6ohiocav

Gents,
 
A quick check of the plans and some research and I stand corrected -  12 pounders it is. I will have to send my barrels back to the Brittania foundry to be recast.
 
Just kidding of course. Proper syntax suffers when I work on the build log away from build project with all of the plans. 

I put my nose to the grindstone and knocked out the rigging of my 18 carronades. What a challenge. The breech line was by far the most intricate. I had to seize a eye bolt on one end, then thread the line through the carriage and carronade and then seize the other end. I set up two vices to string the very short line, and did my best to wrap the seizing line. I actually got the hang of it after about 5 efforts. Then I had to install the eyebolts to the bulwark. I only broke of 2 guns off their bases. My thumbs are simply too big.
 
I still have to do the inhaul tackles, but thought I would wait until I install all of the other deck structures to make sure so that I can properly place the deck eyebolts. I have the blocks stropped and waiting. I also have to rig the two long guns. My eyes are shot, so that will have to wait.
 
Here are some photos.

This is what guided my decision to use a double block at the bulwark.

I am switching between work that I did over the winter months and current work.  In February and March, I worked on the masts and yards. The Bowsprit was quite the challenge.  I did not take many pictures, and I am working on recreating some of the techniques I used for later posts.
 
For now, I worked on the chock rail and catheads over the weekend.  Since I am swapping out all non painted parts from the basswood to cherry, I had to recreate my own rails and catheads.  I milled some cherry strips, traced from the laser cut pattern, cut the parts carefully on the bandsaw, and sanded to a fine finish.  I cut the sheaves in the catheads very carefully with multiple drill holes and finished with an exacto knife.  As usual, I broke one, and had to start over. I am going pretty close to a 3 to 2 clip.  It always seems to take at least 3 tries to get 2 right.
 
Here are some photos.
 
 

With the deck complete, time for some deck furniture.  That starts with the carronades and long guns. I painted all of the platforms and carriages.  then built a jig from the laser cut sheet to drill the holes for the rings. I again used one of my very small diamond tipped cutters for the dremel. I just put a measured hole in the jig and used it for the platforms. I drilled one hole and then flipped the platform over and drilled the hole on the other side
 
I also used the same jig to cut the notch for the buckled ring on the back of the carriage and the notch on each side for another set of rings.
 
I placed some photos to show how I made the rings.  I basically drilled a series of 20 holes in one of the kit supplied brass strips, inserted 20 rings, and then cut each off of the main strip.  It made it easier to handle such small pieces.  I then blackened all of the parts with Birchwood Brass Black ( a great product  and another great tip lifted from this forum).
 
For the rounded metal straps on the nose of the platform, I started with a 24 gauge black wire, made a tight circle, pounded it flat with a hammer, and then cut small sections to fit on the front of the platforms.  I then blackened that as well.
 
I painted the gun barrels with the kit supplied black paint.  I have an Iwata double action air brush that puts down a great finish.
 
I used bass wood strips for the quions. I cut the small triangles and put a small hole with a push pin in the back, and inserted the tip of a touthpick for the handle.
 
 
 

I next moved on to the deck.  I decided to use 1/8 wide cherry veneer strips on a 1/16 thick sheet of birch plywood. I cut out the picture of the deck from the plans and used it to trace an image onto the plywood.  I then cut it out on the jig saw.  After a little bit of sanding, it fit good enough. With the plywood set on the ship, I took strips of the veneer and glued them down around the perimeter. This assured a perfect fit against the waterway.
 
Once the perimeter strips dried, I removed the plywood from the ship and went back to the bench.  I decided to use 4 inch strips on 1 inch centers. I marked the 1 inch lines and then ran a series of lines long way to act as guides.  I cut a pile of 4 inch strips and used a black sharpie to line the edges. On the hardwood cherry, the black ink penetrated just enough to simulate caulking.
 
I then started glueing them down using yellow wood glue. I was able to move at a pretty good pace and loved the look of the cherry. I was able to do the entire deck in an afternoon.
 
Once it dried, I punched nail holes with a puch pin and blackend the holes with a sharp No. 2 pencil. A good but gentle sanding (the veneer is paper thin) completed the process.
 
