dvm27

Started a work on counter timbers and transom, Hahn jig allows to build it pretty early, since all counter timbers would be glued to the jig and there is a little chance of damaging them.
Oliver Cromwell has a pretty weird counter timbers / windows framing. 
On most of the other models I saw, counter timbers follow the lines of the hull and transom wings.
For example, here is a Remco's Kingfisher (http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/18-hms-kingfisher-by-remco-1770-english-14-gun-sloop-pof-148):

 
In my case, however, both NMM drawing and Hahn's interpretation of it show that windows (and, hence, counter timbers) are basically square and vertical, and do not follow the hull shape:

 

 
I already made transom wings following the dotted line on these drawings, which follows the shape of the hull. Now I have only one realistic option - make counter timbers evenly spaced and end up with framing similar to the other models of this period (like Swan class). And windows will not be as square as they are on Hahn's model. So be it. Or I am missing something obvious in this problem? Would apperciate a second look, I might be misinterpreting all that drawings?
 
In a meanwhile, made some assisting construction to help with alignment of the counter timbers. True redneck engineering! But better than nothing:

 

 
And made the counter timbers themselves. Left group is a second-tier, where I made few mistakes (joints with gaps, etc). It will go to the planked side of the model where all these mistakes would be covered.
The right group are a prime timbers that would go to the exposed side of the hull. So good to have a side where all mistakes would be hidden!
 

Hello Michael, it's good to hear from you again. Yes, I think you're correct that 1/4 would be a little thick - and heavy. I chose the .01 inch sheet because of the rigidity. I like the way it bends smoothly and the thinner sheets start to show bends and creases if I'm not careful. This size makes a very rigid tube. After soldering, I used a piece of sandpaper around a dowel to sand down the overlap on the inside of the tube and also opened out the mouth a bit so the thickness wasn't as pronounced. With the taper, it looks closer to .005.

Thanks everyone!
 
Mike, yes pins and screws are doing the job.  I use #2 screws to secure the cants to the center bulkhead, and the pins are for alignment.  I've seen many folks on MSW use that method, I can't take credit for it.
 
Greg, coming from you that's an supreme compliment!  You are one of the builders I strive to emulate.

Well worth the redo Frank. How would you rate the strength of resistance soldering to silver soldering?

I look at MSW every day yet I've managed to miss your beautiful build in progress . Your first scratch build is marvelous, Wes!

Hello,
about your nice hints and positive comments.
I am extremely happy.
Here we go on with the building report:
Further details have been installed, such as pin rails.

 

 

 
 

Minor update to show that all is not folly and folderol...  
 
The waterways are completely in and the beams marked with the centerline, the carling locations for hatches and mast partners, and also for the line where the center thick stuff will end and the normal deck planking begins.  (See the first photo).
 
I also ran a test using cutoffs from the beams, I made a "fixture" for lack of a better word.   I cut some 1/8" cherry and tacked it to the beams to see if there's any issues using the laser to cut the planking.  Nope... even leaves a nice black line for the caulking (see the last two photos) and with care, I should have some better planking than if I tried to sand/plane in the taper, etc. .  Also there's a bit of waterway to show the profile.  
 
Tomorrow (or however long it takes) will be devoted to cutting and fitting the carlings.
 

 

And finally, I assembled it all back together (temporarily) to see how she looks.  The cants, hawse and bollards are now rough faired on the outside face.  I took a bunch of pics so pardon the photoblast.
 







 
Soon I'll start shaping and fairing the inside faces.  I also need to finish drawing out the rest of the stem's various pieces, and start building it.
 
Thanks for the likes and for following along...

I finally got around to milling the foot on the stem.  Here it is setup in the mill.

 
I mentioned way back the rabbet on the stem would be a "fake" rabbet.  The way I fit the the center bulkhead, stem and bollard timbers makes a rabbet so I won't have to carve it.  This is not prototypical, but for me it will work.
 
Here the stem is pinned on temporarily.  You can see the where the rabbet will be.





 
Adding the bollards and cants forms the rabbet.


 
 

Thanks again everybody for your comments and likes!
 
Thanks Bob, no slip roller, I just clamp a 3/4 steel bar to a work bench and press the brass around it. The segments are a little over 1 1/8 inch in diameter. I bend them a little tighter and use the alligator clips to hold them to the proper diameter. The .01 thickness brass shapes well with no creases.
 
Thanks Cap-n-Bob. I tried several methods and none of them worked. Once again, approximating the original method did the trick.
 
Thanks Druxey, I like the quote. I will keep it in mind next week when I'm taking the paddlewheels apart.
 
Thanks Nils, David, Pat and Mark. I'm sorry that I've been off-line for awhile and haven't been able to keep up with everyone's builds. My ragweed allergies turned into a respiratory infection last week and it has really slowed me down. Last Friday I gave my wife a scare when I coughed so hard that I passed out. I think the worst of it is over and I hope to make a lot of progress in the coming weeks.
 
