bdgiantman2

A quick test of the bow timbers.  I simplified them as I know how difficult they can be.  
 
Increased the air spaces in width and the width slightly on each bow timber.  I did this to reduce the number of timbers.  Much like the Pegasus model in the picture posted by Greg.  Note the comparison between Speedwell and Pegasus bow timbers.  Pegasus has fewer bow timbers and 3 air spaces.  That is what I wanted to replicate on my Speedwell for simplicity sake.
 
 
Because we are planking from the wales up this will have no effect on the overall look of the model.  But it will make this tricky area a little easier.
 
There is one less timber to worry about and I combined the little filler with the outer-most timber so it was one piece.  It will be covered up anyway.  This also makes life much easier.
 
No crazy jigs for these or shortcuts really.  In my opinion that would make the whole process more difficult.  All of the crazy jigs that I have seen on those Asian kits look over-engineered. And the finished results are less than satisfactory.  It actually went very quickly just being careful and deliberate with each timber.  You can see the timbers for the port side ready to go.
 
They are laser cut with etched reference lines on both sides.  
 
I will of course take tons of pictures and do a step by step when I do the other side.
 

Thank you so much...yes its super busy right now.  But it still beats watching TV.

I am very much looking forward to how you make and grove those hawse timbers. Speedwell has been a pleasure to follow as was Winnie.

Good luck to you with this new project, Mike! I am sure that you will make a great model of the Speedwell like you did with the Winnie. I will be following you with this project. 

Good luck to you with this new project, Mike! I am sure that you will make a great model of the Speedwell like you did with the Winnie. I will be following you with this project. 

Good luck to you with this new project, Mike! I am sure that you will make a great model of the Speedwell like you did with the Winnie. I will be following you with this project. 

Good luck to you with this new project, Mike! I am sure that you will make a great model of the Speedwell like you did with the Winnie. I will be following you with this project. 

Good luck to you with this new project, Mike! I am sure that you will make a great model of the Speedwell like you did with the Winnie. I will be following you with this project. 

I am very much looking forward to how you make and grove those hawse timbers. Speedwell has been a pleasure to follow as was Winnie.

Congratulations Mike on finishing your Winchelsea.  It is a beautiful model and your workmanship is second to none.  You and Chuck have set the bar high for your craftsmanship.  It has been a pleasure following your build.

At a loss for words Mike....She is a beautiful model.  So sweet.    And it was fun getting in the trenches with you on it for so many years.
 
Chuck

Lengthy work on the cannon carriages:

I have noticed that myself and have wondered about this. Not sure more if a more modern model builder "cut some corners" by not doing the hawse timbers in the bow or if the scale admiralty models of that time period didn't have the hawse timbers but the real ship would have.  Or a third option could be that smaller ship models like that Dutch Statenjacht/Stuwart ship models wouldn't have had the hawse timbers unlike large ship-of-the-line models. Nevertheless, I am enjoying learning the more accurate construction from Mr. Passaro and other skilled modelers on this site.  

I have noticed that myself and have wondered about this. Not sure more if a more modern model builder "cut some corners" by not doing the hawse timbers in the bow or if the scale admiralty models of that time period didn't have the hawse timbers but the real ship would have.  Or a third option could be that smaller ship models like that Dutch Statenjacht/Stuwart ship models wouldn't have had the hawse timbers unlike large ship-of-the-line models. Nevertheless, I am enjoying learning the more accurate construction from Mr. Passaro and other skilled modelers on this site.  

Looking at pics of Navy Board ship models, many don't have cant frames.
Did you ever consider this option for less skilled modeler? 

@wefalck
Hello Eberhard,
thanks for the nice comment.
 
Continuation: For topsail yard - studding sail boom iron
In the meantime I also made the outer studding sail boom irons for the fore topsail yard. Like the inner irons, they were made of brass strips with a width of 1.3 mm and a thickness of 0.25 mm. For brazing with a silver brazing paste I fix the pre-prepared parts on a ceramic plate, as already shown several times.
With the following picture I show how the assembly of the inner studding sail boom irons is done. The brass wire ø 0.4 mm, which still has to be shortened, takes over the function of a safety pin.


