JesseLee Posted October 10, 2015 Report Share Posted October 10, 2015 I'm pretty excited to post this build log. I tried to do this one last year & had so many problems with the glass bulbs breaking I gave up on it till this year & tried it again. This build is actually already done. I saved all the pics so that if it finally worked out I could post a log. Well after two years & 6 or 7 glass Christmas globes it eventually got done. I will post a lot of last years pics showing all the progress & failures. Some steps will be repeated as it had to be de-done many times. It all started with these glass Christmas ornament globes my wife picked up last year. I looked online for a ship that could be put in it & discovered the Rouse Simmons. It carried Christmas trees across Lake Michigan from rural to urban areas. It sank in Lake Michigan Nov. 23, 1912 delivering Christmas trees to Chicago. Pics of the glass globes & the drawings I made for the build Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JesseLee Posted October 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2015 First thing was to make a folding hinged bottom wood piece with a label with a brief description of the ship. Glued paper to shaped strips of wood to make it hinge & fold up to fit through the opening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JesseLee Posted October 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2015 First attempt to test fit folded base disc resulted in the first broken bulb. This one broke at the neck. John Zuch, Alex Bellinger and Jim Goodwin 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwyl Blaser Posted October 11, 2015 Report Share Posted October 11, 2015 Jesse, this looks like a fun project. I am looking forward to more as you continue to add additional images. Gwyl Chasseur 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieB Posted October 11, 2015 Report Share Posted October 11, 2015 Interesting project. I'll be following your progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Nelson Posted October 11, 2015 Report Share Posted October 11, 2015 Love the dog watching you too. I have these ornaments also so far I put a paper plane in mine. JesseLee and Gwyl Blaser 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JesseLee Posted October 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 Thanks Gwyl, Charlie & Lord Nelson- love the bi-planes! I colored the back of the drawing with pencil so it would transfer to the wood like carbon paper. John Zuch 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JesseLee Posted October 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 Cutting out & shaping the hull... Gwyl Blaser and John Zuch 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwyl Blaser Posted October 12, 2015 Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 She is looking good! Gwyl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Goodwin Posted October 13, 2015 Report Share Posted October 13, 2015 Looking Grand, Jesse! Like your big black dog! Have a couple orders for the Simmons myself. Looking forward to seeing the completed piece! Gwyl Blaser and JesseLee 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JesseLee Posted October 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2015 Thanks Gwyl & Jim. Jim, that is Lucy, one of 4 dogs we have & a neighbors dog who comes over every day who seems to want to be ours too. Lucy follows me over to the workbench & lays at my feet or sometimes crams herself up under the bench as I work on my models. Jim Goodwin and Gwyl Blaser 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chasseur Posted October 14, 2015 Report Share Posted October 14, 2015 It's going to be a fun build to watch. I never knew about the Rouse Simmons... very interesting indeed. Gwyl Blaser 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JesseLee Posted October 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 14, 2015 I ran across it by accident doing searches on Google. I forgot to say the it was a Schooner. Painted the hull, drilled hole for bowsprit, scored the deck planking & stained deck, constructed the bowsprit & started adding deck furnishings. Gwyl Blaser, Chasseur, John Zuch and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieB Posted October 14, 2015 Report Share Posted October 14, 2015 Looks great so far. JesseLee and Gwyl Blaser 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieB Posted October 16, 2015 Report Share Posted October 16, 2015 From your picture where you're scoring the deck with a straihht edge and xacto knife, you must have really steady hand. JesseLee 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JesseLee Posted October 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2015 (edited) I have been asked in a private message about the size of the hull so I thought I'd share it here. It is approx. 