EdT

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 102 – Making Upper Deck Beams 2
Posted 10/18/11
 
The next step after making the rounded up beams, was to set them on the clamps.  The first picture shows this in progress.
 

 
To get the beams into position, some of the top riders had to be removed on one side.  I decided to remove these from the port side, since that side will be planked internally and the riders, in addition to blocking the setting of the beams, would also have made the planking more of a chore.  In this picture some are removed.  The rest will also be coming out.
 
Shallow notches were cut into the clamps to seat the beams at their ends.  When all the beams were set and pinned into position a wire was stretched tightly along the centerline of the deck and each beam marked in its center.  The aft end of this wire is shown in the next picture.
 

 
The rudder and tiller are still only temporarily positioned in this picture.  After marking the centerline on the beams the wire was removed.
 
Next the seats for the carlings were cut into all the beams.  The next picture shows the locations of the carlings being marked on each side of each beam.
 
 

 
There are about 100 ordinary carlings on this deck, requiring twice that many joints to be cut.  Marking one side of each seat with the beams in position using a straightedge helps assure the lines of the carlings will be straight.  There are three tiers in the midship area diminishing to two at the ends.
 
The beams were then individually removed and the seats marked out and cut into each one with a small chisel.  The next picture shows one of these after cutting the joints – and the chisel.
 

 
Only seats for the ordinary carlings were cut at this stage.  There are a number of larger special purpose carlings that will be cut next, but it seemed easier to focus on just one size first.  After cutting the joints in each beam it was given a sanding with 220 grit paper for smoothing to remove all the pencil marks.  Each was then renumbered and returned to its position.
 
The last two pictures show the beams in place with the carling scores cut.
 

 
The lodging and hanging knees for this deck will feature a lot of ironwork, a combination of plain iron knees such as the few lower deck standards installed earlier, and Roberts plate knees.  Use of iron was becoming more commonplace by this period.  There will be a number of wooden knees as well.  The installation sequence necessary to get all these knees in and bolted is still being worked out.  In general the method followed for the lower deck beams, of pre installing the knees before setting the beams, will be used.
 
The last picture shows the full set of beams set in place.
 

 
The next step will be to remove each beam, cut the remaining special carling seats and install the bolts through the scarphed joints.
 
 
Ed

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 101 – Making Upper Deck Beams
Posted 10/6/11
 
At the end of the last part I was planning on doing the tiller and sweep next, but before any of this can be installed the upper deck beams need to be made, detailed and set up in place so I decided instead to tackle the large job of making and detailing the upper deck beams.
 
But before getting into that I did a bit of rework on the rudder spectacle plate to bring it to a more typical shape.  This is shown in the first picture.
 

 
The original version was taken from White’s AOS book on Diana and had the eyes on extended arms.  This arrangement is more conventional.
 
So, on to the deck beams.  Like the lower deck beams, these were made in two pieces with a long vertical tabled scarf joining them at the center.  The next picture shows the tables cut into 2” wide blanks surfaced to the width of the beams, 13 inches.  When these pieces are joined, the beams will be rounded up and cut from these.
 

 
 
The tables are each 15 inches long and 3 inches deep.  Nine tables make up the 11’3” length of the joint.  It is a slightly simplified arrangement to facilitate the machining.
 
The next picture shows the milling machine set up for cutting the joint configuration. 
 
 

 
The angle of the scarph is roughly 5 degrees (actually 4.75) so for a milling table length, in this case, of 10 inches, one end needs to be elevated 0.8 inches (actually .83).  That was done using the wood block cut to that size.  This setup is very rigid.  The angle was tested first by traversing the cutter.  It leaves a 2” lip at the end and just skims the surface at the beginning of the joint as shown in the picture.
 
The next picture shows a joint being cut.
 

 
The 15” table length allows a ¼” cutter to be used – not a coincidence.  After each cut the position of the cutter is reset using the mill calibration wheels giving very accurate dimensioning.  The next picture shows the fit up of two of these wide pieces.
 

 
The initial fit is very tight so the sides of the tables are given a few passes with a file so the pieces slide easily together and leave enough clearance for the glue joint to show.  When the pieces are glued up the next step was to cut the round up on one edge.  This was done using the curved jig shown below.
 

 
 
The blank was clamped as shown into the jig and the surface rounded off using an edge trimmer in the router.  The bearing on this bit rides on the pattern and the cutter duplicates the curve.  This is the same jig used for the lower deck beams but has been re shaped to the larger round up of the upper deck.
 
The next picture shows how this jig was shaped – also using the router table.
 

 
I have a pattern for the round up, but I do not trust my eyesight to shape this manually, especially since it will be used for 25 plus beams.  Also the pattern the pattern from the drawing is only the length of the beam and I like to have excess in the rough beam length.  The picture above shows one half of the jig attached to a length of 2X4, which acts as a radius arm.  The other end is pinned at the radius of curvature of the round up, which is calculated for the 7” round up to be 52 real inches (263 scale feet).  Moving the router bit into range allows this curvature to be cut very accurately.  The second half of the jig is then attached to the first and its shape duplicated.
 
