rtropp

Sequence of  Gun Installation
 
1-    gun on deck
2-    ropes
3-    rope coil maker
4-    Compare in red; gun angle and in green; rope angle
 
Because  the nail with eye shape must be install on a deck beam, this cause strange  alignment. Ideally a deck beam should be straight in line with the middle on the gun opening but sometimes other consideration have priority.
 
5-6         guns installed
7- Small cameras to take pictures inside. I still have to compare with a small portable camera
8- All the parts on the first deck are ready,  still just to install to complete the first deck.

Hi Sal,
A primary consideration when I got the Proxxon sander was the speed control.  For fine work I will put it on slow so I don't over do it.
Also, I found you can clamp a piece of wood to the platform and get it closer to the sander for some narrower pieces. Here to the slower speeds help.
 
Richard 

Well, another month has passed since my last update - where does the time go?  It seems that work, life, family, and Christmas have all taken priority for the last several weeks, but I have at last managed to find some time to make a little more progress.
 
4-lb Guns
 
After fitting out the gun carriages with the requisite ring-bolts and eye-bolts, I decided it was time to have a go at turning the gun barrels.  I had been putting this off as I had never attempted to turn a tapered gun barrel before and I only had sufficient ebony of the correct size to have one go – it was get it right first time, or think about other alternatives.
 
I spent some time studying the drawings, taking measurements, and reviewing any instructions I could find for turning gun barrels on the lathe, as well as reviewing the instructions for using the compound slide on the lathe to cut tapers.
 
I was so focused on each step in the process, that I forgot to take any “in progress” shots.  You’ll just have to take my word for it that all went according to plan, and in the end turned out to be somewhat easier than I’d feared. The only “oops” I had was when I tried to get a bit too clever with forming the button on the end of the cascobel, and it parted off by itself.  To fix this, I drilled a hole in the base of the gun, along the axis of the gun, to receive some 3/32” brass rod.  I rounded the end of the rod by filing and sanding, and then blackened it and epoxied it in place. I’m pretty happy with the way this “fix” turned out too, as it is quite difficult to tell the difference between the “good” one and the “fixed” one now.
 
Here’s a picture of the two turned guns. To ensure that the trunnion was correctly placed below the centreline of the gun, I drilled the hole for this in the square stock before I started turning.  The trunnions themselves are 3/32” brass rod, chemically blackened with Jax Pewter Black.
 

 
Here is a comparison shot with one of the brass guns that Danny gave me (these are the ones he imported from Russia).  While I took all my measurements from Jeff’s drawings, you can see that the overall size and shape is pretty close.
 

 
Finally, here is a couple of shots of the guns placed on their carriages.  I still need to make the cap squares to go over the trunnions, and that will complete this section.
 

 

 
Hopefully, it won't be another month before the next update!
 
 

Hi Sal,
A primary consideration when I got the Proxxon sander was the speed control.  For fine work I will put it on slow so I don't over do it.
Also, I found you can clamp a piece of wood to the platform and get it closer to the sander for some narrower pieces. Here to the slower speeds help.
 
Richard 

Hi Sal,
A primary consideration when I got the Proxxon sander was the speed control.  For fine work I will put it on slow so I don't over do it.
Also, I found you can clamp a piece of wood to the platform and get it closer to the sander for some narrower pieces. Here to the slower speeds help.
 
Richard 

Hi Sal,
A primary consideration when I got the Proxxon sander was the speed control.  For fine work I will put it on slow so I don't over do it.
Also, I found you can clamp a piece of wood to the platform and get it closer to the sander for some narrower pieces. Here to the slower speeds help.
 
Richard 

Hi Sal,
A primary consideration when I got the Proxxon sander was the speed control.  For fine work I will put it on slow so I don't over do it.
Also, I found you can clamp a piece of wood to the platform and get it closer to the sander for some narrower pieces. Here to the slower speeds help.
 
Richard 

The main wales are completed and the hull painted accordingly from the wales down.
 
Next up are the middle wales which run across the hull above the main wales.
 
Vince P.

After shaping the masts I flattened the two sides to install the cheeks.
 

 
After the glued dried overnight I sanded them down and cut in the ‘fingernail’ shape at the bottom.
 

