wangshuoliurui

Amazing work Ed,
 
it its a fantastic built ship through and through...
 
Nils

Thank you all for the comments and likes. 
 
I am glad to see your big smile Micheal, and of course I am always glad when druxey is smiling.  Progress has been brisk  and perhaps, as Allan says, the winter weather has something to do with it - snow blowing breaks notwithstanding.
 
I don't know about fine art, Mark, but I do worship the learning curve.
 
Ed

I'm smiling as I look and read your log, Ed - yet again.

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 107 – Lower Hull Work
 
I finally finished the hull planking this week and got some other tasks well along.  The first picture shows the full extent of the planking on the port side – as yet unpainted..
 

 
The deck is still masked for painting the white inside bulwarks.  That work is now also finished and the installation of the painted waterways can proceed.
 
The next picture shows some of the seemingly endless task of treenailing the planking.
 

 
This work, too, is now complete on both sides of the hull.  The picture also shows work on the rudder gudgeons.  These were made by first silver soldering a tube into a groove in a sheet of .032” brass.  The rough gudgeons were then ripped off on the circular saw as shown below.
 

 
The .032” brass – about 2 ½” at 1:72 – is too thick for the straps, but allowed the thick area at the hinge to be shaped.  The 6” wide straps were then bent and filed back to about 1” thick.  The next picture shows the bottom four installed using small brass nails.
 

 
The 16” aft face or the stern post is notched to receive the 6” wide gudgeons.  These were aligned when being fitted by a stiff, straight rod through the holes.  The end of the rod will mark the final center of the round helm opening – which must be on the hinge centerline.
 
The next picture shows the gudgeons on the starboard side. 
 

 
The top one will be installed after this side is painted.  Some of the lowest rows of “yellow metal” sheathing have been installed around the gudgeon.  This will be the only gudgeon requiring this, since this is the lowest of the planking at the stern.  The top of sheathing line – parallel and slightly above the load waterline - can be seen in this picture.  There will be several rows of sheathing.  The top row will be on the straight, horizontal sheathing line.  The strakes below will follow the planking shear and “gore” into this top strake. 
 
The brass plates were cut from .002” brass.  The nailing pattern was embossed into the plates used an embossing device.  The picture below shows the nail pattern being drilled in a wood block to make this.
 

 
The thickness of the block was sized carefully to allow small steel nails to be inserted from the underside.  The tips protrude just enough to impart the pattern when stamped as shown below.
 

 
Stamping these plates is almost as thrilling as treenailing.  Fortunately there are only about a half-dozen rows. A close up of the first few stamped plates is shown in the last photo.
 

 
After the pine stamping block “breaks in” the dimples become more regular.  These are like little cheese graters.  They are fastened with contact cement – another enjoyable task.  After making and installing 3700 of these my Victory model, I swore I wouldn’t do this again – but that was in 1978.
  
Ed

Just beautiful work Ed!  Interesting to see the use of sculpting epoxy.  I've heard of sculpting putty,but not epoxy.  Didn't even know that stuff existed. Nice!
 
Cheers 

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 103 – Planking and Wales continued
 
The work proceeds apace.  Post-holiday lull and the winter weather helps.  Work on the lower hull requires either some gymnastics or some other support for the model.  The first picture shows the simple setup that allows the model to be tilted as needed – a very un-shipyard-like look.
 

 
The wale on this side is about one-half planked in this picture.  The next picture shows the wale planks converging at the lowest perimeter strake at the stern.
 

 
The brass rod is the diameter of the gudgeon eyes and is being used to mark the center of the helm port by laying it on the sternpost.  In the next picture a hole for the port has been roughed out.
 

 
The rudder head was round and was encased at the port in a sleeve – wood or iron – to prevent ingress of water.  The diameter of the rudder shaft was 16” – matching the sternpost.  With the sleeve the opening will take up much of the area as yet unplanked.  I decided to fill the area with a single chock as shown in the next picture.
 

 
A circular opening for the sleeve and rudder head will be cut through this later.  In the next picture the hole has been centered.
 

 
Additional wale strakes are being added in this picture.  In the next picture the final piece on the port side has been boiled and is being fitted to dry.
 

 
The planks on this side are being stepped back at each frame to allow the stern area to be completed without adding more strakes on this unplanked side.  Hence these last two pieces are very short – the lowest will be half the length shown.
 
