tlevine

Well, a few days has turned into a few weeks.  I received my cup burrs.  They do a nice job of smoothing the ends of brass "bolts".  There are several sizes available, depending on the gauge of the wire.  I purchased my from Widget Supply, a company that sells hobby supplies.  While on the site I found a great sanding devise, a 1/2" disc sander for the Dremel with several grits.  I used to get these from Micromark, but they stopped selling them last year.  The disc sander is perfect for outside tapers and when you want a less aggressive sander than the drum sander.  I have no connection to the company, simply a pleased customer.
 

 
I have installed beam set 4.  Notches have been cut into the bulkhead walls for the carlings and ledges.  I am much happier with the bolt head on the fore mast partner after rounding them up and painting them.  Blackening was not possible in situ and I was pleased with how it turned out.  The hole in the deck aft of beam 5 is for the pin of the bit.
 

 

Well, a few days has turned into a few weeks.  I received my cup burrs.  They do a nice job of smoothing the ends of brass "bolts".  There are several sizes available, depending on the gauge of the wire.  I purchased my from Widget Supply, a company that sells hobby supplies.  While on the site I found a great sanding devise, a 1/2" disc sander for the Dremel with several grits.  I used to get these from Micromark, but they stopped selling them last year.  The disc sander is perfect for outside tapers and when you want a less aggressive sander than the drum sander.  I have no connection to the company, simply a pleased customer.
 

 
I have installed beam set 4.  Notches have been cut into the bulkhead walls for the carlings and ledges.  I am much happier with the bolt head on the fore mast partner after rounding them up and painting them.  Blackening was not possible in situ and I was pleased with how it turned out.  The hole in the deck aft of beam 5 is for the pin of the bit.
 

 

Well, a few days has turned into a few weeks.  I received my cup burrs.  They do a nice job of smoothing the ends of brass "bolts".  There are several sizes available, depending on the gauge of the wire.  I purchased my from Widget Supply, a company that sells hobby supplies.  While on the site I found a great sanding devise, a 1/2" disc sander for the Dremel with several grits.  I used to get these from Micromark, but they stopped selling them last year.  The disc sander is perfect for outside tapers and when you want a less aggressive sander than the drum sander.  I have no connection to the company, simply a pleased customer.
 

 
I have installed beam set 4.  Notches have been cut into the bulkhead walls for the carlings and ledges.  I am much happier with the bolt head on the fore mast partner after rounding them up and painting them.  Blackening was not possible in situ and I was pleased with how it turned out.  The hole in the deck aft of beam 5 is for the pin of the bit.
 

 

Well, a few days has turned into a few weeks.  I received my cup burrs.  They do a nice job of smoothing the ends of brass "bolts".  There are several sizes available, depending on the gauge of the wire.  I purchased my from Widget Supply, a company that sells hobby supplies.  While on the site I found a great sanding devise, a 1/2" disc sander for the Dremel with several grits.  I used to get these from Micromark, but they stopped selling them last year.  The disc sander is perfect for outside tapers and when you want a less aggressive sander than the drum sander.  I have no connection to the company, simply a pleased customer.
 

 
I have installed beam set 4.  Notches have been cut into the bulkhead walls for the carlings and ledges.  I am much happier with the bolt head on the fore mast partner after rounding them up and painting them.  Blackening was not possible in situ and I was pleased with how it turned out.  The hole in the deck aft of beam 5 is for the pin of the bit.
 

 

Well, a few days has turned into a few weeks.  I received my cup burrs.  They do a nice job of smoothing the ends of brass "bolts".  There are several sizes available, depending on the gauge of the wire.  I purchased my from Widget Supply, a company that sells hobby supplies.  While on the site I found a great sanding devise, a 1/2" disc sander for the Dremel with several grits.  I used to get these from Micromark, but they stopped selling them last year.  The disc sander is perfect for outside tapers and when you want a less aggressive sander than the drum sander.  I have no connection to the company, simply a pleased customer.
 

 
I have installed beam set 4.  Notches have been cut into the bulkhead walls for the carlings and ledges.  I am much happier with the bolt head on the fore mast partner after rounding them up and painting them.  Blackening was not possible in situ and I was pleased with how it turned out.  The hole in the deck aft of beam 5 is for the pin of the bit.
 

