newbuilder101

It's update time again gents, only a small one this time though.
 
Thank-you one and all for your positive and very kind remarks, also for all who hit the like button.
 
The Mortar pit is now complete and fitted, given the two coats of WOP and the fit became really tight, fortunately a little persuasion and it went home ok.
 
The Hatch coamings are made from Redheart, not familiar with this wood and I don't think I like it very much, It's really easy to work with and I think is softer than Swiss Pear, another drawback is that the filings act very similar to Ebony in that they stain other wood, when sanding down the sandpaper mustn't be used for any other wood, having said all that the effect is very different. 
 
The Hatch Boards are made from Walnut and are so simple, the bend in the boards was formed by moulding them around the Hatch Coaming, you will see the method I used in the pictures, nothing startling there I can assure you.
 
Said Hatch is now complete and fixed onto the deck, the cross section has now been placed into a plastic carrier bag and put aside waiting for company.
 
My attention is currently focused on repairing my Barge which was damaged in the Museum, a log has yet to be set up but will be located in the Scratch Section, this log will be up and running in the next day or so.
 
Picture time
 
The completed Mortar Pit frame

 
Hatch Coaming

 
Old planks laid over the coaming and held down by an elastic band

 

 
The shape for the boards to follow

 
The four boards clamped in place

 
Completed Hatch including the lifting rings, they look a little on the heavy side.

 
Both Mortar Pit and Coaming fixed in position

 

 
So your up to date now guys, it may be a while before the next update.
 
Be Good
 
mobbsie

Sorry Guys, I hit the wrong key, we will continue.
 
A big jump, the complete Upper Deck

 

 

 
These are the plans for the Upper Deck just for clarity

 
The Mortar Pit dry fitted

 
Mortar Pit all glued up with shackle rings fitted.

 
So there we are guys, your up to date, sorry for the big jump with the Upper Deck but I think I just got carried away.
 
All comments, remarks or suggestions are welcome, good or bad.
 
Be Good
 
mobbsie
 
 

Hi Guys
 
It's update time again.
 
Thanks one and all for your very kind comments and remarks also the like button, very much appreciated.
 
All the Beams are now completed, fitted and given two coats of WOP.
 
The Trimmer Beams were fitted as part of the Upper Deck along with the Carlings, next up came the Hanging Knees and Lodging Knees. Notches cut into the Lodging Knees and some of these proved problematic.
 
Because of my inability to Mill I used a sharp blade to cut the notches, the nature of the wood (Swiss Pear) which very soft some of the edges of the notches broke away, these then had to be remade. On reflection I would have done things differently in that I would not have cut the notches in the Knees until the Ledges had been offered up. Not all notches lined up, and so had to opened up so a parallel fit could be achieved.
 
The Upper Deck came together really quickly which was a surprise, it looked daunting to me and I really wasn't looking forward to this part of the build,  I think it's a reasonable finish, after sanding it was given 2 coats of WOP.
 
Next up was the Mortar Pit, its quite a snug fit so sanding will have to be gentle with a fine paper, it's now glued up with the rings attached to the inside, when the glue has set sanding will be done and WOP applied.
 
Enough words, time for some pictures.
 
All the Beams are fitted including the Half Beams, these were a real pig to fit, just awkward.

 
Here's one of the Hanging Knees, these turned out to be a really good fit.

 
The first of the Lodging Knees fitted.

 
First set of Lodging Knees and Hanging Knees

Up Date time again....... I think I left off showing the water pumps installed, well I uninstalled them. I think that's going to be one of the last items I will install along with the railing posts with the rope. I'm pretty sure they'll be a nusance when the rigging starts if installed now,
Most of the work done up to this time has been on the rest of the deck pc's. I've installed the rear railings, which I had to improvise on,
cleats ,oar locks, channels, and the gun rigging.  The following pictures will show whats been done. Thanks again for looking in!!
 
Frank
 
 
 
we'll start with the floats.I shaped them out of some basswood so they were pretty easy to form , these will also be attached later .

 
 
These are Chucks cleats. He made some 12mm for me. They came out real nice , If anyone needs some wood cleats try his out, you wont be dissapointed.

 
 
This picture shows the start of the rear rails. There was some bending involved  on these and unfortu nately one of them snaped on the end so I could'nt use them The brass was2mm , you'd think they would give you a little longer pc. of brass knowing they might snap with the twisting they need, but no way. The only brass rod I had was 1.5  mm , but it worked out ok. OH yeah!, not only did the brass rod snap, the pc's that the ends set into also got messed up so,  I made a basic pc. to set the ends into.As it turned out I liked the way it looks better than the way itwas supposed to.