The next picture shows the outer iron of the fore topsail yard. The end of the yardarm is square with dimensions 2.2 / 2.2 mm.


In order to be able to carry out the assembly and rigging work on the yards comfortably, I made myself this holding device.


And finally, an overview of the construction status of the fore topsail yard, with the studding sail booms, which in the meantime has each received a hole at the octagonal end. At the outer end, a notch has been added for fastening the blocks.

The next step is the studding sail boom irons for the main topsail yard, the dimensions of which are somewhat larger.
To be continued ...
 

Took a break from restocking inventory to work on the model.
 
Forward cant frames....
 
The jig is first.  BUT before you do anything, make sure the hull is positioned correctly on your build board.   Line up the forward face of the last square frame with the corresponding lines on your baseboard.  Slide it forward or aft if needed because you will be lining up the cant frame jig with your baseboard plan.
 
Take the laser cut square shown below and glue it to the underside of the last square frame cross piece. The laser etched guide on the square should help you with positioning it.
 

It will look like this. The fore cant frame jig is resting on top which will be added next.
 

Place the cant frame jig in position.   The "puzzle piece" connection was left a little loose on purpose to give you some room to adjust it.   Not a lot...its not a sloppy fit.  But there is just enough room to adjust it side to side based on what we will do next.
 

This next step is super important....
 
Use your square to check that the notches in the top of the jig match the cant frames as drawn on the baseboard.   The machine square I have actually fits right into the slots making this pretty easy.   I got these from MicroMark.   They are pretty common and if you have one this works perfectly.  There is also a laser etched line down the center of the jig to help with alignment.
 
The forward edge of each slot....should line up with the aft edge of the cant frames as drawn on the baseboard.  This is important.   Its worth mentioning it again.  The forward edge of each slot....should line up with the aft edge of the cant frames as drawn on the baseboard.  See below.  Check this on both sides of the hull obviously.  Try and get it as close as you can.   
 
Then tape the cant frame jig to the first square frame cross piece.   Remember,  there is some wiggle room so you can adjust as needed to get your slots lining up as close as possible.  But dont be upset if they are off by a hair.   Just get them as close as you can.  
 

Next up,  and you will do this for every cant frame....take the two strips laser cut and marked "1", and glue them into the forward slots.  Make sure the numbers face forward.  Slide them all the way into the slots.  This is also important.  The top of these strips should be flush with the top of the jig.
 
Note the laser etched line on the forward side.   This line references the outboard edge of each cant frame.    We are starting with the most forward pair for a few reasons.  The most important being to help firm up the cant frame jig at the correct height and "lock" it into position.   Every cant frame after this first pair will also have a corresponding numbered strip.   You will be progressing aft with one cant frame pair at a time.  Just like this.

You can see below how this jig will work.   I have placed the square against the strip.  Note how it rests against the forward edge of the strip and at the same time...The bottom of the square shows it lining up with the cant frame drawing on the baseboard.   The angles match.  We are talking about the aft edge of the cant frame.   The cant frames will all sit against the forward edge of those numbered strips.
 

Below you can see the forward pair of cant frames glued into position.  I of course sanded the char off the edges first.  But dont sand the heel of the cant frame.   Only remove the char from the inboard and outboard edges.  These frames are cut to length with tight tolerances so dont sand the heel end that gets glued to the angled wedge on the apron.
 
Note how the outside edge of the cant frame lines up with that laser etched reference line that was on the numbered strip.  Also note that the top of the cant frame is flush with the top of the numbered strip.  This first cant frame is important because it locks the jig in at the correct height as well and stiffens it all up.

One down and ten to go.   Repeat this process working aft with the remaining cant frames.   Remember to just work on one cant frame pair at a time.   Some of these forward cant frames are made in two pieces with a simulated chock like the frames.  We shall discuss this when I get that far.
 
