Capt.Bob

Seriously nice work Ed, as Rob states the idea of the plate through the martingale is a great tip.  
 
Rob, my Victoria (1855) also has the heel finishing in approximately this position, but I think in my case there is a heel chock at the base.  The following is a much cropped extract from a photo of the ship I have and although grainy seems to confirm this - but open to interpretation.
 
According to Underhill, this chock could extend back to the stem, or finish short (ramping/slanting backwards to the bow.
 

 
cheers
 
Pat

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 220 – Martingale
 
The Martingale, or dolphin striker, was a 17' long, 10" diameter spar that served as a compression member in the truss that included the bowsprit and its stays that attached to points on the hull.  The stiffness provided by this assembly was critical to the support of the foremast from which various stays descended to anchor points or sheaves on the bowsprit.  The "second trim" of the martingale is shown in the first picture on its drawing.
 
 
 
The spar at this stage is a tapered square and not yet cut to length.  Above the center is a slot that will receive a single plate that will be formed into the double iron cleats on either side.  This slot was milled after overall sizing but before any tapering, for reasons described earlier.  The next picture shows trimming the spar to an octagonal shape.
 

 
On this relatively small diameter spar, this trim was done by eye, without scribing guide lines.  The next picture shows the rounded spar with reinforcing bands fitted over the ends.
 

 
These bands were made from copper tube, saving the fitting and soldering used on larger bands.  To fit the diameters on the spar, rings cut from the tube were enlarged as needed using a center-punch as a mandrel as shown in the next picture.
 

 
The rings are sized for a tight, immovable fit on the spar.  The next picture shows a brass plate inserted through the slot in the spar for fitting and so that the outline of the spar could be scribed on the plate.
 

 
The shapes of the cleats were then cut outside of the scribed lines with a jeweler's saw.  The next picture shows an early fit check.
 

 
The next picture shows the finished, blackened plate ready for final fitting into the spar.
 

 
The plate was glued into the spar with CA.  The next picture shows the finished spar except for its top hook.
 
 
 
The larger ring at the bottom was drilled at this stage to accept four eyebolts that will secure two forward stays that anchor on the outer bowsprit and two backstays that anchor on the hull.  These stays, like most standing rigging on the bowsprit, are chain of different sizes.  The last picture shows the martingale hooked to is eyebolt behind the cap.
 

 
The picture also shows iron (copper) banding for the gammoning being fitted over the lower bowsprit and under the figure boards.  A length of chain is shown secured to the forward end of the jibboom during tests of different connection methods.  This is not the final chain.  More on the chain rigging later.
 
 
Ed

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 219 – Bowsprit Assembly
 
Before assembling the two main spars that make up the bowsprit, I wanted to get as much of the detailing done as possible while the individual spars were still easy to handle and grip.  In the first picture, three of the four sheaves have been made and temporarily fitted into the Jibboom/Flying Jibboom.
 

 
These were turned to the specified sizes in brass and are shown here held in place by lengths of copper wire.  The picture also shows the bands on this spar drilled for eyebolts.  In the next picture, the ironwork and sheaves have been blackened and permanent copper wire bolts have been driven through the spar to hold the sheaves.
 

 
The picture also shows the martingale that will be covered in the next part.  The next picture shows one of the wooden, fore topmast stay cleats being glued to the side of the bowsprit.  The stool for the jibboom may also be seen.
 

 
The jibboom is secured to the bowsprit with a hinged "bale" that surrounds the upper spar.  This is connected to a larger iron band around the bowsprit.  The fabricated ironwork is shown in the next picture.
 

 
The next picture shows both the stool and the bale.
 

 
The lower part of the bowsprit band was drilled and nailed into the bottom of the bowsprit.  As will be seen in the last picture, the underside of this band is hidden over the stem billet.  The next picture shows the assembly fitted out with all required eyebolts.
 

 
Since none of these eyebolts are connected using soldered shackles, all could be permanently secured at this stage.  The method for making these from twisted copper wire was discussed in an earlier post.  The last picture shows the bowsprit temporarily fitted into the hull.
 