 

 

 
 
I just want to show this picture , because it shows the rear doors on the cabin. I was thinking a bout some figures for this build and I'm thinking this cabin looks small for this scale. A man at about 5'7"
woiuld be approx. 2.6 inches at  1/25th scale. This cabin is just1 inch tall !!! How could this person get thru the Door???? any comments??

 
 
The following pictures are of the oar lock and channells installed and the rigging of the cannon, also the fore mast eye bolts installed.
 

 

 

 

 
 
Thanks again!!!
 
Frank
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Thanks George. Maybe it's because they are among the last bits of rigging you fit? . I still have a few more to go, as I've found it easier to start at the stern and work forward.
 
Braces
 
I've fitted most of the Braces, which control the fore-aft swing of the yards. I've come to a slight stand-still as I've run out of 0.3mm line (I'm less than 1 metre short, but have to wait a week or so to get some more from Chuck).
 
The first ones to fit are the Topgallant Yard Braces, starting with the Mizzen mast. These are seized around the yard without a Pendant (all topgallant braces are similar). The brace runs through a double block fitted near the peak of the Gaff, through a lead block hooked to the taffrail, and belays to the quarterdeck rail :
 

 

 
Next come the Mizzen Topsail Braces. The halyards are attached to the strop of a block each side of the peak of the gaff, reeve through the blocks in the pendants, back through the first blocks, and belay off in similar fashion to the topgallant braces.
 
The Main Topgallant Yard Braces run through Pendants hitched around the Mizzen Topgallant Mast. The brace goes straight down to deck to belay to the quarterdeck rails :
 

 
The Fore Topgallant Yard Braces run through the pendants attached to the Main Topmast Stay, forward through two blocks hooked to the aft end of the fore top, and go to deck to belay at the cleats either side of the Belfry :
 

 

 

 
The Main Topsail Yard Braces make use of a Pendant clove hitched around the mizzen mast just above the Crossjack. The standing ends of the halyards are hitched to the strops of the pendants, reeve through the blocks in the pendants on the yard, back through the first block, and belay to cleats at the foot of the mizzen mast :
 

 

 
I can fit the Main Braces, but the other two Fore Braces will have to wait until my rigging thread arrives.
 
 Danny

Thanks guys, but the pics above only show the damage, not the repairs (there was damage on TWO masts). Here are the repairs :
 

 

 
 Danny

Thank-you everyone for the well wishes! My eye is healing quite nicely.
I've put together a very basic mini tutorial and hope it may be of help to someone.
 
I bought a brass turned cannon, of the correct scale for my ship, to use as a reference model.
I had a piece of round plastic dowel on hand, which I carved and sanded until it was the same size as the reference model.
Next, I cut paper trapezoids and rolled them around the plastic dowel, and sealed with some white glue. The dowel ensured that all my cannons would be the same.
 

 

 

 
Next up, I marked the location for each ring, by comparing to the reference model and cut very thin strips of paper and glued them in place. This can be tricky since the paper tube is narrow at one end and the strip naturally wants to spiral up the tube.
 

 

 

 
The cascabels/miniature mushrooms    , were fashioned from polymer clay, then baked and glued in place. I had tried carving them from a wood dowel, but decided that clay would be a faster option.
 

 

 
At this point the "bore" was added. I dipped a toothpick in white glue and applied a thin film around the inside of the end of the cannon. Once dry I repeated once or twice more as needed.
 

 
This picture is a repeat from my last update, but it gives a good idea of the different stages.
 

 
Finally, a couple of thin layers of flat black acrylic were added and allowed to dry, followed by dry-brushing with yellow-ochre that was tamed down with a little brown.
 

 
This last picture shows the finished paper cannon beside the original brass cannon, which I also painted. 
 

 
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

Hi Guys
 
It's update time again.
 
It's been a while since I worked on the Cross Section due mainly to working on the Bawley, that's completed now so it's back to the main build.
 
I was / am playing catch-up to Grant and so have been a bit busy in the shipyard.
 
The Mortar Pit Support Standards are made, fitted and have been given a coat of Poly, at the same time I made the Centre Line Stanchions, these were made from 1/4" x 1/4" Walnut, these were turned on my lathe. I only had to make three but it took me eight attempts to do it ( need more practice ). These have now been given a coat of Poly and have been dry fitted.
 
