Swift by 3sheets10 - Artesania Latina - first build

[3sheets10]

Hello Esteemed Builders,

 

First, I would like to say that it is very exciting to see all the great work everyone has posted on MSW.

 

I am completely new to the hobby of model ship building. I took a course in the history of sea power during college and fell in love with tall sail ships. Some how I landed on a website looking at wooden model ships and before I knew it I had the Swift kit in my hands. Lucky, I have now found some time to work on it and am excited to see how it goes. I wanted to say hello and I certainly welcome all advice and expertise as I build the swift. 

 

Tyler 

 

[3sheets10]

Right off the bat, I have some questions. 

 

As I am fitting the frames into the keel, I noticed that frame #2 is sitting uneven. It is not sitting perpendicular to the keel. Any idea why this is happening and how to fix it, or even if it needs to be fixed? 

[themadchemist]

Welcome to MSW Tyler.

Looking forward to another Swift build, she's a fun little vessel to cut your teeth on. My only starting advise would be - make it fun.

[themadchemist]

It very important that the bulkheads are square in the keel.

Why is it not? Poor production, warpage or possibly someother issue.

Squaring the frame and Fairing the bulkheads is an important part of starting the ship. If the bones are warped, everything else from that point will be also.

Its hard to tell from the picture, but it looks as though the bottom of bulkhead 2 is forward, which makes me question the cut of the slots. Ok course my swift is the older kit but it should still be square. I had a bit of warpage that I fixed with blocks. You can see this in my log.

I would suggest before gluing anything, getting something to hold the bulkheads square while gluing. I used angle Aluminum in the four corners but I've seen big legos used as well. All depends on whats handy.

Also watch that the bulkheads are the right height, they should be at the same level at the deck. This may require some work of the slots to get the correct fit. You can expect alot of this type of fixing the weak points of the kit. Its all just part of the hobby though.

Patience and pesistence is key and a bit of innovation helps, of course you can get most of that right here on MSW.

 

Here's how I glued and retained square. Einstein action figure optional

 

Edited July 26, 2013 by themadchemist

[RiverRat]

Hi Tyler,

 

You'll need something to hold the pieces square as the glue dries. Things like wood blocks, Lego blocks, "L" brackets, judicial use of clamps, with or without things like the preceeding. Whatever you can rig! Sometimes a calibrated eyeball will do.

 

Is it glued already? With what? Some adhesives can be un-done so the parts can be re-glued.

 

G'luck!

Brian

[3sheets10]

Hello RiverRat,

 

Luckily it was not glued. I was doing a test run before I made anything permanent. However, I am using Titebond wood glue for this project. I think the toughest part of this hobby is finding the right tools to use. Right now, I am trying to straighten the keel before I try again. 

[3sheets10]

While waiting to figure out this problem with my frames, I decided to do some work on my inner decks. I really like that weathered plank look, so I decided to try it out using pencil. Thank you for the idea Jarero.

Edited July 29, 2013 by 3sheets10

[3sheets10]

Well......after three days of working getting the keel and the frames straightened out.......I get this

 

And she is able to sleep after what she did. 

 

 

 

 

[3sheets10]

I can't believe I have to ask, but does anyone know where I can get a replacement keel?

[SKID]

Tyler, you would have to contact AL or try to go back to where you purchased the kit.

Maybe local hobby store.

 

Other options could be to just by some wood and make a template and cut out your own.

The other option is even though it is mangled you may be able to still use it.

This is just the frame and there is nothing exposed after the planking and false keel are applied.

[3sheets10]

Hey thanks Kevin for the reply,

 

I think I am going to go with repairing the mangled keel. After looking at it, she missed the delicate parts of the keel. The only thing I am really worried about is the notch before the first frame. I am not sure how well it will accept the main deck when I place it on. We will see how it goes.

[3sheets10]

 Well after recovering from the dog attack on the front of the keel, I think things are coming along well now. It is good to see the boat taking form. 

 

 

[themadchemist]

I think once the balsa blocks are in the bow the chew marks won't even be an issue. Its amazing what wood filler and sand paper can fix. Plus none of that will show. I've discovered in this hobby, expect the unexpected and you will never be surprised. I can't count the number of ships I've seen dropped and the beak broken, just to be later fixed and never to be known, unless someone reads the log.

 

I think the worst story I've read was John (AKA tex) and his telling of finish the rigging up - dropping the rope to the floor exactly as his wife decided to vacuum. Well lets just say, he scrapped that one after the vacuum had its way with it.

[SKID]

I am glad it's working out for you.

Looking forward to seeing your progress.

