Roger Pellett

Well the family are all gone and it's back to some workshop therapy. I continued cutting out the inside of the frames and test fitting them on the base board. I am at that interesting stage where she is starting th look like she will become a ship at some point.

Many hours later.
I also started to sort out the bow. 
 

Anchor fairlead.

Thanks everybody for the likes and comments.
 
I'm afraid I'm not very systematic in building. I often make things as the mood takes me rather than follow a logical sequence. Sometimes I end up painting myself into a corner, but so far I've mostly managed to avoid that on this build (touch wood).
 
I've puzzled for some time over how to support the spears and other pole-arms sticking out at the stern shown in several of the mosaics.

I came up with several ideas but none really seemed likely or workable, until I thought of two metal hooky things, (made of bent wire) attached to the uprights of the side railings, to support each shaft.
 
First I tried adding them to the existing uprights. But there was too little space to make the holes to take the hooks and the uprights were too narrow - the holes were almost the width of the uprights.



So I removed the existing uprights and made new ones rather wider but still looking like they belonged, made the holes and inserted the hooks before putting the new uprights in place.


Here are the pole-arms. Mostly simple spears but one was more like a harpoon and another had a head in the shape of a shepherd's crook - which I believe was intended to cut the rigging of an enemy ship.


Took a fair bit of work - they're pretty small - but finally got them done. Painted the heads silver, and the hooks on the railings black to resemble forged iron.
 
And here they are dry fitted in place. You can see the pole-arms sticking out the back railing.

I've also been working on the lateen yards, for the fore, "middle" and mizzen masts. Each yard is made of two spars lashed together; the upper one longer and with a "hollow" cut into it to take the lower one. (Thanks to Woodrat for the information on how these were configured).

Here they are glued together:

And with the lashings in place.
 

 
Steven

Yes, the watchmakers called this inter alia 'pivot drills'. And you are right, carbide drills invaded this trade as well, as it allows to drill watch/clock pivots (i.e. the arbors of wheels etc.) without tempering and then re-hardening them, as was done traditionally.

My present project requires a lot of holes drilled in brass and I recently needed to restock my supply of smaller sized wire sized drill bits.  After reading previous posts here about jeweler/ watchmaking tools applicable to our craft I decided to investigate spade bits. Google search only resulted in umpteen offers for spade bits in fractional sizes (1/4” and larger) intended for rough carpentry work.  
 
I checked a watchmaking tool source (I believe Otto Freil) and only found something called a Pivot Drill Bit that looked like it might be useful.  This looks like a piece of pointed wire with two sides filed flat.  I might experiment with one of these in the future.  It appears that the watchmaking trade may have been invaded by Carbide too.😠

If you have a table saw you could make your own plywood that would be more suitable than anything that you could buy including the high priced stuff.  Cut strips from ordinary lumberyard construction grade pine and laminate them with  PVA glue. Two plies with grain oriented differently and joints staggered Harold Hahn style should work.
 
Roger

I have a 4” Jarmac sander too and have encountered the same problems mentioned above plus both the “cross cut guide” and the sanding table are flimsy and require constant adjustment, but it works and I use it.   The Jarmac tools (there were Jarmac mini table saws too) were standard equipment in model shops in the 1970’s when large engineering firms made models of industrial installations.  These 3-D models made from project drawings were effective at checking for interferences between piping, equipment, and building structure.  3-D CAD modeling eliminated the need for these physical models.
 
There was nothing wrong with the Jarmac tools in their day.  Rather, the new tools are an indication of how things can improve overtime if someone has a goal to offer an improved product.  
 
Roger

If you have a table saw you could make your own plywood that would be more suitable than anything that you could buy including the high priced stuff.  Cut strips from ordinary lumberyard construction grade pine and laminate them with  PVA glue. Two plies with grain oriented differently and joints staggered Harold Hahn style should work.
 
Roger

Brass Work Hardens.  This means that when deformed at room temperature it gets harder.  This can happen when the drill fails to bite And just sort of massages the surface that you are trying to drill.  So, trying to drill with a dull drill can make it even harder to drill later with a sharp drill.  You might try annealing the piece with the partially drilled hole to see if it makes a difference; heat to dull red and quench in water.
 
Are you clamping the piece that you are drilling in a vise?   You should be applying a reasonable amount of pressure to get the drill to bite and it’s much easier to do this if the work piece is immobilized.
 
I have had zero luck with the 1/8in. shank plastic collar carbide bitts.  Just looking at seems to cause them to shatter.
 
I am not familiar with ceramic bitts.  
 
