HM Cutter by Edwardkenway - 1:48 scale from Caldercraft plans

[Edwardkenway]

Good news indeed!😄 Have fun and stay warm!

Don't forget the photos 😉 Here is staying between 0°c and -2°c and that's kept me off work all week 😶

[Edwardkenway]

Thanks to everyone for stopping by 😉

I decided to have a crack at making the deadeyes for the shrouds and mainstay,

the wood is cheap pine dowels from my local DIY store, therefore if I do use these on the ship they'll get painted 

These five took over 3 hours, but that includes all the unusable ones as well 😁

Only have another twelve to make. On the strength of this I may even attempt making the blocks too😏😬

Cheers 

Oh,  also I've damaged the deck planking, as the drill bit snagged and jumped when enlarging the hole for the mast☹😩, I have to replace two pieces of deck plank and make a slightly larger ring for the foot of the mast, these things happen🙄

Edited February 13, 2021 by Edwardkenway

[DelF]

Great to see you scratch building as much as you can Edward.

 

If you can do such a good job with cheap pine dowel there'd be no stopping you if you tried some decent finer-grained timber. You wouldn't need that much for a few deadeyes, and you wouldn't need to paint them. . Same goes for blocks. I used to get old boxwood rulers from a second hand tool stall on the local market. He's shut during lockdown, but you can still get ones like this on ebay.

 

41 minutes ago, Edwardkenway said:

I've damaged the deck planking, as the drill bit snagged and jumped when enlarging the hole for the mast☹😩, I have to replace two pieces of deck plank and make a slightly larger ring for the foot of the mast, these things happen🙄

Ouch! Been there, done that, so you have my sympathy. Good job wood is such a forgiving material.

 

Derek

 

[Edwardkenway]

Thank you for your encouraging words Derek,  I have had a look on Ebay and have bid on a 36inch folding rule. If successful I'm giving blocks a go. With Syren not making rope any more and reading the articles on rope making, I'm definitely thinking of making my own ropes but will have to wait till I can get Chuck's rope rocket, but that wont be until the rush for them has died down. I shall let you know how I get on with the block making 🙂

The deck has been  repaired and it's nothing the mast ring won't hide😊

Edited February 13, 2021 by Edwardkenway

[DelF]

Definitely have a go at making your own rope. I haven’t looked back since I got my Syren rope rocket. 

[glbarlow]

Glad to see you back at it and making good progress. Excellent work!

[Edwardkenway]

17 hours ago, glbarlow said:

Glad to see you back at it and making good progress. Excellent work!

Thank you kindly Glenn. 

I got the winning bid on the boxwood rule, £1.50 + p+p, not bad for 36 linear inches of boxwood, looks like a bit of practice making blocks is on the cards🙂

Edited February 14, 2021 by Edwardkenway

[Edwardkenway]

Not done much on the Cutter, I have tried making my own rigging hooks, 

At the moment I'm a bit haphazard and irregular in their shape and form, but I'll persevere. Probably need to solder the eye piece to stop them pulling apart. 

Thanks for looking in and the likes 😉

Cheers 

[Edwardkenway]

The boxwood ruler turned up and was dismantled.

After cutting a section into various size strips, I had a go at making 1 block.

This one block took over 30 minutes to make. I'm quite happy with how it turned out😉

It's about 4 or 5 mm size so I started mass production?? but have been commandeered on kitchen duty so will carry on with these later. 

This being the first time I've worked with boxwood I've got to say I love it, I can see what the attraction is now.

Thanks once again for the likes and continued interest in my humble workings😊

Cheers 

Edit: I take my hat of to all those people who make their own blocks and especially Chuck for making millions of them 😲😳

Edited February 21, 2021 by Edwardkenway

[VTHokiEE]

Very nice work. I picked up an old boxwood ruler from following this thread but I’m not certain what to do with it now 😂.

[Edwardkenway]

1 hour ago, VTHokiEE said:

Very nice work. I picked up an old boxwood ruler from following this thread but I’m not certain what to do with it now 😂.

Thanks Tim. 

After taking mine apart, I did sand the numbers off one section,  but with the rest I'll wait till I cut it into strips as it's less strenuous sanding smaller thinner pieces. 

Edited February 21, 2021 by Edwardkenway

[VTHokiEE]

1 hour ago, Edwardkenway said:

After taking mine apart

I’m stuck here 😁. I have mine split in half but I don’t see a good way to separate the two halves into quarters I may simply cut the connectors out since this is all an experiment but that’s a reasonable amount of waste...🤔

[Edwardkenway]

Hmmm I sacrificed the the bits in the hinges, worked out about 2 inches or so all told, still got 33/34 usable wood.

