Niagara by lb0190 - Model Shipways - 1/64

[SkerryAmp]

I tried my disc sander on the whitehall tender I tried to build some time ago.... well, let's just say turned it into more of a whitehall TINDER instead.

[texxn5]

Planking is coming along nicely Larry. Lot's of work but it is actually quite fun.

[lb0190]

Hi John,

 

 

Thanks. It's slow work and the temptation to jump to other work is high, but as you said, it is enjoyable and it feels good to see her come to life. This trip will give me almost two weeks away from the shop which should recharge my batteries.

 

Question

At the stern, the planks have taken slight lateral outboard sweep. Should I address this with a stealer to streighen out how the next set of planks lay?

[augie]

That's the kind of thing I like to see before coming to a conclusion.  But it sure sounds like you're in stealer territory.  If I recall, I needed 2 on each side at the stern for Syren.

[texxn5]

I agree with Augie, I think you're in stealer territory. It should help smooth it out without causing a lot of bending and twisting. You can possibly try to dry fit one and see the results before gluing it permanently to see how it works out. The trip will help give you some perspective. I am finishing up 3 months of vacation and I'm ready to get the shipyard up and functioning again. Should be open Tuesday....I'll be back in Houston Monday.

[lb0190]

I've finished the port side belt no. two. Both belt one and two have seven rows of planks with four to five planks per row. I'll move over to the starboard side next and start on belt two. As you can see there is some sanding to do and I need a little filler here and there, plus I need to remove the pencil marks so they will not show through the paint.

 

There is a lot of areas that need some TLC, such as squaring up gunport corners, that I'm holding off on until I'm closer to painting. I just hope I do not forget any before the paint goes on. The planking is going slower than I thought it would, but I do not have a schedule and slower usually means less rework...     

 

I hope everyone is having a great weekend!!!

[popeye the sailor]

very nice Larry............looks really good! 

[augie]

You're getting there.  Looking really good.  I had forgotten just how slow planking goes.  But I was quickly reminded these last few day.

 

Soldier on, mate!

[lb0190]

Hi Augie,

 

Thanks and I appreciate your (and Popeye) stopping by.

 

I may have to slow down for a short amount of time. My plank bender died today - it was just a couple months old. I wrote to the vendor and I'm confident they will replace it. I took a foolish risk today in order to install a pank. I used my pencil torch with the solid tip installed to dry out the plank as it was clamped to the hull.... Hmmmm, wood..., hot flames = foolish risk. We'll see what happens tomorrow.

[rfolsom]

Larry:  Your planking is looking great!  I can't wait to get to that stage;  I'm about halfway finished with planking the outside bulkheads, and with cutting and painting each plank individually, it's gotten quite tedious... I'll be happy to plank the remainder of the hull, sand, and then paint.

 

Have a great weekend!

 

Bob

[Sjors]

I see nice planking and smoke signals     

Wait a minute....those smoke signals are telling me that there are a few nice planks !!!!!!!

Well done Larry !

 

[Rich_engr]

Larry- awesome work on the planking!!!  She's really moving along and taking shape!!!    

 

I'm sorry to hear about your plank bender- I'd be lost without mine!!!    But I'd probably stay away from using the soldering iron, since it's not quite the same thing...    (Did you try to remove the round head from the bender and attach it to the iron??)

 

Great work though!  Heck, by the time I get up and settled, and get my shop set up, you'll probably be planking the deck and then some!!!  

[Rich_engr]

Lol- I showed them one full pic (taken around late August- it's prob in my log).  It was when they asked what kinds of stuff do I like to do, hobbies, etc...  that's when I whipped out the phone and showed them.    They were a bit impressed, and the program manager was like, "Wow!! That is detailed!!"  with eyes almost bulging out!    

 

So yeah, I think it helped some.    Plus, my other interests line up with theirs (biking, shooting, outdoors, etc.), the job (detail, precision, drive for excellence, in addition to Navy-related work), and what's in the area (close to water, gorgeous scenery, family).  My soon-to-be supervisor also has a salt water aquarium (we used to have a 50 gallon one), so that was nice little way to connect/establish excellent rapport.  

