davyboy

All the standing rigging being finished, I give myself a small shipyard break which I think I've well deserved :

Post One Hundred and Sixty-two.
 
Woolding the masts
The kit indicates use of 0.5mmø line throughout.
According to Steel the wooldings for the Fore and Mainmasts are of 3” circ line, and that for the Mizen 2½” circ. 
This equates to 0.37mm and 0.31mm scale diameters.
 
I used 0.3mm and 0.4mm cotton line from Modellbau Takelgarn in Germany.
 
Wooldings are generally 12” deep which scales to 4.76mm.
The method of applying as shown on the kit plans is the recognised approach to take, and will be familiar to readers of R.C. Anderson’s wordy but excellent book The Rigging of Ships in the days of the Spritsail Topmast 1600-1720
 
I wouldn’t be without it.

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The line was dyed using Colron Jacobean Dark Oak wood dye which gives a less black effect than commercial black rigging line.
 
The final touch is adding the wooden hoops that contain the woolding.

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These are simply made using very thin strips cut from a Manilla folder.

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Nearly there! and with great timing the  the display case arrived yesterday.
 
B.E.
 
28/03/2024.
 

Topgallant Yard Lift Blocks
I spend the last couple of days adding the all the shroud cleats.
 
When looking at the plan sheets with regards to the topgallant shrouds I noted that I need to add blocks for the topgallant yard lifts as these are sited between the first and second topsail shrouds. It makes sense to me to fit these before the topgallant shrouds are added.
 
In the first photo below I have shown the arrangement I am using for these blocks. The large loop can be passed over the top of the topsail mast. The block is used for the topgallant lift and the bottom end is then belayed to one of the topsail shroud cleats.

The next photo shows the arrangement is place.

 
 

Welcome...
 
I was very excited when i was able to get chapters 1 & 2 for this new project.
 
I already have my first question.
 
When test fitting parts of the stem assembly the instructions suggest only sanding slightly on certain edges of each piece. 
 

However when I removed the pieces with no sanding, there is a slight gap.  Is it appropriate to correct the other end?
 
 
 
 

I tend to believe the term "boxwood" is very generic and used for many woods that are not even close to the stuff we want.  I remember seeing a wooden box for soda bottles and being told it was boxwood because that's the wood for boxes.  It was a plywood box for crying out loud.  

i have learnt loads, just don't remember any of it

Just wait a couple of hundred years and all your boxwood will look that good…😁

I have some old pieces of limbs from English boxwood that are great for carving but it is not nearly as yellow as in your photo.  Those piece are REALLY yellow.  If you cut a small piece, is it the same color all the way through?   Almost looks dyed😀 

I compared the column protection of the FSK bridge in Baltimore (top) with our local Astoria-Megler Bridge (NW Oregon, Columbia River) on Google Earth.   I think the images speak for themselves. 


 
 

I quote a retired civil engineer (I hope she won't mind) who designed bridges world wide:
 
I saw the newsreel of the bridge collapse in Baltimore yesterday. I had always felt that these American 'girder bridges' were too lightweight (part of America's planned obsolesce design practice in place in those years). But I was astonished to see how little protection was provided to the main supports. It's a no brainer - if you knock out a main support, the bridge collapses! And the main supports next to the navigation channel require special attention. On the Queensferry Bridge, which was downstream of the Forsyth Naval Dockyard where they build and maintain aircraft carriers, we carried out a study, including model simulation, of just such an event and designed the main pier caissons not to fail. Luckily, the Americans loved simple span construction for their approach viaducts and this acted as a fuse . . . [for] progressive collapse of the whole crossing! . . . .  what happened using 'the past is a foreign country' adage. It was opened in 1977! I was working on the Itchen Bridge then in a similar, but not as exposed, location upriver from the port of Southampton. Our River piers were protected by a massive caisson that extended out from the main columns by sufficient distance to guard against the superstructure hitting the bridge even as the hull of the vessel crumpled onto the caissons.
 
So, there you have it.
 
 

I heard that the Ukrainian Navy wants to hire the ship ...

I've cleaned the hull (didn't need much work- just dusting), and the mast and boom are now glued back together and I've shaped the new bowsprit and dry fitted it. The repairs needed sanding and a bit of staining to match the rest,  as did the bowsprit.
 
The replacement piece for the stand split (mainly my carelessness in cutting out the slot) so I had to make a new one. I'm thinking of making some crosspieces for the stand so it'll be more stable - it's quite narrow and it's first damage was from being toppled off a shelf by a cat.
 
The rigging is slowly coming together, but I'm not worrying too much about it until I've got the rest done.


The backstory on the model is that it was made for the owner by a modeller in Williamstown (a harbour suburb of Melbourne) back in about 1996, and he had it in pride of place in the house - until the cat got to it. Since then it's been in storage in a back shed, and I think he'd resigned himself to it never being fixed. It appears that there was more damage while it was in storage, which he hadn't been aware of . . .
 
So, coming along nicely. No more work on it over Easter, but it looks like only a few more days' work, all going well.
 
 
Steven

Hi, and thanks, 64Pacifico, and thanks for the like
 
 

Hello, and thanks:
 
 

Back stays main mast (All ratlings done = 3106 knots ), I've quasi finished the standing rigging of ship :

 

As if I didn't have enough to do, a guy from the Men's Shed that I play at 2 days a week has brought in a damaged model yacht for me to fix. It's not really in terrible condition - a break in the mast, two breaks in the boom, bowsprit broken in at least three places and part of it missing, a broken part of the stand. And needs cleaning. It's a decorator model, solid hull.