Thanks Steven, I've been meaning to send you a PM about the masts in the hatches but haven't had the chance yet to sit down and write a proper description. I'll try to send you our thoughts on the subject tomorrow.

Beautifully precise work on the stack. I am gobsmacked at the quality of your work.
 
Putting the flange on the wrong side has such huge consequences from what would have been a small moment of inattention. Somehow it makes me feel better about the mistakes I make to know even the best of us can do the same.
 
And of course you've fixed it and are back on track. Such a magnificent model.
 
Steven

Lovely brasswork. However, it sounds like an extremely frustrating week for you. As a character in a Feydeau farce says, "A reverse today - a revenge tomorrow!" Hopefully the reassembly will go correctly and smoothly.

Thank You
 
The bowsprit guys were also served their entire length.  Thimbles were seized into the end of each.  I used .025 brown rope for these.  There are two of these and both were made at the same time to ensure they came out the same length.  As mentioned earlier I am using dark brown for the standing rigging.
 

 

 
The forward end have hooks fashioned from 24 gauge black wire.   This is hooked to the eyebolt at the bow.   The other end has a lanyard that stretches across to an eyebolt in the hull.  
 

 

 
Chuck

Well worth the redo Frank. How would you rate the strength of resistance soldering to silver soldering?

Well worth the redo Frank. How would you rate the strength of resistance soldering to silver soldering?

Lovely ships boat and case, Bob. Perhaps you could fill a bit of the extra space with contents of the boat such as water casks, spare spars, sails and oars.

And so here we are. I've gotten one half sanded perfect to the templates. Now onto the second half. You can see in some of the pics the difference between sides especially at the stern. Also look at the design such a streamline shape so different to Sultana.

Lovely ships boat and case, Bob. Perhaps you could fill a bit of the extra space with contents of the boat such as water casks, spare spars, sails and oars.

I've sanded the inner sides of the frames down to 220 grit.  The bottom of the deck planking was measured from the profile at six frames and transferred to the inner edge of the relevant frames.  A thin batten was clamped at each of the marks and examined for "fairness".  Once satisfied, I marked all of the frames.  This sets the bottom of the deck and the top of the deck beams.  I'll make a pattern piece 8" deep to mark the bottom of the beams / top of clamp.  Visible in the picture are the two wales and the temporary support batten on the outer side of the frames.  The batten will be removed to add the bulwarks.  Which brings up another issue.  How do I remove the temp. batten without weakening the glue of the wales or other joints in the frames?  At the NRG conference, a table mate was explaining how the folks at TiteBond told him to break the bond with heat.  It seems to breakdown above 200 degrees.  To test it out, I held my plank-bending iron against my #11 blade which was held in the glue joint.  It doesn't work any faster than Iso, but with a little wiggling of the blade, the bond gives way.  Be careful with the iron!
Maury

Here are some photos of the finished base and plinth.  I also applied the bow pulley and the anchor davit plate that sits in the notch on top of the transom.  Rigging is next!
 

 

 

 

Bob,
 
I think you should revise the size of the base, and case.
The Longboat itself is not that big, so I would consider a smaller base and case.
Some where out there is a relation chart between model size and case size.
However, what you have accomplished with the base and more is amazing. Beautiful done!

Here are a few photos of the case base, which was primarily made out of cherry.  I'm not sure if it really works, but I try to construct my cases so they can breathe.  That's what the 1 1/2" hole in the center is for. My theory is that changes in atmospheric pressure allow some air to pass back and forth from inside the case.

 
In order to keep dust and insects from getting inside, I mounted a filter on the underside composed of some fine material, backed up by a piece of screening.

 
The filter was mounted with four small hex-head screws.  In the future, if necessary, this will allow me to remove the filter with a nut driver without tipping the case over.
Note the four triangular blocks in the corners.  They elevate the base about 1/8", which allows air to pass underneath.  That small gap also makes it a little easier to lift the case.

 
Although the plastic enclosure will be sitting inside a somewhat deep groove, I'm always concerned that it could become dislodged.  To prevent this, I drill a 1/16" hole at each end of the base that passes through the plastic enclosure.  This will allow me to insert a brass rod about 1 3/4" long that will prevent any accidents.


 
The dimension of the brass rod is not critical, as long as it reaches an opening in the bottom of the base.  This will allow the rod to be pushed out for easy removal of the enclosure.

 
When completely inserted, the rod is almost imperceptible from the outside.

 
Here is a photo of a training aid that was made by a fellow club member.  He is a miniaturist, so the construction is a bit on the light side.  Nevertheless, it pretty much reflects how I made my base.  The one big difference is the fact that my plinth is not a part of the base.  I opted for a separate piece.

