sonicmcdude

I have had a lot to do for my company in last weeks...
... but now, here are the new stands which will hold the ship later (when ready) too.
 
Dražen

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 72 – Lower Deck continued
 
The lower deck ceiling planking is almost complete.  The breadth of the filling planking - and therefore the number of strakes - varies along the length due to the hull shape.  The first picture shows an area aft of midship between view ports where a drop plank will be inserted.
 

 
The planking has been rough sanded only in this picture.
 
Other work has started as the last remaining planks get installed.  The two forward hooks have been installed as shown below.
 

 
The first middle deck beam has been fitted in this picture.  The next picture shows the run of ceiling completed on the starboard side.
 

 
The next picture shows the bolts at the planking butts installed and holes marked for drilling of treenail holes.
 

 
I will not bother installing treenails where they will be covered by the middle deck hanging knees – every other frame.
 
The next picture shows the short planking pieces over the viewport frames that will be left in place.
 

 
These small planked areas will allow hanging knees to be installed. The excess lengths of plank on one of these is being trimmed back with a small saw.  The exposed frames will later be removed - from the lower futtock heads up to the underside of the middle deck clamps. 
 
There will be minimal planking on this deck, but the hatch coamings need to be installed first.  the forward hatch parts are being fit up in place in the next picture.
 

 
After assembly - in place - the coaming will be removed and trimmed.  The completed main hatch coaming is shown below.
 

 
The lower deck coamings were not very high.  This one is just 12 “ – 8 ½” above the decking.  There is a 3” x 3” rabbet in the head ledges to seat the covering planks.  “Iron” bolts have been installed.  There is some confusing terminology with these.  The term “coaming” refers to both the entire assembly and the fore and aft members themselves.  The cross-deck members that clamp down the coaming ends are head ledges.  The above-deck corners have been rounded – common practice.
 
 
 Ed

Nenad:  I'm glad to see you start at the keel and work your way up to the waterline;  and It's never too early to plan where the "gore strakes"  will be (I believe it was 9 or 10 rows when I had to do the goring).  I went off of Campbell, labeled the strakes from keel upward, and circled the numbered strakes that needed to be "gored".  This method wasn't perfect, but it got me to the waterline with errors I could live with....
 
Great choice in plating material;  looks just like the current ship.  Now maybe if I can overcome my hurdles, we'll meet at the same point in masting...
 
Cheers!
 
Bob

Unexpected working day with long lasting working meeting ... little nap ... YOU CAN FINALY BRUSH YOUR DOG ... listen this: MY dog?
 
Evening come ... Verdi and Aida ... and some "valuable" progres. Nice time to explore diferent music you didn't listen or had not enough time to listen in your life. Me and She last year were listening: ELP, Craftwerk, JSBach, Red Army Choir, sacral Serbian music, Irish traditional, Pavaroti, Led Zeppelin albums 6 and further (with first 5 I grew up) Pink Floyd last 10 years works, different classical music autors, some old blues and soft jazz ... 80GB on hard disk and still growing collection
 
"just another brick in a wall" and at last some challenge: first "serious" curvature on hull forwarding to stern
 
Some macro photos
 

 

 

Saints are marching on
 

 

 

Here is new riveting jig with final test results. When rolling, stands still, and allow precise moves and lines 
 
YEAH !!! I can finally continue ( with removing slices I have glued first...)
 

 

 

 
Rivets are convex, just as they have to be, neat, not big to much, and I am happy   
 
Yesterday I smuggled another new hand tool !!!! Drill 0,5 mm with holder !!!
 

 
Works very fine
 
And now, I have nice collection of little drills from 3mm until 0,5 mm
 

 
Of course, there have to be some necessary security steps conditioned by periodically Hothead presence in workshop
 

 
In Belgrade it rains whole day, and I can no work in garden, so, considering I do not like to watch football even it is World Championship, I hardly wait to finish office job and to go downstairs to Her ...
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Too late David, I got there a long time ago .
 