Roger

I have a 4” Jarmac sander too and have encountered the same problems mentioned above plus both the “cross cut guide” and the sanding table are flimsy and require constant adjustment, but it works and I use it.   The Jarmac tools (there were Jarmac mini table saws too) were standard equipment in model shops in the 1970’s when large engineering firms made models of industrial installations.  These 3-D models made from project drawings were effective at checking for interferences between piping, equipment, and building structure.  3-D CAD modeling eliminated the need for these physical models.
 
There was nothing wrong with the Jarmac tools in their day.  Rather, the new tools are an indication of how things can improve overtime if someone has a goal to offer an improved product.  
 
Roger

I have a 4” Jarmac sander too and have encountered the same problems mentioned above plus both the “cross cut guide” and the sanding table are flimsy and require constant adjustment, but it works and I use it.   The Jarmac tools (there were Jarmac mini table saws too) were standard equipment in model shops in the 1970’s when large engineering firms made models of industrial installations.  These 3-D models made from project drawings were effective at checking for interferences between piping, equipment, and building structure.  3-D CAD modeling eliminated the need for these physical models.
 
There was nothing wrong with the Jarmac tools in their day.  Rather, the new tools are an indication of how things can improve overtime if someone has a goal to offer an improved product.  
 
Roger

Brass Work Hardens.  This means that when deformed at room temperature it gets harder.  This can happen when the drill fails to bite And just sort of massages the surface that you are trying to drill.  So, trying to drill with a dull drill can make it even harder to drill later with a sharp drill.  You might try annealing the piece with the partially drilled hole to see if it makes a difference; heat to dull red and quench in water.
 
Are you clamping the piece that you are drilling in a vise?   You should be applying a reasonable amount of pressure to get the drill to bite and it’s much easier to do this if the work piece is immobilized.
 
I have had zero luck with the 1/8in. shank plastic collar carbide bitts.  Just looking at seems to cause them to shatter.
 
I am not familiar with ceramic bitts.  
 
Roger

Hi Valeriy,
 
I always look forward to your posts as they show that you are able to still lead a somewhat normal life during these difficult times.  It’s also great to see another steam merchant vessel under construction.  I build my models as two half models too.  This method ensures an accurate hull.
 
Roger

Well, progress being made.  Here she is with the false keel and the port side bulkheads in place. Bulkhead 12 not installed for the reveal.
 

 
And here with all of the bulkheads and the sub-deck dry fitted.
 
I have one question regarding the installation of the sub-deck. I understand that it fits between the false keel and the bulkhead extensions, and that eventually I'm going to break the bulkhead extensions off. The question is how far out the sub deck is supposed to extend. Does it extend to edge of the slot in the bulkhead extension or out to the bulkhead? I.e. does it look like this:
 
 
 
or extend the remaining 1/16 of an inch?
 
If I understand the next steps (well not immediate next steps, but near term), the top of the sheer strake gets aligned with the bottom of the slot (since this is planked upside down it will actually be reversed, but relative to this diagram the description is accurate). Eventually the inner bulwark pieces attach to the top of the bulkheads, a tiny fraction of the extensions that are below the break score, and the edge of the sub deck. Is that right? Any assistance from someone that has built the ship or similar designs would be appreciated. 
 
Thanks for looking in!
 
Regards,
George

you will notice that by splitting the false deck and having each side butt against the keel, you are assured of a straight hull.
 
Nic

Brass Work Hardens.  This means that when deformed at room temperature it gets harder.  This can happen when the drill fails to bite And just sort of massages the surface that you are trying to drill.  So, trying to drill with a dull drill can make it even harder to drill later with a sharp drill.  You might try annealing the piece with the partially drilled hole to see if it makes a difference; heat to dull red and quench in water.
 
Are you clamping the piece that you are drilling in a vise?   You should be applying a reasonable amount of pressure to get the drill to bite and it’s much easier to do this if the work piece is immobilized.
 
I have had zero luck with the 1/8in. shank plastic collar carbide bitts.  Just looking at seems to cause them to shatter.
 
I am not familiar with ceramic bitts.  
 
Roger

Now everything is in its place.  

Here is a bit of trivia for you:
 
In 1980 I started working for a company that had the contract for automating plywood lathes from the company that owned the patent. We supplied the computers and software to peel veneer from logs. By the mid '80s nearly all of the plywood lathes in North America were operated by a small (6" x 6" x 6.5") multiprocessor computer I designed. If you used plywood in North America from 1985 through to about 2000 the veneer was probably produced by that small computer.
 
It was a fun project!
 
https://ao-cs.com/Projects/little computer project.html

I greet everyone and congratulate you on the New Year and Christmas holidays!
  In the meantime, until the New Year comes, you can make a few details for the model.  

I have wanted an angled drill for work inside a hull. 
I have a right angle adapter that fits a Dremel.
I have a right angle adapter that fits a Foredom.
What I most want - for sanding in tight quarters is a 45 degree adapter.  No luck there.
 
