Bernard Kelly

Greetings All,
Have made considerable progress on my 1813 lakes brig model. Cap rail, chain plates, most of the deadeyes and chains, plus most of the deck structures have been added. Much still to do, but getting there.





 
Anchor's A Weigh!
John Fox III

Le Dugay-Trouin later HMS Implacable. Still a lot left to do.

Hi, I'm going to put together some photos of the progress made.
 
¡
 
I remind you that it was made with photos from the internet, so after seeing many sail configurations, one of the most classic is this one.
 
I make a first sketch.
 

 
I adjust the sketch to the actual measurements and mark on the paper, lines that establish the hull-to-sails ratio, although there is no fixed rule there either, since this is the most usual.
 

 
 

 
 
89
 
I measure, measure and measure again, if you are able to see in the middle of the neck of the bottle there is a pencil mark, it coincides with the maximum height of the mast, a little further down there is another mark that indicates the opening of the curvature of the sails, the place where they can already have maximum width, I transfer to the sketch and it seems to be going well, it is more or less within those maximums, I take into account the thickness of the glass, I work with the internal measurement in the head.
 
From the first image to the second, although they appear to be the same, there is a displacement of the mast of two millimeters to the right, I have not photographed it but from there the skewer goes to the sketch I check the variations and I know where I am going to have to drill the cover to locate the mast, the marks below help me to verify that at the moment, bottom, deck and rail are where they should be, the photo deflects the marks but they are in their exact place, it is checked with the sketch and the dimensions so far of the helmet.

 
I don't know what these railings are called, but they also have some with vertical sticks on them to tie tackle.
 
I put exactly the ones I have seen in a picture of a sailboat at a mooring.

 
 
Once dry, I varnish the railings, for God's sake, someone tell me technical names, I'm here to learn... always keep it in mind.
 
 
With the rest of the brush I go over the railings of the railing, they looked very dull, in the end we will see how the issue of varnish ends up in the light, it is not seen or I do not see it very bright in the photos, yes.
 

 
 
He carried out a test with the measurements and I verified that my first sail design configuration does not work for me, later we will see why, that mast is short, I have to add more centimeters, curiously the longest one does admit the first configuration but flush the type of sail to the top of the mast or a foot higher, on the other hand with the short one it goes much higher a meter or more.
 
A lot of changes await me.

 


 
Ahhh, the skylight is freshly varnished it shows.
Greetings.

Good afternoon:
Let's see if today it is possible that not a word in spanish gets through, I will be watching more than yesterday... but I still don't understand what can happen, it exceeds my logical and analytical capacity.
Today the idea is to show you how I made the sea for this model.
Yesterday I told you diorama and this heat is making me delirious, this boat does not have a landscape, it goes in principle for the bottle that you will see.
My strategy for today is few words and many photos... you're lucky you won't have to have an aspirin omelette for dinner because of my excessive verbiage.

The white paper is a template that we have verified reproduces the oval of the tinted silicone that we have put in the bottle to simulate the depth.
There are no photos of the process but you will see them. 
If everything is fine, I usually measure six times and cut one, the boat will be one millimeter on each side with respect to the interior glass and the mast will enter the neck of the bottle half.

Everything we're going to need is here...
Focus your attention on a template made with plastic sanded from the paper one, you can see the exact position of the helmet in another template below.
The plastic template is surrounded by a twine thread two or three millimeters thick glued, it is the one that limits the height and expansion of the silicone.
Determines the working zone of our sea.

My method is always to glue wood against wood, that's why I make a small square, sometimes a strip, with two glued wooden sticks that fit into the holes in the hull.

In this image you can see that the hull has been wrapped in kitchen plastic, which you cannot see and it is very IMPORTANT that you remember to remove the board from the bottom of the hull, wrap it and finally nail the board back in place by drilling the plastic .
One thing that I have done for the first time, I always use tinted silicone, but this time to test how it works against an already tinted background, I have tried to glue the outline of the helmet with transparent silicone to see if I get a deeper effect of the helmet.
I have also taken the opportunity to put the transparent silicone that will make the breaking wave of the bow in the plastic.

Silicone like two index fingers and three drops of color, to match the one already inserted... the idea is a deep Atlantic sea.
Stir to equalize and without beating so as not to introduce air.
We fill from the inside out, remember that we just glued the hull with silicone without dye... the entire oval flush with the twine that gives us the height.
They are simulated a little bit by distributing the unevenness that the sea creates and we place the bow plastic in the arched shape that we want the bow wave.
The next day.



 

 

 

 

 
The board where the helmet goes in its place...
Not even hunger moves her from there.
There are no photos of how to put and paste the sea inside.
Only the twine is removed from the sea.
It is left glued on the sanded plastic.T
The sea is rolled up with the plastic part facing out and enters alone.
It is supported on the side of the bottle and with a wire, or a drinking straw, drops of silicone are placed on the sea inside and a cord where the board goes.
The sea is dropped on it and it is leveled flush.

