MD11pilot

CAPTAIN PHILLIPS’ PATENT CAPSTAN
 
To this point, my build log has included detailed notes about my research into Franklin's ships, and is largely a mirror of my blog, Building HMS Terror. While I know some followers have enjoyed my research notes (thanks for all the kind words of encouragement), others find them tedious, and recreating them here every time I finish a part has become quite time consuming. 
 
 
For the remainder of my build log, I've decided to do something a little different, and keep this primarily as a photo essay of my build. I'll continue to post research notes, but those will only appear on my blog. This change will also allow me to post a few more photos here, for those who want to see more wood and metal. 
 
 
So, with that formality out of the way, here is my attempt to build plans and a model of an 1839 era improved capstan. For those interested in the historical research I conducted, please consult my blog!
 
 

An 1839 era Phillips, capstan, as I believe it may have been 
configured for use on HMS Erebus and Terror.
 

Cutting the capstan components on an Epilogue laser cutter. 
 

The completed pieces. 
 

Vellum was added to enhance the joints of the capstan.
 

The assembled capstan before sanding. 
 

Sanded to shape. 
 

Drilling the bolt locations. 
 

The completed drumhead. Some Phillips' capstan models 
show lined sockets, so I added boxwood liners. 
I admit that it was primarily an aesthetic choice. 
 

I cut the drumhead plate from an unused pipe fitting which I flared to the right size. 
 

I filed a lip into the plate by hand. 
 

I cut the pawl rim (ring) out of brass plate using a jeweler's coping saw.
 

I filed each stop by hand, after carefully scoring the brass
 

The pawl rims were each made from pipe fittings flared to the precise diameter. 
 

The pawl rim prior to soldering and sanding. 
 

The piece following soldering. I used  copper solder for the first
time on this piece - despite being very dirty, it worked well. 
 

To maintain the proper curvature, I cut the pawls from a copper fitting. 
 

The pawls cut roughly to length. 
 

Bolt holes were drilled before shaping. 
 

Each pawl was filed and shaped by hand. 
 

The completed pawl rim (ring) and pawls.
Two traits unique to Phillips' capstans can 
be seen here. First, the pawl rim was bolted through
each stop, rather than in the spaces.
Second, Phillips' capstans had between six and 
eight pawls, while earlier models typically had four. 
 

The pawlhead. 
 

The completed pawlhead with the top plate soldered in place.
Contemporary models show that the pawlheads on 
Phillips' capstans were made entirely of iron. 
 

Dry fitting the metal pieces. The pawls need some thinning here. 
 

Pieces prior to finishing and assembly. 
 

Blackening the metal parts. 
 

The metal pieces after blackening, buffing, and sealing 
(I use Krylon matte coat as a sealer). 
 

The completed capstan. The wooden pieces have been
treated with Minwax wipe-on poly. 
 
Detail of the pawl rim and pawls. 
 

The drumhead (the drop pins indicate it is in direct-drive mode).
 

Detail of the lower drop pins and drumhead plate (I couldn't find scale
chain small enough to model that feature). 
 

Mini-Crozier inspects his capstan, recalling his good times with  Parry. 

I don't often stray into the "scratch build" side of the site, but I just wanted to check out what the "sensei" is up to.  Amazing work Chuck.
I swear I'd pay good money just to sit quietly in your shop and watch you create one of those amazingly precise scarf joints. 

I have now completed the lower planking on the port side. This involved the same process used on the starboard side -- planking, tree nailing, final sanding and repainting of the wale. Although the two sides didn't come out exactly identical, they are very close. The hull is now fully planked.
 
With the completion of this work, it is time to turn my attention inboard and thin down the bulkheads in preparation for the bulwark planking.
 
Bob

Well, I've done the square tuck stern and it was as troublesome as I feared it would be. Definitely the hardest part of the work to date. I went through a good part of a sheet of 1/8" boxwood to make the framing (my trash can was delighted with all of the treats it received  ), but I finally said "enough". The result is "OK", but not great. The planking was tricky, but easier.
 
