KrisWood

According to the author of the above article on the Oseberg ship, the following are the most accurate plans following the ship's excavation.

• The 1933 drawing of the keel by Fr. Johannessen (the main conservator of the ship at the museum) linked above
• The in-situ drawings of the boat during the excavation in 1904 (before the pieces shrank and cracked in the museum) by the engineer J.M. Glende:

'Oseberg, Tomb': Scale, section 1:25. Drawing by J. M. Glende:

http://www.unimus.no/felles/bilder/web_hent_bilde.php?id=12448337&type=jpeg

'Oseberg, the ship'. Drawing by J.M.Glande. Dimensions: W: 55 cm, H: 21 cm.

http://www.unimus.no/felles/bilder/web_hent_bilde.php?id=12417098&type=jpeg

'Oseberg, Ship': Various details (with measurements), designed by J.M. Glende

http://www.unimus.no/felles/bilder/web_hent_bilde.php?id=12384238&type=jpeg

'Oseberg, Ship': 'Oseberg drawing no 55'. Scale 1:25. Line drawing by J. M. Glende

http://www.unimus.no/felles/bilder/web_hent_bilde.php?id=12384237&type=jpeg

'Oseberg, The Ship': Scale 1:25. Main drawing, by J. M. Glende

http://www.unimus.no/felles/bilder/web_hent_bilde.php?id=12384236&type=jpeg

'Oseberg, the Ship': Scale 1:25. Final revision. Main drawing, by J. M. Glende

http://www.unimus.no/felles/bilder/web_hent_bilde.php?id=12384236&type=jpeg

There are also dozens of incredibly detailed drawings of various parts of the ship during and after its conservation from 1907 to 1933 by Fr Johannessen. I think my best bet is going to be adjusting the dimensions of the parts shown in Glende's drawings to the dimensions shown in the reconstruction's lines drawings.

Oh also, is there a significant difference in difficulty between building a larger model or a smaller one? Since I'm now planning on drawing my own plans, I'm not stuck with 1:48 scale. I think I'd like it to be a little larger than the kit plan I was working from, but not sure how physically difficult it gets with size or whether a larger size might actually be easier.

Hi all!

I’ve been doing more research and acquiring materials and I’m almost ready to start cutting again. First though, I have some questions...

First, can anyone recommend a good online tutorial on drawing The various parts of the ship based on lines plans?
 

I found the lines of the 1:1 reconstruction, Saga Oseberg, in the PDF in this article:

https://www.vikingeskibsmuseet.dk/en/professions/boatyard/building-projects/the-oseberg-ship/

It turns out the previous 1:1 reconstruction, Dronningen, sunk shortly into its first test because it was based on the incorrect lines from the museum display of the ship the way it was assembled in 1907, the same configuration used for my kit plans. Since I need my model to float, this is a problem.
 

I contacted the author and she said the "original" plans are available from the Viking Ship Museum, and they are detailed but not her reconstruction.
 

I found the plans in the museum's database and they're very highly detailed indeed. The actual ship is in fact much simpler in construction than the kit plans I was working from.
 

What I'd like to do now is redraw the frames based on the lines from the reconstruction in the link, using the original plans to determine how each part should be shaped and using the lines to determine only the dimensions.
 

Please don't naysay me on this. I'm an engineer by trade and have no problem understanding the plans or physically drawing the parts. The part I need is how to draw the parts in a way that can be cut out of three dimensional pieces of wood.

The next question is, how would you cut out the T shaped cross section of the keel?

http://www.unimus.no/felles/bilder/web_hent_bilde.php?id=12384245&type=jpeg

The other day when I was looking for better plans I found a book on the Oseberg ship. I didn't look too closely at it at the time, but my wife asked me what I want for Christmas today and I thought of the book.

Does anyone know of a relatively recent book on the Oseberg ship, the Saga Oseberg replica, or any good books on Viking ship construction that may or may not contain line reconstructed plans of the Oseberg ship? Thanks!

