US Brig Syren by rtropp - Model Shipways - 1:64

[rtropp]

Gahm,

thanks. I found the section in Dirk's build log.

Richard

[augie]

Just relax.....you're doing a great job.  We all come across things like this and sometimes it's best to just take a break and think it through.

[rtropp]

I have worked on the second go at the figure head.  It has been taking a lot of time, but I am enjoying it.  Thanks to some other threads, I have found some really fine burrs as small as .4mm. While most if the figure  has been carved using files, some of the the really tough spots have benefited from the fine burrs and really small gouges.  

 

 

 

 

There is still a lot to do, I figure I am about half way, but it is shaping up.

 

I had some problems with the first one shown in the last posting.  I now realize that I had cut the form out using the plans then used the supplied figure head to help guide the detailed work. Turns out they are different.

 

 

the arms, hands and fins, even the hair is different.  I was so focused on doing the shaping that I did'nt stop to notice the differences.

 

 

The jury is still out on whether it will be good enough to use... but I think it will have to be really bad for me not to use it.  Something about it being made here that has a nice ring to it.

 

On another note.  I was thinking about how difficult it can be to build the ship in miniature.  So I figured, heck, I have a few acres.  why not build the Syren full size... so I am putting together an order for boxwood and pear for the 240 ton brig.  Oh.. wait a second, I live in Atlanta... how am I going to get it to the ocean.

Oh well, cancel the order...:-)

 

Richard

 

[GLakie]

I know it'll turn out fine Richard, and as far as building the 1:1 version, come on up here and build her, and I can help. I'm only less than 1.5 mi from the Detroit River connecting the Great Lakes, and even the Atlantic. 

[Gahm]

Your figurehead is shaping up very nicely! I found building the figurehead at that scale is a bit of a challenge - but also a lot of fun! And you have some "artistic freedom". When you search the Internet you will find all kinds of examples of mermaid figureheads in different positions, with different fins, etc. I chose one with the arms at the side because it is relatively easy to carve  .

 

Thomas

[rtropp]

Well, a month has gone by and I have completed the figurehead.  

 

 

It is not as good as I had hoped, but it is better than I expected. The figurehead is not permanently attached yet.

 

Then I moved on to the upper head rails.

 

First I rough cut the shapes, then I temporarily glued the shapes together along with one of the upper head rails from the kit

 

 

Using the kit supplied head rail as a template I sanded them to shape on a Dremel shaper/router.  I started to use the sanding spindle I made for my mill but with the size of the pieces it was better done on the small shaper. Its nice to find a use for the shaper.

 

 

 

I continued to sand until I could see the sanding marks on the template's laser burnt edges

 

 

The channels have not been cut into the head rails yet, they have only been shaped to this point to make sure they fit before going through the effort to finish them.

 

I find the going slow since started fabricating most parts from scratch out of Boxwood. I want to build skills in preparation for a scratch build and I find it rewarding to "do it myself."  

 

Richard

 

 

 

Edited November 18, 2015 by rtropp

[Gahm]

Richard, your figurehead turned out very nicely! And I fully agree, it is quite rewarding and a lot of fun to scratch build the one or other part and replace the kit provided pieces. And so far you do an excellent job on these parts!

 

Thomas 

[rtropp]

My last post was about a month ago so it has been going slow but steady.  Fabricating the parts from box rather than using the laser cut parts has made things slower, especially since i am also learning to use the tools. But, if at some point I am going to challenge myself with a scratch build, I need to improve my skills.  

 

After completing the figure head and head rails I moved on to the catheads.

 

Before attaching the upper head rail, I wanted the catheads fabricated so I could better determine the spacing. These were also made from boxwood.

 

I decided to see if could make sheaves that more closely simulated reality.  So...

 

Using a mill I cut the two channels for the sheaves using vary tiny burrs they were either .6mm or .6MM.

 

I tried cutting copper disks for the sheaves using a pliers type hole cutter.

 

 

I was able to get two cut but must have dulled the punch because it would not cut anymore after that.

(On another thread I am researching other options that might include a disc cutter, either from MicroMark or another one that seems to garnish recommendations.)  So, being impatient, I decided to cut them from box and paint them with badger model flex marine color wrought iron black.  After going through all this work I wanted to be able to see the sheave against the black of the cathead.