The adapters are bulky and awkward for use in the tight spaces we work in.
 
I have a different approach for you.
Use a small Chinese DC motor instead. 
Aliexpress had/has  vendors that offer a wide variety of DC motors.  Many quite small.  many with collet chucks and Jacobs chucks.  A variety of chuck sizes.
They are not at all expensive.  Some are two, three, four finger width long - minus the chuck and bit, but if you can get your hand in there are motors that will fit.
As for a power source, why not cut to the chase? 
A benchtop DC power supply -  this one has clicks for 1.5V, 3V, 4.5V,... to 14V  so the rotational speed is under your control.
No batteries  or set DC plugin with a set output to try to parse a value for.
https://www.mpja.com/15-14V-2-Amp-Variable-Output-Supply/productinfo/36688+PS/
and
There are smaller gauge wires, but the plug that fits at one end and small alligator  clamps at the other are handy.
The rotation reverses if you switch the leads.
https://www.mpja.com/Set-of-2-Test-Leads-2-meter-Silicone-Ins-Red-Black-Pair/productinfo/32734+TE/

I know that this is picky but correct terminology can sometimes help to understand what one is looking at.
 
The photo in post #157 above does not show  “Rivet Heads.”  These are the “points” of the rivets (the end of the rivet without the head) that have been “closed” hammered while hot to fill the slightly tapered hole in the shell plating. The actual trapezoidal shaped rivet head is on the inside of the shell plating.
 
Roger

The (relatively) recent exploration of Titanic’s wreckage has focused attention on the riveting of her hull and riveting technology in general.  Even after steel became standard for construction, wrought iron rivets continued to be used with steel ones limited to high strength applications.  
 
Wrought iron rivets could be driven by hand while steel ones required mechanized equipment. Some British yards with centralized hydraulic plants preferred massive hydraulic riveters while others, especially US Great Lakes yards used compact pneumatic riveters.  This also influenced selection of rivet materials.
 
A (to me) subject much more complex than it often appears.
 
Roger

There are active discussions that pop up every so often on the forum about showing treenails on wooden planked hulls and nails on copper sheathing.  Proponents seem to treat this more as a way to exhibit detailed craftsmanship than accurately replicating true to scale appearance.  More politely, it’s a modeling convention.
 
Since there are far fewer of us modeling steel hulled vessels adding riveted detail gets less attention.  I personally choose not to do it for a number of reasons.  First, most steel hulled vessels are considerably larger than their commonly modeled wood sisters so are modeled at a smaller scale.  The common modeling scale for wood hulled vessels is 1:48.  My present project had a real life length of 240 ft.  At this scale the model would be 60” long; too long for in home display so I am modeling this at a scale of 1:96.  At this scale a 2” flattened rivet head is only about .02” in diameter; tiny.
 
Many modelers look to the rivet detail on HO scale model railroads for inspiration.  These domed head rivets are “Snap Head” rivets formed with a die.  They were used to join relatively thin plating together.  Heavy ship hull plating requiring high high structural strength and watertight construction was joined with “PanHead” rivets.  The heavy Pan Head was usually located on the inside and the rivet’s Point was driven from the outside.  The outboard end of a properly driven rivet was nearly flush, and almost invisible at any reasonable scale viewing distance.
 
Rivet patterns were determined by rules published by the various Classification Societies that graded vessels for insurance purposes.  They specified different patterns for various applications within the hull.  These were quite complex as they specified both the pattern and the number of rows of rivets.  Accurately modeling these therefore, requires a hull plating expansion drawing.  Just showing a single line of rivets in inaccurate and misleading.
 
Roger

Brass Work Hardens.  This means that when deformed at room temperature it gets harder.  This can happen when the drill fails to bite And just sort of massages the surface that you are trying to drill.  So, trying to drill with a dull drill can make it even harder to drill later with a sharp drill.  You might try annealing the piece with the partially drilled hole to see if it makes a difference; heat to dull red and quench in water.
 
Are you clamping the piece that you are drilling in a vise?   You should be applying a reasonable amount of pressure to get the drill to bite and it’s much easier to do this if the work piece is immobilized.
 
I have had zero luck with the 1/8in. shank plastic collar carbide bitts.  Just looking at seems to cause them to shatter.
 
I am not familiar with ceramic bitts.  
 
Roger

Steven,
 
Great job!  1100’s to 1400’s is a long time by modern standards but perhaps not so long for the ancients; particularly conservative mariners.  Anyhow, you can really see how this vessel from the 1100’s could have evolved into the Carrack of the 1400’s.  Every time that I look at your model with the braces to the stem the characteristic diagonal planking of the bows of the Carricks makes sense.
 
Roger