bhermann

I had a heck of a time belaying lines to the pinrail on the other side. Bent tweezers and other gadgets just didn't do it for my clumsy fingers.
 
Here is what I did. I took some brass wire, made two V shaped hooks at the end and silver soldered them to the side of a thicker wire. The idea is that I wanted to push the line underneath and behind the belaying pin. I spaced the two wires such that they cleared the pin. Now with the line slack on the deck, I can push the line with this two pronged tool as shown in the sketches below. Once there, I pull the line taut and hook it to the pin on top.
  
I had success the first time I tried it.

Thanks again Patrick. Are you a Browns fan? That is a tough division for them.
 
Well, I ended up giving the hull one more coat of black paint:
 

 
I decided to stop here, so off came the masking tape. Here is how it looked right after I removed the tape:
 

 
There were just a few small bleeds of the black into the white stripe, which I was able to touch up with some white paint. The areas around the tops and bottoms of the gun ports needed some touch up with black paint. Here is how it looks now after that:
 

 
Maybe a little more touch ups inside the gun ports yet, but it is getting close. I also still need to touch up the black inside the stern.

Painting the outer hull continues. I masked off the area for the white stripe between the gun deck gun ports:
 

 
I burnished the edges of the masking tape to hopefully avoid any running of the black paint, but we won't know how successful I was for a while. I then have been painting many coats of thin black paint. I decided to take pictures between each coat so you can see how the painting progresses.
 
First coat:
 

 
Second:
 

 
Third:
 

 
Fourth:
 

 
It is getting close but not there yet. Probably one or two more. I have also been painting the transom. In order to be able to use clear acetate for the windows, I painted inside the hull framing at the stern black, so this wood would not show through the windows:
 

 
The view from the stern:
 

 
Still needs some touch up inside the window frames.
 
In between coats of paint, I have been building the stanchions for the gun deck. I show this in the next post.
 
Oh, and by the way - GO PATRIOTS!
 

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 108 – Sheathing plates/Deck members
 
Well, those brass plates I showed in the last post certainly sparked a lot of interest – and helpful comments.  Even as I posted those photos I was thinking about improvements.  The comments convinced me and provided some good ideas.   One of the final plates is shown in the first picture – an ultra- closeup. 
 

 
This has a very close duplicate of the original nailing pattern.  The sheets would have been pre-punched – perhaps like this one – then simply placed in position and nailed over a tarred felt covering.  In the lower row, the indentations are about 3” apart, so you can see that the dimples themselves are less than an inch I diameter – just about right.  This plate is 48” x 14” (about 0.67” x 0.195”).  The model plates are .002” thick brass.
 
The next picture shows the stamping fixture – sitting on the block of hardwood used to stamp the brass.
 

 
The top piece is drilled to accept .018” straight pins – a sliding fit.  A fence is added to align the plates.  The top row of holes is extended so the “dress course” (top row) can be stamped a second time so those plates will have nail rows top and bottom.  A brass plate is sandwiched beneath the top piece and a lower piece as a hard support at the bottom of the pins.
 
After drilling the nailing pattern the two blocks and the brass plate were bolted together.  Pins were inserted and clipped off.  These were then machine ground down to a few thousandths above the wood surface to make them a uniform length – as shown below.
 
 

 
With the pins still in the holes, the parts were disassembled and reassembled with the plate under the ground off ends of the pins.  After testing on some plates, the pins were wetted with thin CA to keep them from falling out.  The fence was then added.  The lower block is held in a vise for stamping.  Small dimples are best achieved with a hardwood block tapped lightly over the plate.  I expect to describe this process step by step in the book.
 
All of this was a bit of a side show because I am not yet ready to sheath the hull.  The main event this week has been the installation of the waterways and binding strakes on the main deck.  The first picture shows the starboard waterway being glued against the frames in between the beams and the planksheer rail.
 

 
After forming these pieces and fitting the scarph joints, they were painted light blue before being installed to avoid have to “cut in” the painted line by hand – too shaky for that. 
 