When the curve was cut on the edge of the blank the first beam thickness was marked and the beam cut off on the scroll saw, freehand, as shown below.
 

 
After parting off, the underside of the beam was sanded to the final depth of 11 inches using the thickness sander.  The next picture shows the result of two afternoons of work.
 

 
This process produces identical, rounded up, scarphed beams that can then be cut to length and fit into position.
 
There is still a lot of work to be done on these – bolting, fitting of the knees, etc. The next step will be to finish the tops of the clamps, which were installed earlier.
 
Ed

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 100 – The Rudder 2
Posted 10/6/11
 
 
In the last part the pintles had been fabricated and test fit. The next picture shows additional work done on the rudder.
 

 
Three iron hoops at the top have been made and fit to the head of the rudder right after they were silver soldered and pickled in vinegar – hence the color. The hances were also formed and the notch cut for the wood chock under the top pintle to keep the rudder from being unseated.
 
The next picture shows the fabricated spectacle plate for the chain preventers.
 

 
All the iron and bronze work was made in copper as described earlier.
 
The next picture shows the finished rudder.
 

 
The fittings above the waterline were iron and below “mixt metal”- bronze. All the parts were colored with liver of sulfur solution– basically potassium sulfide. The lower fittings were cleaned off with water right after the application of the solution to give them just a brown “bronzy” patina. The parts at the top were treated until black, with the same solution strength but allowing more time.
 
I decided to try something new with this. I mentioned that the sulfur solution does not effect the wood, so rather than coloring the parts before installing, all the coloring was done after the polished copper parts were fastened on with the copper bolts. After installing the bolts and buffing them with a fine Scotchbrite pad they were washed off with acetone. When dry the parts were brushed with the sulfur solution and when the desired color was reached the solution was washed off with water. This allowed the fittings and the bolts to get to the same color and avoided bright spots and scratches from the installation and bolting.
 
This worked quite well. It is much easier to do the nailing before the nails are treated. The bolts were made from a length drawn copper wire, clipped sharp at the end, pushed all the way into a tight hole with pliers, clipped off just above the surface then peened down with a hammer
 
The next picture shows the rudder in place.
 

 
As mentioned earlier, the rudder has been adjusted downward so the bottom is now at the height of the top of the false keel.
 
The next picture shows the rudder from directly astern. The tiller has been inserted in this picture.
 

 
That small piece of wood in the lower left part of the picture is the retaining chock. The next picture shows a close up view with this chock inserted below the top pintle.
 

 
The tiller is held in place with two long fore and aft bolts through the rudder on either side of the tiller mortise. The head of one can be seen in this picture. The bolts are long and fasten to a fitting several feet forward on the tiller. This allowed the tiller to rock up and down as it swung to either side so it would stay engaged on the sweep without binding. These bolts will be installed later when the tiller is permanently fixed. Holes have been drilled in the fore side of the rudder where these will be inserted.
 
The next picture shows the tiller on the interior.
 

 
Note the second square tiller hole above the upper deck transom. This was an emergency provision, which would allow a second tiller to be fitted if needed.
 
The tiller will be just below the upper deck beams and its forward end will be vertically restrained in a track-like “sweep” – an arc of wood bolted to the bottom of the beams. This is a fairly complicated device and I will not attempt to describe it until later when it is made. The sweep is horizontal. Given that the axis of rotation of the rudder is not vertical and that the tiller will be angled down at its forward end to match the sheer of the deck, it is easy to see why a joint at the rudder that allows up and down rocking is necessary. If this is not clear, it will be later when the sweep is installed.
 
The next steps will be to make and fit the tiller hardware and permanently install it and the rudder before going on the upper deck beams,
 
Ed

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 99 – The Rudder 1
Posted 10/2/11
 
 
It has been a while since the last update. We took some vacation time, but the work has also been time consuming for what appears to be small progress. In the last part the framing and planking of the lower counter was completed in preparation for installation of the rudder. The plan is to install this and its operating mechanism concurrently with the installation of the upper deck beams. I had not done the drafting needed for all this, so some time was taken for that.
 
The first picture shows the main timbers of the rudder cut out and their joints machined.
 

 
The joints were cut on the milling machine, straightforward work except that the joints need to be placed to avoid having some pieces too thin, especially around the cut outs for the pintles. Three pieces were used for the main section and are shown above. The two to the left are parallel to the aft edge and the one to the right will be tapered on its fore edge. There is also a thin strip on the aft face and a bottom piece.
 
The next picture shows the rudder after its forward face was bearded back to clear its rotation and after tapering.
 

