Roger Pellett
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Everything posted by Roger Pellett
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Dixie Gun Works, in Union City, Tennessee sells monographs of US Civil War artillery. They have one on the Dhalgren light 12 pounder boat howitzer and its field carriage. You could literally build one from this monograph. Look them up on the web. Roger
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Two other great books on the subject are American Battleships 1886-1923 by John Reilly and Robert Scheina and US Armored Cruisers by Ivan Musicant. Roger
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Les, This is a nicely made piece of equipment. Mine works fine. The locking mechanism is intended to fit the 1/2 in wide miter slot of US made table saws and bandsaws. Roger
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I did a little more internet research on glues. Apparently the family of glues known as Urea Formaldehydes are preferred for laminated structures such as plywood. These were used way back in WWII to build the famous RAF Mosquito bombers. These were built with balsa cores and birch veneer laminated inside and outside to produce a very stiff structure. The same principal as a foam or balsa cored fiberglass boat. These glues which are readily available and cheap will stand up to the high clamping forces required. Roger
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Back in the good old days, plywood was made with "resorcinol glues." These were synthetic plastic resin glues. The glues came in two parts, a resin and a powder that were mixed together. My father and I used a lot of the stuff in 1960 in the construction of a sailboat. It was easy to use, worked every time ind did not involve water. According to the internet resorcinol glues are still available. DAP apparently makes one but it is sold as a powder to be mixed with water. Titebond III is apparently another and is sold premixed (with water?). The two part resorcinol glues like I used appear to be available but I didn't see any small quantities. In the boatbuilding world resorcinol glues have supposedly been superseded by epoxies. I have personally had excellent experience using WEST SYSTEM epoxies and these would work well for your purpose. In recent years these have been produced in small disposable units so you might research this option. Roger
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I have a Rockler thin rip jig that I use with my 10in table saw. It works great as by using it you don't have to pinch the wood between the fence and the saw. There is also a U tube video of a guy using one of these to rip paper thin strips with a bandsaw. Roger
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Japan dryer is a chemical additive used to accelerate the drying of paint. I have no idea how it works but its been around for a long time. It is a key ingredient in the linseed oil based filler that canoe restorers mix up to fill the weave in the canvas covering of wood canvas canoes. An ounce mixed into a gallon of the linseed oil mix causes the fill to dry to a hard sandable surface. It is readily available in pints at paint and home improvement stores. I don't know how it would react with Frankie's pine tar, but a drop or two added to the tar turpentine mix might improve its drying characteristics. Roger
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Your skill with that angle grinder is impressive! Roger
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I own three table saws, a Preac, Byrnes, and a 10in Delta. I use all three. I use the 10in for heavy duty ripping from billets that I harvested myself. The Byrnes is used,to rip, material 1/4 in and thinner, and the Preac is especially useful for cutting small grooves for applications like making blocks. Roger
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Beautiful work. This project proves that a model of even the most humble vessel if we'll built can be stunning and yours is. Roger
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Dr Per,. According to your website link, she is still coal powered steam. Roger
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Six or seven years ago, my wife and I were visiting Stockholm, and I saw this ship along the pier with steam up. I walked up the gangway and told them that I volunteered for an organization in the US working to preserve an historic steamship (the SS Meteor) and that I would like to see their engine room. They said OK. The power plant is a thing from the past- coal burning boiler hand fired, reciprocating engine with auxiliaries driven from the crosshead. I don't remember which it was, a compound or a triple. Unfortunately, she was booked for a private party so we could not take a cruise. She is very elegant with lots of polished brass and varnished brightwork and should make a handsome model. There is a whole fleet of these but almost all have been converted to diesel. Roger P.S. I believe that she has an iron or steel hull.o
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? for experienced riggers
Roger Pellett replied to Senior ole salt's topic in Masting, rigging and sails
Keep in mind that more sail does not necessarily mean more speed. Displacement hulls (hulls unable to plane) cannot travel at a speed much faster than the square root of their waterline length. At this "hull speed" the hull is bounded by the waves that it creates. Adding more sail then only increases the heeling of the vessel which does bad things- often increases weather helm and increases leeway. The Duluth Community Sailing Association used to own a nice 32 ft ketch. The boat's mainsail was large and very full cut. We soon learned that in any sort of breeze the boat would reach hull speed with just the jib and mizzen. Setting the large bag of a mainsail only put the lee rail under. Fun but not efficient sailing. Usual rig was just jib and mizzen except in light air. Roger -
