Capt.Bob

Ed,
Thanks,  Ordered a life time supply, which really isn't that much.
 
After reading your section on paring the fetlocks down, I tried using the small Dremel router table.  Since the amount of material to be removed is so small, it is very difficult to control the depth of cut.  With the router table accurate cut depth is easy to establish and maintain.
A little paring to square off the ends and you're done.
 
Bob

Bob,
 
Save your gasoline and search online.  I use a product called amnesia.  Here's an eBay link to the 20 lb test.  There are several sizes.
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/AMNESIA-MEMORY-FREE-FISHING-LINE-20-LB-BLACK-SS08420-/120483332146
 
 
 
I notice that there are now other maybe imilar products.  Search for black monofilament.

Hi Ed,
 
Getting ready to add the iron bars to the fetlocks, but can't find any black mono that thick.  I've been to all the fishing shops but no one has anything close.
Point me in the right direction Obi Wan.  The Force is with you.
 
Bob

Hi Ed,
Well worth the wait.  Well done.  Just bought a 12 piece set of Grobet 4.5" #2 files.  Now I know where to use them.  There're pretty pricey, but that first stroke will tell you where your money went.
 
Still make square frames.  I'm up to 25 and almost ready for mounting.  I haven't figured out any real improvements on the pin process except being more precise.  Always concerned with pattern alignment on opposing faces.
 
I certainly understand your desire to move on.
 
Bob

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 141 – Skid Beams
 
Young America’s four boats were stored on skid beams that extended across the breadth of the ship over the main deck cabin.  These were supported by stanchions off the bulwarks and by the cabin structure.  The first picture shows the completed installation of these beams.
 

 
The beams have the same round up as the decks.  The supports at the bulwarks are iron.  I made these as flanged cylindrical posts.  The next picture shows the stanchions after blackening.
 

 
These were made from brass tube and flanges cut from the next larger size of tube.  The next picture shows the method used to cut the flanges.
 

 
To size the thickness of the flanges a steel cutting gauge was used.  This has a number of milled holes to fit two sizes of tube.  The holes were bored to depths of 1”, 1.5”, 2” and 3” for different uses.  In the picture the flange tube is being cut by hand with the tube held down in the 1.5” recess.  After cutting, the disks are filed clean while in the recess.
 
The flanges were then silver-soldered to a length of smaller tube.  After pickling they were cleaned up and polished in the lathe as shown below.
 

 
Flanges were then made and fitted to the opposite end as shown below.
 

 
The flanges were set at the required length taken from measurement on the model using the depth gauge shown in the picture.  After soldering and pickling, the second flanges, the pieces were returned to the lathe for final polishing as shown below.
 

 
The stanchions were then parted off in the lathe, degreased and blackened.  The last picture shows the beam installation in progress.
 

 
Indexing pins were placed to hold the beam in position.  Copper wire “bolts” were then epoxied through the beam and stanchions and into the bulwarks to permanently secure the ends.  Similar bolts were then installed into the cabin structure.
 
One more of the several deck installations now complete.  The next order of business was more challenging - the brass monkey rail around the poop deck at the stern.
 
Ed

Hi,Bob! Will gladly answer Your questions! And in the meantime made a small upgrade of the machine.

Hi Ed,
Well worth the wait.  Well done.  Just bought a 12 piece set of Grobet 4.5" #2 files.  Now I know where to use them.  There're pretty pricey, but that first stroke will tell you where your money went.
 
Still make square frames.  I'm up to 25 and almost ready for mounting.  I haven't figured out any real improvements on the pin process except being more precise.  Always concerned with pattern alignment on opposing faces.
 
I certainly understand your desire to move on.
 
Bob

Hi Ed,
Well worth the wait.  Well done.  Just bought a 12 piece set of Grobet 4.5" #2 files.  Now I know where to use them.  There're pretty pricey, but that first stroke will tell you where your money went.
 
Still make square frames.  I'm up to 25 and almost ready for mounting.  I haven't figured out any real improvements on the pin process except being more precise.  Always concerned with pattern alignment on opposing faces.
 
