H.M.S. Triton Cross Section by UpState NY 1:48

[UpstateNY]

Hi All,

 

I’ve decided to try and build the Triton cross section after seeing all your great builds. I love seeing all the exposed framing details and so just have to try this build myself. I am also hoping making this cross section will help me do a better job on the Confederacy which will be my next full build.

 

I am using boxwood for the main structural components and my thanks to Jason at Crown Timberyard for the gorgeous boxwood he just milled for me. I plan to use swiss pear for all the planking, holly for the decking and perhaps walnut for all the deck furniture. I hope these choices will make for a nice paint with wood look once finished. 

 

My keel, false keel and keelson images are below. I’ve made them much longer than the plans call for as I want to follow Raymond’s lead (see link below to his beautiful build) and add the main mast and yards with their standing rigging. This will allow me to gain some much needed rigging skills as I also plan to fully rig my Confederacy. You can also see the small copper tool I made to shape the notch in the keel after I started the slot using a small wood saw.

 

Hope some of you can follow along and help keep me out of too much trouble! Just don’t expect a fast build please! 

 

Moderators, may I have access to the rest of the plans please? 

 

Cheers,

 

Nigel.

 

Link to Raymond's rigged cross section: http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/5545-hms-triton-148-scale-cross-section-complete) 

 

 

 

[Pete38]

Welcome to the build, I will be following along, sounds like it will be an interesting build

[UpstateNY]

Thanks for the access Chuck!

 

I have many happy hours of plan reading in front of me!  

 

Thanks for the welcome Pete!

 

Cheers,

 

Nigel.

Edited June 12, 2015 by UpstateNY

[AnobiumPunctatum]

Welcome to the Triton shipyard.

[UpstateNY]

Hi All,

 

So, I started to make some sawdust by doing a test frame. The templates were cut out and glued onto basswood…I had to color code them as of course the printer decided it was out of color ink again! The futtocks and top timbers were cut out using my coping saw staying well clear of the outer lines.  I then had to do a fair amount of sanding to get to ~1/16 in of the outer line and so leave some fairing margin.  Floor and first futtock notches were cut out using a razor saw and cleaned out using a chisel before filing the notch smooth. Components were then glued up following the assembly sheet and then were given a light sand with 320 grit paper to clean them up.

 

Never tried something like this before so overall pretty happy with how my test frame turned out. Feedback would be much appreciated if anyone sees anything amiss that would cause problems later on in the build.

 

Thumbnails below.

 

Cheers,

 

Nigel.

 

 

 

 

Edited June 12, 2015 by UpstateNY

[augie]

Just came across this and wanted to wish you well on this new voyage.  You're in great company!

[mtaylor]

Looks darn good, Nigel.  My only suggestion is to put the frame between some glass with a weight to ensure full contact of the futtocks and also to prevent any possible warping as the glue dries.  But if what your doing is working for you, ignore me. 

[UpstateNY]

Hi Augie,

 

Thanks for looking in...expect this to be a very slow voyage but fun.  

 

Hi Mark,

 

Thanks for the tip on letting the futtocks cure between glass to prevent warping. My test frame looks true, but who knows what will happen next time so I will definitely add this step in. Please keep any advice coming...it is much appreciated!

 

Cheers,

 

Nigel.

Edited June 12, 2015 by UpstateNY

[Pete38]

Frames are looking really nice, Mark has a great idea with the glass, also make sure you are leaving enough so that when they are assembled you have enough to fair the frames out.  You can take off easy but not add as easy.

[UpstateNY]

Hi Pete,

 

Thanks for the heads up on leaving more on the frames...I thought I had left enough at about 1/16in on the test frame on both inside and outside edges.  

Is an 1/8 in a more realistic target?

 

Thanks for the likes everyone.

 

Cheers,

 

Nigel.

Edited June 12, 2015 by UpstateNY

[mtaylor]

Nigel,

When you start fairing, you might find that 1/16" is too much to leave....       There's next to no bevel on this cross-section but it is possible (I know this from experience) to get misalignment.

 

Oh... I picked up two pieces of 12" X 12" X 1/4" glass from the local glass place.  They're flat and heavy and make sure it's the tempered stuff in case you drop one and it shatters. 

Edited June 13, 2015 by mtaylor

[UpstateNY]

 Hi Mark,

 

So to combine your feedback and Petes, it seems I should be shooting for about 1/32 in of margin per side to the lines rather than the 1/16 in I did on the first frame. More than that could cause problems during fairing as well as generate a small duststorm in upstate NY!  . 

 

Will go for my first frame in boxwood once I get back from vacation ( ...happy dance time!)  I'll also get those tempered glass plates. 

 

Thanks again for all the great feedback...

 

Cheers,

 

Nigel.

[mtaylor]

Nigel,

 

The problem with leaving too much meat is the sanding... your arm will thank you for not having to sand that extra 1/32".     Have a good vacation.

[Pete38]

Sounds to me like you have it figured pretty good. Have fun on the vacation

[UpstateNY]

Hi All,

 

Well, I’ve been working on my first boxwood frame.  Not an entire success, but as usual I’m enjoying it and of course learning a lot, so all is good!

 

Firstly, I tried to cut much closer to the template lines than I did for my test frame to follow Mark and Pete’s advice and so avoid excess fairing. As you can see from the images, I  overdid it and ended up cutting things too close in a few places so I need to learn to be more precise using my handsaw. I also need to learn to be smoother with the saw to avoid leaving vertical saw lines on the edges. I went ahead and made up the frame using these pieces anyway in spite of their problems to practice the assembly step again.

 

Now I can’t remember which member has the great saying to treat each piece as being its own model, but right now I  guess I am starting my third model frame! Perhaps this will be a keeper!! 

 

Images below including a comparison shot with my basswood test frame. Thanks as usual for reading!

 

Cheers,

 

Nigel.