BANYAN

Thanks Roger, until I came across this I too had the same interpretation re boats, especially the sea boat, from my service days alsdo. WRT Whaleboat / Barge, the confusing part here is that from all the correspondence she had polished timber interiors (a la Dignitary or other senior officer's boat), but there are so many other mentions of it being used for survey and other work. I do agree however, it was probably the designated 'Barge' as well as it being a workboat - boat's party will have been kept busy with the maintenance Now to establish the link with the Pinnace. I am lucky enough to have correspondence from the ship's (and boat) designer and the build superintendent where the designer specifically refers to it as the "Life Boat - Cutter" so I am happy with that terminology for the two lifeboats. The 1851 Steam Navigation Act was also very specific in stating that a steam ship of 'Victoria's' size, she had to carry two of them and they had to be 'buoyant. The NMM Collections have several contemporary plans for such a 'Life Boat - Cutter', and as the plans for the boats have not survived I have used one as a 'representative' version for use with the model. The dinghy was straight forward - so as mentioned above just the matter of verifying the relationship between Barge and Pinnace. I'll have to have a look in May's book also, never know what that may offer (should have thought on that book myself) . cheers Pat

Hi all, in researching my current build I am finding that different writers are using different names for the types of boats in the ship's logs, official correspondence and even the builder's correspondence). By the Specification, HMCSS Victoria was outfitted with 2 x Lifeboats, 1 x Gig, 1 x Whaler and one Dinghy. Except for the dinghy and gig, the other terms/names used are: Cutter, Cutter-Life Boat, Barge, Pinnace and even one instance of Launch. I have discounted the latter as it was a newspaper article and more than likely prone to misuse of terminology. I have been able to determine that the Cutter reference is to the Lifeboats as this was directly attributed by the designer (Oliver Lang) in one of his letters and Life Boat-Cutters were in common use in 1855 (I have found plans under that terminology in the NMM Collection). However, I am seeking confirmation that the terms Whaler, Barge and Pinnace all refer to the same boat (the whaler). A barge was usually used to convey the Commanding Officer and Dignitaries and the correspondence from the build supervisor advises that both the gig and whaler were outfitted more elegantly than the other boats (polished wood rather than painted inside). As these two boats were hung on the quarters where the 'Captain's' boats were usually stowed, it made some sense that the terms aligned (even if a tenuous link). I also noted while searching in the NMM Collections that the terms Barge and Pinnace were used together on the same plan in two instances so I have assumed these terms can be used alternatively also? Could someone please confirm or enlighten me as to whether I am on the right 'course' or not please? cheers Pat

Hi Greg, Yves has offered a really nice option cheers Pat

Beautiful work Eberhard; miniature perfection You don't happen to have a spare around do you? Just the other night I cam across a reference somewhere which I will need to find for you again; unfortunately just as I found it our woeful National Broadband Network (NBN) which is MANDATORY her can you believe, played its usual trick of losing connection). Hopefully I can find it again and I will copy, not that is much except a description which describes a similar horizontal tabl;e (as they called it) for communicating with the engine room - 1940s I think and it was under a patent listing I think. cheers Pat p.s. This is another one I had found c1858, similar bit a little more refined. Not sure where I found this as it was in the days I hadn't realised how important to note the source withing the image title - possibly from one of the contemporary 'The Repertory of Patent Inventions ' periodicals? I will need to try and track down the other one referenced above, but not so confident in finding it as it was one of those random things that popped up while doing another search.

Beautiful result, and thanks for the step-by-step for us mere mortals to follow cheers Pat

The bulkheads look good Mark, practice makes perfect huh? I could not make it out for sure but have you cut the rabbet yet? cheers Pat

Nice job and clever idea Pat cheers Pat

I can empathise Keith, our second grandchild arrived just three weeks ago Enjoy the moment and congrats to all cheers Pat

aghhhh no I wasn't - SORRY - I feel a twit.... Works well. many thanks cheers Pat

Thanks, still no go this morning but I am sure it will appear cheers Pat

Nice work Steven - unfortunately no matter how good the brush my hand shakes too much these days to do such fine artistry cheers Pat

Thanks Richard, I did, and I tried a direct access from your earlier link and no go - no biggie, just may take a while to filter through? cheers Pat

