bruce d

Can you tell us in what country the ship was made? In the meantime, maybe you have seen this thread?

In 1789 Richard Prowse, Master Attendant, Woolwich dockyard, complained to the Navy Board that they... "...do not have a launch or lighter large enough to collect the provisions each month since the beer alone will weigh 8 tons"

Alan's thread on newspaper clippings inspired me. I will start with this extract from the Medical journal of D Parry, surgeon on HMS Adventure, 1799-1800. Folio 19: Edmund Aikes, landsman, aged 23; disease or hurt, insanity, a great deal of anxiety and melancholy without any apparent cause. Taken ill, 7 November, at Cowes. Discharged to Sick Quarters at Cowes, 7 November. Remarks that this man had been on board eight months and would not sleep in a hammock but slept standing up or over a gun. Although Captain Mansel flogged him 'on his posteriors once a week' he would not go to bed.

Solved!

Dare squowels and hound roles.

... and upset the locals in Australia. Really annoyed them. He was arrested and, if I recall correctly, nearly lynched. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Bligh

This is, in my opinion, an issue that crops up far more now in the digital age. Seeing examples of the work of the best builders was, until about twenty years ago, something that was only possible if you visited Naviga or Model Engineer exhibitions but now it is a few taps away on any phone. The result is artificially high standards and expectations with no immediate insight into the dedication required. Again, in my humble opinion, MSW is one of very few sources of the unvarnished version of the rest of the story as it relates to model ships. Good here, in'it?

Hi, it is a good question that has stumped many new to the hobby. The answer(s) are in the many posts in this same sub-forum, choose the ones that sit best with your intented projects. The answers to my related question some months ago may help:

Hello Paul, I suggest you read is: It is a serious subject and an informative thread. Regards, Bruce

Welcome to MSW, Paul. Strong seafaring heritage in your area, I take it you have visited the Calvert Museum in The Solomans? I was surprised a few years ago to be able to walk around the ship-modeller's workshop (while they worked!) when touring the museum.

There is a 'trick' using a floating head holding a bit, I think it is known as a 'Rolo' or 'Rollo' or something that sounds like that. The biit has three flutes and it gives a square hole: four flutes, a pentagon and so on, always one side on the finished hole more than the number of flutes. I saw one used once and it seemed almost supernatural but it works! (google it) You know, somehow this isn't as much fun as talking about food.

Ever been to Oklahoma?

I am still stumped by 'Pie are square'. Everyone knows pie are round; cornbread are square.

Masa, welcome to MSW. You are not alone now! Your comments about mast methods sound interesting and the stern-wheeler looks good. Regards, Bruce

Welcome aboard. It is a great place.

Ab, I must just repeat how grateful I am for this tutorial. It is an eye-opener, I did not think I would ever tackle any 3D modelling software, but maybe an old dog can learn new tricks. Bruce

Hello Chris and welcome to MSW. Someone who knows the Medway Longboat first-hand will no doubt give you an answer but it sounds like you have seen the build logs and haven't been scared away: that's a good starting point. I'm like you, my first project jitters are all about the rigging. Bruce

This is getting interesting.

Hello Max, I may be able to shed some light on this problem. The logs for smaller ships for that period have not survived except for a few scattered examples. Spey was not one of the chosen examples. The background story is a sorry tale: in the 1950's someone made a decision way above their pay grade and ordered the destruction of thousands of documents, mostly the logs of smaller ships, because the space was needed. The logs of larger ships went to another location because they were the only ones, in his opinion, that were of potential interest. The National Archives at Kew is where the surviving logs are kept and you are right, there are no logs from Spey held there. However, depending on what you are looking for, there are other files that may be very useful. The work done by escort and support craft was summarised in a number of places and Spey is recorded as escort in a number of convoys. This is visible in the descriptions that appear in the online catalogue (apologies if you have already established this): https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/results/r/2?_ep=Spey&_cr=adm&_dss=range&_sd=1939&_ed=1945&_ro=any&_st=adv I have narrowed the search to the ADM series of records between 1939 and 1945 using 'SPEY' as 'FIND ALL'. Most of the hits are around the role of SPEY as a convoy escort. Where there are 'Honours and Awards', such as ... https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C4850659 ... you will find a report of the action concerned (in this case the sinking of U-386 and U-406) by the commander of the SPEY and possibly other participants. The 'Report of Proceedings' in this one ... https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C17067733 ... describes a convoy and includes the part played by SPEY. There are other sources for more specific issues such as crew, where based, movements etc. that can be viewed in person at Kew. To find these is a little more work because the name SPEY will not appear in their digitised description: the files include SPEY as part of their narrative but are not about SPEY in particular. So, depending on what you want to know, it is possible the information within the files at Kew may be sufficient. If you want to follow this path of breadcrumbs, send me a PM. I was a researcher at Kew, now retired, and may be able to help you 'cut to the chase'. Hope this helps, and again, sorry if I am covering ground already familiar to you. Regards, Bruce

Thanks Bob, very interesting. The book opens to a page with a cut-off machine, is the bandsaw process you describe somewhere else in the book? Couldn't find it. I used to read these every month, wish I had retained it all!

Mustafa, good job, I like your results with the blocks and rigging. Well done.

The author has good credentials: Neil Wyatt is editor of "Model Engineers' Workshop" magazine.

Some plastic chucks are made for the 'UNIMAT 1' lathe which has been discussed before. I had one of these plastic chucks in a drawer somewhere with M12x1 mounting, the same as a Unimat SL/DB, so I tried it. Surprisingly, it was fine for turning light work such as softwoods. No surprise, however, was that as soon as I tried a fruitwood, I believe it was cherry, I needed extra clamping pressure on the jaws to keep the workpiece stable. This is not good news for a plastic chuck. Next was brass and only very light cuts could be attempted. So the plastic chuck is back in a drawer, ready to be sacrificed if ever a one-off job requires it. By the way, I am not certain but the plastic looked like polystyrene. The injection moulding ejector pin marks are clearly visible on the front edge of each jaw. The plastic can be cut easily with any sharp piece of metal. I don't think anyone except a child should rely on these as everyday chucks. The main question for anyone choosing a lathe remains the same as choosing any other tool: what do you want to do with it? Chucks made entirely of plastic are seldom part of the answer. HTH, just my opinion. Bruce

Bravo. A big "well done" to all concerned.

Understood. Many thanks.