AnobiumPunctatum

Thank you Jim...
 
I have completed all of the hatches, gratings and partners to be placed on deck.  You have seen how the gratings were made.  The two hatches are pretty similar.  The only difference is they have cover boards rather than gratings within in the coamings.
 
 The photo below shows the laser cut coamings assembled.  There is no need to remove the laser char from the lap joints at the corners.  In fact it probably isnt a good idea at all.  They are precision cut so you end up with a perfectly squared up coaming the correct size.  You can and should sand both sides of the sheet before removing these laser cut parts to clean the char from those sides.  Just glue them up using the same right angle jig provided earlier.   Then sand the char off the top of the completed coaming being careful to keep the round-up consistent. 
 
You can see the smaller hatch completed.  The larger one shows the three cover boards also laser cut waiting to be glued into position.  But this you will also note the ledge created on the inside of the coaming that the cover boards will sit into.  These are laser cut for you and can be glued on the port and starboard insides of the coaming.
 

This photo shows the three coverboards in the coaming.  They are pretty thick, but only so they are flush with the center of the coaming to allow for the round-up.   The round-up along the sides of the coverboards should be sanded flush to the top edge of the coamings along the P & S sides.  I know some folks like to show one or two coverboards off the coaming.  You can do this if you want to.  But then you should sand that roundup into the bottom of the coverboards as well.   But I will show them all in place like the contemporary model.
 

To finish off the hatches...round off the corners using the right angle jig like you did for the gratings.   Trim them down to the top of the deck planking.   The bolts were added using black fishing line in the same way.   The iron ring for handles were made just like those on the lower platforms.  Exactly the same.
 

Also shown in the photo above are the mast and capstan partners.   These are completely laser cut for you.  They have etched lines to show the separate sections.   All you have to do is sand them clean and round off the corners as described earlier for the capstan partners only.  Soften the top edges as well.  Add the fishing line bolts and the eye bolts on the main mast partners.  Now some of these can be glued onto the model.  They are all ready to go so you can start planking the decks.
 
BUT there are a some like the main mast partners and capstan partners that need some extra work.   I will describe that next.   For example the elm pump tubes below the main mast partners and the capstan drum as well.
 
More to follow...but here is a photo with the all of the hatches, coamings and partners simply test positioned on the model.  They are not glued into position yet.   I did however glue the smaller grating and coaming on the forecastle deck in permanently....those are all finished up.  Its getting there!!!
 

Hartelijk bedankt voor de mooie presentatie van je model.
 
Thank you very much for the beautiful presentation of your model.

The rigging.
 
The rigging is less complicated than the rigging on more masted ships, but is basically the same.
A big difference is the absence of lanyards and deadeyes. During my research I came to the solution that this construction is an invention which dates from the first half of the fifteenth century. Original mediaeval pictures show everywhere an other construction which is surprisingly the same as used on ships with latin sails, which were used until the last part of the nineteenth century. This cog was build in 1320, so long before the invention of lanyards and deadeyes.
 
One of the reconstructed cogs was build in Kiel in Germany. While testing  its sail capabilities it appeared the ship could sail up to 70 degrees by wind abeam. In this position the sail would grate over the shrouds. The shrouds on that ship are equipped with lanyards and deadeyes, which I believe is not correct, so the shrouds could not be removed in case of grating.
Shrouds on ships with latin sails can be removed while sailing. A part of the shrouds on leeward can be removed while the ship is sailing abeam. This is possible with the help of the construction as drawn in the sketch nr 1. A stick (Dutch; knevel) can be pulled out in the connection of two parts of the shroud which both end in a noose. On both sides of the ship are mostly four shrouds as drawn in nr 2. The shrouds windward can of course not be removed, but with some of the shrouds leeward it is possible.
 
 
 
1                                                                                                                                                  
 
2
 

The model without the yard, but with the shrouds.
 
On port-side the four shrouds are all fastened, on starboard only two. The other two are hanging alongside the mast. In this case the wind will come abeam the portside.
This construction is on ships with latin sails always usual, but it is also possible on cogs. Old mediaval illustrations of ships show this solution.
Ships with latin sails have a different rigging because of the possibility of setting the sails and yards in other positions which move around the foreside the masts. But the shroud construction is the same as on cogs.
It is obvious that ratlines are impossible with this type of rigging. Ratlines in shrouds can not be found on ships before the first part of the fifteenth century.
 
