bebopsteve

The series is going to go to 6 parts.  Just started the rigging in Part 5 - due to be submitted very soon.
 
I sort of worked myself into the proverbial corner - the pieces that hold the gun trunnions onto the carriages are a thin soft white metal and I didn't have much confidence in them holding the guns in place with just the kit designed pin and hoop so I glued them in place with C/A.  And then I realized that it is best to remove the gun barrels after installing and rigging the guns while the rest of the build goes on (and mentioned in the instructions).  So I resorted to getting the guns in place with their rigging attached and then pulling the eyebolts attaching the rigging to the carriage and setting the guns aside until work that would interfere was done.  I would still use the C/A but not until the barrels were put back onto the guns.
 
I always urge modelers to read the instructions all the way through before starting to build - I did this - I just need to remember what I read!
 
Kurt

Good work on the stain. The results are very good.
 
Russ

Dave,
 
    How's that?
 
 

    For those of you not familiar with the kit, the frames/bulkheads are pre-scribed with limit lines for beveling and tick mark for planking.  These are in lieu of tick strips and lining off the hull.

With the keel installed, I ran lines perpendicular to the keel in order to ensure the frames remained square to the keel when installed.

Knocking something off....or knocking over a lamp...or punching a hole in the wall.......

Working on the bulkheads. Just following instructions and leaving room to adjust for eventual planking. I an making sure everything is straight..It seems like it took an hour to finally make sure.. but so far everything has fit pretty good.. Laser cut. i like it! If anyone has suggestions, Please! 

Working on the bulkheads. Just following instructions and leaving room to adjust for eventual planking. I an making sure everything is straight..It seems like it took an hour to finally make sure.. but so far everything has fit pretty good.. Laser cut. i like it! If anyone has suggestions, Please! 

Working on the bulkheads. Just following instructions and leaving room to adjust for eventual planking. I an making sure everything is straight..It seems like it took an hour to finally make sure.. but so far everything has fit pretty good.. Laser cut. i like it! If anyone has suggestions, Please! 

Keel Assembly
 
The basic keel assembly is also a three piece.  It is long and bendy, so I need to be careful with it.  I will be happy when it is safely glued to the floorboard.  As you know, I will be cutting MORE slots in it to accommodate the screws.  Any wagers as to how many times it will break before I glue it to the floor?
 
 

I placed the keel piece on a flat board...glass would be better, but I didn't have any this size.  I first attached the stem piece.  I placed a heavy, flat object on top to keep it flat.  Notice that most of the keel is intended.  That is where the floorboard will go.
 
 

Next comes the stern piece.  Same-o, same-o.  It doesn't matter if you do the stem first or the stern.  You have to be careful not to be brandishing the assembly like an Arabian cymatar lest that first slot from the rear cracks off (or so I have heard).
 
 

Before I get too far, I will want to stain the keel between slots 5-6 and 11-12. IIRC, some of this will stick up from the fore and aft cockpits.  Its easier to stain and sand it now than later.
 
 

Next, I will be placing some pieces in the stem and stern that will help form the rabbet.  These pieces will be inside the planking and not visible, so I can leave them basswood.  Note the bevel.
 
 

Another piece will be added to form the other side of the rabbet.  These will be visible and I will make these out of boxwood rather than use the basswood piece provided in the kit.  The pieces on the stem are 18a and 18b, while the ones in the stern are 25 and 26.  Yeah, I don't know either.  I think the kit was designed by army guys too.*
 
 

Here is how the stem piece will fit.  I am using one of the cross supports to square the piece and ensure it fits in the correct location.
 
* PHILADELPHIA has alot of things you don't normally find on a ship, or is rigged/built different than you would normally find.  I attribute that to the fact it was designed by army guys.  For a discussion of those, you can browse my PHILLY 1 log.   ...or wait around, I am sure I will mention them again.

Glad to see those hanger bolts are gonna work for ya!  Don't know about you but I could NOT have drilled through those pedestals in a straight line to save my a..

Huzzah!!!  The hanger bolts have arrived!!!!   Let's go back a step.
 
 

Pedestal and hanger bolt.  I am using a 1" 8-32.
 
 

Hanger bolts installed into pedestals.  One has bolt for fit.
 
 

HB-P assemblies test fitted into floorboard with keel aligned.
 
 

Close up.  I will level the pedestals so the topis even with the floor.  I will then mark the keel so that I can slot it for the screw, then widen one part to accommodate the nut.  More to follow.

Thanks Tim.  I can't say that there is much progress yet.  I'm waiting for my hanger bolts to arrive and enjoying what is left of the summer.  Meanwhile, I am preparing floorboard, keelpiece and frames.  I may post some of that tonight or tomorrow.

I guess it's time to start in earnest.  We first start by assembling the bottom piece (or as I call it, the floor board) and the keel assembly.  I believe the instructions actually start with the keel, but I will start with the floorboard because I think it flows better.
 

    This is pretty straight forward.  Three pieces.  I was careful to place on a flat surface and weight down the pieces while the glue dried.  This thing is a surfboard.
 
    As you already know, I inserted the planking for the bailing well and have planked the underside.
 

    The next thing I did was prepare the floorboard for the keel piece.  The keel piece is long and thin and prone to bending.  As such, I wanted to provide a reference line to ensure the keel was true.  Using a caliper, I measured exact width of keel.  1/2 of that was marked one side of center line. 
 

