USF Essex by Cookster - 1:48, 1814 Configuration, POB and POF (first scratchbuild)

[cookster]

 

Well, little did I think a year ago when I started my first wooden ship build that I'd ever be posting in the scratchbuild forum, but here I am.  I've been contemplating a scratch build since mid-summer 2013, from looking at all the wonderful scratch builds on MSW and from the amount of scratching I've been doing on my Conny build.  I wanted to try a scratch build. I think I have the woodworking skill as I've been building in wood my entire life.  The thing I still lack is detailed shipwright knowledge, but I'm learning...  The one thing I know for a fact though is a fully detailed POF build is not for me, I don't have the knowledge or time to do so.

 

I bought several books that everyone seems to quote as bibles for wooden shipbuilding, including Goodwin’s "Constructing an English Man of War".  Next was selecting a subject to model.  I first thought of the HMS Surprise, and bought “The Frigate Surprise” book to do some research.  I also thought of buying the Latina 1/48 Surprise kit and scratch-bashing that.  I then thought about the Essex.  I had been in contact with Sam Cassano about his MSW kit earlier and decided to ask his advice.  Not only did he offer any help he could, but also sent me a set of his drawings which I could use as a basis for my build drawings.  Sam’s kit is of Essex in her 1799 launch configuration, my attempt at Essex will be as close as I can come to her 1814 configuration at Valparaiso.  I bought Portia's AOTS Essex book and "The Frigate Essex Papers" which contain William Baker's wonderful drawings and Josiah Fox's detailed measurements of her from her 1807-09 rebuild.  I'd like to thank Sam Cassano and Steve, (Frolick on MSW) for giving me invaluable help on acquiring info and dwgs.

 

My build will be a POB, but with a different twist.  One side will be fully planked, but the other side will show her frames from somewhere near the bow to near the stern, and from a point several strakes above the garboard (I haven't determined where yet).  The reason I chose this method was to show her frames, but to not have to build all the intricate framing of the keel, floor timbers, deadwood, all cant frames (both bow and stern) etc.  There also won’t be any internal details below the gundeck.  This may seem to be cheating, or an "easy way out" solution, and I guess it is but for me it's the way to go.  I'm achieving this by placing plywood bulkheads at each frame location, but on the frame side I will cut off the ply and glue on hardwood frames, probably Pear.  This should give the look of individual frames and their futtocks from the outside, which is what I'm going for.  I chose 1/48 as the scale as I wanted to build in a larger scale.  It will be a big one, maybe bigger than I want, but 1/48 is what I’m going with.  I hope to fully mast and rig her, if I have the years and patience to do so….

 

I'm drawing my own build drawings, still a lot of work to do, and will post some images when they are far enough along.  I am cutting the center bulkhead and bulkhead blanks right now and will post pics when they're done.  It’s as much a proof of concept as it is a chance to get started!  Some may wonder how I can start building without completed drawings, but I pretty much have the design finished in my mind, I just have to create the dwgs so I can build her.

 

This may be a bumpy ride but we'll see where this goes!

 

Here is William Baker's dwg from 1808 or 9.  This is the overall configuration I'm going for.

 

Here is Baker's redrawn lines based on William Hackett's original draughts.  This is the dwg I used as the basis of my layout, along with Sam Casanno's dwgs.  I used Portia's framing dwg as a guide only.

 

(These are a gif and jpg, resized down from original size so I don't think I'm violating any copyrights by posting them)

 

Edit 4/15.

I decided to add a pic here at the very beginning of this log so future readers will know what the heck I'm doing.  Here are Essex's frames before I cut them down and sanded them.  I now call this method either the "alligator skin" or "Godzilla" method.  Looking at the frames before they're trimmed will show you why.

 

Reading through the beginning of the log where I'm just making frames and bulkheads I'm sure had a lot of you stumped as the what the heck I was making.  Hopefully this :before and after (frames) will give an idea.

Here's the hull after initial fairing.  Better, huh?

 

Edit 12/31/15

Here's after cant frames have been added and more fairing done.

 

Edited January 1, 2016 by cookster

[cookster]

Here is the center bulkhead.  It's made from 1/2" Baltic Birch.  I've cut dadoes at each frame location for the ply bulkheads to slip into.

 

I took a pic showing the bulkhead drawing but it's pretty hard to see....

