US Brig Syren by Charley54 - Model Shipways

[augie]

Like many aspects it's up to your personal preference but it is of utmost importance to try it out on a sample before going all out on the ship.  And I encourage you to try out the whole process, through finishing, to see how it looks.

[texxn5]

Looking good Charley...keep it up...

[Charley54]

Thanks John. Im pretty happy with the whole thing so far.

 

Rowan : In hindsight I agree completely with Augie and Richard. I will go much easier with the pencil when I do the main deck. I think its fun to experiment- so trying the charcoal pencil was good experience. I think in the future I will make a few test runs before I commit to a course of action.  

 

charley

[Meredith]

Go Charley!.. I am so pleased to see quite a few more Syrens joining the group... I don't let a day go past with out looking at the current Syren builds here - and watch Dubz/Dirks build log like a hawk

Roger on the scratch builds has one too.. pity his log got lost in the great crash - he has some photos back now and they are well worth a look.

I notice Augie here too - he's been through all the tough bits and I am sure he will help along your journey. Ohh and its about time we saw a start on the Syren Floyd... (unless I missed that!)

 

The Syren fleet is growing again... which is great news.

 

Have fun.. this really is a great hobby/passion...

Edited November 12, 2013 by Meredith

[Charley54]

Hi Meredith, glad you stopped in. You are right. So many builds, so little time. My follow list is growing and growing. What an amazing way to learn new skills. It always feels good when I select "content I follow" and I see new post's. Something to look forward to.

 

I have been framing the last few days. I will post some pictures soon. Sanding is taking forever. I have to take breaks otherwise I find myself sanding like a madman. Every now and then I will pull out the Dremel and go at it but my control is not the best so I get nervous and back off. It takes what it takes I guess. It looks more like a ship everyday though, thats the payoff

[Charley54]

Its been a very busy week.....but....back to framing

 

I made a 15/32 plug to help with lintel  spacing.  I am trying to make the change to PVA glue but it is hard. I have become so used to CA. I like to make things fit then run a little thin CA in a tight joint- then its done. I have built to many wings I guess.

 

So, I have used PVA on some of these and CA on others. Of course the CA will be a problem when trying to stain but the frames will all be covered anyway so I am using this as a learning experience. Unless? I wonder if they make a wood grained Monokote?  

 

I could do one quick planking job

 

 

[augie]

Great idea with the spacer.  You'll find many applications for similar, custom made pieces.

 

Monokote doesn't come in a wood pattern.  But Solartex fabric comes close to basswood   :D  

[Charley54]

Their are a couple things I may have done differently on the framing that I have done so far

 

First -  I would have faired each set of frames sills, then Lintels after I completed each run, starboard then port, as Chuck suggested.

 

Instead, I completed  sills and lintels on the starboard side then sanded the whole thing. I think this made it more difficult.

 

Second - I would not have glued the frames in place with so much inboard exposure ( if that makes sense).  I have found it veryy difficult to sand inboard as opposed to outboard. ....duh  . If anyone knows any tricks, let me know. I almost done with the starboard side ( it has taken me forever) but I still have to do the port side.

 

 

[Larry Van Es]

 

I saw a can of stain at Hobby Lobby that was called Driftwood. How cool is that. I think I might try it. I like the light gray deck idea so I am going to grab it and give it a try.

There's a stuff called "Weather It" which is used to give wood a weathered look. It can be used in conjunction with other stains. I got mine at a model train shop. I tested it with basswood and liked the look but then switched to holly when I made the deck. Holly makes a real nice deck but it is real white and doesn't take stain well. The rest of the model had a "lived in look" shall we say from all the mistakes that I had to try to cover up. I tried to use stain and Weather It to get the same look with the holly with limited success. At least it doesn't look pristine and out of place.

[Charley54]

Augie- I just re-worked the idea for the spacer from several other builds I have seen on MSW. Someone always comes up with some little way to deal with most  challenges. So many great ideas. As for the covering- I have my iron right here along with my heat gun on the shelf---sigh....but I think it would not be the same . Thanks for checkin in

 

Larry- I am so used to trying to make everything look old and beat up. I am just not happy if I am not trying to weather something

[Shazmira]

Charley, I am going to copy your spacer idea, that looks like a good way to do it. Thanks too for the heads up on on not giving the frames more of an inboard exposure, you are right, much harder to sand the inside than the out!

[Sjors]

Pictures     

Nice Charley !

Good job so far !

 

[augie]

If you're really interested in weathering, have a look at Frank's (Riverboat) brig Supply log.  He's even got scale barnacles!

[texxn5]

Hi Charley......how's it going?   haven't seen much of ou lately, hope all is well.....

[Charley54]

Ok finally a small update. Sills and lintels are all completed. Had to re-do a few. Seems like every time I walk away then come back they move
  
Yessss...I have taken my medication today   but I swear every time I stop working then come back after awhile I see some small error in a spot that looked perfectly fine previously. Anyway I have mastered the art of using isopropyl and debonder. I think you guys are rubbing off on me.
 
A few of the tools I use and a few pictures of my progress

[Charley54]

Green frames ( gunport sides) are also done. Pretty straight forward. Measure, cut, sand to perfect size with excruciating care, glue, wait to dry, come back and decide I dont like it, take out then repeat till I finally decide- enough is enough . I can't lie though. I am enjoying every minute of it. I have never found anything that takes my mind off "stuff" better than shipbuilding. Cheap therapy

 

Anyway gunport sides are all in and sanded and I am on to the frames that define the sweep ports.

