JeffT

Last night and today I worked on the stern frames, that was a little tricky, I stared at it a lot and constantly was making adjustments in fear of getting something a little off. I think it turned out ok though. Lots more sanding tomorrow and hopefully onto the quarter galley framing.
 
Im not quite certain of the lower sills on the transom, I installed them perpendicular to the frame where they sit, should they be more towards horizontal?

I undercut the flowers slightly and the carving looked ok enough for the time spent so far. I popped the carving off and wet the paper and rubbed most of it off quickly. The rest yielded to the X-acto blade with a couple quick scapes.
 
I noticed a couple of my cuts didn’t cut all to the base so I scraped that as well. 
 
I thought I would need to scrape or sand at this point, but I’m happy enough with the exercise as is.  Beyond the the sawing, the cutting (and grinding) took two 15 minutes sessions (plus a bit more for photos). I assume this would quicker with practice. I think I would invest in buying or making a small gouge to supplant my ‘scraper’.

Thanks Jeff…. I’ve been involved with many other hobbies, which helps, but I wouldn’t even attempt this project if it wasn’t for all the great examples provided by so many experienced builders in their build logs.

2nd build? I'm impressed, looks great!

2nd build? I'm impressed, looks great!

Finishing up Chapter One.  Got the stern framing finished up and rough sanded. I'll still have to tweak a few things to get it ready for the stern planking in Chapter Two.  Looking forward to that!!
 
I used all 3 sets of the bollards and the one below is probably the best of the 3.  They are not glued in place yet, keeping them free in case I need to tweak them a bit later and prevent any damage.  

I won't be getting much else done for a while as work is calling me.  I'll be in Florida till February. It will be nice to get out of Michigan!!!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Years to everyone.    :^)   🎅

I’m using couple of right-angle steel plates to make sure the bulkheads are parallel to the keel. Also, since some of the plywood bulkheads are a little warped, I decided to glue some square reinforcement pieces between the bulkheads. This should also add quite a bit off rigidity for the fairing process.
 

 

I’m using Alaskan Cedar for my build. I’ve cut out the keel and bulkhead pieces and will gluing them up them up on piece of MDF board, covered by 1/4” plexiglass on top with the plan sandwiched in the middle.
 

 


 

I’m still working on finishing my first wooden model ship, so I was hesitant to undertake such an ambitious project as this. However, seeing the great mentorship that Chuck and others have been providing, I figured I couldn’t pass up on such a great learning opportunity.
Anyway, I don’t anticipate my work to be anywhere near the level of some of the master builders on here but if in the end, I end up with a ship that looks the part of a Frigate, I will be quite content. Needles to say, any and all constructive comments and suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
Cheers,
-Waldemar

I agree, Greg.  That cradle adds a lot to the model.
 
I am using 1/4" basswood plywood for the backbone and bulkheads.  The thickness will result in a stronger structure and will give a better gluing surface for the planking.  The backbone is made from three pieces and the joints are supported with a strip of scrap.  You can see the section between stations F and 16 that will have the lower deck completed.  To make cutting the rabbet easier, the upper part was sanded into the backbone before the keel/stem assembly was added.  At station O, the angle of the rabbet gradually increases from 45 degrees to 90 degrees and the width therefore becomes more narrow.  Just below station FP, where the angle is 90 degrees, the entire width of the rabbet is on the stem.  

The keel, stem and sternpost are made from costello boxwood.  The false keel is pear.  The width of the keel is 10.5" based on the RMG plan.  This is narrower than the 12.5" dictated in the Establishments but this difference most likely is because Swallow was designed as a merchant cutter, not a military sloop.  I do not have any pictures showing the construction sequence, but it is straight forward.  The keel was made from three pieces, scarfed together and secured with six bolts.  Black paper was inserted into the joints to simulate felt.  A 45 degree bevel was cut into the keel from station 14 going forward for the rabbet.  Aft of station 14, the deadwood starts and the angle changes.  The plan does not show structural details for the stem and I was unable to determine the structure from the model.  Based on other ships of this size and era I came up what I feel is a reasonable guess.  The width of the stem is 12" at the head, diminishing to 8" at the keel.  These joints also have black paper to represent felt.  Brass wire was inserted through the inner part of the stem to secure the pieces together.  The pictures show the stem before the rabbet was cut.  The bottom of the keel is curved fore and aft.  In order to keep the hull stable on the building board, I added scrap basswood to the bottom of the false keel.


The photo shows a test fit between the backbone and the keel/stem assembly.

Although this picture is taken out of sequence, it shows how the keel and stem were bolted together.

 
 
 

A few years ago, I was looking at some of the models posted on the RMG website and came across Swallow 1779.  I instantly was attracted to her overall appearance and the fact that she was clinker-planked.   The model is listed as SLR0540 and the plans are ZAZ4719.


Swallow did not have a long career.  According to Rif Winfield, in his book “British Warships in the Age of Sail 1714-1792”, she was purchased on the stocks in 1779 and was originally designed to be a cutter.  On the sheer plan one can see where the original mast (located at the dead flat) was erased from the plan.  She was registered as a sloop and originally carried fourteen 4pdr guns.  The following year, four 18pdr carronades were added.  There is no mention of swivel guns, although the plan shows mountings for twenty-two of them.  With Lively, Swallow captured the US privateer Black Prince in 1779.  She was coppered in 1780 and on August 26, 1781,, Swallow was run ashore and burnt to avoid capture by US privateers off Long Island.
 
