Capt. John Smith's Shallop by Pavel Nikitin 1/32 [COMPLETED BUILD]

[Kramer]

Still jumping ahead while glue dries, I put the barrel together. I have been wanting to use PVA as much as possible with my second build, but sometimes I just have to resort to a little CA. Not nearly as skilled as Olha. I was able to use PVA to put the planks on the barrel until I got to the tips and had to use CA. Olha's toothpick hack worked great!


Still need to do the finishing touches. Filing down the edges, Tung oil (I think, haven't settled on which finish yet), blackened rings, cork.

 

[Kramer]

Ready to start planking! Taking it out of the jig provided by Pavel to attach the frames to the keel was nerve racking. It was in there tight, and it's so delicate, I was afraid of breaking pieces as I tried to work it out. But, I was lucky, no breakages.


Ready to move forward. In the next jug to start planking.

 

[Bluebeard]

Congratulations, it’s looking marvelous.

 

[The learner]

Nice start, this looks like a good kit to build! interesting build jig.

 

[Kramer]

Wow this stuff works fast! I tested on some spare brass pieces I have from my Endurance. I soaked them in acetone for 5 minutes, took them out and dried them off. I let them sit for a bit before I put them in the brass blackening solution. I thought the parts would have to sit in the solution for a while (I've never used it before) even though the bottle said one minute. This is almost immediately after I put the parts in the blackening.


I took everything out of the blackening and will let it sit overnight before I handle it. I don't know how long it takes until the solution is fully set.

 

[Rand]

You seem to have everything well under control. It’s really looking good!!
I can’t start working on my Shallop for a few more months so I’m looking forward to your build. I figure between Olga and you I should have all the problems taken care of.
By the way, where did you buy the Brass Black?

 

[Kramer]

You seem to have everything well under control. It’s really looking good!!
I can’t start working on my Shallop for a few more months so I’m looking forward to your build. I figure between Olga and you I should have all the problems taken care of.
By the way, where did you buy the Brass Black?

Amazon. Word of warning for when you start, this ship is delicate. I'm pretty new to this and my ham-hands have broken a few pieces. Not a big deal, nothing glue hasn't fixed. My first POF and I'm enjoying it.

 

[Kramer]

First planks, the most important ones, always nerve-racking. I'm using Weld Bond for the first time because I was looking for a quicker dryng PVA and trying to avoid CA as much as possible. Can't use nails to hold the planks in place like I have with POB, and people have suggested Weld Bond. I tested it on some scraps and it certainly held faster than wood glue, so I thought I'd give it a try in combination with Olha's iron hack to speed up curing time. I used my iron (I don't have a soldering iron yet). Didn't work as well as what Olha did, maybe it's not hot enough and Olha is just that good! I clamped the first planks, but I need to get better with the Weld Bond and iron because I don't think I can clamp the rest.

 

[Kramer]

Learning as I go. With this POF I can't use clamps and nails as much as I have to attach the planks. This Weld Bond gets tacky faster than wood glue, which helps. And I'm getting better using my iron to get them to dry even faster. The little plastic bottles that work so well with wood glue don't work with Weld Bond, it's too thick. So I switched to a glob of glue and a toothpick. Worked pretty well.


I have 2 rows of planks on the starboard and port sides done and so far they're lining up pretty well. I have to do a little spot filing so they lay flush, and it's a little challenging clamping and ironing them in place but so far so good. I also burned the planks on the bow and stern, the toughest spots to get them to lay flat, but not too bad. I wonder if cutting a rabbit would have helped. Oh well, maybe next time.

 

[Kramer]

Having a hard time clamping the ends of the planks to the keel so they are flush. Not as much trouble on the bow as the stern. And I'm not nearly as skilled as Olha, so I'm testing to see if a nail is a suitable alternative. I don't really like the idea of nail heads in the planks, but I like less the planks not laying flush.


The nail definitely does the trick making the plank lay flush. I think I'm going to go with it at the stern at least. I'll have to sand and file the planks and keel when I'm done, so I'm hoping with some wood glue and sawdust I can hide the holes. Then a couple of layers of tung oil.

