HM Bomb Vessel Granado by jwvolz - FINISHED - Caldercraft - 1:64

[jwvolz]

I was looking for something a bit different for my next build, and most assuredly did not want to copper, having done so on my last three builds, so after much thought I have settled on the Caldercraft Granado. There are some nice builds of her going on her on MSW which have given me some great ideas and nice inspiration. 

 

The kit is very nice right out of the box, with decent looking wood, nice fittings and excellent plans and instructions. I have yet to decide how far I'm going to go with changes and alterations wood wise, but I have some time to decide on that. 

 

So...let's get started!

 

She's upright on her building board with rabbet and bearding line cut and the first few bulkheads installed. I'm glad we saved (my now teenaged sons') Legos!

 

Nothing too exciting yet...

 

 

[riverboat]

Good luck on this build Joe, I understand it's a real nice kit.

Frank

[jwvolz]

Thanks Frank. Yes, it's a very nice kit. I'm pretty impressed with the quality of the components,instructions and plans.

 

Highly recommeded.

[WackoWolf]

Well Joe, it looks like your off to a good start. Keep the pictures coming.

[Timmo]

Welcome to the wonderful world of Granado, Joe.

She's a great kit and will reward a builder of your patience and skill. I look forward to seeing her grow.

Irony is I was thinking it's about time for something with copper after my Granado.

[jwvolz]

Thanks Timmo and Joe.

 

I'll likely be back on copper after this one Timmo, but it sure is nice to have the break!  

 

Well between last night and getting up early this morning I have all of the bulkheads and the stern extensions installed and beveled. Fit was very good and things went smoothly. It may be a couple of days before I make any further progress. The gun port template sheet is pretty warped and will require straightening for a few days before I can use it.  

 

That, and my son has a baseball game tomorrow as well as it being i Mother's day, that should just about do it for the weekend!

[jwvolz]

Just spotted a possible issue.

 

The four stern extensions don't stick out the same distance. I made sure everything was square and even, and got the two outer ones angled ins lightly as is proper, but not sure why they are protruding differently. The outer two are not out as far as the inner. All are flush with the last bulkhead. 

 

It would be easy enough to shim them, and as it is now it doesn't look like the transom would lay flat. 

 

 

[realworkingsailor]

Hi Joe,

 

Your Grenado looks like a nice build. About your transom, it should have a slight curve to it. Check using the quarter deck piece, it should let you know if anything is amiss.

 

 

Looking forward to watching your progress.

 

 

Andy

[jwvolz]

Thanks Andy.

 

Looks pretty good with the quarterdeck false deck, may need a little tweak, but not as bad as I first thought. 

[maggsl_01]

Hey Joe ()

 

good luck to your Vessel. I am very interested to watch your build as the ship belongs to my some-day-projects.

 

The start seems to be quite good. Never done a Caldercraft before but obviously the kits are some of the best on the market.

 

Best wishes

 

Cheerio

 

Max

 

[Landlubber Mike]

Hi Joe, nice kit for your next build.  Caldercraft makes great kits, I'm looking forward to following along.  The only issue with at least the Badger kit was that the walnut was prone to splintering, and the walnut laser cut pieces were on walnut sheets that were not solid walnut, but more like plywood.  Otherwise, the plans, instructions, guns and photo-etch parts are top notch.

 

I think there is an AOTS book for the Granado.  Are you going to enhance the kit in any way?

 

On the stern extensions, if I remember correctly, my Badger was set up similarly, so that the stern transom would have a slight curve to it.  You obviously need to get the stern extension pairs even in order to have a nice smooth curve on the transom.  I don't recall it being too difficult when all was said and done.

 

Enjoy the kit!

Edited May 11, 2014 by Landlubber Mike

[jwvolz]

Thanks Mike.

 

Obviously I haven't gotten to the walnut yet but was thinking of possibly going with boxwood for the outer planking (at least above the waterline). The only thing holding me back is so many of the other fittings and CNC cut items will all be walnut, and I'm not sure how I feel about mixing and matching, and I don't feel like replacing all of those items. I definitely plan to replace the deck material, likely with Holly. Some of that walnut ply will be a challenge, no doubt.  

 

My birthday is in 12 days, AOTS book already on the list... 

[Timmo]

Joe, that transome should curve slightly as suggested by the learned scholars here. Here's what mine looks like from underneath.

I'd love to see a Granado with boxwood.

[jwvolz]

Thanks for the confirmation on that Timmo. The fact that both stern extensions protruded evenly led me to think it was by design. 

 

I fiddled with the gun port template last night and am not sure I like the way it lays across bulkhead number 3. The run is clean and smooth other wise, but when you clamp it flush to the third bulkhead it develops a decided kink there which can't be right. Both sides are the same and I measured out the bulkhead for squareness and evenness and all looks OK there. It's almost as if that bulkhead were too small by 3-4 mm. The issue seem confined to the extension, which gets cut off anyway so I may just let it remain vertical across there and not glue it  to that extension to keep the kink out of it, just maybe glue the bottom edge where it touches the bulkhead proper. 

 

No pictures of it, I'm traveling for work. 

[Timmo]

That kink issue sounds familiar but I don't have any pics of my early build to check. As long as it takes a smooth run (eg even with it unglued on number 3) that's the main thing. Those uprights all come off later anyway.

[fnkershner]

Joe, I just found your log. I think I will pull up a chair and enjoy the show. I have always admired Caldercraft kits. I can't wait to see how this one develops.

[jwvolz]

Thanks for following along Floyd!

