Canadian Canoe by halvoric - Midwest Products - 1:8

[halvoric]

Started building this BIG kit (24”) while waiting for upgrade/kitbash parts for my Chesapeake Bay Flattie.  I’m planning a finish in Amber shellac and a lot of kitbashing to add details like cane seats, scale-correct ribs (every 2”), scale outwales, and hardware.  Also plan to change the floorboards to a more correct design for this Peterborough Model 44-based model.

[halvoric]

The kit instructions recommend CA but I am trying to use Tite-bond wherever possible to make correction of mistakes more feasible.  So this required a lot of clamps.  I added a fifth plank (“strip”) that was plain basswood stained red with Varethane English(?) Oak.  This turned out to be pointless as all the sanding required later removed all the stain.

Followed advice I found elsewhere on MSW to fashion a method for putting twist in the ends of the planks.

Edited October 26, 2024 by halvoric
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[halvoric]

As I ran out of room for adjustable clamps and binder clips, I found a method using rubber bands and clothespins to keep the planks tight and flush.

[halvoric]

Most of the strips needed a bevel along the mating edge (varying in angle between the center and the ends) and the last eight or ten had to be shaped to a point.  Reading others’ build logs about the “Peterboro” (predecessor Midwest kit to this one) showed me how to manage it.

[halvoric]

Simple jig for edge sanding bevel on strips.

[ccoyle]

Very nice planking job!

[halvoric]

Plank soaking tube made from 2” ABS pipe 21” long (leftover scrap from a plumbing fix).  Once planking was done it was sanding and more sanding.  Out to the backyard for some specular illumination to really see the low/high spots.

Edited October 31, 2024 by halvoric

[halvoric]

DAP plastic wood seems to work well as filler; won’t know for sure until after the shellacking it’s going to get.  Then it was time to sand the inside, which seemed difficult at first became simple over time, just using a small piece of sandpaper in areas where a block won’t fit.  Last 2 fotos are before/after: it feels a lot smoother than it looks.

[JacquesCousteau]

Fantastic job! I know from my experience with the Midwest Peapod kit that the strip planking can be a little tricky to get smooth, you're doing an exemplary job of it.

[halvoric]

39 minutes ago, JacquesCousteau said:

Fantastic job! I know from my experience with the Midwest Peapod kit that the strip planking can be a little tricky to get smooth, you're doing an exemplary job of it.

Thanks Jacques!  Your Peapod build looks great!  I will be studying the oar shaping section with great interest.  BTW I have the same mini plane from Amazon—works very well for me, and good quality for the price.

[halvoric]

Adding the sheer-line sections was trickier than I expected.  First one I managed to find a way to clamp and used Titebond; the second would not cooperate so I broke down and glued with CA and the 15-second “hand clamp” method.  Alignment suffered, but as always, sanding to the rescue.

[JacquesCousteau]

37 minutes ago, halvoric said:

Thanks Jacques!  Your Peapod build looks great!  I will be studying the oar shaping section with great interest.  BTW I have the same mini plane from Amazon—works very well for me, and good quality for the price.

Thanks! The mini-plane has definitely been one of the most useful tools I've bought, even if I still sometimes have trouble figuring out which way to cut with vs. against the wood grain. If I were to redo my oars, I would probably try to taper the sides (and not just the top and bottom) of the oar shaft a bit to where they meet the blades, as I think that would look a bit more elegant than what I did. I might also round off the blade edges a bit more.

Edited October 26, 2024 by JacquesCousteau

[Mike Collier]

That’s a good looking canoe! Great job! I’m currently building the Indian Girl canoe myself and I hope it comes out as nice as yours.

[halvoric]

The first thing I wanted to modify from the kit was the false keel/external stems.  The kit calls for 1/16” x 1/8” cherry strips for this, and I did use that lumber for the hull bottom.

 

But my research photos for Peterborough Model 44 “Canadien” (or similar horizontal-strip models like the “LakeQueen”) showed thicker stock on the stems:

 

This may have been a kit designer’s concession to ease of construction—bending the 1/16” thick Cherry strip is much easier than what I ended up doing.  But I wanted this detail to match the original, so resolved to use 1/8” square Cherry here.

[halvoric]

I had ordered some 1/8” square by 24” strips, in part for this purpose, and initially tried using my trusty plank soaker with 212F/100C hot water.  

