Armed Virginia Sloop by CiscoH - Model Shipways - 1:48

[Desertanimal]

Just found your log. Very nice work. Precise and clean. I’ll be watching along!

 Chris

[RossR]

Your work continues to impress.  Your details at small scales are truly impressive.  

[aliluke]

I remember those kit supplied window frames being one of the trickiest parts. I was never satisfied with my outcome. Good on you for looking for a different approach to match the rest of your models colouring.

[SkiBee]

CiscoH

As you know I recently started the AVS myself. I just wanted everyone to know I get more information, how to and problem solutions then the included instructions or even the Luck instructions. 

[CiscoH]

Happy Saturday afternoon MSW.  Today I continue trying to make windows.

 

Last time I made an oversized practice window which below I have trimmed down and I think it looks ok.  Here are my 2 oversized test windows and the kit walnut one.

This time around I made a new window the correct size although its still a practice version.

 

First off I copied the angle of an outside window and made a cutting jig, similar to what I did with my mitered coamings.  I used a large chisel initially but later used the largest of the 3 mini veritas chisels and it worked fine too.

Everything is very oversize to be trimmed down at the end.  The most difficult part wasn't cutting the angled lap joint, it was making the 2 opposite pieces of frame the same size.  Still working on the best way to mark this.

One other challenge is figuring out which direction the angled miters are cut.  Doodling pictures did not help me visualize; I bet if I had worked in Sketchup I would have eventually gotten it but thats even more free time gone.  It turns out if you cut all the angled joints on the right side of the above jig it makes the Left-side window (because I wanted the side members of the window (stiles?) to run all the way up/down.  Presumably when I cut the joints with with mirror image left side of the jig it will make the right-side window.

I formed the half-laps same as last post, which led to:

I marked the frame with triangles and then put it together with Elmers white glue.

Once it was dry I flipped it over and used a compass to determine the centerpoint of each side and then the big chisel to score a mark across the frame, then gently chiseled out the score to a V shape. 

I purchased the smallest Vallorbe rectangular file I could find which turned out to be 2/64" thick.  I used this to file the V cuts into square.  Despite the tiny size it still makes the rabbits look too big.  But this is a test window so I soldiered on.

I added one window muntin.  Cut to fit the size of the slot its noticeably thicker than the previous test window muntin.

Once it dried I filed the transverse slot and added its muntin.

And once that was dry I trimmed the window frame down to its proper size.  I thinned the muntins by filing then equally each side which worked pretty well.  The window is surprisingly rigid considering how tiny it is.

 

And here is the new window overlaid onto the left side of the stern, kit window on the right for comparison.  It looks like I need the thin the frame edges even more but I am planning on adding some exterior window trim pieces which will take up some space.

I have to enlarge the stern window openings at the top some and I think I will put backers in on the top and bottom where there is a little more room.

 

Next up adding some window trim and deciding if I keep the muntin angles like the kit or change them so they follow the curve of the stern planking.  Or something inbetween.

 

thanks for reading

 

Cisco

Edited October 6 by CiscoH

[aliluke]

That is really impressive! Especially when we see your thumb and realise how small these windows are. The alignment of the outer windows with the stern was also my problem - the kit supplied windows that go there end up looking crooked. I didn't try to fix that but it remains a vague  irritation every time I look at the bum of my AVS.

[hamilton]

Love the generosity in sharing your process Cisco! The gorgeous results are one thing - how you get there makes it even better!

hamilton

[uscharin]

I'm impressed with your attention to detail and craftsmanship.  Definitely will be making return visits.  Keep up the good work!

[CiscoH]

Good Sunday evening MSW.  Here in Delaware Daylight Savings has struck so its dark at 5:30pm.  The drama those with kids call "Halloween" has receded, time for an update.  Today is Windows Part II and I am afraid there will be at least one or two more to come.  Like everything in this hobby they are a lot more complicated than I expected.

 

My big difficulty, besides simply the challenge of working with such small parts, was making the same size windows.  Its easy to make several Almost the Same Size frames but with all 4 of them side by side tiny differences are glaring.  So I tried to think up a way to make my parts identical.  I also wanted skinnier muntins; my previous beefy 2/64" ones weren't going to cut it.

 

My first solution is pretty practical and thankfully simple - a pair of stop blocks.  First I glued one on the closer side of my angled jig.  I pushed each frame part snug against the stop block and cut the angle with a Veritas mini-chisel as before.

 

Then I glued another stop block on the other side of my jig to push against so my second cut was at the correct interior frame dimension.  Repeat with another piece and now I had the 2 side pieces of the frame, both exactly the same.

 

I made another jig that cut the exact same angle but with closer stop blocks to make the bottom and top pieces of the frame (the window frame is slightly taller than it is wide). 

 

Once I had my 4 frame pieces I formed the half laps same as before.

Once glued up with clear-drying white elmers glue I sanded both sides of the window flat with 220 grit.  The window frame is skittery and likes to escape fingertips but I finally got the frame to a consistent thickness.

Then as before I marked the center of each frame with my drafting compass and gently pressed the larger chisel across the frame on the pencil marks. 

 

I used the veritas mini-chisels to cut a tiny wedge at each chisel incision.  In my previous post I used a file to cut the muntin mortises but my smallest file is 2/64" wide.  I couldn't find a thinner one so I went back to using my hobby saw (see the last pic in this post, its the red handled one everyone has) which is exactly 1/64" thick.  If you go slow and gentle it will sit in the tiny wedges and cut a perfectly even 1/64" mortise.

 

Then I used my veritas mini-plane (what would we do without Canadian ingenuity?) to sneak up on a 1/64" muntin.

I would get it pretty close then use some 220 grit on a small stick to smooth the muntin to its final 1/64" dimension.  I found it easier to work with if I left it big, as you can see below.

 

Once it had dried I carefully trimmed the muntin down until it was even with the back of the frame (chisels must be sharp and mind the grain) and very very carefully cut a mortise in the muntin with first a chisel and then the hobby saw, supporting the fragile parts with my finger from underneath, and then shaped and glued the second muntin, oversize, in place.

 

One it dried overnight I trimmed it up, a little more sanding to get it the correct shape, and inserted it into the stern.  Here I have both port side windows installed.

 

David Anstcherl talks about lining up the muntins so they make a perfect arc across the stern.  I don't think I have that in me this go around. 

 

Below is my hobby saw and the 2 starboard windows with their vertical muntins drying in place.

Next up, assuming the windows look good, is trimming down the interior stop blocks so they don't show through the windows, trimming my panes of "glass" (I'm using mica) and then making some exterior frames to hold the windows in place and smooth out the silhouette of the raggedly cut window holes in the stern planking.

 

thats it, thanks for reading

 

Cisco

 

Edited 17 hours ago by CiscoH