Echo by davec - FINISHED - cross-section

[davec]

My old log was lost, as was the Hannah one.  After a lot of thought, I have decided to just restart both where I left off.  I didn’t save them, and given the choice between spending time on the computer and spending time in the workshop, it was an easy choice.

I’m looking forward to the workshop in 2 weeks.  I redid my keel (pictures below are the fifth redo).  I had originally planned to use the previous one, but had made that with the dimensions from the contract, which are slightly different than the plans.  When I made the framing jig and it was loose on the keel, I realized I might have other problems down the road, so I made another keel using the wood Greg sent.  I have also made the dead flat and dead flat one frames.

I’m going to hold for now and play with my new ropewalk. I don’t want to make any more frames until after the workshop as I think they will be a lot better after.

 

Dave

 

[dvm27]

You're definitely set, Dave. I'm thinking of bringing my new Byrnes ropewalk to the workshop so we can all plan with it in the breaks. I don't have any rope stock though so you're welcome to bring some.

Edited February 24, 2013 by dvm27

[oneslim]

Hi Dave,

 

Very Nice!  See You in two weeks at the workshop.

 

Bob W

[Cap'n Rat Fink]

HI DAVE,

    SHE LOOKS REAL GOOD.

[davec]

Bob and Mario - thanks!

 

Greg - I have DMC Cordonett in a range of sizes and will bring to the workshop.  I had a breakthrough last night, and am now getting line I am happy with.  I can bring my ropewalk too if you want.

 

Dave

[Ryland Craze]

Dave,

Your new keel looks really great. It looks like the place to be in two weeks is the Echo workshop. I wish that I could have attended that one. Thanks for supporting the IPMS Show in Richmond this past Saturday. Maybe you can enter your Echo cross section in next year's show.

[Timothy Wood]

Really looks good Dave,    

 

I look forward to seeing your progress in person at the April meeting.

 

Tim

[jml1083]

Very nice work Dave.  Looking forward to meeting you in Baltimore.

 

Regards,

[davec]

Even though it has been 2 years, 9 months, and 29 days since the last post, work didn’t actually stop.  The framing is finished.! One side looks OK to leave uncovered, and the other is begging to be planked (meaning I can’t true some of the frames without either completely disassembling and replacing them, or thinning the others too much).  Planking one side was the original plan, and the bad areas will get covered, so this is OK.

 

Few things of note:

• Future builders should be comfortable that the project is doable even if you only have around 90 minutes per week to work on it.
• It was a fun project to do a little bit at a time. The time limitations were responsible for the problems on one side.  At some point ‘perfect’ became the enemy of ‘good enough’, and I stopped doing redo’s.  It was too disheartening to go long periods of time with no apparent progress.
• I think I have defined some sort of record for how slow progress on a ship model can go without actually stopping.

I plan to fit it out, and hope to have more time to work on it over the holidays.  David and Greg sent me a copy of their instructions, which are super.  The framing was all new to me while most of the rest is similar to things I've done before.

 

Happy holidays!

 

Dave

[druxey]

Looks very nice in the photo - what flaws?

[dvm27]

Looks terrific, Dave. I fit out just one-half of mine and it makes for a very nice display.

[davec]

Greg – thanks!  I am using yours as a guide, and will aim for something similar in terms of half fully finished and half frame exposed. It will be a mirror image and include one gun.

 

Druxey – you are as always incredibly kind.  I took the picture at an angle that hid the uncorrectable low spots.  As they aren’t near the ends or gunport, the planking should effectively hide them.  There are also a few frames that are misaligned vertically, also not visible at an angle.  I kept knocking them loose when fairing, and after regluing the same frames multiple times, they migrated.  Again, mostly on one side, and soon to be hidden forever.

 

I’ve been having a good week off from work.  My kids are home, but sleep until late, so I have had workshop time to begin planking.  I’m going to work my way up to the lower deck clamps, then stop and treenail.  I made 7/8” boxwood treenails.  I’m hoping the end grain gives enough contrast that they are visible against the boxwood planks without having the measles effect I have had on prior models.  On the Rattlesnake I used cherry, which was too visible, and on Hannah I used boxwood, but was using cheap drill bits that left a burn mark at the edge of the hole, and was using an old drawplate that only got me down to about 1 ¼”.  I got a Byrnes drawplate and am able to go smaller, and got better drill bits and lower speed drill, so now get clean holes.  It looked OK on the test piece.

 

Best wishes for the new year,

 

Dave

[davec]

I've added the lower deck clamps, more of the ceiling planking, and begun treenailing.  I put some mineral spirits on to get some sense what they would look like with finish. I'm very impressed with the Jim Byrnes drawplate.  I was able to make .018" treenails (just over 3/4" scale) - second smallest hole on the drawplate.  Much happier with the effect here than on my prior models.

 

Hope everyone has a great new year.

