HIGH HOPES, WILD MEN AND THE DEVIL’S JAW - Willem Barentsz Kolderstok 1:50

[Heinrich]

@Philski That is an excellent idea, Phil - it is without doubt the most accurate way of bending a plank according to a set curvature. I don't have such a pin board, so I will try my idea tomorrow. However, if it fails, then I will most certainly take the time to construct a board like that. Luckily I am not in a mad rush with the bending of the planks, because I also have a deck that needs planking, grating and a hatch.

 

[Philski]

@Philski That is an excellent idea, Phil - it is without doubt the most accurate way of bending a plank according to a set curvature. I don't have such a pin board, so I will try my idea tomorrow. However, if it fails, then I will most certainly take the time to construct a board like that. Luckily I am not in a mad rush with the bending of the planks, because I also have a deck that needs planking, grating and a hatch.

It took a bit of time at the drill press to drill all those holes. They were sized to match the steel dowel pins I already had. My spacing was 1/2" but any spacing could be used....Just another tool in my arsenal.

 

[Pathfinder65]

Looking at the walnut hatches it also gives an idea of what the tung oil will do to the walnut of hull.

That looks great. The contrast is remarkable.

Jan

 

[rtibbs]

"After the humorous and most pleasant interlude of last night, it is now back to serious building again."

And you thought we weren't being serious? Glad you enjoyed the repartee. I did

 

[Heinrich]

That looks great. The contrast is remarkable.

Jan

Thank you Jan. I will still decide on the tung oil on the Abachi wood. On the walnut it looks great, maybe on the Abachi it is not subtle enough for my taste. However, that is why I did it now, so that I can have an idea.

 

[Heinrich]

"After the humorous and most pleasant interlude of last night, it is now back to serious building again."

And you thought we weren't being serious? Glad you enjoyed the repartee. I did

I enjoyed it just as much Ron. Such light banter is essential to keep perspective of just how mad we are!

 

[RDN1954]

With the deck about to be glued on, it also meant that all work on the lower deck had now been completed so for protection purposes, I could now set the lower deck in tung oil. So, gents, here is the first taste of 100% natural tung oil on the WB. This is only one coat and consists of 40% tung oil and 60% mineral turpentine. I am obviously quite keen to hear what you think of it.

View attachment 282725
Ultimately this exact same finish will be applied to the upper deck as well, but obviously at a much later stage. Looking at the walnut hatches it also gives an idea of what the tung oil will do to the walnut of hull.

So ... at the moment, I am waiting for the first deck half to dry.

While I thoroughly enjoy the look of the finished deck and the hatches, I would personally opt for a finish similar to @Dean62 's on his Norske Lowe. It's less yellowish in tint, more grey, and, to my humble opinion, more befitting a ship of this era.

 

[GrantTyler]

While I thoroughly enjoy the look of the finished deck and the hatches, I would personally opt for a finish similar to @Dean62 's on his Norske Lowe. It's less yellowish in tint, more grey, and, to my humble opinion, more befitting a ship of this era.

Hello Heinrich. I agree. The finish looks fabulous however the color looks a little out for your WB. Clearly personal preference here. I’m no expert on what the deck finish would have been. Could also be camera or lighting?

 

[Heinrich]

While I thoroughly enjoy the look of the finished deck and the hatches, I would personally opt for a finish similar to @Dean62 's on his Norske Lowe. It's less yellowish in tint, more grey, and, to my humble opinion, more befitting a ship of this era.

Thank you for your input Johan. In retrospect, I should have waited until the deck was dry before I had taken the picture and before I had covered it up with the deck. However, I have some spare Abachi still left from the Haarlem build so I will duplicate a deck with that and see how the tung oil "ages" on the Abachi.

 

[Heinrich]

Hello Heinrich. I agree. The finish looks fabulous however the color looks a little out for your WB. Clearly personal preference here. I’m no expert on what the deck finish would have been. Could also be camera or lighting?

Thank you Grant. I have already seen that on the hull of the model light, in particular, plays a huge role in how colors come across on pictures. As I have mentioned to Johan - before I do any finishing of the upper deck, I will do thorough tests.

 

[Kolderstok]

An old tip I got from an even older builder (but I have never tested it myself):
Mix some cigarette ash through the Tung oil so you get a more grey finish.

I have never tried this myself because I don't smoke - but according to the avatar Heinrich does smoke a pipe.
I do sincerely not know if this works - but maybe you can give it a try.