It's now time to tackle the Upper Deck Beams, I really was not looking forward to doing these as I know for sure they will show up my extremely poor wood working skills.
With Beams cut out and sanded down on the drum and disc sanders the top template was lined up and pressed into place, the notches then had to be cut out, instead of milling the cut-outs I used a sharp blade to cut the outer edge of the notch then used a home made chisel and 3mm chisel to remove the unwanted wood, this for is the best way because I have little faith in my drill stand, I don't think I will get the accuracy that is needed, Beams 1, 2 and 3 have so far been made and are dry fitted.
 
I did receive a phone call on Friday evening from my Granddaughter asking if I can make her a Pirate Ship, it doesn't have to be very big but it needs to float and be robust, and can you have it ready to be taken to school on Monday, don't panic.
This request was met fully and you will see the result, I was told when she came to take it that weights were going to be placed on it to see how much it would take before it either capsized or sank, wish I had know before I started it.
 
I must thank Grant at this stage for pointing out some errors in the plans, these errors have been validated and corrections being made, thanks mate.
 
Pictures
 
The Black Pig, Captain Pugwash's ship

 
Pit Support Standards

 

 
2 of the 3 Stanchions dry fitted

 

 
The 3 Beams are dry fitted and should eventually match up with other Beams

 

 
So that's where I am guys, Beam building continues.
 
Any an all remarks and comments are welcome as usual.
 
Be Good
 
mobbsie
 
 
 
 

All other forestays are now attached. These are starting from the lowest above the forestay, the fore topmast stay, inner jib stay and outer jib stay. These three stays are attached to shackles at he base of the second futtocks. The upper most is the fore t'gallant stay which attaches by a shackle to the foremast cap. All four stays run down to the jib and jibboom and run through a sheave. The end of the stays then run back along the jib and jibboom and attach to fixed turnbuckles which adjust the tension of each stay. I've mimicked the turnbuckles out of various plastic rod. These are actually quite small and are covered in a plaster type of material which is soaked in grease. Then the entire unit is tarred for protection. So simple rod to diameter painted black looks the part scame wise. Amazingly even at this scale, some things are still quite small to model. Also as I'll be modelling the headsails furled... All this will be covered up as the headsails will sit on top of all this.

This is the first time I have seen your build log and it is truly amazing! Your work is exceptionally clean and crisp and your attention to detail is wonderful! I have really enjoyed all your photos, especially the ones from within the hull...it truly looks like a full size ship!

Time for an update and the celebration of a milestone.  We've reached 1,000 hours into the build !
 
The planking of the quarter deck has been completed and some of the details (speaking tube, mizzen rail) added.  The deck is planked only to the midline to allow some of the gun deck and great cabin work to be seen:
 

 

 
 
 
 
 
The planking is, of course, Swiss Pear and the treesnails done with the 'drill and fill' method  The finish is Natural stain under WOP.  I'll provide some more detailed photos as the final details are added.
 
 
 
 

Your build is looking great. I was following along on the old msw and glad you're back here.

Port side aft bulwark planked...   I'm cleaning up the shop a bit and I'll start on the hull planking.
 
Critiques, laughing out loud, pretty much anything you want to say about it is allowed, as always.   
 
I do notice that there's a couple of place that need a touch more sanding, but those places are on hold until after the rest of the hull is planked.  Might as well get everything at once....
 

Well.....  here we go again ........ Up Date Time!,   It's been a while, I was laid up there for about 5 weeks with a bug I had a hard time shaking off, but everything is back to normal, so hopefully I can be a little more aggressive with the up dates I"m pretty well finished with the deck work outside of installing some cleats I have on order from Chuck..... and some minor touch up work., following are some pictures of whats been done so far. Thanks for looking in.
 
Frank
 
 
These next three pictures show the deck bitts being made
 

 

 

 
 
The next two are of the cap pc for the stern and a facia for the bottom .
 

 

 
The following are of the oars and rudder, tiller& stove pipe...... and the last few pictures show everything installed on deck.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Well, that's it for today, Thanks again to all of you looking in!! Hope you enjoyed the pictures.
 
frank

Thank you for the nice comment  
 
@ Mark,
 
I believe you !!!!!!!
And the fish is in the tank  or searching the hook from the rod of Augie 
 
Ulises,
 
Wow.......Thank you !!!!!!!!           
 
After those nice words I have another update.....
She has all her teeth !
Also the decorative strips are on and painted.
So no whales, wales, trouts or gold fish.......
 
Sjors
 
 
 
 

One small step for Licorne, one big step for me.    I got the forward outer bulwark planked to my satisfaction.   Happy Dance!!!! 
 