Using the veneer on birch plywood and laying the planks OFF the ship was a good decision. I recommend it.

Thanks John and Mark for checking in. Wow, someone is actually looking at all this.
 
John, thanks for the photo link.  I have actually viewed your shots on many occasions, as you have graciously posted them on the other Niagara logs.  I took some photos myself in 2011 but they are not nearly as good as yours.  Your photo collection is a fantastic resource.
 
Mark, I did not take any pictures of the damage caused by the table collapse. I have however posted the last photo that i took of the ship before the accident, and I suspect, this is the position of the ship in the vice when the table gave way.  You will note that it is sitting in a vice with the stern pointing down.  I used a marble tile to suction the bottom of the vice to.  That extra weight at the very end of the table, along with the humidity and heat swings in the shop probably caused the hand crank to loosen just enough for the front of the table to give way.  Three of the stern posts broke completely off together with all of the framing and the back portion of the keel cracked. The only bad thing was that I had a hard time finding all of the pieces among the huge pile of you know what.  Everything that was on that table was in a single pile on the floor.
 
In the end, it could have been a lot worse but at the time however, it was enough to take the wind out of my sails.  I is good to  have it back.
 
Darrell

As I am "recreating" a build log that was started nearly 4 years ago, with only pictures and no narrative, I have to rely on my less than true memory.  As I moved on to the waterway and planksheer, it was at about this time that I made some critical decisions that affected the build then and now.
 
1. I decided I did not like the bass wood for anything other than planking the hull and bulwarks. It is too soft and does not keep an edge. I marveled at the work by the experts with some of the exotic woods they came across.  I have an abundance of seasoned cherry from trees I cut down on the farm and decided to use it for everything I could.
 
2. I decided to use cherry veneer strips for the deck.  I had a tube of 1/8 inch wide cherry veneer strips in the shop. I had viewed many bass wood planked decks that looked beautiful when laid, but less so when finished with stain and sealer. Bass wood is simply too soft, and like any such wood, trying to get a true stained finish to look good was too much of a challenge for me.  Even using pre stain sealers does not necessarily prevent a blotchy finish. My veneer strips however were extremely thin, so I decided to glue them to a thin sheet of birch plywood. While I decided to do this simply because of the aesthetics, I found laying the deck on a sheet of plywood "off the ship" was easy. I did add some height to the deck that I had to adjust for, but overall, a good decision.
 
3. I decided that every place where a two pieces with different paint colors met, I would paint them in advance, so that I would avoid masking and painting.  I thought that would save me time and allow a better look. This would end up being just a so-so decision. When I first laid the pieces down, they looked great and I did not have to do any masking.  However, what I did not take into consideration was how many nicks and dents would occur as the build continued.  Also, I cannot understand how the dust on my desk can be so darned destructive.  I must have corrosive dust here in Ohio, since it can mar the driest painted surface. In the end, the re-sanding and repainting to repair this damage probably did not save me any time. And adding more layers of paint on a surface than I wanted to also affected the look.
 
Here are some photos of the waterway and planksheer.  By the way, future Niagara builders beware.  The planksheer does not fit well.  It does not extend out far enough to lay flush with the outer bulkheads. Nearly every Niagara builder has noted this.  I did as well.  Since I had painted it in advance, it took additional time to sand off the edge and glue on extension pieces.
 
Here are some photos of the waterway and planksheer installation.
 

Time to fair the hull.  I would have never even thought of doing this at this time.  However, repeated suggestions on this forum emphasized how important this is when it comes time to plank the hull.  They were right.
 
The balsa filler blocks made it easy to pin some strakes to the hull at the kit supplied band marks.  From there, I marked the high and low spots on the bulkheads and added splints or filed them down. There was some work to be done, but overall, the kit supplied bulkheads weren't too bad.  I also added the required bevels on the fore and aft bulkheads.  Overall, a pretty easy process.  Here are some photos of the finished product.

