Capt.Bob

Hi Ed at risk of overworking the foot-rope issue of shape it occurred to me reading the comments about weights that a different approach might just prove to be useful. it involves shaping the rope by pushing gently on it with some clear vacuum packaging plastic. see the accompanying sketch
 

 
I think it would be worth a trial on your jig.
 
Michael
 

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 255 – Fore Yard Topping Lifts
 
Topping lifts supported the lower yards at the ends and allowed it to be "topped", that is lifted on one side, usually to clear dockside obstructions.  Each lift consisted of a pendant secured to the upper eye on the fore yard arm band.  This was connected to a luff tackle to the mast cap with the fall belayed on the foremast fife rail.  A luff tackle uses a single and double block combination to produce a mechanical advantage of 4.  The double block is secured to the foremast cap band.  The first picture shows the port side lift strung up.
 

 
Temporary thread lines to keep the yard roughly level for the rigging of the lifts lines may be seen in the picture.  The next picture shows the single tackle block that is spliced on the end of the pendant with an eye.
 

 
The standing end of the tackle has been seized to the eye on the block with smaller hemp line.  The pendant is 6" line, the lift is 3".  Excess seizing will, of course be removed.  The outer end of the pendant shown in the next picture is spliced to a shackle on the upper eye of the yard arm band.
 

 
Because the shackle is soldered, this eyebolt was installed in the band after soldering the shackle and splicing the pendant - before the yard was hung.  The upper end of the starboard tackle is shown in the next picture.  
 

 
The double blocks were shackled to the cap band earlier, before it was installed.  Both lifts have been strung up and given initial tension in the next picture.
 

 
The falls are belayed on the fife rail shown in the next picture.
 

 
Belaying points are being left unglued until all the running rigging on the yard is in place.  The model yard is not heavy enough to put strain on the sling chain and force it fully down.  This issue will be addressed in one of the next parts.  The last picture shows the lifts installed and the yard levelled.
 

 
Levelling was done by measuring up from the base board to the outer ends.  Next, the reef tackles.
 
Ed

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 254 – Fore Yard 4
 
Work has continued on the lower fore yard over the past couple weeks while various necessary parts were being "mass" produced.  Some of these were described in the last few posts.  Among the most numerous of these parts are the stanchions for the jackstays that run along the top of every yard   The jackstays were 1" diameter iron rods, threaded through iron stanchions spaced about 30" apart.  Given the number and the small size of these stanchions I made these as simple eyebolts that would just pass the jackstays that were made from straight, blackened brass wire.  One of the eyebolts is being spun in the first picture.
 

 
These are spun from 28 gauge copper wire.  Holes along the top of the yard were described earlier.  The holes were sized so these stanchions could be pushed in without the use of glue.  Some of these are shown fitted to the central part of the yard in the next picture.
 

 
The bands and metal fittings in the center of the yard were blackened and the yard finished with diluted Tung oil preceding the work at the ends.  This was done to preserve the blackening of these parts through the continual handling of the yard during work on the outer ends.  In the picture, one of the boom irons is being positioned using an angle template with the yard supported at the correct angle.  These will be pinned with copper wire "bolts."  I believe I mentioned earlier that these irons had to be modified to bring the boom closer to the yard – after this picture was taken, I believe.
 
The next picture shows one of the yardarms during assembly.
 

 
The yardarm band and the boom iron support bands are shown.  The holes in the band for eyebolts have not yet been drilled.  The cheek block is inserted temporarily before blackening.  It will be secured by the large central pin and two small bolts through the side flanges.  The next picture shows the yard hung temporarily with the jackstays and some of the blocks installed.
 

 
The 4" footropes on the aft side of the yard were suspended from 3½" rope stirrups 3'6" long.  These had eyes at each end – the upper eyes for lashing to jackstay stanchions and the lower eyes threaded through with the foot rope.  In the next picture the six stirrups for this yard are being fabricated.
 

 
The method for spliced eyes used on the ratlines is also used here.  The pins in the fixture ensure equal lengths.  The next picture shows the yard held in an assembly fixture for addition of various parts.
 

 
This holder allowed all the required blocks, the lift pendants, the studding sail booms, and the footropes to be installed with minimal handling of the yard.  The taped threads are used to straighten the footrope stirrups which were then treated with diluted dark glue.  This process had to be repeated later after the yard was set and other work completed.  The next picture shows the completed yard assembly, ready for setting.
 

 
In the next picture the yard has been set. 
 

 
A permanent pin was fitted to the truss and the eyebolt on the chain sling was glued into the mast with CA.  The last picture shows the starboard end of the yard.
 

 
The foot rope stirrups are still misbehaving.  The lift pendant is draped over the studding sail boom which is fitted with jewel blocks.  The block shackled to the underside of the yardarm band is part of the reef tackle that will be installed later.  The other suspended block is to support the lower studding sail yard that will not be installed.  The blocks along the top of the yard are for bunt and leech lines. 
 
