds like you're right on track....no hurry just make sure each is how you feel like it's good, then move on. Then you'll need to sand it to your liking and move on. Keep it up my friend.

John

[texxn5]

Sometime you might consider a wallpaper trough for soaking planks, the wetter they are and with a little heat, they'll shape right up.

[mikiek]

Yeah - I use those troughs for soaking and to store wood.

 

Interesting!!   The first wood strip in my experiment has a real nice twist to it. I cut replacement pieces for the 2 I just removed and they work very well. About 5" pieces and there is about a 90 degree twist. With the proper edge beveling they need almost no coaxing to go from vertical to horizontal. Two lessons learned:

 

1. Do your edge beveling before the soak & twist.

2. You'll need some strips with a clockwise twist for the port stern and a counter-clockwise twist for starboard.

 

Sorry I couldn't get a better pic of the plank. Same plank in the 2nd pic is just sitting there - not yet glued - but you can see it is ready to lay down right there.

 

 

 

 

Also on the newsfront, I have been complaining about the red paint that came with the kit. Way to garish!  We had a good discussion about this on Jaggy's Syren build log as well as this one. I was looking for an alternative and was pointed to Tamiya Hull Red. I'm trying to stay with Tamiya products so this sounded good. Ordered a couple bottles. BAD IDEA. Hull Red gives me this vision of the rusty red/brown I see on the oil tankers running the ship channel here.  In reality the Tamiya offering is the darkest brown I have ever seen. So I went to the mixing bucket - Flat Red 85%, Hull Red 10%, White 5%. I've got a color I think I can work with. So far I have come up with Evil Black, Dijon Yellow and this will be Chili Red (the dish not the pepper).

The color in the pic really doesn't show correctly but it is browner and darker than the original red. I have committed to repainting all the red areas.

 

[jbshan]

Let your hull plank run long, then sand it back to match the counter timbers as you come around the corner.  Visualize the counter planking laying over the ends of the hull plank along that same curved surface.  A round tuck stern, which this is, is not the easiest way to go, but many, many ships had it.

You'll see when you get there if the corner blocks need a bit more roundness to bring the hull plank nicely to lay on the angle of the counter timbers.  That is where the plank should change from hull to counter.

[mikiek]

Sounds like my blocks are "out of synch" with bulkhead Q.  The hull planks are beginning a very nice easy twist at Q. But another 1/2" towards the stern and the blocks are expecting the plank to be fully twisted. That's more twisting than I want to do in that small amount of space. Doing so leaves no way to get the plank edge flush with the edge of the previous strake.

 

I think the blocks need maybe another 1/8" of height. And then as you say, a more gradual rounding of that outer edge.

 

Back to the garage......

[jbshan]

Not to add to your work, but you're going to have to very soon get your bearding line and rabbet cut on the stern center plate.  It's in your instruction book, and I think maybe on the plans, as well as lightly covered in the link I posted most recently.  That'll also help you to understand the shapes you have to deal with.

Edited April 23, 2016 by jbshan

[mikiek]

The bearding line has been there although it is tough to see with primer sprayed on it. The keel has a rabbet - stem to stern. The garboard edge is laying in it.

 

I have not yet glued the stern post - although it is about time to do so.  My thoughts were that doing this would complete the vertical part of the rabbet at the stern. I was under the impression that the stern post did not receive much shaping?

 

 

 

[jbshan]

Yes, I see it now.  The light wasn't making much of a shadow.

The planking butts into the stern post, so terminates the rabbet.

When you try laying some plank in there, I think you'll find only the teeniest forward most part of that aftermost bulkhead needs to be there, the rest needs to be sanded down some more to allow the plank a clear run at the counter timbers.

[mikiek]

Totally agree with you on the inner filler block - a lot needs to go. That is a real long story, the gist of it is I left it  for later - which is now.

 

I also found an illustration in the book Fully Framed Model - Swan Class V2  that showed the 'junction' of the first few strakes under the wale with the stern counter planks and also the rest of the strakes. I understood that junction of the strakes that twist and then butt up to the inner counter plank.  It was the junction of the first few strakes that did not twist that I couldn't visualize. Interestingly, I started searching for stern pix but found very few. People shoot a lot of pix of boats but I guess the tail end is just not too interesting.

 

I did add a little elevation to the corner blocks. That is just what was needed. That hull plank rolled right over it, just as smooth as can be. With the proper edge beveling there is hardly a gap between the strake edges. As I mentioned earlier, I was trying to get a 90 degree twist of the strip in less than 1/2" and the strip just wouldn't do it. 