 
 
This picture was taken just after finishing the assembly, including the ironwork, with a diluted solution of Tung oil.  The assembly is almost ready for permanent installation.  It will be held down with an iron gammoning strap just forward of the knightheads that will bolt to the stem below the figureheads.
 
The martingale that will be suspended below the bowsprit cap will be covered in the next part.
 
Ed

What you say is quite true, Carl.  Understanding the accuracy limitations of any tool is always important, as is the point of diminishing returns on special tool making.   I estimate that this marking tool will be useful on at least half of the sparwork on YA, but it is not a universal panacea.
 
Ed

"As the angle approaches zero, as it does with smaller spars, the diameters of the guide rods affect the accuracy." thought that could be the case. It is probably a matter of "how far are you willing to go" creating devices, and is it worth your while to build them. Thank you Ed.

Jerry, the wood is Castello.
 
Carl, I made the device to be used on all the spars on the model down to the smaller practical sizes.  It was used to mark the lower main mast.  Much below an actual 3/16" I do this without lines.  When the spar approaches 90 deg to the opening the scriber is most accurate.  As the angle approaches zero, as it does with smaller spars, the diameters of the guide rods affect the accuracy.  I suppose having closer guides for smaller work could help this, but I have not found the guides as useful below a certain size.  Even with the scribed lines, it is important to visually check that the width of the flats on the wood are the same size.
 
Ed

Quite clear, Ed. Thank you very much. Fortunately the meaning of spare is merely based on contex ...

Ed,
Forgive me my ignorance, but you are working on the (flying) jibboom - lovely work on it, and very educational - which is also refered to as bowsprit, and you call it  the spar. It's getting a bit confusing ... In Dutch a "spar" is a yard, which makes it even more difficult to apprehend

Sorry, Carl.  The term "spar" is generic and can refer to any mast, mast section, yard, boom, etc - at least according to the Maritime dictionaries that I am using.  It is a useful term in the case of "spar-making" because the processes are similar regardless of the type of spar and "sparmakers" made all of them..  I am using the term for this reason.  The spar shown in the last 2 posts is the Jibboom/Flying Jibboom.  It is a single stick combination of the two, hence the combined term.  The bowsprit is the larger base spar on which the Jibboom rests, but also can refer to the entire assembly.  This is analogous to the fore mast, fore topmast, etc. where the term fore mast refers to both the lower part as well as the total mast assembly - or to one of my favorites where "coamings" may refer to either the total hatch framing or just the fore and aft members..
 
Hope this helps.
 
Ed

Hello Ed just catching up, stunning work as one has come to know is always the case. I couldn't help noticing in this photograph
 
the different apparent scale of the thimble and lashings and the small eye bolt in the deck, somehow i would have thought that for this application the designers of the original ship would have used a bigger eye bolt at the deck. I have no knowledge of these things other than my intuition.
 
Regards Michael

Thanks for the comments and likes.  just a quick couple of comments.
 
Steve, the mill is not essential and the work shown could be done with a drill press, taking care to center mark the work accurately before boring.
 
Micheal, welcome back.  We had some dialog on this earlier after similar comments.  I know these look small but they are quite substantial ~2" diameter iron eyes and shackles.  Having the same initial concern, my recollection is that these calculated out at a number of times stronger than the stays. With reinforcing plates under the beams, I believe these wood be very strong.
 
Ed 

Thank you for sharing this (and the many other) techniques; helps to inform us all.
 
What type of file are you using there with the tapered back shoulders?
 
cheers
 
Pat

Thank you for these comments and the many likes - and I always like questions - even if I may lack the answers.
 
