usedtosail

To continue on dealing with the gun deck, I set up my Dremel tool in the Workstation with a sanding drum to sand down the area on the bulkheads to be removed. This set up let me quickly switch bulkhead sides and change bulkheads by raising the Dremel tool. There is a hole in the base of the workstation that allows the drum to fit into, so I could get the whole width of the bulkhead in one shot. The drum doesn't fit in the corners, so after doing what I could with the Dremel, I put the bulkheads in a vise and used a razor saw to cut out the material in the corners. I then used a flat file to clean up the cuts. When I had all of the bulkheads cut, I stacked them together and aligned the top rails, then used a flat file to get the cuts even. Here is the before picture: And here is the after. I think I could do more clean up but I don't want to remove too much, so I am going to wait until the final sanding after removing the center posts for any additional material removal. Finally, to remove the material on the hull former, I just used a razor saw to cut close to the lines, then a sanding block to finish off the cuts so they were all straight. I had to deepen the notch for the main mast, which I did with some careful chiselling. Well, not really so careful, but the pieces broke off cleanly and I was able to cut the notch out with a razor saw at that point and glue the two side pieces back in. For plywood, this stuff splits pretty easily. The next task will be to carefully glue the bulkheads to the hull former.

I finished cleaning up all of the bulkheads and here is how they look (unglued) in the hull former: As I mentioned earlier, I am going to attempt an 1812-ish version for this model, since taking a hard model and making it harder just seems like the right thing to do . So I want to have the main hatch open with beams across, instead of the closed hatches that are on the ship now. This one decision led to many others. Since the hatch will be open, the gun deck will need to be added since it should be visible when looking into the hatch, even though there will be a boat or two on the beams. And if the gun deck is seen, it has to have real cannons (not the dummy barrels), which should be fully rigged. So that means I need to buy the cannon set from Model Expo since I need about 12 cannons in the area that can be seen from the hatch. Other things could be seen too, like the chain pumps and hatches leading down to the berth deck, so these will be added too. Diagonal knees - sure. Deck planking and treenails - sure. Rivets on the walls - probably not (I have to draw the line somewhere). I am going to use 1/16" thick planks for the gun deck planking, but I also want to put them on a basswood sheet backing, which will be another 1/16". Since the bulkheads are cut at the top of the gun deck, I need to remove 1/8" from those that will be seen from the main hatch, which are E through L. I measured down 1/8" from the cut out and marked the line to be cut to. I am going to leave the center supports and spar deck beams in place for now until I add the spar deck waterway. I will cut these out in place and clean up the center of the bulkheads so there is a smooth run of the gun deck across them, before installing the gun deck. Since the top of the hull former is at the same level in this area, I also need to cut it down by 1/8", so I marked it too: In the next post, I will show how I cut these areas out.

You can still get 70mm film rolls on eBay, but you would have to strip the emulsion off. Photographic fixer will do that

I decided to build a new building board that would hold the keel more rigidly and straight. I cut a 1/4" by 24" by 6" basswood board in half and screwed one piece to a larger board. I then put three slots in the other board and screwed it down on the larger board. The slots let me adjust the width of the keel slot and to tighten it to the keel. I have been cleaning up the bulkheads and adding the bevels to them. I have about half of them done so far. It takes about 15 minutes to do each one so it is taking so time. So far, the fairing looks pretty good, although I have not adjusted them for squareness to the keel yet. They are just slid into the keel for now and not glued in yet.

They look great.

One last entry just to show the model in its new home, on the mantle in our lake condo in New Hampshire: My kids provide me with the moose themed items on Father's Day. I am running out of places to put them.

Thanks Steve Bob and Jay. I am with you all as I have already had the plans copied at Staples. This lets me cut out sections and use them as templates. One\ the bulkhead plans, there are two lines on one side, one for the fairing line and one for the edge of the bulkhead. The asymmetry I am seeing is in the bulkhead edges on each side. I found another one last night that was off, too. Thanks for the heads up on the copper tape. I have an extra roll that I bought a few years ago, but I will have to see how they match up in patina.

