Keith Black

First and foremost, to any that I offended during my first visit, my most sincere apologies! I came here loaded with an abundance of ignorance and I didn't try to hide it.
 Approximately three weeks after my original posting on January 14th, 2017 I had a stroke. I lost 30% of the vision in my right eye and my left hand was completely paralyzed. In fact, my stroke occurred while I was working on the Tennessee lifeboats. 
 Through the grace of God and dedicated physical therapist, I recovered the full use of my left hand. The vision in my right eye will remain at a negative 30% the rest of my life. 
 During recovery I vowed that should I regain the use of left hand, I would set about to make the Tennessee as right as I possibly could given the short comings of the hull, 10 inches too short and an inch to wide at the beam.
 For a year I tried to learn as much about the Tennessee as I could pouring over the Hatton and Hart photographs of scenes onboard the Tennessee, seeking out photographs other wood hull screw frigates, models, books and picture postcards. January of this year I stripped the model down to the bare hull and started over. This has been my therapy and what's kept my juices flowing
 Coming back two years later is just as awe inspiring as was my first time here. What you folks can do, the magic you fingers work leaves me in utter amazement!  
 I post a couple of pictures of my efforts to date, not so much as "look what I've done" but to complete a circle, to apologize, and to thank each and everyone here whom it was my pleasure to meet. 

Thank you Talos, I've thought of you many times as I poured over the link to images of the Tennessee you provided. 
 So you're thought is that the four rectangles (eagle in the middle of the four) are all gun ports? I could see that being the case for the top two but the bottom two? Wouldn't that mean they'ed be in the middle of and taking space away from the officers quarters? Also there's the color difference between covers of the top two and bottom two, plus the top two covers seem to stand proud from the hull where as the bottom two covers seem to be flush.  
I for sure don't know but I'll happily cut and make them all gun ports if that's your verdict. I just wanted to make sure before taking the knife to the hull. Thank you again..........Keith

Welcome back Kieth. Glad that you've had a good recovery.

Can you find a larger photo or circle the area in question?   That whole area looks in shadow.

Nice, clean workmanship of an interesting subject.
 
Roger

Welcome back, Keith and it's great the recovery went well.   The model looks great.

First off, welcome back, I'm glad to hear about your recovery and see you back here.
 
As for the picture, do you mean the white rectangle right next to the eagle? That's the inside of the lower half of the port spardeck stern gunport.  The darker ones below are the black outsides of the two main deck stern ports, which are reflecting light because they are openly partially opened. In your lightened one you can just barely see the lower half of the portside port almost on edge with the camera. 
 
Tennessee had a round stern, where the timbers of the sides wrapped around the back continuously. This meant that instead of the open light structure and the array of windows like the stern of the frigate Constitution and other older ships, which were a major weak point (raking), it was as robust as the sides of the ship. It also meant that they could fit ports in the stern to cover the large blind spots on the quarters of the ships (roughly forty-five degrees back on either side of the ship). The sloop Constellation in Baltimore has a similar, but earlier form of this stern.
 
Though the ship is smaller and lacks the quarter galleries, you can see two similar gunports on either side of the sloop Hartford's stern eagle here.

First and foremost, to any that I offended during my first visit, my most sincere apologies! I came here loaded with an abundance of ignorance and I didn't try to hide it.
 Approximately three weeks after my original posting on January 14th, 2017 I had a stroke. I lost 30% of the vision in my right eye and my left hand was completely paralyzed. In fact, my stroke occurred while I was working on the Tennessee lifeboats. 
 Through the grace of God and dedicated physical therapist, I recovered the full use of my left hand. The vision in my right eye will remain at a negative 30% the rest of my life. 
 During recovery I vowed that should I regain the use of left hand, I would set about to make the Tennessee as right as I possibly could given the short comings of the hull, 10 inches too short and an inch to wide at the beam.
 For a year I tried to learn as much about the Tennessee as I could pouring over the Hatton and Hart photographs of scenes onboard the Tennessee, seeking out photographs other wood hull screw frigates, models, books and picture postcards. January of this year I stripped the model down to the bare hull and started over. This has been my therapy and what's kept my juices flowing
 Coming back two years later is just as awe inspiring as was my first time here. What you folks can do, the magic you fingers work leaves me in utter amazement!  
 I post a couple of pictures of my efforts to date, not so much as "look what I've done" but to complete a circle, to apologize, and to thank each and everyone here whom it was my pleasure to meet. 

