EdT

That is what I call beautiful rope, Amalio.
 
Ed

I believe that nitrocelluose is laquer resin.  It makes a good sanding sealer because it is hard.  Will check and advise if incorrect.
 
Ed

Magnificent, Amalio.
 
Ed

Bravo, Amalio!
 
Ed

Amalio,
 
I am just discovering your postings and am fascinated by the method.  I am not sure I understand, but do you intend to remove the inner model supports and replace them with atcual framing while the outer molds hold the planking in place?  Fascinating.  Beautiful craftsmanship.
 
Ed
 
Translation from Google:
Estoy descubriendo sus publicaciones y estoy fascinado por el método. No estoy seguro de entender, pero ¿tiene la intención de quitar los soportes del modelo interior y reemplazarlos con el marco atcual, mientras que los moldes externos mantener el tablaje en su lugar? Fascinante. Hermosa artesanía.

Remarkable, beautiful work.  
 
Ed

Absolutely beautiful work, Alexandru.
 
Ed

Beautiful work, Chuck!
 
Ed

Masterful job, Alexandru.
 
Ed

I remember making the decision and definitely had a reference, but cannot recall it, specifically.  Suggest you look in the Bilbliography.  It should be in one of those references.  It certainly would have been cheaper at that time to use copper-zinc, ie yellow brass, than copper. If you have doubts, you may have do some of your own research.  If my recollection improves I will advise.
Ed

Randy,
If you have a reasonable basis for the scuppers I would go for it.  I can't recall how I decided on these.  I don't know if the model is on display.
 
Ed

Thanks for asking, Rob.  The model is at Mystic Seaport.
 
Ed

Thanks for asking, Rob.  The model is at Mystic Seaport.
 
Ed

Thanks for asking, Rob.  The model is at Mystic Seaport.
 
Ed

Thank you Maury and Gianpierro, and also for the likes on the last post.
 
Maury, the marking tool is simple to make, but to use it takes some getting used to - and maybe there should be a version 2 that is more ready for prime time.  But the idea seemed worth pursuing and it actually produced good results.  The line is good for the initial trimming but is then refined by measurements around the octagon at each point.  The key when scribing is to keep both guide rods engaged to the side of the piece as the breadth changes.  Starting at the small end seems to help.
 
The marker is simply a piece of 1/8" square brass drilled with three tight holes for hard, spring steel wire/rod - or nails?.  The center pin is sharpened, is shorter the the guides at the ends, and is centered 7/24 of the distance from the inside of one guide to the inside of the other - not the centers.  7/24 is an approximation (7-10-7), a rule of thumb used by mastmakers.  The spacing of the three holes was calculated and spaced for drilling by the mill calibration wheel.  The guide spacing should be larger than the maximum spar breadth.  Although it will work for smaller spars, the error increases as the spar size decreases, so a smaller one may be needed - but may be impractical to use.  I will see how it works on the topmasts.  Error also increases with the diameter of the guide rods.  A filed point on each side may be better.
 
Ed

Extras if needed.
 
Ed

Extras if needed.
 
Ed

Its good that you, and we, have these wonderful pictures, Gary.  It is easy to forget the detail and the beautiful workmanship after it is hidden by a few decks.   Your work on the magazine was certainly an inspiration for me.  Thanks.
 
Ed

Thanks again!! These comments are great for my ego and for keeping my nose to the grindstone in getting the reposts done. Very much appreciated.
 
Mitchell, the purpose of the horseshoe plate was to tie together the lower stem, the apron and the forward end of the keel. It was through bolted - one on each side. You will note the overlap of these three timbers in the pictures.
 
Now for a few reposts.
 
Ed

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 20 –Curved Upper Timbers
Posted 11/10/10
 
In the image below, taken from the CAD Frames drawing, a few of the timbers are curved in the fore and aft direction to provide support at the proper spacing for gun and sweep ports. As I mentioned earlier, all these timber spacings and offsets were taken from the original disposition of frames draft and I wanted to duplicate that as closely as possible.
 
 

 
The following series of pictures illustrate the steps I used to make the curved upper timbers.
 
The first step was to determine the width of timber (the siding) needed to cut out the curve. To determine this, a measurement was taken from the drawing of the total width of the final curved piece – the distance between its extreme verticals. A toptimber of this width, instead of the normal siding, was then cut out and assembled into the frame. The lower edge of this timber that would not require any cutting was set to the correct offset from the edge of the timber below.
 
After assembly, the upper timbers were marked as shown below.
 