 

Well, a few days has turned into a few weeks.  I received my cup burrs.  They do a nice job of smoothing the ends of brass "bolts".  There are several sizes available, depending on the gauge of the wire.  I purchased my from Widget Supply, a company that sells hobby supplies.  While on the site I found a great sanding devise, a 1/2" disc sander for the Dremel with several grits.  I used to get these from Micromark, but they stopped selling them last year.  The disc sander is perfect for outside tapers and when you want a less aggressive sander than the drum sander.  I have no connection to the company, simply a pleased customer.
 

 
I have installed beam set 4.  Notches have been cut into the bulkhead walls for the carlings and ledges.  I am much happier with the bolt head on the fore mast partner after rounding them up and painting them.  Blackening was not possible in situ and I was pleased with how it turned out.  The hole in the deck aft of beam 5 is for the pin of the bit.
 

 

The hand is mostly healed so I was able to get a little work done this weekend.
 
The fore mast partner is located between beams 2 and 3.  Unlike the lower deck, the fore and main partners on the upper deck are complicated affairs.  The carlings are let into the beam from below but stop one inch below the top of the beam.  Fore and aft cross chocks are mortised into the carlings and the beams.  Finally, the four corner chocks  are mortised into the cross chocks and the carlings.  The cross chocks have a round-up to match the beams.  A total of 32 bolts hold this assembly together.  Sorry for the picture quality but these were taken before I finish sanded and cleaned up the assembly.  The blue discoloration is from the droplet of blackener I put on one of the bolts that was damaged during insertion.  I put plain water on the area later and it is not longer a problem.
 

 

 

 

 
The completed assembly is glued to beam 3 but dry-fit to beam 2.  The brass wire will keep the assembly in place as I make the knees and carlings.  You can see that the blue color is gone.
 

 

 
I have started work on the beam 3 assembly.  The lodging knees are attached to the beam but everything else is simply press fit in place.  I was lucky enough to have bright sun to take pictures in.  Yes, I know, light overcast is best to prevent shadows.  But sunlight picks up gaps and other irregularities better.  You can see the difference between beam set 2, which is finished and glued and beam set 3 which is still in the "rough" stage.
 

 

Well, a few days has turned into a few weeks.  I received my cup burrs.  They do a nice job of smoothing the ends of brass "bolts".  There are several sizes available, depending on the gauge of the wire.  I purchased my from Widget Supply, a company that sells hobby supplies.  While on the site I found a great sanding devise, a 1/2" disc sander for the Dremel with several grits.  I used to get these from Micromark, but they stopped selling them last year.  The disc sander is perfect for outside tapers and when you want a less aggressive sander than the drum sander.  I have no connection to the company, simply a pleased customer.
 

 
I have installed beam set 4.  Notches have been cut into the bulkhead walls for the carlings and ledges.  I am much happier with the bolt head on the fore mast partner after rounding them up and painting them.  Blackening was not possible in situ and I was pleased with how it turned out.  The hole in the deck aft of beam 5 is for the pin of the bit.
 

 

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Hi guys and thanks for your kind word's. I finally have a little bit of a up date of Montagu. Work is keeping me very busy these days but did finally get the metal work done on her tiller. Do believe I will have to take the tiller out to get a good picture of it. Also have installed the sweep, gooseneck along with the tackle for the rope for the ships wheel. The plan is to try to install it like Ed did in one piece but being her wheel is two decks up might just not be the easies thing in the world but we will try. Enjoy the photo's folks hopefully I have more time in the future to work on her. Gary
 

 



 

I wanted to have the lower gudgeon and pintle assembly in place before I painted the model.  I decided on a technique that I had never used before. I may have "re-invented the wheel,"  but for me it was something new.  After removing the temper and oxidation from a strip of brass that was supplied with the kit, I bent it into the desired shape.  After applying some flux to the piece, I placed a strip of "sacrificial" wood in position, so that it would act as a dam.  Small bits of Stay-Brite solder were then placed inside the area and heated with a micro torch.

When the Stay-Brite melted, it had a tendency to bead up, and not completely fill the area.  I took a flat tool, and compressed the hot solder, forcing it to fill the void.

I then filed away the residue, and shaped the piece.


