US Brig Syren by jablackwell - Model Shipways - first POB build

[jablackwell]

Making headway on the filler blocks now. Peter's advice was perfect: Make them slightly larger than needed then sand down to size for a perfect fit. The slight bowing of the bulkhead former is coming out. I am gluing the blocks in one pair at a time from stern to bow. There's no reason to the direction.... I just decided to start that way ;-) 

 

~john

[Jim Rogers]

In order to make Deck planking easier and to add strength I basically built a solid hull. Made fairing easier and lots of area to glue too when planking.

[fnkershner]

Jim - what are you using for the lintels and sills? looks like a different wood. Maybe Cherry?

[Jim Rogers]

1 hour ago, fnkershner said:

Jim - what are you using for the lintels and sills? looks like a different wood. Maybe Cherry?

Bloodwood/Redheart. I am also going to use it for interior framing. Not going to paint the bulwarks just apply a finish.

[fnkershner]

Ok I get it. But most of it will be covered by planking. Nice wood. I hope it wasn't costly.

[Jim Rogers]

55 minutes ago, fnkershner said:

Ok I get it. But most of it will be covered by planking. Nice wood. I hope it wasn't costly.

It is the planking.

[jablackwell]

Thank you for your commentary and suggestions, Jim. I am not going to place the filler blocks out to edges of the bulkheads, as I am prepping to get to the planking in as difficult a way as possible. I find that the challenge helps me with later builds. I totally appreciate your methods, though, and accept them as useful. I also like your choice of woods for an un-coated woodwork view.... adjectives fail me, I am afraid... maybe "unpainted" is a better term? Anyway, nice work. 

 

Today I continued with the filler block gluing process. I am taking it one day at a time, and one or two bulkheads at a time. Not much to show for that, so no images. Syren builders have seen this a lot on the forums here, so I am saving some bandwidth.  It came to my thoughts today that I am unlikely to present very much of anything new to Syren builders on MSW, but my log will be a series of "HELP I am stuck" kind of situations ;-)  I hope that is ok with everyone. This is my first PoB build, so I am likely to get into some messiness as I move forward. With a new semester coming up in a few days, I am also going to slow down a lot on the build, as I pick up on getting back to teaching astrophysics (my profession). Such is life.... then again, the holidays are coming up... :-)

 

Cheers All,

 

~john

 

[jablackwell]

A little time today spent on the build. Taking it slow and carefully.... Placed the simulated lower deck in place today. The edges of the planks are rubbed with a pencil graphite at a 45 degree angle. This tends to slightly reshape the long edge of the plank and show some darker edging nicely. Once glued in place, the planking was stained with Golden Oak. Funny thing, though, my golden oak looks less golden and a bit darker than others'... I wonder if my stain is old or something. M'eh. ;-) 

 

~john

 

 

[jablackwell]

With some free time on my hands (It's 7F outside (-14C or 259K) and no flying for me!), I got back to the Syren. Moving now into the third chapter and looking at creating the gun and sweep ports when I noticed that my sanding had been, how shall I say this<?>, a little too zealous?! I removed a slew of the laser cut measure lines for this.... so out with the calipers and plans... I had to re-mark them all. Sometimes I feel like I have a toad for a brain. Ready now to move ahead. 

~john

 

 

[jablackwell]

This is going to be slow going for me.... I am now working on the gunport sills. This morning, I ran a batten to locate the sills, made the mark along each bulkhead and started to figure out the sill shapes. I plan on cutting each one to shape, a little larger than needed, then sand down from there. For strength I am using PVA glue for best bond and strength, especially since these parts are on the fragile thin pieces of the bulwarks. This will then take time to dry, etc.  Here's the foremost sill in place and aligned as best I can.  

~john

 

 

[Overworked724]

Nice progress!  Looks sharp and the filler blocks are set just right. Also like the use of faux deck below cannon carriage to ensure no issues with porthole alignment. Good idea. 

[Nirvana]

John,

Looking good.

The last picture really intrigued me, with the musical instruments in the back ground.

