BANYAN

Great news - a significant New Year milestone
 
cheers
 
Pat

I made some further progress with the boom and jib but I have come to a temporary halt while I wait for some more beige line.  I had purchased the running rigging thread prior to getting my ropewalk and cannot match the colour, so until my new supplies arrive in the next couple of weeks I have statred on making the parrels.
 
The following photos show Endeavour at her current level of completion and in her display cradle. The top of the cradle is a copy of Cook's Chart for the East Coast of Australia that he drew while surveying his discovery of this part of our country - this has been sealed under a couple of layers of clear poly.  There are still many lines/ropes that are only temporary secured waiting for final tensioning and the footropes still need to be stiffened into their final position.  I am holding-off doing the final adjustments until I have stopped working in this area so that I don't knock them our or shape, or have to move a rope to fit another etc.
 
    
 
  
 
The parrels have been made from Red Gum which is a very dense timber, so it will allow me to cut thin clices from the milled shape shown n the photo.  I will drill the rope holes with indents for the parrels by hand using a template.  The photo shows the stock after thicknessing, the milled shape and the beads I will be using.
 

 
cheers
 
Pat

I made some further progress with the boom and jib but I have come to a temporary halt while I wait for some more beige line.  I had purchased the running rigging thread prior to getting my ropewalk and cannot match the colour, so until my new supplies arrive in the next couple of weeks I have statred on making the parrels.
 
The following photos show Endeavour at her current level of completion and in her display cradle. The top of the cradle is a copy of Cook's Chart for the East Coast of Australia that he drew while surveying his discovery of this part of our country - this has been sealed under a couple of layers of clear poly.  There are still many lines/ropes that are only temporary secured waiting for final tensioning and the footropes still need to be stiffened into their final position.  I am holding-off doing the final adjustments until I have stopped working in this area so that I don't knock them our or shape, or have to move a rope to fit another etc.
 
    
 
  
 
The parrels have been made from Red Gum which is a very dense timber, so it will allow me to cut thin clices from the milled shape shown n the photo.  I will drill the rope holes with indents for the parrels by hand using a template.  The photo shows the stock after thicknessing, the milled shape and the beads I will be using.
 

 
cheers
 
Pat

I made some further progress with the boom and jib but I have come to a temporary halt while I wait for some more beige line.  I had purchased the running rigging thread prior to getting my ropewalk and cannot match the colour, so until my new supplies arrive in the next couple of weeks I have statred on making the parrels.
 
The following photos show Endeavour at her current level of completion and in her display cradle. The top of the cradle is a copy of Cook's Chart for the East Coast of Australia that he drew while surveying his discovery of this part of our country - this has been sealed under a couple of layers of clear poly.  There are still many lines/ropes that are only temporary secured waiting for final tensioning and the footropes still need to be stiffened into their final position.  I am holding-off doing the final adjustments until I have stopped working in this area so that I don't knock them our or shape, or have to move a rope to fit another etc.
 
    
 
  
 
The parrels have been made from Red Gum which is a very dense timber, so it will allow me to cut thin clices from the milled shape shown n the photo.  I will drill the rope holes with indents for the parrels by hand using a template.  The photo shows the stock after thicknessing, the milled shape and the beads I will be using.
 

 
cheers
 
Pat

Great news - a significant New Year milestone
 
cheers
 
Pat

Hi again all.  Thanks for the pointer to the painting jbshan.  On closer inspection I think it does accord with Druxey's observations.  I found a higher res of the painting at
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:John_Cleveley_the_Younger,_HMS_Resolution_and_Discovery_in_Tahiti.jpg
 
The foot of the hoist appears to be in exactly the same sort of relative position to the rail as RMG painting?
 
edit:  oops - on review (zoomed) it appears this Ensignis larger in physical size BUT... it is being flown from from the gaff halyard and not the Ensign Staff.
 