 

Timmo, thanks for the validation on my thought process there. That's the best thing about MSW, bouncing things off people who have already "been there, done that" with a certain kit. I have mixed feelings on gunport strips like that. They make port alignment easier, but a lot of people seem to struggle with bending/aligning them, and one little mistake can throw the whole build off and not allow cannons to fit in the  ports properly. 

Edited May 13, 2014 by Joe V.

[Landlubber Mike]

Hi Joe,

 

The gunport patterns for my Badger were a source of aggravation for me as well. I eventually got them to fit, but I have a foggy recollection of running into a kink near the 3rd bulkhead as well.  Like you said, the patterns are great for getting the run of the lines right, but I think they really fight the laws of geometry in force fitting them along the curves of the hull.

 

I didn't try this, but would maybe cutting or removing part of the pattern near the top where the kink is relieve the issue?  Not sure that I would cut the pattern completely as you lose the straight run, but I wonder if the kink can be alleviated by cutting or removing some of the material on the pattern.  Then again, cutting or removing a piece of the pattern might also throw the straight line off, so maybe it's better to just work with the pattern in two sections?  

 

Sorry to hem and haw on this.  For what it's worth, I think for my Badger, the slight kink issue went away after some sanding, installing the first planking, and then sanding some more down to almost the pattern at the kink area.

[jwvolz]

Glad to know I'm not alone Mike. I gathered as much from reading a lot of build logs on here. 

 

What I think I'm going to do is make sure it is well glued at the base where it contacts the actual bulkheads, and simply spot glue to the extensions, making sure it follows a good line. The extensions are concave where they meet the gunport strip and I do think that is intentional to make less of a surface contact area, thus making them easier to remove down the line. In theory...

[jwvolz]

Tonight I shaped the bow and stern filler blocks I glued in place last evening. 

 

 

 

I also went to work cleaning up the slightly rough edge of the otherwise very nice maple deck wood. I lightly drew each strip across a piece of 320 grit sandpaper, which squared up the edge nicely. It probably wasn't completely necessary, but it made me feel better as to how tightly and smoothly the planks will lay.

 

I had originally planned to replace some of the wood on this build, including the deck planks, but Hobbymill is out to July 28 for shipping. I'll have to plan a little better next time.

 

On to the dreaded gunport strips next...

[jwvolz]

Starboard side gunport pattern installed without issue. On the third bulkhead where it wanted to kink if I clamped too close to the top of the bulkhead extension I clamped it low against the actual bulkhead. Worked out OK. 

 

 

[Landlubber Mike]

Looks great Joe!  Glad the gunports are cooperating.

 

Just out of curiosity, did Caldercraft switch to maple for the decks from tanganyika?  My Badger had tanganyika, which was a nice wood, but some of the strips were warped and/or not very straight.  For what it's worth, I used these red pins that have a very thin needle and a small profile to keep my planks straight on the deck

 

[Beef Wellington]

Joe, very nice start to your Granado.  I did the same thing sanding the edges of the planking, it does make a difference to get a nice tight fit (Tanganika in my case though). 

[Timmo]

Hi Joe, I had no trouble with the deck stripping from the kit after it was given an edge sand.

Most of the issues in my build came from positioning the gun port patterns.

I measured position from the stern and ended up with the bow chase ports unevenly aligned by about 3mm. This wasn't noticed until after the first planking but required a lot of filing to fix. In hindsight I suspect it was a slightly uneven curvature to the patterns at the bow that put them out- there was a slight kink in one.

I should have realised when it required one to be trimmed at the fore end to fit. As you know the position if those ports will be vital for positioning the cat heads and head rails later and greatly affect the symmetry of the bow. Take your time.

Also. Nice filler blocks.

Edited May 16, 2014 by Timmo

[jwvolz]

Mike, Jason, Timmo , thanks and everyone else for the likes.

 

MIke, the planks are definitely Maple in this kit and they're very nice. I do wish hey were a bit thicker than .5mm though. Great idea on those pins, where dd you buy those?

 

Timmo, I've realized how critical that alignment is and it did require a little beveling and trimming at the fore end to get the tab to lay right on bulkhead 7, and to make sure everything was flush at bulkheads 1,2 and the stern extensions. So far looks pretty good. On to the other side!

[Landlubber Mike]

Maple is a great wood - nice upgrade over tanganyika.  I bought the pins from Hobbylinc.com.  I really liked using them as they have a longer, thinner profile than push pins, with a relatively sharp point.

 

http://www.hobbylinc.com/htm/mid/mid587.htm

[jwvolz]

Awesome. Thanks for the info Mike. 

[jwvolz]

Clamps are off the starboard side, and the run of the pattern looks good. The second photo shows pretty clearly the concern I had over how the pattern runs across bulkhead #3. If I had clamped that tightly to the top it would have developed a kink. I only glued that one at the base of the pattern, where it contacts the actual bulkhead that will remain after the extensions are cut to deck level. Worked out OK.

[jwvolz]

Both gun port patterns in place, and they look to be even and have good smooth runs which mirror each other well. I also framed out the stern cabin light with some basswood sheet and painted it black since those ports will be open and there is nothing in there. The forward one will be finished once I install the quarterdeck bulkhead a little later on. 

 

That's it for today, off to my son's baseball game. 

 

 

[jwvolz]

Small update.

 

I got a few strakes of the first planking in place, as well as the garboard. I began tapering immediately with the first one under the gun port template just to avoid crowding issues at the bow. I don't get at all obsessive about the run of planks or accuracy on under-planking, but I do generally use less than full length pieces because I just find them much easier to handle. 

 

That's it for a few days as I'm on the road for work until Friday.