Chuck Seiler

This weekend I completed two simple steps:  installed the garboard strakes and laid the initial planks on the port (completely planked) side.  Since both the tasks required the model to be inverted, I made a little MDF box that I could clamp the model to without putting any stress on the frame members.
 
The garboard strakes went in without difficulty.    Likewise with the planking: planking this model is about as simple as can be since the hull profile is completely uniform through the modeled section.  

 
I am happy that my modified solution for the keel rabbet worked out; I think the resulting angle of the garboard strake with the adjacent plank  looks a lot more authentic than the kit's arrangement.

 
A pinas's hull planks meet with scarfs rather than butts according to the drawings in Witsen (and possibly it's written down somewhere, but I don't have a reference).   Anyhow,  I did make one scarf as an experiment which is barely visible on the righthand photo above, between the two rightmost clips.  The joint came out well, but once the area was sanded,  the joint became invisible, so maybe I won't bother to do more.    I will probably make a sample piece next weekend and see if visibility is enhanced once it's stained.
 

 
The next task is to install 17 more pairs of lower futtocks between the pairs already on either end of the model.  In preparation for that, a large activity this weekend was removing char.  The char's all gone now, and I've started dry-fitting the pieces into position - you can see them above.   The requirement is to have all the outer and inner surfaces of the futtocks in the same plane.   That will be achieved if they all sit snugly in the (temporary) comb jigs and the tops of all the futtocks are the same height.   Which, for me, is easier said than done.   Once I get ready to start using glue on them I will need to move very deliberately.   I'm not completely settled as to how I will handle the glue.  I've thought about painting thinned glue into the gaps after the pieces are in position, but I worry that will mess up the stain when I get to putting on the finish. So, I'm leaning towards glue first then install. And practicing a lot.  The thing is, this is something I have to do 34 times and any redoes will be unpleasant to perform.  (Plus, this problem will come again on the next level of framing.)
 
Not related to the glue up, but I realized at the end of the futtock de-charing party that I only have to clean half of the framing pieces up to display standards:  the port side of the model will be planked over, inside and out, so its frames just need to be prepared well enough to glue.
 
Thanks for looking and for any advice you might have on gluing in those futtocks.
 
Bob
 
 

The painting process is part of the building process.  Agreeably, early on it is just a matter of applying paint and giving it color.  Later on it becomes:  what to paint and what to leave natural, what type paint, what color (for instance, there are a bazillion shades of red), how to get the perfect finis, and so forth.

Although, since we only use a portion of our brain, I would like to think those spare neurons step up and replace the dead ones.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.  Unfortunately, at my age, the brain cell boot camp isn't cranking out the new recruits like it used to.

Well then, let me introduce myself here.
My name is Ralf and I come from the beautiful Palatinate, 56 years old.
Like many others, I started building plastic models as a teenager. Ships, planes, cars, everything you could get back then. I think it all started with the Enterprise aircraft carrier that I got for Christmas. I should mention a Porsche 935 from Tamiya which I often dismantled and repainted over the years.
The thing with the wood came about when my teacher at the time gave me the Gorch Fock from Graupner and said go for it.
His brother-in-law was first officer on the ship.
Graupner in the mid-eighties meant opening the lid and looking at the bare wood. You still had to do a lot of carving and sanding, there was no CNC or even lasering.
Now you know, if the sky doesn't fall on my head, I'll see you here and there over the next few years
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

Although, since we only use a portion of our brain, I would like to think those spare neurons step up and replace the dead ones.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.  Unfortunately, at my age, the brain cell boot camp isn't cranking out the new recruits like it used to.

Although, since we only use a portion of our brain, I would like to think those spare neurons step up and replace the dead ones.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.  Unfortunately, at my age, the brain cell boot camp isn't cranking out the new recruits like it used to.

Although, since we only use a portion of our brain, I would like to think those spare neurons step up and replace the dead ones.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.  Unfortunately, at my age, the brain cell boot camp isn't cranking out the new recruits like it used to.

Two of the reasons for preserving an obsolete ship:   
sentimentality - a cultural symbol -  purposes that both Constitution and Victory serve quite well
true historical exhibit - as direct evidence and data for what the ship actually was in the instant of time it purports to represent. 
 
If the Ship of Theseus - had been repaired by using the same source material (species of tree, etc.), with the identical shape, and attached using the method that is identical to the original - even if none of the actual molecules are those of the ship as launched - it would be just as valid as if it had been teleported.  The information would be identical and equally valid.
Both Victory and Constitution are failures by this standard.   Constitution underwent "improvement" and "modernization" probably about every 20 years while on active serve  and after it was saved from the breakers, been manipulated and adjusted to the preconceptions of whatever committee was in charge when repairs of the effects of time, oxygen, microbes, electromagnetic radiation, was required.   Victory has seen its share of the same.   Both are chimeric rather than being a frozen instant of time.
 