Both Wash Cants are now shaped, and I've simulated the joins in the sections they were made in with an Xacto and a pencil :
 

 
  Danny

Thank you John, Patrick, Ben, Alan (welcome aboard), Popeye, Mark, Chris (thanks for answering Ben's question, all points correct ), Scott and Cristi (copy whatever you like ). Comments are always appreciated .
 
Wash Cants
 
These pieces are very rarely seen on models, but I thought I may as well add a bit more detail . The Wash Cants are designed to take the strain off the Lower Cheeks from the incoming waves, and are shaped to deflect the water away from them.
 
First thing to do was cut a blank using a card template and then get it to fit snugly against the hull and stem. Then I used a drum sander in my Dremel to take off the bulk of the material between the upper outer edge and the lower inner edge, finishing with a sanding stick. Then I used a round sanding stick to cut a slight concave into the seen face - this shows up a lot better in "real life" than it does in the pics.
 
Here are a few pics of the port side wash cant against the blank for the starboard side. If you've ever shaped an aeroplane propeller then you can appreciate the work involved in this piece - a very similar thing :
 

 

 

 
I've tack glued the port side one in place just for this pic, it still needs a bit more detailing :
 

 
  Danny

Hair Brackets
 
The Hair Bracket is an extension of the upper cheek, and continues it on to the top of the stem.
 
I made a card template of it's shape and cut it from the same stock I used for the rest of the cheeks. The bracket starts off quite thin where it joins with the cheek, but widens considerably as it rises :
 

 
A finished bracket with the blank for the starboard side on the left :
 

 
Considerable work was involved in adding the moldings and shaping the scroll. I'd have liked to have done better with the scroll, but I was at the limit of what I could achieve with Swiss Pear - it's too soft for really detailed carving :
 

 
The port side bracket dry-fitted :
 

 
  Danny

Thanks again for dropping by Janos, Pat and Adam. Your comments are appreciated .
 
Moving right along, I've fitted the Upper Cheek to the port side in the following pic :
 

 
The Manger Scupper caused me a few worrying moments, as it was halfway into the cheek. I came up with the following solution :
 

 
Before fitting the lower cheek I made the Trail Board, which fits between the two cheeks on the stem. This gave me a perfect alignment, as I only have to butt the lower cheek to it's bottom edge.
 

 
Next I glued in the Trail Board, closely followed by the lower cheek :
 

 

 
 
  Danny

Thanks Toni, E&T, David and John.
 
Toni, I made a Scraper :
 

 

 
I've made all four Upper and Lower Cheeks. The upper ones have a more pronounced curve in the forward arm, and also a scarf joint for the Hair Bracket which continues to the top of the stem :
 

 

 
  Danny

Thanks once again for the "likes" and the nice comments to Robin, Brian, Piet, Ben, Popeye, Michael, Nils and Mohamad. Always appreciated .
 
Head Works - Cheeks
 
I've started work on one of the most interesting and complex parts of the build - the work around the Head of the ship.
 
First thing to do was remove the forward support which holds the hull in position on the baseboard. It doesn't really get in the way as such, but work on the lower cheek especially is a lot easier without it being in the way and there was the problem of it pulling the Knee of the Head out of position as work commenced in this area. I hadn't used the aft support for a long time - before the rudder was installed actually - so I had to move it backward a bit.
 
This starts off with making the Lower and Upper Cheeks, which laterally brace the Knee of the Head. It's quite tricky to get the inner faces to mate up with the Knee and the curvature of the hull. A card template was used to get the inner faces somewhere near right, but my first attempt still resulted in a failure. The second go was spot on .
 
The main problem is that there is a substantial bevel on the inner face where it curves around the hull to allow the forward part of the cheek to run at the correct angle on the knee. It took me a couple of hours to sort it out, but at least I now know where I'm going with the other three.
 
The forward part of the cheek also has a slight upward curvature, so I made the piece from thicker stock and sanded that into it. You may be able to see this in the next pic against an unshaped blank :
 

 
Two moldings were scraped into the outer face :
 

 
  Danny

Steering Rigging
 
I also rigged the Steering Wheel to the Tiller. I removed the previously fitted eyebolts in each side, as it's MUCH easier to strop the blocks to them in my vice rather than on the ship.
 
