Chuck Seiler

I love this complicated carving
It is a challenge to one's own technology
I try not to damage the overall structure during CNC processing,
The character and the horse are each a whole
The work is relatively difficult to complete, but the processing is relatively good
After CNC processing, it still needs manual trimming
Therefore, the whole production cycle is still relatively long
I will continue to challenge other works when I have time
Tom
 

 

 
 
 
 

🎼 Rig, rig, rig your boat, gently - or you'll scream.
 

 
The "rig station." This looks messy, but most everything in the foreground is readily at hand for making the foremast stays.
The large, alien-looking yellow tool is a "QuadHands", my four-armed, extremely flexible helper. Its base is quite heavy so it stays put where you place it (unlike its smaller third-hand cousin, seen skulking-off to the left). In the following photos you'll see different combos of small clamps (QuadHands ones plus others) that help to keep rope lines straight and taut while others hold various tackle in place, like open and closed hearts.
 

 
Here the foremast stay rope is pulled taut and wrapped around a closed heart block (6mm). The first of three stroppings is shown tight to the block's head. Adding a number of clamps helps me set up these blocks nicely. There are numerous methods, techniques to accomplish rigging. No two ship model builders will do these tasks in the same way. The steps (and tools) here are one approach that has worked well for me.
 

 
The basic materials and tools for the lower mast standing rigging: a long TFE nozzle for depositing miniscule spots of CA where needed, Matte Medium acrylic used as an adhesive for some aspects of affixing rigging, two sizes of dark brown (tarred) rope for the mast stays, and the QuadHands jig. Oh yeah: very pointy tweezers.
 

 
The bowsprit is loaded up with her tackle blocks: deadeyes, open hearts, single sheave blocks.
 

 
The foremast stay and preventer ropes wrap around the lower mast's bibbs, over the bolsters and loop around the hounds (the square section). I created a simple "eyesplice" to tension the rope termination against its "mouse." The mouse piece provided in the kit is a shiny black, slightly elongated bead. I've created my own "mice" with small carved pieces of wood in past builds but this one will do the job  - after it gets painted with flat black so it's not shiny. There are two of these (identical with the lower main mast) and the "collar and mouse" will both tuck closely beneath the tops and frankly, they get visually "lost" in the mass of rigging lines that are arrayed in this area.
 
Some same era MSW modelers will note that I don't "serve" my standing rope lines; although it's more historically accurate and yet another level of detailed execution, I don't attempt this on 1:64 models. If HMS Camilla were a 1:48 scale kit, that would be a different ballgame and I'd add a significant number of additional steps to my build, especially with rigging.
 
This previous point is a personal hobby philosophy. I don't like to exceed 8-10 months on any specific build. Especially now since I'm interested in the challenges of making dioramas for my models that adds a considerable amount of time to each artwork. There remain a large number of (sailing ship) models I'd like to build before my eyes and hands won't permit me to accomplish what I envision in my mind. Life's short. That's my excuse - and I'm sticking to it!
 
 

 
I've positioned the closed heart rigging block that's been stropped to the fore stay with a holding clamp from the QuadHands; the jig has two long arms ( about 12") with adjustable, locking alligators. The multiple arms are super-convenient for this specific rigging work. Note that the closed heart block is in position to be lashed to its open heart mate already tied and positioned on the bowsprit. Also note that the rigging rope is "tensioned" with the quad's clip and not in the way of working the lashing line through the opening.
 
 

 
The blocks are now lashed (and frapped), 4 turns each. The end of the thick stay rope has also been stropped with three turnings of .20 brown thread (not rope). The toothpick is shown just before applying a tiny spot of matte medium acrylic to the end of the tied back rope end to prevent it from coming unravelled. The acrylic adhesive will dry transparent, not shiny.
 
After a second fore stay (the preventer) is mounted to the lower mast and bowsprit in an identical fashion (the second closed heart block can be seen here behind the completed fore stay), I will rig the two bobstays that run from under the bowsprit downward to the stem. I do these next to even out some of the tension created by the upward pressure from the upper stays. The foremast is mounted securely now and should be near perfectly perpendicular to the waterline. Once the main's topmast is rigged to the lower foremast, the fore will pull aftward ever so slightly - which is the desired angle, fore-to-aft. Don't worry about the starboard-to-port angle of the foremast just yet; it will get properly positioned once its shrouds and stays are added.
 
