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

[PRS]

Looks very nice!

 

Doesn't that yellow cedar look great?

[glbarlow]

Your planking and counter turned out great. Really nice work!

[niwotwill]

Well folks chapter 6 is officially done. Adding the fancy moulding added a lot to the visual of Cheerful. Its amazing how much a little finish will add to the overall image. 

Not much to explain just followed others logs and the monograph. The one thing that was problematic was scratching the fancy moulding out of AYC. Being soft wood my tool kept leaving fuzzy surfaces. I decided to you Boxwood as I have had excellent results with other fancy moulding. I had a sheet of 1/16" and ripped off 1/16" strips. Using the brass scraper to form the detail. When done with detail I applied a coat of WOP and when dry the Byrnes thickness sander was used to reduce the thickness to .025. I found it much easier to work with the thicker strip and thin it to the desired thickness.

 

 

On to chapter 7

 

[glbarlow]

I also used boxwood on the molding for the same reason. Your Cheerful is really looking great. 

[Chuck]

Lovely work....

[niwotwill]

The last of the really messing work according to Chuck was to thin the bulwarks. Spent many days carefully sanding then chiseling and then more sanding to get them down to 3/64" thick uniformly the length of the model. The last thing was to fair the tops of the bulkheads so the false deck rests flatly. A lot of work without much to show so here's a couple of photos.

 

 

Looking at this picture it seems as I have some more work in the corners.

 

 

I'm going back to a little more work in the corners. I think I'll use a small pieces of 1/32" sheet to make sure my corners are correct and then to the template for the false deck. Really exciting to think of closing up the inside and moving on with more construction.

 

[Paul Le Wol]

Hey NiwotWill, I was glad to see your post.  I have enjoyed watching your progress with this build.  Even the “ messy “ work like thinning the bulwarks is beautiful . Looking forward to more.

 

Paul

[niwotwill]

Thanks Paul I have not stopped on Cheerful but I take breaks to work on other projects.

 

Went back and cleaned up the bulkheads adjacent to the bulwarks. Took a couple of hours but I'm much happier now. Look at the new photo. When thinning the bulwarks I used a piece of 3/64" planking scrape as a gauge while sanding with the rotary tool and vibrating mini-sander and chisels and #11 blade for the corners.

 

 

Note to self and others:

when fairing the bulkheads make sure that you maintain the crown of the deck as I almost forgot in my enthusiasm. You can still see the burn at the center. That was a close one.

 

[glbarlow]

That was a very tough step in the build process, congratulations on getting it done so well. 

[niwotwill]

Thanks for all the likes and looks it keeps me motivated and Glenn you are right about a very tough step thinning the bulwarks it was very nerve wracking and tedious.

 

Now with the bulwarks thinned and bulkheads faired it was time to make the false deck. I used Chucks method of cutting the pattern from the plans and edging it with tape to secure on the bulkheads. Then just a matter of removing it from the model and securing it to a piece of 1/16" basswood. (purchased a Hobby Lobby for $4.69 for 1/16 by 6 by 24 I bought two just incase)

After securing to the basswood and tracing the outline it was a matter of tracing the holes and deck furniture locations. After cutting the outline the outside was sanded smooth and with so little tumblehome it wasn't difficult to slip the deck in place with a slight amount of radius.

 

After fitting the deck I had some slight leveling to do at the stern on the port side that done and with the deck in again checking fit I had some fun with the already made skylight and windless.

 

 

After applying a sufficient coat of glue the deck was set and using sprint clips to hold the edges against the bulkheads to dry. Also used a dumb bell to hole the deck down at the counter as there is a slight rise the the clip couldn't address.

 

 

 

 

While the deck drys 3/16" by 3/64" strips were ripped and when the deck dries filler pieces can be added prior to starting the planking.

 

 

[niwotwill]

Don't know how the last picture got of of sequence but 🤫 this is before the deck was glued.

[PRS]

That looks good.

[glbarlow]

Make sure you’ve got a sharp center line marked and a crisp outline of the deck furniture locations. You’ll need that soon. 

[niwotwill]

Started planking the inside bulwarks with the first strake even with bottom of the gun port sill. One thing surfaced that I hadn't thought of which is how fragile the bulkhead stanchions had become after thinning. While fitting the lowest bulwark strake I broke two stanchion off just handling the boat. Fortunately I was able to glue the section on but was still very weak so what to do. Remembering gbarlows log where the upper strakes were done in one long piece and the gunports cut open with all the planking completed. 