The blocks are 6" (3mm) from Syren Ship Models, and the line is 3" (0.45mm) from the same place - great stuff, thanks Chuck . I also seized the line to the starboard side of the Tiller off the ship :
 

 

 
Then I replaced the eyebolts/blocks on the starboard side and glued in the wheel :
 

 
Five turns around the wheel Hub, replaced the Port side blocks and did the rather fiddly seizing to the port side of the tiller - TWICE. The first attempt wasn't as successful as I'd have liked - I took over an inch of slack out of the line the second time :
 

 

 
Some views of the completed rigging. Note the very small nail in the centre of the turns on the hub :
 

 

 

 
See you all in a couple of weeks.
 
  Danny

Thank you Geoff - you didn't have long to wait for this one, but the next update won't be for a week or two - I'm back up to the van and some more will be done on that Victory re-build (maybe even get her finished I hope ).
 
Brake Pumps Fitted
 
Going through my "Finished Parts" drawer this morning I realized I could fit the already finished Brake Pumps, so I did :
 

 

 
  Danny

John, David, Nils, Patrick, mij, Toni, Grant, E&T, Jason and Laman - thank you all very much for your kind comments.
 
 
I ended it the way shown on the NMM sheer plan - in mid-air. It's only 16 (real) inches from the last gun mount, so doesn't need anything more :
 

 

 

 
The NMM plans don't show a Taffarel Fife Rail, so none will be fitted. If it had been fitted the Roughtree Rail would have butted against it.
 
  Danny

Thanks very much Brian, Frank, Janos, Patrick, Grant, Nils, Mark, Pat, Steve, John (welcome back), Spyglass, Dale and Albert .
 
Good to see you have your Acetone problem sorted Spyglass - thanks for giving him the info Grant, I've been away on one of my extended holidays again .
 
Roughtree Rail
 
The final Rail to be fitted is the Roughtree Rail, also called the Quarter Rail. This rail is bolted to the Swivel Gun Mounts on the Quarterdeck, and also has an iron brace near it's fore end.
 
I made the fore end from a piece of wide stock, cut on the scroll saw. A much easier way than trying to bend it into shape :
 

 

 

 
  Danny

The finished stern for now - I'll fit the three remaining Lights much later in the build, as they will be in the open position and may get damaged during further construction :
 

 

 

 
The Pilasters are of similar design to the Quarter Badge ones :
 

 
  Danny

Thanks again Druxey, David and John.
 
Quarter Pieces
 
The Quarter Pieces on most Swan Class Sloops are elaborately carved, but the sheer plan of Vulture shows very plain ones. Whether this is correct or not I don't know - perhaps the draughtsman was just lazy . I've treated them in similar fashion to the Pilasters of the Quarter Badges and Stern Lights.
 
To overlap the joints between the hull planking and counter planking I hollowed out the pieces :
 

 
Some progress pics through the stages of fitting them up :
 

 

 

 
  Danny

Thanks for looking in again, and the nice comments Geoff, Brian, Ben, John and Spyglass.
 
 
Sorry about that Spyglass, I didn't realize that you were up to the same stage . Besides, the construction of your Pegasus is quite a bit different to mine . You're doing a fine job.
 
Ensign Staff Block and Clamp
 
There are a few more things on the taffarel that need doing prior to fitting the assembly to the ship. One of these is the Block and Clamp that hold the Ensign Staff, enabling it to be easily removed.
 
The block is stepped into the fore edge of the taffarel and has two small molded sections at it's ends,
 
The clamp is very similar to a Gun Trunion Cap, so I simply used a slightly modified spare that I had (I only had to enlarge the diameter of the half-hole slightly) :
 

 

 
  Danny

Thanks David - the wood for the taffarel is Castello Boxwood. I'm using dark Swiss Pear for the Capping Rail.
 
