HM Schooner Ballahoo by egkb - FINISHED - Caldercraft - 1:64 Scale - First Proper Wood Build

[egkb]

Hey There Kester,  Long time no hear    

 

Didn't get to see the flood prevention works, but the whole place has that Shabby Chic feel about it.. as a bit of a coffee nut the first thing I did once off the plane was to have an Espresso.. YUM.. even the stuff from the vending machines is better than the 'coffee house' crud over here      OK end of Caffeine Withdrawl Rant 

 

Will have some photos for ye all later.. the light isn't perfect at the mo !!

 

Hope Sherbourne is progressing nicely BTW.. I'll be following in your tracks soon enough, possibly even next ! 

 

 

E

[egkb]

All Righty Then.. Photos of Carronades as Promised.. Cos I'm Nice Like That   

 

Fairly noticeable size difference don't you think,  they are both allegedly 12 lbr's though the Upgrade is more the correct size, as per my sources they should be circa 2 feet 2 inch long which is a little over 1 cm at scale.. The kit ones probably wouldn't be out of place on the fore-deck of Victory 

The upgrades were bright brass when they arrived and were chemically 'blackened' to this deep metallic looking bronze colour.  Looking at them in the first proper bit of sun-light I've seen since treating them it seems they may need to go a little darker!

I shall have to contemplate this over a coffee or two...   

 

later edit.. for some reason some of my posts seem to have unintentional large bold text in them.. don't know why this is happening.. it isn't in the original 'pre posting' versions.

 

Take Care Folks

 

Eamonn

[egkb]

Oh and whilst I have the Camera out, here's a pic of the piece I put around the Rudder Hole.. not strictly accurate but looks a darn sight better than a flippin great hole in the deck   ideally it would have been set into the deck though ! I still suspect that there should be some kind of covering over this area similar to the 'Collar' covering the bottom part of the Rudder Hole on some builds (I might end up with one of these on Ballahoo too)

 

Photo Time Again..

 

Eamonn

[Stockholm tar]

Eamonn,

 

Looks just the job. Now you've set me off thinking about the darn big rudder hole on my Sherbourne, which I think I could still fix. The finish on your guns looks good, as if they have been well used. I hope to be starting on my Sherbourne again soon. Now, where was I? Oh, yes, the staysail sheet horse, I think...

 

I know what you mean about Italian coffee. We were in Naples earlier this year, and could hardly go past a coffee shop without going in for a top up!

 

 

[Beef Wellington]

Eamonn - I think its fair to say the original carronade is the wrong size.  Just for comparison, the 32lb'er carronades on my Snake are approx 28mm end to end compared to the 22mm of yours, I suspect they gave you 24lb'ers by mistake.  You could pack a serious punch with those on the Ballier!

[egkb]

Thanks for the Visit Lawrence, I kinda took the Summer off, was still active visiting the build logs, but more in the background.. Your Victory is almost finished I see.

 

Kester, Yea, I think it deffo looks better than a big ol' hole in the deck    Friend of mine just dropped off a big huge Toblerone !! so Coffee Time WooHoo

 

Gotta Go.. 

 

Eamonn

 

Thanks For All The Likes Too Folks

 

E

[egkb]

Just Spotted your Post Jason.. yea they would fire a wall of iron for sure.. even 2 deckers would think twice      Kidding !!  

 

 

E

Edited October 29, 2014 by egkb

[latestarter]

Ballahoo was my first and only wooden build to date and I was quite pleased withit, but when I see some of the quality on here I feel like throwing it on the fire and taking up stamp collecting!

[egkb]

Hi Latestarter.. I know just what you mean, the abilities of folks on here is amazing !! I'm just taking my time and trying to do the best job I can, and to be honest coming on here and showing my work is one of the main things that makes me want to do the best I can !! 

 

By The Way any chance of you putting up a photo of your Ballahoo? you can pop it into this log, no worries from me , would love to see a finished one !

