WackoWolf

Thanks to everyone for visiting and your like votes !
 
Okay, the build dock is turned around so I can work on the starboard side.  I made the conning tower handhold rail and installed it.  I also cemented the four steps in the rear of the con leading up to the aft gun deck and then prime pained the lower part of the con light grey.  Final painting of the con will be done after the green is on the starboard side.
 
Well, I made the bold decision to install one mine bun with hinged lid - - - I should actually get my head examined - - - so much extra work, and I just hope it's gonna pan out okay.  Keep fingers crossed.
 
I picked a spot between two bulkheads and lucked out that the aft one was close enough to act as the real thing.  Actually, there are no solid bulkheads inside the ballast tanks, just steel framing, but don't tell anyone 
I had to pick a lot of foam out that I used to give the thin planks I used for the hull some support.  So far so good.  Next is to figure out how to install the simulated pressure hull that can be seen when the lid is open.  There is not much room to maneuver a lot of material through the opening.  We'l see how that's gonna work out.
 
Oaky, here are a few pics of today's work.
 

This shows the starboard side handhold rail for the lower con.  Same material as I used for the port side.  I decided to make this off the boat, it made it a little more difficult to install but after some fussing with it it worked out okay.  
 

Front view of the handhold rail installed.
 

Side view and you can also see the rear steps and it's painted.
 

Another view from the rear. 
 

This picture shows the start of cutting out the opening for one of the mine buns.  Standard procedure, same as I used when making holes in aluminum aircraft skins.
 

Here it shows the opening pretty well cleaned up.  It'll need some reenforcing behind the lip for the door to rest on.  I may use some file folder card, it's easier to let it flow along the curves.  
 

Sometime last year John Texxn5 was goading me in doing this (and I was rather reluctant then) I did make a test lid just to see if I could do it.  This is that lid but I have to make a new one, this one is not good enough, it needs just a little more of a bend and the little holes are a mess.  No problem tough, it has to be good.
The bun itself will be made from styrene, if I can find that sheet - - - I must have put it in a real safe place - - - somewhere   
 
Cheers, 

Hi again Mark,
 
 
Ah .... then the gunports won't be such a big issue as the framing under them won't be seen - if you finish a bit short on a frame or two you can always pack them.
 
I'm no authority on French ships - as a matter of fact I know nothing at all about their construction apart from a few things I've picked up from your Log and a few others, so I won't be able to give you any useful advice in that regard. As far as building tips go, that's a different story , and I'll be glad to help in any way I can.
 
One thing I thought of a few minutes ago - in English ships of the latter half of the 18th century (my area of expertise ) the Port Sills are horizontal athwartships. Does the same apply for French ships, or are the sills the same angle as the deck camber?
 
  Danny

As well as Daniel's aforementioned masts for small ships, BAMBOO BBQ SKEWERS are also the perfect material for making Treenails. A pack of 100 skewers costs about $2.00 and will make about 80,000 treenails (rough estimate ).
 
Using a sharp Xacto knife, split the skewer lengthways into as many strips as possible - depending on the quality of the bamboo used (which varies between brands and even individual skewers) you can get up to 8 or 9 thin strips. Pull these through a Drawplate until the desired size is reached - 0.024" is perfect at 1:48 scale. Use pliers to pull any stubborn strips through the drawplate - bamboo splinters are almost impossible to get out of your finger   . Trim the end as needed.
 
One finished piece should yield about 100 "nails".
 
  Danny

Cans of soda.

Are soldered easily.
 

 
Belco
 

Beautiful work. When I get back home I will make sure I save the new pictures, I have all of the since MSW1. Keep the pictures, I know we are all watching this. Thanks for sharing this with us.

Not only is your workmanship superb Johann, but your photography too is exceptional.

Bravo gentlemen
you build is Impressive - I wait with anticipation for your next up dates
Thank you  Kerry 

Getting pe put on

After putting that video together I thought I had the shrouds under control. The nine port main shrouds are grouped in threes. Here is the first set.
 
