Elia

Thanks for the visits and likes.
 
Denis, the valves are just shy of the surface now and I am thinking that I need to change the amount of rise on the camshaft lobes.
 
The valve seats look so rough at this magnification I am working on sorting out how to lap the valves and  the seats
 

 

 
The tiny clearances at this scale are beginning to concern me.
 
Valve open
 

 
valve closed
 

 
I think it needs to open about 15 thou more. Oh well what's one more change, and it probably wont be the last
 
 
Michael

I've had the pleasure of training die designers in the forging industry on 2D and 3D CAD programs and the best advice I can give to learning any CAD program is to start with simple objects, the reasoning is so you become familiar with the menu, the tools and how to use them. The tendency for first time users is to start off with something big or complicated and you become frustrated or loose interest because you don't know how to use the menu or CAD features and ultimately the CAD program ends up in the wood pile.

Bob, Carl, thanks for the kind words. And to all who visited and showed their appreciation.
 
Just a small update.
 
The trial shaping of some springs and the fitting of the valve spring keepers.
 
The first picture shows test fitting the valve into the .052" slot of the keeper, they are .110" on the major diameter and .081  on the minor diameter and .070" high.
 

 
The raw springs, these are just freehand off the mandrel which is an .067"  drill  which creates an internal diameter of .081"
 

 
Trimmed up a bit.
 

 
Trial fitting on the block.
 

 
Now I need to get some consistently formed springs made. The second from the left is the best one so that is the goal.
 
Michael
 
 

Hi Patrick,
Our colleagues the doing models from plastic recommend paint Alclad 2 for the imitation of the metal.

 
Best Regards!
Igor.

Dimitris,
 
As always - very nice work. I must have missed one detail. In that sequence of photos the 'bow rudder housing' appears to be able to swivel 360 degrees around.
 
Cheers,
 
Elia

Hello shipmates, Lawrence-Edwin-Elia-Nils-Mike-Brian and Igor I do thank you for passing by and also for your kind comments and likes!! :)
The bow rudder housing is almost ready.
I begin to assembling the hatchways of the ship.
Also I finished the four side crates.
 
Kind Regards
Dimitris

Lower mizzen mast is similar to other lower masts, except smaller, so wont repeat myself with in-progress photos. Anyway what I have now mast and spar-wise:

 
If you take a look at mast steps, then you'll see that they all are offset to left (if viewed from back). It tells that deck-keel alignment is off by few mm. I think it's visible only now, but becomes unnoticeable once the correction disappears under the deck. One benefit of making fully planked hull
 
Let's see: mizzen top mast, main top and top gallant masts, fore top and top gallant masts, mizzen yard and mizzen top yard, main yard, main top yard, main top gallant yard, fore yard and top gallant yard are missing. Also trestle trees, details (nails), etc need to be made.

Only two pictures this time, but finishing the cheecks is simple operation compared to hounds and what's below them.
 

First upper parts of cheeks on sides of mast head (not sure of actual name). The width tapers slightly towards top, but thickness remains the same (a bit under 2 mm -- half of the hounds).
 

Sides glued, leveled to mast head width. I shaped tenon for mast cap with a file and scalpel.

Hi everyone, especially those that left comments and Likes.
 
All are greatly appreciated!
 
Progress has been a bit slow this week, however I've started to paint the mast and boom (more painting still to be done later).  I've also added two more handrails to the deck just forward of the mast, as well as the spinnaker pole on the foredeck.
 
A lot of time has also been spent doing the eyebolts in the deck and masts, in readiness for the rigging and sails, but these are too small for me to photograph.
 
Still more heaps more work to go, though.
 
I hope you enjoy the photos.
 
Cheers
 
Patrick
 
 
 

Patrick,
 
Those winches look super, as does the entire ship. Beautiful. I don't pipe up much but always eagerly watch your progress. What a gem you've built.
 
Elia

Hi Michael,
I saw this video and at once have remembered your engine which you build here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yOl2JeavdE
 
Best Regards!
Igor.

Thank you all for your continued encouragements, and likes
 
Igor that video is just amazing and humbling all at the same time, I don't think I have the patience for something as complex as that. 
 
Well I am back at the library as the home system is still not working, I am told I need to upgrade the service equipment that communicates with the tower!??
 
I have started the work on the valves now. first the wall of the water jacket needed to be relieved a little to clear the .100" coil springs that return the valves after the cams have lifted them.
 
I used a .125" Dremel mill after resetting the indexes so that I could follow the numbers for the drilling.
 

 

 

 
The valves are turned from some 1/8th drill rod /silver steel and the cutter reduced the diameter with a single cut I simply fed the material out of the collet and kept the cutting close to the collet. these two are the first test parts to get the dimensions correct, slide fits etc. and the machining sequences, this is the reason for all the extra bits in the scrap boxes.
 
The valves are .665 long and the stem is .062 the spring keeper section is .047" in diameter just visible on the shorter valve stem.
 

