Halifax by rafine - FINISHED - The Lumberyard - 1:48 - semi-scratch schooner

[rafine]

Thanks so much Albert and Michael. You are very generous. Thanks also to the "likes".

 

Bob

[popeye the sailor]

the structure looks really good.......glad to see your back!    good to hear there wasn't much damage.

[rafine]

Thanks so much Denis, for both the nice comment and the good wishes. Thanks also to the "likes".

 

Bob

[DocBlake]

Beautiful job!  I especially like the binnacle/companionway!

[rafine]

Thanks so much Dave. I suppose it shouldn't be a surprise that the things you really enjoy doing turn out better. 

 

Bob

[Rat-Fink-A-Booboo]

Fantastic craftsmanship Bob

Best wishes

Don

[rafine]

Thanks so much Don. Greatly appreciated.

 

Bob

[Elijah]

Wow! That binnacle looks great! Did you take any more photos of the process? It looks good enough to me to be featured in an NRG article.

[rafine]

Thanks so much Elijah for the very kind comments. Sorry, no other photos.

 

Bob

[HIPEXEC]

I'm so jealous of your precision wood work that I broke down and will get a new precision saw. I've had enough with crooked cuts. Thanks for motivating me. Gorgeous work, Bob

[Jim Rogers]

Bob in a word Awesome. Beautiful work. Might have to get this one also.

[rafine]

Thanks so much Rich and Jim. Jim, if you're looking for what is essentially a scratch build, but with most of the basic framing laser cut (as I was) then you should be pleased with this package.

 

Bob

[bigcreekdad]

Bob...your build makes me feel like burning all my ships. Nothing short of awesome!! 

[rafine]

Thanks so much bigcreekdad for the overly generous compliments. Please don't burn your ships. 

 

Bob

[rafine]

I've now added the cap rails and the the catheads. 

 

The catheads were made and added first because they needed to be in place before the cap rails could be added in the bow. They were made from laminated strips of boxwood to avoid having to make slots (which I find difficult. if not impossible, to make). The sheaves are boxwood disks glued in place. Mounting the catheads required that openings had to be cut in the hull planking. This is never a task that I look forward to for fear of damage, but it went fairly smoothly, using a razor saw for the vertical cuts, a blade for the horizontal, and files to clean it up.

 

The cap rails were made from boxwood strip, except for the bow, which was cut to shape from boxwood sheet, using card templates. All of the rails were painted black before mounting them. The outside edge of the rails still needs to have a molding attached to them. This will be done at a later time as work proceeds on the outer hull.

 

Next up will be work on the stern.

 

Bob

[cwboland]

Great way to make those catheads. I like the contrast between the strips too. Makes it all stand out. 

[Elijah]

That is a nice technique! The simulated sheaves look pretty convincing. 

[Sjors]

Yep, just what i thought......😄👍🏻👏

 

Sjors

[Jim Rogers]

Gonna steal that cathead technique. Brilliant. Where did you get the disks?

[DocBlake]

Great innovation on the catheads!  I'll file this away for future reference.  👍

Edited September 24, 2017 by DocBlake

[rafine]

Thanks so much Carl, Elijah, Sjors, Jim and Dave for the great comments and thanks also to the "likes".

 

I've used lamination for catheads for quite a while now. I will probably also use it on the head rails as well, as I have done on some prior builds. The technique makes up for deficiencies in aging hands and a lack of tools such as a mill. Just another example of the old cliche about necessity being the mother of invention. Jim, the disks are just pieces of strip filed to a circular shape.

 

Bob

 

[Gahm]

Wonderful work, Bob! A pleasure to watch!

 

Thomas

[rafine]

Thanks so much Thomas and the "likes".

 

Bob

[Martin W]

Aha!  So that's how you get those nicely rounded sheaves!!!!  Very realistic looking.

 

Glad you made it through the storm, Bob.  Let's hope that's last of them for a while.

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

[rafine]

Thanks so much Martin. Your continuing interest is always appreciated.

 

Bob

[mobbsie]

I love watching a craftsman at work.

 

Inspirational.

 

Be Good

 

mobbsie

[rafine]

Thanks so much Mobbsie for the generous comments. I'm looking forward to your start on Pickle.

 

Bob

[rafine]

I've spent the last week on the stern, which is now finished. A few general thoughts first: the Hahn plans are a reconstruction from the Admiralty draughts, which only show the general shape of the transom and windows; I have generally followed the Hahn plan, but not exactly; my deviations reflect both some artistic license and limitations on my skills.

 

The transom was built up from scratch from boxwood strip and sheet, using a card template following the shape shown on the plans. the windows are laser cut from the Lumberyard, but substantially reduced in thickness. The transom was built to fit these windows. Window glazing was done using Micro Krystal Klear, which leaves a clear translucent surface. The outer surface of the transom was painted black and the inner portion left natural to suit my taste. The pilasters along the windows were made up from boxwood strip, as was the molding above the windows. 

 

The carvings at the top of the transom created the biggest problem. Bearing in mind my utter lack of any artistic ability, I needed to find a way to do the carvings. I had a laser cut carving piece from the Lumberyard, but it was much too fragile to withstand my clumsy efforts to bring it to final shape. I then made an equally feeble effort carve my own from scratch. Finally, I turned to a part from the kit: the kit contained a complete transom piece cast from a flexible resin (?); I had rejected the idea of using it for the transom, but decided to try cutting the carving portion from the part and painting it to match the hull wood. I may still tinker with the painting, but I'm reasonably satisfied with the overall effect.

 

Now, it's on to completing the outside hull.

 

Bob

[DocBlake]

Magnificent job on the transom, Bob.  Really beautiful.  It makes me want to start my Lauck Street Halifax!

[Mirabell61]

beautiful work Bob,

 

and black and gold matches wonderful  

 

Nils