MEDDO

Wonderful

Wonderful

Part 10 – Frames, cont’d
 
The installation of frames 2 through 26 followed the process outlined in the previous posts.  The following photos show Kathryn with those frames installed.
 
                        
 
                        
 
                        
 
Close inspection shows that some of the frames are out of alignment by as much as 1/16”, likely as a result of some slight errors in their construction or in the installation.  In most models this can be adjusted by fairing the frames prior to planking.  However, Kathryn’s frames are delicate, and I’m not comfortable with the idea of fairing them through sanding.
 
In checking the frames by holding a ribband against them, I observed that the frames are fairly flexible and move in the required direction fairly easily.  Since the first planking and/or timbers to be installed will be in Kathryn’s interior, I decided to temporarily install ribbands on the outside of the hull.  I used 1/16” x 1/8” poplar ribbands, and attached them to the hull by wiring them to some of the frames using 34 gauge wire.
 
The following photos show Kathryn with the ribbands installed.
 
                        
 
                        
 
                        
 
These ribbands were installed prior to the installion of frame 1, so that frame 1 could be properly aligned with the flow of the ribbands.
 
The installation of frame 1 did not depend on the drawing of the frame, as in the other frame installations.  Instead, the installation jig was lined up with the construction plan drawing and adjusted for the placement of the mortise.  The frame was then installed against this jig and using the ribband for positioning, as in the following photos.
 
                        
 
                        
 
                        
 
                        
 
The clothes pins used as clamps in the above photos are miniature clothes pins - this illustrates the small size of the frames.
 
The installation of frames 1 through 26 is now completed.  There is one last frame (frame 'A') that will be mortised into the stem knee, but this will be completed after the installation of the knightheads to ensure a smooth flow of planking at the bow.
 
The following photos show the model with frames 1-26 completed.
 
                        
 
                        
 
                        
 
                        
 
The next task will be the installation of the stern timbers that support the transom.  This will be my first attempt at this type of installation, and I still have quite a few questions about how to proceed.  In the next post (and probably several after that) I will try to explain the open questions that I have, in the hopes that I can get some answers/direction from the more experienced modelers who are following Kathryn’s progress.  I hope to be able to start this dialogue by early next week.
 
Thanks everyone!

Wonderful

Wonderful

How about one of the original authors in this genre Frederick Marryat. Who actually served during the war in the British Royal Navy.  Mr Midshipman Easy was written in 1836 and is pretty funny to read. Can be found here at Project Gutenberg.  Because this was written in the early 1800s the writing style is...different to say the least.  Many other books of his are also available for free as well.

How about one of the original authors in this genre Frederick Marryat. Who actually served during the war in the British Royal Navy.  Mr Midshipman Easy was written in 1836 and is pretty funny to read. Can be found here at Project Gutenberg.  Because this was written in the early 1800s the writing style is...different to say the least.  Many other books of his are also available for free as well.

Today, I started the running rigging with the jib halliard and related components. The traveler ring, was made by Chuck and is available on his website. I decided that stabilizing the traveler ring was key to making it all go smoothly. The photos below show the steps taken to achieve this. Note that the jib halliard #2 is temporarily wrapped around one of the bowsprit bitts instead of being fully rigged through the block at the mast head. That will come later after the jib inhaul is completed. The jib outhaul #1 is routed correctly.


With the traveler ring stabilized I made the jib inhaul.
Lastly the inhaul was seized to the traveler ring and the jib halliard was routed correctly.



Hope this all makes sense. .
 
Mike
 
 
 
 
 
 

How about one of the original authors in this genre Frederick Marryat. Who actually served during the war in the British Royal Navy.  Mr Midshipman Easy was written in 1836 and is pretty funny to read. Can be found here at Project Gutenberg.  Because this was written in the early 1800s the writing style is...different to say the least.  Many other books of his are also available for free as well.

The mast rigging continues. I have been working mostly the fore mast shrouds over the weekend, and they are pretty much done now. I made the line for the lanyards in my rope walk, but the shrouds themselves are .045 line from Syren. The lanyards are not tightened down yet. I still have to add another seizing on the shrouds above the two that are already there. I am pretty happy with the alignment of the deadeyes, although I did have to redo the seizings on a couple.
 


I am working on the fore stays because I need them to offset the pull of the shrouds on the mast, especially those back ones. I experimented with different ways to make the mice I need for the them. I started with Sculpey but couldn't get the hole big enough for the large line to go through without the mouse collapsing or disintegrating. I ended up making them from dowels on the lathe, which came out pretty nicely and was not very hard to do. I made all six mice I need for the lower stays, and painted them black. I also ended up making new closed hearts for the fore stays because the laser cut supplied ones fell apart as I was cleaning the char off them. I like the new ones better because I was able to cut a groove around the outside for the stay line. You can see them in the little jar lid on the box after I stained them.

After I tried the mice on the fore stay line, they looked a little wooden to me, so I put them in the serving machine and wrapped them in line. I think they look much better now.

For comparison, here is an actual mouse from the Constitution on a stay (not sure which one this is).
 

