HM Cutter Cheerful 1806 by niwotwill - Syren Ship Model Company - scale 1:48

[niwotwill]

After spending months looking at Chuck Passaro's website and reading through logs of finished and in process Cheerfuls' I ordered the kit. This being a scratch built POB I ordered the starter kit from Syren Model Company. I've been following the Winchelsea group build using Alaskan Yellow Cedar as the building material. Reading comments and looking at photos of the wood with WOP helped me buy some AYC to try on other builds. I must say "I like the way it looks, cuts and finishes" so I bought the wood along with the starter kit. 

When the Cheerful arrived in a large envelope and a small box upon opening the packages I immediately spread out the contents and started studying my loot. 

 

Let the journey begin. Now its back to reading the monograph and logs of how and what to start first

 

Stay Well and Stay Safe

Will 

[Gregory]

Great to see another Cheerful on the blocks..

 

If you haven't seen it, there are a lot of good tips in the prototype build log.

 

 

[niwotwill]

Thanks Gregory and Chuck. I've been looking for the prototype build log and haven't seen it in quite a while. I've bookmarked the log and it will be great asset to use while I'm building.

 

Stay Well and Stay Safe

Will 

[Matt D]

That's a nice looking spread of model ship parts!  I'm looking forward to following your progress, Will.  This will be a great project!  

[niwotwill]

Thanks Matt. Glad to have you along on the trip and as always any and all suggestions, comments, help appreciated.

 

Stay Well and Stay Safe

Will 

[niwotwill]

Reading, reading and more reading so now it is time to start building. 

First have copies made of the plans at Mesa Blueprint and hang up original set for reference.

 

 

Next to mark the the bulkhead locations on the bulkhead former and then make a copy of the BH. 

 

Then cut out the bearding line to use as a template for the port side making sure that I had features included that will allow alignment on the port side of the BH.

 

Drawing the bearding line using the template and that's how I started the build.

 

Stay Well and Stay Safe

Will 

 

 

[niwotwill]

Glued the bulkhead former together so now I have complete BF to work with. Added the 1/8" by 1/16" boxwood strip making the rabbit.

 

 

Let the glue dry overnight and started sanding the burn off the stem and keel. The stem pieces fit almost perfectly with a very minimal sanding before no light shining through when held up to a window. With the stem being 7?32" thick and BF being 1/4" thick leaving a 1/64" thick gap. With 1/64" being .015/6 I kept trying to find a spacer that would bridge the gap while I clamped the pieces together. While having the pieces clamped together I realized that the rubber pad on the clamps were compressing on the BF and not on the stem. DUH!!! Examining the stem from the front I could see that it was centered on BF. Glued first piece on with a major sigh of relief.

 

 

More tomorrow and many more tomorrows

 

Make it a good day

Will 

 

[niwotwill]

On a previous post I forgot to show one aspect of the stem that I added. One of the logs I follow building Cheerful is Chucks original log while building the prototype Cheerful. In that log he mentions adding reliefs to the holes for the stem deadeye halliard allowing the ropes to lay naturally.

 

Here is a photo of the reliefs

 

 

Make it a good day

Will 

[Gregory]

Nice touch..

 

People rarely add those reliefs to deadeyes, which can be a nice detail.   

 

I couldn't see if you have Chuck's Syren deadeyes, which do include the relief..

Edited May 8, 2021 by Gregory

[niwotwill]

Spent a little time on the stem and keel pieces gluing and sanding. Then made a copy of the stem and keel treenail patterns and transferred the patterns to the parts. Drilled the hole with a #76 bit, darkened the hole with start pencil point and added natural colored filler. Scraped off the filler with razor blade and sanded the parts again Applied the first coat of WOP and the AYC takes the WOP leaving a very nice color and finish. So following the monograph my next step is to place the bulkheads and fillers. KUDOS to Chuck the bulkheads fit perfectly in each slot and square to the BF.

 

Attaching the keel

 

Dry fit bulkheads KUDOS to Chuck everything is square fwd and aft and athwartship.

 

Treenails and first WOP

 

Make it a good day

Will 

 

[niwotwill]

Question and help! When I dry fit the bulkheads to the BF they fit so tight I wonder how glue will remain between the fitting surfaces. Do I just glue in the slots? Do I glue a fillet along the joint between the BF and bulkhead?

Please you thoughts and ideas

 

Make it a good day

Will 

[PRS]

I have a question also. 

 

Can you glue to wipe on poly?

 

This is looking good.

[bartley]

PRS,

 

The answer is yes, and no.  It depends on the glue you use  (PVA orCA) but in the end the bond is only as strong as the poly to wood bond.  I always sand or at least roughen the poly before gluing to it.

