shipcarpenter

Completition: Ratlines for the topmast shrouds - Enfléchures 
It has been quite a while since I started attaching the ratlines for my French corvette at the lower shrouds. 
Today I was able to tie the last ratline knots at the starboard side of the topmast shrouds and with the last binding the chapter -ratlines- was finished.
   
 
 

 
   
Before I start to make the yards, I still have some rest work to do for the standing rigging, e.g.
- Fixing the topgallant shrouds
- Catharpins for the topmast and topgallant shrouds
- Fore topmast- and fore topgallant stay
 
To be continued ...

 

Moving forward, though much slower...
 

 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

I made the carlings the same way I did on the capstan project. I first milled the notches in the beams and cleaned them up with a small chisel. I cut the tenons in the ends of the carlings with a razor saw to fit into the notches. The plans show these angling toward the center which I was able to do with the carlings between the aft and middle beams. The notices were milled at the 87 degree angle of the carlings so the ends fit correctly in them. The plans show the carlings between the middle and fore beam are also angled and go under the standards, but the standards are notched to fit down over the beams. I could either have removed some of the bottom of the standards to fit over the top of the carlings but I decided to just fit them so they didn't go under the standards. I also added two boards along the insides of the standards on the three beams that the stove base plate sits on, since it does extend all the way to the aft beam. The legs on each end of the stove line up nicely with the middle and fore beams. Here is everything so far dry fit.
 

 
Next I will clean up all these pieces, round the appropriate edges, and add the details to the cross piece. Then I can start putting them all together.

This is the 1:48 and 1:36 Trident, boxwood, Chinese and English versions.The trident of boxwood is just to show the effect at present. There will be Trident made of copper in the future.

 

 

 

 
I have also designed some molds for batch processing, and I will release the parts for batch processing these days.
 
Jack
 
 
 

Now it's time to finish the head, so I had to start producing a long-delayed component - a figurehead. Making a figure using a CNC milling machine was quite a challenge for me. You can now judge the result.

Here is my 1:30 mid-ship cross-section of HMB Endeavor. My original resources for construction were the books and plans by Harold Underhill and Charles Davis. Lately, Waldemar was kind enough to give me access to the detailed diagrams of Endeavour by Karl Marquardt. These revealed several mistakes in my framing (too few, room and space), which I decided to accept and to follow Marquart's diagrams in building the interior decks. The upper frames will be rebuilt more accurately as I move upward. Wood is cherry and walnut. Walnut sheathing will be applied to the bottom up to the wales, omitting several strakes of sheathing and planking as though under repair.

 
 

Finally, it’s back on the inside.....
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

1 more photo

I could get a job at IKEA....

 

 

 

 

 

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Chesstrees, fenders and the side ladders.

Trial "Stepping the Mast".
 
Just temporary, to check correct alignment. Vertically Port & Stbd etc
 

@markjay
@GrandpaPhil
Hi,
thank you very much for the good wishes.
 
Hello colleagues,
after a short creative break ... 😁... we continue here again:
Continuation: Ratlines for the topmast shrouds - Enflechures
With the addition of the ratlines for the topmast shrouds, it was necessary to clarify how the futtock staves are to be made here. In contrast to the more massive futtock staves of the lower shrouds, made of served brass rods, I used a rope with ø 0.35 mm for the topmast shrouds, which was soaked with super glue before serving.


After fixing the futtock stave, I could attach the last ratlines of the port side main topmast shrouds.


So the chapter -ratlines for the main topmast shrouds- is done:

Soon I will continue with the ratlines for the fore topmast shrouds to finally close the chapter -ratlines- for this model.

To be continued ...
 

Each time it is the same wonder! Thank you

To bruce d: Yes, I did - see the picture on the page nr. 10.
The last items on the quaterdeck - the stationary blocks and fixation of the tiller.

I have finished laying the lower deck:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi photo.

Thank you for the kind words Frank.
 
Made some progress up front, got cheeks and hair brackets completed. This was quite a project and involved many hours of sanding and test fitting. I’m still not happy with the hair bracket joints and may redo them... I’ll sleep on it a little longer.
 
one thing I found to make it a little easier with the frizzies was to glue them on prior to laminating the upper and lower cheeks, the same applies to the hair brackets. Once dry I gently sanded the excess off and then assembled them, this made the seams appear clean and sharp.
 
I still have some clean up work to do as well as finish the stbd side anchor line holes and a little paint touch up. On to guns and tackle next... probably post that update in about 6 months.
 
also made some poor attempts at better photography with the plans as a background white... lol... lots of room for improvement but I clearly see the benefits now!   
 
JJ
 

Getting close to finishing up chapter 3, have a few loose ends to clean up and some moulding to fix, But here’s some fresh updates still showing wet WOP.
JJ
 

Google Translate.

Thank you all for the good comments and likes!

Model 1. Unfortunately, the threads on this model have broken parts. I will glue these parts in place at the last moment. 
 
Model 2.

