Posted by Stev187 on Sunday, March 16, 2008
9:24 pm. We are done with the model of the Fitz. We started in the morning and worked on it on and off through the day. It's sloppy, but pretty cool. Owen thinks it's the best (and that's what counts). At bedtime, he reminded me it needs two more things: the white "C" on the funnel, and some string on the poles on the bow.
Owen has become obsessed with shipwrecks, the Titanic and the Edmund Fitzgerald in particular. He's been borrowing library books about them and bugging me to get him a model of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Last night I decided that we could make a nice basic ship model out of a scrap 2x4.
This was the maiden voyage with my bandsaw (you can see it to the right). I was so intimidated by the bandsaw, and it was Chuck Lee who encouraged me to fire her up and get it going. Man, is that thing cool! It is also a lot less scary than the table saw. From my single time of using it, I can tell that you have a lot more control over your pieces and the material you remove.
So I did a little re-sawing on the bandsaw and carved the ship parts just the way Owen wanted them. This model is 25" long and made from scrap wood in the shop. We are painting it tonight.
Oh, and before you get impressed with our model of the Fitz, check this out:
http://www.greatlakesmodeling.com/museum/langertt_kurt_fitzgerald.htm
The above model is made completely from scratch by a guy named Kurt Langert. My goodness that thing is neat. The thing is nearly 12" long! I found his model on a web site dedicated to models of great lakes ships.
I couldn't sleep last night, so I mocked up a quick set of plans for the project. You can get a good look at them here. They are only "to scale" by my eye--nothing technical about them. But it was a fun project to do with Owen, and it got me making dust with the bandsaw!
5 comments on “Edmund Fitzgerald (Finished)”
LParker Says:
Sunday, March 16, 2008 @3:15:17 PM
Have you heard the song by gordon Lightfoot " the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald"?
I bet he would love to see a picture of that model
very nicely done
Cottonmouth Says:
Sunday, March 16, 2008 @3:52:33 PM
I am not aware of a model for the aircraft carrier USS Makassar Strait CVE-91, but she was wrecked off San Nicholas Island, CA. She was put in commission by my father during WWII. After being de-commissioned, she was anchored off the California coast and used for missile target practice of Point Mugu. I a storm, she broke her moorings and broke up on the rocks of the island. I would be glad to e-mail a couple of pictures of her broken in half prior to sinking. Ken
Stev187 Says:
Sunday, March 16, 2008 @6:57:28 PM
I've certainly heard the Lightfoot song--I was about Owen's age when it was a huge hit in 1975. As a kid who visited the Great Lakes every summer, all those shipwrecks were interesting to me (especially the Novadoc, which was very close to my grandmother's house).
I'd love to see any shipwreck photos to show Owen.
Greg Connor Says:
Sunday, March 16, 2008 @9:47:47 PM
What a great project. We live in Duluth MN where the Edmond Fitzgerald left from. The link below is a webcam that shows the canal where the Fitz left harbor. I thought you might enjoy it.
Greg
banjo25 Says:
Sunday, March 16, 2008 @9:54:14 PM
This is great. Congratulations on making the ship yourself rather than buying one. I'm sure it was a great experience to share with your son as well. I built a sandbox recently with Addison but maybe I can do a ship too when he is a little older.
You must sign into your myHangout account before you can post comments.
