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05-15-2012, 09:12 AM
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Re: Bluejacket Jefferson Davis, My first attempt at a wooden ship model
Well I am moving along. The bow is planked and the stern is getting close. On the bow photos, you can see how I have left 5 strakes unfinished. The builders guide shows the planking unfinished from stem to stern, but as a first time builder, I thought that configuration looked unfinished. However, there does seem to be some sentiment for leaving the frames exposed. So the center portion will show the frames. If I decide that I do not like the appearance, it will not be too difficult for me to finish the center section. I could even plank one or two more strakes. I can still get the joint spacing to work out without too much difficulty. I think that when the sanding is finished, I will stain the outside of the hull and see if I am happy with the appearance. Any comments or opinions are certainly welcome.
   
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05-24-2012, 12:41 AM
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Re: Bluejacket Jefferson Davis, My first attempt at a wooden ship model
I feel like a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders. The most terrifying phase of this model has been completed, and I think it looks good enough to stain, rather than paint. It is not completely finished, I have not done the treenails, (I'm beginning to re think treenails anyway) and I still have a few spots to fill and I still need to sand the surface. But all of the planks are fitted and there were no major disasters. Here are the pics. Now, I can go out to the yard and open the pool. My wife will be so happy...
    
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06-25-2012, 05:48 PM
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Re: Bluejacket Jefferson Davis, My first attempt at a wooden ship model
I know, I know. It's been a while. Springtime has a way of eating into my time. And my wife is of the opinion "I perceive that as a winter hobby". (She must think I am building an ice boat.) There hasn't been any obvious progress, but I have been experimenting. I am still not satisfied with the tree nail issue. I bought a draw plate, but the smallest diameter I am capable of making is about 2" scale diameter. Still just a little oversize. I tried drilling #73 holes and filling them with putty. Elmers walnut is kind of dark. It makes the tree nails a bit obvious. I discarded that option. I tried Elmers natural. That is better. However the inside edge of the hole seems to take more stain than the treenail, leaving me with a "donut". I am not real excited about that either. I have used some HobbyLite Balsa colored putty. That seems to be the best. It takes just a little more stain than the surrounding wood. If I use holes filled with putty, HobbyLite will be my choice. The best looking option is the real tree nails. They are nice and round, and just slightly darker than the planking. I also ended up with one strake that is narrower than the rest. Not sure I can fit 2 treenails at the end of the plank. I will have to figure something out for that strake.
So far, my experiments with stain have had mixed results. I am satisfied with the way the deck takes the stain. However, the planks seem a bit blotchy. And yes, I did use wood conditioner first. I have been giving more thought to painting the hull and just staining the deck. I have been trying to research pictures of similar type ships. It is beginning to seem like copper paint under the waterline, black above the waterline and a yellow stripe on the planksheer might be acceptable. I have also seen ships painted white below the waterline. I actually like that better, but I don't know if it is prototypical. This brings up another question. If I paint the hull, do I really need tree nails? Seems like you might not see them through the paint. Any opinions on this issue? Until I resolve these items in my head, I thought I would make the toprail. It seemed to be pretty straightforward project. Except (there ALWAYS is an except, isn;t there) that I am building it from 1/32 sheetwood. The piece that goes across the elliptical stern runs across the grain where it curves and joins the next piece. It has a tenancy to break off at that point. I am on my second attempt now. Maybe a splice of brown paper on the underside will add the strength I need. Or I could make it again, but use 2 pieces, running kind of diagonally across the curve. For such a simple piece, it is getting kind of frustrating. Maybe I will just go swimming.
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07-18-2012, 10:39 AM
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Re: Bluejacket Jefferson Davis, My first attempt at a wooden ship model
I am moving along, slowly but surely. I have finished the railcap and posted 3 pics. I had a problem with the joints at the stern. Glue just doesn;t hold very well when there is so little surface area. Right now, the railcap is in 3 large pieces. When they are glued in place, I will add the knee (or whatever) at the bow. I made it a little oversize and will sand it narrower after the glue dries. I was in Houston last week and was able to stop at the Maritime Museum. There were a number of issues I am trying to resolve and the museum has a good variety of models for me to look at. I may be deviating from the treenail placement somewhat. I will post a separate thread on a concept I learned from railroaders. They call it "selective compression".
  
