I was worried that Sanding would leave it looking less “Rough”. I had a loose Plank on the lower hull so I had to apply some SuperGlue to it.
Anyway, it doesn’t look half bad. It’ll look great after I blow out all the Sawdust from the cracks and I apply Polyurethane to it.
I still wish I would’ve added Oakum to the Planks to make it look more authentic. 🤔🙄
I went over the entire Ship with 120 Grit. Now, I’m going through with my 220 Grit and just using Sandpaper without a Block.
I was looking at the Main Deck and I noticed that it had some black smudge marks from the #6B Pencil that I used to Scribe the edges of all the Deck Planks.
I’ve been reluctant to sand it because sanding will often ruin the scribing effect. I went ahead and sanded it anyway with a bit of 220 grit sandpaper.
As expected, the sanding gave it an uneven look… One part being sanded and the rest unsanded.
So, I took my toothbrush and I went over the Deck to get all the sawdust out. By doing this… it made it have a more even appearance.
As I’m into my 2nd day of sanding and making micro adjustments here and there, I was thinking to myself how I never rush this process.
I find that it helps to put it down and pick it up every once in awhile over the course of a few days before proceeding to the next step.
During that time, I’ve come to realize some of the shortcomings and disadvantages of Dap Weldwood Contact Cement. I’ll cover this more in a Post dedicated to it.
In the meantime, suffice it to say that I’ve made perhaps about a dozen or so repairs of Planks that didn’t retain their glue holds, which I’ve had since to repair with SuperGlue. Not to mention those annoying little Glue sprues.
One thing that I’ve found out from previous models is the danger of over sanding. You always need to stay aware of how much wood you have left under what you’re working on. Which is not to say that you can’t take it down to almost paper thin… But you want to avoid doing that just for the sake of preserving it’s structural strength.
Between now and when you’re done, the model will get handled quite a bit. Once it’s displayed though, there’s not much to worry about unless you have kids or cats.
Nothing much to say but Sanding Sanding Sanding…
One thing I found out about this Dap Weldwood Contact Cement is that it leaves these rubbery growths in between the Planks that sometimes come up on you and they’re really a pain in the ass to remove because they’re so tenacious.
I suppose that’s a testament to how strong this Contact Cement is. I do like using Contact Cement way more than using Titebond II and SuperGlue for this work.
I’ve been sanding the Hull so that the Gun Ports are flush with the Hull sides.
The line of the Hull above the Wales have a concave nature to it, so I’ve been trying to get it even…
But to my constirnation, I made another error when I was a bit too enthusiastic with the sanding and I over sanded the Bollard on the Port Side of the Forecastle… Ugh… I hate when that happens! I should have known better. At least I stopped soon enough so I have something to work with when I do my secondary Planking.
I put Putty on all the parts that had flaws or holes in it…
The over-sanded Bollard is completely saveable. Because there still requires a Caprail and Handrail at this part.
First I opened up the entire run for where the Keel and Stem will be attached with my Wood Carving Tool which has a 90° Angle to it.
Now, I’m Sanding the entire Hull.
Now I’m Sanding Sanding Sanding with my MicroMark Sanding Block with 80 Grit Sandpaper.
Sanding takes awhile to do. I find it relaxing. The one thing that you have to be careful about is to not over sand. I’ve done that before on a previous model in my enthusiasm to get the lines perfect. Very disconcerting.
Just applied some Putty on the flaws around the Hull… Especially the forward part where it bends around the Bow.
I’m using some Elmer’s ProBind Professional Strength Wood Filler.
I’ve never used this particular brand before now. Guess I’ll see how good it is. Is was recommended in one of my Ship Building books though.
I tried this other stuff called Plastic Wood before. I wasn’t really that much of a fan because it seemed to come off in chunks which was a bit annoying.
As I sit here, listening to my favorite Bach B Minor Mass performance by the Van Veldhoven Netherlands Bach Society, I was thinking to myself about how the act of Sanding the wood is very cathartic and relaxing.
I guess Leroy Jethro Gibbs has the right idea about it as he builds his boats down in his basement.
I’m going to begin Sanding down the Hull… This is the before picture.