I certainly understand your desire to move on.
 
Bob

Hi Ed,
Well worth the wait.  Well done.  Just bought a 12 piece set of Grobet 4.5" #2 files.  Now I know where to use them.  There're pretty pricey, but that first stroke will tell you where your money went.
 
Still make square frames.  I'm up to 25 and almost ready for mounting.  I haven't figured out any real improvements on the pin process except being more precise.  Always concerned with pattern alignment on opposing faces.
 
I certainly understand your desire to move on.
 
Bob

Hi Ed,
Well worth the wait.  Well done.  Just bought a 12 piece set of Grobet 4.5" #2 files.  Now I know where to use them.  There're pretty pricey, but that first stroke will tell you where your money went.
 
Still make square frames.  I'm up to 25 and almost ready for mounting.  I haven't figured out any real improvements on the pin process except being more precise.  Always concerned with pattern alignment on opposing faces.
 
I certainly understand your desire to move on.
 
Bob

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 140 – Bilge Pumps 4
 
In the last part the basic geometry of the pump flywheels was machined into one of the wheels.  With the symmetric geometry of that wheel established, the remaining work on the wheel was done by hand with small files (serrated and diamond grit) and polishing sticks.  To take advantage of the wheel being chucked, one wheel was completed at a time.  In the first picture the machined and still chucked wheel have been removed from the mill together so the chuck could be used to hold the wheel for the hand filing – as shown in the first picture.
 

 
Starting off with this was a bit confusing until one filed out spoke set the pattern. The basic shape of the spokes was first filed out without doing any rounding.   The next picture shows this still incomplete step.  There is still some material to remove between the spokes. 
 

 
Once the parallel curved lines of the spokes were established, each was rounded.  The wheel was flipped in the chuck to file from the other side.  The polished wheel is shown below.
 

 
The second wheel was then made by the same process.  Each rim was then drilled to fit a crank handle. The inside end of each of these was peened over to hold it in place – avoiding soldering.  I had originally intended to blacken and perhaps paint the  flywheels but once made I decided that their shape could best be appreciated by leaving them as polished brass – call it artistic license.  The next two pictures show the finished wheels mounted on the crankshaft.
 

 

 
Small sleeves between each wheel and its bearing keep the wheel clear of the fife rails.  The wheels were finally glued to the shafts with epoxy.  The last picture was taken after cutting off the excess shaft material and after the fife rails were fitted out with their complement of belaying pins.
 

 
All the work of the last few months has involved a series of discreet tasks –cabins, companions, windlass, capstans, and now the pumps – that need to be completed before I can get “off the deck” with the masts and rigging.  I am impatient to get to that, but there are several more “deckbound” tasks to complete yet.
 
Ed

Thanks for all the likes.
 
build part 23
 
I though about the interior finishes and decided that I would dress it up a little. The forward bulkhead needed something more than just a sheet of fancy plywood, so I made a small scraping tool ala Druxey
 

 
and made some molded planks of Costello 3/8th x 3 inches beaded on one edge to give a bit of style. I am also going to add some louvered doors.
 

 
Also glued in the ledge stringer, it is a little lower that the sheer to support the deck beams.
 

 
Temporary placement of the fore and aft bulkheads
 

 

 
Michael
 
 

I don't know, Micheal.  Seems like a lot of work for the two flywheels.  You would still have to make one pattern.  I've done quite a lot of small pattern and moldmaking for casting of lo-melt alloys in RTV, but have never done any lost wax.  Is this something that could be practically done in the home shop, or would the brass casting likely have to be farmed out.  I am interested because there are quite a lot of metal parts to be made where large runs may be appropriate for example shackles, jackstay stanchions, perhaps yard trusses.  Open to suggestions.
 
Hello, Richard.  There was actually a fair bit of ironwork on Naiad - a lot of iron knees, about half of which were photo-etched triangular plate knees and the rest iron bracket type.  These were also the deadeye chains, some ironwork on the capstan pawl rings, what else??  Virtually all were copper.
 