I've lightened but I don't have photoshop capabilities. 

Thank you for the welcome back and kind words, it means more than you'll ever know. 
 This is supposed to be the stern of the Tennessee. Anyone know what the element is directly next to the eagle's port side wing tip? Bath? The two elements below the eagle in line with the officer's latrines above? Flags? Thank you........Keith
 

First and foremost, to any that I offended during my first visit, my most sincere apologies! I came here loaded with an abundance of ignorance and I didn't try to hide it.
 Approximately three weeks after my original posting on January 14th, 2017 I had a stroke. I lost 30% of the vision in my right eye and my left hand was completely paralyzed. In fact, my stroke occurred while I was working on the Tennessee lifeboats. 
 Through the grace of God and dedicated physical therapist, I recovered the full use of my left hand. The vision in my right eye will remain at a negative 30% the rest of my life. 
 During recovery I vowed that should I regain the use of left hand, I would set about to make the Tennessee as right as I possibly could given the short comings of the hull, 10 inches too short and an inch to wide at the beam.
 For a year I tried to learn as much about the Tennessee as I could pouring over the Hatton and Hart photographs of scenes onboard the Tennessee, seeking out photographs other wood hull screw frigates, models, books and picture postcards. January of this year I stripped the model down to the bare hull and started over. This has been my therapy and what's kept my juices flowing
 Coming back two years later is just as awe inspiring as was my first time here. What you folks can do, the magic you fingers work leaves me in utter amazement!  
 I post a couple of pictures of my efforts to date, not so much as "look what I've done" but to complete a circle, to apologize, and to thank each and everyone here whom it was my pleasure to meet. 

Thank you for the welcome back and kind words, it means more than you'll ever know. 
 This is supposed to be the stern of the Tennessee. Anyone know what the element is directly next to the eagle's port side wing tip? Bath? The two elements below the eagle in line with the officer's latrines above? Flags? Thank you........Keith
 

First and foremost, to any that I offended during my first visit, my most sincere apologies! I came here loaded with an abundance of ignorance and I didn't try to hide it.
 Approximately three weeks after my original posting on January 14th, 2017 I had a stroke. I lost 30% of the vision in my right eye and my left hand was completely paralyzed. In fact, my stroke occurred while I was working on the Tennessee lifeboats. 
 Through the grace of God and dedicated physical therapist, I recovered the full use of my left hand. The vision in my right eye will remain at a negative 30% the rest of my life. 
 During recovery I vowed that should I regain the use of left hand, I would set about to make the Tennessee as right as I possibly could given the short comings of the hull, 10 inches too short and an inch to wide at the beam.
 For a year I tried to learn as much about the Tennessee as I could pouring over the Hatton and Hart photographs of scenes onboard the Tennessee, seeking out photographs other wood hull screw frigates, models, books and picture postcards. January of this year I stripped the model down to the bare hull and started over. This has been my therapy and what's kept my juices flowing
 Coming back two years later is just as awe inspiring as was my first time here. What you folks can do, the magic you fingers work leaves me in utter amazement!  
 I post a couple of pictures of my efforts to date, not so much as "look what I've done" but to complete a circle, to apologize, and to thank each and everyone here whom it was my pleasure to meet. 

First and foremost, to any that I offended during my first visit, my most sincere apologies! I came here loaded with an abundance of ignorance and I didn't try to hide it.
 Approximately three weeks after my original posting on January 14th, 2017 I had a stroke. I lost 30% of the vision in my right eye and my left hand was completely paralyzed. In fact, my stroke occurred while I was working on the Tennessee lifeboats. 
 Through the grace of God and dedicated physical therapist, I recovered the full use of my left hand. The vision in my right eye will remain at a negative 30% the rest of my life. 
 During recovery I vowed that should I regain the use of left hand, I would set about to make the Tennessee as right as I possibly could given the short comings of the hull, 10 inches too short and an inch to wide at the beam.
 For a year I tried to learn as much about the Tennessee as I could pouring over the Hatton and Hart photographs of scenes onboard the Tennessee, seeking out photographs other wood hull screw frigates, models, books and picture postcards. January of this year I stripped the model down to the bare hull and started over. This has been my therapy and what's kept my juices flowing
 Coming back two years later is just as awe inspiring as was my first time here. What you folks can do, the magic you fingers work leaves me in utter amazement!  
 I post a couple of pictures of my efforts to date, not so much as "look what I've done" but to complete a circle, to apologize, and to thank each and everyone here whom it was my pleasure to meet. 

