School for Shipmodel Building School for model ship building

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

the coaming is added to the end of the main deck. The bottom is arched to match the deck beam and the top is straight. I added a second deck beam to the last one making a double beam, one for the coaming to sit on and the deck planking ends on the last deck beam.

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

The upper deck is built like the main deck starting from both ends and working to the center or an open area that does not have any deck structures. It is done this way so any structures are in place and any adjustments and placement of beams are done where it does not matter. Looking at the picture the companionway is framed in and at the stern the opening fot the rudder and tiller is set in place.



A the front of the upper deck supports are put in place for the companion way opening. A short beam is also added from the center of the carling. The clamp is holding a piece of plastic under the beams, so the shot beam has something to sit on while the glue sets.

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

The next deck structure is a grating, so it has to be framed in. I am assembling this section off the model because it it so much easier than trying to place and hold the carlings in place on the model.



As one unit i can now place it in the deck

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

The upper deck is now done and time to construct the companion way, first cutting out the deck beam.



Then adding the door frames and the coaming for the companion way to sit on



you can see the actual coamings painted red.

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

This ends the heavy construction of the ship. Starting with over size frame blanks the frames were assembled then the hull framed in. The frames were over size blanks and once the hull is framed in it has to be shaped. Next the decks are built. Up to this point as the builder you have gained some knife experience and fabrication deck knees. Also any misfitting joinery or errors get covered up. In a shipyard this next phase of the build is called the upper works, and everything shows and the work is getting smaller and a bit more refined.



Looking at Harold Hahn's model we see the companion way has inset panels

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

Now for some shop talk the first attempt for the sides of the companion way was to cut out the panel. I started with Basswood and after five tries the tiny piece kept breaking along the grain. Maybe the Basswood is just too soft so i tried a piece of Boxwood and discovered the boxwood was way to hard to cut with a knife. You would have to go over and over the same cut to get through the hard Boxwood. Taking into consideration there are 8 panels to cut this would take way too long.



Going back to the Basswood after all the tries i used a new sharp blade and very delicately cut away the panel.



Next i glued the open panel to a backing piece with the grain running at a 90 degree. This made the panel quite strong.



and successfully completed the back panel.

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

A part of scratch building what i enjoy is problem solving and with the difficulty of making that one back panel i needed a better way. The smaller the part the bigger the mistakes. Just a sliver to much of a cut will show up on a small piece as opposed to a large timber. The pieces also become delicate and working on it for half an hour then breaking it or making a bad cut will require starting over and sometimes over and over again.
The problem at hand is the delicate nature of the piece breaking along the grain, to solve the problem i took the panel and stuck it to a piece of tape leaving tabs so i can hold the piece down. By using the tape it gave made the piece much stronger along the grain and i was able to cut out the panel without breaking.



Once done the cut-out panel is glued cross grain to the backing piece. Now all i have to do is trim along the outer edges and give the face a light sanding.

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

Next will be finishing the companion way and getting back to the bulwarks.

 

[Peter Gutterman]

Now for some shop talk the first attempt for the sides of the companion way was to cut out the panel. I started with Basswood and after five tries the tiny piece kept breaking along the grain. Maybe the Basswood is just too soft so i tried a piece of Boxwood and discovered the boxwood was way to hard to cut with a knife. You would have to go over and over the same cut to get through the hard Boxwood. Taking into consideration there are 8 panels to cut this would take way too long.

View attachment 558628

Going back to the Basswood after all the tries i used a new sharp blade and very delicately cut away the panel.

View attachment 558629

Next i glued the open panel to a backing piece with the grain running at a 90 degree. This made the panel quite strong.

View attachment 558630

and successfully completed the back panel.

View attachment 558627View attachment 558631

I'm glad I'm not the only one who has to re-learn this lesson every time.

