j21896

Hi Alistair,
 
A recent post in the forums regarding rope coils made me immediately think of your AVS, as your coils are so superbly done. 
 
How did you do them?  Are they part of the actual line you belayed?  Are they made separately off of the ship and then added following belaying?  Please, do share your secrets to success Man 
 
Thanks,
Robert

Tall?  Yes!  Ungainly?  No way!  She's tall and proud Patrick
 
Cheers,
Robert

Hello dear friends,
 
here I show you pictures of manufacture of the steering wheel.
I hope that it is interesting for you.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Goodbye, see you soon.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Capping Rail
 
A very brief update:  after a few weeks of indecisiveness coupled with a small case of “builder’s block”, I finally began to fabricate the capping rail.
 
I taped in a short piece of dowel as a placeholder for the bowsprit, and after scrolling out the approximate shapes of the rail sections from cherry sheet , I've started test fitting and sanding them to about 90% of their final shape and dimensions.  With them temporarily taped in place, I can work on fit between the sections.
 
 

 
 
Using hooked scarphs for the joinery.
 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 
In addition to holding things in place with tape, I’ve drilled a few holes where some of the treenails will eventually go, and temporarily inserted short pieces of copper wire to ensure proper alignment, and consistent positioning after removal for shaping and replacement.
 
 

 
 
The deck furniture waits patiently in the foreground (atop some sections of old test planking) to be returned to their homes.
 
 

 
 
Now back to cutting scarph joints!
 
Cheers,
Robert

Wouter, I hope you don't mind me adding one more suggestion for Robert.
 
Since I got this scroll-saw at a bargain price, I still had to do some experimenting. With the 'zero clearance' table mod I am able to get pretty close to no tear out on the back side. But I was curious if I could improve how steady the blade is while in motion. Bandsaws have guides for the blades and I thought this might work on a scroll-saw. The first picture below shows my experiment of using a piece of oak. I cut a groove part way and double back taped that behind the blade. It worked quite well and I was able to follow a line better than I had done before. I may make a better setup rather than using double back tape. But at least the idea worked.
 

Yikes!  And a huge sigh of relief for you Augie.
 
Robert

Hi everyone,
 
I got a little further on cutting the birdsmouth rabbets on the whelps for the chocks. Using the little holding jig really helped. I was able to use the scoring marking gauge to keep the joints at the same height, and then a free-handed chisel cut for the birdmouth. By the way, I spot glued the whelps into the jig to hold them in place, then soaked them off with isopropyl alcohol 99%. The spots of glue were really tiny, but they held.
 
Best wishes,
 
Mark

Nice work Patrick!  The rigging looks great.  And she certainly is a tall old gal isn't she!
 
What size case will you need to put her on display?
 
Robert
 
 

Hello,
 
Before I begin to install all guns, and work further with beams and knees for quarter deck, gun port lids must here. So the production of hinges, the lids itself are made earlier. I hope, the images are self explainable.
 





 
The installation of hinges and lid tackles.





 
After I have installed all lids, I have made blanks for channels, shaped them to right size and thickness, and installed them (only dry now).
 







 
To be continued
 
Alexander

Now I only had to add a few small details to finish it up.   This was a relatively short project but was a lot of fun to build.
 
I created the oars in two pieces.   The handles were shaped on my dremel which I used as a poor man's lathe.  Once it was chocked up....I sanded and filed the square strip until it was rounded to spec.  But I left the square section untouched to create the final look which was common for the period.
 
The grapnel was a casting from Model Expo.  Seeing as this was a prototype for a future kit, I was asked to use one that they already had in stock.  It was a nice fitting and was perfectly scaled.  
 
That finished off the project.   I turned the display pedestals with my Dremel because they were small enough to chock.   They arent a perfect mating pair but look OK to my eye.
 
Thanks for looking and as always,  comments and questions are appreciated.  
 
Chuck
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks, Sinan, druxey and Remco. I built that bench many years ago when i was building furniture, which I do no more, and I had a larger shop, which I have no more. So the bench is way, way too big for the space and my needs. I walk around it every time between the Bellona and the model tools, but I can't even think about giving it up. I put my capstan on the tail vise to show the scale...
 
