Chuck Seiler
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Everything posted by Chuck Seiler
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Here is some miscellaneous work I have been doing. I need to get a bunch of ringbolts, eyebolts and blocks ready for the next couple of phases. I generally have two problems with commercially bought eye bolts: (1) They are never quite the size (eye size) that I need/want...either too big or too small. Some of the eyebolts I have purchased or snagged from other kits I have (languishing on the back shelf) are the right size and some are not. (2) The brass is too pliable...too much stress or strain on the bolt will cause it to deform or open up. To solve this, I take 'too large' eyebolts and resize them. #1 solved. I also silver solder the eye and part of the shaft. This hardens and strengthens the bolt. Sometimes I will solder the eye closed so that there is no split in the eye and sometimes I will not, depending on whether or not I plan to put a ring in it later (or if I screw up the solder job...still learning). At any rate, it is hard enough that even if the gap is not shut, it will not pull open under strain. Hooks made from eyebolts. They will be soldered and blackened later. Two blocks have been completed, attached to eyebolts and mounted to the bulkhead for the port side 9 pounder gun. These blocks appear large, but that is what the plan calls for. Blocks are from Chuck Passaro. Brass is blackened using "Blacken-it".
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Our shipmodel club mans a booth every year at the county fair, where we 'display our skills' and talk to folks about ship modeling. Three of the top four questions asked are: "Is that a pirate ship?" "Is that made of balsa wood?" and "How do you put a ship in a bottle?" ( #4 being "Wher eis the bathroom?") They would have a field day with this model!
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Stove? You get a stove and I get a fireplace? Benefits of being a general I guess. That padauk sure does make a reasonably good brick, eh? Looking good!!! Are you "live" or are you posting old stuff? If live, you are moving quite fast.
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It has been a slow weekend. Big decisions....should I work on the model or go to the beach? Build model-go to the beach? Model-beach? beach-model? Hmmmmmmm Here are some more shots of previous work. Here you can see the lower deadeyes better than in previous shots. Yes, Virginia, the deadeyes are inboard. More proof that it was designed by army guys. The lower deadeyes are "stropped" with rope, with the two ends run through holes in the hull and knotted on the outside. Mine are simple overhand knots. I suspect the real ones are a bit more complicated. I had some problems with this. At first, I ran the lines through the holes and attempted to knot the lines. Once the lines were knotted, I could cut off the excess. <NOT> The locations of the knots had to be precise in order to ensure the deadeyes lines up properly. Given that one of my nicknames is "Nine Thumbs Charlie" I found this undo-able. I decided to knot the lines first, THEN pull the know through the holes. In order to do this, I had to enlarge the holes; large enough to get the knot through but not so large as to let the knot pass back through. You see some of my ironwork in the background.
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I don't believe so. I don't think there is any metal plate on the Smithsonian ship. The book I was reading indicated there was charring. I suppose metal could be charred, but I took it to mean wood. I will go back and re-read that source.
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Mike, Very impressive. It also has the benefit of not being 'one of the usual suspects'. I am enjoying your progress.
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Several of us were opining whether or not it was moved from that location (where it was stored) and used in a more open location (less prone to setting critical parts of the vessel on fire). It is constructed in a wooden box filled with sand. Movable but heavy. It just seems very inconvenient where it is.
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This photo encompasses almost al the work I got done since last post. --Cook stove complete and mounted. --Lower deadeyes rigged and installed. --Mast support beam completed and installed. Close up of cook stove.
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Mike, Many thanks. PHILLY is a much simpler design/model than yours is. Your framing looks great. After an inconvenient 24 pound ball lodged at or below the waterline (you can see in the Smithsonian ship...the ball is still there), PHILADELPHIA started sinking by the bow. The 'bailing well' back aft was of little value at that point. WASHINGTON came alongside to take off the surviving crew...only to be captured later when WASHINGTON was overtaken by the British. Lt. Rue and some of the PHILLY crew made it to shore and made their way by land to Fort Ticonderoga. Are you talking about the British shortening th emast after they captured it or via a cannon ball.
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Mike, Excellent!!! I believe that is your WASHINGTON lurking behind the sinking PHILADELPHIA in the photo on my build log (second post of the blog).
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I expect to have pics showing progress on cookstove, deadeyes and mast support beam by tomorrow.
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Mike, How does this compare to the row galleys used on Lake Champlain at the same time?
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Bob, Welcome back online. Looking forward to the build continuing. When is the house warming/shop warming party?
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Brian, I have had the MS RATTLESNAKE kit for years, sitting patiently in the closet. I look forward to your build.
