Rattlesnake by JSGerson - FINISHED - Mamoli - 1:64 - Using Robert Hunt’s practicum

[JSGerson]

The Practicum stated that if one were to use the cheeks that were supplied by the kit they had to be modified to match the plans. My kit did not have the pre-made wooden cheeks so I had to scratch make mine from 1/16” boxwood which the Practicum did address. However, having read Blue Ensign’s build log, I knew that the Cheek was actually made of two pieces, the Hound and the Bib which the Practicum did not address. Following Blue Ensign, I scribed the Cheeks to make it look like the two pieces complete with tree nails. Additionally the mast has a rake to it which must be taken into account. The Practicum did not address this. A slight bow downward angle was added to the top of the cheek (not obvious in the photo) to accommodate the rake in order to make the top of the cheeks level.

Edited April 17, 2014 by JSGerson

[JSGerson]

According to the Practicum, the next step is the construction of the mast top. I’m putting that on hold while I construct the other two masts. I plan to construct all three masts at approximately the same time.

[sport29652]

JSG, looking good ! What did u use for the mast bands ?

[JSGerson]

Sport - I thought I mentioned, I used file folder cardboard stock.

[Martin W]

Looking good, Jon.  It's probably a good strategy to complete all the masts and spars before moving on to the tops, just so you'll get a good rhythm going.

 

You might also take a look at my rigging log to see that I used dark "rope" for the wooldings on the mast.  James Lees seems to suggest that iron only came into common use after 1800.

 

I'm envious of your lathe.

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

[JSGerson]

I saw the woolding's in Lee's The Masting and Rigging of English Ships of War 1625 - 1860 and then I looked at Hahn's plans. They didn't look like wooldings in the plans. Maybe American ships were more progressive than English ships in 1781, I'm no expert. I did think about using the wooldings, but the Hahn's plans showed rings, so I put in rings.

 

As for the lathe, I'm a total newbie. I really don't know what I'm doing and am learning by trial and error...mostly error.

[Martin W]

Hi Jon -- I just took a peek at Hahn's photos of his Rattlesnake, and the bands there look pretty much the same as on the plans, ie, narrow black bands.  It's impossible to tell whether they're metal or rope, but since they look solid, I'd lean toward the former.

 

I'm including the photo here, since I think it's acceptable to do so:

 

 

You always have to admire Hahn's work!

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

[JSGerson]

Ship’s Boat

Due to a number of everyday life interruptions that we all endure, the mast construction proceeds but at a slow pace. At the same time I have begun the construction of the ship’s boat. And here I have taken a complete deviation from the kit and the Practicum. Instead of using the wooden shell provided by the kit, I decided to build a POF ship’s boat using Model Shipways kit No. MS0108 and made a separate log here.

Edited February 1, 2014 by JSGerson

[JSGerson]

Masts…Again

 

Meanwhile, back at the masts, all three lower masts were completed to this point:

[JSGerson]

Mast Tops

 

The mast tops is a study of taking long sticks of wood, chopping them up into smaller sticks of wood and reassembling them into something that resembles a platform. If you have noticed I have sloooowwwed way down in my postings, not so much as from inactivity, but frustration and lots of do overs. The tops are made from 1/32” square boxwood which was cut to size anywhere from 15/16” to 1 ½” in length depending on the mast and whether it’s the front/back or side portion of the platform. The 4 to 7 pieces boxwood are then edged CA glued together again depending on the part. 

[JSGerson]

When done each platform will consist of four components, front, back and 2 sides that are in effect, lap joined together. To make the lap joint, the thickness on the outer third (approx.) of each end of the component has to be reduced by half to 1/64”. This is what has been so frustrating. Just sanding the edge joined components cause the pieces to break apart which required regluing. Reducing the thickness also causes the components to fall apart. After all, the glued surface is only 1/32” to begin with. The Practicum claims that the reduction can be performed with an Exacto knife. How one can maintain that tolerance using a hand tool is not explained. My plan of attack was to use the Byrnes saw. I set the blade to a height of 1/64” and by cutting a groove one blade width at a time, I can create the required rabbet assuming the piece don’t fall apart again, which unfortunately they have. The diagram and photograph are from the Practicum.

