DKM Kormoran build

Here I copied the rib sections, the bow and the stern, folded them and cut them out neatly then glued them to this piece of ply I found.

I brushed some dirt off and used it. I guess they got it at home depot or lowes or whatever then decided they didn't need it, then threw it out. Pssh, I'll use it!

Here are the frame blanks all cut out w/ the jigsaw, ready for sanding and interior cutting.

I used 2 pens to mark where to cut out the inside of the ribs and bow/stern sections. I kept everything >.5" thick in rib section and 0.25" in rib thickness because I got a piece of 0.25" ply to start.

The bow and stern sections of DKM Kormoran. I am limited to my home all-in-one to reproduce plans/ sections/ details. I need to get a few full copies so that I can make a top deck to glue the cutout ribs and bow/stern to.

This is the bow and stern sections plus a bunch of ribs I got fully cut before the wife started yelling about the noise. Middle column still needs to get cut out, and will look like the top of the column to the left when complete.

 

This shows the ribs and the deck all cut and pasted nicely. At least as nicely as I can make them, freehanding w/ the jigsaw and all. Not so nice. Soooo....



I went out and got this little helper. Now all I need to do is cut a few fractions outside the line then belt- or disc-sand it to perfection. Good tools are no fix for crappy carpentry, I know, and I'm working on it, I promise.

My pics aren't wanting to upload correctly atm. I have the bow and stern in and to satisfaction and all of the ribs. They'll dry overnight and I'll take the tape off tomorrow and start planking or something. I'll probably rip a few lengths of 1/4" x 2mm ply and rough it out to start. I'll come back w/ more pics tomorrow or the next day

 

Nice work.
I would like to see more of the raiders out on the water.
Just watch out for the Sydney.
Mikey

 

Tugboat, I am also building some wood hulls, I was planning to use marine varnish for the waterproof, as in your Vangaurd build, but is expoxy better? I would prefer to use the varnish but I don't want my ship to fall apart either.

 

Hello gents,

Got a little work done this morning and some more this evening. DKM Kormoran is fully ribbed and the bow/ stern sections are in. I'll prolly end up building another rib or two, but as it is now, all sections as per the plan are in and as correct as it'll get.


I have a few final adjustments to do before I start planking. Then I'll plank out the bottom and sides, then cut the water channel about 2" wide right down the middle. I want the pump to be as close to the bottom of the vessel as possible. I'll post pics as soon as I get to it.


This is a random shot of one of my build tables. Next project is on the wall, and the washer/dryer/hamper is on the left.



Another random shot of the welding table, boiler, and secondary build table. Maybe you can make out the Kormoran bp on the wall in the middle behind the lolly column and 2x10 that holds my house up.

Quick general question here: Kormoran had 6 torps in real life, 2 duals port and stbd, and 2 single submerged p/s. would it generally be ok to arm 3 tubes per side and bunch them together above deck, or would I need to arm the 2 above deck tubes and then arm the third firing through the hull as per plans. Would most clubs generally let the location of a TT slide, or are most clubs sticklers for detail?

Thanks

 

Ok, now I'm up to planking, horray!


This is a little pile of the approx. 2mmx1/4". I cut a bunch of these off the remains of the piece of ply that I build the ribs from. Not a great idea in retrospect. Nothing is straight, everything's warped, and the width of the planks varies between .75mm and 4 mm. I gotta get rid of this stupid jigsaw.



This is a view of the stern of the ship where I fouled up and have thus corrected. The plans showed the stern raising up a deck near the end and the rib section reflected this. I wanted an all-flat deck for now with the intent to add the raised deck sections when I did superstructure. So I forgot to trim this one down and only realized my error when I went to start planking. So I had to cut the rib out and grind it down a little. Not a big deal, really.



My first batch of planks. I thought cutting them was tedius, but doing this is 10x worse, finding the right one to go where, clamping and taping down, ect. I can't wait for placing the props and rudder and pump, but I still have a few days/ weeks before that



This is another helper I brought in from the garage today. I guess the basement will be the carpentry/ light work shop and the garage will be the automotive/ heavy work shop.

More pics when I get them

 

An interesting build... I like it. I found I had greater sucess with my jig saw and band saw when I uses a fence or guide with them. It seems like you have the tools covered so I'm guessing it's a matter of time and you will settle down with what works best.

 

Can you provide more photos of the planking pattern? I've only ever used the method taught to me by the shopmaster I work with (and he made it up himself), so I'm very curious if there are other ways to do it.

When planking, I was taught that there are three main points that are important: the center plank, the edge of the impenetrable area, at the ends of each plank. The center plank is the first one I put down. Then I put down the plank on each side that marks the top of the impenetrable and the bottom of the balsa section (I usually give it a little extra area to be 100% sure I'm legal). I then lay in planks from the center working outwards and alternating sides. The center plank is never quite perfect, so start with the smaller side. For the most part, each plank is full length, if not I make it terminate on a rib so you don't see the change from inside. I start each plank a little long, then sand or cut the ends to fit. I try to get the ends of each plank to be within about a half an inch of the end of it's opposite number, and if it doesn't line up I will "fudge it in" by giving a plank a slightly larger gap so that I can close enough. This makes it so that you have a very nearly symmetrical pattern that looks pretty good. Thinner planks can get around curves better, but wider planks cover more area so the process goes faster.

