finally finished drilling holes in one side, must say my hand is pretty sore from that, took most of the day including yesterday, would of been easier if i marked out where the drill wholes instead of measuring each hole, i did that because i wasn't too keen on having pencil marks on the wood, i didn't want to go through to make effort to sand it all off making the strips thinner but i am pleased with the outcome
ordered around 700 rivets, research does great work, got them even cheaper than last time but the 200 from america should take a while to come. but before i apply them i'll add the upper wales so that i wont overlap any tree nailing along with some varnish.

The holes arn't visible in these images i'll take more pictures eventually but its not easy so in the mean time i'll finish off the other side and will probably cut the planks alot closer to the gun ports instead of sanding and cutting them down after they're applied, just because i found some of them started to come off when filing down.



I think i would of liked a lighter finish on the wood just to make the tree nailing stand out a bit more but im sure i'll be happy anyway, also will probably add 2 more rows of planking because i probably wont paint the wales red.

Very nice work Admiral look after those fingures. kind regards, Mike

ahaha will try mike, thanks for the comment

Excellent work Admiral, really looking good... .. Like the idea of the stern post modification and to cut it as you describe may be easier and cleaner with small jig saw or even a dremel with cutting disc.... .. Time for some more experimentation I think....

Regards

Alan

finally finished the second side, needs a little bit more work and another 2 rows on each side but happy with the outcome, though the planks aren't perfectly placed to mirror the other side of the hull, about 1-2mms off but thankfully the laws of physics only allow you to see one side of the ship

Hopefully i have some maple coming tomorrow (along with my long awaited rivets)so i can start on the lower hull, using maple so that i wont have to paint it white and it'll show the texture of the wood hopefully, and maybe even some tree nailing but i know it'll be an even longer process than the upper hull to complete

Now to drill some holes...

Lovely work Admiral, hope you get your materials soon so you can get started on the lower hull..... .. Watch out for treenailititis, it hits without warning,,,,

Regards

Alan

ahaha ''treenailititis'' something i fear with all my heart

Experimenting with the new maple i got, never used this wood before but i do like the look of it, this way i wont have to paint the lower hull and it gives a better look, only problem is tree nailing, not sure how to go about it.

I'd like to use some filler, but i feel it may get into the grain and sanding it down may be a problem as its too thin.

Toothpicks was another idea but they're too big and fairly the same shade as the maple.. and

I could just order some more tree rivets but i think it would be much too many, right now im closely considering using filler, but i've come up with another simple idea which would cost nothing, Simply using the sapele already supplied, cutting it into small splinters with a pointed edge, this way its like a very fragile nail and even though they're not rounded its something very hard to notice if at all noticeable.
Gives a nice effect and roughly the right colour im looking for.

(only the middle two have been tree nailed this way, the rest and just holes)

Now that's a novell idea but a heck of a lot of work Admiral, especially when you think the cocktail sticks was a time consuming process.... .. Admire you if you go down that route... .. I have been having a think but not to sure if it would work, am willing to try little experiment to see how it goes... Thinking of .5mm rigging line but with a good coating of bees wax to make it fairly rigid... predrill .5mm holes and see if the line would go into the predrilled holes easy with a little touch of PVA.... .. May be a crazy idea but it is just a thought at this stage....

Good luck with whichever process you decide, build is looking great.....

Regards

Alan

Yup it sure is nigel, but if filling the holes turns out too be too big a problem then i'll be happy to just tree nail them with some of the left over sapele, its just the right colour and i wont have to buy anything
I do plan on giving a couple of coats of varnishing afterwards, and while the colour of the maple is great im not too bothered if the colour changes slightly, aslong as its considerably lighter than the sapele planking, though there is some fairly good matt varnishes that dont change colour, i recently got some humbrol matt cote which works well but is a bit thin, i still have loads of planing to do so theres loads of time to find the right varnish, as long as it protects the planking i'll be happy