davyboy

Hello,
during the week the carpenters have cut the beams and today they installed the clamps for the pop deck.
You may see, that there is not much headroom even in the great cabin. From the floor to the upper side of the beams it is 6ft 8in! At the beginning of the deck, 6ft 6in. And the beams are 5in high.

Post One Hundred and Fifty- four
This post follows on from Post 152 having a close relationship to anchors.
 
One of the reasons I made up the anchors is that I have also been thinking about anchor linings and billboards.
These do not feature with the kit and do not tend to appear on contemporary plans.

Many contemporary models show them, as on Amazon above. 
They were an important feature on ships of the period to protect the hull from the anchor flukes.

Chuck’s Winnie
My go to reference, here you can see the lining running over the wale.

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I added billboards to my Sphinx build as above.

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Having an anchor made up is useful in that the arc made by the anchor as it is swung horizontal from the cathead for securing, determines the position of the lining and billboards.
 
In considering Bolsters and Billboards for Indy I am hamstrung by the absence of specific sizes of timber to use. With Sphinx it was relatively easy having the TFFM book to refer to.
I know where these fittings were placed so it is basically down to what looks good to my eye.
 
I firstly made the Bolsters using some Boxwood square stock of 2.75mm. This was topped by some 3.5 x 0.7mm  boxwood strip.

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The length of the bolster worked out at 26mm. 
Notches were cut out of the back side to fit over the first two preventer plates of the Fore channels and a slight curve was induced to match the curve of the bow.
The bolster was fixed to the Black strake only with pins.
 

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With the bolsters  in place the Billboards can be made. For this I use some 1mm Boxwood scrap inscribed with 3mm wide boards which reflect the topsides planking.
 
The Linings

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These cover the main wale in the case of Indy and scribe an arc at the fore end that follows that of the anchor swing.
I settled on using some 0.6mm Pearwood scrap which suits my eye.
 

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In fixing the linings  I have used double sided tape. This gives me the option of easy removal if I decide I don’t like them, and the jury is still out on that.
 
Altho’ I’m not fitting the anchors I don’t think it will be an easy fit to get the bowers to look right.

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If the bill is to rest on the Fore channel there is little room between the deadeyes.

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A possible fixing with the arm atop the fore end of the channel secured with shank painters around the timberheads.
 
I will be interested to see how others tackle the anchor rigging.🤔
 
 
B.E.
07/03/2024

Seats added. Ready to add the awning and railings.
 



I've learnt from doing this one that for the "good" version I need to make some sort of jig to ensure all the seats are identical. I was a little too casual about making these ones.
 
Steven
 

I went over to where the Golden City is berthed today and showed off the model in its current configuration to the manager of the museum and the skipper who takes her out on the lake. They were pretty chuffed with it even though it's not complete.
 
And I took lots of photos. A lot of things my initial photos didn't tell me, which I can incorporate into the larger model.  I'm not going to change the smaller one  - it's my test piece after all.




 






And I measured everything I could think of (units are millimetres).

And some progress pics on the seats -I need 17 of them - which I thought were going to be really difficult to make in quantity, but turned out to be fairly easy (touch wood!) though time consuming. Here are the bits that make them up - most of them, anyway.


Here's the first one (prior to painting). There's still an intermediate crossbar to be added.



And here are the bits that make up the seats now they've been painted. Plus the remaining posts that will help support the awning.

I'd had a sneaking suspicion that the seats weren't all the same size, and it's turned out to be correct. Not only that, but most of them aren't symmetrical - the sit-upon part has a curved end inboard and is cut straight at the outboard end, to fit in with the straight railing marking off where the lifebuoys are stored.

And I've started painting the hull and temporarily added the first seat - the position is subject to change now that I've measured everything up.


It looks a little boring at the moment, but I think when the railings and mesh and the striped awning roof with wavy edges is added it will look a lot better.
 
Steven 
 
 
 
 

Oh, yes . . .

