bhermann

Since this is still my log, I would like to add another 'trial'. It is my first attempt to include some coiled rope on the belaying pins. This is along the bottom of the mizzen mast and along my 'bad side'; the port, where I make my first trial runs.
 
I mentioned making coils before, but now I want to see what I can do with them. They are pre-made, not perfect, but so is life aboard.

I am procrastinating with tackling the main mast shrouds, I know.

It has been a couple of weeks since I updated this log, mostly because there is not much to report.  The planking continues, and while I don't have a picture of it, I am down to probably the last 5 or so planks per side of the first planking layer.  I have had some problems up on the bow getting the planks to conform to the shape of the ribs, but nothing a ton of wood putty won't fix. 
 
Due to the fact that I got bored with planking I went to the next page of instructions and started building some of the deck structures.  As I have built these structures I think my perspective has changed as to the scale of things.  I looked at the pictures with the instructions and made what I thought it was depicting.  As I made different structures I found that the scale of what they were depicting was not what I thought it was.  So all this says is that my later attempts were a better representation of what the drawings were trying to demonstrate.
 

 
Some of the grating, I used some ebony stain that had a finish built in to it that I had laying around from a picture frame I built a bit ago.
 

 
Just some of the structures, notice how large the ends are on the piece in the center of the picture, also the first of the grating that has the framing around it.
 

 
More of the deck objects, some of you can name off what they are, I don't know the names, and the Italian instruction translation is not the best in the world. 
 
 

 
Until next time...should have pictures of the completed first planking by then.
 
Greg

what does the gross motor modeler if he wants to produce parts that are so small that it can no longer hold it in your fingers ?

1 He curses : * ohnowhatthef............ *
2 It clamps the part in the vise .......... a 10th of a second later .............. crunching ..............* ohnowhatthef........*
3 He holds the part convulsively with the tweezers ............. 2 10ths of seconds later ............ pling ............ *sowhatthehel....*
4 He reads this report carefully .................................

For my mini-blocks at the Royal Yacht Caroline , I needed a device to the tiny blocks 2 x 3 x 1,78 mm (with wheels ! ) To process .
The existing watchmaker Hand vices was too rough .......

Take two strips pear wood 7.5 x 4 x  100 mm connect with screws
 
 
 






At the ends of each milling a notch , filing, carving . The notch is adapted to clamp the workpiece , not crushed.
 
 
 





Then prepare the workpiece
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Well , the workpiece can be processed (without crunching or pling )
 


 
 




And here is the result. A block 1.7 x 2 x 3 mm with washer
 
 






Hand vices To prepare the Special I (incl. Search the screws, etc. ) used about 10 minutes

With the braces and other lines belayed and 'snugged-up', the rigging is starting to look a bit better.
I still like the addition of the furled sails on the top spars; so a bit of time was lost for the good.

 
Next step will take a while. I have to finally start fixing the main shrouds in place, plus all those nice rat-lines that go with them.

Things are looking up.
The 'poop deck', or what ever it is called now, is a lot cleaner without all those lines on deck.

Most of the lines coming from above are belayed, except for the sheets of the mizzen topsail.
I still need to replace the bowlines and I think that will help to adjust the lay of the topsail.
 
 
I certainly learned a lot with making these changes (including adding the furled sails) 
Hopefully I will be smarter with the main and foremasts and their rigging.
 

Here is another 'hick-up', for those who are thinking of adding sails.
 
Earlier I stressed that I wanted to add as many lines to the sails before they are rigged in place. I still believe in that except for the bowlines.
The picture below may look cute, but the lines are going the wrong direction. I did not find out about that until I installed the mizzen topsail. The bowlines (one on each side) go forward and up to the main mast cap where they go through blocks and down to the deck.
That means that the lower part of the three sections you see below should be a lot longer while the top section is shorter.
 
What I am going to do is to remove the bowlines I have now and replace them with new lines that will be installed and adjusted later on. They are on the outside edge (leech) and should be easy to get to. I will keep the line and bullseye that already goes to the cap.

