lagrayjr

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 205 – Making Lower Shrouds
 
Before getting into making shrouds, I completed one more chore that has been on my mind for a while.  The brass poop rail was becoming more tarnished by the day, so considering that it was losing its shiny appeal and that the original was probably iron, I decided to paint the rail white.  See the first picture.
 

 
I decided on white based on the photo taken at San Francisco.  After degreasing with acetone, the rail was painted with gloss white enamel – two coats, slightly thinned.
 
The lower fore shrouds shown in the following pictures are 10½" rope, laid up from three strands of Barbour Irish linen thread.  An adequate discussion of rope making, cotton vs. linen, and size matching is beyond the scope of this log, but I have been working on a description for Volume III.  My rope making "machinery" and process has undergone major development since my first efforts 20+ years ago – but is, of course, still not perfect.  For dimensional reasons and the difficulty in making good four-strand rope without a central core, the shrouds are three-strand, even though four-strand was typically used for these.  They are also right-handed, in keeping with American practice at the time.
 
Shrouds were made in pairs that were looped over the mast head, starting with the forward starboard pair, followed by that pair on the port side and continuing in that way.  In the first picture, the third starboard pair has been cut to length, looped over the mast and is being marked at the ends of its served length – at the futtocks - with a white pencil.
 

 
The shroud was then removed and transferred to the serving machine as shown in the next picture.
 

 
Before putting tension on the rope, needles were inserted through the rope at the white marks so serving thread could be pulled through to help secure each end.  Starting at the right, after pulling the thread through, the rope was then served, initially over the thread end, then up to the second needle which was threaded and pulled through to complete the joint at the second end.  In the next picture, an earlier served shroud has been looped over the mast and is being marked at what will be the top of the seizing to show the extent of the outer parceling that was used as an added protection against damp in the closely packed bights.
 

 
With the shroud stretched between two vises, white PVA glue was applied and the shroud wrapped with strips of tissue, working from each end toward the center as shown below.
 

 
The white PVA dries softer than Titebond making it easier to loop the shrouds later.  After wrapping, the shroud was looped over the mast until the glue dried.  The parceling was then painted with artist's acrylic paint.  After the first coat dried, the seizing was put on as shown below.
 

 
The last picture shows both gangs of shrouds looped over the fore mast head. 
 
 
 
An alligator clip is holding the final pair while the parceling glue dries.  After seizing and painting this pair, the shrouds will be ready for the deadeyes at the lower ends to be turned in.
 
Ed

Thank you, Albert!
Here is an update on the construction of the masts and topmasts.
 
On the first picture is to see how I just made the hole for the sheave of the top ropes.

The next picture shows the topmast heel with the fidhole and the fid.

On the last picture, the components are provisionally composed.

 
 
 
 

For about the tenth time since I built the table top I redone it, most of the time for different try  for the color. Last week, I cut  about 6 inches in the depth and today I straitghtened the top because there was some curves in it. I used a long ruler, a  plane, a scraper, a sanding belt, an orbital sander. The result is good but up to today I was stuck with the idea that only a large belt sanding panel machine could do the job. Some time it is strange how we can limit ourself.

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 203 – Dust Case
 
The dust case mentioned earlier was completed this morning.  The first picture shows the framing of the case after the initial paper covering was removed.
 

 
As I mentioned earlier, the framing was made from scrap, so it is not fine furniture.  It is meant to be an inconspicuous part of the project – to keep dust out and allow me to take pictures of the rigging without having to drag out backdrops.  Both sides are easily removable.  The top is Plexiglas® sheet to pass light from the fixtures above.  Six screws at the base permit the entire case to disappear.
 
For those who offered suggestions on covering material, thanks again.  I went with Elmer's white foam board, which is what I used on the previous Victory case.  It is glued to the frames with water-based contact cement.   The next picture shows the port panel covered with the board.
 

 
The panel is covered with two 30x40 sheets.  You may just make out the center seam.  Finally, in the next picture, the completed case, with the starboard panel removed.
 

 
The case is certainly a major presence in the shop.  Now back to the model work.
 
Ed

Another photo 
 

Hello,
many thanks for all replies and likes!

There was some time quiet in the model shipyard.
Now I have started building the lower masts.
According to the original I build the lower masts from individual parts.
At least I try. Whether it works, will show.
For this purpose, I have drawn up a simplified scheme.


In the following I show a first attempt.

 

 

 

 
Here I show the assembly of the main mast.


And here I begin with the turning and grinding of the main mast.

 
Continued coming soon ....
 
 

Hi Nils,
thank you for your nice reply.
 
And this is how the result looks.