The next picture shows the two 10” wide binding strakes and the “nib strake” being installed on the starboard side.
 

 
The top of the outer binding strake is about 6” above the beams, the inner binding strake is tapered so the inside edge is the height of the common planking – 3 ½”.  The nib strake is that thickness and 8” wide.  The planking at the side will be limited to these three strakes.  There will be central planking between the hatchways.  The next picture shows the starboard side complete and work in progress on the port side.
 

 
Some of the starboard scuppers can just be seen in the above picture.  The next picture shows these being fitted through the outer planking. 
 

 
These will be filed off flush and blackened before final installation.  The remaining hull planking can then be painted and the sheathing installed on the starboard side.  The pencil  lines in the picture define the height of the dress course.
 
The last picture shows a pin rail drilled and shaped but not yet installed.
 

 
These rails will fit right under the main rail.  Paint has been filed off of the top timbers under the rail so the pin rail can be glued.
  
Ed

Thank you Gaetan.  I assume the  plate in the picture uses syringe tubing.  Following Matt's suggestion I made a stamp using .014" syringe tubing, which corresponds to 1" at 1:72 scale - about the size of the nail heads used for metal sheathing.  Unfortunately, the dimples in the metal appeared much larger, so while good for larger scales, the dimples are too large for 1:72.
 
I have found a solution, however, using the points of .018" dressmaker's pins.  As I am sure you know, these must all be at the same height and the correct height to produce good plates.  The picture below shows the result with the pinpoints.  Visualizing this in a photo is difficult, but in the picture the indentations are in, not out - as nails in thin plate backed by felt would be.  Because of the lighting reflection (?) they also appear a bit deeper and larger.
 

 
I will say more about this in the next post.
 
Ed

Finally, all sails are on the model. Now it looks more like a real Bluenose  .
 
All the running rigging is also complete. Belaying pins are made from bamboo toothpicks to add a bit Of realism (kit instructions
suggest only tying lines directly on holes). Some belaying points from instructions were little odd, so I change them to look more
realistic.
 
I now have to add rope coils, lash the Deadeyes to the standing rigging ,tie the ratlines,... Still a bit Of building yet

Fore top sail in place and most of the lifts installed.
Lots of clean up and some repair is in order.
Then it is a matter of 'filling' and fine tuning the set of the sails.
 

BTW the picture doesn't show a lot of the lines (contrast?), but there are lift lines on top .

Time for another update.
 
I've reach what is, for me, a real milestone - the last planking batten is ready to be removed, which will leave the hull clear for the final strakes of planking to be laid.
 
John
 

 

 

 
 

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 107 – Lower Hull Work
 
I finally finished the hull planking this week and got some other tasks well along.  The first picture shows the full extent of the planking on the port side – as yet unpainted..
 

 
The deck is still masked for painting the white inside bulwarks.  That work is now also finished and the installation of the painted waterways can proceed.
 
The next picture shows some of the seemingly endless task of treenailing the planking.
 

 
This work, too, is now complete on both sides of the hull.  The picture also shows work on the rudder gudgeons.  These were made by first silver soldering a tube into a groove in a sheet of .032” brass.  The rough gudgeons were then ripped off on the circular saw as shown below.
 

 
The .032” brass – about 2 ½” at 1:72 – is too thick for the straps, but allowed the thick area at the hinge to be shaped.  The 6” wide straps were then bent and filed back to about 1” thick.  The next picture shows the bottom four installed using small brass nails.
 

 
The 16” aft face or the stern post is notched to receive the 6” wide gudgeons.  These were aligned when being fitted by a stiff, straight rod through the holes.  The end of the rod will mark the final center of the round helm opening – which must be on the hinge centerline.
 
The next picture shows the gudgeons on the starboard side. 
 

 
The top one will be installed after this side is painted.  Some of the lowest rows of “yellow metal” sheathing have been installed around the gudgeon.  This will be the only gudgeon requiring this, since this is the lowest of the planking at the stern.  The top of sheathing line – parallel and slightly above the load waterline - can be seen in this picture.  There will be several rows of sheathing.  The top row will be on the straight, horizontal sheathing line.  The strakes below will follow the planking shear and “gore” into this top strake. 
 