Is that a Fender guitar? And which model of the Ludwig drums is that?

I am a drummer myself.

[jablackwell]

Hi Per,

 

Indeed - the basement is a treasure trove of instruments and activities. The Ludwig set is a ca.1990 rock-maple core 5 piece kit, but I have replaced the snare with a Black Beauty (which I love). I am mostly a Zildjian-type, so lots of good cymbals all over the place. Everyone in the family plays an instrument of one kind or another. I am 80% percussion, 15% guitar and 5% flutes. My kids play guitar, bass, fiddle, mandolin. My spouse is mostly voice and cello. Makes for fun times with a variety of bands. I'll attach an image of the full set from a concert setup....  

 

~john

 

 

[Nirvana]

This is for sure a side note, but music is my thing as well, had a 1980 9-piece Super Classic back in the early 90's with a Black Beauty from 1972. The cymbals was of the Istanbul brand, sounded so good. Miss that set today.

Looked like this, unfortunate not my set.

Edited January 3, 2018 by Nirvana

[Dutchman]

Nice to see that there are also musicians who build modelships  I myself used to play the drums when I was young (dreaming of a having a Ludwig kit). Nowadays I dabble in Irish Folk music playing the guitar, irish bouzouki and bodhran (which is an Irish hand drum).

[jablackwell]

Ahhh Musicians!  A great sub-thread here for sure.

Nice looking set there Per!  Never can have too many cymbals to play with.

Dutchman: indeed! Another bodhránist out there? :-)  I have my collection of those. I play monthly with an Irish group (whistle/flute, guitar, fiddle, and myself). We have a jolly time. We are more like Flook (great band). One drum from Brendan White and the other two from Christian Hedwitschak.  

 

To the build: I am slowly making progress on the sills.... and I am dabbling with a carronade micro-build (Caldercraft) to see if I like them enough for the Syren. They are a little pricey....   So some images....

 

~john

 

 

 

 

[Dutchman]

Brendan White? I got mine from him as well! Went to his house near Eindhoven in Holland a few years  ago, met him,  played a few and bought one. Double skin and tunable. Great guy, Brendan!

My little band of Irish wannabees are going to play at an Irish whiskey tasting event in a few weeks. Free drinks for us!!!

As for building, I'm still busy trying to finish the Lady Nelson. The Syren is waiting for me on the shelf. I'm enjoying and appreciating your build. Good learning  for me. 

[Nirvana]

John,

I got the mission from another member of ours to create the caronades in 3d from the plans. They are now ready for the first 3d printing trial.

The Caldercraft are expensive. And this will be a new area when it comes to modeling. 

Will share pictures once we are there.

[fnkershner]

John - I see Per beat me to it. I am the unmentioned member he refers to. Like you I felt that $80+ postage was a high price especially since I would still have to modify them. So Per & I are currently working on an experiment. With his drafting skills! Music Man, drafter, Modeler! wow! and my limited 3D skills I will be printing a prototype this weekend. Depending on the results. and permission from Chuck. I will hopeful make a mold and be able to create resin sets that are accurate to the plans and the right color. I am not interested in making money here. This site has done so much for me already. I should have something to report next week.

[jablackwell]

Awesome!  I look forward to seeing the results!  

~john

[Dutchman]

I'm following this with great interest. I don't have any experience with 3D printing, but a friend of mine has. Would it be possible to share the plans so my friend could have a look at it? Or maybe after the experiment? Just wondering....

[fnkershner]

I don't see why not. Stay tuned.

 

One comment - I have been advised that it is much cheaper to create a prototype with 3D printing, use that to create a mold. Then finally mold the product using Resin. If you try to 3D print a full set the cost will be high.

[Dutchman]

Right, I see. Thanks!

 

But creating a mold would create another problem (challenge) for me. But the first thing would be getting a prototype. I will stay tuned and see how this project goes.

 

Cheers!