Ed           

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 253 – Wooden Blocks
 
There are well over 500 blocks on the model, ranging from 15" in shell length down to 4".  These include triple, double, and single blocks.  Some will be iron strapped, some spliced to pendants, but most will be rope strapped.  "Strap" seems to be the American usage for the word "strop" so I will adopt it for this American ship.
 
Some of these blocks, in a range of sizes, will need to be fitted to the lower fore yard before it is installed.  To avoid getting into one-at-a-time, piecemeal work, some mass production was adopted.  So the next major task will be to make at least a substantial portion of the full requirement.  The few blocks installed so far were leftovers from a previous model.
 
At the outset of the rigging work a detailed "Rigging List" was developed to describe every line on the model, including its components.  From this, a count of blocks of each type of block was tabulated.  To that was added an estimate for studding sail blocks.  Those lines are not included on the list.
 
The blocks are being made from my best quality European boxwood – for hardness, strength, and color.  Whenever I dip into what I have left of this wood, I immediately get frugal about waste.  For the full supply of blocks, I sliced off a wood blank about 2" wide, 8" long, and slightly thicker than the shell breadth of the largest size, 15" blocks.  The first picture shows strips sliced from this plank for all the larger blocks – down to 9" singles.
 

 
Using the thickness sander, the 2" wide blank was first reduced in thickness to the shell breadth of the 15" blocks.  A single strip was then sliced from this at the single block width.  There are no 15" doubles or triples.  For the next size down, the 12" blocks, the blank was again reduced in thickness.  Adequate strips for triple, double and single widths were sliced off that – and so on.  This one blank may suffice for all the blocks.
 
The pictures below show work on the 12" triple blocks.  I was surprised at the number of these – about 25 as I recall.  Their use in triple-purchase tackles for topsail sheets account for most of these.
 
To mass produce the blocks to specified dimensions, a table of block dimensions for each size was used to produce a drilling pattern and sequence.  This was used to drill correctly spaced holes in each strip, starting with transverse holes at the ends of the shells to delineate length and also to provide a slight top and bottom groove to seat the strapping.  This is shown in the next picture.
 

 
Before drilling, a shallow groove was scraped along the strip on both outer shell sides.  This is a modeling convenience that helps in seating the straps, especially  the round copper wire "iron" straps that will be filed flat on the outside.  Scrapers for this were made by machine grinding a razor blade for each shell breadth. 
 
  The next picture shows the strip rotated in the vise for drilling of the smaller, 1½" (.022") sheave holes – six in each of these triple blocks.
 
 
 
All holes were located using the calculated spacings, set by the mill's calibrated wheels. In the picture, the center row has been drilled and one of the outer rows is in progress.  These holes are very close together, so sharp bits, short bit projection, high speed, and very light feed are essential.  Even at that, the entry point of the drill in these unmarked holes may vary by a few thousandths as may be seen in the next photo.
 

 
Next, slots were pared out between the sheave holes and the sheave curvature cut, using a small chisel as shown in the next picture.
 

 
The chisel width was ground to match the drill size and then downsized for each smaller size of block.  The next picture shows the strip after this slotting work.
 

 
A knife edge file was then used to mark all four faces at the separation points using the first-drilled, transverse holes as guides.  The blocks were then given a preliminary rounding with a barrette file while still attached as shown in the next picture.
 
 
 The next picture shows blocks being cut from the strip using a fine-bladed jewelers saw. 
 

 
Each block was then rounded to its final shape using a sanding strip.  The last picture shows the finished set of 12" blocks, including two with iron strapping and hooks.
 

 
The strapping on the two blocks shown will be blackened.  The single blocks to the left have not yet been fully rounded.
 
 
Ed

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 252 – Cheek Blocks
 
Iron cheek blocks will be bolted to the aft sides of the larger yards, on the square section just inboard of the yardarms.  Small upper yards will have sheaves set in mortises at this location.  These blocks direct the chain sheets inboard below the yard toward the sheet blocks described in the last post.  The first picture shows one of the fabricated, larger, 16" blocks.
 

 
The chain is threaded through as a test to ensure that it will pass.  The casings and sheaves on these are brass.  The large central pin/bolt is copper and will pass through the yard horizontally.  Two smaller bolts will be added to the flanges later when the block is installed.  The first fabrication step is shown below.
 

 
A length of square brass tube was sliced to yield the U-shaped cap, shown silver-soldered to a flat plate.  The blocks will eventually be sliced from this piece, after drilling all the necessary holes.  This drilling is shown below.
 

 
Again, the mill's calibration wheels were used to space the holes.  The center holes were drilled first, then one row of the smaller flange holes, then the flange holes on the opposite side.  The next picture shows the blocks being sliced off in the milling machine fitted with a thin slotting saw blade.
 

 
The strip was clamped for this.  The position of the fence and the downward blade rotation at the cut serve to keep the pieces from flying off.  The next picture shows an assembled block and the separate parts.
 

 
The sheave, conveniently, is the diameter of a brass tube, so sheaves merely had to be sliced off.  This is being done with a razor saw in the next photo, using a jig with holes of different depths and diameters that was described earlier.
 

