ancre La Belle Poule 1765 by mtaylor - Scale 1:64 - POB - French Frigate from ANCRE plans

[Old Collingwood]

On 8/31/2020 at 11:29 PM, mtaylor said:

Ah, the joys of getting older.   I heard the cell phone about week and ago and couldn't find it.   It was in my pocket.  I'm just about ready for the home.

 

Wire it up to some Very Very loud Speakers  - the wires wont be too much of a head ache as you walk around with the phone in your pocket.😛

 

OC.

[cog]

gawd, than my parents got my date of birth wrong!!!

[mtaylor]

Just brief status update.... not dead in the water but just slow going due to outside events and some stupidity on my part.  Discovered after putting on 4 strakes, getting the gunports squared away on that I blew it.  Stupid error... used the wrong width of planks. <sigh>  Had the saw setup for 1/4" cuts for the wales and somewhere in the mists of the last few weeks/months, forgot to change the cut width to 3/16".  <sigh>  Had to rip off the 4 strakes, clean up the hull and re-cut the cut wood for the correct size.  I think I'm going to take the day off, engage in some web browsing along with some strong drinks.  

[gjdale]

Sorry to hear that Mark - but I think we’ve all done that or something very similar at some point.

 

A day off and a stiff drink to clear the mind is a good remedy

[Jack12477]

Sounds like a plan! 😉

[Keith Black]

Mark, I'm not going hit the like button but I do feel your pain. Rub some dirt on it and get back in there. 

[wefalck]

We all make mistakes like this ... particularly, as we get older and don‘t remember what we did before

[Kevin]

sorry to hear mark, thats certainly not something you would be able to live with is it?

 

i will have a stiff drink for you

[mtaylor]

Thanks for the comments.  It's frustrating but not a disaster.  I've cut the over wide planks down which helped mentally.  Now I'll sit back, have my beverage and sort things out.   Like many of us, there's always seems to be that moment when you feel  like just tossing it but I'm more determined than ever to get it done and get it done right.  

[FriedClams]

On 12/14/2020 at 5:35 PM, mtaylor said:

 Like many of us, there's always seems to be that moment when you feel  like just tossing it

 

How true.  When I have a brain fart, I usually correct the mistake quickly and then set the model aside and out of my sight.  Otherwise, the error just stews and I resist returning to the model.  But I always do.  Take a breather and enjoy your beverage Mark.

 

Gary

 

    

[mtaylor]

7 hours ago, FriedClams said:

 

How true.  When I have a brain fart, I usually correct the mistake quickly and then set the model aside and out of my sight.  Otherwise, the error just stews and I resist returning to the model.  But I always do.  Take a breather and enjoy your beverage Mark.

 

Gary

 

    

Been doing that and mentally trying to sort things out.  I finally picked up a strip of wood and some glue and started laying planks again.  

[druxey]

Yes, it's best to get back in the saddle, Mark. As others have said, we've all made silly mistakes at one time or another. Onward and upward!

[BANYAN]

Thoughts are with you mate; keep at it.

 

Stay safe

 

Pat

[bruce d]

Mark, I have gone back through this build to catch up. I think this will be a magnificent ship, I had no idea the Ancre plans were for a POB build.

I will pull up a chair if you have room for one more?

[Keith Black]

Mark, Merry Christmas to you and yours and a Happy New Year.......Keith

[mtaylor]

Thanks gentlemen.  I'm slowly making progress. Once the first line of wales is done I'll post pics.  I think I got it right this time, but it did cost me some hair that I pulled out.  It's taking more then I expected to bend and shape a piece of wood that roughly 1/4" wide and 1/8th inch thick.  But I'm patient.

 

On 12/24/2020 at 3:35 AM, bruce d said:

Mark, I have gone back through this build to catch up. I think this will be a magnificent ship, I had no idea the Ancre plans were for a POB build.

I will pull up a chair if you have room for one more?

Bruce,

I think this is only POB monograph ANCRE did but I know it was one of the first.  Always room for one more.

[druxey]

What specie of wood and what bending method are you using, Mark?

[mtaylor]

18 hours ago, druxey said:

What specie of wood and what bending method are you using, Mark?

 

Hi Druxey,

I'm using Swiss Pear wood.   As for the bending method... due to thickness I've found basically that the planks must soak for several hours. I then use Chuck's method of clamping the piece to some scrap plywood and hitting it with a heat gun, moving it constantly to dry the wood for about 10 minutes or so.  Then let it cool.   I've found it takes the better part of the day to sit as anything less then about 5 hours leaves center still damp.  