 

I also wanted to say happy holidays to everyone here on MSW. I hope it is a good time- each in your own way. Thanks for being here.

 

 

Edited April 5, 2014 by Charley54

[augie]

Shaping up nicely.  Sandpaper is your friend!

 

Best of the Holidays to you and yours as well.

[JesseLee]

Looking good. I love Brigs so I think I'll follow along

[Sailor1234567890]

Awesome. She's a pretty little craft.

[Charley54]

Thanks for the support guys. I still have plenty of sanding to do. Im not sure how far down I should go on the grit size of the sand paper at this point, since this is all sub-structure that will be covered up.

 

I am pretty sure that Santa is bringing me one of those microlux mini sanders so I am hoping that will help me in  that regards.

 

Thanks for stopping by

 

Charley

[augie]

At this stage I usually bring it down to about 220 grit.  Just needs to be smooth for the planks.  I think you'll like that little sander.  Easy does it!

[Charley54]

I finally finished the rough framing. All of the green, red and blue frames are done. I still have some sanding to do just to get her cleaned up like the lady she is .

I have found I definitley need to work on my cutting skills. I struggle to cut a clean straight edge and angles are an exercise in frustration. I am using an Xacto miter box and razor saw but even so I find a lot of play in the slots. It may be time to put together some kind of jig. Here are a few pictures of progress to date.

 

Happy New Year !!

[fnkershner]

Have you seen The Chopper? it is used for model railroading. Like you I am horrible at cutting things square. Now I use my chopper for almost all cuts.

Edited January 1, 2014 by Floyd Kershner

[Shazmira]

Charley you notice I stole your idea for the spacers...worked wonders! I did notice that the wood on my ship tends to wander a bit when I turn my back on it as well lol. Question, you have a pic on here with a syringe...is that CA in there? I use one for my PVA, but didn't know if they would work with CA without drying up solid.

[Charley54]

Dont worry Robbyn I stole the idea for the spacer from someone else , Dirk- I believe.  I was using the syringe that day for alcohol because I had to redo those frames. It didnt work very well, too big of a syringe and needle, I think. I subsequently switched to insulin syringes with 31 guage needles and am able to control flow much better and get the alcohol right where I want it.

 

If nothing else, I am getting really good at taking things apart after gluing them together

 

Floyd- I am going to check out  that Chopper thing

[fnkershner]

MicroMark has something similar. Let me post a pic for you. If you go to NWSL .com you can get it from them.

Edited January 2, 2014 by Floyd Kershner

[Shazmira]

I have that chopper too, only problem I have is the blades dull very quickly and if I don't change them frequently instead of cutting smoothly through the box wood it tends to break it leaving me with very rough edges and chunks missing.

[rtropp]

I originally faced a similar skills problem with cutting and sanding and am still not as good as I need to be. I found that with time and practice I am getting much better at it. This is why I am considering my first build as pretty much a learning exercise.

 

To add to Robbyns's comment,

 

I read in one of my modeling books that they do not recommend using a chopping motion as it can squeeze the fibers or rip them at the bottom. They recommend that blades work best with a sawing, cutting motion. The article displayed a micro close up of a standard craft blade and you could see the tiny teeth. As I remember they said the best cut was on the pull.

 

I also read, probably in the same place, that cutting pads should not be used because the downward pressure of the wood on the soft surface will distort the wood being cut causing squeezing and tearing.

 

I wanted to test all this out so I start cutting on a piece of mdf and I did get a much cleaner cut. I have to change blades more frequently, but I started buying 100 packs so that is not too difficult.

 

In my build of the Syren I show a couple of jigs I created early on to control the right angle cuts and right angle sanding I needed to perform. I used these until I got lucky at an estate sale and picked up a Proxxon disk sander and using it has helped a lot. Holding the piece with two hands and using the guide provides much more control of the part being sanded.

 

Another possible best practice was, I believe, from Antscherl's first Swan book. He recommends gluing the sand paper to a board and moving the piece rather than the sandpaper to get even cuts. Although it feels weird at first, it is working for me on smaller parts. Again, I get to hold the piece with two hands for better control and when I sit straight (yes mom, good posture was a good idea) I get cleaner cuts at more accurate angles.

 

Now, with all that said, I am still clumsy with my cutting and sanding. I am getting better but slowly. I find myself buying a lot of extra wood because I do throw away a lot of pieces. Right now I am planking the deck and my first jogging attempt may not pass muster and have to be reworked.

 

As Augie said, sandpaper is your friend. It really does fix a lot of little blemishes.

 

And so it goes....

 

Richard

[fnkershner]

Well Shaz as you can see I use mine a lot. The picture above is after I cleaned it up. Awhile ago I bought a box of 100 blades. So it is not too much of a problem. did you know that you can turn the blades around? Since most of my cutting is on the front half of the blade. When it gets dull I turn it around.

[NWdiverTodd]

The chopper does have some limitations, but over all it works really well. I have been using the chopper III to cut close, then follow up with a slide sander to make the angle I want.  I'm sure that many of the experienced folks do it by "feel", but I don't have that knack yet.

 

Your framing looks great Charley, much better than mine.  I'm working on it as well.  I am having the most trouble getting the thickness uniform.

Your lines look fantastic!

 

-Todd