    Using compass/dividers I took that that measurement and ran a line down both sides of the center line.  The keel fits snugly betwixt the two lines.

In honor of our being part of the Nautical research Guild...here is a little nautical research.
 
Here is a virtual 3D representation of PHILADELPHIA.  Bookmark this page because I may be referring back to it.  I had problems with it using older versions of Explorer, but with the current one and Firefox, I have no problems.

http://3d.si.edu/explorer?modelid=47

Pan, zoom, top, bottom, P&S views of Philadelphia as she sits in the Smithsonian. There's a measuring tape you can use to find dimensions and spacing of chosen features, like beam and frame spacing.

For those of you planking the underside, it shows the underside...I think.  It's hard to tell if it is accurate because I done see the center keel.

That's essentially what I did. I used a T-square also. Everything lined up great.

Thanks Foxy! Please keep advise coming! Here is the underside planked and stained. I really think Chuck is spot on with the idea to plank it. Anyway, I think it looks cool... I used Minwax wood conditioner. It went on almost like water, so a little goes a long way. The stain is Minwax Golden Pecan. Planks were basswood. The strip representing the keel was.. yeah I am crazy... Balsa wood. I kinda liked the contrast. Now I go back to the plans and resume the build..... 

Thanks Foxy! Please keep advise coming! Here is the underside planked and stained. I really think Chuck is spot on with the idea to plank it. Anyway, I think it looks cool... I used Minwax wood conditioner. It went on almost like water, so a little goes a long way. The stain is Minwax Golden Pecan. Planks were basswood. The strip representing the keel was.. yeah I am crazy... Balsa wood. I kinda liked the contrast. Now I go back to the plans and resume the build..... 

Sorry to change the subject for a short time, I had a Red Maple 4 shell 8-piece 1976 Ludwig Classic while living in Sweden. Miss it tremendously...
Hailing from your starboard (Cheney, WA)
Enjoy the gig tonight. My son lives in Seattle and also have a friend there. Visiting Seattle from time to time.

No problem Chuck, Its very easy to miss the topic as did I,  thinking it was the top/upper deck and not the base that Steve was talking about.
 
I have been modelling for near 40 years and still asking questions and still learning.
 
Good luck Steve on your build.
 
Foxy

Chuck:
No, they make a prestain conditioner that they recommend to use with their stains.
 
Russ

The second thing I want to do that is not in the instruction is to plank the underside of the model.   I am surprised that it is NOT planked, per the instruction.  Even though virtually nobody will see the underside, I think it is important to make it complete.   Invariably SOMEBODY will take a peek.  It should be planked.  It also makes it very clear that this is NOT a waterline model.  That is REALLY the bottom of the boat.
 
    Once the floorboard has been assembled (to be covered in future step) I ran a strip up the center representing the keel.  In real life the keel was a few scale inches, but putting that in now would make the model tippy when sitting on the flat.  I may add it later.  I had to be very careful to ensure he strip stayed straight, since all the other planking will guide on it.
 

    Prior to this, I had marked the frame locations based on the center keel-piece.  I will use these marks to locate my plank joints.
 

    Planking in progress using a 5 plank shift.  1-3-5-2-4  Number 2 pencil used for caulking.
 

    Planking complete with some light sanding.  I am hoping the caulking will be a little more visible once I finish the wood.
 

    I will do some more sanding and possibly experiment with 'nails' while I figure out how to mount the model.

There are a couple things I want to do with this model that are not in the instructions (as far as I can see).  First, I want to plank the bottom of the bailing well, second I want to plank to bottom (underside) of the hull.  There are other things that I will discuss as I get to them, but these are on the agenda before anything else happens.
 
    The bailing well is a depression in the deck where water can be removed-all wooden vessels leak; scoop water from well into a bucket, toss water over the side.  An elaborate man-powered bilge pump, as it were.
 
    PHILADELPHIA's bailing well is in the aft cockpit (the lower deck area between the aft and middle platforms).  The floor of the bailing well is actually the bottom planking.  This planking is not represented in the model.  It is now.
 
    I could have planked the false floor itself, but decided to insert a 'section' of planking.  We shall see.
 

    A piece of the false floor is cut out.  I made the cut before gluing the two sides together.
 

    False planking section inserted and sanded (somewhat).   More sanding required.
 
    We shall visit this area at a later time.

Steve,
That's an interesting ship I have an eye on as well, however I am in a non-buy situation.
The admiral has stipulated no more kits until I have some done.
And yes there are some waiting in the yard.
Btw, from the other side of the Cascades, A warm welcome to NRG's MSW.
Is that a DW set?

Steve:
On basswood it is a good idea to use a pre stain conditioner prior to staining. I have used it quite a bit on basswood and had good results. Otherwise the stain will go on blotchy. I use Minwax products and always have had good results.
 
Russ

Foxy,
 
   The rules for 'nailing' planks varied from country to country, depending on date and size of ship, as well.  Sometimes 1 nail (normally a wood treenail) between butt ends, sometimes 2 staggered.  All that gets thrown out the window with Philadelphia (along with alot of other things.  Check out my scratch Philly to see other areas where their building practice went counter to what we normally think as being correct.)
 
   They used alot of iron nails to hold these gunboats together.  The structural stresses from the 12 pound gun forward and 9 pounders amidships had to be significant.