russ

I did finally start plotting the deck layout.   the only way I was going to get the bow spirit set up was to assemble it.   the bow spirit had a really bad angle to it....but I sanded the yoke base down and took some of it away.  I also could have positioned the yoke further back from the bow stem.......with CA though,  you only get a one time chance.   it all starts with the post for the fife rail...the rail will have to sit on top of the yoke.  I wish I had taken pictures from the beginning.......but this is what I arrived at.


I probably will need another eye bolt or two......but I think I can add them without too much problem.  I needed to see this in the flesh.   the forward cabin was added to the deck layout.  this was measured from the diagram.

the first pair of posts were added as well.   


I could have brought the bow spirit & yoke back a bit further,  but I don't think it would have done much more to relieve the slight angle it's on.   now it's get the mast fixed with it's eye bolts,  so I can position the sail winch and horse.   hard to tell if there is much in the way of standing rigging,  but I am going to run at least one fore stay.......a good portion of the bow spirit's length,  is the run for the traveler for the jib.  there is what I would consider a flying jib....I'll see what factors in for it.

I.m taking Tuesday off.........more to come          thanks for look'in in!    thanks as well for all the likes...your too kind   

MEMORIAL DAY....
Being a veteran, I decided this would be my special Memorial Day statement.

I've installed the pins and stained the bow sprit end

And here is some pictures of the currenlty stage:

 

Part 63 – Dredge Rollers
 
Kathryn has dredge rollers that are configured like the typical skipjack’s rollers.  The supports for the rollers are fairly complex, and I decided to model them as close as possible to the actual supports.
 
The forward support is constructed so that it wraps around the aft part of the forward railings, and the top of the support is slightly lower than the top of the railing.  The axis of the roller fits into a notch in a plate on top of the support, and there is an extended piece that prevents the roller from slipping out of its support.
 
                        
 
The aft roller encases the entire railing configuration, and the axis of the roller fits into the front of the support.  At the top of the aft support there is a slanted piece that supports the vertical roller.
 
                        
 
Each of the supports has an inboard triangular brace.
 
                        
 
                        
 
On the model, the main part, or body, of each support was made the same way – as a single piece folded over to encase the rail. First, an appropriate sized piece of brass strip (1/8” x .025”) was scored where the folds would occur.
 
                        
 
These scores were used to register a small triangular file that was used to open up the scores.
 
                        
 
After annealing the strip it was clamped in the vise and bent, then hammered, to make a 90 degree bend.
 
                        
 
The strip was then clamped to a 5/32” x 1/8” square tube (the width of the rail is 5/32”) and bent and hammered.  This corner wound up being slightly rounded – probably unavoidable.
 
                        
 
The workpiece was then held in a jig made of Corian, and the base was soldered onto the body.
 
                        
 
The following photo shows the body of the forward support test-fitted to the railing.
 
                        
 
A small piece of 1/8” x .025” strip was soldered to the top of the forward support body in order to form the vertical piece that the roller axis rests in.
 
                        
 
Still clamped in the jig, the vertical piece was shaped to fit the contours of the support body, using a rotary tool and files, and the notch in the vertical piece was made using a small round escapement file.
 
                        
 
                        
 
The extension for securing the roller was then soldered in place.
 
                        
 
                        
 
This completed the forward supports for the dredge rollers.
 

 
As can be seen in the above photo, the constant test fitting of the support has resulted in some marring and dirtying of the painted surface.  This will need to be cleaned up before final installation of the supports.
 
The body of the aft support was made the same way, with the addition of a front plate that was soldered to the body after bending was completed.
 
                        
 
The triangular inboard support was added to all four of the supports, using the following setup for soldering.  The heavy block on top of the ‘third hand’ is to ensure that the piece makes full contact with both the bottom and the vertical surfaces of the support.
 
                        
 
The angled piece on the aft roller support, for supporting the vertical roller, was made from a piece of brass angle, and was shaped to conform to the support body.  The forward and aft supports can be seen in the following photos.
 
