rtropp

Now that my phone is charged here are some pictures of how I tapered the jibboom and flying jibboom which was similar to how I did the bowsprit.  First, from the drawing, I determined the required diameter of the boom at its ends and at the ¼ points.  Then I transferred these locations onto the appropriate size dowel.   I chucked the dowel into my drill press (no lathe) and set my calipers to one of the predetermined diameters.  Then, with the press running, I used the jaws of the calipers to cut grooves into the dowel at the mark locations to the corresponding measured diameters.  After all the grooves were cut in I used different grits of sandpaper to taper the dowel using the grooves for depth guides.
 
 


 
For the iron bands that hold the two booms together I decided again not to use the pinstripe tape but make the piece from a brass strip.  The travelers were made from 28 ga. wire as in the instructions.
 

 
The open and closed hearts are very delicate and need gentle handling.  I found that not removing the char from the side of the hearts helped me see cutting the groove along the sides.   Making the eyes at the ends I used the same jig I use to make zip-seizing.  The drawing shows a doubled line around the closed and open hearts but the photo shows only a single line around the closed hearts.  I went with the single line for the closed hearts because I thought using a double line for all the hearts would make it too crowded.
 
 

 
Completed bowsprit and booms.  I did have one 'OH SH*T' moment when after I tied the blocks on the end of the flying jib and as I was patting myself on the back for doing such a nice job I realized I forgot to put the traveler ring on.   Well after pondering how I can get this tiny ring on without removing the blocks I finally bit the bullet and removed the blocks and slipped on the ring, a very humbling moment.
 

 
Back tracking a bit I finally lashed the sweeps to the gallow bitts using the eye bolts that were installed in the chocks and then lashed the long boat down.
 
 

Time to spend a little time in the stern.  What should have been the easy fabrication of a few planks and several window frames turned into a three day project.  The upper counter is make up of two planks.  Since there is side to side curvature, these were made with paper templates and then cut to shape.  So far so good.  Now it is time to make the frames for the stern lights.  Something does not look right.  I make the lower sills and install them.  Something really does not look right.  The windows are too short.  So out come the plans and everything is remeasured.  The lower counter is
2 mm too tall, which made the upper counter 2 mm too tall.  The quarter deck clamps are 1.5m too low at the stern and therefore the quarter deck transom is too low.  This is a perfect example of cumulative error coming back to haunt you.
 
In this case the fix included removing and correcting the lower and upper counter planking and raising the quarter deck transom.  The deck clamps are very firmly affixed so the last few beams will have shims placed at their edges to compensate. The window height was still a tiny bit too short so I thinned out the lower edge of the quarter deck transom to buy a little more height.  Like any normal ship modeler, the last thing I thought about at this time was taking pictures for before/after shots.  Consequently all the pictures are "after" rebuilding but before final sanding.  The first three pictures show the rebuilt counters.  I was playing with lighting and exposures and accidentally came up with the second picture. The stark contrast of the light wood against the dark background helps to see the increased height of the windows.  And for the record, the irregularity of the lower surface of the quarter deck transom has been corrected.
 

 
 
 

   
Once the upper counter was in place, the lower sills were installed.  The sides of the frame are recessed back from the aft edge of the lower sill.  This provides a stop for the out-swinging window.
 
 
 
 
 
Since the lower counter was modified, I decided that now would be a good time to make sure the rudder sat properly behind the stern post.  Happily, there was no problem.
 

 
The stern post terminates at the level of the quarter deck top-of-beam.  One of the beams is notched into the fore face of the stern post.  In the last photo you can see how the ceiling and the quarter deck clamp has been cut back to make room for the window stops.  Additionally, you can see the transom elevated approximately 1.5 mm above the deck clamp.
 

 

 

There are 8 tiny windows that make up the upper gallery. Each one has a unique shape to match the cutouts in the transom. It is easy to mix them up. They are numbered on the plans and on each piece. Once I cut out the window panes and adjusted the cutouts in the transom, I placed them on the plan drawing to keep them in the correct place.
 
Vince P.

The upper transom balcony bezel with the scroll end windows has been added. Two stantions have beed added to support the long ceiling opening. This is not part of the kit, so I used a couple of 12mm walnut stantions from my stash.
 
Vince P.

Still working on the transom and stern galleries.
 