Pat, the file is a 0 cut Grobet full-size barrette file.  I also used a fine cut similar version on the spar.  Here is a link to the first:
 
https://contenti.com/jewelers-metal-files/full-size-metal-files/grobet-barrette-files
 
Thank you very much, Frank.  I wish some of this were as routine as it may appear in the posts.  The spar shown above was the third attempt.  The first was slightly small - causing me to start anew with the slight excess measured above then remove it in the last sanding steps.  The second was "perfect" until I started cutting the sheave holes - hence the decision to do that work first on the square.  So, as I am sure you know, processes evolve slowly sometimes,  and I am learning like everyone else.  Few of us can can comfortably repeat processes well learned over many previous builds.  I am glad if others get some benefit from what I learn along the way.
 
Just for fun, here is proof of this particular learning experience:
 

 
Ed 

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 217 – Jibboom/Flying Jibboom
 
Thanks, everyone, for the comments and likes on the last post.
 
Although the Jibboom and its integral Flying Jibboom may be added after the lower bowsprit is permanently in place, I believe it is preferable to complete the entire assembly before securing it in the hull, so the next step is to make that spar.
 
As spars go, this one is fairly complex.  It has two steps down in diameter and is mortised for four large sheaves.  One at the foot is horizontal and used to haul the spar out.  The other three take the inner, outer, and flying jib (fore topgallant) stays.  There is a dummy sheave for the fore royal stay and the end of the spar is shaped to secure the fore skysail stay.  The lower end of the spar is octagonal.
 
The process closely follows practice used to shape actual spars.  The first picture shows step one – sometimes called the "first trim."
 

 
The length of Castello shown has been squared to about 10-thousandths of an inch over the maximum cross-section of 17.5" (.236" at 1:72).  Measurement points along the spar have been marked on all four faces, actual dimensions calculated for the specified full size diameters, and centerlines drawn down each face.  This would be the normal starting point for shaping the spar.  However, before starting that process, I machined all the mortises and bored all the radial holes – sheave slots, axle holes, eyebolt holes, etc.  There are two reasons for this: First, securing and centering the piece for boring/milling is much easier and accurate before it has been tapered or rounded.  Also, drilling into a flat horizontal surface is easier and more accurate than drilling into a curved surface – especially if the cut is all the way through and you want the opposite location to be correct.  The next picture shows the first trim marked for the locations of the stay sheaves.
 

 
I used the mill for all this work.  First, the vise was indicated to align it.  Then, an edge finder was used to locate the stationary jaw of the vise accurately.  The vise was then moved so the edge of the jaw was on the spindle center, then adjusted back by half the measured, actual width of the piece to place the spindle precisely over the center of the spar.  The pencil lines on the spar thus become superfluous and the holes will be accurately centered.  In the next picture two sheave slots are being milled using a 1/32" milling bit.
 

 
This size bit is smaller than the smallest sheave slot.  Later, the through slots will be filed out to the required size.  This step centers them only, avoiding the need for y-direction adjustments, losing the accurate center, and the attendant necessary calculations.  Because of the shortness of the bit, milling from both sides was needed.  The next picture shows the forward end of the spar with the mortises and the other holes bored.
 

 
The first shaping step is shown in the next picture.
 

 
The jig is designed to hold rectangular work of varying width.  A cabinet scraper was used to rough-taper the upper and lower faces of the spar.  This process involves taking numerous measurements at the points along the spar, as shown in the next picture.
 

 
The top and bottom faces are worked concurrently, allowing visual checking of the symmetry of the tapering vs. the marked center lines.  As the final diameters are approached, finer work was done with flat files as shown in the next picture.
 

 
In this picture the outermost step has been filed before working the end of the spar.  Only the top and bottom faces are tapered at this stage, eventually reaching the "second trim" – two opposite faces tapered to (almost) final size.  Again, at this stage I left a total of about 10/1000ths of an inch excess at each point.  In the next picture the spar is being marked on the tapered faces to allow the two remaining parallel faces to be reduced symmetrically.
 

 
The remaining two faces are then reduced by the same process, yielding the "third trim" of the spar shown in the next picture.
 

 
This piece will next be converted to octagonal shapes consistent in size with the square profiles in the picture.  Next post.
 