Hi All
 
I've now started the ceiling planking - its taken me a while to get started as I haven't done this before.  I thought that I would be able to apply a similar system that we use on the outside of the hull by marking out bands etc but I found that I couldn't do this.  The reason being the way the planks run up the inside of the stem and stern I just couldn't figure out a way of marking them out accurately.
 
I also do not have a flat plan of the planks so the drawings need interpreting which takes me a while to understand.  So in the end I thought the best thing to do was to use a mix of the drawings and apply similar rules to the planking such as only tapering to half of the planks width.  I also thought it best not to start running up the stem too quickly that we also apply on the outside.
 
So boringly 🤣  I've managed the first two strakes - sorry for my snails pace.  I really wanted to get these right as hopefully the rest will then follow.  One of them moved slightly at the stern whilst drying so I had to use some PVA coloured with graphite to fill the gap.  It doesn't look too bad for a first attempt and I know that I will improve as I work my up inside the hull.
 
There's a few pictures below of where I am now and how I make my planks.  I mark out the tapers and then plane them in my plank vice before clamping them together to ensure they are a mirror image of each other.  Next I edge bend them which makes for a good fit and only minor clamping.  The making of the planks is easy but working out the shape is hard.
 
I'll post an update in a few weekends once I've got up to the seven strakes that I intend to fit at this stage.
 
Cheers Mark
 
 
 

Noooooo.....
I was boarded by a Disney Princess,  bad weather and a inquisitive grandchild led to this near disaster. 
Luckily just an interest in the figures. One cannon skewed, all in all a pretty tough ship.
I think I'll turn her into a ship builder as she gets older....

Well I finally started the build, my build board is more of a build station. I have drawers below the build which are interchanged as I move from one stage of the build to the next, I have shown some pictures of how I utilize the space, hard to be original with designs, much borrowing of many different ideas incorporated here. This is my first build, but have been modeling and lurking about the forums for years....

This is the build station with the progress to dateT
 

Large drawer storage  top tray slides left to right to increase storage capacity

Carving tools
 

Cutting and drilling items

Keel alignment
 

Progress to date, I have not installed the bulkhead former's yet as I am waiting on some material to finish. I used Chucks instruction on bolts #77 and 15# Fishing Line
The Stem, I have used Watco wipe on Poly Satin to protect against dirt and grime

Almost 3 full months since my last update!   Oh man...   this "return to normal" stuff has really caught up with me.   With the holidays, the new year, and a bunch of hiring, chess tournaments and the start of the basketball season (I am my daughters BBall coach) Ive had so little time to update.   I have, however, continued to steadily work on my Triton.   I think I'm starting to see the end game a little clearer and am starting to think about the case a little more earnestly, thanks to the encouragement in the above comments.  
 
Since my last update much of the detail work has started.   After planking the exterior and interior of the hull, along with the gun deck I chose to carry on with hull details.   I chose walnut as a contrasting material and haven't found the grain too distracting.   As Ive said prior, I take it as a point of pride to make something beautiful from relatively sustainable materials and have resisted a desire to use the more exotic (and likely more beautiful) hardwoods.  This being a first full scratch project for me, I also wanted to limit the damage to the pocketbook, knowing full well I was likely to burn through a lot of material on screw-ups!  
 
After wrapping-up the cannon carraiges:
 

 
The rail cap, fenders and trim were all made from this walnut, which was the same as used in the wales.  In the first photo you can see my paper mock-up used to template the fender shape.  A sharp eye might also note that I screwed-up in sequence and neglected to include the outboard trim as I was planking the exterior.  Thus I had to mount the trim over the planking.  A small error that I intend to make sure not to lose track of in future builds.   You'll also notice some weird sequencing as I decided to do one side in a slightly different order (caulking, details, etc).  One thing I learned again, having learned it earlier and then entirely forgotten, is that you must seal the wood prior to the caulking step otherwise the excess will not wipe away as cleanly.  

I then began work on caulking the gun deck planking, and started assembling the gun tackle per the plans.   Ive always enjoyed the process of preparing block and rigging so took some enjoyment in this step.   I decided it better to do only some of the gun prep and not mount them as it seemed much easier to complete the rest of details (gangways, ladders) prior to mounting and setting the guns and tackle.  I also opted to not treenail the interior gunwales despite having done so with lower decks as there is a concentration of detail in this area and I was worried it would end-up creating a cluttered look.  I'm still confident in this decision.   I also made a few ladders before settling on the below iteration.  I now know much more about this process and hopefully will have better luck with the gangway ladder later.
 
 


The last few weeks Ive been struggling through the brass work for the gangway supports.   I first made a set using the entirely wrong brass material and stumbled my way through an appropriate soldering technique.   My first attempts are in the first picture where it can be clearly seen that too much solder is being used, too much heat and just a generally poor construction method.   I then switched to strips I had to cut myself (as opposed to pre-milled brass stock) and dialed in my soldering until I got consistent and clean results. 
 


