Schooner Germania (Nova) by KeithAug - FINISHED - Scale 1:36 - 1908 / 2011

[Valeriy V]

Kate, your work with metal is amazing!  

[vossiewulf]

10 hours ago, Keith Black said:

throwing rocks at your nuts.

I hate it when that happens.

[Bedford]

5 hours ago, Roger Pellett said:

Kieth,

 

Beautiful workmanship!

 

Your lines drawing depicts Germania Nova as a single screw vessel.  Two handles on an engine room telegraph would indicate a twin screw vessel, but your picture would appear to be for Germania Nova too.  ????

 

Roger

If you look at the pic showing the dial faces you'll see one side is speed and the other is "ahead or astern" the gear lever if you will

[KeithAug]

10 hours ago, Roger Pellett said:

Two handles on an engine room telegraph would indicate a twin screw vessel

Roger - thank you fo your positive comments.

 

As Bedford has pointed out - one handle is for the speed control and the other side is forward and reverse. A bit odd as both functions are on the same handle on all the yachts i have sailed on. A more logical arrangement for me would be to have throttle forward and reverse on one handle and the bow thruster on an other. Yes - she does have a bow thruster - retractable into the hull.

Eberhard - thank you - I may try something similar.

Keith - he is just a bit perfectionistic. It is probably an age thing.

Pat - not sure filing it down would satisfy Mr M.

Valeriy - thank you.

Vossie - fortunately its an experience of life I have managed to avoid.

Edited April 3, 2019 by KeithAug

[KeithAug]

16 hours ago, michael mott said:

are you going to leave that big nut there?

 

I am now moving on!

 

 

[Keith Black]

Bravo!

[druxey]

Now you can ring 'full speed ahead!' Nicely done, Keith. It looks much better.

[John Allen]

Keith,

 

Absolutely in awe of all your skill sets, man you whip this stuff out so quick and perfect I would still be trying to figure out the first plank. I bow to the MASTER. 

[michael mott]

I only asked a question....

Keith your work is masterful and that is the only reason I can rib you, because I have the greatest respect for your skills.

 

Cheers Michael

PS

Oh yes and the speed control does look respectable now.  fantastic work all round, well hexagonal at least.

[KeithAug]

1 hour ago, michael mott said:

only reason I can rib you

I quite like it really.

[KeithAug]

And so back to the routine:-

 

Planker's Progress 10 - Days 22 & 23.

 

I left you with the first bulwark plank curing in the jig designed to twist and bend it. Well it sort of worked!!!!!!!. I should have overdone the curve and twist because when I released it it sprang back by about 50%. I ended up putting more bend and twist in by hand aided with a hot air gun. This worked so well that I dispensed with the jig for thew remaining planks.

 

I made sure that shear plank edge was well coated with PVA to give it the best chance of surviving removal of the frames. I held it in place while drying with plenty of pins and a few clothes pegs.

The 2nd of the 2 bulwark planks was equally well glued and I used a few clamps to make sure that the edge to edge alignment was correct.

Ok - probably more than a few clamps.

The worrisome stern planks went on better than I expected. Must remember not to worry so much in future.

With the clamps removed the final form of the hull magically appeared.

In the next shot you can see how delicate the bulwarks looks.

Then it was on with the other side. I should have explained earlier that the wood I had wasn't long enough to lay single lengths of bulwark plank. In order to get the bulwarks as strong as possible I scarfed the joints.

In all the activity I bashed the transom and had to re-glue and sand it.

So I decided to over plank it with .025" thick planks. I think the following photograph is what is referred to as a fantail.

All those fans of a varnished mahogany hull should not get their hopes up yet!

 

Almost ready now for some serious sanding, but first I needed to add an additional plank along the keel - necessary to ensure that I could sand to a sharp edge as per the original.

 

 

[wefalck]

Those sharp stems and keels are the curse of steel (or plastic) hulls 😐

[KeithAug]

1 minute ago, wefalck said:

Those sharp stems and keels are the curse of steel (or plastic) hulls

And not very good when inevitably the pontoon gets a bit too close.

[BANYAN]

Very nice job on the telegraph and planking Keith.  The bulwarks appear to be 'stiff/rigid' enough to be usable, and hold their shape in the photos, probably difficult to know until you remove her from the building frame?

 

cheers

 

Pat 

[KORTES]

Keith your handicraft is truly amazing!

My best regards. 

Edited April 4, 2019 by KORTES

[KeithAug]

Pat / Kortes - thank you for your continued support.

 

Planker's Progress 11 - Day 24.

 

This morning was a sanding marathon - about 4 hours with a 15 minute break. This was coarse sanding to blend the planks and I used a good quality 60 grit paper on my long cork sanding block.

