bhermann

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
 
 

Thanks Mark D
 
Interesting that you should say that as I have just filled out my application to join the Brisbane (Queensland Australia) Maritime Museum as a volunteer.
I will take your advice and talk to them this week before taking any further action.  I think I owe it to my great great grandfather to do it properly.
Thanks for your input.
 
Regards  Mark T 

Thank you for the great references.  Based on the photos, it appears that the cabin was in fact painted, not some kind of exotic wood. It was also suggested to me that it was common to cover these with waxed fabric of somekind, but I don't think that is the case here.
 
I have made a bit of progress, photos will follow over next day or so.
 
Concerning the darned stripe: Since the cove was already in place I tried another technique which I will share for the stripe.  It doesn't look great, but I think the technique has promise for one of you guys.  What I did was to paint the cove interior yellow, then fill the cove with liquid mask.  Since it was a "cove" the liquid pretty well stayed in the grove.  I then trimmed the obvious boo- boos of the mask, painted the hull black and pulled the liquid mask out with a dental tool.
 
I also attended a model ship club in Knoxville where I met some great fellows and had a good time comparing progress.  My conclusion is that I do okay after all.  While showing what I considered to be a problem to the group, one member gave me advise which I shall ALWAYS treasure.  "Jack," he says, "you need to drink more."

I present, for your perusal, my Schooner Bluenose with a full set of sails.
 
After attaching the Fore Sail, I rigged up the Main Sail, and then added the Fore Top and the Main Top Sails.
 

 
At this point I was able to rig the two Gaffs.
 

 
With the top masts in place, it allowed me to proceed to the Stay Sail then add the three Jib Sails.
 
Port Side:

 
Starboard Side:
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All the running rigging is in place and routed to their respective belaying points.  I now have to install the Belaying Pins, tie off the various lines, and add rope coils.
 
The Admiral was looking over my shoulder while I was finishing up the Bow Sprit and asked if the model was finished.  It took a little while to explain that I still have belay all the running rigging the lash the Deadeyes to the standing rigging and tie the ratlines.  There’s still a bit of building yet.
 

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 34 – Stern Deadwood continued
 
In the first picture the stern deadwood has been constructed.  A template has been made and is being used to mark out the bearding line on the model.
 

 
As mentioned before, the bearding line describes the position along the hull where the hull profiles intersect with the width of the deadwood.  Below this line the deadwood narrows down to the rabbet of the keel.  The cant frames rest on this line and provide for the increased breadth of the hull above it.  The other side was marked with the same template.
 
In the next picture another template is being used to mark the cutting down line on the port side.
 

 
The cutting down line marks the intersections of the inboard faces of the frames with the deadwood.  It is just slightly below the top of the deadwood.
 
In the next picture the fore and aft lines of each cant frame are being marked on the deadwood.
 

 
These lines are squared up from the base drawing using the small square and the special Plexiglas square that was made to clear the keel side support strips on the shipway.
 
The next picture shows the cant frame lines drawn in.  As with the bow, these lines define the shallow mortises that will seat each cant frame.
 

 
The dashed lines forward of the cant frames mark the location of the half frames back to the last full square frame.  The next picture shows the remaining area to be framed.
 

 
In the next picture the two central stern timbers have been cut out and are held up in place on the sternpost.  Stern framing evolved during the clipper period.  Early clippers continued to feature the square counter stern and transoms of earlier times.  As the elliptical and circular sterns evolved, new methods were used in their construction.  Young America’s actual construction was not recorded.  I have elected to go with the transomless framing that was widely used at the time on circular/elliptical sterns.
 

 
In the next picture the lines of the cant frame mortises are being scribed with a knife before paring them out.
 

 
The last picture shows the in situ paring of the mortises on the starboard side
in progress.
 

 
The extent of each mortise is defined by the two cant frame face lines, the cutting down line at the top and the bearding line at the bottom.
 
Ed

Eamonn, to answer your question, the frames were really delicate until  I installed the clamps that run from bow to transom. Then it was easier for me to taper the out side of the frames. on the inside, I glued fine grit sand paper to a dremel polishing felt pad and "power sanded" the inside taper. This is my first true plank on frame kit, and that any mistake can easily be corrected... and the Jameson You saw in the back ground REALLY helps with dealing with mistakes.
 
To All those who are watching this build ... thanks! Model Ship World is a wealth of information and inspiration. I have learned so much watching other build logs, many questions answered with out even asking.