The upper side windows are added and the upper side balconies are compete. One of the side metal decoration strips (the last one) has to be added now and the the side wall of the hull in the area has to be painted black now. The metal strip is painted black and the raised pattern is washed in a gold tinted solution. This actually completes both sides of the galleries right up to the poop deck.
 
According to the plans, there are no railings whatsoever around the poop deck. With the camber of the deck, the wind at sea, and the rolling of the ship, a sailor would just fall over the side with no support. I am choosing to add side and forward cap railings later on. The bases for the side rails have been added to the deck already.
 
Vince P.

Constructing and installing the upper transom railing. The railing itself comprises of 2 halves. The plans call for placing the half # 11223 on the port side and #11222 on the starboard side. By virtue of the shapes of these pieces, part # 11223 needs to be on the starboard and #11222 on the port side. The plans have the parts numbered incorrectly on the drawings.
I still have to fill in the center seams of both the lower and upper railings with some filler to make the joints less visible.
 
Vince P.

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 127 – Main Fife Rail
 
The completed main fife is shown in the first picture.  It consists of two fore and aft rails, joined by a long athwartship rail.  All are supported on turned pillars and are drilled for belaying pins. The ends of the fore and aft rails are set in slots in the topsail sheet bitts and secured with wire bolts. The pillars also are secured top and bottom with wire bolts. The fore and aft extensions aft will eventually support the bearings for the bilge pump.
 

 
When making and fitting the sheet bitts, I neglected to cut the slots for the rails,  so these had to be cut in place.  I would normally do this with the serrated edge of a flat file, but none that I had would fit between the bulwarks, so I used a piece of hacksaw blade, sharpened up a bit to cut cleanly.  This is shown in the next picture.
 

 
The blade is supported on a sized pine block to ensure parallel cuts at the correct height.  It was also rounded to match the deck, and although not shown in this picture, it was fitted with a stop block between the bitts to keep it in place.  It would have been much easier to do this before setting the bitts, but doing it this way I can at least be assured that the rails will be at the same height.
 
In the next picture, one of the rails is being test fitted on one of the pillars.  The block used to guide the saw also proved useful in sizing the pillars.
 

 
The pillars were turned by the method used on the deck beam pillars – shown in an earlier post.  In the next picture, one of these has been turned and awaits final sanding/polishing.
 

 
The pillar is held on center by a brass tube in the tailstock chuck and the depth of cut is controlled by the larger brass tube fitted over the cross feed rail below the tool.  The next picture shows the two fore and aft rails fitted temporarily.
 

 
In the next picture the athwartship rail is set down on its wire bolts and the rails below are being marked for the lap joints that join the rails.
 

 
The rails were then removed to cut the joints.  In the last picture the completed assembly has been installed and polished.
 

 
The rail assembly was glued down and to the bitts using medium viscosity CA.  I was not confident that all these endgrain joints would stand the pressures of rigging using wood glue.  The structure is quite strong.
 
Ed

great work Sal,
I hope to get more time for my build after New Year's. Your work will help greatly,
Richard

great work Sal,
I hope to get more time for my build after New Year's. Your work will help greatly,
Richard

Thank you very much Boyd,
 
I`m about to finalize My "Pegasus" soon, There`s not much go any more. The intension is to do it when the follower model "KWdG"  hull, which is well on the way, has been plated......
 
Nils
 
Here the present status of "HMS Pegasus" :
 
made a new, and larger white ensign on cloth of an old fine-structured handkerchief by ink printing / ironing methode,
 
when complete all square sails shall be braced to appr appr. 45° angle. The  main courses sheets and tack-lines as well as the bow-lines still need to be rigged. Also the spare spars resting on the gallows still have to be made, whereby the ships boat is already finished for mounting. Half of the anchors are done. Maybe also a securing rudder chain will be fitted
 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

Build log part 90
 
Hello fellow builders,
 
my last pics concerning the HMS Pegasus are from August 2015, now that the KWdG build is enjoying a break in the moment, I am sorting out where I`m standing with the "Swan Class" sloop. It is somewhere in the rigging, have to groove myself in again.
 
