The other day, I was once again tidying up the details. I need to understand what will be on the deck, what will be underneath, and all the necessary items to consider when attaching the Ledges.
But before that, I decided to
sand the deck.
And almost ruined several days' work!!!
At first, I used a soft pad to smooth out the biggest bumps, but I overdid it and didn't see this in the dust:
I accidentally mixed up the sandpaper (they were the same color) and created what initially seemed like an irreparable flaw... grooves in the beams between the dwarfs...
I had no idea what to do next and thought this was the end, so I barely slept...
...but before bed, I figured out a fix. I glued 240-grit sandpaper to a small piece of wood and slowly began to trace the curved profile along the beam...
...and to my relief, everything worked out. 90% so far... I'll do a little finishing touches on the rest once I install the Ledges.
Here's the result:
While fixing my mistake, I naturally ended up taking off a couple of tenths of a decimal place, but all the joints were completely smoothed out and the deck became as smooth as possible. But this experience taught me a lesson: you need to check everything carefully and keep a close eye on things so you don't miss your mistake in the dust! I advise you to do the same.
Ledges.
I once prepared the material for them because I really didn't like the wood from the kit, but I had to redo everything again.
I carefully studied the anatomy and realized that the partitions weren't all the same size. I made them the same way. Most of the partitions were 1.6 mm thick. 1.8 mm thick in wide spans and stress zones, and more than 2.5 mm thick (I'd left a 3 mm buffer) in specific areas near gratings and other objects.
I'll make a diagram a little later.
Now a few words about the fixation. I glued them with PVA TiteBond II.
I glued them to the knees, making a bevel beforehand to provide support and to make it look from above that the connection was made authentically.
And in the carlings, where thicker partitions need to be secured, I widened the groove.
And as I already mentioned, it's important to constantly consider the anatomy of the placement of partitions of varying thicknesses and consider the practical elements on the deck, like the pawl bitt pin in this case.
In the photo above, I've indicated the dimensions of the partitions, so you can see the variety in such a small space.
And here's the final result...
...and as you've already figured out, I'm leaning toward the second option with the bulkheads. In any case, I'll try the second option first and see how it looks and how the lower deck is visible. And if I'm satisfied with everything, I'll change the knee grooves on the opposite side, where there are no bulkheads, since they don't look right now and need to be made as authentic as possible. That's the goal for now...
Then I vote for option 2.
