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[Mark T]

     



Cheers Boss 

[KNO3]

Keep up the good work!

[Mark T]

Keep up the good work!

Thanks mate 


I've been a bit delayed on the build because after I had tidied up the excess cloth I really wasn't entirely happy with the result.  The way that I had applied it removed too many sharp edges and hid too much of the detail that I had gone to a lot of effort to include.


So last weekend I spent a lot of time sanding the detail back into the hull which took ages and it also involved a full respray of the keel.  Anyway its done now so upwards and onwards.  After sanding it all flat I installed the rudder post with some 5 minute epoxy














Next I fitted the rudder to the spindle with epoxy and screws and gave it a final coat of finishing resin








And then gave the hull what I hope is the final coat of finishing resin too














So its looking nice now but I need to give it a week to dry properly.  I'll know then if it needs another coat or not once I've knocked it back a bit with a scotch bright pad.  The final finish will be a matt coat varnish so all of the shine will be gone but theres loads to do before then.


Mark 

[Capt Podge]

Good recovery Mark - looks superb and I'm sure the finishing coat will be just as good - lovely job 


Regards,
Ray.

[Mark T]

Hi All


Well I'm glad to say that after knocking the resin back the finish is lovely     Its going to look even better once its had a couple of coats of matt varnish but there are a few things to do before that happens.  Somehow I've messed my photos up a bit in the order that I took them so bear with me if things look a bit topsy turvy 


I refitted the brass strip in the keel using the screws and 5 minute epoxy and also permanently fitted the rudder.  I'm my own worst critic but I think the results are just so nice and I'm glad that I took my time.  I hope you think the same and like the patina on the brass.








And then just utter disaster - I dropped it.  Yep you read that right I dropped the hull straight onto the stern.  At first i thought that I had got away with it but unfortunately I didn't.  The stern and the stern bulwarks were cracked     So the only thing I could think of was to sand it back and reapply some finishing resin which I pushed into the cracks after pulling them slightly wider apart.








Luckily for me when the boat is finished none of this will be visible as its hidden underneath brass plating and the rubber bumper.  I'll reinforce from the inside at a later date.  That will teach me to be clumsy.


So onto the next job - the brass plating that runs around the full bulwarks.  There are 32 plates that need to be fitted and 100's of 0.5mm nails that hold them.  I love the instructions with this kit - they simply say fit the brass plates and thats it     No measurements or nothing!  So I spent a while just trying different positions until the looked about right.











And then I drew around the plates so that I know each ones position ready for gluing in place














I think I'm going to use 15 minute epoxy to attach these plates as I think this will give me enough time to put them in the right place and get cleaned up too.  The only thing is they are way to shiny so I need to age them a bit.  I cleaned all of the plates with cellulose thinners just in case they had some sort of coating on them.  Next I put them in a sealed container with some vinegar and salt and I'll see what they look like next weekend.  Hopefully the shine will be gone.





Thats it for now - cheer Mark 

[KNO3]

Sorry to hear about the hull getting damaged. It doesn't look that bad though. It should look very nice with all that brass covering it.

[Mark T]

Sorry to hear about the hull getting damaged. It doesn't look that bad though. It should look very nice with all that brass covering it.

Yea its just one of those things I guess.  You can either just accept that its happened and move on or throw your teddies out of the pram     It was dropped from quite a height so I have realised just how strong it is as my other boat would have probably snapped in half.  Onwards and upwards 

[Mark T]

Well I popped home from work tonight as the truck is in for a service and thought, hows my brass coming along.


Well instead of it being shiny brass its now shiny silver.  Its not brass at all its brass plated     Honestly these kits aren't cheap and it just plated!





Oh well not to worry     The trouble is a cannot see what the base metal actually is.  I can see some copper coming through but that may be part of the plating process.  Its a non ferrous metal but seems too springy to be aluminium.  I think that it may be copper plate or possibly stainless.  Hopefully I'll find out as I now dropped it into a very mild acidic bath to clean it right back.  I'm really hoping its copper I'll let you know 

[Jerry C]

So, chipping hammer (miniature), wire brush(ditto), red lead and the rest of the gummins, just like the real thing eh!
Bummer.
Jerry.

[Mark T]

So, chipping hammer (miniature), wire brush(ditto), red lead and the rest of the gummins, just like the real thing eh!
Bummer.
Jerry.

Pretty much Jerry 

[derekwarner]

Mark.......there isn't a lot of metals that would make sense for electroplating


1. ferrous......you have discounted as non magnetic
2. any other zinc & it's cousins based too brittle to roll into sheet
3. aluminium based is ~~ about 1/3 the weight of brass & the Standard scratch test would confirm


Would be interested to understand....my best guess is .3........
To try & understand, I cut a postage stamp 25 x 30 x 0.0058 mm brass shim......only to find the resolution on my scale was 1 gm minimum

Derek

[Pragmatist]

Wow, I am building my first boat so to see this is amazing.

