Niagara by lb0190 - Model Shipways - 1/64

[lb0190]

Thank you Sjors! I'm glad I'm finished with planking large areas. It can get boring very quickly. I'm getting close to where I need to figure out the sequence for painting the hull. I'm considering painting the light green boot topping line first, overspraying a bit, then mask it off with a single thin width tape and use that tape as a means to further mask off for the the colors above and below the line. I hope doing it this way will give me a well defined stripe. I just need to finish up working the hull details before painting. 

 

I've been quietly following your build (and others) when time permits. Your San Ildefonso looks amazing my friend. 

[lb0190]

That seems to have worked out rather well for you.  When I get to this step I'll have to keep it in mind.  Seems like a clean alternative to framing before hand.

Hi Scott,

Thanks for looking in and for taking time to post. I seemed to have missed your post - sorry about that.

Yes, this method has worked out much better than I could have hoped for. One thing I forgot to mention is, I place the end boards such that the wood grain is running vertical. This allows me to easily cut the majority of excess wood that sticks out with a sharp blade, leaving very little to sand. 

[scott larkins]

Larry,

 

Good note to know about.  I see where that would make things easier.

[texxn5]

Looking good Larry. Glad you visited my site. Things are moving along nicely on it, and I should be back in the shipyard soon. Yes, I will be posting other builds and general ship related photos in the gallery section. It might be a bit before I'm ready to get there though. Lot's of other things to get done first.

[lb0190]

Hi John,

 

Thanks for the compliment. I've been busy (at a very slow pace) installing the end planks on the gun/sweep ports and other exterior hull trim. It's almost time for a photo update... I'm not real happy with how the fashion piece looks. I think it's too wide, but I'll post a photo soon and get some feedback before doing anything drastic.

Your site is looking good and it's nice to have another ship building forum to read and learn from.

[lb0190]

Below is a picture showing the starboard fashion piece at the stern. It just does not look right to me but other than being made of one piece of wood and no paint, I cannot put my finger on what looks incorrect. Any input would be appreciated. As of right now, I'll do a little sanding and paint as-is...

 

I also made one hatch grate with a second one currently in the paint shop. Since I ( I mean the Captain) made a last minute change in plans not to plank around the hatches I had to make sure the planks were not visible when looking through the grates, so I simply glued black paper on the bottom of the grates. I also tried to bend the wood just a bit, frame to match the camber (?) of the deck so it sits tight to the deck planks on all sides.

Edited October 31, 2014 by lb0190

[texxn5]

Hi Larry, well on the fashion piece, I guess to start with since it's a port side piece it looks a little funny on the starboard side, but other than that it looks pretty good....(just couldn't pass that one by)sorry. Back on a serious side, to the unpainted look, it just kind of apears to be a little "bulky", but not seeing the plan or another interpretation it is hard to tell. I'll check around and see what I find. Looking good buddy, keep it up.

[augie]

Hi Larry!

 

I'm looking at the starboard side and don't see a fashion piece.  Am I missing something?

 

On the hatches, I usually paint black beneath the grating but the paper looks good.  On attaining a 'camber', rather then try and bend the hatch, I find it easier to sand it into the hatch.  This can be done by putting a piece of sandpaper (rough side up) on the deck and rubbing the hatch back and forth -- it will soon match the curve of the deck.

[lb0190]

Hi John and Augie,

 

Oooooops, I obviously did not see that error...lol, but its corrected now. That's a good idea on using sandpaper. I'll give it a try. Bulky is a good description for the fashion piece, but it's pretty close to the print, I'll re-measure to make sure. Thanks for looking in and for the advice.

[texxn5]

Hi Larry, I checked Patrickmil's log, and your's looks to be about the same. Maybe when it's painted it will look correct to you.

[lb0190]

John,

 

Thanks for taking time to do the research. I'll keep it the way it is and see how it looks painted.

[texxn5]

Hi Larry, I've looked at a few more, and I think you're fine on the fashion piece...if you like it , we all like it.

[jct]

Hi Larry,

What you've done looks good.  I was lucky enough to get some pics of her in Erie this past summer, after this season she's going in for some extensive R&R, I've attached a shot of the stern for your reference.

J

[lb0190]

Thanks John and J. I'm now good with how it looks, but that photo looks awesome! As a quick update, I completed the gunport end boards on the PORT side but I was a little smarter this time. I painted the boards other than where I trim the outside edge. I started working on the port sweep port end boards last night.

 

I've also started working on my mount board and cradle. My mount board is walnut but I could not find any 1/4" walnut locally to make the cradle. I did find some red oak which I'll stain or paint. I'm debating on if I should pin the ship to the cradle or let it sit free.

[augie]

Now is the time to decide on pinning her!  Are you planning on putting her in a case?

[lb0190]

Hi Augie,

 

Yes, I will place her in a case. Below is a link to Patrick's Niagara showing the cradle he made and shared the design which I will duplicate. I was thinking I could use two pins (~1/8" wood dowels) on adjacent corners to keep it from slipping from the cradle. I just do not know if the hull planking (1/16" thick planks) is strong enough to hold it without breaking, if bumped. I did coat the inside of the hull with epoxy.  Your thoughts? 