 

Dave

[davec]

I finished the treenails on the partially planked side.  The other side has all the ceiling planks, so will take longer.  I'm hoping to finish the treenails on that side before heading back to work on Monday, when the model will resume its glacial progress.  I also milled stock for the mast step and well.  I bought a 6' boxwood 2x4 from Gilmer wood 8 years ago, and just cut into the last 2' length.

Edited January 2, 2016 by davec

[AnobiumPunctatum]

Really nice progress

[davec]

Time for a semi-annual update.  First post since January other than my pleas not to archive the group build log.  Work continues slowly as a bunch of other commitments continue take priority over shop time. I have the inner hull done to the level of the upper deck clamps, and have begun work on the well.  Mast step is also done, as well as the limber boards and lower deck beams.  I haven’t put any finish on – I used some mineral spirits to clean off the sawdust. I’m continuing to work on the well.  I began gluing the sides on right before leaving on vacation, but didn’t take a picture.

 

Dave

[druxey]

Slow and steady wins, you know! Looking good, Dave.

[dvm27]

Looking excellent, David. Your meticulous work shows up quitenicely in the symmetry of those ventilation holes. That doesn't happen without careful planning.

[davec]

Greg and Druxey - many thanks!  I'm working on the 'steady' part.  The ventilation holes were fun.   I don't get to spend much time in the workshop, but get to spend a fair amount of time out of it planning what I will do when I finally get there, so I had plenty of time to map out the pattern. 

 

Well and shot locker almost done.  I will add the very top strip when the lower deck beams are installed, and I have some great photo etch hinges to add.  They were the subject of a workshop on photo etching done by one of the extremely gifted Hampton Roads Model Ship Society members (thanks Gene!).

 

I've begun work on the main deck beams.

 

Dave

Edited August 11, 2016 by davec

[druxey]

That's a nice well and shot locker you've made, Dave.

[davec]

I've been working on the deck beams.  The lower deck beams have no curve and were easy.  The upper deck beams were more of a challenge.  As suggested in the practicum, using a sanding block cut to the shape of the inside curve was really helpful.  For the outer curve I used a regular sanding block and digital caliper to get to the right thickness.  The beam arms were fun.  All of the joints so far were done with a table saw.  The pieces haven't been sanded yet, which should explain some of the discoloration on the wood.  Everything is just laid in place for the pictures. I can lay a straight edge across the beams and beam arms without high or low spots.

 

I've started cutting the notches for the carlings.  This is something I had a big problem with on my prior models.  I spent  a while on some scrap wood, and discovered my problem was pretty basic - my chisels weren't sharp enough.  I was doing pretty well with my large chisels with a sharpening jig, but was sharpening my smaller chisels by hand. This wasn't getting them anywhere near sharp enough, and I was getting a lot of tear out and cracking the wood.  I got a honing guide that fit my medium sized chisels, and a grobet roller graver sharpener that holds my dockyard microchisels, and all of a sudden was getting much better results. It took me about 90 minutes to make the first two notches (no picture yet) but they came out OK.  I made some templates to help mark them out so they all look uniform.

 

We drop my daughter back at college tomorrow and have an empty nest again, so hopefully slow progress will continue.

 

Dave

 

[davec]

I had to redo some of the upper deck beams because I cut the notches for the carlings in the wrong places. It took a fair amount of time, but I didn't post anything because nothing looked different.  The upper deck beams and beam arms are now complete.

 

I spent some down time over the holidays working on the main brace bitt pins.  I roughed out the shape by scoring each beam on the table saw with a .018" blade set to the depth of where I needed to carve the shape to.  This gave me something to aim for, and worked better than marking the wood with pencil,.When I marking with pencil, it worked great on the first two sides, but the marks got shaved away on the other two sides.  I carved the shape  of the decorative portion with a chisel, then cut the 45 degree bevels. Once I figured out the relationships between the beams and bitt pins on the model, I cut the slots for the upper deck and bitt crossbeam.

 

For the sheave in the bitt pin, I drilled two holes and shaped the sheave with an escarpment file as described in the instructions. I made sheaves for the cheek blocks - I wanted to try it both ways.  Hopefully the difference won't be too noticeable. 

 

I turned the sheaves on the lathe.  I turned a 7.5" boxwood dowel, and end-drilled the hole as deep into the dowel as I could with the bit. I grooved the dowel with a round file on the lathe. It took a little practice to get the grooves looking the same.  I cut to one side of the groove  by eye on the table saw, then used the stop on the fence to cut them to uniform 1.75" thickness.   

 

I ended up making the cheek blocks in two pieces.  It was easier for me to cut the decorative molding on a separate piece of stripwood, and groove the main block on the table saw. 

 

Now that I have the technique down, I expect the jeer bitts will go pretty quickly.  Once I notch the lower deck beams for the carlings, I can glue in the well, mast step, and lower deck, at which point it should look like there has been some progress.

 

[druxey]

Coming along nicely, Dave. Neat work.

