USS Constitution by Hipexec - FINISHED - Constructo - 1:82

[HIPEXEC]

It's worth it when you find the one piece you need. I always have to remind my Admiral when I find that exact piece on how valuable my junk piles are. It's my Admiral's junk, but my stuff!

[Karleop]

Hola Rich,

 

I agree with you, having enough spares and keeping them is essential to this hobby.  In any of my models it was necessary to have replacements of planks, deadeyes, blocks, etc.  Fortunately in the Constructo and Artesania Latina they give you some extras of everything,  I already used some of them for the Vasa building.  Now I have 3 boxes full of spares, and counting!!

 

Saludos, Karl

[HIPEXEC]

I just finished constructing the capstan. Constructo's instructions were sparse, so I did a redesign using stuff from my.....you guessed it... my scrap pile. I even added a star at the top.

[HIPEXEC]

My clumsy thumbs have forced me to invent a way to hold tiny parts while I work on them without them slipping and sliding all over my workbench. I just took some masking tape and laid it face UP, then I scotch taped the tape on a small board for easy rotation. When I lay the tiny part on the tape...it stays put! Yet it's very easily removed with no trace of sticky stuff.

[dgbot]

Another trick to add to my knowledge.

David B

[SawdustDave]

Or, spending thirty minutes shaping a tiny part, holding with tweezers.....it pops out and goes flying off across your table somewhere. Now you're moving stuff all around, down on your knees, sweeping the floor...got to find that part! One piece , after searching all over, finally gave up...my wife found it two days later in the cuff of my trousers.

[dgbot]

That is a bad accident that had happenend to all of us.

David /b

[HIPEXEC]

My Admiral and I spent an hour looking for the tiny drum for the ship's wheels only to find it crushed because we stepped on it. I had to fabricate a new one.

[HIPEXEC]

Here I'm using my sticky tape to hold the ship's heads while I work on them. I also used it to hold the capstan parts tht had to be held vertically in a star shaped pattern. That was an impossible task until I thought of the tape.

 

By the way, Constructo's plans do not include installing the heads in the bow area. However, when you gotta go....you gotta go! The ship need  some heads. 

[HIPEXEC]

The heads are installed. The men of the USS Constitution all shouted...."Hooray!"

[Sjors]

Very nicely done Rich !!!!!!!

 

Looks great !

 

[HIPEXEC]

Believe it or not....when I was taking out these 14 - 3/8" pieces from their envelope to put on my sticky tape workholding, the last one slipped out of the tweezer! It took me a half an hour of crawling to find it. It didn't land on the floor, but bounced of my leg into the recesses of one of the shelves under my workbench. All's well that ends well!

 

Now I shall mark exactly where each piece goes on the tape and begin the building process without chasing tiny falling parts.

[dgbot]

They should be called the seats of ease.  But I bet it got a little wet doing it.  Well done.

David B

[Littlebob]

Your work on the bow looks very good.

[HIPEXEC]

I gave the hull a second coat of varnish while I work on some miniature carpentry stuff. My Admiral had a major fit because  I did it on a bed, even though I covered the bed with towels.

[augie]

Next time, why not try it on the top of the Baby Grand piano

 

Looks good!

[dgbot]

 He was being careful not to damage the hull.  He can always replace the linen.  But not hte model.

David B

Edited June 8, 2014 by dgbot

[HIPEXEC]

Here we go again with Constructo. I have to build these three units for installation behind each of the three masts. The only info Constructo gives is some photos and the dimensions of some of the components. There are no drawings? I'll have to interpolate dimensions and spacing by reverse engineering them from the pictures and some known dimensions, like the size of the chosen wood.

[src]

Next time, why not try it on the top of the Baby Grand piano

 

Looks good!

I understand makeup tables are great finishing centers. Paint dryers, curling irons - errr plank benders, paint bushes, weathering powders..........

 

The bow looks great Rich. The seats are a great addition.

 

Think of the eduction your getting in problem solving and engineering with Constructo. Some places charge thousands of dollars for that, your getting it for the cost of a kit........ I'll go back to my corner now......

Sam

[HIPEXEC]

You're right, Sam, it's great exercise for my 75 year old brain. Now, when I wind up standing in my garage, I can remember why I went there at least  half the time instead of never!

[HIPEXEC]

I'm still shell shocked from my Admiral's lambasting of me varnishing my ship on a bed. I moved to operation to the garage. I want to give her a few coats this week since I'm closing my shipyard and taking all my workers on a cruise to do some snorkeling in the Caribbean this Saturday. I'll get all the workers back the following Sunday for a prompt Monday workday. 

[dgbot]

Hope you have a good time. Maybe you can find a pearl for the admiral.

David B

[src]

Enjoy your trip.

Admirals are funny about some things I have discovered. Mine is pretty easy going, just dont mess with her knitting!

You can remember 50% of the time? Whats your secret? I sometimes forget I have a garage....

Buy the admiral something nice while your away.

Sam

[HIPEXEC]

Here's my mast station factory in full swing. I had to reverse engineer the dimensions from the photos. There's a lot more work with the three of these than meets the eye. I do not know the correct of these stations. They sit behind each mast for tying down halyards, etc.

[augie]

Me thinks they be fife rails, mate!

[HIPEXEC]

Thanks for that name....fife rails.

[HIPEXEC]

Slow progress with the mizzen fife rails. My fat thumbs don't help, but the sticky tape does. Drilling the holes caused the wood to split, so I had to glue the underside for reinforcement.

[dgbot]

Try using a smaller diameter drill bit then use a reamer to widen it out.  This will prevent spliting.

David B

[Karleop]

Hola Rich.

one thing I made for those cases is to fix two strips of wood leaving the exact size of the strip I want to drill, this prevents the wood to open with the drill.

 

Saludos, Karl

[src]

Rich,

I have split many a piece of wood by trying to drill too fast - pushing the bit through the wood instead of letting it cut its way through. In addition to the above suggestions I try to spin the pin vice back and forth letting the cutting edge do the work. Just a thought.

Sam