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

[src]

Steve, Looks great! Like others have commented nice and crisp. 

Those tenons look very good. They are fun once you work out how to do them.

Sam

[shoule]

Wonderful micro joinery, Steve. Every part is relly a work in itself. I look forward to the next instalment.

 

 S

[SGraham]

Thanks for the kind replies. Jesse and David, I'm definitely on the hunt now for a used foredom setup.

 

DeeDee, I used a jig of sorts for the tenon at the bottom of the bitts. I did this because I wanted a nice clean joint at deck level--which now that I come to think of it wasn't necessary since I cut holes in the deck to receive the bitts. The photos don't show it, but I also cut a mortise inside the hole I made in the deck for each bitt. The dogleg micro chisels are really useful for this job( see post #75). The "jig": I cut a piece of thick planking the length of the above-deck portion of the bitts. Then I butted the bitt stock with the piece of plank lying lengthwise on top of it up against a nice square wooden block. Then I scored deeply across the bitt stock with a knife, using the piece of plank as a guide. That way I got the stock scored straight and even all the way around. The carving away around the tenon was done by eye as was the beveling at the top of the bitts. There, I made a 1mm pencil mark around the top edge of the side of each bitt. I also drew a line across the middle of the top end of the bitt, both directions, like a + sign. It was easier than I thought to gently file a bevel from the line on the edge of the bitt to the line in the middle of the top. I found it worked best to do opposite sides rather than adjoining sides.

 

Thanks Steve, I appreciate it. Sam, your Enterprise build log is serving as a joinery primer for me.

 

Steve

Edited August 2, 2014 by SGraham

[jct]

Steve,

I for one enjoy all your pics, please keep them coming.

J

[SGraham]

It's time to give Shenandoah a pair of pumps. Sounds like she's going dancing... I wasn't overjoyed with the ones supplied with the kit, so after some research online I found a type that looked within the range of my abilities.

 

Here are the tubes made from a hardwood dowel, of course, and the brackets that attach to the sides of the tubes for holding the handles. The brackets are made from maple. It did a nice job not splitting on me while I worked it. These are the smallest ship parts I've made yet.

 

The handles will be quite long and thin--about twice as long as those supplied by the kit--so I'll use desert ironwood for them since you can carve it very long and thin and it won't break or split. Also, the brackets will be attached to the tubes with flat blackened brass straps. Thanks for reading.

 

Steve

Edited August 4, 2014 by SGraham

[jct]

Hi Steve very nice so far, your supply of exotic woods seems inexhaustible!

J

[SGraham]

Thanks J. Actually, about 25 years ago a guy at work had a deck made out of the ironwood. He gave me 3 two-foot-long cutoffs. I've still got a bit of it left. I think the biggest thing I ever made from it was a fretboard. The maple was trash picked, and the ebony was scraps from a friend who makes banjos. I bet more people than me on this site are shameless scavengers when it comes to wood.

 

Steve

[jct]

I'm sure that's true, used to was a time when I could be counted among them...but most of my stock i gifted away or sold, just a small stash of cherry remains.  Very nice work on your pumps, will they be banded or are you going with the 'log' style?

J

[SGraham]

They'll be banded. I'm playing around with making the bands from card stock. If I give it a coat of shellac and then a coat of paint I'm hoping it'll hold up OK.

 

Steve

[dgbot]

You will have no problems.

David B

[jct]

I'll reiterate David, no problems with that technique, I've done similar with card stock in my plastic modeling days and it holds up surprisingly well

[SGraham]

Thanks J and David. Good to know. I wonder if you could just color the card stock with a black permanent marker instead of paint. Ever tried this?

 

Steve

[shoule]

 Outstanding.

 

 another shameless scavenger

[SGraham]

I was going to say trashpicker but I have to maintain some kind of dignity...

 

Steve, did you ever tear a piano apart for the wood? I got some absolutely incredible massive curly maple back braces off a 110 year old upright grand.

 

Steve

[dgbot]

I have used a Sharpie many times.  No shine.

David B

[SGraham]

Again, good to know David. The paint is a bit thick for what I'm trying to do.

 

Steve

[SGraham]

I made some bands for the pumps with card stock and "bolted" them on. The pumps aren't glued in yet. Next come the handles, or heavers.

 

Steve

[shoule]

"Steve, did you ever tear a piano apart for the wood? I got some absolutely incredible massive curly maple back braces off a 110 year old upright grand."

 

 Sorry, but when I read that I was drinking from a carton of milk and it came out my nose.

 In retrospect, I get ya, we're kindred spirits, but at the moment I was thinking " jeez, this guy tears up 110 year old pianos! What a mad man.".

 But no, I haven't; now if I see a good one and no one is looking.... what a great idea.

 I do repair stringed instruments, and have built a couple. I also build some furniture and geegaws, now and then. Those activities put me in contact with a lot of neat timber. Building boats and interiors to yachts, I come across heaps of the same old sapelli, mahogany, teak and cherry. Padauk and purple heart even show up on my bench, from time to time.

 Oh, and by the way, love the bilge pumps. Everyone hide your pianos.