 
Here, using a compass with the point leg extended as a guide and set to the normal 10.5 inch toptimber siding, two lines were drawn on the piece – one marking the lower part to be removed and the other marking the top part to be removed. The result is shown below.
 

 
The height of the top and bottom of the ports was marked on the frame and also two lines spanning the distance of the curved part. Lines were then sketched of the curve roughly as shown. I roughly accented these on the image because the pencil lines are not completely clear.
 

 
The next picture shows the top part being pared back in a smooth curve.
 
 

 
Note in this picture that the bottom side of the toptimer lies outside the edge of the timber below – for now. With one side of the curve formed, the other was traced in with the same compass setup.
 
 

 
The next picture shows the final line to be cut.
 
 

 
This part was then pared back to the new line. The picture below shows the result. Except for a few missing frames, this is exactly the area shown in the first image.
 

 
The next part of the narrative will cover the fairing and some finishing work on the lower hull.
 
 
Ed

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 17 – Some Backward Steps
Posted 11/6/10
 
The next phase, the installation of the square frames, took from mid July through to mid-October 2010, interrupted only by a week of vacation and a week of ugly rework, which I will describe before going to the more pleasant work on the frames.
 
Rework
 
This was by no means the first work to be redone. I keep a scrap box of rejected parts to remind me to be more careful and you will recall that two complete stern transom assemblies were made before getting one good one, but this was different because it involved a portion of the hull that I thought was complete – the bow timbers.
 
After erecting the first several square frames aft of the forward cants, I decided to do a waterline check on that part of the hull. Gauges were made for the 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15 foot waterlines for the forward third of the hull. These were set up horizontally at their respective heights and brought into contact with the stem and the first square frame, which was correct from top to bottom. I was amazed and pleased at how accurately these gauges matched the hull on both sides – except for the same two timbers on each side of the stem – the bollard timbers and the first hawse pieces. These revealed a hollowness of about 1/64 inch between the 6 and 15 foot waterlines. Small perhaps, but it was clear that any planking or ribbands crossing this area in the curve from the rabbet to the second hawse timber would be off the frames by that amount. The four timbers clearly had to be replaced. Anything else would be a patch job.
 
Apart from the potential risk of removing and replacing these, this also meant scrapping all the work at the top of the bollards, the bowsprit chock and the shaped timberheads – not a happy prospect.
 
To remove the two timbers on each side, I first cut down the middle of the first hawse piece with a jeweler’s saw down the air space on both sides. This was then only held in place by the end grain glue joint with the first fashion piece, so this was easily popped out. The bollards were removed by sawing down vertically just outside the glue joint then paring the joint off with a chisel. I felt there was just too much joint and too many other joints in the picture to try and soften all this glue with ethanol. I did use this on the beveled joint with the apron at the base of the bollards. I did not want to damage that part of the apron. This was all done without damage to the surrounding timbers. New replacement parts were then made.
 
I hope you will understand that I was not in a mood to take a lot of pictures of this, but I did take a couple when I began to see my way out of the woods.
 

 
The above picture was taken after the new timbers were fit into place and glued. Not too bad. In the next picture the rough fairing to the correct profile has begun using a paring chisel. The layers of duct tape are there to protect the stem. This work was done very slowly with very light cuts.
 

 
The following picture shows the inside after rough fairing. The knightheads at the top have been neither sized nor squared yet.
 

 
The next pictures show the outside at this stage.
 

 

 
The silver lining here was that I now felt confident enough about this kind of surgery that I began to look for other areas of improvement. The picture below shows a cant frame in the process of being replaced and there were a few more of these that were redone where they had been over thinned by fairing, or where fairing had exposed chock joints.
 

 
At the end of these unpleasant tasks, I felt a lot better about the quality of the model and a lot more sensitive to making sure work was right the first time before moving on. This is an important lesson and a good reason for dragging out all this dirty linen.
 
In the next part we will get back on track and discuss the installation of the square framing.
 
Ed

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 11 – Frame Assembly
Posted MSW 10/27/10
 
Frame Assembly Jig
 
With eighty-three square frame sections and seventy-eighty cant frames to be made, some sort of assembly jig was certainly appropriate.  A picture of the basic jig developed for this is shown below.
 

 
The work surface is a piece of melamine-coated particleboard with the center area sized to fit a letter sized pattern sheet.  Slotted wood assemblies on the sides hold down clamping strips, which will hold frame segments in position on the assembly pattern sheet.  The side trays hold clamp parts.  Below is a picture of this jig in use on the glue up of a cant frame.
 

