Rigging the TopGallant Shrouds

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I am in the process of rigging the topgallant shrouds for my model, and I was wondering if anyone has a suggestion on how to drill the holes for the shrouds without breaking the crosstree(i think this is the correct term):

I was thinking of maybe stacking an additional piece on top of the part where the shrouds are threaded through

Thank you.
 

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I think I would just use a pin vise with a very small bit, and support the piece you are drilling from underneath with a finger or small block of something. Being new to the rigging process myself, is there a reason for drilling them in situ rather than before installing them on the model. Not trying to be snarky--there may just be something to this with which I'm not familiar.
 
I think I would just use a pin vise with a very small bit, and support the piece you are drilling from underneath with a finger or small block of something. Being new to the rigging process myself, is there a reason for drilling them in situ rather than before installing them on the model. Not trying to be snarky--there may just be something to this with which I'm not familiar.
Yes the reason is that I didn't look forward enough. In other words I messed up... I am new to this too.
 
G'day Jack, if they are small I usually make mine out of brass, they were usually painted black and you cannot tell the difference, hope this helps,
Best regards John,
 
Possible shortcut: If the crosstrees are especially thin and spindly, file notches in the ends and glue a small piece of matching wood over the end. This may be better than attempting to drill the wood a potentially splitting it.
I had a similar thought, but kept it to myself since I was worried the experienced builders would consider it cheating. Clearly, I‘ ve been spending too much time hanging around styrene armor sites… :rolleyes:
 
thank you for your recommendations. I'll try not to poke myself with the drillbit. lol
Hi Jack--If you are new, you might not have a pin vise--I say this because it took me a while to discover what they are. It's a tiny hand held drill that takes the finest bits and it's easy to control on fine work like you are doing. Here is a pic:
 

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I try to drill the holes before final attachment of the cross trees. I also have filed a small notch on the end rather than drill the hole then simply run the rigging over the notched end. I have also split the ends enough trying to do either option requiring me to break off the ruined cross tree and make a new part.
 
For those thin piece which threaten to split when a hole needs to be drilled in them, use of a lightweight battery powered Dremel and drilling slowly will often succeed where a hand drill will not. One the tip of the drill digs in and finds its center, the high speed tends to cut micro shavings and has less chance of binding than a hand drill. The trick is having a steady hand while placing the tip of the spinning drill in place, to make certain the location of the hole is correct.
 
I try to drill the holes before final attachment of the cross trees. I also have filed a small notch on the end rather than drill the hole then simply run the rigging over the notched end. I have also split the ends enough trying to do either option requiring me to break off the ruined cross tree and make a new part.
That is the best and safest way to do it, no one will see the difference.
 
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