                        
 
                        
 
The rollers shown in the HAER drawings, and in a photo taken at about the same time as the HAER survey, shows sleeves at both the fore and aft ends of the rollers.
 
                        
 
Although these sleeves could have been turned on the lathe, it was much simpler to make them out of tubes that would fit over the roller bodies and each other.
 
                        
 
The roller bodies (1/8” brass rod) were drilled with a center drill and then drilled to take the axis pieces (3/64” brass rod).
 
                        
 
                        
 
The rollers were test-fitted to the supports.
 
                        
 
The sleeves were then soldered to the rollers.
 
                        
 
The dredge rollers are now ready for blackening, and for the installation of the aft vertical rollers.
 
                        
 
                        
 
                        
 
I love the look of the clean brass, but in keeping with my plan to make the model look as much as possible like the real Kathryn, the brass will be (dis)colored. 
 
I feel like I should apologize for this long post and the many photos, but I wanted to show the process as complete as possible.  The next post will complete the installation of the dredge rollers.

Bit more progress. Fore topsail set with all lines fixed in place, including cluelines, buntlines, lifts, bowlines. Topgallant in place but lines not set.

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 286 – Upper Masts
 
I decided to make the six upper masts at one go.  This will allow me to use one basic set up of the milling machine to bore the holes in each of the six remaining caps and for the yard parral yokes.  It will also permit the actual finished mast diameters to be used to set the bore diameters.  This should ensure a tight but smooth fit on the caps.
 
The six masts include the three topgallant masts and the three single-stick royal/skysail/pole masts.  The topgallants were made by the process described in the last post.  In making the combined masts I started with the upper pole sections first and worked down.  The first picture shows one of the very slender poles being rounded.
 

 
After rounding the pole one of the skysails sections has been stepped is being tapered in the next picture.
 

 
Each section was converted to an octagon as shown in the next picture.
 

 
On these small pieces the octagons are too small to be marked as was done on the lower masts, sothey were formed by eye with frequent measurement checks.  The next picture shows one of the small poles being sanded to its final size.
 
 
 
 
The pole and royal sections on one of these are shown completed in the next picture.
 
 

 
In the next picture the fillet at the foot of a royal section has been filed and work on the octagon is in progress.
 

 
Finally, the six completed masts.
 

 
Trucks need to be added to the tops of the poles, the fid openings need to be squared, and all the sheave openings need to be formed.  The next step will be to make the caps and parral yokes based on these finished pieces.
 
Ed

Hi everyone,
 
First of a big thank you  for all the likes and comments, it sure does make a difference.
 
Right then just  a small update today - my ships wheel eventaully arrived, I had to create a platform for it to sit on - this was fitted and painted black,  then the wheel and pedestal were pained then fixed down on the deck.
 
OC.

Hi again folks, another small update.  I have started work on the anchors - Trotman Pattern.  The contract for Victoria specified 3 of these, two as Bowers and one as the stream, with the latter a little smaller/lighter.  These anchors were assessed by a Committee in 1852 and rated as the strongest/best holding anchors (28% better) yet the Admiralty did not deviate from their "Admiralty pattern".  These were an enhanced version of the Port/Hornibal pattern
The earlier style of this anchor had the rounded/ovalish shank and the straight iron stock; the bent arm iron stock was not introduced until about 1860.
 
The following photos show the construction of the first anchor from cut raw materials through to completed item.  The shank was shaped from a single piece of thick brass then the holes drilled and the slot cut.  The flukes were silver soldered to the shank then cleaned up.  the stock was made in two parts to enable the ball ends to be turned as they would not fit through the 1mm hole; I don't know how they did this in real life as the is a conical stopper on one side of the stock and a pin on the other - if you look real close you can see I managed to add that detail.  The hex head bolt and nut, and the shackle, were some purchased stock from another project, but fit perfectly for this job   The anchor was blackened with Birchwood Casey Brass Black (diluted to 25%)
 
The photos are in extreme close up as these are only 21mm long overall and as such show all the early scuffing from my filing before cleanup.  The next two should look a little better as my technique improves.
 
cheers
 
Pat
 
    
  

As is my ilk, I tend to research, think, then jump right in.  My next step is the ship's boats.  I've been looking over the plans and sorting out to do this with out making a dog's breakfast of it.  For the cutter and the barge (the two smaller boats) I'm going to use a modified jig.   The longboat will be built around the plug that I already have made.  This may change once I really get into things.
 