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08-01-2012, 05:10 PM
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Re: Bluejacket Jefferson Davis, My first attempt at a wooden ship model
I am halfway through the treenails. I have decided that instead of treenails at every frame, I am placing them every other frame. I believe that this will give me a better overall look. Treenails every frame just seems like too much of a good thing. The pics show the whole length of the hull and a close up of the stern. I took these pictures before sanding, so they would show up better. There are also nails at every butt joint and on the very end of each plank at the bow and stern. Hopefully the port side won't take so long.
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08-27-2012, 01:04 PM
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Re: Bluejacket Jefferson Davis, My first attempt at a wooden ship model
I didn't think it was necessary to report that I finished all of the treenails. But I did. And they look pretty good to my eye. I just stained the hull and the decks. I used Varathane Spring Oak, with a little darker stain added. I used Varathane because on my test pieces, it seemed less blotchy than the Minwax. I was a little concerned about the color being a little too orange. I will let it sit while I go on vacation. Hopefully it will darken with time. I stained the decks with Varathane Natural. The decks look good.
I will be off to Baltimore soon. Back after Labor day.      
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09-05-2012, 09:33 PM
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Re: Bluejacket Jefferson Davis, My first attempt at a wooden ship model
Well, I have been away on vacation. I was hoping that my hull would look a little darker when I got home. But it still looks a bit light to me. I will probably add a second coat of stain.
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09-07-2012, 08:32 AM
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Re: Bluejacket Jefferson Davis, My first attempt at a wooden ship model
I spent my vacation in Baltimore, for the Baltimore Grand Prix, so the Inner Harbor was pretty crowded. But I was able to walk past Constellation and get some answers to questions I will have soon. One night, away from the harbor, the Pride of Baltimore II was tied up and I got a very close look. It is smaller than I expected. There are also some differences from my Jefferson Davis that were good for me to observe. I am hoping that on my next trip there, I will get a chance to sail on her.
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09-24-2012, 09:30 AM
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Re: Bluejacket Jefferson Davis, My first attempt at a wooden ship model
Billy Joel sang "I am the entertainer, And I've had to pay my price. The things I did not know at first, I learned by doin' twice." He must have been a model ship builder. I have posted pics of my bee blocks. I was very careful. I built the pieces together. I finally had two identical pieces. I was so proud. But when I dry fit them, I realized that they should have been two OPPOSITE pieces. One for port, one for starboard. So I learned from doin' twice. But they look pretty good.
I also built 2 catheads. I was feeling pretty good about them too. I was feeling so giddy, I decided to see if I could find an actual cat's head for the outboard end. So I went to Hobby Lobby, found some cat charms that are about the right size. Brought them home and realized I had lost the cathead. So again I am learning from doin' twice. Sigh. Somehow, I thought that putting cat's heads on the end was a British thing. But when I was in Baltimore, I looked at Constellation. Sure enough, there were cat's heads on the end of the cathead. These things are pretty small. And, they are whole cats, so I will have to remove the heads and file the backside flat so they can be mounted. (Now that I think of it, I should probably file the heads flat before I cut it off. Might be easier to handle that way.) Anyway, I am back on the road tomorrow. But I will post pics of the catheads when they are reasonably finished.    
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10-15-2012, 03:39 PM
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Re: Bluejacket Jefferson Davis, My first attempt at a wooden ship model
I seem to be having some "Issues" with the catheads. So I am going to ignore them for right now and start with some deck furniture. I have posted 4 pics of my hatches. I read somewhere that the deck furniture should be pinned to the deck. Sounds like a procedure that would require some very precise alignment. So instead, I built a hollow structure that fit somewhat snugly inside the hatch openings. I then glued the stripwood directly on this structure. The width of the stripwood covers the gap between the deck and my inside structure. The first two pics show this inside frame extending below the hatch itself. I can now, just drop the hatch into the opening and the hatch is attached to the deck. I will leave them loose fit until later in the build. It seems like I will have more room to do the rigging with the hatches off the ship. Companionways are next.
   
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