Here are some better pictures

I sheepishly reenter the water with my fellow Niagara shipwrights.  I have been "lost at sea" for the last three years after my Niagara build (and as I later found my build log) took a raking broadside in a work bench accident causing damage to its stern and keel. More on that later, But I start with a short introduction.
 
I am an amateur woodworker in Northeastern Ohio with a keen interest in military history.  I am a true landsman, with no sailing experience.  I built styrene models as a kid, including Revel's Cutty Sark, and gained an interest in building ship models, albeit in plastic. In the late 80's after graduating from college, and with a misguided motion that I would have plenty of free time, I purchased a POB kit, the La Toulonnaise. My unsuccessful efforts to negotiate the poorly translated, and nearly non-existent instruction manual, coupled with my lack of proper tools and modeling skills, doomed the project from the start. I kept that unfinished kit (I hit a road block at the construction of the stern fillers) for many years.  I now regret that I must have thrown that kit away during one of my many moves and life changes. I sure wish I had it today.
 
In 2011, I rediscovered my interest in wooden ship building after a visit to a tall ships event on Lake Erie where I toured the Niagara. That fall, Model Shipway put the kit on sale, and alas. I found myself back at it. There was one big difference however, While surfing the Model Shipway site, I came upon the link to this Forum. This was a real game changer. I found build logs from expert modelers like Bahama Diver and others that were building the Niagara. While the Model Shipways Niagara has a pretty good instruction manual, the color pictures on this site and the ability to ask stupid questions gave me the confidence to forge ahead.
 
I started my build and the build log in January 2012. I completed the framing and bulwarks (and got past the dreaded stern fillers) by May of 2012. Then disaster! My bench table, an antique drafting table with a swivel top, somehow gave way, and my Niagara in its stern vice, and all of the material, tools and everything you can imagine we carry on our benches, was dumped onto the concrete floor. The fall crushed the stern fillers (of course) and broke off half of the keel.  Surprisingly, there was no other damage, but the mess was extreme. I had just enough energy to clean up the mess, but not enough to continue the build. 
 
Fast forward to today. I was in Boston in December and had the privilege to see the Constitution in dry dock. What an experience. The inspiration of witnessing such a beauty gave me the initiative to take my Niagara out of ordinary and get it back to the shipyard. Of course, I attempted to access my build log, and discovered my ship was not the only thing that took a raking broadside. It was gone by way of the big crash (the administrators need to use live oak to build their hard drives). Since all of my photos were on an old computer that is long gone, I thought the log was a lost cause.
 
I have been hard at work since January.  I fixed the damage, finished the bulwarks, planked the hull and the deck, built the guns and most of the deck furniture, and just about finished the masts and yards.  Here are some photos (forgive the poor quality) of where I am. Nothing is glued down, and is set in place just for the photos.
 
I wasn’t going to post a log, but guilt and finally some luck pushed me otherwise. Over the holiday, I got my camera out for a family picnic and lo and behold, the shots of my build log were still on the camera disc. Since I spend so much time getting tips and help from others logs, I felt compelled to give back. Over the next several weeks, I will be adding the old pictures and recreating the narrative (that is truly gone). And as I go forward, will humbly place myself along side my fellow Niagara builders for the end run.
 

I knocked out another 75 blocks.  I ran out of my gun rigging rope (20 yards gone), and have ordered some more.  I have enough material at this time to rig 15 carronades. Before I turned in last night, I decided to finally glue the deck down and will start applying eye bolts, cleats and such, and once done, start installing the guns.
 
It has been over a month since I have actually done anything with the hull. I have a huge inventory of parts, deck furniture, masts, yards, and such just waiting to be installed.  Things should start picking up from here.

Spent 4 hours on the build and only stropped 35 more blocks.  Not yet half way, and no end in sight. I can't even imagine what it would take to rig the guns for a ship of the line, proving the exigency of dummy guns below deck.
 
If and when I ever finish this daunting task, I will have to finally get around to gluing my deck to the hull.  I have been avoiding that for no reason other than fear that I have somehow missed something. Then it will be time to mount the carronades and start rigging.
 