 

Yes it is driving me nuts with my ENTIRE shop and build packed up here in the garage!!!     After extensive yard work, cleaning the whole outside of the house, going room-to-room and packing, cleaning, and repairs, all I want to do is sit down and work on my ship (which I can see from here, sitting in its clear plastic bin with tools, parts, and some books), which is probably why I check in here quite often and drool at everyone else's work!  lol~~  (Plus, the waiting part is driving me nuts, and I was supposed to start a week from tomorrow, but that might be pushed back.)

 

Which is why I'm glad to see you and the rest of MSW making great progress!  

[Charley54]

Hey Larry, I will be following along. Nice work. Niagra is on my list of choices for my next build. Its a ways off of course but I just like the way it looks

 

Charley

[lb0190]

Hey Larry, I will be following along. Nice work. Niagra is on my list of choices for my next build. Its a ways off of course but I just like the way it looks

 

Charley

Hi Charley,

 

Welcome aboard and your certainly welcome to follow along. There are many other current Niagara builders on MSW much better than me and I believe it helps to look at as many builds as you can. We sometimes take different paths for the same task and having several to choose from can be beneficial.

The Niagara is a great build, but a bit challenging for me. When I purchased the kit, (my second ship build) I did not realize the added challenges it would bring due to no false deck and being single planked. There certainly no regrets on my selection, just more opportunity to learn!    ;)  

[popeye the sailor]

so.......sanding away laser burn marks wasn't good enough for you.....huh! :D     I should look into a plank bender......the home made contraption I use is OK........but it sometimes doesn't give me the shape I need.   I still have to stress them at times       your planking looks great......look forward in seeing more 

[Rich_engr]

Lol- yeah, regarding those chores, I'll pencil you in once I get a chance (did I mention I also do paved walkways?).    HAHA!!  But I think we finally got it all done today, since the agent is taking the pictures and listing it tomorrow.  

 

I wonder what happened with your bender- maybe a wire broke inside or something (did you get zapped at all???)  I love that little bugger- really helps with all sorts of bends (even edge bending, like I used on my foremost nibbing strakes).  I hope you get your new one soon!

 

But if you can't work on planks, there's tons of other little parts you can work on, which is another thing that's nice about this hobby:  you don't necessarily have to go from Step 1 to step 2 to step 3...., but you can move around a bit which adds to the fun variety!  

[mainstay]

HI Larry,

Yes, the planking is looking good, and yes, I would wait until you can see the hull as a unit before doing much sanding or filing.  One thing I would keep an eye on, however, is the planks that are a little low compared to the others. I had a bunch like that and most sanded flush. I finally elected to settle for a few low planks on the final hull. I could probably have sanded them all flush but didn't know how thin the final hull would have been.

 

I will be posting pictures of my painted hull soon and you can see.

 

Joseph Osborne

Carlisle, PA USA

[lb0190]

Hi Joseph,

 

Thanks for the compliments and the advice. My low planks stand out to me like a busted thumb and I have been waffling on what to do about it. I'll take your advice and wait before doing any real sanding and hope they will sand out. Even though they are not dented low, I wonder if they would steam out??? I may give that a try as soon as I get my planking iron in operation again. I'm anxious to see your painted hull.

 

 

Question for my fellow builders (which of course includes the lady builders  )

I thought I would start working on the bowsprit and scanned a copy of the drawing, so I could cut and paste the outline on the wood, but it did not scan one to one. I have an Epson 2480 photo scanner and expected it be off a little, but the overall length was 1/4" longer than the original. Any ideas or suggestions would be appreciated.

 

I asked for help sooner than needed. I originally used the scanner s/w to make a copy of the print. After thinking about it, I loaded my photo editing s/w and selected an option called....... drum roll.......  ORIGINAL SIZE.   :P  

Edited November 11, 2013 by lb0190

[mainstay]

Hi Joseph,

 

Thanks for the compliments and the advice. My low planks stand out to me like a busted thumb and I have been waffling on what to do about it. I'll take your advice and wait before doing any real sanding and hope they will sand out. Even though they are not dented low, I wonder if they would steam out??? I may give that a try as soon as I get my planking iron in operation again. I'm anxious to see your painted hull.

HI Larry,

 

You may not mind the appearance of a few low planks after they are painted.  Some of the pictures I just posted show my hull below the waterline. There are low planks visible and you can see how they look painted. Light has to be at the right angle to make them stand out.  I just decided to accept some imperfections and keep moving.   (My life in a nutshell!)