 
The 2" deep hole was used for these.  The sheaves were also filed clean and polished in the jig.  In the next picture the sheave has been positioned and the axle pin/bolt inserted.
 

 
With the long end gripped in the vise, the outer end of the bolt was clipped and peened to form a rivet head as described in the last post.
 

Four of these 16" size are required – for the fore and main lower yards.  Fourteen of the smaller, 14" size will be used on the crojack, and the six topsail yards.  The smaller blocks will be made later.
 
The last picture shows one of these test-mounted on the port arm of the fore lower yard.
 
 
 
This picture also shows some rework that was done on the outer boom iron - the "Pacific" iron - and its inner partner (not shown).  An earlier picture showed these positioning the boom quite far out from the yard.  This has been corrected.
 
Ed

Wow.  I am overwhelmed by the very generous comments on the last post - but a little disoriented in thinking about the possibility that Druxey would consider "fudging" something.  That does not compute.
 
As with many tasks on the model, this one had its fits and starts - mostly on the question of how to make all of them efficiently.  Once over that hurdle and with some help from CAD, it was downhill.  Deciding not to solder was a key decision and really simplified the work - and... thank you, Sherline.  I don't know what we would do without those calibration wheels.
 
There are no dumb questions Harvey, only dumb answers.  I took the design of the sheet blocks from a detail on one of the drawings in Underhill, Masting and Rigging of the Clipper Ship and Ocean Carrier - a truly wonderful resource.  I did not think too much about the four pins, but I believe that the central pin is important structurally, to maintain spacing, and to allow sheaves or the top pin to be removed without the whole assembly coming apart.  There was probably a spacer boss on the center pin.  
 
Again, thank you all for following and for the flattering comments.
 
Ed

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 251 – Sheet Blocks
 
Each square yard, except for the skysail yards at the tops of the masts, will be fitted with an iron sheet block suspended from an eyebolt below its center.  These "cloverleaf" type blocks contain two sheaves, one for each of the two chain sheets for the sail directly above.  The sheets pass through sheaves in the yardarms, or cheek blocks on the larger yards, through fairleads under the yard, then to the sheet blocks.  The blocks direct the sheets downward to tackles that are belayed on deck in most cases.  The first picture shows the seven fabricated, 21" sheet blocks with eyebolts attached.
 

 
Two of these have been blackened.  This size will be used on lower, lower topsail, and upper topsail yards on the fore and main masts and on the crojack yard on the mizzen.  The remaining yards will be fitted with smaller, 15" blocks of this type.
 
To make these efficiently, some "mass production" was used.  In the first step, holes for all the plate casings were drilled as shown in the next picture, through two long strips of .010" brass, ¾" at 1:72 scale.
 

 
The holes were drilled using the mill as a drill press, with holes spaced using the calibration wheels, in a prescribed sequence using calculated spacings.  The resulting strips, for both block sizes are shown in the next picture.
 

 
Part of the drilling guide sheet may be seen in the picture.  It shows each movement in a numbered sequence, with penciled spacings calculated from the full size dimensions.  The punch marks on the strips were added for matching. 
 
In the next picture two dressmaker pins have been inserted through the holes on the vertical centerline of two matching plates. 
 

 
The rough shape of the block was cut through both plates using scissors.  The two pins are close fitting, and in the picture below are clamped in a vise where the triangle shapes are being sized with a file.
 

 
There is a thin, drilled wood shim under the two plates for clearance above the vise.  In the next picture the triangular shape has been filed, the plates separated, and the pins have been replaced with lengths of drawn copper wire.
 

 
One of these wires has been threaded through a turned sheave.  In the next picture, with both sheaves fitted, the lower ends of the pin wires are clamped in the vise.
 

 
In this picture the upper wire ends have been clipped off just above the top plate and then peened to form rivet heads.  The assembly was then turned over and placed on an anvil.  The long bolt ends were then clipped and peened.  In the next picture the central pin has been peened on both sides in the same way and the top pin has been inserted through a spun eyebolt.
 

 
As before, the lower ends of the pin wires are clamped in the vise for peening the first side.  The block was then flipped over to clip and peen the other ends, completing the assembly.  The lower block in the picture below shows this stage.
 
 
 
Each side of the triangle was then filed concave, shaped to match the pattern and polished. The fourteen smaller sheet blocks will be made later.
 
Ed

That is my understanding, wefalck, in fact here is one of the photos of Young America where she is docked in New York with her main yard topped up and another of Black Hawk.  In this position the yards could also be used for handling cargo, I believe.  Comments on this last point welcome.
 


 
Ed

Thanks, everyone, as always for the likes and comments.
 
Roger, I would assume that the trusses of this type would be forged, and would be well within the capabilities of the time.  Hammers by this time were often steam driven and I assume a large yard like Webb's would have the necessary equipment, or these may have been contracted out.  Consider, for example, the forging of anchors back well into the 1700's.  There seem to have been many shapes for these trusses, and sometimes it is hard to distinguish between simplified drawings for patents or in treatises and actual practice.  Some may have been bent bar, but I suspect these would be more common on smaller craft.  These are mainly large universal joints, with the weight of the spar being taken on the chain sling and, in the case of lower yards, some on the topping lifts.
 
