glbarlow

That is a clever idea, wish I’d read this about a year ago when I did my port lids. Nice!

You’re putting a lot of hard work in this and I can see attracting a crowd interested in your research.  I have no detailed questions, just impressed at what you’ve accomplished already.

That is a clever idea, wish I’d read this about a year ago when I did my port lids. Nice!

That is a clever idea, wish I’d read this about a year ago when I did my port lids. Nice!

Post One Hundred and Forty-five
 
Stern Lanterns
A pair of Resin lanterns are provided in the kit with Brass etch brackets. Pre-cut acetate glazing that only requires folding to shape, completes the package.
Beautifully crafted, but my initial impression was that they looked a tad on the small size, but I needed to see them on the model.

3685
The plan is used to get the line of the crank.

3686
Assembly is simple, the tricky part if it can be called that, is fitting the ironwork to the stern gallery, particularly when you have lost track of the fixing holes.🙄

3688
I found it easier to use longer lengths of 0.8mm brass wire to form and fit the cranks.

3690
The only addition I made are fixing plates to the stern.
Apart from that I had to file the bottom of the clear glazing a tad to allow the lantern tops to sit down on the framing.

3694
Is my initial impression that they may be a little undersized borne out?
Perhaps not when compared to the contemporary model of Amazon below.

Amazon Stern
I could not find original records relating the ships lantern sizes by rate, and of course I’m not privy to the information used as a basis for the ‘Indy’ Lanterns.
 
I did check out relative sizes from my available sources, and for what it’s worth this is what I gleaned.
 
Victory - side lantern 57½” o/a height (22.8mm at 1:64 scale)
 
Bellona – 62½” o/a height (24.8mm at 1:64) scale drawing AotS book.
 
Pandora – 40¼” o/a height (16.0mm at 1:64) scale drawing AotS book.
 
Leopard  (50 gun ship 1790) - 53” o/a height (21mm at 1:64) Scale drawing John McKay from The 50-Gun Ship.
 
Sixth rate sloop– 51” o/a height (20.25mm at 1:64) scale drawing FFM Sixth rate book from a reconstruction.
 
Indefatigable – 44” o/a height (17.5mm at 1:64 scale) - actual kit fitting.
 
Another option is the exquisite Boxwood lantern 3/16th (1:64) scale from Syren.
This measures 7/8th" (22.25mm) which equates to a 56” o/a height.

1827
I used this on my Pegasus build, and I think it is a viable option for ‘Indy’.
 

3704
On balance I think I will stick with the kit version.

3702

3697
Onwards,
 
B.E.
16/02/2024
 

Post One Hundred and Forty-three
 
Strops, Chains, and Plates. (Part One)
Time consuming items, even before assembly starts.
Removing from the fret, sorting the various components, prepping for chemical blackening, and the process itself.

3626
It helps to have a system to speed up the job and to avoid mixing up the parts.
 
There are a lot of individual items to be blackened, which are done in batches per side.
 
My procedure:
Clean with fine steel wool.
Acid dip and rinse.
Immerse in diluted blackening fluid. My preference is for Carr’s Metal black for brass.
Rinse
Buff and repeat to taste.

3628

3630
Using the above system the strops blackened quickly and following a buff required very little re-treatment.

3631
The strops fit beautifully thro’ the channel slots without any need for adjustment. 
 
Fitting the Deadeyes into the strops is done with care to reduce the risk of scarring the blackened strops.

3634
These pliers are perfect for the job.

3644

3636

3652
For the aftermost strop on the Mizen stool which is for the T’gallant Backstay I have replaced the 3mm deadeye arrangement with a 2.5mm size, to better reflect  the lighter line.

3654
The T’gallant Backstay is of 2½” circ. This equates to a scale diameter of 0.3mm, compared to 0.5mm ø for the 4”circ Topmast backstays.

3656
The smaller version dispenses with links and chains and is fixed directly to the hull adjacent to the roof line. This accords with the Official Adm plan.
One additional benefit is that there is no need to try and cram an additional chain fixing in the very small space between the gallery lights and the aftermost gunport.
 
Two full days have been spent on the starboard side thus far, but a race it ain’t.
The second stage is fixing the chains and Preventer plates to secure the strops.
 
Hoping that the Preventer plates fall right on my build.🤞
 
 
B.E.
10/02/2024

 

As always, thanks for the likes folks.  I finished a few different things over the last week.  I spent time shaping the rudder.  Using the plans I drew the lines that I would sand down to on the rudder faces and sides.  Doing this gave me the visual cue to not over or under sand.  Once the rudder was done I cut out the rudder port.  I made a paper template from the plans that I used to get the shape correct.  Next I made the top of the rudder post.  This took way more time than it should have.  I accidentally removed too much material from the laser cut piece.  So I would up gluing on a chunk of scrap wood to that piece and then shaping the whole thing again.  Sometimes it's the one little piece of wood that is the biggest pain!  The last thing I did was shape the 6 timber heads.  This was a bit nerve wracking as a newbie, but they turned out OK.  The photo below shows the tools that wound up working best for me (as well as a rough cut timber head before clean up).  For some reason, on any model I build, I'm most comfortable using either a #17 or #18 X-Acto chisel blade with no handle (rather than a #11 blade w/handle).  I know it's weird, but it gives me more control by holding the blade directly.  The overall height of the timber heads match the plans, but my angled faces are not as tall as the plans.  No big deal really since all 6 look the same.
 
The next thing I'll be working on is the boom crutches.  Wish me luck!  Haha.
 
Erik

Ambitious and well done. Working with a laser is beyond me, impressive work you’ve done with this project. 

Ambitious and well done. Working with a laser is beyond me, impressive work you’ve done with this project. 

