BANYAN

Hi all, I use the Beileshi with my glass and without - no issue either way but does affect the working distance.
 
Gaetan, I was skeptical at first but they seem to be proper glass lenses and they do include the working distances per lens (by magnification).
 
The table that came with mine state:
 
Lens Plate  Mag ratio  Focus   (Focal Length)
     2                1.5x        20 inches
     4                  2x         10 inches
     5                 2.5x        8 inches
    10                3.5x        4 inches
 
cheers
 
Pat
 

Hi all, after a short (ish) sojourn I am back at the modelling desk; a long list of 'honey please do' jobs and continued research (on the rigging) interrupted by the festive season is my excuse
 
The following shows the additional work that has been done.  The progress photo (before fitting the circular skylights) shows the broadside gun carriages loosely sited in their future position.   I cannot progress these until we finish printing the 3D barrels but unfortunately my mate helping me with that, has a few health issues and that must take priority.  I have the trunnion caps, tackles and breeching ropes ready to go once we are in a position to print the guns.  the pivot gun slide has also been made and all the pieces for the carriage which sits on top have been cut but not yet assembled.
 
    
 
The circular skylights were made from turned acrylic rod (8mm) and PE which I drew up and I had etched here in Melbourne.  The photos show the 'prototype skylight which has since been cleaned up a little more.  Al (alpayed on this forum - building the Danmark) turned these for me as I was doing something wrong and the rod kept melting on me.  These formed the base with the spigot being used as the locating pins and a small hole was drilled in the top while still in the lathe to accept a brass pin.  This pin is intended to represent a small rod and cover in the actual item that could be raised to allow ventilation through the skylight.  The sides were photo etched with the brass vertical bars etched deeper so that when the top and bottom were painted to represent the wooden parts, it looked like the bars were recessed.  The side were rolled and formed on a dowel then silver soldered for strength before painting. 
 
The conical part represents the bars over the top but at this scale it proved simply too difficult to include the wooden framing.  Overall I think they came out ok, but I am tempted to redo the tops as I could not get the 'exact' diameter of the formed cone to sit on top of the side pieces.  to the eye it looks fine, but a close inspection, especially through the camera shows they are not sitting uniformly on top of the side pieces.
 
cheers, and a very happy, healthy and safe 2020
 
Pat
 
    
 

Great progress Gaetan, up to your very high standards of workmanship as usual.  Nice photos BTW.
 
cheers
 
Pat

Steven am sadly watching Australia burning. Hope soon the nightmare ends. Wish you, your family and all the people in Australia  strength and patience. 
 
Christos

Thank you for your kind words and all the "likes", dear friends. 
The cannons are finally placed inside the model; all are movable and able to adjust in height. Now the Royal Katherine looks much more like a warship.
 


Have a Happy New Year 2020 and plenty of health, love and joy.
 

So that was strange. I wrote a whole update post, which was then eaten when I tried to post it by some Firewall Error. But when I went back and did a test post it went through. So here's a shorter version because I don't feel like rewriting it all.
 
Bending beams for the forward part of the hurricane deck:

Connected together and installed on the model, using pins at the back:

Adding vertical supports and testing the heat shields that keep the chimneys from burning passengers or setting the boat on fire; these are made from scrap PVC:

Heat shields painted and vertical posts all complete:

View from the bow:

If you look closely, you may be able to tell that this structure is a bit out of alignment; the forward curve is closer to the port side than the starboard. It's fairly obvious from some angles and not at all from others. Redoing would mean starting over on this entire structure and I'm not up for that, so I'm going to do my best to hide it. The finished model will have enough detail and complexity that I think it'll be pretty easy to overlook. This is why I'm not a professional (among other reasons).
 
Happy (soon) New Year to all of you.

Looks lovely , but I hope that you used Tung oil rather than tongue oil. Yech!

Did a bit more on the spanker.

Inside decks, below the first deck, was the job for 2019.
Next year, the job will begin with the deck beams for the first deck and I just finished most of the notches of the deck beams.

Hi Pat. The trampoline is mylar. Not much else wouldn't pull apart when laced up.

Greg, I recently purchased a Beleshi Glass Lens headband (no light).  While these are the enclosed type, I have found the reduced field of view does not interfere with my modelling.  They also do not have a 'mounted' LED but I never use that feature anyway.
 
I went for  a 'package' deal that included 3 lenses of different focal lengths/magnification.  I got these at a really good price through Amazon Australia.  At first, based on the price, I was sceptical these were actually glass lenses but they are   - much cheaper than many of the the other manufacturers and I have found them very good.  The only issue being that because they are ground glass lenses the 'depth of field' is much more defined and dependent on the magnification selected.  That said once you determine your working length/focal length they are very clear and easy to work with.
 
I am going to invest in another pair (at that price not a problem) so that I have extra lenses and have two magnification levels to work with, without having to change out the lenses.  Give me a bell or PM if you need extra info.
 
cheers
 
Pat

Agree glass lenses; only way to go.
 
cheers
 
Pat

Greg, I recently purchased a Beleshi Glass Lens headband (no light).  While these are the enclosed type, I have found the reduced field of view does not interfere with my modelling.  They also do not have a 'mounted' LED but I never use that feature anyway.
 
