Gabek

Anthony & Joss,
thanks for the kind words. It did work well, not my idea though, this was borrowed from a Russian model of the Victory ( I think), from quite a few years ago.
It is finally complete and with the new owner. 
 

 
Grant.

Paddy, thanks. I apologise for the slow reply.
I didn't meet the Christmas deadline, should only be about 2 weeks over. I spent a lot of time on the base board, well worth the effort in the end. Progress pictures........
 

 
Grant.

Paddy, 42Rocker and Pete
thanks, I appreciate the interest and comments.
Paddy, I spent some time today attaching the ring bolts to the breech ropes according to a diagram from "Historic Ship Models" By Monfeld.
The eye bolt was held in a hole drilled into a block clamped to the table. At this point I would like to acknowledge the material assistance provided by the nice lady in the 'sail makers' shop, couldn't have done it without you. All the siezings were knotted, glued  and allowed to set as before, prior to wrapping them around the rope. One thing to note, always keep the end of the thread to be whipped around the rope on the side of the knot in the direction of whip, that way you will not have to cross over the thread to start the whipping. It will sit better  this way.This may sound like gibberish, but you will see what I mean when doing it. The rest is self explanatory.

 
Grant.

Hey Gabe,
I was just checking in to see fellow Triton builder's progress and I take mt hat off to you Sir. Your level of dedication at this scale is truly amazing. I can't wait to see where you may go from here.
 
Warm regards,
Ray

Thanks, Matrim. I think I may have made that mistake on the other frames, but they really are so weak that I can see them breaking when I try to fair them later. I think I may make the planking a bit thicker and fair up the lines by sanding them, instead. These outside, built-up frames however are much stronger (my hat goes off to the ship designers and builders of yore!)
 
And, like a kid, I couldn't wait to see what the frame would look like so I sanded it up and the chocks are almost invisible (just the way I like it!). A couple of the butt joints between the futtocks, however, are not tight...something I have to work on for frame pair 5.
 
(Hmmm...uploader said the picture file was too big...but it's only 715 kB. I posted the topic and hit edit, now it works. Anyone else getting this?)
 

Well, thought I'd just check the glue and found it was dry. So, I decided to try adding chocks...it took maybe 30 minutes, if that! Tough to get a perfect fit, but I think it will do. I also noticed just how much stronger this frame is compared to the one-piece frames I've already made. Using the grain of the wood properly sure helps!
 

 
Sanding the frame to size is next.

Ah...summer holidays. Done another term of teaching and managed to finish a ship in a bottle as a gift for my dad while my parents were in town to celebrate my youngest son's graduation from high school. I can now pick up the Triton where I left off.
 
I had already prepped some 3/16" cherry for the two frame pairs (C and 5) that I was going to build up. I glued the futtock patterns along the grain and roughly cut them out on the scroll saw. Not ever having done this before, I decided to try to complete one frame pair first before working on the other and make any necessary modifications to my method. I left extra wood on the futtocks thinking that it might be easier to clean them up once the frames were all built and stronger.
 
Thinking of some of the things I want to do with this build I began doing some more research on frigate construction. I own the Anatomy of a Ship books on the HMS Pandora (24 gun) and the HMS Diana (36) and I soon noticed that chocks were used between most of the futtocks, particularly the lower ones, and sometimes scarfs for upper futtocks. I made a decision that I may regret later: I was going to install chocks on these built-up frames, but only on the futtocks that would be visible in the completed model. At first I thought I could just fake the chocks by scoring the frames with an x-acto knife, but I realized that the butt joint between the futtocks would bisect the simulated chocks. So, I was going to actually make chocks. The chocks in these two books look similar, but the Diana shows them being longer and more gently tapered than on the Pandora. Although I liked the look of the sleeker chocks, I decided to copy the Pandora version because the size of that frigate is closer to the Triton. Also, I thought that cutting out the futtocks at this scale might be easier with shorter chocks.
 
I did a few measurements and calculations to come up with a plan to follow. Because I was using some really small measurements (0.7 mm in some cases) I used a knife to mark my lines on the wood. I soon discovered that cherry was fairly easy to cut so I used the knife to cut out the shapes rather than a razor saw as I had first intended. I cleaned up the notches with a needle file.
 