Would that we had now, and in the past,  a more elaborate and minutia obsessed version of HAAMS  for every vessel of some importance. 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A medical expert informed me that brain neurons are not replaced, so as they die off, so do "you" - your intellect, that is.

I think the taller ones go aft.   Here's a midships view of the pinas Witsen, (from Ab Hoving's "Plans Set for Modelers").   Speaking of those pieces, though, I am wondering how I will clean them up - they look so fragile. 
 

 
Bob

Here is the wooden template, as mentioned.  I have built it up to the second futtock and ran a support piece across to prevent from snapping.  The bottom of the support piece is even to where the bottom of the orlop deck-beam ledge will be.

Here, the template is temporarily attached to the partially complete hull (for demo purposes).  When I finally get around to adding second futt, I will use comb and dab of glue to hold template in place, and use micrometer to ensure bottom of ledge is even.

@Chuck Seiler Wedges and rigging it will be then!  (Thanks for the kind words!)
 
As far as the rigging goes the "ayes" have it @Dr PR @GrandpaPhil - Chapelle and "The Search for Speed Under Sail" are the plans to follow going forward.  Appreciate the assists as always!!

I like your jig.    I'm going to need something like that, too and it helps a lot to have these photos.
 
Bob

Both.  On my crappier builds, glue will do.  In a model as well made as yours, wedges and rigging.

Both.  On my crappier builds, glue will do.  In a model as well made as yours, wedges and rigging.

Glue isn't needed. After all the rigging is installed the masts and bowsprit aren't going anywhere!
 
I prefer to install the cradles for the bases of the mast on the keel/keelson and frames for just below the deck planking while the hull is open to work on. I get everything aligned so the masts are aligned and raked correctly. Then when the masts are finally inserted into the hull they will be aligned correctly.
 
The same is true for the bowsprit. It should have a heel and tenon that fits tightly between the bitts/knightheads, timberheads (whatever you want to call them). This should prevent the bowsprit from slipping backwards between the posts, and it should hold the bowsprit in alignment. If the bowsprit can slip between the posts drill a hole down through the assembly and install a pin to hold it in place.

I am fairly new to the hobby, so I can’t speak to longevity.  On my first build I use PVA, but I don’t think I needed to.  On my second build I didn’t use any glue.  The bow sprit, foremast and main mast went in straight and are held there by the shrouds.  The mizzen mast wanted to lean a little so I used some wedges to get it straight and then relied on the shrouds to keep it straight.  

A show of hands please - do you folks glue the masts and bowsprit in place or do you use wedges and let the rigging hold them in place?
 

In the pictures below you can see the two frames glued up on the keel.   The keel was laser etched to help with alignment,  and I was careful during the glue up to ensure the frames were perpendicular to the keel and level.   When the glue dried I flipped the assembly over and ran the spider test again - i.e. made sure that all four futtocks were touching the glass.
 

 

 
Then I glued in all of the other floor timbers.   The kit comes with four spacing "combs" that are used to ensure that frames are spaced exactly right.   With the combs, which can be used at any convenient point along the frames,  installing the remaining floor timbers is a simple task.
 

That brings this log up to date with the state of my build.   I hope I get some time on it this weekend,  but it's not looking too promising at the moment.
 
Thanks for looking!
 
Bob

After assembling the keel and stand, the next step is to assemble the floor timbers and lower futtocks for the forward and after frames.    This is a critical step: the shape of the rest of the hull depends on the accuracy with which these two assemblies are made.  The kit supplies a printed section of the hull and the instructions say to lay the three parts over their locations on the drawing, and glue it all up.  There are no other assembly aids to ensure the positions are correct.    
 

 

 
To do this,  I started with a piece of tempered glass to have a dead flat, perfectly smooth working surface.   I taped the printed section onto the glass and then a sheet of mylar on top of it.   The floor timber was stuck to the mylar with double-sided tape over its location on the drawing.   On top of that timber I laid the two first futtocks and then carefully checked (with a small square) that each was in the right position over the drawing.   Then I stuck a number of wood blocks to the mylar at strategic points to make a jig that would hold the three frame pieces in place during glue up and - most importantly - to ensure that the second assembly was identical to the first.
 

 

 
After both frame sections were glued up,  I temporarily clamped them to the keel and turned the structure upside down on the glass:   the tops of all four futtocks touched the glass and there was no wobble at all.    Comparing the two assemblies front to front showed that, within my ability to measure, they were identical.   But, when I compared them front to back there was about 1-½ mm difference at the turn of the bilge.  I thought about that for a while, but decided that it probably doesn't matter if the two sides differ slightly - the two sides are going to be constructed quite differently anyhow since one side is planked and the other just open frames.  The deck beams, of course, might have a different opinion - we'll see.
 