Hello again
I started laying the front sole. 1st, the beams, then 1/16 x 1/16 for the floor boards. when all are laid, then off to the live well.

Well, well. Some little progress in the last few days. As I said, was working on my sails and here I bring my first one finished.
 
Two 4mmX24mm sticks brought together with glue and lines. Got them waxed so to look as weathered ropes.

 
In detail

 
Mizzen sail on the beginning

 
Detailing the wood to what I wanted it to look - lots of sanding and two layers of wax.

 
And my first sail ready.

Onwards & upwards!
 
Prior to installing the cap rail I need to paint the deck waterways (light grey) and bulwarks (white).
 

 

 
 
 Then came the installation of the cap rails. I managed to break several of the laser cut pieces and ended up making most of the parts from scratch.
 
Stern cap rail:
 

 
 
 
Shaping the cap rails:
 

 
 
Bow cap rail:
 

 
 
Halfway done:
 

 
 
Cap rails installed:
 

 
 

 
 
More to come!
 
Thor
 
 

Are you tired of retensioning those clove hitches in the middle of your shrouds? Or coming next morning to see the last knot you tied is now loose, and since you trimmed it off, you can't do it again?
 
Well... do yourself a favor and go to your neighborhood music store. Yes music!. Get yourself a cake of Rosin. The stuff violinists use to rub their bows with. Are you getting it? That stuff makes the bow "grab" the string and therefore, produce sound. That effect works on your rope the same way, and makes your knots unslippable. (sp?) Guaranteed! Just rub a piece of your thread or rope on it 2 or 3 times and voilá. 
 
If there is choices of hardness, go for the softer one. If you can get the stuff that is actually made from the tree sap, you will have the bonus of the smell!
 
Hope this helps.

To add my 2 cents, I've been using full size woodworking saws most of my life.  They are as safe as you make them.  My number one safety rule: never, never, NEVER wear any loose clothing around the cutting area. This applies not only to saws, but drills, routers, mills, all of them.  Loose clothing can get pulled into a blade faster than you can ever react to and it will be a horrible injury.
 
Table saws are safe as long as you use them safely.  It's been a long time since I read any table saw books but I'm sure they all talk about safety.  If you follow common sense safety rules, always use pushsticks, and start using the saw slowly to get a feel for it you'll be fine.  Don't grab a piece of 8/4 (2") hard maple and run it through using a crappy blade for your first cut.  All that will do is scare you and make a bunch of smoke (yes, hardwood will smoke on a saw from to fast a feed rate, excess friction and dull blades).  Once you get a few simple cuts under your belt your confidence will increase and you can move on to more involved cuts.
 
Google "table saw kick back" and I'm sure you'll get some eye opening horror stories, and 99.9% of them were probably caused by doing something stupid...
 
NEVER, NEVER crosscut anything using the miter gauge that is riding against the rip fence all the way through the blade.  This is kickback no-no #1.  You may get away with it once, or a hundred times (if your lucky) but eventually it will happen and it's DANGEROUS!
 
Use the most expensive blades you can afford.  For 10" table saws expect to pay 75-100$ for the good ones.  Don't expect a 25$ cheapo to cut like a 75$ blade.  They won't!  Especially when you move to hardwoods.  And, dull blades are DANGEROUS!
 
Use them as designed, think safely, and you'll be fine. If anything you're about to do makes your butt pucker up, stop and think of another way - even if it means using a hand tool.  

Well guys, I got to finally do some cooking and if any one has a pig, bring it on over and we can have a roast. Only kidding but finally have Alfred stove just about finished. Been working on it for a couple of days and has been a lot of fun. Its built of copper and brass, and a few pieces of plastic and wood thrown in to the mix. Still have to put the  bar around it and finish the stack. A couple of the items, probably will get replace, such as the pot holder's and in the mean time will have to make some pot's and pans. Don't be to hard guys and still need a lot of work on it.   Also have to figure out how am going to get that cast iron look so if any of you have any ideal's on how to do this, let me know, would you please. Just to let you know there was a few items that came from Chuck's photo etch set which came in real handy, so thank you Chuck. Enjoy the photo's guy's.
 
Gary 

I’ve attached all the standing and running rigging to the sails and am ready to begin attaching the sails to the model.
 