I had used some bees wax on the lanyards and that really shows as a greyish cast. Also when I pulled them through the deadeyes some of it flaked off like dandruff. I put one of them in the microwave for about 45 seconds, pulled the warm thread between my fingers and that helped to smooth things a little.
 
Close-up pictures also show other so-so situations, but from a distance only I will know (and now you, who read this).

The real USS Constitution has all of the deadeyes painted black. I am not sure if I want to keep the upper ones as is or also paint them.
 
I should add here that later I 'melted' the bees wax by pulling the lanyards through a hot-damp cloth that I had put in the microwave oven for one minute. It not only did a good job with the wax but it also took care of some of the kinks and coiling. (I learned that from making burritos with large tortillas).

When earlier I said that the picture would change when the main shrouds are installed, I was not quite right. The view did change when I added the two topmast backstays with the deadeyes, but the shrouds will be somewhat more to the right of the cannon.
The lines to the left coming down (out off focus) are the starboard main royal halliards. I have also added a small 'coil' for the flag halliard.

Archival means PH neutral or at least no acids. Over time (years) acid will attack the surface that was treated. Artists use archival papers, mat board etc. so their paintings will last. It is the ink that you use that should be archival or there are archival markers available at art supply stores and web sites.  I think you would be fine with a good quality ink. I used magic marker on deckboards 30 years ago and there is no sign of failure of the materials or glue.
 
Try an art supplies store if there is one in your area or try the www.DickBlick.com art supplies web site or www.Jerrysartarama.com They both cater to artists.
 
www.dickblick.com/markers/archival

Thanks again for the wonderful comments and support everyone.
 
One of the previous problems I had was no definitive reference points.  This led to more than a few errors in the heat of battle... err.. building. 
 
I'm adding some things to the frame drawings...  the cutline is being defined as are the wale locations, gunport, and deck clamps.  Hahn defines these on his framing diagram but then suggests that we cut up his plans and use them to mark up the hull...     I'm planning on "nicking" gently the frame at some of these points such as cutline, wales, putting in a nub to mount the deck clamps on, and as before, pre-cutting out the gunport area.   I've also marked the frame drawings with lines at the outside/bottom edge of the build board so I don't make the frames over long.
 
The frame in the pic doesn't have any gunport work but is representative and I still have another 54 frames to do... 

 
Lastly, I've mounted the framing diagram (since it has 95% of the reference points I need) on a piece of Masonite.  When I'm done verifying each frame, I'll glue a strip of wood to overlay the baseboard line.  This will give me a positive reference point when using the EdT Measuring Tool.  Again, I know I had some issues getting the bottom end dead on the line for the base board consistently. 
 
For those who haven't see it, it's a great tool for transferring reference points from plans to the build.  It came from Ed's Naiad build.  Mine is made from boxwood with some brass fittings and a steel thumbscrew.

 

It breaks the surface tension of the liquid so that it smooths out.

A test fit of the new hair bracket with some blu-tak holding it in.

 
The rest of the head rails are fairly plain with visible ply so they get a strip of walnut grooved strip laminated on. This should tie them in with the sheer rails done a while back.
 

 
The weather very unsettled spring storm so no action on the outdoor pizza oven project so more ship work instead and pics to follow.

Hi Jon -- I just took a peek at Hahn's photos of his Rattlesnake, and the bands there look pretty much the same as on the plans, ie, narrow black bands.  It's impossible to tell whether they're metal or rope, but since they look solid, I'd lean toward the former.
 
I'm including the photo here, since I think it's acceptable to do so:
 

 
You always have to admire Hahn's work!
 
Cheers,
 
Martin

Today I installed the handhold rail on the port side of the con and installed the steps at the rear.  I also gave all that a coat of paint.
 
Now that the conning tower is completed on the port side I decided to paint the upper part of the hull above WL 7 green, as the manufacturer's model shows.  Gino and I have already explained the reason behind this color scheme.  Remember that this model depicts the boat as she was in 1939 and 1940 when my dad sailed on her and it was still peacetime then.
It's different and will invoke questions I'm sure.
 
