Cutter Cheerful 1806 by Freebird - Syren Ship Model Company - 1/48

[Freebird]

Hey All! This will mark the beginning of my Cheerful build. Actually, I started it on 3/1. Anyway, being my Syren Medway Longboat is just about finished, I thought I’d get a jump on my next build while there’s still some winter. This will be my second and more complex build. Medway, my first build, has taught me a lot and developed some skills. It was a delightful build that came out pretty good. Yes, there are mistakes, but that’s how we learn. After building the Syren Medway, I’m absolutely sold on the kits/parts and push for more scratch building that Chuck provides. Coming from an aerospace background, Chuck’s designs are very well researched, his kit designs are very well thought out and implemented. Plus his methodology is focused and easy to follow. An added bonus is all of the great and incredible build logs!

 

So I’m really late to this party, but that’s ok as I only found out about MSW 2 years ago after retiring. Some of my goals for building this neat little vessel is to add more skills to my toolbox, learn more about planking, scratch building more of the details. Oh yeah, I’m also milling all of my planking from AYC and boxwood where appropriate. All wood was bought from Modeler’s Sawmill - very good service! The build will probably be stretched out because as warm weather arrives I spend most of my time outdoors. Thanks for stopping by and we’ll see you on deck!

 

Here’s a few pictures of where I’m at. We all love to get the keel built and bulkheads installed to see the basic shape of what we’re going to create, and I’m no exception. So she’s framed up and ready for fairing. I’ve also started to mill some of the planks. I’m starting with billets, then to blanks and to strips. I also like to skip around and take small bites so things don’t become too repetitive.
 

Best Regards …. Rick

[WestPort]

I'm pulling up a chair and really looking forward to following your build.  This one is also on my radar for later this year so I am very interested in seeing how you progress.  

[Chuck]

A nice fresh start.

[Freebird]

Thanks to All for stopping by and all of the likes. I haven’t done any work to the hull, I’ve been busily (not happily) ripping the wood into useable planks.  I’ve been using the Micro Mart table saw. I’ve had it for several years and used it for different cuts, but never for ripping planks, it’s been a challenge for sure. I think it’s time to invest in a Byrnes table saw. I have his thickness sander and it’s been a Godsend as I’ve been using it to bring the planks to size. Biggest issue with the saw is the blade wandering making the plank thick/thin at points during the cut, that’s with a .03 kerf slitting blade. When it works it great, it makes really nice cuts, but when it doesn’t, well you can guess the results. 
 

Best Regards …. Rick

[glbarlow]

Glad to see you’re off and running. I’ll enjoy watching another Cheerful come to life. It’s such a great build. 

[Freebird]

Been busy the past few days milling wood. Per Chuck’s list, I now have 200+ strips of AYC. I definitely need a Byrnes table saw, as the Micro-Mart can’t cut a straight line, I tried a lot of techniques recommended on MSW with mediocre results. Thank goodness for the Byrnes thickness sander. Now I know why strip wood is so expensive. 😏

[Chuck]

Dont forget to sort any hull or deck planking by color first so you dont end up having a zebra striped hull.

 

Keep any grainy or dark colored strips for areas that will be painted or not seen.

[glbarlow]

The thickness sander is great and makes a huge difference.  As Chuck notes, wood sorting is a pain but well worth the effort in the end.  

[Freebird]

Thanks for the sorting ideas. When I get to the planking I’ll sort the wood. I’m planning on doing the deck in Holly, I have a hunk to cut up. I bought this display rack a few years ago from a place that went out of business. Makes a great storage rack, wood is sorted by size for convenience. 
 

Best Regards …. Rick

[BobG]

I'll pull up a chair and follow along too, Rick. The Cheerful is a gorgeous model that I have always admired and I'm sure I will learn a lot watching you build her. Good luck!

[jfhealey]

Cheerful is a great choice. Good luck Rick. I will follow with interest.

Fred

[Freebird]

Guys, thank you for the positive comments! I’ve been playing around with the carriages, cleaning up the char and such, I’m not ready to start fairing the hull yet, really need to wrap my head around it first. To clean the trucks, I took a piece of wood and made a taper on it so the trucks could be secured and then cleaned quickly and easily. The axles were chucked and easily rounded off. 
 

Best Regards …. Rick

Edited March 14, 2023 by Freebird

[Matt D]

You're very smart to keep your pieces so well organized.  It looks like you're off to an excellent start on your cannon parts.  In my opinion, workflow is the key to getting them all done with consistent results.

[Freebird]

Thanks Matt! These storage containers were on sale at my local Hobby Lobby for a buck! I bought the only 2 that were left. What’s really nice about them is that the dividers are molded in so they can’t move around. 
 

Agree, flow makes the job easier, and I’m glad there are only 12 guns!

 

Best Regards …. Rick

Edited March 14, 2023 by Freebird

[Freebird]

More work on the carriages. I drilled the holes for the bolts on the top with a #77 bit. For consistency and repeatability, I used a X/Y table on my mini drill press, once lined up and centered it was an easy task. I’d never be able to do this accurately freehand. 
 