Ed

Druxey, I meant to comment on your comment.  The forward extension of the truss from the mast really helped with bracing of these yards by increasing the range of rotation before interfering with other rigging.  I don't know what the actual extension on Young America was, but another ship of the type was documented to have the yard 7' forward of the mast on a truss of this general type.  The lower topsail yard will also be hung forward of the cap by about, I think, 4 feet - on a similar swivel truss.
 
Roger, just another comment. although the starting point in forming the truss was a 1/8" plate, the final shaped size is smaller, perhaps on the order of 6" - still a lot of iron.
 
Ed

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 250 – Fore Yard Truss
 
Lower yards on ships of this type were attached to the masts using iron trusses.  The fore yard truss will position the yard about 6 feet forward of the mast.  It is configured in the form of a universal joint that allowed the yard to be "braced", that is, rotated around the mast, or "topped," raised at one end or the other.  The weight of the yard was taken mostly by a separate chain sling shackled to the center of the yard and bolted to the mast just below the hounds.  Making and fitting of both these parts are described below. 
 
A pattern for the yoke that connects the truss to the yard is pasted to a 1/8" copper plate in the first picture. 
 
 
This curved yoke lies in the horizontal plane, has vertical holes at the ends for bolting to yard band brackets and horizontal hole through its center for a bolt to a universal fitting that will allow vertical rotation and topping.  The shape of the yoke was first cut out using a jeweler's saw, then filed to a rounded shape.  The next picture shows the shaping in progress and the yard band bolt holes drilled.
 

 
The wide band at the center of the yard will be drilled for the sling eyebolt.  The next picture shows the universal fitting bolted through the yoke.  It has an eye at the aft end to fit the bracket in the mast band that was installed earlier. 
 

 
In the picture, two long wire bolts have been inserted through the yard band brackets and yoke eyes.  These were first peened to form rivet heads as shown in the next picture.
 

 
The pliers in the picture have half-round slots filed into the jaws that allow wire to be held for peening of the end. I believe this process was described earlier, perhaps in a Naiad post.  In the next picture one of the long bolts has been clipped off on the underside, leaving just enough for its head to be peened, locking the yoke arm to the bracket. 
 
 
A flat-end center punch was used for this.  The other bolt was then inserted, clipped and peened to complete the attachment.  Unfortunately I did not take photos when making the universal fitting, so a description of that will await work on a later mast.  Note in the picture that the yard bands are pinned to the underside of the yard with small copper bolts.
 
The weight of the yard, as mentioned above was mostly taken by a chain sling.  This is shown in the next picture, shackled at one end to an eyebolt temporarily inserted through the central yard band.
 

 
To set the length of the chain, the yard was temporarily hung and the chain held with tweezers as shown in the next picture.
 

 
The tweezers were used to hold the chain at a link that could be fitted with an eyebolt into the mast that would hold the truss level.  The chain was cut at this point and an eyebolt spun onto it.  The hole for the eyebolt was then spotted on the mast, again by holding the eyebolt with tweezers and marking the height that would hold the truss level.  The next picture shows the yard hung temporarily with eyebolts inserted.
 

 
The next picture shows the yard fully braced around to the point where it contacts the forestay and almost touches the forward lower shroud.
 

 
There is still much work to do on this yard before installing it permanently, some of the parts were shown earlier.  Others will be described in the next parts.
 
Ed           

Thank you, Alberto, Druxey and Pat, and all others for the likes and thanks Pat for the book purchase.  The hardware on these yards is a lot of work and this first one has been languishing on the bench since the summer, while I tried to find the best way to move it forward.  Big step forward yesterday, completing fabrication of 7- 21" cloverleaf sheet blocks for the seven larger yards. Next the 8 - 15" versions, but these may wait until I make the iron cheek blocks for the large yards.  I am very anxious to get this first yard hung.
 
Thanks again.
 
Ed

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 249 – Lower Fore Yard 3
 
There is a variety of ironwork to be installed on every square yard.  Beginning with the iron sling band at the center and the reinforcing bands on made yards.  These and other bands, as well as some structures attached to bands, like studdingsail boom brackets, must be sized to each individual yard.   Others, like iron sheet blocks that hang from the center of the yard, cheek blocks for sheets at the yardarms and to some extent iron trusses, are more standardized and lend themselves to a "mass production" approach, if making seven or eight identical parts can be considered "mass."  So, while the work shown in this part and the next was able to proceed, progress was soon hindered until a batch of standard parts could be produced for all the yards.  Developing processes for those has taken some time and this has slowed work on the first yards.  This and the next part describe work on the fore yard before interruption to make sheet and cheek blocks, to be described later.
 
The first picture shows iron (i.e. copper) banding at the center of the yard.
 
 
Most of this is ½" thick x 4" wide – actually slightly thicker (.010").  The center sling band is thicker (.015") – and wider.  It will eventually be drilled top and bottom to secure eyebolts for the chain sling and the sheet block.  Outside of that are two more thicker bands that will secure the iron yard truss, then the first reinforcing band, a band to secure a block,  then a band than will attach a sheet fairlead, then two more bands, one reinforcing and one for a block.  Additional bands were added out to the first studdingsail bracket that is described below. 
 