The brass plates were cut from .002” brass.  The nailing pattern was embossed into the plates used an embossing device.  The picture below shows the nail pattern being drilled in a wood block to make this.
 

 
The thickness of the block was sized carefully to allow small steel nails to be inserted from the underside.  The tips protrude just enough to impart the pattern when stamped as shown below.
 

 
Stamping these plates is almost as thrilling as treenailing.  Fortunately there are only about a half-dozen rows. A close up of the first few stamped plates is shown in the last photo.
 

 
After the pine stamping block “breaks in” the dimples become more regular.  These are like little cheese graters.  They are fastened with contact cement – another enjoyable task.  After making and installing 3700 of these my Victory model, I swore I wouldn’t do this again – but that was in 1978.
  
Ed

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 106 – Painting
 
I’ve always preferred to leave models in natural wood, but some of Young America will be painted.  After painting the hull planking above the planksheer, the stern decoration could be painted.  The first phase of that is shown in the first picture.
 

 
All the paints and the sealer being used so far are various types of artist’s acrylics.  The final coats will have some gloss.  Most of the gold stern decoration was painted first upside down – so I could see it and steady my hand.  The lines at the top were finished in the upright position as shown in the next picture.  Then several more inversions to nitpick.
 

 
This was a multi-multi step process – before everything looked reasonably presentable as shown in the next picture.
 

 
The planking below the painted part will also be black – down to the top of the brass sheathing.  I will paint that after completing treenailing.  In the next picture the white main main rail around the stern is being fitted.  Also one of the brass portholes is being test fit.
 

 
In the next picture the stern section of the main rail is being glued in.
 

 
The planking on this side is complete – just enough to anchor the deadeye chains below the lower rail.  The next picture shows the completed planking on the starboard side.
 

 
The planking on this side will be sheathed in “yellow metal” below the waterline.  The unpainted area at the bow is left unpainted to allow gluing of the decoration carvings.  The last picture shows the main deck during painting of the inboard bulwarks - the blue is masking tape to keep paint out of the structural work.
 

 
The sanding and painting of this complex woodwork is real fun – several coats worth.  The paint  accentuates every rough area and crack.  I am not too concerned about the area forward of the large vertical samson post.  It will be covered with the forecastle.  Also, the rack rails – pin rails – that run the full length of the deck will fit up under the upper rail - hiding some of the inboard planking.  The waterway – painted blue – will fit in under the lower rail.  There will be a white cap rail all along the top.
  
Ed

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 105 – Planking and Wales continued
 
The exterior planking is now finished – except for treenails.  The next phase of work will involve a lot of disparate tasks to prepare for the work on the main deck.  There is much to be done before that can start.
 
In the last post, I showed the cabin lights being drilled through the outside planking.  The first picture shows the inboard planking on the cabin deck with the holes and two temporary brass ports fitted for size.
 

 
The cabin deck will house 19 cabins, two WC’s and an open central area – plus a staircase from the main deck.  All of this is speculative but very typical of the class.  Cabin finishes were usually quite ornate – no holds barred on fancy woods, gilt, carvings, etc.  I don’t intend to go overboard on this, especially without any historical data, but I expect to panel the partitions, fit built in bedsteads and some cabinetwork.  This will come later but I wanted to make a choice on wood.  I am assuming mahogany and intend to represent it with black walnut as shown above.  It has the look of old Cuban mahogany – to me at least.  except for the above, this will all come later.
 
While the model was upright, the waterways were made and fitted.  In the next picture a forward segment has been boiled for bending and is drying.  These will be pre-fitted with scarphs, but cannot be installed until the bulwark interiors are painted.
 

 
The next picture shows the starboard forward section after drying – just prior to making its joint with the next segment.
 

 
The painting order is dictating events at this stage.  First the outboard planking above the planksheer will be painted black, The white main rail will then be installed, allowing the inboard bulwarks to be painted white.  The blue waterways can then be installed and work can proceed on the main deck – a lot of complications to avoid painting different colors on adjacent areas after assembly.
 