I started at the stern where I sanded away most of the keel plank but I did achieve the clearly defined edge that I was looking for. I also carefully sanded the transom to create the required definition. 

You can clearly see the difference between the fully sanded and partially sanded areas in the next photo.

At this stage I stared to think abut the rows of 15 portholes down each side of the hull. They appear as modest / simple affairs but are recessed below the hulls surface. This poses the problem that holes have to be cut with crisp edges as any imperfections will not be masked by a porthole flange.

A lucky spot was the realisation that the port and starboard port holes are pitched differently.

I think I will worry the drilling operation to death over the coming days. It wouldn't be good to spoil the hull at this point.

 

I do question some of the design aspect of Germania. It is clear from the picture that the port hoes will be below the waterline when healed. I can't believe that some well pickled guest( high on gin from the night before) isn't going to forget to secure the cabin before venturing onto deck for their morning tipple. I think if I were the owner I would rely on the deck vents and have the port holes bolted shut.

 

I decided not to complete the sanding along the line of the port holes feeling it would be better to do this once drilling is complete. Leaving this area only partially sanded also means that I can more easily judge the position of the holes relative to the plank edges.

 

Sanding dust now covers almost every surface in the workshop.

Edited April 4, 2019 by KeithAug

[druxey]

Depending on their diameter, Keith, if there is a suitably sized Forstner style drill bit available, it will cut clean holes for you. Alternatively, drill a smaller diameter hole and carefully open it out using a broach.

[davyboy]

Hi Keith,you have made a top notch job of the planking 👍 As you're a bit worried about possible splintering damage when drilling the portholes may I make a suggestion. Drill undersize holes first then open them out with a tapered reamer to the size required. I did this when drilling the hawse holes on my Cheerful,worked a treat,no splintering.

 

Love your metalwork,wish I could do that.

 

Dave 

[KeithAug]

 

1 hour ago, davyboy said:

Drill undersize holes first then open them out with a tapered reamer

Dave - thank you for the advice - i was thinking along those lines but having first hand input is a good confidence boost. I was planning to do a test run on a mock up of a hull simulation so I will definitely be experimenting with your approach.

[KeithAug]

1 hour ago, druxey said:

suitably sized Forstner style drill bit available

Druxey - I don't have a suitable Forstner bit so I will try the progressive opening up of the hole first. The finished hole size is 8mm (.315").

[wefalck]

I would make the drilling operation dependent on whether the hull above the waterline will be painted or not. If it is going to be painted, I would make some short cylinders from some material of about the same hardness as the wood. These cylinders then can be bored out to the correct internal diameter and then inserted into pre-drilled holes as per the suggestions. Using a reamer is a good strategy, but one might still see an a bit jagged edge, if the hole goes across two mor more planks.

 

Forstner bit start from 12 mm - 1/2" I think. Using an ordinary twist drill might force planks apart. I think, I would make myself a sort of crown-drill from a suitable piece of steel pipe or from a piece of steel that is turned down and bore to the right size. On the milling machine I would cut saw teeth into the front edge and then harden it. With a slip-stone you can hone the breast of the teeth to give them a keen edge. Such a drill can be repeatedly sharpened/honed without changing the diameter. As there are several teeth cutting at the same time, it would not force the planks apart.

[KeithAug]

21 minutes ago, wefalck said:

I would make myself a sort of crown-drill

Eberhard - Also seems like a good idea, although a little more complicated. I think I will try the reamer first on the test piece and then follow your suggestion if it does not work. The planks are of course glued on to the frames / balsa infill which should help resisting splitting or plank separation at the joints. I do of course have to drill holes through the bulwark at some point in there future where I am sure I will need your method. I did do a bit of a web search and as you say I couldn't find Forstner bits small enough. I am leaving the question re the extent of painting open for a while.

[michael mott]

Good evening Keith.... yes I know it's morning there.

Have you thought about making a small tube drill saw, by turning a short bit of drill rod or an old 8mm drill into a micro hole saw a with a 2mm  pilot  drill You would not even need to harden it if toy went slow enough but mate sure to make the teeth knife pointed on the outside diameter I think that would be better than a forstner bit.

 

Michael

[John Allen]

Keith,

 

Wish I could offer a suggestion, but all this is above my need to know and pay grade. You may mock up a 5" to 6" length of wood by 4" wide planked with what you have used on the hull should be enough room to drill all suggestions. That hull is too beautiful to have a mistake on.

 

Do not mean to talk down with your skill and ability just threw it out there.

[KeithAug]

Thank you Michael, John and Eberhard.

