GGibson

They look similar to these? Solid Brass Miniature Bar Clamps, 3-3/4 Inches Long (Set Of 2), For gluing or fitting, Anti-rust and corrosion resistant, Set of 2 mini solid brass clamps with knurled screws (micromark.com) EDIT: My follow-up question would be - Are these clamps, being made of solid brass and 3 inches long, be sometimes too heavy for some of the clamping we want to do with some of our small parts? I was curious about these, as well, when I saw the picture before I saw Peter's query.

Sails look fantastic, John! Come do mine now, please?!? You've always wanted to visit Kansas City, right?? 🤣🤣🤷‍♀️🏆

Thanks, John. Appreciate the encouragement! It's fellas like you whom I have learned so much from in this journey. Thanks for letting me tag along on your own journey. 👍

The boards look great! Do they have a stain on them now, or what are you planning?

Another update that I'll attempt to do very quickly... (especially since I didn't take many notes during the construction) <shrug> MAIN GAFF - The final spar of the five! This one was actually sorta fun to build for a few reasons. First, it was fairly easy as it repeated several of the build processes that had been used on any of the previous four. Secondly, I was able to utilize some of the special tools to finish it up and make it, in some cases, a better product. First, worked on the gaff jaws and, like I had done on the fore gaff and main boom, used the Proxxon mill to shave down the two sides of the spar to give the jaws a flat surface to adhere to. Drilled the holes for the brass rods, aligned the clapper, and glued everything together. Enjoyed doing this part on all three of the spars. A slightly different configuration on the eyebolt placement on this main gaff, so pay attention to those details. For the stop chocks towards the center of the main gaff, I wanted to give the chocks a bit of an indentation or groove to securely sit in, so started making grooves with the Proxxon mill on the two sides. The stop chocks were measured to be about 10mm long and I had a 1/32" thick piece of scrap wood that I shaped for the stop chocks. After a bit of milling on both sides, I actually found that I had milled all the way through the dowel. But, it worked out well, as I was then able to firmly insert each sides' stop chocks in the main gaff. Secured them with glue and gave them a final sanding to best shape them to form. In the zoomed picture, the two chocks look uneven so may need to work on those a bit to more evenly shape them. Used a #71 drill bit, as I recall, to place a hole for the bridles on both sides. As we moved closer to the other end of the main gaff, five (5) sets of smaller stop chocks were placed on the underside of the main gaff. Those were made from some 1/32" square stock, sanded down a bit and placed with just a toothpick drop of PVA glue. Let those dry overnight before sanding a bit more to give them an angled appearance and then gave them a touch of cherry stain. Drilled a hole using a #65 drill bit through the sides at the indicated location and soldered one more small band at the end using the 1/128" thick brass strip. Again, I found a couple smaller eyelets than what I had previously been using and placed two at the top and bottom sides of the main gaff end. So.... there are the five (5) completed spars. Top to bottom - Main Boom, Main Gaff, Fore Gaff, Fore Boom, Jumbo Jib Boom. All in all, it progressed pretty well. Right at about two weeks' time frame from when I began sanding the five wooden dowels to their needed diameters until now. It was fun and educational, but so glad to move on. So, I guess now it's on to another set of challenges, trials, tribulations and victories. Time to begin rigging, stropping blocks, tying lines, etc. Need to sit down before jumping in head-first and review all of the available build logs before me to assess the challenges and develop a game plan. There are some great rigging examples in that group, I know, so their work is extremely appreciative and inspiring. With that said, I appreciate the likes, comments and criticisms of my work here, hoping that I add at least something to the Bluenose community for future builders. Thanks!

Thanks for sharing these pictures from your Constitution visit, sir! They are awesome! And I have always thoroughly enjoyed the pictures that Jon has posted of the Constitution, whether it's on his own build log, or on others' as a means of education/explanation. You guys are great! Will be looking at your build logs constantly whenever I get to my own build! 👍