 

I have learned one lesson in this exercise - as we build, wood just wants to do it's thing. If you help it along the results can be beautiful. If you fight it, you will have a mess on your hands.

 

This is a little optimistic but I am hoping to finish band A by C.O.B. today.   I'll post pix then.

[mikiek]

I'm kinda waddled into the house a little while ago. Two long days on my shop stool and my back is not happy. Wow, yesterday was  one of those days you wish would go on forever. Perfect temperature, light breeze. My shop is my garage (no climate control) so I opened the front an rear doors and let the wind blow thru. Good music. Niagara on the workbench. Close to Nirvana!

 

I was stumbling around Friday nite and early Saturday with my stern and how it transitions with the hull planks. Never seen a tall ship in person and most pix don't show the stern. I'm planking from the wale downward and just could not visualize how the first few strakes joined up with the counter planks. With some help here and an illustration in a book, the lightbulb finally came on.

 

 

Not sure why that was so difficult, but it's history now. So with that image in my mind, substantial progress was made. First I added the counter planks and butted the first 2 hull strakes against them. These strakes come straight back - no twist.

 

 

The twisting begins at strake 3 and that's where I was having trouble. My corner blocks were not tall enough to support the plank and that's right where the twist starts. So I extended the blocks a little.

 

 

 

I also soaked 2 planks and put a twist in them and let them dry (see my previous post). This was very effective. If we can put a bend in them, why not a twist? The planks at the stern literally fell into place.

 

 

 

 

I did have one of my "shake your head in disbelief" moments. I don't know how many times I measured band A before I got started. Well, I didn't actually measure, I got a string and stretched it from the top of band A to the bottom at each bulkhead, following the profile of the bulkhead. Similar to a tick strip. I transfered those lengths to the actual bulkheads so I knew where band A was supposed to stop. At strake 6 (band A has 8 strakes) I looked right on track to finish at my mark. For some reason, I decided to go thru the string thing again. My measurements for bulkhead A & B were off. My original marks were too long, so had I continued, band A would be too wide at the bow. Well I sure ain't gonna rip off everything and start over, so beginning at strake 6 I did some tapering to the bow planks. I'm still a little wide, but I think it can be managed in belt B.

 

Other than that I'm really happy with the outcome. My transition at the stern came out quite nicely - a nice, smooth curve into the horizontal position. Band A is done!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back to the garage for a minute. As nice the weekend was, I am already wondering how to manage in another month, when it's 95 degree's in there and the mosquitos are out. It's not going to be pretty. I'm going to have to start looking into those giant fans that they run in some shops. If you have any ideas, I'd love to hear them.

 

 

 

 

[jbshan]

So the lightbulb lit, eh?  You got epiphanized.

 

Patagonia is supposed to be very nice in June, July and August.

 

You might look into Tractor Supply or McMaster Carr for industrial fannage.

[texxn5]

Hi Mike, looking very good and making nice progress. Boy, you were right about yesterday...what a perfect day. I spent my time cleaning up my collector cars - took a nice ride up and down 1097 with the targa off...it was a great day.

John

[mikiek]

I have seen,, I SAY, I have seen the.. I SAY, I have seeeeeeen the light.  It's funny how much easier building something is when you know what it is supposed to look like.

 

Patagonia? I hear the rent is high and I'm not into paying ransoms.

 

Good thought on sourcing a fan. Probably better quality than the big W.  However, I must say you don't strike me as the tractor type.   I could be wrong on that one.

 

That stern was a huge hurdle for me. Quite possibly the toughest step in the build so far. Once again, thank you for your help and support.

[texxn5]

Mike, Harbor Freight in Humble would probably have a fan and their shipping is cheap and fast so you could probably have it in a couple of days as well as not having to drive the 50 miles to go get it.

John

[jbshan]

Or you could locally source a wind generator.  :-)

I've spent some quality time on my back underneath tractors, thank you very much.

There's also Farm Way.  I'm thinking of barn fans, though you see big cooling fans on some of the car/hot rod shows.

 

Yes, once the concept is in your head no transom is going to appear quite so daunting again.  You have to be able to visualize all the twists and bends.

You see there is a corner of sorts where the plank must change from landing on the stern timbers to landing on or near the stern post?  You will want a seam between planks to fall exactly there so one can lay horizontal and the other vertical.

[mikiek]

That make sense. One plank can't lay on both surfaces. I've got a lot of sizing up to do before I continue on. I've been considering laying the garboard and possibly belt D next. Then it seems like it would be a matter of "doing the math" on the space in between belt A & D. Given that I'm already wide at the bow in belt A, my thinking is to get belt D right while there is still space to do it.  I could then either divide the remaining space in two or deal with it as one belt.