 
Before bearding the rudder was sanded down to its maximum breadth on the thickness sander. The bearding of the front face was then done. Both the post and the rudder have bearded edges, cut about 6 inches or so back on the side faces to allow the rudder rotation. With this done the rudder could be tapered. This was done by sanding, initially on a belt sander and then as shown in the above picture on flat panel covered with 120 to 220 grit paper.
 
The next picture shows the top pintle being fitted.
 

 
There are six of these of increasing length going down. There were originally made of “mixt metal”, a bronze type of alloy. I used copper as I have done for all the copper bearing fittings. This picture also shows the transition from the bearded section to the squared off top. The hances on the aft face will be shaped later.
 
The next pictures show the way the pintles fittings were fabricated. The first shows a rough piece set up for silver soldering the pintle to the bracket.
 

 
The square U-shaped section shown in the picture was cut from a sheet on the circular saw using a thin slotting cutter blade. It was then bent to fit tightly around the rudder and cut roughly to length. A slot to fit the pintle itself was then filed in the end and a copper rod of the correct size fit into the slot. In this picture the rod is forced down into the refractory surface to hold it in place. The bracket is held in place with the piece of steel barstock. A small amount of solder/flux paste has been applied at the joint and all that is needed now is the torch.
 
In the next picture the bracket is being filed to shape.
 

 
As each piece was finished it was fit to the rudder and the rudder fit into the gudgeons, one at a time, so that when all six were made they would fit accurately into their mating fittings and allow smooth rotation of the rudder. They were then marked for drilling the bolt holes.
 
The next picture shows all the pintle brackets made and temporarily fit to the rudder.
 

 
After drilling with a number 74 drill, they were be-burred, filed smooth and polished.
 
The next picture shows a fit up of the rudder to the post with all the brackets.
 

 
These still need minor adjustment and it is obvious in this picture that they are not yet aligned. When this is done they will all be perpendicular to the forward face of the rudder. As these were being fit the opening of the helm port was adjusted to give full range of rudder movement. In this picture the stern post is showing the effects of my dirty hands from the metalworking. This will of course be cleaned up.
 
There is additional metalwork to be made and installed, the spectacle plate, one or two reinforcing straps and a number of straps around the top. There are also the two tiller holes to be cut. Those are the next chores on the agenda. When all these pieces are made and fitted, the rudder will be polished up and all these fittings chemically darkened and bolted on.
 
 
Ed

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 98 – The Lower Counter
Posted 9/13/11
 
I doubt this part will generate as much interest as part 97 on the lid stops, but who knows.  Before getting to the lower counter framing and planking I finished up a couple of loose ends on the lower deck.  The first picture shows one of the iron standard knees in the area of the officers cabins, before bolting. 
 

 
The knee is copper blackened with liver of sulfur solution.  It rests on a “shole” on top of the decking, which is curved on its underside to fit the waterway.  The large timber to the right is a top rider and the notch to the left is a roughed opening for a ventilation scuttle.  These were covered earlier. 
 
The next picture shows the first steps in framing the lower counter and also the starboard straps on the lower ends of the counter timbers – also installed at this time.
 

 
 
First the sides of the ports were framed.  The helm port opening between the upper deck transom and the seat transom was filled in with blocking shaped to the counter timbers and the helm opening.  Below the upper deck transom the port is also blocked out to bed the counter planking around the helm port at this level.  The tiller will pass beneath the upper deck transom and upper deck beams and above the head of the sternpost.  The tiller and its apparatus will need to be installed with the deck beams so this work had to be done at this time.
 
The next picture shows this framing from the outside.
 

 
And the next picture shows it from aft.  It is still pretty rough.
 

 
 
The filling pieces around the helm port are somewhat speculative, but it is likely that chocks perhaps like these were used.  The planks needed to be bedded right up to the opening.  This picture also shows the framing of the lower deck ports that penetrate the lower counter.
 
The next picture shows the first of the lower counter planking being installed.  This will be done on the starboard side only, in keeping with the model’s format, which exposes the framing on the port side.
 

 
The next picture shows this planking well along – essentially finished.
 

 
 
The planking lines on the lower counter are not parallel because the round up and round aft of the wing transom is roughly half that of the touch of the lower counter.  So, the counter is broader at the center by 4 or 5 inches, requiring the planks to be slightly tapered at the outer ends.  The uppermost plank has its top edge right on the touch of the lower counter and it is modelled the full breadth.  A decorative molding will seat against this and be the base for the planking of the upper counter above it.
 
The next picture shows another view..
 

 
Before doing this planking the shapes of the counter timbers, particularly the pointed touch points were checked carefully against the drawings.  Once the exact touch points were marked, the counter shapes were given a final adjustment with a file and the planking was then brought right up to the lower counter touch line.  The upper counter has the same round up and aft as the lower, so that band will have parallel strakes.  The round up of the tafrail is more pronounced than the upper counter. That will come later, but all the points were checked at this stage. 
 
