Landrotten Highlander

Thank you for the comments and likes.
Here is another update.
 
Alexandru

I finally finished the inner lining of the sides with its endless and difficult to nailing the angle of the walled:
 

 

 

 

 
 
final sealing of hawses

 

I wanted to thank everyone for the suggestions on modeling the water surface.  I spent the week trying to come up with something and I think I'm leaning towards the woodland scenics  approach.  I have a lot of surface to cover - it could get expensive.
 
This week I tried to reproduce the damage done to the paddlewheels.  Every paddlewheel had some damage to it.  The channels that hold the spokes were broken off in several locations and repaired with custom made forged iron straps.  The inboard port flange was the worst with all the channels broken off.
 
 
Inboard port paddlewheel flange and straps.  Black outline shows the extent of the damage.

 
Strap layout for the mill.  Green outlines are for the inboard flange, black for outboard.

 
Straps milled in brass.

 
Fitting inboard paddlewheel spokes.

 
Flanges soldered to shaft and blackened.

 

 

 
Spokes and staps in place.

 
Wooden spreaders added between spokes.  36 down 252 more to go.

 
I rushed to take photos and forgot to clean up the timbers.  Looking a little hairy in this photo.

For one reason and another, | didn’t get a chance to shape the plug for the dromon last weekend, so I’ve got into it again this weekend.
 
Still a work in progress – it’s not bad, but I took a little too much wood away on the second side (just as I did on the first) so I’ve used builder’s filler to build it up again, and I have to wait till tomorrow for it to dry so I can do the final sanding, to get exactly the cross-sections I want. I’ll put up pictures when it’s done.
 
In the meantime, each evening when I get home from work I’ve been making oars. The dromon will have 100 oars in all – 25 per side in both upper and lower banks. I’ve worked out that if I make one oar each evening I’ll have them all done in four months.

 So far I’ve made 4 upper bank oars and one lower one – only 95 to go! (the photo only shows four, but that was taken this morning - I’ve made another oar since then).As the photo shows, it's very difficult to get all the oars exactly the same. But as they're only 2.5mm (1/10') in diameter at their thickest, I don't think I've done too bad a job. 
 
After I discovered how much work is involved in individually marking out each oar before cutting out, I decided to use AutoCad to print them off in bulk onto a sheet of paper so I could cut out and glue groups of oars onto the wood and then saw them out roughly to shape. After that I’ve been using a Stanley knife to trim down each oar, taper the thickness and round it off, smoothing off with files of progressively finer levels of ‘cut’.
 
Today I began to use the power sander to taper the thickness, which cuts out a fair bit of work with the Stanley knife. 
 
And now I’ve realised I can short-cut it further if all the oars face the same way, because I can use the sander to roughly taper the thickness of a sheet of wood with a whole lot of them on it before I cut them out, so all the oars are done at the same time. So I’ll change the AutoCad drawing and print off again.
 
The upper oars are somewhat longer than the lower ones, and because the upper oarsmen are above decks, the oars will be visible in their entirety, so they need to be properly shaped all the way along their length.
 
The lower oarsmen are below decks, so the part of the oars that is inboard won’t be visible. So this means that from the fulcrum inboard they don’t have to be ‘oar-shaped’. I’ll probably make some kind of rack to support their inboard ends so they don’t flop around, and shape the ends to slot into the rack. This is something of a bonus, because getting oar handles right is possibly the hardest part of the job. I’ve already made one lower bank oar with a ‘proper’ handle, but I won’t be making more until I’ve decided exactly what to do – I’ll stick to upper oars for the time being.
 

 
I've drawn and pasted to a piece of wood the first crew member who I'll carve out to pass the time when I get bored with making oars or shaping the hull. He's a stradiote - a marine. He'll be in Byzantine style armour, complete with helmet and sword. In fact all the upper oarsmen served as marines as well, and took the major part in any combat that occurred. It was left to the lower oarsmen to keep the vessel moving when she went into battle.

Continuation.
 