 
To give you an idea what this line looks like installed, here is one more picture.
When I pull on the line in the upper right hand corner, the whole thing becomes a mess.
The clew you see is the mizzen topsail. The course jack is the black one below that. The topsail sheet has not yet been set.

Here are a couple pictures of what the lines look like lying on deck. The white tags identify some of them.
 
I have finished re-rigging the braces and checked that all is ok. So I am ready to belay the lines you see below. Many of them had to be loosened and redone, but now I can also see that my approach of not rigging the shrouds paid off before. As you can see the shrouds for the main are still hanging loose. That gives me room to get to the fife rails a bit easier. Whereas the shrouds for the mizzen will be in the way for this re-work. The pins behind the mast are now hard to get to.
 
I know I am a bit of a maverick with this crazy method, but I am still convinced that working from the top down has some merit. The thing I did learn, however, from what I did for the mizzen, is to do as much as possible to the course jack and even install it before the topsail goes in place. There are too many 'black' lines such as the sling, trusses and jeers (shown below) that are hard to install with the sail hovering above them.

Fore Topsail Sheet bitts
 

 
Using weight with hanger wire to form coils.
 

 
Long forceps and long nose scissors
 

 
Cutting off excess.
 

 
Lifting weight between the lines.
 

 
Loose coil on Main Top Bowline Bitts
 

 
Long forceps, Smooth jaw needle driver, long nose scissors (Micro Mark #84737) and chart weight with wire drilled into weight.
 

 
Next post

Coils on forward bitts
 

 
Fore topsail Sheet Bitts
 

 
Mizzen mast belaying pins  port
 

 
Stbd.
 

 
Chart weight with hanger wire to form lower loops
 

 
After white glue (1:10 with water). Occasionaly use fast C/A to hold line on belaying pin.
 

 
Adding variation to rope coils
 

 
And next post.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Only the mizzen topgallant yard to go before moving on to the Driver boom and gaff.  In the meantime, small details need to be added such as the boarding pikes at the foremast and main mast.  These would be much easier to add before all the rigging.  I thought I would snag lines, but even that would be easier than trying to work  through the rigging.  After dropping a couple pikes into the upper gun deck, it occured to me to add tapes over the deck openings.  Further, a tiny drop of slow C/A on the back of the heads, allowed to cure, stopped the pikes from falling through the rack, but isn't seen outboard.  On the real ship, the steel heads are hidden in the rack, while JoTika plans show them projecting  above. I chose the latter to highlight the detail.  The shafts are painted to simulate wood, while the heads are black for definition.  Lots of little details to add.   Next, Rope coils.         Cheers, Gil
 

One more yard, the Mizzen topmast yard.  This is the tenth yard rigged (including the bow sprit yards) and is rather similar to the rest except that the brace blocks are rigged aft to the Driver Gaff.  The following photo (forward inferior view) shows the brass rod to pin the yard to the mast (it also is a convenient way to hold the yard for rigging), Tye block and yard cleats, Brace pendant blocks (directed aft to Driver gaff), Topping lift blocks, Clue blocks,Topgallant sheet blocks (below yard cleats) and cheek blocks (aft of yard at ends), Bunt lines blocks and foot rope stirrups.
 

 
Front view
 

 
Aft view   OOPS!  Same photo.  Thanks Jon
 

 
Port view. Note: Yard lift, Yard tye and Bunt lines all tensioned with no downhauls.  Brass pin and parral hold yard securely.  Note shroud truck for tye, to starboard.
 

 
Port aft
 

 
Starboard aft.  Yard tye passes  through topmast at hounds, through a shroud truck (aft of yard) to tackle below. Tackle anchored  by pendant from the aft channel, while the tail is secured in board on the poop deck.
 

 
 

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 37 – Stern Timbering 1
 
I have been looking forward to the stern timbering for some time – in fact since first deciding on the subject ship.  At first glance it looks a bit daunting, but the plan view template and accurately lofted patterns turned the assembly into a pretty easy task.  Most of the work was in the lofting, so I included a picture of the pattern sheet for the eight timbers.
 