Ron
 

The encouragement to create a jig for attaching the frames to keel is painfully learned.  I need to create a jig, or several jigs, for doing so.  My first attempt did not turn out as expected.  Details, details, details!!  I may even remake the keel.  The attached photo may show the frames did not line up quite the way they were supposed to. Today I will be making jigs for the frames and a jig for holding the keel and attaching the frames.  This process may take longer than anticipated.  But, then, maybe not. 
 

It depends on the wood.  A harder wood like boxwood I just paint directly on the surface after sanding it very very smooth.  Softer wood like cedar, is sanded as well but then I apply a coat of sanding sealer.   I also still sand between many coats of thinned paint.  I sand the paint and if I get to bare wood I have gone too far.   I use 600 grit or even finer grit at that stage.

Details: Gammoning & Frapping.
Now that all the masts are completed with topgallants - with their rigging blocks in-place - it's time to take care of business on the bowsprit before commencing other rigging work.
 

 
A detail on gammoning of the bowsprit. I've used .5mm dark brown (tarred) rope for this rigging. There are eleven turns up against the cleats and down through the openings below the head rails to the stem slot. I pulled each rope turn tightly before threading the next turn.
 

 
The gammoning rope turns will fill the stem slot; this looks straightforward to do. It is NOT. Below I've attached a photo from "Lees" rigging book to illustrate that the rope crosses over its previous turn with each successive one which results in a "twisting"arrangement. This entire procedure of rope wrapping also resembles "weaving" - of a sort.
 

 
My completed "gammon lashing" of the bowsprit. These ropes were critical for securing not only the bowsprit (and its spritsails) but also the fore and main mast stay rigging ropes; the thick support ropes (standing rig) exerted tremendous upward strain on the bowsprit. In addition to "looping" each successive rope turn over the previous one and once the vertical threading was complete, the rope was then horizontally threaded tightly between and around the vertical rope turns. This second, contiguous rigging step is referred to as "frapping." The number of frap lacings were equal to the number of rope turns around the bowsprit, in this case: eleven.
 

 
Gammon lashing and its frapping completed. The end of the rope is simply fed through a frapping turn as a hitch and tucked into the frapping and glued with a small drop of CA. I'm pretty confident 18th-C dockyard riggers didn't use CA to finish off this elaborate rigging process.🤪...
 

 
A Lees book detail on gammon lashing. To the right, the cross section illustration shows a simple "eye splice" to START the gammon lashing. However, what the rigging "Bible" doesn't show is the critical step to alternately overlap each successive turn after its fed through the stem opening and back around for a successive turn. The illustration on the left does show the effect of crossing-over each rope turn: the forward-most turn is at the rear of the stem slot. Note that the stem slot is full.
 

 
The next bowsprit rigging step; making-up and mounting the various stay collars and their deadeyes. There are lots of these blocks to make and mount. The cleats to support the collars are already in place from the earlier step to finish the bowsprit's woodworking (these small wooden cleats prevented the collars from slipping along the bowsprit).
 

 
Once all the bowsprit's fore and main stay blocks are rigged (coming up soon), I'll mount some "manropes." This will be a hand-sized rope line from the bowsprit cap back to the fore timbers (both starboard and port). The ropes were for sailors to have a hand hold when they were at work on the bowsprit.
 
Ron

Welcome!
 
Unfortunately, there are several difficulties regarding your request. The first is the scale. The nature of wooden ship hulls necessarily limited their length, which happily for us modelers keeps wooden ship subjects in the size range that can produce reasonably-sized models in scales between 1/48 and 1/96. Steel hulls allowed larger ships to be built, which ultimately meant that models of them needed to be built in smaller scales to keep them at manageable sizes. For example, I'm currently building a WWII destroyer escort -- a small warship by the standards of the day. But even at 1/250 scale, the finished model will be roughly 14 inches in length.
 
The second issue is the requirement for wooden kits. Once upon a time, wooden kits were the norm, but after WWII plastic kits quickly became the medium of choice, and the crude wooden kits that preceded them have become collectors' items. Civil War, WWI, and WWII warships are almost entirely available these days as either plastic, resin, or card models with the most popular scales being 1/100, 1/200, 1/250, and 1/400 for card, and 1/250 or 1/350 for plastic and resin. Only a handful of Civil War steam frigates are available as wooden kits, but none in 1/60.
 
If you are adamant about finding a kit in a larger scale, the only practical solution I know of is to resort to RC kits. These typically include fiberglass or GRP hulls. To get a feel for what is available, you can check out the selection at Fleetscale.
 
Hope that helps!