The first order of business was to develop a set of plans.  Comparing the plans with the model revealed several inconsistencies.  Starting at the bow, the model has a much larger stem with cheeks, rails, a false rail and a figurehead.  The bowsprit come out of the hull in the midline.  The plans show a simple stem and the bowsprit exits the hull to the port side of the stem.  The model shows the capstan at midships but the plan has it aft of the main mast.  The locations of the various hatch covers also differ between the model and the plan.  There is a difference in the deadeye configurations and the swivel guns are not modeled.  Finally, although the gold detailing is stunning, this little boat certainly would have never been decorated in other but the simplest schema.  To make things even more confusing, in small print on the plan is the following..."a copy of this was given to Mr. Ladd for finishing two cutters the Board bought of him when half built 9 Feb? 1779".  And, yes, the question mark was in the sentence as written.  So the plan is actually the proposal for finishing and not as-finished.  
 
I had to decide whether I was going to model a model or model a ship.  Because the model is most likely a presentation piece, I decided to use the plans layout rather than the model's.  This still left me with concerns.  The biggest one was whether to model the swivels.  Since the model does not show them and Winfield does not mention them, I decided to leave them off.  There is also no "proper" access to the lower deck on the plan but a companionway is visible on the model.  I have added a ladder and companionway.  If any of you have additional information or insights to the contrary, please let me know.  Things are easy to change at this point.
 
This was going to be a plank on bulkhead model.  My reason for this construction style was that the beauty of this ship will be in the clinker planking; therefore, both sides of the hull will be completely planked.  I will be installing the lower deck and its associated fittings in the mid-ships area as I plan on making the hatch covers removable.  Plans were developed using the tutorial written by Wayne Kempson which is found in the Modeler’s Database. 
http://modelshipworldforum.com/resources/plans_and_research/DraftingShipPlansInCADwayne.pdf  TurboCAD 18 was my CAD program. 

Once the plans were developed I made a half hull in 1:96 scale to make sure that I did not have any glaring errors in my rendering.  

 
 
 

Looks great. Your planking is really well done.

This part of the work is a bit repetitive but done with the first step. These are very small.

This is optional according to the manual. But I decided to attach the keel elements before starting the 2nd planking simply because its kind of a slippery hull when everything is sanded  smooth. With the keel my fingers gets something to grab when holding the ship. We will see if it was a good decision i guess...

I thought that if I could stiffen the bulkheads without putting in spacers that I could get on with the fairing of the hull.  I decided to try out using a pin nailer to attach scrap strips along the edges of the deck level on the bulkheads.
 

 


They are quite easy to pry up after I'm finished.  They seem to have provided the effect I was looking for so I have started fairing the hull.
 
 

It's been a while since I lasted posted on Winnie. A good bit of progress has occurred. To begin with, I completed framing at the stern with the addition of the horizontal filler pieces and final fairing. I then added the lower counter planking, using the laser cut pieces. After that, I did the first layer of planking for the wales and black strake. The wale planking was begun by using a  batten to mark the line of the bottom of that planking. Lastly, I painted the gunports red, in preparation for doing the upper planking..
 
The upper planking will be the next order of business..
 
Bob

Finished all the port framing today, just need to add the vertical frames tomorrow and fair it up. Hopefully I can get the stern frames mocked up this weekend. That Byrnes saw changed my life!
 
I also corrected and error I found on frame 28, I noticed that it shifted over to the stbd side so everything was high on the port side, thankfully it was easy to correct by softening the glue and clamping it in its proper location until dry again.
 

After detail filing each sheave and hull sheave openings so the sheaves would easily slide into place, they were glued in flush to the interior bulwark wall. On the hull side, they were filed flush.

Thanks for the support. I am finishing chapter 3 and moving to the internal details as I get parts in the mail like extra fishing line for nails. 

It definitely looks better. When painting in small scales, paints tend to look darker. Its sometimes necessary to lighten the paint  a little.

Hi every one!
I have finished 10 sets arm-parts. This time, I redesigned the fixture and optimized the processing procedure. So this batch of products is very successful. Except for the first three test products, the last 10 are all excellent products with almost no defects. And I'll finish the remaining 10 sets soon. 
 
Unlike Mr. Chuck's figurehead, the arms of all members' figurehead have been glued with German glue. I have also made some simple polishing for everyone, and I will remove the base for your folks.



I use a strong plastic box for packing, and each carving will use a breathable bag for packing one more time, so as to prevent moisture and 
It has some compressive strength.

I promise that if it is lost in transit, and if it is not caused by your own reasons, I will resend one set to you free of charge. 
 
I will complete the application of MSW's sponsor in these days, and then it will be released officially . I will inform every member according to the previous pre-order. You can buy them or give up. 
 
Natural wood has natural texture. I have scrapped all carvings with black spots, but natural texture cannot be avoided. If you can't accept these carvings with color difference and wood grain, you can consider purchasing resin casting sets.
 
Thank you!
 
Jack
 
 

It definitely looks better. When painting in small scales, paints tend to look darker. Its sometimes necessary to lighten the paint  a little.

I am working my way down the starboard side.

I have reached the stage that I do not like so there is not much to show. 
Before I can fix the position of the spreadsail yard I need to prepare 2 things. 
1. I need to do the top half of ratlines until I still can lower the yard. It will be lot more complicated with the yard fixed in position. (I hate doing ratlines!) 
2. I need to prepare topsail so I could secure all the rigging in the center of the deck by the mast (it would be also very dificult to get there once lower ratlines and "outside running rigging" is in place). And I'm also not a fan of this task
 
So the progress is very slow now. I have installed lower and upper Sheer battens and prepared few ratlines, that is all for now. 

Looking good Jim