Matrim

No matter how you cut it, cutting the rolling bevel in a planking rabbet (sometimes called a "rebate") is a tedious process that takes some thought and care. You will find lots of theoretical instructions in boat building and modeling books about how to do it using the information that may be developed using lofting techniques. The exact angle of the rabbet can be developed for any point along the rabbet's length from the lofting (or lines drawings) and from that the rabbet, back rabbet, and bearding lines can then be developed and drawn or lofted. These varying angles define the shape of the rolling bevel that forms the rabbet. In small craft and model construction, there's an easier way to cut the rolling bevel without reference to the drawn or lofted the rabbet lines at all. Experienced boat wrights dispense with a lot of the lofting by "building to the boat," as  they say, rather than "to the plans." With the planking rabbets, this means that the angle and depth of the rabbet at any given point along the rabbet is developed using "fit sticks" and battens to define the rabbet lines and the bevel's rolling angles. It's easier done than said.
 
What you do is frame out your boat or model. Take care, as is always necessary, to fair the frame face bevels. This requires setting up the frames and sanding the faces so that a flat batten laid across the frames in a generally perpendicular relation to the frames, as well as at lesser angles, will always lay flat against the frame faces. (You may need to place temporary blocking between the frames or otherwise secure them well so they don't wobble when you sand across them.) Your frames should be cut and set up as in full size practice, with the corner of the outboard-most side of the face precisely cut and set up on the section lines such that when fairing wood is removed from the forward side of the faces of frames forward of the maximum beam and from the after side of the faces of the frames aft of the maximum beam. The accurately cut frame corner, the forward corner on frames aft of the maximum beam and the aft corner of frames forward of the maximum beam, is the reference point for fairing your frames. Use one batten for marking the faces of the frames and another, with a suitable sheet of sandpaper glued to its face, or a manicurist's emory board, to sand the excess off the faces until they are fair. The batten used for marking is chalked with carpenter's chalk and rubbed against the faces of the frames to mark the high spots. Where the colored carpenter's chalk transfers from the marking batten to the frame faces is where the frame face is too high and needs to be sanded down some more. When the marking batten lies flat in contact with all the frame faces, transferring chalk to the entire frame face, the frame faces are fair.
 
Now, with your frames faired, take a small stick of wood the same thickness as your planking and cut across at the ends perfectly square, which is called a "fit stick," and place it against the face of a frame and slide it down until the lower back corner of the fit stick (the inboard corner) rests against the keel. Accurately mark the point where the corner of the fit stick and the keel meet. This mark is where your bearding line is at that point.
 
Then take a second fit stick and place it on top of the first with the first in the position it was in when you marked the bearding line point and slide it down over the first fit stick until its lower back (inboard) corner touches the keel and mark that point. This mark is where your rabbet line is at that point.
 
Make these two marks at each frame. Spring a batten between all the upper and lower marks on the keel and draw lines through all the marks. These lines will be your bearding and rabbet lines. Extend them out as far as they will go, but, for the moment, they are relevant only for the span from the forward-most frame to the after-most frame.
 
Now, at each frame, with your two fit sticks stacked as when you marked the lower rabbet line, take a knife or chisel and using the lower edge of the upper fit stick as a guide, cut into the keel at the same angle as the face of the bottom edge of your upper fit stick, i.e. with the flat of your blade against the edge of your lower fit stick. This cut should be as deep as your planking is thick. (This first cut can be easily made with a small circular saw blade on a rotary tool if you know what you're doing. Mark the blade face with a Sharpie to indicate the depth of cut.) Cut down to the point of the rabbet cut you've made from above so that you end up with the back rabbet face of the keel at a right angle to the rabbet line cut.  Test your cut with a fit stick, which, when the rabbet section cut at that frame is done, should lie perfectly fair on the face of the frame with its bottom edge fit perfectly into the rabbet you've cut. Because the angle of your rabbet is defined by the lower edge of the top fit stick and it's depth by the thickness of your planking, there's no need to worry about where the back rabbet line is. You'll develop the back rabbet naturally when the two lines you are cutting to meet at right angles at the bottom of the cut.
 
Now, you simply "connect the dots" or rabbet "notches" you've created at each frame by carving out the wood in the way of the rabbet and bearding lines between the frames to form a continuous rabbet with a fair rolling bevel.
 