I promised little words and a lot of photo, at least the second I have fulfilled.

 

Ufff...bad.

Ufff...bad.

Well?

Yes, her well.

Ufff...bad.

Ufff...bad.

Ufff...bad.

Ufff...very bad.
the only thing perfect is that the bowsprit is a millimeter from the glass.
I knew that the bottle would deform but not in this brutal way.
I don't know if it's worth it
put it in it... but at the moment I don't have another, we'll see.
Greetings.
 
 
 
 

Good afternoon, let's go with some progress...
...and setbacks, that there are, we leave them for later.
 

 
 

 
 
I carefully examine the curvatures, heights, dimensions, proportions, which would be in addition to having fun for a while because I like what I see, performing optimal quality control... I remind you that I work without plans... which for me is always a difficulty .
 

 
I am going to be very insistent on this subject, but as long as it can be recycled, reused and reduced... in this case this sheet metal, less than a millimeter thick, comes from the back of a painted plywood picture, which is it separated due to the effect of humidity... I washed it well, let it dry and now I have it for different uses.
 

 
Forgive the photographer who is a mall, put your finger down.
With this round strip of six millimeters in diameter I hope to be able to make the railings of the railing... for this it has been immersed in very hot water one night when I get up I change the water again no matter how hot it burns and after a After a while I put it in its holder, it is one of the two hulls I made in beech, identical to the ship's pine.
It is left to dry on days when there are more tasks to do
 

 
I add some wooden circles on the tips of the masts and bowsprit as I have seen in a photo on the internet, although they are actually metal and a cylinder that surrounds the tip of these.
I also varnished the part of the wood that doesn't turn white.
 

 
Aft seat and helmsman's seat.
Well, nothing that keeps your eyes working.
 

 

 
We work the mast, it is varnished, it is drilled to pass that piece that I don't know what nautical name it has, it is a crossbar that some lines cross from the hull to the tip of the mast.
Information is appreciated
 

 

 
We have already put the railings, there are no photos, sorry, but come on, the process is easy, it was left to dry for several days, then it was verified that the curve was perfect, it was cut to the correct length and the only more laborious thing was with a knife cut the strip in two parts to obtain two half circles that make a believable railing, it is glued with pva and without further ado.
We have also made the base of the bowsprit and drilled through the hull at the point through it.
Greetings.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
..
 
 
 

Great looking ships in bottles Geordie. I especially like the ones with lighthouses. Welcome aboard!

Welcome to the forum Geordie! 

Hi everyone I have been making ships in a bottle for years and just found this wonderful site for sharing in this unusual hobby 
not sure yet how to post and communicate but will keep trying 

Templates made!
Now to start carving … again.
Dan

Greetings All,
Finished adding and rigging all the guns for my Niagara, plus added the chain plates and deadeyes. Added masts temporarily to locate end points for the chains.
Anchor's A Weigh!
John Fox III
 

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My new completed projects...












 

Greetings Dan,
I know the feeling, I have often carved hulls that were close, but not symmetrical enough. I put it down to my being right handed, it's almost always the port side that is slightly out of shape with me. The only advice I can give you is to use more templates, good idea to glue paper ones to something a bit thicker and stiffer, you got that one right. That keeps them from bending out of shape when holding against the hull. Mark the points on the keel where each template bottom should be located, and attempt best you can to hold the template perfectly vertical when checking shape. I start in the middle, then work every other template space fore and aft. Cut just a little at a time, I use an X-acto knife and #11 blade myself, At the stern it gets trickier where it undercuts. Be patient, and work slowly, when the hull seems close to the right shape, i then use sandpaper starting with heavier grits and then work down to finer stuff. I often make 3 hull block sandwiches to start with, so don't have to repeat the process again later "when" I screw one of them up.
Hope that helps!
Anchor's A Weigh!
John Fox III

I've made some progress, but I'm afraid in the wrong direction!
I've tried three times now to get the hull block carved properly.  Each time, I've wound up with an asymmetrical hull.


I made three hull templates (midships, about midway between midships and the bow and about midway between midships and the stern).  The problem I had -- as I've diagnosed it -- is not being able to clearly see where centerline was.  Because everything's made of basswood, it all pretty much looked the same when I started sanding on it.
On my third attempt, I dipped the "keel" piece in some wood stain.  The stain didn't penetrate too far, so you can't see it on the bottom of the hull blank, but it does show up on the sides of the keel piece, which means I can see where it is.
 


So, now that I've gotten to this point again -- and it's amazing how quickly I can make a hull blank now, after doing it three times -- I'm looking for some advice about the best way to go about this and wind up with a symmetrical hull.  What tools ought I be using?  I'd like to use my bandsaw to cut away the bottom of the hull block.  That's fast and easy.  From there, should I just sand it away?  Use a chisel?  Any tips on using the templates more effectively?  I was thinking of making, instead of these kinds of templates...
 