 
For the iron bands I decided to use the copper foil tape instead of the pinstripe tape.  I had considered making them from brass but then I would have had to put some of them on prior to installing the cheeks but thought I would have a hard time sanding the cheeks down without damaging the bands.  The foil was cut into 1/16” wide stripes and then blackened.
The bands were then installed per the drawings.  I’m not really crazy about now the bands that are supposed to be under the cheeks look but not sure how to make them look any better.
 

 
In order not to damage the bands when sanding down the front fish I decided to round it off before gluing it to the mast (should have thought of this for the cheeks  ). To do this I used some double sided tape on a scrape piece of dowel to hold the fish in place while sanding.  The pieces were stained and the back notched to fit over the bands.   They haven’t been installed yet.
 

 
Christmas present (I was a good boy) already put to work.  Proxxon sander, works very well.  Need to get use to it though, removes a lot of material very quickly.
 

Thank you George .
 
There's more .... I've cut out the recesses for the Chain Pumps and Elm Tree Pumps :
 

 

 

 
And also fitted the Keelson :
 

 

 
Lastly, I've made the Chain Pump Inlets using the pieces from the PE set supplied by Admiralty Models. These are probably the last of these available as the set has been discontinued and were graciously supplied by Greg Herbert from his own left-over supply. 0.5mm brass wire was used as the "bolts", and the assemblies blackened :
 

 

 

 

 
  Danny

I started work on the masts and discovered that I wouldn’t be able to use the same method to turn them down as I used for the bowsprit.  This was because the chuck on my drill press cannot fit the 5/16” diameter dowel. I had thought about trying to make a ‘poor mans’ lathe but always hesitated because I never thought I could properly align the drill with the 'tail-stock' piece.  Then, while walking past my pile of scrap wood, I had one of those ‘Eureka!’ moments.  What I discovered was a 24” piece of left over deck cap rail.  Turning the rail upside down I found that my 30 year old Craftsman electric drill fit very nicely in the groove used to support the railing spindles.  The drill was secured by plastic zip-ties.  For the 'tail-stock' I cut down a piece of 2x6 to fit in the same groove. This worked out well because I am able to slide the wood block along the groove to fit different length dowels and it's always aligned with the drill chuck.  A 5/16” diameter bit was used to drill a hole in the 2x6 for the mast but different size holes can be drilled in other blocks for different diameter dowels.  
 

 
The mast dowel was then chucked into the drill; the 2x6 tail-stock slid in place and clamped and then the dowel was turned down using the same method as the bowsprit.  Vacuum cleaner suction hose seen in the last picture was used for dust control.
 

 
 
I'd also like to take this time to thank everyone for their continued support and much appreciated encouragement over the past year.  Taking on this challenge has been much more enjoyable knowing that there are so many people out there who will unselfishly share their knowledge.
 
Merry Christmas to all and have a safe and happy New Year.
 
  

Jesse
Looking very sharp. Its a pleasure to watch your work
Richard

Jesse
Looking very sharp. Its a pleasure to watch your work
Richard

Jesse
Looking very sharp. Its a pleasure to watch your work
Richard

Jesse
Looking very sharp. Its a pleasure to watch your work
Richard

Jesse
Looking very sharp. Its a pleasure to watch your work
Richard

My last post was about a month ago so it has been going slow but steady.  Fabricating the parts from box rather than using the laser cut parts has made things slower, especially since i am also learning to use the tools. But, if at some point I am going to challenge myself with a scratch build, I need to improve my skills.  
 
After completing the figure head and head rails I moved on to the catheads.
 
Before attaching the upper head rail, I wanted the catheads fabricated so I could better determine the spacing. These were also made from boxwood.
 
I decided to see if could make sheaves that more closely simulated reality.  So...
 
Using a mill I cut the two channels for the sheaves using vary tiny burrs they were either .6mm or .6MM.

 
I tried cutting copper disks for the sheaves using a pliers type hole cutter.
 

 
I was able to get two cut but must have dulled the punch because it would not cut anymore after that.
(On another thread I am researching other options that might include a disc cutter, either from MicroMark or another one that seems to garnish recommendations.)  So, being impatient, I decided to cut them from box and paint them with badger model flex marine color wrought iron black.  After going through all this work I wanted to be able to see the sheave against the black of the cathead.
 
the third sheave on the side was also painted with the wrought iron black to help it stand out
 

 
below the sheaves are dry fit and the painting is not yet complete.
 

 
The cleat was from those supplied with the kit.  I used blacken-it (still have some left) and liked the appearance better than painting.
 

 
I am curious as to whether anyone has fabricated the cleats or just used those supplied.
 