I think, for my purpose​, that the proposed rule-of-thumb will suffice?
 
cheers
 
Pat

Did too some homework and not only the kedge on the mizzen channel is doubtful, also the davits are ;-)
 
Checked all drawings from Turner, Pocock, Livesay and Dodd from 1805 to 1807 and no davits displayed. 
 
All drawings from 1824 onwards show them quite prominently ...
 
As I said, some people worry about the 50 shades of pink, but there are bigger things awaiting ;-)
 
XXXDan

Hi again all.  Thanks for the pointer to the painting jbshan.  On closer inspection I think it does accord with Druxey's observations.  I found a higher res of the painting at
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:John_Cleveley_the_Younger,_HMS_Resolution_and_Discovery_in_Tahiti.jpg
 
The foot of the hoist appears to be in exactly the same sort of relative position to the rail as RMG painting?
 
edit:  oops - on review (zoomed) it appears this Ensignis larger in physical size BUT... it is being flown from from the gaff halyard and not the Ensign Staff.
 
I think, for my purpose​, that the proposed rule-of-thumb will suffice?
 
cheers
 
Pat

Great news - a significant New Year milestone
 
cheers
 
Pat

Great news - a significant New Year milestone
 
cheers
 
Pat

Hello all. Finally, after 9 months and 18 days, today Jan. 7 2016 I placed the last bit of wood to finish the second planking in my R.L.
This is just a simple update. I will post photos once it is fully painted, which I estimate will take me just a few days.
 
Just couldn't wait to post this milestone.

Thanks all, appreciate the feedback and pointers.
 
I think the best estimate I can make is to follow Druxey's advice and base it on the visual evidence of conntemporarty paintings, drawings and models which equates to the 'hoist' being approx. 2/3rds the length of the staff.  Once I have calculated this for my model (at 1:60) I'll see if Model flags has an existing size (they do 10 sizes of the Red Ensign for this period, so I should get something fairly close (I hope)   Once of have established this size I will order a jack that equates to the same size as that used in the selected ensign.
 
Thanks again all.
 
Pat

Thanks all, appreciate the feedback and pointers.
 
I think the best estimate I can make is to follow Druxey's advice and base it on the visual evidence of conntemporarty paintings, drawings and models which equates to the 'hoist' being approx. 2/3rds the length of the staff.  Once I have calculated this for my model (at 1:60) I'll see if Model flags has an existing size (they do 10 sizes of the Red Ensign for this period, so I should get something fairly close (I hope)   Once of have established this size I will order a jack that equates to the same size as that used in the selected ensign.
 
Thanks again all.
 
Pat

Hello Pat,
 
have a look at this page: http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/gb-hist.html#early 
 
Regards,
Siggi

One rule of thumb is that a warship's largest ensign, in the fly (the long dimension) is equal to the extreme breadth of the vessel, the hoist being in proportion to that depending on the time period.  They got longer or less square with time.  The jack would be the same size as the union on the largest ensign.  They carried several sizes of ensign, the smaller ones being equal in the fly to the next largest in the hoist.
That all sounds pretty complicated but it was more complex even that that as the sizes were based on 'breadths' of cloth, and suits of flags were issued to each ship in more or less standard sizes which might or might not exactly match the guidelines, and this is all RN practice, not particularly universal though the RN served as a pattern for many.

Even though the picture of the red ensign is heraldically correct, in practice the diagonal cross was usually off set ...
http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/937.html
 

 
To be seen on almost all the examples I know.
 
XXXDAn

Pat,
 
Your assumption, regarding the design for the jack and that in the ensign, is correct. The diagonal St Patrick's cross was not incorporated into the Union flag until 1801, when Ireland became part of the Union of Great Britain. When added the cross was offset from the centre of the white diagonal – indeed the jack as we know it was designed so as to not upset, as far as possible, the sensibilities of the other nations of the Union.
 
I'm not sure it worked 100%!