 

John

 

 

[niwotwill]

Well I got the bulkheads glued followings Chucks advice to simply let the glue ooze out and wipe extreme excess. Everything worked as planned all square, level and even. That done its time to cheerfully fair Cheerful. Taped the stem and keel to protect them so I'm ready to start. I think I'll go outside to do the sanding mess but since its 100 degrees I'll wait until this evening while sitting on the patio listening to the waterfall fountain.

 

Bulkheads and fillers glued

 

I use a piece of dense upholstery foam cut to fit between the bulkheads extensions. I started this on a previous model and it made handling the model easier and safer for the extensions as they are supported.

 

All taped up and ready 

 

Tonight we make sanding dust

 

Make it a good day

Will  

 

 

 

[niwotwill]

Thanks for all the likes and those following my log it helps me stay motivated.

 

Spent some time these last couple days fairing. Finished the rough fairing on the port side being very carful not to remove to much. Tomorrow I'll start checking with battens and smoothing out the rough sanding.

 

Still aways to go but so far I haven't broken any bulwark extensions. 

 

Sanding sanding sanding and more sanding to go.

 

Make it a good day

Will 

[niwotwill]

Thanks everyone for all the likes and comments it helps me stay motivated. 

 

Finished rough shaping of port side frames and the cutting into the stem rabbit. Next will be the fairing of the starboard side and then final shaping with battens checking the fairing. I have struggled with planes and chisels and since the result were less than satisfactory I bought a good set. I bought a Lie-Nielson modelers plane and violin makers plane along with a set of Narex paring chisels. I used the chisels on fairing the bearding line and a chisel on the fairing the forward filler into the rabbit. These tools are phenomenal the cut like it was butter with fantastic control. No slipping or gouging as you cut. I can't recommend good tools enough.

 

 

Make it a good day

Will 

[niwotwill]

Finished fairing port and starboard sides. Made fairing strip 1/16" by 1/32" to verify rough fairing. Spent 2 days checking the fairing with the strips using 320 grit sandpaper until getting the fairing so each bulkhead had complete coverage. The bow was the hardest to get the fair into the stem rabbit. I tried to use 1/8" by 1/16" boxwood to verify the gunports but the boxwood split when a pin was pushed through and into the bulkhead making a uneven surface with bumps at the pin locations. Then decided to use basswood and ripped and milled two strips 1/8" by 3/64". I used 3/64" thick as that will be the planking thickness. Pinning the strips using the laser marks showed only very minor adjustment to 3 locations on the port side and 2 locations on the starboard. Viewed the strips from front, back, top and bottom when satisfied marked the outside face of the bulkheads.

 

 

Next on the gunports sills and sides and I will also keep checking my lines before the gunports.

 

Make it a good day

Will 

[Chuck]

Thats looking good.  Your progressing nicely.

[glbarlow]

Just found your log, you’re off to a great start, both to building and your log. Congrats on a good beginning. 
 

With single planking getting the fairing right now is so essential and well worth taking the time, it pays big dividends later. 

Edited May 18, 2021 by glbarlow

[niwotwill]

Thank you Chuck and Glenn for the nice comments and everyone for the likes. Glenn I've been following your log from almost the beginning and I must tell you it is amazing. I use your log daily as a reference to see how you've done things and as I said I now read the last page of the book as you add them.

 

I ripped a 1/4" square strip for the gunport sills and started with the first sill on the port side. Fitting the sills with the angles is going to be a challenge. I measured, measured again, remeasured and cut the first piece. Wrong angles. My woodworking buddy gave me a marking knife for my birthday and all of a sudden it hit me to lay the strip on top of the bulkheads and use the knife from below. Cut close to line and used disk sander to get to the line but I came to the line making the part about a hair short. No worries I know how to do it and leave the line. Tomorrow is a new day.

 

Make it a good day

Will 

[niwotwill]

Finished the port sills and will do the gunport framing when the sills to bulwark dry to a hard cure. My comment on the first sill has since proved me wrong so its back to measuring and markings. My first method works fine if the sill stays at the level evaluation but when they start to sweep with the line they present two angles for each cut. Fiddly little buggers. Cutting the top and bottom angle and the the side upsweep angle required many oops. Got to feed the scrape barrel mouth. Got all the port sills in now on to the framing and starboard side. The process I finally settled on was to cut the bulwark angle first then making minor amounts of sanding until the sill rested against the bulwark. Hardest part was to make them so the slide between the bulwarks without forcing the geometry. Just enough of a slide fit to hold in place while the glue sets. Oops, feed the scrap barrel again.

 

First sill done

 

Feeling good about myself and then OOPS I saw the upsweep missing between 0 and 2. Breakout the alcohol and start soaking. Wasn't bad though as the glue was still fairly soft. Fixed the placement and continued on to adding sills.

 

 

All sills placed waiting for glue to set.

 

 

Looking good I think for my first scratch build.