Okay, I have now turned my build dock around so I can work on the starboard side of the conning tower.  All that needs to be done there is install the handhold rail and the crew steps in the rear and put the grey primer paint on.  As soon as that is done I may just go ahead and paint the upper part of the hull green.  
 
I'm still contemplating cutting one of the mine buns open and install a mine bun and a hinged lid.     more detail work - - - am I nuts or what?   If I do then I'll have do that before painting, it'll make a real mess.  Right now I don't quite know yet how to worm the side frames in and the visible parts of the pressure hull.  Hmmmmm, cardboard comes to mind with caulking compound and a lot of luck.  That also means that I'll have to make a few mines   
 
Okay, here are a few pics to show today's work.
 

Here she is all dolled up in a fresh coat of paint.  The weather was nice and warm, no wind, ideal paint weather.
 

A close-up look of the completed port side of the conning tower.  I found a rather heavy chain inside but no cases of Heineken beer.  Perhaps they put them in the aft part, I need to have a look see 
 
Cheers,
 
 

The bow work is underway, much different as she sits in Boston harbor (about 40 miles away from me) ( I have a ton of images if you need them) This is all from the book (drawings and designs) all the gold on the bow and Transom is 14 carrot Gold Leaf. 

The Transom is custom cut on my C&C machine, as the 5 window version, then painted to match the colors in the book. 
 
 

So when does the new Sherline arrive Rusty?

I tried to install the cannons under the quarterdeck today but I had a bit of a setback..
During manufacturing of the cannon rigging blocks, one of my very small router-bits snapped and I have to wait now for a new one to arrive :mellow: ..
 
So to kill some time and to be a bit constructive I continued with manufacturing some of the remaining fittings.
 
I started with the chimney, again the supplied one was made of cast metal, and I made one in walnut ..
 

 
I also had to manufactor an curved handrail, which I had saved for last.
I tried some time ago to bend the handrail by soaking it in water for quite some time, but the curve was just to narrow and/or is walnut wood just not flexible enough.
 
So again the table saw helped me out by cutting 4 very small (app. 11 degree angled) pieces of handrail which I glued together with carpenter glue.
 

 

 
After this it was just an matter of rounding the whole thing with sandpaper & scalpel 
 

 
Here they are installed..
 

 

Yes, QA, it does look flimsy, but it seems quite solid to me --  given that I don't expect the forces on it to be too great (and I'm not going to test it by clouting it with a 2lb hammer). I'm really pleased with the DB250. I had dithered for a while about getting a metal-turning lathe, but reasoned:
 
(a) that I was just working with wood.
 
( that the level of accuracy with wood would be quite sufficient -- especially given that a lot of modellers on this site use the DB250 and have very good results (in addition to being pleased with it themselves). I have seen lovely small pieces made with the DB250, and in addition many say it is very handy for working with masts -- even more so should I bother to buy an extra bed to extend it.
 
c) that a metal-turning lathe would be overkill for me. I can't see myself working with metal for quite a while. Furthermore, that although I could turn wood in the metal-working lathe, it would only be for work with small pieces, and work with masts would require me to return to my household drill. I am happy with shaping masts using my household drill setup, but have found the DB250 so much more convenient to set up and easier to use.
 
(d) A metal-turning lathe and all its accessories would be expensive. I only have a small budget for such things. £500 would be way above anything I could afford. I read that the affordable micro-lathes would have to have a lot of setting up. And the slightly larger afordable mini-lathes that  also require care in setting up but are less prone to issues with alignment would be out of my budget. Then I had a look at the cost of all the accessories and that really put me off.
 
I can foresee that one day I'll be interested in a metal-working lathe, but that will depend a little on the outcome of the lottery. In the meantime I'll have a lovely time learning wood turning skills with the DB250. I've already learned to appreciate the 4-jaw independent chuck and learned how to turn 4mm wheels from square stock. Great fun!
 
Tony

It is quite amazing what skilled mechanics can do with a file (and time) … I am only self-taught, learned things by doing (and reading a few books).
 