First and foremost, to any that I offended during my first visit, my most sincere apologies! I came here loaded with an abundance of ignorance and I didn't try to hide it.
 Approximately three weeks after my original posting on January 14th, 2017 I had a stroke. I lost 30% of the vision in my right eye and my left hand was completely paralyzed. In fact, my stroke occurred while I was working on the Tennessee lifeboats. 
 Through the grace of God and dedicated physical therapist, I recovered the full use of my left hand. The vision in my right eye will remain at a negative 30% the rest of my life. 
 During recovery I vowed that should I regain the use of left hand, I would set about to make the Tennessee as right as I possibly could given the short comings of the hull, 10 inches too short and an inch to wide at the beam.
 For a year I tried to learn as much about the Tennessee as I could pouring over the Hatton and Hart photographs of scenes onboard the Tennessee, seeking out photographs other wood hull screw frigates, models, books and picture postcards. January of this year I stripped the model down to the bare hull and started over. This has been my therapy and what's kept my juices flowing
 Coming back two years later is just as awe inspiring as was my first time here. What you folks can do, the magic you fingers work leaves me in utter amazement!  
 I post a couple of pictures of my efforts to date, not so much as "look what I've done" but to complete a circle, to apologize, and to thank each and everyone here whom it was my pleasure to meet. 

First and foremost, to any that I offended during my first visit, my most sincere apologies! I came here loaded with an abundance of ignorance and I didn't try to hide it.
 Approximately three weeks after my original posting on January 14th, 2017 I had a stroke. I lost 30% of the vision in my right eye and my left hand was completely paralyzed. In fact, my stroke occurred while I was working on the Tennessee lifeboats. 
 Through the grace of God and dedicated physical therapist, I recovered the full use of my left hand. The vision in my right eye will remain at a negative 30% the rest of my life. 
 During recovery I vowed that should I regain the use of left hand, I would set about to make the Tennessee as right as I possibly could given the short comings of the hull, 10 inches too short and an inch to wide at the beam.
 For a year I tried to learn as much about the Tennessee as I could pouring over the Hatton and Hart photographs of scenes onboard the Tennessee, seeking out photographs other wood hull screw frigates, models, books and picture postcards. January of this year I stripped the model down to the bare hull and started over. This has been my therapy and what's kept my juices flowing
 Coming back two years later is just as awe inspiring as was my first time here. What you folks can do, the magic you fingers work leaves me in utter amazement!  
 I post a couple of pictures of my efforts to date, not so much as "look what I've done" but to complete a circle, to apologize, and to thank each and everyone here whom it was my pleasure to meet. 

First and foremost, to any that I offended during my first visit, my most sincere apologies! I came here loaded with an abundance of ignorance and I didn't try to hide it.
 Approximately three weeks after my original posting on January 14th, 2017 I had a stroke. I lost 30% of the vision in my right eye and my left hand was completely paralyzed. In fact, my stroke occurred while I was working on the Tennessee lifeboats. 
 Through the grace of God and dedicated physical therapist, I recovered the full use of my left hand. The vision in my right eye will remain at a negative 30% the rest of my life. 
 During recovery I vowed that should I regain the use of left hand, I would set about to make the Tennessee as right as I possibly could given the short comings of the hull, 10 inches too short and an inch to wide at the beam.
 For a year I tried to learn as much about the Tennessee as I could pouring over the Hatton and Hart photographs of scenes onboard the Tennessee, seeking out photographs other wood hull screw frigates, models, books and picture postcards. January of this year I stripped the model down to the bare hull and started over. This has been my therapy and what's kept my juices flowing
 Coming back two years later is just as awe inspiring as was my first time here. What you folks can do, the magic you fingers work leaves me in utter amazement!  
 I post a couple of pictures of my efforts to date, not so much as "look what I've done" but to complete a circle, to apologize, and to thank each and everyone here whom it was my pleasure to meet. 