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Dave, Which paintjob are you talking about? The longboat or cookstove? Chuck
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Guy, I still have not loaded IE 11 yet, so have not yet attempted to get on. I plan to do that this weekend. I will let you know if I have similar issues.
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MacGyver was unable to find matchsticks, so we used these. I was unable to find suitable bricks, so I made them from wood. (Having said that, 250 people will direct me to the bricks I needed.) I remember having small scale individual bricks many years ago. I tried hobby stores, train scores and Google to find them. I was able to find adequate brickage from a fine company in UK at a reasonable price, but the shipping/associated cost were just too much. I used padauk wood and stained holly. Mr. Jefferson looks on, wondering if Mr. Franklin has that stove thing patented yet. The hearth and first couple courses completed. This is where the cook stove sits on the PHILDELPHIA in the Smithsonian. Here is where it sits on the plans. The athwartship mast support is in place. What could POSSIBLY go wrong here???? Don't let the safety guys see this!!!! I'm not sure why the PHILLY didn't burn to the waterline or explode long before the battle. This does not look like a very good place for a cook stove, but my readings indicate this IS where it was. They are able to see the charring on the underside of the mast support. Maybe this thing will work on the 18th Century Longboat (same scale). What do you think????? Maybe I can sub-contract to Chuck P so he can provide an after market add on to the longboat kit.
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Your job, Mr. MacGyver, is to build this with match sticks and chewing gum.
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Here is a close-up pic of PHILLY's bow and the corroded nails. By tracing the nails you can also see where the frames are.
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I forgot to mention in the previous pic that while the interior planking is stained with GOLDEN PECAN, the exterior is PECAN. It provides a dirtier brown finish, giving the rustic color I am working for. I will endeavor to get a good exterior shot. Another lengthwise shot of the completed hull. Thole pins bitts and cleats are mounted. A close up shot of the bow section. Shot rack with 12lb shot is mounted. Note nail heads in the deck planking. Iron nails were a lot easier than traditional tree-nails to make and use. They were not too concerned about them rusting away since they didn't anticipate the ship being around long. Ironically (IRON-ically...get it) the nails still exist..a bit corroded...in the actual ship. (See early picture) A lot of nails were used to keep the thing from coming apart every time they fired the guns. Close up shot of the stern. The arms locker hold spare shot and a few drill bits. Holes in the caprail are for awning stations. Next step....the cook stove.
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THAT LOOKS LIKE A MIGHTY FINE CARGO HAULIN' BATEAUX. ARE YOU SURE IT'S A GUNBOAT? You have a keen eye my friend! the gunboats were pretty much designed after the bateaux used in the area. Allegedly, Arnold wanted the gunboats to be like the ones on the Delaware River but nobody had the plans and didn't have time to get them. He redesigned the boats because the shipwrights and carpenters available had been building bateaux for a year in order to ferry troops and supplies up and down Lake Champlain. It was more important to have hulls in the water than have masterpieces sometime in the future. WOW! Indeed.
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Thanks David. I hope you enjoy the progress.
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Fast forward to 22 FEB 2014
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Not a whole lot got done between July and December. I took some pics in December and they came out blurry. They are the only ones I have, so..... Forward gundeck in the process of planking. The 'slide' for the 12 pounder is in place. Note the large 2 foot wide planks here as well as the center deck. A lengthwise shot showing all decks. Support stanchions for the center gundeck (heretofore called the POOP!!!!! deck) are taking shape. After most deck planking is narrower than other two decks...a mere foot and a half. Weapons lockers are marked out aft.
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It is almost at the end of the Fair....1 day to go. I have the interior planking done and stained. I did not go all the way down to the bottom with the interior planking because I wanted space to be able to work the exterior planking. The interior is stained with Minwax "Golden Pecan" You see work on the middle deck planking progressing. On this model, this is the poop deck. I had the planking completed and I placed a prototype of the 9lb gun on it... "Poop" <I sez>. The muzzle did not clear the caprail. I had to add another layer of planking to make it work. On the actual ship, the forward deck is the poop deck. When they loaded the 12 lb gun forward, "POOP!!!!!" it failed to clear the stem and caprail. They ended up having to cut away that portion of the caprail and a piece of the stem. Unless I tell you, you would never know I had an extra layer of planking. It is hard to miss the cut out stem. Exterior planking takes shape. Planks are same size (scale wise) with the same buttjoints as the real ship. The upper three strakes are slightly different widths, but approximately 1/8" (6 scale inches). The lower 4 strakes are all 1 foots. except here narrowed. Interior planking is all 1/8 inch (6 inches).
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