The planking goes from one plank to three.  I got the middle one cut in as a proper stealer topmost goes under the ebony strip per the planking diagram (a different French frigate, but it showed me how it was done).
 
Here's the pic of the starboard side, and onto the aft ones.... The pic is super macro from about 4" out.  Looks better at galloping on horse back scale.
 

 

Excellent work on the rigging! Everything looks tidy, precise and lovely.

thanks John......
 
 
so anyway......now that I have my mind straight.......it needs to be forward......the counter weight reel is aft.  basically,  my original idea is good,  just that the telemetry is a bit off.  to avoid having the termination line hinder on the top bar,  the double block needs to be in a more forward position.   I was looking at the aft spotlights,  doing some touch ups,  when the thought came to me......a bracket.  two more pieces of the styrene tubing were cut......actually four,  but whose counting    these were cleaned,  sanded square,  and cut in half.   a couple triangular pieces of styrene was cut from the flat stock strip,  I had cut earlier.   glued to one half of the tubing.......these were roughed out.
 

 
they need to be trimmed and rounded.  while they were drying,  the other control panel was threaded and made ready to cement into place on the deck.   this time I made it a point to hang a clothes pin to the end and let it hang......in order to get the memory out of the thread.   there was some serious kinking being on that flat card it comes on. 
 

 
then,  in checking them and finding that they were dry enough,  I took the first one and shaped it.   a hole was drilled for the eye bolt.   I started to work on this one.
 

 
the other one is already on the bar by this time.
 

 

 
the other half was cemented in place to complete the bracket.  the spotlights will be done in the same manner......I had cut them with a razor blade,  so there was no material loss,  and no gap would be seen.   given a light sanding,  it isn't noticeable at all.  the eye bolt and double block was fitted in place.
 

 
I mentioned those other brackets for the stabilizer booms.  I guess you could call them sway bars.....this bar will arrest the boom,  to keep it in a equal arc as it is deployed,  and prevent sway fore or aft.  there is one for the aft side.....it is chain,  but it isn't critical........I'll show this later.   the forward sway bar does most of the work.  the port side is cemented in place.
 

 
since I plan to have them deployed,  not connected to the yokes,  I cut the bars to what I figured was reasonable.  I would have had to do some figuring to come up with the correct radius........these will do    eye bolts have been added to one end.  I'll have to watch how much of this dowel I use........or I'll end up getting more for the buoys   
 

 
the spotlights were touched up......even added a touch of flat white to the florescent tubes......mixing it around to activate the silver,  mixing it together.
 

 
after a pair of eye bolts were added to the other end of the bars,  they were painted flat white.
 

 
when the control panel was dry,  it was rigged through the double block.........clamping the clothes pin on again,  because I added more to the length of the thread.  the sway bar bracket was painted green at this time as well.
 

 
it was time to add the clear cello to the spotlights,  completing their assembly.
 

 
I also thought about the counter weight  rigging........this too needed some sort of bracketing to prevent the chain from sagging.   taking two of those rings,  shown earlier,  they were spread out far enough,  to clamp on the boom's outer framework at different places.   two did the trick.
 

 
an eye bolt was added as well for the sway bar attachment.   so.......both booms are permanently attached to the model now.   how they are deployed is the way she will look.   now I need to turn her around and duplicate what I did on the port side.   the addition of the double block bracket was a success,  there is no more hindrance...the rigging is free.
 

 
 

I've planked the starboard side gun port strip and on both sides added the ebony chain wale and the ebony bow area planking.  There's two areas that are unplanked in the chain wale where the channels will fit.  Things look wet because of the first coat of wipe-on poly.
 
Footnote.. I'm more than a bit chuffed as the chain wales (port and starboard) are within 2 scale inches of each other.
 
I'll now go around to the other side, and sand the ebony bow planking.  It's there but really rough before the next update.
 

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 117 – Poop Deck/Fancy Rail
 
In the first picture, the aft section of the margin plank is pinned in place against the tops of the stern timbers.
 

 
This piece has a hook scarph on each end.  The rudder post will be cut off later.  This picture also shows the framing of the boomkins and aft mooring bits.  In the next picture the next section of margin plank is being fitted to the hook scarph on the aft section and around the mooring bits.
 

 
In the next picture the poop margin planks have been fitted forward to the breast beam and the aft sections of fancy rail are pinned in place.
 

 
The fancy rail forms a cap over the stern timbers, deck margin plank and the top strakes of planking around the stern.  The coamings for the two skylights are pinned in place for fitting the head ledges.  In the next picture, the poop deck has been planked – leaving open areas to view the cabins underneath – and the skylight coamings are in place.
 

