steamschooner

More progress on the engines. I continue to use whatever I can find in the scrapbox. Not much to say here, just slowly building up the maze of piping and beams that translate steam into motion.
 

 

 

I've begun building the piston engines. These are a challenge, as I know I won't be able to duplicate them exactly, but want to produce a reasonable approximation. I'm also dedicated to doing so with whatever scrap materials I already have on hand to keep costs down. To review what the original engines looked like, visit this post in my planning thread with photos from the museum.
 
I began by digging out some styrene tubing and wooden dowels. I needed to produce a concentric structure with the outer ring protruding from an inner surface, so I nested two styrene tubes and a dowel:

Next I needed to start the main piping coming out from each quadrant of the cylinder, so cut some smaller styrene tubing at a 45 degree angle with a hand saw, glued them up in elbows, and used a slab of wooden dowel to simulate the joining surfaces of these pipes:

After painting, I glued all this together and extended the piping above the joining surface. Here you can also see the end structure for which I used the nested tubing/dowels:

I then cut some wooden slats to form the structures connecting these pipes. These were higher on one side and lower on the other, reflecting the way that steam was pumped in and around these piston engines:

I then cut some tiny squares of styrene to simulate the bolt/washer assemblies on the cylinder ends, painted everything so far, and put it on the cylinder timbers as a test-display:

And here's a broader view of the two assemblages so far. Lots of piping and structure yet to add, but I like how it's coming together so far. The thick Model Shipways black paint does a reasonable job of blending the wood and styrene into a single surface texture and I'll probably use a bit of pastel weathering when I've finished assembly.

I've been on a mental block about starting these for a while, as machinery is my least favorite subject, but I think these are decent. The piping sticks out farther to either side than the real thing, but that's the nature of using the tubing I had on hand, and it's only noticeable to someone really carefully comparing this to the real thing.
 
Thanks for reading.

The cylinder timber assemblies are essentially done. Here they are test-placed on the hull, using a dowel to align both sides. In reality there wouldn't be an axle running all the way across, but I have it set up this way at the moment to ensure that both sides are aligned.
 

Here's a closeup of some details (see photos in the last post for the real thing):
 

Below is a closeup of the real pillow block (the metal brackets holding the axles to the timbers). I decided I wasn't capable of making an exact replica and went for a reasonable facsimile instead.
 

To make these, I traced the outlines of multiple blocks in a single sheet of wood, drilled & filed the axle holes, and only then cut each one to length. This made it easier to get the holes aligned properly and lessened the chance of cracking the wood. Then I carefully cut and filed the final shape. Below is a staged photo of the process, from a basic block at bottom left to a screwed-up block at bottom right (got the hole off-center) to four decent ones above.
 

To make the metal rods holding the different timbers together, I carefully drilled out the holes in sequence, then used blackened metal wire for the rods. I made the little iron face plates (or whatever the right term is) by cutting a strip of styrene most of the way, leaving the end attached to the sheet for ease of handling. I then painted it black, drilled holes along the length, and cut a series of tiny squares centered on each hole:
 

I then slid these onto the rods, which was tricky between timbers. I positioned them in the middle of each gap, painted the remaining cut surfaces, then applied a dab of CA to each one and slid it down into place:
 

And here's another view of the test-fit assembly:

The inboard timbers are based on the measurements and photos I took at the museum so are pretty close to accurate. The outboard timbers (the squarish pile at the edge of each guard) are my own design, as I have no information regarding how these were done on Arabia. None of the excavation photos show these timbers intact. I found one drawing in a reference book of a similar style, and it makes sense to me as a design. The inboard timbers have to with stand the back and forth pounding of the cylinders, so have long braces in either direction. The outboard ones just have to hold up the wheel, there's really no back and forth stress there. So I decided a simple design made the most sense. These will be barely visible anyway unless I decide to leave one side of the model open.
 
I'll probably work on building the engines next, so I can finalize the assembly of this section. When all the machinery is finished I'll be able to lay out the rest of the deck and determine exactly where the superstructure will go, meaning I can determine what portions of the deck to plank and which will be hidden. I had intended to build this as a "closed" model, but doing the detailed work on the cylinder timbers is making me question that and wonder whether to leave one side open. This also affects the level of detail with which I build the paddle wheels. Will they be mostly hidden within the hull, or exposed to view behind open framing? To be lazy/efficient, or obsessive/interesting?
 