The last picture is another view.
 

 
The darker area is moisture from washing off the excess glue.  When the glue has set, the pins will be removed, the excess cut off this near side and the planks bolted and treenailed. 
 
 
Ed

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 97 – Port Stops
Posted 9/10/11
 
The treenailing and bolting of the seven strakes of planking above the black strake was completed this week.  The next three pictures show that stage of completion.
 
 

 
The purpose of doing this outside planking was to be able to install the port stops – the window frames, if you will, on the sides and bottom of the port framing.  These will be discussed below.  In the above picture the hawse holes are only roughed in. They still need to be sized and lined.
 
 

 
 
This picture shows some typical bolting and treenailing.  The lowest yellow strake is loaded – with both treenails and bolts for the lodging knees of the upper deck, which still have to be installed on the inside.
 
The next picture is a close up of this area.
 

 
I mentioned before that the treenails are about 1 ¼ inch.  There are also 1 3/8 and 1 ¼ inch bolts.  The pin holes above the top strake are left from the temporary ribbands that were removed earlier.  They are at the level of the sheer strake and sheer rail.
 
In the next picture the horizontal port stops have been installed.
 

 
 
These lay flat on the sill and their outside edges are at the inside face of the planking.  Their insides were oversized and get cut off flush with the inside of the frames.  The next picture shows the inside being finished off flush after the side stops were installed.
 

 
I knew when I put the riders in that I was creating a future headache for myself, but they really needed to go in before the upper deck beams and knees, even though it would mean slipping planking behind them.  It also presented a problem in facing off the stops.  The first step was to pare these back using  a chisel and a curve-bladed scorp – not shown.  This was followed by filing flush using the bent-handled file, as shown above.  This all went surprisingly quickly.  We’ll see how the internal plankng goes.  The notches in the upper deck clamps are the openings for the lower deck ventilation scuttles.
 
The next picture shows some stops after facing the insides.
 

 
These stops are 2 inches thick and are placed on the bottom sill and the two sides.  They serve to stop the closure of the port lids and probably were fitted with oakum or some kind of gasketing to keep the water out.  The ones for the sweep ports are 1 inch thick.
 
The next picture shows the inside after the stops were faced off.
 

 
The next major task in here, after installing the remaining few standards, will be to install the upper deck beams followed by the waterways and spirketing, which will go right up to the top of the lower sills.  With that done the scuppers can be drilled out and lined.
 
The next picture just shows a few of each type of port finished off.
 

 
The boxwood has been sanded pretty well at this stage – up to 400 grit.  No other finish will be applied to this until all the rails and other external fittings are installed – the steps, the scuppers, the fenders, chesstrees, etc.  – way down the road.
 
 
Ed

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 96 – Outside Planking 3
 
While the remaining planking was getting installed, I started installing bolts.  My process here is to install all the bolts first, then go back and do the treenails.  In some cases the bolts will be placed so that some treenails are not needed.  The picture below shows an area with the bolting installed.
 

 
All the closeups have lens distortion.  Believe me that line of frames at the top is not curved up.  In this picture there are a few different bolts.  The double row at the bottom of the boxwood planking is for the lodging knees of the upper deck.  The two rows of four large bolts each slanting up to the right are for the internal riders.  On either side of each gun port there are three bolts, which on the inside will be eyebolts, a large bolt for the breeching, a smaller one on further out on either side for the training tackle and a smaller one above the breeching bolts for trussing the gun up.  In addition there is one bolt at the butt of each plank, except for the short planks between the ports.
 
In the next picture the highest strake above the ports is being fit up.
 

 
The two strakes aft of the quarter gallery door have yet to be installed.  After this plank is installed the opening will be filed up to the top sill.
 
In the next picture one of the last bow pieces is being shaped to a curve using the shaft of a small soldering iron to heat the concave side.
 

 
For this thin boxwood planking this is much faster than steaming, which is the approach I have been using on the thicker structural pieces or where some edge bending is needed.  This piece will fit above the bridle port and port number one.
 
The next picture shows it in place.
 

 
This is the last strake for now.  It fits right up under the knighthead and is flush with its forward face.  It was nice that this strake just fit.  There is still some finishing work to be done to clean up the stem and the ends of some of the planks.  The hawse holes were roughed out before these planks were installed, drilled with a smaller drill then filed open parallel to the keel with a slight downward slant..  they are not finished, but I wanted to get a hole through the planking.
 
In the next picture the drilling for the treenails is in progress.
 

 
More distortion. The pattern here is alternating between two nails and one nail in each frame along the plank with the pattern offset for adjoining strakes.  The bolting prevents the pattern from being completely uniform, but I suspect that was pretty much the result on the prototype.
 
The next picture shows the planking for this phase all installed, except for treenailing and some bolting.
 

 
The next picture is just another view.
 

 
These last wo pictures are pretty representative of the true colors of the different woods.
 