 

Joe

[Bill Hime]

Hello Larry!

What a great build log! Super information sharing from host to supporters and back. Boy, and you've assembled quite the cast of characters here as well, lol. Just makes the build more successful for every one.

Hope you don't mind if I pull up a seat and ride along. Great work to this point. I will be starting the Pride of Baltimore hopefully this week, (come on USPS!) Very similar hulls. Look forward to learning from your planking, especially the stern and closing the hull

 

Warm Regards,

 

Bill

[egkb]

Am guessing you would recommend a plank bender then..

 

Are they pretty much all the same (just 'branded' differently) do you know ?

 

Great build by the way, hope you don't mind me sneaking the question in .. :)

 

Eamonn

[egkb]

Hi Larry,

 

Thanks for the quick answer, I shall have to pick up a plank bender!

Am currently making my way through a 1:46 scale Bounty (the one that came as a 'part-work' with a magazine a few years back, finally decided it was time to finish it, am at the rigging stage now.. it goes slowly.. but it goes ) there is a photo of its up-to-date (almost) state somewhere in the Current Photo of your Build (or whatever it is called ) section.. will see if I can find it and come back here with the details shortly.

 

Eamonn

 

Edit.. # 268 on page 18 of 'Latest Photo of Your Build'...or 'Latest something or other'.. dang I've forgotten that Sections name AGAIN! and I was only just there !!

 

Edit Again.. 'Latest Full Profile Photograph of your Build'  I copy/pasted it this time..

 

E

Edited November 16, 2013 by egkb

[lb0190]

Today, I completed the starboard side belt B planking. I believe I'm officially 50% complete on planking the hull based on the ship having four belts.     

 

While I was waiting for my replacement plank bender to arrive, I thought I would work on something else, which I thought would be the bowsprit. I pulled out the wood and drawing stared at it for a while and promptly place it back in the box.  what a complex piece of wood. I'll hold off on tackling that job for a while – yes, it completely intimidated me for the time being so I went back to planking without the tool.

 

Now I need to plan out belt C by measuring the width of eight planks on the plans and see how it compares to the hull. It looks like I will use 5/32" boards for this belt and maybe a stealer or two according to the plans.

Edited November 17, 2013 by lb0190

[lb0190]

Something I've meant to do before now but kept forgetting, was show the planking size with a reference item. When I purchased this ship, I did not realize how small the width of the planks would be (bearing in mind this is my second purchase). Since it's a 1/64 scale, the full scale planks would be in the 8” to 10” width if I calculated this correctly.

[augie]

CONGRATS LARRY.  You should actually celebrate with one 'belt' for each belt.  Sounds like you have the plank width right as well.

 

Don't be intimidated by the bowsprit.  If you can handle planking you can handle anything  .  Trust me.

[popeye the sailor]

super nice job!........Larry.    it looks very smooth and well thought out!

[texxn5]

Hi Larry, the planking looks great.  It really is kind of fun to see it start shaping up.  I always try to keep a good 12 year old Scotch around, really good with good cigar.  The only thing better.....is an older Scotch......I really enjoy sipping a good single malt, or "malt whiskey" as the Scotch say.....especially a good old MacCallen....18-25 or 30....unfortunately it's gotten out of my price range.  I've found a reasonable replacement in the Glenlivet 15 French Oak Reserve.....usually around $50-60 for a bottle, and it is smooth and flavorful....enjoy

[Rich_engr]

Larry- great work on the planking!  Halfway done- that's definitely a milestone to celebrate!!!    I really like how your planks terminate into the rabbet at the bow and along the transom- very clean and neat!  (and to think you did some of this without your plank bender too!)  Great work!!!!

 

I agree about the bowsprit- that thing still scares the bejeezus out of me still for some reason...  but I'll have to face my fear someday (just not today, obviously!).    You'll get there too, and you're doing a fantastic job thus far!!  

 

She's looking good!

[texxn5]

Larry, I think you'll enjoy the French Oak, it does not have the smoky oak flavor that the Glenlivet 12 has.  It is not aged in Smoked barrels (or burned charred or whatever the term is).   Also are you familiar with CA Accelerator?  It is a spray that once you have the place where you want it, you spray it with the Accelerator, and it instantly cures......just have your fingers out of the glue or you will be part of it....