The clue is in the caption - a "naval odometer" according to Vitruvius (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitruvius )
 
Steven

I've spent the last few days marking out the strakes which is pretty time consuming.  I wanted to stay as close to the plans as possible and try and achieve a nice even look too.
 
I like to use automotive lining tape as it's nice and flexible - the only issue with this sort of tape is that it doesn't stick very well to the wood.  So after using tick tape and a planking fan to mark out the master frame I started the job.  My planks work out to be 9.9mm wide on this frame so I'll cut them to 10mm as my measurements are probably out a bit.
 
Lining the stern



Then the Bow

I have one stealer in the stern straight off of the garboard plank and one drop plank towards the bow.  So it's just as the plans suggest.
 
I had better start cutting some planks now and get on with the job
 
Mark

Actual step of built :

Lovely job on the Q' Deck bulkhead Chuck. I spent quite a number of hours and bad language making mine for my POB Speedwell.
I built mine in 3 separate sections on a piece of 1/64th ply,looks pretty good but not in your league unfortunately. Several dozen
separate items were needed to accomplish this.
 
Dave 

Hi ☺️

I cant believe I forgot to add the last piece.  I completely forgot about it and then just saw it sitting inside the hull.  I originally tried to make this from boxwood but it was way too fragile.  It broke every time.   So I cut one out of the tan plastic stuff I used for the windows and just forgot to add it.
 
You can see a spare sitting in the hull.  You can see how fragile it looks.  A beaded molding trim that goes all around the inside of the doorway.  I have now added this last piece and that completes chapter 5.  I think it finishes the bulkhead and I am glad I spotted it.  Its all about the small details.
 
I also finally cleaned up the hull and added some wipe on poly.  So all the wood should be less white and toned down now.  This is the final color with the
finish added.  I dont know If there is much difference but in real life
there certainly is.
 
 
Next I will start building the storage closets inside the great cabin.
 

No gaps to worry about Mike...you will see when you get to this point.   Here is the step by step to finish the bulkhead.  These are my notes so I dont forget how I did it.  
 
Once the bulkhead is glued into position we need to add another layer on the aft side.  This will make the aft side nice and smooth and even and neaten it all up.  I am referring to the two strakes below the windows and the uprights between the windows.  All are laser cut.
 

Now we can finally cut away the beam within the doorway and the other straps as well.  Do this carefully with a fine toothed saw.  I use a fine toothed scroll saw blade in an Xacto blade handle.  The bulkhead layers make it all sturdy but you still need a light touch.  No hurry with this.  Below you can see the open space for the doorway after I cut them away and then sanded the sides of the opening flush with a sanding stick.  You can also see the door laying there.  I finished the other side which gets another layer of .025 cedar with another panel...unpainted.  The small strip you see there becomes the saddle in the doorway that the door will rest on top of.  It is a 5/32" x 3/64" strip.  The same thickness as the planking wee will use on the gun deck.
 

Testing the door in position...which is wider than you will need.  Sand it to fit the opening...and tweak the opening as well.  A little sanding with a sanding stick on both will insure a nice fit.  Note how the door is sitting on top of that saddle strip.   The door is not glued in position yet.   It is just a test for the next step...the rounded top frame.  The first .025 layer can be seen in the same photo ready to go.  See it laying on the deck?
 

This first layer (of four) is .025 thick.  It is a little taller than you will need.  So while the door is resting in the opening,  set it in position.  You will see a gap along the top of the door.  Sand the bottom of this arch a little at a time until that gap closes up.     Then glue it to the front side of the two tabs sticking up. Sand the seams flat and paint the front face red.  Then one by one there are three more layers of this arch.   Next the 3/64" thick piece.  Then another .025 and lastly another 3/64" thick arch.  This will make the top arch above the door nice and sturdy.  Now you are ready to finish it up...
 