For the pintles, I opted to epoxy the pin in place, rather than include it in the soldering process.  I just felt that it would be a lot easier to file down the piece to its correct shape if the pin was installed afterwards.

For me, the hardest part of this procedure was getting the brass strips shaped exactly the way I wanted them, so they would fit properly around the stern post and rudder.  The rest of the technique was pretty straight forward.
 
BobF

Looking good.  The basswood is so soft that I was able to trim the excess frame height with a single edged razor.  Rotate the hull so that it is at 30-45 degrees from vertical.  This makes it easier to see and gets ones fingers out of the way.  Put a support under the hull and then use the razor to trim the top of the frame.

Richard, there are two issues here.  First, which woods are best suited to model building?  Second, which wood species look good together and (maybe) simulate the appearance of the prototype?  As far as the first question...any reasonably hard wood with minimal grain will work fine.  There are many builders who insist basswood is fine to use for hull planking.  Personally, I prefer to use hardwoods.  They cut cleaner, sand better and are more resistant to minor damage during the building process.  They, however, are more expensive and do not take paint as well as basswood.  Pear, swiss pear, costello boxwood, pau marfin, holly and satinwood come to mind for the lower hull planking.  For the wales and upperworks, wood with natural color (apple or cherry) or dyed/stained wood gives a nice contrast.  Check out the build logs or the gallery for a palate you find pleasing and contact the builder to find out what woods were employed.

Richard, there are two issues here.  First, which woods are best suited to model building?  Second, which wood species look good together and (maybe) simulate the appearance of the prototype?  As far as the first question...any reasonably hard wood with minimal grain will work fine.  There are many builders who insist basswood is fine to use for hull planking.  Personally, I prefer to use hardwoods.  They cut cleaner, sand better and are more resistant to minor damage during the building process.  They, however, are more expensive and do not take paint as well as basswood.  Pear, swiss pear, costello boxwood, pau marfin, holly and satinwood come to mind for the lower hull planking.  For the wales and upperworks, wood with natural color (apple or cherry) or dyed/stained wood gives a nice contrast.  Check out the build logs or the gallery for a palate you find pleasing and contact the builder to find out what woods were employed.

The hand is mostly healed so I was able to get a little work done this weekend.
 
The fore mast partner is located between beams 2 and 3.  Unlike the lower deck, the fore and main partners on the upper deck are complicated affairs.  The carlings are let into the beam from below but stop one inch below the top of the beam.  Fore and aft cross chocks are mortised into the carlings and the beams.  Finally, the four corner chocks  are mortised into the cross chocks and the carlings.  The cross chocks have a round-up to match the beams.  A total of 32 bolts hold this assembly together.  Sorry for the picture quality but these were taken before I finish sanded and cleaned up the assembly.  The blue discoloration is from the droplet of blackener I put on one of the bolts that was damaged during insertion.  I put plain water on the area later and it is not longer a problem.
 

 

 

 

 
The completed assembly is glued to beam 3 but dry-fit to beam 2.  The brass wire will keep the assembly in place as I make the knees and carlings.  You can see that the blue color is gone.
 

 

 
I have started work on the beam 3 assembly.  The lodging knees are attached to the beam but everything else is simply press fit in place.  I was lucky enough to have bright sun to take pictures in.  Yes, I know, light overcast is best to prevent shadows.  But sunlight picks up gaps and other irregularities better.  You can see the difference between beam set 2, which is finished and glued and beam set 3 which is still in the "rough" stage.
 

 

Hi Alex,
 
I am very pleased about your nice comment.
 
Here is an update of the report:
 
Completion of the fittings for the carronades.
So now the fittings are manufactured for the carronades. For assembling the brass parts still need to be blacked.
In the following picture you can see almost all the parts to build a Carronade.
 
All parts are now neatly sorted in a plastic box, ready for final assembly. Thus, over 50 items come together for a Carronade. For 20 carronades which means about 1000 parts.

Thanks you Chris and Sinan!
 
Two days later...
 

 
The plastic sheets are not covered with varnish now, so they looks just like plastik
 
Alex

There has been nothing to show for the last few weeks since I turned in my workshop and tools in for a tent and hiking boots. 
 

 
Now I am back and have started on the structures which sit on the lower deck.  My plan is to erect the fore and aft bulkheads first and then install the upper well. 
 
