Naval Cutter Alert 1777 by serikoff - 1:48 - two hulls: skeleton and fully planked and rigged - based on Trident Model hull

[serikoff]

Skylight (companionway to captain`s quarters)

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For glass I used 0.3mm thick plastic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had to remove the plastic because glue got on it. I finished the grille separately and then secured the plastic to the frame without using glue.

 

 

 

[serikoff]

Skylight (companionway to captain`s quarters)

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Edited Sunday at 05:18 PM by serikoff

[serikoff]

Skylight (companionway to captain`s quarters)

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[serikoff]

Chapter 7.

 

Nailing and Bolting. 

 

 

Nailing the side.

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As I already mentioned, I use birch toothpicks for nailing, NOT bamboo! I don't recommend them, as the cut edges have very pronounced pores. I liked the birch toothpicks for their color, texture, and comfort (they're round, ready for sharpening, and spin easily in my fingers).

I sharpen the toothpicks on both sides to a 0.4-0.6 mm taper, so that where the 0.5 mm thickness is, it fits snugly into the 0.5 mm hole.
 

 

I don't use glue; I just push it firmly until the toothpick wedges into the board. It's important not to sharpen it too much or widen the hole when inserting it. Visually, the toothpicks appear thicker, but when you pull them out, the part that was inside the board will be thinner, as it has acquired the thickness of the board.
 

Then I cut off the excess through the pad with nippers. The pad gives me an even length.
 

Then I very carefully polish the top with 320 - 500 grit sandpaper and after that I remove all the remaining lint with 0000+ steel wool. But I'll talk about this in the next post.

I understand perfectly well that the plug covering the nail was cut flush with the board (in real life), and that's logical, but! This is a model, and we're making it look good first and foremost (at least I am). And I really like Dmitry Shevelev's method. That's why I do it this way. Yes, it's more difficult, takes longer, and you can't polish the hull afterwards (that's why I've already polished it beforehand), but I like the result with the slightly textured plugs (nails). Here's my reference (Dmitry Shevelev's 75-gun ship):

In short, I'll show the final result later, but for now I'll continue. On paired frames, nailing alternates with bolting in a staggered pattern (except where the planks are joined, where only bolts are used).

 

For convenience, where the toothpicks are very dense, I insert them at intervals.
 

 

 

 

 

By the way, one toothpick makes 14 dowels (7 sharpenings).
 

Almost finished both sides, next comes the borax treatment and final polishing to the desired shape...
 

...faster than it initially seemed, but that's not just the bolts, that's the quantity...

 

 

[serikoff]

Nailing the side.

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I changed my plan a bit. I'm always looking for faster methods, so I used a drill bit where it was hard to reach, and in smooth areas, I simply trimmed the toothpick a bit more (to fit another gasket), then sanded with 320 - 500-grit sandpaper and then removed the lint with 0000+ steel wool.
 

So, here are the results. Naturally, it's hard to see with the naked eye, especially when dry. After applying oil and bitumen, all those nails will stand out quite a bit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course, without all this, I could have done it in a couple of hours, sanding everything down to the level of the boards, but I repeat, I really like Shevelev’s version and I deliberately spent two days on it. 

Even my laziness is powerless here. 🤣

P.S. my goal is to achieve something like this... eh

 

 

Edited 12 hours ago by serikoff

[serikoff]

Trials and Experiments.

 

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And again, this is my least favorite part of the build, but I've never given it up.

Making samples and experimenting with them seems like an interesting activity, but it often takes a lot of time, and sometimes it takes weeks or even months to see the results... for example, after applying oil and waiting before applying bitumen, or other moments of waiting for the results.

So, I've already shown that I created two large samples of the board and deck.

1. Before gluing, while preparing the material (the planks for the sheathing), I coated the boards with a thin layer of tung oil diluted 2:1 with thinner for oil-based paints. After selecting the right planks, I glued them in the correct order and position... and

2. ... after gluing the planks, I sanded the surface with 320-grit sandpaper.

As I already showed, I secured and finished the dowels like this:
 

And I'll make the bolts like this:
 

And I had a dilemma... I will do the bolts before applying oil and bitumen, and I will blacken them after... And I had a question, how will the blackening agent work after oil and bitumen... and here is the answer:
 

... simple! The blackening agent worked perfectly with the oil (Danish). But there's a point to consider!!! (By the way, I applied it with a special brush used in dentistry for applying bonding agents and adhesives).

The bolt at the bottom center had a long exposure time, and during that time, not only did it darken significantly (losing its features, turning into a solid blob), but the wood also became slightly pigmented, which is unacceptable.

But! If you apply the blackening agent for 2-4 seconds and immediately blot it with a napkin, not only will the wood be undamaged, but the metal will also be partially blackened, and the bolt's features will still be legible. (You'll need to experiment with the timing to achieve the perfect color. I'll show all this in more detail later.)


And the deck isn't difficult either:
 

To make precise markings without using a pencil (which can leave streaks), you can cut 2mm-wide strips of masking tape (in my case) and place drilling holes on both sides. The key is to center the strip along the joints of the boards so the nails are equally spaced on both sides.

Then comes the drilling, the toothpicks, and the sanding. And finally, the result after oiling – the top two boards. I'm more than satisfied with the result. This sample will be coated with Danish oil (one and two coats for comparison), and next month it will be coated with bitumen... and I'm already looking forward to it...

UPD: I think I'll give up on Danish oil. Its advantage is that it dries quickly and has a pleasant scent, but unfortunately, it doesn't provide the same color change as Tung oil. I previously used Belinka but ordered Rustins Tung oil. So, I'll experiment for now.

With the side panel sample, after installing the bolts and applying the oil, I'll also be trying different concentrations of bitumen and blackening the bolts in a month... ah... it's so exciting, but it's better to test everything on samples a hundred times before doing everything on the model, you know...

 

________________________________________________________________

 

 

At this point, the diary has come to an end!

 

 

And from now on, all updates will be done in real time
(which is why posts will appear less frequently and in smaller numbers).

 

Next steps:

- securing the bolts (I'm currently working on this).

- installing the lower deck (the parts that will be visible through the hatches).

- fitting the hatches and gratings to the deck, and then gluing the deck.