​Question for the Forum
 
​What is the best way to secure the carronades (and my 2 - 12 pound long guns) to the deck?  The front of the sleds have a pin that bolts to the deck inside the gun port and I was planning on gluing them there. When I figure out how far the guns will be deployed, I was planning on gluing the slides to the sled. Does that sound reasonable.  Should I also glue the back wheels down? How about the long guns? Just glue the wheels down?
 
Thanks all.

Mike.
 
I tried all kinds of methods to do this. I first tried to tie them myself.  It was difficult. Actually, Brian's method  was better than anything I tried. In the end, I went back to the pre-made seizings.
 
I make them by wrapping thread around a small straight pin and soaking with super thin CA. I then cut the tube into small sections, around 1 mm. I am using .008 Syren brown rope for my gun tackles. I freeze the end with CA and cut the end at a 45 degree angle. Threading through the seizing is a challenge. Holding the tube with the tweezers, I first thread one end. The end is like a tooth pick because of the CA.  It goes in easily.  Getting it back through is the hard part. I now switch hands and take the seizing in my fingers and use the tweezers to grip the end of the rope. The key is to insert the CA end into the tube enough to get it started.  Sometimes, you can simply thread it right through.  Most of the time, however, I found that by holding the seizing with a pinch of my thumb and forefinger, I can gently pull the long end of rope with my middle and forth fingers and at the same time, push the CA end with the tweezers. With both movements, it actually works. I then add a drop of yellow glue to the end as I pull the rope through to make a small loop. All of the blocks in the picture were done this way.
 
This is tedious, but it is clearly easier than wrapping each seizing individually - at least for me. Also, using the straight pin makes the seizings small enough to make the finished product look good.  They look better that the tied seizings I did.  It also takes at least half the time.

More Gun Tackles
 
I cranked out 50 stropped blocks. Had a lot of rain today so I could get after this new challenge.  About 1/4 done.
 
 

Gun Tackle
 
I received my order of 3mm single and double blocks, 3mm hooks, and some .008 rope from Syren. I placed the order on Monday and got the shipment by Friday. Great service.
 
My first reaction was shock at how incredibly small the blocks were. They are exactly 3mm.  Looking at a ruler and trying to imagine what 3mm looks like is one thing, but handling something that small is quite another. I am very happy with the scale of the blocks when compared to the guns.  What a challenge this is going to be. I only have to strop about 170 of these buggers.
 
So I started experimenting.  I have my own block and tackle that we use to tighten the picket lines for our horses, and I wanted to replcate my set.  I wanted to attach the tackle rope by seizing a loop and stropping it to the block. I made a small jig much like what i have seen on this site with the ends of two straight pins to hang the block on while working on it.
 
I started with the small loop on the tackle rope. I clamped the end of the rope in my small vice and tried to rap some of the small brown thread provided in the kit. No matter how careful I was, I could not get the right size on the loop. Mostly two large.  And this was incredibly taxing. I feel like I have moved from the miniture to the sublime. It took me over an hour to make a single acceptable loop using this method.
 
So I tried something else I had seen on this site.  I decided to make some pre-made sieze collars.  I clamped a small staight pin with a flat top in the vice against a piece of scrap wood that allowed the pin head to dig in for a good grip.  I then wrapped about a half inch of siezing rope tightly onto the pin.  While holding it tight, I coated the rope with super thin CA. Once dried, I pulled the tube off of the pin with a pair of nippers.  I then cut a very small piece of the tube to make a collar.  I then slipped my tackle rope through the collar and then backed the rope back through the collar to make a loop. I had to dab the end with some CA and cut it at a 45 degree angle to get it into the small hole. But it worked.  Once I created the loop, i applied a drop of yellow glue to keep the collar and loop secure.(CA discolored the rope too much).
 
With the loop and my blackened brass hooks, i inserted the teenie block into the jig and stropped it with some black rope. I used medium CA to attach one end of the rope to the side of the block. I threaded the loop and the hook, and then attached the end of the black rope to the block with more CA. I let dry and carefully cut off the remainder.
 
I spent 4 hours on this exercise and I only got three blocks done.  Only 167 left to do.
 
Here are some photos.
 