I've worked on it for about a day so far, allowing for breaks while the glue dries, and have made a new piece for the stand


and repaired the mast

and the boom.

I left the sails and rigging in place as I was worried I wouldn't be able to work out how to replace them. A bit of a problem with tangled ropes as I fixed it, but I think it should sort itself out with a bit of patience.
 
The bowsprit was beyond repair so I told the owner to buy a piece of dowel the same diameter and I'd make a new one. I'll post photos when that's done. Fortunately I was able to find some woodstain that matched the existing, so it's looking like it should all work out OK (touch wood!)
 
Steven

Thanks once more gentlemen for your encouraging praise!
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Toolkit for the gun
 
The operation of the gun required quite a few different tools for handling the projectiles and the powder-bags, as well as for cleaning and maintenance.
 
There were two different wipers, one for cleaning with soap-water and the other one for greasing the bore after use. This still was the era of black powder, which means that the bore had to be cleaned frequently.
Loading required a rammer to push the projectile and the powder-bags into the chamber of the gun. The rammer also served to unload the gun by pushing it through the muzzle. It had a depression in the front so that one would not push onto the fuse.
 
The large-scale instruction model in the (former) Orlogmuseet in Copenhagen came with many of the necessary tools. Their look tallies with the description of a textbook on the Imperial German naval artillery (Galster, 1885). The length of the shaft was given as the length of the barrel plus some extra for one or two men to be able to hold onto it, while it was fully inserted. If there were not enough space for such long implements, there were also versions in two parts with a brass connecting sleeve.

Wiper (top) and rammer (bottom)
 
The body of the implements was turned from some 2 mm steel rod, as I had this to hand. The shaft is a 0.8 mm piano wire. The latter appears to be quite hefty, but seems to tally with the photographs.

Wipers and rammer before painting
 
As the gun will be shown undergoing a drill, the wipers are not needed and will be shown in their protective canvas covers, stored in the racks on deckhouse as per photograph below.

Wipers in their protective canvas covers
 
The canvas covers were simulated with some Vallejo liquid putty. According to Galster (1885) the covers were supposed to be painted black, but the above photograph indicates that they were white, which is what I opted for.
The rammer body has two copper-bands to protect it, which were simulated with paint. The limited space in barbette seems to prevent the use of a full-length rammer, so I gave the end of the shaft a connecting sleeve simulated with paint.
 
Tampion
The photograph of the instruction model in Copenhagen also shows the expanding tampion that was constructed from two brass discs with some fibre material in between that was contained by a leather sleeve. An internal screw operated by a T-shaped handle squeezed the fibres between the disc and made them expand to lock into the muzzle.

Expanding tampion for the 30,5 cm gun
 
The tampion is probably going to be the very last machined part on this model. It was turned from a length of brass rod. The handle was first turned as a thin disk and then the excess material was milled away to leave the T-shaped handle standing. The greased leather sleeve has been simulated by some brown paint.

Turning the tampion
 

Milling the tampion handle
 
 
The painted wipers, rammer and tampion
 
Next on the list are the anchor-crane, the flagpole and flag and finally the gun-sights
 
To be continued ....

Short post bringing everything I completed up to date. 
Finished all the deck furniture
Lined off the hull
First plank laid
More planks tomorrow


 

Working progress

The fun begins.  My references indicate the keel should be built up in 5 segments 13" square.  I am using swiss pear for the keel and frames.  My plan is to cut the scarphs for the keel on the mill and cut the boxing joint with chisels.  We'll see how that goes .  I glued a copy of the stem to a piece of plastic to use as a template for shaping both the boxing joint and the stem later.
 

Here they are with a bit of shading. Not sure if you can see the difference between these and the way they were in the earlier post, but to me they look more realistic.

And I had neglected to post photos of the hatch covers up to now, so here they are. A pair for the stairs up from the owners' cabin
 

And covers for the cargo hatches - one in place, the others not yet added (so I can see the mast steps to locate the masts when the time comes).

I've weathered the hatch covers and added a bit of "rust" to the hinges, so she looks like a ship that's see a bit of use.
 
Currently I'm trying to chase up some  'acrylic matt medium' on Druxey's advice to glue the reinforcing strips to the silkspan sails. But I'm in a bit of a quandary as to the difference between  'acrylic matt medium' and  'acrylic matt pouring medium' (considerably cheaper, but perhaps not right for the job).
 
Steven

Thank you Jason,  enjoy your Pinnace, it's a great little kit.
 
Post One Hundred and Sixty-one.
 
Building the 32’ Pinnace (Part four)
At this point I couldn’t resist the urge to see how the Pinnace would look onboard ‘Indy’.

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Temporarily placed in the suggested position on the skid beams.

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The kit provides a set of oars in laser cut Pear.
These benefit from a little fettlin’ beyond char removal.
The blades should be thinned down toward the outer end, and the shank rounded a little at the bottom third leaving the upper two thirds square to represent the loom.

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I think a spot of woolding is up next.
 
B.E.
26/03/2024
 

The vacuum cleaner is always next to me.
I have already developed a conditioned reflex and at the first opportunity, after completing one or another operation, I turn on my electric assistant.  

Thank you, Eberhard! I'm fine. Work on the model continues.  

Hello, and thanks for the likes, debut of the figurehead, olive wood, I chose a Greco-Roman half-bust, installed on the Euryalus of 1853