But first, the basic banding method.  This was described in an earlier post.  The first step is cutting banding material to a length that will form a ring slightly smaller than the yard diameter at its location.  Some ways to do this were described earlier.  The ends of the band are then butted together and silver soldered.  A soldering setup to keep the ends together is shown in the next picture.
 

 
Two steel blocks were used for this.  After soldering, the misshapen bands are then pushed on to a wooden mandrel to shape them and provide a holder for filing (if needed), smoothing, and polishing as shown in the next picture.
 

 
Using a separate mandrel for this helps keep the spar clean.  This one is maple, one of a pair in different sizes to be used for this purpose.  The mandrel may also be used for sizing bands.  This was described in Part 184.  After this step the band is fitted to the yard, with the last ¼" or so a forced fit.
 
The next picture shows fabrication of a studdingsail boom bracket.
 

 
The band is made a fitted to the spar first.  The square piece of hard brass is the silver-soldered to it as shown in the picture.  The two brass bands under the brass leg are used to center the leg on the band width.  The leg is then cut to length and the outer bands for the booms soldered on.
 

 
These are test fitted to the studdingsail booms as shown in the next picture.
 
 
 
The outer boom irons are made in a similar way, with the addition of a simulated roller on the bottom side of the boom band.  The next picture shows the setup for soldering the roller to the bands.
 

 
The rounded out area on the copper wire will be placed under the band in the final setup before soldering, after clipping off the wire.  This is a simplified simulation of the actual roller, which would be on an axle within the band diameter.   In the last picture, the outer arm has been bent and inserted into the end of the yard and shown with the yard temporarily mounted.
 
 
There is more work to do on these parts, including blackening.  Also, the reinforcement of the yardarm is not shown.  This includes a u-shaped band wrapped around on the axis of the yard and two circular reinforcing bands over it.  I will show pictures of this later.  Also, this photo shows the yard truss that will be described in the next part.
 
Ed

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 248 – Lower Fore Yard 2
 
The assembly shown in the last picture of the last post was slit into two and the one for the fore yard downsized to make the 22" squared "first trim" for this spar.  In the first picture holes along the centerline of the spar, in this case jackstay eyebolt holes, are being drilled in the still-square spar.
 

 
This method and the alignment of the vise using a center-finder was described in Part 226.  Using the center-finder helps locate the holes on the precise centerline.  Pencil marks for the quarters, the square near the end of the yard, and the end of the yard arm may be seen in this picture.  The next picture shows the second trim, that is, the tapering of two of the four faces.
 

 
In the next picture the spar is clamped in the planning fixture and one of the two remaining faces is being planed.
 

 
The next picture shows the completed third trim, with all four faces tapered but still square in section
 

 
In the next picture the spar has had the corners of the octagon shape scribed with the tool described in an earlier post and the V-grooved planning fixture is being adjusted to prevent the now-curved spar from rocking.
 

 
This adjustment uses screws to depress the center of the bed to the shape of the spar.  All four corners were removed and the spar rounded on this fixture.  The following picture shows the spar with the first few "iron" bands fitted.
 

Because this is a made spar, it is round in section through the center to allow shrunk-fit reinforcing hoops to be installed to hold the assembly together.  These bands plus a variety of others will be fitted, beginning at the center and working outward.  The bands are made small enough to be force fit into their final positions.
 
Ed

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 247 – Lower Fore Yard 1
 
One of the nice things about this stage of the project is that many directions may be taken in the construction.  I could, and will, be ploughing on with the shrouds, stays, and ratlines on all three lower and top masts, but for my own sanity and for the interest of those following this log, other work is on the agenda.
 
One of these directions is the square yards for the masts now installed.  Apart from being different work, this will open up other areas, like the standing and running rigging for these yards.  But before yards can be fitted, they must be made.  A lot of work is involved.  The spars themselves are straightforward, but making the array of yard fittings – trusses, cheek blocks, cloverleaf sheet blocks, studdingsail ironwork, etc. - will be a major task, some of these parts will be "mass produced" and some fabricated one yard at a time.  Making and fitting out the 18 square yards is the largest of the remaining tasks to complete the model.
 
The lower fore yard was the first to be made.  In the first picture, the yard is shown with its structural ironwork – the bands that hold this "made" yard together – plus some bands that had to be fitted first, like the sling band, the truss bands and the fairlead bands that go between structural bands.
 

 
This yard and the main yard are "made" from two pieces joined by a long scarph.  The fore yard was 82' long and 22' in diameter at the center.  The main yard was slightly larger.  This size yard would most likely have been an assembly of two trees, perhaps more.  Both these yards will be made yards on the model.  The next picture shows two scarphed pieces before assembly.
 

 
These pieces were made wide enough to be used for both the fore and main yards.  After gluing up and squaring, they will be slit to form the squares for the two yards.  The next picture shows the scarf been milled in a plank wide enough to produce the two pieces shown above.
 