The next picture shows work that is necessary before painting the waist planking.
 

 
The eagle and the vinery on either side are made with epoxy sculpting material.  (I could never manage this in wood.) When cured, the material is very hard, but brittle - so the work is done in two steps.  In the first step the rough sculpting shown above was done on a curved form so the parts could be removed and fit on to the stern without bending. The next picture shows the carving work glued to the starboard side. 
 

 
Once glued down the carvings could then be further refined with small tools as shown below.
 

 
This work mostly involved thinning the greenery to be more delicate.  All of this relief carving will be gilded.
 
The next picture shows the finished planking on the port side.
 

 
The planking to be painted first is above the lower channels.  At this stage those areas are being sealed for final sanding.  Masking tape will keep the paint confined above the planksheer for now.  The stern carvings have been primed with black to make sure the black acrylic adheres to the epoxy.
 
In the last picture the main rail around the stern has been painted as a test and is being fitted into its slot – just temporarily until the surrounding black is painted.
 

 
So – a lot of niggling little tasks to break up the monotony of treenailing – but progress nonetheless.
  
Ed

Here I’ve completed the decorative rail on top of the quarter galleries. My rail, Chucks has 3, has
4 decorative pieces in it  . My curve was a little bolder so it ended up too long for three so I
modified it to make four fit. I’ve decided to leave well enough alone with the windows. They won’t
be installed until much later as there is a lot of sanding and they will just trap dust and debris.
 

 

 
The only thing left to do for now on the galleries is to make the decorative columns. I am waiting
on a .016 kerf saw blade so I can cut flutes down the face of each column. 
 
That will complete chapter 6.
 
That will also catch me up to where Chuck is at right now. That will leave me time to work on
some other models I’ve shoved to the side. Also my daughter is moving to another house next
month and I have a looooooooong “Daddy do” list that will keep me quite busy for the foreseeable
future.
 
I just have to remember how to work at full scale again!  
 
 
 
 

So the building began. Keel assemble vent fine. Just dryfitted the frames. They fits perfectly to the keel. Going to glue them tonight. Its gonna be a great weekend i the workshop

Got the hatch started.
 
Cut a neat hole in the deck,then made a frame to fit it.
 

 
 
It fit so well that I just left it in position after test fit, no glue used.
I then had to scrape a rebate to get the next part to sit flush.
 

 
I then made a frame to fit on top of the opening.
 

 
 

 

 
It still needs a coat of polly but I think the fit is nice, still waiting on ladders.
 

 
I think I have come up with a way to improve the mamoli barrels. It involves little bits of string
 
I will get some photos of the process and make a mini tut on the process I am using.

Made some progress on the fire station.
 

 
 
It is not installed yet, so all the pipes are not in the picture.
 

 
Here is a picture of the reference I used.
 

 
 
nearly got the next deck beams finished also, waiting on some ladders to replace the kit provided, then I can get into making the hatches that need to be installed before I can really progress onto the next deck.

Bob, what's a ship without sails? a raft? you have to have sails....so says my admiral , if I want it displayed in the living room 
 
So I'm working on the ship's wheel. Trying to see if I can do better than what was supplied.
 
Here's the high tech micro lathe that I'm using on this project
 

 
... yes it's a rotary tool drill press laying on its side
 
Here are the spokes. I turned them free hand.  They are laying with the handles to the right. Next it to finish off the handles and cut off the bottoms.
 
 then figure out how to do the rim and drum.
 

Suggestion 6.
Keep your hand off those outside port lids and other details. They may give you an idea what it will look like, but too many will be a hindrance later on. If you have to, do a couple and see if they survive the rubbing and onslaught of your rigging operations. 
Add outside details for last when it can be done without several 'repairs' (and I have done enough of those!).
 
