GAW

Fig- 64 - The Comb Clamps used to hold the Frame set in position, while the tops of the Frames are cut to the required hight.  Each alternate Frame is fitted with two Deck beams that assist in keeping it’s shape after removing from the Frame Making jig. The other Frames, I have made extra long - high - and soft soldered a bar across the top, to help them stay in shape.  Once they have been attached to the Keel and the lower Plating, and the Stringers soldered in place - that is about to take place here, the surplus above the main deck level is removed.
 
As mentioned at the start of this project, when completed it will consist of three models of the Falls of Clyde.  The Half Model, that we have already seen - The centre section being covered here - and a fully rigged waterline model showing her in all her glory, as originally built, a light grey hull, topped in white  at the Forecastle and Poop, with the deck houses and detail painted white framed in mast colour - a dark sandy yellow. 
 
For those interested, this third model that I will cover here in due time, was stated a month ago, the first stages of which can for the next 4 weeks be seen on my web site, at ‘News & Comments’:
< http://www.wworkshop.net/Home_Page_/News%26_Comments.html >
 
For those who winced at all of the tool making required to build this model, the good news is that, other than using my standard model making workshop tools and machines, no new special purpose tooling have so far been required.  In fact I see none, excepting possibly one for tensioning the wire standing rigging, but having got this far with the rigging screws, although they lack threads, I do see a simple way of setting a tension on them. 
 
This is one of the main reasons for making a sample of the possible problem corners before starting on the model it’s self.  Once an item has been made and is sitting in front of you, it will show you a store of possibilities - or not, that cannot - for me at least - be seen with out making an example first.

Fig- 60 The first 20 Frames in place, complete with Pillars, Ladder, Keel and Stringers and some Plating, which we will cover a little later in the proceedings.  
As may be imagined, having got to this stage - half way -  I was very keen to see if I was on the right track with creating this model centre section, so added some Plating right up to and including a short section of the  Bulwarks, stays and all -  and it looked to me to be OK, I was on the right road.  However, because I had started in the centre and so from now on had to work both fore and aft by adding another ten Frames to each end, most of this Plating became more of a problem than an asset, and was later removed, as we shall see, and refitted in longer lengths.  We learn as we proceed.
 
You may note also that the main hatch is also present on both the Main Deck and Tween-Deck.  This was also removed and remade, and will be covered later, together with the reasons why - a cautionary tale.

Fig-152 - It soon became apparent that with cams of this size that even with my ingenuity I could see no way of making them as accurately as would be required to actually work - Step forward good friend Jeff and his CNC milling machine.  I showed him how I had plotted the shape of the cam, and he soon had this in 3 dimensions in his computer program for the machine to follow - and follow it did to produce a working set of cams in no time at all, such is modern technology - how they would have loved this in in 1878  
 
It is interesting to note that the working dimensions allow for no inaccuracies whatsoever in the shape of the cam - if it is right it will work - if not, it will not work.  Now how they produced such a part in 1878 in quantity - four per pump is still a mystery to me, particularly as it would not have been cast or stamped in iron or steel, because of the sea water corrosion.  Working inside the cam would need to be two free running rollers, any interference to these such as corrosion would  have made the pump inoperable.  My only surmise would be that a master pattern for the cam was hand made in iron and used as a hot stamp in something like bronze to form the cams.  But the Victorian engineers were masters at overcoming supposedly insurmountable problems, this being just one of them.

Fig-151 - Here are shown most of the parts with the second stage machining, the milling of the flats, and the pump parts are now starting to take form.

Fig- 72 - With the last Frames in place the Comb Clamps are attached to aline the tops of the frames, and make final adjustments to the deck beams where required, so that the deck Stringers can be soldered in place, thus now forming a single unit, that will hold it’s self together.

Fig-168- The Bilge of the Falls of Clyde model, showing the suction end of the down pipes, now completed.

Fig-166- End view of the finished Centre section  model showing the complete Bilge Pump assembly detailing 

Fig-165- The stub masts, Bilge Pumps and deck house were removed and plated separately, then reassembled after the plating process was completed.

Fig-162- All fitted and ready to go. - view of the font of the Wallace & Sons Bulge Pump as originally fitted the the Falls of Clyde.

Fig-156 - The complete assembly installed in the finished model - a very interesting exercise, I do enjoy scratch building and particularly the research to try and get things right.  Everything is there for a  reason, and in most cases it is possible to find out exactly what the reason is/was, and researching it these days with the history of the world on tap on the internet, at the press of a button, it can be as much fun as creating the item in the round - for me I like to know what I am recreating, where it came from and why.

