Elia

Shipwrights - it has been a long time since I last posted progress on Arethusa.  I have been working away on her, in little snippets of time here and there.  Springtime turned to summer, when my modeling usually all but ceases, replaced by outdoor activities.  Autumn typically welcomes the shipwright (me!) back to his work shop.  This year my wife and I decided to embark on a large home improvement project and it has taken far more time and energy than initially estimated.  That resulted in less model time than I had hoped for.  I am now getting a little modeling time in and following are some progress photos.

 

The saga of the yellow cove stripe is almost over.  I had removed the offending strip of wood, per my previous postings, glued in the repair strip, and spackled, sanded and faired it.  I then painted the yellow stripe region.  After the painted dried for a couple of days I applied the 1/64” wide masking tape.  It was surprisingly difficult for me to get it to run straight and true along the new piece of wood.  ?!  Once in place I painted a light coat of the yellow over the masking tape to seal its edges for bleed under by the black topcoat, which followed.  The resulting stripe looks thin and yellow, as desired, though it wanders a wee bit. I think I’ll live with it.  As you can see if the accompanying photo I’ve added some white to the scuppers.  All of my remediation work had filled in the scuppers with spackle, sanding dust, primer, and paint.  I cleaned out the scuppers and applied some of my white paint as touch-up.  Once the chainplates are attached I’ll apply black topcoat and it should look tidy (at least that is the plan).



 

Speaking of chainplates - I have been working away on those details.  First off was making the deadeyes.  Ron (Oneida build) was very helpful in providing me a direction in which to proceed regarding making my deadeyes.  I followed his lead, similar to Harold Underhill, in making a jig to locate the lanyard holes and setting the height of the deadeye.  

 

I don’t know if you shipwrights ever see a detail on the full size ship that just sticks with you and you find you need to model it, but that happened to me on the deadeyes.  The large Gloucester schooners had deadeyes which were iron stropped to the chainplates.  That in itself isn’t unusual.  What is unique (in my mind at least) was that the strops were double wire loops.  Not one, but two iron strops restrain the deadeye to the chainplate.  I had purchased britannia deadeyes from Blue Jacket Shipcrafters for Arethusa but upon inspection I found I could not easily make the purchased deadeyes accept the double iron strop arrangement.  Thus I set off on making the lower deadeyes.  I used boxwood as it is hard, has little grain direction, and cuts and sands cleanly.

 

The larger deadeyes on the larger schooners were 7” to 7 1/2” in diameter and the width was about 5”.  On my model the ones I’ve made are 0.160” diameter (4mm) and 0.10” thick.  The smaller lower deadeyes were 5 1/5” in diameter, and my model ones are 0.115” diameter (3mm).  Interestingly these double stropped deadeyes are essentially flat faced, making fabrication a little easier.

 

My deadeye fabrication process was as follows:

 

Shape wooden rod from square stock using chisels to form first an octagon, chuck it in a hand drill, and use progressively fine grits of sandpaper to sand to the final deadeye diameter.



 

Using the little jig and a pin vise drill the three lanyard holes.



 

Chuck the dowel in my benchtop drill press.  Use the jig to mark the final width/cut of the deadeye with a fine kerf saw (on the drill press).



 

Use a triangular section file to create the strop grooves (on the drill press).  This was the most inconsistent part of my process as I didn’t have (or use/implement) some ‘tool rest’ with which to steady the file.  Remove the deadeye from the drill press and saw off the deadeye at the previously marked line.



 

Finish drilling through the lanyard holes.



 

I eased the holes with a micro “V” shaped gouge, followed by using the lanyard hole drill bit in the pin vise, rotated slowly, and angled to create a shallow groove.  All edges were then lightly sanded.



 

I have made the chainplates, both (16) longer ones for the lower shrouds and (4) shorter ones for the upper shrouds.  I used a jig to locate the chainplates for drilling the bolt holes.  The upper loops are soldered.  A few extras were made as I typically lose or mess up some when working through the fabrication steps.



 

I have fabricated the jumbo, jib, and flying jib stay ironwork from brass sheet stock.



 

I have made some cleats:



 

And some chocks:



 

And for the deadeyes I have begun making the double iron strops.  Here is a photo of my jig for forming the strop from 26 gauge brass wire.  I solder the one loop end, trim off the excess wire, and file it to resemble a hoop end.  I then use a larger drill bit shank to wrap the double strop around and straighten the hoop ends.





 

Once the strops are complete I'll proceed with assembling the deadeyes to the chainplates.  I intend to stain the deadeyes black and paint the strops (before attaching them to the deadeyes) dull silver (for they were galvanized).  I'm scheming now on how to solder the bolt and nut hardware, joining the iron strops to the chainplate.