Three steps in making the frames

 
I decided to build up the frames individually and then glue the frame pairs together before installing the chocks. To build up the frames I cut the futtocks to the butt joint lines and I lined them up on a printout, using pins to hold them in place. A drop of cyano on the joints was used to hold the futtocks together until I could glue the frame pair. I carefully sanded one side of each frame on a flat surface and glued them together with carpenter's glue. I cleaned up the squeeze out where the chocks will go with a dental pick.
 
I'll find out if this was all a mistake when I add the chocks and clean up the frames.
 
Pinned and ready for cyano

 
Frame pair ready

 
Frame pair glued

Ah...summer holidays. Done another term of teaching and managed to finish a ship in a bottle as a gift for my dad while my parents were in town to celebrate my youngest son's graduation from high school. I can now pick up the Triton where I left off.
 
I had already prepped some 3/16" cherry for the two frame pairs (C and 5) that I was going to build up. I glued the futtock patterns along the grain and roughly cut them out on the scroll saw. Not ever having done this before, I decided to try to complete one frame pair first before working on the other and make any necessary modifications to my method. I left extra wood on the futtocks thinking that it might be easier to clean them up once the frames were all built and stronger.
 
Thinking of some of the things I want to do with this build I began doing some more research on frigate construction. I own the Anatomy of a Ship books on the HMS Pandora (24 gun) and the HMS Diana (36) and I soon noticed that chocks were used between most of the futtocks, particularly the lower ones, and sometimes scarfs for upper futtocks. I made a decision that I may regret later: I was going to install chocks on these built-up frames, but only on the futtocks that would be visible in the completed model. At first I thought I could just fake the chocks by scoring the frames with an x-acto knife, but I realized that the butt joint between the futtocks would bisect the simulated chocks. So, I was going to actually make chocks. The chocks in these two books look similar, but the Diana shows them being longer and more gently tapered than on the Pandora. Although I liked the look of the sleeker chocks, I decided to copy the Pandora version because the size of that frigate is closer to the Triton. Also, I thought that cutting out the futtocks at this scale might be easier with shorter chocks.
 
I did a few measurements and calculations to come up with a plan to follow. Because I was using some really small measurements (0.7 mm in some cases) I used a knife to mark my lines on the wood. I soon discovered that cherry was fairly easy to cut so I used the knife to cut out the shapes rather than a razor saw as I had first intended. I cleaned up the notches with a needle file.
 
Three steps in making the frames

 
I decided to build up the frames individually and then glue the frame pairs together before installing the chocks. To build up the frames I cut the futtocks to the butt joint lines and I lined them up on a printout, using pins to hold them in place. A drop of cyano on the joints was used to hold the futtocks together until I could glue the frame pair. I carefully sanded one side of each frame on a flat surface and glued them together with carpenter's glue. I cleaned up the squeeze out where the chocks will go with a dental pick.
 
I'll find out if this was all a mistake when I add the chocks and clean up the frames.
 
Pinned and ready for cyano

 
Frame pair ready

 
Frame pair glued

Well, thought I'd just check the glue and found it was dry. So, I decided to try adding chocks...it took maybe 30 minutes, if that! Tough to get a perfect fit, but I think it will do. I also noticed just how much stronger this frame is compared to the one-piece frames I've already made. Using the grain of the wood properly sure helps!
 

 
Sanding the frame to size is next.

Good job so far, don't forget to leave a mm or two around both edges as you will need that when fairing the hull in place. It's easy to want to go to the line but is mostly a mistake (that I made...)

Well, thought I'd just check the glue and found it was dry. So, I decided to try adding chocks...it took maybe 30 minutes, if that! Tough to get a perfect fit, but I think it will do. I also noticed just how much stronger this frame is compared to the one-piece frames I've already made. Using the grain of the wood properly sure helps!
 

 
Sanding the frame to size is next.

Greetings to all,
I’ve finally completed the standing and running rigging for my Triton. I added the truss pendant, nave line, and another pin rail on the QD rail and the top’s rail. I still have to dress up the lines a bit. I also have to add the other components together in order to say my build is complete. These items include, ballast, barrels, ½ boat, crates, spare timber, and lines. Upon completion of my Triton I’ll move ahead and construct a display case for it. The following photos will show you how she looks so far.   

I am looking for a small wire cutter capable of cutting hard wire from .040 down to .0135. Currently I am cutting metal pins (medical quality) and the Irwin brand cutters are not cutting cleanly, also the wire is leaving indentations in the edge of the cutter blade.
 
