Jack12477

That is some wonderful looking work.

I think I've run out of superlatives!
 
John

Hello everybody,
 
I usually post my progress on Saturday morning but tomorrow we have a big family get-together for my mother's birthday tomorrow which will probably keep me away from the computer for most of the day so I decided post these photos today instead.
The flywheels are going together.  Unfortunately I wasn't able to complete the port wheel before the weekend.  I've also made a little more progress with the boiler front.
 
Firebox doors.  Except for two pieces of the firebox opening that suggest an arched door, we have little to go on for the design of the doors so I have kept them fairly simple.

 
 
 

 
Too many pieces to solder at once.  I decided to leave the panel inserts off until after blackening and will epoxy them from behind.

 
 
Test fit of the starboard flywheel spokes.

 
Completed starboard flywheel.

 
Starting on the port flywheel.

 
Starboard view of starboard flywheel.

 
View from port side.

not a whole lot to report .....although,  I think I found out what's bugg'in my airbrush.   I'm using the wrong thinner.
 
 
I mentioned that I pulled the Three Boat out from under the desk.....
 

 

 

 
hard to remember when I was back this far.   I'll work on her in the background as I do more to the Jingle belle.  I put a coat of paint on the cap rails.
 

 
.....and here they are.......the newly gussied up windows.
 

 
I was going to use a brush on them.......but that would have taken forever.    so I opted for something bigger......Q-tips!
          four puddles on a paper plate..........four Q-tips to apply them.........and this is what they look like.   the starboard side window still needed to be assembled,  so I did that too.
 

 

 
when dry,  I'll pop 'em out and finish them off........then I can gussie them up too..    this is going to be a slow planking job....
 

 
 

True enough, Ed. But for most builders, they would be more concerned with the external appearance of the framing.

The method described by Druxey - beveling on the finished hull or a section of it - was the method described in the Naiad book and in building the original model.  The use of the patterns to align the two frames in each bend was covered pretty thoroughly, but these were not much used for beveling frames.  
 
In building Young America, frames were pre-beveled before erection and this was very successful in terms of accuracy and elimination of heavy hull sanding, but without the special provisions on both the drawings and in the process used for YA, pre-beveling can be risky.  I did very little pre-beveling on the frames for the Naiad model.  Rough pre-beveling on other parts, such as the bollard timbers was done and can be done from the patterns on one side only.
 
Druxey, your suggestion of using the patterns on the wide side would work well for outside bevels but the inner bevels would need different treatment.
 
Ed

Jonathan, George, Jack thank you for your kind words. This is my first attempt at hull plating and I am posting the process I am using for the benefit of those new to ship building. In searching around I could not find a detailed process of doing it and even found incorrect applications not including the dressing belt.
Here are images showing the dressing belt and how the hull plates intersect the dressing belt.
 

 

 
Here are a couple of overall views with the second showing that the top row has the small rivets at both the top and bottom edges. In the picture of the stern area the small wheel was carefully used on the hull once the plates were cut to fit in place.


 
Now on to plating the port side, keep in mind these will have the left edge with the small rivets.
 
One question I do have is about the red lead paint applied on the dressing belt; it appears in photographs of the real ship to cover the three rows of the dressing belt and about half a plate dimension down into the hull plates. There is no mention of it in the instructions. I would appreciate any thought or comments others might have on this painted stripe.

I have that exact set - the hook and angled/bent point are useful for getting line under and around a belaying pin.  I also find the bent point useful for holding a line down while I wrapped it around something and also till the glue sets up a bit. They are long enough to reach into the deck area thru the rigging and getting into tight spots.
 
You can also use ordinary crochet hooks for a lot of rigging - get the smaller size ones, example US #5 or #7. I use the ones show above a lot as well as the crochet hooks. Or as others say - make your own.

As I suspected.  Do you glue them wet/damp, or let them dry in place first?
 
Ed

Ed: The frames are bent in wet, without any heat necessary. They are of such small dimension that this is easily accomplished under slight compression to 'spring' them into place.

Thank you, Erik and thanks for the likes.
 
Druxey, try would be the right word.  I bought an iron and tried a few pieces, but did not have much need for bending at the time.  Perhaps the second longboat would be the time to do some more with it, especially on these small frames.  Thanks.
 
