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rwiederrich

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Everything posted by rwiederrich

  1. rwiederrich
    Now it gets attached to the yard band...the entire thing gets a coat of my world famous *It covers a multitude of sin* black paint.....and there I go. Ready to begin again and rigg more yards. Rob
  2. rwiederrich
    Some fashioning with the grinder to turn the little piece of metal into a functioning sheet block. Drill a hole for the pin....which will secure it and attach it to the yard. Rob
  3. rwiederrich
    That ridge with a little help from my 3D brain...bent over on itself..is the ticket. Now to cut several to work with. Rob
  4. rwiederrich
    Yeah...I'm feeling much better thanks everyone. I spent some time making more sheet blocks and at this scale 1/8" wide...these little buggers are fun. Here are some images of the process. It all begins with the necessary metal...and that turned out to be file folder clips....one uses for medical records. Just a little ingenuity, cutting and drilling....and using the natural pre-machined bends of that material....I fashioned the very things I needed. Rob
  5. rwiederrich
    That's what makes it all so magical. One persons brown is another persons black. So who is more accurate....I wonder? One thing is for sure......I have pages of data from your build and it aids me continually with my own. And that....my friend is wonderful. I wonder if these folks might think they are correct.
  6. rwiederrich
    It is unarguable that lanyards are for tightening the shrouds/back stays. Their appropriate tension is the goal to maintain erect, stable masts....and to counter the actions brought upon these members. One can say they are part of an immovable (set) system....others say they are available for adjustment due to warpage and or stretchage. I believe both notions are true. I also believe they had to be preserved in some fasion....to what extent can only been known by time travelers. Personally...I choose dark/black lanyards....for my esthetic eye as well as what I derive from thousands of images and paintings of the subject. Best part of all is that it is a subjective topic as is most of the finer details of these magnificent vessels. I stand behind Ed's conclusion for Ed and it works out wonderfully in the end. Rob
  7. rwiederrich
    I worked on the top gallant yard last night a bit...still need to add the sheet block to the lower topsail yard. Once I finish the royal yard I will then add the jackstays to both gallant and royal. Not yet decided if I will add all the yards and their lifts prior to stepping the mast. Just finish up the parrels for each yard, run the chair rope lifts(secure them), then step the mast...and then come back and rig the lower shrouds and lanyards. This method is quite new to me... but I have seen it done by other modelers. On the other hand....I like the idea of detailing the sail and her rigging to each yard prior to attaching them to the mast. I'll probably go that route. Later. Rob
  8. rwiederrich
    Rigging suffered as much as the hull and fixtures of any Sea going, deep water carrier. Hemp rope became stronger and less flexible with introduction to salt water. This is why it is reasonable to assume the lanyards, once set, were weather proofed(By tarring). Once the hemp line absorbed moisture...it was nearly impossible to adjust it through the wooden holes of the Deadeyes. Lanyards are part of the standing rigging...rigging that generally is not intended to be regularly adjusted...hence the term *standing* or fixed. In later models cable and turnbuckles replaced hemp...holding fast the masts in their stepped attitude....resistant of any bi-lateral movement. Stays are used in similar fasion...to prevent for and aft movement. Like a bunch of guy wires holding erect the towering masts. If one is diligent and observant, early photographic and even paintings will give evidence of blackened lanyards...which are and have always been part of the *Standing* rigging...and that rigging was always preserved with leather and a varying viscus concoction, known as tar...not like the black sticky, gooey stuff we heat up and put on roofs/roads....but a material more like thick oil. Historically....tar-jacks were what they called sailors who had the nasty job of applying this dark black/brown material to the standing rigging and they were easily identified by the smears of the material all over their uniforms....as they attempted to wipe it off their hands. The Royal Navy had issues with this problem and tried uniform changes from white cotton to dyed dark blue to hide the tar on the sailors trousers. Rob
  9. rwiederrich
    The best thing about the *clipper* design or model as it was known, is that it was for ever evolving. Narely two were ever a like(American that is), because all aspects of them, from their hull design to the rigging was in constant flux....for ever being changed, altered, modified to gain that extra knot. To beat out the next guy. Great fortunes were made on their speculation. And very specific markets were driving their owners to challenge the builders to be specific in design and function...cargo capacity was exchanged for speed in some models. Howes Rig became the norm as other designs, like Forbes and Linnell's found less application. But if one simply scans the model and comes across a feature they are not aware of, they criticize, unbeknownst to them. It was falsely determined that once the design was *discovered*, designers would settle in and produce good quality vessels..being satisfied with such. This was not the case. Ed's fine example is only one of many examples of the clipper design. Masterfully replicated to the best of his ability and with the best knowledge known of the design. HATS OFF! Ed! Rob