 

Hopefully it won't been almost a year before I post further progress!

 

Cheers,

 

Elia

Shipwrights - it has been a long time since I last posted progress on Arethusa.  I have been working away on her, in little snippets of time here and there.  Springtime turned to summer, when my modeling usually all but ceases, replaced by outdoor activities.  Autumn typically welcomes the shipwright (me!) back to his work shop.  This year my wife and I decided to embark on a large home improvement project and it has taken far more time and energy than initially estimated.  That resulted in less model time than I had hoped for.  I am now getting a little modeling time in and following are some progress photos.

 

The saga of the yellow cove stripe is almost over.  I had removed the offending strip of wood, per my previous postings, glued in the repair strip, and spackled, sanded and faired it.  I then painted the yellow stripe region.  After the painted dried for a couple of days I applied the 1/64” wide masking tape.  It was surprisingly difficult for me to get it to run straight and true along the new piece of wood.  ?!  Once in place I painted a light coat of the yellow over the masking tape to seal its edges for bleed under by the black topcoat, which followed.  The resulting stripe looks thin and yellow, as desired, though it wanders a wee bit. I think I’ll live with it.  As you can see if the accompanying photo I’ve added some white to the scuppers.  All of my remediation work had filled in the scuppers with spackle, sanding dust, primer, and paint.  I cleaned out the scuppers and applied some of my white paint as touch-up.  Once the chainplates are attached I’ll apply black topcoat and it should look tidy (at least that is the plan).



 

Speaking of chainplates - I have been working away on those details.  First off was making the deadeyes.  Ron (Oneida build) was very helpful in providing me a direction in which to proceed regarding making my deadeyes.  I followed his lead, similar to Harold Underhill, in making a jig to locate the lanyard holes and setting the height of the deadeye.  

 

I don’t know if you shipwrights ever see a detail on the full size ship that just sticks with you and you find you need to model it, but that happened to me on the deadeyes.  The large Gloucester schooners had deadeyes which were iron stropped to the chainplates.  That in itself isn’t unusual.  What is unique (in my mind at least) was that the strops were double wire loops.  Not one, but two iron strops restrain the deadeye to the chainplate.  I had purchased britannia deadeyes from Blue Jacket Shipcrafters for Arethusa but upon inspection I found I could not easily make the purchased deadeyes accept the double iron strop arrangement.  Thus I set off on making the lower deadeyes.  I used boxwood as it is hard, has little grain direction, and cuts and sands cleanly.

 

The larger deadeyes on the larger schooners were 7” to 7 1/2” in diameter and the width was about 5”.  On my model the ones I’ve made are 0.160” diameter (4mm) and 0.10” thick.  The smaller lower deadeyes were 5 1/5” in diameter, and my model ones are 0.115” diameter (3mm).  Interestingly these double stropped deadeyes are essentially flat faced, making fabrication a little easier.

 

My deadeye fabrication process was as follows:

 

Shape wooden rod from square stock using chisels to form first an octagon, chuck it in a hand drill, and use progressively fine grits of sandpaper to sand to the final deadeye diameter.



 

Using the little jig and a pin vise drill the three lanyard holes.



 

Chuck the dowel in my benchtop drill press.  Use the jig to mark the final width/cut of the deadeye with a fine kerf saw (on the drill press).



 

Use a triangular section file to create the strop grooves (on the drill press).  This was the most inconsistent part of my process as I didn’t have (or use/implement) some ‘tool rest’ with which to steady the file.  Remove the deadeye from the drill press and saw off the deadeye at the previously marked line.



 

Finish drilling through the lanyard holes.



 

I eased the holes with a micro “V” shaped gouge, followed by using the lanyard hole drill bit in the pin vise, rotated slowly, and angled to create a shallow groove.  All edges were then lightly sanded.



 

I have made the chainplates, both (16) longer ones for the lower shrouds and (4) shorter ones for the upper shrouds.  I used a jig to locate the chainplates for drilling the bolt holes.  The upper loops are soldered.  A few extras were made as I typically lose or mess up some when working through the fabrication steps.



 

I have fabricated the jumbo, jib, and flying jib stay ironwork from brass sheet stock.



 

I have made some cleats:



 

And some chocks:



 

And for the deadeyes I have begun making the double iron strops.  Here is a photo of my jig for forming the strop from 26 gauge brass wire.  I solder the one loop end, trim off the excess wire, and file it to resemble a hoop end.  I then use a larger drill bit shank to wrap the double strop around and straighten the hoop ends.





 

Once the strops are complete I'll proceed with assembling the deadeyes to the chainplates.  I intend to stain the deadeyes black and paint the strops (before attaching them to the deadeyes) dull silver (for they were galvanized).  I'm scheming now on how to solder the bolt and nut hardware, joining the iron strops to the chainplate.