I may also adopt the method you used on the barge for the two cutters.
 
Ed

Ed,
 
I've been looking forward to how you'd build these boats.  You're off to a good start!
 
Erik

Ed, have you tried bending frames using moisture and a thermostatically controlled iron?

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 145 – Ship’s Boats 1
 
Well, it is time to take the plunge on Young America’s complement of boats.  I expect this to be a humbling experience in the presence of Druxey’s posts on his beautiful hospital barge and Michael Mott’s extraordinary boat work.  However, I see no way out.
 
There will be four boats, two 28’ (~4 ½”) longboats and two 25’ (~4 1/8”) cutters.  The longboats are carvel built, as is one of the cutters.  The other cutter is clinkered.  Fortunately for me, three of the four will be stowed upside down on the skid beams, and the fourth, one of the cutters – work quality permitting - will be stowed on the quarter davits.  I decided to start with one of the longboats.
 
In the first picture, drawings of the framing plan and sheer elevation have been pasted to a block of soft pine. 
 

 
I expect to use the plug made from this block on both longboats.  The first step was to shape bow and stern profiles as shown in the next picture.
 

 
Then the sides by the same method.
 

 
Lines were then scribed for the three station patterns that I used and for the top of the sides.  The marked plug and the three pattern pieces are shown in the next picture.
 

 
Pattern 2 is at the stern.  I did not make a pattern for the line between midship and the stern.  The patterns were taken at the inside of the frames.  The plug was then given a fair shape using the three patterns as guides.  In the next picture the midship shape is being checked after some initial planning and rasping.
 

 
In the next picture the stern profile pattern has been given a coat of pencil lead so high points can be located.  The pencil in the next picture is pointing to a high spot identified by the rubbed-off pencil lead.
 

 
Work continued on the plug using rasps, files and sandpaper until the patterned shape and symmetric fair lines were obtained.
 
The last picture shows the finished plug with the first of the two part frames curved and pinned in place.
 

 
The plug was first given two coats of sanding sealer and then waxed. It was then marked with the frame lines on both sides to serve as rough guides for frame placement.  Frames will eventually be spaced by eye when the keel and bulwark planks are added.  The frames are held in position by the planking clamps I used on the decks of the POB model.  The frames at this stage are about 2” (~.03”) square.  Their molded breadth will be downsized a bit as they are faired during the planking process.  The frame pieces were cut from straight-grained pieces of Swiss pear.  For the bending of these I experimented with soaking the strips in isopropanol overnight, then bending and clamping down as shown.  This worked satisfactorily, but perhaps more flexibility and less breakage would occur with boiling.  Framing will continue in the next part.
 
 
Ed
 

Looking very nice - also great tutorial - thanks for sharing it - Hull plates look really great.

Beautiful work as usual, Micheal.  As an alternative to the glue mix, have you considered using shellac.  I have thought of trying this, but have no done so.  I was prompted to this by the thought of shellac sticks that are/were used for finish repair.  Shellac adheres well, dries quickly, does not penetrate and is easily removed with alcohol.  Just a thought.  By the way, I love those clamps.  I have tried without great success - or enough effort perhaps - to make clamps of similar type that would work well.  Mine would need to be smaller and I may give them a try.
 
Thanks,
 
Ed

Like Jack, I have these hooks.
I use them quite a lot.
The hook end is good for reaching into the rigging to snag and pull through a line.
And the slot end work the same in reverse, it can be used to push a line through a tangle of other rigging.
And a combination of the tool and tweezers is great for belaying round a pin.
 
Of course making your own would not be too much of a challenge.
Nick

I have that exact set - the hook and angled/bent point are useful for getting line under and around a belaying pin.  I also find the bent point useful for holding a line down while I wrapped it around something and also till the glue sets up a bit. They are long enough to reach into the deck area thru the rigging and getting into tight spots.
 
You can also use ordinary crochet hooks for a lot of rigging - get the smaller size ones, example US #5 or #7. I use the ones show above a lot as well as the crochet hooks. Or as others say - make your own.

If it's of any assistance, when I've cut frames, generally I cut to the outside line, or no more than 1/64" outside it. Bevelling (except for bollard, hawse timbers and transoms) is left until fairing a complete section of the hull. 
 