Thanks,
Richard

Very nice Gabe! It's going to be great to follow along and see how you deal with any problems from working in such a small scale. Keep up the great work! -Chad

Thanks, Matrim.
 
I have a joke I tell all my friends...
 
Do you know what a short story is?
 
I don't.
 
I was a bit tired when I posted the last entry. I duplicated one photo and forgot this one of the completed frames.
 

March 2014
 
My main motivation for starting this project was to learn the craft of scratch-building - and the online format with so many build logs and supportive modellers makes this an ideal educational environment. I also wanted to develop my skills on some of the power tools I now own, some of them thanks to my friend Clarence who was an avid woodworker but downscaled his workshop when he and his wife decided to sell their home and move into a senior's condo. His scroll saw has basically been collecting dust in my home except for the one scary time I used it to cut the rail cap on my first build, the Swift. I had no clue how to properly work it, so this project was going to be my scroll saw course.
 
As I looked over the plans for the Triton it started to dawn on me what a challenge1/96 might be. The size of the parts for the frames would make things 'interesting' in the Chinese curse way. The futtocks would have to be cut from 3/32 stock. This was my first scratch build so I still wanted to try assembling frames, but making 9 of them at this scale was beginning to worry me. So, I came up with a compromise that I could live with...but I'm not sure what you folks might think. I plan on building the outermost frame pairs (4 and D) accordingly, but the inner frames I'm going to cut as single pieces. This way I get some experience building up frames, the model will look more authentic (outwardly at least) and I won't go nuts.
 
After some research and a look through my supply of wood, I decided to go with birch for the inner, one-piece frame pairs. To get my 1" stock down to 3/16" it needed to be resawn and then planed...and I didn't have the equipment to get this done. However, we have a wood shop in the school where I teach and the woods teacher was happy to help me out. So, after classes on a Friday afternoon he coached and helped me make the stock I needed. (Thanks, Michael!). Later that evening I printed out the frame plans and glued them to the birch with spray adhesive.
 

 
The next day I used the band saw to roughly cut apart the frames. I grabbed #4 and took it to the scroll saw for the moment of truth. I set up a fine-toothed blade, dialed in a fast speed and nervously pushed the wood into the teeth. Well, I suppose it was an ok job...but it took a bit more reading, a great YouTube video and a few more frames before I could really say I had the hang of cutting a controlled line!
 
 
My goal was to use the scroll saw to get to about a millimetre of the line on the plan and then take the frame to my little belt sander to get the wood to the line. But, the frames at this scale were just so thin that I became very nervous about snapping them while getting them to size. So, I decided to cut and sand to the inside line before even cutting the outside to give at least some support to the wood as I worked on it. I chose to do the inside first because it was harder to work with at the sander.
 
 
The belt sander was terrifying to use...it could remove material so fast that it took a very light touch and a lot of concentration not to grind a frame down too far. There were many heart-stopping moments, and one mistake that will need a bit of a fix. To smooth out the lines left by the sander I made a couple of sanding blocks that fit the inner and outer curves of the frames using a product called Sand-to-Shape. I had picked these up at the sale table at our Lee Valley.
 
 
Eventually I had the hang of things and I was able to complete a frame in about 30 minutes.
 
I soon realized that my one-piece frame pairs had a weakness. The upper futtocks ran with the grain of the wood, but the grain went across the first and floor futtocks. So, in addition to being very thin I had to be careful not to stress the lower parts of the frames too much. Sure enough, while cutting frame 3 on the scroll saw the blade caught the wood and it snapped. The worst part was that it happened while cutting the outside line...AFTER I had already spent the time and energy to cut and sand the inside of the frame. Ah well.
 