Ed

Ed if you make the waxes for the lost wax method then you could talk with a jeweler who does this sort of work they would be able to advise on the best way to assemble the tree of wax masters or models these are small enough Items that a number of items could be cast at the same time. Unless you are able to melt bronze you would need to have it done by someone with the right equipment, that said it is in the preparation of the investment that takes all the time. If all the "foundry" had to do was pour the metal, the costs would be substantially lower. You could probably cast quite a few at a time using the silicone molds to make the wax investments that you assemble into the tree. it all sound rather complicated but actually the major work is in making and developing the the initial set ups then it gets easier. the thing with the wax masters is that the wax is much easier on the silicone rubber moulds which can then last much longer.
 
Michael

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 139 – Bilge Pumps 3
 
The twin pump flywheels were arguably the most beautiful feature on the entire deck with their graceful, s-shaped spokes.  The wheels, almost finished and ready for mounting are shown in the first picture.
 

 
As can be seen from the underlying drawing in this picture, the wheels are 4’6” in diameter.  The momentum created when rotating these large heavy wheels greatly assisted in the manual pumping effort.  Pumping could be done with one or two men on each side.  The curved spokes were more than decorative.  Their purpose was to yield to the shrinking stresses created when the castings cooled – avoiding fractures.
 
I have been puzzling about how to make these for quite a while, considering the complexity of the spokes and the importance of symmetry in the final pieces.  They were made in two phases.  The first, described in this posting, used machines – including the most important (and most used) of those shown at the top of the above picture.  Because all of my drawings show real world dimensions, scale equivalents had to be constantly calculated for machining adjustments.  The drawings were tailored and dimensioned to support the machining process requirements. The second phase was done by hand and will be covered in Part 140.
 
The next picture shows a 1” diameter brass bar chucked in the lathe in the first machining step.
 

 
In this picture the piece has been centered, faced off square, center-drilled, drilled for the shaft and turned to the final diameter of 54” (3/4” at 1:72).  The wheel is 4” thick overall with a 4” x 4” rim.  In the picture the recessed spoke area is being cut out at a depth of 1” (.014” at 1:72) – from the inside of the rim to the axle hub, to allow for the final 2” thickness of the spokes.  In the next picture, the wheel disk is being parted off.
 

 
The remaining machine work on the piece was done on the mill.  For this work the rotating table had to be very precisely centered on the spindle so all the cuts would be concentric with the original turning.  This centering is shown in progress in the next picture with the aid of the dial indicator.
 

 
I used a 3/8” milling bit holder chucked in the four-jawed self-centering chuck for this.  The dial indicator is chucked in a spindle collet so it can be rotated.  The small size of the Sherline mill sometimes requires ingenuity in coming up with dial indicator mounts.  The bit holder is precisely concentric and worked well for this.  After alignment, both x and y axes on the mill were locked to prevent accidental movement.  The wheel disk was then placed in the chuck as shown below.
 

 
The face recessed in the lathe is downward.  The surface of the disk is set precisely flush with the ends of the jaws. 
 
The first machining steps have been completed in the next picture.
 

 
I designed the wheel to have an inside radius of 8” on each arc of the spokes and a spoke width of 2”.  This required a special end mill.  The one shown is .110” diameter (7.92”) - close enough.  All the milling was then done by adjusting the y-table calibration wheels – after loosening the stop.  After facing off the 1” recess, five holes through the spoke area were made at 72 degrees apart and flush with the inside of the rim as shown above.
 
Next, the cutter was moved in by 10” (.139”) and holes were bored on the same radius as the outer holes – flush with the axle hub.  These holes are shown below after one more final machining step.
 

 
In this last step, the bit was returned to the outer position over one of the outer holes.  It was then lowered and the table rotated 42 degrees to remove material between spokes at the rim.  In the picture this work has been done and the chuck – with the piece unmoved – has been removed from the machine.  So far, so good.  The remaining hand work on the wheel will be described in the next part.
 
Ed

Thanks again everyone.
 
Frank the soldering table is not an inexpensive tool and not an absolute must, but very useful and I think reasonably priced for the quality.
 