Thanks for reading. Hopefully the build continues to be more interesting as we get into the above-decks work.

Project has been a bit slow, due to nasty influenza, which I have had for a couple of weeks.
However some progress has been made, like self made ship`s name wet transfers on the bow, navigation lights, which are just mock-ups and not functional. Also the funnel between upper- and boat decks together with some steam pipes are made, and of course the flag with pole has been added to the stern.
Now I have to concentrate into details on the boat deck like funnel, masts and lifeboats with davits, and then we could call this project as ready.
Of course then starts the interesting part with functional tests like adding some ballast if necessary, and trimming of radio control equipment.
 

 


 
 

I found an old copy of Howard Chapelle's The National Watercraft Collection on the $2.00 rack at the local used bookstore. In it I saw the following photo of a catboat in Gloucester harbor.

Needless to say, the sail caught my attention. This photo is most likely of Aqua Pura, a waterboat that supplied the Gloucester fishing fleet with fresh water. These boats were commonly catboat-rigged and could carry about 150 barrels of water in a wooden tank located under the deck amidships. The water was discharged into fishing schooners' water barrels via a hand-operated pump and a long hose, both of which are visible in the photo. In 1850, one waterboat operator in Gloucester sold $7,700 worth of water to the fleet at ten cents a barrel. Aqua Pura measured 36' in length and 11.4' in beam. She was crewed by a single owner/operator who painted advertisements for local merchants on his sail. Some of the waterboats carried a limited number of 50 - 100 lb cakes of ice covered in sawdust as well. Chapelle gives the hull lines and deck arrangement here:
 

 
I just finished building Corel's kit of the Shenandoah, and this will be my first scratch build. The reason I want to build this craft is a bit nostalgic. My dad was a watchmaker who had a family-run jewelers in Southern California. I grew up in the shop. My dad and grandpa and brother all repaired watches, while I repaired clocks and did engraving and simple jewelry repairs. If you look at the sail in the photograph, you'll see an advertisement for a jewelers. I lost my dad last January and miss him pretty badly. I'd like to build this boat and put him and his shop up there on the sail. I may make some other changes to the text as well. That's why I'm calling this build a fictitious waterboat. I'd also just plain like to try my hand at scratch building. I've been watching other people's work and it looks like fun. I guess we'll see. I have very little idea of how to go about this, other than that I'll be attempting a plank-on-bulkhead version of the hull. I'm sure I'll be asking lots of questions.
 
Thanks for reading!
 
Steve
 
 
 

Patrick, Great looking model

Patrick, Great looking model

Patrick, Great looking model

Patrick, Great looking model

I'm now working on the cylinder timbers, the pair of large timber frameworks that support the piston engine and paddle wheel on each side of the boat. A full original set is on display at the museum. although the tight quarters and large size made it very difficult to photograph the entire assembly in one view:
 


Thus, for reference, here's the drawing I made of these based on measurements and photos taken at the museum. I've printed these out at scale and used them as a template for the model:
 

Each set of cylinder timbers consists of a larger assembly that extends to support the wheel, and a smaller assembly that supports the other side of the piston engine but is much shorter. Here's a view from the engine end, looking toward the stern. The (port) wheel is on the view's right, so the assembly to the right is the big one, while the one to the left is the smaller one that only supports the engine. I hope that's clear.
 

And here's what I've built so far. I started by carefully cutting the thickest angled piece under the engine and using that to define where each of the larger beams went. From there, I'm slowly filling in the shorter support blocks. I'm building both sets of timber assemblies at the same time to ensure that they match, even though it really doesn't matter since they don't connect across the boat in any way. I just think it's helping me make them correctly to do it together (and reduces the redundant feel of starting over on the second one after finishing the first). Current status of one set (the other looks the same) next to a template:
 

I've now run into an interesting problem that I hadn't noticed before. Both the large and small sides have wooden braces at the stern end that angle down from the thick cylinder timber to act as a counter-brace (these are on the right side of the drawings posted above). On the large assembly, they simply butt up against the timber end with a metal bracket connecting the two, and what looks like a simple mortise on the lower one:

But on the short assembly, there's a strange quirk about the connection between the timber and the brace:
 

In the image above, notice how the brace (on the left) meets the timber (right) well below the latter's top surface. Moreover, the large vertical bolt that ties all this together is too long by maybe 4-6", what looks like about the same gap (outlined in red). And from above, you can see that there's a notch in the timber. So was there some kind of extra wooden brace that extended from a notch in the timber, over the top of the brace, different from how the other two worked?
 
