Sloop Speedwell 1752 by Freebird (Rick) - Syren Ship Model Company - 1:32 Scale - POF

[Freebird]

First, thank you ALL for likes, I very much appreciate it!

 

 Shaped the deadwood and added the wedges. Sanding down to shape was an all day affair, lots of patient sanding. Not 100% happy with the results, it’s a little too thin at the base of the wedges. Hope that won’t be a problem down the road. 
 

This morning I glued the deadwood to the keel. It needs to be perfectly vertical and  since the keel is so long naked eyeballs won’t cut it. In anticipation of this build I had bought a cheap laser level a while back. I built the jigs to hold the keel assembly and laid everything out on my building board. I first aligned the plan to the laser line and then the jigs, which I had drawn center lines on. Nothing is secured yet, just some weights for now and I know when I secure the plans and jigs, I’ll have to go through this exercise again, but it this gives me a feel for where I’m at alignment wise. All I can say is Wow! Once everything was in place the laser line lined up almost perfectly with my center lines. Never would have thought something this long would be straight. I took some photos but it was very difficult. 
 

Best Regards …. Rick

[JeffT]

The laser level is a good idea.

[Freebird]

Given the length of the keel, especially since it's assembled in a free state (not constrained), chances are good that the keel might have a twist or slight bend in it. I can't draw a straight line with a ruler, so checking with a laser seemed like a good idea. Also, with the stern needing to be exactly vertical, the laser makes that an easy task to accomplish. But mostly, with the keel coming out as straight as it did, is a testament to the quality of Chuck's laser cutting skills, design and quality materials. 

 

Best Regards .... Rick 

Edited May 30 by Freebird

[Freebird]

Frame Sanding: I’ve been working on sanding/building the frames. Assembling the frames for the most part goes easily, not much trimming is needed for good fit of the parts. Sanding on the other hand is a long process for each frame, especially the tall frames with their many parts. I don’t mind the sanding as it’s relaxing, but there’s so much of it. I was thinking there had to be a more efficient way to sand the parts especially those that are the same size/shape. Thinking back to my r/c plane building days, which I still enjoy, I remember when making multiple parts that were the same shape/size, I’d stack them together and sand them to size. Why couldn’t I do the same here? All I needed was a way to hold the parts together without leaving any marks on the wood. Clamping them together was out as the clamps would need to be moved around as sanding progressed. Rummaging around my tape supply I came across some Scotch brand double-sided tape. Hmmmm….would the adhesive have enough hold to keep the parts together? Only one way to find out. Starting small, I used the futtock’s from short frame Cf. I applied a short length to each end with some overhang on each end. Matching the parts together is easy (thanks Chuck!), just press them together making sure they look like a single part. Using a sharp blade I trimmed the tape from the concave/convex sides. Now it was a simple task with a spindle sander (a sanding drum on a drill press) for the concave side and a disc sander for the convex side. A couple of swipes removes the majority of the char. Gentle pressure is needed so you don’t over sand the part. I finish up using 320 sand paper and then separate the parts. To do so, you’ll need a new razor blade to pry the parts apart, the tape holds them extremely tight together. Once separated, use the overhang to remove the tape. You now have 2 parts that are identical and the rest of sanding goes very quickly. It takes me about 10-15 minutes to sand a pair of parts instead of 20-30 minutes per piece. Sorry for being so long winded, but I hope someone can use this technique. One other thing, I use the billet from the rising wood as a gage to check the width of the notch and adjust it so the frame will fit on the keel easily. Some pictures. 

Best Regards …. Rick

Edited June 2 by Freebird