Bluenose by CPDDET - Model Shipways - Scale 1:64 - First ship build

[Fright]

Wow! The hull looks wonderful after your sanding and staining. Beautiful work!!!

[Nirvana]

Dave, once you have the waterways installed paint them directly.  I didn't, which I should had for the clean transition to the deckplanking.

How can I be to any help when it comes to the waterways?  Don't hesitate to ask, that's why we all are enjoying MSW,  and being part of this group.

Your question may have been asked before,  and can be hard to find. Reach out to us, we are here to help.

Merry Christmas 

[CPDDET]

Thank you both!

As for the waterways I think it might be best to follow the practicum. If I go a different route now my fear is it will lead to further complications down the road. And my skill level at this point isn't up to that. 

 

Others have advised that if one is following the practicum they should follow only that. My only change so far was to install the great beam and deck beam which Bob Hunt doesn't include 

 

I know by following Hunts practicum I won't end up with an exact replica but that's something to shoot for in a future build, when I have more experience.

 

Thanks for the tip on the waterways painting. I thought Hunts looked quite sloppy and I wanted a cleaner line.

 

Hope you and yours have a wonderful Christmas. Surprisingly we don't have any snow on the ground here but may get an inch or so Christmas morning.

 

Dave

[CPDDET]

Oh. I do have a question.

I had the ship keel side up while planking and got sloppy with the CA glue.

 

Now I noticed that I have a build up of CA on some of the bulkheads extensions where the notch was cut. So the waterways boards between the bulkheads aren't going to sit flush.

 

Any tips or tricks on dealing with this dried CA? It seems to be extremely hard.

 

Dave

[Nirvana]

Nail files, comes with various grits. Works real well on CA.

[CPDDET]

Great, thanks. I have several of those in the tool drawer.

Dave

[CPDDET]

Work time: 4.5 hours

Total work time: 92.9

No longer listing tools and materials as by this time it's getting pretty redundant. LOL

 

In an effort to get a decent paint job where the waterways / false frames /bulwarks meet, I decided to deviate from Hunt’s practicum.

 

According to the practicum on the foredeck:

Install waterways inbound of the bulkhead extensions and then plank the hull

Plank foredeck

Install waterway boards between the bulkhead extensions

Install 2 bulwark planks                                                                                         

Chop out the bulkhead extension and install false frames

 

My plan:

Chop out bulkhead extensions

Lay one continuous waterway board

Mark and mask places for false frames

Paint waterway board

Paint 2 other waterway planks and install those

Plank deck

Paint false frames

Install false frames

Paint inboard side of bulwark planks

Install bulwark planks

 

So far I have removed the inboard waterway plank

 

 

Removed the bulkhead extensions

 

 

Made a “measuring tool” to properly space the false frames

 

 

Installed the 1 piece waterway board and measured / masked for false frames

 

 

Painted waterway board and removed masking

 

 

Painted the two waterways planks and installed those.

 

 

The foredeck waterway plank I had installed per the practicum prior to planking the hull (the one I removed) was 3/32 X 1/8. It took the place of the 2 smaller, 3/32 X 3/32, waterway planks shown on the kit plans.

 

This is another way Hunt’s practicum deviates from the plans, I suppose in an attempt to simplify the build. Since I had to remove the larger 3/32 X 1/8 waterway plank, I went with the kit plans and replaced it with the 2 smaller 3/32 X 3/32 waterway planks.

 

I’m thinking a bit ahead and wondering which type of glue to use for the false frames when I get to them. The bulwarks will be glued to these so I want get them as sturdy as possible. I plan on soaking the bulwarks and edge gluing them to the top hull plank to take some stress off the false frames, but still……

[Nirvana]

Titebond II is what used.

[CPDDET]

I know one of the Titebond formulas dries clear. Is it Titebond ll ?

[CPDDET]

Work time: 11 hours

Total work time: 103.9 hours

 

Time to plank the foredeck

 

I wanted the first two planks to be exactly in line with the keel so I edge glued 2 planks on a piece of wax paper, tapered the forward edge to fit the bow and used TiteBond. To keep the planks in line with the keel I used snack bag clips and to keep downward pressure until the glue set I used the modified binder clamps.

 

 

Following the practicum I installed 5 planks on either side of the first two and then placed the shorter wider board on each side (don’t know the proper name for these boards). Seeing that the next two planks on each side would butt up against these wider boards without any support below them, I glued a small scrap of planking to the underside to support the two deck planks.

 

 

After adding one additional plank to each side it was time to lay the nibbing plank (strake?) and continue with the planking.

 

 

I was a bit apprehensive about this stage of the deck planking but I think I did OK for a first timer. Still need to sand and give the deck a coat of wipe on poly, but I won’t do that until I complete the foredeck. I used the "graphite pencil led" method to darken the seams between the planks. Only thing I didnt like was the CA glue caused the graphite to spread a bit where I edge glued. But it is what it is and hopefully the sanding will minimize it.

 

 

So, I have the starboard side finished (getting that last plank in took forever. LOL).

 

 

Speaking of sanding the deck. Any tips on some type of tool that will get into tight corners? I was looking at this one but see there aren’t any reviews on it.

 

https://www.micromark.com/Micro-Sander

 

We will be dragging the RV down to Florida for the rest of the winter so I won’t resume work on the boat until April. It’s much too fragile to go bouncing down the highway. But I’ll be monitoring the site and keeping up with the other builds I’m following.

 

Dave

[Nirvana]

Dave, looking good

 But you have put yourself in a difficult situation since you removed the stanchions from the bulkheads. You need them for guidance when planking "above deck". A friend did just like you and ran into issues.

You need the strength to get the planking right.