Once I was at it, I decided to go ahead and complete the area by tree nailing and putting on a coat of Wipe-on Poly. I then added the stern post, because I prefer to do the lower planking with it in place. Lastly, I added the molding at the bottom of the counter above the tuck framing.
 
All in all, I'm just glad to be back at the lower planking.
 
Bob

Lower hull planking progresses. Chuck says that Cheerful can be planked without spiling by edge bending the planks (and has proved it beautifully on his own model). Well, so far, so good. I have now done the upper belt of the port side lower planking. While it doesn't look anywhere as good as Chuck's, I'm reasonably satisfied. 
 
Each plank was first tapered, then bent, then edge beveled where necessary for a tight fit. I followed the butt pattern shown in the plans.I must admit that it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks, and I went back to my old methods of plank bending, using water and heat, rather than the method used and shown by Chuck. In any event, it's now on to the same work on the starboard side.
 
Bob 

Work on the planking continues. I've now added the second layer of the wales and painted them black, and done the first two strakes of the lower planking, including the drop plank. Those lower strakes were given a rough sanding.  If I had it to do again, I would probably not add the second wale layer until after doing the lower planking, since the the paint got pretty nicked up and will require extensive touch up later.
 
In any event, I will now move on to the remainder of the first belt of lower planking.
 
Bob

I don't often stray into the "scratch build" side of the site, but I just wanted to check out what the "sensei" is up to.  Amazing work Chuck.
I swear I'd pay good money just to sit quietly in your shop and watch you create one of those amazingly precise scarf joints. 

I don't often stray into the "scratch build" side of the site, but I just wanted to check out what the "sensei" is up to.  Amazing work Chuck.
I swear I'd pay good money just to sit quietly in your shop and watch you create one of those amazingly precise scarf joints. 

Careful....I think you could draw a crowd with that invitation Chuck.

Thank You....if you are ever in th e neighborhood let me know..
 
I love getting company during the day.  

I don't often stray into the "scratch build" side of the site, but I just wanted to check out what the "sensei" is up to.  Amazing work Chuck.
I swear I'd pay good money just to sit quietly in your shop and watch you create one of those amazingly precise scarf joints. 

I don't often stray into the "scratch build" side of the site, but I just wanted to check out what the "sensei" is up to.  Amazing work Chuck.
I swear I'd pay good money just to sit quietly in your shop and watch you create one of those amazingly precise scarf joints. 

I don't often stray into the "scratch build" side of the site, but I just wanted to check out what the "sensei" is up to.  Amazing work Chuck.
I swear I'd pay good money just to sit quietly in your shop and watch you create one of those amazingly precise scarf joints. 

I feel troubled looking at those pictures . maybe i should quit this hobby right now , cause that is just scary ????!!!!!!!!!!!

Holy crap.  Spend the time to look at that Royal Caroline.  It has crazy stuff like this:
 

Finishing up the hatchways I glued them to the deck along with the shot racks.
 

 
The cover boards for the capstan platform were then added between the aft hatch and companionway opening and finally the edge boards around the inside of the companionway were glued in place.
 

 
 
After all the hatches were installed I thought I would add a little 'Dirk bling'.  I liked the iron angle pieces he added to the corners of the hatch where the anchor ropes enter the hull so I thought I’d give it a try.  Using the spur from the photo-etched parts I made a couple ‘L’ shaped pieces.  Next I drilled holes for .5 mm rivets I got from Scale Hardware, blackened all the parts and then very carefully attached them to the coaming.  Not too bad but I have to try a little harder to keep the ca glue off the parts
 

Thanks Greg, Nick, George and Keith.
 
 
Gee, sorry George. Just a 4x magnifier .
 
 
Lots of practice???
 
Here's your pic Keith :
 

 
  Danny

Thanks Russell. Yep, this is a whole new ball game, and a load of fun .
 
Here's the final rigging. It'll tighten up better when it's all finished (I hope) :
 

 
My trick for doing the Forestay. The fishing line will be trimmed off after the forestay is glued to the mast :
 

 
The fishing line used to pull the jib halyard Traveller forward on the bowsprit :
 

 

 
The final try into the bottle before I actually insert the boat permanently. I'll only get one chance at it, as I doubt I'd get it back out again :
 

 

 
  Danny

I didn't want to be excessive with the treenaiing so I just used the bulkhead lines established with the butt joints.  
 