[davec]

I started deviating from the instructions a little.  I think it will be easier to work on the external planking with the model not mounted so I can rotate it as I plank and treenail.  This should be much easier to do without any of the internal parts fitted.  I’m leaving the starboard side unplanked, and have trimmed the tops of the frames and removed the temporary spacers. The finish is minwax matte wipe on poly.  I’m beginning to understand why so many people just use sanding sealer.  I like the way the poly finish brings out the boxwood color, but it also makes obvious areas where I didn’t notice that I had gotten glue. I installed 4 ribbands parallel to the lines of the futtock joints.

 

I followed E&T’s suggestions for brass blackening for the nails (http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/6977-the-blacken-it-trials/page-1) and got much better results than my usual.  The only thing I didn’t do is use de-ionized water- I couldn't find it locally and need to order some. I made my own nail pusher to get all the nails to sit the same ¾” proud of the ribband.  The end of the brass rod has a 1/32” hole drilled ¾” scale deep.

 

I started work on the port side, which I plan to fully plank.    I’m taking a break after cleaning up all the ebony dust.  I tried making the anchor stock wales hook and butt as per the instructions, but this was really hard to do in ebony.  I was looking at Maury’s log and Greg’s model, and saw that they both used top and butt, then saw that in TFFM it says that this was the usual on 6^th rates-  much easier to make.  I used 76” as the distance between the edge and the widest part, slightly different than Maury or Greg, but it seems to work to put the pumpdale scupper at one butt, and the next butt centered on a frame.    I love the look of finished ebony way more than dyed or painted wood.  It has a bad reputation for being hard to work (nothing a Byrnes saw can’t fix) and irritating dust, which just takes a filter mask and a few extra minutes with a shop vac. 

 

I usually treenail in the same wood as the planks – I think the end grain gives just enough contrast that the treenails are visible without making them too obvious. Has anyone made treenails out of ebony? The way the wood splits, it would probably be a nightmare.  I will probably not try, and use cherry instead.  I did this on the wales on Hannah, and it looked OK.   I will mask like crazy when it is time to sand the installed wales so the ebony dust doesn’t stain the boxwood.  Plan is to plank with holly below the waterline and boxwood above.

 

Best wishes for the New Year.

 

Dave

 

[dvm27]

That looks terrific, David! Ebony is fine for a cross section like this as there not too much of it nor are there any major bends to do. I used it on my Pegasus cross section and it really is a beautiful wood. Agree with you that the model is easiest planked while not mounted. Fits nicely in your lap during the process. You'll be delighted to plank her in only a day or so. Its one of the reasons I chose this section.

 

Best wishes for the New Year!

Edited December 31, 2016 by dvm27

[druxey]

Happy New Year to you also, Dave. Apart from practical problems making ebony treenails - I wouldn't. It would look as if your model had the pox! The contrast in tone would be much too great. 

 

As for using ebony on the wale - you're a braver man than me. Looks nice, though.

[davec]

Hi Druxey - Definitely want to avoid the pox appearance, so in general I treenail with the same wood as the plank, and go slightly undersize if possible.  Question is what to do for treenailing the ebony wales?  To use the same wood, I would have to use ebony, which isn't feasible.  I want something dark, and don't want to have to use dye or paint.  I'm thinking cherry against the ebony - I used it on Hannah and the Rattlesnake, and although there was a lot more contrast than using same wood treenails, it wasn't too much.

 

thanks!

 

Dave

[dvm27]

On a previous modeI I used pear treenails in ebony and they looked very nice with a very subtle, but discernible, color difference.

[davec]

This is what cherry looks like contrasted against the ebony on my last ship.  I like the contrast with the ebony.  I wouldn't use cherry on boxwood again- not quite the pox effect Druxey was talking about, but still too prominent. After the last model I got a Byrnes drawplate and can get the diameter down significantly smaller.  So far on the cross section I have been using boxwood on boxwood, and around a scale 1", which I'm a lot happier with. There are some pictures on the prior page.

Edited January 4, 2017 by davec

[davec]

Wales added.  I put up two pictures, one with flash, one without.  The one with flash makes it easier to see the anchor stock shape, and the one without gives a better sense of what it looks like under natural light.  The wood is ebony and treenails are cherry.  It has been sanded and has a single coat of minwax wipe-on poly.  I'm OK with the contrast between the ebony and cherry.  The treenails are deliberately a little undersized.  Steel says 1 1/4", but they are more like 1.1".  I think they end up looking bigger than they actually are, and when I go full size it looks (to me) too speckled and distracting.

 

I'm going to work on the planking below the wales next.  I plan to use holly where the "white stuff" would be.  My understanding is that it was used below the waterline, although there are a few posts scattered throughout the site saying it was OK to use below the wales.  (It is hard to search on the site - searching for "white stuff" mostly brings up posts about snow).  The waterline is not that far below the wale for this part of the ship.  I think I will mark out the waterline, plank with box down to it, and holly below.  It will probably have one split plank that it part holly and part box, but I did this on Rattlesnake and it worked OK.  If whitestuff to the wale is historically accurate, it would be easier - any thoughts?

 

Thanks!
 

Dave