 
I opted to begin with the Fore Sail.  It just seemed to me that this was the logical sail to start with because I have to get in pretty close to tie the Mast Hoops to the sail.  Looks like it’s all coming together.  At least this one.  All in all, it took the better part of two hours to get this sail in place.
 

 
I’ll move on to the Main Sail next.
 

Richard
 
If you don't have much or any experience on a table saw I would advise you to get a book on table saw operation and safety.  Also most of the woodworking stores like Woodcraft offer classes on such.  
 
Gloves are a bad idea.  While they may protect you while carving they won't with a saw.  They are actually more dangerous than not wearing anything because they can get caught on the blade and suck your hand into it just like loose clothing and jewelry.
 
There is a list of do's and don'ts in our manual.  Most importantly is to pay attention to what you are doing and not get distracted especially on repetitive cuts.  ALWAYS,  ALWAYS use a push stick and push the stock completely past the blade till it falls off the back of the saw.   
 
Small saws like ours are no less dangerous than large saws,  10" or better.  The only difference is if you do cut yourself the doctor is going to tell you that it's a nice clean cut.   
 
regards
Jim
Model Machines

Following on from the most useful discussion on Yard Tackle Pendants and Brace Pendants, I think I've decided to show the Yard Tackle Pendants "triced up".  But that leads to two more quandaries......
 
The first of these is to do with how the tricing was actually achieved.
 
Lees (pg 71) says that the outer tricing line was attached to the Pendant just by the (yard tackle) block, reeved through the outer tricing line block (seized to the yard close to where the pendant would come to the yard) and then belayed in the top.
He goes on to say that the inner tricing line was attached to the fall close to the hook block and reeves through the inner tricing line block.  He doesn't indicate where the inner tricing line block is attached, nor where it belays, although the diagram on the same page shows the block as being on the yard close to the mast and the the tricing line then leading to the deck.  
In a description of the the rigging of HMS Medway (1742) on pg 175, he seems to contradict himself somewhat by stating that the outer tricing line belays "to the fore topsail sheet bits next to the upright". The same page also indicates that the inner tricing line belays to the third shroud of the foremast.
 
Longridge (pg 242), on the other hand,  says the outer tricing line is made fast to the pendant just above the (yard tackle) block, reeved through a 7" single block just outside the quarter iron, through another 7" block lashed to the first shroud just below the futtock stave and leads down on deck where it is belayed around the first lower shroud above the deadeye.  The inner tricing line is made fast just above the hook block, reeved through another 7" block on the same shroud and belays on deck around the second lower shroud above the deadeye.
 
Antscherl agrees with Lees, including the contradiction of whether the outer tricing line belays in the top or on the fore topsail sheet bits.
 
Confused yet?  I sure am!!!!
 
The next issue is the Yard Tackle Pendant Block itself.
 
Longridge quite clearly says that this is a 13" double block.
 
Lees describes it as a long-tackle block.
 
Antscherl says that at first he was confused by Steel's description into thinking that the blocks were conventional double ones while in fact these were long tackle blocks.  He doesn't offer an opinion as to what convinced him of this, but does add that these were "double thin blocks", meaning they are narrower than a standard or common block of the same size.
 
I'm inclined to go with Lees/Antsherl on this and use a long-tackle block.  That then leads to the next question - what size/proportions should they be?
 
Enter Steel.  Steel describes Long Tackle Blocks as being two thirds longer than the proportion for a single block.  My reckoning says then that if Longridge is describing a 13" (conventional) double block, then the Long Tackle Block would be roughly the length of a 13" block and a 10" block combined (or about 22 - 23").  At scale this equates to using the equivalent of a 5/32" and 1/8" block length, which is a total length of roughly 9/32"or 7mm.  A comparison to Antscherl's choice of a 15" block for a Swan class would seem to be about right.
 
So, how to make them then......
 
Noting that the blocks need to be thinner than standard, I decided to use the size of the smaller block for this dimension.  I found a drawing of a Long Tackle Block and scaled it using the photocopier until it was the right overall length.  I then prepared some Boxwood stock 1/16" x 1/8" and made grooves for stropping and sheaves, and stuck on the pattern:
 

 
Next, I marked the divisions of the block onto the edges and drilled 0.5mm holes for the sheaves:
 

 
Then I used a razor saw to make small cuts at the extremities and the "centre" of the block, and used this as a starting point for a triangular needle file to start shaping the block:
 

 
I continued to file the shape until it was "almost there":
 

 

 
At that point I was able to snap off the block from the stock and finish off the end:
 

 
And here's the final result, not perfect, but I think they'll do:
 

 
All I need to do now is replace the existing Yard Tackle Pendants/blocks with the new Long Tackle Blocks and then sort out just how the whole tricing thing is going to work.......
 
