Jack12477

I assume you have the Artesia Latina kit which depicts the 1854 sloop of war being restored as a 1797 frigate.  In that case, you might want to finish her as she appeared in Baltimore in those days...
 
  The gun strip was a sort-of cream color, not white.
 

 

 

Hi Guys,
 
Been a bit backward in coming forward with my latest update I'm afraid, all I can say is that it's been an eventful couple of weeks and this old geezer doesn't usually do eventful.
 
Things have moved on a step or two since my last post and I can be accused of getting carried away, I promised to show the making up of the Shellroom but unfortunately this is now not possible. So I'm afraid we have from component parts to completed item in two pictures, If anybody wants to see how the Shellroom is constructed then may I suggest you pay a visit to Grants log in this section and he will most likely show how it's done, he's very good at that sort of thing.
 
So, we now have our Shellroom completed and all polyied up it's on to the next stage.


 
First up is the make up of the Mortar Pit Beams and Planking, it strikes me that with the dimensions of the Planking they should be referred to as Boards, they are quite substantial pieces of wood when taken in scale.

 
Here are the component parts for the Mortar Pit Beams and Planking

 
The Beams are not difficult to make up and are pretty straight up unless your me that is, the cut outs for the Shellroom supports were not quite lined up and so each had to measured up to fit, not difficult but a lot of too-ing and fro-ing. This shot is of the Beams being glued into place.

 
All Beams are now firmly glued into position

 
Next up we have the Mortar Pit Planks, These are made up of two different size Holly Planks, the Primary Planks are made from 1/4 x 3/16 and the Secondary Planks are 3/16 x 1/8 with the outer Planks being 1/4 x 1/8. I also used black paper for the caulking.The centre of the Secondary Planking was cut out using a hole cutter, the Treenails were drilled and made up from dust gained from sanding down the planks and using the slightly darker material, I think it works.

 
The two planking's offered up to each other

 
The Mortar Pit Boundary Timbers  were made up from 5/16 x 1/4 Pear and routed on my trusty Proxxon Router.

 
The Primary and Secondary Planking have now been fitted into the cut outs on the Boundary Timbers and the Upper and Lower Deck Clamps have been glued into position.

 
So there we are guys, your right up to date now. It seems a pretty good place to stop for the time being as I have now been given the job of restoring a Harwich Bawley which is a Shrimp Fishing Smack. I was looking for a secondary build and now I have it.
I also have to repair my Thames Barge which was damaged by the decorators during pre season work at the museum.
I will be starting a new log for the Bawley and hopefully restarting my old log for the barge, if it still exists, the damage to the barge is quite extensive and will require a full breakdown of all masts and rigging. Oh deep joy.
 
Hope you enjoy the update guys.
 
Be Good
 
mobbsie

Hi Guys,
 
Time for a quick update.
 
Work has continued on the Shellroom.  The deck support beams were cut from Swiss Pear and placed in their location, you got it, they didn't fit, so a little adjustment was required to the Floor Riders, not with a little trepidation I took a razor saw to the Riders and trimmed off the excess, this time all was well and with a bit of gentle persuasion they fitted.
 
Next up was the Bomb Racks, very simple and gave no trouble, these were made from Swiss Pear, I made a very simple vice to hold them so that I could grind out the dip for the Bombs to sit in, this worked a treat and they were turned out in no time.
 
The Pillars gave me a little more trouble because I had to mill them in three's because my vice wouldn't open wide enough, some irregularity seeped in and a few cuts didn't line up, these had to be recut, they took me the best part of a day to complete.
 
Next up, the Shellroom deck, I made this from six pieces of Holly, I used black card for the corking, each deck has three pieces and once glued together they were sanded down to size. On refection the card is not the correct size, it's too big, but I quite like the effect and so it's going to stay.
 
The Support Beams, Deck beams and Deck were glued in position and given two coats of Poly. The racks were made up and also given two coats of poly.
 
The Bombs were made from a child's bracelet ( not my Granddaughters ), my Admiral bought them but they were silver, dilemma, what was I to do, the remit for the build was for no paint to be used, sorry guys I failed in this area, the Admiral bought some spray paint and so the bombs were duly painted ( GOLD ). Didn't check the tin did I, so this time I got it and duly sprayed the bombs.
 
The Bomb racks have been made up but I don't have any pics of them just yet, but another update will be following shortly.
 
The Upper Support Beams were cut so all that needs to be done is the actual construction.
 
