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Le Saint Philippe 1693 after Jean-Claude Lemineur (Ancre) in scale 1:48

dockattner said:
Hello Friends,

Some time ago I began wondering what sort of finish I should put on this stern section model. I looked at a lot of other builds and did all kinds of trials with all manner of materials. I happen to have real Bitumen of Judea (banned in the US) from when I was tinting ropes for my version of the Vasa and noted how some of the models I am aesthetically drawn to incorporate that to create an aged look. Michele Padoan and several of the Russian/Ukranian/Polish masters use this. I believe Sergey (@serikoff) will be finishing his current project in that aged style. There is a lot to like in this approach, and it is always what I envisioned for the Saint Philippe.

Well, I didn't end up doing any of that. I ended up using a concoction 'invented' by fellow forum member Russ (@RussF). In equal proportions I mixed pure tung oil, a gloss marine varnish, and a solvent (I used turps, but others worked just as well).

Here is why I went with this mixture: pear wood reacts beautifully to oils. I used polymerized linseed oil on my Vasa (my avatar). Tung oil is even more impressive but takes FOREVER to set (does it ever really set?). By mixing tung oil with varnish the set time was dramatically reduced. But those two things alone create a mix that is sort of thick. The solvent corrects that problem. As mixed you can literally see the concoction soaking into the wood.

BUT!!! Unlike straight (well, cut with a solvent but nothing else) linseed or tung oil this mixture only penetrates a short way. I have samples with straight linseed oil that soaked through 8 mm of pear wood! I do not view this as an advantage. All finishes impede bond strength. You literally cannot scrape or sand away enough wood to get past straight linseed or tung oil. But this concoction only penetrates a short way. If I need to scrape it away in the future I can get down to relatively raw wood (I suppose there is still some oil in it, but it looks very much like untreated pear wood). I love this possibility.

Enough talking. The following images show where I am at today... I did tape off the deck clamps, larger gun ports, and some locations where light beams will be placed in the lower part of the hold. I also did not apply finish to the exterior planking or the stern post (and probably won't until I am much further along with that part of the build).

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One small downside to this concoction is that it cannot be reapplied (for example, 24 hours later). Unlike a pure oil finish, reapplication just sits on top of the cured surface (it no longer soaks into the wood). Indeed, it ends up being shiny and I am not a fan of shiny of a ship model.

Oh, by the way, I have also done some recent trials by dissolving Bitumen of Judea into microcrystalline wax. That paste can then be applied to what you see above if I want to add some aging after all. We'll see...

Sorry about the lengthy narrative...
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Picture 5 looks just like the cutaway drawings in the SP monograph - everything so clean and orderly. I’m not sure whether they are also called breast-hooks (straddling the stern post), but I love the ornamental end-cuts you did here, that are tapered according to the placement and geometry of the part. Leetle, leetle details, layered one over the other, always carry the day.
 
Hubac’s Historian said:
Picture 5 looks just like the cutaway drawings in the SP monograph - everything so clean and orderly. I’m not sure whether they are also called breast-hooks (straddling the stern post), but I love the ornamental end-cuts you did here, that are tapered according to the placement and geometry of the part. Leetle, leetle details, layered one over the other, always carry the day.
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You have a keen eye, Marc. There are some departures from the monograph but if I understand what I am looking at (no more than 80% of the time do I understand - perhaps less) I assure you every effort has been made... In this case I didn't understand until I began making the part then geometry forced the correct solution.

We have a saying in cranio-facial growth and development: form follows function (Moss's functional matrix theory). In this case, form followed form ROTF.
 
Hi Paul,

I'm glad to see you enjoying your time in the Keys. When I was young, we lived in Miami and my family and I spent a lot of times in Keys and Key West. The picture you posted of the coastline looks exactly how most of the Keys looked like in the 60's. Have a great time in the sun.

Bill
 
Bill-R said:
Hi Paul,

I'm glad to see you enjoying your time in the Keys. When I was young, we lived in Miami and my family and I spent a lot of times in Keys and Key West. The picture you posted of the coastline looks exactly how most of the Keys looked like in the 60's. Have a great time in the sun.

Bill
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That must have been a great childhood, Bill. We certainly enjoyed your old stomping ground.
 
GrantTyler said:
You Floridians are just bragging now ROTF ROTF
You need a frozen margarita to sip while you watch that sunset.
Cheers Grant
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Sorry for being off topic, mon ami

@GrantTyler, it was just eight days in Miami, and the weather wasn’t exactly kind to us; certainly not the usual warm, pleasant escape we expected. Still, being with our granddaughter made it wonderful regardless, even if the warmth was more emotional than meteorological.

Now we’re back in New York and... boom....back to normal! ROTF. Ten degrees Fahrenheit and forecasts calling for around 20 inches of snow. Brrrrr! We would rather need a warm coat and hot split pea soup (Jimski's style), rather than frosted/cold Margaritas ROTFROTFROTFROTF . But hey... maybe after taking several drinks, you may not need soup.

P.S. I forgot to mention that I did have a glass of cognac and a bowl of smoking pipe. Oh yes, cognac and a tobacco pipe go together well.
 
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Jimsky said:
Now we’re back in New York and... boom....back to normal! ROTF. Ten degrees Fahrenheit and forecasts calling for around 20 inches of snow. Brrrrr! We would rather need a warm coat and hot split pea soup (Jimski's style), rather than frosted/cold Margaritas ROTFROTFROTFROTF . But hey... maybe after taking several drinks, you may not need soup.
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Eish- I could not. Cognac and a cigar would be enjoyable tho. Visiting family is always the best- hopefully one day soon I too can visit a grandkid…..waiting…..

Apologies Paul for the Hijack. Enjoy some more sunsets.
Cheers Grant
 
dockattner said:
We were in Miami last Sunday (South Beach, Key Biscayne, Little Havana). We could have met - we could have talked about our favorite builds - we could have hugged!!!!!
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Oh....we stay close to downtown (near the port) and 20 minutes to Miami Beach South using the water taxi (free). We definitely could meetup and hug! :(

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Now back from our winter trip... work continued on the first deck...

Since I now had the beams fitted I could fabricate the beam knees. I ended up making cardstock patterns and roughly cut out paired knees. Obviously, these will need to be further refined before installation.

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I then laid out the various cutouts on the beams themselves:

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Since I'll be doing quite a lot of milling, I fabricated a jig to make that work reproducible and efficient:

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Thank you for stopping by!
 
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