 

 S

[SGraham]

Yup, I kinda wonder what the people thought when they got back from vacation and their piano was in a million pieces on the floor... Actually, it was my great aunt's and had been sitting under an air conditioner getting dripped on for half a century. Felt and leather eaten up, horribly cracked soundboard, mold, the thing was a mess. Most old uprights are veneer covered poplar, but this one had those maple braces. Also the Sitka spruce soundboard braces supplied bracing for 5 or 6 instruments. Also, lots of ebony and ivory keys...Fun project. I wouldn't do it again though.

 

I'd still like to see photos of your scrapwood schooner whenever you get a chance.

 

Steve

[shoule]

 Sounds like a lot of wood. I refinished a 100%, prime, solid, quarter sawn oak ( they called it "tiger oak") stand up player-piano for a neighbore, once. They had a whole box of old timey music cylinders that were priceless. it was a beautiful thing. I hope nobody tears it up.

 My schooner's in pieces. I just finished the rails (ipe stanchions and teak limbers) and am finishing up the rudder assembly and deck furniture. I want to use an oil and Bree wax finish so I'm waiting assemble and finish the hull and deck at the same time. I'd like to show you the picture when she's pretty. You understand.

 Again, you've done great work.

 

 S

[SGraham]

Thanks Steve. Here are the pumps finished. I wasn't thinking too clearly when I drilled the discharge holes. These pumps are arranged for fun. Anyone working the starboard pump will get sprayed by the guy working the port pump, and vice versa. They would spray across the deck toward the opposite scuppers. Thanks for looking.

 

Steve

[jct]

very nice

[JesseLee]

They are great looking!

[captainbob]

Fine looking pumps.  The cardstock worked well.

 

Bob

[src]

Steve, nice workmanship like usual.

Assuming your placement on deck is correct, where else would you have placed the discharge holes?

[SGraham]

Thanks J and Jesse.

 

Bob, the card stock worked better than I thought it was going to. You are an expert in brass work. I've been following your schooner build. I tried brass initially, but it just kept breaking at the right angled corners. I don't know how you do it. Also, I really need to learn to silver solder. Suggestions on how to start learning? Equipment?

 

Sam, you can't see them in the photos but the holes are on the inboard sides of the pumps. I think I should have put them on the outboard sides so that with the camber of the deck, the water could just run to and out the scuppers. Not that it matters much. You get to soak your friend's ankles. It's all good.

 

Steve

Edited August 6, 2014 by SGraham

[captainbob]

Steve, I am using so much brass on the Lettie because the admiral, ('she who must be obeyed'), wants lots of gold color.  I do use card stock for bands on other boats.  I usually blacken it with permanent marker before I cut it.  I have also found black card stock at Hobby Lobby.  As for silver soldering, I learned how when I was in high school in the 50’s.  There are probably better ways now, search the web.  The main thing is a surface that will not burn at the high temperatures required.  Over 1000 degrees.  I use one of the small Benzomatic torches that refill with Ronsin lighter fluid.  Back to the brass, if you have trouble bending it, try annealing it first.  Hope this helps.

 

Bob

[SGraham]

Thanks Bob. That helps a lot. I used to solder silver and gold back when I was in high school too. We used torches hooked up to tanks of oxygen and some other kind of gas. We also soldered on asbestos pads right at nose level on our workbenches. It was second nature then, but I've mostly forgotten now since it's been, ummm... a few years. I've got to get me a torch setup.

 

Let's see...that's a foredom tool with foot pedal and a torch on my wish list. Well, Christmas is coming. And I've got to finish restoring my lathe before I get to the spars...This ship modeling thing has a tendency to mushroom, what with tooling up, learning new techniques, researching, etc.

 

Seriously, I spent an hour last night researching what mast collars looked like on medium-sized mid-19th-century working vessels. Does that sound like something a normal person would do? What am I going to tell my friends and family when they ask? If anyone cares to know, Chapman's "The American Fishing Schooners" has a lovely diagram on page 551 of something that looks like it's going to work. It was a simple canvas gasket tacked onto the mast and deck with lead strips. The kit came with a thick beveled brass ring that looks like it came from Lamps R Us.

 

Steve

[src]

Steve,

I have been learning on a berns-O-Matic solder pencil from OSH. So far it's worked great, cheap too.

Check out ottofrei.com for supplies like pre fluxes solder paste and soldering blocks. They are in San Francisco and I usually receive my items by the end of the week - Thursday/Friday if I order on Sunday. Sometimes sooner.

Be careful, if you explore too much there you could blow your lifetime hobby budget; Files, box joint pliers etc.

Sam

[shoule]

 I can't add much more, but soldering, as welding, is just capillary attraction. Every alloy just seems a little different, these days, so you can't always rely on color changes. I just pay attention to the texture, and the reaction of the flux. You can see, hear and sometimes smell, when the metal is ready to soak up filler.

 When it's done at the optimun tempreture, there's very little pooling and it's smooth. At first, it helps to add the heat a little away from the joint. It'll heat up, just slower.

 If you buy stock, intead of kit parts, you can afford a little practice piece.