 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
The beginning of the relation is available at this address:
 
 
http://5500.forumact...ndre-1-24#66516
 
 
 
Regards, Paul

Well, the 48 batten pieces have been cut, shaped and installed, along with the six footboards.
 
Next will be the thwarts. They should be a simple job, but are complicated by the fact that the edges are moulded and need to be mitred to the longitudinal strip running down the mid-line of the boat. Also, six turned supporting pillars are needed to support the thwarts. Stay tuned.

Again, my appreciation for the complimentary remarks you have posted on this model.
 
The footboards for the rowers are more complicated than one might think. They are moveable - for long and short-legged crew - and have battens that hold them in place. For six thwarts there are a total of 48 battens to be cut and fitted. There are no two pairs alike. No wonder this detail is omitted from nearly every model!
 
If you look carefully, you will see a rejected batten showing the joints that need to be cut at each end. It will be a while until all six sets are completed....

Continuation.
 
 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 
 
 
The beginning of the relation is available at this address:
 
 
http://5500.forumact...ndre-1-24#66516
 
 
 
Regards, Paul

Thanks to all for visiting, your comments and likes, it's all much appreciated.
 
I finished the two "knechten" yesterday.  I first thought of carving a few simple Dutch woolen hats for these two guys but then I went back and decided to make the jester's hats.  But from wood?  I pondered that idea for a few minutes and figured to give this Skulpi stuff a try.  After fussing with it for some time, feeling like having two sticky left hands and all thumbs I finally produced two passable hats.  At least they are not too bad for a first try with clay modeling.
 
After I cemented these hats back on the knight's heads I added beards and hair, painted that black with India ink.  I may have to trim the beards a little but that can come later.
 
Instead of painting the hats in a checkerboard pattern, as is custom, I just split the colors in the middle of the hats, green and red as used on the ship.  Doing it checkerboard was getting to be too challenging.  
So, today I mounted both of the knechten to the heavy pulley posts on the forecastle deck and now the ropes run freely behind and in front of them.  That'll make them happy     It does liven up the forecastle a lot, I'm happy with the result.
 
This'll be the end of the knight head saga and go on to something else.  Don't know yet what.  In the meantime I am still working on that little experiment and am coming close for the reveal   
 
Well then, here are the pics of the knight heads, proudly scowling at the crew.
 

Both knight heads pinned on a small board for a glue and paint drying fixture.  I used cotton for the hair and beard again and also did some touching up on the hats and the beards before cementing them onto the pulley posts.  I may still trim the beards some, if possible.
 

Here they are, proudly supervising the forecastle crew. 
 
Cheers,

Further news from the shipyard. First the side strakes of footwaling were installed (there is probably a proper term for them, but I don't know what it is). They required a twist through almost 90 degrees along their length, achieved by steaming.
 
Next were the risings. I misspelled the name as 'risers' earlier - sorry. The risings were cut after a card pattern established their shape and the pair were made while rubber cemented together, ensuring symmetry. The height of each below the gunwale was marked out at various points along the hull and the risings glued in. Note that paint was scraped off where the thwarts will attach.
 
Next will be the footboards for the rowing crew.

Hello,
thanks for the encouragement, one and all!
Here is the continuation:
 
The first image shows all installation parts of the cutters.

 
On the next two images all built boats can be seen that I have built for the French corvette.
Only thing missing is the gig.

 

I am now 60-hours into this build and am exceedingly happy with the results.  This is the first time I have tracked my hours in a build and I actually like doing so.  I average about an hour a day.  My goal is to get into the shop for atleast a few minutes each night, which usually turns into more.  This tactic has kept me fresh and keeps progress steady. 
 
Understandably, I took very few pictures of the rework and am finally on to new stuff.
 
Below is a shot of the port bow. Please note that everything is in the "rough" at this stage.  I will fine tune later - yes, this drives me crazy...  The air gaps still need to be cleaned out and filed straight as well.
The shoe should be thinner than it is here.  I missed that tiny detail, but its small.  Note the absence of Hawse Timber #5, that is yet to be done.  An interesting detail to note is the size of the stem as compared to the knee of the head.  Note the subtle taper?  These are the kind of details you get in an authentic scratch build.  Obsessing about these things is a passion.
 

