The stand for the model boat

I haven't had a lot of time for working on the boat but I have found an hour or two here and there.

Because I have little experience working with wood, especially when it comes to staining and polishing, I decided to work on the stand for the boat first, to get some small experience before tackling the boat proper. It was covered with many layers of thick black paint, as can be seen in the picture on the right. 

Having stripped it down and disassembled it I found many old nail holes, splits and cracks hidden by the paint. I filled the holes with wood filler and glued the cracks as best I could and gave it all a very good sanding. I then reassembled it, stained it and wax polished it. 

Where the uprights fix to the base the nail holes had left horrible scars I couldn't disguise. The only thing I could think of was to cover the bad areas with something decorative. After much thought I decided to use a length of copper pipe. I cut the pipe to size, sawed along it's length, flattened it out and shaped it. After bending two pieces to fit the supports, and filing the edges smooth, I polished them and glued them in place. They look a little odd but much more acceptable than the damaged wood was.

I'm really pleased with the end result but even more pleased that I did this first because I made a lot mistakes along the way .... mistakes I wouldn't want to make on the boat itself. 

The story of the boat so far ...

1. A toy that's never been played with

2. An intriguing discovery

3. Progress and the need for a stand