 

the third sheave on the side was also painted with the wrought iron black to help it stand out

 

 

below the sheaves are dry fit and the painting is not yet complete.

 

 

The cleat was from those supplied with the kit.  I used blacken-it (still have some left) and liked the appearance better than painting.

 

 

I am curious as to whether anyone has fabricated the cleats or just used those supplied.

 

Now that I have the head rail and the catheads I can start fitting them.

 

Richard

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[_SalD_]

Richard, nice job on the catheads. Have you ever tried copper or brass tubing for the sheaves?  I usually cut a small slice of tubing and then file it down to fit. 

[rtropp]

Sal,

I was tried but was having difficulty cutting down the tubing so it was close to the correct size.  How did you cut the tubing on yours?

 

Richard

[_SalD_]

Richard,

 

I use a jeweler's saw to cut the tubing to the approximate size I need.  In a piece of scrap wood I drilled a small hole the same diameter as the tube, to a depth of the final sheave thickness.  Then I put the tube in the hole, which will hold it in place, and use a file to file the tube down to it's correct height and if I need to make it thinner I just keep filing the tube and the wood together.  Hope this makes sense, I included a picture that might help explain.

 

[rtropp]

Thanks Sal,

That is helpful.  I will give it a try.

I think I have to rebuild the cathead.  The top part appears to be too short. On the plans I measured from the inside of the cap rail to the outside of the cathead but it does not seem to be correct compared to yours and others.  Can you  tell me the length of the top part of your cathead?

 

 

Richard

[_SalD_]

Richard, from the drawing it sticks out about 3/4" from the outside edge of the cap rail.  When I get home tonight from work I'll measure it and let you know what mine is. 

 

 

Richard, I measured my cathead and it extends out 13/16" from the outside edge of the cap rail and the total length of the top is 1-3/16".

Edited December 22, 2015 by _SalD_

[dgbot]

Richard, I do the same as Sal.  I stick the tubing into a hole i made in a block of wood and take a razor saw to cut it down. to get to the final dimenstion I use either a file or sanding sticks.

David B

[rtropp]

thanks Sal and David,

That is something I will try out.  I thought I would have to do it right away, but first I am going to try and salvage the cathead I have now by adding a small piece or 1/8 to extend the cat head to the proper length.

 

If that does not get the result I will have to rebuild and try cutting down the copper tube for it.  If it does work I will still experiment with the copper tube because there are still plenty of sheaves ahead. 

 

Richard

[GLakie]

Richard I hope you and yours have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. 

[rtropp]

George, a happy and healthy holiday and New Year to you and your family

Richard

[rtropp]

Hope you have all had a good holiday and new year.

 

I have a question about the stanchions supporting the top rail.  On page 46it seems to give two dimenisions for the wire, 22 gauge at the top right of the page then, further down, 28 gauge.

 

Am I missing something,

 

Thanks,

Richard

[_SalD_]

Richard, I think I used the heavier gauge wire but I can't remember off hand.  I'm on vacation and not at home but as soon as I get back (Wednesday) I can measure the wire to see which one I used.

[_SalD_]

Richard, sorry it took so long to get back to you but I checked and I did in fact use the 22 gauge wire,

[rtropp]

Thanks Sal, I appreciate the info.

 

As I look at the rails and cat head I am not completely satisfied.  They are not positioned as well as I would like.  I have already spent over a month but since I am not really in a rush I am considering removing, rebuilding and re mounting all of it.  That would also give me a chance to try some ideas I have been offered for cutting the grooves, creating sheaves.

 

The good news is that I am getting good at "deconstructing."  Bad news is that i need to be good at "deconstructing."

 

Richard

[rtropp]

almost a month has gone by but I have finally finished this section of the practicum.

 

I decided to try and salvage the cat heads which had their top pieces too short. I took them apart, glued a piece to lengthen them and then installed.  It was only a tiny extension so I needed to be careful when cutting and sanding after they were attached.

 

 

Next I worked on the middle rail, again building it from scratch using boxwood.  I used the laser cut pieces as template first gluing the stock in layers then gluing the template.  

 

 

Then added the rest of the structure. 

 

Next I went to work on the bumpkins.  I am holding off on installing them until later as advised by Chuck in his build log.

