JSGerson

Helmar: I will definitely drop your name should I concede in my attempt to fabricate the companionways. Thanks for the info. Jon

Helmarsowick: Thanks for the info, I'm tempted. If I may ask, what/how does he charge? I've got the kit's and the US Navy plans. Be that as it may, I think before I do that, I would want to give it a shot myself following Ken's lead. I mean, it's the point of building a model. I just need to know my skill limits. Jon

GGibson: The lazy susan was made as a mosaic pattern with blocks of wood by my uncle. I inherited it in 2020 and found it quite useful. The only "problem" is that I would like to be able to lock it in a fixed position at times, but haven't spent much time figuring out a solution yet. BTW, Peaches is a she and is 14 yrs old. Not once has she ever touched my work benches. She's a really good girl. Helmarsowick: Those companionways you made are glorious. There a number of them on the Constitution that I will have to fabricate and plan to follow xKen's (Ken Forman) build log for them. He silver soldered his. He designed the cross section kit of the Constitution for Model Shipways. I think you put are giving him a run for the money. Is that one solid piece straight out of 3D printer?

Helmarsowick, that's basically what I did for the Rattlesnake. I got the unassembled unfinished case from Model Expo and the table from another online source. I had to cut the vertical corners to size and buy the plexiglass. The table was complete, no work to complete. Still, it wasn't cheap; and this model is twice as big as the Rattlesnake! But, I can put it off for a while at the rate I'm building the model. See picture below for one of the reasons I'm so slow Jon

GGibson: I'm anxious too! Geoff: Not only do we have to encase this baby, but I'll need to buy a table to put the case on (see my Rattlesnake), and find a space in my house to display it. Since I don't have any normal sized wood working tools or the cabinetmaking experience/skills in using them even if I had them, I'll have to buy a custom case or pay someone to make the case for me. Any way I look at it, it's going to cost a bit of money. Jon

I've kit bashed my build by adding the gun deck. I now am in the process of fabricating 22 gun carriages (I've already have eight dummy guns) and still have to rig them all. I will be doing a complete carriage rig so, I understand how you feel. Jon

Good to have you back. I look forward to your future posts. Jon

When I tried to blacken the caps, I realized that the last of my Blacken-it solution had lost its potency. It seems that the company that made the stuff is no longer in business. So, I must wait until my order of Jax Black arrives. I’ve never used this product, so we’ll see how it goes. In the meantime, I’ll be adding all of the eyebolts and rings to the remaining 21 gun carriages. In the image below, the cap is dry fitted and unblacken.

Gun Carriage Eyebolts, Rings, and Trunnion Caps Gun carriages have several eyebolts and rings to facilitate the movement of the gun assembly during firing and positioning. In numerous builds I’ve seen posted, it appeared to me that the eyebolts used on their gun carriage were way out of scale – much too large. Relative to those, mine may appear too small to many viewers. Using the US Navy plans for the 24” pdr. gun carriage as my guide, it shows for each carriage side, three horizontal eyebolts at approximate 1½” ID or (0.02”) 1/64” at scale. Making that size eyebolt is nearly impossible (for me) and not practical, so I’m using 1/32” eyebolts. These I have purchased from Model Expo and used over the years. One of the eyebolts has a 2½” ID or (0.036”) 1/32” at scale ring attached. To maintain the illusion of size difference, I used a 3/64” ring. The eyebolts on the forward and aft axials are 1¾” or (0.023) 1/32” at scale. Again, to maintain the illusion of size difference, I used a 3/64” eyebolt. In lieu of black paint, the hardware was blackened. The trunnion caps although simple in construction, were a little trickier to handle and form due to their size. I made mine 3/64” wide by approximately ¼” raw length. It shortens up when shaped around the trunnions. To facilitate its fabrication, 0.005” thick brass plate was cut into 3/64” strips using the Byrnes saw. These strips were fitted into a simple jig to form their cap shape. The jig basically held down one end of the strip at fixed length, while the remainder was pressed over an equivalent trunnion diameter dowel. Then the opposite end of the cap snipped off the remaining length of the strip.