The stem, deadwood, and stern post are a bit trickier than the sections where the frames are set up on the keel, but the method of marking them and taking the rabbet angles off of fit sticks is the same and shouldn't need much further explanation. The main difference is that a batten of the same thickness as your planking is place across the frame faces, rather than perpendicular to the frame faces, and extended to where its bottom inboard edge touches the stem, deadwood or stern post and is marked there for the bearding line, and then another fit stick batten is placed on the first to find the rabbet line. You will find a chalked marking fit stick batten to be handy again in fairing up the dubbing on the wide deadwood rabbets. These techniques are a lot easier to learn by doing than to explain in writing. 
 
On a real vessel, cutting the planking rabbets is a very exacting process because the ease of caulking and the watertightness of these seams are dependent upon the perfect fit of these faying surfaces (where the planks and keel touch.) This isn't a big consideration in a model. What's important for a model is only that the visible rabbet lines and the planking are fair and tight. If the angle is off behind the planking and a bit too much wood is removed, it makes no difference because a sliver can always be glued in place to raise the plank to where it has to be and the rest filled with glue, or if too little is removed, the plank face can be sanded fair after it's hung. (The latter being the less preferable. It's generally better to remove wood from behind the plank than from the plank itself.)
 
This may seem like a tedious exercise and it is, but doing it correctly will make your planking a far easier task, particularly in hull forms where there is considerable twist in the planks at the ends. A final word of caution for the modelers with a machinist's background: This is a hand job. You won't find a way to do it more easily on your mill. Many have tried to devise some sort of jig which would permit cutting these rolling bevel rabbets with saws, routers, or other power tools. As far as I know, and those I know who know a lot more about it than I do, nobody's succeeded. Don't waste a lot of time trying to figure out what nobody else has been able to accomplish. I expect that it could be accomplished, in theory, at least, with very sophisticated CNC technology, but would probably take a lot longer to program and set up than doing it by hand will.
 
This video of full-sized construction illustrates the method described fairly well:  
 
 
 

I haven't but you will getter a better response by starting a build log or asking perhaps on a member who has done (doing) the build of the kit. 

I've got a small box of Lego as well as a 600 piece Meccano set, both really handy for temporary jigs / tools etc for all sorts of projects.
 
Unfortunately neither from my child hood, had to go out and buy new stuff but they've both paid for themselves.
 
(On the ToDo list is to make up some block/arms etc with neodymium magnets to use on a steel plate as a magnetic building board which I can combine with Lego jigs and particularly the Meccano.)
 
Mark

Not a bad idea ! The only thing that would worry me a bit is that the LEGO-pieces would not be resistant to solvents.
 
Gave my big childhood box of LEGO away to a little boy whose mother helped my mother to care for my father in his old age (not having children of my own), but kept my meccano set (the German equivalent of it) for making experimental machinery.

I posted a question a few days ago about alignment of stepped masts. I got several good replies but I still felt like I need something more. A visit with my five-year-old grandson gave me the inspiration I needed. LEGO! They are nearly infinitely adjustable, supply a stable and rectilinear base, and my grandson has approximately a million of them. Anyway, a picture is worth a thousand words. Here's the main mast of my L'Hermione just about finished up.

I use the nails (and a push nail thing which is probably not the right name) on the underlayer of planks (normally limewood?). I never use them on the outer layer as I dont want the holes plus you have a better gluing area at that point so there is less need.

What Mark said. The brass pins in the kit are intended to hold planks in place until glue sets. Treenails, or trunnels, are the wooden pegs used to secure planking in actual practice. These are simulated on wooden models, and there is a real art to doing them convincingly. There is also some (hopefully amicable) debate on whether trunnels are desirable on a model; on real ships they tend to blend in with the surrounding wood, and at the scale viewing distance from which we observe models, trunnels are essentially invisible.

Hi JM,
 
I built that kit many moons ago.   As for treenails,  at that scale they will be way to large and make the hull look like it has freckles.  When I built it, the instructions said they were for "holding parts in place" which I took to mean "until the glue dries".   
 
 

I am selling all my ship model books and items accrued while in this hobby.  I will be posting these items, but for now I have a set of David Antscherl Swan books Vol 1,2 and 4 w/plans for sale as a set.  I just noticed book 4 does have minor water damage at top at binder 1"x2" section (picture attached). I will accept any reasonable offer plus shipping.  PM with any inquiries for this or asking, if I have a book you are interested in which I may have.
 
Best regards,
Len

The fire/explosion hazard aside, where does the fan blow to ? One in general avoids raising dust during spray painting. However, unless the workshop is really meticuously cleaned and dedusted before spraying, it is likely that the fan will do more harm than good. If you a concerned about over-spray, put some absorbent material around the inside, but I don't think this is really necessary.
 