 
The fancy rail has again been pinned in place.  To keep water out of the cabin deck this had to be caulked inside and out.  To have sufficient overlap of the poop margin plank, it was made 15" wide – as on the forecastle.  I stepped these rails down to 12" along the main deck.
 
The next picture shows the painted parts of the fancy rail being installed.
 

 
The step down in breadth on the forward piece can just be seen at the break of the poop in this picture.  I spent quite a bit of time deciding how to handle this fancy rail width issue.  Most midship sections show a narrow rail – about 12" – but I finally decided this would not provide sufficient overlap of the poop and forecastle margin planks.  So, another one of those judgment decisions.
 
The next picture shows the fancy rail fully installed aft of midship. 
 

 
After painting, the sections were glued and pinned.  As the pins were removed, copper wired epoxied bolts were installed down into each toptimber to reinforce the attachment.  The bolts were filed off and the top of the rail received more finish painting.  And the next picture shows it at the bow. 
 

 
The last picture shows the model with the completed fancy rail. 
 

 
I have been looking forward for a long time to the capping off of those toptimbers.
 
Ed

The main railings, along with the hances, volutes and beaded moldings have been completed:
 

 

 

 
 
With the bulwarks (finally) sealed off, it's almost time to start on the planking of the quarterdeck.  But first we'll be adding some hatches, coamings and companionways.  
 
Hope everyone is feeling shipshape and being productive!
 
 
 

Looks great Sjors! Thanks for the pictures. You must have used an entire tree to plank that deck. 

Hello,
 
the capstan is now completted. Here are some close up images and overall views.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Alex

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 115 – Rudder, Miscellaneous
 
The first picture shows the last bit of work on the interior cabin deck detailing.
 

 
The curved seat/partition separates the cabin from the stern framing and leaves room for the rudder shaft.  All of this structural work aft of the partition will be hidden under poop decking.  As can be seen in a later picture, I decided to cover this rather austere seat with some upholstery.
 
With this in place the framing of the poop deck could be completed, including the fitting of the aft mooring bits and the boomkins shown in the next picture.
 

 
These are 12" x 12" timbers, tied together and into stout carlings that I reinforced with knees as shown.
 
The helm port was previously drilled through the framing but now had to be drilled through the bottom planking and sized for the 16" diameter rudder shaft.  After drilling a pilot hole, the center of the full hole could be set with a still wire through the gudgeons as shown below.
 

 
The hole was carefully enlarged with round files to fit the rudder.  The next picture shows the rudder hinges being fitted.
 

 
The gunstock shaped rudder rotates on the axis of the wire in the previous photo.  The top gudgeon has been added over the paint.  The hinges were fit one-at-a-time.  The masking tape is to keep the woodwork clean of metal dust.
 
The dry transfer stern lettering can be seen in this picture.  It is not yet finished.  The G, C and K need to be replaced and I am awaiting delivery of some more letters.  However, the picture below shows what it will look like.
 

 
I say what it "will" look like.  In the interest of full disclosure, I did a small amount of "photo shopping" on the three broken letters so I could use this picture.  Please excuse this.  The letters are quite small – 3/32" and 1/16".  When I get the replacement letters and successfully (hopefully) place them, the lettering will be sealed – probably with acrylic sanding sealer.  Right now they are easily scraped off.  I did a lot of that.
 
The next picture shows the fabrication of the iron rudder preventer in progress.
 

 
There are four parts – silver soldered.  It has rather long horns.  These have been rough shaped.  The strapping still has to be thinned down and drilled for bolts.
 
The blackened preventer can be seen below on the installed rudder.
 

 
The preventer was blackened with WinOx.  I have now disposed of all my remaining blue stuff in favor of this.
 
The rudder post in the next picture will be cut down later.
 

 
The mooring bits and boomkins are being shaped in this picture.  I found it easier to do this after installation – using rounded files.
 
The last picture shows the present state of the stern.
 

 
The poop deck is now ready for its two skylight coamings and decking.  Note that the portholes have been installed,   All of the work on the lower hull is now complete and it has been finished with wax.
 
Ed

I am still in the process of gathering materials and tools for this build, but I have made a bit of a start.
I have the 3/16 plywood for the keel and rib/bulkhead parts, as well as basswood for the knee of the head etc.
 
The first challenge was cutting thin wood with the table saw - I didn't have any bearings to use as roller guides, but came up with an alternative that gave me two very true pieces of wood. So far...off to a good start. If you can't tell in the photo they are very polished round headed brass tacks.