Trussben

Excellent summary, Remco. There are no short cuts to building a fully framed ship model. Your review is the best recipe for success that I've seen. In addition, as a sort of primer on framing a model one might consider one of the cross sections such as Echo, Triton or the bomb ketch.

Sweet Danny, I just ordered my framing package in Pear, I will be starting the TFFM in January and I'm doing Pegasus.
I have started reading and rereading yours and Toni's logs, loads of info to digest and I thank you again for rebuilding your log.
 
Ben

Thanks Chris, It's great to hear from you.
 
The cutting out of the parts and the assembling of the shell room is progressing.
The shelves are made from cherry and the posts from poplar. Each shelf will
have a depression sanded into it for the mortar shell to set in.
 

 
Here you can see one row set in place for a test fit.
 

Nice Augie,
 
When you start planking the counter I would prebend the planks edgewise to get the correct curveture, something I failed
at when I did mine!  look at the plans!
 
ben

Scott, got to agree with the others, a superb kit with very good instructions. And you can chat with the designer Chuck Passaro
right here on MSW as he is one of the Admins, ask all the questions you can but Im sure you wont be dissapointed.
 
ben

Finally managed to spend a couple of hours in the shipyard, seems like years but I should start to get more time now that the weather has changed and work on the house has been completed.
 
I installed the gun/sweep port sills and lintles, removed the temp spacers below the gunport, and have started fairing it all down. I started with 100 grit, then 220 and now at 320. When finished I will install the keelson and the ribband, remove the rest of the temp spacers and add the last piece of frame above the gunport.
 
ben

Thanks Jim and JP.
 
Cant wait to see how much I get, then spend it all at Byrnes toy store.  

Hi Grant - Yeh, I'm not sure which it is either but then ignorance can sometimes be bliss.
 
Sjors - First purchase will be the Jim Byrnes table saw with a few add-ons, we will see how much if any money is left after that.
 
ben

Well this is a happy day!
I was just informed by my boss that we will be receiving a bonus cheque this year!! :-))
I asked the admiral of the house and she said I can spend it how I wish!! I told her that Byrnes model machines was gonna take the lot to upgrade my workshop with some fine tools to help start my darkside career, she smiled sideways and said " whatever you need ".
Ahhh! Love works in soooo many ways!
 
Ben

Not exactly record breaking progress this weekend.  But Chapter 4 has been completed.
 
There are a series of sheaves, 3 per side, that pass through the hull.  Confed has simulated sheaves that add some nice detail.
 
Additional framing was installed to serve as a backing for the sheaves both inside and outside the hull.  Then the laser cut 'shells' were fitted with small slivers of wood to simulate the sheave itself.  These assemblies were glued on to the framing and #68 holes drilled through the hull.  The inner sheave assemblies will not be placed until later after the inside bulwarks are faired.  The sheave shells or housings are 1/16" thick and will match the eventual hull planking.
 
The first photo shows the assembled sheave glued to the new framing.... the through hull holes are drilled:
 

 
In the next photo, I've laid a plank on top so you can see the effect we'll achieve once the planking is in place:
 

 
As I've often said, the smaller things get, the longer they take    .  Overall, I'm pleased with this detail.
 
The next task will be to plank above the wales.  But, in order to delay that as long as possible, I plan to play with some paint first to see where I'm going on the bulwarks colorwise.  Plus, since it's been almost 2 years since I've planked a hull, I need to psyche up and try to recall how I did it the last time (haven't a clue). 
 
In the meanwhile, I wish my English and European friends all the best of luck in weathering the current storm.  Batten the hatches and stay dry!

Nice Rusty, the experiment on treenail sizes is always fun! I personally prefer the smaller ones but that's just me.
 
Ben

Yep, looks excellent, well done.
 
Ben

Masterfully done Augie, when you do put the first wale planks on, take lots of time to get position perfect, all other planking and sheer line go from that first one, but knowing you it will just fly into perfect position.
 
