BANYAN

Bowspit cap, and horses and netting. As I said to slog I attached the blocks first to the cap. I've been dreading this part for years, but it came off quite easily really, only a days work in it for the netting. 

Bugger!!!    I'm such a genius of a model maker that I only need to mark one face of my frames on my plan; so naturally when I marked out the forward cant frames I measured from the wrong side of the frame and the rabbets I cut were all 1/8" too far aft, so I've had to re-do them and the rabbets are now twice as wide as they should be.  The mistake will be hidden once the model is planked, and all I have to do is to make sure the cant frames are hard against the forward edge of the rabbets when I fit them, but it's still really annoying!!!
 

Here are my extra wide cant frame rabbets (just don't tell anyone I'm such a muppet!)
 
At least I've got some more frame blanks cut out.  Very soon I'm going to have to make up a framing jig and start cutting out and fitting frames.
 

The frame blanks that I've made so far.
 
John

Spend some time today prepping some scrap wood for gluing the deck slats to a painted surface.  I had a rattle can of RustOleum primer that was dark grey and a rattle can of RustOleum enamel in light grey.  The poplar strip to the dark grey primer seems to hold pretty good but not so good to the enamel.  Found out that I used a different wood that was very hard so I tried again with poplar, the same wood as I intend to use on the model.
So far both seem to hold pretty well but I favor the lighter grey though.   Only problem is that it is glossy.  Fortunately the decks are all flat and can use sand paper on it to dull it but most is hidden anyway by the slats.  So, it looks like i'll be gluing the slats to the paint.  
 
While the glue for test strips were curing I started to make the brass lids for the crew hatches and the AA gun hatches.  That's 5 total.  They turned out great but I had to do some final hammering to the two larger ones for the gun buns.  The die I made from an oak dowel was just a tad too small so the edges for about 2 mm didn't follow the dome curve.  No problem though, with a little gentle persuasion with a small hammer on the male part of the die they took a nice shape.  So they are now ready for the hinges.
 
I also made the three doors on the port side of the con. They too are ready to be finished.  They need some stiffening on the backside though and then the hinges and latches.
 
I am in the process of making the chart locker and the antenna bracing bridge that's mounted to the bridge/cockpit sides, also looking good.
 
So, all in all a productive day.  Now I need to carefully put some of the lighter grey between the slats I already glued to the bridge deck but I doubt that'll work without touching the dyed slats.  I may just rip them out and start over again.  The poplar seems not to take up the dye too well, wonder why.  Could be some glue residue on top but I sanded them after the glue had set.  Hmmm, may need to find some teak water based dye, right Remco?  
I really would like to finish the gun decks and bridge area so I can put the hinges on the hatch and bun lids, that'll get me closer to finishing the con.
 
Here are a few pics of todays work.
 

This shows the con with the lids and three doors.  They are all just loosely laid on the tubes and the doors are propped against the opening.  It's difficult to see the inner liner of the bridge on this picture but it'll show better in some of the following ones.
The white styrene will be hidden by the brass hinge arrangement I have to make.
 

This shows the inner liner of the bridge better.  I had to cut an opening in the sides for the antenna brace.  Another thing I forgot but it worked out okay.
 

Another view of the bridge where you can see the inner liner and the stained deck slats.  I'll need a 000005 brush to get between the slats to put the grey paint on the deck 
 

This is a close-up of the cockpit.  You'll have to cock your head 90 degrees though, sorry about that.  In order to make the dome shapes with my die you have to cut a very narrow pie shape out of the circular plug otherwise it'll curl up at the edges.  In making a dome like this the outside circumference becomes smaller.
 

