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Friday, September 30, 2005

10 Little Pigs – what next?

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I’ve now completed the initial batch of 10 lead ballast pigs, each weighing about 11.5 kilos; that leaves me with a choice as to what I shou...
Thursday, September 29, 2005

Seventh Pig

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I had a surprise while heating lead for the seventh pig, when a hole suddenly appeared in the much used saucepan and lead poured onto the co...
Tuesday, September 27, 2005

Sixth Pig etc

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My prognostications about having to buy at least another two bread pans for moulds may prove pessimistic, as I've now made six lead ball...
Saturday, September 24, 2005

Third Pig

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With the aid of a new burner powered by a 907 cartridge of Calor Gaz it only took an hour to melt and cast a pig of lead weighing about 12 k...
Friday, September 23, 2005

Slow Progress

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Yesterday I only managed to produce one lead ballast pig, but not after a struggle, because the wind and ambient temperature conspired toget...
Tuesday, September 20, 2005

Rudder, Stock and Lead Pig

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Apart from drilling the holes for the bolt holding the rudder in place and finishing them to prevent water ingress, I’ve almost completed th...
Saturday, September 17, 2005

Rudder and Stock Saga

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After adding more tape around the edges of both the stock and rudder I gave them a day to harden; then I smoothed uneven surfaces with a cou...
Thursday, September 15, 2005

Rudder and Stock Again

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When I started making the rudder and stock I did not realize how much work would be needed to complete them. Shaping them from plywood took...
Monday, September 12, 2005

Special Sander and Glassing the Rudder

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In the building manual produced by Don Elliott for the Paradox there are instructions for making a sander from plywood; it uses 3 inch wide ...
Saturday, September 10, 2005

Lead Weight & Special Tool

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Yesterday I smoothed the lead in the rudder by using a course file and sandpaper; then I filled any irregularities with thickened epoxy. A ...
Thursday, September 08, 2005

Lead Weight

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I managed to cast the lead weight in the trailing edge of the rudder today. Before casting the lead I had to cut out the shape from the p...
Tuesday, September 06, 2005

Rudder and Stock

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Today I completed all the woodwork for the rudder and stock. I must cut out a section in the trailing edge of the rudder for the lead weigh...
Monday, September 05, 2005

Rudder

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After sanding the stock, complete with its boarding step, I cut out two pieces of 12 millimetre plywood according to the design for the rudd...
Saturday, September 03, 2005

Rudder Stock

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There’s a lot more work in building the rudder stock than I anticipated. Today I was able to spend a few hours making the boarding step, wh...
Friday, September 02, 2005

Progress

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If you’ve been following this ‘blog’ you will know the current subject matter is about the building of a Paradox micro-sailboat. This is a ...
Wednesday, August 31, 2005

Beams etc 2

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With the beams out of the way, I was able to concentrate on the tiller, which I finished this afternoon. There was time to complete marking ...
Monday, August 29, 2005

Beams etc

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I’ve completed all the beams, except for any shaping at the time of installing them in the hull. The only laminating that remains to be don...
Thursday, August 25, 2005

Hatch Beams

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The first of the hatch beams was cut and laminated today; I only have two more to make, then all the beams will be ready for fitting when th...
Wednesday, August 24, 2005

Cabin Beams etc 2

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There’s been heavy rain today, but I was able to laminate the fifth cabin beam; that’s the one above the stern cabin window; it has a stoppe...
Tuesday, August 23, 2005

Cabin Beams etc

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There's been more progress today. Number four cabin beam has been laminated and the other three have been cleaned up with the angle gri...