 
The pattern lofting was a bit complex.  The timbers are angled off of the last cant frame, which is itself at an angle.  Some mental gymnastics were needed to find enough points on the drawings to plot the four curves for each timber.  I did one for a trial and its fit encouraged me to go on and add the scores for the horizontal chocks to the patterns.  Those chocks will be added in Part 38.
 
In the next picture a new version of one of the central timbers shown earlier is set temporarily in place and the bevel against the aft cant frame is being marked.
 

 
The pattern is still on at this stage.  In the next picture, after installing the one shown above, its opposite counterpart is being glued on.  These were made before I decided to loft the scores on the patterns so these will be cut later, in place. The two timbers will later be bolted through the sternpost.
 

 
In the above picture, the vertical scores for the stern timbers can be seen on the cant frames.  The next picture was taken at this stage but from above.
 

 
In the next picture, the first of the angled timbers has been fit into place.  Note the horizontal scores for the filling chocks at the knuckle.
 

 
In the next picture its opposite counterpart is being fit.
 

 
The joint face angles for all these were measured from the plan drawing, printed on the pattern sheet and faced off on the disk sander with the table set at an angle.  Only slight trimming of the sides of the scores was needed and all fit very well as can be seen in the last picture.
 

 
Following this work, the template was removed to allow a final check of the heights of each timber at the top – the “fancy rail” height – before going on to the filling chocks between the timbers.
 
Ed

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 36 – Aftermost Cant Frames (#48)
 
The last picture in the previous posting showed the two aftermost cant frames being assembled.  The same pin indexing was used as discussed in previous posts.  After assembly the frames were beveled.  The first picture shows the deadwood mating surface on one of the pairs being beveled using the disk sander with the table set at the correct angle.  These angles are printed on each frame pattern from generated measurements on the CAD drawing.  They are very accurate and the disk sander reproduces them fairly effortlessly.
 

 
The next picture shows the joint bevel.
 

 
This picture was taken before the outer bevels or the shape at the bearding line were shaped.  The picture shows vertical lines on the pattern aft face that mark the scores for seating the three angled stern timbers that bolt to that side of this frame.
 
In the next picture the lines scores being cut with a razor saw.
 

 
There is also a horizontal score on the forward face of this frame at the “knuckle” of the of the aft hull shape that occurs roughly at the line of the wale.  Horizontal chocks will be inserted in these scores between frames to support the ends of the planking below the wale at the stern.  Similar chocks will be placed between the vertical timbers that shape the circular stern.  This will be clearer later when those timbers get installed.
 
The next picture shows the port frame in its initial fitting into the aft score on the deadwood – held by pins at future bolt locations. 
 

 
In the last part I showed a picture taken earlier with the two central stern timbers installed.  After about an hour of trying to fit the cant frame neatly against one of those and into the score I decided to install the cant frames first.  So the central stern timbers have been removed in these pictures.
 
The three vertical scores on the aft face can be seen in this picture.  The temporary ribband seen in this picture and its starboard counterpart were becoming increasing obstructive to all this work and were soon cut back and removed.
 
The next picture shows the installed frame pair.
 

 
The horizontal score on the forward face can be seen in this picture.
 
The next picture shows the starboard frame clamped for gluing.  The two central stern timbers are being held up in position in this picture.
 

 
To assist in fitting and installing the eight stern timbers that form the curve of the circular stern, a template was made to help with this.  It is shown in the next picture.
 

 
The plywood template is clamped tightly to the two “clamped squares”.  The height at the center of the stern and on each side at about frame 38 was set using the caliper shown in the picture.  The line slopes down slightly going forward.  The template was also horizontally aligned up from the base drawing using the square shown on the port side.  The template is fit over the two installed cant frames. One central timber is loosely fit into its notch in the template.
 