This is the last pic I took before knocking off this evening.  The chart locker sits on the gun bun, I just glued the bottom braces to it.  The antenna brace is made and just stuck in place.  I made the top tube oval by pressing it in the vice.  The ship's bell also hangs from it.  Hmmm, I have to make a tiny bell now   I mean it's tiny, perhaps I'll buy one meant for a charm bracelet 
 
Well, that's it for today 
 
Cheers,

Okay, it's New Year's eve and this'll be my last post in 2013, here's to all y'all   
 
Now that the bridge is planked I decided to go ahead with gluing the side panels on.  It'll be a little difficult painting and staining the deck but I'll use a small brush 
 
I was busy ripping the 1 X 1 mm strips of poplar and sanding them.  I only want enough to do the AA gun decks.
Bothe the forward and rear decks are now glued on and we can proceed with installing the slats.  But first I'll check to see how the glue will hold on paint with some small voids in the paint for the glue to hold to wood.
In the meantime I can make the other stuff that goes into the cockpit like the chart locker, the helm, power telegraph, antenna bridge, three doors, hinges for the crew hatch lids and the AA gun bun lids,  etc. etc.
I can also fiddle with the gun pedestals to add some "stuff" to them.  And make more slats for the main deck.
 
So I have plenty of little things to do before getting back to the deck slats.
 
Well, here are a few pics of the progress this day.
 

The front part of the bridge and the forward and rear gun decks are being glued on.  I used my riveting bucking bars as hold-down weights.  These are still left over from my aircraft sheet metal days in a previous life  .
 

After the glue had cured sufficiently I could remove the weights and clamps and just wanted to see how the next side plates would look.  Not too bad   
 

These are the 1 X 1 mm slats ready for use on the gun decks.  
 
Cheers, 

Nice and square, but I'd do all the rope work and blocks before you stick it on for good

Very nice work; a great enhancement for a model and appears the way to go in the future for scratch and 'bashed' kits
 
cheers
 
Pat.

Probably a bit too tight as it does kink a bit. The first shroud needs to be served all the way down to the deadeye to stop wear on the sail. I didn't fix my tops until I'd finished the shrouds as it let my fat fingers in to seize them. That being said, I never did get the deadeyes aligned properly but "meh"! At 1/64 some things just won't matter as there whole rigging thing makes it look so busy. Janos Caroline is just so perfect and neat it makes mine look like the cat did it. I've almost finished to top gallants so only a few ratlines to go.

Last post of the year I promise! Bit of serendipity today as I actually read the plans and looked at the replica and the Topgallant shrouds have no ratlines! I'm finished with them! Shrouds and backstays in place. Lots of work on the bowsprit before I can add the last stay. next year it is.

Other pics:








 
 
Kind regards and Happy New Year to all
Doris

Thank you all for visiting and like what I'm doing!  It's really encouraging to me.
 
Today I made some saw dust.  I started to rip 1mm planks out of some discarded pieces of poplar.  Waste now want not, right?  Must be the frugal Dutchman in me 
I guess that for the main deck I'll need to buy a new ¼ inch board or two from the Home Depot.
 
I'm aiming right now to get the entire conning tower put together so I can concentrate on the deck details.  Lots of work there.
 
Yeah, it's a little labor intensive work to make a gezillion slats but right now I have no other choice.  I cleaned up the slats in the cockpit and they came out rather nice.  I made the slats for the aft end of the bridge planning to install the sides but I'll have to hold off doing that till I have pre-made some of the detail stuff in the front.
 
Next on the agenda is to finish the aft and forward AA gun decks so I can put the deck slats on them.  I made the forward AA gun deck plate and cemented the AA gun buns to the frame.  I could glue all the deck pieces to the lower con frame but before I do that I must remember to paint the white styrene AA gun buns gray and trim the deck plates.  That'll be a chore for tomorrow.
 
It's better to glue the slats to the decks when on the model because then I have the gun buns and the crew hatches as a guide to where to glue these slats.  I'm following the deck layout drawing that shows the location of the teak deck slats.
 

This shows all deck pieces fitted but not yet trimmed to their final shape.  I'll wait with that till they are glued on.  It's perhaps a little hard to see but I have glued a few slats to the deck between the cockpit and the periscope housing.  That area will fall inside the bridge side panels.  I just stuck the Vickers AA guns in for the heck of it   And that reminds me of making a slight mod to the pedestals so I can add some details to them, they kinda look naked    
 

This is a better view to see the slats I glued on this afternoon, yup, tedious work alright but it's quite satisfactory to me.  Hmmmm, been thinking how to paint the deck and not the slats - - - I would like to stain the slats    Gluing them to a painted surface is not a good idea.
 