After finishing the treenails – or maybe sooner – I will be returning to the inside work.
 
Ed

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 95 – Outside Planking 2
Posted 9/1/11
 
Planking on the starboard side of the hull continued this week.  The first picture shows pieces between the ports clamped during gluing.  Planks are 3 ½” thick at this level.
 

 
The planking in the waist area is now getting close enough to the topside to allow normal screw clamps to be used.  The planks are being glued in with darkened glue and before being ripped off a wide strip one side of that strip was given a coat of light brown acrylic paint to help highlight the joints.
 
The next picture shows progress up to a few days ago.
 

 
In the next picture the excess ends of the planks are being removed with a #0 Barrette file.  This does not cut on its edges.
 

 
The next picture is a close up of the current state.  The planks have been leveled off and given a preliminary sanding.  Final sanding and polishing will await the treenailing.
 

 
The black bolts in the strake above the black strake are mostly bolts for the lodging knees of the upper deck, which runs at the same height as this strake in the midship area, dropping down below it as the ends are approached and the curve of the sheer becomes higher than the curve of the upper deck.  The two larger bolts in the center of the picture go into and through the internal riders.  The lighter fasteners are .019 inch bamboo treenails.
 
The chamfered corners of the top planking pieces in this picture will seat areas of increased width in the next plank up, as was done on some of the planks below the ports.  In general, this was done wherever the cut out plank width would have left less than half the original width.
 
The waist rail, a molded decorative rail will eventually be installed along the center of these ports – approximately at the height of the plank just above the sweep port in the picture.
 
The next picture is a close up from above the side at the waist.
 

 
The last two planks up in this area, not installed yet, will be thicker and joined at their ends with hook scarph joints.  They will Take the external planking up to the level of the strings and tops of the frames in the waist area.
 
The last picture shows the whole hull in its present state.
 

 
Cheers,
 
Ed

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 94 – Outside Planking 1
Posted 8/26/11
 
The first picture shows the model at the stage we left off in Part 93.  The wale is finished and I was contemplating starting the exterior planking on this side above the rail. 
 

 
I would like to get the planking finished up to above the ports so the port lid stops can be done before doing the upper deck spirketing.  The spriketting goes over the stops.
 
The first step was the most difficult.  In the next picture I am about to cut into the last of two beautiful pieces of European Boxwood, buxus sempervirens , that I bought in the 1970’s.  Cutting this was painful.
 

 
These pieces were virtually perfect with no imperfections or discoloration.  If anyone knows where I can get more like this one, let me know.  I wanted to use this for the yellow of the external planking, but also for other exposed rails, details, etc.  I used the first one of these on Victory and for other things, tools, etc.
 
The next picture shows the first strake above the black strake partly installed.  The dark yellow is still wet from washing off the glue.
 

 
This is where I miss using ebony for the wale.  The finishing of this strake is almost impossible to do without marring the black finish on the top corner of the black strake.
 
The next picture shows the full hull at this stage.
 

 
This is one of those rare moments when everything was cleaned up and uncluttered.
 
The picture below shows the planking rising up around the lower deck ports.
 

 
In this picture the bolting has begun.  There are several large, 1 3/8” bolts in slanting rows for the internal riders.  There are also smaller, 1” bolts at the end of each plank.  The plan is to do the bolts first, then fill in the rest with the treenails.
 
Below is another picture taken at this stage.
 

 
There is still some leveling of these top strakes to be done.  These pictures help me find things that I don’t see as readily with my eyes – like that slightly  protruding plank just aft of the right hand port in this picture.  This picture also shows the planking cut out at the bottom of one of the sweepports.
 
The next picture shows some more bolting and some of the first treenailing.
 

 
There are three bolts through the side on each side of each gun port.  The pairs closest to the opening are large bolts for the breeching eyebolts and the next two, one through each of the next frames are for the training tackle eyebolts.  These will not go all the way through on the model.  The treenails in this picture are added to supplement the bolts, so the pattern is a bit random.
 
The last picture shows some treenails installed further forward. 
 

 
These have not been filed down as yet.  Holes are drilled for the lowest strake but no nails yet.  The treenails .019” about 1 1/8”.
 
All these close up pictures show some distortion that makes their centers bulge a bit.
 
Work has been slow for the past couple weeks, but I’m hoping to up the pace a bit in the next two weeks.
 
 
Cheers,
 
Ed

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 93 – Vent Scuttles –Wale Finish
Posted 8/8/11
 
More has been going on in the last two weeks than was shown in the last part.
 
There are 20 9” X 7” scuttles on the lower deck for ventilation and light, 10 on each side.  There is one in each of the officers cabin aft and everybody else gets to share the other eight, four on a side.  But before getting to those, in response to questions, I wanted to share one picture showing how the monofilament is cut off flush with the top of the planks.
 
