SJSoane
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Hi Gaetan and Robert, Thank you for your kind comments. I debate back and forth about whether to take the time to build a jig, because I am trying to increase my hand tool skills and I have tended to rely too much on jigs rather than on hand-eye coordination. But in this case, there were definitely too many moving parts at the stern to keep everything in place without one. Best wishes, Mark -
Hi everyone, I have started construction on the stern. The first images show constructing the transom at the quarterdeck into which the vertical timbers will dovetail. When I taped it in place in the third image, I realized that there were too many parts in motion, and I would need a jig to keep it all aligned. So the next images show a jig at the location of the stern lights. The most important thing to keep straight in this construction is the equal spacing of the stern lights. The jig represents the windows themselves, with the correct round up and round aft, and the locations of the vertical timbers. I then cut slots for the timbers into which I could locate them while shaping them. I did not have to work very hard to create the right bevel; I just filed the aft faces flush to the jig. You will also see that I initially mounted the jig on a right angle fixture over a slab of granite. This allowed me to use a flat, parallel surface from which I could construct the radiating lines for the vertical timbers with a drafting triangle. Once I found the correct angle on one side, I could flip the triangle and draw exactly the same angle on the opposite side. That kept everything perfectly symmetrical from the center. I initially tried to do this while the jig was located on this ship itself, and there were too many things in the way. Still lots to do... Mark
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Gaetan, You are a master of the craft. There are so many curving, flowing lines in the stern, and all fair together beautifully, Can you imagine how the shipwrights originally conceived of those forms? There must have been some trial and error when building the ship itself. Best wishes, Mark
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Hi Ed, I grew up a thousand miles from an ocean, and knew of ships only through models and photos. I was astounded when I first visited the real sailing ships in the San Francisco maritime museum when I was a teenager, and I could not believe how big they really were. I am still amazed when I put my little captain figure next to pieces of wood or parts of construction in my Bellona model, to see how massively large these ships were. All the more amazing when you think how much was done with hand tools. Your photo and drawing show the same thing. That is a solid wall of wood one story high at the stern, and the stem construction laid flat would be as big as a small sized room in a house. Sobering to think how they did it. Mark
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Karl, I just noticed the crucible in which you are melting the pewter. Can you tell us where you found it? I have not seen anything as useful as that. It looks like it has its own heating element. Also, is that a colored spray paint, or just a transparent finish, that you show with the cannon standing vertically? Mark
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If this is indeed an early example of something that evolved into another, more practical, form (higher up to avoid bending over), it is a fascinating glimpse into how a tradition evolves over time in a continual quest for greater efficiency and/or beauty.
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ROYAL CAROLINE 1749 by Doris - 1:40 - CARD
SJSoane replied to DORIS's topic in - Build logs for subjects built 1501 - 1750
Doris, I'll add my congratulations. This is an artistic accomplishment beyond description. Mark- 881 replies
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Hi Michael, Wouldn't it be great if we could arrange some day a world tour of workshops? It is almost more fun to build and organize the shop than it is to build anything in it.... Mark
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Hi Alexandru, Beautiful craftsmanship. A joy to look at. I just noticed the red inboard planking, coming right down to the deck. Did you paint/stain each piece before installing, or did you install, mask and then paint? Best wishes, Mark
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Hi Gary, Looks great. It does make you think about how a relatively few cooks with only a relatively few cooking surfaces and pots could cook for 650 men even if it was in shifts. Think about a kitchen today for a typical banquet hall, in comparison. Best wishes, Mark
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Hi Remco, Perfection. It is really interesting to see this earlier brick style stove. With my architecture background, it seems so incongruous to build bricks on top of a wooden frame, rather than a solid foundation in the ground. Would any engineers out there be able to calculate the weight of this relative to an iron stove? Best wishes, Mark
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Hi Mark, I would agree with Gaetan about considering building version 2 in the Antscherl method, rather than the Hahn method. I used a modified Hahn method on my Bellona before I even knew about Antscherl's method, and if I had it to do over again I would without hesitation build it right side up. Much easier to see what is really going on and adjust, and it is more fun to work on a ship as it would really look, right from the beginning. I spent years looking at an upside down hull, wondering what it would look like when I could finally turn it over. Why delay the gratification? But whatever you are most comfortable with. Best wishes, Mark
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Hi Michael, I was just able to catch up on your log. It is a joy to reach how you approach each problem, and then come up with close to perfect tooling and workmanship. Lessons for us all. Best wishes, Mark
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Hi Ed, I only rarely get a chance to look in lately, and your project is coming along nicely! Best wishes, Mark
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Gaetan, A perfect setting for a museum quality project. Mark
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HI everyone, This is indeed a fascinating issue; the more you look at it, the more interesting it becomes. Thank you Gaetan, for showing us the French method. I know very little about the French traditions--except that my Bellona was apparently copied from a captured successful French ship--and it is very interesting to see the constructional differences. As I begin building the stern, I am astounded at the constructional complexity and subtle visual effects they worked so hard to achieve. Beauty still counted for a lot back then! Best wishes, Mark
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Hi Gary, The photo I was thinking of is on page 27 of the AOS for the Bellona, HMS Ajax of 1767. You can see the two kick in place pawls on the fore side of the capstan partners. I have seen your cross section photo in a book, but I can't remember where. I'll look around. Le me know what else you find out! Best wishes, Mark
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Looks great, Remco. Did you silver solder the pot?
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Hi Gary, Here are some photos of the capstan in the ca. 1760 Bellona model, at midships. It shows the simple "kick under the capstan" kind of pawl. In my Bellona Admiralty drawings, the capstan shown here on the upper deck has a space as shown here for the pawl to go underneath, presumably to a rachet of some kind? But the capstan directly underneath on the gundeck does not show a similar space between it and the deck. Does this suggest that the gundeck capstan had no pawls? There is some evidence that this model was built while the ship was under construction in 1760 (relocations of the gunports are drawn in over the original drawing with instructions to the dockyard; these correspond to the locations of the gunports in the model.) However, there are some details like gratings of very different sizes, which suggest some things were repaired, or replaced over time. Whether the capstan is original I cannot say! I would guess that while the capstan might have been replaced later, less likely they would have pulled up the capstan partners in a repair... And then there is the photo of the split hull model of a gundeck shown in the AOS of the Bellona--the Ajax?--which shows two kick under pawls located closer together. So I am guessing this is the norm through the 1760s-70s at least. Best wishes, mark
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Ed, it is looking very nice indeed. I learn from every post you make. Mark
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Remco, Nice, very nice! Absolutely convincing. Mark
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Thanks, everyone, I am working on wood now thanks to all of your help. And Alex, thank you very much for the Ardent drawing. That is the only drawing except Steel's 80 gun ship that I have seen of the old fashioned stern with the balcony like the Bellona. It helped me enormously to check the various curves against my own reconstruction. Best wishes, Mark
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Gary, So how did you get the cast iron look? Mark
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Gary, Looks absolutely spectacular! Mark
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