[bfgstew]

Probably anodized aliminium.......


Apart from that.....she is looking good, vey good indeed.


Keep up the good work mate.

[Mark T]

Wow, I am building my first boat so to see this is amazing.

Boat building if fun and I love it - if your building your first boat my advice is to really take your time with the frames.  If you get them right and nice and straight everything else follows nicely.  If the frames are wrong you end up constantly correcting as you go along.  Good luck with your build 

[Mark T]

Probably anodized aliminium.......


Apart from that.....she is looking good, vey good indeed.


Keep up the good work mate.

Cheers mate     I think that you and Derek are right it looks like the aluminium with 3 plated coats.  The top one is brass over the top of chrome which is over a coat of copper.  Its taking a while to get it off so I've dropped the plates into some brick cleaner with has hydrochloric acid in it.  Its not too strong but probably strong enough to attack the aluminium if left for too long.  I'll see how it goes over night.

[Capt Podge]

Are these any good for what you're trying to achieve Mark?


https://www.alwayshobbies.com/materials/metals/k$4s-brass-sheet-and-shim

Link didn't work. I'll try again...
Regards,
Ray.

[Capt Podge]

https://www.cornwallmodelboats.co.uk/acatalog/brass_sheet.html


This link instead?


Regards,
Ray.

[Mark T]

Hi Ray thanks for the link.  I originally and incorrectly thought that the plates were just brass sheet.  I didn't like the very shiny finish so I thought that I would patina them a bit to dull them down which just took the plating straight off. 


Thats ok though because now I'm just going to strip all of the plating off and get back to the base material.  I'll then fit them and probably air brush a few different browns on just to give it a weathered look. I reckon it will look ok when done and a whole lot better than having a shiny brass ring all of the way around the hull.  I just need to be patient and let the acid do its job 

[Capt Podge]

Sounds like a good idea.
I took another look at the link and didn't realise it was so expensive.
Hope your idea works out okay.


Regards,
Ray.

[derekwarner]

Your last post sounds by far the best plan Mark...however just minimise the time the plates are in any more acid...as you will end up with scale rusted pinholes in the aluminium that will continue to corrode....[even when painted] just like real steel 


Just for reference, 0.002" brass sheet can be cut with a Stanley knife, but still leaves a razzor sharp rolled edge


[According the the electrochemical Series   

It would have been Aluminium, a few Microns of Nickel, a few Microns of Copper then finally a few Microns of Brass

The other seemingly crazy thing is ......this plated material is probably more expensive than standard brass .........the method in madness is the ability of the aluminium based material to be high speed roller punched and produces small sized profiles with crisp edges that have little if any punch marking or rags that need gently filing or 20 band-Aids over cut fingers

Derek

[Mark T]

Derek you are spot on it is nickel after all as the base plating over the aluminium.


Now I've had a bit of a result as the acid has worked its magic overnight.  As per usual with me its more luck than judgement but I looked at the plates when I got up and was surprised with the results. 


A lot of the chrome had been dissolved away and the nickel was showing through quite evenly.  So I washed the plates clean and gave them a bit of a buff with a rough scotch bright pad and the results are great.  The photos don't really do them justice but they look quite weathered now and should look even better with a matt varnish











So I'm going glue them on as they are and maybe just give them a wash of very thin black.  I'll see what they look like once on.  I'm so pleased with the results as at one point I thought that they were lost.  Thanks for all of the input and advice from you all.  I've just got to epoxy all 32 plates on now


Mark 

[Capt Podge]

Glad to see your persistence is paying off Mark.
Looking forward to seeing more on this one 


Regards,
Ray.

[derekwarner]

Those plates still look crisp  ....you could consider chemical blackening......works very well on brass, but there is a brew form aluminium....


Derek

[Mark T]

Hi Derek there'll be no more chemicals put on these plates - I've pushed my luck as far as I can and to re-make them would be more bother than it was worth.  Anymore weathering will be done with my air brush.


The plates are going on very nicely using epoxy resin but they really don't want to conform to the shape of the hull.  I tried bending them and that didn't work so I resorted to force     Loads of clamps and hey presto they gave up the fight 





You can now see the true final shape of the forecastle as all of the wood above the plates is surplus and needs to be removed





A couple of side shots - I'll have the starboard side finished tonight








So far so good - Unfortunately all of the brass nails supplied to fill the holes on the plates are far too long.  I've cut down a few but fitting 7 nails I lost 12 as they pinged off somewhere never to be found again.  Its not a problem I'll get some more from CMB in the new year.  I think fitting all of the nails will take longer than fitting the plates.


Cheers Mark 

[rhavrane]

Bonjour Mark,
What an amazing job, it is a pleasure to follow your progress. And loosing small things is part of the job, imagine my beloved wife (not fan of my passion) discovering a nut or a screw in the bathroom... 
Bon Noël !