Wintergreen

Well, the sweeps are now fixed in position, after a rare weekend off work. Hopefully I made the right call on displaying them in this way.
 
I still have the two ensigns to complete and fly on their staffs before calling it quits. I hope you enjoy the pictures. 

Exellent work, as everyone else already have stated. Truly excellent.
 
Maybe a little late about the sweeps and their artwork.
From one picture it is clear that all dolphins are painted equal on all twelve sweeps. Doesn't that imply that half the population will swim up-side-down when the sweeps are at their stations?
Unless you've painted them on both sides and the picture fooled me somehow.

Exellent work, as everyone else already have stated. Truly excellent.
 
Maybe a little late about the sweeps and their artwork.
From one picture it is clear that all dolphins are painted equal on all twelve sweeps. Doesn't that imply that half the population will swim up-side-down when the sweeps are at their stations?
Unless you've painted them on both sides and the picture fooled me somehow.

I surely Cant tell you to do it any other way, Mario ;-)
 
(sorry, couldn't resist the pun)
 
Looks great to my eye.

I surely Cant tell you to do it any other way, Mario ;-)
 
(sorry, couldn't resist the pun)
 
Looks great to my eye.

Exellent work, as everyone else already have stated. Truly excellent.
 
Maybe a little late about the sweeps and their artwork.
From one picture it is clear that all dolphins are painted equal on all twelve sweeps. Doesn't that imply that half the population will swim up-side-down when the sweeps are at their stations?
Unless you've painted them on both sides and the picture fooled me somehow.

I surely Cant tell you to do it any other way, Mario ;-)
 
(sorry, couldn't resist the pun)
 
Looks great to my eye.

Exellent work, as everyone else already have stated. Truly excellent.
 
Maybe a little late about the sweeps and their artwork.
From one picture it is clear that all dolphins are painted equal on all twelve sweeps. Doesn't that imply that half the population will swim up-side-down when the sweeps are at their stations?
Unless you've painted them on both sides and the picture fooled me somehow.

Exellent work, as everyone else already have stated. Truly excellent.
 
Maybe a little late about the sweeps and their artwork.
From one picture it is clear that all dolphins are painted equal on all twelve sweeps. Doesn't that imply that half the population will swim up-side-down when the sweeps are at their stations?
Unless you've painted them on both sides and the picture fooled me somehow.

I surely Cant tell you to do it any other way, Mario ;-)
 
(sorry, couldn't resist the pun)
 
Looks great to my eye.

Exellent work, as everyone else already have stated. Truly excellent.
 
Maybe a little late about the sweeps and their artwork.
From one picture it is clear that all dolphins are painted equal on all twelve sweeps. Doesn't that imply that half the population will swim up-side-down when the sweeps are at their stations?
Unless you've painted them on both sides and the picture fooled me somehow.

Carl, Elijah,
   Thank you very much for your kind words. Thank you all for the likes too...!
 
 
Well it's been a while. But with my busy days, I finally had some time after work today. The kids and my wife hung out at school today for an art fair. So I was by myself. Plus I had no errands to run after work....



















 
 
 
Well guys please let me know if you see any mistakes. Remember this is the first time I have ever modeled Cant Frames...

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 160 –Deadeye Chains continued
 
Making the channel deadeyes went like lightning compared to making and installing the chains, but finally the fore and main channels on the starboard side were completed.  The first picture shows the fore starboard channels after painting the cap rails.
 

 
The completed main channel on the same side is shown below.
 

 
The photo highlights the need for some more liver of sulfur on some of the chains.  The deadeyes in all these pictures show very little luster – less than I would like. Repeated doses of Tung oil and buffing have left them flat and lifeless.  Obviously all of the oil has been sucked into the end grain faces of the deadeyes.  To remedy this I am now treating them over the oil coats with my old wood finishing standby, Wipe-on polyurethane.  I have also learned that all this finishing needs to be completed before fitting the deadeyes to the straps – unless they are perfectly aligned beforehand – not impossible but difficult.  In trying to rotate one after some post-application of oil, I broke the strap joint.  You may recall in the last post that I sized the slots in the channels to pass the lower eyes of the chains in case this happened and one had to be replaced.  That was a good idea.
 