Here is another view looking forward.  You can see a faint outline in pencil where the bridge side panel will come.
 

This is the original deck layout that I'm trying to follow as best as I can.  The quality is not the greatest but we'll muddle through it.  Right now I'm not that anal about getting the precise number of deck slats  correct.  So far though it seems to be working out just as the drawing show.  It should, because 1 mm is in scale for 5 cm, which is my guess they may have been originally.
 

This is just a profile shot as the con looked at the time I closed the shipyard at 17:30.  I'm pretty happy with how it's looking   
 
Cheers,
 
 

Hmm... not quite November of 2014 as I promised Sjors, but here's the latest. I finished the gunports (thank heavens it's not a 74), added the ebony wales (chain and main), and began working towards the top rails.  The red arrow points to where I need to fill in with either plum or swiss pear.  I'm undecided at this moment and waiting to see how some test wood looks with the Wipe on Poly.
 
I also cut out every other frame between the build board and where the cap rail will be in the midship area.  I need to rotate her around and do the other side now.
 
As for the ebony... if I ever mention on another ship, that I'm planning on using ebony, please do unto me which the Victory did unto Bucentaur at Trafalgar.   Just unload a broadside.   Aggrevating stuff.  The epoxy wasn't holding and required some gel type CA.   I think pear with ebony stain would look as good.
 

Chuck is spot on with the Byrnes ropewalk (and I therefore assume the Russian version as well).  You can pre-wind BUT the speed of the machine is the most important.  As Jim has a variable speed controller (no scale) this has to be pure judgement.  I learned the hard way to first spin the machine for a short while (no tension on the hand wheel) until the strands have wound to a 'certain' degree - this is a judgement thing also based on the number of strands and size of the stock thread.  When it looks about right apply tension to the hand wheel to causer the spools to wind the rope strands and lay the rope up.  I also harden the same way as Chuck by stretching as it comes off the spool but as I use a cotton-polyester thread it also retains some elasticity so I hang lengths of scale rope with a swivel weight at each end over night to try and remove all stretch.
 
The other factor I have found with Jims machine is to stay SLOW!  Jim suggests you can speed it up as you get practice / become more experienced; however, I find that speeding it up too much requires different pre-tensioning/winding of the threads.  I have had best results keeping the machine relatively slow - the best I could describe is that I am winding the take-up spool at about one turn every two seconds (ish).  I hope that helps.  Please note I am still only making LH lay rope and have yet to experiment with RH lay, but as with Chuck's rope, I can cut it with no parting of the strands at all.
 
cheers
 
Pat

Chuck is spot on with the Byrnes ropewalk (and I therefore assume the Russian version as well).  You can pre-wind BUT the speed of the machine is the most important.  As Jim has a variable speed controller (no scale) this has to be pure judgement.  I learned the hard way to first spin the machine for a short while (no tension on the hand wheel) until the strands have wound to a 'certain' degree - this is a judgement thing also based on the number of strands and size of the stock thread.  When it looks about right apply tension to the hand wheel to causer the spools to wind the rope strands and lay the rope up.  I also harden the same way as Chuck by stretching as it comes off the spool but as I use a cotton-polyester thread it also retains some elasticity so I hang lengths of scale rope with a swivel weight at each end over night to try and remove all stretch.
 
The other factor I have found with Jims machine is to stay SLOW!  Jim suggests you can speed it up as you get practice / become more experienced; however, I find that speeding it up too much requires different pre-tensioning/winding of the threads.  I have had best results keeping the machine relatively slow - the best I could describe is that I am winding the take-up spool at about one turn every two seconds (ish).  I hope that helps.  Please note I am still only making LH lay rope and have yet to experiment with RH lay, but as with Chuck's rope, I can cut it with no parting of the strands at all.
 
cheers
 
Pat

Thanks John, Alister, Mike, Greg, Brian and Slog for looking in and the encouragement.  Once I get these shrouds sorted I should be able to proceed at a better pace.
 
John, yeah, this was a surprise as these were silver soldered,  The served shrouds tend to not stay straight and need a little pressure to keep a neat appearance - perhaps I am serving them too tightly.
 