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who has to re-learn this lesson every time

there are times a builder shows a nice piece of work and did not tell you it took 5 tries. Scratch building is teaching yourself new tricks all along the way. Or the good old saying "i knew that was going to happen" or "by now i should know better" the big one "wow it worked"
scratch building is like the principles of quantum reality as a wave of probabilities you don't know the outcome until you try

 

[CharlieT]

there are times a builder shows a nice piece of work and did not tell you it took 5 tries. Scratch building is teaching yourself new tricks all along the way. Or the good old saying "i knew that was going to happen" or "by now i should know better" the big one "wow it worked"
scratch building is like the principles of quantum reality as a wave of probabilities you don't know the outcome until you try

That Dave says this, and structures his instructions with this in mind, is one reason that this is the best scratch building tutorial I have come across.

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

That Dave says this, and structures his instructions with this in mind, is one reason that this is the best scratch building tutorial I have come across.

oh my that goes in the wow i did not expect that
but thanks for the comment

years ago, when i would read builders logs you see it being done then "pop" you see a finished picture. It always bugged me ok fine but how did you get from A to B So i started with detailed building and on another forum long ago i was told it is way too long we don't need a dissertation or literally step by step. I think successful model building is in those little details that get skipped over.

 

[Peter Gutterman]

That Dave says this, and structures his instructions with this in mind, is one reason that this is the best scratch building tutorial I have come across.

oh my that goes in the wow i did not expect that
but thanks for the comment

years ago, when i would read builders logs you see it being done then "pop" you see a finished picture. It always bugged me ok fine but how did you get from A to B So i started with detailed building and on another forum long ago i was told it is way too long we don't need a dissertation or literally step by step. I think successful model building is in those little details that get skipped over.

I heartily agree and appreciate every little detail and honest transparency.

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

today i will finish up the companionway

the door is made the same way the sides were made, first i cut out the size of the door and stuck it to a piece of masking tape. You have to use the tape otherwise the piece will split along the grain. Then cut out the panels



I tried different woods and the harder the wood the harder it is to cut the panels out with a knife. Some builders will argue against using Basswood because it is soft, weak, fuzzy and you cannot get a clean sharp edge. All the reasons are true but in some cases Basswood works out just fine. When the panels are cut out i apply Titebond wood glue



The door is 1/32 Basswood and when you apply the glue the wood soaks it up and if you do not weigh it down it will warp.



When dry peel off the tape then cut out the finished door

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

Now for a test fit the yellow you see is a piece of plastic, i did not plank the main deck so i am using the plastic to simulate the height of the deck.



The companionway looks good with the added roof. Notice i set the door frame on the beam and forgot about the decking so either i have to cut the bottoms or notch the deck plank around the door frame. i will attempt to cut the frame, don't know how yet but when the time comes i will figure something out.



looking at the companionway with a closed door i think i will keep the door slightly open this gives a sense of depth and "oh it is a door leading somewhere" and not a wall. The roof and door were set in place and not glued, Dinal details seems to get broken furing construction so they will be set aside for now.

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

With the upper deck done it is back to the bulwarks

First thing i need to do is taper the timbers down to .100. When your scratch or semi-scratch building there are decisions to make all along the building process. In this case you could taper the timbers when you were shaping the hull before the deck was built.
My thoughts were no doubt they would get broken because i handle the model a lot while building. So my process was to shape the outside of the hull then add the wales and run the bulwark planking. This added a lot of strength to the frames and upper timbers.
Keep in mind there are no step-by-step instructions so you kind of have to keep planning ahead of the build.

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

When i cut the hull from the building jig i left a lot of the extension pieces above the frames so now i have to cut them down. I am using a saw blade on a Dremel. These blades are a danger to use because they will jump and run off cutting where you do not want a cut especially your fingers. So when using them you have to be very, very careful.



First i marked the timbers to be cut down



I went ahead with the saw cutting a little above the planking. I have more control sanding the timbers to the height of the planking.

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

not counting the big power tool in the shop to mill down the wood used for the model i only use a Dremel, it is so versatile and the 90 degree attachment is quite useful.



step one i sanded down the tops of the timbers to .100



Then i tapered then down to the waterway



i painted the tops so you can see where i started and where i finished reducing the timbers



What you want is all the timbers reduced to the same width