 
Note the use of the uprights in aligning the toptimbers to the base drawing.  The photo shows them just slightly off due to the angle of the shot.  They are dead on.  There still needs to be some slight tumblehome added to these hawse pieces.  There are templates to help with this.
 

 
Here is a shot from the inside.  I used boxwood chocks to contrast the swiss pear frames.  Most of these will not show in the final product, but I will be spending a lot of time with this build, so I wanted them to look pretty.
 

 
The last show is of the first free standing cant frames.  I will put temporary pine spacers to secure them in place as Ed describes in the book, Naiad.   You can see how the framing square and uprights are used to ensure the frames are both perpendicular to the base line and the toptimbers are on the mark.

Something like that Greg . It's used where the strains on the planking are greatest, such as the Spirketting and Deck Planking around the Gunports, and the Wales.
 
Thanks to all the others for their comments and Likes .
 
I started the Upper Deck framing the same way as the lower deck by temporarily installing the three Beams. Next I made the Upper Deck Main Mast Partners.
 
You may remember from the full model that these differ significantly from some of the earlier Swan Class ships in that they are angled :
 

 

 
I've also made and (once again temporarily) fitted the Lodging Knees and most of the Carlings, some of which can be seen below marked out for the Ledges. All these pieces will be removed later to cut the various mortices :
 

 

 

 
Last thing for now I've made up the Main Topsail Sheet Bitt Pins :
 

 

 

 

 
This will be the last I can do on my model for a little while as I'm ONCE AGAIN (6th time in 7 years) moving house, having sold my caravan where I've been living for the past couple of years (I just got word that the money has been deposited into my account ) and I'll be moving back into my own house. Ironically, this is where I first built my workshop .
 
See you all in a couple of weeks when I get settled in again.
 
  Danny

Again, thank you for the kind compliments. 'Precision' is merely taking sufficient time and care, plus accurate marking out. These come from experience; you know, the 10,000 hour thing.
 
The aft platform has been made, painted and installed. The next challenge is covering the compound curved surface above this platform up to the height of the topside.

Well, a start has been made on the inner sheathing of the bulwark. The compound curves involved make this an interesting exercise!

Another photos 
 

 

 

 

 

 

The "likes", comments, and questions/challenges appreciated..... 
 
So... pushing the envelope...
 
I've reworked the rudder and added some metalwork.  It looks a lot better.    The metal banding will have the appropriate amount of nails in it before this piece is ready to mount.
 
Edit:  I forgot to add... I cut it apart using a thin jeweler's saw and then glued it back together using some colored glue.
 

 
And a couple of quick shots of the rudder irons/straps in work.  I started by annealing the straps.  I silver solder the tube, cut-off the excess, and clean it up with a file.  For the pintle, a 1/16" brass rod will be epoxied into the tube.  The cudgeon will not have the shaft, naturally.  
 

I should note that these are not cleaned up yet.  

 
So far, so good.  I've got a pile of brass pieces now pickling in some vinegar.   I'll rinse well and let dry overnight.  I'm thinking of using paint on these or hitting the local gunshop tomorrow for some Birchwood Casey's.  In testing, Blacken-It did nothing for the silver solder.  I've got some discards painted and drying and I'll how they look.  

Some more progress on the beakhead.
 
Alexandru

With the deck finally complete on the second model,  i was able to convert my mill from a thickness planer back to a mill.  I have been putting off turning the paddlewheel shafts because they have hexagonal bosses that require a dividing head on the mill.  This week I was able to make some progress on the paddlewheels. 
 
Turning the paddlewheel shafts.

 
Milling the hexagonal bosses.

 

 

 
Test fitting the paddlewheel flanges.  On Heroine, all of the flanges were damaged to some extent.  A few had several of the arms broken off and were reinforced by flat iron strap.  Next week I will reproduce this damage and repairs.

 
 
Bearing timbers in place with iron tie rods.

 

 

 
Paddlewheel spokes fresh from the mill.

