Le Fleuron 1729 - 64 Gun Ship PoB Scratch Build in 1:48 - (Ancre Monograph-J. Boudriot/G. Delacroix)

Hoss6262 said:
Hello Again Mates,
Well, what is that old saying? "If it isn't something, it's something else!"

With the stern structure all but completed and put aside until it is installed on the ship, I moved my attention to the beakhead. I was planning on following Tobias' recommendation to profile the tapers on the beakhead on the mill. Unfortunately, after a couple of tests using a blank piece of oak cut to the exact dimensions of the beakhead, it became clear this approach would introduce too much risk and near impossible to complete accurate cuts. This is partially due to the size of the piece and size of the mill's table. Also, each side would need to be cut, hold downs repositioned and cut again. No way.

So I went back to my original thoughts of elevating the side to be narrowed with a jig and run it through the Byrne's thicknesser. It worked great. EXCEPT!?!?.....:mad:Sick My inexperience came back to haunt me. When I pinned the pieces of the beakhead together for extra strength, one of them was done off center. Not thinking that I would later need to thin the beakhead and it was MOST important for that pin to be centered, I just let it go. Till it came back for a visit when I profiled the fore end of it.

View attachment 414959

You can see the toothpick where it broke through. Well, one thing was certain. I was not rebuilding the entire beakhead for the 3rd time. I have two options; 1) repair to the best of my ability and leave the natural tone I was planning on, 2) Repair and paint the top half of the beakhead black along the lines of the main wales.

I'm not really sweating it, besides the toothpick being a wart on an otherwise beautiful face. :rolleyes: This is because most, if not all of that area will be covered by the lower cheek.
View attachment 414960

Need to stop whining and get moving. With micro chisels from my Russian friend I cut out the entire toothpick and graphite tinted glue till I got to clean pearwood. I then took a few small pieces of pear from the same stock and made my own toothpick.
View attachment 414962

Made sure the new toothpick was a tight, tight fit as gaps stick out like just another wart. Sand down slowly and carefully. With #3 scalpel blade, cut a join line through the filling piece and finish up with steel wool.



View attachment 414976
View attachment 414979

I can live with the repair. The tapers are complete and I'll put this aside till it's ready to install, hopefully soon. I've had my fill of drama on this project. Any more and I'll have to move to Hollywood. :rolleyes:

Ok, so I'm sure there are a few folks following my log thinking, " Ken, this is SoS (SHIPS), where's the ship?!? I'm getting there. Now that the stem and stern are done, I need to address that thing that connects them, and the fix I've been putting off for a while, the keel and the gap. Well, nothing progresses till I fix that now.

Another lesson learned. Where there is a will, there is a way. I'm not smart enough to quite. ROTF Thanks for dropping in.

Till next time...
Click to expand...
Hi Ken, I can see a ship there, and a very nice one in the making.
 
Well...when I started reading and saw the image, I screamed Oh...No...he will have to make a new part. However, glad I read to the end .:) I think it is the best repair I've seen, almost invisible. What a great job, ATHF (Across The Hudson Friend). I like it!
 
Hoss6262 said:
Hello Again Mates,
Well, what is that old saying? "If it isn't something, it's something else!"

With the stern structure all but completed and put aside until it is installed on the ship, I moved my attention to the beakhead. I was planning on following Tobias' recommendation to profile the tapers on the beakhead on the mill. Unfortunately, after a couple of tests using a blank piece of oak cut to the exact dimensions of the beakhead, it became clear this approach would introduce too much risk and near impossible to complete accurate cuts. This is partially due to the size of the piece and size of the mill's table. Also, each side would need to be cut, hold downs repositioned and cut again. No way.

So I went back to my original thoughts of elevating the side to be narrowed with a jig and run it through the Byrne's thicknesser. It worked great. EXCEPT!?!?.....:mad:Sick My inexperience came back to haunt me. When I pinned the pieces of the beakhead together for extra strength, one of them was done off center. Not thinking that I would later need to thin the beakhead and it was MOST important for that pin to be centered, I just let it go. Till it came back for a visit when I profiled the fore end of it.

View attachment 414959

You can see the toothpick where it broke through. Well, one thing was certain. I was not rebuilding the entire beakhead for the 3rd time. I have two options; 1) repair to the best of my ability and leave the natural tone I was planning on, 2) Repair and paint the top half of the beakhead black along the lines of the main wales.

I'm not really sweating it, besides the toothpick being a wart on an otherwise beautiful face. :rolleyes: This is because most, if not all of that area will be covered by the lower cheek.
View attachment 414960

Need to stop whining and get moving. With micro chisels from my Russian friend I cut out the entire toothpick and graphite tinted glue till I got to clean pearwood. I then took a few small pieces of pear from the same stock and made my own toothpick.
View attachment 414962

Made sure the new toothpick was a tight, tight fit as gaps stick out like just another wart. Sand down slowly and carefully. With #3 scalpel blade, cut a join line through the filling piece and finish up with steel wool.



View attachment 414976
View attachment 414979

I can live with the repair. The tapers are complete and I'll put this aside till it's ready to install, hopefully soon. I've had my fill of drama on this project. Any more and I'll have to move to Hollywood. :rolleyes:

Ok, so I'm sure there are a few folks following my log thinking, " Ken, this is SoS (SHIPS), where's the ship?!? I'm getting there. Now that the stem and stern are done, I need to address that thing that connects them, and the fix I've been putting off for a while, the keel and the gap. Well, nothing progresses till I fix that now.

Another lesson learned. Where there is a will, there is a way. I'm not smart enough to quite. ROTF Thanks for dropping in.

Till next time...
Click to expand...
Good morning Ken. Repair…..??? ;). Seriously tho this repair is so good I had to really look for it to see it. Cheers Grant
 
Wow! Thank you @shota70 , @Jimsky, @Uwek, @Ken, @Steef66, @Bill-R, @Herman, @Will @ Trilogy, @Daniel20, @GrantTyler for your comments, likes and of course, hanging in there with me on this wild ride. Your reactions are humbling to me and provide me with the feedback that the repair passes muster. With that said, I'm glad it's completed and would be happy if I don't run into any more of these types of fixes. ROTF Yes, that was a joke. I'm quite certain there will be more to come.
 
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Hello Friends,

I hope everyone is doing well. My apologies for not being present for some time. Life's circumstances have dictated a change in my priorities, pretty much eliminating any time to spend on my project. Sadly, I haven't even had time to catch up on all my favorite build threads.

The good news is that there is some light at the end of the tunnel and I should be able to free up some time to back into the hobby I love so much. It's kind of strange, being away for a while I will need to review where I am and hit the reset button and prioritize what comes next on Le Fleuron. While I do this, I'll start catching up on everyone's progress and great work. I'm certain I will come away with added inspiration.

I'm glad to be back. I hope I'll be able to make some progress soon and share it with all of you.

Cheers!
 
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