San Francisco 2 by Shaz - FINISHED - Artesania Latina - Wood

[Shazmira]

It's here! It's here! I can't believe it's here!!!

And it is soooo beautiful!!! lots and lots of sticks and string to play with

Thank you so much Chuck for creating the Syren!

[trippwj]

Hmmm...methinks thou art mildly excited by the delivery, perchance?

 

How long before that temptation to "just peak" becomes overwhelming, then progresses to "I'll just do an inventory", which inevitably is followed by "Maybe I will do some test fitting while I wait for glue to dry".......

 

It is inescapable...the smell of new wood, a new set of plans, that girl on Christmas morning reaction.  Yep, you are done for!!!!

 

 

[JeffT]

The Syren is an awesome kit! I hope you have a lot of willpower.

[Shazmira]

Serious question time. I was reading somewhere in one of the topics about using CA glue to hold the channels and pinracks to the hull is NOT a good idea as it isn't strong enough of a bond once the rigging gets attached. What is the best way to affix those parts to a vertical surface??

I certainly don't want them breaking loose just as I attach the first lines to it, so I would like to get them firmly attached now!

[realworkingsailor]

Robbyn.. to really secure your channels, no matter which glue you use, it's best to add some pins. Basically take the head off a brass nail, and drill a hole in the inside edge of the channel. Glue the pin in the hole with the pointy end out. Do that 2 or 3 (or more, depends on the size of the channel) times. Line up the channel and press firmly enough to the hull of your ship to make a little dimple, then drill another hole, at the dimples in the hull, to accept the pins. Doing that will ensure that your channles are strong enough to withstand any pressure from rigging.

 

Andy

[augie]

Robbyn -  I 'pin' all my channels and pinracks with wire.  I'm using 28 gauge on Syren.  I first stand my piece on edge and drill small holes into it, maybe 1/16" deep +/- and set in the wire with CA so that it sticks out about 1/16" +/-.  Then i press that piece very slightly where it's going to go to leave slight marks from the mounted wire.  Then I drill those holes out, checking to make sure the piece fits exactly right.  Then I glue it with CA.

 

That little bit of wire makes a huge difference.   You can also use the technique on fife rails.

 

Darned, Andy beat me

Edited April 25, 2013 by Augie

[Shazmira]

Hey, I figure for a change everyone is offerring the same advice. PIN EM. Thanks for the answers, I guess tonight, inbetween making the masts, I will remove all my pin racks and channels and then get them pinned to the hull properly!

 

See once again, doing something for the third time before I finally get it right. NOpe, that Syren is staying right in her box until I am sure I am up to the challenge she will present!

[realworkingsailor]

She will also come with much better instructions... and even better than that... the guy who designed her has been known to hang around here...so I'm told....

 

Andy

[ScottRC]

Folks, we will need to be sure we are her support group throughout the up and coming phase of shrouds and ratlines.  A phase in which she will endure hours upon hours of tying one knot after another, working up one mast, then the other, and through each individual eyebolt, a shroud will be formed and every turn of the thread counted to be equal to the last.  All the time, she will be yearning for the smell of fresh wood being glued to newly sawn timbers and missing the feel of a hull coming together beneath her fingers.   She is going to be tempted to be drawn away from the current build, with its tedium and redundancy, an off to the young, newly acquired, and ready to be laid up and planked kit, until it too may be drawn off to a lesser priority in order to have a new curiosity pursued.

This, my fellow modelers, is how we become masters of many builds at one time.  We do not want her to go into this dark side of our hobby.  Or do we?

[Shazmira]

Scott, now that was hilarious!!!!

 

I came home tonight, and very carefully closed and secured the Syren box (had originally planned to do an inventory), then I tucked her alongside the desk, where from my perch behind the drafting table she cannot be seen.

Then I promptly sat down and constructed my foremast!

 

Here she is dryfit for now.  Now it is time to shape the other two masts!

 

See, I am being very good

[trippwj]

The mast looks good - now where is that box hiding....

[Adrieke]

mast is looking very good

 

robbyn you do need to do count and those bulkheads easily slide out of their board so the best place to hold them is in the flase keel.

[gjdale]

Nice to see masts rising Robbyn.

 

In all seriousness though, Adrieke is quite right about inventorying the kit contents (check out his experience with his Gorch Foch). At least that way by the time you get to start you'll be confident that everything that should be there is. I think ME are pretty good with their QC on kit contents, but you can never be too sure.

Edited April 26, 2013 by gjdale

[fish]

Robbyn,

 

Are you going to stain those two little pieces of wood right below the crows nest?

 

-Aaron

[Shazmira]

Aaron, the cheeks actually have been stained, 3 coats worth. However, that ugly stuff they are made of, did not take the stain well. I forgot they are made of the same stuff as the beak, so I will need to stain them again using mahogany instead of golden oak.

[Bedford]

I never spray a tallship, always brush, you are less likely to get runs from trying to get coverage into all the nooks and crannies.

 

I would build all the masts and yards etc then varnish them then fit them. So much easier to work on all of it that way.

 

I do two coats because the first stands the grain up and makes it rough, a light sand and a second coat and all is well.

 

Only other tip at this point is don't just tie knots. Do proper knots, it will look so much better when finished.