For a total layout of £2.80/approximately  $4.00 I didn't bother that much 😁

Edited February 21, 2021 by Edwardkenway
Miscalculation on exchange rates

[DelF]

On 2/21/2021 at 5:05 PM, Edwardkenway said:

I take my hat of to all those people who make their own blocks

Edward, if you stick at it and practice you'll be surprised what you can achieve.  I made most of mine for Royal Caroline from boxwood rules - not all at once - just a few at a time every day or so. That way, it's surprising how many you can make over the course of a build. I've not bothered with Speedy, as the pearwood blocks in the kit option I went for are so good.

 

Derek

[Edwardkenway]

Thank you Derek,  as it happens I've just had a couple of hours doing just that,  with a grand total of 5 blocks. Once I got into a rhythm I  found it quite calming, but I think 5 at a time is maybe my limit as the ends of my fingers are thinner 😁

Edited February 22, 2021 by Edwardkenway

[glbarlow]

Very impressive making your own blocks from an old ruler! I make mine by completing the order form on Chuck’s website 🤣

[Edwardkenway]

@glbarlowI did think about ordering some, but then thought why not have a go at making them. Also on the list to try making are cannon barrels, I'll attempt casting my own and when I finally get round to purchasing a Syren Ropewalk, I'll  try my hand at rope making. 

In the meantime a couple of spare hours and a break from block production, I made some of the gun carriage cheeks.

 

Thank you for all your input/advice or just plain interest, it keeps me going. Also thanks for the likes.

Cheers 😉

Edited March 2, 2021 by Edwardkenway

[Edwardkenway]

Block production continues slowly, I now have ten of the larger 6/7mm single blocks and six smaller 4mm single blocks.

After looking at various blocks, I decided to give mine more shaping instead of them being, well, "blocky"! 

The grooves for the stropping still need doing on some of them.

Thanks for the likes and calling in🙂

Cheers 

[tkay11]

Great blocks! Well worth the effort! It does take time, and I tend to be a bit impatient with mine. I find the smallest I can make with any semblance at all of a block is 2.5mm long so still have much to improve.

 

I use boxwood rulers as well, and have quite a stock, but also have recently been using Castello, which is very close indeed to boxwood -- though not quite the colour or density.

 

Slicing the marked sides is easy if you have a table saw. I just skim the surface with the thickest blade I have. It just takes very precise movement of the fence.

 

For those with planers or thicknessers it's even easier. Another way is to use a plane with spacers as a thicknesser -- something that's been well-documented on this site, but I've never tried that myself.

 

Tony

[Edwardkenway]

Thank you Tony, I persevered sanding the marking off and with the rule cut into strips it was easier. 

I continue to slowly produce blocks, I now have 16,  4mm singles 

As you can see from the blocks Chris Watton stocks I still need to refine my skills, but I'm quite enjoying the experience.

Thanks for hitting the button and visiting. 

Cheers

[Edwardkenway]

Hello all, not been able to do much, work, life and everything else that stops me getting in here has happened. 

Anyway I sent off for some pen blanks to use for deadeyes and they turned up, so got the fet saw out

Cut a couple into quarters to round off into dowels. These are English boxwood £2 apiece with delivery from Wood-shed.co.uk, next is to get them rounded and the holes drilled. While I had the saw out I cut up a small sample of some wood from a shrub I pruned 2 years ago, it's been drying out in the spare room since then.

The shrub is Mahonia and according to the net is suitable for small  items of wood work. I wanted to see wether I could make some reasonable planks with it as it is a very nice yellow. The strips I've cut are about 6inches long and 1.5mm thick.

Well that's all for now as real life has come knocking again. 

Thanks for all the likes and please come again😀 Cheers 

Edited March 20, 2021 by Edwardkenway

[Jack12477]

That Mahonia wood looks nice. I like the grain pattern and coloring. Should make some nice planking.

[GrandpaPhil]

Good work!  You are doing awesome!  Keep at it!

[Edwardkenway]

Thanks Jack, the only thing is it does not bend all that well 🙁

Thank you Phil, I have to admit your Hannah build is inspiration to me!

[egkb]

Great idea with the Pen Blanks !  and that 'shrub' looks a treat too, can't wait to see what you do .

 

Eamonn