I re-read your build log because you have long surpassed me and now I’m following you. It was then I realized that you did not use the cannons or cannonades that came with the kit, but purchased them. You also purchased the ships stove which I tried to recreate from scratch. Where did you get them from? Once I get to the spar deck, I plan on modifying or replacing the kit’s cannonades so that it reflects the actual cannonades used in 1812. The present ones are incorrect replicas except for the two that use a screw to adjust elevation. I’ll have to scratch build all the carriages as well. You did a beautiful job. Jon

Greg, that is a lot of reading; I impressed. Thank you for looking in. Jon

All 22 carriages are painted, now awaiting metal accoutrements such as eyebolts and rings.

Well, I’ve finally completed fabricating the gun carriages and glued together all the wooden parts save for the quoins. BTW, the quoins shown in the photos below did not have their handles installed at the time of the photo shoot. They were made from 0.032” brass rod. I’ll glue those down for the final adjustment of the gun barrels, after the carriages are completed. Next up, is painting the carriage bodies red and the axials and wheels black. Still to come are the addition of the metal hardware and rigging. To give myself a preview, I’ve temporarily placed the gun assemblies in their positions on the gun deck.

Without seeing your situation, I would use CA glue provided you have enough surface area to glue and that the surfaces to be glued are clean. Jon

Peter, at the bottom of MS webpage, there is a button for "parts request." Also I have listed their phone number as (800) 222-3876. I don't know if this number is still viable as I haven't had a need to use it for quite some time. BTW, if you ever buy just one hobby power tool, The Byrnes saw is worth every penny. Jon

I looked at Rich's log and his cathead sculpture looks a little oversized. The sculpture edges should be flush to the cathead. Therefore, the 1:87 Constructo sculpture might be just the right size for the larger scale 1:76.8 MS kit. Luckily, only a knowledgeable viewer would be aware that the Rich's and my sculptures are not the same as the actual ship. When you think about it, I'm really surprise the MS kit does not supply a precast sculpture. Jon

Those cannons are coming in very handy right now. Thanks again for making them available. Jon

I thought I would bring the conversation of the cathead carvings back to your log instead of continuing on Unegawahya's log. I was getting a bit confusing as to who I was commenting to. How to create the cathead sculpture: As I mentioned on Unegawahya's log, there are only two ways. Either carve them yourself, or purchase a similar one online which I did. If you are going to attempt a carving, you might want to look at xKen's (Ken Forman) completed log starting at Post # 756. He's a professional model maker and it worth looking at his complete log. His is a true carving out of wood. An alternative to that method, is to use Scuptey, a clay like substance that is baked once the sculpture is made. I saw this done, but can't remember who did it that way. Jon

As you have discovered, the Model Shipway kit does NOT provide a cathead carving. Either you carve your own like I think Unegawahya did, or "cheat" like I did using something similar that will work at this scale. This is what I used from, AliExpress. Unless your nose is 6" away, the viewer can't tell the difference.

Just discovered your build today and I feel honored that you took some inspiration from my build log. The USS Constitution model is not for the faint of heart. You need strong wooden boat building experience for this project. And you had enough confidence that you could build this with one hand tied behind your back. I am humbled and my hat is off to you sir. I look forward to your future posts. Jon

Here is a picture of the cathead being installed on the actual ship. Hopefully this will answer any lingering questions on how it is suppose to be done. In my case, the cathead was glued flush to the waterway and not into it. I felt cutting the already installed waterway would be too messy and could possible damage it. The resulting visual effect was the same. Jon

Here is what I did. I did not follow the Practicum. Jon

I suppose that is good and bad. It was not my intent to instigate a "do over," but if it does provide you the satisfaction of a job well done in the end, then I'm happy. I know how it feels because I've been down this road before. Jon

I checked the practicum for you and Bob used the kit's metal wheels but fabricated the the stand and "barrel" (the spindle in between the two wheels out of styrene because the laser cut wood that came with the kit was too fragile. Not what I wanted to do. I did some digging in my own library which you can see in the photos below and a CAD drawing of the wheels (don't remembers where I found it). Should you need something, just ask. Jon Constitution Double Ships Wheel.pdf

I'm fascinated by your ship's wheel fabrication as you can tell from my comments, so continuing on this theme, how did you fabricate the section between the wheels? It appears that the dowel between the wheels is built up somehow in the image. I haven't looked at the plans or the practicum at this point as to how they wanted this done so I don't know if you are following them or you did something else. Jon