Barque Stefano by donrobinson - MarisStella - 1:63

[donrobinson]

Thanks E.J., it is my intent to build this straight out of the kit with no changes. Even though it is early in the build I don't think I'll be replacing any material as it is all excellent.

[Landlubber Mike]

Don really great stuff there.  Your planking looks fantastic!  I too love the look of the beech.  These kits seem very nicely done.

 

Just out of curiosity, what do you think about the copper plates?  How do they compare to the Amati ones?  My MS Charles Morgan uses copper tape that you have to punch for the rivets.  I think it’s easier to apply, but the Amati plates look amazing.

Edited January 15, 2018 by Landlubber Mike

[donrobinson]

Hi Mike, thanks for your comment it's much appreciated. Below is a picture of Amati plates(left) and the MarisStella plates(right). As you can see the MarisStella ones are slightly larger but do have the rivets also. I'm thinking both plates should be much easier in the long run to install versus having to punch the rivets.

As you can see they are not quite as bright as the Amati ones, they have a little more weathered look which is fine with me

[Landlubber Mike]

They look really nice - I like the weathered look too.  Kit seems to have very nice materials 👍

[mikiek]

That beech could make a cool deck me thinks. I'm curious how it takes stain. Natural might do very well.

 

I would also like to find something besides walnut. I ordered 5 different species and will be cutting sticks myself.

[donrobinson]

Good morning all, thanks for the comments, likes and visits.

 Since my last post the hull planking has been completed. I stained and put a coat of wipe on poly on the starboard side to see how the beech would look, I'll let you be the judges. Next was removing the bulkhead extensions, cleaning up the freeboard(bulwarks), then carving out the stern area down to deck level. 

Here are the pictures:

Here is the beech stained and a coat of wipe on poly. I used a water based stain and only one coat of it. another coat may have improved the look or possibly a coat of sanding sealer. Overlooking the obvious glue stains you can see it does not take stain very evenly. My conclusion is that beech looks better without a stain, should be left clear or painted, which is coming up soon 

 

Removing the bulkhead extensions using a veneer saw. These came off quite easily and posed no problems, the veneer saw is defiantly the tool for this job.

 

About to start the removal of the stern filler block

 

Filler block removed, filler was later applied to floor and sides. The important part here is to maintain the curvature and rise of the deck, this simply done by laying a plank along the bulkhead tops and watching how it is lays. Much the same as you would do when fairing a hull.    

 

These last pictures are showing the cleaning of the freeboard, they will be eventually painted, and the fairing of the bulkhead tops. When fairing the bulkhead tops it is again important to maintain the curve and also to have a consistent height from the top of the bulkhead to the to of the freeboard.

 

That's all for now, next is the first layer of planking on the deck.

See You soon 

[Heronguy]

Nice progress Don.  I can see a challenge coming up for me based on what I see on your (ship's) stern.  Oh well I can least see how it could have worked out since yours looks great.  

 

 

[Seventynet]

Looks good Don. Keep up the great work. 

 

Ian

[rafine]

A lot of nasty looking work done very well Don. Great job.

 

Bob

[Hubac's Historian]

Your planking is superbly done, Don.  In all honesty, though, I don’t love the look of the finished beech.  Just my personal preference.  It’s a shame to cover the planking, but I think that might be the best presentation.

Edited January 23, 2018 by Hubac'sHistorian

[donrobinson]

Doug: You will do just fine, it is not as hard as it looks a sharp chisel does help though. I'm looking forward to you catching up to me.

Ian: good to hear from you, I'm finally making a little progress and thanks for the kudos

Bob: Just a little nasty Bob, I do know when you get your kit you will make it look a lot easier and nicer!!!

H.H.: I 100% agree with you. The beech looked fine, I thought, before staining but with the stain it is not appealing what so ever. I will keep using it, if for anything, it"s bending capabilities. I am still very happy and surprised how it is so easily manipulated to shape, well worth keeping on the list of woods to use. 

 

[mikiek]

The beech looks quite good Don. Nice straight grain, not too heavy. Good color. It's a winner.

 

Never heard of a veneer saw before.

 

How come you have to take the filler out?

[David Lester]

Hi Don,

Boy, that stern filler block is an interesting bit. It seems like a good way to get the round profile though. It essentially serves as a form, then when it's served its purpose, you simply carve it out. Looks like it's balsa; I bet you're glad you resisted any urge you might have had to use some old oak that was laying around.

 

David

[Old Collingwood]

Great work don,  and what a lovely little tool that palm chisel  havn't used one of those in years and years.

 

OC.

[Landlubber Mike]

Don, let me add my admiration to the others.  Really nice job!  I’m not aware of other kits that take this temporary approach, but makes a lot of sense to me.  Another creative feature of these MarisStella kits.  

[rafine]

Don, I'm afraid that I won't be doing Stefano. I've pretty much concluded that at my age and current state of health, it would be biting off too much for me. Although it's too late for you and Doug, I have a thought about that stern former for future builders. If I recall, the block consists of three pieces. If, instead of gluing the uppermost part to the others, thin two sided tape were used as  the attachment, removal could be made a lot easier.

 

Bob

[donrobinson]

Mike: The filler block acts as a form for the planking then needs to be removed in order to plank the deck, Thanks for stopping by

 

David: You have it dead on David, it was balsa and I was very happy it was. It actually went fairly easy, had it been something like oak the whole ship may have ended in the trash  or on the shelf for a very long time.

 

OC: Thanks. I bought this set of chisels from Lee Valley some 30-35 years ago and up until now have rarely used them as I never took the time to sharpen them properly. I now know how to sharpen them, somewhat, and am enjoying using them now.