 

Michael I think you and Eberhard are thinking along similar lines. I have ordered some silver steel rod and will make something along the line of these suggestions for drilling the holes in the bulwarks. I'll let you know how it turns out later.

 

John - I was thinking about a bit of experimentation and here are the results:-

 

I mocked up a section of hull simulating the frame and balsa capped by .050" thick mahogany planks

from right to left:-

 

Hole 1 spans the frame / balsa interface and was drilled with a 1/16" twist drill followed by a 3/32" and then 1/8" before being opened out with 4, 5, 6, and 7mm straight flute hand reamers mounted in my DIY hand drill (run on low speed). The final hole size is 8mm but I will open out the 7mm hole to 8 mm using 120 grit sandpaper on a conical former. This should give me smooth round edges.

 

Hole 2 is completely in the balsa area and was drilled with a 7mm wood (twist) drill. It produced and acceptable result.

 

Hole 3 spans the frame / balsa interface and was drilled with the 7mm wood drill. It did what I expected - the balsa not being strong enough to keep the drill point on centre, the drill stepped sideways on contact with the frame and ripped out a section of plank.

 

I drilled one hole in the hull using method 1 and then opened out to 8mm using the cone sander. The result looked good, hopefully it wasn't just a lucky first strike.

 

[wefalck]

Toolmakers in the old days used what was called the 'button-method' to precisely locate drill-holes in jigs. The buttons were hardened bushings to guide the drills. Perhaps an adaptation of the method could be used by making a template for the 8 mm-hole from some not too thin brass (or even steel), which then can be clamped at the right place and would prevent the drill from wandering off.

 

Did you use standard twist-drills or wood-drills ? The wood-drills have the two cutting edges sort of inclined from the periphery to the centre, rather than the other way around. In other words, they cut first on the circumference, which gives cleaner holes and reduces the risk of ripping out fibres.

[shipmodel]

Hi Keith - 

 

I'm coming into this a bit late, and the suggestions that you have already are good ones.  Here is another - 

 

To follow up on Eberhard's suggestion, if the surface is to be painted, you could use a short section of 8mm brass tube slid into the hole. Fill, file smooth and paint and you will have a very clean and perfectly circular edge.  You can then slide a telescoping piece of tube into the first tube with a small setback as in the photo to represent the framing of the porthole.   

 

Whatever you choose, she is looking sweet and clean.

 

Dan

[KeithAug]

2 hours ago, wefalck said:

was called the 'button-method'

Eberhard - I seem to remember the button method from my apprentice training days with Rolls Royce. I think this is also a good idea and will try it. For the pilot holes in method 1 and for the single drill in methods 2 / 3 I used proper wood bits.

2 hours ago, shipmodel said:

if the surface is to be painted

Dan - whenever I suggest I might paint the hull the mahogany zealots threaten to take a contract out on me. I am trying to keep the options open, but you are right that your method would probably guarantee the crispest finish.

 

Maybe I should just go for a repeat of the Altair paint scheme?

 

Edited April 5, 2019 by KeithAug

[BANYAN]

I can't provide any advice on the drilling as I do not have that level of experience in this area.  You have far more experience and you are receiving some great advice from some talented and more experienced (than me) modellers - but I am learning a lot from this discussion.   Thank you all.  That said, I must declare that I like Dan's idea.

 

Mate, I will stand in the trenches shoulder-to-shoulder with you in defence, should you decide to paint .  As you can see from my models, I prefer to paint them as I try to recreate the look and feel of the 'real ship' as she may have looked (and this is my opinion only - everyone has their own ) .  I say 'may have looked' as I am a long way off perfecting the 'scale colour' as it is called by more artistically experienced modellers - that is scale the colour tones etc to suit the model scale.  There is enough wood remaining in the deck furniture to satisfy my 'love of natural wood' - but each to their own ideas on that.

 

cheers

 

Pat

 

(standing by to receive any incoming  )

Edited April 5, 2019 by BANYAN

[Roger Pellett]

Keith,

 

This has worked for me:

 

Select a piece of brass tubing of the required diameter.

 

Turn a mandral to a snug fit inside the brass tube.

 

Center drill the mandrel to fit a small pilot drill

 

Assemble by sliding the brass tube over the mandrel leaving a length protruding beyond the end of the mandrel.  Slide the pilot drill into its hole. The brass tube and pilot drill can be secured by epoxy or CA glue.

 

File a set of teeth around the circumference of the protruding brass tube and debur.

 

You now have a small brass hole saw, not something for use on metals but good enough to drill holes through thin wood.  You can also accurately drill the small pilot holes first and then use the pilot drill on your hole saw to just guide the tool.

 

Roger