The rest
 
On the model I made two anchors. Made of brass. I sawed them from brass plate, thick 2,5 mm. After filing and sanding in the correct proportions,  blades of thin brass,  were soldered on it. After that I painted them in colour Matt  46, from Revell. All iron pieces on the models I make are painted in this color. Never black.
 
The sailors on the model are from “Lehman HO pirates 90-2025”. Usually I do not place figures, but this model goes to a museum here in town. For visitors it is in this way easier to compare the human proportions.
 
I never paint my models, only the sails.
 
The finished model gives an impression of how those ships looked like. It is a reconstruction, so there always will be the possibility of other opinions.
 
The following pictures give an impression of teh finished model.
Cogs had an unsusual construction of the hull. The ends of the  beams inside the ship came out the side of the ships hull. This can be seen on the next illustrations.
 

 u

Coming soon.   Resin cast barrels.
 
I have three sizes of cast resin barrels that will soon be available on my site.  Currently I have the 11/16" tall and the 1" tall barrels.  I am waiting for my casting guy to make the third smaller size.  I may even make a fourth smaller size later as well.
 

 
I have the two smaller sizes and I am waiting for the last larger size not shown. They are cast in white resin or a light tan like my carvings for the ship models I make.   This makes it so much easier to prepare than building my laser cut versions.   Those will still be available but these resin versions will give you guys more options.   These can be prepared in minutes...
 
Just clean whatever flashing which is minimal.   And remove the small vent hole plugs with a sharp #11 blade.   
 
Then brush on some gel stain...in my case pictured,  I used General Finishes Fruitwood gel stain as usual.   I have one coat of stain on these.  You can add more to deepen the color as you see fit.  Then I just used a black sharpie to color the raised iron hoops.   You could use any color you want for those as well.  You could use a copper leaf pen for example.   It isnt difficult....and takes just a few minutes vs. a much longer time to build my laser cut versions.
 
Each size will be sold two per package.
 
Its unfortunately too late for me to add these in the hold of Speedwell....but when you need to make a dozen or more barrels for the hold its nice to not have assemble them one at a time.
 

 
And Buckets...crates...and other items will soon follow.   And whatever else I can possibly think of...please let me know if you guys fancy something in particular.

That's the way to do it without torturing either the plank or yourself.

Main hatch coaming completed. As I mentioned before, only the starboard side has been covered with gratings.

As co-founder of the Trireme Trust USA, leader of Olympias' repair and modification team for her sea trials, and a friend of John Coates (note the spelling) I can say your work is extraordinary. Thank you so much for this. Keep us posted!
 
Lots of info and photos here: https://www.wolfson.cam.ac.uk/library/archives/trireme-trust
 
Respectfully,
--Paul Lipke

I agree that holly is indeed limited as to where it can be used effectively, but one of the things I love to make from holly are frames for ships boats and sometimes the planking as well.  If soaked for a few minutes in water, they bend like paper and hold their shape once dry.
Allan

 

If I look to your frame I am afraid that you do not have enough meet, if you grind the whole structure. If I cut the pieces out, I look that I see always a little white paper on the outside of a frame. With this you have always enough room to equal small but normal tolerancies

If I look to your frame I am afraid that you do not have enough meet, if you grind the whole structure. If I cut the pieces out, I look that I see always a little white paper on the outside of a frame. With this you have always enough room to equal small but normal tolerancies

Have a look at the wood grain for the chocks. In your pictures it has the wrong direction. You should turn the template by 90 degrees.

I've continued to work on the keel. I pulled the parts from the billets and prepped them. Chuck has mentioned that the wood is so thick it's pushing the laser cutting to the extreme. You can see the wedges and how the laser cut tapers. It doesn't cause any issues though. The wedges were assembled, cut to match the plans and added to the lower apron. Next I will be adding the rising wood and working on the deadwood and wedges that go on the deadwood.
 
 

If I look to your frame I am afraid that you do not have enough meet, if you grind the whole structure. If I cut the pieces out, I look that I see always a little white paper on the outside of a frame. With this you have always enough room to equal small but normal tolerancies

Michael : thanks
 
Cristian :
Most of the info i found came from the internet and is printed as a pdf. and i have some books.
Good and correct information about this period is sparse.