Wow, I love the scale and detail. Very smart. Well done

ON RAILS: RAISING AND LOWERING TERROR’S SCREW
 
On ships like HMS Rattler (launched two years prior to the Franklin Expedition) unshipping the propeller involved a difficult operation involving tackle over the side of the vessel. A significant advancement of HMS Terror and Erebus was a new well system used to raise and lower the propeller directly through the stern of the vessels. The well system was so novel and efficient that a demonstration comparing the unshipping procedures of the Rattler and Erebus was conducted for the Lords of the Admiralty and ­the press prior to the departure of the vessels (Anonymous 1845:279). The system was subsequently adopted on all screw powered vessels in the Royal Navy of the era.
      A significant trait of the new propeller well system was a pair of grooves or rails on the fore and aft sides of the rudderpost and sternpost, respectively. These grooves were used to guide the propeller as it was raised and lowered and to seat it firmly while it was in use. On most ships, these grooves were cut into the wood of the sternpost and rudderpost, but Oliver Lang’s design for HMS Erebus and Terror needed to be different. In his design the grooves were cut into rails which projected into the well and performed two functions:  1) the rails guided and seated the propeller when it was in use and 2) they secured the filling chocks that were to be used to strengthen the stern when the propeller wasn’t shipped.
                Unlike many Royal Navy vessels of the era, the 1845 stern plans for the ships show that rails were straight-sided, presumably because they needed to be smooth for the filling chocks to slide along their length (most rail systems of the era bulged laterally at the position where the propeller was seated). Details of the interior of these rails are not shown on the plans, but we can assume that they included a semi-circular seat for the propeller, similar to other rail systems of the era (see here and here). The fore rail would have included an aperture for the propeller shaft, which likely telescoped through this opening to fit in the hub of the propeller (Battersby and Carney 2011:206). The rails needed to be extremely robust to take pressure from pack ice; so they were likely over-fastened – on my version I included bolts at roughly the same interval as those used on Terror’s iron staple knee. The 1845 plans reveal that the rails were made from gunmetal or a similar alloy, but given the ice abuse they would need to withstand, I believe the bolts used to secure them may have been made from iron.    
 
References:
Anonymous,
1845    The Arctic Expedition. Literary Gazette: Journal of the Belles Lettres, Arts, Science, &c. for the Year 1845. Pp. 279. Robson, Levey, and Franklyn, London.
 
Battersby, William, and Carney, Peter
 
2011    Equipping HM Ships Erebus and Terror, 1845. International Journal for the History of Engineering  & Technology 81(2):192-211.
 
  Sectional Plans for HMS Terror's Auxiliary Propeller System.    I used brass tube stock with an interior diameter slightly larger than the propeller hub to make the rails.    Tube stock cut in half and filed to the correct dimensions.    Cutting inserts for the heel of the rails. The seat for the propeller can be seen on the left.    Parts before soldering.   The rails after soldering and cleanup. The scribe lines mark the position of the  bolt holes.    The finished drilled pieces after polishing. The aperture for the telescoping coupling can be seen on the right.   Test fit of the propeller.    Another angle.   Dry fit of the fore rail.    Dry fit of the propeller and rails in proper position. I admit I like the contrast between the brass and Swiss pear.    View looking forward. The scribe lines in the rudderpost mark where the rudder groove will be cut.    Port view.    Again, just a dry fit prior to final assembly and finishing. 

HMS TERROR’S SCREW PROPELLER
 
Having completed the Royal Navy’s last great journey of exploration under sail power, HMS Terror’s next commission was destined to be the first major voyage of discovery to use auxiliary screw propulsion.  
 
The 1845 stern plans show that Oliver Lang chose a two-bladed Smith type propeller for the voyage (Battersby and Carney 2011:204). This choice makes perfect sense; in January of 1845 the Admiralty had just concluded extensive tests of screw propellers on HMS Rattler, finally settling on a two-bladed design by Smith (Carlton 2012:6; see also Bourne 1855:136).The propeller was likely made of gunmetal, similar to those used in subsequent Franklin search vessels (Dickens 1850:8) and other Royal Navy ships of the era. According to Lang’s plans, the screw was ca. 6 feet 11 inches in diameter (from tip to tip). HMS Erebus and Terror also carried a spare four-bladed propeller of the Woodcroft type (Battersby and Carney 2011:204). Roughly the same diameter as the Smith propeller, its shape and size would have necessitated that it be unshipped over the side of the vessel rather than through the propeller well.
 

Plans for HMS Terror's Propeller. The filling chocks used when the propeller
was unshipped are on the right. 
 
Following others (Battersby and Carney 2011:204), I originally believed that the propeller was set in a frame that would sit flush inside the fore and aft rails/grooves in the propeller well (the rail system will be described in my next post). This was a prudent assumption, as a frame-mounted propeller was standard in screw-assisted vessels of the Royal Navy in the latter half of the 19th century. The frame was an important feature because it was used to raise and lower the propeller along the rails in the well, while providing stability while it was in use.
 