 

Here's another (the little rectangles are just reference marks for me, not used for the build)

 

I built a jig to cut the dadoes at exact spacing.  The ply alignment strip in set in a dado, then the jig is adjusted to give the needed spacing from the blade.  I used a dado blade to cut the slots.  Using this method is an easy way to cut exactly spaced slots (dadoes), once you get the spacing set of course...  If you're still a little confused on how this jig works, just google "box joint jig" for lots of explanations....

 

(I just noticed the dado blade wasn't in the saw when I took the pic, woops!)

 

Here is the ctr bulkhead after I've cut down the center section to a point below the where the gun deck will be.  I've also slid in a few of the bulkhead blanks.  The bulkheads are 1/4" Baltic Birch.  They are very over sized, so don't try to get a sense of final size from this pic...  (The tape measure is set at 2 feet for size reference)

 

Here is the false deck, which is nothing more than a stiffener for the bulkheads.  It's dadoed just as the ctr bulkhead for alignment.  (each bulkhead slips into it's dado to give positive alignment).  The bulkheads will be cut down of course, this is just to show the concept.

 

I will cut more dados on top of the false deck to accept rails which will provide the actual curve and crown for the gundeck.  Hard to explain, when you see it, it should make sense.

 

The rabbet at the bottom of the ctr bulkhead is for the keel.  Instead of making and attaching a separate keel, I'm going to glue thin pieces of pear into the rabbet on each side of the bulkhead which will serve as the finished keel.  The false keel will attach to the bottom of the bulkhead.

 

The ctr bulkhead is not cut to shape, as I'm keeping everything square (right angles, no curves) until as many framing pieces as possible are cut.  This makes accurate cuts SO much easier...

 

More to come!

Edited January 5, 2014 by cookster

[augie]

Call to General Quarters.  Clear the decks for action !!!!!

 

What a pleasant surprise.  You've decided to model my favorite ship in my favorite scale.  And from scratch.  FANTASTIC.

 

I wish you every success.  You've developed the skills you need to pull this off and I'll be following at every step along the way.

 

Good sailing, Wes.  And .........  THANKS!

[rafine]

Wes, I am fascinated by this build. I will be following along with interest and anticipation. Good luck.

 

Bob

[woodrat]

Have fun with your build, Cookster. It is a beautiful ship.

Dick

[j21896]

Hey Wes,

 

I love your innovative approach to the skeletal assembly!  This will be a fun one to follow.

 

Robert

 

PS.  Please don't abandon your beautiful Conny!

[mtaylor]

You have a very interesting approach to this ship.  I'll follow with interest and then some.

[TBlack]

Wes,

I'm with Mark in having a keen interest in your approach to the hull construction. You may be on to something.

 

There is a second Portia Takakjian book that pre-dates the AOTS book, simply called Essex, Building a Plank-On-Frame Model that she wrote in 1985. It's along the lines of a practicum on building the model. It's a Phoenix publication. It would be a big help to you if it's still available.

 

Tom

[cookster]

Thanks everyone!  I hope I can pull this off and not disappoint!  I'm sure I can get the frame built, it's the historical accuracy (or trying to achieve it) that could drag me down, or even sink me...  

 

I've had this concept in my mind 6 months and I'm so glad to finally commit to some wood...

 

Robert, my Conny's definitely not being abandoned, I just needed to work on something else for a while.  Between deck planking, and cad drawing, I needed to make some saw dust again!!

[samueljr]

Wes,

 

You're off to a great start!

 

Take a look at the following, they may be of help or inspiration or just a waste of time..........

 

The Sailing Navy 1775 - 1854 by Paul Silverstone. There are two images of ESSEX later in her career. One a painting by E. Tufnell from the US Naval Historical Society that shows her rounding Cape Horn c.1812

 

The other is a drawing by her Captain, William Bainbridge that shows her with quarter davits. It's also in the Naval Center. 

 

You might want to contact them for a better look at the images.

 

I have seen a very nicely executed model of her (I think by someone from the CONSTITUITION Modeller's Guild) with quarter davits.

 

Also, although not a great publication, Osprey Publishing has a small volume titled  American Light and Medium Frigates  1794 -1836. It has a color drawing /image representing ESSEX in her later life when she more closely resembled CONSTITUTION's black/white/green color scheme.

 

Cant hurt to look........

 

Keep in touch and good luck

 

Sam

[ScottRC]

My favorite subject as well, god speed ahead and I will be looking in on your progress.

[trippwj]

Love the subject - the Essex has so much documentation available, yet at the same time so little!  This one is on my "to do" list, so will also be joining the crew to enjoy your build!