 

Hopefully it won't been almost a year before I post further progress!

 

Cheers,

 

Elia

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 27 – Forward Hull Sanding/Bolting
 
 
First, thanks everyone for the recent comments.  I hope all those who celebrate Thanksgiving Day had a good holiday.
 
The view from directly forward in the last post seemed popular so here is another from a slight angle.
 

 
All those unsightly wood spacers between frames are temporary and will be coming out at some point.
 
After this picture was taken the model was inverted for fairing and sanding.  There is not much to say about this, since it turned out to be less work than anticipated.  Below is a picture of part of the bottom after sanding.
 

 
Not much fairing was needed – nothing like the work I had to do on Naiad, where very little pre-beveling of frames was done.  On this model almost all of the beveling was done before the frames were set, so the sanding was mostly for cleanup and finishing.
 
The next picture shows an area slightly forward.
 

 
This picture shows some of the bolts – inserted after sanding – to secure the half frames to the keelson/deadwood.  These are copper wire, epoxied deep into the holes to give strength to the model joints.  These frames are end-grain glued to the keelson/deadwood, so the joints are not strong.  These bolts were iron so they will be blackened before the lower hull is finished.
 
I am considering installing the garboard strakes – at least – later on both sides.  On these ships the garboards had an important structural role.  They were quite thick (7”) and were edge bolted through the keel and face bolted to the frames.   This reinforced the attachment of the frames to the keel and will serve that purpose on the model as well.  You will recall that the frame floors are merely glued and pinned to the top of the keel – not notched to fit over a rising wood as in 18C ships – and some clippers.  This is not a strong joint.
 
While the model was inverted the remaining forward bolts were installed.  The bolts through the stem can be seen in the next picture.  These were long copper bolts.
 

 
Eventually, the forward side of the stem – actually the false stem – will be tapered down to about 4 or 6 inches in `breadth.
 
The last picture shows the iron bolts securing the hawse timbers to the stem/apron.  Like the cant frame bolts, these are black monofilament.  All these bolts were riveted flush.
 

 
The model has now been re-aligned on the shipway so the afterbody framing can begin.
 
 
Ed
 
 
 

Shipwrights - it has been a long time since I last posted progress on Arethusa.  I have been working away on her, in little snippets of time here and there.  Springtime turned to summer, when my modeling usually all but ceases, replaced by outdoor activities.  Autumn typically welcomes the shipwright (me!) back to his work shop.  This year my wife and I decided to embark on a large home improvement project and it has taken far more time and energy than initially estimated.  That resulted in less model time than I had hoped for.  I am now getting a little modeling time in and following are some progress photos.

 

The saga of the yellow cove stripe is almost over.  I had removed the offending strip of wood, per my previous postings, glued in the repair strip, and spackled, sanded and faired it.  I then painted the yellow stripe region.  After the painted dried for a couple of days I applied the 1/64” wide masking tape.  It was surprisingly difficult for me to get it to run straight and true along the new piece of wood.  ?!  Once in place I painted a light coat of the yellow over the masking tape to seal its edges for bleed under by the black topcoat, which followed.  The resulting stripe looks thin and yellow, as desired, though it wanders a wee bit. I think I’ll live with it.  As you can see if the accompanying photo I’ve added some white to the scuppers.  All of my remediation work had filled in the scuppers with spackle, sanding dust, primer, and paint.  I cleaned out the scuppers and applied some of my white paint as touch-up.  Once the chainplates are attached I’ll apply black topcoat and it should look tidy (at least that is the plan).



 

Speaking of chainplates - I have been working away on those details.  First off was making the deadeyes.  Ron (Oneida build) was very helpful in providing me a direction in which to proceed regarding making my deadeyes.  I followed his lead, similar to Harold Underhill, in making a jig to locate the lanyard holes and setting the height of the deadeye.  

 

I don’t know if you shipwrights ever see a detail on the full size ship that just sticks with you and you find you need to model it, but that happened to me on the deadeyes.  The large Gloucester schooners had deadeyes which were iron stropped to the chainplates.  That in itself isn’t unusual.  What is unique (in my mind at least) was that the strops were double wire loops.  Not one, but two iron strops restrain the deadeye to the chainplate.  I had purchased britannia deadeyes from Blue Jacket Shipcrafters for Arethusa but upon inspection I found I could not easily make the purchased deadeyes accept the double iron strop arrangement.  Thus I set off on making the lower deadeyes.  I used boxwood as it is hard, has little grain direction, and cuts and sands cleanly.