I am showing a little template for marking the angled surfaces on the face of the whelps. The next challenge, which has really slowed me down, is cutting the bird mouth joints on the sides of the whelps for the chocks. They are so small that I managed to cut my own finger with the marking gauge, and I cannot see or feel the score to register the chisel for the cut. And they are angled in two directions, which means that I cannot hold them down on the bench without them squirting out from under the clamp. So I built what my wife called a little "nest" for the whelps, with a two direction angled rabbet in a piece of maple for each one. It keeps them all level in both directions. When I get my energy back, I should be able to score them all at once with a straight edge across the group.
 
And the last photo shows the latest carlings, and the two parts of the main hatch awaiting its coamings and round-up.
 
Never as much progress in a weekend as I always hope for.....
 
Mark
 

Once work on the mounting hardware was done, moved onto the coppering (of course) and other finishings aspects.  I did not bother to copper the sternpost or the front side of the rudder as these cannot really be seen, and simply painted these copper.  Coppering the rudder was definitely a challenge due to the rudder mounting recesses. 
 
Overall pretty happy, and just the mounting straps to go before being able to move back to the deck with conviction.

25/07/2011


 
The next victim was the windlass. No big difficulty even if I managed to break one of the gears while dry fitting it on the shaft    . But the bowspritt roller being of no use at its intended location (no the right dimension for the bowspritt!    ...but exactly the right diameter for the gear    ) I drilled a hole in it and it made a suitable replacement for the lost part    . As for the engine room, I used my blue chemics and acrylics to make everyone dark and metal shining! (The gear actually works! Yeah! I'll be able to move the anchor!   )




 
 
And at the moment, I am trying to decipher the rigging instructions, that is to say plans and black&white pics: no instructions whatsoever as to how to rig!    Either Constructo decided we did that since babyhood or they run out of paper for their booklet.     Here are views of what I have been playing with this month: (this is O.K. ...)
 
 

Scalawag!

Capstan – completed
 
I had drilled a hole all the way through the center of the spindle, so that I could match-up and center the drumhead on the body, and the cap on the drumhead.  I also drilled a hole in the capstan deck platform, so that placement on the platform could be centered using a short piece of dowel as a locator pin.  I used 100% tung oil for the finish.
 

 
A tale of two capstans:  Scratch-built vs. Kit
 

 

 
And finally, a few views of it in place on deck.
 

 

 

 

Capstan – completed
 
I had drilled a hole all the way through the center of the spindle, so that I could match-up and center the drumhead on the body, and the cap on the drumhead.  I also drilled a hole in the capstan deck platform, so that placement on the platform could be centered using a short piece of dowel as a locator pin.  I used 100% tung oil for the finish.
 

 
A tale of two capstans:  Scratch-built vs. Kit
 

 

 
And finally, a few views of it in place on deck.
 

 

 

 

I winch

Capstan – continued
 
Okay, time for that “artistic license”!                           
 
Having read that decorations were often added to the “caps” of capstans, I thought I’d take a crack at it.  I figured a nautical star design might be appropriate.
 

 
For the required contrast, I used some left-over walnut and lime wood strips (about 0.02” thick), and glued them edge-to-edge.
 

 
Once dry, I sliced down each colored side to a width of 1/32”, for a total strip width of 1/16” for the larger points of the star -- and then a little thinner for the smaller points.  Because they were so small, I cut them to shape, and then glued them to a paper backing to aid in alignment, as well as strengthening.  Once the glue was dry, I trimmed around the edges.
 

 

 
I used another cherry disc for the cap, and marked it up to align the star.
 

 

 
Then I used a micro chisel blade to carve out the area, and I inlaid the star.
 

 

 
Next up will be final assembly, and some tung oil -- to hopefully make the color contrasts in that star "pop".

Capstan
 
The kit-provided capstan was made of plywood, and since I’m not using paint on any parts of the ship, it was time for a scratch-built replacement.  (I also wasn’t crazy about the shape of the kit capstan.  Plus, I really just want to scratch build the rest of this ship anyway!)

