That Dremel kit led Bullock to carve a chess set and, later, build a model of the H.M.S. Victory, a British naval frigate from the 1700s. “It was pretty crude by today’s standards,” he said.

The ship — a galleon about three feet from bow to stern — has a single mast, five cloth sails (Lou's wife, Betsy, washed them in Ivory baby soap) and 10 little wooden cannons.