BANYAN

Nice progress Pat, the 'inserted' port lids look good. cheers Pat

Great job on the bowsprit/jibboom Alan; they look very well proportioned. cheers Pat

Very nice job on the telegraph and planking Keith. The bulwarks appear to be 'stiff/rigid' enough to be usable, and hold their shape in the photos, probably difficult to know until you remove her from the building frame? cheers Pat

Hi folks, thanks for the interest in my little project. I am still in the learning stages and I am sure some of you more talented/experienced folks could suggest some improvements. Carl; that contraption is a modified "Vanda-lay Industries' milling tool. See http://vanda-layindustries.com/ Keith; thanks the jig works well, I just wish I could have got the cross-table closer to the work (shortened the extension of the holder). p.s. the reason the work is further away is that I had to flip the positioning of the dremel to the back of the tool rather than the front to get the blade rotation (approach to the workpiece) in the right direction so that it minimised the risk of bending/breaking the straps on contact (and there was not enough travel in the y-axis to have it at the front anyway ). Rob; it took a while to sort out the concept, but it was a bit of fun (and frustration) thinking it through. Michael; See link above re Vanda-lay Industry Tools. This was one of my first 'adventures' into tooling and worked fine for a while. However, as I mentioned earlier, I find the tool (as a milling machine - ACRA mill +) much to unstable (too much play in the Y-table especially). However, it is a great tool for other purposes. I asked for a modified plate (L shaped) adapter by which to fix the dremel holders to allow more positioning flexibility and he was happy to produce it for me. I use this with the dremel saw arbor / attachment for many tasks where I prefer to spin the cutter/grinder in a fixed position and offer up the work (making templates and the like especially) It is basically a part from the http://vanda-layindustries.com/html/hold-it_plus_jr_.html which is adapted to fit on the cross-arm of the Z-axis (see here http://vanda-layindustries.com/html/mill_accessories.html ) which I then asked for modified fixing plate rather than straight one that was being offered. I am not quite sure where I picked up the drill arbor/attachment; if I recall I will get back to you. I have no affiliation with the company, merely answering the queries cheers Pat

Hi folks. Not much progress to report as I research the masts and rigging plan. In the meantime I am starting to assemble the 'Rigmaiden Lanyards' which were used in-lieu of deadeys and lanyards. See my earlier post here: I have had most of the brass strap parts photoetched after drawing them up to scale. However, I have had to solder a small ID thin walled tube to the ends of each of the chain plate straps to represent the eye. these were cut off flush to either side after being soldered. The Contract called for "Lang's Eye Plates" so I am assuming this different (to the usual chain plates) arrangement is what is meant but I am open to suggestions To help cut the slot in the eye to accept the bottom part of the Rigmaiden Lanyard, I milled a slot into the end of some brass square stock then made a sleeve to slide up and down to hold the 'plates'. the sleeve weas needed to stop the strap bending as they were half-etched at a few point to facilitate consistent and sharper bending points. This jig was then held in a vise which had been mounted into my Vandalay Milling table adapted to hold my Dremel in the horizontal. For this job, the table was 'adequate' but I would not recommend it for any precision work (simply to much play once the y-axis cross table is added. I think the photos show the principle. I had to use a longer extension of the jig to approach the saw blade due to the very small blade diameter and not being able to get the table to close the distance (obstructed) cheers Pat

Couldn't you simply file it down in situ to a 'thinner' profile a, to me at least the 'diameter' or max OD of the nut is not too big? cheers Pat

Thanks again Carl and Eberhard. Carl, Eberhard has answered re the sprues much better than I could have. The part I am trying to assemble is 5mm long, with 5 x diminishing 'U' shaped supports. The long spine is the prop guard and the supports are equally spaced. By diminishing I mean the central support is 3mm apart at the base where they join the hull, the outr only 1.25mm - so you can see how small these parts (2) are and my frustration in trying to make them. Thanks for the detailed explanation Eberhard; appreciate the better understanding. cheers Pat

Thanks for the feedback Carl and Eberhard. Carl: I haven't tried it on this build as I have not had good results with it (may have been a bad batch?). That said, it may be worth relooking at - thanks. Eberhard: I have a hot air gun with variable settings (range similar to yours) with several nozzles. As above, I think I may have to relook at this. cheers Pat

Stunning work Keith, if I didn't know they were miniature I would have assumed they were the real thing! cheers Pat