? for experienced riggers
Roger Pellett replied to Senior ole salt's topic in Masting, rigging and sails
A couple of thoughts, Since you are talking about the lifts for the spreader yard, why would they have to be set up taut when the topsail is set? If I were the skipper trying to make most, quickest distance to windward with a decent breeze, why set the topsail? With the fore and aft sails hauled in tight for pointing to windward, the square topsail risks being thrown aback as the square sails will not point as high as the fore and aft sails. Artists like to portray old sailing ships with everything flying, but I'm not sure that that is realistic. It's quite possible that the square sails were needed for sailing off the wind but would have been a hindrance sailing upwind. Roger -
Ken, thanks for posting the pictures. Glad to hear that you have power. Fingers crossed for second wave! Roger
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Before you start building your model I suggest that you go to the build log for this same vessel posted by Yampsterman. On page 10, you will find comments that I made regarding the correctness (not the accuracy) of the NRG plans. While the plans are beautifully drawn, I believe that they are based on incomplete research. My research indicates that they reflect the ship after capture by the British and used as an armed transport. Roger
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Ken, Thanks for the info. I hope you get your power back soon. Evening news showed California Coast, being hit hard. Roger
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A trick from the gunsmithing trade is to simply wet the sanded wood and let it dry. A well dampened rag will do. After it dries, rub down the now raised grain and wet it again. When the wood is smooth after wetting you're done. This works on woods like walnut, maple and cherry. Basswood with its fuzzy grain structure might be another matter. Roger
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Nice Work! I'm curious though. Do they still "fish" for abalone? If so, how does it differ from the scene that you portray? Doesn't the diver need some sort of tool to pry the abalone from a rock or does he just pick them up? Again, a beautiful job. Roger
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Zamuel, Keep in mind that you are building a model representing a vessel built in 1578, not 1788 when rules were better established. As you probably know, two ships bracketing your time period have been salvaged and excavated- Mary Rose, sunk in 1545 and your Vasa in 1628. The deck planking on these early vessels looks very haphazard by later standards with very short planks, varying widths and the presence of "drop strakes" (a wide piece of planking abutting two narrow ones). Today, Naval Atchitects treat deck plating as a major strength element to resist longitudinal bending of the hull girder, but this was not the case in the 1600's and before. The many elevation changes caused by the many short decks fore and aft would have limited the deck's effectiveness as a strength member had builders at the time even understood the concept. The need for some sort on planking rules in the late 1500's were, therefore, not necessary, and probably not understood. As your Revenge kit is undoubtedly a reconstruction of a historic vessel for which no plans exist use the kit materials to develop a pattern that looks convincing. No one can say that you're wrong. Roger
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Ed, I experimented with spinning these on a lathe using a male die and pressure from the tailstock. It formed a nice flare on the tube. Roger
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there have been several books written about HMS Trincomalee. A used copy of one titles Trincomalee, Nelson's Last Frigate is available on Amazon for about $18; The title is of course a misnomer as Nelson died 12 years before this vessel was built. I don't own this book but those who do give it four stars. I a.gree with Charlie- build her from scratch. Roger
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I have never seen the two diameter mast design before. Is the smaller diameter mast instead of a fidded topmost? Roger
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Mike, I looked at Chapelle's History of the American Sailing Navy and History of American Sailing Ships as well as Coffins of the Brave to see what I could find. The US Navy did build several two masted lateen rigged "row galleys" in the very late 1700's and early 1800's. Some of these fought in the war of 1812, on the Chesapeake and on Lake Champaign. Gunboats also fought on Lake Ponchatrain but I don't know which design. As noted above the galley Allen was excavated on Lake Champlain and another on the Chesapeake near Badensberg, MD. An archeology report for the MD gunboat is available on the Internet. I could find no design (Chapelle) or archeology report that represents the model that you are building. The long head and protruding stern platform are anachronisms. The American gunboats were double ended. It would appear that the kit manufacturer either copied a Mediterranean design or imagined one and called it an American gunboat for marketing purposes. Roger
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