[Martin W]

Hi Jon -- I recall struggling with the tops, and having all the same frustrations you're experiencing now -- so you have my sympathy.  You might take a look at David Antscherl's description of building tops -- instead of lining up the strips of wood (holly in the case of Bob Hunt's Ratt Practicum), he uses a sheet of ultra thin plywood -- I think it's called something like airplane plywood, and it's available at most hobby stores. 

 

I did a variant, which you might find helpful:  I took some of that ultra thin plywood, and used it as the base to glue on the holly planks on both sides, and then I bent a wider piece of holly around the edge to serve as a rim of sorts (and to hide the 3 layers).  It resulted in a pretty thick top, but serves the purpose, and let me match the holly planking of the decks, and have a strong set of tops.  You'll be doing quite bit of drilling and tugging on them as the rigging progresses, so you'll want them to be sturdy and reliable.

 

Here's what one of the finished tops looks like:

 

                          

 

Just a suggestion.

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

[JSGerson]

It’s been a while since my last post and I had hoped to say I made some progress, Alas, this is not so. I am back to square one not once but twice in trying to construct these platforms. After I tried numerous times to create the platforms using the 1/32” strips and then have them fall apart as I attempted to create the rabbet, I decided to bite the bullet and cheat. I would create the platforms using 1/32” boxwood sheets. Then I planned on scribing lines on them to make it look like they were made of strips. I meticulously measured and milled the boxwood from a thicker piece of stock and then cut them to size exactly as indicated in the practicum. Everything went according to plan until I laid them out before I attempted to cut the rabbet. Something did not look right. The dimensions were correct except the pieces looked too narrow. Placing the pieces on Hahn’s drawing of the mast tops I discovered the problem. The Practicum lied. The strips should have been 1/16” x 1/16” NOT 1/32” x 1/32” as indicated. The lengths were correct but not the widths. Therefore, I will have to start over again for a third time.

[scott larkins]

Well keep at it.  With  your skills I'm sure you'll get it done.

[Martin W]

Sorry to hear about the mixup, Jon.  I seem to recall noticing that Bob's dimensions didn't work, but since I'd already departed from his very complicated strategy for the tops, they didn't interfere too much.  This is one more example of Bob not proofreading adequately, or giving a description that simply does not work.  It's frustrating.

 

After I made the tops with holly to match the deck, I spent time looking at other examples of tops, and realized that the tops don't need planks, and probably shouldn't even have them.  Most tops are of a solid looking piece of wood (thin plywood) with strips radiating from the center that would serve as joists.  Once you get all the deadeyes and other bits of rigging in there, you won't see much of the tops anyway.

 

Keep at it.

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

[JSGerson]

I'm not going to let those platforms get me. I am tenacious enough that I am giving the mast tops another shot using 1/16" square stock this time using wood glue instead of CA due to the larger surface area. So intent was I that after I chopped up some 1/16 x 1/16" wood to size and glued it together, I realized that I grabbed boxwood instead of holly as called for in the Practicum. I just can't win for losing. Well, so be it; boxwood it is.

 

Martin - Both the Practicum and Model Shipways are following Hahn's plans for the tops. Mamoli shows planking as well, just that all the planks are in one direction.

 

I'm not giving up on the Practicum just yet. It's gotten me this far which I would never been able to do without it. I'll just have to be more careful with these later chapters as they have more errors and omissions due to his rushing and corner cutting in the late stages of building his model and writing the Practicum. He indicated somewhere that he was building 4 models and writing their practicums all at the same time while trying to meet some deadline. It shows.

 

Boy are we having fun now.