Ed

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 216 – Bowsprit Cap
 
The bowsprit cap is a heavy balk of timber that is mortised on to the end of the bowsprit to support the jibboom.  It sits vertically, so the mortise for the bowsprit tenon and the round opening for the jibboom must be cut through the cap at a 20 degree angle corresponding to the angle of the bowsprit.  But first the cap must be cut out and the angles of the top and bottom faces shaped.  In the first picture, the outer lines of the shape and the centers of the openings have been laid out on a Castello plank,
 

 
Some additional work, permanent center lines for the openings, for example, is required on the drawing shown in the picture.  Once the overall piece was cut and the rounded ends shaped square on the sander, the beveled ends were sanded off as shown in the next picture.
 

 
This was done with the sander table angled at 20 degrees.  Some hand shaping is required where the straight side meets the curve of the ends to avoid under cutting the straight sides.  The angle of the bevel varies from 20 degrees at the apex to 90 at the side.
 
The cap is surrounded by an iron reinforcing band.  To fit the shape, this must be curved as shown below, so it will lay tightly on the cap when fitted.
 

 
The band may be seen on the drawing.  The copper strip shown in the picture was bent progressively with pliers to the shape shown.  It was then test fitted as shown below, curved for the other end of the cap, and further adjusted until a good fit was achieved.
 

 
After fitting, the band was soldered to form a ring and fit over the cap as shown below.
 

 
The band was then set aside so openings in the cap could be bored using a milling bit.  The mill setup I used is shown in the next picture.
 

 
A dead center has been mounted in the drill chuck to center it over one of the center marks on the piece. This was done before boring each of the two holes.  Two 18" holes were then bored as shown in the next picture.
 

 
The ¼" milling bit scales to 18" at 1:72.  A 3/16" bit would be used at the 1:96 scale.  After boring, the lower hole was filed to a square mortise to fit the bowsprit tenon.  After fitting the tenon, the cap was set up for gluing as shown below.
 

 
The square was used to check the vertical face and the side of the cap when it was glued.  The last picture shows the iron band fitted to the cap and blackened.
 

 
The band was secured using some thin CA, but will be well anchored in position when the rigging eyebolts are added through drilled holes into the cap.
 
Ed

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 215 – Bowsprit Hearts 2
 
Making hearts for the bowsprit rigging was discussed in the last post.  Eight of these are required to lash the chain bobstays and bowsprit shrouds near the end of the bowsprit.  Bands for these connections and for the martingale are shown in the first picture.
 

 
I expect to use eyes on all spar bands vs. lugs.  Maneuvering shackles over lugs is a problem and contemporary documents show both.  Lugs shown on this drawing will be corrected.  The numbers on the drawing are the rigging line numbers at connection points.  The inner bobstay is the number 1 line on the list and its eye is shown on the third band.  The picture also shows a shackled heart assembly.  In the next picture the bands have been drilled for the shackle eyebolts.
 

 
My plan is to screw these twisted-wire eyebolts into the holes and if possible eliminate glue.  This allows the full assembly to be blackened after installation without fear of unblackened glue spots. More on this below. 
 
The next picture shows a shackle bolt being soldered on with the eyebolt pre-fitted.
 

 
After soldering and trimming of the bolt, the eyebolt must be slid around the ring to fit over the short bolt at the bottom.  This can be a tight squeeze.
 
The next picture shows the four shackled hearts mounted on the bowsprit.
 

 
These were all twisted (screwed) into the drilled holes. They are very secure without glue, but any loose bolts can always be reinforced with glue later if necessary.  This really simplifies the blackening process.  The blackened assembly is shown below.
 

 
This spar is unfinished at this stage so the wood has no protection yet.  The ironwork was blackened by brushing with liver of sulfur solution and rinsing immediately under a faucet, repeating the steps until all the copper was black.  This keeps excess black from being deposited on the wood.  The spar is still damp in this picture.
 
The last picture shows the finished assembly on the temporarily mounted bowsprit.
 

 
Other work on the bowsprit may now proceed.
 