 

First plank of gunport sill strake set in place and glued

 

 

First plank after clamps removed

 

 

The second plank of the first strake was very tricky to get the counter curve correct

 

 

Once it fit properly it was set and glued

 

 

This the forward section of bulwark planks ready for the gunports to be opened.

 

 

Next will be finishing the after sections of the bulwark planking completing the bulwark strakes. The thickness of the ports is about 11/64" and the instructions suggest it to be 5/32" or a little less. I'm going to leave the gunports closed while sanding the bulwarks to smooth them and reduce the thickness. With planking run in a continuous length the stanchions are very strong and won't create the above problem.

 

Again note to others planking the inner bulwarks is very hard compared to planking the exterior of the hull.

 

Will

 

 

[Paul Le Wol]

Hey Will, I too found that planking the bulwarks was a bit more of a challenge than planking the hull.  While planking the hull of my Cheerful, after every 3 or 4 strakes  I would glue and clamp pieces of basswood cut from a 1/16 inch sheet to the back of the planks with the grain running the same direction as the planks. Found that this really beefed everything up and that it also brought some wayward planks back into the fold so to speak. ( Which I had quite a few of.)  Not that it matters now of course. Just throwing it out there. Really enjoying watching your craftsmanship 

Paul

[niwotwill]

Thanks Paul really means a lot and keeps me motivated.

 

Inner starboard bulwarks planked with gunports covered to be opened after sanding. 

 

Must admit its pretty ugly at this stage but hopefully it'll get better 🤐

 

Decided to plank with individual planks to the top realizing the topmost will not be much more that a sliver. To support this sliver plank fillers were added so the sliver will actually be double thick.

 

Not sure why this photo got rotated but here is the planking completed

 

View of the counter with planking

 

 

View of inner stem with very light sanding more sand to come bringing the thickness down to 9/64" universally along the entire length.

 

 

Again thanks for the likes and nice comments

 

Will

[niwotwill]

Starboard side inner bulwarks completed. 2 days work really hard compared to planking the outside. Worst part of this was the process which made everything look like a mess. (I read a book of building Essex Schooners were there was a photo of bulwarks as a deck was being built and it looks like my Cheerful) But in the end it came out as I had hoped it would maybe even better so on the port side.

 

All sanded and leveled ready for the cap rail

 

 

Exterior view of starboard with gunports opened.

 

 

View of starboard interior bulwarks again with gunports open

 

 

On the port bulwarks tomorrow

 

Will

[niwotwill]

Port inner bulwarks planked as the starboard was done. Next was to add the spirketing on both sides and as said it should stand proud of the first layer. The suggested was 1/32" or thinner so I laid a 1/32" piece against the first layer to me it appeared too heavy. The suggestion to use a thinner layer seems to be what was needed. I thinned a plank to 1/32" but this still seemed to be heavy/thick. Next planned the plank down to .028" using the byrnes sander. I liked the ratio of thickness and this is what was used for the spirketing. Not much to show or tell except using this thin piece was much easier. 

Next I sanded the planking making sure that the spirketing edges were softened but still very defined. I taped off the false deck and painted a thin layer of primer. Soft sanding 400 grit to smooth the primer and wiped with a tack rag to get ready for the first coat of paint. Carefully painted a thin coat of red paint trying to keep the coverage even without dark areas. I remember from using this paint on the counter how red it was until the subsequent coats created the darker vermillion red.

 

Couple of photos (Boy is it red but not at red as the photos)

 

 

Now on to a coat a day 

 

Regards

Will

[niwotwill]

Well time for another report on Cheerful progress but first I'd like to thank everyone for the looks and likes.

On to the cap rails. The monograph suggests making the caps in pieces but I thought I try to make them from one piece on each side with the transom between. I was going to use ebony so I ripped a piece .075 X 2 X 24 using the Byrnes thickness sander taking it down to .062 was an easy task. I must say the sander is amazing just like the table saw. There is a thumb wheel with gradients engraved that make it simple to take a know amount off with each pass. The gradients equal .001 to .002 off that material. Still struggling with how to make a template with card stock from a 12 pack of soda. The problem here was it wasn't wide enough to make both side in one pattern. I worried that two patterns would be hard to align at the stem while keeping the after spacing correct. Remembering that my local Michaels had a large selection of basswood sheeting and off I went. Using a 1/16 X 6 X 24 sheet I inverted the boat on top of the basswood which was on a thick fuzzy carpet that allowed the pattern to rest against the bulwarks. Before tracing the outline a notch had to  be make for the stem.

