Armed Launch by mobbsie - FINISHED - Panart - 1/16 - Small

[Jack12477]

Hi Mobbsie, just discovered your build log. Think I will pull up a stool or barrel and join the others. Looks like an interesting launch.

[mtaylor]

That's something worthwhile to look into, Tony.   Ebony stain is smelly and doesn't give an even coverage.  Ebony is a royal pain. 

 

How does the wood take a finish?   With ebony stain, it's somewhat hit and miss for some reason.

[Canute]

I've used the steel wool/vinegar solution fr years to weather wood. Very handy and safe. Works well on basswood; pretty even stain. Not tried on fruit woods.

[Nirvana]

Mobbsie,

A warm thank you for that recipe..... it sure will get useful for up-coming builds.

That is sure a very nice ebonizing, that with softer and more workable wood but the finish of the extreme hardwood.

[mobbsie]

Hi Gents,

 

I've been modelling for just on four years now and only just found out about this stain, if it helps one person then I will consider it to have been a worthwhile trial.

 

Mark,  I've just put some wipe on Poly on some dry wood and from what I can see it will take a finish really well, there doesn't seem to be any deteriation in the base colour and none of the stain came off onto the brush.

 

I will say this though, I'm not too happy with the result on applying the stain with a brush, so far I've only soaked the wood in a bath and it's worked fine, when applied by brush you don't get the real dark colour associated with Ebony, again I have only tried this with Walnut both with and without the Tea, so the trials continues.

 

Per, Frank, Bob, Ken, the jury is still out with regard to the full usage of this stuff but for aging wood it's a perfect aid, have you guys taken the application any further than aging and if so what are your thoughts, it would be interesting to know.

 

Jack, Welcome to the log mate, if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask, if I cant answer, help is never very far away.

 

Thanks for the good words and the "likes", there always welcome.

 

Be Good

 

mobbsie

[mtaylor]

Thanks, Tony.  That's good news on the finish.  

[mobbsie]

Hi Gents,

 

It's been while since my last post and a lot has happened.

 

Thanks guys for all your comments and remarks and for hitting the like button, it means a lot.

 

I've completed my trails on the Ebonizer with mixed results and not all good. I put some Pear and Lime in the solution and gave it a 40hr soak to find out the depth of penetration, the results I admit are disappointing, penetration was no more than if it had been soaked for 2hrs, the surface area built up with stain and started to crystalize, when rubbed with a finger a dirty brown stain remained. Not a good result at all.

 

Best results came from soaking in Tea for approximately 2hrs, allow to dry then soak in the stain for a further 2hrs, allow this to dry and apply a Wipe on Poly to finish. All work that needs to be done must be before staining as the base wood will show through if done afterwards.

 

I do have a picture of the Sheer Rails after they have been treated, I'm happy with the results for these.

 

 

Next up is the update on the Launch.

 

Second planking is now complete, although this is a lot better than the first planking there is still a lot of room for improvement.

 

The planks are a lot tighter together due to bevelling the edges but I still had trouble with getting a smooth bend on each of the lower strakes around the bow section. Although the strakes were measured at the Bow, Midships and Stern there is some a lot more that can be done and so I've put myself on stand-by to do this properly, if anybody would like to pop round mine and give me a practical demonstration of how to do this please feel free, I have seen the tutorials so feel a little better but putting it into practice is a whole different ball-game.

 

The final planking will be Pear with the waterline in Holly, the top of the hull will have decorations on top of Red Heart, hopefully this will be a paint free zone but we will see, never say never.

 

The Pear has been ordered from C.M.B. but is still in tree trunk form and is waiting to be cut, I've ordered Strips and Sheets so hopefully will have all angles covered, I really must get a Thickness Sander, it will save me money in the end, I just need to persuade the boss.!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

 

Sorry about the quality of the pics, I promise to do better next time round.

 

Half way through and not looking to bad

 

 

 

The 2nd planking is now complete, somehow a rogue plank has infiltrated.

 

 

 

 

So there we are guys, your up-to-date with where I am, Hopefully I will have an update sooner rather than later.

 

Be Good

 

mobbsie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Canute]

Planking looks nice and tight there, Mobbsie. Hope mine turn out like yours.

[riverboat]

planking came out nice Tony.... like the color you ended up with, looks great!!