 

Mike,
 
Just had a look at your inquiry.  Been waiting for my blocks and ropes from Syren and working on my son's graduation party so I have been away for a while.
 
I made exact copies of the laser cut catheads, using the cut outs to trace a pattern on some cherry and cut them on the bandsaw. I understand your frustration on the fit.  I had to make some adjustments as well, but perhaps not as much as you have described. I cut the notch on the chock rail, and had to file some material away from the inside vertical stem of the cathead so that if fit snuggly against the bulwark. I also had to do some surgery on the inside of the cap rail.
 
I have not glued the catheads to the hull.  I will take some photos tomorrow of what I filed away to get mine to fit.
 
I just spent 4 hours stropping a whopping 3 blocks.

​Ships Bell and Bowsprit Bitts
​
​​I worked on the frame for the ships bell. It attaches to the octagon sides of the bowsprit. It is actually suspended above the deck. It has a crown and block that the bell attaches to.  The block has a mortised handle used to ring the bell.  Both the crown and block have curved tops and bottoms. all of the parts are chamfered, and the entire structure is smaller than a dime.
 
Getting the proper length for the crown and block is critical.  In order to get that measurement, and make the entire structure square, I decided to make a simple jig to mount the actual bowsprit in.  Since the frame sits above the bottom of the bowsprit, I measured some strip wood and glued it down for the frame pieces to rest on.  Once the frames were clamped in place, I was able to measure the distance between the two and cut out the crown and block. The curves were cut by hand with a half round file (inside diameter) and my bench sander (outside).
 
I cut a very small mortise for the wee little handle and glued it in place.
 
I also made the bowsprit bitts.
 
All of the pieces were made out of cherry.
 
Here are some photos of the process and final results.

Mike,
 
I guess it is not real clear, but here is the portion of the plan I was thinking of. This is put into perspective when you see pictures of the actual ship. I am sending a few courtesy of our friend  John Texxn5.
 
I posted a practicum of how I stropped my 180 blocks. It might help some.
 
Happy building

Mike,
 
Looks great.  Thanks for the tutorial. Once again, your trials are my tribulations.
 
In answer to your last question, I believe the plans call for an extra short plank that is attached to the outside hull for the hawse hole.  I am not at the workshop, or I would shoot you an image.
 
What size rope are you using for the cable?

Joel,
 
Since I have the same question, can I get a clarification.
 
You indicated that "The end is belayed to the foot of the foremast so it doesn't run out". Is that Above the deck, or below? If it is ABOVE, do we run the cable into the hatch, and then back out to belay to the mast? That then begs the question of how we should belay it (what type of knot). Obviously, if it is below, then we simply dump the cable into the hatch.
 
Also, on the historic ship, wouldn't the cable be attached to its own bit below deck, and wouldn't there be a capstan or other device in the bow below deck (or above) to haul it?
 
Mike,
 
What size rope are you using for the cable? Is it a kit supplied product.  I don't believe I have a thick enough black rope from the kit to accomplish this.

Mike,
 
Sorry for the delay in responding.  Perhaps you have already attempted to drill the holes, but this is clearly a job for a pin vice drill.  I would not touch this thing with anything that is powered. I love Joel's idea of guide holes.  Easy to repair if they show up in the wrong spot. Fortunately, this is a place where the soft basswood is a good thing.
 
Looking forward to the pictures.  I am once again sailing in your wake, and may turn to this project while I wait for additional stores from the quartermaster on my ship.
 
By the way, my kit does not have anything at all that looks like a hawse pipe.

Love the anchors and the rigging.  I AM also waiting to hear how the hell to drill the hole for the anchor cable. THAT JUST PLAIN SCARES ME.

Mike,
 
Just put in my order from Syren for blocks and rope following the results of your exhaustive research.  Thanks for all of the trial and tribulation.  I hope to return the favor somehow.
 
I will be constantly looking over your shoulder and following right behind you taking advantage of all your experiences.
 
Happy rigging.

Brian,
 
Thanks for the tip.  I put a drop of glue on top of the cascabel to hold the loop in place but I know I can tighten it up some. I'll give the glue mixture a try.  I need to mix some up anyway for the rope coils.