Bob

Most kits come with deadeyes and partially completed chains.  Usually, the upper link (the link that goes around the deadeye) is pre-formed, with the bottom cut for insertion of the deadeye.  Wire is provided for the builder to form the other two links but the entire assembly has very little strength and the cut ends of wire are ugly.  The only way to make this assembly stronger and better looking is to solder the links closed.  I prefer silver soldering, even though regular soldering will give sufficient strength.  The benefit of silver soldering is that the metal is fused together rather than connected by a dissimilar metal, tin.  This makes it easier to bend the part without worrying about the solder joint breaking.  The downside is that there is a learning curve and the tools are more expensive.  Silver solder also blackens well.  There are also low melting point silver bearing solders (Tix) which can be blackened. 
 
The measurements for all the parts of a British warship were determined by the Admiralty.  There are reference books that contain this information such as Steel’s Tables.  An easily read version of the tables is sold in the NRG store.  The main mast diameter is given on the plans as 18”.  Using the information from the tables, I determined that the main stay is 9” and the shrouds are 5.5”.   Lines are measured by their circumference. The diameter of the deadeye is 1.5 times the size of the shroud or stay it is attached to, in this case 8 ¼”.  A spreadsheet comes in handy in determining all the measurements.
Let me start by saying that my metal work has a bit to be desired.  The chains are made from 1 ¼” wire, which is 22 gauge.  I temper the wire by drawing it through a gas flame until it glows red.  This makes the wire more malleable and removes any factory applied coating.
 
The deadeye chain is the same length for all the deadeyes.  Make one and use it as a template for the others.  I wrapped wire around the deadeye, leaving long tails, and inserted this into the slot in the channel.  The tails were cut long enough to be able form the loop below the channel.  I removed the deadeye and applied a finish. 

The lower links are all the same length.  From the plans I knew that the toe of the lower link is bolted 5” below the top of the wale and that its overall length was 9”.  Two T-pins were inserted into the soldering board and the wire was wrapped around them, with the cut ends on the side.  The middle link is different for every shroud because each is at a different angle to the mast as seen in the two pictures below.  The link becomes longer with greater angulation of the shroud.  You can see the difference in the shroud angles and how this would affect the length of the middle link.


To determine the angle of the chains, I put masking tape on the hull above and below the channel.  A loop of rope was placed over the mast head and inserted through a slot in the channel.  The angles made by the shroud were transferred to the tape.  I dimpled the wale where the toe of the lower link and the lower preventer chain bolts will be located and removed the tape.

A hole was drilled through the wale where the toe of the lower link would later be bolted.  The lower link and deadeye were temporarily installed. The length of the middle chains was determined by trial and error.  With the deadeye and lower link in place, I formed the middle link from rope the same thickness as the wire and transferred those lengths to wire.  I formed the middle link and soldered it closed, keeping the joint on one of the long sides.  Then I inserted the lower link through the middle link and soldered it. 

A T-pin was pushed into the soldering board and used to form the lower link toe.  The lower link is also bent at the toe, allowing it to lay flat against the wale. 

Finally, the wire for the upper link was passed through the middle link and  soldered.  The deadeye was inserted into the loop and the wire was crimped around it to fit into the channel slot, placing the solder joint in the slot camouflaged it.  

And here are the ten chains, ready for blackening.  The blackening chemical did not damage the wood deadeyes. 

 
After blackening, the chains were installed.  I have a piece of wire temporarily holding the lower link to the wale. 

The preventer plate prevents the bolt securing the lower link from going all the way through the toe. It was made from square bar stock that was forged to the correct shape.  Mine are made from sheet brass, cut and filed to the correct shape.  Just like the middle links, they varied in length. The top of the plate makes a step over the bottom of the lower link toe to cover it. To determine the distance between the bolt holes on the plate, I measured the distance between the toe bolt and the previously marked lower preventer plate bolt and added the diameter of the wire the link was made from.  The sequence is shown in the drawing below. After they were finished, they were blackened and installed.  

To hold the upper links in the channels, a strip of molding was placed over them.  Next up, the rigging begins.

 

Philly at the Fair.
 

I got some horrendous "blooms" from reflection.  Sunday (when I am back at the Fair) I will see If I can remove the case and get some shots.  Meanwhile, I tried to blot out the worst of them.
 

I managed to eek out an honourable mention.

I suspect some of that 40k+ number are those that joined, stayed for awhile and just never returned.

I suspect some of that 40k+ number are those that joined, stayed for awhile and just never returned.

I suspect some of that 40k+ number are those that joined, stayed for awhile and just never returned.