 

 

 

Prior to cutting the pattern I needed to add the 1/32 overhang on the outer perimeter. I had some 1/32 X 1/32 strips in my scrap box so using the glue stick they were glued to the outline and traced. Now it was a matter of cutting the pattern on the scroll saw and sanding the edges to the line. A little water and the glue dissolves its amazing stuff. Now with outline on the basswood sheet I used a drafting compass to draw the inner edge.

 

 

Now the inner edge could be cut using the scroll saw and sanded smooth with the spindle sander. This is when the best laid plans went awry.

 

 

My ebony was too narrow by 3/64".  Fortunately I had a piece of boxwood that would work I'd just have to paint it black. Now worrying will the black paint match the ebony wales or will it be far enough away so color differences won't be noticed? Time will tell. Attached the templates to the boxwood and traced the outline. Back the scroll saw and spindle sander and test fit onto the bulwarks. All my work and planning paid off. The exterior edge needed very slight sanding to get a good fit. Using the brass scraper i fashioned the fancy fashion edge. Since the monograph used a separate piece for the fancy molding and I incorporated it into my cap the hawse plates needed to be made before attaching the cap rails.

The printed patterns were glue stick attached to a 1/32" boxwood. Cutting and sanding was an easy task. The holes were put in prior to cutting the hawse plates.

 

 

After attaching the plates it was time to notch the fancy molding on the caps so the hawse plates would fit and be level with the top of the cap, I painted the cap rail bottom and side prior to gluing on the bulwarks.

 

 

Finished painting and now ready for margin planks and waterways.

 

Regards

Will

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Chuck]

Nicely done.   You are making some beautiful progress.

[niwotwill]

Started the margin planks and waterways but have to decide what wood to use. Choice of boxwood or AYC or maybe I can fine something in the crate of wood Peter gave me.

 

 

I found cherry, pear, ebony, mahogany, and some unknown white wood along with maple. After looking at the choices I picked maple. I like the color and tight grain. So knowing I'd need some 1/4" strips, a bunch of 3/16" strips and a sheet all being 1/16" thick. The maple I had was 5/16" X 2" S 24" so on to the band saw for ripping. 

 

 

Being very carful I was able to get 3 .075 pieces from each 5/16" plank and I mean very very carful. Sanded the .075 down to .062 using the thickness sander. Wood being sized it was now time to rip strips on the table saw. Now that the necessary wood ready its time to start. Following the monograph you start with the after area against the counter. Thats when the Devil made his appearance and left me with a OMG moment. 

The 1/4" wide margin fell into the opening between the false deck and counter planks. I HAD MADE THE FALSE DECK TOO SHORT. 

 

 

I went to bed. While trying to go to sleep I kept coming up with ideas of how to add at least 1/8" to the false deck. The longer I thought about it the more elaborate they became so sleep did come. Next morning I kept thinking "mistakes and just an opportunity to succeed" when suddenly it hit me. The fix will be hidden. Just glue some strip vertically until sufficient surface for gluing the margin plank. DUH! 

 

 

Strips mounted and sanded flush now only to touch up the paint and start the margin planks.

 

 

This piece of margin plank is just dry fit into position along with my signature of dirt. With this area of concern fixed now I moved on to another area I've been working about. Margin planks at the stem. As Blue Ensign mentioned in his log the drawing shows a short margin plank and the monograph shows a longer plank. I'm going with the longer version as I think it looks better and will be easier, I hope.

I had such good luck using templates I'll follow that method with the margin planking. I cut the drawing into halves and using them as a test fit before making a template.

 

 

You can see the mark along the plank just behind the scarf of decking. Tracing the drawing unto a piece of maple.

 

 

Again you can see the mark where I make the scarf joint between the the forward and middle planks. The process being simple it was time to take the wood to the scroll saw.  Test fit and sanded the first cut.

 

 

Port side dry fit

 

 

starboard side

 

 

You'll notice this is the same piece only upside down. Both sides are the same which I can't believe but a photo is worth a thousand words.