 

Take Care

 

Eamonn

[drtrap]

All Righty Then.. Photos of Carronades as Promised.. Cos I'm Nice Like That   

 

Fairly noticeable size difference don't you think,  they are both allegedly 12 lbr's though the Upgrade is more the correct size, as per my sources they should be circa 2 feet 2 inch long which is a little over 1 cm at scale.. The kit ones probably wouldn't be out of place on the fore-deck of Victory 

The upgrades were bright brass when they arrived and were chemically 'blackened' to this deep metallic looking bronze colour.  Looking at them in the first proper bit of sun-light I've seen since treating them it seems they may need to go a little darker!

I shall have to contemplate this over a coffee or two...   

 

later edit.. for some reason some of my posts seem to have unintentional large bold text in them.. don't know why this is happening.. it isn't in the original 'pre posting' versions.

 

Take Care Folks

 

Eamonn

Hi Eamonn

how you see I had some similar problems those days...

Cheers.

 

Stergios

[egkb]

Nice..       Did you make the wee metal loop for the Breeching Rope, or did yours come with it already in place?  BTW my Gas Soldering Iron arrived.. so much more controllable than the basic electrical ones I had before (though they really were fairly basic, not necessarily cheap just basic) it came with a few different 'heads' too, which is good, 1 of them is 1mm thick so should do the kinda stuff we need !  incidentally one of the heads acts like a blow torch.. a nice pointed blue flame shoots out for about 1.5 cm or there-a-bouts.. does anyone know if this can be used for Brazing, with the right bits-n-pieces of course ? The temperatures the device can reach seem to be well within the 'brazing' region (Brazing is stronger than Soldering to my knowledge)

 

Thanks for Looking in Stergios, and for the folks who hit the Like button.. always appreciated !  remember any suggestions or comments then please fire away.

 

Bye For Now

 

Eamonn

[drtrap]

Nice..       Did you make the wee metal loop for the Breeching Rope, or did yours come with it already in place?  BTW my Gas Soldering Iron arrived.. so much more controllable than the basic electrical ones I had before (though they really were fairly basic, not necessarily cheap just basic) it came with a few different 'heads' too, which is good, 1 of them is 1mm thick so should do the kinda stuff we need !  incidentally one of the heads acts like a blow torch.. a nice pointed blue flame shoots out for about 1.5 cm or there-a-bouts.. does anyone know if this can be used for Brazing, with the right bits-n-pieces of course ? The temperatures the device can reach seem to be well within the 'brazing' region (Brazing is stronger than Soldering to my knowledge)

 

Thanks for Looking in Stergios, and for the folks who hit the Like button.. always appreciated !  remember any suggestions or comments then please fire away.

 

Bye For Now

 

Eamonn

Yes i made my own breeching rope loop using 1mm wire, if i remember well...

 

About the gas soldering device, give us more details, etc... Where did you buy it from? 

[jim_smits]

Nice..       Did you make the wee metal loop for the Breeching Rope, or did yours come with it already in place?  BTW my Gas Soldering Iron arrived.. so much more controllable than the basic electrical ones I had before (though they really were fairly basic, not necessarily cheap just basic) it came with a few different 'heads' too, which is good, 1 of them is 1mm thick so should do the kinda stuff we need !  incidentally one of the heads acts like a blow torch.. a nice pointed blue flame shoots out for about 1.5 cm or there-a-bouts.. does anyone know if this can be used for Brazing, with the right bits-n-pieces of course ? The temperatures the device can reach seem to be well within the 'brazing' region (Brazing is stronger than Soldering to my knowledge)

 

Thanks for Looking in Stergios, and for the folks who hit the Like button.. always appreciated !  remember any suggestions or comments then please fire away.

 

Bye For Now

 

Eamonn

 

Hi mate,

 

I've got a gas pen torch and I use it for silver soldering which is WAY better than standard soldering for strength. Did my deadeye strops for my Bally with brass wire and silver flux. Definately the way to go. Having said that my traditional soldering iron is getting a workout at the moment whilst I dabble in some electronics (which is distracting me from my builds.....)