The batten idea is brilliant! 
 

That said, what tool would you use to cut the curves of the top view along the extremely narrow piece of wood of the keel? Is it still a coping saw, or is it better to sand or file it into shape?

@Bob Cleek, I've created several historically accurate videogame models and have a good understanding of plans and historical ship components. What I lack of understanding of basic woodworking techniques. I won't be using balsa on the actual model. I've just got a stockpile of balsa in the correct sizes, but no supply of basswood, so I'm using the balsa to learn to use the tools until I can get hold of the basswood.

@GrandpaPhil, thank you for your reply, that's very encouraging! I haven't used a coping saw since learning piecework in metalsmithing class in college decades ago, but I think I'll pick up that part quickly enough. I definitely want to start with the Oseberg ship because as a viking burial it fits well as a symbol for this time in my life. I know it'll be harder and take more time than the Sultana, but that's part of what I like about this project. If it wasn't mind numbingly difficult, it wouldn't be the symbol that it is.
 

My remaining question is, how does one transfer both the top view and side view curves to the same piece of wood, when the paper won't fit on the wood once one of the curves has been cut? The best I can figure is to use a micrometer to measure the distance of the curve from the centerline at each frame, then mark it on the wood in pencil and draw in the curve between the dots by hand.

Hi Bob, thanks for the feedback!

I'm ok with a challenge. I had a family tragedy recently and this model is a bit of a symbolic Viking funeral for me. Messing things up and redoing them is just part of the meditation of the journey for this project.

That said, I could use some pointers on the basics.

Before I read your comment, I attempted cutting out two halves of the keel to scarf together. After completely butchering my largest piece of basswood with a razor saw, a generic Dremel, and an X-acto knife, I read what you'd written and decided to give it a go at trying it in balsa while waiting until I can order larger pieces of basswood.

Now I've got the keel cut out (chiseled with X-acto really) in profile, but the plans show it being curved on both sides when viewed from above. How is this curve achieved with hand tools? I can't find any way to simply glue the printed plan to the top of my keel without distorting the curve.

Also, what's the best way to cut out the keel by hand? I read a few tutorials but the best I could figure out was the razor saw which just got stuck every time the back of the blade got into the cut. I've got a handheld coping saw that needs a blade so I'll be running down to the hardware store for that tomorrow to try it instead.

Thanks again!

Kris

The longest piece of basswood I could find in my neighborhood is a little over half the length of my keel, which would put the scarph joint right underneath the mast step (I think that’s the right term?) on the left side of page 48 of the plans in my first post. Would that weaken the entire keel?

 Thanks!

As this is my first time building a wooden model, I decided to start with balsa wood because it's super cheap and readily available from the hobby shops in my area. If I mess anything up I don't lose anything but my time, this way, but I'm not sure it'll be sufficiently strong enough to hold the model together.

I also bought some basswood that I think I'll use for the keel and frames, since it seems stronger.

Are these woods sufficient for a first time model builder, or is it necessary to use more expensive/harder to find woods to get a model to work at all?

Hi everyone!

It's been a while since I posted in these forums, but I'm starting my first wooden ship model so I figured it was time to start a build log thread.

For this first project, I decided to build the Oseberg Viking longship. So far the best plans I've found are here: 

http://oseberg.narod.ru/pages/Oseberg_Schiff_Spiegazioni_Pag_01.htm

If anyone knows of any other publicly accessible plans that are better, I'd love to hear about them. This appears to be from a kit model but I think that might make it easier for a first build.

I'll post pics as I make progress.

Edit: I've updated the title to reflect the plans I've settled on, which have changed multiple times since I started this thread. I'm now working from the plans by Vibeke Bischoff that were used to build the Saga Oseberg 1:1 replica, from the book, "Saga Oseberg: rekonstruktion af et vikingeskib" by Thomas Søes Finderup, master boat builder of the Saga Oseberg replica.