I went for  a 'package' deal that included 3 lenses of different focal lengths/magnification.  I got these at a really good price through Amazon Australia.  At first, based on the price, I was sceptical these were actually glass lenses but they are   - much cheaper than many of the the other manufacturers and I have found them very good.  The only issue being that because they are ground glass lenses the 'depth of field' is much more defined and dependent on the magnification selected.  That said once you determine your working length/focal length they are very clear and easy to work with.
 
I am going to invest in another pair (at that price not a problem) so that I have extra lenses and have two magnification levels to work with, without having to change out the lenses.  Give me a bell or PM if you need extra info.
 
cheers
 
Pat

Agree glass lenses; only way to go.
 
cheers
 
Pat

Great technique for attaining the bowsprit shap in the bulwarks Keith; another idea to tuck away.
 
Look forward to seeing your cap rails in situ.  I put in a couple of hours today working on my skylights; posts to follow soon.
 
cheers
 
Pat

Greg, I recently purchased a Beleshi Glass Lens headband (no light).  While these are the enclosed type, I have found the reduced field of view does not interfere with my modelling.  They also do not have a 'mounted' LED but I never use that feature anyway.
 
I went for  a 'package' deal that included 3 lenses of different focal lengths/magnification.  I got these at a really good price through Amazon Australia.  At first, based on the price, I was sceptical these were actually glass lenses but they are   - much cheaper than many of the the other manufacturers and I have found them very good.  The only issue being that because they are ground glass lenses the 'depth of field' is much more defined and dependent on the magnification selected.  That said once you determine your working length/focal length they are very clear and easy to work with.
 
I am going to invest in another pair (at that price not a problem) so that I have extra lenses and have two magnification levels to work with, without having to change out the lenses.  Give me a bell or PM if you need extra info.
 
cheers
 
Pat

Agree glass lenses; only way to go.
 
cheers
 
Pat

Finally I gave the boom and gaff a wash of tongue oil to even up its color and to preserve it.
 Rigging the sails will be done off the model as is my habit.  A bit more details to finish up before then.
Thanks for all the likes and views.
 
Rob

Worked a bit more, by finishing up the boom and adding the cleat to secure the topping lift and the blocks for the boom sheets.
Also finished up the spider fife rail.

Thank you dear friends for your comments and "likes". 
I am pleased you enjoy my work.
Now I am finishing the cannons for lower and middle deck. It remains to make 32 smaller cannons for the upper and quarter deck but 18 of them will be fully detailed with rigging. I have given a detailed tutorial to this thread some time ago if you are interested in "how to do".
I have to admit that I am totally bored of such monotonous work.... Oh yes, I told to myself in past - "I will never build a three decker again"... Well, and I couldn't resist it again....😃
 


 
 
 
 

I am trying to improve making wooden blocks to reach more realistic result. I use only basic tools (knives, raspers, sandpaper) and mainly my hands.  Here are several pics of blocks (with red points) I made last time, and you can compare them with others that were made in the begining.
 

I also hung the fore and main lower yards on the masts for imagination, how large the model will be. The main lower yard is about 55cm long.(proportions are partly based on the plans of the HMS Lenox)
 

 

 

Great technique for attaining the bowsprit shap in the bulwarks Keith; another idea to tuck away.
 
Look forward to seeing your cap rails in situ.  I put in a couple of hours today working on my skylights; posts to follow soon.
 
cheers
 
Pat

Great technique for attaining the bowsprit shap in the bulwarks Keith; another idea to tuck away.
 
Look forward to seeing your cap rails in situ.  I put in a couple of hours today working on my skylights; posts to follow soon.
 
cheers
 
Pat

Keith, Roger, Bedford, thank you for the positive feedback.
 
Pat - I look forward to your return to the workshop and your next post.
 
I did make a bit of progress towards installing the bulwark cap rail, namely forming the cutout at the prow for the bowsprit. This is quite a complex cut away formed by the intersection of the bowsprit and the outward sloping bulwarks. It was also a good opportunity to make a (hopefully to be avoided) mess of this part of the hull - . The expected shape is quite well defined on the plans:-

I decided the best way to approach forming the cut out was to create a circular sanding rod the diameter of the cut out and use this to sand away the bulwarks until I had reached the required depth - about 1/4". I wanted to make sure the sanding operation was well controlled with the sanding motion being axial along the centre line of the boat. To achieve this I created the block in the following photo:-

The block had one face machined away to leave an up-stand that fitted tightly into the hole for the forward deck house. A hole of the diameter of the bowsprit was machined axially along the block at the height of the bowsprit above the deck. 

A a steel tube of slightly less diameter than the bowsprit was then selected and 120 grit oxide paper was glued to it to bring it up to the bowsprit diameter. With the wooden block held in position by elastic bands, sanding of the cutout commenced. The fore and aft sanding motion being constrained by the guide formed by the wooden block.

With this setup I carefully sanded, checking frequently with a steel bar of the same diameter as the bowsprit.

After about half an hour of careful work I had produced the required shape.



I am now in a position to commence the cap rail.
 
 

I them moved on to the spanker mast build..beginning with making the boom and gaff and the hoop rings.
I made the lift truck for the purchase block and mounted it to the spanker.