Basically, I have a couple of old ME ship's boat kits.. a 5 inch and one that appears to be 6"  (by their definition).   To make a long story short, I took their instructions and modified the heck out of the plans and the thus, new parts, which I've drawn up and cut on the laser using boxwood for the keel, the stern, and first frame.   The only seats will be the fixed ones at the rear and bow.  I'll decide on what goes in this boat once I get it put together.   But, historically, everything was removed, rudder, oars, the benches the rowers used, etc. and stored in the hold.  The other two will be the same since the boats were stacked n the gundeck.
 
The picture shows the keel with the stern structure and also the first frame.   The stern structure gets planked externally first before doing the strakes.   The frame has been modified for the forward "seat" instead of a bulkhead as some boats (other navies) had.  As soon as I get the forms added to the build board, I'll start install the keel and start planking.   Looks to be another small (size) fun part of the build.
 

I've now coppered the lower hull. As I've said in recent updates, I'm not very confident about my current ability to do precision work. As a result, I opted to simplify the coppering process   . I used  the self adhesive copper tape and applied it in full length strips, rather than cutting it into individual plates. I scribed the plate lines in after the strips were applied. I also chose not to attempt to simulate nailing of the plates. I think the overall impression at this scale is OK, but definitely not as good as it would be if done more correctly. I've also chosen not to treat the copper. After looking at my Essex, which was done a few years ago, and left untreated, I like the way that the copper has aged naturally and will be happy if this model does the same.
 
Bob

Have made it to the point where I've finished the "B" section of the planking.  took a bit longer than the "A" section and with better weather coming I expect the final section to take longer yet.  There is golf to play, water to be skied, sun to be seen.  I am looking forward to sanding.  Every time I look at the bottom where its not sanded and compare to the top that is I want to get with the sanding.  Anyway, this is where I am.

After completing the planking, I took a couple weeks off.  Over the last two weeks or so I have done the following:
1.  Sanded the hull.  And sanded it some more.  And some more.  I think I am pretty much done though if I look at it again I am sure I'll find some other not quite smooth spot to sand.
2. Worked on the transom.  My transom piece is a bit larger and squarer than called for in the plans, due to the couple of planks that I probably should have carried farther aft than I did.  But I think it looks fine and no one will really notice, especially once I paint the hull.
3. Did the "waist plank".  That is what the plans called it, though I have not heard that term before.  This is the top plank, above the level of the deck.  It is only 1/32nd inch instead of 1/16th, so it is indented slightly from the other planks.  And of course aft, the timberheads notch in from the edge of the hull causing the waist plank to indent even more.  I created each of these in two pieces, leaving a seem amidship.  But that was easier than trying to deal with one long piece the length of the hull.   The kit provides strip wood that is 1/2 inch wide.  I tacked that to the hull with a couple dots of CA, then drew a line on the inside of the plank at the top of the hull, then cut along that line to get a nice fit above the cap rail.
 
Overall I am relatively pleased with how things have come out.  I am not quite to the skill level of building a hull like this and leaving it a natural finish; I am still depending on paint to cover a few things.  But I am getting closer.
 
Speaking of paint, that is probably the next step, to paint the outside of the hull black and to paint the inside above deck parts white.  I probably should have painted the inboard side of the waist planks before installing them but a bit late for that now.  After the painting, I need to figure out the coppering of the lower hull.  I have some things I hope to try in that regard.
 
Enough words, on to the pictures.  The hull here is just press fit onto the pedestals and balanced on the unfinished base board.
 