 

Seems like the trick is to figure what width planks to use in the remaining space. The plans call for a different width in every belt. Since I've already changed that equation a little bit - with the Belt A width - I expect I may need to downsize the width of the remaining planks. But then as you mention, the width of planks going upwards from the keel need to work out so I get that seam.

 

At any rate I am going to take my time before moving forward. The plans don't seem very clear for how to cut belt D. I'll need another epiphany before I'm comfortable starting that. I've got a lot of repainting to do anyway.

[mikiek]

John - re: the fan, while the big shop fans are a good option my problem is this. I will likely have a garage door opened at both ends. The lights will be on in the garage. Once it starts to get dark outside, every bug for miles around will be headed towards the lights.

 

There is 1 window in the garage. I came across some window fans that fit in like the window AC units. Running one of those on reverse might suck out a lot of the hot air. I had considered one of those AC units but I couldn't leave it in the window - the POA would be all over me. Beside it's a 3 car garage and I doubt if a window unit has enough power to cool that down.

[texxn5]

Hmmmm,, well that could be a problem, perhaps a ceiling fan???

[mikiek]

Hadn't thought of those. They would look better and also be out of the way. No storage problem.

 

An attic fan would be good also but I'm afraid after purchase and having someone install it, the cost would be pretty high.

[Elijah]

Your planking is looking great! It makes me want to get there with my build, someday.

[Don Quixote]

Hi, Mike. Just found your log. Keep up the great work. Regarding the bugs... I too work in my garage. Check this out. http://www.lifestylescreens.com/

 

A screen for the garage door. No idea what they cost, my neighbor has one. You can also get some from your local DIY store like Menards or Home Depot. Also you can get some from Amazon. $50 +/-. Not as fancy as the one in the link, that one goes up and down like a regular garage door so you could probably put it in the center door.

 

I have a 2 stall that I insulated. I put some cheap 3/8" dry wall in the bottoms of the rafters and rented a blower so I have the "attic" insulated too. I installed some of that pink Owens Corning extruded polystyrene foam in the door of my garage, too. I installed a 24000 BTU window A/C and can set it at 72 degrees and it hardly breaks a sweat even when it's 110 degrees here in central California. I too use a ceiling fan to distribute the air.

 

Then I found a "blue flame heater" on Amazon for $220. Works on propane or natural gas with the flip of a switch. Not that it gets below 50 here in the winter, but it's nice. Thermostat and all.

[Don Quixote]

This hand held steamer for clothes, curtains...etc. will make a bow tie from a plank. By Shark.

Edited April 28, 2016 by JustBlowinInTheWind

[mikiek]

Brian - the screen door is interesting and probably makes the most sense. I didn't know there was such a thing.

 

On the Gulf Coast, you have to be pretty careful about what you insulate. If you don't keep it climate controlled all year you can end up with mold & moisture problems.

[Don Quixote]

Oddly, here in the valley, we get mold on the stucco of our houses. In the summer it sometimes hits 115 with only 7 percent humidity. In the winter, our wettest month is January with only 2.6" on average. Average temp is 55.

[mikiek]

I know what you're talking about. Around here the mold & moisture build up inside the walls so you never know it's happening until it's too late,

[mikiek]

Speaking of weather, we had some hellacious storms Tuesday nite. Power was out all day Wednesday. Finally came back on about 3:30AM today, so just about 24 hours without.

 

Of course that won't keep the ship-o-holic from his appointed duty. Don't need power to plank a hull, right? I even diverted power from the generator to the table saw for a little while so I could cut a jig to help with shaping planks.

 

My problem with marking band B was resolved. I knew band A was off at the bow so measuring and marking band B from the end of band A would just make band B off as well. So instead I lifted the measurement of band A + band B off the plans and marked that on the bulkheads placing the tick strip at the wale (the start of band A). This gives me a mark where B should really end. Now I have to figure how much extra tapering is needed to get things back on track.

 

The jig I made allows me to place to plank strips side by side. After I shaped 1 plank I use that one and a new one in the jig so the new just has to match the shape of the first one. The idea was to shape all 8 strakes and then cut and glue them. The jig made shaping easier, but I have my doubts about "mass producing" a bunch of strakes at once.  So far, my experience in building has led me to believe it is better to make pieces one by one and install it before moving to the next piece. I tried to mass produce a bunch of deck planks and got burned. So I've made 4 out of the 8 strakes in the band. I think I am going to go ahead and cut & glue those before making any more. We'll see how it goes.

[Elijah]

Sorry about the power outage. A modeler a work must continue ! Have fun planking!