18th Century Smoothbore by Model Shipways

Joined
Dec 8, 2019
Messages
776
Points
403

Location
Virginia Beach, VA.
I'm taking a break from rigging and will do a battle station for my nephew. I see so many beautiful finishes in build logs I want to try a few new processes and a small project is a good place to start.
Smoothbore 001.jpgFirst I sanded a 10° bevel on the bulkhead side of the deck base. Then I sanded all side of the deck planking and applied a coat of sanding sealer. When it was dry I sanded again.
Smoothbore 002.jpgNext I cut the planks to length as directed, rubbed a black charcoal pencil on the edges, and glued them to the deck base.
Smoothbore 003.jpgI dipped some toothpicks into dark walnut stain and set aside to dry.
Smoothbore 004.jpg
I made a clear plastic jig for the treenails and marked all their locations, then drilled a small hole for each.
Smoothbore 005.jpgFinally I inserted the toothpicks in the holes. I'll leave it overnight and clip off the excess and sand smooth tomorrow. No glue needed as a coat of poly will hold them in place.
Smoothbore 006.jpg
 
The bulkhead was not planked in the plans. It looked to thin for the scale so I planked both sides. will have to cut some wood to make allowance for the thicker bulkhead but it looks much better. Beveled the timber heads to 10° and applied a coat of sanding sealer to all parts and sanded smooth. Added the nail heads as directed, and glued the timber heads in place. Will let everything set until tomorrow to dry.Smoothbore 008.jpgSmoothbore 009.jpgSmoothbore 010.jpgSmoothbore 011 .jpg
 
Thanks Dan - Looking for a black hair brush with small bristles to experiment with treenails. Toothpicks are a little messy and not all the same size.
If you were looking ahead to do a lot of this in the future see @dockattner VASA build log post # 483 for a real clever workaround on tree nails.
 
If you were looking ahead to do a lot of this in the future see @dockattner VASA build log post # 483 for a real clever workaround on tree nails.
Interesting - Don't know if I'm that coordinated. I have to double check everything slowly before I put a tool on the ship. Even at that I've become a rip out artist on the mistakes I generate.
 
Interesting - Don't know if I'm that coordinated. I have to double check everything slowly before I put a tool on the ship. Even at that I've become a rip out artist on the mistakes I generate.
Ha! I know exactly what you mean! I need some kind of special floor mat that catches all those tiny parts I drop and funnels them to a low spot that I can actually see :)
 
I cut a piece of walnut for the cap rail, sealed it and added to the top of the bulkhead. Next I completed airbrushing the parts. I'll let it dry overnight and mate it with the deck tomorrow.
Smoothbore 015.jpgSmoothbore 016.jpgSmoothbore 017.jpgThe casting supplied for the gun carriage were not the best. Lots of flash and not the shape I liked either, so I decided to cutout my own. Made the drawing and glued it to a block of Poplar, then trimmed the edges. Will drag out the band saw tomorrow and cut out the drawing, then split it down the middle so I get two identical parts. Smoothbore 018.jpg
 
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