Ben

OK, the dust has settled
 
A line of sweep port 'frames' has been installed the entire length of the hull.  These frames are 3/8 x 3/8" square stock aligned with laser etched lines on the bulkheads.  The alignment of those lines was checked with a plank prior to setting in the blocks.  Note the double block amidships which accommodates the larger ballast port:
 

 
Once the frames were in place the entire hull was faired for the last time.
 
Chuck provides a template to align the sweep ports.  Here it is attached to the hull:
 

 
The template allows the ports to be marked with a pencil.  It is the planking which will actually define the ports later on:
 

 
Two items remain before planking above the wales begins.  Firstly, I need to construct and install 6 simulated sheaves to pass through the hull.  Then, some fun is at hand establishing the color for the ports and bulwarks...but first things first.
 
 

Always nice to have natural light, good looking shipyard.
 
Ben

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 12 –Frame Assembly 1
 
 
American Clipper Note: Rated tonnage rules based on length, breadth and depth of ships, used to assess tax on cargoes, retarded the development of fast merchant ships for a hundred years, perhaps longer.  Shippers, wanting hulls that could carry more than their rated tonnage - to reduce taxes on actual tonnage - created demand for the slow, “floating bathtub” designs that prevailed to mid-19th Century.  High profit margins, the result of two gold rushes and the lucrative China trade flipped the coin – enter the fast sailing clipper.  Extreme clippers, with their long sleek hulls, stiffened with massive internal structures, were often incapable of carrying even their rated tonnage.  The higher profit margins and the faster voyage times made the ships profitable in spite of the tax disadvantages.  Tonnage laws were eventually revised.
 
With the keel assembly constructed and set up on the shipway, the next major task will be framing.  There are many frames and I expect this will take months.  Earlier I described a frame assembly process trial and decided to proceed based on that.  In this part, assembly of one of the first frames is described.
 
The first picture shows the pattern being cut up into the segments to be pasted on to 14” thick pear stock.  This is the siding of the floors – the thickest pieces.  I intend to make all the frame timbers this size then machine off the upper futtocks (and the patterns) to the correct sidings after assembly and initial beveling.
 

 
The patterns include accurately placed bolt holes.  These are indexed on both the fore and aft frames in the pair to be used to align the parts.  All the frame pairs on the ship are bolted together on the respective frame line.
 
After cutting out all the pieces for the pair – in this case the fore and aft frames at line A – the outside profiles were sanded back closer to the line on the disk sander as shown below.
 

 
The ends of each timber were also sanded back square to the cut line on the pattern segment as shown in the next picture.
 

 
This sanding needs to be precise so the timbers butt neatly.  At this stage they are left slightly oversize.
 
In the next picture, bolt holes in one of the timbers is being drilled.  These holes need to be precisely located so the parts will fit accurately.  The holes are, of course, first center marked as accurately as possible.
 

 
In the next picture the floor of the forward face is being pinned to the pattern with the pattern side down. 
 

 
The pins are centered as shown on the bolt hole centers on the pattern.  The pins and holes are sized for a sliding fit.
 
After fitting and pinning all the forward frame timbers to the pattern,  the aft frame timbers are pinned through the holes with the pattern side up as shown below.
 

 
After all the aft timbers have been fitted and pinned on top of the forward frame, final assembly can begin.  The next picture shows the second of the two lower futtocks to be glued down.
 

 
The lower futtock to the right has been glued and nailed down tight with the pins.  Small blocks of soft wood were used to allow the pins to be removed more easily and without damage to the frame. The futtock to the left = being glued - was set with its pins in the holes before the dark glue was applied.  In the picture it is ready to be nailed down into place.
 
In the next picture all of the aft frame timbers have been progressively glued into place.
 

 
When the glue has dried the frame will be removed for some clean-up, beveling, machining to the correct sidings at each level and bolting.  I will show this in the next part(s?)
 
There will be 50 full square frame pairs like this one to be made.  This excludes the 19 pairs of half frames and the 11 pairs of cant frames at the ends of the ship.
 