Greg, the shrouds are giving me enough grief (getting them to the right length as the serving on the foreleg of the front pairs proves to stiffen them, and then when the shrouds are 'pinched' together near the tops, it shortens them again (no planning/foresight by me on this so a big learning curve) - oh well live and learn - and... thanks (I think)) for the warning on the ratlin'
 
Slog, Mike and Greg, the basic idea for this rigging station is one adapted from Hubert Sicard (Wooden Ship Modelling for Dummies); he calls it his 'rigging crab' due to the multiple appendages.  I have made all bar the small drawers in the base (which dictated the width and depth of the station) which I obtained from an artists supplier (used to store their brushes etc) and are reasonably cheap.  The upright can be adjusted up and down depending on what length you need for the job at hand.  I still need to add an adjustment device on the horizontal that holds the alligator clips to give me just a little more room behind the rope when serving or whipping etc. The only other planned addition is a jig to hold the yardarms when rigging footropes but I haven't worked that out fully yet.
 
cheers
 
Pat 

Chuck is spot on with the Byrnes ropewalk (and I therefore assume the Russian version as well).  You can pre-wind BUT the speed of the machine is the most important.  As Jim has a variable speed controller (no scale) this has to be pure judgement.  I learned the hard way to first spin the machine for a short while (no tension on the hand wheel) until the strands have wound to a 'certain' degree - this is a judgement thing also based on the number of strands and size of the stock thread.  When it looks about right apply tension to the hand wheel to causer the spools to wind the rope strands and lay the rope up.  I also harden the same way as Chuck by stretching as it comes off the spool but as I use a cotton-polyester thread it also retains some elasticity so I hang lengths of scale rope with a swivel weight at each end over night to try and remove all stretch.
 
The other factor I have found with Jims machine is to stay SLOW!  Jim suggests you can speed it up as you get practice / become more experienced; however, I find that speeding it up too much requires different pre-tensioning/winding of the threads.  I have had best results keeping the machine relatively slow - the best I could describe is that I am winding the take-up spool at about one turn every two seconds (ish).  I hope that helps.  Please note I am still only making LH lay rope and have yet to experiment with RH lay, but as with Chuck's rope, I can cut it with no parting of the strands at all.
 
cheers
 
Pat

Thanks John, Alister, Mike, Greg, Brian and Slog for looking in and the encouragement.  Once I get these shrouds sorted I should be able to proceed at a better pace.
 
John, yeah, this was a surprise as these were silver soldered,  The served shrouds tend to not stay straight and need a little pressure to keep a neat appearance - perhaps I am serving them too tightly.
 
Greg, the shrouds are giving me enough grief (getting them to the right length as the serving on the foreleg of the front pairs proves to stiffen them, and then when the shrouds are 'pinched' together near the tops, it shortens them again (no planning/foresight by me on this so a big learning curve) - oh well live and learn - and... thanks (I think)) for the warning on the ratlin'
 
Slog, Mike and Greg, the basic idea for this rigging station is one adapted from Hubert Sicard (Wooden Ship Modelling for Dummies); he calls it his 'rigging crab' due to the multiple appendages.  I have made all bar the small drawers in the base (which dictated the width and depth of the station) which I obtained from an artists supplier (used to store their brushes etc) and are reasonably cheap.  The upright can be adjusted up and down depending on what length you need for the job at hand.  I still need to add an adjustment device on the horizontal that holds the alligator clips to give me just a little more room behind the rope when serving or whipping etc. The only other planned addition is a jig to hold the yardarms when rigging footropes but I haven't worked that out fully yet.
 
cheers
 
Pat 

Chuck is spot on with the Byrnes ropewalk (and I therefore assume the Russian version as well).  You can pre-wind BUT the speed of the machine is the most important.  As Jim has a variable speed controller (no scale) this has to be pure judgement.  I learned the hard way to first spin the machine for a short while (no tension on the hand wheel) until the strands have wound to a 'certain' degree - this is a judgement thing also based on the number of strands and size of the stock thread.  When it looks about right apply tension to the hand wheel to causer the spools to wind the rope strands and lay the rope up.  I also harden the same way as Chuck by stretching as it comes off the spool but as I use a cotton-polyester thread it also retains some elasticity so I hang lengths of scale rope with a swivel weight at each end over night to try and remove all stretch.
 