For the lever-tailstock, no other modifications to the existing tailstock, but drilling a hole somewhere in the lower back of the upright part would be needed. From strips of aluminium as you would get in most DIY stores you can fashion the short link and the longer lever. One would need to somehow connect the existing tailstock runner to the lever. Is the runner solid or has it a bore in the back ? One can drill and tap (on the drill-stand) into the back of the runner (if it is not hardened, which I doubt), file (or bend) a U-shaped bracket from aluminium or plastic and connect the two by long screw. The U-shaped bracket would connect the lever through he screw to the tailstock barrel.
 
wefalck

The simple tailstocks of my watchmaking lathes are designed that way ...
 
Obviously the DB250 was designed to keep manufacturing costs and, hence, retail prices low. Actually, the PROXXON guys are usually quite good in optimising usefulness, manufacturing quality and price. If one upgrades the design-specs, necessarily the prices go up. For the desing-spec of the simple wood-turning lathe, a mis-alignment of the order you described is largely irrelevant. Otherwise the design-guys probably would have come up with a solution as per my sketch right away.
 
Talking about (simple) modifications: it would be quite easy to convert the tailstock into a lever-action tailstock for drilling along the lines of e.g. the Taig/Peatool one. It needs a few strips of aluminium, a drill, a hacksaw, and a file to make such lever.
 

 
PROXXON uses standard stock materials to keep cost down. So I am sure that the tailstock runner is made from standard ground stock and you can replace it easily with material of the same dimensions. 
 
Sorry, I was getting carried away by ideas …
 
wefalck

Hi,
 
To my mind, one of the most significant books for ship historians and model builders in 2013, and perhaps the last 10 years is AMERICAN-BUILT PACKETS AND FREIGHTERS OF THE 1850'S,  An Illustrated Study of their Characteristics and Construction by William Crothers.
 
This book is a fitting end to a long career devoted to ships. Mr. Crothers was a draftsman in the design division of the Philadelphia Navy Yard until his retirement in 1972. He then devoted the rest of his life to the study of 19th century ships, their flags and signals.. He began drafting and selling plans of 18th and 19th century ships under the imprint of Sea Gull Plans and published a 500 page book on American Clipper Ships. A large collection of his research work can be found in the Mystic Seaport library.
 
His current book is a work of genius and dedication. I first saw the manuscript for this book in a carton of typewritten pages and a pile of hand drawn illustrations and charts. It proved to be too big a project for me to deal with and the project wound up at McFarland Publishers. They did an amazing job of organizing, editing and digitally formatting this huge pile of papers into a printable file.
 
Rather than reinvent the wheel I want to quote from the publishers description of the contents of this book. "This comprehensive volume appraises in minute detail the construction of these ships, outlining basic design criteria and enumerating and examining every plank and piece of timber involved in the process, including the keel, frames, hull and deck planking, stations, knees, deck houses, bulworks, railing and interior structures and arrangements. More than 150 illustrations illuminate the size, shape, location and pertinent specifics of each item. Complete with a glossary of contemporary industry terms, this work represents the definitive study of the mid-nineteenth century's great American-built square rigged vessels." There are also chapters on ship colors, flags and rigging.
 
There are two drawbacks to this book. The 8 1/2"x11" volume is bound as a paperback. I wish it was bound as a properly sewn hard cover. It is also very expensive at $95. Both of these factors might be due to the great deal of time, effort and expense in putting this book into a print ready digital file. It could not be helped. If the cost is too much for your budget then go pester your library to obtain a copy. In conclusion, if you are a student or modeler of 19th century vessels this book is a vital tool.
 
AMERICAN-BUILT PACKETS AND FREIGHTERS of the 1850's, An Illustrated Study of Their Characteristics and Construction
William Crothers, McFarland &Co., Publishers, Jefferson NC, 2013
8 1/2"x11", perfect bound, paper cover, 408 pages, b/w illustrations.
ISBN 978-0-7864-7006-8
 
Thanks,
 
Bob Friedman

I just use a pin vice for any drill up to about 1mm. Sometimes power is a pain . . .