In over my head the Sea Witch Clipper ship night mare.

D

Docbritofmf

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Jun 10, 2021
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As someone who likes to keep busy I tend to take on a lot more projects then I have time for and easily get distracted.

A few months back I was at a local thrift shop when I found this vintage wooden ship model kit that was half built.
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I've never built a wooden model before aside from maybe a pinewood derby car, and I have no idea how intact the kit is but I decided I would buy it and see if I could complete it.

So far I've gone over it and it seems that most of the kit is still here maybe a few pieces of balsa I have to replace, the main components missing are a few metals pieces like a small whale boat and davets maybe I can fabricate one.
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The completed sections of the ship were mostly carved and put together by the previous builder with a few small additions by myself before I put it down and decided I needed more knowledge on how to build a wooden ship kit.

So that's were I'm at currently I'm not sure how to proceed with this build being half built and with a lot of issues it seems. I like the challenge but maybe it would make better firewood any thoughts?
 
Don't give up, keep going. It doesn't look bad at all. With care and patience, you can take her to a nice finish.
 
I tried cutting out the smaller pieces the mast structure from their balasa boards that have the outline printed on them but every attempt to cut them out resulted in the part splitting down the grain lines into multiple pieces, idk if this is because the boards are old and fragile or if they should have printed the template with the grain instead of against but I'm going the have to fabricate my own out of new balsa.

If anyone has any suggestions regarding how to make the wood hold together better when cutting and drilling I'd greatly appreciate it.

I'll try to take some pictures next time I have the kit out but basically they are little platforms that the mast goes threw at different levels so this requires a hole drilled in the center of a basically 1/2" by 1/2" square pieces of 1/4" (probably less I'm guessing) balsa that also has notches cut into the side edges.

When I try to cut them out or drill the holes these little pieces break apart very easily I've tried cutting new pieces out of the scrap boards left over from bigger parts already cut out but I reach the same results
 
From your description , yes , it would be better if the cuts ran with the grain .
The grain is checking and splitting apart due to it being dried out . This damage is irreversible .
You could try painting down a diluted PVA to each side so it soaks in and holds the grain together when you cut across it but there's no guarantee .
Also , minimize additional forces applied during cutting by pressing a straightedge down atop it adjacent the cut .
 
urumomo said:
From your description , yes , it would be better if the cuts ran with the grain .
The grain is checking and splitting apart due to it being dried out . This damage is irreversible .
You could try painting down a diluted PVA to each side so it soaks in and holds the grain together when you cut across it but there's no guarantee .
Also , minimize additional forces applied during cutting by pressing a straightedge down atop it adjacent the cut .
Click to expand...
Would it be better to just get fresh balsa wood along with pressing down to keep excess stress off the wood?
 
If the knife is splitting the balsa, try using your drum sander on a Dremel tool to shape the wood..more dusty...less cracking
 
Docbritofmf said:
Would it be better to just get fresh balsa wood along with pressing down to keep excess stress off the wood?
Click to expand...
Definitely , or you could glue laminate a fresh sheet of balsa , with the grain perpendicular , to the existing one with the printed parts on it .
Keep them sandwiched between heavy books or the worktop and a book to keep the sheets flat while the glue dries .
This might be an issue with the increased thickness of the final part , maybe not , but it would retain the part outlines for you
.
 
I have this kit in my stash that I hope to start soon.
The builder has done a pretty good job on yours. It needs some sanding and filling of the seams between the keel and hull. Have you decided how you want to finish it? A lot of the deck fittings might need to be removed to make painting easier.
 
scottrc78 said:
I have this kit in my stash that I hope to start soon.
The builder has done a pretty good job on yours. It needs some sanding and filling of the seams between the keel and hull. Have you decided how you want to finish it? A lot of the deck fittings might need to be removed to make painting easier.
Click to expand...
I honestly have no idea how to proceed with it, there's some work I started and some stuff that needs replacing with new wood in which I'll have to make new parts, I think it's gonna have to be something I piece together little by little when I'm board or in between kits or something.

I definitely could use some pointers and direction if you have any it's my first wooden kit ever so I'm kinda lost
 
These old kits were never easy to put together, and you're starting out with a difficult, complex subject. Price was right, though. I'd suggest looking for some build logs on the internet... have a look at the "Lady Nelson" stop motion build video for a simpler subject. Of course, this makes it look easy- and it isn't- but you might get a few ideas. There are some great wooden ship modeling books that might help. Wood ship models are vastly different beasts compared to plastic models- I'm not saying either are easier or more difficult, just different. So you should expect a good bit of a learning curve. Keep at it, though, it can be loads of fun.
 
Complex project to take on as a first time build although some of the work has been done.
Suggest making some simpler wood kits first to gain experience using that medium.
 
Docbritofmf said:
I tried cutting out the smaller pieces the mast structure from their balasa boards that have the outline printed on them but every attempt to cut them out resulted in the part splitting down the grain lines into multiple pieces, idk if this is because the boards are old and fragile or if they should have printed the template with the grain instead of against but I'm going the have to fabricate my own out of new balsa.

If anyone has any suggestions regarding how to make the wood hold together better when cutting and drilling I'd greatly appreciate it.

I'll try to take some pictures next time I have the kit out but basically they are little platforms that the mast goes threw at different levels so this requires a hole drilled in the center of a basically 1/2" by 1/2" square pieces of 1/4" (probably less I'm guessing) balsa that also has notches cut into the side edges.

When I try to cut them out or drill the holes these little pieces break apart very easily I've tried cutting new pieces out of the scrap boards left over from bigger parts already cut out but I reach the same results
Click to expand...
Put tape (masking) on the unprinted side.
 
First thing is don't use balsa wood. It is way too soft and too open grained. The softest you want to go is basswood. Poplar is a good choice, a little harder than basswood but still very easy to work.
 

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