The next pictures show work on the fore port channels.  In the first picture the first two deadeye/chain/chain cleat assemblies are installed and a shaped piece for the third is being fitted for cutting off.
 

 
In the next picture it has been cut to size and the top end crimped for the strap joint.
 

 
The size is being rechecked before fitting the strap.  Work continues in the next picture.
 

 
The fit on these is again checked after soldering the straps.  The next picture shows all six shroud chains fitted – minus deadeyes and blacking at this point..
 

 
This picture shows the next (7th) chain.  This simply has an eye at the top to take the standing end of the fore upper topsail halyard. 
 
As a side note, I must say that taking these pictures and writing the text for this blog is often very helpful in finding and avoiding mistakes.  In the above picture you will notice notches cut into the channels between the 5th and 6th shroud chains, supposedly for the halyard standing end chain.  Seeing this located in that position in an earlier photo - when writing its caption - caused me to wonder about that location which indeed turned out to be incorrect – a drafting error.  The incorrect placement of the chain for line 240 can be seen in the first photo of the previous post (159).  The drawing was corrected and the chain was relocated as shown above, aft of the shrouds where it will be free of interference.  The companion chain for the halyard tackle on the other side also had to be removed and relocated – again making use of the increased slot width described above. 
 
There is still quite a bit of this work to do and it is going slowly as I am diverted by the usual list of springtime chores.
 
Ed

I got a little bit more of the boilers done this week.  We have very little of the actual boilers so they will be a little simplified.  I will be including the mud drums, steam drums and safety valves.  Fortunately, we do have a standpipe and check valve for the feedwater line.  I'll add the check valve next week.
 
All the parts for the standpipes.

 
The standpipes actually stood several inches taller and ended with a flange for the boiler tube.  The sheathing of the flame bed sat on the arched webbing.

 
Completed standpipes minus the checkvalve.  I didn't notice until looking at the photos this morning that the webbing didn't seat properly on the tops of the tubes in a couple of spots.  I'll have to correct that on monday.

 
Making the mud drums and steam drums.

 

 

 

 
Dummy endcaps for the boilers. Everything else will be sheathed in .01 thick brass.

 
Covering the boiler tubes.

 
Port side of boiler sheathed.  I still need to add wide strips on the boiler tubes to represent the overlapping plates.  The holes for the standpipes still haven't been drilled underneath so it doesn't sit flush on deck yet.

Just a quick update with some rough photos of the current state of play.
 
The mast bands are made and fitted, although those on the mizzen need a paint touch-up at the moment - and I even managed to remember to make and fit the mast hoops before I put the bands on permanently.  The bowsprit rigging has also been done.  The two circles of wood sitting on the deckhouse will be the lifebuoys that are triced up in the mizzen rigging.
 
The Pritt will now come to a grinding halt for a while as I have another urgent modelling project that's going to take all of my attention for a while.
 
John
 

 

 

 

Still not quite decided on presentation, but finally have completed cutting and shaping all 12 sweeps. Whew! Next will be to paint them.

Thanks for all the likes and remarks guys...
 
 
Well made some progress tonight. The frames at the bow are loosely placed(I know things are looking a little rough). Nothing is glued up as of yet. But I had to show you where I was at. Since I have never made cant frames before. I hope I am doing them right. If you see something wrong please let me know. Once they are tree nailed and I make sure they are sitting proper I will glue them into and take some new pictures. THANKS FOR LOOKING IN....

Little progress:
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Breaking news!
 
I am pleased to announce that SeaWatchBooks will publish a book on the construction of open boats. The clinker planked example will be the Hospital barge, and the book will also cover construction of a carvel planked open boat. Now all I have to do is write it....

So, time to conclude this thread...boat and table in place finally!
 
It took some takes to get a close match on the color. First I had matched it as good as possible with these small samples you can get from the painters. That was far off when it came to reality. So four or five tries later I was very pleased with the result. AS you can see from the candle it has been in use a couple of weeks (they were so so eager to get it that they didnt care about the table not being ready   )
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Thank you for following this small build, and thanks for all the "likes" as well.
 
Til next time - Ta!