 

Frank

[gjdale]

Looking good Mobbsie. Your ebonised timber looks great, despite any reservations you might have. Looking forward to seeing the final planking go on.

[cog]

Got one waiting on the bookcase in my study on top of the ARNO XI, so don't mind if I pull p a chair to get some pointers from the master. So far ... looking good, Mobbsie

 

Cheers

[Piet]

Nice planking job Mobbsie.  I little sanding and you're there.  Love the ebony staining trick you showed.

 

Cheers,

[mtaylor]

Looking good, Mobbsie.  Try this.. think backwards.   If you look at the plank on the ship it looks straight and flat, right?  But when you pull it off, it's wide at one end and narrow at the other.  And, the plank has curve on the flat plane if you push it flat on the bench.  The catch is how to make that plank match that curve.  Now, try taking a piece of cello tape that you can write on and stick it on the hull where you want the next plank to go.  Mark the edge of the existing plank and remove the tape.  When you stick it down on the bench or a piece of wood, you'll see the curve.  Then mark off the plank with your measurements for width and connect the dots with a curve.  

 

It really is and it really isn't that simple.  But once you figure it out in your mind's eye and have done it, there will be a moment... a big smile and the light is on.  

[trippwj]

Looking good there, Tony.  I'm probably not the best to ask about planking - haven't finished planking a hull yet (3 started, with 1 suspended and 2 delayed due to life).

 

It think you've gotten the basics on the planking down quite well! 

[mobbsie]

Hi Gents,

 

Thanks very much guys comments and likes are all appreciated.

 

Carl, By all means mate, pull up a pew. your always welcome here, I shall be using mikeaidanh's log as a reference quite a lot. His build is superb and definitely one to follow. One thing I do like about this kit is that there is a lot of scratch building to be done although the plan drawing leave a lot to be desired.

 

Frank, Cheers buddy, one more planking to go, she's triple planked. Final planking will be Pear when it arrives.

 

Wayne, Thanks mate for your confidence in my planking efforts, I am learning and the final planking will be better.

 

Ken, Thanks mate, If I were you I'd wait for me to finish the planking before hoping your turns out like mine, good luck with yours mate.

 

Mark, Thank you very much mate for sharing your wisdom. It does sound complicated but I'm beginning to get my head around the process and the mist is beginning to clear. we'll see.

 

Thanks Grant, stay tuned mate.

 

Thanks again guys.

 

Be Good

 

mobbsie

Edited February 10, 2016 by mobbsie

[jthemanjack]

Hi Mobbsie,

Coming along nicely ,Built her myself a few years ago and really enjoyed the build  (apart from the triple Planking ) which is needed for stability of the Hull but is a little bit tedious,also did the Open Whaler from Panart which is great fun to build .

Will follow with interest .

    Jack

[mobbsie]

Hi Gents,

 

Lawrence, glad you pulled up a chair mate, good to have you along.

 

Been a while since my last post and I feel really bad about it, apart from a bit of life getting in the way my only excuse is lethargy, or being just bone idol.

 

The main task of planking has taken most of the time with a slight diversion to make a few of the interior objects, Oars, Buckets, Gun Swabs - Reamers - Rammers and so-on.

 

The 3rd planking is now complete although this is still work in progress, I have to do a little filling between the planks but I'm quite pleased with the job so far.

 

I started by marking the hull off and then fitting the waterline, I used Holly for the waterline, its some left over from the Granado. I cut two 3 x 1.6mm lengths for the main line and two 1.6 x 1.0mm for the second line with a 3 x 1.0mm Pear strip between, this meant that the waterline stood proud by 0.6mm, this would come off during sanding so no worries.

 

I then started planking from the top down to the waterline, this was not a problem and none of the planks needed any special treatment. First mistake, when I put the waterline in I put all my markings for the planks out of kilter and so all the tick marks had to be redone, that's the reason for all the correction fluid. When I finally reached the waterline it was time to take a break from planking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I started making some of the interior equipment shown here.

 

 

 

Planking continued after and this was soooo different, each and every plank required Spilling, I couldn't believe that bent planks would fit a straight line but they do. I found the planks I'd got were no good and so all the planks had to be cut from sheet material

 

Not all went well as you would expect and a few planks were ripped off and replaced and the hull was slowly taking shape amid a tirade of ungentle-manly language.

My next big challenge was Drop Planks, I needed to put in a couple of drop planks on each side and so a whole lot of reading took place with not a lot of answers.