Fig-154 - The casings for the two working pumps at the top, and the compete assembly of the smaller two ones below.  This was made to take apart as it could not be fitted in the hull in one piece, and was difficult enough to assemble it all together in the several parts that I had decided upon, even though it was close by the open end of the centre section of the hull.

Fig-158 - The base for the working model, with the two twin pump cases installed .

Fig-157 - Now we come to the second working model of the pump mechanism, shown here is the fly wheel, the one of the Bilge Pump double cylinders, together with one of the four cam assemblies.  This consists of the cam set in the rectangular cage, to the bottom of which is the pump  piston/cup.  What would have been two rollers, set to run in the cam groove, I have substituted two fine brass screw, with lock nuts to hold them in place.  When the cam rotates, it is these rollers/screws that then create the vertical movement of the pump.  Each of the cams are individually keyed to the drive shaft.

Fig-171- The working model of the Wallace & Sons Patent Bilge Pump, as originally  fitted to the Falls of Clyde in 1878.
 
All that is covered in this Build Log, is at this time, is being assembled for permanent public display on the Barque Glenlee, on the Clyde in Port Glasgow, Scotland.  This to show to a younger generation how the famous Scottish iron ships were put together on the Clyde in the late 1800s. < https://thetallship.com >
Fig-172.mp4

Fig-170- the complete project, together with the tool set, required to create it - and a most rewarding one.

Fig- 169- Deck house, and Main Mast now in place

Fig-168- The Bilge of the Falls of Clyde model, showing the suction end of the down pipes, now completed.

Fig-167- The working end of the Bilge pumps at 96th scale.

Fig-166- End view of the finished Centre section  model showing the complete Bilge Pump assembly detailing 

Fig-165- The stub masts, Bilge Pumps and deck house were removed and plated separately, then reassembled after the plating process was completed.

Fig-164 - Now to return to the main model of the centre 40 frames of the Falls of Clyde - The finish - an iron ship, I did not wish to show it in brass, or with a rusty finish, so chose a dull nickel finish, the problem was would the electrolytic Nickel throw into the centre of the model from both ends?  Chrome will throw in a direct line only and anything in it’s way will form a shadow.  However Nickel can to a limited extent throw around corners, so it was worth a try.  There is a none electrolytic Nickel plating available, and plating kits for the asking, but I had just the one large item to plate , and a very good and understanding plater on hand, so thought to trust him with the job in hand as a starter.
Good decision - 95% of the model took the dull Nickel plate, with just a very small amount with a questionable finish right in the centre.  I  touched these areas up with a small plating kit for dull Nickel and the job was completed.

Fig-163- All fitted and ready to go. - view of the font of the Wallace & Sons Bulge Pump as originally fitted the the Falls of Clyde.

Fig-162- All fitted and ready to go. - view of the font of the Wallace & Sons Bulge Pump as originally fitted the the Falls of Clyde.

Fig-161- Here  can be seen the complete drive shaft and piston assembly.

Fig-160 - The assembly was very informative, as it was most probably the main reason the Patent, was dropped very shortly after it was put into practice and manufactured.  One of those ideas that look very good on paper, but turn out to be less so, when put into practice. Not so much for the design, but for the maintenance, to keep it running, and that on a ship at sea.
 
The drive shaft has assembled on it the four complete cam units, each keyed to the shaft, with a distance piece between to locate them directly over their respective cylinders , into which they are then dropped as a unit,  then mounted between the two end plates.  With the assembly then completed with the fly wheel and handles to work the pumps at each end.  It soon became apparent that should one of the pumps be in need of attention - replacement valve - then the assembly of the drive shaft complete with all four cam units would need to be removed from the frame to get to any one of them.  It would be impossible to remove one piston/valve cup, with out removing all four
 
With a crank shaft and connecting rod to the piston/cup containing the offending valve - on the more normal Bilge Pump design -  just two bolts at the crank shaft end, is all that would be needed to be removed to extract that offending piston/cup valve part.
 
In the working miniature, after the problem of making the cams, the drive shaft proved to be the next most problematic.  It being exceedingly thin, yet needing four slots in it for each of the keys for the four cams. I solved the problem by using stainless steel hypodermic needle tubing, one for the shaft, and a second, the next size up to slip over it,  for the distance pieces between the cams.  The shaft was threaded at each end to take the end locating piece, that also included the bearings and squared ends for the handles.