Hi Albert,
 
thank you for your nice comment,
and all other for the likes.
 
On the next picture collage the grinding of the mast can be seen.
I do this with small boards on which sandpaper was glued.
With the fingers you can regulate very fine the pressure.
I hope I get a good result.

 

Preparation of the frames for the KIT.


 
I have to draw the other half of the plans.

Drawing is made by hand, it is easier to draw a circle than a straight line and all the frames are only curves


 
About 2/3 of the blanks are cut, a lot of wood is use and a lot of wood is thrown in the garbage, up to now 1 ½  trash can.


 

Hello,
 
many thanks for the nice comments and the LIKES.
I still make and assemble the chain plates.

Here I will briefly demonstrate the assembly of the chain plates.
The correct length is determined as follows.

Hello,
many thanks for the nice comments and for the LIKES.
I am still working on the assembly of the chain plates.

 

Et voilà, c'est complété.
 
It was a nice  week end project to build.
 
For the next build, knowing that the better the plans, the better are the chance to produce better results.
What are the better set of plans available on the market?
 
I guess I could build the same  as the next project of a member of MSW.
 
There is also another important factor, the model must be nice to my eyes.

Another photo 
 

 

 

Ed,have you considered using the photo-etching process to make the hooks and or thimbles? The thimbles could be made out of thicker material and heart shaped. Laman

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 189 – Lower Mizzen Fittings
 
The mizzen mast has some additional hardware not found on the forward masts. First, there is a belaying ring, or spider band around the mast instead of the fife rails of the forward masts.  The design of this is not documented, but from the work on the rigging list, at least 16 lines should be belayed here.  The ring for the model is a simple circular flange around the mast bored for 16 belaying pins.  The unblackened part is shown in the first picture.
 

 
This was made as a turning from a solid brass billet to fit over a brass tube mast ring that was silver-soldered in.  The pin holes were then drilled in the mill using the rotary table.  The ring will be a tight fit over the mast about 39" off the deck.  This is a pretty piece that will be completely hidden under a mass of rope.
 
In the next picture it has been blackened and installed on the mast.  Above it is a reinforcing hoop and above that will be a bracket that will support the spanker mast.
 

 
 
A start on the spanker mast bracket is shown in the drawing.  The mast band part of it has been shaped to fit the mast and will be soldered with other parts added progressively.  The finished bracket is shown in the next picture.
 

 
This piece is of thicker stock than the normal mast hoop, as were the bands for the lower yard trusses.  The small eye will support the goose neck of the spanker boom.  Both pieces are shown on the mast in the next picture. 
 

 
The spider ring was pre-blackened, but all the copper work will be blackened later as was done for the other masts.  The third piece to be made was the wood stool for the spanker mast.  While the bracket maintains the horizontal position, the stool will take the weight of the 9" diameter mast.  The next picture shows the stool parts.
 

 
For strength on the model, I set the stool itself into a mortise in the mast that will give it the appearance of a surrounding piece but the strength of the mortise joint.  Two triangular gussets that will reinforce the stool are shown.  The last picture shows the three items installed.
 

 
Shaping and polishing of the stool assembly has yet to be done.  The gussets were glued to flats filed on the mast.  The remaining hoops may now be installed on the mizzen mast.
 
Meanwhile, work has begun on the fore top.
 
 
Ed

Stern planking and fitting of cathead, channel, shot racks...nailing and bolting...
 
Many thanks friends for the warm words and likes.
 
Now, I'm on the way of nailing to the wale with brass wire. Nail heads will be blackened later.
 
Cheers, Lee

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 186 – Cheeks/Hounds and Bibbs
 
I mentioned in the last post that I was replacing the first main mast that was shown in some earlier photos.  Here is the replacement ready for banding.
 

 
The first mainmast was developmental as far as method is concerned, the second my main process example photo subject, and the mizzen will be the final proof of practice.  In the meantime I have been pushing ahead with the foremast in the hope that it will measure up and be usable.  If not I'll have another practice subject.
 
With the foremast fully banded, other features are being added.  The terms "hounds" and "cheeks" seem to be used interchangeably in my sources to describe the squared sections that supported the cross trees of the top.  The bibbs are the forward extensions of these, knees if you will, that support the forward end of the top.  The first picture shows these installed on the foremast, before describing the steps. 
 

 
The supporting upper surface will be angled and flattened later to support the top in a horizontal position on the raked mast.
 
If my simplified five piece model design for a made mast had its benefits, the price for that was paid in the shaping of the hound pieces.  In practice these were fayed usually against flats on the central spindle and extended above the hounds as part of the mast head, or doubling.  Since my spindle was made the size of the head and the mast below shaped round, the side hounds had to be fitted to the round tapered mast.  The two pieces are shown below during fitting.
 