Best way was to just get on with it, so with planks bent, cut and tapered on they went, not what I would call text book but certainly my version and the result wasn't too bad.

 

 

 

 

Towards the end of planking a little jiggery pokery was required and in many respects it was a case of taking the bull by the horns and going for it anyway its done with just the clean up left, and the Transom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next job for me is complete the Transom, fill between the hull planking, fit the stern boards which are Redheart and final sanding and coating with poly.

 

So that's me gents and your right up to date now, again sorry for the long gap between posts, I'll try and keep the long gap a bit shorter next time.

 

Be Good

 

mobbsie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[cog]

Lucky me, at least I'm not running after your posts!!! Nice progress, in spite of the timeframe ... I saw you had some good practice in spilling too ...

 

Cheers

[rafine]

Yes, it's been a while since your last post, but you've accomplished a lot of great looking work.

 

Bob

[gjdale]

Nice job on the planking Mobbsie. Th Holly waterline looks great!

[trippwj]

Very nice work, Tony.  Love those little details for the interior!

[Piet]

Lovely job on the planking Mobbsie and what a nice touch on the waterline, outstanding.

 

Cheers,

[popeye the sailor]

heard you were making sawdust again.........had to pop in to see what your up to.    I must say......it was worth the read!   she looks super......the different woods really look sweet.......some poly is gonna make the grains pop!   very nice indeed!  

[Jack12477]

Hi Mobbsie, just catching up on your build. I really like the way the wood colors came out. Very nice planking. Also like the interior equipment. How did you make the small barrels for the rope and rocks (??? - I think ??) ?

[riverboat]

Tony that looks really nice...... the spiling came out great!!

 

Frank

[mobbsie]

Hi Gents,

 

Thanks guys for the very nice comments and the likes.

 

I hope your sittin down coz I have another up-date. Wonders will never cease I hear you say.

 

A good bit of progress since my last post.

 

The rudder is made out of lasered plywood and no amount of staining was going to change it's look, so, I decided to cover it with veneer, this then meant that the keel would also need doing as well. 

 

I found some veneer the right colour and completed that job without too hassle, surprising what a difference it makes, much better to the eye.

 

The Rubbing strips made from 2x3mm Lime were fitted and also the Slipways, these are made from 3.5x5mm Lime. The Slipways were also pinned using cut down flat head pins blackened with Antiquing Fluid.

 

The Transom was sanded down and shaped, still to need to sand the top to fit the Cap Rail.

 

The first coat of Poly was taken back and a second coat applied, the Poly is supposed to be a satin finish but when this coat had dried it looks more like a gloss, but hay ho, it's staying.

 

The entire inside hull has been sanded done to acceptable smoothness apart from the bulkheads, these will be done later prior to planking.

 

The middle and top deck should be covered with Lime planking but I changed this for Walnut, the top deck was a simple case of straight planks and presented no problem, the second deck is framed with Walnut, this deck has two sets of boards inside and so a bit extra work is required. A template was made from card and the frame marked up, the outer edges of the deck was laid with Walnut leaving a 2mm lip around the inner edges, this deck will have Redheart Boards. Both these decks needed a good bit of sanding.

 

The Main Deck is the same as the second deck, it's just a bit larger. I used Pear to line the outer edges and the internal division's with a square of Holly in the centre where the mast housing will be fitted. The internal divisions are still work in progress as are the boards and gratings.

 

So I now have some pics, hope you enjoy them.

 

The start of the veneering

 

 

 

 

 

There's a rudder in there somewhere, hopefully someone will be able to tell me what wood this is. I've forgotten. The grain is very much reduced once sanded and polyied

 

 

The almost completed outer hull

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Top and 2nd deck to be fixed and sanded in Walnut

 

 

The Main deck, still work in progress using Pear.

 

 

 

That's it Guys, not quite so long between posts and hopefully I'll post some more sooner.

 

All comments and remarks are welcomed.

 

Be Good

 

mobbsie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mtaylor]

Stunning work on that, Mobbsie.  The gloss does show how smooth you did the planking.  The wood choice just make the whole thing pop right off the computer screen.

[cog]

She is brilliant ... Mobbsie ...

 

Cheers

[Jim Lad]

Nice to see an update, Mobbsie - beautiful work.

 

John

[gjdale]

Outstanding work my friend - looking gorgeous!