[Martin W]

That's the spirit, Jon!  Keep going.  I also learned more than I can say from Bob's practicum.  But it seemed to me then, and now, that his rush was self-imposed, and once his deadline had passed he could have gone back and made corrections to help those of us blindly following his lead.  It's too easy to gripe about Bob, though, and I'm going to stop doing it!

 

I've only got one or two lines of running rigging to tie off, and then I'll mount my Rattlesnake and find her permanent berth.

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

[JSGerson]

I am pleased to announce “success” is creating the platform pieces. All I did was change a few minor details:

·        I inadvertently used the “wrong” wood (Boxwood instead of prescribed Holly)

·        I switched from CA glue to Weld Bond

·        Changed from 1/32” square stock to 1/16” square stock

[JSGerson]

Once the glue was set (I waited 24hrs just to be sure), I fired up the Byrnes saw, and stroke by stroke, I nibbled away the wood to create the rabbet. Based on the dry fit, it worked like a charm.

[scott larkins]

Interesting work around.  Can't wait to see what your genious finishes turning out.

[bdr449]

Hi Jonathan! A good result will be Mars. And if then to paint it black, small inaccuracies will not visible.
Sincerely, Igor

[Martin W]

Well, there you are!  A problem solved  is a big lesson learned, and here's hoping that all future followers of Bob's Practicum find your solution. 

 

Those will be good looking tops.

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

[JSGerson]

NOTE: For those faithfully following this log, I apologize for going at a snail’s pace. Each step for me is new territory and although I try not to make too many mistakes, it seems to me that although I may not repeat too many of them, it seems to me that I have made every one of them at least once. So bear with me as I plod along; there is no rush.

 

Using the Hahn’s platform drawing as a template, the curve of the platform was traced onto the platform construction and the excess was then trimmed off. I used a disc sander. The platforms have a perimeter strip which is made in two parts. The back piece is simply a 1/16” square strip glued to the edge. The remainder is one long strip that is bent to shape. Mr. Hunt stated in the Practicum that he soaked his piece for 30 minutes to get it pliable enough to bend and glue, bend and glue in place using CA glue. I don’t know what kind of magic he was casting but that didn’t work for me.

 

Initially I tried soaking the boxwood strip 2 days and then wrapping it around pins following the template I made earlier. As careful as I was, using both the heating iron method and a plank bending tool that make fine creases on the inside of the bend, the strip broke in two places due to the tight curve. I had the same problem when I was making the ribs for the ship’s boat. If there is some technique that makes this work, I don’t know what it is. It was time to be innovative.

[JSGerson]

Grabbing a “spare” piece of boxwood stock (if I run out later, I’ll buy some more), I milled 1/16” x 1/32”strips, half the thickness called for. After a half hour these were ready and pliable. Instead of the pins, using some balsawood, I made a form in the shape of the platform. I laminated two strip pieces together with WeldBond and wrapped them around the form This glue gave me plenty of time to set it up and clamp before the it dried.

[JSGerson]

The result was a strong 1/16” x 1/16” strip in perfect shape. After a little sanding and trimming, it was glued into place.

[russ]

Very nice work on your fighting top. The planking looks excellent. Good solution on the border piece.

 

Russ

[scott larkins]

Looks like the effort paid off.  Many of us following behind you appreciate the work and trail blazing you are doing for us.  All good tips for us when we get to your posted steps.  Thanks.

[Martin W]

Well done, Jon.  It's always frustrating when something doesn't work and it seems that it should.  But when you figure out a way to get the job done, then woohoo!  it's victory!

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

[Martin W]

Hi Jon -- The photos are back in place!

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

[JSGerson]

PLEASE NOTE

 

Dear Readers, it has been brought to my attention that more than a dozen or so images in this log have vanished for some unknown reason. You can see the frame, but no picture. Twice now I've had to go back and replace the missing images. If anyone knows how to prevent this, please let me know. If anyone notices images missing please let me know so that I may replace them. Unfortunately, some of those image were provided by you, the reader in your comments to me so I can't replace them. If they are yours, please be so kind to repair your comments.

 

Thanks

 

Jon