More progress on the keel. Here is the stern post being glued to the former. I used a rubber band to hold it while drying, after making sure it was centered. I then sanded and fit the three bottom keel pieces between the stem and the stern post. Lots of clamps to hold them together while the glue dried. Then I filled the holes in the keel pieces that are there to help align the two halves when gluing them together, and also used a little filler on the joints. I sanded the joints flat, then drew lines on the stem and stern post for the extent of the tapering. I used a #22 X-Acto blade and a sanding block to add the tapers. I think they came out pretty well. I was a little concerned because I messed this step up on the Bounty Launch and was never happy with the way the stem looked. I have started checking the bulkheads for symmetry. I found one that is a bit small compared to the plans, but the plans are also not symmetrical. I am going to add some strips of wood to the edge of that bulkhead and sand it down during the fairing process. The other bulkheads that I have checked look pretty good. I have four more to go. I am also adding the reference lines and tapering lines as I go.

I am very sorry to hear this Mick. Hopefully you can get some building in to take your mind off other things.

Work on the keel continues. I glued the three pieces of the keel former together using epoxy, with some weights to hold them flat. Those jars contain rolled up pieces of lead sheeting. I then carved the rabbet into the bottom edge. I used a #22 X-Acto blade and an X-Acto chisel blade. I cleaned up the rabbet after carving with a small sanding block. I enlarged the holes in the stem to slots for the rope gammoning by drilling holes in the other end of the slot and cleaning them out with small files. They came out a little wider than I wanted, but should be OK once they are trimmed by the cheeks or head rail (whatever that piece is that follows the curve of the stem under the bow sprit) and have rope in them. I sanded the inside edge of the stem to fit on the keel former without gaps, then glued it in place with white glue. I used some clamps to hold them together and some weights to keep everything flat. There is some scrap wood under both piece to keep them level, too. In the mean time, I am still going through all the Constitution build logs and other materials, making lots of notes. I still have many decisions to make going forward, but I am starting to get a pretty good idea of where I want this build to take me. There is so much information here that is really making this job so much easier than it could be, and so many good ideas and ways to tackle the different parts of the build. Again, I thank all those who have come before me on this path.

I too am glad to see you back, Bob. I am just getting started building this model, so I will probably have lots of questions as I go along. I hope you don't mind. I would love to have mine come out half as good as yours.

Much nicer than the supplied parts

Thanks guys. Every time I go to the dentist I think about looking into these, but with this information I can forget about it now. I bought a strong pair of readers that work really well for me better than the flip up magnifiers.

Thank you all for your encouragement. I wouldn't dream of tackling something this complex without knowing I can rely on you all for guidance and support. I have been comparing the supplied plans with the AOS Constitution and started to note some of the differences, although the deck details in the AOS are not as detailed as I would like. I fear that I may end up adding details from the current configuration that weren't there in the 1812 version, but hopefully that won't happen too much. This week's progress. I cut the keel and stem pieces from the laser cut sheet and glued the halves together. I used just about all the clamps I had that would work on these pieces. I then cleaned up the three keel former pieces and some of the other pieces. I used a sanding block on its side to keep the edges square. I have since ordered a True Sander to do this right, so I am waiting for that to arrive before cleaning the other keel pieces. I copied the plans for the three keel former pieces and glued them to some manila folder material. I will use these to transfer the bearding and other reference lines to the wood. One difference between the 1812 version and the current version is that in 1812, the ship had rope gammoning, not chain as it does today. So, in order to use rope on the model, I need to expand the holes in the stem to slots. I have marked them on the stem but have not cut them out yet. Here is my favorite picture of the stem - looks like a dinosaur to me Thanks again for the encouragement and support.

Besides the kit instructions, I plan to use the Anatomy of the Ship book for the Constitution as an additional guide. I used the AOS Beagle book to build that model and I really liked the extra information and details in these books. I am going to try to build the Constitution in its 1812 configuration, as others have done on this site. In fact, those other build logs (Cookster, CaptainSteve, Jeff Toma, and others) have been a huge inspiration for me and I know the information in them will be a huge help. I plan to add some sails to the build, and my first thought was to go with a look like in this picture, when see sailed in Boston Harbor in August 2012 for the 1812 anniversary. I believe our own popeye2sea (Henry) was on it when this picture was taken. Now I am thinking of adding some fore and aft sails too, but I am not sure on that yet.