The next task is to loft, make and install the eight timbers that form the circular stern.
 
 
Ed

Aside from Crème Broule, it's great for silver soldering

Is that a small torch?     It's the only size I own, and I have used it for all silver soldering on Bluenose.
 
Bob

Been laid off for a bit. Christmas, outdoor work etc. and got back from the UK with a nasty chest infection...terrific so now drugged up, chest infection seemingly abating. The barky is now on it's base and the base is pretty well painted..bits of foam to be added....
I've also got the first sail up - hooray, but haven't included a shot yet as I've had to get help (thanks Weflack) about the run of it's sheets.....details, always more details. More tomorrow, all being well!
A tops'l

 
Rather useful having it on it's base as it creates a bit of a buffer zone...

 

The first step was to make the new 'furled sails' and add them to the old spars.
I took some of the old sail cloth, stitched seams and cut them to the shape shown below.

 
Then I glued the edge to the spar. When that was dried I used tweezers and some water on the muslin cloth to roll and tuck the sail.

 
When it looked right, I started to tie the 'furl-lines', meaning the short threads to hold the cloth to the spar.
I also added the sheets for these sails and later connected them to the spar below this one.

I know, this gets a bit confusing, but the result, to me, was a lot more like what I wanted. More to come (I hope).
Thus far:       

Now to the masts.  The main mast requires a boom rest and the fore mast gets a pin rail.  Construction of both is similar.
 
I stared by positioning the chocks under the rest.  The tape is used to mark the height for gluing.
 

 
The kit supplied parts for the boom rest are a bit too wide.
 

 
So i filled the inside with wood pieces, used filler to smooth them and filed the inside diameter to shape.
 

 
The main mast boom rest completed and painted, mast hoops resting on it at the moment.
 

 
The fore mast ring gets holes drilled for belaying pins.  Above the ring you can see the mounting for the fore mast boom.
 

 
Bob

Floyd -   in this case I am working under the assumption that what is provided in the plans IS a 2D sail template.  In short, my CAD drawings don't take this into account, they assume that a bunch of flat strips of cloth were sewn together to make a bigger flat sheet.  I will shape the finished product into wind-filled sails after cutting them out and adding details.  I don't know how I'll do that just yet, but there are lots of interesting approaches to be found on MSW.
 
Pete - thanks for stopping by and for the kind words.  I love the quote in your signature.
 
As promised, I temporarily attached the the main and fore sails to check for rough fit and to get a feel for where I might be headed with them.  Here are the photos.
 

 
Thanks,
Bob
 
 

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 35 –Deadwood scores continued/stern timbers
 
Chiseling out the cant frame scores in place has gotten some comments, so I will show a couple more pictures of this.  In the first picture, a ¼” wide paring chisel is being used to pare out the third score forward after the outline had been scribed fairly deeply to prevent tear out.  
 

 
In this picture the chisel is being used with the bevel against the work so the bevel angle can be used to keep the paring cut vertical and controlled by the angle of the chisel.  The chisel is being lightly tapped with a small mallet.  This permits much better control of the cut than pushing the chisel and risking slippage and tear out.
 
In the next picture the chisel is being used to plunge cut and deepen the side line.
 

 
Once the depths along the boundaries of the score are sufficiently deepened, the center area can be pared and leveled out.  There will very likely be some additional light paring done when the cant frames are fitted.
 
In the next picture, all of the scores have been completed and the work on the stern framing has begun. 
 

 
The starboard stern timber is being fitted up in this picture.  The height at the top was measured from the drawing and transferred to the “clamped square”.  With the square positioned on the base drawing, the correct position of the timber can be fixed.  These timbers will be glued to the sternpost and bolted through.
 
In the next picture the port stern timber is being glued on.
 

 
The small height pencil mark on the clamped square can be seen in this picture.  The next picture shows both timbers installed – with the clamps cleared away.  All six starboard scores can also be seen in this picture.
 