 

Make it a good day

Will 

 

 

 

[glbarlow]

Everything builds on a future thing. Those sills become a 1/64th rabbit later. The sweep and heights are both critical. You can get a little leeway with sanding them so better to be a fraction high than low. 
 

You pegged it, they are fiddley. 
 

Glad you’re enjoying my log as I will yours. Fun to see where I was a year ago. 

[lraymo]

Wow, looking good!

[niwotwill]

While placing the port side sills I borrowed Glenn Barlows method of aligning a level to the starboard side sills thereby ensuring that the sills would be level.

 

 

I made a port sizer out of some scrap cheery and surfaced on direction to .531" and the other .524"; I use the smaller side as a quick check so that when sliding the sizer into a port I don't scrape the ports surface. Thats the sizer in the photo.

 

With all the ports done and the glue set it was time to cut the forward port. I measured and measured again. checked the monograph, looked at logs and bought the bullet 3/4" from the aft end of the fillers and the forward face of "J". Who knew scratch building would be so hard, whew. Scribed in the aft line and 17/32" forward for the forward side. I don't take enough pictures to show the individual steps, I'll try to get better. I started to the first cut using the razor saw but the blade started to flex so I went to a mitre saw. Getting the cuts just inside the lines so I could finish the port with files. I used a #11 knife to slice down to the bottom or top of the sill.  As I got close to the sill level I encountered an OOPS or should I say "a learning experience". After so many cuts the blade had become dull and dug a gouge below the sills top surface. I don't know if I'm cheap or lazy but whatever you can't make that many cuts and still be sharp. So to fix this left two options as I saw it 1) to fill the gouge with filler made with sawdust and glue 2) would be to carefully cut lower and fill with a piece of .031 AYC. I remembered that someones log had lined the ports to make them smooth so I chose option 2.

 

 

As you see while filing the top piece of ply broke off. I'll fix this when I see what happens as I progress or if anyone has thoughts please send them. Now only to put fillers in the open frames and fair it all down to final surface. Oh yeah the starboard side.

 

Make it a good day

Will 

[niwotwill]

Still more problems with first gunport. Sanded down the 1/32" filler shown in previous photo and still not enough to stay in line with the sills. I removed the balance of the filling shim and went to option one and and made up filler with sawdust and glue. Evenly spreading a thin layer of this mixture on the sill of the port to be sanded when dry.

Mixture drying

 

Closeup of the mixture

 

 

I went ahead and added fillers between the empty positions between bulkheads without gunports. Everything ready for final fairing hopefully tomorrow. Then on the starboard side without the OOPS I'm hoping.

 

 

 

 

[niwotwill]

Well back to fairing the portside and fixing the first gunport sill. I had placed reinforcing spacers at the top of the open frames which needed to be faired along with the sides of the ports. That was a straight forward process without changing the existing faired line. Using a strip of 1/8" x 1/32" boxwood I kept checking the existing fair making sure that I had not changed it while bringing the stiffeners and port side in line. 

 

The port side is done and now on to the starboard side, but it will have to wait as I'll be out of town for 6 weeks.

 

 

 

[Matt D]

That looks great, Will!  Six weeks away from your model?  That sounds terrible.  Lastly, I'm very sorry about your friend who recently passed.  Your positive tribute is uplifting.

[glbarlow]

You’ll want to repair the top of the port with a piece of wood cut to fit and sand it back flush. That port as you see it is as it will look finished with only the cap rail on top. So you need to fill the gap now while it’s easy.  (I did the same thing). It will be painted so it doesn’t have to match color. 
 

you’re making great progress!  The fairing looks excellent. 

[niwotwill]

Well I snuck out into the shop today telling my wife I was ready to go on vacation. 😜 Got the starboard sills installed and stiffeners installed in the open bulwarks.

 

 

Starboard side went much faster and easier. It looks ugly but no one will see it when planked. Placed the gunports sides making sure that everything was level and in alignment with the port side.

 

 

Finished up by fairing both sides getting ready for the next step planking the wales and bulwark planks. Before any planking I need to pick a red color and paint the gunports.

 

 

 

[niwotwill]

Took time today to cut the forward gunports fortunately without any mishaps as on the port side. Filed and sanded the opening to match my .571 tool and now on the stern frames.

 

 

Now on the stern frames removing the laser char was quite a challenge as the boxwood takes the char into the grain deeper than the other part of the wood which resulted in removing more surface than I would have liked. The X and Y were done singularly and I decided to glue the two Z frames together before removing the char. After the Z frames set the char was removed and while removing the char I glued the two sets of ZZ frames together and then glued to the Z frames. Removing the char from this assembly was much easier to keep the shapes while sanding to remove the char. 

 

 

 

With char removed from all the frames it was time to glue the Z assemblies to the rear frames. When the glue sets the Z frame assembly will be marked for the fairing as is the monograph.

 

 

Waiting for glue to set before marking to start fairing with a small sanding drum.