 

 
This is done immediately after inserted the filament with CA glue, so the glue can be washed off with acetone before it sets or pentrates too much into the wood.  The razor blade tends to get glue on it, so I use two.  When one gets gluey I drop it in a jar of acetone and use the clean one.  In maybe 5 minutes its time to change.  The acetone dissolves the CA almost immediately. 
 
So, what about these vent scuttles.  The next picture shows three of these cut into the black strake. 
 

 
They slant upward 4 inches or so from inside to out and this puts them roughly on the line of this plank.  On the inside as seen in the next picture they are cut into the deck clamps.
 
 

 
The trick with these is to get them positioned between timbers, in the correct cabin, while avoiding the riders, the knees the beams, chain plates, etc.  This is not easy and I spent some time placing them between the different views on the drawings before settling on their locations.  For the sake of neatness they are all cut so their tops are flush with the top of the black strake outside and the clamp inside.  This leaves the inclines within a few inches of what Steel says they should be.
 
The next picture shows the doors installed. 
 

 
These will eventually get horseshoe hinges but for now they are just glued in with very dark glue.  On the other side where there is no planking they will show the cuts trough the frames in more detail.  Since some of these cut a few inches into the frame I suspect that reinforcing fillers were put between the frames at these points, much in the way it was done near the chain plates, or gun breechings and in some other areas.
 
In the next picture the wale is in the process of final sanding and polishing before getting blackened.
 
 

 
The scuttle doors are barely visible here.  After this picture was taken I did accentuate their borders with a chisel point.
 
So, on to the finishing of the wale.  A lot of thought and also a lot of input from people on the forum went into this.  I believe I did mention the final decision on the process, but briefly it uses a dilute black stain made with Speedball acrylic black ink in water.  The wale was sanded with grits to 320, then buffed with Scotchbite pads.  It was wetted a few times between final sandings to pre-raise the grain, which was then sanded off.  After the first stain coat the surface was checked for light spots and there were some where the CA penetrated around a few of the bolts.  This was re-sanded.  The next picture shows the wale drying after about the third or fourth coat of ink stain.
 
 

 
Before each coat the surface was dampened, either from the previous coat of ink or with a damp rag to keep from blotching.  There were eight to ten coats all together until it got to a shade I wanted where the plank joints and bolting could still be seen.  The ink was very dilute so I would approach the final shade slowly.  The next picture shows the final shade.
 
 

 
The picture was taken after one coat of Watco oil was applied.  This was done after the ink was completely dry.  It was preceded by buffing with Scotchbrite.  A total of less than five drops of oil were used, on a Q-Tip and the surface was then buffed dry with a cloth.  This buffing was repeated about 20 minutes later when some of the oil came out of the pores – which it likes to do.
 
The next picture is a close up of the wale.
 

 
 
And the last picture is another view.
 

 
I’d say these three last pictures give a pretty accurate rendition of the finish.  More oil will be applied.  This is for protection.  In the above picture the fasteners, the planking seams, the scuttles and some of the wood grain are showing.   The area above the black strake will be planked in Euro Boxwood so I was not too particular about keeping that framing pristine.  There are file marks and ink.
 
Wdith this done, the outside planking and parallel work on the inside can proceed.  The area below the wale can also be given its final wax finish.
 
 
Ed

A very interesting project I look forward to your progress with it.
 
It my be helpful - perhaps you already know this - that Pandora was a member of Porcupine Class of 1776 - a Williams design. I mention this because The Shipbuilders Repository 1788 uses Porcupine as its example for a 24 gun frigate, which means that all the information included will be specific to Pandora as well. This includes the Table of Bodies and all the scantlings (sizes of every timber) - including those that are ship specific.
 
If you can get your hands on a copy, it may be helpful.
 
Ed

The log for this build was posted in mid-2010. I will be reposting it in between reposts of the Naiad log. The model was built between 1976 and 2009 - a long time, with many breaks in the work. To start this off, I attach a few pictures taken of the finished model for the 2011 NRG Contest.
 

 

 

 

Thanks guys, for your nice comments.  First, the question of ventilators.  I would say no,  I saw now trace or reference to them on the ship or even on others of her class and period.  Crew quarters were on deck and I am sure that at the prices for goods claimed in California at the time, the entire hold was likely stacked up to the hatch covers.  Their is a hatch that could be opened over the passenger accomodation aft.  I do not know if the model is on display at Mystic.  I was always hopeful, but there were  no guarantees.  I am not in regular contact with them.  My main motive in donating the model was to see it in a good home where it would be taken care of.  The Mystic model store is first rate.  Naiad and Victory should be so lucky.
 
Cheers,
Ed

I don't doubt it, Druxey.  I am old enough to remember when construction workers on UK job-sites wore ties.  I can specifically recall one cement finisher, some pipefitters, and a few insulators.  Cheers.
 