Ed
 
 

Hi Ben and thanks. It was good to see you back at the echo cross section but no nothing
from me on the echo right now. That’s a story I’ll have to post there sometime soon.
 
Here are all of the floor riders constructed. Then I took and numbered each one as they would
be unique as I'm sanding them to fit both the hull frames and the mortar deck clamp.
 

 

 

 
Once they are finished and in place it will time to put the limited inboard hull planking.

Really interesting, I love these fast racing ships, such beautiful lines and what a spread of canvas. I will watch your build with interest.
 
Ben

Finally managed to spend a couple of hours in the shipyard, seems like years but I should start to get more time now that the weather has changed and work on the house has been completed.
 
I installed the gun/sweep port sills and lintles, removed the temp spacers below the gunport, and have started fairing it all down. I started with 100 grit, then 220 and now at 320. When finished I will install the keelson and the ribband, remove the rest of the temp spacers and add the last piece of frame above the gunport.
 
ben

Finally managed to spend a couple of hours in the shipyard, seems like years but I should start to get more time now that the weather has changed and work on the house has been completed.
 
I installed the gun/sweep port sills and lintles, removed the temp spacers below the gunport, and have started fairing it all down. I started with 100 grit, then 220 and now at 320. When finished I will install the keelson and the ribband, remove the rest of the temp spacers and add the last piece of frame above the gunport.
 
ben

Finally managed to spend a couple of hours in the shipyard, seems like years but I should start to get more time now that the weather has changed and work on the house has been completed.
 
I installed the gun/sweep port sills and lintles, removed the temp spacers below the gunport, and have started fairing it all down. I started with 100 grit, then 220 and now at 320. When finished I will install the keelson and the ribband, remove the rest of the temp spacers and add the last piece of frame above the gunport.
 
ben

Finally managed to spend a couple of hours in the shipyard, seems like years but I should start to get more time now that the weather has changed and work on the house has been completed.
 
I installed the gun/sweep port sills and lintles, removed the temp spacers below the gunport, and have started fairing it all down. I started with 100 grit, then 220 and now at 320. When finished I will install the keelson and the ribband, remove the rest of the temp spacers and add the last piece of frame above the gunport.
 
ben

OK, I couldn't stay out of the shop so here's a small update
 
The hances and midship rails have been completed.  These will act as a substrate for the hull planking to come.  Fairing the hances to the hull shape was challenging (I won't mention the pencil sander again) but test planks seem to lie nicely at this point:
 

 
Next up will be laying out the sweep ports.  There is a half cord of lumber, 3/8" square, that needs to be fitted between the bulkheads and faired prior to laying these out.  Keep a weather eye out for a cloud of sawdust over the Rockies  
 

I took a long break from the longboat while I went back to the rigging of my SFII, now that build is in dry dock awaiting parts so I am back to the longboat.
Worked on the mast this week, got it cut and tapered, and the sheaves drilled in it
Then went to work on the "iron" bands. This was only my 2nd attempt at soldering, I originally bade the bands and tried using CA, but I worried, from previous experience, that the glue would not hold up to the pressure of the lines so I decided to remake them and solder them together.
 
"raw" soldered bands

 
I then drilled the holes needed in the bands, cut them to size and tried my hand at blackening them...I think they turned out pretty darn good for me

 
Next was painting the mast

 
I also spent time this week, getting the longboat mounted on the pedestals and making sure it was level

 
The mast step I fashioned...probably cant tell from the photo but I did NOT want the mast just glued to the top of the step, and I feared a tenon would still not be structurally sound enough, so my step is a bit thicker than 1/16 and I drilled a hole through the center so my mast sits down inside the step. I feel this will give it better stability when I start pulling rope through it it and placing pressure on it.

 
how she sits now

OK, that's it.  I'm closing down the shipyard.  Rumours of planking, speculation on next ship, specters of the dark side.  This place is getting like Saturday Nite Live    .
 
In truth, all that's happened is that I've managed to keep the universally feared "Oh s_ _ t_"  to one every other day rather than 2 per hour.
 
Be back when the snow flies (Monday)