Things too look for with google about  shipbuilding in the late 16th century :
"Red bay shipwreck" : the San Juan, a Spanish Galleon.
"albaola.com" a modern shipyard that makes a replica of the San Juan.
 Gresham shipwreck" or "Princess channel shipwreck"
"English shipbuilding 16th century"
 
Some links on the internet :
http://um.gipuzkoakultura.net/pdf/loewe.pdf
http://www.albaola.com/en/site/building-process
http://www.maritimearchaeology.dk/downloads/Furring%20in%20light%20of%2016th%20century%20ship%20design_web.pdf
http://www.maritimearchaeology.dk/downloads/Full%20thesis%20bates.pdf
http://www.wessexarch.co.uk/files/PMA41.2Auer-Firth.pdf
http://nautarch.tamu.edu/pdf-files/Myers-MA%201987.pdf
http://www.patrimoniocultural.pt/media/uploads/trabalhosdearqueologia/18/22.pdf
http://www.bricksite.com/uf/40000_49999/48372/7e570040536647340b5566f37c70ca11.pdf
 
This is very interesting.
"The Gresham ship project".
I can not make a internetlink for this. But it can be found and saved on the pc or printed for free.

 
The new lay out for the wales.
There is a good chance this will be the final layout.

Index
 
 

If I look to your frame I am afraid that you do not have enough meet, if you grind the whole structure. If I cut the pieces out, I look that I see always a little white paper on the outside of a frame. With this you have always enough room to equal small but normal tolerancies

Thank you all for the likes.
 
Stern Post
 
While most of the keel parts were glued on a flat surface, this proved problematic for the stern post.  With the rising wood protruding and the stem taper, the assembly is no longer flat and it is difficult to proceed the same way. To keep the stern post perfectly vertical, centered and aligned to the stem, I rather used squares to keep the whole assembly vertical and aligned. See photo.
 

 
I applied a couple thin coats of WOP on the completed assembly.  I show  close-ups of the stern and stem below (note the knee of the head finally glued on).  
 

 
After application of WOP the wood got a bit darker than expected.  Does WOP have a limited shelf time when opened? In the past I have used nitrocellulose sealer.  This is great stuff. It does not change the wood color, gives a nice satin finish and dries almost instantly (70% of the content is VOC!). It is however a pretty nasty chemical and it is hard to find (banned in North-America?). I got mine from the UK many years ago but nowadays suppliers will not ship this abroad.  I find WOP a good alternative.
 
Building Board
 
This has been covered by others and I essentially followed their foot steps.  The MDF boards I could find in hardware stores were not flat. I resorted to a melamine board and glued my plan with repositionable spray glue.   It is now time to work on the frames. Stay tuned. 
 
 
 

CHAPTER 1
 
Here we go.  I started ship modeling about 15 years ago.  I completed all Chuck's projects plus a few others (including Model Shipways Syren). I recently completed the Winchelsea and posted a few pictures on the gallery. Except for Chucks Medway, all my projects had been POBs.  I was therefore quite excited when the Speedwell kit was released. This offers me a great opportunity to work for the first time on a POF kit without having to scratch my own frames. Except for ripping planks on my Byrnes saw (yes I am among the lucky ones), I essentially work with hand tools.  In this blog I will report on my progress. All the Speedwell builders are well experienced, and I am hoping you guys can provide advices when I have questions or encounter difficulties.  Thanks in advance. (This will also free Chuck from answering my numerous emails). On occasion, I hope I can contribute some ideas and tips to those who will undertake this project. 
 
Parts for Chapter 1 are shown below.  Contrary to others, my kit survived posting very well.  Only one small part (5F) in the top center board seems to be missing.  It is easy to scratch build, so no big deal.
Assembling the stem is straightforward. Tweaking the edges as suggested improves the fit.  I had to tweak a few more edges than those indicated to get the tightest fit. 

Positioning the stem (long curved part to which the rabbet is glued) on the rest of the stem assembly can be tricky. It is important to follow the plan closely to avoid problems when making the boxing joint at the keel and to ensure a tight fit between the apron and the rabbet.  I think I glued mine a hair too low and had to make adjustments (to be discussed below).  Note that I postponed the gluing of the thinner knee of the head for the time being. To prevent knocking it off, it will be glued on only when the whole stem/keel/stern assembly is completed. 