The other factor I have found with Jims machine is to stay SLOW!  Jim suggests you can speed it up as you get practice / become more experienced; however, I find that speeding it up too much requires different pre-tensioning/winding of the threads.  I have had best results keeping the machine relatively slow - the best I could describe is that I am winding the take-up spool at about one turn every two seconds (ish).  I hope that helps.  Please note I am still only making LH lay rope and have yet to experiment with RH lay, but as with Chuck's rope, I can cut it with no parting of the strands at all.
 
cheers
 
Pat

Hello all and thank you for visiting and your like votes.
 
Today was a bit frustrating.  I tried to cut 1 X 1 mm styrene strips for the deck slats but no matter how hard I tried I couldn't get anywhere with it.  They keep curling and refusing to remain straight.  I gave up and went to making 1 X 1 mm wood strips.  
Yeah I know, it's more labor intensive but the end result was quite satisfactory.  I'll have to go into mass production when it comes time to do the main deck 
Actually, it goes rather swift once I have 1 mm planks cut.  It's then a matter of sanding it smooth and by that time it's about 0. 8 mm, which actually looks a bit nicer.  Then carefully cut the 1 mm strips from it a little over size so I can sand them smooth on the cut sides.
 
I made a few strips to plank the small recessed deck of the cockpit and it came out rather well, just a little cleaning up. 
 
I also had to remake the aft AA gun deck.  I forgot to the side overhang to allow for the gun operation.  Oh well, such is life.  Got to thinking about those dumb deck slats and didn't pay attention.  At least it's a good excuse and I'm sticking with it      Wont do that with the front gun deck though    I'm running low on plywood.
 
So, tomorrow is making the deck slats for the aft gun deck - - - after I come back from the dentist.  We are going to get the stitches taken out and an impression made for the two crowns - - - yippee!   
 

The .8 X 1 mm slats are glued on to the deck in the cockpit or bridge.  Yes, it still needs to be cleaned up  some.  The few rough spots in the front will be removed because the help post will be placed there.  In the starboard front are a few cabinets and some "stuff" on the port side.  That area is also covered with a weather shield so most of the forward slats will not even be visible. 
 

This is a close-up view of the slats.
 

This shows the aft AA gun deck with the overhang I forgot with my first try.  The overhang will have a 1 mm reinforcing strip glued to the underside as well as metal support braces. The area with the vertical supports will have an inner lining, that's why I left decking out between the verticals.  The outside plating will cover it nicely.
The periscope housing is not glued on yet, first the slats to be glued to the deck plates
 
Cheers,
 

Hi again folks, a small update to the build.  I have been busy preparing some details for the rigging.  The ropewalk is now up and running along with my server and I have manage to produce a couple of shrouds etc with a decent serving on the fore shroud of the front pair (mizzen).  Not happy with the length of these so I will probably redo them.  I also have to repair a chain plate that came adrift under pressure but unsure whether to attempt this on the model or remove the channel edge strip (afraid I may damage the whole channel though in doing so) and then replace the whole chain with deadeye after repair.
 
One of the photos shows my  rigging station which is being modified as I find better ways to setup various rigging activities.
 
cheers
 
Pat
 
 

Hi again folks, a small update to the build.  I have been busy preparing some details for the rigging.  The ropewalk is now up and running along with my server and I have manage to produce a couple of shrouds etc with a decent serving on the fore shroud of the front pair (mizzen).  Not happy with the length of these so I will probably redo them.  I also have to repair a chain plate that came adrift under pressure but unsure whether to attempt this on the model or remove the channel edge strip (afraid I may damage the whole channel though in doing so) and then replace the whole chain with deadeye after repair.
 
One of the photos shows my  rigging station which is being modified as I find better ways to setup various rigging activities.
 
cheers
 
Pat
 
 

Hi again folks, a small update to the build.  I have been busy preparing some details for the rigging.  The ropewalk is now up and running along with my server and I have manage to produce a couple of shrouds etc with a decent serving on the fore shroud of the front pair (mizzen).  Not happy with the length of these so I will probably redo them.  I also have to repair a chain plate that came adrift under pressure but unsure whether to attempt this on the model or remove the channel edge strip (afraid I may damage the whole channel though in doing so) and then replace the whole chain with deadeye after repair.
 
