HMS Sphinx 1775 by Jasseji (Jacek) - Vanguard Models - 1:64

[Glenn-UK]

I am in the process of tapering the 4th plank which is currently clamped in my bending station.

 

From my banding calcs I only need to taper the stern end of the planks from 5mm to 4mm. I know the planking will not be seen but I'm trying to improve my technique so I can practise with the 1st planking. I have not broken any so far and have 12 off spare 5mm x 1mm limewood strips from a previous project. I can always get more stock from Cornwall Model Boats.

Edited September 11, 2021 by glennard2523

[Jasseji]

1st 2 tapered to 2.8mm (calculated bulkhead at widest Part and bulkhead at bow) 

 

They go in without any EDGE bending so far

 

 

Broke off one of the planks at the Stern after having fitted the 2 tapered o es already... 

 

[Jasseji]

i noticed a HUGE mistake, the upper bulwark liners are misaligned, while i triple-checked the alignment at the Bow and verified now that it is 57mm on both sides, the port liner got misaligned in the waist, resulting in a 2mm difference on bulkhead 7 between port and Starboard.

 

I should still be able to correct this during outer planking tho but it's annoying, as on one side i have to fit 20 planks, and on the other 20.4 planks in the waist (102mm divided by 5).

 

good that i bought enough filler

 

it's annoying, all was going so well until now

Edited September 11, 2021 by Jasseji

[Jasseji]

Ok, i slept over it and then did a few measurements, the difference on the bow is 0.2mm, noticeable at this stage if you look very close but nothing major:

 

The waist i measured again from the top and the difference there is 0.9mm, can be fixed with the outer Planking layer, i am a bit relieved that i dont have to correct 2mm at the gunport level.

 

 

Preparing to continue with the planking, i have traced the line of the bow planks onto a piece of clear film and the bend there is barely noticeable, i wonder if i should even bother with edge-bending using an iron, or just to use a little bit of water to make the bend while attaching the plank:

 

 

Edited September 12, 2021 by Jasseji

[Malcolm Greig]

Well done, I'll follow along. 

 

regards

 

Malcolm

[Jasseji]

3 planks each side done during the whole day, combination of edge-bend and no edge bend

 

@glennard2523 i dont know about you, but at this stage i find that making half lenght planks Would have been easier due to the Stern shape

 

 

Edited September 12, 2021 by Jasseji

[Glenn-UK]

17 minutes ago, Jasseji said:

3 planks each side done during the whole day, combination of edge-bend and no edge bend

 

@glennard2523 i dont know about you, but at this stage i find that making half lenght planks Would have been easier due to the Stern shape

 

 

I totally agree. I have fitted 3 tapered planks per side, the bow looks nice but the stern is not so nice. I am finding it very time consuming to fit each plank at the moment

Edited September 12, 2021 by glennard2523

[Jasseji]

2 minutes ago, glennard2523 said:

I totally agree. I have fitted 3 tapered planks per side, the bow looks nice but the stern is not so nice. I am finding it very time consuming to fit each plank at the moment

indeed, most time is consumed at the stern and in the end most of the planks are broken there anyway, not even the plank nipper seems to help - i still habe one plank each, which should go in that curve so may do some experimentation still

 

 

[Glenn-UK]

I can get the sharp stern bend with my heated plank bender. I think I will try half planks for the next row of planks.

[Jasseji]

Last 2 planks for today, this time EDGE bending bow, cutting the planks off at bulkhead 8 and then soaking the ends of the remaining pieces and bending them over the stern

 

 

Went much faster than trying full length

 

[Jasseji]

1 hour ago, glennard2523 said:

I can get the sharp stern bend with my heated plank bender. I think I will try half planks for the next row of planks.

yes, i think i will exchange the blank bender for an electric one...

[Blue Ensign]

 

Hi Jacek,

I think your stern area up to the counter around the top end need more fairing.

There should be a smooth transition without any hint of an angle, those split planks are a sign of trouble ahead.

 

B.E.

[Jasseji]

39 minutes ago, Blue Ensign said:

 

Hi Jacek,

I think your stern area up to the counter around the top end need more fairing.