 

Now I must comment that this mini-kit and drawings are wonderfully executed by Chuck Passaro. To think the using the cut bulkheads and monograph would create an almost symmetrical model. I know it is not my skill that made this but Chuck's wonderful work. And to just restate how good this mini=kit is look at the caprail templated on top on one another.

 

 

After my short digression this is the port margin plank ready for the scarf with starboard marked and ready for the scroll saw and sander. I used a drafting compass to copy the outside at 1/4". I find the using the 2H lead leaves a clear line without blurring by getting dull.

 

 

Just a little picture of a maple strip with one coat of WOP cut into pieces to get an idea of how the deck will look.

 

 

Thats enough for today on to the margin planks and scarfs tomorrow.

 

Regards

Will

 

 

 

 

 

 

[turangi]

Looking great Will! Good recovery from a bit of an error. I sometimes find solutions come to me overnight also.

[WalrusGuy]

Beautiful work! 

[niwotwill]

Thanks for nice comment John. I spent my working days as a electrical design engineer and many nights brought the answers for previous days problem.

And thanks all for the looks and likes it keeps me motivated.

 

Regards

Will

[turangi]

Keep on keeping on Will! Interesting, my daughter -in-law is a forensic EE, fire and arson investigator. As a retired Firefighter we have some great conversations.

[niwotwill]

Thanks everyone for comments and likes

 

The margin  planks and waterways are now complete so I'll try to document the process. In the above post it shows a piece shaped to the bulwarks which was used to cut the forward margin planks. I used a drafting compass to mark the 1/4" width of the plank. Cut the piece close to the line on the scroll saw.

 

After cutting the inner shape it was sanded to the line a spindle sander.

 

Now I marked the first scarf on the piece after fitting to the stem. Using a #11 blade the scarf was cut, but two problems arose from the cutting. The first was cutting across the grain of the maple required many passes and the result was the cut was too wide with edge angles and the second was the small portion broke off when the blade finished the cut. Many attempts resulted with one or both results so another process needed to be developed. Looking at the traced pattern of the scarf maybe it would be easier to saw the cuts and then finish with the flats.

 

The traced scarf shape

 

 

Next I sanded the flat portion of the scarf

 

 

The tab protruding from the recessed portion is what kept breaking while cutting with the #11 blade. After sanding I put the piece in a small vise so the recessed line was level with the top of the vise jaws and used a razor saw to make the cuts.

 

 

Then it was a simply paring down to the level of vise jaws. A little filing and I had a joint. Made the balance of the margin pieces the same a the fore section. Still had several joints/pieces that had to be remade but a lot easier with this method. Once the margins were glued down I made 1/32" strips for the waterway. In doing this I realized that there had been no mention of scuppers. I see them in the photos and drawings so I guess that's my next step.

 

Margin Planks and Waterways

 

 

On to scuppers

 

Regards

Will

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[niwotwill]

Started the companionway this afternoon. Using the plans for the sizes and started with a 5/32" board and ripped .03 strips and sanded them to .025 thick. Not sure how to build this without any frame so I glued 1" long steps together laying them on my granite work surface with weights on top to keep them flat.

 

Parts laid out to dry

 

                                                                                                                 Door Pieces

                                                                 

 

Sides                                     

 

                                        

                                                                                                      Roof in the middle

                                                                                                                 Rear Side

I'll make the roof and doors in two pieces so its very obvious that they should open with the hinges in position. When glue dries I use the disk sander to square the edges and then sand in the sloping sides. The sides need to angle to make them perpendicular to the keel and match the slope of the deck.

 

Regards

Will

                                                                 

[niwotwill]

Chuck

 

Somehow I failed to order sufficient grating slats to make the gratings on my Cheerful and your store is closed, when do you expect it to be open for orders? In the mean time I make coaming for the large grate and chimney. 

 

Will

 

 

[glbarlow]

On 12/12/2021 at 2:44 PM, niwotwill said:

spindle sander.

You have all the cool tools😆

[niwotwill]

Ok, as I said I had not ordered sufficient grating strips and since the Syren Model ship company is closed I've decided that I'll put the Cheerful on hold until I finish another project that has been in the works. I have not given up on Cheerful just need to finish something else I started.

 

All deck furniture completed waiting for more material.

 

 

Until I start again

 

Regards

Will