Many thanks Eberhard, i'll have a poke around for some. I have now finished gluing and filling the hull components (x 4) together and primed/undercoated the hull. I have been holding off doing more as I have been waiting for some additional parts but I think these may have 'fallen through' so need to readdress the approach for those. i tried making from wire and soldering but I keep blowing it apart even at the lowest temps. i am experimenting making these (propeller guards) from styrene at the moment, but my first efforts don't look too flash. cheers Pat

Very handy items Paul, I use them to prepare brass for blackening also. The 'dust' fibres are just as bad as small cactus fruit burrs once they stick into your skin, they are a devil to get out (see for a starter) so I usually wear rubber gloves when using them. Don't ask me how I know about the cactus fruit cheers Pat

Try a machinery shop Carl (metal working tools especially but some woodworking also), as they normally carry them, just be sure to specify imperial and not metric if JBs saw. cheers Pat

Those 'repairs' are looking good Steven; lovely progress. cheers Pat

No probs Pat. the replica is somewhat different in some areas as they had to make some compromises to register/accredit the ship to carry passengers. this has resulted in a slightly longer ship, and some minor changes to the 'tops' to accommodate the rader and machinery etc. cheers Pat

Sorry Vossie, you need to get used to us Aussies - our typical response to being asked 'how are you', is "not half bad mate" - so 'pretty good' is a 'real compliment' - Glad I didn't say 'That's not bad mate' - I may have been run out of town cheers Pat

Hi Pat, thought I would check in and see how you are progressing. Nice build; the hull looks very nicely faired with a great finish to the planking. If you have any questions just holler (I'm just across the ditch ) For some alternate build/finish options check out the builds by Dave Rowe, Dashi and Shipaholic also. cheers Pat

Thanks Pat, much appreciate your kind words. I am happy to hear that you have found the build log useful. cheers Pat

Looks great Rob, boy you work fast with rigging (shows your experience with this) cheers Pat

Looks great GL! cheers Pat

Seems you have a very workable solution there Keith; and being nicely done (as Michael has already pointed out). cheers Pat

Thanks for sharing Woodeater; a couple of very useful techniques. I am a little ways of trying them yet but I have noted them cheers Pat

Ummm.... I forgot GR had four masts when i said you are near the end..... sorry. That said, you really are in the home stretch though. She's look great Rob. cheers Pat

Thanks mate, seems like our two vessels of interest may have a lot in common then. I'll keep you in the loop on anything else I find. The particular rig does seem to be 'steamer' related and most commonly referenced as a "Barque/Bark" rig. The main point of difference I am finding, at the moment at least, is that the upper masting in some ships with this rig were the more usual 'lower + topmast+ pole (combined topgallant and royal'; whereas, Victoria and many other had the two 'stick' configuration. Further to my find re the Survey Records Book for HMS Arrow (1854), I have now unearthed one for HMS Vigilant (1856), and both have the same rig and mast combinations. I will see what else I can derive from those records and let you know. cheers Pat

Thanks Eberhard, that is exactly what I am seeing in Victoria (the two stops); which begs the question which one . Apart from a discussion in Kipping (1854) about the combined topgallant/royal as a pole, there is precious other that I can find. Would appreciate seeing anything else you may turn up. cheers Pat

Hi again all, going back through my research materials I found an interesting (possible) link with the Arrow Class vessels (1854). These were a very slightly smaller version of the same type of vessel, as can be seen by comparing the specifications: HMCSS Victoria specifications: · Length: 166 feet (between perpendiculars). · Beam: 27 feet. · Depth of Hold: 16 feet. · Tonnage: 580 tons (burthen) - 880 tons by displacement. HMS Arrow specifications: · Length: 160 feet (between perpendiculars). · Beam: 25.4 feet. · Depth of Hold: 13.3 feet. · Tonnage: 476 tons (burthen). One of the items a researcher turned up for me was a 'Ship Survey Reports' book (my naming as there is none given) for HMS Arrow - the contents include. Note the following extracts for the three masts, which all refer to a pole style mast above the lower mast, so this confirms this masting convention was used in steam screw sloops at least. This description though better fits what Marquardt describes as a lower mast with tall pole. What I would like to determine from the listed parameters/dimensions is what is meant by: 'to stops' in column for length (first set of dimensions) of Fore and Main mast for the topgallant - there would have been two stops? Why different lengths between two dates very close together - probably as a result of first sea trials but looking for alternate possibilities? slightly different description in second set of dimensions Many thanks Pat