 
The gangway supports in place, I just cut and temporary set the skid-beams.   I'm starting to work on assembling the gun-tackle components now in preparation of final fitting.   Now that things in my life have settled a bit I'm hoping to be posting a bit more regularly and look forward to catching up on all the great builds Ive been missing!  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Chapter three is still a work in progress. I added the friezes to the ship. The sides of the hull were done in sequence while adding the middle molding along the waste and the laser etched molding along the forecastle and quarter deck. The QGallery roofs were painted dark gray and work has started on the QGallery columns and roof rail.
 
The friezes were cut out with the aid of long ships curves. This worked out quite well and I can think of only one edge that had to be done by eye. For adhesion, I used the Elmers School glue stick. When using the stick, I made several passes over the frieze. I wanted to use enough glue to allow for positioning of the frieze before the glue starts to set which can happen quickly if applied to sparingly. 3-4 passes should be about right. A sharp #11 blade and a clean planking edge makes easy work of cutting the friezes around the inner edge of the gun ports, but only after the glue has dried. Here is where I'm at as of today.

Mike

Planking above the wales
 
It’s been a minute since my last post, it took me this long to complete the planking above the wales on just one side.
 

 
The first step was deciding on what my primary color would be since the ports need to be painted before planking begins. My first thought was to go darker, perhaps more on the maroon scale, than I had done with my Cheerful. The more I looked at my paint board the easier the decision became. I liked Cheerful RED so Winchelsea would also be RED, maybe REDDER with Winsor & Newton Crimson as my choice.
 
While I was at it I also prepared a blue paint board to compliment the friezes, I’ll defer that choice until I get to that point. I also looked at a couple of black choices. Despite some nice other options I always come back to Admiralty Paints Ironworks Black - a paint that looks as good as matte black on wood as it does to imitate metal in my opinion. I may go with Grumbacher Mars Black, we’ll see when I get to painting the wales.
 

 
 

 
It would be challenging enough to cut planks around 28 ports, it is more fun, to do so while providing for a 1/32 rabbet around three sides of each port. It took me the better part of a day to cut the one shown in the photo that runs along the bottom of five ports midships. Each is a bit different as the ports follow the sheer of the eventual deck with the sides parallel to the waterline, in other words not square. The little port jigs came in handy to determine the 1/32 rabbet. The tops are equally challenging, and still with all that I still had more adjustments with sanding sticks to do later.
 

 
Once again I am amazed at what can be achieved with nothing more than the heat from a travel iron when it comes to shaping planks. Not easy see in the photo but this one plank follows a gentle S curve front to back and is curved to conform to the bow. Without soaking, clamping or nailing I can shape a plank to lay right onto the bulkheads with very little finger pressure. Like all my planks the inside bottom edge is softened for a tight seal to it's mate below. I do as little as needed, I don’t want to later sand right through the bottom edge. Every plank also has #2 pencil added to the top to imitate tar seams.
 

 
I recently added a Byrnes Thickness Sander to my shop, it has proven helpful. Even a nicely milled plank can vary in thickness enough to make for a bumpy planking. I ran all my planks though the thickness sander and it paid dividends. This is the un-sanded planking, I didn’t have to do a lot more to smooth it out.
 
-
 
 

 
After completing all the planking then sanding above the wales I didn’t like this one section, so I popped it out and replaced it. I plank happily with CA, I try to keep it in the middle of the plank and not too close to ports (the CA not the plank). So it didn’t take a lot to remove the planks without collateral damage. I planked a good part of one side of Cheerful three times, I’m not reluctant to remove a plank and do it again - though I’d like to determine that as I go and not after I’m done as happened here. (I rejected and replaced the lower piece for color match after the photo.)
 

 
One more step before adding WOP, touching up the ports. I’m normally pretty handy at free-handing this work but I wanted to make sure I had nice edges between the port and the plank. I choose not to paint the out to the edge of the planking. It would be difficult to do for one thing but more importantly the recessed painted port highlights the rabbet and is a better look in my opinion.
 
Excuse my impromptu photo studio, I just hung a bit of cloth over my workspace and used my iPhone. It offends the photographer in me but it’s fast and at least a little neater than my usual workshop photos.
 

 
After one last sanding with 400 grit I added a coat of wipe-on-poly to seal it up. This first coat is almost absorbed into the yellow cedar as fast as I put it on (and is still slightly wet in these photos). By the time I’m done the ship will have at least three coats, maybe more, of WOP. It is my opinion nothing brings out the rich gold tone of the Alaskan Yellow Cedar better than WOP, they are the perfect companions.
 

 
I tried to color match the planking rows above the wales and below where the friezes will eventually be, that made for and interesting ribbon of color it seems.
 

 
As a follow up from a prior post here is the bollard timbers tapered flush with the planking. I’ll shape them more when the other side is complete
 

 
Using the plans I’ve marked the butt shift pattern to follow for the second layer of the wales.
 

 

 
I love the sweeping lines and tumblehome of Winchelsea, so cool.
 

 
So after two weeks I have the starboard side done above the wale - off I go for another two weeks to complete the port side.
 
Thank you the follows, likes, and comments. I’m just one of many working on this magnificent, and very large, model, I appreciate your stopping by to see mine.