This afternoon was spent making sure all my frame halves match their mirror pieces.  All fit on the keel as they should.  Next will be gluing the two halves together.  Then it will be tracing the full frames and designing the cross beams.  I need to decide on a jig for attaching the frames to the stem post, keel, and stern post. 
 

Here are the frames glued together.  The glue says to let it dry for 12 hours.  

Now that I set this up this far, I am rethinking my modeling clay jig & etc.  
 

Looking good, mate. Do you have a jig to hold the frames at right angles to the keel (in all three dimensions)? If not, I'd highly recommend getting/making one before you start assembly.
 
Steven

Here is the keel with where the frames will be attached.  Maybe there is a better way to do this than writing on the keel.  Before attaching each set of frames the markings and numbers will be erased.  
 

Hi everyone, I'm Reece.
 
I joined back in September but have finally gotten around to posting a build log and adding some meat to this introduction.
 
I completed my first build - the Lowell Grand Banks Dory by Model Shipways in 1/24.  I had a lot of fun building it and cant wait to move on to the next in Model Shipways' Model Shipwright series. Here's the build log.
 
I'm a software developer by trade and some of my other hobbies include backpacking, woodworking, and other scale models (1/12 motorcycles, a few planes).  I try to get out from behind the screen as much as possible.
 
A lot of the work I've seen on this site is really great and I can't wait to learn from you all.
 
Best Regards,
Reece

Using a scroll saw to cut small pieces can be touchy.  Since I am very attached to my fingers, it seemed prudent to make it safer.  I made a custom table top with a slot for the width of the blade.  This made cutting the keel notches easier and safer.  It has two coats of a clear and very liquid polyurethane.  See the two attached photos. Soon the sanding of the keel and frames will be completed.  
 

Here are the frames cut and laid out.  Today will be refining the frames and then sanding will commence.
 

I may make a second model of the Winchelsea Nef to see if I can 'duplicate' my own efforts.  It will also be to try a different method of making and attaching the frames to stem post, keel, and stern post.  Also, I may try lapstrake planking instead of carvel planking.  

All RIGHT!
 
Good to see this build starting.
 
Steven

With Christmas and New Years over, I am commencing upon building my model ship.  Louie da Fly provided the hull plans including the shape of the frames.  After penciling in the remainder of the shape of the frames and the stem post, keel, and stern post, I cut out the shapes.  See the attached photos.  
I will be using basswood.  It is a popular wood for making models in these parts.  There is plenty available in various sizes and shapes in hobby shops and hardware stores at a reasonable price.
Next, I will cut out the stem post, keel, and stern post.  After that, is cutting out the frames, two each.  Before gluing the frames to the keel and posts, I will make a jig to keep the keel and posts upright while gluing.
I named my nef, The Tyburn Treader.  
 

In the church of San Marco (Saint Mark's) in Venice is a series of mosaics celebrating the so-called "translation" of the body of Saint Mark from Alexandria to Venice, where he became the city's Patron Saint.
 
"According to legend, Saint Mark’s body was taken from Alexandria, Egypt, in 828. Two Venetian merchants travelling in Alexandria, obtained the relics of Saint Mark from Priests at the church of Saint Mark, where the saint’s body was interred. The Priests feared Saint Mark’s relics might be damaged or destroyed by the Saracens during the persecution of the Catholic community in Alexandria. Promising to safeguard the Saint’s relics, the merchants convinced the Priests to allow them  to return to Venice with the body of Saint Mark.
The body of Saint Mark was taken out of the sarcophagus and unwrapped from its silk shroud, the relic being substituted by another and less eminent Saint. It was then placed in a chest and taken on board the Venetian ship, the merchants first ensuring, that the Saint’s remains were covered by a layer of pork and cabbage. When the Muslim officials asked to inspect the chest, they cried out ‘Kanzir, kanzir’ (Oh horror) at the sight and smell of the pork. . . . Thus the Evangelist was safely conveyed to Venice but not before a number of miracles eased his passage across the Mediterranean.”
 
There are five mosaic panels showing the ship itself at various stages of the voyage. They are all very much the same - three masted, lateen rigged, with two side-rudders - but with minor variations in the shape of the aftercastle, the stempost, the line of the gunwale etc. Some of these variations don't make a lot of sense and I am going to have to reconcile them and come up with a version that I'm happy with.
 

 
 

 
This is a rather difficult ship to get a good concept of, but I was inspired by a couple of sketches on a Facebook forum by Wagdemar Lookomsky (I hope he doesn't mind me posting them here) which finally suggested a configuration for this ship that made sense. 
 

