HMS Thorn by Kevin Kenny - 1:48 scale - Swan-class - David Antscherl practium

[AON]

Okay.  Was the last little bit about sun, beach, rum for me?

I am happy for you.

Really.

No, really.

Not jealous at all.

On my way back downstairs and try to figure out how to deal with my leaky basement.

But you enjoy your sun, beach, and rum.  

[Kevin Kenny]

[Kevin Kenny]

Just back from Tobago and settling back down. I have been collecting modeling wood for a number of years and just got my first large piece of Lignum Vitae the most dense wood in the world. Not sure how long it needs to dry but will leave it for at least a year in the drying shelf. As would be expected the grain is very tight but i was disappointed that the   heart was not darker and more consistent in colour. Oh well, just glad to have it in my collection of tropical hardwoods. The woods grown in the caribbean and usually found in very thin trunks because it grows so slowly.  It should be excellent to cut on the lath to make cannons. 

[Maury S]

If you're going to store it to dry, be sure to wax or paint the ends!

Maury

[Kevin Kenny]

Already done Maury. I have been collecting wood for. Long time now and have friends in the lumber business so have experienced the problem when the ends dry out before the center. I have had problems with the coffee wood and with Sea Grape that cracks so easily. Recently  i decided to keep the new stock of coffee wood in branch form and not cut it until it dries.  It splits terribly. Sea Grape is the worst.

[druxey]

Resaw into thinner slabs and sticker them as soon as possible. That will minimize splitting. Leave wood in log form, it will always split radially.

[Kevin Kenny]

This is my first attempt at making a cannon on the Sherline  lath. Not a bad first attempt, used the Lignum Vitae. Fantastic for this fine work. 

[Kevin Kenny]

Now to figure out how to put the engraving on the cannon.

[AON]

Use thick paper, print it on the paper, cut it out with a scalpel, paste it to the barrel.

In real life I think they protrude about 3/4" minimum so what is that at your  build scale?

After painting the whole thing flat black highlight the raised parts with a smokey black.

Edited April 15, 2021 by AON

[Kevin Kenny]

Whats a smokey black?

[AON]

A blended colour.

I work with acrylic paints in a tube and put a small dab of black and white on my palette then mix a tiny bit of white into it, adding more if necessary to get something not quite Grey but more dirty... a smokey black. So it is as if the sun's rays caught it at just the right angle to give it a little highlight and make it appear out of nowhere.  I paint it onto the raised surfaces sparingly with a fan type brush.  A hint of a different shade.

I am not an artist... but it works.

[Kevin Kenny]

 

[Kevin Kenny]

I decided to make a larger cannon and carriage to better understand the process and to decide on the jigs. I finally got a solution to accurately drill the trunnions using the Sherline mill..  

Edited April 29, 2021 by Kevin Kenny
Spelling

[druxey]

Turning cannon is tricky, but you have done it well. I might comment, though, that the flare at the end of the muzzle is little exaggerated.

[Kevin Kenny]

I have some cannons coming from Greg. I’ll compare and adjust the flare. Thanks for the feedback.

[Kevin Kenny]

[druxey]

Carriage looks great, but he trunnions should end flush to the outside of the cheeks. Picky, aren't I? But it will look so much better, Kevin.

[Kevin Kenny]

These are temporary trunnions which are two small, out of scale. Hoping to find the correct size, if not ill machine them. Will spend the next day or two on the tackle.

[Kevin Kenny]

 

[dvm27]

Very nice work, Kevin!. Hope that package reaches you soon. Just a couple of observations:

 

Always remove the tightening bars from the mill or lathe as soon as the jaws are locked. I speak from experience!

 

When drilling brass, especially a convex surface, use a center drill to start the hole. It will not deflect like a drill bit or even a burr.

 

Probably easier to make those trucks by inserting the blank into the headstock. Let it protrude only an inch or so. Drill the truck holes from the tailstock then part off the truck. Keep feeding additional stock from the headstock and continue the process.  It's probably not a great idea to part between centers, especially with metal.

 

Finally a tip to turn very small diameter wooden parts (like belaying pins). Start with a wide diameter (3-4 times the finished diameter). Let no more than an inch of stock protrude from the headstock. In one pass cut to the final diameter. There will be no deflection when done this way. if you try to reduce the diameter in several passes it will deflect before you get to the desired size.

 

Look forward to your casting video!

 

Edited May 5, 2021 by dvm27

[Malcolm Greig]

Wow, just found this, what a fantastic build log. 

 

Malcolm

[Kevin Kenny]

[Kevin Kenny]

Big brother and small brother

[druxey]

Muzzle flare on the small one looks much better, Kevin!

[Kevin Kenny]

How do u like this one daughter gave this for my birthday 

[Kevin Kenny]

[dvm27]

Agree with Druxey about the muzzle flare. You should spend some time experimenting with finishing brass. It's very easy to remove scratches with progressively fine emery cloth or files then steel wool.

[Kevin Kenny]

Took up your suggestions, reduced the size of the muzzle, sanded and polished the cannon barrel and it is now more in scale. I could polish it more but do not plan using these on the model. Now to complete 20 more carriages. Had trouble cutting the wheels, they often split. Used different wood but it did not seem to matter. Then treated the finished blank with thin CA. This worked perfectly. The contrasting wood is interesting but feel that i will use similar colour.

[Kevin Kenny]

 

[Kevin Kenny]

Quoins and beds ready to put into fully assembled carriages