Charles W Morgan by homer (Ron Lang) - Model Shipways - 1:64

[lesterpalifka]

oh by the way I have the actual plans of the hurricane house and tryworks for the Morgan if you want them

[homer]

I then placed the Skylight, and began building the Deck House. Before attaching them I did a test fit of the Mizzen Mast and Spider Band because they sit very close and I wanted to make sure there wouldn't be a problem down the line. Seems you always have to think a half dozen steps ahead. 

 

 

[homer]

If I recall, before I started building the Shelter / Boat Bearer, I placed the Upper and Lower Channels being careful to place a slightly wider lower channel that while in line with the upper channel, has off set holes for the angle of the channel plates. 

 

Apparently, I still have to learn how to place pics so they are in order once uploaded. They seem to want to go into their own order. Maybe there's a way to edit the order???

[homer]

I almost forgot ... a few weeks ago someone was talking about making a more sturdy working stand for the ship while under construction. I initially made my finished display stand shortly after coppering the hull. But, during construction I tend to drip this and that and scratch it all up. Usually, I just refinish it after the build and before the ship is placed in it's display cabinet that I build. 

 

But this new working stand idea intrigued me. I took an old show box and cut it down to size opening the ends to a half circle. Then wrapped the ship in shrink wrap or plastic wrap so it doesn't get anything on it. I then set the ship on the box and shot that expanding foam, you can buy at Home Depot, into the corners. It filled it all the way up and after it hardens I trimmed it down and now have a perfect fitting stand!  

[texxn5]

She's looking great Ron.  Lester's idea on the foam looks like it works well.  Good job, glad to see  you're still working right along...

[homer]

I know that reviewing pics sometimes helps me determine how I might go about the next build process. We're getting ready to head off to the San Diego Wild Animal Park for the day... so I will do away with the description and throw up some build pics for your reference.

[texxn5]

Nice progress Ron, you're doing a beautiful job.  

John

[homer]

I have a question and hope one of our members has an answer!!! ... I'm beginning to give some thought to the display case I will build for the C W Morgan. I want to build a glass case with thin "brass" edging. They are available for purchase from display case builders and are VERY EXPENSIVE. Like many of our members, we take pride in building everything ourself. 

 

My question is where can I purchase the "brass" angle strips?? I want them to be thin and approx. 3/8 to 1/4" wide on the sides. I know there must be a company out there that supplies the cabinet builders, but for the life of me, I can't find a supply company or place to purchase the brass strips??? PLEASE... can anyone help???? Thanks. Ron

[Altduck]

Ron

 

This outfit was mentioned in another discussion - forgot which one or where.

 

http://www.specialshapes.com/angles.html

 

They may have what you want in Brass shapes.

 

You're building a beautiful model - she deserves an equally nice case.

 

Richard

[Scoot]

Homer.   The link from the previous post has what you need. Special Shapes.

I bought angle brass from them, for my display case, for my Model Shipways New Bedford Whaleboat.

Bought eight, 36" pieces for just over a hundred bucks. I used 1/8" plexiglass.  1/4" angle brass was too small.

3/8" Angle brass covered the edges just right. One pic attached showing size difference between 1/4" and 3/8".

Also couple of hasty pics taken tonight showing scale of brass trim to display case size.  3/8" seemed to work well.

Have been watching your build.  Just started my "Morgan". Enjoy.

 

Scoot

Edited February 1, 2016 by Scoot

[homer]

Richard and Scoot, THANK YOU!!!!! That's exactly what I was looking for.  :-)

 

Scoot, What method did you use to cut your angles? I have a nice Dewalt Chop Saw... or did you cut by hand with mitre?? I'll check out those links but how did you attach / glue the brass to your plexiglass???

[homer]

It looks like my last uploads were of the deck housings and shelter cover. I've constructed the foremast, main mast and mizzen but have only completed, painted and installed the lower first sections. Hopefully I took some build pics of these. I take a lot of pics and then have to name them and change them from 1-2 meg to something around 500 to 700K so they are easy to upload into the NRG site. 

 

Of note, the metal spider bands were a bit loose on the Foremast and Main Mast. I added / glued very thin shims and then sanded them down so they aren't too noticeable. At John's recommendation I used a business card tried down and painted for the futtock band. I took tin snips and cut the truss iron piece from a piece of tin. Then installed and painted it. Before I go any further I'll see if I can find / post some pics of this work.

 

I just found a few pics and guess what... I forgot to install the cheeks on the Main Mast! Guess I know what the next thing I'll be doing. Ron 

Edited February 1, 2016 by homer

[homer]

Next I started serving the Foremast and Main mast shrouds. I did purchase the electrical ad-on to the serving machine but since it was my first time using it I wanted to turn it by hand to get the feel for it.  I'm not sure if what I did was a no-no but after threading the thin cotton line onto the pre-served shroud line I brushed a very light white glue watered down onto the pre-served shroud before turning it. I did this just in case I goofed up while turning the machine, the line wouldn't come unwound. It seemed to work very well for me and when the time came to adjust the length of the served line, it never came unwound. I should add that it also remained pretty soft and easy to handle and bend / loop. Here are a few pics of that:

 

 

[homer]

Next I began attaching the deadeye to one end of the served shroud line. I do know that some model ship builders attach the pre-served line to the deadeye and then begin serving it along with the rest of the shroud line. But, I wanted my deadeyes to have "served" line wrapped around them. So I attached the line after serving it. I would place the served shroud line around the deadeye pulling it up about 5 to 7mm past. I would use an alligator clip to hold it in place and then take a thin piece of thread and tie it in place just to hold its position. Then I would attach it back on the serving machine to serve over the now attached deadeye and double shroud line. I would cut part of the extra line if there were too much left.