[CPDDET]

The false frames will be glued in after the deck planking and before the bulwarks are installed. I'll soak the bulwarks to take some pressure off the false frames when installing them.

[DBorgens]

The false frames may not hold as the soaked planks dry. You may consider some scrap supports that span 

to the inboard edges of the planks and clamp to these. Each would obviously custom cut. Just a suggestion. Your planking and nibbling looks good.

 

I sanded the deck by hand and the a marks tended to disappear (tried to keep them as small as possible, keeping the glue to the lower edge. I expect your deck will cleanup well.

 

[CPDDET]

Thanks for the advice and compliment.

 

[CPDDET]

Sailors will enjoy this.....

 

[CPDDET]

Bluenose ll is doing the Great Lakes Challenge this year and be be in several ports. On August 1-4 she will be in Kenosha WI, which is very close to me. 

 

Don't know what stage my build will be in August but I'm considering finishing the decking and and then holding off until I can get a good amount of deck photos before continuing.

 

Either way I will be taking lots of pics and will gladly share and take requests.

 

Dave

[CPDDET]

Will be back from Florida at the end of the month. Really looking forward to getting back to my build.

 

Dave

[GrandpaPhil]

Your Bluenose is going together well, looking forward to seeing progress!

[CPDDET]

Thanks for the "push", just what I needed.

 

Just finishing up planking the foredeck.

Ran into a small issue. Should be able to post about it later this evening.

[CPDDET]

Foredeck is finished...

 

[DBorgens]

Very nice. A bit of scraping or sanding and clear coat (I use Wipe-on Poly) will make it snap and shouldn’t harm the waterway paint. If water based, test the clear coat on a sample board.

 

Dave B

[CPDDET]

Thanks Dave, I figure I'll do the final finish and a coat of wipe on when I finish the aft deck, and do them both at once.

 

Another thing I want to try is burnishing basswood with a piece of brown paper bag before painting. Would like to find a way to keep paint bleed to a minimum. Basswood is so absorbent. Perhaps a coat of wipe on poly or sanding sealer before painting? Seem like sanding or scraping just fuzzes up the grain.

 

Dave

[DBorgens]

Sanding sealer is a good idea. I finish sanded lightly with 600 grit paper and didn’t have trouble with fuzziness. Might be helpful to make a small sample deck planking to experiment with while not risking the ship. Just a thought.

 

Dave B

[CPDDET]

I agree and thanks for your advice.

 

I'll use some scrap pieces and try burnishing, sealer and wipe on.

 

Might even be a combination of these for the best finish.

 

Dave

[CPDDET]

Have a question about the deck end planks. These 2 planks form the edge of where the aft deck planking ends.

 

Does one have to make these from 1/16 in. thick stock? Or are they somewhere on one of the laser cut pieces?

 

Help on this would be much appreciated.

 

Dave

[GrandpaPhil]

From looking at the part list on Model Expo’s website, I’d say it comes out of 1/16” stock.

[CPDDET]

That was my thought. But it might be easier to make it one piece and then scribe it so it appears to be 2 boards.

10 minutes ago, GrandpaPhil said:

From looking at the part list on Model Expo’s website, I’d say it comes out of 1/16” stock.

 

[CPDDET]

Prepping to plank the aft deck.

I noticed that many of the planks on the aft deck will need to be tapered for about 5-6 inches down to about half their width (3/32). I have always had trouble with these very narrow cuts as my metal ruler seems to slip a lot on the basswood while cutting. In order to alleviate this I'm trying something new.

 

I took my metal ruler, a piece of 1/8 in thick basswood with a factory edge, abrasive cloth (used by plumbers to clean copper pipe), spray adhesive and painters tape out to the garage.

 

 

 

I marked the width of the abrasive cloth and masked the rest of the basswood piece. Cut a strip of the abrasive cloth for the basswood piece as well as for the metal ruler. Sprayed adhesive on the back side of the abrasive cloth, back side of the ruler and the exposed area of the basswood piece and waited a minute before gluing.

 

 

My hope is that the grit of the abrasive cloth will "trap" and hold the piece I'm cutting and prevent the ruler from slipping.

 

[DBorgens]

I too had trouble tapering the quarter deck planks. I tended to cut them then sand the width down which broke many times. At risk of running out of sticks, I did not run them full length under the cabin. That way I could reuse the broken planks. I later filled in the area under the cabin with various ends and scrap material. Not the proper way to build, but his was my first build so I was okay with cheating (or so I told myself).

 

I also found scraping the taper led to fewer broken planks. Hold the plank on edge on a hard flat surface. I used a no. 11 Exacto blade. Takes a bit of practice to avoid creating an wavy taper.

 

All that said, your “sanding stick” look like a good approach. I look forward to seeing how it works out. Working these “problems” is part of learning this hobby and a large portion of satisfaction in the completed model.

 

Dave B

Edited May 9, 2019 by DBorgens

[CPDDET]

Thanks for your thoughts on this Dave,

 

I'm currently working on the first 6 center planks of the quarterdeck, 4 of which have to be tapered as well as notched (nibbed?) to fit around the previously set planks.

 

It's taken me 3 hours to lay the first 4 planks but I'm getting better at it. My idea of using the "sanding sticks" didn't work out, at least not for these very narrow deck planks and a 5-6 inch taper. I ruined 2 or three plank boards trying to taper them this way and cutting them with a scalpel. 

 

I've found I'm much better with a chisel than I thought. I use the "sanding sticks" to hold the plank and draw the taper line. Then I use an XACTO chisel blade to work down close to the drawn line. I finish the last few millimeters with a fingernail sanding stick, setting the plank on the factory edge and sanding down to the drawn line. It's a bit slow but it's working for me and, so far, I'm happy with the result.

 

I should finish the first 6 boards tomorrow and will post a pic of the finished work.