 

On that note, the upper wale (and the thickest) is on and the glue is drying.  For the hull below the wales, the planks are thinned out some and tapered eventually to the final thickness  I think I posted a copy of the cross-section that shows this.  So unless there's outside distractions, planking should pick up speed.

 

I found that in order to get the top wale in position (it's the key to the rest of the hull planking) I needed to identify accurately the wale location.   I did this by printing out the Hull Plan and cutting it up.  There's a line that not's mentioned in the text but it's the top of the wale so I cut the plans, taped it to the side using the gunports as a reference and marked up the hull.   I then put the wale planks in place.  Three long planks per side. The most troublesome part was getting the bow plank fitted.  It needs to be bent in two directions and also as a small twist.  Here's some photos of the process. Note that I've not done any cleanup work.  I still need to blend in the joins on the planks and some shaping.  At some point I'll pull back further and get the whole hull in a pic.  

 

Things still look pretty ugly but then, like my Dad used to say about Corned Beef.... you really don't want to see it being made...

 

[Mike Y]

Nothing that could not be fixed with a bit of sanding!  👍

[mtaylor]

1 hour ago, Mike Y said:

Nothing that could not be fixed with a bit of sanding!  👍

It looks "rough" but closing my eyes and running my hand over it, it feels pretty smooth.

[knightyo]

Hi Mark,

 

I'm sure it's been mentioned, but I can't find what kind of finish you are going to apply to the planks.  I've actually ripped the planking off my Syren and am replacing it with swiss pear along with the Pentart Patina discussed in the "Bitumen/asphalt" thread (found a supplier in Canada who still has a stock).   I'm going to test it on a number of scrap planks first with mixture of mineral spirts and compare against tung oil, and probably a third candidate of some type. I'll give you a heads-up on the results if you have an interest.

 

Alan

[Canute]

Yes, our fingertips are a pretty good tool to feel the smoothness of the work.

[mtaylor]

8 hours ago, knightyo said:

Hi Mark,

 

I'm sure it's been mentioned, but I can't find what kind of finish you are going to apply to the planks.  I've actually ripped the planking off my Syren and am replacing it with swiss pear along with the Pentart Patina discussed in the "Bitumen/asphalt" thread (found a supplier in Canada who still has a stock).   I'm going to test it on a number of scrap planks first with mixture of mineral spirts and compare against tung oil, and probably a third candidate of some type. I'll give you a heads-up on the results if you have an interest.

 

Alan

 

I'm not fond of WOP... too thick.  I do have some Duraclear Satin Varnish which brush on but not sure I'll use it.  Right now, I'm thinking spray can... satin varnish.  I'm a long way from that point so lots of time to sort it out.

[mtaylor]

Time to bring this log up to date and maybe call it "proof of life" during the virus.   After being unhappy with the first strakes and ripping them off, I did them again... and again.   Finally happy.  It's just 6 rows but methinks I'll be picking up some speed on the rest.   I still need to give it some more sanding and a bit of filling and also finish opening the gunports to upper sills.  The starboard side has been trimmed and as I said, needs more sanding.  The port side is only planked at this point.  Overall, I'm feeling pretty good about it.  Much of my memory has returned since the stroke and that helps in sorting things out.   In the background is the planking wood waiting for me to lay into place.

 

Here's photos....

[egkb]

Looking Good Mark .. Great that you are feeling better too !

 

Eamonn

[michael mott]

Hi Mark

Just catching up Glad to see that you are back working on the ship. I had missed your earlier troubles so am happy to hear that your health issue is receding into the past. And that you are moving forward with the planking. As has already been stated our focus on our model work is a great healing power. 

 

Michael

[Edwardkenway]

1 hour ago, michael mott said:

I had missed your earlier troubles so am happy to hear that your health issue is receding into the past

I did too. So really good news you're on the mend.

The planks (pear?) look pretty good. I imagine it will be a bit more difficult moving down the hull as I believe French ships had a more pronounced tumblehome?

Looking forward to more updates😉

[mtaylor]

Slowly making progress though sometimes it's two step forward and one in reverse.   This bit was a combination.  I was one plank too high on the aft.. had to remove it.  But planking above the wale is installed, gunports cut and sized.  Also a light sanding.  Gap filling will happen after all hull planking is done.  

[G.L.]

Looks nice, Mark.

[knightyo]

I really like the look of pear. This will be a beauty.  What are you thinking of filling the gaps with, Mark?

 

Alan