 
The plinth has 1/32" spacers on the underside to allow air movement.  Made out of cherry, the dark wood inlay is blood wood.  The pedestals are blackened brass.


 
Recently, I brought the base to my club meeting.  One of our most senior (as in age) members happened to be sitting next to me.  He was studying my base very intently, so I asked him what he thought.  After a long pause, he stated that it's an awful lot of work for such a tiny model.  He might be right.
 
BobF
 

Part 49 – Deadeyes and Chainplates Version 2
 
I wasn’t really happy with the results of my first try at making the deadeyes and chainplates for Dunbrody.  After lots of thought (much of it in the middle of the night when I should have been asleep), I decided that a couple of jigs would help with the precision.
 
Twisting the chainplate to form the hinge, as in the prior attempt, would most likely result in a number of variances from one deadeye to another.  When viewing a single deadeye the result might be acceptable, but when 6 or 8 deadeyes are lined up next to each other the differences would surely stand out.
 
The original attempt started with soldering a piece of 1/32 round bar to the chainplate, which is 3/32 x 1/64.  This gave a good impression of a hinge, but centering and shaping the hinge and the shoulders of the chainplate was problematic, and that’s when I decided to twist the chainplate stock to form the hinge.  The new process starts with the round bar, and I thought some viewers may be interested in seeing how resistance soldering works.
 
The first photo shows the soldering setup.  The jig consists of a piece of corian milled so that the groove for the chainplate is the same depth as the thickness of the stock, and the groove for the round stock is the correct depth for the chainplate to lie at the center of the round stock.
 
                       
 
The large black clamp simply holds the jig on the table.  The yellow plastic clamp is holding the chainplate to the jig, and the orange plastic clamp is holding the round bar stock to the jig.  The alligator clip attached to the chainplate is the negative electrode attached to the resistance soldering power unit.
 
After the setup is secured, flux is applied as in any other soldering process. 
 
                       
 
I’m using Stay-Clean flux – this normally comes with Sta-Brite solder.  I use a silver-bearing solder from Radio Shack, mainly because it comes as a very thin wire, so it’s easy to clip off a very small piece and avoid wasting solder and making cleanup harder.  In the following photo you may be able to see the very small piece of solder pointed to by the tweezers.
 
                       
 
Heating the solder is accomplished by holding the positive electrode to the workpiece – normally at the thickest part – and depressing the footswitch.  With pieces this small the soldering takes only a few seconds.
 
                       
 
The piece cools down almost immediately, so it’s not necessary to wait or to immerse the piece in a cooling bath.  The next step is to clip off the excess round bar.
 
                       
 
                       
 
Shaping a piece this small by eye so that it is symmetrical and repeatable is very difficult.  A shaping template was made on the mill so that the piece could be tested as it was being shaped (shaping was done with a small parallel Barrette file – number 4).
 
                       
 
The square hole on the left is for the initial shaping to get the size of the hinge consistent and centered.  The hole on the right was shaped using a rounded end mill and indicates the shoulders of the chainplate.  The following photo shows the first step in shaping the hinge.
 
                       
 
After the shoulders were rounded the profile of the hinge is finished.
 
                       
 
The strop is a piece of 1/32 x 1/64 flat bar stock.  The strop is annealed (heated to a red color and then quenched) to soften the stock and make it easier to bend.  During my first attempts I bent the strop around the deadeye itself.  This resulted in the strop being completely around the deadeye with little or no room for the hinge arrangement.  I decided to make a bending jig that would ensure a sufficient opening in the strop.  This jig consists of a piece of round brass stock shaped to the proper diameter on the lathe and with a groove cut in for the strop.  It also has a piece of flat stock of the same thickness as the hinge soldered into a slot that was cut into the jig.
 
                       
 
The strop is bent around the jig and tightened by squeezing the ends to the protruding piece.
 
                       
 
The strop is then added to the deadeye and the assembly is placed in the jig for forming the assembly (same jig as previously used).
 
                       
 
The deadeye being used in the picture has been used in several previous attempts, so is discolored.  This won’t be an issue when the ‘production’ deadeyes and chainplates are being assembled.
 
The ends of the strop are then clipped down to the finished length and the protruding ends are rounded.
 
                       
 
The chainplate is then soldered to the deadeye hinge, using the setup shown in the following photo.
 
                       
 
I’m much happier with the results of this new process.  Making a single deadeye/chainplate combination takes less than an hour with this new process, and is very repeatable.
 
                       
 
                      
 
                       
 
The shaping definitely requires the use of an Optivisor, since these deadeyes are fairly small.
 
                       
 
So now I guess I’d better start making the ‘production’ deadeyes before I forget how!
 
Thanks, everyone!
 
 

Sweet work, Marsalv. I assume you added the molded edge detail with a scraper but I wonder how you got the corners and recesses so precise!