HM Cutter Cheerful 1806 by Erik W - 1:48 scale

[Erik W]

Wow!  Thanks for the kind words guys.  You are all phenomenal modelers.  So that means a lot coming from you! 

 

Erik

[Erik W]

A little bit of progress this week.  I'm new at metal working, so it took some trial and error to figure out how I am going to make the backstay plates and chain plates.  One of the main issues to getting the ball rolling was figuring out how I was going to make these without the availability of 1/64" x 3/32" brass strip.  It would appear that K & S has discontinued nearly its entire line of brass strip, and I couldn't locate any of the size I needed in my internet search.  Many years ago I had bought a package of various sizes of 6" x 12" brass shim stock (used to shim the plates when molding parts in plastic injection molding machines so that they align correctly) just in case I ever needed sheet brass.  These sheets came in thickness of .001", .0015", .002", .003", .004", .005", .006", .007", .008", .010", .012", and .015".  The .015" thickness is the decimal measurement of 1/64".  So I have my material.  I used a pair of ancient tin snips I have in my toolbox to cut 3/32" wide strips off the sheet.  I then had to flatten the strips since they curled both along the face and the edge.  Next I filed the sharp edges flat.  Then used flat pliers to eliminate the lengthwise cupping caused in cutting the strips off the sheet.  Now that I had my self-made strips ready, I then shaped the backstay plates following Chuck's instructions in his monograph.  Since the strips I created were rough and with blemishes, I polished the finished backstay plates with a fine file after shaping was complete, just because I'm a perfectionist, and that's how I roll!  Yes, I know they'll be painted black.  Haha.

 

Erik

[jfhealey]

Thats wondeful metal work. Making one can't be that hard. Making six identical parts takes a skilled and patient hand. 

Fred

[bigcreekdad]

After seeing your planking job, I'm looking for a blowtorch for mine in progress.

 

Magnificent!!

[allanyed]

Beautiful metal work Erik.

  

You mention painting these black which is a good choice as is blackening the brass before installing the pieces.   Some have gone to copper instead of brass as it can be blackened after being installed with liver of sulfur without discoloring the surrounding wood.  Check out McMaster Carr for sheet and strip stock of brass and copper.

https://www.mcmaster.com/products/strips/?s=brass+strips

https://www.mcmaster.com/products/strips/?s=copper+strips

 

Allan

 

 

Edited March 21 by allanyed

[Erik W]

Hey Allan,  Thanks for the links to the McMaster site.  I always appreciate good sources for materials.  I did some testing with blackening the brass with Birchwood Casey blackening fluid on a scrap piece of brass.  I'll most likely go with black paint and a weathering powder as Chuck did to give it that metal look.  The copper/liver of sulfur you mentioned sounds intriguing.

 

Erik

[allanyed]

9 hours ago, Erik W said:

The copper/liver of sulfur you mentioned sounds intriguing.

Erik,

Ed Tosti (author of Naiad and Young America) went into detail on LoS in his build logs at MSW and books and made a convert out of many, myself included.  I still use brass if I need hard material, but copper whenever I can.

Allan

[Erik W]

This week I decided to mix things up a bit, taking a break between making the backstay plates and the chain plates.  I made the 22 eye bolts for the hull exterior and cap rail top.  While I have every manner of small diameter wire -  lead, brass, copper, phosphor bronze, steel - down to .002" diameter, I didn't have the type of wire best used by ship modelers for these types of things.  So after some research on this forum I ordered both 24 and 22 gauge Hillman Group dark annealed wire.  I must say, trying to make 22 identical eye bolts was more of a challenge than I thought it would be!  I never did get to a point where they were consistent.  That said, I selected groups that were close to identical to one another to fasten in the same area.  I figure if the port side eye bolts are slightly different than the starboard, a viewer would never know since you only see one side of the ship at a time.  I followed what Mike (Stuntflyer) had done in his Cheerful build log, and filed a little channel around the holes so the eye bolts snug down a bit.

 

I also drilled the scupper holes in the outside of the hull.  This was pretty straight forward, other than when I went to photograph the model I could see the bright wood on the inside of the bulwark.  I wound up taking a fine brush and painting the interior black, followed by running a pencil around the plank edge of the hole.

 

My next step will be to drill the scupper holes on the interior bulwark/deck area.  Does anyone have any advice or wisdom on that?  Am I drilling all the way through the interior planking?  I know I need to make the holes so they notch into the lip of the waterway at deck level.