Some pics
 
My simplified vice for holding the flat stuff
 
 
 
 
Most of the parts that make up the Shellroom still to be given a coat of Poly

 
Support Beams and Deck Beams in place

 
Support Beams and Decking placed and given two coats of Poly

 
So that's it for now, next update will be soon.
 
Be Good
 
mobbsie
 
 
 
 
 
 

Buck, I have no Idea. This is all trial and error. I am flying by the seat of my pants on this one.
 
Michael

Bob, Carl, thanks for the kind words. And to all who visited and showed their appreciation.
 
Just a small update.
 
The trial shaping of some springs and the fitting of the valve spring keepers.
 
The first picture shows test fitting the valve into the .052" slot of the keeper, they are .110" on the major diameter and .081  on the minor diameter and .070" high.
 

 
The raw springs, these are just freehand off the mandrel which is an .067"  drill  which creates an internal diameter of .081"
 

 
Trimmed up a bit.
 

 
Trial fitting on the block.
 

 
Now I need to get some consistently formed springs made. The second from the left is the best one so that is the goal.
 
Michael
 
 

Beautiful Model. Well done, Rich. The sails came out really nice also.

Beautiful Model. Well done, Rich. The sails came out really nice also.

Correct!!!  Bottom of ports follow the run of the deck.  Sides are vertical and straight with teh frames.  Port lids will be the same.  Typical mistake seen on kits.  Not all ports are completely square at all.  Take a look at this original draft.  The red dashed square is at right angles.  Note how the port is not.   It follows the deck.
 

I've been away for the last couple of weeks, but did finally manage to get some shipyard time in this weekend.  When last we  met, I had decided to go ahead with the Deck Clamp Bolts.  Here are a few pics of the final product – the pics appear somewhat streaky as the Wipe-on Poly was still wet when the pics were taken.
 

 

 

 

 
With this job out of the way, it was time to make a start on construction of the Shell Room.........
 
Shell Room Construction
 
Construction of the Shell Room begins with the fitting of the lower support beams, made from 5/16” square Pear, across the Floor Riders, with cross beams added in situ to ensure a proper fit.
 

 
Once the glue had dried, the frame assembly was removed from the model for further construction and fit-out.  The next step was to install the deck planks.  These are made from Holly, 1/16” x 1/8”.  I opted to simulate caulking using black paper as I wanted to see how this would look, knowing that once the assembly was completed, this deck would hardly be visible.  I also added treenails, using the drill and fill method as described previously.
 

 
In the above photo, you may notice three filled holes towards the left hand end (one in each beam).  This was where I incorrectly transferred one measurement before drilling.  I have filled the incorrect holes with a mixture of Pear sawdust and diluted PVA.  Once the assembly is complete, these will be barely visible, so I’m going to live with it. I've also just noticed that a couple of "treenails" in the Holly decking have come adrift and need replacing......
 
The pillars to support the shell racks were the next to be made.  No particular rocket science here, but a great job for the Sherline Mill after cutting the blanks on the Byrnes saw.  I constructed a small jig to hold all 18 pieces, then cut the dados (which are 2mm deep) in two passes of 1 mm each, using a 5/64” end mill cutter.  The only issue I had in this job was caused by operator error when I failed to ensure that the cutter was securely held in the mill.  The net result was that I destroyed half of my blanks in one pass.  No biggie – just whipped up some more blanks on the Byrnes saw and replaced the duds. (Did I mention I love my Byrnes saw?.........and my Sherline Mill?)
 

 
The pillars were also drilled in each end to take one end of a 1.5mm diameter brass locating pin (to match the holes drilled in the support beams).
 
Finally, here is an overall shot of all the components of the shell room.  The Shells themselves are ¼” diameter beads – they  may be just a tad undersize, so I’m holding off on drilling out the shell racks until I find out whether I can source some slightly larger beads of the same type.
 

 
 

As requested....here's some pics of the completed Connie. I have to laugh...all the work we put into the deck and guns, etc....and they wind up barely visible. Just like the hull planks....nobody (but me) looks down there.

I finally mounted the jolly boats. This effectively completes the ship.....but ...you know....and I know....I'll be "tweeking" her until I start a new ship. I still have to get or build a case.