 

The larger deadeyes on the larger schooners were 7” to 7 1/2” in diameter and the width was about 5”.  On my model the ones I’ve made are 0.160” diameter (4mm) and 0.10” thick.  The smaller lower deadeyes were 5 1/5” in diameter, and my model ones are 0.115” diameter (3mm).  Interestingly these double stropped deadeyes are essentially flat faced, making fabrication a little easier.

 

My deadeye fabrication process was as follows:

 

Shape wooden rod from square stock using chisels to form first an octagon, chuck it in a hand drill, and use progressively fine grits of sandpaper to sand to the final deadeye diameter.



 

Using the little jig and a pin vise drill the three lanyard holes.



 

Chuck the dowel in my benchtop drill press.  Use the jig to mark the final width/cut of the deadeye with a fine kerf saw (on the drill press).



 

Use a triangular section file to create the strop grooves (on the drill press).  This was the most inconsistent part of my process as I didn’t have (or use/implement) some ‘tool rest’ with which to steady the file.  Remove the deadeye from the drill press and saw off the deadeye at the previously marked line.



 

Finish drilling through the lanyard holes.



 

I eased the holes with a micro “V” shaped gouge, followed by using the lanyard hole drill bit in the pin vise, rotated slowly, and angled to create a shallow groove.  All edges were then lightly sanded.



 

I have made the chainplates, both (16) longer ones for the lower shrouds and (4) shorter ones for the upper shrouds.  I used a jig to locate the chainplates for drilling the bolt holes.  The upper loops are soldered.  A few extras were made as I typically lose or mess up some when working through the fabrication steps.



 

I have fabricated the jumbo, jib, and flying jib stay ironwork from brass sheet stock.



 

I have made some cleats:



 

And some chocks:



 

And for the deadeyes I have begun making the double iron strops.  Here is a photo of my jig for forming the strop from 26 gauge brass wire.  I solder the one loop end, trim off the excess wire, and file it to resemble a hoop end.  I then use a larger drill bit shank to wrap the double strop around and straighten the hoop ends.





 

Once the strops are complete I'll proceed with assembling the deadeyes to the chainplates.  I intend to stain the deadeyes black and paint the strops (before attaching them to the deadeyes) dull silver (for they were galvanized).  I'm scheming now on how to solder the bolt and nut hardware, joining the iron strops to the chainplate.

 

Hopefully it won't been almost a year before I post further progress!

 

Cheers,

 

Elia

Shipwrights - it has been a long time since I last posted progress on Arethusa.  I have been working away on her, in little snippets of time here and there.  Springtime turned to summer, when my modeling usually all but ceases, replaced by outdoor activities.  Autumn typically welcomes the shipwright (me!) back to his work shop.  This year my wife and I decided to embark on a large home improvement project and it has taken far more time and energy than initially estimated.  That resulted in less model time than I had hoped for.  I am now getting a little modeling time in and following are some progress photos.

 

The saga of the yellow cove stripe is almost over.  I had removed the offending strip of wood, per my previous postings, glued in the repair strip, and spackled, sanded and faired it.  I then painted the yellow stripe region.  After the painted dried for a couple of days I applied the 1/64” wide masking tape.  It was surprisingly difficult for me to get it to run straight and true along the new piece of wood.  ?!  Once in place I painted a light coat of the yellow over the masking tape to seal its edges for bleed under by the black topcoat, which followed.  The resulting stripe looks thin and yellow, as desired, though it wanders a wee bit. I think I’ll live with it.  As you can see if the accompanying photo I’ve added some white to the scuppers.  All of my remediation work had filled in the scuppers with spackle, sanding dust, primer, and paint.  I cleaned out the scuppers and applied some of my white paint as touch-up.  Once the chainplates are attached I’ll apply black topcoat and it should look tidy (at least that is the plan).



 

Speaking of chainplates - I have been working away on those details.  First off was making the deadeyes.  Ron (Oneida build) was very helpful in providing me a direction in which to proceed regarding making my deadeyes.  I followed his lead, similar to Harold Underhill, in making a jig to locate the lanyard holes and setting the height of the deadeye.  

 

I don’t know if you shipwrights ever see a detail on the full size ship that just sticks with you and you find you need to model it, but that happened to me on the deadeyes.  The large Gloucester schooners had deadeyes which were iron stropped to the chainplates.  That in itself isn’t unusual.  What is unique (in my mind at least) was that the strops were double wire loops.  Not one, but two iron strops restrain the deadeye to the chainplate.  I had purchased britannia deadeyes from Blue Jacket Shipcrafters for Arethusa but upon inspection I found I could not easily make the purchased deadeyes accept the double iron strop arrangement.  Thus I set off on making the lower deadeyes.  I used boxwood as it is hard, has little grain direction, and cuts and sands cleanly.