Note…dont bother cleaning the char from the edges of these pieces.  You will distort the curves and it wont match the top of the door.  This wont be seen at all.  You can lightly sand the top of the arch once all the layers are glued in position.  But just a little.  That will be covered up also.
 

 
You can now place the margin plank along the front of the whole bulkhead.  It will hang over the front slightly.   It will also leave a nice rabbet on the aft side for the qdeck planking.  It is a 1/4" x 3/64 strip.  Just round off the forward edge and cut it to length on both sides of the arched door frame. The last piece will now cover up all those layers of the arched top.  It is laser cut for you.   There is a handle on the part so you can sand the char from the outside of this piece without breaking it.  It is a bit fragile  ( I will provide a few extra).   Once the char is removed then cut it free from the handle.  Dont bother sanding the underside of this piece.   Once again it wont be seen.  The forward edge is rounded off.  The aft side remains flat.  You can see it glued on top of the arch in the photo below.   It is 7/32" wide and all the pieces are flush on the aft side of the platform.  It is basically an extension of the margin plank around the top of the arch to clean it all up.   
 

We havent glued the door in yet so we can remove it and add the laser cut hinges.  You can also add the door knobs.  That is your choice...a simple knob or maybe a pull handle.   I prefer bending some brass strip and making a pull handle.   Then you can glue the door in position and the bulkhead is complete.

Mast Shaping Completed
This morning I completed the shaping for the fore topsail and fore topgallant masts. These fore mast sections were then successfully test fitted on the Indy.

When looking at the next photo I do need make a minor adjustment to where the foretopgallant mast sits within the end cap as the hole for the FID is currently below the platform and cannot be fitted.

The next task will be to paint and add the blocks to all these mast sections (fore, main and mizzen). Once that is done the topsail masts will be added to the Indy so the shrouds and ratlines can be added.
 
Here are a few pictures of the Indy with all the masts in place, noting the topsail and topgallant masts are only dry fitted. The other models in the background are Speedy (incomplete), IJN Yamato, Alert and the Duchess of Kingston

Andy, Pat, Keith, John, Greg, Hakan, Gary, Thank you all for your encouragement and "Little Ben" comments. Hakan - great news re June - does it have a personal pronoun yet?
 
I am well on with the precision sanding. As previously stated I coloured the frame edges as a sanding guide.
The preliminary rough sanding was done with 60 grit aluminium oxide paper held on a 2" x 8" cork block with rounded edges.
 
The surface was reduced until small areas of the frame edges started to lose their colour.

I then switched to 80m grit (on the same sanding block) and continued to remove the frame edge colouring. I sanded both sides alternatively while trying to maintain similar frame edge sanding patterns on each side.

I proceeded in this way until the majority of the coloured edges were removed.

I worked slowly from stern to bow.

Gradually producing balsa snow drifts.


I am about to switch to 120 grit before progressing with the final sanding / fairing.

 

Hi everyone, I've started making the two main anchors, I'll make them in wood, they will be painted black

While a sizable amount of time has past since my last post. Work on the model has progressed at what I would consider a snails pace. As we can all relate, each step presents its own set of challenges. The stern section was something I was really looking forward to. Time will tell if I deciphered the plans correctly. I'm finding the process of cutting in the cannon port rather tedious. As a result, I only do it when the mood strikes. Enjoy the pictures. 
 
 

Hi
Modification of the decorations of the walls, the panels in the form of molding are much better
 

 

 

 
Adrián Sorolla
 
 

Not much progress lately, only that I built the cradle / building board to attach the frames. 
Unfortunately I didn't install the last cant frame perfectly well, it's about 1-2 mm off compared to the other side. Probably not much I can do about that now though. I'm using rubber bands to try and force it back a little, maybe when I install the rest of the frames and keep them together with the wales it'll stay in the correct position without warping the whole model. Or maybe not... 
Honestly I don't feel like starting all over so I'll have to accept it as it is. After all I chose this model to learn how to build plank-on-frame, and this is one of those lessons. 
 
