18th Century Longboat by Shaz (Robbyn) - FINISHED - Model Shipways

[Shazmira]

Thanks Jay, now I understand what they mean by a simulated sheave. I had not seen a picture of a real one before, so did not grasp the concept of the pulley inside. Now I can finish the gaff rigging!

[Jay 1]

Perfect Robbyn--glad I could lend a hand!

[src]

Robbyn,

Looking great. Havent been comentig much anywhere cause of work but I have been dropping in nightly.

Dont you just love it when that light bulb goes off in your head and you go "OH!"     For me at least those are the bits of knowledge that stick. 

Sam

[Shazmira]

Sam, I have poured over diagrams in rigging books, and I know I have seen at least a sheave or two in all of them. Gotta say though, it is amazing how it is basically all greek to me until I come to the actual application of what I have looked at. I read those books a long while back, and nothing really clicked, but they had to be returned to the library. For me, I seem to be more of a hands on person, gotta actually do it before what I am reading makes sense. Don't know how many times I have seen the term simulated sheave in logs and instructions , but it took that pic Jay posted for that dang light bulb to turn on. Good thing is, once they actually click in my brain, then I retain it. Never seem to be able to forget all the little details once learned: a blessing and a curse lol

[lamarvalley]

You're moving alone nicely Robbyn and she looks good.   The syren gets closer every day.... somewhat 

[Shazmira]

Hahaha Steve, very funny. Perhaps if I had some of that stuff, I would have the energy to get everything done that I need to do Alas, no crystal meth, just my little container of push pins that I use for planking or when I need to hold something small in place on a jig.

 

Randy, the Syren call is getting so very much louder and hard to resist, but I am trying very hard to stick to my guns and complete both the other builds before I start her. Although I am thinking to finish the longboat, then begin the Syren, as I remember, the planking was a lot of slow work, with much time spent waiting for glue to dry. Sooooo I could put on a couple planks, then rig a couple lines on the SFII. Yeah, that's the new plan, that'll work

[augie]

Sounds like a plan !!!   

[Bedford]

Yeah Robbyn, that sounds like a plan, surely nothing could go wrong there!

 

Actually it is quite a good plan, when one start bugging you you can switch to the other and so on.

 

I will be watching Syren too.

 

Steve

[Shazmira]

Ran into a bit of a snag. After Jay's post I did finish the rigging on the gaff, then moved onto the chainplates. There are only 4 of the little buggers but they threw a wrench in the works. Since I have such a bad reaction to CA, I decided to not follow Chuck's instructions and use CA on the wire that forms the chainplates. I tried 2 different types of glue, but neither worked. As soon as the least bit of force was placed upon them they would pull apart. So the next day I attempted to solder the wire. That was a complete disaster, the wire provided in the kit would not hold the solder at all, it just rolled off in little beads, and if I got a big glop of it to hold and tried to file it , it just broke off. Sooooo I was forced to break out the bottle of CA. got all four of my chainplates glued together and filed and shaped. Problem is I spent the next three days sick from my stupid reaction to the stuff. I would go to work, have my classes, then come home and sit miserably while I suffered through the effects of the stuff, so no building got done for those 3 days. Feeling better today, so going to tackle my shroud lines and what ever else I can manage in between laundry, house cleaning, and grading.

 

here she is with the rigging on the gaff completed

 

these are my chainplates with the attached deadeyes in the little jig for spacing. They don't look nice and straight, but that is okay, when they are put into place it will straighten them out.

[Jay 1]

Your chain plates sound like they were a pain and health hazard! Hope you're feeling better mi amiga! An alternative to kit wire is black annealed steel wire made by Hilman; it comes in a variety of gauges, is inexpensive (about $4 for a 50' coil), and generally silver solders well. While I don't often use it, 5 minute epoxy is great for jobs that really need to hold--not sure if the smell will also cause a reaction for you Robbyn but it's worth a try given your experiences with CA.

 

Jay

[gjdale]

Hi Robbyn,

 

I agree with Jay - give the 5min epoxy a try. I react to CA as well, but I'm okay with the epoxy.

[src]

Robbyn, Sorry to here about your reaction, sounds like your feeling better. Build is looking good though. Is it the fumes that get you? Would one of those NIOSH rated paint masks work? I would agree with the others 5 min epoxy sounds like a great alternative, I would recommend you wipe or dip the part in acetone or alcohol first to make sure you get all the oils off. Epoxy doesnt play well with oils.

 

For your soldering, did you clean the brass REALLY good? When a file isnt efficient I have been using a maroon scrubby pad folded over and then draw the wire through it till its nice and shiny (shinny?) Just out of curiosity, what kind of torch and solder are you using?