 

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 285 – Mizzen Topmast
 
At this stage in the model I am feeling like most of the modeling methods are well developed, with kinks worked out and reduced to standard practice.  With a lot of repetitive work ahead, I believe efficiency and time saving will benefit by "mass producing" or at least grouping similar work.  So far, work has been mostly sequential – to avoid tedium as well as "systemic" process problems affecting a lot of parts.. 
 
Making all the remaining masts – the mizzen topmast, the topgallants, and the royal/skysail/pole integral masts are described in this and the next part.  Having these all made will allow me to reduce repeated setup time on the mill for boring matched, sized holes for the caps and the parral trusses.  This work will be described later.  This part describes the mizzen topmast, a repeat of earlier spar-making descriptions with some additional detail and at least one process improvement.
 
In the first picture the sized square of the "first trim" is held in the vise to file the square of the mast head.
 

 
The remaining square was then tapered - again by filing - using the fixture described in an earlier post to grip the tapered sides.
 

 
Tapering these smaller spars uses more filing and less of the planing and scraping that was used on the larger pieces.  Breadth of the spar was checked at each quarter frequently throughout all this shaping to conform to the specified dimensions.
 
The next steps create a regular octagonal shape over most of the spar.  Each surface is first marked with the lines of the apices of the octagonal shape.  The next picture shows two tools used for this marking.
 

 
The tool on the left – and its use - was described earlier.  It consists of a scriber point located 7/24 of the distance between the insides of two guide pins.  The tool marks a line at this proportional distance on tapered spars by holding the guides against the sides while marking.  The newer tool to the right has the same configuration, but substitutes a sharp drafting lead for the scriber.  This has the advantage of being easier to use, especially on small spars, but the disadvantage of having to frequently replace the lead.  It is also important that the point on the lead be sharpened on center.  The next picture shows this tool being used to mark lines on a small spar.
 

 
These lines serve for initial roughing out of the octagonal shape.  Final dimensions along the spar are refined by trial and error measurement with digital calipers.
 
The next picture shows the fillets being filed out at the square-to-round transition at the base of the mast.
 

 
This is done as the first step in creating the octagonal shape.  The next picture shows the octagon being filed on to the spar.
 

 
As described in an earlier post, the v-groove fixture is used to hold the piece for this work.  After completing and final dimension checking, the spar is rounded as shown in the next picture.
 

 
The last picture shows the finished topmast spar.
 

 
Note that the hounds area is left octagonal and that the fid opening at the base has been squared and sized.  The lower mast cap shown in the picture has the hole for this mast sized to fit the actual final diameter of the mast.  More on that later.
 
 
Ed

Yay! The parral dividers are done and the first one is already mounted! Dad made the cutting blade for the router and then made the boxwood rods which he then sliced. The booms for the spritsail and spritsail topsail are up😊

I have now made up and installed the cap rail.The bow pieces were cut from boxwood sheet, using card templates, as was the piece over the transom.The remainder was done with boxwood strip, wet heat bent to shape.The entire rail was painted black, using Modelmaster acrylic engine black, with multiple coats , lightly sanded in between coats.
 
I also took the opportunity, before deck furniture creates obstructions, to drill the holes for and add the eyebolts for the gun tackle rigging. I also drilled the holes for the gun breeching line ringbolts, but these won't be added until the guns are mounted.
 
Bob

Hello Everyone,
A little progress to report - I've been putting off finishing the launching ways. I wanted a fairly natural looking aged wood look, but have been hesitant to start staining because I know how badly basswood takes a stain. About the only way to avoid a blotchy look would be to stain it either a very dark brown or dark gray, but I wasn't sure that was the look I wanted. I have a Minwax weathered oak stain, but on test pieces of basswood even it was giving a pretty bad result.
 
Then I came across a Youtube video by Tom Lauria about applying a weathered wood finish. If you haven't come across his videos, be sure to look them up on Youtube. There are only a few of them, but they are really excellent. His techniques are amazing and he presents the videos very professionally which is a refreshing change from how badly most Youtube videos are produced.
 