 

Mike: Thanks Mike. These kits are really full of surprises and innovations that makes them fun to build.

 

Bob: Sorry to hear that Bob, health is very important so look after that first. That is a great idea for the stern filler block and would have worked perfectly! A perfect example why, even if you are not going to build the Stefano, I still need you to keep watching and sharing your vast knowledge. Thanks and take care my friend.

[donrobinson]

Mike: The veneer saw is especially good in this application as it only cuts on the one side so it does not damage the bulkhead. I found this one on Amazon for around $30 Cdn. I think the beech is defiantly worth having in the workshop if anything for it's bending capabilities. This is maybe what you need for your Trajta

[Landlubber Mike]

The veneer saw is a great tool.  I bought one to saw the bulkhead extensions after BE’s recommendation.  Not a necessity, but makes things very easy!

[Mirabell61]

very nice work with the hull Don,

 

the planking looks nice and neat...

 

Nils

[donrobinson]

Mike: That's where I heard of the idea too but forgot to mention it, thanks for reminding me. If I remember right I ordered mine the very day B.E. mentioned it!!

 

Nils: Thank You for taking the time to stop in and for your gracious comment

[drobinson02199]

Don:

 

I've just caught up to this log, and your beech planking looks wonderful.  I love the way you did alternating boards and lined up the joins.  I'm going to sign on to see the rest.

 

Regards,

David Robinson (the "other" one)  

[donrobinson]

Hey David, Thanks for looking things over. There is always room for more

[donrobinson]

Hello everyone, I'm hoping you are all having a good day and your shipyards are active.

 I have been busy planking the hull and now the deck, two layers, for what now seems a eternity so yesterday I decided to turn my attention to something required further on in the build.

 The aft cabin has a rail on top of it that needs to have stanchions, these are made from 3 mm dowel and then shaped accordingly. Although nothing real fancy or anything, I thought you may want to see how I made them.

 

3 mm dowel in chuck 

 

First cut is made, .100 from the end and .021 deep

 

second cut made, .460 from the end and .01 deep

 

Shaping is done using a sanding stick on the backside

 

 

Final shaping done and parting groove is cut at .560 from the end. Final parting was done with a razor saw, with lathe turned off

 

Culling out the rejects, on the left

 

Length when parted from lathe is .560 inches or approximately 14 mm, which allows for 1 mm to be sanded off each end to arrive at a final measurement of 12 mm. When I tried to make these at the exact length the 1 mm collar would chip or break so making them longer prevented this. I used a Byrnes disc sander for sanding the ends which made this part of the job very easy.

 As you can see nothing out of the ordinary but it was lots of fun, and Doug(Heronguy), if you are reading, this is the reason you NEED a lathe

 For anyone considering buying a mill, having a DRO(digital read out) really helps for something like this when there are repetitive cuts. It saves on mistakes and time, I would defiantly recommend buying one when ordering a mill.

 

 You all have fun and enjoy the weekend. It's snowing here now so it looks like I'll be storm stayed for the weekend , luckily enough the food and refreshment fridges are both well stocked!!

Edited January 26, 2018 by donrobinson

[Heronguy]

Very nice Don.  And a useful little tutorial for me.  I can hardly wait 'til my lathe arrives - but I guess I'll have to order it before that happens.  Too cold here for the next month or so to work out in the shed so there is no real hurry  to order one.  Good thing our Stefanos need lots of planking - that'll keep me busy until the warmer weather.  

 

Prairie winter storms - I don't miss them!

[Landlubber Mike]

Very nice Don!  They are going to be a really nice touch.

[donrobinson]

Doug and Mike: Thanks guys

[mikiek]

You make me want to pull my lathe down off the shelf. The one with very little sawdust on it. Your tutorial makes me think even I might be able to do that exercise.

 

What a nice addition to the build!

[donrobinson]

Hey Mike get it down, it is real good stress relief!

 

[donrobinson]

Good morning everyone, I hope all is good and you are ready for another day of modelling. thanks to all for visiting.

 Well another milestone has been reached. Planking is finally complete! After approximately 1200 individual planks, two layers on hull and two layers on deck, this part of the build is now behind me. I opted not to simulate caulking as I usually don't really care for it, however, with my deck I am realising maybe I should have. Looking at my hull I thought there was enough definition between the planks but for some reason the deck is not so. It is very hard to see the butt ends and it almost looks like it maybe one solid sheet of wood. At any rate I am not about to tear it up. As of now it has two coats of wipe on poly and I will put on another two or three.

 The next step will be installing the covering board or waterway which will entail laterally bending a 6 mm plank to the shape of the stern, so we'll see how that works.

 Installing the planking

I used Weldbond glue, ca glue is not required for this step.  Weldbond, with a little burnishing, adheres in seconds proving to be adequate as I had no lifting of the planks after installation.

 Here are a few pictures:

 

Here is my new found plank shear, works great for cutting long angles. I recommend for those of you who have admirals to wait until she is gone before using this tool

 

And here it is in place, well that is not quite true as the one shown above had the glue applied to the wrong side!!

 

This is the burnishing tool I use. Simply just apiece of 13 mm (1/2") square stock. Doing this helps spread and level the glue and flattens out the plank. Sanding and  scraping was so much easier, I think I spent a maximum of 20 minutes of sanding the deck. Well worth the effort to try this if you are not doing it already.

 

 

 As you can see there are no real defined planks or butt ends, but trust me when I say it is a four plank shift and all shift lines are straight 

 

 That's it for today, I hope you enjoyed. Thanks for stopping by and we'll see you soon

Edited February 1, 2018 by donrobinson