 
 
The angle of the scarph is only about 2.5 degrees.  The Sherline tilting table was used.  In the picture most of the surface has been milled.  To complete the work the clamp will be relocated to an already milled location.  The next picture shows the final milling step.
 

 
A 3/8" diameter end mill was used.  With the tilting table this is a simple milling task - once the correct lip depth has been set at both ends of the joint.  In the next picture the milled plank has been slit in two and is being glued together with dark glue.
 

 
In the next picture the glued-up piece is being planed to level and square one side.
 

 
This piece was then passed through the thickness sander to level both sides and reduce it to the size of the larger main yard.
 
 
This will then be slit and one piece further reduced to the size of the slightly smaller fore yard, which will then be shaped.
 
Ed

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 246 – Main Topmast Backstays
 
The main topmast backstays are exactly like their foremast counterparts – two pairs of 10 ½" lines looped over the topmast head and secured to the channels with deadeyes by 5" lanyards.  The alligator clamp holding one of the 16" backstay deadeyes in the first picture was very useful when tying the throat seizing and in setting the deadeye height.
 

 
The throat seizing is being tied in the next picture.
 

 
The two round seizings above the throat were made with a series of clove hitches.  The easiest way that I have found to tie each hitch on these and on the ratline knots is shown below.
 

 
After tying an overhand knot one one leg of the stay the tweezers are placed through the loop in the line that is passed behind the stay. The tweezers are then used to grip the end and pull it through to form the hitch.  This process goes very fast and yields a tight seizing from the first hitch.  I am using three hitches on these. 
 
The threading up of the aft deadeye lanyard on this side is being completed in the next picture.
 

 
The first tensioning is started in the next picture.
 

 
The linen lanyards are pretty stiff, so pliers are used to grip each leg in turn, pulling up on the inboard legs and down on the outboard until all four stays have about equal tension and the forward stay is taut as well.  In the next picture the upper aft deadeye is being adjusted to make its face parallel with the stay.
 

 
This can be done by gripping all three of the outer lanyard legs and raising or lowering them until the deadeye faces are aligned. 
 
The next picture shows the four fairleads for these stays ready to be lashed on.
 

 
The lashing thread was first glued to the perimeter groove on the inboard side to make these easier to lash up.  The last picture shows the two starboard fairleads installed
 

 
The loose lashing ends will be trimmed later.  The lanyards will be wound around the stay later after a final tension adjustment in a week or so.
 
Ed

Thank you, Johann.  I am beginning to appreciate how tall this ship was.  There are two more masts to be added on both the fore and main masts  (and 3 on the mizzen).
 
Ed

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 245 – Main Topmast Stay
 
First some backtracking.  The first picture shows a sheer stave being lashed to the fore topmast shrouds. 

I initially omitted these but reconsidered after being prompted by a comment (Thanks, Scott) and checking through some sources.  This is a 1½" diameter wood stave as opposed to the served 1" iron poles on the lower shrouds. The excess ends and the loose lashing ends will be removed later.  This picture shows the starboard topmast backstays.  The next picture shows the 10½" backstays on both sides placed over the masthead.

 Before securing these at the channels below, I decided to install the 9" main topmast stay - for two reasons.  First, it will be easier to use the backstays with their lanyards for final tensioning rather than the forward stay that loops through shackled bullseyes on the deck.  Second, I have been anticipating a difficult task in fixing this stay at the lower end and wanted to get on with it.  In the next picture, the stay is looped over the masthead and being marked at the limits of the upper serving where the two legs will be seized.

 The lower ends of both legs of this stay are also served from abaft of the foremast, down through the bullseyes, and back up to the ends of the seized legs – as will be seen below.  The next picture shows one of the long lower legs being served.

The needle through the rope marls the end of the served length and will allow the thread to be pulled through the rope at that point to fix the end.  The next picture shows the lower ends being fastened to the shackled bullseyes.

Making these ends fast in the tight space was even more difficult than I expected, mainly because I did not allow sufficient diameter in the bullseye holes to easily pass the served line.  I spent almost an hour getting the port leg through the bullseye, including refitting the bullseye into the shackle several times.  The picture shows that side seized and the stay being pulled through the starboard bullseye.  After enlarging this bullseye hole at the start, this side took about a minute.  There is a moral to this story.
 
The next picture shows the completed lower end.  There are four seizings on each lower leg and simulated leathering in the area of the rubbing battens on the mast.

 Another concern I had about this arrangement was clearance between the four large, doubled lines and their fixings in the deck, as well as clearance around the mast.  This all worked out as planned - fortunately.  The next picture shows the upper end of the stay.
 
The next picture shows the full completed stay.
 
With this stay in place, belaying on the fore fife rails may proceed without having to thread these large lines through later, meaning that work can now begin on the yards of the foremast and their many running rigging lines.
 
But first, completion of the main topmast backstays that are temporarily clamped in the picture.
 
Ed

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 244 – Main Topmast Shrouds
 
The first picture shows the served and parceled forward topmast shroud pairs placed over the masthead to allow the parceling glue to set.
 