 

I wrap the shroud around the deadeye and squeeze the end back onto the shroud with a tiny bit of pva glue on my fingers. This will hold the ends together and I then wrap black thread around the shroud from the deadeye upwards for about the same length as the diameter of the deadeye and then tie it off and put a little more pva on my fingers and rolling the bound joint between my fingers to work the glue into the binding and it will never let go.

[fish]

Robbyn,

 

I took all of my cheeks and planked them with cherry, I don't understand why they would supply them with the kit if they don't match the rest of the wood?

 

-Aaron

[Shazmira]

OMG Augie!!!!!

Sjors....quit stirring the pot lol.

Aaron, I never even considered planking them...doh!!! I think it is too late to do that now...I will just hope a darker stain will look better. I have golden Oak, mahogany, walnut, and ebony. if I do a little mixing perhaps I can get the proper result!

 

Steve...you just broke my heart with the whole brush on thing lol. Here I was thinking the spray poly would be so much quicker. Although I would have to wait for a very calm day (not common in Kansas) to take her outside and spray.

[ScottRC]

Agree with Steve,

Spray is not a good thing, you cannot control the thickness which ends up with runs, cracking, and orange peel effects.  It also draws dust onto the model, and a wood ship is a incubator for dust.  I prefer to use brush, cloth, and small sponges to apply stain and sealer.

 

 

  Yippee, a stick is protruding.

[mtaylor]

Nice progress, Robbyn.  I know it's hard not to look in the box, do and inventory, and then start checking fit... just in case you need to contact ME to get parts.     However, pretty soon, you'll establish your "working space" with several builds lying about.    Hmm... on second thought, that could be a win-win.

[WackoWolf]

Robbyn,

 

    ScottRC is right you don't want to spray, to much build up in different spots and runs, Brush on in even strokes and it will come out better. Try to enclose it after you do it so no little flies get stuck to it summer times brings out the little flies and they stick to painted stuff real fat. Good luck, your doing a great job.

[src]

Robbyn,

I would egree with the advise your getting on spraying, all those nooks and crannies on a ship just get overspray in them and its very hard to clean up, not to mention the reasons others have mentioned. Brushing isnt a big deal, especially if you plan it out in advance and try to do your finish as you go. For your clear coat invest in two or three good brushes, they are not cheap but will last forever if you take care of them.It never hurts to practice on some srap wood to get a feel for how the clear flows and dries. Look at me, I am still on my first build and telling you how to do your finish!! I am basing all this on years building cabinets and furniture, I have sprayed more than a few Stickley  style reproductions and spraying around all those spindles is for me a challenge, I much prefer a rubbed oil or brushed clear for that.

 

What ever you choose you have a very large following here that will keep you out of trouble.

 

Thanks for the well wishes, you wanna trade injuries, my back for your hand???

Sam

Edited April 27, 2013 by src

[ScottRC]

WHEN the SF is completed (hopefully by the end of May),

 

 

I NEED A SHOP!!!!

 

That is good that you are giving youself a deadline to complete a model.  You are doing the right thing by not putting a YEAR to the month, it makes it easier on your sanity.

 

You need a shop huh?   No you don't, trust me, we are like goldfish, the bigger the tank, then more we expand.    You no longer work in 1/100th of an inch but in 1/10th's of and inch and the shop is never large enough.  

[Shazmira]

Progress to show, you know I must keep Sjors happy

 

Masts are wrapped, and installed. Even figured out how to do the couple blocks on the foremast.

 

Finished getting the pin racks back on the ship, complete with pins to support them

 

 

Now it is time to do the stays tonight....pretty nervous about this stage as I really don't have a clue what I am doing on this part of the build

[Tophog]

With all the great work you have already done the stays will be just as good.

[Shazmira]

Thanks Geoffrey, from your mouth to my clumsy fingers!!

[themadchemist]

Hey Robbyn

Looks good. ...and she takes to the air... don't you love that nervous feeling, that let's you know your learning something (k)new.

 

Did you build the crows nests or did the kit change again. Seems that part of the SF has changed with every kit redesign. If those are the kits they are an improvement on the older versions that look horrible, as they are 1 piece and look like 1/2 a barrel.

 

You'll be tieing ratlines by the weekend, so how easy are the final exams going to be so you can save time grading, as we know time is needed for other things

[lamarvalley]

She's looking great Robbyn! Whatever the stays are (not there yet so I haven't a clue and my instructions are way downstairs) I'm sure you'll do just as well with them as you have other parts that were once upon a time brand new too. That's kind of the fun of this stuff... breathless anticipation at the newness of it all.

[Bedford]

Talking of securing blocks to masts etc. It's too late for this build but you can do it with subsequent builds.

 

I buy household fuse wire and wrap it losely around something outside and leave it there to weather. I gets very dull and rough looking.

 

I use this as a faux rope, I bend a length of it into half then twist it together to form a rope leaving a small loop at the start to attach to the mast etc.

 

This then wraps around the block and back onto itself with another twist.

 

I find it perfectly acceptable to look at and very easy to do.

 

Not sure if the weathering process can be accelerated with heat or something but even if you use shiny and new, it will dull off in time.

 

Steve

[lamarvalley]

Bedford... that household fuse wire sounds interesting but here in the states breakers have long replaced fuses so getting that blank stare from the guy in the hardware store when I ask for 'fuse wire' is not my goal.... I assume you're talking copper wire or maybe it's aluminum?.... braided? what gauge?