Now I'm kind of scared to glue the 5 full frames in, in case I mess it up. 🙃

I started work on the bow structure:
 

Post One Hundred and Fifty-three
Anniversary
Today marks twelve months since I started this log.
I have worked several hours, mostly each day, over the period and have included many modifications to the basic kit, some obvious, some not so, and some now hidden.
 
That such a large and detailed model can be constructed to this stage in such a relatively short time is all down to Chris’s planning and design and the quality of the fittings.
 
Apart from a few minor additions, the hull is effectively completed.
 
To mark the occasion, I cleaned up my workbench, and took some photo’s using my tripod rather than the usual handheld w-i-p shots.

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In the earlier stages of the build, I didn’t have the same sense of enjoyment I had with Sphinx, perhaps because it is a more difficult model to manoeuvre during building, it is large financial investment you don’t want to mess up, and it is a far testier challenge than Sphinx.
More recently, with the build challenges mostly behind me, I have warmed to the task, and there’s no denying the ‘Indy’ model certainly has that WOW factor.
 
Mrs W loves it, even if she is still asking where I’m going to put it.🫤

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Getting there Gov’nor, getting there.
 
Cheers Gromit.
 
 
B.E.
05/03/2024

 
 

Mizzen Topgallant Mast
I have continued making the various masts. The mizzen topgallant mast was a fairly straightforward mast to make and appears to be a good fit.

Main Topsail Mast
I then moved on to making the main topsail mast. This mast was made from a piece of 8mm dowel, which is cut longer than required, and will be trimmed to the right size once all the shaping is completed,  I applied a piece of tape to indicate the where the top square section will end.

Using a craft knife and needle file the top section of the dowel was squared off. The very top section was then rounded off and the topsail end cap fitting was checked.

The topsail platform was also test fitted. So far so good.

Next I applied the taper section to the middle section using my proxxon mini lathe. The conical section is still to be shaped.

Next using a craft knife and file the bottom section was shaped, starting with making a square section.

Next I created the octangle shaping to either side of the bottom square section, and then drilled the hole for the FID, which turned out to the hardest task. This is because I managed to snap the micro drill bit and the broken drill end was very difficult to remove. Thankfully the broken drill bit did eventually surrender so the FID could be test fitted.
 
The final task was to create the conical shaping, which I did using a craft knife and sand paper. The topsail mast was then tested fitted to the main mast and looked good.
 
 

The thick planking has been applied as far as the midline,



Dick

Yes for the most part.   This project is almost entirely made of laser cut parts.   Almost every part.  So far aside from the hull planking and deck planking everything is is a laser cut part.  There may be a few odd strips of wood here and there.   I thought the Winnie had a lot of parts but this certainly has it beat.  It is by no means an assembly project though.  This isnt a Lego set.  Each piece needs to be cleaned of char and shaped in some way, shape or form.
 
For example with this bulkhead,
 
It starts as two layers like the bench lockers.   The top layer has etched reference lines to help you with other parts later.  The lower layer is 3/64" thick.  Dont sand anting off the thicker lower layer.  There is no need to sand the char off any edge.  In fact that would be bad.  But the top layer is just .025 thick.  The edges inside the windows and panel openings must be filed clean of char with a light touch.  I used a flat needle file and a very light touch.  It will be painted but it is best cleaned up somewhat.  The right side has its top layer glued in position after cleaning the char from the edges of the two openings.  Dont worry about the extreme outside edges of the top layer.  Dont sand that char away as you want it exactly the same size and shape as the bottom layer when you glue them together.  
 

Once the two top layers are cleaned and glued in position, hopefully you havent thrown away the center squares for the paneling. These are then sanded and beveled on all four sides to make the raised center panels.  A very gradual long bevel is needed to make it look good.  This makes the beveled area wider.  Try and keep it a consistent width all the way around.  Remember this layer is just .025 thick.  I used a sanding stick with 320 grit for this.  Two of the panels are done in this photo and two more to go.  The straps in what will become the doorway are very important in this design.  This keeps both sides at the perfect distance apart.  This will allow us to put the curved top pieces on later without worrying that your door opening is too wide or too narrow.  If that were the case,  those top pieces would never fit.  We will be cutting those away later after the bulkhead is securely glued in position.
 