Thank you Greg - I imagine it would have taken quite a while to hollow out all the Coving from one piece   . I notice you didn't fit the Capping Rail or Quarter Pieces to your Pegasus - any reason for that? It would have been nice to see it all fitted to your ship - it was a little difficult trying to imagine the whole assembly from the plans.
 
Thank you too Al.
 
Capping Rail
 
The Capping Rail is very tricky to make. I traced around the taffarel to get the inner shape for the five pieces which I cut on the scroll saw from dark Swiss Pear to match the rest of the railings. Much finessing was need to get a good fit   . I found it best to work from the centre toward the ends :
 

 

 
  Danny

...... continued.
 
I made the taffarel base from three pieces. This will save a lot of carving, and won't be at all noticeable.
 

 
I drilled out the bulk of the inner parts of the top section, glued it to the middle section and clamped it into the baseboard to dry :
 

 
Then I finished the outer edges and glued the pieces to the main lower piece and clamped it again. I spot-glued the main piece to the baseboard - this will ensure it doesn't straighten out and also gives a good steady rest for the carving etc :
 

 
Once the three pieces had dried I started carefully carving and cutting the waste out of the middle holes. This was relatively easy, thanks to the earlier removal of most of the waste :
 

 

 

 
  Danny

Taffarel
 
The stern structures begin with the Taffarel Base.
 
I started by making a "building board" which has the same curvature as the stern. I used a couple of pieces of pine - the lower convex one is the actual board, and the concave one is used to clamp the pieces of the taffarel whilst they are drying :
 

 

 

 
Continued next post .....
 
  Danny

Thanks for the compliments on the straps Piet, David and E&T.
 
 
Yeah E&T, these were considerably more difficult to make than flat ones . The previous pics didn't really show that they  also have an "S" bend that roughly follows the wooden rail below :
 

 
Doing the lateral bends was a trick, and getting Port and Starboard rails to look like mirrors of each other was a whole different ball game .
 
  Danny

Thank you Remco. I'm still a LONG way off thinking about masts yet Brian   .
 
Fixed Gangway Newel Posts and Railings
 
The last of the Posts and Railings. The railings have an "S" bend in them to allow for the differences in widths of the gangway :
 

 

 

 

 
There is a strap which both reinforces the railing and gives an extra handhold :
 

 

 
  Danny

Thanks go out to Tim, David, John, Mark, Joe, Patrick, David, Druxey, Michael, Toni and Popeye. I surprised myself with how successfully the railings turned out too .
 
Toni, next time I need to do some of this micro-soldering I'll make sure to document my method. It involves a block of Pumice stone to support the tiny rings.
 
Quarterdeck Breastwork
 
The Quarterdeck Breastwork was made in similar fashion to that on the Forecastle, with a few differences. The stanchions each have two sheaves (2.5mm diameter) instead of one, and there is a second rail.
 
Here's a pic of the setup I used in the lathe to make the 10 sheaves. Because of the small diameter of the brass wire I had to work very close to the chuck. This setup minimized the steps needed - I made the sheaves one at a time and parted them off as I went, moving the stock for each one.
 
The hole was drilled first, then I used the Parting Tool to score the wire to prevent it slipping sideways. The groove was cut next, and finally I finished parting the piece off. It took about an hour to set everything up and cut the 10 sheaves :
 

 
The five stanchions were turned using the DRO - they turned out identically . The slots for the sheaves were cut in the Mill using a broken 0.8mm drill, going 1mm deeper with each cut :
 

 
The sheaves were fitted, and the stanchions cut to length. There is a tiny difference in the angle of the bottom of each to allow for the roundup in the deck :
 

 
I used a scraper to cut the molding into the edges of a long piece of stock for the rails. Then I marked out and cut the square holes for the stanchions on the Byrnes saw. As I did for the forecastle railing a second piece was glued to the other edge to get the rail to the right width :
 

 

 
I used some 1.5mm bamboo pegs to secure the two outer stanchions to the deck and clamped the rail into place :
 

 
After a coat of Minwax :
 

 
This concludes Chapter 10 of "The Fully Framed Model - HMN Swan Class Sloops 1767-1780" Volume 2.
 
  Danny