Ed

I agree with Druxey on this.  If you plank the wales first, you will need to later butt the counter planking neatly against it - and also, of course, leave excess wale planking that will later be cut off flush with the counter.  Fitting the curved counter planks to fit nicely with the curved inside of the wale is work - much easier to install the counter, file off the ends flush with the outside of the outer counter timbers, overlap that with the wale planks, then file those off flush with the counter.
 
Looking great, Mark.
 
Ed

Hi Mark,
 
I think that the important thing to keep in mind here is that the upper plank of the wale (as well as other topside planking and rails) follows the sheer line that is drawn on the sheer plan and that measuring heights up from the base at each frame line on that line will yield the correct line as drawn and probably as built as well, since shipwrights would likely mark the height of this line on the frames.  These heights  would be given in the tabulated data sent to the yard.  This method would yield the reverse curve effect that Druxey describes.  However, I would argue that this is not so much an illusion as it is the true line of the plank, since the heights of the sheer line on the sheer plan are not true lengths along the side of the hull.  The distances between frame lines along the hull, especially at the bow, are greater than those shown on the plan - tending to flatten the curve in those areas.  So, if you are building the ship "as designed"  I would merely measure up from the base the heights on the plan at each frame and trust that to be correct.  We could probably debate whether this method was always followed in the yard, or for that matter in the construction of models at the time.  There might have been more of a desire to have a pleasing line in the latter case - and maybe even in the former.
 
By the way, if you depart from the sheer line at the wale in the interest of aesthetics, you will need to adjust the planking above - or end up with a mismatch at the top.  My recommendation would be: strict adherence to the drawing.
 
Ed

Hello. Mark.
 
These are all interesting and challenging drafting riddles that were undoubtedly never dreamed of in the shipyard.  At this stage of a problem like this, I usually say, "Ed, think like a shipwright."  My starting point would probably be to make and fit one, then make the adjacent one to fit it.  At least some of this fitting would be after bending the planks.  Just a suggestion from someone who delights in drafting true views of strange shapes.
 
Cheers,
 
Ed

Mark,
 
Naiad did not have the intricate shapes that the larger ships seem to have had.   I used standard anchor-stock shapes and boiled.bent them to fit, sometimes with some post drying trimming - as I recall.  You may take a look at parts 88-90 in the Naiad b log.
 
Ed

Mark,
 
I would concur with the scarph arrangement you have shown - the first one.
 
You may not need the contract specific to Bellona, but only one from her era and for the general 74 class.  These may or may not exist for her time, or if ships of this type were all built in Admiralty yards.   Frigates were commonly contracted out.   Contracts I have were specific to the frigate type but were fill-in-the-blank on dimensions.  I used the contract for the Artois class, but the text is identical for smaller classes of frigates.  I recall Gary B (garyshipwright) having a collection of contracts for 74's so they must have been used at some point and something close should be obtainable.
 
Ed

Some additional thoughts:
 
The standard-form frigate contract of the late 18th Century contains the following spec:  "To have a wing transom knee on each side 10 inches sided, the knee fore and aft arms 14 feet 0 inches long, the athwartship arms 7 feet 0 inches long, to hook with a long hook scarph to the spirketing and bolted with 13 bolts of 1 1/2" diameter, and 2 of 7/8" diameter in the lip of the scarph."  It is true that this is a frigate contract, so it may be different for a 74.  If you have contract for the larger ship I would be interested in the text.  If not, I suggest getting one from NMM.  The question is: what is the orientation of the hook scarph - horizontal or vertical?  With the number and size of the bolts I put it in the vertical plane, simulating it with a wide score into the spirketing, since such a hook scarph in that plane is invisible - and hard to cut in situ.
 
Whether the fore and aft arm of this knee is straight or curved would, I guess, depend on the relative heights of the transom vs. the spirketing.  In my case the spirketing was lower so the knee was curved to allow the knee leg to enter the spirketing scarph (score) on a parallel line.  On Naiad (see the photos) the knee if left straight could easily have been scarphed into the deck clamps above the spirketing, but that is not what the contract says, so I did not do that.  Actually from the glue residue on the frames, I may have first  bolted it directly to the frames then changed it after reading the spec.  Can't recall.
 
Edited-an after thought on the curve knee:  Curving the knee so that the top face of the short leg is parallel to the wing transom, permits bolts to be driven through.  Angling it down might preclude this.
 
I cannot recall if I had other reference(s) for this.  I think it was just the contract language cited asbove.
 
Ed
 
 

That is my interpretation as well, Druxey.  Here are two photos from the Naiad build log showing how I interpreted that.
 
First the score in the spirketing.

 
Then the installed transom knee with the s-curve into the spirketing score.  I did not plank this side under above the structural spirketing.

 
Hope this helps.
 