 

[donfarr]

FROM ME ONLY, THE BEST WAY IS USING THE METHOD OLHA SHOWS IT REQUIRES SOME PRACTICE, BUT IF YOUN KEEP THE PLNKS WET AND DAMP, USING A SOLDERING IRON OR SIMLAR MAKING SURE THE PLANK IS DAMP AT ALL TIMES NO NEED FOR CLAMPS OR NAILS PRACTICE IT THE KEY IS KEEPING NTHE PLANKS WET/DAMP AND MKING SURE IT IS SET IN PLACE PROPERLY STEM AND STERN START FROM THE MIDDEL AND WORK BOTH WAYS, PRACTICE, PRACTICE. JUST ME4. GOD BLESS STAY SAFE ALL DON

 

[Kramer]

FROM ME ONLY, THE BEST WAY IS USING THE METHOD OLHA SHOWS IT REQUIRES SOME PRACTICE, BUT IF YOUN KEEP THE PLNKS WET AND DAMP, USING A SOLDERING IRON OR SIMLAR MAKING SURE THE PLANK IS DAMP AT ALL TIMES NO NEED FOR CLAMPS OR NAILS PRACTICE IT THE KEY IS KEEPING NTHE PLANKS WET/DAMP AND MKING SURE IT IS SET IN PLACE PROPERLY STEM AND STERN START FROM THE MIDDEL AND WORK BOTH WAYS, PRACTICE, PRACTICE. JUST ME4. GOD BLESS STAY SAFE ALL DON

Took your advice, Don, and pressed on with Olha's method. You're right, persistence, patience, and practice. I laid down another pair of planks and was able to do so without nails. I applied the iron longer and used a thinner piece of wood to serve as the buffer between the iron and the plank to get more heat to the glue. Working pretty good, slow going. But I'm more than halfway through planking. Keeping the planks damp helped, until I tried to twist one too much and split it. CA fixed it.

 

[Kramer]

Been sticking with it and I am just about through the planking. I didn't have to use tacks other than that one time as I got better clamping the planks down and holding them in place by putting a dab of Weld Bond white glue at the edge of the plank where it meets the frame and heating it with an iron. You'll see from the pictures that I've got some cleaning up to do once the glue is good and cured.


Also, while waiting on glue to dry, I jumped ahead and worked on the stand. Got it sanded and glued and first coat of Tung oil.

 

[Kramer]

The last 2 planks at the top are not supposed to overlap, they're supposed to be flush with each other. But I couldn't get them to synch up perfectly, and there's a small gap. I wet the planks and used my iron to form them, but I couldn't get them perfectly flush. Not much else I can do. I can either fill the gap with some putty or sawdust mixed with wood glue and hope that when I apply Tung oil to the planks it'll hide the gap. Any thoughts?

 

[Kramer]

To fill the gap in the top 2 planks, I watered down some wood putty and spackled it into the seams. Then I wiped away the excess with a wet paper towel, and when it dried I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper. Came out pretty good. I'm hoping when I apply Tung oil to the hull it blends in with the planks.


And put my first coat of Tung oil on the inside.

 

[Kramer]

Waiting for the hull to dry, I worked ahead. Started working on these pieces that will serve to secure lines. These tiny wooden belay pins will insert into these supports. It took some careful filing and sanding.


Came out pretty good. I was able to file the pins down and glue them inside the supports. Then threw a coat of Tung oil on them.


Second coat of Tung oil on the hull. It didn't mask the wood putty like I'd hoped, but I guess it's better than a gap.

 

[Kramer]

Benches and cleats attached and working on the rail.

 

[Kramer]

Working on some detail and tiny pieces.


These are next. They need filing. Wood glue does not work well unless you file off the burnt parts.

 

[Kramer]

The little detail work is coming along. My ham hands are having a tough time with these little pieces, but I'm working through it delicately. Barrel and axe are done. Oars are oiled and ready to tie down tomorrow. is tied to the deck and the line is glued down with PVA. I've learned so many cool hacks from Olha. Side rudders (not sure what they're called) are attached. I do not pretend to have Olha's skills, so with some things I have to improvise.

Bent the spikes before I blackened them so I wouldn't have to handle them as much and rub off the blackening.


The barrel was a pain to get the rings to stick. Lots of patience on this piece.











Getting ready for the next steps!

 

[shota70]

The little detail work is coming along. My ham hands are having a tough time with these little pieces, but I'm working through it delicately. Barrel and axe are done. Oars are oiled and ready to tie down tomorrow. is tied to the deck and the line is glued down with PVA. I've learned so many cool hacks from Olha. Side rudders (not sure what they're called) are attached. I do not pretend to have Olha's skills, so with some things I have to improvise.

Bent the spikes before I blackened them so I wouldn't have to handle them as much and rub off the blackening.
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The barrel was a pain to get the rings to stick. Lots of patience on this piece.
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Getting ready for the next steps!
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great work, looks very nice