The foremost structure is a breast hook which is located between the lower and upper beams.  On the Mylar plan this is shown as a horizontal structure but on the NMM draft it is canted up 30 degrees.  This was made using a template out of 8" (scale) stock.  There are nine bolts that secure the breast hook to the frames.  Because of the angle, the bolts are all decorative.
 
The bulkheads are made of 2" x 6" material.  I made a sheet of eleven rows of planks long enough to fabricate all of the fore bulkheads (approx. 14" long).  The location of the various bulkheads was confirmed from the plan and was identical to the plan shown in the book.  The first five beams had to be temporarily installed so that notches could be cut into the bulkheads. I have attached pictures with the beams in place and removed to show the notches.  At this point, nothing has been permanently installed.  The next steps include fabrication of the lanterns and doors.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 

Ben and Tom thanks. 
 
I have installed the bed platforms (three aft and one fore).  These are simple structures with a higher edge medially to help prevent rolling out of bed in rough weather.  Once everything was glued in place I applied a single coat of Watco's.  As I may have mentioned before, it appears their formula may have changed because it is causing a significant yellowing of the wood.  With the Costello box it is not an unpleasant yellowing...almost an aging look.  Compare these pictures with the bare wood pictures on the preceding page.  But I am not sure it works well for the holly.  Well, I have several months to work that out.
 

 

 

The framing for the upper deck has started.  Hopefully it will look better than the lower deck framing.  The biggest difference between the two decks is that there are hanging knees at every beam, slowing down the process considerably.  In order to accurately mark the centerline I have wrapped a loop of thread through the ventilation spaces of the hawse pieces.  A second thread is secured to this loop and attached to the stem.
 

 
The carlings are dry-fit (and at least one of them needs replacing ) and still need their notches for the ledges cut.  The pillar has a tenon superiorly to fit into a mortise on the undersurface of the beam.  Inferiorly it is simply glued to the deck.  The large gap between the hanging knee and the frames occured because I have chosen to omit the ceiling below the deck clamps. 
 

The hand is mostly healed so I was able to get a little work done this weekend.
 
The fore mast partner is located between beams 2 and 3.  Unlike the lower deck, the fore and main partners on the upper deck are complicated affairs.  The carlings are let into the beam from below but stop one inch below the top of the beam.  Fore and aft cross chocks are mortised into the carlings and the beams.  Finally, the four corner chocks  are mortised into the cross chocks and the carlings.  The cross chocks have a round-up to match the beams.  A total of 32 bolts hold this assembly together.  Sorry for the picture quality but these were taken before I finish sanded and cleaned up the assembly.  The blue discoloration is from the droplet of blackener I put on one of the bolts that was damaged during insertion.  I put plain water on the area later and it is not longer a problem.
 

 

 

 

 
The completed assembly is glued to beam 3 but dry-fit to beam 2.  The brass wire will keep the assembly in place as I make the knees and carlings.  You can see that the blue color is gone.
 

 

 
I have started work on the beam 3 assembly.  The lodging knees are attached to the beam but everything else is simply press fit in place.  I was lucky enough to have bright sun to take pictures in.  Yes, I know, light overcast is best to prevent shadows.  But sunlight picks up gaps and other irregularities better.  You can see the difference between beam set 2, which is finished and glued and beam set 3 which is still in the "rough" stage.
 

 

The hand is mostly healed so I was able to get a little work done this weekend.
 
The fore mast partner is located between beams 2 and 3.  Unlike the lower deck, the fore and main partners on the upper deck are complicated affairs.  The carlings are let into the beam from below but stop one inch below the top of the beam.  Fore and aft cross chocks are mortised into the carlings and the beams.  Finally, the four corner chocks  are mortised into the cross chocks and the carlings.  The cross chocks have a round-up to match the beams.  A total of 32 bolts hold this assembly together.  Sorry for the picture quality but these were taken before I finish sanded and cleaned up the assembly.  The blue discoloration is from the droplet of blackener I put on one of the bolts that was damaged during insertion.  I put plain water on the area later and it is not longer a problem.
 

 

 

 

 
The completed assembly is glued to beam 3 but dry-fit to beam 2.  The brass wire will keep the assembly in place as I make the knees and carlings.  You can see that the blue color is gone.
 