Promptly began splitting pieces of Cherry in the assemble-it-yourself bending jig I found on Amazon: (cracked/split/broken pieces not shown)

I also had to fashion the custom bending die (matching the canoe stem end curve) shown here on the jig.  Seeing that soaking was not enough, I turned to steaming a 6-8” length of Cherry on the stovetop (lidded saucepan with veggie steamer) for 20-30 minutes.  

The steaming did the trick to make the square stock bendable (also had to select a section with minimal grain, or at least keep the grain from being oriented parallel to the bending force).  Also had to help my form/die out a bit with a wedge (shown here) to close up a gap in the bent stock.

 

After a few tries and re-bends, got it to where I could glue.  IIRC I tried clamping and Titebond, encountered complications, and eventually broke down and used CA.

[halvoric]

After gluing, I saw a few tiny gaps on the joints.  Sanding filled them in (sawdust) for the most part, but I wanted a better fillet there so made a bunch of cherry sawdust and mixed with Titebond for a putty.  Wish I had used white glue instead—the Titebond was a bear to sand.  Some residue is visible in these shots:

Cut a scarf joint for the join with the 1/8” x 1/16” keel stock.  
 

I’m planning to add a brass rub strip to the stems/keel, about 1/16” wide.  Almost done with the finish sanding; need to straighten up the taper from keel to stem:

[halvoric]

Brass strip examples:

 

Brass strip mock-up/finish test.  With a first attempt at micro screw:

Edited October 28, 2024 by halvoric
Added photo

[halvoric]

Making slow progress on the ribs.  This has been a long series of compromises.  😤.  I wanted half-round ribs like the full size subject.  Also more of them, to match scale.  I tried a number of different sizes of stock, soaking, steaming, and bending using the center form from the strongback as a buck.  Unsatisfactory kinks and fractures in every size (except the original rectangular strips that are out of scale).  Settled on using 1/8 x 1/16” basswood and sanding a sort of half-round profile into each strip, then bending.   Giving us this: 

 

Not completely happy with the gluing options/process.  Kit calls for CA, I tried Titebond and a variety of clamping strategies.  Eventually settled on thin CA, downsides being seepage and an unending procession of clogged !#%🤬 tips.

 

Hoping the untidy CA stains will be adequately masked by the stain/shellacking to come, but we shall see.

Edited December 8, 2024 by halvoric

[halvoric]

 

Also adding detail to the deck design from the kit, in terms of splitting and mitering the deck pieces and following the scale fitment.  Will also try to veneer these cherry pieces in something that looks closer to the chestnut/butternut used by Peterborough in the original.  
 

Very helpful for researching the original construction details is Mike Elliott’s second book, “This Fancy Old Canoe”:

Edited December 8, 2024 by halvoric

[halvoric]

The plank bender used on decks to match the sheerline arc: 

 

Oak veneers, next to the cherry decks,before gluing and trimming:

The veneered deck, before final sanding to fit and gluing.  Will not install until all the ribs are in and finish applied to the interior.

Edited December 19, 2024 by halvoric
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[halvoric]

The general concept for the deck.  Tapered outwales will be fitted on the outside of the top planks.

 

Ribs proceeding slowly, tediously.  About 3/5 done.

 

Mahogany keelson notched by hand w razor saw, chisel and sandpaper.  Tried to figure a way to run a Dremel router to do the notches and this just ended up being simpler. 

 

Rib bending forms:  I first used the center former on the strong back, then a slightly smaller carved form, now on to the middle sized former.

[yvesvidal]

These small boats are not easy to build. They often present these kits as entry level, because of their moderate prices.

But it is a trap and a source of delusion and frustration for a novice.

I find larger kits (and more expensive) easier to build overall.

 

You are doing a great job and the use of CA is fine, as long as you have the patience to sand the glue between the rib (or before placing a new rib) and as long as you will paint the interior of the hull. CA is not forgiving and penetrates so much that it is hard to remove all traces of it. I personally prefer Testors Green tube for wood. No left over and rather strong bond. Slower than CA, of course.

 

Yves

[halvoric]

Ribs about 85% done.  

The tops of the ribs are beveled with Micro-Mark sander.  On the full scale, these get nails through them from the inside to attach the outwales.

[halvoric]

Ribs complete, Mahogany keelson installed, and first coat of amber shellac applied. 