This marks the start of my Syren POF Speedwell! I’ve been dealing with some medical issues and am now close to being 100%, so here we go! A POF has been a bucket list build for a long time as I’ve admired this style of model. Most of the offerings out there just didn’t appeal to me with the scaffold type of construction. Enter Chuck with his Speedwell, Bingo! I’m a huge fan of Chuck’s designs and all the help he (and the other MSW modelers) provides, it gives guys like me a lot of hope. I’ve built Chuck’s Medway (my first wood build) and it came out awesome. Thanks Chuck! I’ve started Cheerful but a POF build has extreme attraction for me. I’ll probably work on Cheerful when a break is needed. Last month at the New London Conference I got to meet Chuck (and Rusty, Ryland and Olha and several others! Awesome to meet you guys!). Had some great conversations and it was nice putting a face to the name. Also, I got to eyeball Chuck’s Speedwell, pictures in the build thread don’t do it justice. A real beauty! Anyway, here we go! When Chuck said there was a lot of wood in the 1st 2 chapters, he wasn’t kidding! The laser cutting is the best I’ve ever seen in a model. A lot of the parts had fallen out of the billets, so I took some time to place them in their proper place and used some blue painters tape to hold them in place. Because the thickness of the wood, I see a lot of billet sanding to remove surface char in my future. Here’s a picture of the wood. Stem will be started tonight.
 
Best Regards …. Rick

If I look to your frame I am afraid that you do not have enough meet, if you grind the whole structure. If I cut the pieces out, I look that I see always a little white paper on the outside of a frame. With this you have always enough room to equal small but normal tolerancies

Hi All
Thanks for the likes...
Moving onto the stern area, this needed some manipulation to how the paper model is constructed.  Hopefully my explanation of how I achieved this is not to confusing.
 
Firstly for context this is how the paper model is done


This formation allows for the modelling of the internals and for a moment my ambition threatened to overrule my ability, eventually, however reality prevailed and I decided against going this far.
 
This means I have to change parts H1 to H4 (top left) to accommodate the fixing of the stern fascia.  The paper model simply has this glued on top of part 6 (top left) and to the bulwarks and relies on the flexibility of the card to get some curvature.
 
Although there are no corresponding parts to what I need to achieve, there is enough information provided for me to fashion the parts needed and this explained (hopefully) below
 
Part G (above top left) is the transom and this was fashioned out of some hard maple 5mm thick by the template provide in plan view and the curvature determined by the markings on bulkhead 17 (horizontal markings).  A chamfer was then  created for the planking
 
 
 

 
 
Next was extending parts H1-H4 to allow the forming and fitting of the stern fascia at a later date.  To achieve this I used common features of two templates to give me the final shape
 
 


 
Middle picture above....X, Y and the deck level are common on the formers H1-H4 and to the bulwark templates.  These were glued one on top the other to produce a single template shown in the right.
 
Blanks were then cut from hard maple using the template ...I'm only using H1 and H4 on both sides of the stern post and omitting H2 and H3
 

 
The only difference in the finished parts of H1 and H4 is the length that attaches to the transom to give the curvature of the stern fascia and this was cut to the correct size
 
H1 and H4 templates were then used by subtracting 5mm for the transom to give me the shaping for the planking below the transom. Below shows these fitted and then filled with balsa and shaped
 
 
 

 
Finally H4's are  glued in place, with a bit of additional padding (3mm mdf) to help with the run of planking.  This will be sanded for a fair line.
 
 
 

 
I'm not installing the H1's at this stage as they will interfere with the planking
 
Hope this all makes some sort of sense.
 
Thanks for looking in
 
Mark
 
 

Hi All
It's with a little trepidation that I start this build log and as such a word of caution is required..... If you are of a nervous disposition and easily offended by poor quality workmanship, find a complete disregard of historical accuracy extremely upsetting and deem lowering  the quality of this forum as morally outrageous then then I beg you to avert your eyes and leave now as the following content is probably not for you.
 
Ok, for those of you that are still with me and made of stronger stuff there are some points that I need to make you aware of before I start
 
a) I am not at one with wood
b) tools are not a natural extension of my hands
c) I do not see a plan on paper and turn it into a 3D matrix in my mind and compute complex curves and angles instantly
d) If there are two ways to do something, I'll choose the wrong one
e) If there is an easy way and a hard way, I'll inadvertently do it the hard way
e) I was not blessed with any real woodworking skills and I have to make do with my God given abilities
f)  I enjoy making ship models and I struggle daily to overcome the points above.
 
Let's begin
This is my fourth model ship (see signature for details) and my first attempt at a scratch build.  I'll be using the paper model by Shipways as the basis of the build and will be using as much as what is contained in the paper parts as templates to assist as I attempt to  covert it into a wooden model.  I've also downloaded the plans of Syren from wiki commons as an aid as the paper "plans" do not contain plans as such...what is provided is along the lines of
 

 
Syren download
 
The content of the paper model is really good and has excellent rigging, belaying, mast and yard info and in my opinion is as good as Caldercraft rigging plans...small example of rigging info
 
 

 
Masts
 

 
The paper model is at a scale of 1:96 so the first order of the day was to scan the sheets and print out at a scale of 1:64 and to try and identify what parts are printed on the 30+ A3 sheets and compile into a spreadsheet for ease of location.
 