Some more content pictures: Some photo etched brass parts: I organized the blocks, deadeyes, and bulls eyes in these small containers: For the wood strips, I used these plastic golf bag tubes that I got from my father. I had originally planned to use these to organize all the extra wood strips I had in the workshop, but I had to go to something that could handle more strips, which you can see in the picture after this one. I was pretty amazed that the strips just in this kit filled up these tubes. What I use now to organize my wood supply in the shop:

I am about to start the Model Expo Constitution. I have had the kit on the shelf for about a year, but I was waiting to finish the Bounty Launch. I only looked in the box once since I received it, and did not realize how many pieces parts there are for this one. I have to say I am a little intimidated now that I have started going through everything. Well, here goes... Before I get to the pictures, I have come back to add an Index to this build log. Hull Construction: Keel Bulkheads Stern Filler Blocks Bow Filler Blocks Transom Framing Gun Deck Framing Gun Deck Planking Gun Deck Gun Port Framing Gun Deck Knees Spar Deck Gun Port Framing Upper Hull Planking Transom Planking Lower Hull Planking Bulwark Planking and Rivets Painting the Hull Copper Plating Rudder Transom Details Quarter Galleries Gun Port Lids Bumpkins Channels Deck Details: Gun Deck Cannon Rigging Gun Deck Chain Pumps, Stove, Riding Bitts Spar Deck Beams Spar Deck Hatches Mast Pin Rails Spar Deck Planking Rails Cat Heads Head Rails and Trail Boards Carronades Ships Wheel Bulwark Pin Rails Binnacles Capstan Hammocks and Cranes Anchors and Davits Ships Boats Masts and Rigging: Chain Plates Bow Sprit Lower Masts Upper Masts Mast Tops Lower Shrouds and Stays Ratlines Topmasts Bentinck Shrouds Topmast Shrouds and Stays Flying Jibboom TopG Shrouds and Stays TopG Jacob's Ladders Royal Shrouds and Stays Yards Studding Sail Booms Sails Running Rigging Short Interlude Running Rigging II Quarter and Aft Davits Anchors Flags Completed Model Display Case Now, some pictures of the contents: Eight pages of plans: A lot of wood pieces: Looks like they upgraded some older parts: Copper foil for the hull, blocks, cast metal parts, etc:

Flaws? What flaws? I don't see any. The detail you have added to these boats is incredible.

Those treenails are sweet. I like the color differences of the wood on the interior, too.

Thanks Bedford. I have not started the Constitution yet. I have a little more research to do first. I'll start a build log for it when I get going on it.

Mick, I will be very interested to see the differences too. Well, how is this for timing. I finished the Bounty Launch on the last day of the year. I tied two bundles of oars together and tied them to the thwarts. I added the toolbox, bucket, coconuts, cutlass, barrels, coils of rope, and the grapnel, then took these pictures. Enjoy. I will take some proper pictures soon and add them to the gallery. This will conclude this build log. I hope I was able to convey some ideas for others to try. I had a lot of fun with this build and I am looking forward to the Conny, which I will start soon. I hope you all have a great New Year. Thanks for looking in.

Thanks Greg. I am too. I couldn't leave the bucket unfinished, so here it is with its new bands. I feel better now.

I made a few items to enhance the boat contents over the kit supplied items. I made a bucket by turning a piece of dowel on the lathe. For the slates, I used the same technique I used for the barrels, scoring the lines using a razor saw. I added a handle and filled it with some husked coconuts I made from Sculpey. I also made some unhusked coconuts from Sculpey and a halved one. I made the cutlass from some brass strip and a small piece of brass tubing. I used a wide piece for both the blade and the handle. On the blade, I filed in the curves. I used a single piece for the handle. I first filed in the shape of the hand guard, then filed the rest narrower and bent it around for the finger guard. I blackened the individual pieces, then glued them together with CA. I filled in the end of the handle with wood filler, then painted the handle black. I lightly sanded the blade so some of the metal shown through. I still have to add the bands around the bucket, which I will do with black paper. I really enjoy making these extra little details. Now I just have to figure out how to put all the stuff into the boat so it looks right.

Keith, You are off to a great start. That bending method you came up with is pretty neat. I am looking forward to following your build.

Thanks Pete and Richard. Here are the pictures with the main sail attached and all the rope coils installed. I hope everyone got what they asked for this Christmas. I am looking forward to spending the rest of the day with my family.