Suggestion 7.
When mounting the fife-rails to the deck, don't stop by simply glueing them to the deck with CA or even epoxy. There will be lots of upward tension on them when you do the rigging. The best way is to make the legs of those parts longer and have them go below deck (which is the way they are on real ships). Another way is to attach some wire to the bottom of each and have that go below with epoxy).
I had two of them pull straight off the deck when rigging. To repair them I drilled a small hole in the bottom of the post and a matching hole in the deck. A brass wire (similar diameter) was then glued into both of them with more epoxy and some dead weight to hold it in place.
 
Suggestion 8.
Make the tiller the way I show it. Mr. Hunt was really up-a-creek on this one. He suggested to use styrene sheet and cut the supports to that complicated shape. A better way is to follow the plan and bend some wood for part of the frame (I think I showed that somewhere on this log).
 
Suggestion 9. This one belong towards the top.
Almost every eye-bolt you install should be there with epoxy and not CA glue to hold them in place. I ran some experiments with parts made with steel, brass, blackened eye-bolts, etc. and every time I was able to bend the metal before the epoxy gave out. Not so with the CA; some pulled out without much resistance.
This is a real nuisance when you find out that the line you were attaching to that eye-bolt pulled right out (line, hook and sinker).
Of course, you all know how to mix and apply a small dab of epoxy?!?!!! And, yes, they take longer to grab and cure, but for eye-bolts that generally is not a problem. For really strong bonds, let it cure at least overnight.

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 104 – Planking and Wales continued
 
In the first picture the model has be uprighted and plumbed so the load waterline could be marked.
 

 
I needed to do this to set the extent of planking on each side.  The wood block is my gauge. 
 
This was also a good opportunity to mark out and bore the holes for the cabin lights as shown in the next photo.
 

 
The inboard finish planking was also installed and bored out.  I will show this later.  Brass tubes through to the interior will be added later.  The next picture shows the five openings on the starboard side.
 

 
Planking has progressed downward in this picture – below the bottom of the wale – but there is still more to be added. In the next picture the hull has again been inverted to complete the planking.
 

 
In this picture the aft planking is being stepped back with two strakes at each step on the starboard side.   This will permit several strakes of brass sheathing – each two planks wide to be wide to be installed later.  The sheathing band will extend to the edge of the lowest planks.  The top strake of sheathing will be on the waterline, with the strakes below parallel to the run of the planks and gored into the top strake.
 
On the port side there will be no sheathing and the planking will end higher to leave the framing exposed. 
 

 
This planking is stepped back higher up as shown again roughly parallel to the LWL – in single strake steps on this side.  Some planking is needed on this side so the deadeye chains can be fixed and also to provide a nicer view of the finished stern – at least from the starboard quarter.
 
In the next picture the hull has been uprighted again.
 

 
The planking of the starboard side shown is complete. The strakes below the 20 wale strakes diminish down from the wale thickness of 6” to the 4” thickness of the common bottom plank.  This transition is barely perceptible.  The top of the sheathing line can just be made out in this picture. 
 
I can’t explain why, but seeing this expanse of planking makes one realize just how large this ship was.  This was not as pronounced when the hull was in frame.
  
Ed

Ed -  Thanks for posting more fabulous work.  I was picturing the full size ship being pitched over as in the first photo for planking the lower regions - it brought a smile to my face.  At least you don't have to work for hours holding your arms above your shoulders - that is always the most painful position I can think of to work in
 
The info on the two volumes to come is very interesting to me.  A Naiad-like volume (or volumes) on clippers is of great interest to me and I will most likely pull the trigger on that one.  The POB version being covered there is just a plus for me.
 
As always great work - it is a pleasure watching and learning from your process and posts.
 
Thanks,
bob

Work on the model has been sporadic over the last week. Things have been hectic since going back to work after the holidays. But, I was able to accomplish a great deal on the model during that time so, it was worth it.
 
So, since I last posted, I went ahead and attached the stern filler blocks. I still have some shaping to do there but, I wanted to work on something a little different. I cut and shaped the bow filler blocks and attached them. I also cut the stem framing and have it ready to attach. I realized before cutting them that because the bow filler blocks are 1/8" shorter than what the plans call for (gun deck planking), the stem framing would have to be 1/8" longer.
 