 
The forward faces of both these stern timbers are beveled to match the angles aft of the aftermost cant frames.  Those frame pairs will butt against those faces when they are seated in the aftermost scores.  Then lots of bolts.
 
Assembly of those two cant frames is shown in the next picture.
 

 
There is quite a bit of work involved in these.  First, the lofting is more time consuming than for the square frames.  A lot of measurements were required for plotting the three curves involved in each cant pair.  Also, in these aft cants, scores for additional stern timbers and horizontal filling pieces were included on the patterns.  Following the pictured assembly step, the frames still need to be beveled, including the face bevel for the deadwood joint.  Then before installing, scores for the fillers and other stern pieces also need to be cut.  They are quite complex.  I am hoping they will fit together correctly.
 
Perhaps we shall see in the next parts.
 
 
Ed

I must admit I dislike those flat spools  and now buy rigging thread in largest possible length on round spools. To relax the thread I cut off  about six feet soak in hot water and  suspend the thread   with a weight on the end from one of  a set of magnetic hooks I have attached to the steel door of the workshop . After 24 hours the  kinks and bends are removed. I only cut off what I need and replace the weight on the end of the remaining length.
 Kip

So I've started on a Charles W Morgan build, although somewhat intimidated by the speed and or quality of the currently documented construction projects for this ship.
This model is a stretch for me, given the amount of scratch building involved and the somewhat cryptic instructions of this older MS kit.
I got interested after building the New Bedford Whaleboat, and added this kit to my "to do" stack. Having finished Picket Boat #1 to my satisfaction, decided to defer the Phildelphia Gunboat and take on a more complicated project.
I'm not retired (yet) and have many professional demands on my time, so I end up working in fits and starts and when I need the "therapy".
I decided to go ahead and build the hull superstructure before planking to allow better access for clamps for the waterway, planksheer, rail and topgallant structure. That's where I am now (pictures below). The rail structure is a bit wavy viewed end on on one side, but overall I'm relatively pleased within the envelope of my skillset. I had a few disasters in terms of inadvertant breakage of thin pieces (mainly the main rail) after installation by a misplaced hand while working on another part, but managed to overcome that adequately. I still have to do some sanding on the main rail as the strip I used was a bit wider than the rail is supposed to be - that is evident in the pictures where the rail meets the laser-cut curved rail piece forwards.
Next I'll plank between the planksheer and the mail rail to reinforce that area, and then likely add the wale and plank between the planksheer and the top of the wale.
Then I'll go on to bands A-D
The build logs and galleries on this and other sites have been a great aid.
 
Bruce

Photos of process and results I obtained.
 
Stage 1: I sanded down to remove several mistakes after various failed tries with traditional masking tape.  I then painted the inside of the cove yellow and sanded off any yellow that was thick enough to cause problems later.
 
Stage 2: I filled the cover over the yellow paint with the liquid mask material and let it dry.  The mask is blue.  I also trimmed and removed (frequently by scraping) excess mask where it crept out of the cove.  This didn't happen much.

Stage 3: I painted the area black with a brush.  (Spray would have been better for finish).
 
Stage 4: I pealed off the liquid mask using dental tools and tweezers.

This is how it looks (furniture is not attached, just setting there. My conclusion is that you can get a better line using the tape, and perhaps other methods, but this is what I'm staying with for now.  There will be a lot of hull repair from all the handling.

Continuation.......

 
Grant.

Floyd -   in this case I am working under the assumption that what is provided in the plans IS a 2D sail template.  In short, my CAD drawings don't take this into account, they assume that a bunch of flat strips of cloth were sewn together to make a bigger flat sheet.  I will shape the finished product into wind-filled sails after cutting them out and adding details.  I don't know how I'll do that just yet, but there are lots of interesting approaches to be found on MSW.
 
Pete - thanks for stopping by and for the kind words.  I love the quote in your signature.
 
As promised, I temporarily attached the the main and fore sails to check for rough fit and to get a feel for where I might be headed with them.  Here are the photos.
 

 
Thanks,
Bob