I don't know if that explanation and question is clear; I'm sure I suffer from the curse of knowledge from studying this so much. But if that makes sense, does anyone have any ideas? I can't see any evidence for how such a brace would have been shaped if it had existed, and am somewhat reluctant to add something that isn't there in the recovered assembly. But it seems strange to me and I'm just curious about thoughts on this very esoteric question.
 
Working on these has been a nice change from planking; I'm glad I tackled this next. Thanks for reading.

The hull is finished! After sanding to an acceptable texture, I primed and painted it using Model Shipways primer and white, thinned and with several coats. This sealed off any remaining tiny gaps nicely but the planking can still be seen.
 

I rebuilt the rudder to get proportions I found more pleasing, and painted that too. It won't actually be installed until much later, but it's done.

And two more views of the hull from bow and stern:


I had intended to plank the main deck next, but changed my mind. I'm going to build the cylinder timbers and wheel supports next, because those will inform how I lay out the deck and superstructure. Plus, I've dealt with enough planking for now.
 
Thanks for reading!

Small update for bridge equipment, a compass, telegraf and ship`s bell. All turned of Sikablock, airbrushed first with gloss black, and when dry, airbrushed with Alclad`s polished brass.
Compass and bell under construction. Pedestal for compass milled octagonal.

 
 
 
Components installed on the bridge. Dials for telegraf drawn with Corel Draw and printed on paper.


 

Sorry, for not posting anything lately. The shipyard came to a stand still for some time.
However, every time I go out to the garage I am met by Bluenose asking for attention. After spending the day with the Admiral and Sadie (our oldest dog), I got time with Blue......
The monkey board has been installed and now is the rail time. 
As before the rail has to be altered, the laser cut piece was to small and then I realized that the empty space became the perfect base for a new rail.

 
After cutting out the new piece I saw it's slightly to large, just perfect.
This will help me to create the part I need.
To make it easier on me, I am making this in two parts.

Before final sanding and shaping I will pre-treat the wood for painting.

Next I was concentrating into bridge items. First the steering wheel & machinery, and it`s movement into rudder. Form of Steering wheel is quite complicated, so the best way to build it was to draw it with CAD and machine from 1 mm thick Sikablock material using cnc router and 0,6 mm dia milling cutter. After trial & error and one prototype here is a machined steering wheel:

 
 
 
Steering mechanism was again build using a pair of module 0,5 gears and parts made of styrene & sikablock. On the top is the upper rudder shaft with middle flange and bearings. Below that the parts for rudder mechanism.

 
 
Parts painted, weathered and waiting installation into ship:

 
 
 
Steering wheel and mechanism with a protective desk installed on the bridge:

 
Upper rudder shaft with bearings installed between main and upper decks. Movement of the steering wheel is transferred from steering mechanism using wires, rods and chains located underneath of upper deck. Chains are taken from a thin necklage and painted dark:

 
 
Next item on the bridge was a searchlight. This was made using common materials styrene and sikablock. Here waiting paint:

 
Painted and weathered:

 
 
And installed onto bridge:

 
 
 

Wonderful job, she would look great in anybody's collection

Part 51 – Kathryn’s Dredge Winder Cont’d
 
It has been quite a while since my last post.  Here in Arizona, February and March are very popular months for visitors, and we had our share this year.  So time in the shop has been hard to get for the past 6 weeks or so.  I did mange to get a little done, and the last few days have been fairly productive.
 
The last photos showed the winder completed but still not blackened.  The next photos show it after blackening (yes, I thought about leaving the brass natural, but I want to show Kathryn as she actually looks, so I needed to blacken the winder).
 
                        
 
                        
 
The dredges are hauled on cables, but metal cables would be difficult to wind around the winder drums, so black rope was used on the model instead.  After winding the rope around the drums, matte medium was painted on the rope to keep it from loosening.
 
                        
 
The frame around the dredge winder is constructed from angle iron.  There is 1/16 and 1/8 brass angle iron available, but neither size was appropriate (I needed 3/32).  So 1/32 was milled off each side of the 1/8 angle iron using the setup shown in the following photo.
 
                        
 
The silver-colored clamps are homemade clamps that provide additional reach over the standard Sherline clamps.
 