Unlike the companionway – which was improvised – there is a drawing of the capstan on the NMM plans which I could use.  I couldn’t however, resist taking a bit of “artistic license” with some aspects of the piece.                                                                                                                         
 
Kit-Provided Capstan vs. NMM Plans
 

 
 

 
 
The spindle was made from Swiss pear, and to fabricate it, I got some practice using the technique for making masts that should come in handy later:   I planed down some square stock to 8 sides, then 16 sides, and then sanded it round.              

The welps are made of cherry – shown here temporarily glued together side-to-side, for uniform shaping with a file.  (I would ultimately use only six of them, but I made a few extra just in case.  And yes, they came in handy!)
 

 
Next, slots for the chocks were cut, and the welps were tapered and glued around the spindle.  The chocks were then fabricated in cherry and added – which took about five times more effort and time than the rest of the capstan components combined!
 

 
 

 
 

 
 
To make the drumhead, I used a compass to draw circles on cherry sheet, and roughly cut out the discs using my new scroll saw for the first time (Very roughly!  I definitely need practice scrolling!)
 
I trimmed them a little closer with an Exacto knife, drilled a hole through the compass point in their centers, and screwed them into a Dremel mandrel.  Using a Dremel drill press and sand paper held against an angle iron, I sanded them round. (see the many “just in case” extra discs in the background!)
 
 

 
 

 
 
I cut out the slots for the capstan bars using a micro chisel blade – destroying several of those "extra" discs before getting it right -- and assembled the drumhead.
 

 
 

 

Capstan
 
The kit-provided capstan was made of plywood, and since I’m not using paint on any parts of the ship, it was time for a scratch-built replacement.  (I also wasn’t crazy about the shape of the kit capstan.  Plus, I really just want to scratch build the rest of this ship anyway!)

Unlike the companionway – which was improvised – there is a drawing of the capstan on the NMM plans which I could use.  I couldn’t however, resist taking a bit of “artistic license” with some aspects of the piece.                                                                                                                         
 
Kit-Provided Capstan vs. NMM Plans
 

 
 

 
 
The spindle was made from Swiss pear, and to fabricate it, I got some practice using the technique for making masts that should come in handy later:   I planed down some square stock to 8 sides, then 16 sides, and then sanded it round.              

The welps are made of cherry – shown here temporarily glued together side-to-side, for uniform shaping with a file.  (I would ultimately use only six of them, but I made a few extra just in case.  And yes, they came in handy!)
 

 
Next, slots for the chocks were cut, and the welps were tapered and glued around the spindle.  The chocks were then fabricated in cherry and added – which took about five times more effort and time than the rest of the capstan components combined!
 

 
 

 
 

 
 
To make the drumhead, I used a compass to draw circles on cherry sheet, and roughly cut out the discs using my new scroll saw for the first time (Very roughly!  I definitely need practice scrolling!)
 
I trimmed them a little closer with an Exacto knife, drilled a hole through the compass point in their centers, and screwed them into a Dremel mandrel.  Using a Dremel drill press and sand paper held against an angle iron, I sanded them round. (see the many “just in case” extra discs in the background!)
 
 

 
 

 
 
I cut out the slots for the capstan bars using a micro chisel blade – destroying several of those "extra" discs before getting it right -- and assembled the drumhead.
 

 
 

 

Wow, thanks for the encouragement Elia!  I'm a big fan of your work --  ever since I first saw your Oneida on the old Dry Dock Models forum!
 
All treenails throughout were made with my trusty Jim Byrnes draw plate and the holes were drilled with my Dremel.  I know there were 6,500 in the hull, but I stopped counting when I moved inside to the bulwarks and deck, so I'm not sure what my total is now.
 
I hope you'll be posting pictures of your Oneida in the Gallery of completed ships here.  And hopefully you can recreate your Goddess build log too.
 
Cheers,
Robert

If that's your motto Augie, then mine would definitely be:  "(see Augie's motto)"

Hey Hakan -- I just happened to be over at your re-built build log!!