There should be a smooth transition without any hint of an angle, those split planks are a sign of trouble ahead.

 

B.E.

 

I dont have any better pic, there is a curve but it's steep and the planks broke, hence it looks like an angle now (will sand it down after i finish the whole planking layer to shape it better for second planking). Also, i didnt bend the planks there properly, possibly why they broke. 

 

I dont have any better shots on how it looked before:

 

Also note UK Glenn's planks behave the same. The Last plank went in correctly tho, also 2nd and 5th on Starboard side sit fine with a curve (no pic at the moment - working).

 

After i have finished the 1st layer i will sand those breaks down.

 

There is still possibility of experimentation of how to properly lay a plank over that curve although possibly not a full-length plank (on the other hand i didnt try to fit a plank while starting at the stern, always started at the bow).

 

Here is for comparison one of the Manual Pics:

 

1st plank on the counter is broken, on the 2nd the curve looks similar to mine, i will try to make a pic from same angle 

 

 

Edited September 13, 2021 by Jasseji

[Jasseji]

This is a close-up now

 

 

 

Edited September 13, 2021 by Jasseji

[Jasseji]

9 done, 11 more to go. 

 

 

Last 2 planks on the Port side went in without any forcing.

 

Next Step: Remove all the brass pins, i am running out

Edited September 14, 2021 by Jasseji

[Jasseji]

Glenn beat me to it with the post, but i did the same as him in parallel 

 

 

 

 

I didnt trim the edges here yet tho:

 

 

Now, gotta recalculate the number of planks which fit between the gap, came up with 7.4 at widest point, so Bow need to widen them from 2.8mm to 3.8mm

Edited September 14, 2021 by Jasseji

[Glenn-UK]

Did you trim the planks at the stern?, i.e no planking in the deadwood area, ready for 2nd planking to align with rudder. Good idea not to trim bow until after glue cured.

[Jasseji]

44 minutes ago, glennard2523 said:

Did you trim the planks at the stern?, i.e no planking in the deadwood area, ready for 2nd planking to align with rudder. Good idea not to trim bow until after glue cured.

Actually i thinned the deadwood A bit so incliding the planks on both sides it is a total of 4mm thick, i can thin it down to 3mm so it aligns with the Sternpost (do you Remember  that the 2nd later of planking is 0.8mm and there is still a layer of 0.8mm dexcorative wood to be added to the Sternpost) 

[Glenn-UK]

23 minutes ago, Jasseji said:

Actually i thinned the deadwood A bit so incliding the planks on both sides it is a total of 4mm thick, i can thin it down to 3mm so it aligns with the Sternpost (do you Remember  that the 2nd later of planking is 0.8mm and there is still a layer of 0.8mm dexcorative wood to be added to the Sternpost) 

I hope that works out for you. I did the same on my DOK build but I still had to sand the 2nd planking for a flush fit. This time I am following the method shown on the build manual, as shown in the following photo taken from James Hatch's build log

 

[Jasseji]

2 minutes ago, glennard2523 said:

I hope that works out for you. I did the same on my DOK build but I still had to sand the 2nd planking for a flush fit. This time I am following the method shown on the build manual, as shown in the following photo taken from James Hatch's build log

 

The thinning Was more of an accident, i started to do it without chekcing the manual for that step, i plan to thin the 1st layer as much down as possible to be flush with the keel and Sternpost 

[Nirvana]

On 8/26/2021 at 8:42 AM, BenD said:

Judging from your lady nelson you will be fine.  I looked at the Manual for Sphinx and it's 146 pages of really good instructions.  I feel like very few people will abandon this kit mid way through.

Ben, I truly like the Sphinx.... but as it is in my workshop the "Time/Space" relation doesn't compute.

However, I am truly happy to see a new source of great rope. Thank you for supplying us with that. (Just checked the webpage of yours)

Now back to Jaceks build log. Sorry for the disturbance.....😄

[Jasseji]

1 hour ago, Nirvana said:

Ben, I truly like the Sphinx.... but as it is in my workshop the "Time/Space" relation doesn't compute.