Another update... got another spar completed, so taking a break and getting this down in the build log. FORE GAFF - This one was probably the easiest, or quickest, of the spars I've been working on. As I have done with the others, I first worked on the end closest to the mast, which for this fore gaff meant working on the jaws that will wrap around the fore mast. As I had done on the main boom, I used the Proxxon mill to flatten or shave the gaff on either side of the spar to give the jaws something flat to be secured to. Then, after marking the hole locations for the jaw eyebolts, I used my Proxxon drill press to drill #65 bit holes in the jaw sides for the 0.81mm brass rods. Also drilled the necessary holes for the required eyebolts for the throat halliard linkage on the topside of the fore gaff and for the topsail sheet eyebolts on the underside. Thanks to @John Ruy for his input and clarification on the plans and the needed eyebolts. The first (left) picture is the topside, the second (right) picture is the underside with the additional eyebolt in the spar itself. (There's one eyebolt in that underside picture that looks a bit turned, too. Need to see if I can fix that!) On the other end of the fore gaff, there are a few fittings needed. Two peak halliard bands were shaped and secured in their appropriate locations by using the 1/64" x 1/16" brass strip. Shaped them so they fit snuggly in their locations, removed them to drill the holes for the pins to be placed during rigging, and then glued them in place using CA glue. At the end of the gaff, I shaped a small band using even thinner 1/128" thick brass strip. On the top and bottom of this band, I drilled a small hole to accept eyebolts. I had some smaller 2.07mm wide eyebolts that I used here rather than the thicker 2.78mm ones I have been using elsewhere. Hopefully, these don't look too oversized for the very end of this smaller fore gaff. I also drilled out a 1/32" hole in the side of this fore gaff just behind this band, as shown in the plans. And, here's a picture of the full fore gaff, in all its glory. Going to go back and clean this up a bit, as I am with all these booms and gaffs, once this last one is completed. With that said, I only have one more to work on... the main gaff. See ya later... As always, thanks for the likes, comments and criticisms. All are appreciated.

Got a couple more of the booms completed, so a brief update... FORE BOOM: GOOSENECK - Wrapped a 1/64" x 1/16" brass strip (have been using a ton of these!), cut to shape and soldered. Holy moly, the bands on these smaller booms and gaffs are going to be tiny! Bent a small piece of brass strip and glued to the end that attaches to the foremast. Boom Tackle Band - Soldered two strips together on one end, formed around the boom (again, very small!). Drilled holes through the strips on the bottom of the boom to fit a 0.51mm brass rod for the link. The circle link may be too big and I may switch it out before rigging and attaching to the fore mast. Sheet Band - Similar to the Main Sheet Band that was made earlier for the Main Boom, except (yep, saying it again) this one is smaller. Used a 0.51mm brass rod bent around a 1/4" wooden dowel for shape. Clew Band - Did something a bit different for this clew band. I used a 0.2mm brass sheet (half the thickness of the 1/64" strips I had been using) and measured and cut a 1/16" width strip from the sheet. Came out in a nice curl as I cut it with sharp scissors. Similar to what was done on the main boom clew bar, I drilled holes using a #65 micro drill bit for the link bar, but won't put link in until rigging. Glued the clew band in place. Topping Lift Band - Used more of the 1/128" thick brass sheet that I cut to form a band at the very end of this fore boom. After fitting, soldered and secured on the fore boom and added eyebolt. The clew band and topping lift band are not at the very end of the fore boom, as shown in the plans. Noticed this after I was done and looked back at the plans. Hoping this is not critical in the rigging stage. Need to do better on the remaining booms/gaffs. With that said, here's a closeup of the end with the four (4) bands close together, as well as a picture of the entire fore boom completed. JUMBO JIB BOOM: Traveler Band - Used more of the thinner 1/128" brass strip for this band at the fore end of this band. Drilled two small holes in bottom side of band for a staple-type rod insert. Sheet Band - Similar to what I have done on the two previous booms, with the 0.51mm brass rod looped at the bottom. Clew Band & Topping Lift Band - Again, similar to the bands that have been created and fixed to other booms. And a photo of the full Jumbo Jib Boom completed. Pretty straight-forward. Three down, two more to go! Some techniques and operations I know I have improved on, but many, many, many things I need to work better at achieving. Appreciate the likes, comments and criticisms, as always.

Appreciate the look-in and comment, hamilton!

Thanks, Mustafa! Yes, they are brass strips. And, yes, thought about blackening for a more realistic look, but guess I liked the shininess of the brass, so decided to keep it that way. Easy way out, maybe! I have blackened brass on prior builds but chose this way for the Bluenose. I know I will need to do some blackening, though, on the other ships I will be working on after this one, including the Constitution! Appreciate your input!

Love the furled sails! Looking really nice. I'm thinking about doing them on the Bluenose, but not sure I have this skill needed. Your spritsail and foresail look sharp. Kudos!

Thanks, Bob! Actually, that's probably a fair statement, since I was SOOOOO lousy with some of these skills that it has been a long (and rewarding) journey to-date. But... still lots of improvement to achieve. Appreciate the kind words, sir!

Thanks for showing your technique, Mustafa. Makes sense how you then get consistent curves. What brand is your table saw? Do you like it?

Great info, Jon. Thanks! I love these pictures you share! 👍 Mustafa, I apologize for calling your Grog Tub simply a "barrel"... 🤣

Others with more experience or knowledge may be able to better respond to this, but my suggestion would be, since everyone should have their user name as a part of the build log title, on the HOME page, to put the user/profile name in the search box and, on the next screen's "Search the Community" page, click the "xxx in content titles only" link just below the "Didn't find what you were looking for?" question. Maybe that will isolate the list to just that profile name's build logs... Good luck!