 
Ed

Hi All,
Sorry Ed, but its too exciting to keep to myself.  Vol II is finally available at SeaWatch Books.
 
Guess what just arrived at my door.  Yes!, its true there is a Young America Vol II.  It has all the appearance of a Master Class in model manufacture.  If you never build Young America, the detailed descriptions of how Ed made all those marvelous deck fittings is well worth the price.  The techniques are extremely well documented in numerous photos and clearly written text.  I can't wait to dig into all the details.
Ed, I can't thank you enough for all the hard work that obviously went into the publication.  This is just the encouragement I need to get back to work in the shop.
 

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 214 – Hearts and Fairleads 1
 
Happy July 4th everyone – in America its Independence Day – my British friends used to say Thanksgiving Day.
 
The first picture shows some work on the bowsprit that was made earlier. I didn't get far with the bands before realizing that the shackled hearts would have to be soldered and attached to the bands before fitting then to the spar.
 

 
So the shackled hearts had to be made first, beginning with the 12" hearts shown in the next picture.  Actually this sequence fit well with the next step on the shrouds, since the shroud fairleads are made with the same setups as the hearts.
 

 
Heart-shaped hearts had given way to round ones by the 1850's, at least in America.  These were turned like deadeyes on the lathe then cut off by hand as shown below.  (This is actually a 10" fairlead being cut.)
 

 
The D-shaped openings in the hearts were cut with a small milling cutter using the mill's rotary table – first boring down through the disk at the correct offset, then rotating the table 180 degrees.  The small cusp left in the center was then cut out with a small chisel.
 
The next picture shows one of the 10" fairleads being drilled with ~2" (.026") holes, using the rotary table and the method used earlier on the deadeyes.
 

 
 
After drilling, each of the hearts requires a semi-circular notch to be cut so it will fit around the shroud.  The next picture shows a notch being filed out.
 

 
The next picture shows two of the 40+ fairleads (I made 50) getting ready to be lashed to their shrouds.
 

 
A lashing thread has been glued to the backside of the one on the left.  This pre-step makes lashing the piece to the inside of the shroud much easier.  In fact a touch of glue on the outer overhand knot makes tying the second one on the inside much more manageable as well.  This last part of the lashing is being tied in the next picture.
 

 
The last picture shows three of the six fairleads fitted to the fore starboard gang of shrouds.
 

 
The excess lashing thread has been sliced off after the glue has dried.
 
More on the hearts in the next post.
 
Ed

Hi All,
Sorry Ed, but its too exciting to keep to myself.  Vol II is finally available at SeaWatch Books.
 
Guess what just arrived at my door.  Yes!, its true there is a Young America Vol II.  It has all the appearance of a Master Class in model manufacture.  If you never build Young America, the detailed descriptions of how Ed made all those marvelous deck fittings is well worth the price.  The techniques are extremely well documented in numerous photos and clearly written text.  I can't wait to dig into all the details.
Ed, I can't thank you enough for all the hard work that obviously went into the publication.  This is just the encouragement I need to get back to work in the shop.
 

Hi All,
Sorry Ed, but its too exciting to keep to myself.  Vol II is finally available at SeaWatch Books.
 
Guess what just arrived at my door.  Yes!, its true there is a Young America Vol II.  It has all the appearance of a Master Class in model manufacture.  If you never build Young America, the detailed descriptions of how Ed made all those marvelous deck fittings is well worth the price.  The techniques are extremely well documented in numerous photos and clearly written text.  I can't wait to dig into all the details.
Ed, I can't thank you enough for all the hard work that obviously went into the publication.  This is just the encouragement I need to get back to work in the shop.
 

Hi All,
Sorry Ed, but its too exciting to keep to myself.  Vol II is finally available at SeaWatch Books.
 