I also made my own using Druxey's published idea and pictures. I experience the same finish results and restrictions pointed out by Wefalck and Druxey, The greatest problem is getting the blade for the tracer to be fine enough to allow a precise copy. I am in the process of modifying my tracer rod to accept interchangeable blades which will be ground with a left flat, right flat etc. This will not eliminate the 'rounding' issue needed on the tracer blade but will make it a little more precise. Not great for smaller jobs but work fine for larger copies such as columns/pedestals etc. Note this design removes the need to free the cross slide as the cutting tool is ground to match the blade and is part of the duplicator. The template is held within the duplicator also as shown. I have also redesigned the way it is fitted to the bench since I took these photos. It now sits on a much longer aluminium base plate drilled with equally spaced holes (matched to the current mounting slot space) allowing me to better place it relative to the work. I have invested in some travellers and jackstand to support longer work also. The longer baseplate has also allowed me to utilise it to support an off lathe 'stop'. I am still adapting that to hold a micrometer head to allow repeated cuts to the stop. PLEASE ignore my learning 'whoopsie evident on the Y table - hence my need for a stop - major embarrassment) cheers Pat

Many thanks Richard, appreciate that as it is a very handy tool. Have you uploaded the new version yet. I tired through my bookmark this morning and no change? The reason for my asking for the decimal is that many calculators etc now out put inches as decimal as it was 'too hard' for them to do the fractional readout. As a result I have several sets of dimension that are all printed as decimal inches I'll see if I can find some data on the other national metrics and forward to you if I do. It was just a suggestion which I am not sure how many will use. I know I have been bitten once or twice thinking I was using a standard foot but it was something entirely different. Perhaps a straw poll here using the polling option may help identify identify which dimensions would be more useful? to modellers? Many thanks again. Pat

Must have used 'Jeffrey's compound (marine glue) or the like? Either that or a very talented carpenter plugging the 'nails' with very tight plugs with grain oriented in the same direction. Either way the deck looks very 'clean'. cheers Pat

The skills will come back to you as you progress Joss; bit like riding a bike after putting it in the garage for many years The tops look great, must have been a tedious process doing all that drilling? cheers Pat

Thanks Richard. I will go back and recheck again, but it does not seem to work for me - the values under the input box does not update when entering the decimal as shown in the screen grabs (even if I click on the Convert buttons). I am using Chrome browser on a PC running Win10 pro 64 bit. Not intended as a complaint, simply raising a potential bug (probably my end) and appreciate your continued support. Thanks again. Pat

Beautifully laid deck Keith; looks great on the model (the holystone crew should be given an extra issue of their favourite tipple ) Are you going to put trennels in? cheers Pat

I am with Matrim on this. If you try to tear it down you will inevitably damage some parts ,and taking the planking off would be very difficult. However I would also recommend you continue building this one first so that you get further practice and identify any further issues/problems etc you may encounter wirth building the full model (parts you have not yet done). That way you won't run into the problem of rebuilding the hull to a much better standard, and then potentially be unhappy with the masting and rigging as that will be the first attempt at that on your new model (hull). I am assuming that you have completed the hul and not the masting and rigging? cheers Pat

Thanks Richard (sorry for using an incorrect name earlier). It is specifically for inches that I would find it very handy BUT. I am only one user and many may not use such a feature, making any change not worth the effort. There are quite a few online scale converters (and apps) out there but what makes yours unique and very useful, apart from the handy fractional input/output, is the ability to convert using other units of measurement (French etc). Have you given any thoughts to making this an App (Android please ) as converting from say an olde Dutch measurement into English Imperial or even to modern metric, is a real challenge even with a calculator and having this handy as a phone app would be really neat. Sorry if I am pushing the envelope a little here, just asking I very much appreciate you have made this available. Thanks for considering it. cheers Pat

Hi Richard, great tool and another option in the arsenal. Is it possible to also allow it to accept decimal inches (eg 6.3 inches)? For Richard, I am no expert here but would that not also depend on the type of drawing format. I always try to get a scalable format (ie vector rather than bitmapped) so that the lines stay sharper - may be onb the wrong track here. cheers Pat

Wow, nice clean work at such a micro scale mate. cheers Pat

Have an extra tot/beer to celebrate - nice work. cheers Pat

Hi Keith, when I was over there recently I warned a friend that it would be a close series this time, I don't think he believed me. Now had we only found a way to 'hobble' Broad and Stokes ????? At least the Ashes stayed in their rightful possession cheers, and back to the modelling table with tail between legs. cheers Pat

Nice work on the planking Keith, and much appreciate the tips on cutting the joggles. cheers Pat