Alright! Beginning the work on the various booms and gaffs that will get attached to either of the two masts. Cut out the laser pieces for the three (3) sets of jaws and sanded to remove the char. Cut 1/8" and 1/4" dowels to size per the plans for all of the gaffs and booms, and sanded each one to the appropriate tapers and (as I had seen others do in their build logs) labeled them to keep organized. MAIN BOOM - Made slight mill cuts on the port and starboard sides where the jaws are to be mounted. Make sure to use the correct-sized jaws for this main boom! There are differences in the shapes/sizes/lengths of each set of jaws! Match with the plans. Using the Proxxon drill press, I initially drilled #65 holes in the jaw sides in the appropriate locations, matching both jaw sides. Also, lined up the two holes for the little clapper piece to sit in between the jaws. Then, after gluing to the boom/dowel, I hand-drilled a bit more for each hole to adequately accept 0.81mm brass rods for the fake bolts. Drilled small holes at the tips for the parrel beads that will eventually be added once this is actually rigged to the main mast. Drilled #52 holes in the top of each jaw for the belaying pins and another #65 hole for the eye bolt. All in all, looking good. A great start to this main boom construction. LAZY JACK LINES - Not sure I did this "perfectly", but simply took a small 0.35mm black rope, tied loops on both ends, and wrapped around the bottom of the boom, securing each side with staples made from 0.51mm brass rod so that the loops stick up above the staples. Moving on down the length of the main boom, the next thing shown on the plans was a cleat on the port side. I had seen others carve their own cleats on their build logs, but I decided to simply use the "pre-made" cleats (think I used a supply of them on my last build) that had been painted black. It takes a #55 drill bit for the hole to secure. We'll call that done. Looks good and in scale. BOOM TACKLE BAND - This was the first in a series of several soldering exercises I was going to need to do on this main boom. I shaped two (2) 1/64" x 1/16" brass strips around the boom. Soldered the top joint. Drilled 1/32" holes in the bottom and ran 0.81mm brass rod through after building a link to attach. Trimmed the rod and cleaned up. Using the Proxxon drill press (again!), I drilled #65 holes in each side for eyepins (not shown in this picture but in the next one with the bullseye fairleads). BULLSEYE FAIRLEADS - Looked at several options to accomplish this piece, and decided to simply present this by using eyebolts on the port and starboard sides and then wrap with 0.5mm black rope with a visible knot on the top side. QUARTER LIFT BAND - For this band, I soldered 1/64" x 1/16" strips for one side of the boom and then shaped the strips around the boom for fit. Soldered the other side and drilled holes for eyebolts on each side. Secured the eyebolts simply with CA glue, as I was concerned about soldering on top of existing solder. Hope this will hold ok. MAIN SHEET BAND - Built this band similar to the quarter lift band above. Drilled two holes on each side. Wrapped a 0.83mm brass rod around a 5/16" wooden dowel for shape and inserted from bottom into the two inside holes on each side. Soldered in place and cleaned. Eyelets were put in place in the outside holes. Have to say, for as poor as my soldering skills were several months ago, I thought these came out pretty sharp. Think I may finally have the hang of this. <shrug> SHEAVES - Using my Proxxon drill press, I drilled four (4) 1mm #60 holes in the boom in the appropriate spots, then moved the boom over to the Proxxon MF70 mill with a 1mm bit to carve the sheaves. Worked out pretty well. CLEW BAND - Again, like many of the other bands on this main boom, this clew band was similar to the other bands done previously. Wrapped two (2) 1/64" x 1/16" brass strips around the boom. Soldered with a hinge on the bottom (0.82mm brass rod cut flush). Drilled holes in the top for a bolt to eventually hold the clew iron, but will not put that bolt in until the rigging stage. TOP LIFT BAND - This band goes at the very end of the main boom, and was probably the easiest of the bands we needed to create for this boom. Wrapped, soldered and secured this band. Placed it in the drill press and drilled three holes (port, starboard and top) for eyebolts, as well as one more for an eyebolt just in front of the one on top. Hope those two aren't too close together. And that finishes the main boom! Yay! The other booms and gaffs should be a bit easier. Appreciate the likes, comments and criticisms, as always.

Nice, Mustafa! What was the ship's purpose for that barrel you just made? Sharp work on the lathe, sir! 🏆

Definitely early to think about, yes, Mustafa, but watching what you and others have done, and seeing what the gun deck addition does in improving the look of the Constitution with its detail, I can't not consider making that addition. Would definitely need to go back and look in extreme detail at what you all have done to add it, however. Thanks for asking!