Thanks Glenn.  Always glad to know you are watching.  I continue to be inspired by your craftsmanship.
 
Thanks to everyone for the 'Likes' . I appreciate everyone who is looking over my shoulder.

Continued progress on chapter 10. 

The deck furniture is just roughly sitting there, still more work to do on wheel plus the final outer row of planking to add. Mini-me dropped by, I like that he provides scale to see just how big this ship was in reality. 

Ambitious and well done. Working with a laser is beyond me, impressive work you’ve done with this project. 

Long time no update but I haven't been idle..  Sidetracked on a couple of other projects, and being less satisfied with how the hull is shaping up.  I will have more on that later.
 
They say " The Devil is in The Details ", and boy, is it.  In any event it all has to be done sooner or later.
 

I discussed the design of the quarterdeck bulkhead a while back.  As discussed, the drawing in the MS plans by Campbell is his ( expert? ) interpretation, and essentially duplicated by Hahn and Mamoli.  No expert here, but I find the windows in the center panels and not the doors a bit incongruous.  I made a back piece with etching on it and a frame to fit over the back, in which I was thinking about inserting panels and doors.

Going forward with a prototype, I decided to try some laser assisted carpentry.  I don't want to paint, but going with bare wood calls for careful planning to avoid wood grain going in one direction in a continuous pattern, and I also want to avoid a strong variation in wood color across the whole assembly.  I am also learning some important considerations when doing this with a laser.  The arrow points to where the middle column should fit, and there is about a 1mm gap.  What I didn't account for is what I now call " Kerf Creeping ".  The kerf of my laser is less than .5mm and there is a kerf offset built into the software to account for the kerf, but it takes some tweaking, as well as optimizing the focus and keeping the lens clean.  Considering I had 12 vertical joints going from left to right, and a gap of ~1mm, that means my kerf was too big by about .08 mm.  So, I am going to have to adjust for that next go around.  It might just be a matter of cleaning the Laser lens.
I didn't spend a lot of time cleaning off the laser char, and I think doing more of that will make for a better look.  I think the upper and lower framing might look better if there is one continuous piece/ beam. 
I'm also looking forward to see how Chuck approaches the bulkhead with his Speedwell build.  I'm sure I will get some ideas for refining my methods.
 
 

Thank you Glenn. Doing the dreaded hull fairing now. Apologies in advance to all who may attempt building this thing.😂

Thanks for the kind words, guys.
I appreciate them very much and they encourage me to continue my work.
Again a small update from last weekend.
Fred, unfortunately I don't have a detailed picture of the hinge making process.
I only have this photo where you can see the notch for the eyebolts.
I didn't even have a any jig, so they are definitely not one hundred percent identical...

You’re doing really excellent work with this model and with your log, I just stumbled on to it today. You’ve done a great job leaning into other logs for advice.  @DelF is an outstanding builder and a great source. For a near first model your workmanship is excellent. 
 
Yes those holes are for rigging, easiest way to determine size is to look at the plans for what size rope goes through it and drill accordingly, it will be fairly small. Four anchors is fairly common, two rigged and two lashed on as spares.

You’re putting a lot of hard work in this and I can see attracting a crowd interested in your research.  I have no detailed questions, just impressed at what you’ve accomplished already.

You’re putting a lot of hard work in this and I can see attracting a crowd interested in your research.  I have no detailed questions, just impressed at what you’ve accomplished already.

Once the gun port frames are complete we can move on to some final structural elements of the hull, there are a series of hance pieces and fairing caps that need to be added.

these are quite simple and really just need to be checked for fit and adjusted if needed. Some of the frames are cut short and or at an angle for the hance pieces to rest on, for example the one seen below, aft of the waist.

Both of these sit at an angle to minimize shaping.

After all the hance pieces are installed then we can move onto all the fairing caps. The two forward caps are laser cut and before they get glued down, the forward bulkhead needs to be temporarily installed to make sure everything is aligned. There are a series of laser cut pieces that make up the beak head bulkhead assembly,

begin with the lower beam that will support the bulkhead

carefully glue the lower pieces on as seen in the photo above, the lower pieces will hang off about 1/4”, they act as a stop against the frame as well as a landing for the sundeck and later on, the grating assembly.
once this is together it can be placed on the forward most frame, there are slots there to receive the beam

once the beam is in place then go ahead and slide the top one in, it’s orientation isn’t important now but the slots for the timber heads faces aft,

if the  forward hance pieces were placed correctly then the upper forcastle fairing cap will fit perfectly into the notches in the beak head bulkhead and protrude about 1/32.



Do not glue the beak head assembly together yet, it all needs to come out so we can fair in inside of the hull first. The sub deck assembly can be tested too, it should drop right in. 

you can see the beak head bulkhead has a larger cut for the bowsprit than the beam behind it, this is basically establishing a fairing line to clear the bowsprit. Will detail further as we approach that part of the build.
The hull is now ready for some fairing, the MDF Sands down pretty easy.

I got about 1/4 of the stbd side completed last night.
Now there are some more structural parts that make up the stern, that need to added after the sides are faired up, I will cover those soon….after a few more days of sanding.
 
Thanks for looking in,
JJ
 

27 months after starting the Last Plank has been laid (More coats of WOP to come). 

The two center outer rows were a treat (that’s what I say when endeavoring to be positive). 

27 months after starting the Last Plank has been laid (More coats of WOP to come). 

The two center outer rows were a treat (that’s what I say when endeavoring to be positive). 

Amazing craftsmanship. Well done! Excellent photography as well.

You have come such a long way since Speedy and the decision to go at it full time. Well done!

As always perfect and clean work Glenn,
Simply beautiful!

You have come such a long way since Speedy and the decision to go at it full time. Well done!