Best Regards …. Rick

[Freebird]

Work continues on the carriages. This time I made a quick jig to drill the holes in the sides. I made a copy of the side and glued it to some scrap wood. I then glued some wood to the top and rear of jig. The wood was deep enough to load 2 parts in the jig. I also used a #76 bit as a guide to align the parts in the jig. Simple finger pressure keeps the parts secure in the jig, that is until you puncture a finger with the drill bit. In a few minutes I had all of the carriage sides drilled. 
 

Best Regards …. Rick

[ERS Rich]

Good stuff, thanks for posting

[Freebird]

19 hours ago, ERS Rich said:

Good stuff

ERS Rich - Thank you!

Guys - Thank for all the”Likes”!

 

Now I need an opinion, I made my first quoin handle, does it look too big and how does the shape look? I’ll countersink the hole slightly so it seats better. All comments welcome!

 

Best Regards …. Rick

Edited March 16, 2023 by Freebird

[Gregory]

Looks way too small to me.😁

[Freebird]

Gregory - no worries about too small, I took it out of the quoin and must have had too much pressure on the tweezers, the handle went flying never to be seen again. 
 

Here’s my first carronade. You don’t realize how many parts are in these until you build one. 
 

Best Regards …. Rick

[Gregory]

Your pictures of the quoin were not there when I posted, thus the joke..🙂

Edited March 16, 2023 by Gregory

[Freebird]

No worries Gregory….

 

Best Regards …. Rick

[glbarlow]

4 hours ago, Freebird said:

Now I need an opinion,

Buy them from Crafty Sailor, the 6mm size if I recall, maybe 8mm. They make nickels scaled wooden ones, unlike most of the commercial crap.  Yours are a bit fat, sorry you asked. 😊
 

Now you can start making eyelets and ring bolts. My last Winchelsea post was my effort to explain one way how if you’re interested. 

Edited March 17, 2023 by glbarlow

[Freebird]

Thanks everyone for the likes, much appreciated!

Glenn, thank you for the input. Making the pins is challenging for sure, but very rewarding. I’ve been following your fantastic Winnie build and have seen your process for making eyelets and ring bolts. Will experiment this weekend. Thanks!

 

Best Regards …. Rick

[Freebird]

Ok, I’ve built the gun carriages and decided that it can’t be put off any longer. Tonight I’m going to start fairing the hull. Quick question first: is it best to start amidship and work towards the stem or the stern? I can see that it wouldn’t take much to really mess up the shape of the bulkheads. Thoughts?

 

Best Regards …. Rick

Edited January 13 by Freebird

[Freebird]

I’ve done some fairing on the port side and here’s the first test with a batten, and here’s what I see. The bow filler needs a lot more sanding to get the batten into to rabbet. It looks like the aft end of the port filler needs to have material removed. The one that concerns me the most, is bulkhead B. There’s a gap at that bulkhead. Did I take too much off, or do the bulkheads on either side need be sanded some more? Need input! Thanks!

 

Best Regards …. Rick

Edited March 19, 2023 by Freebird

[glbarlow]

7 hours ago, Freebird said:

amidship and work towards the stem and stern?

Front to back with multiple passes and use of the prescribed battens is my approach. 
 

Sometimes, even often shims are a better fix than more sanding, the battens don’t lie. Keep in mind the bow is the first three to four bulkheads, do them as a unit. Your bulkhead B problem could be created two bulkheads away. Fair slowly, be one with the wood. It will show you the way. 
 

Ok, that last sentence lost the plot 🤣🤣

Edited March 19, 2023 by glbarlow

[BobG]

2 hours ago, Freebird said:

Did I take too much off, or do the bulkheads on either side need be sanded some more?

I like to be of help, Glenn, but fairing the bulkheads or frames one of the ship modeling tasks that I am the most uncertain about. I've done the same thing in same areas that you are showing in your photos. I find the forward 3 or so bulkheads to be the most difficult to get right even when I'm checking often with a batten. I seem to always end up with a gap as well and I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong.

 

I'll be interested to see how you proceed. Good luck!

[Paul Le Wol]

Hi Rick, in the first photo where you are using the t-pin, the batten seems to cut straight across the space between the bow filler and bulkhead M. Maybe you can try putting some bend in the end of the batten so that it will enter the rabbet at the stem at a better angle. Then see how it sits moving aft. Looking good!

[Freebird]

On 3/18/2023 at 11:15 PM, glbarlow said:

Sometimes, even often shims are a better fix than more sanding, the battens don’t lie. Keep in mind the bow is the first three to four bulkheads, do them as a unit. Your bulkhead B problem could be created two bulkheads away. Fair slowly, be one with the wood. It will show you the way.

Glenn, thank you for the Zen! I added a shim to bulkhead “L” as there was a flat spot. Good call!

 

On 3/19/2023 at 12:55 AM, BobG said:

I've done the same thing in same areas that you are showing in your photos. I find the forward 3 or so bulkheads to be the most difficult to get right even when I'm checking often with a batten. I seem to always end up with a gap as well and I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong.

 Bob, being this is my first effort at this type of hull I have a lot of angst. More sanding at the bow was needed (which I knew), more light sanding was needed along the entire hull was needed and that went a long way.

 

The batten flow looks good but not perfect. Any suggestions!

 

 Best Regards …. Rick

Edited November 6, 2023 by Freebird