 

Erik

Edited March 23 by Erik W

[glbarlow]

I think you’ll find lots of us didn’t drill the interior ones. Easy to mess up and gouge the deck, they are largely hidden by the cannon anyway. 
 

The eyebolts get easier, tiresome but easier as you lock onto a process that works for you.  12 cannon, 7 eyebolts and two rings each plus 4 more and two rings for the bulwark per cannon, you lave a lot more in your future. If you’re using Alaska Yellow Cedar you’ll find you can push the bolts into the wood. Mike’s is all boxwood. 

Edited March 24 by glbarlow

[Stuntflyer]

Yeah, there is no way to push the eye bolt into boxwood. Fwiw, I use a rat tail needle file to make the groove, channel or notch for lack of a better word. I don't push and pull the file. Rather, I push the file down into the hole, holding it down with my finger at an angle and turn it.

Edited March 24 by Stuntflyer

[Erik W]

Thanks for the comments Glenn and Mike.  My build is 100% boxwood.  When I bought all the wood, and started the project back at the end of 2015, no one was really using Alaskan Yellow Cedar yet.  As far as making the eye bolts, at least since I have a large amount of wire now, it's no big deal to discard the less-than-perfect ones as I get up to speed on how to make them.  lol.

 

Mike, I used a small round diamond file with the same technique you mention above.  It seemed a pretty intuitive way to get the small notch filed from the hole.

 

Erik

[Erik W]

One last photo for the week.  I drilled the interior scupper holes.  This was a bit nerve wracking.  I hadn't anticipated how easy it would be for the 1/32" x 1/32" waterway strip to split while being drilled.  I wound up starting with a much smaller drill bit and then using three more progressively larger sizes to only take a slight bit of material off at a time.  I made sure to turn the pin vice really slowly.  If the waterway split, the split part was still attached at one end.  I took a sharpened toothpick, applied a tiny amount of wood glue, and glued the fragmented sliver back down.  I had to do that with three of the holes.  The splits are invisible.  Glad I'm done with that part!

 

Also, I'm not sure of the properties of wood in general, but I'm curious if my boxwood, which I've had for 9 years in an inside climate that has a humidity of around 25% most of the year, splits easier because of that.

 

Erik

[Stuntflyer]

2 minutes ago, Erik W said:

This was a bit nerve wracking.

I remember the feeling. Nicely done!

[Freebird]

Excellent Erik, excellent!

 

Best Regards …. Rick

[Tigersteve]

It’s perfect!

Steve

[Mike Y]

Looking so clean and crisp! You and Mike (Stuntflyer) definitely share a style and a quality level  

Glad that you are back!

[Erik W]

With longer days, and warmer weather, progress has slowed down as my focus has shifted a bit to being outdoors more as spring arrives.  I do still work on Cheerful daily though.  I'm working on the chain plates.  As with the backstay plates, I cut strips out of a 6" x 12" brass sheet.  I then cut the 8 chain plates longer than needed.  Next I shaped the tops of all 8.  Being my first ship build, I had to do some research when I got to Chuck's instructions, "Assuming this isn't your first ship model, the angles for each chain plate were found in the usual way."  Glenn (glbarlow) had some good photos in his Cheerful build log that show how to rig a temporary mast to get the desired chain plate angles.  I made a jig to get the rake of the mast correct, when compared to the plans.  Then I secured the mast in place with temporary fore and aft stays.  The simulated shrouds are tied off at the correct height and spacing on the mast.  Knowing the chain plates are not exactly the same length this process was key to do before I cut them to length and drilled the lower 2 holes on each chain plate.  I have the port side chain plates finished more or less (they do still need a little tweaking).  Each one is marked on the back for which position it belongs in.

 

Erik

Edited April 6 by Erik W

[glbarlow]

Nice metal work, my least favorite thing. But then it looks so good on the model. Consider weathering powder, these look good, blackened and weathered. 

[Erik W]

Thanks for the likes folks.  And thanks for the comment Glenn.  I do plan on using weathering powders on the painted brass parts.

 

Erik

[CiscoH]

on my first ship i simply painted the brass black, which worked fine but felt like cheating.  on my current build i spent a lot of time using various blackening chemicals which seem to wear off quickly with any manipulation.  i think i may go back to paint.  have you had a similar experience?