Oh, and while I'm at it, I'll probably replace the Brace Blocks with Brace Pendants/Blocks as well.
 
Okay, I'm exhausted just thinking about this.  Any and all opinions welcome. 
 

Great to hear your feeling better and that you got some more kits in your stocking from your husband. My wife got me a 1/96 Constitution when we were first married.
 
Keep at it on the rigging, it is looking fine.  These kits are great to allow you to take small steps at developing skills with both the standing and running rig of the ship.  Trust us, what you are learning on the Columbus ships will make building the large Constitution much more enjoyable.
 
I found it easy for me to make photo copies of the rig plan, enlarge it, then use a colored highlighter to trace the thread that I needed to follow.  I got this technique from watching the electrical engineers I work with trace wiring diagrams and it worked well.
 
 
Scott

I began the rigging process yesterday.  I began by lashing the Main and Fore Sails to their respective booms and gaffs.  The instructions and plans show the Main and Fore Sails lashed to the gaffs, but are secured to the booms only at the corners.  Looking at the photos of the actual Bluenose it shows that these sails were lashed along the entire boom.
 

 
I decided to lash my sails to the booms and gaffs, but opted for a running stitch.  Using a Tapestry Needle gave me enough of an eye in the needle to use 0.25mm rigging line.  The running stitch also allowed me to adjust the tension on the lashing for a uniform appearance.
 

 
I used the same running stitch for the Fore Sail.
 

 
Because I already had the Mast Hoops in place I used a method described by Dave Borgens back in August.  His method uses a simple cow hitch to secure the line on the Mast Hoop then running these lines through the sail to secure it to the Mast Hoop.
 

 
Couldn’t wait to see how the Main Sail looked on the model.
 

 
Now it’s just a matter of securing the appropriate rigging lines to the other sails.
 

Fellow ship builders. A small update from a visual point of view, but rather big from a time perspective..
 
I am detailing the deck, starting my way from the bow. The holes for the deadeyes are drilled trough the main rail and further trough the respective stanchion.
 
Thanks for dropping by.
/Alfons
 

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 33 – Aft Keelson/Deadwood
 
In the first picture a section of upper keelson tier is being glued to the lower tier.
 

 
I have been using pins with small wood blocks as opposed to clamps when gluing pieces like this.  It is working well, but it is important to size the blocks (or drill the holes) accurately so just enough pin head has to be driven into the wood.  Too much and the pin will bend or be hard to remove.  Not enough and the piece will not be secured.
 
The next picture shows some of the lower keelson pieces glued in place.
 

 
The frame cross spalls are being removed as this works proceeds.  With the lower keelson glued and bolted to through the frames into the keel, the  hull frames are quite secure and no longer need them.
 
The next picture shows the fitting of the last keelson section.
 

 
The last step in fitting these last pieces is to carefully trim the aft ends of the slightly over sized piece for a neat fit against the sternpost knee.  All of the scarph joints were cut before either adjacent piece was installed.  The next picture shows the final fit.
 

 
As I mentioned earlier, the keelson in these long clippers was the main longitudinal member and so it was installed in a straight line from stem to stern, with the deadwood at each end built up on top of it.
 
The next picture shows the first two deadwood sections cut out and and set in place between the keelson and the inner post.
 

 
Once these have been roughly fit, the patterns are removed for final trimming as shown below.
 

 
The last picture shows an upper piece ready for gluing.
 

 
Glue is placed in the gap and the pins driven down for a tight joint fit.  There is still one section above this – in two pieces – that will form the curved top of the deadwood.  All of the sections are also later secured with epoxied copper bolts into the sections below and the inner post. 
 
 
Ed

The "pin to mast" is perhaps the most helpful tip in simplifying rigging.  I've mentioned it before but only in passing.  Not original.  I picked up the idea from Bob Hunt.
 
In the real ship, yards have great weight placing tension on lifts, slings and jeers.  On the model, the small dowels are so light that tensioning support rigging simply raises the yard.  By pinning the yard to the mast, one can tension the lifts, slings and pendants without the counterpull of down hauls, yard sling pendants, etc.
 

