CharlieZardoz

Handle update. Thoughts? I'm feeling it's too long. :/

Here is the pump on deck. I am wondering of the handle is correct I wanted a bit of contrast but perhaps the top should be flush?
 
Also you can see the brass axle for the carronade carriage and the cleats added to the deckhouse. 

Here is the video link from my instagram

Hi everyone. A quick update. Decided to make a bilge pump since the ones available to buy are either too big or cast metal. I enjoy making tiny things that work. It's about 3/4" and all made from scratch. I glued wood strips to make the octogon shape and the nozzle at the bottom is a 1mm crimp bead. The black strips are electrical tape. The hinges are wire and can move the handle up and down.

Thank you Steven! Yes the 30 ton cutter was only 48.6! That's smaller than even the Sultana and was effectively a pilot boat. I do plan on adding some swivels on the aft portion but yeah one gun pretty much. While I can't say for sure what the real Active actually looked like she did have one gun and was 38 tons. It seems that most of the other cutters were built on the 50 and 70 ton lines very few were this small (if any). The reports from Irving King Coast guard cutters book states that at the time Captain of the Active was in desperate need of additional ships to help combat piracy and a one gun pilot boat was hardly up to the task. By 1824 many more of the larger ships were added to the squadron and shortly after the Morris class took over and the issue was largely delt with. 

Hi. In this instance I am treating the wale as one piece. In reality it probably would have been more though in my mind I was picturing a ledge and once the holly strip is laid over it, any indication will be covered up. I will stagger the holly piece and the decking but good observation!

Good morning all. So thought I should give an update for the week. I finally attached the wale and true keel. This was quite a challenge as the wale was a 1/16" by 5/32" strip of boxwood so learning how to curve the wood on this very sleek hull shape was a challenge. I opted not to spile since I wanted to maintain the sharp shape of the strip and also its such a small model (the front half of the wale is 3"). Anyways it worked with a bit of assistance as you can see in the pics.
 
So what you see below at the bow is the keel minus the beak. That piece will be added later. The keel and wale will be painted black so thought it neat to leave the beak tip unpainted to add contrast. The reason why I chose boxwood for the wale over cherry is so it doesn't splinter but also thought that even if painted there may be a slightly different grain texture to make the wale stand out. The back of the wale curves slightly upward and gets thinner at the stern. Also the wale is in 4 parts. Front and back halves which join at the middle but also an upper strip which is 3/64 by 3/64" boxwood. This made a little ledge at the top of the wale where I can place the deadeye channels and also a holly strip to add a white molding. The above railings and bulwarks I will add after finishing the planking to avoid banging them around and getting damaged.
 
The bow image where the two wales meet shows a bit of spacing where the wale meets the keel. Did the best I could but will use some wood putty to fix that since it will be painted anyway. 

Good morning all. So thought I should give an update for the week. I finally attached the wale and true keel. This was quite a challenge as the wale was a 1/16" by 5/32" strip of boxwood so learning how to curve the wood on this very sleek hull shape was a challenge. I opted not to spile since I wanted to maintain the sharp shape of the strip and also its such a small model (the front half of the wale is 3"). Anyways it worked with a bit of assistance as you can see in the pics.
 
So what you see below at the bow is the keel minus the beak. That piece will be added later. The keel and wale will be painted black so thought it neat to leave the beak tip unpainted to add contrast. The reason why I chose boxwood for the wale over cherry is so it doesn't splinter but also thought that even if painted there may be a slightly different grain texture to make the wale stand out. The back of the wale curves slightly upward and gets thinner at the stern. Also the wale is in 4 parts. Front and back halves which join at the middle but also an upper strip which is 3/64 by 3/64" boxwood. This made a little ledge at the top of the wale where I can place the deadeye channels and also a holly strip to add a white molding. The above railings and bulwarks I will add after finishing the planking to avoid banging them around and getting damaged.
 
The bow image where the two wales meet shows a bit of spacing where the wale meets the keel. Did the best I could but will use some wood putty to fix that since it will be painted anyway. 

Good morning all. So thought I should give an update for the week. I finally attached the wale and true keel. This was quite a challenge as the wale was a 1/16" by 5/32" strip of boxwood so learning how to curve the wood on this very sleek hull shape was a challenge. I opted not to spile since I wanted to maintain the sharp shape of the strip and also its such a small model (the front half of the wale is 3"). Anyways it worked with a bit of assistance as you can see in the pics.
 
So what you see below at the bow is the keel minus the beak. That piece will be added later. The keel and wale will be painted black so thought it neat to leave the beak tip unpainted to add contrast. The reason why I chose boxwood for the wale over cherry is so it doesn't splinter but also thought that even if painted there may be a slightly different grain texture to make the wale stand out. The back of the wale curves slightly upward and gets thinner at the stern. Also the wale is in 4 parts. Front and back halves which join at the middle but also an upper strip which is 3/64 by 3/64" boxwood. This made a little ledge at the top of the wale where I can place the deadeye channels and also a holly strip to add a white molding. The above railings and bulwarks I will add after finishing the planking to avoid banging them around and getting damaged.
 