I also realized that the locations shown on the plans for the gun deck dummy ports may or may not work for fully modeling the gun deck. So, I'm going to have to develop the gun deck planking and finish at least one of the 24 lb. long guns to determine the exact height of the gun deck ports. That being said, I went ahead and developed a pattern (more or less) for the two halves of the gun deck subflooring. I had to piece together some 1/16" thick pieces of basswood sheet to get a piece long enough for the gun deck (26-3/4"). I then drew the pattern onto one of the pieces and cut it using the band saw. However, when I fit the first piece, I immediately realized that my measurement of the width at the "A" frame must have been off. So, I cut a new piece of the appropriate shape, cut the front of the original piece off and attached the new front piece. I then used this finished piece as a pattern for the other half of the subfloor. The following pictures show the subflooring lying on the gun deck bulkhead supports with the cutouts for the masts. They actually look much better when you press the down flat against the bulkheads. The next task will be to determine the locations of the cutouts for the gun deck hatches.
 
 

You know, on hind sight you may be right about the instructions Mr. Hunt put together. They certainly were useful to me when I got started. Yes, there were several points where I took a different approach, but all and all I am not sure where I would be with this model if it had not been for this 'practicum' and the forum that he had going at that time. It kept me going.
 
The interactions with others on that forum were great and they are a bit like it is on this forum. The main difference was that Mr. Hunt did not like it when I suggested alternative ways of doing a few things. He made it very clear that criticism was not allowed (and that certainly is not the way a 'college' is run; hence my dislike of thinking of his instructions as being a 'practicum'). When I did make some snide remark, he became unglued and send me an email with language I have only heard on R-rated movies or in West Oakland. Since I was one of his 'customers' I thought he was out of line. I finally told him to take me off his forum and delete my inputs.
 
I am starting to make a list of my suggestions about how to build the USS Constitution model. There will be many areas that are not detailed like Mr. Hunt has, but the approach will be more in line with what I consider 'logical'. One example is to leave a lot of the exterior hull details until last or at least not until the rigging has been done. The gun port lids are in the way and are prone to break, the netting on top of the rails are not to be installed until later, etc. Another is to leave room to belay the lines coming from above by holding off with the shrouds and other lines that are belayed along the outside. In other words, work from the inside out (and from the top on down). Radical? Maybe, but it has worked well for me. I still have some main and fore mast shrouds and ratlines to rig (they have been hanging there for quite some time). I could not have installed the Bentnick shrouds if all the ratlines were already there. My whole concept is to think way ahead of every step and consider the difficulties an addition may impose on installing subsequent parts. Again installing the netting on top of the rail before adding masts and rigging is a good example of what not to do.

I needed to drill some holes in a position where I could not get the dremel. A drill bit extension was required.
Taking an old `Rabbit Ears' TV aeriel that I had lying around, I found that the shaft of my proxxon drill bits fitted
snugly into a section that I cut from the end. The fact that these telescopic  `Rabbit Ears' sections taper, means
that a section could be found and cut to fit most drill bit diameters.
 

 
I then inserted a broken proxxon drill bit into one end and silver soldered it in place.
 

 
The drill bit I wanted to use also fitted snuggly in the opposite end. I found that it was a tight enough fit to use
  `as is' but if too loose, it could be soldered into place as well.

CLEAR PLASTIC JARS OR BOTTLES, BRASS TUBING & STUBBORNNESS
 
The Captain invited me to his table to share how I recently made a compass box for my whaleboat. One of the pieces needed was a 'glass' lens for the compass. I ended up using a piece of clear plastic cut from the side of a plastic jar. The curvature of the jar adds a bit of magnification to the lens which makes a nice effect.

 
It proved tougher than I expected to make a little lens and I ended up with a few rejects.

 
Here's what I learned from my failed attempts:
 
1) Do not shape it with sandpaper or a double-cut file. The thicker jar plastic actually seems to be a 3-layer lamination, and I'm guessing the heat from coarser shaping methods causes a de-lamination that clouds up the edge of the lens. It actually swells up too. In hindsight, the really flimsy clear water bottles are probably a single layer and may not have these problems. However, it may be the thickness of the jars that help create the little bit of magnification. I don't know if all of the thicker plastic containers are laminations. More testing is needed!
 