 
To make these, a hole was bored through a block of wood that was then tapered around the bore and separated into two pieces.  The bores were then enlarged by filing/sanding to match the taper of the round mast.  In the next picture these are being glued to the mast.
 

 
The next picture shows the port bibb installed and the joint for the other being pared.
 

 
Both joints were cut first on the hounds and the bibbs cut to fit, with some adjustments to the hounds during the process as shown.  The next picture shows that bib being glued
 

 
After gluing, the sides were filed flat and the bolts added.  There are three through the edges of each bibb and eight securing the hounds to the mast.  These are black monofilament secured with CA.
 
Bands are sometimes shown around the lower end of the hounds.  I don't see how heat shrunk bands could possibly have been fitted with the hounds in place or what purpose they would serve vs. bolts.  I suppose shaped bands could be slid on before the hounds were installed then driven up over the bottom ends.  On the other hand, such bands under the hounds could be fitted and of benefit.  I'll save this question for the next model.
 
Next, the chafing battens.
 
Ed

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 185 – Iron Mast Bands 2
 
In addition to the shrunk-on hoops that reinforced the masts, there were bands for other purposes.  On the lower masts these included bands with eyebolts to secure rigging, bands to secure the spencer gaffs and bands that supported the lower yard trusses.  These other bands were generally clamped on the mast rather than heat shrunk.  I experimented with two different methods for making these.  The first picture shows a clamp band bent around the mast ( actually the mandrel) to be soldered in one piece.
 

 
The next picture shows a band made like the reinforcing bands to which parts will be soldered to form the clamp joint and in this case the bracket for the yard truss.
 

 
This band is made from thicker material.   The tabs on the truss bracket in the lower part of the picture were bent around some band stock to size the gap.  The bracket was then hammered square before soldering.   In the next picture the truss band has been soldered together and a wire bolt added at the clamp joint.
 

 
In the picture the band is pushed on to the mandrel for finish filing and polishing.  The next picture shows the special bands on the foremast.  These are the three at the top.
 

 
At the top is the truss band – blackened.  More on that below.  Below that is the band that supports the fore spencer gaff.  The eyebolt on the aft side of this is not visible in the picture.  Next is the futtock band with six eyebolts for the lower futtocks and one on the aft face to secure a block for another line, I believe one of the main staysail's downhaul.  The bands below these are the normal reinforcing bands.  The joints that show on these will be covered by the forward chafing batten.  The next picture is another view.
 

 
In this picture the horizontal eye for the spencer gaff is visible in the band below the truss.  The pattern of the eyebolts on the futtock band and the chafing batten may be seen in the drawing.
 
The last picture shows the fore mast with all its iron bands installed.
 

 
Some bands are blackened on this mast and others not.  The plan going forward is to defer all blackening until all other work on the mast is complete – hounds, bibbs, battens, cap tenon, yard sling eyebolt, etc.  Blackening just before installing the mast will reduce handling of the blackened parts and the resultant rubbing off of the black.  It will also help keep the wood surface of the mast clean of black.  These were problems on the first main mast.  A replacement is in progress.
 
 
 
Ed

Hello,
for your interest a very warm thank you, and of course also for the LIKES.
Drilling with the template has turned out to be inaccurate.
Therefore, I now drill with a dividing head. Because I can make the holes exactly.

 
 

Another photos
 

 

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 182 – Made Masts
 
At 36" in diameter, there is little doubt that Young America's fore and main lower masts were built up of multiple pieces – so called "made masts".  Beyond that, the details of their construction is speculative.  Masts were made in a variety of ways – probably dependent on the mast maker's methods and certainly on the available timber.  Most made mast construction featured a central core, a "spindle" that may have been of one or multiple pieces.  Attached to the sides of this were "side trees" over the lower to upper mid-length with additional side "cheeks" up to the "stop" at the top of the square "hounds" that supported the top.  These might be integral with the cheeks or separate pieces.  Timber pieces that filled out the fore and aft faces, "fish" completed the typical body of the mast.  Often, each of these pieces consisted of multiple members.  All these pieces were fitted together with a variety of hidden mortises and the pieces were often made as long scarphs.  I had no intention of trying to duplicate these complex assemblies, especially without knowledge of the actual original masts.  I chose a simpler design for the model fore and main masts that consists of a single spindle squared over the full length of the mast to the dimension of the doubling – the square section above the stop.  Two side cheeks and two fish over the full rounded length were used to fill out the size of the squared mast that was then shaped as described in the last part. 
 