For your personal protection use a face-mask that absorbs droplets/particulates. As Kurt was saying, filters do not normally absorb solvent vapours, you would need an activated carbon filter (as per gas masks) for that.
 
BTW, I am using just a cardboard box for my occassional small-scale spraying operations. Never found over-spray outside of the box.

Unless the motor is classed for use in a spray booth with combustible vapors (NEC Class 1 Division 1) you are just asking for trouble.  Using a house fan in place of a properly classed exhaust fan is an accident waiting to happen.  It's not IF a fire will occur but WHEN.
Water based acrylics are the only safe paint to use in a spray booth not using the proper type of fan.  No amount of filtration in front of the motor makes this safe - filters only trap particulate matter not the dangerous fumes.  The rate you mention is the lower and upper combustible limits of a combustible or flammable liquid - the % of combustible vapors to air mix. 
Good luck.

That's what I thought and at the premium price I was paying for outside GB I decided to drop it. 

And as my Zulu article is in the latest, I highly recommend it 😆
 

 

You're doing this real quick and those frames look great, and smooth.
 
Nice straight keel line too.
 

Good evening eveyone
 
day 17 fitting frames 8 to 26 
this morning i managed a better clean up of frames 8 to 26, and made a decision (right or wrong) to go ahead and fit them, the elastic bands keep them in place whilst the glue sets, they have been pinned to strengthen them, the yellow lines are just highlighting the fact that frame 14 is not fitted,  as it needs to be remade, no fairing of internal timbers has been made, other than removing the laser char,

Nice job! A CAF model is certainly on the list of future purchases.

Good evening everyone
 
Day 16 keel and frame cleaning and test fitting
 
not much to say, another 4 hours sanding, and cleaning ribs, tonight i put what frames that have been made in place, about 50% need more sanding to allow them to fit correctly




 
 

Hi Kevin, two things come to mind, the first what an amazingly comprehensive kit, the second, it didn’t take you long to get started!  I suppose you were like a child at Xmas, good luck with it.     Ken

Day 3 frame completed, started keel
 
i never realised just how many items make up the keel, and each item is made up from 2 half 
 
i bought some recommended glue titebond quick thick it is not so wet as my normal PVA glue
 
the two half's are glued back to back after having a very light sanding 
 
the plan sheet has been covered in tracing paper to protect it, and allows me to put the items in a rough position, as they need to be sanded, to square the ends off 



one of the boats will be put away tomorrow

day 3 building frame complete
 
well the frame is complete, and the top level is removable to allow access to the build
 
no glue has been used other than on 4 connection strips 
in the end i was happy the way it all fitted, after my initial problems
 

 
 

 

Kevin, I am a few stages ahead of you on the construction of this kit and have been hoping to find time to start a build log here soon. I am sorry to read that you are having problems with the building jig as I found that once I had sorted out what goes where from the instruction illustrations all went together as intended. The tabs and slots are a tight fit and work with a file is required to remove the char but as the jig will form the basis for an accurate hull nothing can be loose.
I have studied your photos carefully and cannot see how things went wrong, the photo below shows my jig in the same area.
 
 
 
I can assure you that you should not have any problems with the fit of parts as your construction of HMS Enterprize progresses. It is a superb kit but just requires a lot of concentration and pre-planning so do not be dis-heartened, you will enjoy it.
I see you too, are in Somerset. PM me sometime and we could probably manage a "socially distanced" meet up.
 
Chris

good evening everyone
 
day 1 project Enterprise
 
Building frame
this are most of the bits for the frame, in very good quality ply

i started this yesterday, but with little success, it was after a good nights sleep that i got my head around the project,
but first the moans, the overlap baseboard are not working correctly,
nothing fits,
and non existent instructions
 
made up from two layers which overlap, and top one should line up with lasered slots on the bottom one. they are then meant to be screwed through to a decent bench 
however, it took me ages to line mine up, not all the base boards are cut at 90degs and as a result not all the lasered slot match the ones in the lower boards, but some are spot on, so it is not something i have done wrong

not everything is cut at right angles

straight keel line, but as a result some of the slots are not matching the lower ones
 

things then started to go wrong then, as i was working blind, i was making the assemblies up and putting them in place but everything is about .5mm to large, and requiring far to much force, and as the slots were off set,as well  i was fighting a loosing battle
 
 so went bed
 
Day 2
 
after some thought over night i made a plan
 
check the base again for alignment 
remove all the sub assemblies and sand everything on the bench sander, including removing the laser burn with my dremmel and all of a sudden i had a different building frame, not much i could do with the slightly  offset slots (about 20) apert from remove a bit of wood which has worked fine
 
i have a set of photos now for anyone wanting to follow the build progress 
 
 
 