 
Hardwood cross members are drilled and tapped to take tightening screws at a variety of locations.  These tighten down onto hardwood strips below, which bear on the frame pieces.  The ends of the cross pieces are held down by the side slots.  Each clamp also has two screws, which fit loosely through the top members and screw into the bottom strips to hold the assembly together. 
 
Having described the assembly jig, we will pick up where we left off in Part 10.
 
Frame Assembly
 
After chocks have been glued to the heads of their segments and their backs leveled off on the disk sander, as described in the last part, the lower pieces are clamped down on the assembly pattern.  The adjoining segments are then fit up to it.  Usually some file dressing is needed to get a precise fit.  The clamps hold the timbers in place so any adjustments can be checked easily.  When the joint fits well and the parts match the pattern, they are glued together.  The hold-down clamps are applied first to assure the parts stay on pattern.  Then clamps are put over the joints.  This is shown in the picture below.
 

 
This picture also shows shims under the upper futtocks to provide the correct offsets in the fore and aft direction.  This particular frame has all the forward faces aligned, so progressively thicker shims are needed under the upper segments so all the top (fore) faces are aligned.
 
Finishing Assembled Frames
 
The picture below shows a square frame ready for the last finishing steps.
 

 
A this stage the frame has been removed from the jig, the inside of the chocks have been cut back to the inboard profile on the scroll saw.  The frame has been sanded down very close to the outboard and inboard profiles on a vertical drum sander, but no beveling is done at this stage. The notch to fit over the rising wood has been cut out and filed to fit.  In this picture the frame is being matched up to the assembly pattern for a last check.

The next step is to pare down the excess chock widths on the front face and to finish off these joints in preparation for erection of the frame.
 
The simple clamping device below was helpful in the paring process.  It also helps avoids chiseling into fingers.
 

 
To make this, a 1inch dowel has slices cut off, just less than the frame thickness.  Holes in these for screws are drilled off-center.  Sandpaper is glued around their perimeters to help grab the work.  They are then screwed loosely to a piece of plywood, which has a bench stop under its front side.  The curved frame can then be pushed between the off-center discs and the cam action of the disks will hold it in various positions for paring.
 
The next few pictures illustrate finishing off of joints to the smaller siding of the upper piece, and if necessary, for any other jogging called for.  This is done with a paring chisel and then dressed off with a small file.
.

.

.

 

.

.
As mentioned earlier, I leave the paper on until it absolutely has to be removed, to help in alignment and, on beveled frames, for rough faring of the inboard face after erection.  In the above picture, paper has been filed off at the joints in the finishing process.  When doing this, a file card is kept handy to remove paper residue from the file.
 
Floor Fillings
 
The picture below shows a final step for certain frames.
 


In this picture a filling piece of cherry has been cut which will be glued to this particular frame to match its floor.  In practice these fillers were inserted between floors after erection to provide a continuous surface to help prevent bilge water from filling the spaces between frames.  On the model these add authenticity and are very helpful in spacing floors correctly.  Since floors of main-frame bends are bolted tightly together, these are used only in spaces adjacent to intermediate frame floors.  There are three such spaces for each pair, one between intermediate frame sections and one each between these and their adjacent main-frame bends.
 

 
These fillers vary in thickness based on the disposition of frames drawing, averaging a little over 2 inches thick.  They were glued to the frame before erection and then sanded off as necessary to match the required spacing.  These fillers also add a lot of strength to the model in this area.

In the next part I will discuss how the preceding lofting and assembly process was modified to handle square frames with bevels.

Stay tuned…
 
Ed

 
 
2013 Copyright Edward J Tosti

Thanks for the comments and the useful input on waxes and solvents.
 
I do not know if the relative differences in these materials is significant to our purposes or not. However, to be prudent I would use microcrystalline (conservator's, Renaissance) wax on metal and rigging where color makes no difference. I would thin it with some high quality naptha-type solvent - see below. Some future generation may thank us for this caution. I see no reason why either material should not be used on wood and would let the desired appearance be the guide in this case. I expect to test these waxes - mainly to see what beeswax blends look like - on wood samples and will post some pictures later.
 
As far as solvents are concerned,I expect to continue to use turpentine to thin beeswax - perhaps from habit, perhaps because I prefer the aroma in the shop, or maybe I like the fanciful idea of an "all natural" finish. (Turpentine comes from trees.) All of these solvents work pretty much the same way.
 
