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Emma C Berry by Frank L. - Model Shipways - 3/8"= 1'-0"


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My son bought me this kit, as well as the 18th Century Longboat previous build and the Willie Bennett next build to act as a distraction from following political news coverage too obsessively. I have not built models of any kind since I was a kid. And so, here I am, back at the modeller's workbench - nothing more than a small desk already cluttered by computer monitors and a printer. As I surfed for tips and methods for assembling the ECB on various sites, I stumbled across a sensible alternative to the kit's overhead gantry - a raised platform with a cut-out of the hull's profile. And so, I scrapped the gantry and built the jig.

 

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GREG DAVIS TYPE JIG.JPG

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Frank, in another thread, you asked about how to insert captions between photos.  When I'm working on a post, I drag the photos into the area that says "Drag files here..."  As I compose the post, when I reach a point where I want to insert a photo, I create some space (hit Enter three times), position the text cursor in the middle of the space, and then go down to the Uploaded Images area, hover over the desired photo, and click "Insert." The photo will be inserted where you left the text cursor, and you can continue entering your post after it.  Note that any photos you don't enter in-line - i.e., left-over photos - will appear at the end of your post.

 

Looking forward to seeing that jig fill up with frames!

 

Andrew Bodge

Finished:  Muscongus Bay Lobster Smack (Midwest / Model Shipways)

Finished: Maine Lobster Boat (BlueJacket)

Finished: Yankee Hero (BlueJacket)

Finished: Emma C. Berry (Model Shipways)

Finished: Northeaster Dory (Chesapeake Light Craft)

Finished: Schooner Bowdoin (BlueJacket)

Finished: US Revenue Cutter "Joe Lane" (Marine Models)

Missing and presumed lost: Friendship Sloop (Laughing Whale)

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  • 2 weeks later...

To mark the frame's bevel lines, I started using a french curve. But it was smarter to use the port side frame as a guide to mark the starboard frame and vise-versa. Just eyeball the location from the blueprint. I opted not to produce the keel-side bevels. We will see if I come to regret that later.

USING FRENCH CURVE TO LAYOUT FRAME BEVELS - BUT JUST USE THE OTHER FRAME HALF INSTEAD.JPG

USE ONE FRAME TO SCRIBE BEVEL LINE ON ITS PARTNER FRAME.JPG

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Installation of temporary batten to help accurately locate the hull clamp board. Some carving of keel-side bevels of the the first few frames was needed for glue contact area of both the temporary batten as and the forthcoming hull clamp board was needed. Dabs of PVA glue was applied to the frames before setting the battens in place with spring clamps. I pre-bent the battens by running a trickle of hot water down their length in the sink in order to soften them. Transom was installed before the batten work was done. The trick with the transom elevation is aligning its bottom bevel with the 'plane' of the frame's bevels.

SOFTENING CLAMP SPACERS WITH TRICKLE OF HOT H2O.JPG

DABBING GLUE TO RECEIVE TEMP. HULL CLAMP SPACER.JPG

CLAMP SPACER PROGRESS.JPG

TRANSOM IN PLACE AND ALIGNED WITH FRAME BEVELS.JPG

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There are quite a few Emma C Berry being built on this forum or in other places. Your jig simplify greatly the delicate assembly process of the frames.

 

You should offer a rental service of this "jig tool" to all potential Emma Berry kit builders. I have seen this done with special tool for cars or other hobbies and it usually works rather well.

 

Yves

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  • 2 weeks later...

As I tack the temporary clamp spacer board to the frames, I find it necessary to release the frames from their battens to which they too, were temporarily tacked. Battens are the little strips of wood used to prevent any motion of the frames perpendicular to the keel during the framing process. They were adhered to the jig surface with a tiny amount of glue and the the frames with another tiny amount of glue. The notches in the jig prevented any fore-aft motion of the frames.

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My temporary spacer batten strips for clamp placement  [see figure 1-12 in the instruction manual] are now in place and attached to each frame with glue. (I plan to separate them later with a zona saw or razor knife) But I see the frame tops are not in line with each other. The frames should have come extra long so we could trim each one down to the top of the batten. Just like when you build a wooden deck out of 2x6's, you run them extra-long, snap a chalk line and trim them perfectly flush. And yes, frame 4 is especially short, as noted by other modellers. I had to elongate it with a half-lapped extension using scrap from the laser sheet that the frame was taken from. It took quite a while to make it fit well. Maybe a simple butt joint would have sufficed. But I wanted to maximize glue surface for strength.

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The 3/4'' wide binder clips from Staples are fantastic for model ship building. They open to about 1/4'' - maybe 5/16.'' I used them to re-glue most  of the frames to the clamp board. The frames popped loose when I detached the batten spacer that was 'tacked' in place with glue.

Edited by Frank L.
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