That is one heck of a "work of art" delivered by a very talented artisan Remco - a wonderful legacy you leave us mere mortals to follow
 
cheers
 
Pat

Thanks for the rule of thumb Druxey; appreciated.
 
Thanks Mark, a handy site.  Once I work out the approximate scale size using Druxey's guidance I will order something close to the size.
 
cheers
 
Pat

Thanks for the rule of thumb Druxey; appreciated.
 
Thanks Mark, a handy site.  Once I work out the approximate scale size using Druxey's guidance I will order something close to the size.
 
cheers
 
Pat

Pat, go to ModelFlags.com you'll be able to get all the info you need and you can order cloth flags printed on both sides to the correct scale of your model.
I have no affiliation to them other than being a customer.
Mark

Ensigns appear to be about 2/3 the length of the staff that they were flown on. If you know the length of the staff, that will give you the depth of the ensign. You already have the length/breadth ratios, so....
 
Check contemporary paintings to confirm this.

Pat, Mike
 
Yeah Nah, thats exactly what I thought too Mike. I have no problem tying the clove hitches, over the years I have become quite adept at tying knots with tweezers. For the ratlines I am using linen thread I got from a sewing shop, its different and thicker than cotton and just the right diameter, it isnt fuzzy and forms nice neat "spliced eyes" by folding it over with a tiny drop of pva glue to hold the end and form an eye. I use the thinner cotton to tie the eye to the shroud and if trimmed close its really neat. I use a precision electronics wire cutter for trimming, brilliant. For all my rigging work and other small stuff I put a small amount of PVA glue into a small tray or stubby lid and use a piece of copper wire to apply a small drop of glue to the article. After a while you form a small mountain of dried glue, when I built my last ship I had a glue mountain about 20 mm high!!
 
Cheers
Steve

Thanks Steve and JB.  Steve that photo is perfect - many thanks for that - much appreciate the rapid response.  I was a bit puzzled by marquardt's depiction as i could not see a 'seaman' like way to utilise a central line either end; the spreaders make much more practical sense.
 
cheers
 
Pat

Background:
Well, not all K40's are created equal. So I'll put this up with caveats and the "gotchas" that I found.  I hope that this will be of value to someone.   At this point in the market, the prices are dropping and quality is getting better.   Do some shopping, read the reviews.  Ebay has great prices but... and it's a big "but".. there's hidden costs such as duty, import broker fees, and getting it shipped from the port entry to your door.  There's also "service" which seems from reviews to be non-existent.  I'd suggest looking for a dealer in the country you are located.
 
The MM Laserknife, is basically an upgraded K40 with a better power supply, a safety switch to kill the beam if the lid is opened, and better quality control than the run of the mill Chinese K40.  As is, it worked pretty good for what I've been doing with it but I wasn't exactly pleased trying to cut thicker woods.  For example, 3/16" boxwood was very problematical, but 3/16" cherry was pretty good.
 
Hindsight being what it is, I would have bought a totally different unit for around the same price and gained cutting size and power out.  But... <shrugs shoulders>... see the first paragraph for caveats.
 
So.. off I went into "UpgradeLand"...
 
Previously, I upgraded the lens from the small 12mm lens to a better grade 18mm lens with the same focal length.   This produced a finer beam at the wood but I did loose the ability to re-focus by moving the lens.  I worked around that by setting p the z-table so I could move it up and down to compensate.  
 
So far, so good... but still, I wasn't happy with cutting the thicker bits and harder species of wood.  I realized it was either buy another machine or upgrade this one... upgrade is/was the lower cost alternative.
 
Doing the homework:
I researched tubes and couldn't find a 50W that was up to snuff with a good price.  I did, however locate a 45W that had a good price and the company does provide good service.
 
The tube in the machine is called a 40W.  Reality... it's about a 35W at steady-state.  The 45W I selected pumps out 45W steady-state.  It is however longer (730mm vs. 1000mm) and bigger diameter (50mm vs 55mm).  
 
