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

[SGraham]

And here is the first sail bent on. It was quite a learning experience.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry about the redundant photos, but I'm kind of jazzed that I got a sail done. I think I'm going to add one jib and the mainsail and call it good.

[jct]

Sails are really looking fine, have you got a spot picked out for her yet

[Papa]

nice model. The wood is so sharp and clean and nicely finished.

[SGraham]

Thanks J and ragove. I finished the jib but before I could get it bent on it was time for me to go on vacation. I'm visiting family up in Carmel where it's cool and will get back this weekend. J, I sure do have a spot picked out and can't wait to get her finished and placed there.

 

Cheers!

 

Steve

[src]

Nicely done Steve!

Sam

[SGraham]

Thanks Sam!

 

Here's the jib in place. One more sail to go and I'm calling it done.

 

 

Thanks for looking!

 

Steve

 

[jct]

21 hours ago, src said:

Nicely done Steve!

Sam

DITTO, great job Steve

[SGraham]

Thanks, J!

 

So, I'm making the gaff for the mainsail. I thought I'd show my way of making round-headed bolts. 

 

I apologize ahead of time for the photo quality. Close ups are challenging on my phone. Anyways, I used brass coated steel nails with flat heads. I inserted the nails into the chuck I have for holding tiny drill bits and hit the gas pedal. While the nails are turning, I shape them with a smooth metal file.

 

Here's a fuzzy before and after shot.

 

I hope you can see that the head of the one on the bottom is smaller in diameter and rounded.

 

Then I lined them all up on a piece of scrap wood and touch them with a cotton swab that has been dipped in gun bluing solution. 

The filing of the nail heads removes all the plating so the bluing goes on easily. It doesn't require any cleaning beforehand, and it's pretty stable. I rinse the nails in cold water to stop the reaction before using them.

 

Now the gaff jaws are "bolted" on. I know the bolts aren't evenly spaced, but it's hard to find good help here at Steve's Glacial Progress Boatworks.

 

This shows the natural color of the desert ironwood gaff jaws. Nasty stuff as far as allergies go, but it sure has a pretty color and tight grain.

 

Thanks for looking!

 

 

Steve

[jct]

Hi Steve

Very Nice, curious about the gun blue... I've never used it and am wondering how it would work on some of the mystery metal kit parts, have you experimented with other metal types to see how it would take?

[src]

Well done Steve, almost there.

You can barely see the bolts are off dont stress over it. Somthing that has helped here is to threaten the gnomes with 1/2 rations of grog if they dont do things right.

Sam

[SGraham]

Ha! I like that idea, Sam. I'll let my gnomes and gremlins know. 

 

J, I tried the gun bluing on brass. Nada. I'll try it on mystery metal kit parts later and let you know.

 

Thanks for the kind comments. I'm off to Texas now for two weeks to see my daughter and her family. It's time to do the grandpa thing! Can't wait!

 

Steve

[jct]

Enjoy the trip and the grandkids

[SGraham]

Well, again it has been a long time since I posted on my Shenandoah build. A lot has happened. My dear Suzie, my wife of 35 1/2 years finished her fight with Huntington's Disease on October 29. She went home very quietly and peacefully with her family around her. She fought this disease for nearly 30 years, and I never heard her complain about it. She was contented and maintained a thankful heart. Amazing lady; I definitely "married up" when I married her. Anyways, my head is still spinning from the whole thing....

 

In an attempt to get my thoughts on something else, I headed out to the shipyard today and tried to make some progress on Shenandoah's mainsail.

[SGraham]

I may have mentioned before that my dad was a watchmaker. I have one of his old benches and a bunch of his old tools. As I was getting ready to start making holes in the sail along the edge, my eyes lit upon his staking set. This was an old incomplete set that I think he cannibalized over the years, so I didn't feel too bad about putting it to an unorthodox use.

 

[SGraham]

Here are the holes I made with the set. In one of the photos you can see the tiny round pieces of cloth that were punched out. The reefing lines, by the way, will be glued down straight when the sail is in place.

 

 

Edited November 25, 2017 by SGraham

[SGraham]

And finally, I began to attach the sail to the gaff, boom, and mast hoops. I have two hoops attached so far, and hopefully a few more before the evening is out. In one of the photos you can see the pile of mast hoops waiting their turn. Repetitive little tasks right now are good for the mind.

 

Thanks for looking!

 

Steve

 

 

Edited November 25, 2017 by SGraham

[jct]

Hi Steve good to see you back...truly sorry to hear of Suzie's passing, my deepest condolences...nice work on the sails

[SGraham]

Thanks J.

 

Steve

[SGraham]

Mast hoops are installed.

 

 

[SGraham]

Reef lines behaving according to the law of gravity.

[src]

Steve, so sorry to hear about your wife's passing. She sounds like an amazing lady. 

Sam

[SGraham]

Thank you, Sam. She was indeed.

[SGraham]

So, today I made a bunch of little rope coils, stuck them all over the cutter, dusted off the display case, cleaned the glass, and put the cutter in it. I'm calling it good enough. I may make a flag later, but as far as I'm concerned, Shenandoah is done. Whew! She looks pretty nice on the island between the family room and the kitchen.

 

I think I'm going to try scratch building something next. Cheers, everybody!

 

Steve

[russ]

Very nice work. This is a very appealing model. Congratulations on a fine model. 

 

Russ

[jct]

Hey Steve, 

She really turned out sweet, your attention to detail and quality workmanship shines, nice job.  Good to see you back

J

[SGraham]

Thank you, Russ and J!

[donrobinson]

Sweet build!! Congratulations

[SGraham]

Thanks Don.

 

[2milimetra]

Dear
I'm making the same model. I'm currently in the phase of making masts and sails. If you can have some help around the deployment of the yacht rope. A few more detailed pictures.
Thank you

[Joseph.dumont]

I'm looking for some helpful techniques when installing the sails on the Shenandoah 1864.The cutting of the sails and best order of the sail's installation.

Any help greatly appreciated