 
 

 
I'll be using these as a basis for my own reconstruction, but I won't be copying them exactly.
 
I will be basing the hull shape mainly on that of the 14th century Contarina ship which Woodrat has already used for his 14th century Venetian Round Ship (see https://modelshipworld.com/topic/17991-venetian-round-ship-13th-century-by-woodrat-132-scale-fully-framed-completed/ ) and I will be shamelessly copying much of his technique in building my own (though at a smaller scale).
 
However, this is at the research stage at the moment. First I want to get a lot more done on my Great Harry restoration, which as languished while I built my nef.
 
But this is a bit of a heads-up for those who are interested.
 
Steven
 

Oh, and he's shaved off his moustache - perhaps a sort of reverse-Movember?
 
In the meantime, here's some photos taken by my lovely wife Louisa, who (unlike me) actually knows how to work a camera! But first, for comparison, a picture of the original town seal upon which the model is based.
 

 

 

 
One thing that seeing these photos does for me - because of the carved figures - is to give a better sense of scale for the ship - how big it is in the "real world"
 
Steven

Steven,
 
    I agree with this conclusion.  That is what I was trying to indicate in post 136, but it was very wordy and may have missed the point.  Long story short: The frames that contained the thru beams were centrally located and provided stability.  The cargo area could be accessed via removable deck planks and ran thru-beam frame to thru-beam frame.  (In other words the area between thru deck frames formed sort of a compartment).

    Here is the best picture I could find to illustrate the removable planks.  They include fingerholes and don't appear too water tight.

 
    Deck winch.  Most of the ones I have seen, and the way depicted in Zimmerman, was that the hole/slot went all of the way through the windlass so the windlass bar could be used to stop/hold the windlass in place.

Werner Zimmermaqn, in his NEF DER CINQUE PORTS appears to harken back to the knarr and longship construction as a basis for the nef.  The text is in German, so I am not sure, but the way it is presented it appears he is of the same mind set as Steven.
 

    Here is the framing for his generic nef.  I call attention to BB CC and DD which are where the thru beams on the main deck are located. (Red arrows).  Also aa and bb which are non-thru beams (blue arrows).  We will see cross sections of these later.  Notice that some of the non-thru beam frames have deck beams and some do not.  In ALL cases only the thru beams are seen above the planking.
 

    Here is a closer view.  Note the thru beam frames have a beam lower down in the hull while the others do not. 
 

    Cross sections of the thru beam frames.
 

    Cross section of 2 of the non-thru  beam frames.  It appears knees are only used to support the frames when used over a beam.  The rest of the frame uses angled joints and are probably bolted together.  From my viewing of the Harald Fairhair replica build, the frames are added after the plank shell is in place (added to as it rises).
 
    My interpretation is that the thru beam frames provide increased transverse structural strength due to the thru beam and the secondary beam lower down.  This is the area used to store cargo.  Some or all of the deck planks between AA and BB, BB and CC, CC and DD, and DD to EE were removable.
 

    More detail on frame.

Thank you Bolin and Chuck!
 
The rope will not unravel if you cut it and let it be, but it will if you handle it so the end must be secured with a whip, knot or splice. 

Silverman's Medieval Ropewalk (kitten not included) 😁
 
If the rope is cut, will it unravel?

Silverman's Medieval Ropewalk (kitten not included) 😁
 
If the rope is cut, will it unravel?

It's almost half a year since I last posted here. You see, I got a bit tired of the planking and took a break to make something to use as cargo for when it's finished. So I made a plough. It can be disassembled to take up less space. It's based on a danish find from this period.
 

 
But as I browsed through books in the library for inspiration for ploughs (all Swedish university libraries are free to the public) I found a picture of a medieval rope that I couldn't wrap my head around as I couldn't see how it had been made. So I fell down another rabbit hole investigating rope making before the rope walk was invented. This resulted in this video if you are interested.
 
 
And then I got energy for finishing the planking!
 



The remaining strakes were clinker built and I finished off the sheer with a clamp like in the find. This clamp is attached with treenails. I placed these treenails between every frame, but they should really be placed every 12 cm (5")! And I also made them thinner as they really were up to 5cm (2") thick!
 
I placed blocks in the end of the clamp for reinforcement. The one in the bow is based on the block from Almere Wijk 13 and it has a cavity for the bowsprit. This block and both posts will be adjusted in size later.
 
You really can't turn your back to the kittens without them finding something new to use as a bed!


Next up is finishing the seams in the carvel built section as these were caulked with mosslaths between the planks.