However, despite their common use in the era, I was puzzled by the fact that no frame is visible in the 1845 stern plan. I recently purchased high resolution scans of the plan, which permitted me to read Lang’s thorough annotations.  Needless to say, the last annotation in the list, labeled “P”, describes the reason that Lang didn’t include a frame in the plan:
 
“P: Propeller in place with a hole in the end of the fan to take it up by and to lower it down in place when required.“
 
The annotation exposes the highly expedient and experimental nature of the design, which represented a great simplification of the complex propeller lifting system used for the Rattler (view it here). While very rare, the hole-in-blade lifting system was subsequently employed on the RRS Discovery by Robert Falcon Scott during his 1901 Antarctic Expedition (pictures of the hole in the blade can be found here and here). In fact, the RRS Discovery appears to have borrowed many design elements from the Erebus and Terror, a testament to the advanced and efficient nature of their systems.  
 
Because Lang’s plans don’t show precisely how the propeller articulated with the rails in the well (the rails on the plan obscure those details), I was forced to speculate that the propeller included two retaining ferrules which would both seat the propeller and guide it as it was raised and lowered into position along the rails. In modeling this, I took inspiration from the ferrules used in contemporary Admiralty models and the RSS Discovery, though I admit they are highly generalized and speculative.
 
References:
Battersby, William, and Carney, Peter
2011       Equipping HM Ships Erebus and Terror, 1845. International Journal for the History of Engineering & Technology 81(2):192-211.
 
Bourne, John
1855       A Treatise on the Screw Propeller with Various Suggestions for Improvement. Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, London.
 
Carlton, John
2012       Marine Propellers and Propulsion. Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford.
 
Dickens, Charles
1850       A Visit to the Arctic Discovery Ships. Household Words: A Weekly Journal 1:8.
 
 

Propeller blades cut from brass strip stock.
 

A guide for bending the blades to the proper angle.
 

Bending the blade by hand. 
 

Checking the angle. 
 

Blades after bending.
 

Rough filed to shape, with posts for attachment to the hub.
 

The hub is made from brass tube stock. 
 

Parts prior to assembly. 
 

The finished propeller, including the hole in the blade. The blades were silver -soldered to the hub,
then the entire piece was sanded with 400 grit sandpaper and buffed with superfine steel wool. 
 

Compared to the plans. 
 

Assessing the profile shape. 
 

Comparing the prop to the model of HMS Rattler in the NMM. 
 

Checking fit in the well. 
 

Marking brass stock to fabricate the ferrules. 
 

Ferrules roughed out. 
 

Prior to final assembly. The ferrules are glued in place with metal epoxy,
rather than soldered.
 

The finished part - yes, it spins!

Thanks, Matrim.
 
I have a joke I tell all my friends...
 
Do you know what a short story is?
 
I don't.
 
I was a bit tired when I posted the last entry. I duplicated one photo and forgot this one of the completed frames.
 

March 2014
 
My main motivation for starting this project was to learn the craft of scratch-building - and the online format with so many build logs and supportive modellers makes this an ideal educational environment. I also wanted to develop my skills on some of the power tools I now own, some of them thanks to my friend Clarence who was an avid woodworker but downscaled his workshop when he and his wife decided to sell their home and move into a senior's condo. His scroll saw has basically been collecting dust in my home except for the one scary time I used it to cut the rail cap on my first build, the Swift. I had no clue how to properly work it, so this project was going to be my scroll saw course.
 
As I looked over the plans for the Triton it started to dawn on me what a challenge1/96 might be. The size of the parts for the frames would make things 'interesting' in the Chinese curse way. The futtocks would have to be cut from 3/32 stock. This was my first scratch build so I still wanted to try assembling frames, but making 9 of them at this scale was beginning to worry me. So, I came up with a compromise that I could live with...but I'm not sure what you folks might think. I plan on building the outermost frame pairs (4 and D) accordingly, but the inner frames I'm going to cut as single pieces. This way I get some experience building up frames, the model will look more authentic (outwardly at least) and I won't go nuts.
 
After some research and a look through my supply of wood, I decided to go with birch for the inner, one-piece frame pairs. To get my 1" stock down to 3/16" it needed to be resawn and then planed...and I didn't have the equipment to get this done. However, we have a wood shop in the school where I teach and the woods teacher was happy to help me out. So, after classes on a Friday afternoon he coached and helped me make the stock I needed. (Thanks, Michael!). Later that evening I printed out the frame plans and glued them to the birch with spray adhesive.
 

