HM Cutter Cheerful 1806 by JpR62 - 1:48 scale

[JpR62]

Thank you to all the 'Likes'.

 

Construction then continued with the installation of the channels. They will be machined from a cherry wood plank.

First, I draw a small sketch of the cuts and sanding required to determine the sequence of work. First, I'll sand the underside of the piece (hatched lines in pink) with a disc sander, the angle having been determined from my drawing. Then, using my MF70 mini milling machine and a ball cutter, I'll make the semi-rounded shape (hatched lines in green). The board will then be cut into four sections and the work is completed by hand with files and sandpaper.

 

I then add the eyebolts and insert a small metal pin on the side to reinforce the bond to the hull.

Some photos of the result

To be continued

[Gregory]

I really like the color of your planking.  Is that cherry?

[JpR62]

Thank you Gregory. Yes, it's cherry and the wales are made in black hornbeam.

[JpR62]

Thank You to all the 'Likes'.

The work was then taken up again with the addition of details along the cap rail. I started by making and fitting the six timberheads. I started again by drawing a small sketch of one of the timberheads to determine the machining quotes for the part, as I'll be using my MF70 mini milling machine again.

I machined 7 pieces at a time, gluing them together on double-sided tape (A spare part just in case...). I'm sure I'll get identical parts.  The work consists of two phases: first, I make three cuts on each side of the pieces using milling cutters (piece on the left of the photo below), then I finish the shaping with an x-acto and small files (piece on the right).

Cutting the two timberheads at the stern is a little more complex, as a precise angle must be calculated (they must match the sheer of the cap rail). A simple board placed on the ship's deck enabled me to draw the angle line of the cap rail, which I could then easily transfer to the parts to be recut.

Small metal pins were then inserted into each timberhead to reinforce the bond to the cap rail. Positioning on the cap rail was based on copies of the plan.

Next step: the boom crutches.

 

 

[glbarlow]

Well done!

[JpR62]

Thank you Glenn.

Your Cheerful is a reference for me and I reread your build log before each step. I often find there the method to use...

[JpR62]

Thank you to all the 'Likes'.

So my work continued with the manufacture of the two boom crutches.

This stage was a bit scary for me, as the parts to be made are quite complex, with a multitude of angles to be respected...

I based myself on the working method used by Glenn (glbarlow), which is described in detail in his build log dedicated to his superb Cheerful.

More and more often, I take each element as a small project in itself and look for the method that suits me best to try and achieve a good result.

As usual, I start by making a small sketch of the part to be made. For the boom crutches, I first make a drawing (scale x10, simply replacing millimeters by centimeters) of the final part. This allows me to sketch the starting piece, leaving a nice margin of wood. It's a matter of estimating the starting size of the piece of wood that will contain the final piece...

To try and get two symmetrical pieces, I start with a common piece of wood. I roughly trace the first cuts to be made with the saw.

The big cuts are made, and I find myself with the two starting pieces ready to be shaped.

Then began the long process of shaping the boom crutche, working on one angle at a time. I followed the sequence described in the instruction manual. I used a variety of small files and gouges, and often placed my workpiece on the rear cap rail of the stern to check the various angles.  For this phase, I only worked on one of the pieces at a time, as the angles are different between the port and starboard parts. In the photo below, the first piece is finished. You can clearly see all the material that had to be removed...

Once the two boom crutches have been finalized, they are glued to the cap rail as an extension of the fashion pieces that have been shortened beforehand. To reinforce the bonding, I inserted a small metal pin into the boom crutches and drilled a hole in the cap rail.

In the end, with a bit of method and, above all, a lot of time (don't rush, test and retest as you go along), I was able to get the job done, and it gave me a lot of pleasure once again.

To be continued.

 

[glbarlow]

I’m glad my log is helpful, though clearly while you may start with it you excel and improve the result. The boom crutches are very complex, first making one then it’s mirror opposite. Yours are very nicely done!

Edited September 18 by glbarlow

[FriedClams]

So good to see an update, Jean-Paul.  Thanks for sharing your progress in detail with a series of posts.  Extremely nice workmanship - immaculately clean.

 

Gary

[JpR62]

Thank you Glenn and Gary for your kind words and thank you to all the 'Likes'.

I'm lucky enough to have more time for my hobby and to be able to share my work again 🙂.

The work continued with the assembly of the two interior ladders. Once again, there's no need to reinvent the wheel, so I used Rusty's build method (see his build log, post #134).