2 1/8 inches (5 1/2 cm) long (without bowsprit), 9/16 inch (14mm) wide, & 4/16 inch (6mm) thick. Using the 3rd glass ornament after 1st two broke. A year ago I asked Daniel for some advice on this build. The sea surface will be over an inch higher than the bottom of the ornament. Filling it up with putty or resins would be much too heavy to hang on a Christmas Tree limb so I was stumped on how to pull this off. Daniel told me about another bottle builder who used a method painting the space below the sea level to hide the empty space & make a thin solid "floor" that would rest higher up that would be the sea surface. I cant remember where he referred me to but I knew it was the answer to my problem. Now how to make it. I used the same way I did the disk for the bottom label, make a folding disk using paper as hinges . I measured the inside of the globe by inserting a round paper cut out trimming it until it fit right. Then made the wood base out of tongue depressor sticks. Edited October 18, 2015 by JesseLee Chasseur, Gwyl Blaser and Landlubber Mike 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjsanker Posted October 18, 2015 Report Share Posted October 18, 2015 Looks Great till now. Really enjoy following your posts Gwyl Blaser 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Goodwin Posted October 18, 2015 Report Share Posted October 18, 2015 Don't know if you if you are planning trees on deck, yet you can mimic firs by twisting OOO steel wool around a tooth pick & then spray paint them. The trees carried on the deck were bundled, so this method would be good for that. Gwyl Blaser and Chasseur 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JesseLee Posted October 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 Re-did bottom label disc. the 1st one was a little bit oval. Made another one round like it should have been from the start. I also made a wood tab on the side that will be hidden. This was so I could hold it with locking tweezers making much easier to insert & glue in. Glued it in. Painted blue paint inside glass between bottom label & the sea base disc. John Zuch and Taiga 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JesseLee Posted October 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 (edited) Did some experimenting with this build some didn't work out. Wanted to keep it at light as possible. Tried making the sea out of a thin layer of silicone. Painted it blue. It was the best looking sea surface I ever made- much like a slightly choppy sea. The silicone bed would roll up to go in the glass ornament & open up flat for gluing down. It didn't work because nothing sticks to dries silicone & the paint eventually started peeling up & flaking off in spots. I was disappointed because it looked so good & met the requirement of being so light. I hope I can find a way to make this work for future builds. The silicone formed the perfect shaped wave caps. I had 1st tried having the base underneath it painted but it looked too clear at the higher spots so that's why I tried painting the silicone itself. Edited October 20, 2015 by JesseLee Chasseur, John Zuch and Gwyl Blaser 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Nelson Posted October 20, 2015 Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 You should have kept the paper and then glued the paper to the platform. I used this method and had no problem Gwyl Blaser 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JesseLee Posted October 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2015 (edited) Constructed the masts & spars. Experimented with an old method of hinging the masts on this build. Forgot to take the pictures of this step but thread is fed through a hole in the mast & through 2 holes in the mast hole & knotted underneath the hull. Adding some rigging as I went along.... Edited October 24, 2015 by JesseLee Gwyl Blaser and John Zuch 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JesseLee Posted October 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2015 Cut out & formed the sails. Dipped in coffee to age them. Washed them in baking soda & water to neutralize the acids. At this point the glass bulb broke. This was the 4th one from a pack of 4. This is where I stopped the build last year. Sometimes the glass would break while I was working with it & sometimes it would just pop when it wasn't even being worked with. The picture shows what a typical break was with these glass bulbs. Was very upset it didn't get done so I could hang it on our Christmas Tree. These bulbs were bought at Wal Mart. decided to pick some up from a different store the next season & try it again. A whole year later (a few months ago tis year) I got some more from my local Hobby Lobby store hoping they wouldn't be as thin as the other ones. The next posting will be where I picked this build back up this year. John Zuch and Gwyl Blaser 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwyl Blaser Posted October 25, 2015 Report Share Posted October 25, 2015 Looking good! Gwyl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exwafoo Posted October 26, 2015 Report Share Posted October 26, 2015 Jesse, To give you a bit of encouragement, just in case the tale hasn't made it to your part of the world. http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/scotlandshistory/warsofindependence/bruceandspider/index.asp Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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