2) When using a single cut file, don't keep filing for long in the same place or the heat will start clouding the plastic.
 
3) Use scissors to cut the plastic as close to the final shape as possible so you don't have to file very much. Don't try to cut tight curves with scissors though or it will cloud up. Cut straight litle segments instead of curves, and then file to a smooth curve.
 
4) It's really hard to file a perfect circle. I wasn't able to. 
 
 
The compass box itself was made with thin pieces of hardwood because I was concerned the tiny box joint fingers would snap off if I used too soft of a wood. This is 1mm thick purpleheart. I used guitar nut slotting files and progressively widened the little slots between fingers from .010" up to .032" wide. These files cut a rounded bottom (for guitar strings) so I squared up the corners of the .032" slots with the skinny .010" file tilted to get into the corners. The joints were then fine tuned for fit with 320 grit sandpaper. The sides of the box were labeled for orientation since the joints at each corner were unique. It's a little tedious but it looks cool! If I were going to do a lot of this sort of thing, I think that I would jig up a Dremel flex shaft with a cut-off wheel under a little table and cut the pieces just as you would at 1:1 on a table saw with a sled.
 

 

 
 
Here's the pieces ready to assemble. The housing is a short piece of brass tubing. The rose compass was from Google Images, and I found that if I put the image into a Word document, I could shrink it way down with decent resolution by grabbing the corner of the image and making it tiny on the document itself before printing. I shaped a piece of cedar to almost fit inside the tubing and then pressed it in and the tubing shaved it to shape. If you happen to have a dowel of the right size, just use that. Note that the end of the cedar that the compass rose is attached to is intentionally at a slight angle. I was after the effect of the compass tilting on its mounting giblets....mounting gimlets?...mounting gimbals? Anyway, whatever those mounting thingies are called that alows a compass to self-level.

 
The assembled compass box:


 
Best wishes and Happy Nw Year!
 
EDIT TO ADD: This compass box is 1:25th scale and is 7mm x 7mm x 5mm tall with a compass (brass tubing o.d.) diameter of about 3/16" overall.
 
Those of you building the Bounty Launch are at 1:16 or 3/4" scale. The compass box sizing is from my New Bedford Whaleboat plans, which are also 3/4" scale, so your compass box should be a huge 7/16" x 7/16" x 5/16" tall with a compass diameter about 5/16" overall.  

Here is the finished Bluejacket Grand Banks Dory hull. Used natural light coming in through
my living room window. Made the green trim a bit brighter than under my shop lights. Think
I'll just live with it. Still have to stain the oars and add a few interior details. Guess I should also
add the mast and the furled sail across the thwarts to complete the scene. I'll be getting some
help on that one.
 
Thanks for looking in. This build took way longer than anticipated.
 
John
 

Work on the head and the bowsprit rigging is now complete. Probably the most significant aspect of this work is the figurehead. As those who have followed this log will remember, I had reached a point of desperation at doing it. In a gesture that demonstrates both the wonderful nature of this site and his own incredible generosity, Janos offered to carve the figurehead for me from boxwood. The result is fantastic, and something that I could never hope to duplicate on my own. My gratitude is boundless. I must add that Sam Cassano, despite his illness, sent me a resin cast figurehead that he had done previously. Although it won't appear on the ship, I am thinking of ways to finish and mount it in the finished display case as a tribute to Sam's efforts on this model.
 
After mounting the figurehead, I completed the head by adding the boomkins and the iron railings and stanchions which had previously been made and fitted, but not installed. The railings and stanchions were made from wire. The boomkins were rigged with their shrouds after they were installed. I also added the eyebolts necessary to do rigging in this area.
 
Finally,I did the bobstays and the bowsprit shrouds.
 
Next up will be catharpins, futtock shrouds and (ugh!   ) ratlines.
 
Bob