The bow image where the two wales meet shows a bit of spacing where the wale meets the keel. Did the best I could but will use some wood putty to fix that since it will be painted anyway. 

Good morning all. So thought I should give an update for the week. I finally attached the wale and true keel. This was quite a challenge as the wale was a 1/16" by 5/32" strip of boxwood so learning how to curve the wood on this very sleek hull shape was a challenge. I opted not to spile since I wanted to maintain the sharp shape of the strip and also its such a small model (the front half of the wale is 3"). Anyways it worked with a bit of assistance as you can see in the pics.
 
So what you see below at the bow is the keel minus the beak. That piece will be added later. The keel and wale will be painted black so thought it neat to leave the beak tip unpainted to add contrast. The reason why I chose boxwood for the wale over cherry is so it doesn't splinter but also thought that even if painted there may be a slightly different grain texture to make the wale stand out. The back of the wale curves slightly upward and gets thinner at the stern. Also the wale is in 4 parts. Front and back halves which join at the middle but also an upper strip which is 3/64 by 3/64" boxwood. This made a little ledge at the top of the wale where I can place the deadeye channels and also a holly strip to add a white molding. The above railings and bulwarks I will add after finishing the planking to avoid banging them around and getting damaged.
 
The bow image where the two wales meet shows a bit of spacing where the wale meets the keel. Did the best I could but will use some wood putty to fix that since it will be painted anyway. 

Believe it or not I've actually recarved the handle piece to something more curved as so. I didn't care for the thin handle this looks more like the diecast handle does and probably more accurate (length still the same though). Haven't attached it yet so didn't post a picture here it is overlayed on top of the old one.

Using a 3D printed program I made little teeny windows for the deckhouse. The left upper image you can see the inner frame is beveled/rounded. The upper right image you can see a ledge where I can place a small glass or plastic pane inside. I also finished planking the front of the house.

Good morning all. So thought I should give an update for the week. I finally attached the wale and true keel. This was quite a challenge as the wale was a 1/16" by 5/32" strip of boxwood so learning how to curve the wood on this very sleek hull shape was a challenge. I opted not to spile since I wanted to maintain the sharp shape of the strip and also its such a small model (the front half of the wale is 3"). Anyways it worked with a bit of assistance as you can see in the pics.
 
So what you see below at the bow is the keel minus the beak. That piece will be added later. The keel and wale will be painted black so thought it neat to leave the beak tip unpainted to add contrast. The reason why I chose boxwood for the wale over cherry is so it doesn't splinter but also thought that even if painted there may be a slightly different grain texture to make the wale stand out. The back of the wale curves slightly upward and gets thinner at the stern. Also the wale is in 4 parts. Front and back halves which join at the middle but also an upper strip which is 3/64 by 3/64" boxwood. This made a little ledge at the top of the wale where I can place the deadeye channels and also a holly strip to add a white molding. The above railings and bulwarks I will add after finishing the planking to avoid banging them around and getting damaged.
 
The bow image where the two wales meet shows a bit of spacing where the wale meets the keel. Did the best I could but will use some wood putty to fix that since it will be painted anyway. 

Good morning all. So thought I should give an update for the week. I finally attached the wale and true keel. This was quite a challenge as the wale was a 1/16" by 5/32" strip of boxwood so learning how to curve the wood on this very sleek hull shape was a challenge. I opted not to spile since I wanted to maintain the sharp shape of the strip and also its such a small model (the front half of the wale is 3"). Anyways it worked with a bit of assistance as you can see in the pics.
 
So what you see below at the bow is the keel minus the beak. That piece will be added later. The keel and wale will be painted black so thought it neat to leave the beak tip unpainted to add contrast. The reason why I chose boxwood for the wale over cherry is so it doesn't splinter but also thought that even if painted there may be a slightly different grain texture to make the wale stand out. The back of the wale curves slightly upward and gets thinner at the stern. Also the wale is in 4 parts. Front and back halves which join at the middle but also an upper strip which is 3/64 by 3/64" boxwood. This made a little ledge at the top of the wale where I can place the deadeye channels and also a holly strip to add a white molding. The above railings and bulwarks I will add after finishing the planking to avoid banging them around and getting damaged.
 
The bow image where the two wales meet shows a bit of spacing where the wale meets the keel. Did the best I could but will use some wood putty to fix that since it will be painted anyway. 

Here is the video link from my instagram

Hi everyone. A quick update. Decided to make a bilge pump since the ones available to buy are either too big or cast metal. I enjoy making tiny things that work. It's about 3/4" and all made from scratch. I glued wood strips to make the octogon shape and the nozzle at the bottom is a 1mm crimp bead. The black strips are electrical tape. The hinges are wire and can move the handle up and down.