I used a steel rule to measure the height and tilt of the frames "Z".  Held in place while the glue dried.  Then the outer parts ("ZZ") were glued on.  A large amout of these frames will be sanded down to get the right shape of the stern.  There will likely be a lot of stress in the sanding so they will set for 24 hours before I go at them.
Maury

More work on the port sills.  The sills require beveling in two dimensions.  The ends have to be mitered (sides) so they fit between the bulkhead uppers, but they need an additional bevel in vertical plane where the sill rises following the shear.  I use a Miter Sander.  It comes with three sanding blocks with angles from 0 to 8 degrees.  Here I'm putting a 4 degree bevel on one end of a sill.  The other side gets a similar bevel on the opposite edge so they are parallel.  They get inserted between the uppers following the new modified reference lines drawn on the bulkhead uppers.  You can see the grain on the boxwood, which is a big disappointment with the quality of wood I got from Lumberyard.  It won't matter in this spot, but where it's visible, I'm going to go to with Crown for my next buy.
Maury

Talking about humbling ...

And to show how the port lids fit when installed.
 

 
The blank lids without hinges were positioned first and while they were in....I glued the hinges in without there little pins.   It was easier to line up the hinges visually that way.  At least for me.
 
They are actually working hinges as you can see.  I am pleased with how well the laser board worked for this application.  That is one less element I need to rely on photoetch for in the future.
 

 
Chuck

Here are some photos of the completed cockpit area and the thwart that supports the mast.  Some changes to the cockpit were based on photos of contemporary models.  Apparently, it was quite common for these craft to have additional bracing on the interior side of the transom.  Here is one such model.

If you look closely, you can see a metal plate in the notch that would have supported the anchor davit.  This makes sense since the davit probably exerted considerable stress on the transom while working with the ship's anchor.  Here's my interpretation of that photo:


No modifications to the thwart were made, other than the fact that I substituted boxwood belaying pins for those supplied with the kit.



Some of the thwarts have not been glued in place yet.  I placed them in position for these photos.  I think the additional room will help with the installation of the windlass, which is next.
BobF

Hi Chuck
 
No,you are not crazy for drilling all those holes in the Cheerful,you are just an exalted "Holely Man Builder".
 
As a tool and diemaker one of the first jobs I had as an apprentice was working on die's that punched holes into peg board. They would punch 3 rows of either 3/16" or 1/4" dia. holes on 1 " centers 48" or 72" wide for the hardboard sheets that you buy for your garage to hang tools on.
 
Each die had 102  1-1/4" dia. springs ,that I had to drill the holes for into the dieset 2-1/5" deep. So I have been drilling thousands of holes thru the 44 years that I was a diemaker plus now as a model maker. But now they are quite a bit smaller in diameter. I just sit down and listen to the TV or a CD and get into the land of drilling holes and seeing how close of a perfect pattern that I can make,and just how many holes without breaking a drill bit.
 
On my Royal Caroilne I have drilled over 8,000 holes now of .016 dia. without breaking a drill. And thats drilling into boxwood that has been coated with Testors Dullcote. Not a reacord for me,but just another week in model building.
 
From a fellow "Holely Man" retired Toolmaker
 
Keith from sunny Troutdale,Oregon-going to be 72 today here.

Thank you all for your continued encouragements, and likes
 
Igor that video is just amazing and humbling all at the same time, I don't think I have the patience for something as complex as that. 
 
Well I am back at the library as the home system is still not working, I am told I need to upgrade the service equipment that communicates with the tower!??
 
I have started the work on the valves now. first the wall of the water jacket needed to be relieved a little to clear the .100" coil springs that return the valves after the cams have lifted them.
 
I used a .125" Dremel mill after resetting the indexes so that I could follow the numbers for the drilling.
 

 

 

 
The valves are turned from some 1/8th drill rod /silver steel and the cutter reduced the diameter with a single cut I simply fed the material out of the collet and kept the cutting close to the collet. these two are the first test parts to get the dimensions correct, slide fits etc. and the machining sequences, this is the reason for all the extra bits in the scrap boxes.
 
The valves are .665 long and the stem is .062 the spring keeper section is .047" in diameter just visible on the shorter valve stem.
 

 
While I had the tool set up for cutting the bevel and reducing the diameter at the same time I used the same tool to turn the blank to make the valve seat cutter this is just a bit more complex because it needs to have the cutting faces cut in yet then will be hardened and tempered. It will be used in the drill press to cut the seats.
 

 
the next picture shows the valve pushed in and the flare is visible waiting for the body to be cut.
 

 
The last picture shows just some of the left over bits from all the work so far, in the little drawer marked Skipjack hardware.
I need to sort it all out into one of those plastic bead trays with the curved bottom compartments.
 

 
Michael
 
 

Ah yes Dave, you are taking the weathering to extremes - - - you can now tell people that a seagull flew over and dropped some happiness on the dek 
 
Cheers,

Working on the port lid hinges.
 