[cookster]

Hey, thanks for all the support and info!

 

I was worried I might "offend" some of the "die hard" scratchbuilders with my unconventional build method...  Glad to see not the case (yet, anyway...  )

 

Sam, I will look for the material you pointed out.

 

It's been brutally cold here in the southeast the last few days, we had a low of "8" (Fahrenheit) yesterday, which for us is WAY below normal.  So, work in the shipyard has been halted temporarily due to "it's too d*** cold".....  For us Southerners anyway.... 

 

Thanks for following along!

[augie]

You mean + 8 degrees?  Get back to work!!!!!!

[tarbrush]

Hi Wes, I am glad you are building Essex she is my favorite frigate, a real beauty  and on my list of have to builds.  I am very interested in your hull framing approach!

[Guest Tim I.]

Wes,

 

I look forward to seeing this build move forward. In 1:48 scale this should be a nice model. Your model looks great so far!

 

- Tim

[cookster]

Hi Tim, sorry it took me so long to reply, I've been on a very long break from building.  I've finally started work again and hope to post some more pics soon.

 

One of the issues I ran into when drawing my plans was my lack of knowledge on lofting ships plans,  I just started the best way I knew which worked OK, but I did start to get frustated when I realized I was making too many errors from lack of knowledge.  Then, I found Ed Tosti's log and posts oh how to loft plans (the right way) and it all clicked.  I'm redrawing my frames again and am going back to correct subtle errors now, not huge ones.  I'm really looking forward to making some more sawdust on Essex soon.

 

Thanks for looking in!

[dgbot]

I am glad I found your log. This should prove interesting. I hope you document of lofting.

David B

[Guest Tim I.]

Wes,

 

Do you have the link to that article on lofting? I would like to try a fully framed model at one point, I just don't feel that with my current skill set I am ready.

 

- Tim

[cookster]

Tim, it's the Young America - Extreme Clipper by EdT.  It is a great guide.  And Ed's a master ship builder.  Look at his Naiad build - fascinating.  Look at anything he does for that matter!

 

http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/3453-young-america-by-edt-extreme-clipper-1853/

 

David I haven't documented anything yet but I plan to, to what degree I don't know yet.  If anybody wants to learn to loft plans, as I did/do, read EdTs log.  

[cookster]

I started making my test frame.  I'm still working on my drawings so nothing to show yet.

 

As I mentioned earlier I'm building Essex partly POF but using plywood bulkheads for the lower half of each frame pair, so in essence a hybid approach.  

 

Also, I am no expert in ship construction or lofting of plans so I will probably make mistakes in my representation of how I will build my Essex.  It's the best I can achieve at my present level of knowledge.  I will elaborate later as to how I developed my plan.

 

This test frame is a center frame in which the futtocks are not stepped but are full thickness all the way to the top timber.  I assume this is accurate for Essex as Portia T. shows this on her framing plan.  The plan I show below is a work in progress and is not detailed enough for anyone else to use but at least I understand it.

 

First the bulkhead blanks were cut down to the height I wanted.  Then using a miter saw I cut off the angles on the sides of the bulkheads where the pear futtock material will be glued.

 

I cut rabbets in the pear and ply bulkhead that will be the glue joint.  I cut these on a router table.

 

The first futtock section was glued on.

 

The piece I attached ran long over the end of the bulkhead so I ripped it down on the table saw.

 

This piece also blocked the slot for the bulkhead so it was cut out.

Edited September 22, 2014 by cookster

[cookster]

The next futtock section was glued on.

 

The angle on the second section was easier to cut, and more accurate, after it was glued on.

 

The second section was glued on.

 

The overlapping frame futtock was cut out and glued on.  I guess this section would be the second futtock as the floor timber would mate to this, so the sections I already glued on would be the first and third futtock.

 

More to come.

Edited September 22, 2014 by cookster

[Guest Tim I.]

When I build my Essex down the road, it will also be a hybrid approach with some POB and half frames. Will you be using pear for the entire build?

 

- Tim

Edited September 22, 2014 by Tim I.

[cookster]

Tim, I'm making the frames from Pear, and probably most of the deck furniture.  I'm still not sure what wood I'll use for planking. The decks will be Castello Boxwood.  There will probably be a few other species mixed in for specialty items.

 

I ordered my pear and boxwood boards and hope to have them by Friday, now if I can just finish this darn frame lofting.....

[Guest Tim I.]