First and foremost, to any that I offended during my first visit, my most sincere apologies! I came here loaded with an abundance of ignorance and I didn't try to hide it.
 Approximately three weeks after my original posting on January 14th, 2017 I had a stroke. I lost 30% of the vision in my right eye and my left hand was completely paralyzed. In fact, my stroke occurred while I was working on the Tennessee lifeboats. 
 Through the grace of God and dedicated physical therapist, I recovered the full use of my left hand. The vision in my right eye will remain at a negative 30% the rest of my life. 
 During recovery I vowed that should I regain the use of left hand, I would set about to make the Tennessee as right as I possibly could given the short comings of the hull, 10 inches too short and an inch to wide at the beam.
 For a year I tried to learn as much about the Tennessee as I could pouring over the Hatton and Hart photographs of scenes onboard the Tennessee, seeking out photographs other wood hull screw frigates, models, books and picture postcards. January of this year I stripped the model down to the bare hull and started over. This has been my therapy and what's kept my juices flowing
 Coming back two years later is just as awe inspiring as was my first time here. What you folks can do, the magic you fingers work leaves me in utter amazement!  
 I post a couple of pictures of my efforts to date, not so much as "look what I've done" but to complete a circle, to apologize, and to thank each and everyone here whom it was my pleasure to meet. 

Roger
 Thank you again.........KB

Toni
 The name, USS Tennessee, was written on paper (very small printing) and glued to both sides of the bow and maybe the stern. The bow for sure, the stern was illegible but a paper label was there. I'm 100% sure it's a representation of the Tennessee, just not a very accurate one thus the thoughts about it being a possible souvenir.
 I'm not changing it to be a particular ship as that's already determined, it's a model of the steam frigate USS Tennessee. What I am doing is making necessary replacements to scale that match the hull and mast. Instead of reproducing lost cannon to an inaccurate scale, I'm taking the cannon from the original lower deck ports, putting them in the correct scale carriage and placing them topside. Two of the three hatches covers have been lost. Instead of coping the hatch type that remains twice and duplicate another inaccuracy, why not make three correct hatch covers and remove the remaining inaccurate one? And if I'm going to remove the one remaining hatch cover, why not try to create at least one (if not two) companionway to the lower deck?  
 If I were 100% positive this model was a US made piece of folk art, i wouldn't have done anything to it except replace the rigging. But I don't believe that to be the case. Folk art is simple (we live in a 150 year old house surrounded with antiques and folk art) please note the close up picture and note the inside of the rails. That isn't simple by any means, hence my shying away from it being  a "folk art" piece.
 But as a stated earlier, this had become a toy in it's later life. Pieces were broken (I've fixed the majority of those) and pieces (not just one or two) went missing.
 I turn 70 in March, I have patience. I love history, I love to create, I love to restore things (a hobby from another life was restoring prewar English and American sports cars) I love to piddle away while my cat sleeps in the chair next to me. I've made the commitment to finish this project, if I'm unable to do so it will be because my ship has sailed, literally.
 Thank you for your concern, I appreciate that. Don't fear putting a damper on my enthusiasm, I've got about two hundred hours in this project thus far, I've got another six to nine months of work to do before I'm able to start rigging. I've never rigged a ship before so I'll need lots of help when I reach that stage. And I'm a realist. 
 Again, thank you Toni..........KB

I know I have the space to create one top deck companionway to the lower deck. How would you guys go about representing the opening without cutting into the deck? Paint a flat black rectangle the size of the opening and be done with it?..........KB

Ken
 The screw frigate USS Wampanoag (renamed the USS Florida on May 15th, 1869, the same day the Tennessee was renamed) is another interesting example from that era.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Wampanoag_(1864) 
 I'm amazed at the brevity of service of these ships. It had to be a costly period for not just the US, but navies around the globe as all were going from sail to mechanical driven vessels.
 I bet it was good business to be a scrapper during this period. The scrapyards is another area that would be fun and interesting to explore in detail........KB

Thank you Talos, that's very kind of you. 
 If you notice in the closeup photo I posted, the inside rails have vertical alternating types of wood, light and dark. This is purely a decorative feature and in no way represents the actual Tennessee. This would have been a real pain in the behind to do for decoration purposes only unless the builder was trying to enhance an area in which they limited amount of knowledge if any. "If I can't make it accurate, I'll make it fancy" and if this is in fact a souvenir, then "fancy" probably found a more willing market........KB

A huge "thank you" to each who provided information, pictures, and links. That's why I came, mission completed and successful. If someone would remove the "Steam frigate USS Tennessee" topic from the scratch build section I'd appreciate it. I'll not insult the fantastic, unbelievable work done by the members of this guild with a restoration log of my misshapen halfling.    That's not hurt feelings speaking, that's the respect I have for your abilities as a community............Keith

Roger
 Thank you again.........KB