 
Many, perhaps most of us, already use this technique, but for those who are rigging for the first time, or who have trouble adjusting tension, the "pin" greatly simplifies the process.  I drill a hole in the yard and the mast and glue the pin in the yard (5-15 sec.  C/A).  Adding glue to the pin, the yard is placed on the mast.  After about 30 seconds, I move the yard ends slightly up and down, and fore and aft.  The yard is held firmly to the mast but allows enough movement to level the yards with the topping lifts and align the yards athwartships with the braces. The pin is not visible from port or starboard.  The port view shows the single truss pendant.
 

 
Truss pendant tackle.
 

 
Topping lifts rigged but slack.  The hole in the topmast for the topmast yard pin can be seen.
 

 
A lucky break at the Kirkland Shipyard.  Venetian blinds help to level the crossjack yard.
 

 
Topping lifts are tensioned to level the yard.
 

 
 

A few updates.  I have the platforms on.  Upon further looks at the plans I should include a platform on the mizzen mast as well.  I also moved the main mast aft.  It didn't look right being so close to the forward mast so I repositioned it.  I then put a hatch cover over the hole for the original mast.  Except for the stern I'm ready for yard arms.  I still need to figure out what windows or designs to put on the back (transom?).  I think that's the right word.  
 

 

 

Last post for this year.  We did the bowsprit, not an easy thing because of it s low angle and cut out the lower three masts (rake to be adjusted a bit later). We did some other small things, but there so time to take pictures.  Time to go to a party. Happy new year to everyone in particular to those few that follow this log.

 

 
T&T&T
 
 

Thanks for your kind words Tim.
 
The sheer rails have been added as well as some of the cleats the plans call for.
Next I have to make a bunch of ring bolts and then the gun carriages. No Guns
yet but I might as well as start on the carriages
 

 

 
Also the quest for a lathe continues. I have ordered the Tabletop Machining
book by Joe Martin and will read up on lathe usage as well as annoying some
of you with dumb questions.

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 32 – Frame Alignment/Fairing
 
The aft half and cant frames are bolted to the sides of the keelson/deadwood, so these cannot be installed until that assembly is in place.  The keelson comes first, but to install that it is necessary to have the inboard faces of at least the floor timbers well faired.
 
The first step was to check and, if necessary, adjust the alignment of the installed square frames.  The first picture shows this being done with a batten.
 

 
It can be seen in this picture that there is a gap over the center frame.  To correct this, the pin holding the top of the frame to the ribband was removed and the frame pushed downward slightly on this side to adjust it outward.  A new pinhole was drilled while holding the corrected position – as shown in the next photo.
 

 
All the frames aft of 0, on both sides were checked and five or six were adjusted in this way before proceeding with the next steps.
 
The outsides of the frames between the floor heads and the ribbands were then faired as shown in the next picture. 
 

 
In this picture a cabinet scraper is being used on this part of the hull.  This tool has some advantages for this.  First, it works with the grain so sanding out cross grain scratches is reduced.  More importantly, it allows you to easily see when the frames have been leveled out – or which frames are out of line.  Pre beveling of the frames before setting greatly reduces the amount of work in this step.  No cross grain sanding was necessary in these areas.
 
With the outside of the frames faired out, the floors could be faired to receive the keelson.  This fairing was done out to the floor heads.  A rotary tool with a flapper wheel as shown in the next picture was used for some of this, so taking this fairing out at least to the floor heads is advisable before installing the keelson.
 

 
This tool also has the advantage that it sands with the grain.  In the next picture the fairness is being checked at the floor heads.  The frames above the floor heads are still a bit rough.
 

 
Finally the joint face with the keelson is leveled out as shown below.
 

 
All this work was done in the forebody earlier to install the forward part of the keelson and the forward deadwood.  The next picture shows the first section of the lower tier of the aft keelson installed.  Copper wire bolts through every other frame have been inserted through into the keel and epoxied.  The frames are now well secured.
 

 
The next section of the upper keelson tier is ready to be installed.  The dark areas are still damp from washing off the epoxy for the bolts with isopropanol.
 
The central model support bolt hole comes through the aft end of the keelson section in this picture.  The next task will be to cut a mortise around that hole to insert a nut – next time.
 
Ed

Tip number three:
 
Don't hold the flame too long or you get the following:
Indeed, practice a bit, but it is not difficult.