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

[Dr PR]

You have two choices as I see it.

 

1. Live with it and find something to cover the patches. The rope coil would be good for one side, and could even be positioned on both sides if you can think of a good reason why they would be there. Otherwise you could place almost anything over the other side, such as a bucket, took box or some common sailing tool/accessory (although I can't think of what that might be, having never sailed on one of these boats).

 

However, even if you do successfully hide the patches you will always know they are there. If you can live with this, fine. If not ...

 

2. Replace the deck planks. The short inboard planks will be pretty easy - you can see both ends in the photo of your model you posted above. The outboard planks are pretty long and will pose more of a problem.

 

This would require some precise fitting and sanding to get the surface true with the existing planks, and then oiling/staining to match the color of the other planks This can be done before fastening the planks in place. Now aren't you glad you didn't install treenails/trunnels?

 

How much of a perfectionist are you, and is this really going to bother you from here on?

[Keith Black]

11 hours ago, Roger Pellett said:

Trying to hide it with paint seldom ends well.

Roger, sir I would agree with you one hundred percent if we were talking about raw wood but we're not. This is a polyurethaned surface, you can't screw it up with acrylic paint unless you apply it with a belt sander. Acrylic paint laid down on a polyurethaned surface can be wiped off with a wet cloth. If you don't like it, wipe it off and you're back to square one. You're out a little paint and time but you know that method won't/isn't going to work and it's on to the next solution.  

I've been successful doing this on furniture, the Tennessee's deck and a on a Swift model I restored where I had to match the front hatch cover's natural wood to a new rear hatch cover I made from a different type of wood. I had to use acrylic paint because the new rear hatch cover wouldn't stain to look like the other. One caveat to this method is one must use a very fine paint brush and also, you need a good eye for color.    

[KeithAug]

Guys - thank you all for your considered observations and suggestions. I'm not sure about carving out the planks as the danger is that I make the repair look worse than the problem. I am going to have a go at the paint solution but on a scrap piece of deck. I have never tried using paint to fix this type of  problem but its worth experimenting as a learning experience. 

 

I have been pondering the problem and my current thoughts are influenced by a modification of Pats small boat suggestion. 

 

I wanted to maintain a bit of credibility for the solution which caused me to have a look through my photos for deck debris. In this respect the following image caught my imagination.

Clearly the crew are keen on surfing (or wind surfing) and have stored 3 boards up against the port rail. I think they need somewhere better to store them when at sea.

 

Maybe here would be an option (scale size 2.5" x 0.7"):-

 

The yellow thing in front of the deckhouse is the back end of a canoe - maybe stored to starboard.

Also the pair of hoops to starboard and behind the deckhouse are actually steps for hanging over Germania's side - also a possibility. Or maybe it will just be a hank of rope. 

 

Plenty of possibilities for me to consider.

 

 

[druxey]

Best wishes as you consider the solution to this, Keith.

[Zbip57]

21 hours ago, KeithAug said:

I wanted to maintain a bit of credibility for the solution which caused me to have a look through my photos for deck debris.

Keith, nobody but you would ever even have noticed the missing winches in the first place, nor have noticed the perfect patches you filled the holes with.  But surely everyone would question the presence of deck debris like windsurfers or kayaks on the deck of any of your beautiful creations.

[KeithAug]

Thank you Druxey.

Zbip - you make a good point.

 

I decided to move on and start the epic production of eyebolts - over 100 required.

 

With so many to make I need to create a rapid production method employing jigs to minimise and simplify cutting operations - but more of that later. I started by making a profile tool for the lathe as follows:-

I started with a piece of 7mm round silver steel bar. `I mounted this in a square ER32 collet bock and squared off the end in the mill.

 

Having squared off the end I drilled a hole and reamed this to 3mm - this will form the circular head of the eyebolt.

I then machined away the hatched section to produce the following profile:-

The protrusion (below the hole in the photo) is deliberately left long as this will part off the workpiece to length before the ball is formed during the plunge cut.

 

Ideally I would have left this as the profile however I was concerned that plunging such a wide tool into 1/8" bar would destroy the workpiece. I therefore machined away the portion of the tool that would cut the neck of the eyebolt. The neck will still need to be formed and I will do this in a separate operation with a parting tool.