Guess what just arrived at my door.  Yes!, its true there is a Young America Vol II.  It has all the appearance of a Master Class in model manufacture.  If you never build Young America, the detailed descriptions of how Ed made all those marvelous deck fittings is well worth the price.  The techniques are extremely well documented in numerous photos and clearly written text.  I can't wait to dig into all the details.
Ed, I can't thank you enough for all the hard work that obviously went into the publication.  This is just the encouragement I need to get back to work in the shop.
 

Hi All,
Sorry Ed, but its too exciting to keep to myself.  Vol II is finally available at SeaWatch Books.
 
Guess what just arrived at my door.  Yes!, its true there is a Young America Vol II.  It has all the appearance of a Master Class in model manufacture.  If you never build Young America, the detailed descriptions of how Ed made all those marvelous deck fittings is well worth the price.  The techniques are extremely well documented in numerous photos and clearly written text.  I can't wait to dig into all the details.
Ed, I can't thank you enough for all the hard work that obviously went into the publication.  This is just the encouragement I need to get back to work in the shop.
 

Hi All,
Sorry Ed, but its too exciting to keep to myself.  Vol II is finally available at SeaWatch Books.
 
Guess what just arrived at my door.  Yes!, its true there is a Young America Vol II.  It has all the appearance of a Master Class in model manufacture.  If you never build Young America, the detailed descriptions of how Ed made all those marvelous deck fittings is well worth the price.  The techniques are extremely well documented in numerous photos and clearly written text.  I can't wait to dig into all the details.
Ed, I can't thank you enough for all the hard work that obviously went into the publication.  This is just the encouragement I need to get back to work in the shop.
 

Hi All,
Sorry Ed, but its too exciting to keep to myself.  Vol II is finally available at SeaWatch Books.
 
Guess what just arrived at my door.  Yes!, its true there is a Young America Vol II.  It has all the appearance of a Master Class in model manufacture.  If you never build Young America, the detailed descriptions of how Ed made all those marvelous deck fittings is well worth the price.  The techniques are extremely well documented in numerous photos and clearly written text.  I can't wait to dig into all the details.
Ed, I can't thank you enough for all the hard work that obviously went into the publication.  This is just the encouragement I need to get back to work in the shop.
 

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 213 – Ratlines
 
I decided to do at least the lower ratlines next, mainly so the height of the shroud fairleads can be set and those installed early on.  If I need relief from this repetitive work I can (and probably will) begin other things – like the bowsprit.
 
At 1½", the ratlines are among the smallest lines on the ship.  In diameter they measure about 1/2", converting to about .07" at 1:72 scale.  I am using No. 80 crocheting cotton for these, dyed black with dilute India ink.  The ends of the ratlines have spliced eyes that are lashed to the outer shrouds. Attachment to the inner shrouds is by means of clove hitches in the ratline itself.  The first picture shows eye splices being put into the ends of ratlines.
 

 
One end of the line is first passed through the line with a needle to form a loop, like the one on the left.  This is then pulled tight around a pin, looped over and glued with darkened PVA glue.  The two-faced carpet tape on the vise jaw holds the two legs until the glue has dried.  The splice on the right has been glued.  When dry, the short leg will be cut off flush leaving a simulated eye splice.  Two of these are shown in the next picture.
 

 
The next picture shows the first few foremast ratlines secured.
 

 
After lashing the eye to the aft shroud, clove hitches are used on the next three.  The forward end is then lashed and the eye formed in place as was done above.  In the picture the glue has dried and the excess rope is being sliced off.  Uniform tensioning of these ratlines may take some practice – as can be seen at the left.  The next picture is an ultra-close-up showing the forward lashed eyes and the intermediate clove hitches.
 

 
This picture also shows the lashings on the one of the staves across the shrouds after every five or so shrouds.  This was made by stiffening a larger thread size with glue.  The next picture shows the installation up to the first stave.
 

 
The staves extended forward to the first shroud.  Their purpose was to maintain shroud spacing.  The picture was taken before the ends of the various lashings were trimmed off.  In the last picture these ends have been trimmed.
 

 
The fairleads will be lashed on the inside of the shrouds, just above the lower stave.
 
Ed