Work continued with the internal supports.
First I used card to make a template for each support.
 
Then rough cut the blanks on the band saw.

 
Next was a grand premiere for my disk sander...it even have dust extraction...

 
When the mating faces were decent, again off to the band saw to cut the shape.
And continued shaping.

 
After that focus turned to the central candle holder. I had an idea and needed some lumber to fulfill my need.
The oak piece is actually the old samson post from the same boat as the other oak I've used...

 
After some trial and horror (a couple of close calls due to the porosity of the old oak) it looks like this.
It is not yet glued in place. The square base needs some attention even though it will be hidden under sand.

Hi, an update again.
 
Work is progressing rather good now. 
To show that I care for my health since contact cement smells heavily.
I mounted the big sucker (I know, I know, it is called something like dust extractor, not as fun though) on the edge of my work area.
 
The second picture shows the floor glued in place. A bit damp in the picture after wiping off dust.
Next up will be "frames", or more like "L"-shaped side supports.
 
To be continued...
 

 

I see that it has been awhile since my last Speedwell update. Here are some current photos. David Antscherl (of Greenwich barge fame) and I are currently working with SeaWatch books on a book featuring her construction in both plank on frame and plank on bulkhead versions. She's a sweet little vessel and will be fully rigged. At 1:48 scale she won't take up a lot of space in my study.
 
The fore platform with the boatswain's cabin and sail room. There is a properly tagged and stowed sail on the lower sail rack but it is no longer visible.
 

 
The well sitting beneath the main mast partner with it's two octagonal pump openings. there is a small cleanout door at the bottom of the well.
 

 
I made a jig to shape the round-ups of the various deck elements. Basically, I have connected several properly shaped deck beams (laser cut by Chuck) with planks on the convex and concave surfaces. I then affixed 150 grit garnet paper with rubber cement. Adding the round-up is then a simple matter of moving the piece up and down the paper. i use a small plank to keep the pull straight. You know when you are done as the dust spreads entirely across the paper above and below and the bottom of your thumb is raw.
 

 
The upper deck back to the aft platform has been framed. It is a fairly tedious job adding each new beam with it's lodging knees, hanging knees, carlings, ledges and bolts. Depending on the amount of deck planking one plans to add, some of these elements could be omitted. I plan on adding very little deck planking so most of it will be visible.
 

 
In the final photo, the capstan upper and lower partners have been added. Speedwell's capstan is a bit curious as it is designed to be raised and lowered. It seats on a removable spindle cup on the lower partner. Neither David and I have any idea why it was designed this way.
 

 
That's it for now. Next will be the framing of the aft platform and quarterdeck.
 
 
 
 

This week I finally got back to the boilers.  We only have a handful of pieces for the boiler so the appearance is a little generic.  I decided to go with a wood for that will be sheathed with brass and blackened.  Unfortunately, I didn't get many photos this week so I wasn't able to show all the steps I wanted.
 
 
Milling the boiler tubes.  The capacity of the TAIG mill prevented me from milling all tubes at once so I had to mill them in pairs.

 
First pair off the mill.  I tried to mill these with a 10 percent stepover but only got through half of it in 3 hours.  I switched over to 25 percent and you can see the difference about halfway through the part.  The previous photo is being milled at 25 percent and you can see the rough finnish.

 
Handful of pieces from the feedwater system.  The top flange on the standpipe supported the boiler tube and the arched webbing on the crosspiece supported the boiler sheathing.

 
Experimenting with the location of thefront of the boilers and the standpipes.

 
 
 The jig i used to crossdrill the standpipes.

 

 
Standpipes with bases added.  I still need to add the rest of the flanges and the webbing in between.

 
Boiler ready to be sheathed.

 

 
 
 

Thanks again for looking in and all the positive comments.
 
Mahuna: I try to avoid sanding carved work whenever possible. If a smooth surface is required, I scrape it.
 
The scrolls are completed and the brackets installed and gilded. All that are left now are two ensigns and twelve sweeps! I'm still undecided as to how to display the latter. I could bundle them and lay them the thwarts, display them 'tossed' (upright) or in their tholes spread out on both sides. Decisions, decisions....