 

 
I have started work on the beam 3 assembly.  The lodging knees are attached to the beam but everything else is simply press fit in place.  I was lucky enough to have bright sun to take pictures in.  Yes, I know, light overcast is best to prevent shadows.  But sunlight picks up gaps and other irregularities better.  You can see the difference between beam set 2, which is finished and glued and beam set 3 which is still in the "rough" stage.
 

 

The hand is mostly healed so I was able to get a little work done this weekend.
 
The fore mast partner is located between beams 2 and 3.  Unlike the lower deck, the fore and main partners on the upper deck are complicated affairs.  The carlings are let into the beam from below but stop one inch below the top of the beam.  Fore and aft cross chocks are mortised into the carlings and the beams.  Finally, the four corner chocks  are mortised into the cross chocks and the carlings.  The cross chocks have a round-up to match the beams.  A total of 32 bolts hold this assembly together.  Sorry for the picture quality but these were taken before I finish sanded and cleaned up the assembly.  The blue discoloration is from the droplet of blackener I put on one of the bolts that was damaged during insertion.  I put plain water on the area later and it is not longer a problem.
 

 

 

 

 
The completed assembly is glued to beam 3 but dry-fit to beam 2.  The brass wire will keep the assembly in place as I make the knees and carlings.  You can see that the blue color is gone.
 

 

 
I have started work on the beam 3 assembly.  The lodging knees are attached to the beam but everything else is simply press fit in place.  I was lucky enough to have bright sun to take pictures in.  Yes, I know, light overcast is best to prevent shadows.  But sunlight picks up gaps and other irregularities better.  You can see the difference between beam set 2, which is finished and glued and beam set 3 which is still in the "rough" stage.
 

 

The hand is mostly healed so I was able to get a little work done this weekend.
 
The fore mast partner is located between beams 2 and 3.  Unlike the lower deck, the fore and main partners on the upper deck are complicated affairs.  The carlings are let into the beam from below but stop one inch below the top of the beam.  Fore and aft cross chocks are mortised into the carlings and the beams.  Finally, the four corner chocks  are mortised into the cross chocks and the carlings.  The cross chocks have a round-up to match the beams.  A total of 32 bolts hold this assembly together.  Sorry for the picture quality but these were taken before I finish sanded and cleaned up the assembly.  The blue discoloration is from the droplet of blackener I put on one of the bolts that was damaged during insertion.  I put plain water on the area later and it is not longer a problem.
 

 

 

 

 
The completed assembly is glued to beam 3 but dry-fit to beam 2.  The brass wire will keep the assembly in place as I make the knees and carlings.  You can see that the blue color is gone.
 

 

 
I have started work on the beam 3 assembly.  The lodging knees are attached to the beam but everything else is simply press fit in place.  I was lucky enough to have bright sun to take pictures in.  Yes, I know, light overcast is best to prevent shadows.  But sunlight picks up gaps and other irregularities better.  You can see the difference between beam set 2, which is finished and glued and beam set 3 which is still in the "rough" stage.
 

 

The hand is mostly healed so I was able to get a little work done this weekend.
 
The fore mast partner is located between beams 2 and 3.  Unlike the lower deck, the fore and main partners on the upper deck are complicated affairs.  The carlings are let into the beam from below but stop one inch below the top of the beam.  Fore and aft cross chocks are mortised into the carlings and the beams.  Finally, the four corner chocks  are mortised into the cross chocks and the carlings.  The cross chocks have a round-up to match the beams.  A total of 32 bolts hold this assembly together.  Sorry for the picture quality but these were taken before I finish sanded and cleaned up the assembly.  The blue discoloration is from the droplet of blackener I put on one of the bolts that was damaged during insertion.  I put plain water on the area later and it is not longer a problem.
 

 

 

 

 
The completed assembly is glued to beam 3 but dry-fit to beam 2.  The brass wire will keep the assembly in place as I make the knees and carlings.  You can see that the blue color is gone.
 

 

 
I have started work on the beam 3 assembly.  The lodging knees are attached to the beam but everything else is simply press fit in place.  I was lucky enough to have bright sun to take pictures in.  Yes, I know, light overcast is best to prevent shadows.  But sunlight picks up gaps and other irregularities better.  You can see the difference between beam set 2, which is finished and glued and beam set 3 which is still in the "rough" stage.