There is a 60W available that longer than the 40W (naturally) but also has a higher power requirement so it's out.  I saw some 50W tubes but I'm questioning if this isn't more marketing hype like labeling the K40 as a 40W machine.  The power requirements and tube size were smaller than those for the 45W I bought.   Puzzling to say the least.
 
First thing to check was power supply... the old tube needed 15kV at about 12mV.  The new one needs 15kV at ~18mA max.  MM uses a 220 VAC input (using a transformer) which outputs 20kV at 20mA.  This was good as PSU's are pretty pricey.
 
The next was water pump...  The new tube needs 10L/minute flow.  The MM pump is rated at 50L/minute.
 
Then there's the mounting... a hole will need to be cut in the case and an extender installed.  The mounts themselves would require modification to accept the bigger size. 
 
I ordered the new tube, extender, and about 12 feet of 6mm silicone tubing.  I bought 100% silicone caulking/sealer from Lowe's.
 
The tube I received was tested the day it shipped at 45W output using 15mA of power and metered at 18" from the tube end.  Yippee.... stated wattage is actual wattage.  In the K40 world, this is pretty iffy. 
 
The Upgrade
 
I took several photos of the unit before removing anything.  I also marked the place where the output of the tube was located for reference.
 

 
I removed the wiring, cooling hoses, and then the tube.  I also removed the rubber mount pad from the tube mounts.  Note that different K40's can have different mounts depending on manufacturer.  Mine were metal and looked like an old style hose clamp in some ways.  But they did/do give me the wiggle room for upgrading.
 

 
The actual upgrade then started. First steps were to cut the hole and mount the extension. I cut the hole, put the new tube in place and checked everything.  I then removed the tube and mounted the extension.  There was a problem with the mounting holes for the screws.  The hardware didn't match the drawings but I was aware of this from reading on the support forum where I bought the parts.  I had to make my own template.
 
One note... do make sure to completely remove any metal chips from cutting and drilling.  If one gets into the wrong place, you can have sparks, fire, etc. and end up needing a new power supply at a minimum.
 

 
I shimmed the mounts using foam carpet tape and several pieces of thin cardboard to get the tube close to where it needed to be.  I went back during alignment and re-seated and adjusted these mounts.
 
The tube was installed and the wiring connected by wrapping the bare copper around the post.  These can't be soldered as the seal for the post to glass tube will melt.  I stuck on a piece of 6mm silicone tubing and filled the tube with silicone compound.  This made for a good connection and also insulation as one doesn't want 20kV sparking about.
 
I replaced the old cooling hoses with new at this point.
 

 
The unit was then "tested" by first firing up the water pump, rotating the tube to remove any air bubbles (due to the way they're made, they really only work well in position for this).
 
I also began the alignment procedure as this is critical. 
 
The cutter now looks like this from the front

 
The first step was shimming the tube to be level from end to end and then using thermo paper (cash register receipt) and very low power, getting the beam dead center on the first mirror.  I locked down the tube and re-checked.  Then I did mirrors 2 and 3.  A bit fussy with checking at the near points and far points of travel but it must be done.   I then locked everything down and re-did the alignment tests. 
 
Post upgrade evaluation:
 
I've not cut anything worthwhile yet, but I have done a bunch of testing.  The first after alignment was to check the focus.  I'm still spot on without having to change my table shims except when I change wood thickness.
 
The kerf is thinner and on 3/16" boxwood the "V"ing of the kerf is much, much less.  This is with a bit less power (amperage) and faster speed.   Misson accomplished.
 
Next will be when I get some time is to thickness a 1/4" boxwood plank and see what happens. 
 
My total cost at this point is around $2500 including original machine, new lens and lens mount, new tube and the extension.   This doesn't include a GFI protector, the cooling water and bucket, or the hole saw for the drill.
 
I'm not an expert but I've learned a lot with this.