Mineral spirits is essentialy naptha - a broad cut of distillates from petroleum refining. Odorless forms have had the aromatics (benzene, toluene, xylene, etc.) removed. Since these are the less healthful constituents, odorless is probably safer to use - and your shop will smell less like a refinery. I have often wondered if the product sold as "naptha" is much different from mineral spirits. There are light and heavy cuts of naptha so perhaps it is one of these variants. Lighter cuts would be more useful for cleaning. Ordinary "mineral spirits" may be the heavier - more oily - cheaper cuts - good to thin paints/varnishes and clean brushes. I don't really know the specific differences. Anything sold in small containers for artists is probably higher quality and always more expensive.
 
So, thanks again for the input.
 
Ed

Thanks for mentioning that, druxey.  I do use conservator's wax (Renaissance Wax) and should have mentioned it.  It is a petroleum product and as you say is water-white and pH neutral.  I believe it is also more stable and lasts longer.  I often use it on metal.  It adds no color to the wood and may provide more permanent protection than beeswax.  Beeswax does seem to last for decades however.
 
I use beeswax on wood as a personal preference because it deepens and warms the color of the wood somewhat.  It also penetrates when used in solution with turpentine - giving depth in appearance and additional protection.  I have not tried diluting conservator's wax, but I suspect it would be best to do that with a petroleum based solvent like mineral spirits.  I don't like the smell of that on the wood - although I have used ms with tung and other oils on furniture work. 
 
The acidity in beeswax could be a problem I suppose, perhaps on metal like blackened brass or copper, but I have not seen evidence of it on some very old work.  I think acidity is a non-issue on wood. 
 
I think the yellow color - and perhaps the acidity - in beeswax is from pollen.  White beeswax is processed to remove most of that.
 
I would probably not try to blend the two different types.
 
So, like most finishes - a heavy dose of personal preference in the decision.
 
Ed

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 71 – Stern Timbers 2
Posted 5/2/11
 
 
In Part 70 the side framing assemblies over the stern timbers were being installed. In the first picture these assemblies on both sides have been glued on and are waiting for bolts. The support fixture was removed so these could be more easily faired inside and out.
 

 
Before installing the inner stern timbers, I wanted to fit the upper transoms. The timbers would then be installed so further work on the transoms could proceed. Before beginning this work, however, I needed to do some research and rechecking of my drawings of this area and this resulted in some re-drafting and re-lofting of the patterns for the four upper transoms. I also took the occasion of these refinements to replace the plan that is attached to the building board. For these reasons it has taken a little time to get this installment posted.
 
In the next picture the upper deck and seat transoms have been cut out and fit between the side timber assemblies.
 

 
These round up and aft. The upper convex surfaces were cut out of thick stock from the patterns using the scroll saw and then sanding to the line on the disk sander. The thickness and the lower convex surface were done on the thickness sander in the way the bottoms of the lower deck beams were done.
 
The next picture shows the way these were located on the side framing before fitting.
 

 
The vertical pencil lines at the aft side of these were squared up from the corresponding line on the new plan on the board. The horizontal lines for the top surface were transferred from the framing elevation drawing, which also underwent some revision, and measured up from the base. The deck transom is of course at the height of the underside of the deck. The top of the seat ransom is on the line of the tops of the gun port sills and is actually the sill for the upper deck stern chase ports.
 
The next picture shows all four transoms fit up and pinned in place.
 

 
With this done the stern timbers could be installed permanently. This is being done in the next picture.
 

 
With glue applied, these were slid into their dovetails from the front.
 
The next picture shows these in place supported by the fixture, which has been re-mounted for the purpose and for the following steps.
 
The next steps involved some complicated layout and joinery, cutting the notches in the bottom of each transom so it could be let down on the stern timbers. With the transom held approximately in place the line of the joints is being marked.
 

 
The first of these, the upper deck transom, turned out to be the most troublesome. Because of the slants of the various faces and the curved top surfaces of the timbers it is difficult cut these to fit tightly. I will pass on describing all the gory details, but after some hours of work the first piece was not satisfactory. However, it was quite useful in laying out the lines on the second attempt. This is shown in the next picture from below, a much better result than the first one. Trust me.
 

 
The lower faces of the stern timbers still need to be faired in this picture. That will be done when all the transoms are installed with all their bolts.
 
The remaining three were done on one try and the next picture shows the lower three in place with the lower two pinned and clamped after gluing.
 

 
The holes for the pins holding all these pieces in place will be filled with the permanent bolts.
 
A corner of the nice clean new drawing on the board is also somewhat visible in this picture.
 
 
Ed