At this stage, you should take it to the model for a test fit.  Depending on where your beam is in relation to the aft platform under it, everyone's model will be slightly different even with the most careful measuring throughout the project.  It also depends on how much you faired the frames inboard!!  So the bulkhead at this point is slightly longer and higher than you will hopefully need.  So at this stage, you must slowly sand each end so it fits snug against the inboard bulwarks.  Holding it at an angle so you can test fit the side against the bulwarks.  Once you get a good fit on one side you can repeat this on the other side.   Keep doing this until it fits snug against the top beam and against the lip on the bottom beam.  Slow and steady is the name of the game here.  Only sand off the slightest amount working both sides until this bulkhead fits in position.   You can see how nice it fits on the starboard side below.
 
Then direct your attention to the top and bottom of the bulkhead.  The top edge should be flush with the top of the beam.  So rather than just sand the top down flush...its better to take a bit from the bottom and a bit off the top.  Depending on your model this might be a lot or maybe none at all.  There are so many variables.  But hopefully I have accounted for them all in my design.  The door is also shown in this photo.  It has two layers and a panel also.  But we wont be adding it until much later. But you can glue the outside layer and panel in position.

Now that you have a great fit...its time to paint the forward side red.  Not the aft side!!
 
Then we can start adding the column parts.   They all need to be sanded and filed clean.  Gentle here folks.  Dont over sand.  Use a very fine grit.  A sanding stick works great here.  
 
The base of the columns are all added first.   NOTE:  These are glued on with 3/64" of space below them.   That is for the gun deck planking much later on.  Dont place these against the bottom edge of the patform.  There is a laser etched line for reference so you dont forget. That is followed by the column itself after removing the char from the sides. The top of the column goes in next.  Below you can see each column at a various stage. The base and tops are also filed to clean up the laser cut grooves a bit.  Especially the sides of these pieces.  Its exactly like we did for the transom columns.  Once all the columns are done, there is a laser cut molding on the top of the bulkhead between the columns.  Each length needs to be rounded off on top and bottom.  Just on the forward side.   Then if you want to, you can bevel the entire length of each molding so the bottom comes almost to a point.   Do this on the back side.  Making it a pie shape in profile… It will look nicer and add dimension.  But this is optional because its a pain in the A..
 
Any bit of the columns that stick up along the top can be sanded flush with the top of the bulkhead.  I made the column tops extra long just in case.  Use the laser reference lines for placement as a guide only.   Yours maybe different depending on how tall your bulkhead actually is.  But it should be pretty close.
 

Then lastly...laser cut window frames are inserted into the reverse side.  You will see a nice lip formed by the two layers and these will fit really nice inside each opening. That is followed up with a laser cut sheet of acetate for the window glass.  

And so far that is as far as I got.  But this is a main focal point of the model so take your time and be as neat as possible.  We will glue it into position now...the beam is glued in first and then the bulkhead.  Nice and secure top and bottom.  You can see where we will cut away the deck beam in the doorway as well as the strips that kept the bulkhead properly distanced for the door opening.   But we have a couple more things to do on the aft side of this bulkhead before we can cut away those pieces.
 


 
 

Design prototype for the fancy bulkhead....version 4b and counting.   I really dont want to build version 5.   But its getting close.   This one is so close.....
 


 
Chuck

Very nice Job on the square tuck fashion pieces Mike,not the easiest items to make. I wasn't happy with my first (stbd) one,binned it and had no problem with them after,a lesson learned  I'll bet yours are just as good as the computer generated laser cut versions with the added satisfaction that you made them yourself.
 
Dave