[egkb]

I'll post a photo of it on Sunday Stergios, with a few details ! but I bought it from a company/stockist here in Ireland

 

Thanks for that Jim, I do silver soldering on my HiFi stuff (I've a lot of Silver Cable/Plugs etc going to and from it  ) btw when you say Silver Flux .. is that Brazing ? or just regular soldering using silver ? if you follow me.. I wouldn't be very clued in on the terms 

 

Eamonn

[jim_smits]

It is brazing if correctly titled but I think many just call it silver soldering. I use a silver flux paste from a syringe. Dead simple and excellent joint for this high tension rigging areas.

[drtrap]

It is brazing if correctly titled but I think many just call it silver soldering. I use a silver flux paste from a syringe. Dead simple and excellent joint for this high tension rigging areas.

Jim, except for the stropping of deadeyes, have you plan to use it to other sections of the rigging etc?

Thanks

[egkb]

Thanks for that Jim.. think I'll be giving it a go !

 

E

[egkb]

Photos of the Gas Soldering Iron.. (especially for Stergios..  )

 

It is a straightforward bit of kit, a tad 'plastic-ey' in some of its bits, notably the largish red Gas On-Off button on the side of the Iron itself.. otherwise solid and easy to use.. again if I can do it.. well, you all know the rest   

I picked up the 1mm head for it too, this is the one attached, the rest in the box are 2mm head, Blow Torch Head (possibly for Brazing ?) Hot Air Head and a Rope Cutter (it seals the ends as it melts through, sort of lines/rope you'd see on yachts) and finally a little sponge in a container to clean the head's etc.

 

I threw in a photo of a test piece I did earlier today.. it was filed down to tidy it a bit, admittedly didn't need much work, and it is a rather strong join, I was quiet surprised !! (I'm sure perfectly adequate for much higher than our rigging tensions.. I mean we're not 'stringing a bow' here when we put the shrouds in     )

 

Hope this is what you had in mind Stergios ..    Oh and the price delivered was around the €40 mark, not cheap but I've gone through 2 or 3 ' relatively cheaper' electrical versions !

 

All The Best Folks

 

EDIT  OOOOPS Forgot to Add the Flippin Photos...          Here Goes !!

 

Eamonn

 

Edited November 2, 2014 by egkb

[Beef Wellington]

Err...photos?  

[egkb]

Hey There Jason.. What could you possibly mean, ???          

 

I just realized I hadn't added them a moment ago, was in the middle of Chucks Cheerful Log and dashed back to Edit..  then I spotted your Post.. 

 

E

Edited November 2, 2014 by egkb

[drtrap]

Thank you so much for the feed-back Eamonn!!

All the best, mate!

[egkb]

Hi Lawrence, my Silver Soldering is actually Soldering Iron type Soldering.. if you follow, not Brazing (a version of which is also called Silver Soldering I think.. Yup my head hurts too    ) and I used a high silver content soldering wire, it was for securing the contacts on my HiFi kit which uses predominately silver speaker cord , interconnects, power cord & plugs..

I actually found something online today which is a Paste in a tube that you squeeze out in tiny amounts onto the area you want to solder/braze and simply heat it up ! apparently a simple cigarette lighter is sufficient to melt the stuff though I'll use the Soldering Iron with an attachment.. it is a low temperature brazing or something like that, and is supposed to produce a high strength bond.  I ordered a tube of it ti try.  Hit the link below and see what you think.. perhaps it is poor quality but I'll give it a go and see !    (€17 to the door can't be too bad, especially with a tube of the copper version free)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Silver-Copper-Bearing-Soldering-Solder-Paste-Metals-Jewelry-Repair-Kit-2-Pcs-/351204428415?

 

Thanks for looking in..

 

Stay Well

 

Eamonn

Edited November 3, 2014 by egkb

[egkb]

Quick Update Time.. OooH the Excitment !!  

 

I've finally pinned & glued the 3 hatches in place..... .. .  told you it was exciting !! 