However, I am truly happy to see a new source of great rope. Thank you for supplying us with that. (Just checked the webpage of yours)

Now back to Jaceks build log. Sorry for the disturbance.....😄

No worries, i dont mind, just grumbling about how to proceed, i measured the bulheads now after adding the Garboard and came up with following:

 

Waist: 38mm

Bow: 29mm

 

Which means 7.6 Planks in the waist, but if i keep up with the 2.8mm taper i have used for the planks so far, i will fall short on the Bow by 7.3mm (which is 1.4 Planks)

 

So, i am wondering which option i should choose:

1. Add 2 Stealers on the Bow

2. Change the bow-taper to 3.8mm

3. Keep the 2.8mm Taper and try to fit 10 Planks at the Bow, which would mean cutting away the "Garboard" planks at the waist to create a curve (which would be actually NOT how a Garboard should look, but in my case it would result in a Garboard Plank which is 15mm wide on Bow and Stern and 2mm in the middle)

 

 

Edited September 15, 2021 by Jasseji

[Jasseji]

On 8/26/2021 at 6:26 PM, James H said:

Watching along. Feel your pain with customs. Perhaps kit smugglers are the future...

No to Kit Piracy but yes to Kit smuggling ?

[Jasseji]

Ok, Port planking is finished, i have to say it turned out to be a massive Charlie-Foxtrot in the waist (mostly between bulkheads 2 and 4)

 

What did i do wrong this time ?

Well, i contrast to my LN build, i did the taper TOO CLOSE to the Bow, which resulted in not enough space along the Bulkheads 2 and 3.

Additionally, i measured the bulkheads with a short batten and i took the measurements totally wrong (i believe after i marked the ticks i measured them with my Caliper on the wrong markings)

 

I actually like adding stealers tho, so Stealers, Drop Planks, correction planks...

 

The shape is correct tho, it's very far below the waterline and no plank is tapered to less than 1/2 of it's width, so maybe it isnt a complete failure...

 

Moving on to the other side...

 

Edited September 16, 2021 by Jasseji

[Glenn-UK]

You have done a great job so far, so there is no need to worry to much about how it looks as it gets sanded smooth, filled and then covered with the 2nd planking. I have altered my planking approach as I fit the few planks per side as helps me to speeds up the process and also helps me get a better shape requiring less filling and sanding. I hope to complete my 1st planking either later today or tomorrow morning.

[Jasseji]

1 hour ago, glennard2523 said:

You have done a great job so far, so there is no need to worry to much about how it looks as it gets sanded smooth, filled and then covered with the 2nd planking. I have altered my planking approach as I fit the few planks per side as helps me to speeds up the process and also helps me get a better shape requiring less filling and sanding. I hope to complete my 1st planking either later today or tomorrow morning.

ye, i dont really care as long as the planks are invisible.

 

I will try to do the last few today as well 

[Glenn-UK]

46 minutes ago, Jasseji said:

ye, i dont really care as long as the planks are invisible.

 

I will try to do the last few today as well 

I've just finished my 1st planking. Time to go for my daily run so the glue can cure on the last three planks. I had exactly 23 plank widths on one side and 22.8 plank widths on the other side.

Edited September 16, 2021 by glennard2523

[Jasseji]

1 hour ago, glennard2523 said:

I've just finished my 1st planking. Time to go for my daily run so the glue can cure on the last three planks. I had exactly 23 plank widths on one side and 22.8 plank widths on the other side.

Nice, i was on planting Duty today, Admiral needed new flower on the Balcony...

[Jasseji]

So, i finished my 1st planking and did the sanding:

 

 

 

I added some filler before the first sanding round and after All sanding was done, sealed the hull with a thin layer of diluted varnish to trap all the filler and the sawdust in all Cracks. 

 

 

I hope that my rabbet wont turn out too small in the top part tho, will See tomorrow when i fit the prow and keel patterns 

 

Edited September 19, 2021 by Jasseji

[Jasseji]

Soaked and clamped for drying. 

 

The prow and keel patterns are only dry fitted for now, need to Check the rabbet first (too tight on one side i noticed already) 

 

Off to roadtrip with Kid and Wife