Was wondering how visible all that great detail was going to be on your finished Constitution, Mustafa! Glad to know your plans! FYI, gentlemen, you may or may not have noticed I've added the Constitution to my shipyard for "someday". Couldn't pass up the great deal at Model Expo. So now, I am really paying attention to all your awesome work! 👍

Hi Dave. Did you intend on sharing/attaching the Excel spreadsheet for people to check calculations? Don't see anything attached.

Appreciate your support, John! Beginning the sanding work on the wood dowels for the booms and gaffs, and have your Bluenose Post #156 readily available for reference, coming up with a game plan. 👍

I found a couple sources for the 1/64" thin brass strips, I believe, and have ordered more. Until those arrive, it appears I have plenty of sanding to do, however, to shape and taper the various dowel rods for the booms and gaffs. Yay!

Not really, Mustafa, but I appreciate the confidence! I'm getting a lot better than I was 6 months ago, though, so that is positive. Thanks for the support!

Thans, John! I'm learnin'!

Well, I got another phase of this Bluenose build accomplished, so thought I'd share what I did and where I have progressed to to-date. Finishing up the work on the mast bands after completing the trestle trees on the upper part of the lower two masts. Lots of soldering of small strips, rods and bolts. For the mast bands above each of the trestle tree areas, I used a slightly-smaller-than 1/4" dowel held in a vise to initially shape the ten (10) needed bands for the tops of the lower masts. I would wrap, measure and then cut the bands to (what I thought was) the appropriate circumference for the position on the mast. I then would solder the individual brass strip, but was then finding that the newly-soldered bands were too tight to go back in the place I had just measured them for. And this happened a few times. Grrr... So, I had to give just a bit more "slack", for lack of better terms, when wrapping the strips, measuring, cutting and soldering so that each of the NEW bands then fit snuggly, but manageable. As I had seen others do, I also typed out a little placement chart to keep all 10 of the bands organized while I was making them, soldering, etc. Worked out well. All of the bands need at least one hole in them, so used my new Proxxon drill with the precision vise to drill the necessary holes. That worked out well, as I then placed the bands in their proper locations and, using a pin vise, drilled holes through the band holes into the masts for the eyebolt placement. Next was working on the spring stay sail band on the foremast. On other Bluenose build logs, I have seen others use either brass rods or brass strips to create and attach this spring stay bail band and the jib stay bail bands. I thought using narrow brass strips (1/16" wide) would be easier to attach to the masts and mast bands, so I used strips (and I am running out of brass strip stock quickly!). Anyways, the spring stay bail band went on well after shaping. The cranes for each mast were made from 0.84mm eye pins soldered to 0.81mm brass rods. (In the zoomed-in picture below, they look a bit dirty, but were cleaned, of course, after soldering.) Brass strips were cut for the back plates and the links on the back side. Drilled holes using a #65 bit (.88mm) and placed the cranes in place on the two masts. This all worked out pretty well. For the mast caps on both the foremast and main mast, outer bands were shaped and soldered around the individual mast bands, and this all worked out pretty good, as well. The pictures below were taken after they were soldered and fit on the masts, but before I did some cleanup and touchup on the soldered areas. Finished out then, with the longer jib stay bail strips and long links on the fore mast. Didn't take a great number of notes on the top masts, but it all came together well. To recreate the mast tackle sheaves on both top masts, I first drilled two holes in each using the Proxxon drill and precision vise. Then, using the Proxxon MF70 mill, I cut slits to shape what would appear to be a pulley inside. Debating whether to do any more with these, but thought the mill did an excellent job of cutting those small grooves in the masts. For the gilt ball on the top of the masts, I had purchased a small box of 30mm long brass ball head pins with a 1.9mm wide ball at the top. I cut a couple of those and inserted them at the top of each mast. I may take some sandpaper to these to dull them a bit, make them a bit less shiny, but otherwise much better to use these than to create something so small. Speaking of small, I have NO idea how to make the truck for the flag halliards. Tried cutting small small circles but everything was breaking. I'll leave that for now until I get to that point in the rigging. With that said, the masts (I think) are pretty much done. Just for grins, I put everything together on the work stand, and then on the ship itself, to see how it all looks. Man, this ship is going to be big when done! Now, I believe it's on to the booms and gaffs! As I mentioned earlier, I have run through all of the 1/64" x 1/16" brass strips that I had in inventory. Got some new brass strips, but they are not quite as thin as the 1/64" ones I had, so a bit harder to bend and shape. Have another source I am querying, so we'll see if they come through, as it appears I have plenty more bands to create. As always, appreciate the likes, comments and criticisms!