You can see that the lines go more front to back than around it, but what the heck. You can also see how the serving looks on these large lines. Here are the fore stays around the top of the mast. I did not have the closed hearts seized to these lines when I took these pictures, but they are now.

I also started making the pendants and shrouds for the main mast. In making the pendants, I tried something I haven't before, and that is wrapping line around the bottom of the loop around the thimbles in the serving machine, which made them look more like a splice to me. I actually did this to one of the fore mast pendants too, but that was done by hand and not in the machine. I like the look of these now better than i did before. It always seemed to me that the seizing was too far from the thimble. This method covers the gap nicely.

You can see another modification I made to the serving machine, which is just an alligator clip with a snug fit into the tube the line goes through. I am finding many uses for this clip, including being able to hold line very close to the end so I can serve almost a complete length. I made the mistake a few times of cutting a length of line to almost the exact length, which didn't leave enough to wrap around the nails on the outside of the machine to serve its length. This solves that problem by letting me hold the end of the line in the clip. Another thing I found was that WD-40 makes the serving machine so much quieter and easy to turn. I didn't want to use it on the nice cherry wood, but it was really squeaking so I bit the bullet and sprayed a little on. What a difference! My wife still says I look like Rumpelstiltskin when I am using the serving machine. 
 
OK, last picture, here are the pendants and first shrouds on the main mast. Lots more to do there.
 

Well, I have finally made it past the standing rigging. I recently noticed that the cleats going around the lower mast are evenly spaced, just not in the right starting position. They all need to be shifted 5-10° in one direction to match the plans. I don't see this as anything to be concerned about, but I will leave the top mast stay tackle long, should I need to move it to another cleat later. It's impossible to take the photos the way I want to show them, that is the entire image, full size and high resolution. Can't have everything, but hopefully you will get the idea.

 

Mike
 

Very elegant framing.

SKID BEAMS AND THOSE LITTLE BITS AT THE TOP

I then glued the brackets to the knees with quick-drying epoxy using the pins previously mentioned. I held the skid beams in the brackets (to ensure alignment), and, when the brackets had dried, glued in the skid beams.

By the way, you'll note that I'm leaving all the wood unstained and unpainted. This is quite deliberate, as I rather like the plain look. However, I have used my home-made varnish (mineral spirits, polyurethane varnish, linseed oil) to coat all the wood parts. I may have to give a second coat (some of the pictures show the patchiness), but I'm showing it in the current state.


I added a sheer rail to the top of the rearmost frame but remain dissatisfied with the look of it. I’ll remain dissatisfied because I’m not going to change it!





I’ll have a think about mounting it on a board, but as we may be selling our house soon, am not sure when I’ll be able to do it.

Tony

Hi All,
I can't believe how long it's been since my last post. I am alive and working just really slowly.
 
Lets see since my last post I’ve finished and installed the catheads.
 

 
I’ve also made the backstay plates and the chain plates from brass flat stock.
 
The deadeyes were made from Syren Ship Model Company.
 

 

I also made the pin rails and ladders. Making the ladders I used the same method used on the Confederacy. I cut horizontal lines for the treads and then cut the sides out at the correct angle to the deck. Glue and insert treads and once dry I sanded and cleaned it up. Painted it and installed on the deck.
 


 
 
 

Hi, it's been a long time since an update due to a very heavy load working away so little modeling time to be had.
Another set of eight frames and a spacer frame have been installed up to B Aft, if you look closely you will see the rough cut out in the A-Frames for the fixed double block, and below the hull you can see the block bodies that have been made out of boxwood to match the hull planking when it's done.
 
The frames are just roughly faired and sanded to 100 grit just like the rest of the hull until hull is closed in.
 
So 16 frames are left to go to fill the gap, hopefully it won't be as long until the next update.
 
ben

Ben just caught up and am impressed. Esp with the setback and recovery.

First attempt.  Need to work on stop cuts a bit more.  One thing I found is that the blades I have get dull pretty fast.  Blades were super cheep so not too much a problem.
 

Gun rigging is done, all guns are now mounted on the deck.

Found a very good video review - for the ones who have a number of questions about the internals of the saw and how various accessories actually work.
 

The main canon is in place and fully rigged. I also built the cradle that the boat will sit in. I initially did some reach to find an image of a period correct cradle, but in the end, I just designed my own. 
     Yesterday, i turned the four small 1lb. canons.  They came out ok. Turning pieces that small on a full size lathe and getting all the canons to look identical is a challenge. 
Practice makes perfect. 
 
Chris 

Hello Chris.
Nice work,verry good.
Karl

Looks wonderful.  One difference compared to my LSS version is that kit started with a fixed keel in the jig and then added the frames.  Your early frames look great and I am not sure I would of been able to get them so perfect without the keel being there. Having the 3 points of attachment was helpful to my beginner skill set.  (Seen on my log post #11)
 

Very elegant framing.

First attempt.  Need to work on stop cuts a bit more.  One thing I found is that the blades I have get dull pretty fast.  Blades were super cheep so not too much a problem.
 

Very elegant framing.