 

My first attempts at "joggling" or "nibbling".  Followed the instructions and it worked out OK.
 

 
The planking is all laid in, and you can see the results of the joggling fore….
 

 
And aft…..
 

 
To finish the deck, I scraped it with the blade from my hand plane and a utility knife blade.  After some sanding I finished the deck with pre-stain conditioner and a 50-50 mix of Minwax Natural and Golden Oak stain.

Push pins inserted into the balsa blocking was a nice way to clamp the planks.  For this reason alone, if you are just starting your Syren don't scrimp on the blocking between the bulkheads.
 

Like a few other Syren builders, I decided to delay the installation of the cap rail.  I'm not careful enough, and just know I would beat the heck out of the rail while planking the deck.
 
So, my next step will be the deck.
 
The laser cut margin plank didn't come close to matching the curve of my ship so I had to cut my own.  I placed the scarph joint one bulkhead farther aft than in the plans so that the "straight" piece wouldn't have to bend much.
 

 

 

Added the companionway framing….
 

The build began on Monday 9-28-15. After months of rigging Fair American, I forgot how much fun it is to work with wood again. Below are 11 thumbnails showing progress to date.
#1 The obligatory photo of Syren still in the box. Parts were checked and counted for. I also wrote a list of the sections and parts to be from the boxwood and holly from Crown Timberyard. The stern will be the first try. (Incidentally, Jason at Crown sent a couple of pieces of beautiful pear wood. I'll definitely try to work them into the build.)

#2 The rabbet strip after soaking for 1/2 hour affixed to the bulkhead former for shaping. 

#3 The rabbet strip actually kept its shape after drying while affixed to the BF.

#4 The numbered and lettered bulkheads were tested in their proper slots. All but one were tight requiring a lot of standing. I chose to sand the BHs at the top where they contact the BF rather than sand the slots. That seemed easier. The BHs will likely need a bit more sanding when it's time to glue them permanently. The BHs were also sanded a bit to remove most of the char from the laser--except I'll wait to clean up those few BHs with the the laser bevel lines right up against the edge of the BH until after they are beveled.

#5 The rabbet strip has been glued to the BF with care to keep the strip centered.

#6 Shows the rabbet at the bow.

#7 Shows the rabbet at the stern. I think that the rabbets were done correctly, but won't be certain until planking. A little more sanding may be needed at the keel so that the plank runs smoothly. 

#8 The stem removed from its board, the char cleaned and the knee tapered. 

#9 First potential problem: I tested the figurehead on the stem knee and peaked are Chapter 10 (Head Rails and Figurehead) to see if there will be enough room for the lower head rail. There may not be. See thumbnail #10.

#10 The figurehead test fitted on the stem knee compared to the figurehead on the stem knee as shown on the prototype. The prototype figurehead is different and may have a deeper curve at the back so that the tail is higher above the bobstay holes. I mau have to deepen the hollow on the back of the figurehead when the time comes so that her tail is a bit higher on the knee. Does that sound right?

#11 the stem has been glued to the BF again with care to keep the rabbet equal on both sides. Either the BF or the stem was a bit warped so I used a lot of clamps to keep the stem centered.

Off to the gym while the glue dries. Retirement is wonderful!
 
Regards, Ed
 










 

Preliminary work is done--skimmed Chuck's prototype document (a lot of skimming) downloaded from NRG, and read the instruction book a couple of times. The shippyard is clean and all tools are in place to start Syren's hull. (The rigging tools and material used for Fair American are put away and ready for Syren many, many months from now.) Plan to start the build next week. Since I hope to build most of the parts from scratch, I invested in the Dremel Moto-Saw (very good price from Amazon). I took it for a test drive and it cut smoothly and accurately. 
 
The pic is my shipyard. I just got my replacement wood package from Crown Timberyard. Each size strip and sheet is clean, milled beautifully and labeled/packaged separately. Excellent lumber source and real easy to work with.
 
Regards to all,
Ed