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

[Timmo]

Just a thought Joe, I wished I'd blanked off the view across the hull through the rear cabin lights. It's only visible on mine when directly side on but you wouldn't be able to see clear through the ship at that point due to bulkheads, cabin partitions etc.

[jwvolz]

Thanks Timmo. I figured better safe than sorry on that. I'll further evaluate what can be seen when that quarterdeck bulkhead goes in. 

[jwvolz]

No update, but my lovely wife gave me this for my birthday today. 

[Landlubber Mike]

Nice present (and even nicer wife), and happy birthday!

[jwvolz]

Thanks for the birthday wishes Mike.

 

Finished the first layer of planking and got it all filled and sanded. Pretty happy with the way it came out. 

 

I also spent some time trying to clean up the walnut for the next layer of planking. It's very rough along the edges and wants to splinter easily. I really wish Hobbymill weren't so far out on delivery, or I'd replace it. 

Edited May 24, 2014 by Joe V.

[Beef Wellington]

Joe shes looking very nice.   Thanks for the heads up on HobbyMill - I'm trying to pull the trigger on my next build and would look to replace wood in that, this maybe gives me the nudge I need to do it so I can plan well ahead.

[fnkershner]

I would suggest HobbyMill is well worth the wait. Maybe you work on cannons or deck furniture while you wait for you planking. I now wish I had on my Harvey the difference is amazing.

[jwvolz]

The more I think about it the more I agree Floyd. 

 

It's "only" two months or so, and my building does slow down this time of year anyway with outdoor activities. 

[Landlubber Mike]

Joe, I would echo what others have said about Jeff's wood being well worth the wait.  I haven't worked with it yet, but the quality seems to be night and day relative to the Caldercraft kit wood.  If the walnut in your kit is anything like the walnut I had in my Badger kit, the frustration you'll find in working with it will likely make you kick yourself for not upgrading it.  I found that it wasn't just the wood strips that were very prone to splintering - the pre-cut pieces are made up of walnut ply, and a lot of them not only chipped on me, but I even had some pretty much disintegrate on me after I cut them out.  

 

The good thing is that Caldercraft usually adds extras for the pre-cut pieces and wood strips, but even then I was forced to settle on things that were not very good.  

[jwvolz]

I pulled the trigger and sent an e-mail to Jeff at Hobbymill ordering some wood.

 

I'm going to plank below the wale in walnut and above it in boxwood for some contrast. I also ordered some boxwood sheet to replace some of the kit CNC-cut items that are made of walnut ply. 

[Timmo]

Good move Joe. Can't was to see a Granado in boxwood.

[jwvolz]

Minor update. I'm going to move on to some detail work, and then plank the deck as i wait for my Hobbymill order in about 7 weeks.

 

The false deck has been glued in place and the mortar surrounds completed and installed.

 

 

 

 

[Mirabell61]

A pleasure to watch your buildlog Joe,

 

nice and clean build to date, I`m looking out towards your next Progress...

 

Nils

[Landlubber Mike]

Very nice work Joe - you'll have this built by the end of the year at this pace

[jwvolz]

Thanks guys.

 

No way Mike!  I'm definitely going to be slowing down over the summer...

 

I did get the mortar beds assembled and the eye bolts installed. I also removed the mortars themselves from the thick brass pour stub, cleaned them up and added a few handles per the AOTS book. They are not attached yet.

[latestarter]

I'm thinking of this as my next build, the more I see of this one the more I like it, I will use this build as my goal.

[jwvolz]

I made some progress over the last week and got the main deck laid. I used the very nice maple strips supplied by Caldercraft and am very happy with the way they look. 

 

After getting all of the planks laid and scraped smooth I drilled the holes for the treenails per the AOTS book. I'm still debating how to represent the treenails, but am leaning toward using regular old birch toothpicks sharpened to a point and glued in the holes.  I'm still doing a little mock-up testing but I like the very subtle contrast they provide with the maple. 

 

Still thinking about it... 

 

 

[aliluke]

Really nice work all round Joe. Your experience shines through. I'm going to keep following - Granado is a great subject.