 
 
The mill cuts the mating pieces so accurately, there is almost no fitting required.  Just a little clean-up and they slid tightly into the channels in the flanges.

 
Test fit of the starboard paddlewheels.

Continuation.
 
 
Fittings are made ​​of sheet zinc .
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 
The beginning of the relation is available at this address:
 
 
http://5500.forumact...ndre-1-24#66516
 
 
 
Regards, Paul

Hello,
I am always happy to have you here.Thanks for the nice comments.
Likewise, of course, I am delighted with the many LIKES.

The two cutter have received all thwarts.
For this purpose, additional images:
 

 

small update for the week s evening work
the carlings under the fire place and between the bitts are cut up under the beams and mortised around the fore bitts
 


 
the standards for the bitts are also mortised for the beams below, I believe the gap between the two had filling pieces to stop any movement
 

 

 
the fore bitt standards are also mortised into the beams and around the mast partner, both also have a mortise in the front end to receive the smaller bitts that pass through to the forecastle deck as does the y bitts
 

 

 

 
and a final view with it all dry fitted nothing glued or bolted yet
 

The footwaling is now complete, after making a false start. I initially tried cutting and bevelling each board to length in situ. The result, as you can see, was not pretty. Having thought things through, I then made a card template which was used to actually attach the boards to. When complete, I channelled out the card so that the boards would sit at the correct height on the keelson, then glued the assembly in. This gave a much improved result.

Continuation.
 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 
 
 
The beginning of the relation is available at this address:
 
 
http://5500.forumact...ndre-1-24#66516
 
 
 
Regards, Paul

And we start (again)
 

 
Saturday 27 Feb 2016
Ripped a couple pieces of castello boxwood to about 20" (1:64) on the table saw then milled down to 18"
Sliced of strips from it to about 20" and then milled them to 18" square.
 
This is the stock material for the 4 keel pieces
The foremost section of the keel with the boxing scarph joint for the lower stem post needed to have the strip cut made wider, about 40", as it stands taller forward than aft.
 
Using a longer piece than necessary, using a sharp soft (HB) pencil lead, I marked of the length, depth and angle of the scarph on the top side of the stern most keel section.  The depth of the scarph joint was carefully cut on the scroll saw and using a freshly sharpened chisel I attempted to cut it out in very small slices.  I seem to have a huge problem keeping my chisel perpendicular to the stock to get a clean square cut.
 
To remedy this... until I master my chiselling skills... I cut off the bad scarph joint (scrap) and remarked the stock.  I clamped it on the line on my flat faced woodworking vise.  Using a fine toothed saw I cut the depth perpendicular to the stock.  Using the same saw I cut the length somewhat parallel to the surface of the vise.  Using my chisel I cleaned it up and then sanded.  I repeated this on the mating piece and this resulted in a good joint.  I did not invent this method... I saw it somewhere in a build log on the forum. Thank you!
 

 
Sunday 28 Feb 2016
I used this same method to cut down the 40" height of the foremost keel section aft of the boxing scarph joint to 18".  The scarph joint shape was transfer to the stock using carbon paper.  The carbon paper was place on top of transparent (see through) graph paper.  The carbon side faced up to the graph paper.  My template was placed over top of the graph paper.  I traced the outlined of the scarph joint shape with my pencil which transferred it to the underside of the graph paper.   The transparent paper was placed on the stock and the carbon line (on the underside against the stock) was traced once again with my pencil resulting in the line being transferred to the stock.  This is much more work than cutting and gluing but I am trying to preserve my templates (and eliminate any need to spend more money on another copy)
 
This shape was roughly cut out on the scroll saw and then cleaned up with a drum sander attached to the drill press.  The boxing scarph joint has yet to be cut.
 

 

 
The stern post mortise hole was drilled out and cleaned up as best as I can manage for now.
 

 
Black crepe paper (representing the waterproofing tar soaked felt) was cut oversize and glued to one outer set of joints (toe/heel).  When this dried the two pieces were glued and clamped.  This paper has yet to be trimmed back to the keel surface.