 

Not much point in putting a photo of the momentous news up.. just refer to any of the past photos of the Hatches and picture them glued instead of dry fitted !! Simples 

 

I'll keep ye all aware of any further breaking news .. you know, if I remove a piece of dust or something like that ! ! ...  Well if it works for Sky News     

 

Stay Well Folks

 

Eamonn

[drtrap]

Quick Update Time.. OooH the Excitment !!  

 

I've finally pinned & glued the 3 hatches in place..... .. .  told you it was exciting !! 

 

Not much point in putting a photo of the momentous news up.. just refer to any of the past photos of the Hatches and picture them glued instead of dry fitted !! Simples 

 

I'll keep ye all aware of any further breaking news .. you know, if I remove a piece of dust or something like that ! ! ...  Well if it works for Sky News     

 

Stay Well Folks

 

Eamonn

Stay tuned, Eamonn !! 

[egkb]

Hey There Stergios & Lawrence.. thanks for stopping by guys, not much of an update I know, but a step in the right direction.

 

Will be fixing the Dog-House in place shortly then onto either the Guns or the Channels (probably the Channels as the Guns may become dislodged when fitting the Channels due to possibly putting Ballahoo on her side etc. in order to drill the hull for the support pins and then installing the chains)

 

All The Best

 

Eamonn

 

Again I notice some of the above text is in Bold Script.. this isn't intentional but seems to be happening a lot lately.. it looks quiet normal in the drafting section before posting it !! weird eh?

Edited November 7, 2014 by egkb

[egkb]

All righty then.. Fore Mast Channels in place.. Woo Hoo... Will post some photos as soon as I get the use of my fore-finger back   

 

There I was merrily drilling wee holes in the channels and putting the reinforcing pins in place when I noticed that 1 pin in particular had gone in place rather easily.. bit of a result you might imagine.. discovered that the pin wasn't actually in the channel but was happily sticking into my finger.. Hmmmmm .. this was followed by much 'Owwwie Owwwie Owwie', thankfully I was alone in the house or it could have been a bit embarrassing  

Anyhoo when I finally stopped crying.. I mean 'being all manly'..  I extracted the rogue pin and placed it gently (as you can imagine   ) where it should have been in the first place .

Once set in place in the Channels, I took a black marker and placed a dot of 'ink' (is it ink in markers?? ) on the ends of the pins then offered then to the hull, the ink left a little mark on the hull and I drilled in this position, checked the fit , mixed some 2 part epoxy and glued them in place.

Main Mast Channels will be attacked later today, they are drilled & pinned just need positioning and epoxying etc.

 

Photos Later Folks.. actually just remembered my camera is at another wedding..thing has a better lifestyle than I do !!  so Photos may be much 'later'..

 

Sláinte,

 

Eamonn

Edited November 10, 2014 by egkb

[egkb]

Hi All.. 

 

Just a wee photo of Ballahoo as she currently stands, the channels as you can see are all in place and as I mentioned in a previous post everything on board is now glued..  Next Up Deadeye metal strops & chains and complete painting of the gun-ports (as you may remember I wasn't totally happy so sanded them again, won't know for sure if they are 'right' till I put some paint on but they are better than they were )

Hopefully my new solder will arrive soon and I can complete the Deadeye metal strops, but I can at least get them ready beforehand.

 

Sure we are only flying along here..  

 

All The Best

 

Eamonn

 

BTW finger is much better today. 

 

Oh and sorry about the quality of the photo but it is my old camera !

 

E

[NMBROOK]

She is looking great mate you seem to be full speed ahead after your summer 'break'

 

Kind Regards 

 

Nigel

[egkb]

Apart from the, and I can't understate this enough, major trauma of my finger yesterday.. I mean I had to put a plaster and everything on it.. was touch and go there for a while till the plaster fell off an hour later and I noticed all was ok.. phew eh?   

 

Great to hear from you again Nigel.

 

Eamonn

 

Thanks for checking in too Hexnut !

[jim_smits]

Nice deep colour to the decking. What did you treat your wood with?