Meantime here some pics of the ship`s boat, which is now ready for taking on board, although it has set on some dust over the months (black areas)
 
Nils
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

Hello Peter,
 
thanks for the welcome back, as you know, I`m a freind of figurines, so there is some painting to be done on a bunch of British naval soldiers in their gaiter trousers, that have been appointed with a mission (war of independence) down at the New England US coast. These are nicely molded exactly at scale 1:64, and will provide fine little color spots on the decks. In the moment the arms and fire-arms are still missing just like the belts that cross the chests over the red jackets. The standplates will be removed, before they go aboard.
Can imagine putting a marksman up at the main top, some at the swivels, etc.
 
Nils
 
 

great work Sal,
I hope to get more time for my build after New Year's. Your work will help greatly,
Richard

great work Sal,
I hope to get more time for my build after New Year's. Your work will help greatly,
Richard

It has been a long time since any work has occurred on Atlanta.  I finally had some time to dedicate to her this weekend.  It is amazing what a surprise foot of snow will do to any outdoor plans!
 
The next part of the capstan to tackle was installing the whelps.  I have a little saw that I purchased at the NRG meeting in 2014.  The blade is the size of a double edge razor blade and it cuts very easily through wood with minimal jaggedness at the edges.  I also have a micro-miter box for it.
 

 
The sides of the whelps are notched to accept the capstan spacers.  I was able to accurately cut the top of the notch using the saw and micro-miter box.  The rest of the notches were cut freehand.
 

 

 
Now it was simply a matter of gluing the whelps to the barrels.  After taking these pictures I realized that one of the whelps was not aligned correctly.  It has since been corrected.
 

 

 
 
 
 

Overhead storage seems right to me Alan.  Thanks, Christian.
 
Bill Maxwell generously gave me some of his sheet mica for the windows.  So, of course, I had to remake the fore bulkhead window and re-glaze it with mica rather than acetate.  For those of you not familiar with his work, take a look at his Fly at  http://www.byrnesmodelmachines.com/projectphotos1.html?proj=74
 

 
The aft bulkheads were made in similar fashion to the forecastle ones.  They are only temporarily positioned to facilitate fabrication and insertion of the quarter deck beams.
 

 

 

 

Provisional laying the beams of the lower deck
 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello friends,
 
many thanks to all for your kind comments and Likes.
 
 
Built gun ports and jamb walls.
 
 
Karl
 
 
T e i l  6

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
 
 
 

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
 
 
 

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
 
 
 

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
 
 
 

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
 
 
 

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
 
 
 

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 125 – Helm
 
First, thank you, Bob.  Gross exaggeration, of course, but much appreciated nonetheless.
 
The term helm refers to all the equipment and structures associated with the rudder.  Unlike earlier ships where the wheel operated a tiller that turned the rudder by means of a system of ropes and sheaves, most ships of the clipper era used gear driven machinery to rotate the rudder.  It is most likely that Young America used a mechanism consisting of reversed thread worm gears that drove a collar at the top of the rudder post.  Gearing of this type had more mechanical advantage and resisted reverse forces generated by pressure on the rudder.  Wheels could therefore be single and smaller even though the ships were larger and faster.  Higher speeds put more stress on the rudder.
 
I did not intend to model the rudder machinery, given the scale and the fact that it is enclosed from view. (The small wheel was enough of a challenge for me.)  However, the lower part of the heavy machine base that supported the gearing would be visible because the rudder enclosure is open at the bottom.  The first picture shows the rudder shaft and a brass turning that models the lower part of the cast iron machine base.
 

 
In the next picture the rudder head has been shortened and the iron base blackened.
 

 
The base was simply glued to the deck using medium viscosity CA.  The next picture shows the completed helm enclosure waiting for the wheel.
 

 
The enclosure is fixed temporarily to the deck on wire pins into the corner posts.  This will allow the helm - with the fragile wheel - to be left off the model where it will be safe from damage as other work proceeds. 
 
In the next picture the wheel axle has been fitted into a solid block inside the enclosure and two small grated platforms have been installed to help keep the helmsman’s feet dry.
 

 
The helm enclosure was made by the same methods used on the other deck structures so I will not describe that here.  The last picture shows the completed helm with the wheel fitted.
 

 
I was fortunate to be able to use some grating left over from the 1:96 Victory model – just enough for the two raised platforms.  I will cover making the wheel in the next part.
 
 
Ed