Ed

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 116 – Bow Decoration
 
Young America's bow decoration is interesting for a number of reasons.  Each side is different.  Just aft of a billet decorated with greenery, the carved figures rest mostly on the waist planking and partially on the base of the billet.  There were no headboards, so it is not clear how these were mounted on the original ship – much less how to mount them on the model -  due to the angle between the two surfaces.  Also, unlike the gilded stern decoration, the figures at the bow were painted in natural colors.  All this, like many other aspects of the ship, is based on Bill Crothers research.
 
After some unsuccessful attempts to fashion a wood base in the angle, I finally decided to sculpt these as six separate pieces, then fit them together on the bow.
The first picture shows the initial figures, sculpted with MagicSculpt® on wax paper taped flat on the pattern sheet.
 

 
The figures are quite small.  The starboard side features a female figure – presumably Liberty – with a shield flanked by draped flags.  On the port side an American Eagle is substituted for the female figure.  Below is the sculpted female figure before any post-hardening refinement.  The points on the flag staffs are thumb tack points.
 

 
The next picture shows some refining of the sculpture using a very small chisel.
 

 
In the next picture the fragile greenery has been lifted off the waxed paper, laid on the billet and touched with a drop or three of thin CA.
 

 
 
Refinement of the greenery was done after being glued on.  In the next picture the three port figures have been fitted and glued on with CA.
 

 
The figures were set into soft sculpting material placed in the angle between the billet and the side, than pushed into a fit.  Some modification of the parts was needed for this.  The sculptures must leave clearance for the square bowsprit to slide in and out.  Excess material was removed.
 
After attachment, the figures were primed with thinned flat black enamel.  The entire hull was given one last coat of acrylic paint and the figures were painted using acrylic gouache.  The next picture shows the starboard decoration.
 

 
The next picture shows the port side.
 

 
The greenery is actually brighter with light highlights than shown in the photos.  The next picture, from dead ahead, shows both sides.  Photos like these and closer ones were very helpful in judging the paint job and suggesting improvements.  The model went back and forth a few times for these.
 

 
The acrylic gouache used for painting the figures dries dead flat, causing an almost two dimensional appearance in the photos – especially in the close ups.  I may give these a coat of semi-gloss medium, perhaps the acrylic sanding sealer I used over the stern lettering.
 
Speaking of that, I received the second order of dry transfers, so I was able to correct the letters that were photo shopped in the last post.  The last picture shows the repaired letters – unadulterated.
 

 
This picture was taken before the final repair on the C.  After repair the dry transfer letters were given a coat of diluted sanding sealer.   I am also quite happy with the final black finish on the hull – shown in this picture.
 
With all this work done, the lower framing was given a last coat of wax, so the model should not have to be inverted again, I hope.  This will allow me to get on with work on the upper deck – cabins, etc.
 
Ed

Resin should not effect an RTV mold.  Very hot metal will affect it over time.  I believe it will make it hard and  brittle.  I began using lower temperature metals to avoid this problem and because its safer to handle, but I was looking for life over 100's of pours on very intricate molds more susceptable to damage.  Lo temp alloys or blends that include may be more expensive, not sure, I believe $15-20 per pound?.  You usually pay a premium at Micromark.
 
I am surprised your hot plate won't melt the pewter.  I have used this method for many years on various metals.  I prefer the hot plate to the torch for safety reasons and also because it is easier to hold the metal at a good pouring temperature.  This may be more critical on complex molds than for use on the relatively simple cannon barrels.
 
I will do some temperature tests with my hotplate and let you know what temp I can achieve.
 
Ed

Hi Mark,
 
I took a short break from YA this morning to take a few pictures for you.  It only took a few minutes - once I found the melting pot.  I use this hotplate for boiling water for wood bending.  I plug it into an automatic 60-minute shutoff timer so I don't leave it on by mistake when I wander off.
 
The first picture shows the simple pot - still full of cold metal - on the hot plate.  I got rid of the arm so I would not bump into it and spill the metal.  I use channel-locks to pour.   I like the hot plate because you can hold the metal at a good temperature and you also have a place to toss the sprues as you cut them off.  Both of these things are convenient if you are doing many pours in a session.
 

 
The next picture shows the two part RTV molds in the Centricast disk.  They get bolted together for casting.  There are a lot of parts for the machine - to allow molds to be cast as well as castings.  Note the ring around the mold joint.  Some of these molds have been used for 100- 200 pours this one probably a few dozen.
 

 
Finally, a few castings to show what can be done with RTV in the way of complex castings.   They do not come out of the mold painted.  Many of the figures have cast parts added after casting and quite a number are multiple parts.
 

 
Happy casting.
 
Ed
 
 
 
 
 
 

Mark, I would go with the 10 to 1, but the other might work as well for the cannons, which are quite simple.  To use the 10 to 1 type, you will need an electronic scale to measure the liquid catalyst - by weight.  50/50 by volume is easier to manage.  The mold tear strength was the problem for me.
 
I found no trouble getting up to temp with the hot plate.  I will take a few pics for you today and post.
 
Ed