[Tigerdvr]

Welcome to the Syren crew jablackwell. It looks like you are off to a good start and display an attitude that will result in a great Syren. If I may,

and it might just be the way the photos look, it appears that you might be getting a might heavy with your simulated caulking. Suggest running your pencil along just

one edge of the plank without too much pressure so the edge is not deformed. That should look more in scale. The stain may be picking the lead causing it to look darker

as you described.

I'm only making this suggestion so that you may find a technique that works for you when you do the deck.

Enjoy, Harley

[jablackwell]

Hi Harley,

Thanks for the kind words. And thank you for the suggestion: one side! I should have thought of that. Indeed the caulking in the below deck was made by running the graphite along both sides of each plank.... and it does look too heavy. I was not concerned (yet) as this is all pretty well hidden below decks, but it will matter much more on the top. Thanks!  I will rig a test bed and see how it looks.

 

In the meantime, I am headed to Wash.D.C. for the week: work trip to the American Astronomical Society annual meeting. Should be interesting, but will keep me away from building this coming week.

 

~john

[Overworked724]

Quote:  "A little time today spent on the build. Taking it slow and carefully.... Placed the simulated lower deck in place today. The edges of the planks are rubbed with a pencil graphite at a 45 degree angle. This tends to slightly reshape the long edge of the plank and show some darker edging nicely. Once glued in place, the planking was stained with Golden Oak. Funny thing, though, my golden oak looks less golden and a bit darker than others'... I wonder if my stain is old or something. M'eh. ;-) "

 

OK.  A couple of things. 

 

- I have Golden Oak, too...and it is also very dark after drying...almost like is was aged antique oak.  It's quite beautiful, but much darker than I supposed based upon pics from Chuck's practicum on the Sultana.  It's not you....it really is the stain and the type of wood.  Not certain whether other woods might come out looking slightly less darker...but worth a short search.

 

- Pencil lines for deck planks.  I love that effect!  But I tried multiple ways on scrap planking until I realized a truism...no two seams will be the same, and the effect or darkness of the plank lines (tar lines) may in fact be too much or too little based upon your desire.  As for me, I found that taking a #2 and rubbing a single side of the plank joint (i.e. only marking one 'facing' side of only one of the two planks which form the seam) provided me with a fairly consistent and effect across the entire deck.  Also, when sanding, you run the risk of rubbing the graphite into the wood grain if you leave too much residue.  So I found that coloring one side (one the flat of the face, and not at an angle where I could bruise the soft basswood strips I was using) gave me consistency, without too much reside which would 'bleed' out of the seam upon sanding once I went the even out the deck.

 

Take my two 'pre-school' tips at face value.  I'm just learning myself but like you, I am always doing a lot of 'trial and error' before I pull the trigger on the build itself.

 

Loving your build!

 

Best

Pat

 

 

[Overworked724]

and I just saw the post above mine which basically said the same thing...LOL.  Sorry John.

[jablackwell]

Thank you, Pat - I am always happy to receive comments, help and the like. The pencil/graphite issue is one I will be experimenting with. I did rub along both edges of each plank piece, which was too much... and I rubbed the graphite at an angle, which did indent the edge of the planks. The wood is soft and is easily shaped with pressure from the graphite.  I am beginning think to try something less friable (graphite) and more permanent (ink?) then also see if it can withstand scraping as opposed to sanding.  Trials to come.    As for the Golden Oak, I think I will be looking for something lighter. 

 

~j

[Heronguy]

John,  For what it's worth I used a marker on one edge of my Syren planking.  I have used pencil and didn't like the mess of the powdered graphite getting all over. 

 

This marker has 2 different tips - I used the bigger one and ran an edge of the a strip before I cut it to length for each plank.  You have to be careful at the ends as it will wick up if you're a bit heavy with the marker.

 

Here it is on the Syren - note the "golden oak"  stain!

 

[Overworked724]

John

 

i also tried inks (think I may have posted one of my attempts on my Sultana log).  Ink bleeds...especially if you plan to stain the wood after or even use tung oil.  Graphite was sort of the landing spot for me.  Looking forward to your findings as well!

 

Happy building, brother builder!