The ends of the frame are constructed with angles rather than straight, and the ends are canted inward, as in the following construction drawing.
 
         
 
A wooden form was made to support the construction of the winder frame.
 
                        
 
                        
 
The angle on each side of the end pieces is 130 degrees, so the disk sander miter gauge was set at 65 degrees and the ends of the angle irons were sanded to this angle.
 
                        
 
                        
 
The end pieces of the form were removable to allow for clamping of the pieces.
 
                        
 
Although the form is wood, it was able to withstand the resistance soldering which localizes the heat.  This setup probably wouldn’t work very well for soldering with a torch.
 
                        
 
Once the individual sides of the ends were soldered, the complete form was used to join all of the pieces to the crossbar.
 
                        
 
                        
 
In the above photo, a small hand vise is holding the form, and this small vise is being held in the bench vise.
 
The basic frame was completed, but still needed the cross-braces.
 
                        
 
                        
 
The soldering of the cross-braces required some extra effort to keep from opening the joints already soldered.  Pieces of paper towel that had been soaked in water were clamped around existing joints to prevent the heat from opening those joints.
 
                        
 
The following photos show the winder frame completed and blackened and temporarily in place.  Additional work on the blackening is still needed.
 
                        
 
                        
 
Here’s a photo of Kathryn’s real winder and frame.
 
                        
 
The pulleys hanging from the crossbar still need to be made, as well as the boards that are beneath the I-beams.  The housing for the engine that drives the winder also needs to be made.  The winder configuration will then be put aside until later in the project so it doesn’t interfere with other delicate construction work.
 
Thanks everyone.  I hope to post more frequently now that work is again under way.
 
 

Again it is time to update the project. All details coming on the main deck have been made like bollards and anchor winch on the foredeck & ladders, funnel and some steam pipes at the middle. Those latter parts are difficult to photograph because they are situated in the shadows between decks, but I hope something can be seen.
 
 
 
Anchor winch under construction. It has been made of acrylic sheet, sikablock and a pair of suitable gears from which centrum has been turned away and replaced with new parts.

 
 
 
Anchor winch painted and installed on the foredeck together with bollards and smaller components.

 
 
 
Ladders leading to upper deck with handrails. At the background are the funnel & some steam pipes with valves.

 
 
 
Seen from the other side.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Patrick, Happy Birthday!  Shadow looks like a very fine yacht, super job!

Patrick, Happy Birthday!  Shadow looks like a very fine yacht, super job!

Patrick, Happy Birthday!  Shadow looks like a very fine yacht, super job!

Things are not going too well as far as progress on the 'Meteor' is concerned.  I had a couple of weeks off from the museum with a medical issue, then got a few more frames fitted yesterday and now, due to other pressing commitments, I won't be back at the museum until May.  Oh well, she'll still be waiting there for me.
 
The photos below are of the few extra frames fitted and including my 'Heath-Robinson' framing jig (at least it works).
 
John
 

 

I've made slow progress on some unphotogenic work, mainly filling in the myriad little gaps in planking between every deck beam extending out to support the guards. This took forever, as each little piece had to be cut and filed to shape given the odd angles of the hull, particularly at bow and stern. They're not all quite straight or perfect, but some judicious wood filler and filing took care of that, and they'll be almost invisible on the finished model once the decking is installed and they're tucked in the shadows under the guards. I didn't bother to take a photo of this as it really isn't very interesting. It took a long time, but a couple interesting soccer games over the weekend helped me keep plugging away.
 
Beforehand, now that the hull was planked, I made a basic support jig that allowed the hull to be clamped into my handy rotating work stand:
 

Unlike a sailing ship, these riverboats had little to no external keel, so there's nowhere to attach such a work stand to. I really like having my models on a rotating stand like this, because it allows me to choose the right angle for any given job and often makes the work a lot more ergonomic. Thus I made and screwed this into the hull; it's nice and solid. Although this setup is rough and ugly, I measured the screw holes in the hull to be exactly where I'd want them for the final display stand. So I'll be able to mount this properly once the work is done. It already made filling all the planking gaps much easier because I could tilt the model as-needed to see each gap.
 
Also, as there were questions about the rudder, here's my rudder next to the original:
 

Now that they're truly side by side, it seems that I got a few proportions slightly off. Some of this can be solved by a bit more sanding. I may end up redoing this, using the photo pair above as a better guide. I won't attach this until near the end of the project, so it's not of immediate concern. It is neat to compare the model and original side by side like this, I'll try to do a few more photos.
 