 

The larger deadeyes on the larger schooners were 7” to 7 1/2” in diameter and the width was about 5”.  On my model the ones I’ve made are 0.160” diameter (4mm) and 0.10” thick.  The smaller lower deadeyes were 5 1/5” in diameter, and my model ones are 0.115” diameter (3mm).  Interestingly these double stropped deadeyes are essentially flat faced, making fabrication a little easier.

 

My deadeye fabrication process was as follows:

 

Shape wooden rod from square stock using chisels to form first an octagon, chuck it in a hand drill, and use progressively fine grits of sandpaper to sand to the final deadeye diameter.



 

Using the little jig and a pin vise drill the three lanyard holes.



 

Chuck the dowel in my benchtop drill press.  Use the jig to mark the final width/cut of the deadeye with a fine kerf saw (on the drill press).



 

Use a triangular section file to create the strop grooves (on the drill press).  This was the most inconsistent part of my process as I didn’t have (or use/implement) some ‘tool rest’ with which to steady the file.  Remove the deadeye from the drill press and saw off the deadeye at the previously marked line.



 

Finish drilling through the lanyard holes.



 

I eased the holes with a micro “V” shaped gouge, followed by using the lanyard hole drill bit in the pin vise, rotated slowly, and angled to create a shallow groove.  All edges were then lightly sanded.



 

I have made the chainplates, both (16) longer ones for the lower shrouds and (4) shorter ones for the upper shrouds.  I used a jig to locate the chainplates for drilling the bolt holes.  The upper loops are soldered.  A few extras were made as I typically lose or mess up some when working through the fabrication steps.



 

I have fabricated the jumbo, jib, and flying jib stay ironwork from brass sheet stock.



 

I have made some cleats:



 

And some chocks:



 

And for the deadeyes I have begun making the double iron strops.  Here is a photo of my jig for forming the strop from 26 gauge brass wire.  I solder the one loop end, trim off the excess wire, and file it to resemble a hoop end.  I then use a larger drill bit shank to wrap the double strop around and straighten the hoop ends.





 

Once the strops are complete I'll proceed with assembling the deadeyes to the chainplates.  I intend to stain the deadeyes black and paint the strops (before attaching them to the deadeyes) dull silver (for they were galvanized).  I'm scheming now on how to solder the bolt and nut hardware, joining the iron strops to the chainplate.

 

Hopefully it won't been almost a year before I post further progress!

 

Cheers,

 

Elia

Finally finished.  I'm delivering this to it's new home in PA next week and won't be sorry to see it go. I have had more delays and distractions with this model than anything I've built that's twice as complicated.!
 
On to the next one..

Starting the final assembly.
 
 
 

This subject is the next in a series for a client who buys and restores old speedboats and cruisers.
It's a 1929 33 foot Baby Gar speedboat which will measure 33 inches (hopefully) when complete. I'm afraid it's all rather rough at the moment but I have reached the staining phase and with some time and a  lot of coats of varnish it might finish up ok!
 

 
Basic frames and first planking.
 

 
Plywood skin for the decks.
 

 
Mahogany outer planking.
 
How it should look when finished. A similar boat.
 

Thank you Joe, Nigel, mij and druxey. I get so little time in the shop, and the build moves so slowly. Your encouragement definitely helps to keep things moving along.
 
Best wishes,
 
Mark

Hi everyone,
 
This weekend, I pushed along to finish the aft end of the gundeck (all but ledges). The first photo shows using a caul shaped to the fore and aft camber of the gundeck, which I used to level the beams as I glued them in place. Clamping the beams up to the caul ensured that they are all precisely level on the upper surface, where it counts.
 
I then worked on the carlings. I found an easy way to measure the angle of the end of each carling in a beam, with an angle gauge. i could then use the gauge to set the angle of the miter gauge on the sanding machine, for precise results, and flip it over to reverse the miter gauge and sand the symmetrically opposite carling in the same bay. Systematically working aft and from outboard to the center, I got them all done in a day. I still need to cut mortises for ledges in the carlings before they can be glued. I got progressively better at this as I worked along. The carling fair well fore and aft, with only one joint needing a slight adjustment from my original mortise cuts.
 
I also built the mizen mast core in anticipation of building the partners, and found an easy way to set the diameters at the 4 quarters, using a proportional divider set to two divisions. I set the long legs on the ruler for the total diameter at any point, and then used the short legs to mark off either side of the center line. It saved a lot of time.
 