I then carefully filed the relief angles without touching the already created profile.

 

The next step was to harden the tool - a relatively simple job consisting of heating the bar to cherry red (with a propane torch) and then quenching in a bucket of cold water.

Finally I mounted it in the lathe and did a plunge cut into 1/8" brass bar. In a few seconds a nicely formed 3mm ball (on a short stem) was produced.

I now need to sort out the rest of the production steps.

 

In passing I glued the hawse pipe rings in place.

 

 

 

Edited November 9, 2019 by KeithAug

[Zbip57]

22 hours ago, KeithAug said:

I wanted to maintain a bit of credibility for the solution which caused me to have a look through my photos for deck debris.

Rather than just random deck debris, how are you at creating crew figurines?  You could consider having some of these more elegant long-legged crew members model for you... 

 

 

[KeithAug]

I made a start on the production of the 100+ eye bolts - I will describe my production method in a bit of detail.

 

Step 1.

 

I mounted 1/8" rod in a hexagonal ER32 collet chuck and placed this in the 3 jaw chuck of the lathe. I locked the saddle to the lathe bed and locked the compound slide, leaving only the cross traverse operable.

I then plunged the profile tool to create the ball and part off the rod to length. I noted the cross slide position on the hand wheel once the ball was formed this setting would be repeated for all subsequent balls.

I then replaced the profile tool with a parting off tool in the quick change tool post. The parting off tools axial position had been pre set. I then plunged the parting off too to create the neck. I noted the cross slide position on the hand wheel once the neck was formed this setting would be repeated for all subsequent necks.

I then took the collet chuck out of the lathe and moved it to the mill. The collet was mounted with the back of the collet nut hard up against the jaws of the machine vice. The cutter had been pre set to the correct depth and the spindle locked. The x axis had also been set and locked - leaving only the z axis free to move.

With the collet nut hard against the vice and the protrusion of the workpiece cut by the profile tool this setup was repeatable for all subsequent operations. I then wound the z axis handle and sliced off the top of the ball - flipped the collet through 180 degrees and sliced off the bottom of the ball.

The workpiece was then removed from the collet and moved to the mini mill (a pedestal drill would have done).

I had pre machined a 3mm U shaped groove in a piece of angle clamped to the bed of the mini mill. This would locate the workpiece for drilling the hole.

The workpiece was held in the U by hand and the hole drilled.

This gave me the eyebolt shape.

I polished the eye and parted it off with a piercing saw.

Only joking I have a good supply of extra large matches. The next one is the normal match.

I then started a timed production run. Over the course of an hour I made 15, each one therefore took 4 minutes.

The biggest problem I now face is enthusiasm - or to be more accurate, the lack of it.

 

 

 

 

Edited November 10, 2019 by KeithAug

[paulsutcliffe]

Very nicely done, why cant you just bend a bit of wire in some pliers like the rest of us😂😂

[druxey]

Heresy, Paul!!!!

[KeithAug]

22 minutes ago, paulsutcliffe said:

Very nicely done, why cant you just bend a bit of wire in some pliers like the rest of us

Thats how I did it on the last build Paul - I was trying to improve.

2 minutes ago, druxey said:

Heresy, Paul!!!!

Yep Druxey - should be burnt at the stake.

[BANYAN]

Impressive work Keith.  While you are at it can I order another 100 at 1:72  

 

cheers

 

Pat

[Mark Pearse]

Hi Keith

 

Your machinery skills are a pleasure to follow.

 

On the repair using paint question, wouldn't the deck darken over time but the paint stay the same?

 

 

[KeithAug]

On 11/10/2019 at 9:57 PM, BANYAN said:

While you are at it can I order another 100 at 1:72

I am desperate not to make a business out of them Pat.

 

20 hours ago, Mark Pearse said:

wouldn't the deck darken over time but the paint stay the same

Yes good point Mark - and I'm not sure how I could test that out.

 

Three mind numbing days later and I had produced 100 of the standard sized eyebolts.

I also produced about 30 with a narrower neck.