Next up will be cant frame "2".   You can see the numbered strips sitting on top ready to go.  But now that the jig is in position its pretty easy and should go quickly.   No need to sand the bevels into the heels of each cant frame.   All you really have to do with each cant frame is sand off most of the laser char on the inboard and outboard edges and glue it into position.  The apron has all the correct angles in for each cant frame already.

 
Let me know if you have any questions.
 

Me and you both 👍  These are lovely little kits by the way I was very impressed.
Now there's an idea 😉
 
Just to give a little perspective on just how tiny these barrels are here's a couple of pictures of it in the hold.  I think it looks great!

Great work Mark, your log and photos are the best reference are indispensable.  

@tlevine
 
Hi Toni,
thank you for your interest in my construction report and the appreciation of my work.
Many thanks also to the others for the many LIKES.
 
Continued: Equipment of the yards
As announced in the last part of my construction report, I equip the larger yards with real discs. As before, I make these discs out of brass and blue them. As far as I know, these discs were usually made of lignum vitae. The rather dark brown coloring of this wood can be easily imitated with a blue finish.
For the main yard and the fore yard, the sheaves have a diameter of 2.9 mm. The main topsail yard, fore topsail yard and mizzen yard are fitted with sheaves with a diameter of 2.0 mm.
With the following series of pictures I would like to illustrate how I make the sheaves. Since my turning skills are limited and with these small diameters, I made the circular groove with a jeweller's saw. The fine saw blade I use for this has a thickness of 0.15 mm. I can control the width of the groove. The more inclined I lead the saw blade, the wider the groove. As a rule, the groove has a width of around 0.2 mm.

 
After cutting the sheaves, I grind them to the required thickness according to the size of the protrusion for the sheaves, i. H. about ø 0.6 mm or 0.8 mm. For grinding, I made myself an aid, the tip of which engages in the axle hole and thus enables the sheaves to be guided more or less evenly for grinding.


 
 
The axle bores of the sheaves were made with ø 0.8 mm larger than the axle diameter ø 0.4 mm itself. This makes the installation of the sheaves much easier and also compensates for small inaccuracies.

 
The next pictures should give an impression of the installation of the sheaves. As can be seen in the second picture, the axle holes are not exactly opposite. This is due to the fact that I have to drill the ø 0.4 mm holes for the axles from each side. If you try to drill these holes in one go from one side, it can easily happen that the hole on the other side does not arrive in the middle due to the thin drill and other inaccuracies. This is then much more disturbing than the axis points that are not exactly opposite, which is no longer noticeable after the shortening anyway.


After shortening the axles, the ends are filed clean with a micro file and blued. The filing creates a small burr, which usually makes it no longer necessary to glue the axles.
The last picture shows the finished yardarms of the fore yard, main topsail yard and mizzen yard.

 
It then continues with the stunsail boom irons. There are still a few open points to be clarified, as always... 😊
Sequel follows …

Mark, I agree. It’s long befuddled me why kit makers almost completely ignore river craft. A towboat or steamboat isn’t any more obscure than some of the centuries-old sailing vessels that get churned out. Canoeing on the Missouri River last year, we passed a rare tow and it was cool to see it up close and experience just how powerful those engines are; the effects of its wake lasted a long way downriver as they reverberated from bank to bank. Anyway, rambling way to cheer on this choice of model by someone who will do it justice.

When I grow up, I hope to be only half as skilled as you are.  Your work is amazing.

Beautiful work and almost there Mike!
Great to have a such a beautiful build as yours with clear explanations to follow!
Frank.

Hey Rusty, want to join me in building a model of the Brig Eagle from 1814? I can e-mail you some designs that were sent to me although I have made some modifications after doing my own research about her.

Small Saturday update, one more row to go on both sides before the first band of planking is finished. I think I'm starting to get the hang of it.
Frank.