 

I decided to use my proxxon wood lathe to reduce a strip of 1/8 boxwood to 1/16.

 

I was having some difficulty stabilizing the back end.  I had seen several suggestions but noticed some foam packing near the work table.  I cut out a round piece and pierced it so I could push it around the end of the work piece. I then stuffed that into the tail stock.

Using sandpaper and files I reduced the bumpkin width to

1/16. (the thinning operation was too fragile for me to use a chisel.)

 

I did use a chisel for the end cuts.

,

 

then added the wire extension but will not cut them to size until installation.

 

While things on the bow were uncluttered, I drilled the holes to receive the bumpkins' wire inserts.

 

Finally I added the remaining structure sans bumpkins which I will hold until later. 

 

The figure head is not permanently attached.  Her face is a little flat so I wanted to look at it some more before deciding to keep or re-sculpt.  

 

It came out reasonably well but I can work that looks "off" or "clumsy" in workmanship. After spending a lot of time fabricating the pieces, I seem to still have an unsteady hand when attaching them. I decided to try using a solid base for my hand while I am attaching or drilling.  I have a piece of 8" by 8" by 17" bass wood and sanded the sides smooth.  I is a little heavy but is a really solid hand rest when needed.

 

Now, on to the next section

 

Richard

[GLakie]

Very nice indeed Richard! 

[_SalD_]

Head rails came out great Richard, nice work.  

[Gahm]

You have done a very nice job on those head rails! They are not the easiest part of the Syren build  Where do you get your boxwood from?

 

Thomas 

[rtropp]

I bought some finished stock from Jeff Hayes a while ago.  Also I decided to mill my own so placed an order for box and Swiss pear from Gilmer Wood.  https://www.gilmerwood.com.  These came as rough planks but are a lot less expensive than buying pre-cut to size. 

 

The boxwood in the pictures above were milled down from a 2" x 5" x 34" plank.

 

Richard

[rtropp]

Time for another update and on to the next chapter (finally)

 

After marking off the deck, I started work on the swivel brackets.  I am a little nervous because when I did the decks I had a few mistakes that might now rear their heads. We'll see.

 

the swivel brackets from a distance. (I really don't want to look at them close :-) )

 

 

Next came the pin rails. I am going to wait until later to install these.

 

I started by cutting out the rails.  The straight rails were pretty easy to cut and shape.  For the curved rails near the bow, i first shaped the outboard edge that would be glued.  I then used a compass opened to 1/8 inch to trace the curve on the opposite side.

 

this picture gives the idea only this first one was done backwards, first the inboard side than the outboard. When I figured out the mistake I changed the sequence for the remaining ones to shape the outboard side first to make sure it fit the curve than the inside one to match.

 

These are the pin rails cut and shaped. I will do any fine tuning during installation.

 

Then using the mill, I created two holes in each to install wires to support the glue up. 

 

 

 

Now comes the fun (insanity??)

 

I decided to try to make the belaying pins myself.  As with the figure head, while it might not be as sharp as the supplied one it would be home made and a skill that I could use for scratch building.  I figured what the heck, if it doesn't work out I could always use the brass ones supplied.

 

First my setup

 

I used a short strip of boxwood, first rounding then shaping.  I used files rather than chisels. 

 

the piece was big enough to shape three pins. Any more and there would be too much flex on the work piece.  That means some repetition waste for the ends but it shouldn't be too bad and I am milling the wood myself so the costs stay low..  

 

 

I cut them after removing it from the lathe, I didn't want tiny pieces flying around the work area.

 

As you can see there is still variation and more attention to size and detail is needed.  But, for the first three practice pieces I believe it is worth continuing.

 

 

I do have a concern as to whether the wood ( its really thin) would support the lines without breaking.  I'll have to test that.  If they don't I will try again with a stronger wood such as beech or hickory.

 

Sorry for the blurry pictures.  not my best.

 

Richard

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[_SalD_]

Nice work Richard, the belaying pins look great.  I also like your idea of the mesh clamped to the vacuum hose, that should save me from digging around on the bottom of the shop vac anymore.

[GLakie]

Looking good Richard! Thanks for sharing! 

[Gahm]

Well done, Richard! Your belaying pins look very good! I already did the "stress test" with mine and I am convinced they will hold up fine once they have to support the lines 

 

Thomas