[Erik W]

I had tested some blackening fluid on the brass I'm using and didn't really like the results.  It rubbed off easily, and in general just seemed messy.  Once I finish shaping all the brass chain plates I'll paint a strip of scrap brass black and play around with the weathering powders I have to see what finish I can come up with that I think looks good.

 

Erik

[Pirate adam]

My experience with blackening fluid is it seems to work better when dramatically diluted with water (think 90% water).  This slows down the chemical reaction and helps prevent the thick buildup of black that comes right off.  I dip it for 20 or 30 seconds several times until I get the color I want.  It is important to keep that stuff out of your eyes, etc. though.  Painting is easier if you want a pure black color.  I think most of the iron was painted black in real life.  

 

Adam

[glbarlow]

I start with an acetone bath, then blackening for 90 seconds, then a water rinse, dry and a slight buff with a soft cloth.  The acetone bath is an important step. 
 

I have learned not all blackening solutions, like CA, are equal in quality or results. 
 

Foe me paint designed to look like metal rather than just black paint works ok, but only if weathering powder is applied, and not as good as blackening for some things. 
 

 

[Cathead]

While no expert, I've personally found that I like to do both. An initial blackening in highly diluted solution, followed by painting. The blackening seems to rough up the surface slightly and the paint grips better and looks more natural than when applied straight to brass. I've also used primer followed by paint but that ends up thicker than I like.

[Erik W]

After pulling some hair out, and the remainder going gray, haha, I have finished the backstay plates and chain plates . . . on the port side anyway.  I revisited blackening them, using advice here and on the internet.  My test brass strips looked OK, but I couldn't avoid bare brass spots being rubbed off after lightly wiping them down with a dry cloth.  I'm pretty sure I didn't clean the brass well enough beforehand.  After being left frustrated by that, I just went ahead and followed what Chuck had done on his, and painted them black and used a rust brown weathering powder to give them that iron look.  I'm happy with the results.  A trick I learned years ago as a model railroader with brass, is to bake the brass after painting.  Just put the parts under a hot halogen or incandescence light bulb, about an inch away from the bulb, for about five minutes.  This hardens the paint on the metal surface and makes it much more scuff resistant.  The nails themselves I ordered from ModelExpo (being my first ship build I didn't have any extras from prior builds to use).  They are the smallest ones they offer.  They're slightly rounded on the bottom of the heads, so don't appear the sit flush when pushed in.  So I used a larger diameter drill bit than the holes in the brass were drilled with, and counter sunk all the holes in the backstay and chain plates.  I also ran a sharp angled file on the underside of the heads of each nail.  This helped get the nails to snug down flat when pushed in.  After getting the parts mounted and nailed in place, I went ahead and touched up the paint and weathering powder.

 

Of all the processes involved on this build, metal working is probably the one I have the least experience in.  The backstay plates and chain plates have taken a lot longer than I thought they would.  That said, I've learned a lot, even with the error part of Trial and Error being frustrating at times!

 

Erik

Edited April 14 by Erik W

[jfhealey]

It's diffficult to see how it would be possible to build a finer version of Cheerful. Nothing, as far as I can see, could be improved. Superb.

Fred 

[Erik W]

Fred,  Thanks for the compliment!  The build is definitely coming along nicely.  As a bit of a perfectionist, I know I'm my own worst critic.  That is definitely both a good and a bad trait at the same time!  Haha.

 

Erik 

Edited April 15 by Erik W

[Erik W]

I finished the deadeyes and deadeye strops this week.  And set a new personal record for the most discarded/rejected parts.  Haha.  I can laugh now, but at the time, it was the height of frustration.  I think to get the 8 usable deadeye strops shaped correctly and mounted, I wound up with an additional 15 or so I scrapped.  Admittedly most of that was trying to get the first couple formed.  Once I had a system down for shaping them, things went more smoothly.  I wound up chipping the paint off some of the chain plates, so had to touch that up.  And I wound up rubbing off the finish of the annealed wire I used for making the strops from handling too much, so had to blacken those again . . . which made a bit of a mess on the deadeyes from blackening smudges coming off of my fingers.  So, I had to re-sand some of the deadeyes to remove that.  All in all not the most fun part of the build.  So, I'm happy that buttons up Chapter 9 of Chuck's monograph, and I look forward to getting away from handling metal and back to working with wood for the next parts of the build!

 

Erik