Just a little planning beforehand to determine the lengths of the parts (uprights and ladder treads) and the angle at which the ladders will be installed. I've decided to use two different thicknesses: 3/64" for the uprights, while the steps will be made from 1/32" boxwood. The only slight difficulty is that the ladder is not quite square (the steps are not square to the sides, but must follow the slope of the deck from bow to stern). With little confidence in my visual sense, I preferred to build a small jig from a copy of the plan. The copy of the plan is glued to a plywood board. Two strips are glued to the plan: one along the line of the ship's deck and the second along the outer edge of the left-hand ladder side. A small piece of transparent self-adhesive paper is then stuck to the plan in the work area to prevent the ladder parts from sticking to the plan. All ready for ladder assembly.

Six small grooves (one more than necessary) are engraved in parallel on a 1/32" boxwood board using my MF70 mini mill. The ladder uprights are then cut with my mini table saw, respecting the installation angle and mirror finish. All that's left to do is glue the steps to the sides using the jig. The result is a ladder that conforms to the plan.

Sides are cut to the right length, ladder tops are rounded and the ladders are tested on the deck.

Finally, I colored and glued the ladders onto the deck.

Next element: the winch.

 

[JpR62]

Thank you to all the 'Likes'.

I went on to build the winch. All measurements were taken on a copy of the plan and noted directly on it. This enabled me to determine the wood cuts to be made. I used cherry wood (with the exception of the winch drum, which will be turned from a boxwood plank).

To simulate the two small sprockets, I decided to make them from two 2.5 mm Amati brass sheaves. At least I'm sure I'll get two perfectly round sprockets... To simulate the teeth, I simply filled the pulley slot with two-component epoxy putty and used the point of a needle to create the hollows between the teeth.

The handles are constructed from metal wire and small sections of micro-tube. All parts are ready for winch assembly.

The wooden parts of the winch are glued together, with the exception of the drum.

Airbrush coloring. The metal parts have been chemically blackened.

Then all the parts are finally assembled.

A great little project that was finished and gave me a lot of pleasure. I'll be moving on to the last elements of the ship's deck center.

 

 

 

 

[JpR62]

Thank you to all the 'Likes'.

 

My work on the various elements on the Cheerful's deck continues with the construction of two additional pieces: the galley stack and the mast coat.

 

The mast coat

I used my Proxxon MF 70 mini milling machine again, this time with its dividing head. First, I glued a piece of 'martyr' wood to a short section of a wooden rod. Then I used double-sided scotch to glue the piece of wood from which I'll cut the mast coat.

Then all you have to do is 'play' with the milling machine and its dividing head.

We disassemble the various components and refine the result with a file and sandpaper.

This dividing head is really easy to use and produces a perfectly round part.

 

The galley stack

Measurements are taken from the plan. The only thing I paid attention to was the final sanding. As this piece is supposed to be made of metal, it has to be perfectly smooth, so that you can no longer see the wood grain. So I sanded it several times, each time moving on to a finer grain. Fortunately, I had Tamiya sanding sheets in stock, with grit up to 2000. So I cut small rectangles of different grits and glued them to a piece of wood to create a perfectly flat surface.

To be continued

 

[glbarlow]

I enjoyed making the mast coat a little more special. Nice work on yours. 

[alde]

Your Cheerful looks amazing. I really like the darker wood for the hull.

[JpR62]

Thank you Glenn and Al for your kind remarks and thank you to all the 'Likes'.

 

The tiller

Not being confident in my ability to make the end of the tiller with a perfect sphere, I decided to compose my tiller by assembling several elements. It consists of three distinct parts, each made from a different material: the main body of the tiller will be carved from a 1/8” thick piece of cherry wood, the sphere at the end of the tiller comes from a glass-headed pin and the fine connections (mouldings) between the various elements are sculpted using two-component resin.

So I start by cutting the main body from a 1/8” cherry board.

I sculpt it to its proper shape using files and a #11 blade

After piercing the end of the piece, I insert the pin shaft of the glass-headed pin (cut to a length of a few millimeters).

I then mask the wooden body of the tiller and spray the pinhead with primer (Revell basic spray) to facilitate final coloring.

I could have used brass wire to make the connectors (mouldings), but I preferred to use two-component putty because it's so much simpler: there's no need to glue, as the putty sticks to the wood and pinhead all by itself, and it's also very easy to make a thin 'wire' of the right cross-section by simply rolling a small ball of putty with a finger. What's more, once the putty 'wire' has been wrapped around the tiller, the joint is smoothed with a moistened brush and is perfectly invisible...

The tiller is then painted red using my airbrush.

A final check on the plan and the tiller is ready to be installed.

I can move on to building the pumps.

 

[glbarlow]

Very clever work on the tiller. It and your other deck furniture are looking great. Well done!