The first picture shows the five parts of the lower foremast.
 

 
The next picture shows the first two sides glued to the spindle.
 

 
Dark glue was used to yield a subtle joint line.  These first pieces were cut just larger than the spindle so they could be scraped flush to provide a flat surface for the remaining parts.  The scraper blade in the upper corner of the picture was used for this step.  In the next picture the assembled stick has been marked at the quarters and on the centerline.  The dividers are being used to mark the breadths at each point.
 

 
In the next picture two sides are being sanded to the line – the so-called second trim.
 

 
After marking these sanded sides, shaping them as above in the third trim, and then marking the apices of the octagon, the corners were removed.  The first step, planing, is shown below.
 

 
After forming the regular octagon, the mast was rounded using the tools shown in the next picture – a rasp, a medium flat file, and a medium-fine barrette..
 

 
The lower end of the mast is shown in this picture.  It will be cut off and the step tenon formed by filing down the square spindle to the size of the step mortise.
 
The three bare lower masts are shown positioned on the steps in the last picture.
 

 
The next step on all these spars, bowsprit and masts, is the iron banding.  These round hoops must be fitted over the masts before the installation of the hounds.
 
Ed

Hi Denis,
 
thats the spaces for air collection- and distribution boxes....
below the deck are situated Pantry (kitchen) and smoker`s lounge
 
Nils
 

 

 
 

 
4 skylights and 7 vents on this little platform

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 180 – Bowsprit
 
So, after three years and179 parts to this build log it is finally time to get off the deck.  Making the largest spars – lower masts and bowsprit – is the first order of business.
 
In shaping all the spars for the model, I expect to generally follow the methods used by the original spar makers – except of course for the tools.  I expect to take some liberties with the made masts, but that will be covered later.  There are many steps involved in getting from a model "tree" to a finished spar.  I do not intend to cover them in detail here, but merely to provide an overview.  Even at that, this posting on the bowsprit has nine pictures and a fair amount of text.
 
I started with the bowsprit as perhaps the simplest of the large spars.  At 47' long and 36" maximum diameter it was undoubtedly made from a single tree – probably of long leaf (yellow) pine.  The first picture shows the spar after the "first trimming" – the point at which the tree has been squared to the spars maximum diameter and cut roughly to length.
 

 
The piece has been marked on all four faces at the ends and at the four "quarters" forward of the "partners" – that is in this case, the knightheads.  The square section inside the knightheads has been marked.  Centerlines have been drawn on all four faces.
 
In the next picture the breadths at each quarter and the ends are being marked on one face only with dividers set from the drawing.
 

 
In the next picture the "second trimming" is being made on the disk sander. 
 

 
Two opposite faces are being trimmed back to the measurements made above.  This tool helps keep the cuts perpendicular and fair.  The next picture shows the spar after the second trim.  It shows the tapers at the ends on two opposing sides only. 
 

 
These cuts were made just slightly full so they could be safely finished to the final dimensions in later steps.  The calipers and the calculator are key tools for this.  The converted dimensions may be seen in pencil on the drawing.  In the picture the trimmed faces have been marked with centerlines and quarter marks.  The breadths at each point were then marked on the trimmed faces, so the "third trimming" could be made on the remaining two sides – also on the disk sander as before.  The bowsprit after the third trim is shown fitted part way in position between the knightheads.
 

 
The next step – the fourth trimming – converts the still square areas (except at the partners) to an intermediate octagonal shape.  The trimming is done by hand – planes, rasps, files, scraper plate.  To provide some rough guide lines for that work, the tool shown below was useful.
 

 
The apices of an octagon are 7/24 of the diameter in from the sides of the square at each point along the curve.  The tool shown has a scriber point at 7/24 distance from one of two end guides.  By angling the tool as it is drawn along the spar, a 7/24 line is scribed.  This takes some practice and is a rough measure – but a very helpful one.  With lines marked on each face of the square section, the octagonal flats were cut and the spar trimmed as shown below.   
 

 
A lot of caliper measurements and fine trimmings are required to get the spar to this point.  The diameters of all the faces at each point are measured and trimmed to size.   The final, "fifth trimming" is being made below.
 

 
The apices are being filed off and the spar rounded.  Again the diameters at each mark are checked.  Roundness along the spar was checked using a draftsman's circle template to spot high areas.  The last picture shows the bowsprit fitted temporarily with its tenon seated in the step above the main deck.
 

 
In the picture the bowsprit has been sanded but not polished and the tenon for the cap is not yet cut.
 
Ed
 

equivalent curve on a model ship and a car