The next picture shows the final wale strake in place at the stern on the starboard side.
 

 
This side will be planked down below the waterline so there are more strakes to be fitted at the stern.  These will diminish down to the thickness of the common lower planking.
 
I don’t want to use this forum to pitch the forthcoming book, but I feel that a few words are in order, since several people have asked about it. 
 
Bob Friedman of Seawatchbooks and I were both quite enthused about a book on American clipper ship modeling.  We both felt this was a neglected area.  However, I had some concerns about another “full framing” methodology book that would be a rehash of previous material.  I was also concerned about writing a book about a large, fairly advanced structural model that would probably appeal mainly to a small slice of experienced modelers.
 
 It took some time for me to resolve these issues and decide to write the book – two books hopefully – the first on modeling the hull and the second on masting and rigging. 
 
Like the Naiad books – and unlike this build log – the books will be very heavy on methods – I like the word processes.  As work on YA progressed, the processes used were both different enough and in some ways unique and this allayed some of my concerns about redundancy. 
 
However, I still wanted to reach a broader range of modelers – specifically potential or less-experienced scratchbuilders looking for a foothold and some help on methods.  To this end the book will also include methods, drawings, text and pictures for construction of a smaller, simpler POB version of the model.  The processes developed for this model are designed to provide a basis for advancement to fully-framed modeling using the upright, shipyard-like, methods that many of us favor.  The planned volume on rigging – if we get that far – will apply to both versions. Simpler tools, fewer fancy devices and readily available materials will also be used for the POB model.
 
To support this important content, a second, 1:96 POB model is being constructed.  Until making the book decision, I have been careful to exclude this from posted pictures but that precaution is now no longer necessary so I will show one picture of the current work area with both models in progress.
 

 
Although having two models in the shop has exponentially increased the clutter, the biggest problems are keeping the two scales straight and using the right drawings – and getting all  the work done on schedule.
  
Ed

HI,
thanks for the likes and the nice comments.
I thought them also that the drawings could be adapted to a single frame build. But the position of the double frames are not the same to the single frames. I believe that's why the MSW drawings were not suitable.
I have a little problem about the frame drawings. These are hand drawn. Only what I can do is to show some photos.

Hello,
 
Here's a little update and I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas.
I started to fit the ribbands and coloured the Main-Wale black.

 
The ribband-nails are done in the same manner as described in the book from David Antscherl of the Swan-Class. Only the insertion tool was made of a screw and two screw-nuts.

 
For securing the nails I used white clue and think that it works.

 
 
The Main-Wale is coloured with black stain. Mark gave me this advice in my build of the Leopard and it works very well.

All of the forecastle beams are in place.  The hanging knees and lodging knees are installed.  Any suggestions are appreciated.  pictures are included.

Hello helllo, Here are the pics...
 

 
This part has been the "trickiest" (till now...) to built. I repeated them 3 times. I had no such thick piece of wood so I ended gluing to 5mm planks. Then I sanded it. I have left all the pieces 4mm thick because on the plan look pretty thin to me.
 

 

 
I finanally found the trick, specially due to Jürgen´s log (Thanks for that J!!).  2 leveled ribbands (2.5x5mm) to fit the posts.
 

 
With the ribband and those clamps (not very fancy) It´s easy to set the post and see where you have to sand less or more.
 

 
Starboard.
 

 
Port side. The curve is very nice.
 

 
Now, another good one. I glued a 20x20mm pine block meaussuring the correct distance from the last frame till the outter edge of the post. 52mm. I ensured the level of the block. Somehow is like actually building a jig.
 

 
After the port and the startboard posts were glued I moved the pine block 3mm out. All the post comform a curve, they are not straight aligned. You can also take this measure out of the plans. I also marked the block with the situation of all the different posts.
 

 
Before to put the inner posts I started with the framing on both sides. Again the ribband was extremly useful...
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Last pic, I marked the gabs down for the other posts. Now It´s all done. I ´ll post the pics later.
 
 
 
Daniel.

Thanks！The Learner , Amfibius,and all of H.M.S.TRITON Online Projects members.
Thanks for your support to me.Although I have on the language barrier, can't accurate reply to everyone's posts, but I will try to reply to your questions.
I wish you all everything goes well in the process of model making.