Bob, here is the link to the product page on the Contenti website:
 
https://contenti.com/soldering-n-joining/soldering-tools/soldering-boards/rotary-soldering-table
 
Ed

Hi Ed,
Can't wait to see the hand wheels.
 
BTW where did Santa find your new toy??
 
Bob

Hi Ed,
Can't wait to see the hand wheels.
 
BTW where did Santa find your new toy??
 
Bob

Hi Ed,
Can't wait to see the hand wheels.
 
BTW where did Santa find your new toy??
 
Bob

Hi Ed,
Can't wait to see the hand wheels.
 
BTW where did Santa find your new toy??
 
Bob

Hi Ed,
Can't wait to see the hand wheels.
 
BTW where did Santa find your new toy??
 
Bob

Hi Ed,
Can't wait to see the hand wheels.
 
BTW where did Santa find your new toy??
 
Bob

Thank you, Ian.  I could have said more about the whelp mortises.  I initially cut these with a 1/32" square end mill - 8 of them, about .025" deep around a cherry spindle roughly 3/16" in diameter.  The setup had to be very precise because the slots are very close together, too close in fact for a strong structure or a really clean result.  I could have persisted with this or gone to a harder, stronger wood like Box, but since none of this detail is visible - or even necessarily authentic, I decided to simplify.  Another reason to simplify is that I would not like to make a milling machine a prerequisite for builders of the model from the book, so I usually try to find other methods, or at least suggest alternatives.  For example, the ladder slots and the capstan bar mortises could be filed out in a pinch.   I believe the work described in Volume I could be done without a lathe or mill.  A lathe is probably needed for some of the content that will be included a future Volume II - but I hope to avoid the necessity of an expensive tool like the mill.  We'll see.
 
Ed

Ed,
 
Beautiful work. The brass bands are superb.
 
Interesting that milling mortises in the cherry did not produce good results. What type of cutter did you use? I did the same operation on a 1:75 capstan using a home made keyway cutter which produced (to me  ) ​good results on some distinctly average walnut.

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 134 – Capstans 2
 
In the last post the top, mortised section of the drumhead was inverted and glued on the base turning to produce the square mortises shown in the first picture.
 

 
In this picture the piece has been turned to the final 34” diameter of the head. The top part was then turned carefully to fit the 32” i.d. of the top brass ring.  When a snug fit was produced at the end of the turning, that diameter was taken down to the seat of the ring – about 2” above the mortises.  The excess material was then parted off the top of the head as shown below.
 

 
Enough was left to produce the rounded up top of the head which was then turned.  The cutter was then set at the depth of the ring seat, backed off a measured amount, moved to the left to cut the lower ring seat, then dialed back down to that diameter.  The head was then parted off and the rings pressed on as shown below.
 

 
In this picture the rings have been cemented with thin CA glue and the top polished.  The next step was to make the 14” diameter spindles.
 

 
As shown above, a cherry turning square was fixed in a four-jaw self-centering chuck and held for turning with a dead center at the tailstock end.  In the next picture one of the two drumheads is being test fitted over its spindle.
 

 
The head was then glued to the spindle and the brass cap cemented into place.  In the next picture the flats for the 8 whelps are being filed on the spindle below the drumhead.
 

 
 
I had initially intended to mortise slots for these but the small size and the relative softness of the cherry left an undesirable result after milling, so I decided to simply file flats using the spaces between the head mortises as a guide.  The whelps were then made and glued on.  After the glue dried the whelps were secured with two epoxied bolts each. Lower disks were also made and fitted to each.   The two capstan assemblies at this point are shown below.
 

 
The whelps on the left capstan in the picture have been rounded concave and the wire bolts have been filed off flush.  The spindle on this capstan has also been cut to final length and a pin inserted in the bottom that will secure it at the step on the deck below.  This will be the main deck capstan.  The one on the right will be mounted on the forecastle.
 
In the next part the iron baseplates with their pawl stops and the underlying wood bases will be made.  Some details of the baseplate can be seen on the drawing in the above picture.
 
Ed