 

http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/69-niagara-by-patrickmil-model-shipways-wood-pob-164th-completed/

[augie]

This is a tough question.  The cradle looks good.

 

Now, if you fasten her to the cradle, do you then fasten the cradle to the case?  I know I was ambivalent  when I finished Syren.  So I wound up screwing her to a wood base then screwing the base into the case.  It's nice an solid so I can move the case without getting anything out of alignment --- but it would be a feat to get her out.  I'm going to have a cradle on Confed so I'll be looking to see what you do.....and how it goes!

[lb0190]

Hi Augie,

 

I made the cradle supports and just did not like the look that well, even though it looks very nice on Patrick's ship. I though about reducing the amount of wood but after a lot of waffling, I ordered two brass pedestals from Model Expo.

 

Update

Sideboards are complete on all gun/sweep ports. I filed on the laser cut rudder to where it looks like a rudder and I also added the remaining fashion piece. My next step is to figure out how to fix a problem that has been staring me in the face for a while. I'll wait until after I paint the hull before I install the main rail, but I need to fix the mount surface the rail attaches to before I paint. Both sides near the bow are not even which would result in the rail sitting at an angle. It looks like I need to add wood or sand, but doing it so it does not look like a repair is the difficult part. It's not a lot of of vertical offset between the inner and outer wall but enough to be a challenge for me.  

[rfolsom]

Hello, Larry!

 

I haven't checked into you fine build for awhile;  (been working on another..)  I'm not sure if I'm able to help you with your problem, but I installed my main rail in my Cutty Sark after lightly sanding the bulwarks to an even shape.   I believe I did the same for Niagara, but I haven't installed the rails yet.

 

I always worry about the topgallant railing after all the hull planking and bulwark detailing is complete; it can become lopsided...  I believe the topgallant rail shows the final look of any ship's lines, and should be taken seriously..

 

Looking forward to your fine work;

 

~Bob

[lb0190]

Hi Bob,

 

It's good to hear from you. I agree with you on the top rail showing the final look. I started working on it this morning and it's not as bad as I thought. I may get by with only having to sand the high spots and maybe a little basa lite filler at the stern corners. Take care....

 

Larry

[riverboat]

Look'n good Larry .....nice work!!

Frank

[lb0190]

Thank you Frank!

[SkerryAmp]

Larry your Niagra is really coming along nicely!!!  A little behind but caught up now.  The deck came out fantastic - nice recovery and the ports as well.

 

Enjoying this,  very good work!

[lb0190]

Thank you Adam. I definitely lost six months or so of building this year, but I'm finally getting to the point where I get to work on the details of the ship. My pedestal mounts have shipped and I should be painting the hull within a week or so.

[lb0190]

I've been sanding and working on paint nicks, anchor chafing blocks and other areas that needed cleaned up. My pedestals came in so I switched to prepping the hull and board for mounting.

 

The mount board has been lightly sanded, slightly counter sunk for the pedestals as well as screw heads and coated twice with wipe-on-poly. I was worried about the stress this type mount may place on the glued joint between the center keel and the keel pieces. The instructions said to glue and pin this assembly but since my initial plans were to use a cradle and not having a drill press at the time, I skipped the pinning. Fast fwd to the present, pinning is needed so holes were drilled in a test sample along with a hole for the mount screw to make sure I would not split the keel. The test piece (picture 2357) worked out fine so I pinned the keel in nines places. The blue tape marks where the mount screw hole will be located. The aft pedestal sits slightly lower so the ships waterline sits level - I hope

 

There is one more decision to make regarding the pedestals, the slot legs are too long which means I need to grind them down or use a spacer. I'm not sure which way I'll go at this time. I'm concerned grinding them (my preferred choice) may look rough and the wood spacer may look out of place. Has anyone used their sander to grind brass pedestals down - if yes how did it work out for you?

Edited November 15, 2014 by lb0190

[texxn5]

Hi Larry, good to see how you're progressing. You can either grind or sand the brass down to the length you want. Be carefule to not go too fast so they stay uniform. You can then use different grades of sand paper to get them smooth and get out the scratches, progressing from coarse to very fine 400 grit to get almost a polish using your rotary tool. You can then use a felt or cotton wheel with jewlers rouge, again with the rotary tool, to get a shiny finish on them. Should clean up with no problems.

[lb0190]

Thanks John, I was not sure of the process or what to expect on a finish. Now I need to work up the courage to start sanding on them.

 

FYI: I added one more photo on my previous post showing the keel pins sanded down. 

[texxn5]

Hi Larry, no problem. It's really a straight forward process. You might test a piece of scrap brass rod or something to get the hang of it. You can even use a file if you hold it down in a vise. Progress from coarse 80 grit sand paper, 150, 240 then 400. You can even use the 400 wet to get more polishing affect. Then the polishing wheel if you have one, otherwise 000-0000 steel wool will work, it's just slower. Dive in, it's not that difficult.

[augie]

Yup, John has it right.  The sander will take them down then it's just the finer and finer game until they're smooth.  You might want to give them a coat of lacquer once you're done to keep them brite.

[lb0190]

Thanks guys..., mission complete! It was much more difficult in my head.