Now that I have the head rail and the catheads I can start fitting them.
 
Richard
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Note:
I will have closer pictures of the model itself as soon as I have all this figured out.
Thanks
Richard

Jesse
Looking very sharp. Its a pleasure to watch your work
Richard

George, a happy and healthy holiday and New Year to you and your family
Richard

Shaped the Boarding ladder steps. Added brass pins so they would hold better. Used thread to line them up straight.  Glued the Quarter badges on. Added the Fenders, Chesstrees and Channels.
 

thanks Sal and David,
That is something I will try out.  I thought I would have to do it right away, but first I am going to try and salvage the cathead I have now by adding a small piece or 1/8 to extend the cat head to the proper length.
 
If that does not get the result I will have to rebuild and try cutting down the copper tube for it.  If it does work I will still experiment with the copper tube because there are still plenty of sheaves ahead. 
 
Richard

My last post was about a month ago so it has been going slow but steady.  Fabricating the parts from box rather than using the laser cut parts has made things slower, especially since i am also learning to use the tools. But, if at some point I am going to challenge myself with a scratch build, I need to improve my skills.  
 
After completing the figure head and head rails I moved on to the catheads.
 
Before attaching the upper head rail, I wanted the catheads fabricated so I could better determine the spacing. These were also made from boxwood.
 
I decided to see if could make sheaves that more closely simulated reality.  So...
 
Using a mill I cut the two channels for the sheaves using vary tiny burrs they were either .6mm or .6MM.

 
I tried cutting copper disks for the sheaves using a pliers type hole cutter.
 

 
I was able to get two cut but must have dulled the punch because it would not cut anymore after that.
(On another thread I am researching other options that might include a disc cutter, either from MicroMark or another one that seems to garnish recommendations.)  So, being impatient, I decided to cut them from box and paint them with badger model flex marine color wrought iron black.  After going through all this work I wanted to be able to see the sheave against the black of the cathead.
 
the third sheave on the side was also painted with the wrought iron black to help it stand out
 

 
below the sheaves are dry fit and the painting is not yet complete.
 

 
The cleat was from those supplied with the kit.  I used blacken-it (still have some left) and liked the appearance better than painting.
 

 
I am curious as to whether anyone has fabricated the cleats or just used those supplied.
 
Now that I have the head rail and the catheads I can start fitting them.
 
Richard
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Well, a month has gone by and I have completed the figurehead.  
 

 
It is not as good as I had hoped, but it is better than I expected. The figurehead is not permanently attached yet.
 
Then I moved on to the upper head rails.
 
First I rough cut the shapes, then I temporarily glued the shapes together along with one of the upper head rails from the kit
 

 
Using the kit supplied head rail as a template I sanded them to shape on a Dremel shaper/router.  I started to use the sanding spindle I made for my mill but with the size of the pieces it was better done on the small shaper. Its nice to find a use for the shaper.
 
 

 
I continued to sand until I could see the sanding marks on the template's laser burnt edges
 

 
The channels have not been cut into the head rails yet, they have only been shaped to this point to make sure they fit before going through the effort to finish them.
 
I find the going slow since started fabricating most parts from scratch out of Boxwood. I want to build skills in preparation for a scratch build and I find it rewarding to "do it myself."  
 
Richard
 
 
 

I have worked on the second go at the figure head.  It has been taking a lot of time, but I am enjoying it.  Thanks to some other threads, I have found some really fine burrs as small as .4mm. While most if the figure  has been carved using files, some of the the really tough spots have benefited from the fine burrs and really small gouges.  
 

 

 

 
There is still a lot to do, I figure I am about half way, but it is shaping up.
 
I had some problems with the first one shown in the last posting.  I now realize that I had cut the form out using the plans then used the supplied figure head to help guide the detailed work. Turns out they are different.
 

 
the arms, hands and fins, even the hair is different.  I was so focused on doing the shaping that I did'nt stop to notice the differences.
 
 
The jury is still out on whether it will be good enough to use... but I think it will have to be really bad for me not to use it.  Something about it being made here that has a nice ring to it.
 
On another note.  I was thinking about how difficult it can be to build the ship in miniature.  So I figured, heck, I have a few acres.  why not build the Syren full size... so I am putting together an order for boxwood and pear for the 240 ton brig.  Oh.. wait a second, I live in Atlanta... how am I going to get it to the ocean.
Oh well, cancel the order...:-)
 
Richard