  10. rwiederrich
    Renowned Marine expert Hervey Garrett Smith in his Book, *The Arts of the Sailor...Knotting, Splicing and Ropework*. Mimics your sentiment concerning shroud lanyards. Rob
  11. rwiederrich
    Worked a bit today on the topsail yard. I also finalized my method for fabricating the iron sheet blocks for this model. They are only 1/8" wide..pinned and ready for both sheet chains to pass through. Rob
  12. rwiederrich
    Photos reveal all manner of irregularities.....and sloppy workmanship. I generally work in 1/96 and larger scales....1/128 makes things a bit smaller and harder to keep clean and sharp. Or am I just getting older with poorer vision and acuity ? Thanks for the fine compliment. I'll put more time into it tomorrow...today is honey-do day. Rob
  13. rwiederrich
    Spent a little time today working on the lower topsail yard and its lift and hardware Rob
  14. rwiederrich
    One thing I can surely say.....I'm not finicky when it comes to certain details. I worked on the lower topsail yard...adding bands and pad-eyes for blocks. I'll only install the securing band to the parrel when I'm ready to permanently secure the yard to the lower mast head. I think I'll finish up all the yards for each mast before I step the mast...its so much easier to work on them off model. Rob
  15. rwiederrich
    Thanks gentlemen.....I believe she needs a significant location and on the mantle in front of this particular painting...she will surely be on display......Until she has been dressed out with full canvas .... then she will be impeding the view of the painting and will probably be relocated to her own shelf (I will make for that purpose) to the right of the mantle. We'll see. I'll work on some yards tonight and post some images of that adventure. Rob
  16. rwiederrich
    Nicely executed Ed.
  17. rwiederrich
    Did a bit of work today on the GR main mast. I first finished up the shrouds and ratlines. Then hit the books for some reverification of the lift gin-blocks and I decided to rearrange them to a more suitable location *under* the mast cap..instead of along the cap. There needed to be a lift block I bolt mounted there...sooo.... I also finished up the addition of the spreader as well. Here are some images of the days work. I'll finish up the lift gin-block mod on the fore and mizzen later this week. The spanker mast has a bit of rigging to be done as well...so I'll tackle that when I do the gin-block mods. I think before I proceed in stepping the masts and rigging the main shrouds....I'll deviate and turn all the spars and get them banded and finish up the iron work on them. Rob
  18. rwiederrich
    Well I spent some time today working on the main mast shrouds....along with that I made several more gin-blocks for the lifts for the lower topsails. Here in the images you can see the added gin-blocks and I decided to test fit the main spar too. Just a bit more and then the ratlines.
  19. rwiederrich
    Well...as I predicted, my love has other things instore for me tonight....but I did get some pics of the mandrel I made for my saw blades. Here are some. this little tool makes cutting off material so much easier. I have 4 sizes of blades......the large and medium are shown here.
  20. rwiederrich
    Thanks Popeye....I couldn't be married to a more supportive woman.....and thanks for the ship compliments...I hope to get the mainmast finished up, so I can step the masts and begin on the main shrouds. I'll revisit the fore and mizzen masts to add some block eye bolts and a lower topmast iron gin-block. Rob
  21. rwiederrich
    Today I spent a bit of time in the model shop working on the top shrouds of the main mast....but I had to deviate to the metal shop and put in some lathe time, turning a mandril for my dental handpiece to hold small circular saw blades. Blades around 1/2"~ 1" in diameter...so I can more readily cut small wood and metal parts..without the heat and dust generated from my diamond cutters. I'll post images tomorrow. I hope to finish up the main mast then as well...we'll see. This is my anniversary week of 34 years...so my sweetheart might have other plans for me. Rob
  22. rwiederrich
    Ed....I remeasured with slight compression and was able to achieve .140. it looks right for 1/72 scale, but my GR at 1/128...I'll surely need smaller. I did find several spools of 100 silk....I might look into that. Thanks for everything. Rob
  23. rwiederrich
    Spent a bit of time experimenting with lift block construction and for the gin blocks for the tye chain rigging I made this metal block that will get painted. I'll need two per lower topsail for the Forbes rig. Typically you have one and the chain tye runs through the mast sheave and back down to another gin-block and then to the halliard and further down to the purchase blocks and belay pin. Since the Forbes system places the lower topsail parrel stropped to the main mast doubling there is no access for a mast sheave because of the proximity of the topmast aft doubling. So the tye must anchor at the cap, run down through the shackled first gin-block at the spar band, back up to the second gin-block at the cap head(to one side) and then down through the tops and on to the halliard. Here is my first gin-block....it's about 3/8" The chain is 42 lpi.
  24. rwiederrich
    I scour old garage and estate sales. Sometimes I get lucky Here is another.This is a replication of a famous painting I recall seeing. Rob
  25. rwiederrich
    Yikes...I must have measured my 10 wraps incorrectly...... I was not wanting to compress the rope so I cam up with .155". Making my rope at a scale of 1/128 to be around 6.22" rope. that's ginormous..... Maybe I need to make my first caliper reading a bit snugger? At your scale of 1/72 that makes about a 3.5" line. Rob

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