... some that would be "full hull" that I can fit from the bottom up and have both sides of the model on one template?
What do you think of that idea?
Any other suggestions?
 
 
Dan
 
 

Not much to report tonight.  I pulled out my drawings from the Smithsonian.  They're way too big to scan on my little scanner.

So I think I'll take them over to FedEx and use their large-scale scanner to reduce them to a size I can use to make templates.
 
 
Dan
 

Greetings Dan,
What you've done above is the same way I did, and would, do the hull carving to this point. I would definitely make some cross section templates, from copies of the body plan, to do the rest of the carving.
Anchor's A Weigh!
John Fox III

Quick update tonight.  I've done the rough cutting of the block down to the hull lines.
Next step is the most difficult -- I think -- final shaping of the hull.  I'm not sure what the right tool is to do that.  This model is so small that a rotary tool is probably too aggressive.  And I'm thinking about making the kinds of hull templates you use when you're making a larger solid hull model.  Without those I don't see how I can keep the hull symmetrical.

 
Dan

Thanks, John!
I'd thought I would do that initially, but then cut from the top view.  Live and learn.
It looks like it's going to work out alright.  I traced the waterline on the back of the template so I could position it properly on the other side of the hull block.  Then I clamped the template to the hull block.

And traced it out...

Here you can see the outline and the waterline drawn on the other side of the template.

Now it's time to cut down to the cap rail and form the sheer of the hull.
 
 
Dan
 
 

Greetings Dan,
You will find it better in future to cut the hull block sandwich to the side/profile view first, then the plan view.  When you place the profile view to an already cut plan view you will find that the profile view is too short. Basically, the curved side is longer than a straight side would be. Just a hint for future reference.
Anchor's A Weigh!
John Fox III

Yesterday, I cut the hull block down to the lines on the plan view.  it was a simple enough operation, but I took it slowly to make sure I didn't go too far.  Now the hull is about 15/16" wide and 3-15/16" long.

 

 
Today I'll transfer the side view of the boat to the block and cut the top of the block down to the top of the caprail.
 
 
Dan
 
 

I've crossed the Rubicon.
I scaled up the drawings to fit the hull blank I have.  (I used the plans redrawn by Howard Chapelle in 1933.)  That made the model too wide to fit through the neck of the bottle I have, so I will definitely need a bigger bottle.  I marked the outline of the hull, the waterline, the locations of the masts and the locations of the aligning pins on the drawings and then lined all that up on the hull blank.

I mounted the drawings on 1/16" basswood, creating templates.


Next step:  trace the hull lines from the template to the hull blank and then use my razor saw to cut down from the top of the block to the top of the cap rail to form the sheer of the hull.
 
Dan

I've made some progress on my America.
Using John Fox's article from 1988 in Model Ship Builder, I made the hull blank.

I sandwiched a thin piece of basswood between two others, establishing a keel line for the hull below the waterline.  I used 0.010" styrene to establish a waterline.  And then I cut another piece of basswood for the upperworks.  I turned a couple of toothpicks down to 1/16" to pin them all together.

I've made two templates, mounting them on basswood.
Here's the side view.

So now my question.  I decided on the size of the ship based on the internal dimensions of the bottle.  Is that the right way to think about this?  I made the blank per the article:  3/4" thick, 1-1/8" wide, about 4" long.  That'll make a model the same size as John's Bluenose.  Bluenose's hull lines are similar to America's, but the yacht carried a lot more sail area. so the model would be taller than the inside the bottle if I built it to the same dimensions as Bluenose.  
So, do I build it a little bigger and find a bottle that will fit later?  Or build it small and fit it into the bottle I have?
 
 
Dan

‘Merikarhu’ (Sea Bear) ST-79 Ocean tug.
Constructed in Brooklyn NY in 1943 served during Normandy landings 1944. Transferred to Finland 1946/47. Now a museum ship at Hamina , south Finland.

Good night.
Let,s go, more work.
 
We have matched both rails, the Cutter looks harmonious, they measure exactly the same height from the platform.
I have created a skylight, separated in two, I think this one can fit in two.
You can see in the image how I have discarded a first attempt at a cornice with scuppers, you will see it at the top right, that is why I use the big stick, I can make four cornices because I always make mistakes.
 


 
Mast and yards, The roof of the house with a coat of varnish.
 
 

The house with its door and roof, the proportions go well.
Your sunroof closed and I'll make one open.
It seems good to me, later on I plan to make an even more complicated deckhouse and a skylight that can be seen inside the cabin and below deck, I already have the method in my head, more work but more level... little by little, but Hare.
At the moment I can't make galleons.
 

 
Handmade portholes, brass rings and black foam interior cut to the millimeter thickness or less with a razor blade.
 
Greetings.