 
The parceling is white tissue glued with plain PVA white glue.  Although this dries quite rubbery, letting it dry around the mast makes the eventual shaping and seizing easier.  In the next picture all six shrouds have been "tarred" with acrylic artist's paint, seized and pressed down into position.
 

 
The aft shrouds have a single eye, it was probably spliced, but I used a simpler/stronger seizing since these will be totally covered by stays and backstays.  Some excess seizing thread has yet to be sliced off.  The next picture shows the two backstay pairs served, parceled and placed over the masthead.
 

 
The backstays will be permanently fitted after the shrouds are installed.  That process is shown in the next few pictures.  In the first picture the upper deadeyes have been wired to a sheet of wood as was done previously to help in seizing them at a uniform height.
 

 
The first steps in making the throat seizing on the served forward shrouds is shown above.  The seizing thread was tied off to the standing leg then passed through the opening above the deadeye with the curved needle as shown – from left to right.  In the next picture, the thread was taken behind the standing leg and back through itself to form a single hitch as shown below.
 

 
This was then pulled tight and two more hitches added to produce the throat seizing.  In the next picture a frapping turn is being threaded to tighten the seizing.
 
 
A little "photoshopping" was done on the seizing turns to highlight the way the turns are placed.  The frapping turn was ended with a hitch.  After this, the short leg was pulled up next to the shroud and clamped to allow the round seizings to be added.  In the next picture the forward shroud has had the two round seizings added and has been wetted with diluted dark glue to seal the knots and the serving on the short end.
 

 
The second shroud has been clamped for seizing.  The last picture shows the six shrouds with their lanyards threaded
 

 
Lots of loose ends to be sliced off in this picture – the last step after letting the glue completely dry.  Next the backstays, then the doubled topmast stay down to the shackled eyes in the deck forward of the fore mast.
 
Ed

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 243 – Main Topgallant Futtock Shrouds
 
In Part 231, a method for making the served eye splices for futtock shrouds was described.  For these shrouds, a different method – I believe a better one – was used.  The first picture shows two steps in the sequence used, in this case on the hooked upper ends of the shrouds.
 

 
I omitted thimbles on these smaller eyes.  A length of the 5" rope was first served.  In the splice on the left, the rope was threaded through the hook and clamped (not shown) to form the eye.   The eye was then clinched tightly with serving thread – an overhand knot and a clove hitch – leaving a long length of thread.  On the right, the short end has been clipped off and the serving unraveled back to the clinch as shown, to expose the bare rope.  In the next picture the rope end has been untwisted and the strands cut on a taper.
 

 
Glue was then applied to the bare and served rope over the length of the splice and the length of thread used to serve over the spliced area. I am using darkened wood glue on all these standing rigging knots and joints.  CA would produce a stronger joint, but I am trying to avoid its use.  The darkened Titebond has more than adequate strength with this joint design.  A finished splice is shown below.
 

 
By removing the serving over the short end, the joint is strengthened over the previous method where the serving was left on.  Tapering the strands improves the shape of the splice.  The method is also much faster because it eliminates glue-drying steps.
 
In the next picture one of the shrouds is being lashed to its eyebolt.
 

 
The lower eye, after measuring the shroud length, was formed as above but without the hook.  Handling during all these steps takes a toll on the metal blackening, so this will be touched up with LOS before finish is applied to the mast.  The next picture shows all four futtock shrouds installed.
 

 
As usual, the loose ends will be sliced off after the glue dries.  In the last picture the topmast has been set with a spot of glue on the aft face of the lower square, held in place with a wedge against the forward rim until the glue dries.
 

 
A permanent spacer will replace this wedge later.  Next, the topmast shrouds.
 
Ed

Hi Danny,
 
I have noticed your catching up on the YA posts and appreciate the interest and your generous comments.  Thanks for your suggestion about references on the drawings.  I will consider it.  As you may know, the books have been completely separate from the online posts, both in content and format.  The books have been focused on modeling methods in detail and the posts more on pure progress with some process overview.  I expect this to be the case in the expected next book on masting and rigging Young America - and in fact the American 1850-60's clippers in general.  Although the basic planning of the next book is well along, I have just begun outlining it and deciding how to present the huge amount of detail that the topic involves - so thanks for the input.
 
Frank, I have made some space in my mailbox.
 
Ed

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 242 – Main Mast Crosstrees
 
I cut the trestletree mortises for the fore mast crosstrees by hand but decided to mill them for the main and mizzen masts – for accuracy and simplicity.  It is an easy milling task.  The mortises in the mizzen trestletrees have been milled in a block of Castello in the first picture.

 
The top of this piece will be next ripped off at the depth of the trestrees and that piece then ripped to the width, producing two, identical trestletrees that can be cut to length and beveled on the bottom corners.  The basic assembly is shown in the next picture.
  
 
The arms have yet to be tapered on bottom faces.  The iron backstay spreader shown below was produced in the same way as the foremast counterpart, described earlier in Part 230.
 

 
In the picture the copper assembly has been soldered together, wire bolts have been inserted into pre-drilled holes in the crosstree arms, and the bolts are ready to be peened to rivet the spreader to the arms as shown in the next picture.
 