 
The next day I used the band saw to roughly cut apart the frames. I grabbed #4 and took it to the scroll saw for the moment of truth. I set up a fine-toothed blade, dialed in a fast speed and nervously pushed the wood into the teeth. Well, I suppose it was an ok job...but it took a bit more reading, a great YouTube video and a few more frames before I could really say I had the hang of cutting a controlled line!
 
 
My goal was to use the scroll saw to get to about a millimetre of the line on the plan and then take the frame to my little belt sander to get the wood to the line. But, the frames at this scale were just so thin that I became very nervous about snapping them while getting them to size. So, I decided to cut and sand to the inside line before even cutting the outside to give at least some support to the wood as I worked on it. I chose to do the inside first because it was harder to work with at the sander.
 
 
The belt sander was terrifying to use...it could remove material so fast that it took a very light touch and a lot of concentration not to grind a frame down too far. There were many heart-stopping moments, and one mistake that will need a bit of a fix. To smooth out the lines left by the sander I made a couple of sanding blocks that fit the inner and outer curves of the frames using a product called Sand-to-Shape. I had picked these up at the sale table at our Lee Valley.
 
 
Eventually I had the hang of things and I was able to complete a frame in about 30 minutes.
 
I soon realized that my one-piece frame pairs had a weakness. The upper futtocks ran with the grain of the wood, but the grain went across the first and floor futtocks. So, in addition to being very thin I had to be careful not to stress the lower parts of the frames too much. Sure enough, while cutting frame 3 on the scroll saw the blade caught the wood and it snapped. The worst part was that it happened while cutting the outside line...AFTER I had already spent the time and energy to cut and sand the inside of the frame. Ah well.
 

I just finished my first ship model last weekend, I've got another kit on the go, but this Triton project looks really cool and will most definitely be educational. I'm really looking forward to this.
 
Smaller scales appeal to me for some reason. This works out well because our house is so jammed with stuff that I really don't have a lot of room to display models!

Just a few pics to show where I'm up to at the moment ...
 
Firstly, the water-damaged floor-planks laid out prior to installation:
 

 
.... and how they look so far ...
 


 
 

Verily doest CaptainSteve enter upon a holiday weekend with both much aheadeth of him, but also much that be behindeth him.
 
Indeedeth, o'er the course of this very week, our Hero hath madeth much progress. For he 'twould discovereth that, despite much nay-saying that not enough of the cherrywood wouldst be available unto him to completeth the frames, he wouldst findeth that he didst indeed possesseth enough pieces to do battle against the Cants and 'Tweens.
 

 
Thusly, didst he plougheth forth, his intentions being to vanquish these long-distant relatives of the Frames and puteth them behindeth him.
 

 
Having thusly achievethed much success in these endeavours, CaptainSteve didst again turnest his thoughts unto matters of colouration.
 
"As proposedeth earlier, I shalt be applying colouration unto the interior of this Launch, muchly in the manner of the One known as Meredith," he didst proclaimeth.
And, thusly, he didst.
 

 
"'Tis with regret, my friends, that I dost possetheth not further pictures," he didst addeth. "But I canst assureth thee with much certainment that this very day, not only hast I affixethed the sheer clamps - stained in Old Baltic - but, at this very moment - the Thwart risers doest lie dry-fitted in readyness for their upcoming placement."
 
Whatsomore, CaptainSteve wouldst be willing to proclaim that he shalt indeedeth still possesseth enough pieces from the cherrywood tree to do battle against the supports for the Quarterdeck.
 
"It shalt be a close thing ... but it canst be done," he didst sayeth in closing.
 
EDIT: The only reason I did not create Keith's additional cant frame was because I ran out of the cherrywood. That and the sapelli strips were ever so slightly thinner. I would recommend in favour of adding the additional frame.)

I have made the keel which is pictured below.  It is made by layering up a few pieces which did fit together really well. Because the kit is CNC cut the wood billets need to be shaped quite a bit to get rid of the mill marks but the end result is pretty accurate.  



 

 

starting the frames with an example of the pieces.



 

Completed all the full frames. I did leave these fairly rough as I expect to be able to fair the frames down in a later step.



 

Next step is the half frames!