 

 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

good evening everyone, welcome to yet another new start something new to me, a POF kit, although im not sure it is a kit, but certainly aint a scratch, 
 
the parcel arrived this morning 10 days after ordering, 7 of them in transit, 7.5 kgs 
inside is 4 well packaged boxes, with lots of laser printed bits for the keel, outer hull, and most of the weight and volume comes from the jig to keep it all togehter
 
i will be building the jig first, as im frightened to start the frames 
 

HMS Enterprize was the lead ship of the Enterpize class of 1770.  The class was designed by Sir John Williams with a gross dimensions and tons of 120’6” (gun deck), 99’6” (keel),  33’6” (beam),  11’ (depth of hold) and to carry 200,men.  Armament was 24 x 9 pound guns on the upper deck, 4 x 3 pound guns on the quarter deck, and 12 swivel guns.   She was ordered in January 1771, Keel laid on September 9, 1771 at Deptford, launched  August 24, 1774; hulked in 1791.  Twenty-seven ships composed this class.
 
A pair of paintings of the ship by Joseph Marshall in 1775 is held by the Science Museum in Kensington and the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich.
 

 
Enterprise served as a cruiser and convoy escort.  Her most notable action occurred on June 7, 1780 whilst at Gibraltar when her crew spotted six Spanish fire ships drifting into the harbour toward the fleet at anchor.  A warning salvo was fired to alert the fleet and the Enterprize’s cables cut to allow the ship to drift away from the hulks and opened fire on the hulks in an attempt to sink them.  The Spanish fleet lay outside the harbour for any British ships trying to escape so the British seamen boarded the small the fire ships to attach lines to away from the fleet and burn themselves out.
 
On April 27, 1782 near the Leeward Islands she captured the 22-gun American privateer Mohawk which was later taken into Royal Navy service.  Mohawk was sold in1783.
Enterprize was decommissioned in May 1784 and from 1790 she served as a receiving ship and hulked in 1791.  In 1806 she was taken to Deptford and broken up in 1807.
Lines, profile and decoration drawings of Surprize as built can be purchased from the Royal Museums Greenwich (National Maritime Museum).
 
The Kit
 
CAF MODELS of Shanghai, China has created a stunning 1/48 scale Admiralty model of HMS Enterprize.   Before reviewing the kit a few words about wooden sailing ship kits from Chinese producers is warranted because they are not all created equal.  In 2001 China was allowed to formally join the World Trade Organization (WTO) which meant the country had to abide by international trade agreements and practices such as copyright protection.  Prior to 2001, China was the largest source of counterfeit goods that focused on covered luxury goods, cosmetics, sportswear, and appliances.  As a result of joining the WTO, far fewer counterfeit goods are no longer produced or available in China, but remains a problem because copying has become a way of life and normal practice for many manufacturers.  This problem is endemic among many wooden model kit producers in China who readily use copyrighted drawings to produce their kits without acknowledgement or licence, and these kits are readily available on shopping websites.  They will continue to do this as long as it is profitable so do not buy these unlicensed and counterfeit kits.    
 
A concerted effort by Model Ship World and the Nautical Research Guild to highlight these practices and alert model makers to the counterfeit products is having success and has gone further to lend an open and willing hand to any Chinese producers who wish to abide by the WTO and international agreements.  One of these companies is CAF MODELS located in Shanghai, China.  CAF MODELS first came to attention for producing unlicenced kits of French vessels from the ANCRE collection of drawings and monographs.  With the help of members of the Model Ship World community, proper agreements between ANCRE and CAF MODELS are being negotiated and to CAF MODELS’ credit, has stopped selling any models based on ANCRE material until an agreement is signed.  These kits will return once the agreement is finalized and signed.  
 
In the meantime, CAF MODELS has a number of original kits for sale such as HMS Enterprize, with several more under development.  CAF MODELS kits are designed and manufactured by Mr. CAO Feng, or in English -- Tom Cao.  Tom is an engineer by profession and used CAD to design kits from Admiralty drawings and other references.  His CAD designs have become very precise and is able to detect and correct draughting errors in commercially available plans and well-known sources.  I had the pleasure of meeting him and his lovely family in Shanghai in 2018 where he kindly took me to his home to show me how he designed model kits and his extensive reference library. 
 

Hull looks lovely.