 
In the picture the holes for the underside eyebolts have been drilled but the eyebolts left out at this stage to allow hammering of the bolts on the small anvil.  In the next picture the eyebolts have been added and the ironwork blackened.

The assembly was given a thin coat of diluted Tung oil in the above picture.
 
 The next picture shows the futtock band on the main topmast being drilled for its eyebolts.
 

 
As mentioned in an earlier post, this band goes on after the lower mast cap, so it is fastened by means of the bent tab seen in the picture.  Setting the eyebolts in the drilled holes keeps it in place.  The last picture shows the completed assemblies.
 

 
The lower mast cap is on the mast but out of this picture.  The crosstrees are ready to be installed on the mast.  The next step will be to install the topgallant futtock shrouds before setting the mast.
 
Ed
 

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 241 – Main Mast Cap
 
The cap on the lower main mast is identical in configuration, but very slightly larger than the fore mast cap that was described in Part 227.  That cap was relatively simple to make since the 18" round and square openings scaled conveniently to a ¼" drill bit.  None of the other caps offer this convenience.  Because of this, the need to for precision in spacing the holes, and to accurately cut the outer radii, a method was developed to shape all the remaining caps on the milling machine with the aid of its rotary table.  The first picture shows the lower mizzen cap being milled by this process.

The method used requires a number of sequenced steps and various calculations that I will not attempt to describe here.  The next picture shows the mizzen cap after the milling steps.

The holes, spacing and exterior radii are all accurately formed and the piece is ready to be sawed out along its straight sides.  The hole for the lower mast tenon (on the right) will be manually squared to match the hole diameter.  The piece is pictured on a worksheet that was used to facilitate the calculations and prescribe the 16-step sequence used.
 
After this, the steps for the main mast cap were the same as those described in Part 227.  The next two pictures show steps not described earlier, in which wire "bolts" were placed on either side of the boss for the lower topsail truss to assist in taking the weight of that yard on the forward end of the band.  
 
Holes were drilled on both sides at the forward end.  The eyebolt on the aft end serves a similar strengthening purpose.
 
 
Copper wire was then forced into the holes, cut off just above the band surface, and then peened over.  The next picture shows a similar copper wire bolt being inserted to secure the cap iron.
 

 
Each of these was then nailed in and peened over as shown below.
 

 
The picture also shows the ends of the four eyebolts inserted from below.  In the next picture the entire assembly has been washed (and is still wet) with liver of sulfur solution used to blacken the copper.
 

 
The wood is still wet, but will dry to its normal color.  The yellow spot on the paper toweling shows where the solution was blotted.  The last picture shows the dried and finished cap temporarily in place with the topmast inserted.
 

 
The double blocks for the topping lifts were strapped to the cap iron shackles and the fid fitted before this photo was taken
 
Ed

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 240 – Ratlines 3
 
Apart from some work on the main topmast crosstrees (described later), most of the recent effort has been to make progress on the long task of tying ratlines – the seemingly endless "rattling down".  The first picture shows work proceeding on the lower main mast ratlines on the starboard side.
 

 
There are still a lot of loose ends waiting to be lashed down or clipped off.  Work can also be seen in progress on the port lower fore mast.  The next picture shows the current state of the work on the fore mast.
 

 
The futtock shroud ratlines have been added as well as the first several on the fore topmast shrouds.  A closer view of those is shown below.
 

 
The lower two are fitted to the deadeye lanyards, something I had not seen before but which can be seen in one of the photos of the ship – barely.  Another view of this is shown below.
 

 
I finally – after some mishaps – installed some people barriers just outside the whisker booms as shown below.
 

 
These might not withstand a determined punch – but the 5/8" dowels are more than enough to deflect or stop the casual nudge when I am focused on some nearby task.
 
In a previuos post I showed a jig for putting eye splices on one end of a ratline,  A production version of the jig is shown in the next picture.
 

 
This one has plenty of pins to support "mass" production.  Also, the two-faced carpet tape is applied to the jig itself allowing me to remove the fixture from the vise without cleaning it off the vise jaw.  There is also a fence just forward of the pins so glue may be applied to each splice without welding it to the fixture.  In the last picture, one of the short legs is being sliced off the splice while held taut with tweezers.
 

 
Up to about 20 ratlines can have eyes spliced at a time – and very quickly.
 
Ed

Hi Ed,
 
While you're out doing spring cleanup, I thought I'd pass along my appreciation of your pin alignment system. I'm just finishing up the forward half & cant frames.  After hand finishing them individually, I decided to double check each as a matched pair. I've gotten much better at sanding to the profile lines, but didn't want to risk a mismatch between port & strb.  The pin holes are 0.024" and I used 0,026" pins for a nice tight fit.  I am very pleased with the results.  Each frame pair fits perfectly without further finishing.  I am really impressed with the capability of your alignment system.  It even makes old guys like me look good.  Setup and installation is going to be my next hurdle.
 
Always look forward to your next post.  Now I have to get after my spring yard work.
 
Bob