Bulk heads were cut out of 6mm plywood....this is just normal ply from the local hardware store (Bunnings), I know there is discussion in another topic on the merits of using something better but I've got to work with what I can get easily  in my little corner of Queensland.... but first a little manipulation of the templates was required.
 
As below the bulkhead templates only go to the main deck level and make no provision for the bulwarks
 

 
The way the paper model caters for these is to add internal supports to the deck as shown in the photo below which has been copied from the paper build log of Mercury by  @catopower
 

 
These supports are few and far between and made from the templates
 
 
 
 
 
I've used these templates to form an extension of the bulkheads
 
I know I could have used the Syren plans to form the bulkheads but I want to use as much as what is provided as part of this build
 
"Keel" piece is made from 3mm plywood....I can hear the gasps now "that won't be strong enough to support 6mm bulkheads....far too flimsy"....I originally considered the 6mm ply but this would result in a loss of definition of the bulkheads once a 6mm slot was cut into them.  I've repositioned the bulkheads slightly to centre them over where the thin card bulkheads would have gone.  The bulkheads at stem and stern have been positioned so that the face is identical to where the card bulkhead would be as I need to use these as refernece points for the bow and stern works.  I've also omitted 3 bulkheads (no's 4, 13 and 17) as I deemed them not necessary with the 6mm ply and closeness to the others
 

 
A strip of 1.5mm has been glued to the "keel" piece to form a rabbet for the planking.
 

 
I'm further on than this but will call it a day for this initial post.
 
Thanks for looking in
 
Mark
 
Thanks for looking in

It is time to start rigging the mast.  Some lines are served with an additional layer of line wrapped around them to protect them wherever they would be at risk of damage from rubbing.  On this model, the pendant of tackles, the foremost shroud, the other shrouds above the catharpins and the jeer block strop are served.  Because this is a cross-section, the main and back stays will not be installed but they would also be served.  Standing rigging is protected from water damage with a tar-like compound.  This resulted in a dark brown appearance to the lines.  The running rigging was not protected and so was a natural hemp color.  On this model, the burton pendants and shrouds are standing rigging;  everything else is running rigging
 
Rope sizes are calculated from the diameter of the mast.  The kit contains a table with the dimensions for the various ropes, based on the diameter of the mast.  To measure the diameter of the line, I wrap it around a dowel twenty times, measure the width of the wrapping and divide by twenty.  This is much more accurate than  trying to measure an individual line. The first rope to go over the masthead is the pendant of tackles.  On the topmast, this line is referred to as the burton pendant.  This rope is completely served, and has a thimble on one end.  The other end is spliced to its opposite, resulting in the rope in the diagram below.  Where the red and blue lines meet are splices.  The pendants extend to approximately two feet below the hounds.  They were used with a tackle to raise and lower heavy weights.

To properly rig a model there is no substitute for the appearance of a served line.  I use 6-0 fly tying thread, which can be purchased at a sporting goods store or online.  I start by running thread, from left to right in this case, into the depression between the rope strands (worming), smoothing its surface (the yellow areas seen in the drawing below.  Then I serve the rope from right to left. 

I find it easier to serve short segments of rope, such as this, on the same piece of rope and then cut them apart.  I served the rope, leaving approximately six inches of serving thread for the splices (red circles).

Then I made a diagonal cut, following the lay of the rope ¼” away from the end of the serving.  The unserved line was held against the other line where the splice would go and I wrapped the two lines with the left-over serving thread “splicing” them together.  I continued the wrapping a few more twists to smooth out the transition and tied it off.  A tiny bit of dilute glue held everything together. The pendant was put over the mast head and onto the bolsters.  It was marked on each leg, two feet below the hounds and removed from the mast.  I used blackened 1/16” ID brass tubing for my thimbles.  The mark was placed on the side of the thimble and the pendant was wrapped around it.  For simplicity I used a simple seizing to secure the thimble and put it back on the mast.

 
 
 
 

It is looking really beautiful.

The thing I love about MSW is that you can ask questions of Chuck (Syren)  or Chris (Vangard) and they take time from their busy days to answer.