He suggested using watered down artists' acrylic paint. Following his lead, I used burnt umber, white and black. I first applied a coat of burnt umber, but watered down to the point of being little more than coloured water. I painted it on generously and then "rubbed" it out with a small dry stiff-bristled brush. Once it was dry I applied a coat of gray, made by mixing the black and white and again watering it right down. And again rubbing it out with the small dry stiff-bristled brush. While I am quite happy to have a slightly imperfect and inconsistent colour coverage, I wasn't happy with the few glaring bits of CA glue that showed through in a couple of spots. To cover those up, I mixed all three colours together and dabbed it onto the gluey areas undiluted and it covered well. I'm very happy with both the colour and the nature of the finish. I may go over it again and touch up a few spots, but even if I don't I think it's considerably better than the result I would have gotten with a simple Minwax stain finish.
 

 
Next on the list was the gun carriages - a tedious and repetitive job which I'm glad to have over. Now I'm finishing up a number of items on the hull - catheads, channels etc.

Thanks again for comments and "likes."
David

Thank you Geert and Lawrence for the compliments.
 
Meanwhile, work continues. I hope to do an update soon.

 
 
 

Hi again folks; another small update.
 
i am starting to add some gun details now and have completed milling and lather work for the pivot gun wheel races and the locking pins - the races are simply placed (not glued) to give an idea where they will fit so they are not centred to each other at the moment. 
 
The pins were frustrating to make as you can see they are very small - the bottom part is rough as that will be used t glue it into the deck.  These pins are used to lock the lower carriage into one of the cardinal or intercardinal points.  The idea was the gun pivoted on the rear fold down hinged clamp only with the forward one used to lock it on the bearing.
 
The following photos show progress so far, and the graphic of the gun shows the pin arrangements.
 
  
    
cheers
 
Pat

Well, I am finished. What I learned (like eating) sometimes yours eyes are bigger than your stomach. To do over would cut it down 36 in. to 24-26 inch range. Plan to due several more at a later date. I would use boxwood for the bow and stern carvings. On the gunnels above the stringers I would use a boxwood panel then inset it. I think it would really pop. I would probably eliminate the sail, I sewed 4- 3 out of burlap and 1 out of linen was not pleased with any.
 

 
 

 

 

 

 
All said I am happy the way it turned out, made a lot of mistakes it was a large learning curve.

Thank you folks for your kind comments and thanks everyone for the likes.
 
After much wailing and gnashing of teeth I have finally completed the quarter badge.  The lower finishing is comprised of five separate pieces: three carved pieces and two moldings.  The patterns were taken from the plan.  The round part at the bottom appears to be a carnation-type flower on the plan.  I hope you don't have to use your imagination too much!  The console brackets are the carved decorations on either side of the badge.  Having practiced with the NRG/Passaro carving blanks made this go a lot easier than I had anticipated.
 

 

 

Thanks so much Martin and the "likes".Martin, I'm feeling somewhat better, but it's still affecting my modeling.
 
A couple of things accomplished. First, I added the wales. These were done with 1/16"x 1/8" boxwood strips. Although the instructions call for single strips of 1/16"x 1/4" on each side, I went to two strips to make bending and fitting easier. Scale length pieces were used for the same reason. The upper edge of the top strip was painted black before mounting to ease masking and painting. After the wales were mounted and painted, I then painted the area between the wales and the waterline black, as well.I got a little sloppy at the waterline, but that should be no problem ,since the copper will sharply define that line. Modelmaster acrylic engine black was used for all of the painting.
 
Bob

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 284 – Last Post on Ratlines
 
While there is still some further ratline work ahead, that will await further mast erection.  For now, I have reached a stopping point after a few weeks work on this.  Other work has been progressing and I will describe that in later posts.  For now, I will just show the present status of the ratlines – and the overall model.  The first picture shows the ratlines completed to this stage.
 