[3sheets10]

I am glad to hear others have recovered from these types of mishaps. Honestly, at that moment, I thought, this build is over....pack it up, we are going home. But I looked at it later and thought, man, what was I thinking. I have to keep in mind that all this stuff is 100% workable. Like you said TMC, the miracles of sand paper and wood filler will go far. That is a good lesson to learn early on in this hobby it seems. 

 

At last the frames are in: 

 

 

 

 

[3sheets10]

Staining the inner decks. It was harder than I thought deciding on what I wanted to do with these. I decided to go with the Early American stain. 

 

 

[3sheets10]

I have seen a number of builders add balsa wood to the bow to make the planking process easier, so I decided to go ahead and try it out. Because I could not find blocks of balsa wood, I had to cut traces out of a sheet of balsa and then stack them to make the shape that I would need to fill in the bow area. 

Edited August 3, 2013 by 3sheets10

[3sheets10]

And trying to sand the balsa wood down to match the curve of the bow almost made me second guess my decision, but after some sanding and a look over with a scrutinizing eye, I think I got it where I want it.

 

 

[3sheets10]

I also fit the inner decks onto the frame. 

 

 

[rfolsom]

Yes, indeed;  our beloved animal friends can wreak havoc at times.  I had my parakeet cage on my workbench, and didn't notice the stern of my Cutty Sark was close enough to their cage that they did some interesting re-sculpting of the stern filler blocks.  (Who would have thought they could reach?!)  I definitely could not pursue this hobby if I had a cat (I love cats) or a puppy,  and indeed I will have to be careful when letting the birds out after rigging commences.

 

Just remember, wood is very forgiving, and you can always scratch build a part if necessary..

 

Good luck with your build!

 

Bob

[3sheets10]

And here I thought a 105 lbs Great Dane puppy was the worst thing to cause damage to a build. I guess your birds figured you wanted help since you set it so close to their cage. 

 

I am slowly realizing the opportunity of creativity that comes with this hobby. I was dead set on following every set of steps and using every piece of material that came with the kit that I stress out whenever something does not go as planned. You are exactly right, everything that I am working with can be mended or recreated. I think that is what makes this such a fun hobby.

[3sheets10]

Here is the final result of the bow filler shaping event, bring about a number of cuts and big mess. The hardest part here is getting the two sides to match up. Obviously, making the edges of the balsa wood and the boat frame match up are easy, but I had a hard time balancing the about of material in the mid section of the balsa wood block, the roundness I suppose. I think I have it pretty close, but you can see there are some differences in the two sides where I got a little carries away. 

 

 

 

 

[SKID]

I hate to tell you but you have allot more sanding to do..

 

You need to fair the bulkheads so that when you lay a plank down on them they will set flush and not bend funny or buckle.

Please download the Simple Planking Tutorial and pay close attention to page 9 to see what I am referring to.

http://modelshipworldforum.com/ship-model-framing-and-planking-articles.php

 

You need to file that bow down to a point so the planks make a point at the bow, then part way down you will grind some of the point down so the false keel fits.

 

Your instructions may not be the same as mine, but steps 4-5 talk about it but it sure isn't clear.

 

Go to the builds logs for kits in progress and type in Swift in the search window. There are a few Swift's in process and you can see how some of them accomplished this.

[3sheets10]

Yeah, see exactly what you are saying. The bow needs to be more of a point rather than rounded like mine. I was actually messing around with the main deck today and noticed that something did not line up with the bow and I front of the deck. Thank you very much for the reference and the excellent advice. Lets see what I can do with it now.

[3sheets10]

Here is my attempt to defeat the main deck and get it to form how we want it. I counted and there are 52 rubber bands on there. 

[3sheets10]

And while I was waiting for the main deck to dry, I decided to plank the stern deck using a different pattern. For a novice hand like mine, it took a long time, but I enjoyed trying it out.

 

 

[HIPEXEC]

I just finished building a Artesania Virginia Pilot Boat 1805. It was my first build and I made a lot of mistales but finished. See my photos. Planking gave me the most  trouble, so if you want to talk about it, let me know. Also, I might have spare parts for you since I bought two because of mistakes on number one.

Good luck,

Hipexec

[3sheets10]

I also did a little work with some sandpaper. 

 

 

[3sheets10]

Here is my attempt to fix the bow filling based on the advice Skid gave me, which helped a lot when I put the main deck on and saw that the filling extended a good amount past the edge. Now when I fit the main deck on, the edges line up perfectly. I am not sure if the roundness of the bow is still an issue, but it is a lot more streamline than it was before. 

 

[3sheets10]

I also came across the issue of the 10th frame not fitting evenly below the stern deck. I noticed a couple other builders came across this problem , but I could not find a solution. I was wondering what the best way is for me to go about resolving this issue.