Hi everyone. A quick update. Decided to make a bilge pump since the ones available to buy are either too big or cast metal. I enjoy making tiny things that work. It's about 3/4" and all made from scratch. I glued wood strips to make the octogon shape and the nozzle at the bottom is a 1mm crimp bead. The black strips are electrical tape. The hinges are wire and can move the handle up and down.

Thank you for the kind words, Ken!
 
I have been hard at work finishing up the gun port framing. Lots of different angles along with the usual throwaways. In some areas, like the last few stern ports, compound angles had to be used in order to get a good fit. Having a disc sander with angle adjustments made the work much easier.

The few of the forward ports are set at different angles from the others. These angles where taken from an overhead view on one of the plan sheets. A balsa block was made on the disc sander to match the angle and width needed. It was glued in prior to adding the upright.

On the same port the bulkhead extension was cut away to allow for the proper placement of the aft upright.

Mike

Believe it or not I've actually recarved the handle piece to something more curved as so. I didn't care for the thin handle this looks more like the diecast handle does and probably more accurate (length still the same though). Haven't attached it yet so didn't post a picture here it is overlayed on top of the old one.

Using a 3D printed program I made little teeny windows for the deckhouse. The left upper image you can see the inner frame is beveled/rounded. The upper right image you can see a ledge where I can place a small glass or plastic pane inside. I also finished planking the front of the house.

Using a 3D printed program I made little teeny windows for the deckhouse. The left upper image you can see the inner frame is beveled/rounded. The upper right image you can see a ledge where I can place a small glass or plastic pane inside. I also finished planking the front of the house.

I’ve been troubled by the looks of pump handles on my models, as well, trying to reconcile a stubby handle with the need for leverage. 
Ive often wondered if longer handles might not be removable, like capstan bars. Though, I’ve never seen that detailed. 

Hi Eric, yes Dan (Shipmodel) knows his stuff! The main issue I have is with the wheels, should I try smaller wheels maybe made from brass? And Mark yes I agree there are all sorts of ways to achieve a nice looking result in ship modeling. And just the same it seems there were just as many variations to sailing ship deck fittings as one can imagine. Ive seen all sorts of carronade carriages that serve the same function but vary in minor detailing, placement of deadeyes, height, etc. so really it's not like building a WWII ship where one can look up a mark whatever gun type and boom there ya go. But that is part of the fun isn't it? Using ones imagination to create an educated guess to make your ship model look like she probably did in real life. Take into account the changes that a wooden warship would go through in it's lifetime upgrades in tech and changes to the overall building profile and the sky is the limit. For my ship "the Active" I imagine she retained the low bulkheads and toe railing as per the Doughty plan, the carriage likely was raised over time. The "high pivot" design came about in the 1820's/30's (check the pic of Fair Rosamund below) then evolved into the more complicated pivot types via the civil war era using the Dahlgren guns and those half circle type platforms that ships like Constellation and Kearsarge used. Also since I plan on building all 3 cutters, I want each to represent a different level of development meaning the Active will have 1 pivot (maybe some swivels) with a toe rail, the Monroe 52 ton will have a low rail with stanchions and the Vilgilent 80 tons with full bulwarks and cannon looking like a precursor to the Morris/Taney class. This is just my guess these ships probably rolled off the assembly line as needed and with each passing year there were more variations from the original Doughty draught's. So the period from Active launched or purchased in 1816 to Vigilant launched in 1824 means I can approach each model a bit differently.  

So here is where I get confused. Chapelle describes the ring as being scooped on the inside and the wheel I imagine slides in that groove. In the image I posted from nrj you can see an example. That said I don't see in this pic where the wheel could be? Dan (Parisier) showed me his Oneida carronade pictured below which has a logical looking mount (the image with the little wooden man). That would make my wheels too big and I could change them however it's not easy to find many items much smaller.
 
Now I see very often another design where the pivot ring is flat and bolted while the wheels are beveled. While I know many of the canons I pictured are from a much later period the idea seems to be the same. Also the Bluejacket kit suggests that this type of mount was used and has a ring with bolts and I have made a new laser template to show them. The bolts will likely be wood color while the ring stays black. The ring now needs to be either metal or plastic not wood so headed to the laser shop this week. Other ship models like Fair Rosemund or civil war era ships have pivot cannons or similar mount. So yeah I could do this approach instead and it would make the carronade higher which I kinda like I am just hoping I am following a design that looks reasonably historically accurate. If anyone has some images of pivot cannons/carronades they may want to share or has suggestions feel free it could be helpful.  






 

 
 

Using a 3D printed program I made little teeny windows for the deckhouse. The left upper image you can see the inner frame is beveled/rounded. The upper right image you can see a ledge where I can place a small glass or plastic pane inside. I also finished planking the front of the house.