If you are going to bevel each frame, would it not make sense to paste the pattern on the 'narrow' side, cut to the 'wide' line, then bevel back to the  'narrow' line of the pattern, rather than try to align patterns on both sides?

I was wondering the same thing, Remco.  Most of the Naiad patterns show both front and back profiles.  I normally sand or file to the outer profile first square to the face, then bevel to the inner profile - or nearly so, to leave an allowance for fairing.  On the bollard timbers with their convex outer profiles, more allowance should be left.  I will be interested in Gary's method for using patterns on both sides.  I have done this in some cases by scribing index lines on the edges of the piece and using these to align the back side pattern - see the POB Young America posts on the stern pieces for this.  Of course all this assumes that a mirror image or appropriate opposite pattern does exist.  This is true for the Naiad bollard timbers - the other side's patterns can be used.
 
Ed

Hi Gary,
 
Wonderfull progress. I'm wondering, how do you align the templates if you paste them to both sides of one piece?
 
Remco

Hi Ed,  Thanks for the words of encouragement!  Building a ship plank by plank and bolt by bolt is definitely a new challenge for me and comes with a steep learning curve.  That being said, its very exciting.  I agree with the template use - I now paste them to both sides of many pieces so I can cut the proper angle.  This comes in handy for cutting the footing of frames.
 
Best, G 

Gary,
 
You are not experiencing anything that would be out of the ordinary for any of us.  Except for point six, which I am simply far too undisciplined to do, I agree with every other point - in fact, most emphatically.  I would emphasize that it is very important not to over shape or try to finish sand pieces prematurely.  
 
I restrict the use of the #11 blade to cutting patterns.
 
Also, I do not recommend leaving pieces over-sized - that is more than about 1/64" outside the patterns - with the idea of finalizing their shape later by sanding.  Let the patterns do their job in setting the shape.  Virtually all the Naiad patterns have front and back profiles that I found to be quite accurate.  (If not, I hopefully fixed them in final revisions.)  I think if you adopt this approach, the bollard timbers will fall into line.  The forward inside edges matched to the forward outside edges marked (i.e. scribed through its pattern.) on the next inside piece is the key.
 
I do not wish to make this sound too easy.  Authentic full framing is a challenge - otherwise why do it.
 
Good luck.  I think it looks great so far.
 
Ed

Hi Ed and Druxey,
 
Thanks for your follow up to my glue question.  I will keep trying...  Ed, I think you are right about the binding agent.  This is exactly what I think happened.
 
Back to building. I have done some (more like a lot of) rework on the Naiad - I was not a fan of the knee of head and a few other areas, so I went back and redid all of this, ok, everything...  It caused a lot of pain and as you can imagine, I was not motivated to take photos, but in the end, I am very satisfied with the outcome and the decision.  Hey, if I am going to stare at this project for the next four years, its got to be pleasing to my eye.
 
The biggest issue was that I had drastically undercut the bow and made the entry much too fine.  I tried to overcome this as I placed the forward cant frames, but simply found that it altered the beam of the ship drastically.  So over I started. Needless to say, there was a day of depression...
 
33 hours later, here we are with a new keel, stern deadwood and head of knee.  I find that I am much smarter the second time around. 
 

 
Some lessons I have learned on this build:
 
1. Chisel instead of #11 blade (too late for my left index finger...)
2. File instead of sanding stick
3. Razor blade instead of sandpaper
4. Micrometer that measures thousandths, not hundredths
5. Successive pieces glued together have a cumulative affect on the size of the subassembly.  Constantly refer back to the plans and templates - adjust accordingly.
6. Keep a "Ships Daily Log".  Even if there are doldrums, record in it each day.  Hey, they had to do it at sea, so why not do it at home??? 
7. Don't final sand or final shape a piece during the subassembly phase.  The risk of undercutting or misshapaing is significant. By waiting to do this, it will help to bring the entire project together as one.  
 
Next up is the infamous Bollard Timbers and stem rabbet...
 
Wish me luck. G
 
 
 
 

Druxey,
 
Fascinating and beautiful.  Are the two clamps shown in the picture sufficient to hold the frames' shapes?  Are these bent "dry" or are you bending them with heat or another method?
 
Ed