Next up, I'll take the jig back off the hull and do a final sanding. Once I'm happy with it surface, I'll go ahead and paint it. Then it's on to deck planking.
 
Thanks for reading.

Hi again to all - 
 
Here is the second and final installment of this little build log.  Hope you enjoy it.
 
With the model and bases polished up, I could move to the fun part – populating it with people.  The vision of Professor Smith was to make the Pike display more ‘hands-on’ and interesting for the school age groups that visit the museum.   The idea was to have a number of vignettes around the ship that would show both the civilian crew and the naval armed guardsmen in realistic settings.    The internet quickly turned up a number of wartime photographs of Navy men servicing the guns.  Here are a few.

Photographs of civilian crewmen were harder to find, other than sterile, posed shots of a ship’s entire crew, all of them scrubbed up as if for their class photo.  I did round up a few, like these motley sailors at cards, and the captain at his desk.

The figures themselves were sourced from Shapeways.  I knew of them from the funnel cages for the Michelangelo, but was surprised at how many offerings were in their catalog when I searched for “1/24 navy figures”.  Dozens of poses, uniforms, helmets, and caps.  Here are a few.  The guardsmen came from their combat sets, with helmets and life jackets.  The crew from the merchant navy sets, some with lifejackets, some without, and even one in the apron and hat of a cook.

The figures are produced in two quality levels, coarse and fine, with the latter being a good deal more expensive.  The financial parameters of the contract mandated the former.  Although they are described as ‘soft’ by Shapeways, when they arrived I found that they are printed in a hard, brittle white plastic with just a little give.  Following the instructions, they were cleaned of oils and primed.  Here is the figure of a kneeling loader for the 5 inch gun.  In the close-up you can see how rough the surface actually is, especially on the skin areas.  Some details, like his helmet brim and strap, have extra lumps of plastic, while the strap is connected to his neck with an extra web.

Using knives and grinding bitts the extra bumps were removed and the helmet strap was cut free.  A wire wheel was used to smooth the flesh of the face and hands, leaving the white plastic showing.  To perfect the pose the hands were sliced off at the wrists and rotated.

I painted the figures with craft acrylics in basic colors.  Little attempt was made to be hyper-realistic with shading and washes, trusting to the eye of the viewer to supply those textures.  The 5 inch shell was turned to military specifications from a birch dowel on my drill press/lathe.    

Although all alone and in closeup the figure appears crude, but on deck I think it worked out pretty well. 

And here is the 5 inch gun with six guardsmen crewing it.  Notice that there are separate propellant charges and warheads, as well as some joined as one shell ready for use.   

It was while researching the gun and its ammunition that I discovered another little-known detail of Wally’s model.  All the way to the starboard side of the gun there are three shells upside down in a fixture.  It turns out that this is the fuse setting machine.  The fire control officer in control center would wire down the proper setting to the machine, and the crank was turned till the shell setting matched.  This substantially improved American rate of fire.

Here is the 3 inch gun at the bow with a gunner and loader.  Even in a fairly close-up shot the Shapeways figures stand up to examination.

The 20mm Oerlikons are served by gunners whose arms were surgically removed and positioned to grasp the handles of the model’s guns.  One is African-American, as were many sailors during the war, watching out warily for the enemy.

The civilian crew is on lookout as well.  The helmsman stands ready at the wheel with his eye on the gimballed compass and the old man’s eye on him.

On deck a few crewmen muscle oil drums onto a pallet while the mate shades his eyes and keeps them honest.

I’m still adding touches.  There will be several figures involved in a lifeboat drill, and additional deck workers.  As an extra I rounded up a 1/24 scale Sherman tank, a broken Radio Shack R/C toy.  After removing the incorrect spotlight, muzzle brake, switches and markings, their holes were filled and painted.  The broken tracks were repaired and reinforced with black fabric tape and the tank set on deck where it will have some crewmen securing it with chains.

But whatever other vignettes get built, there is one that is already a hit with the school crowd.  At the rail the cook watches while his KP swabby empties a pail full of scratch-built garbage.

Hope that this was an entertaining diversion.  Now back to the Michelangelo.
 
Dan
 
 
 
 
 

moxis, Do overs are the norm around my shipyard, sometimes more than once. Railings look super!

moxis, Do overs are the norm around my shipyard, sometimes more than once. Railings look super!