 

Planking, planking. Woo Hoo.



This is toward the aft of the ship. Here, I started from the center and worked out to the impenetrable area.



This is the bow, where I started at the edge of the impenetrable area and worked my way in. Still a bit to be done here.



Here's a shot of the Greifen Sie Katze (Assault cat) that jealously guards all the shipyards, factories, and assets of AlderBaum KreigWerks™. He's scale 240' in length and 168' tall. He swipes tanks and APC's aside with a flick of his tail and he's got a taste for British and American.



This is a shot of the stb. bow. As you can see, the third rib serves absolutely no purpose because I cut it too small. Another of the many errors I'll surely make over the course of this build. No problem though, I'll shore it up once I get the deck cut out. The more things I foul up on this build means the less things I'll foul up when I build a proper warship.

More pics to come...

 

One more thing I forgot to mention: When I have completed a section on plank from water channel to side, I brushed on a mix of elmers interior/exterior wood glue and belt sander sawdust. The sawdust serves to thicken the mix and when everything is good and dry I hope this first glue coat serves to strengthen everything up.

When I started planking, I didn't have a plan , I just slapped a plank where it would fit and went from there. Next time, I'll definitely cut all my pieces uniformly and full-length bow to stern. I think I'll get much better results like that. As it is I'm going to have a lot of plam sanding and bondo-ing to do.

 

Ok, so I found this can in the garage last night. Score. EVERYTHING sticks to it, including polyurethane and 2-part resin/ epoxy



I'm almost fully planked, and in my impatience, I laid on the first coat of ready patch. This shows the fisrt coat down, dry, sanded, and ready for whatever. Like any good autobody man knows, you're supposed to sand away 90% of the filler you use. I don't know if I got 90%, but I know I got at least 80% and prolly more. It's smooooooth!



Below is the only thing holding me up from deck cutting, skinning, and motor/gearbox, battery, electronics placement. The aft end of this ship curves too much for my half-arsed plywood planks, so I need to get to the hobby store soon to get some 1/4" x 1mm balsa sticks. Once they're down, they will be sawdust/woodglued, epoxied and/or polyurethane'd.
I'm planning to use a Battlers connection gearbox for 1 motor to drive 2 props. Would a 500-series motor be too much for this boxy, 19,000-ton, 18-knot ship? As soon as the planking and epoxying is done I'm going to start mounting hardware (Rudder and servo, prop shafts, gearbox, motor, pump, and battery



Cheers

 

Hey that looks real good. A 550 might be a bit much but it is common, reliable and cheap. The gearset will let you get down to speed with no problem.

 

Ok, quick update here:
I managed to get a bunch of .75mm planks cut with good pattern and consistancy because I came into some new tools and stuff I'll detail later. I started planking the rear end of Kormoran w/ these same pieces of ply I made the whole ship with. Only now I was able to be far more precice. I'm going to power Kormoran w/ a 550 and a BC gearbox to power both props. More details to come.

 

I'm sorry to report that it's been a very sad day at the 'Werks. Through some method as yet undetermined, Allied saboteurs gained entrance to Kormoran and planted several large explosive charges deep within the ship's unfinished engine room and aft hold. The resulting explosion demolished everything aft of frame K and everything below the main deck. Several large pieces of nearby equipment were also destroyed and/or damaged. The bow of the ship suffered dents and dings when the ship shifted on her ways, but work continues unabated, and all damage will be repaired.

Or rather, my wife was carrying a laundry basket upstairs, tripped on the carpet and dropped the basket on the aft end of my ship, knocked my old mouse sander off the table so that it doesn't work, and dropped an open 96 piece box of drill bits on the floor. I don't think I'll ever find them all, esp. the little ones. GRRRR. So I'm cutting new ribs and a new aft stringer that will now terminate 1 rib further forward and will mark the beginning of the water channel. Will post pics when I get new batteries for the camera.

 

That's what you get when you marry an Allied saboteur.

 

You can run but you cant hide we are every were

 

Below is a shot of the damage after all the debris was removed



Here's a pic of a nice bandsaw that I came into. This is how I can now cut my planks more precicely, repeatably, and thin.



Unfortunately, the Elder gentleman across the street from my dad's house passed away, and the family was there sorting through his things. They asked my dad if he knew anyone who wanted all these wood tools, and my dad said that I'd take them. So now my wood shop's gone from zero to hero in only a few days. Thanks, Mr. D. I'll take good care of your tools.
Here's a shot of the tablesaw and the tools that I've been using over the course of my build so far.



As you can see from below, the 'Werks don't work slow. I'm back to where I was before the incedent, and the stern is much better now, without all my silly little errors and the band-aids I put on them



For the impenetrable bow and stern areas, I'm not going to bother with wood, I'll just pop some pink insulation board between the ends of the ship and the first/ last ribs and then cut and sand, then seal and epoxy the hell out of it along with the rest of the ship. In both cases the areas will be less than the allotted 2", but whatever. I'm not trying to get shot up anyway. When this thing is running as a convoy ship, the rest of the axis fleet will protect me. Hopefully.

More to come later.

 

May they be more successful than the assault cat versus the laundry-basket-wielding Allied saboteur.