One of the photos shows my  rigging station which is being modified as I find better ways to setup various rigging activities.
 
cheers
 
Pat
 
 

Hi again folks, a small update to the build.  I have been busy preparing some details for the rigging.  The ropewalk is now up and running along with my server and I have manage to produce a couple of shrouds etc with a decent serving on the fore shroud of the front pair (mizzen).  Not happy with the length of these so I will probably redo them.  I also have to repair a chain plate that came adrift under pressure but unsure whether to attempt this on the model or remove the channel edge strip (afraid I may damage the whole channel though in doing so) and then replace the whole chain with deadeye after repair.
 
One of the photos shows my  rigging station which is being modified as I find better ways to setup various rigging activities.
 
cheers
 
Pat
 
 

Very nice Slog!  keep jumpin about mate, keeps the reader more interested also
 
cheers
 
Pat

Merry Christmas and a happy new year every one.
 
Thanks to every one with their kind words. It seems that I have a small up date on Montagu gun deck. I took off the planking I installed the first time, or was it the second time but instead of installing just enough for the gun's, ran it all the way over to the hatch ways and left one side unplanked. The deck planking is silver maple and boy is it white and every thing has been pegged but have not done any kind of stain on it. Thinking about toning it down but not sure of the how or with what so if you have any ideal's please let me know. Have been expermenting but not happy with what am coming up with yet. Do know that Frolick used maplewood on his deck of his  La Belle Poule, and looks real nice. Seems it is a honey oak color and doesn't blind you when you look at it, but havn't found out what type of maple and if you know what type maple and  stain please let me know. The cannons are just sitting on the deck till other items get done and will be reloacted to a safer place once I start working on them again. Any way folks Merry Christmas and may you get that tool or kit that you been wanting for the past year.
 
Gary

Hi guys,
 
Thanks for all the encouraging comments.  Looking forward to seeing another Endeavour build Ross.
 
As anyone who stops by my log knows I tend to jump around a bit and this post is no different    (keeps me interested and stops me getting bored).  Since I needed to get back and do some work as I have been pretty slack lately, but not in the mood for wood working, I headed back to the stern to work on the ships lantern again.
 
 
I had previously finished the lantern and was pretty happy with it but it is very top heavy and teeters on the end of a 1mm brass rod support, which due to me drilling the hole in the stern a bit oversize it was going to be vulnerable to the slightest knock.

 
 
From looking through the AOTS I knew it had side supports which triangulates the whole lantern making it very secure so decided to try this, plus it meant doing some more soldering which I enjoy.  After deciding the position of the support legs and temporary placing the lantern in the stern I took some measurements and then cut out a small 11mm x 8mm card template to bend the support legs to.

 
 
After bending to the triangular shape and bending the ends straight for fitting into the stern holes I filed a small groove in the point to accept the 1mm vertical upright.  I did want to make the side support legs from 0.7mm rod so there was a noticeable difference in the diameters but only had 0.8mm which doesn’t have the same effect.

 
 
To solder together I drilled a couple of holes in some MDF and stuck the legs into and then taped the vertical support in place.  I applied some silver solder paste with a needle to the join which can just be seen in the photo, but in retrospect I could have used a bit more.

 
 
Soldered joint complete and after trial fitting and tweeking the fit I dropped it in to hydrochloric acid for a soak and then into the blackening solution.

 
 
Whilst the support was blackening I decided to make a sort of escutcheon plate to tidy up the area where the stand enters the stern and to hide my slightly oversize hole.  I used the black cartridge paper (this stuff is great and have used it throughout the build) and using a 3mm and 1mm hollow punch made the escutcheon plate.  I just had to remember to slip it on the support BEFORE gluing the lantern to the hull.

 
 
After a final trial fit I glued the lantern in place and then the whole assembly to the three holes drilled in the stern.  I slipped the escutcheon plate down to the hull and used wip-on poly applied with a little paint brush to fix the plate in place and job done.


 
 
Cheers
Slog