 

I have notched out the tops of the ribs where the decks will be installed, so the decks can sit flush with the top plank and outwales.

 

After a bit more shaping, (and clamping and gluing), decks will fit thusly:

Edited January 29 by halvoric

[halvoric]

I have made the floorboards (basswood), following what I think was the original design for the Peterborough No. 44 in the old catalogue I am using for reference. 

 

Again, Mike Elliott’s book “This Fancy Old Canoe” (  https://a.co/d/hhiVDuu ) is an invaluable reference for details:

 

 

 

[halvoric]

Also including here some of my finish and patina experiments for aging the metal and wood in the finished model.  A variety of brass strip (flat & half-round) and some copper wire for nails (and purchased copper strip/treenails and small brass nails) were patinaed with Miracle-Gro in a solution of red wine vinegar, to produce a verdigris patina.

 

I’ve found that immersion in the solution does almost nothing to bring about the verdigris—some oxygen must be required.  So I suspend the pieces in a cup above a small amount of the solution—the vapor rising off the solution (combined with atmospheric air) does the trick within 12-24 hours.  This solution seems to work just as well on brass as it does on pure copper.  Scraping or sanding off the outer green layer reveals a darker patina which I think will make a very nice aged look on most metal parts.

 

The basswood samples were finished with differing layers of an “English Oak” stain and Bitumen of Judea, both ordered from ModelExpo.  Then amber shellac applied over these.  The darkest waterstained-looking bits are from the Judea Bitumen.  Fascinating stuff—it’s basically soluble tar in a jar, and apparently naturally derived and has been around for centuries.

[David Lester]

Hey Dan,

You're doing a really nice job on this canoe. I just finished the Indian Girl and I thought it was as hard a hull to plank as I have come across yet. I considered either the Peterborough or the Canadian, but ruled them out because I didn't believe I could do a good enough job on the planking to leave it exposed! At least with a painted finish, there's lots of room for imperfection. Kudos to you for doing such a fine job.

 

I hope you don't mind me throwing an idea out there, but did your kit come with a really rough piece of burlap that you're supposed to use for the seats? Mine did and I didn't like it very much. So my wife suggested that I use a piece of needlepoint canvas instead and I think it does a pretty good job of representing the cane seats.

 

Anyway, I think you have a really beautiful model.

David

[halvoric]

Also working on a way to recreate the look of the dubbed copper nail construction method of the original canoe, which binds the longitudinal strips (“planks”) to the ribs.  Some examples here.

Original or partly restored look:

 

Freshly restored look (bright copper, no patina or putty visible):

 

My initial test includes a few bright copper nails (on the upper right and lower left), some with a Bitumen fill around the nail, and some putty simulations (upper left).  The flat basswood in the back shows what a wash of diluted Bitumen of Judea (applied as the first coat, under stain and shellac) does to age/dirty up the wood.

[halvoric]

16 minutes ago, David Lester said:

Hey Dan,

You're doing a really nice job on this canoe. I just finished the Indian Girl and I thought it was as hard a hull to plank as I have come across yet. I considered either the Peterborough or the Canadian, but ruled them out because I didn't believe I could do a good enough job on the planking to leave it exposed! At least with a painted finish, there's lots of room for imperfection. Kudos to you for doing such a fine job.

 

I hope you don't mind me throwing an idea out there, but did your kit come with a really rough piece of burlap that you're supposed to use for the seats? Mine did and I didn't like it very much. So my wife suggested that I use a piece of needlepoint canvas instead and I think it does a pretty good job of representing the cane seats.

 

Anyway, I think you have a really beautiful model.

David

Thanks David!  
This Midwest kit has no cloth and in fact the plan does not include seats, only three kneeling thwarts (also used for portage).

 

Of course being a compulsive kit-basher I have made plans for seats, and did a cane test in a Gold colored woven polyester thread, which looks ok: 

 

But I felt the color was not right, so kept searching and found a nice flat linen thread in beige/tan color which I will use in the model.  Looks a bit more like cane:

 

But your wife’s suggestion was a great one.  That looks quite convincing with much less work!

 

Dan

 

BTW the planking on your Indian Girl looks flawless to me, judging from the interior!

Edited January 29 by halvoric

[David Lester]

That is going to look amazing; I can't wait to see the finished product.

D