Same material for the straps.  The hinge part is made using a micro brass tube that is .7 mm O.D. and .5 mm I.D.  To cut these you must take care.  You just cant use a nippers because it will crush the tubing.
So as shown below,  you insert a piece of 28 gauge wire in the tube.  Then take a sharp #11 blade and just roll it over the tube and it cuts a nice crisp piece perfectly.  Be sure to bend the wire on the end and it will actually catch these little suckers.  They are cut as long as the hinge straps are wide.  Thats microscopic.
 

 
Then you use CA to glue these tube sections onto the ends of the laser cut laserboard hinge straps.  Its easiest to do this with the straps hanging over the edge of a block of wood.   You can hold the strap with your finger while just the end hangs over the block.
 

 
Dont be shy with the CA.  Use a light drop on the end to secure it.  Then add two more drops as successive coats after each dries.
 
Turn it upside down with just the tube hanging over the block and you can sand the hinge strap into the tube so it wont be seen after painting.  Holding the strap under your finger prevents the strap from bending.  Its not as strong as brass.  Once its glued to the port lid it wont matter.  It will be plenty strong as only the tiniest portion will stick out above the top edge of the port lid.  To small to bend.
 
To paint them.  place them on the wire so you can paint without having to hold them.
 

 
Then ....small "L" brackets are made from 28 gauge wire which will create the hinge pin and secure the lid into the hull.   Thats it!!!
 

 
These will be used for the stern port lids.
 

 
 
 
Chuck
 
 

Maury, Thanks,  but ....No,  not at all.  Whats the point of that?   In reality they were let into the keel by about half their thickness.   At least according to Lavery and Goodwin.  Its a detail that wont be seen at all and its a difficult task.  These are just glued right on.  They would still stand proud of the surface of the keel and stern post.
 
Goodwin states that the fish plates and horse shoe plates were about 1" thick and let into the wood by 1/2".  They were fastened with copper bolts from one side through to the other.   
 
What did they do later when hull's were plated?  There is no real source as to how it was done.  It makes sense that they would simply let them into the wood by the full thickness. But I have never found any hard and fast source about it.  They werent let in completely on the Victory and she was plated.  But I would like to add two points.  Just so folks know where my head is at with such minutia.  I get asked a lot about some of these details and this is actually one of them.
 
I have no record that Cheerful was actually plated anyway to add another complication.  I imagine at this time most ships were but I am not sure if it was reserved for larger vessels only.  I have never seen a period cutter model plated and havent read that in general they were not, saying that I would not have plated this model anyway.
 
In addition,  that is such a small detail that I am not real worried about it either way.  When I weigh the pro's and con's..even the best model builders have trouble doing this.  I have seen some attempts by the best and it still looks sloppy to me. I applaud them trying but in reality dont understand why they would even try.  I would rather bend a bit on the accuracy here if its actually the case and opt for a cleaner crisp look.  Something that was regularly done by contemporary ship modelers.  Not every detail has to be executed.  Just my thoughts as I look for another excuse not to make any more rope today.  So please excuse the longer response as I procrastinate a bit more.  Sometimes I laugh softly to myself when I see the level of detail some builders insist on trying to put on their models.  Just my opinion.
 
Having said that.  I made the mistake of adding up the number of treenails on this hull.  Its about 6500.   I drilled 6500 holes.  So although I am a bit crazy as most non-modellers tell me,  I think there are even a few others that have gone a bit further off the deep end.   I am not there yet.
 
So Maury..... long story short.  Thats a ride on the crazy train I am not willing to take just yet.   But knock yourself out and give it a try.
 
Chuck

My preferred support when planking is single malt whisky.

I just installed the "VIP" seating on the jolly boats. The rowers are next. Notice my self drawn pencil sketched plans. Constucto doesn't show boats hanging from davits, so I'm on my own. I looked at several books on ship's small boats and came up with this plan.

My little shop pal "Smokey" spends most of the time roaming around the shop floor looking for something wood to tear up.
So I leave the ship yard to do a quick run to the grocery store for the Admiral.... forgot to put him in his mansion.... and here's what I find upon my return. 
Little thanks for allowing him to hang out with me, huh?

And since I be explainin' things, I really should briefly mention the lines that I didst be using  .... 
 
Each sail doth have:
(i) a tack line (at foot)
(ii) a clew line (also at the foot of the sail)
(iii) a lift (running through upper block on each mast)
(iv) two bunt-lines (running through blocks attached to the spars)
 
These are in addition to a pair of back-stays for each mast. This gives a total of 14 lines to be tied off, with the kit supplying 20 belaying pins.