 

Here's a HINT that I didn't figure out until nearly done with the shroud lines on the Foremast and Main mast... when you wrap the shroud line around the deadeye, tie it off "behind" the shroud line, kind of a twist in the line so the extra part is not to the side. Why, because when you do the final serve / attach the deadeye you don't want the shroud to look too thick just above the deadeye. If you pull the line behind and then do the final serving, your shroud will appear narrow. Obviously, when you overlap the deadeye you're going to have double the line. If you place it and tie it off behind the shroud before you do the final serving, it will look much better. Hope I explained this without making it real confusing! I'm kind of tired and probably not articulating this very well.

 

Here are some pics of my unfortunate too thick shrouds just above the deadeyes. I suppose if you wrapped the deadeye with unserved line you wouldn't have this problem. But, you better be really precise when doing the same on the other side. I wanted my deadeyes to be somewhat in line. I made a jig with pins that will attach to the lower deadeye fixed to the chain plate and hold the top deadeye in established place so I can pull the shroud line taught around the upper deadeye before attaching it in place. I then remove it and return it to the serving machine for the final wrap. I've seen this done several ways so you have to let me know if I'm doing it wrong!  

 

 

[homer]

So, I should probably upload some of the completed served shroud lines with attached deadeyes. I ran the completed shroud lines around the masts and through the Fore and Main Tops down to the lower attached deadeyes. Then what I do is cut off a length of lanyard. I tie a knot at one end and I harden the tip of the other end with CA. Once hardened I cut a sharp angle on the thread so I can "thread" it through the deadeyes by hand. Once the deadeyes are all rigged up, using tweezers I pull the line taught getting the deadeyes in line and making sure the masts are all straight. While I didn't see this done on pics of the real Morgan (so not sure why I actually did this) but I pull the line up behind the deadeye and push it through the top of the deadeye and served line to the front. I then wrap it around the shroud and use a cow hitch to tie it off. I put a tiny drop of white glue on the knot (drys clear and doesn't crack like CA) that will hold all in place. And, if you mess up or want to change something... like I did, you can pull things apart without destroying everything! 

 

After I installed my lanyards I kept looking at pics that John took of the Morgan. I personally felt like I used too thin of line for the lanyards. I kept looking at how they tied the line off above the deadeye (cow hitch) and it just looked like fairly thick rope. So, I decided to remove all the lanyards and use a thicker twine that I had laying around. I like the way it looks but retrospectively, it now may be just a tad too thick!. Oh well. 

 

Then I really got a wild hair and decided to use some of that Doc O'Brien's Dusting Powders to give the deadeyes and lanyards some character. As you may recall, I aged much of the deck items and wanted to also do something with the deadeyes and lanyards. So far I only did this to the Foremast lanyards and also a few of the ratline boards )I added a couple just for fun even though I'm not really at that step). I was also able to practice a bit tying the ratline boards. So anyway, the jury is still out on the powder/ aging stuff. I might try to wash some of it off but do want some light aging...maybe just not as much as I have added. I'm open to suggestions! 

 

 

[Scoot]

Hi Homer.  Sorry for the delay in answering your question regarding cutting angles in the angle brass.  I used a scribe to mark the angles at the corners and a hand held Dremel with a cutoff wheel to cut the angles and for any fine tuning.  1/8” plexiglass was used with 3/8” angle brass. A thin bead of clear silicon was laid on the inside corner of the angle brass and pressed into place. Holding the brass in place with tape. Angle brass was purchased from Specialty Shapes for not much over a hundred bucks. Plexiglass was purchased from a local glass shop. Gave the glass shop the final dimensions and they cut it to size. That may have been close to $200.00. I didn’t think the overall cost was too bad. Plus the satisfaction of doing it yourself. Hope this info helps.  Your build is coming along nicely by the way.

 

Scoot

[homer]

Thanks Scoot! Since uploading the pics I've gotten a little side tracked. I want to build some cabinets in the garage and have been working on those plans. But will indeed order some brass for the case. Thank you again for the details. Ron

[texxn5]

Just catching up Ron, looking good!

John

[texxn5]

Hi Ron, I noticed today is your birthday.....Happy Birthday, hope you enjoy your day. Look forward to seeing you back in the shipyard!

John

[homer]

A single pic of my rat board knots. Still have a lot of knots to tie! 

[homer]

I haven't had a lot of time to dedicate to the Morgan build lately so she's moving along slowly. I had to hold off building the bow sprit because of the lack of building space and my ability to break things during the build. You know, two steps forward...one step back! I'll upload some pics of the last work I've done on her. I should have swept or vacuumed the deck of build debris before taking the pics. But it's been a long time since I uploaded so maybe looking at the pics will help others.

 

 

[homer]

Pics of the anchor

[Brucealanevans]

Looks great!

[Landlubber Mike]

Looks great.  The weathering is really nice.  I'm going to have to try that on my Morgan.

Edited September 12, 2016 by Landlubber Mike

[RFP]

Good day, Homer !

 

I've just signed on, knowing that this Forum will be a great resource as I undertake what will be my third ship model.  This time around, I have chosen the Charles W. Morgan and I have to say that I am pretty much dazzled at your work, and I am grateful for your photos and instructive narrative about your build.  I'm especially impressed by your hull coppering... spectacular!

 

Thanks,

 

Rob

[homer]

Just a where are you update! I didn't disappear. Unpacking after the move and getting bogged down at work has kept me from the shipyard! Hopefully back soon! 

[chance]

Hi Homer, 

 

your build of the Morgan is great.  What did you use on the deck to either seal it or stain it?  It looks like it has the weathered look. 

 

Thanks, 

Chance