Hans

 

[Heinrich]

An old tip I got from an even older builder (but I have never tested it myself):
Mix some cigarette ash through the Tung oil so you get a more grey finish.

I have never tried this myself because I don't smoke - but according to the avatar Heinrich does smoke a pipe.
I do sincerely not know if this works - but maybe you can give it a try.

Hans

Now that is a most interesting theory! I certainly have enough cigarette ash, tung oil and Abachi to give that a go ! Thank you Hans. On his Alert build, Maarten uses Clou primer which is rubbed with steelwool afterwards. This finish looks great but so far I have not yet been able to find this in China.

 

[Kolderstok]

Now that is a most interesting theory! I certainly have enough cigarette ash, tung oil and Abachi to give that a go ! Thank you Hans. On his Alert build, Maarten uses Clou primer which is rubbed with steelwool afterwards. This finish looks great but so far I have not yet been able to find this in China.

The black dye I sent you some time ago is in fact Clou

 

[Heinrich]

The black dye I sent you some time ago is in fact Clou

Oh wow! I didn't know that ! I have never tried that on the Abachi - so far, I have only used it on certain walnut or linden parts of the Haarlem's build (the gratings, the hatch on the verdek (main deck), knechten, belaying racks etc). On the walnut it was quite aggressive though!

 

[Kolderstok]

Oh wow! I didn't know that ! I have never tried that on the Abachi - so far, I have only used it on certain walnut or linden parts of the Haarlem's build (the gratings, the hatch on the verdek (main deck), knechten, belaying racks etc). On the walnut it was quite aggressive though!

Just dilute a bit of it with water until you have a nice - not to strong mixture, and give this a try as well

 

[Heinrich]

Thank you Hans - those two ideas are certainly worth the effort!

 

[Philski]

Now that is a most interesting theory! I certainly have enough cigarette ash, tung oil and Abachi to give that a go ! Thank you Hans. On his Alert build, Maarten uses Clou primer which is rubbed with steelwool afterwards. This finish looks great but so far I have not yet been able to find this in China.

Try it on scrap first.....

 

[Heinrich]

Try it on scrap first.....

That is the idea Phil. I have some Abachi left over from the Haarlem build that I will use to simulate a deck on which I can practice and do tests.

 

[Heinrich]

Finished deck installation:


Another part of the build completed. The red lines indicate the two protruding deck beams which now have to be sawn away. You can clearly see the two deck hatches visible on the lower deck. The mast was placed purely for alignment purposes while the miniscule gap visible between the two deck halves allowed placement for push pins to hold the halves secure while the glue was drying.

 

[Heinrich]

Hello Everyone - let me show you what I am up to today.


First on the agenda was removing the protruding deck beams (indicated in the previous photograph) from the deck hatches. For that my little saw from Kolderstok proved its worth once more.

Then I felt like making the deck grating today. I woke up late this morning and just felt like doing something small and precise - tomorrow I have a medical examination (all part of my residence-and work permit applications for the new school) and this was the ideal thing to take my mind away from that. I think I am as healthy as can be, but one never knows what the doctors may discover. Ah well ... back to the Barentsz.


The laser cut pieces that Kolderstok provides for this, consist of both toothed and straight pieces which are then interlocked.


The first step was to place four toothed pieces in a square conforming to the 4cm x 4cm square which is the size of the cut-out in the deck. Once that was done, I then filled up the one side with toothed pieces. The massive yellow arrow indicates the direction that the straight pieces need to follow on the deck of a Dutch ship, running in a bow-stern (lengthwise) direction.


Next, I concocted my home-brew solution consisting of PVA diluted with hot water in a 50-50 mix.


With an old paint brush this mixture is then brushed into the joints and left to dry.


When dry, the assembly is then turned out around and all the straight pieces are laid down into the now upwards-facing, toothed pieces (indicated by the yellow lines).


The PVA mixture is now brushed (liberally) into all the joints and left to dry.


When the glue has thoroughly dried, the extra pieces were sawn off (once again I used the handsaw for this) and sanded. Measuring against the cut-out on the deck, the grating is carefully sanded to size.

Now comes a tricky part.


The grating is trimmed further by removing all the straight pieces from the edges following the red cutting line as shown above. This is because i will be replacing the edges with a 2mm x 3mm strip of walnut which will then restore the size of the grating once more. This is done as a finishing touch and will just round-off things nicely when completed.

This is all for now, I will continue posting as I make progress.