Shenandoah 1864 by SGraham - FINISHED - Corel - Scale 1:50 - American Civil War-era Cutter

[mtaylor]

Nice work on the companionways, Steve.  I like the effect of the slats and the rails.

[SGraham]

Thanks Mark. It's starting to get fun now.

 

Steve

[SGraham]

Here is a pair of doors on the companionway. They're supposed to stick up slightly over the top of the companionway in order to seal with the sliding hatch cover. I tried to file in a raised panel in the center of each door. Next comes the hatch cover that rides on the rails. Thanks for looking.

 

Steve

[pete48]

Hi Steve, It's all about having Fun, The Companionway look's great . Nice work

 

Best Regards,

Pete

[jct]

Rudder looks good and your work on the companion way is over the top, looks really fine.  Your craftsman's ship shines, I really like the mixture of woods your using.

J

[SGraham]

Thanks Pete and J. Here's the last of the companionway shots, I promise. I made the sliding hatch cover out of ebony. It looks black in the pics, but it's really dark brown. It has shellac on it that's rubbed out with steel wool, but I might sand it again and leave it bare wood. All I have left to do on this piece is a handle for the hatch.

 

Steve

[JesseLee]

Very nice looking!

[pete48]

Nice work Steve , The entire boat looks really clean

 

Best Regards,

Pete

[SGraham]

Thanks Jesse and Pete. I appreciate it. I'm trying to decide right now whether or not to put some camber in the cabin top. I started another thread on that and have gotten some very helpful replies already. This is a great place!

 

Steve

[Dee_Dee]

Steve,  

The details on your companionway are fabulous.  I really like the mix of stain and paint colors and materials you're using.  

As for camber on the cabin roof - If your deck has a camber, then the cabin roof should also have a camber.  Just enough so water will roll off, but not so much that everything slides off.   

Dee Dee

[SGraham]

Thanks Dee Dee. The deck certainly has a camber. And by everything, do you mean the ship's cat too?

 

Steve

[shoule]

 Steve, I've just been catching up on your log and I can only repeat what's been said an awful lot, before: Beautiful, tight, and creative work; very impressive.

 

S

[SGraham]

Thanks Steve. I appreciate the encouragement. Here's the deck house, planked in maple with an ebony top. This ebony top is bare wood just rubbed out with 400 grit paper and steel wool. I like this look a little better than the shinier finish on the forward companionway hatch cover. The rails are walnut and pinned on--otherwise I couldn't get them to sit up straight. I found that drilling the holes for the pins through those skinny little rails is best done SLOWLY by hand with a bit in a pin vise rather than with an electric drill. Next step is a set of doors and the companionway hatch cover. Thanks for looking.

 

Steve

Edited July 30, 2014 by SGraham

[dgbot]

Nicely done Steve.  What size are you starting out with your drill bit.  I usually work with a 79 then work around it.  Some cases I would use a 83.  That is for a masochist though.

David B

[SGraham]

Thanks David. I was using a #79. The rails are a hair under 1mm thick. I'm just not used to working with such small parts. Even with magnification, it's hard to see it correctly. I have a Dremel with a flex shaft. The chuck is fairly crude and the bit shows considerable runout. By hand I was able to get better control. With the electric drill, the hard part is that fateful moment when I first hit the gas (I have a foot control). It sort of leaps into action and accuracy suffers--so do fingers sometimes.

 

Steve

[dgbot]

That is one of the reasons I shelled out for a foredom.  They have handled 80 all the time.  The fun part is getting it to sit straight.

David B

Edited July 30, 2014 by dgbot

[jct]

the good stuff just keeps coming...your deck furniture is superb sir, well done

J

[SGraham]

Thanks J. David, I used a foredom way back in the day at the jewelry bench. I remember the foot pedal being very easy to control.

 

Here's a hatch cover on the deck house. Still to go are raised panels for the doors. Thanks for looking.

 

Steve

Edited August 1, 2014 by SGraham

[dgbot]

Well made Steve.  I bought my Foredom many years ago when the NRG had their conference in Chicago.  I was part of the hump team or as I call it the brawn.  Heavy lifting errands and helping out the vendors.  One of them was a Jewelry Supply called Sepp Tools.  Because of the help I gave them they sold me the model they had along with the foot control.  Later I bought the drill press attachment and threw out the dremel.

David B

[SGraham]

That sounds like a great deal, David. Does the foot control allow the foredom tool to start up very slowly? I've got a cool old foot switch, but its positions are on/off. When you step on it, the tool it's attached to leaps into life. This is not conducive to accuracy.

 

Steve

[dgbot]

Fully rheostat control.  As a result few broken bits. 

David B

[SGraham]

Probably fewer gouges in parts as well from drill bits skipping along on their merry way.

 

Well, the deck houses are done. I know I've been posting a lot of pics, but please bear with me for just a couple more with the houses on the deck. I de-shined the cabin tops a little with 400 grit sand paper. From here I move on to bitts. (Sounds like I'm going to fall apart.) Thanks for looking patiently!

 

Steve

[src]

I think we all like pictures Steve.

Sam

[pete48]

Beautiful work Steve , She's looking really good

 

Best Regards,

Pete

[SGraham]

Thanks Pete. And Sam, I'm trying to make mortise and tenon joints on my bitts right now, after studying some of your Enterprise photos.

 

Steve

[dgbot]

To me you are doing a fine job.  But is so nice and neat and clean.

David B

[SGraham]

Fresh off the showroom floor!

[SGraham]

Two bitts.

[Dee_Dee]

Steve,

The bitts look great.  How did you get all four sides shaped evenly?  Did you make / use a jig?

Thanks

Dee Dee 

[JesseLee]

Those deck houses- even though they are small- are beautiful works of art! Very crisp & sharp looking. I love the use of different color woods.

 

When I was a bench jeweler I worked with Foredom flex shafts. I would give anything to have my own now!