 

To answer Pauls earlier question about bending them out of wire - my thought was that I would struggle to get them exactly identical and as many were mounted in close proximity I was concerned that differences would be too noticeable.

 

Here is an example where a run of 8 eyebolts are close together and orientated in the same direction. I have installed them with an alignment rod in place to get the orientation and height correct. Shims were used under the bar to set the height. The eyes were glued in place with CA.

Here is the same group with the alignment bar removed.

 

Edited November 13, 2019 by KeithAug

[druxey]

That looks great, Keith!

[FriedClams]

Terrific eyebolts Keith.  I admire your heads down work ethic in producing these many duplicate parts.  I’m sure it was mind numbing, but you pushed through it.

 

Gary

[BANYAN]

WOW !  I need say no more.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[Jim Lad]

Oh, my!  Absolutely delightful, Keith!

 

John

[mtaylor]

Mind-boggling, Keith.  

[G.L.]

You have really an eye for detail!

[paulsutcliffe]

Very nicely done😁😁

[KeithAug]

Druxey, Gary, Pat, John, Mark, GL, Paul. Thank you all for your comments, and many thanks to all those that have liked my build.

 

I have had an unproductive few days - so only a little progress to report.

 

The tender sits on the deck on protective metal strips. At the end of each strip is an eyebolt and a number of additional eyebolts form the anchor points for the boat lashings.

The deck bosses for the boat lashing points are smaller than those for the rigging eyebolts. Narrow necked eyebolts are required for these lashing points. 

The metal strips were cut from .015" brass sheet. They needed to be .080" wide. They could have easily been cut with tin snips (or even a craft knife) but I decided cutting them on the mill would produce a better result. I cut strips of the required width using a slitting saw with the brass sheet mounted vertically in the vice and supported by a piece of scrap wood.

The strips were then cut to length, the ends profiled and holes drilled to match the deck holes. Finally the strips were polished and mounted on the deck. 

 

Edited November 17, 2019 by KeithAug

[druxey]

That metalwork is delightful. It's interesting, seeing you use the mill as a horizontal circular saw.

[wefalck]

Instinctively, I would have glued the brass sheet to the wood, say using some CA or even a glue stick, but taking them up together sounds like a good idea.

[Julie Mo]

On 9/16/2019 at 2:56 PM, KeithAug said:

I am caulking between the planks with .006" thick black card. The card is good quality to avoid fibres impregnating the wood during sanding.

Hi, Keith.  I'm studying your decking.    How did you determine "good quality" for the black card?  (I learn so much from you!)

[KeithAug]

1 hour ago, Julie Mo said:

How did you determine "good quality" for the black card? 

Julie - I tried a number of cards - basically looking for the least fibrous and smoothest surfaced I could find. I then experimented with the best and found this card produced the optimum results.

 

 

Edited November 17, 2019 by KeithAug

[michael mott]

Hello Keith, Catching up again. Super solution on the eye-bolts. Nice form tool! I have files that one away for future reference. I have been thinking about the repairs to the winch holes. Is it possible to scrape away a shallow hollow down to the wood surface and then blend the patch with some fine sanding dust then rebuild the polyurethane with some light layers with a soft brush. The only reason that I suggest this is because of the success that I had with the gouge on the side of the Albertic.  I would be happy to send you the little miniature drywall sander that I used to polish off the paint.

And that production run of winches looked wonderful.

 

Michael

[KeithAug]

9 hours ago, michael mott said:

Is it possible to scrape away a shallow hollow down to the wood surface and then blend the patch with some fine sanding dust

Michael - I will add it to the experimentation list. I did do a bit of sanded deck wood filling around the hawse pipe holes (albeit this area was hidden under the brass rubbing rings). I did find that the filler was somewhat darker than the wood but this may have been caused by the PVA.

[michael mott]

Keith I was thinking that the fine sanding dust would be that in situ from the wood itself. what if you were able to use a fine brushful of polyutrethane as the binder for the sanding dust? Just an Idea.

Michael

[KeithAug]

1 hour ago, michael mott said:

fine brushful of polyutrethane as the binder for the sanding dust

Michael -thank you -  that is what I assumed you meant and is what I will experiment with.