I made the fore and aft standard fitting up against the wing transom and stern post. It took some fiddling to match angles and cut the slot for the wing transom. But very satisfying after all of these years to see that finishing up the aft deck. You can see on the starboard side of the aft gun deck, my first efforts at working out how a knee would finish up the deck at the rounded aft end. I have no drawings that show what this knee would look like but there has to be one to provide a landing for decking in the corner, before the decking can land on the deck transom. I can't believe that the decking would just land on the inner side of the aftmost frames with no support under it. Does anyone recall seeing a drawing of what happens here?
 
Best wishes,
 
Mark
 
 

HI everyone,
 
Druxey, remco, EdT, Michael, blue ensign, spencerC, thank you for your kind comments. And many apologies for not replying sooner; work is really getting in the way of the shipyard these days! 
 
After finishing up around the main mast, I sat down one day to finish up the mortises in the beams for carlings. I was inspired by Gaetan, who advised me that doing the same thing over and over, and in a logical order, is efficient, meditative, and it improves one's skills. So I told myself I was not leaving the shop until the remaining mortises were cut. It was hours later, but very satisfying to see all of these after a number of years of looking at the deck without mortises. Gaetan was absolutely right in his advice. i processed each step on all beams, then went back to the first for the next step. It build a great rhythm.
 
I then turned my attention to the step for the main capstan. You will see in the photo of the original Admiralty drawing that this was very cryptic. How does a circle sit on the beams, and how does one plank up to the circle? I then came across a photo of the Ajax cut away model, showing the entire gun deck. It showed this step as a raised surface in a rectangular plank. After reviewing Steel, I decided that it was really a central, thicker plank, with thinner planks on either side to make up the width across the two central carlings. You can see the dotted line of the three planks in the Admiralty drawing. The projection at the front of the circle is to provide a surface for the pawls, which pivot from the fore edge of the projection and can be kicked under the capstan when wishing to stop rotation either way (another fun part to make some day).
 
I also remembered from David Antscherl's book that the top surface of the capstan step would have to be parallel to the keel, not parallel to the deck. This is because the capstan turns on an axis perpendicular to the keel, and the aft side would be higher off the deck than the fore side because the deck slopes at this point. Then it made sense that the circle would provide the surface parallel to the keel, and the remainder of the step would be flush with the decking and therefore parallel with the deck, to avoid places to trip when working the capstan. Very ingenious design, when you finally figure out what they were doing.
 
I had fun with the mill making this. First, you see the step sitting in a vise on the tilting table, having one surface milled down at 1 ½ degrees to match the difference between the deck angle and a line parallel to the keel. Then you see the rotating table, with the step mounted on top. I first used a Starrett wiggler on the central hole of the rotating table to align it with the mill spindle. Then I clamped the step on top, using a Starrett wiggler to locate the center of the step circle also under the mill spindle. I then used a mill cutter to cut a perfect circle around the edge, leaving a flat base with a raised circle at the 1 ½ degree angle. I used chisels to clean up the serpentine curve on either side at the fore end.
 
I stole the capstan from midships for the photos. I now need to build the second capstan....
 
Best wishes,
 
Mark
 
 

This is an updated picture showing the sail secured to its final position.

 
Next step:
to setup the small mizzen sail:

 
The picture below shows the very first steps.

 
cheers
Stelios

Dear all,
 
The time has come to start rigging and fitting the sails. The process of trying to understand the plans it is a real fun (read:pain in the neck).
 
Anyway, this is how I ended with the main sail (it is called sakoleva). The threads are not secured yet, I need to adjust it a bit higher, in order for the mast to hang on the air, currently touching the deck.
 

 
The picture below shows how the plan depicts the position of the sail.Hopefully, I will manage to fit it it and adjust to its correct position.
Stelios
 

Finishing up the pin rails:
 
 
Here's how I revised them, so they continue around the aft post at the same height.  
 

 
 
Moving on to the mast partners, I drew an octagon with at the correct size of my masts--
 

 
 
And milled the center out, a little smaller than the drawn octagon.  Notice the wood is at an angle to account for the mast rake--
 

 
 
I filed the corners of the octagon a little better, then fit the partners on the deck.   The octagons will need to be enlarged to fit the actual masts when they are made--
 

 
 
 
The aft hatch arrangement:
 
 
I finally settled on what to do with these last hatches.  It's changed from my initial idea, and I needed to do some surgery to the framing to accommodate a companionway in the second opening--
 

 
 
I glued in a ladder I had made a long time ago--
 

 
 
Some pieces cut for the companionway sides--
 

 
 
The pieces that make up the sides were glued together, and when set they were sanded flush, trimmed to the right size, and glued into a "box"--
 

 
 
Just aft of the companionway, on what's left of the coaming, I'll build a binnacle.
 