 
Some minor replacement/rework is still needed – revealed in part on some of these pictures, but what is shown here is essentially finished.  The next picture shows work below the foretop that I should have done much earlier to avoid having to tie ratlines in the congested rigging shown.
 

 
The next picture shows the same work around the main top – much easier.
 

 
The topmast ratlines extend across the topmast backstays under the crosstrees as shown in the next picture.
 

 
The futtock ratlines here will be installed later.  Finally, another view from above.
 
 
 
 
The way is now open to work on the main topsail yards and other things.
 
 
Ed

Thanks
 
To finish the yellow cedar I sanded it with some 320 grit paper and applied a coat of wipe on poly.  Here is what it looks like.  I have also done a mock up of the planking in yellow cedar.  My photography stinks but I think you can get a good sense of the grain structure and finish of the wood after applying the wipe on poly.  

 
 
Chuck

Hi everyone,
So I'm still alive.  And I have worked on the Cutty over the past few months with several long breaks due to travel etc. and a side track into improving my working area.
 
I'll cover the side track in improving my work space.  The side track was due to being aggravated that my gear was always boxed up. So I built a workbench on the opposite wall of the garage and then noticed that there was no lighting nor an electrical.  So I had two lines pulled to the garage and four new four outlet power boxes and seven LED shop lights installed.  Now I have lots of light!!
 

 
I also added more space for more tools! Excuse the mess,  I was in the middle of working when I took the photo
 

The other side of my workspace.  this is the new bench with my new toys from the past couple of years.  Finally out of the boxes (almost - the lathe is still back in its box, but it has its own storage shelf).  As I said, up to this point, if I needed to use the sander, table saw, drill press, etc, I had to unbox the tool.  Move the ship to another location, put the tool together put it on the bench where the ship was, use the tool, box the tool and put the ship back into its original location.  UGH!
Problem is now solved.
 
Almost all of the wood was left over from two pergolas that I had built for our house or other left-over scraps.  so the benches and carts are the prettiest, but the function well and I saved a ton of money.
 

So under the bench are four carts that roll out and are full of equipment storage.  There are two short and two tall carts. 
 
The short carts have the Byrne saw and sander as well as the Proxxon table saw and a chop saw permanently housed on their tops.  I also made drawers for these carts and lined them with velvet from several yards of velvet from the bargain bin I found in the fabric store.
 



 
The two tall carts are exactly the same height and can be clamped together to create larger work tables.  They are also the correct height to act as out-feed tables for the Byrne's.  I made a bridge that attaches to the Byrnes saw and the edge of the tall carts for that purpose.
 


 Now on to the ship!
 
I have the fore sail in place as well as all of it's rigging is attached, but not belayed yet.  In a previous post I spoke about the need to step the Main mast and install all of it's standing rigging before I can continue with the fore sail.  I've also rigged and jibs and have belayed all of their rigging except the halyards which are run through the blocks but not belayed yet, waiting for the Main mast standing rigging to be executed.
 
I think that the shape of the sails look good.  To me they look like they actually have wind blowing on them.
 


In the next photo you can see the sheet chains from the lower top sail sheet running through the fore course yard.  I can tell you that these chains are a royal pain to rig through the mast and blocks.



the fore rat lines with the bunt and clew from the course sail feeding through the fairleads

detail  of the fairleads - nothing is had been pulled tight yet or belayed.

 
Last night I built the spencer gaff goose neck and other rigging eyes and installed the gear into the main mast and spencer gaff.
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

 
Sorry for the great delay in posting, but a great deal of work was in serving all of the standing rigging for the main mast, which took forever because the cutty has the standing rigging 100% served!  UGH!  Also, I didn't think showing progress of rigging the ratlines on the fore and main mast exciting so I didn't take any photos or post that work.  I ended up having to tear all of the upper ratlines out and re-rigging them because I used the wrong size line!!!  oh well, I'm always doing one step forward two to four steps back!  But I'm still having fun!
 
thanks for checking in!
Marc