If I may impose and ask another question. Did you find your pear and boxwood boards from an online source?

 

Thank you,

 

Tim

[cookster]

No problem Tim.  Yes, I ordered from Gilmer Wood Co, https://www.gilmerwood.com.

 

I looked at several online sites for exotic hardwoods and decided to go with them.  There is a topic in the Wood forum area on "where to buy wood", Glimer is listed there - that's how I found them.  At the time I was looking they were the only one I found that had pear and castello boxwood in the large boards I wanted.  

 

As far as pricing, it gets a little muddy after a while looking and comparing prices.  I finally decided to give Gilmer a call to confirm they had what I wanted, and the fellow was very nice and seemed to know his stuff.  I told him I was buying for model ships.  In the end I may have paid more from them compared to someone else, I honestly don't know, but when the boards arrive and if they are what I expect them to be then I'll be happy and not sweat over saving some $$ (or not).

 

Let me also add a word about buying milled lumber from Hobby Mill. I've bought from Jeff and the quality is outstanding, and I'll do it again if the need arises.  You definitely get what you pay for.  But on a project like my Essex, there's no way I could come up with a material list to buy from Jeff  - cause I have no clue yet.  It would be a complete guest-i-mate if I tried.

 

Buying larger boards and milling to the sizes I need is the way to go for this project, and it will save me money over buying milled wood - which on this monster will be save me a lot of $$.  I already have the tools I need to do this so that makes the most sense for me.

 

Thanks for looking in!

[cookster]

I tought I'd expain some of my framing ideas for Essex since I plan to start cuting actual frames very soon.  I've done a lot of reading in the last year on frigate construction trying to gain the knowledge I need.  I've also had some good help from several members here.  Most of the POF models Ive seen show the futtock frame members stepping down as they rise, preseumably to save weight and use less timber - according to Goodwin. Also, to lessen rot as the airspace between timbers helps them dry out.  

Portia T's framing plan of Essex shows this stepped construction as well, so I finally decided to use that method.  My plan was to use width's of 12", 10" and 8" as the futtock widths.  I made a set of drawings based almost exacly on Portia's plan, a section is shown below.

Note, the frame numbers are my numbers, not the numbers from the Hackett or Baker draughts.

 

I liked the idea of the stepped frames as it seemed to give the model some elegance in its frame construction.  But, I've been doing more reading, I found a few more people either building Essex or drawing her, and there were some varying opinions on how she as well as the other American frigates of her time were framed.

Some are of the opinon the frames were not stepped, but were the same width (siding?) all the way to the top timber.  This basically gives the American Frigates a "wall of timber" appearance when the planking is removed.  There's even a photograph of Constitution with her planking removed showing her framing just like that.  We all know her name of "Old Ironsides", earned from the cannon balls bouncing off her hull due to her massive frame and plank thickness.  Is there any reason to think she was the only American frigate built that way?  Or were all the American  Frigates of that time  - including Essex, framed as such.

Fox reported in 1807 most of Essex's upper timbers were rotten, maybe this rot was accelerated due to no airpsace between timbers? 

 

I still like the stepped timber look, but I think to be a little more (hopfully) historically accurate I'm only going to step the 3rd and 4th futtocks.  The first and second will be the same width as the floor timber, in my model's case 12".  Room and space on my drawing, based on Portia's drawing, is almost 28", so when using 12" timber I will still have spacing between each frame pair -  which I like.  I must admit the wall of timber look is not what I'd like for the frames on my model.  Image below:

Also note I have not yet drawn the futtock heights varying with the shear, but I will before I start construction.

 

Not all the frames in that drawing have been moved, but most under the gunports should have been.  Using this method I may need to tweak the location of some gunports due to some of the frames moving, not sure about that yet.  I could also use frame spacers to take up any gaps, as I think that's what the RN ships did.

 

Neither of these methods may be 100% historically accurate, but I'm trying to get somewhat close and still have a model that is pleasing to the (my) eye.

 

Comments, concerns welcome.  Frolick, this means you....

Thanks for looking in!

Edited September 24, 2014 by cookster

[Guest Tim I.]

Looking forward to seeing your progress.

 

- Tim

[cookster]

I have my test frame glued up ready to cut to shape.

 

I also got my pear and castello boxwood today.  Very nice stuff, especially the boxwood.  I almost hate to put a sawblade to it...

 

[Guest Tim I.]

I would love to do a build like this, but I would have no idea how many board feet to order to get started.

 

- Tim