The opening forward of the companionway will be a skylight.  Here is the frame test fit--
 

 
 
And then both test fit together--
 

 
 
Ron

Continuing on with the topmast sheet bitts--
 
The main pieces are similar to the fore mast sheet bitts, but for the main mast there are some extra pin rails and posts.
 
First, the partners, and the decking are notched for the bitt posts--
 

 
 
These are dry fit--
 

 
 
The main posts, aft posts, and pin rails are shaped and partially glued.  Pins are epoxied into the ends of the side rail sub-assemblies for strength, and to make gluing easier--
 

 
 
Holes are marked and drilled in the deck for the aft posts--
 

 
 
More dry fitting--
 

 
 
Measuring for fitting the aft pin rail--
 

 
 
The aft rail is cut and glued to the side rail sub-assemblies--
 

 
 
More dry fitting--
 

 

 
 
I'm not happy with the aft pin rail.   It looks a little flimsy.  I remove it adjust the notches, and re-glue it--
 

 

 
 
This is better, but I'm not sure it's good yet.  I was going for something similar in basic concept to the mast rails on the Brig Niagara replica, where the side and aft rails are at different heights, but I'm not sure I like this.   I think I will remove the aft rail, trim it, and the side rails, and attach it so that all three are at the same height.  
 
The sheet bitt posts also need the side cleats made and attached (as on the fore mast sheet bitts), but those and the rail adjustments will have to wait for tomorrow.
 
 
Ron

Ron,
 
That is such nice clean detailing. Well done.
 
Cheers,
 
Elia

Sweet.
 
Cheers,
 
Elia

Today's project was the topmast sheet bitts.
 
Here are the basic pieces for both the fore mast (above) and the main mast (below).  Some square posts, pin rails, and the as yet unfinished mast partners
 

 
 
I began working on the fore mast bitts.  These are the simpler of the two, with only one pin rail, athwart the posts.  First I cut the notch for the pin rail--
 

 
 
And chiseled it out--
 

 
 
Here are the two posts laid on the deck.   The knees for the riding bitts need to be notched to receive the posts, and the mast partner piece will also be notched out in the corners--
 

 
 
One post is dry fit--
 

 
 
Here are the two posts and the pin rail dry fit--still a lot of work to do--
 

 
 
A sheave needs to be put into each post.   Here are the posts notched for the sheaves, which are stained pieces cut from a dowel--
 

 
 
After the sheaves are glued in, a filler piece is glued, these will be sanded down flush--
 

 
 
After sanding down the filler pieces, adding a cleat to each side, and some further chamfering and shaping, here are the fore topmast sheet bitts--
 

 
 
And dry fit on the model--
 

 

 
 
 
Ron

Thanks for all your comments!
 
Remco - There's no need to fix Fiebing's dye. It covers and penetrates beautifully and buffs to a nice finish. As a matter of fact, they recommend applying it to  wet leather.
 
Learner - I adapted my stove from Lavery's Arming and Fitting... It depicts an iron firehearth contemporary to Speedwell. Brodie stoves appeared decades later, c.1780. Here are a couple photos of the strove during construction. All brass parts were constructed over shaped plugs of holly and glued with J&B Weldbond. This creates a very strong bond and fills the joints which can then be sanded. The finish is automotive gray primer followed by automotive black.
 


 
Mark - trunnels are drilled and applied after the wales are in place. They are easily touched up using the dye on a q-tip. Kind of a wasted exercise though as they become invisible.
 
Speedwell is a nice little project at 1:48. She'll fit easily on my one remaining shelf.

It's been a few months since I've posted an update to my build log of Speedwell. All four platforms are now in place, as are the shot locker and galley stove. Besides the wales, there will be very little external planking in order not to cover those wacky, fun to make shifted and cast toptimbers.
 

The single wale was made of holly and stained with Fiebings black leather dye (off the model).
 

The two completed fore platforms
 
The very small shot lockers accommodate the three pound cannon balls
 

The very small shot lockers accommodate the three pound cannon balls
   
The galley stove was made of brass over a holly plug

Ed,
 
Stunning work. What strikes me in looking at this build is the juxtaposition of the mechanical order and details of the frame subassemblies, fastened to the keel, and the flowing, "natural" or organic loft of the hull. Those forward most cant frames really highlight this. Beautiful.
 
Cheers,
 
Elia

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 25 – Forward Cant Frames 2
 
 
American Clipper Note:  William Webb foresaw the end of the extreme clipper craze.  He came down to the dock to see Young America off on her first voyage in 1853 and remarked to the mate, “Take good care of her Mister, because after she’s gone there will be no more like her.” (Dunbaugh)  Webb turned his yard to the future.  Young America was his last extreme.  Within the next few years  there was a glut in clipper capacity and the premium freight rates they had enjoyed dropped off, ending demand for the type.  Some were slow to see the change, but Webb’s yard continued to prosper building medium clippers, steamships and even a huge ironclad, finished too late to enter the Civil War. 
 