Sam

[tlevine]

The kit supplied metal wire will not accept solder.  I used 26g brass wire obtained from either Hobby Lobby or Joanne Fabrics.  Since it is coated I ran it through the gas stovetop flame and pickled it in isolation alcohol after forming.  I used Tix solder.  Stay bright also works well.  These are both soft solders which will accept blackening.  Take a peek at my build log to see how I made them.

[Shazmira]

I will have to look into the 5 min epoxy... never much cared for epoxy fumes, but that was just smell, not allergic reaction. I really think a painter's respirator is the way to go, I have one on my Christmas list!

 

I did make progress I swear, in fact I have 2 more lines to add and all the rigging will be done Pics tonight, I promise. I have been helping Craig out in the oilfield lately, so by the time we got home it was too late to log on and post pics, but I will when I get home from work this afternoon.

[augie]

Good job Robbyn in spite of the allergy.  Give that 5 minute epoxy a try.  Silver solder, like Stay brite or tix requires pretty hot temps.

[Shazmira]

Okay, promised pictures,

dang tiny hooks that had to be fashioned...there's gotta be an easier way lol

In the process of making the traveler ring now

Here she sits

a few pics of the rope detail (yes I see one of the belaying pins needs to be repainted)

I have one more line, the Jib sail halyard, to complete and then all the rigging will be done.

Then it's making the grapnel and the oars and I can put this one in the completed column!!!

Yipee, I can hear the Syren song

[lamarvalley]

Well well Lady... she looks pretty darn good to me!    Well done... and in the finished column which must feel good.  You should feel proud... 

[augie]

Great work on those tiny bits.  You're going to LOVE Syren  

[src]

Wow Robbyn, very nice! Must be a great feeling to have one in the finished column. 

For your rings and hooks, do yo have a round nose plier?

sam

[SkerryAmp]

Robbyn, that little boat looks amazing!!

 

VERY well done!!!!

[Sjors]

I have to agree with the rest.

 

That looks just great !!!!!!

You are ready for the Syren!

A few parts and then finished?

So finally we can see what you do with the Syren???

 

[gjdale]

Great work Robbyn. You must be thrilled to have completed her (almost). Congratulations. I'll look forward to following your Syren build - I'm sure you will make a first class job of her too.

[Jay 1]

Great work Robbyn--a very fine looking longboat! Looking forward to your Syren! Oh, btw if you purchase a half face respirator, be sure to get organic filters and use them in the mask otherwise you're not protected from the vapors of most chemicals we work with.

 

Jay

[usedtosail]

Let me add my congratulations to the rest. The boat looks fantastic

[Shazmira]

Thanks for the kind words everyone. I am actually pretty proud of this little boat. I did exactly what I wanted to do, which was take the skills I learned from trial and error on the SFII and make a better showing on this build. It worked out pretty darn good,a couple little mishaps along the way, but nothing earth shattering. It feels so good to be this close!

Sam I will remember that on the respirator, I seriously did tell Craig that was what I wanted for Christmas when he asked last night, I think it will make my building much more enjoyable, no down time everytime I am forced to use CA.

Alas, no, at this point and time I do not own a round pair of needle nose pliers for making rings. For the traveler ring I formed it around a piece of dowel, unfortunately for the hooks I needed to make I did not have a small enough diameter dowel to make a nice round eyelet at the end. But, I saw other logs where peeps made theirs and they looked like mine, so not worried about it on the build. I think it gives a rustic kind of look to have them squarish...at least that's my story and I'm sticking to it

[usedtosail]

Drill bits work well for wrapping wire around if you don't have small enough dowels.

[mtaylor]

Robbyn,

 

Looks great!!!  I'm looking forward to seeing the grapnel and oars.   Will this one get a display case?  

[Chuck]

That looks so well done.   Congrats!!!  I do hope you enjoyed the project from start to finish.   Cant wait to see the Syren start taking shape.   

[Bedford]

Well done Robbyn, you have come such a long way in the SFII haven't you ?

 

Remember I told you I was going to build a schooner, click on the link to "maine three masted schooner" in my signature.

 

Steve

[Shazmira]

Tom...well slap me upside the head, never crossed my mind to grab my big girl drill bits, wow, I bet I will remember that next time I need to make a ring, thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

Mark, started sanding and shaping oars last night, really hoping to finish her off for good by the end of the weekend!

Chuck, I really did enjoy this little build, the best part of it was the clear, concise instructions to follow...that really makes all the difference in the world! So looking forward to setting the Syren free from her cardboard prison

Steve, it is amazing the knowledge I have picked up over the course of the past year....if I continue to learn and grow at a fraction of that rate then maybe one of these years I can actually offer some newbie some real advice and sound like I know what I'm talking about!