 

I'm a big fan of wood paste for the treenails - effective, fast and easy. By making the paste almost the same colour as the deck they become invisible at most angles. This is the way it should be at this scale in my opinion.

[Landlubber Mike]

Joe, the deck turned out very nice.  The maple in the kit is beautiful - I would have preferred that over the tanganyika in my Badger kit.

[fnkershner]

Joe - Alistair beat me to it. I was going to suggest you try the drill and fill method. You have such a wide choice of colors to try and it is much simpler than the toothpicks.

[Timmo]

Great star with the treenails Joe. Nice clean drill work there.

[jwvolz]

Thanks all for the likes and the nice comments.

 

Having never done treenails using the wood paste method does anyone have any specific product recommendations?

 

Is this product an option: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Minwax-3-75-oz-Golden-Oak-Wood-Putty-13611/100376127?N=5yc1vZc5d1Z1z0sv1t  

 

I know some on MSW have used a material and melted and then applied.

 

I'm also wondering as to steps in the process. Varnish before the filler to prevent staining of the deck?

[aliluke]

The product I use is probably not available in the US - it is Wattyl interior timber putty and is water based. The product you show is non-hardening and can't be sanded. The Wattyl putty fully hardens and can be sanded. I don't pre-seal the planks first and have no issues with bleeding. My deck is holly strip.

 

The best way is to trial whatever you find on a few planks off the ship.

[jwvolz]

Thanks Alistair. I'll do a little digging around  the home improvement store this weekend.

[fnkershner]

Joe - I am not quite to the point of doing on a full model. But I will tell you what I have done.

 

Step 1. I took extra deck planking and created a sample section of deck on a scrap piece of wood. Complete with caulking etc.

Step 2. I used a #78 drill and drilled the holes.

Step 3. I took a small amount of paste, of a similar product to the one you mention, that I got at the local hardware. And rubbed into the holes.

Step 4. I made sure there was no residue

Step 5. I covered with a coat of wipe on poly.

Edited June 11, 2014 by Floyd Kershner

[jwvolz]

Thanks Floyd. I'll check that out.

 

Looks like I've got some testing to do.

[jwvolz]

I installed the port-side inner bulwark piece, and it was  not without issue. There was no way I was going to get all of the ports lined up with the outer gunport strip if I followed the deck line. So...I allowed the inner piece to lay across the deck evenly, and the ports appear to all be about the same height doing it that way. It did match up well for the first, second and last two, so I made sure it followed the sheer properly. 

 

I also had to rip out the outermost row of deck planking on both sides to get everything situated evenly, but that is no problem  to replace. 

 

Therefore I had to trim three of the outer ports to shape to match the inner piece and fill the bottom edge with some spare planking. I also had to run a narrow piece across the top to match them up properly. You can see all of this clearly in the third photo in this post. Dry fitting of the starboard side showed a very consistent similar situation, which is actually good, since the same correction there should make things even when complete.

 

I also cut the inner piece in two to make installation easier. No big deal to fill and sand, and this will all be painted so it should look just fine. 

 

I really do have mixed feelings on the pre-cut strips. They certainly save time framing out ports, but since they are stiff and don't like to bend in multiple planes, they certainly are prone to introducing errors like this, even though I did my utmost to make sure they hit the bulkhead extensions properly when I installed them. 

 

 

[jwvolz]

Finished the starboard side inner bulwarks and my thinking as to which way to trim where things didn't match up looks good now. All of the ports on both sides are within .5mm of being the same consistent height above the deck. I still need to do some minor shaping and filing where I filled and shimmed the outer gunport pattern. Lining the ports, and the second outer planking will clean that all up. 

 

I also replaced the couple of deck planks I had to pull up to accommodate the inner gunport pattern installation. 

 

That'll be it for the week as I'm traveling for work until Friday. I'll likely get to the treenails and then the spirketing this weekend. 

 

 

[fnkershner]

Joe - it looks like you did the treenailing of your deck. What did you decide to use?

[jwvolz]

Floyd, the holes are drilled but not yet filled. I found a putty similar to yours that I'm going to use. Testing off the model showed it to end up in the wood grain just a bit when scraped level, so I think I'm going to seal the deck first before applying the putty.