This part will bring the forward cant framing to completion.
 
All of these frames were almost completely beveled before installation, as I became more comfortable with accuracy of the pin-indexed assembly.  With patterns left on both faces of the assembled frames, each could be cut back to the green lines on the forward face and the red lines on the aft face using disk and spindle sanders.  The sides were then shaved flat to those lines as shown below, using a carver's rasp. 
 

 
This tool leaves a very smooth surface requiring little or no sanding.  The work can be held by hand and/or with the aid of a vise.
 
The next picture shows the clamping of the second frame on the port side.
 
 
 
The clamping of these can be awkward, requiring long-reach clamps and gripping of angled surfaces.  A starboard side frame is being installed below.
 

 
In the next picture the last frame is being installed – with simpler clamping.  The position of each frame was checked with the square from the base drawing when glued in place.
 

 
Although the bevel angles of the joint faces were put on each pattern during lofting, there was still need for some refinement to get the proper installed angle.  Each mortise also required some trimming for a good final fit.
 
With all the frames installed, fair lines for the bolt holes were drawn and the simulated iron bolts installed.  In the next picture a black monofilament bolt is being cut off at the surface after gluing.
 

 
The excess CA glue was washed off with acetone and the bolts leveled off with a file.  The next picture shows the finished bolting on the port side.
 

 
The last two pictures show the finished bolting - six 1 1/8" iron blunts per pair driven flush..
 

 
The thread line seen in these pictures was used to center the half frame pairs.  It is hung by a weight off the center of the sternpost so it can be pushed out of the way or removed when required.
 

 
In the next part the remaining half-frames will be installed, completing the frame setting of the forward hull.
 
Work is progressing much more rapidly than I expected.  I think this is mainly due to the pin-indexed frame assembly and the improved beveling method.
 
 
Ed
 
 
 

Continuing with the pumps--
 
Here are the pieces blackened--
 

 
 
I didn't have particularly good luck on this batch, though I followed my usual procedure:  wash the pieces in soap, and then rinse well, use about an 1:8 solution of Blacken-it and water,  wait a while!
 
I did the rocker arm and one of the pump tubes twice, but still some "light" areas.
 
 
Two holes were bored in the deck (and lower deck on the starboard side)--
 

 
 
To the right you can see a mark, and two pin starter holes where I nearly drilled!!   That would have been a pain to fix.  I think I can take care of the small holes by filling them with sawdust paste so they don't show.
 
 
Here are the pieces dry fit--
 

 

 
 
And here they are glued--
 

 
 
The only difference in appearance between the dry fit photos and these, is the small wire pins to hold the plunger rods to the rocker arm.   I still need to trim those, and then I will glue the rocker arm in this horizontal position.   The valve stirrups are too fragile (they've been filed dangerously thin to make sure the valves slide in the tube) to take a chance on them breaking if the pump is "worked".
 

 

 
 
I will probably make small washers for the main pin in the rocker arm pivot and support stanchion--it looks like it needs them.   I won't do that on the small pins though, they'll just need a spot of glue so they don't fall out.
 
 
One more overall photo--
 

 
 
Ron

Today, I did a lot of brass work, and soldering, in working on the pumps.
 
My basis-of-design is from Charles G. Davis in "The Built-up-Ship Model"--
 

 
 
Here are most of the pieces needed, various diameters of brass tubing, rod, and bar stock-- 
 

 
 
First I soldered some bent rod to scores cut in the barrel of the upper valve pieces--
 

 
 
These were then filed back to the diameter of the tubing--
 

 
 
So that the valve would slide into the pump chamber--
 

 
 
Loops were made at the end of lengths of brass rod, for the plunger pieces--
 

 
 
Out of bar stock, the rocker arm was rough cut, and filed--
 

 
 
Here are the pieces, just about all assembled--
 

 
 
The "sockets" on the ends of the rocker arm are some square tube that I hammered down a little to make it rectangular, and then soldered to the rocker arm.
 
 
After determining the correct length of the plunger rods, I soldered u-shaped attachments.  I had to do this three times before I got a solder joint that held--
 

 
 
I also had to redo the flange pieces for the tubes.  I ended up hammering down a ring cut from a larger size tube, and then, since it wasn't perfectly round after the hammering, I filed it inside and out so it would fit the tube and be round--it looks much better than what I had before--
 
 
 
 
Next will be blackening and assembling the pumps.
 
 
 
Ron

Not perfect - but the cheeks are carved and installed...