 
While I had the tool set up for cutting the bevel and reducing the diameter at the same time I used the same tool to turn the blank to make the valve seat cutter this is just a bit more complex because it needs to have the cutting faces cut in yet then will be hardened and tempered. It will be used in the drill press to cut the seats.
 

 
the next picture shows the valve pushed in and the flare is visible waiting for the body to be cut.
 

 
The last picture shows just some of the left over bits from all the work so far, in the little drawer marked Skipjack hardware.
I need to sort it all out into one of those plastic bead trays with the curved bottom compartments.
 

 
Michael
 
 

Patrick,
 
Those winches look super, as does the entire ship. Beautiful. I don't pipe up much but always eagerly watch your progress. What a gem you've built.
 
Elia

Bob,
 
Just catching up with your friendly little build here. Beautiful work. That new deck looks quite sharp and yacht-like. And i like those cabin wall windows lined in brass. Very clean execution of it all.
 
All the best,
 
Elia

Patrick,
 
Those winches look super, as does the entire ship. Beautiful. I don't pipe up much but always eagerly watch your progress. What a gem you've built.
 
Elia

Patrick,
 
Those winches look super, as does the entire ship. Beautiful. I don't pipe up much but always eagerly watch your progress. What a gem you've built.
 
Elia

Lawrence thanks for looking in.  The longer I live with the deck the better I like it.
 
So here’s where I am now.  I made a new cabin/cockpit wall.  To make the windows holes sharp they were trimmed with brass.  The walls were then painted and mounted in the deck.  The lower edge of the cabin wall was trimmed with mahogany and a piece was placed around the top to attach the cabin roof frames.  There is also a piece of mahogany trim on the top edge of the cockpit wall.  Now it’s about time to glue the deck to the hull.
 
Bob
 

 

 

 

Here’s the new deck. As it turned out I did add a king plank.
 

First I glued black paper to a .03” thick sheet of bass wood
 

I then sliced it into .03” strips
 

I then made the deck frame
 

I planked it while the frame was on the boat
 

More to come but the deck planking is done.
 
Bob

Thank you all for your fine comments and likes.  On the deck, it is not the planking that is the problem it is the calking.  As I said the deck, as is, would be fine on a work boat where the deck gets scuffed and scrubbed, but this is a pleasure boat and I will change the deck to look more like the Dragon Class I built in MSW I.   The planks are .03 inches or 1.5 inches full size.  I am not sure yet if I will use a king plank.  Most of the pictures on the web are of fiber glass and do not have planked decks.  So it’s back to, if I were building full size for my pleasure, how would I build it?  I’ll have to wait with you to find out.
 
Bob

Carl, thanks for telling me it’s OK to have vinyl, it is easier to take care of than cloth.
Lawrence, thanks for the good words and encouragement.
 
If you recall, back on page three I had started to add the deck framing around the cockpit area.  Then I decided to make the cockpit a separate part like I did the cabin interior.  So the deck framing had to come off.  Then after the cabin and cockpit were “done” I again added the deck frames.(sorry no pictures) and started to lay the deck when I saw more things I wanted to do inside but I couldn’t work through the deck framing and it had to come off again.  That's when I took the idea from Patrick (Omega1234) and made the deck a separate part.  Thanks to Patrick I can make changes to the insides when I like.  But now I don’t like the deck.  It’s the calking.  It would be alright for a larger work boat but for a nice pleasure boat I feel the calking needs to be crisper and more definite.  So that’s where I am right now.  Another deck to make.  Hopefully the last for this boat.
 
Bob
 

 

 

The upper deck hook and the support for the bucklers frame the hawse holes.  The support is simply a less robust hook. They are "bolted" to the hawse timbers.  I made mine asymmetric because there is no ceiling planking on the starboard side.  There are mortises on the top of the support and the bottom of the upper deck hook for the buckler bars.  
 

 
Bucklers can be viewed as removable doors which prevent water from entering the ship through the hawse holes while at sea.   There is also a perforated buckler to use when in port to allow the hawse rope to pass.  Since I was not installing the bucklers, I did not put the mortises on the upper deck hook.  There are three cant posts between and to either side of the hawse holes to support the bucklers.
 

 

The scupper and hawse hole linings ended up taking much more time than expected.  There are five regular scuppers and two larger ones for the manger and the pump effluent.  The scuppers are lined with lead sheeting.  I tried several approaches including aluminum foil formed over a dowel, self-adhesive aluminum and paper.  I ended up making the inner and outer openings with grey paper.  The paper and the scupper holes were painted with grey artist acrylic.  The shiny appearance of the frieze painting is from the lighting.
 

 

 

 

 
The hawse holes were lined with either lead or copper.  I did not want the shiny look of clean copper and so lined the holes with the same gray paper.  "Lips" for the lining pipes were added to hide the edge where the paper tube and the wood meet.
 

 
 

Dave, the compliment is appreciated.  But I look to Remco's and Dan's builds to set the bar that I strive for.
 
Work on the upper deck will proceed from outboard to midline and fore to aft.  I was not emotionally ready to drill holes in the hull for scuppers (and risk damaging the exterior hull) so I decided to build the manger.  This is a closed off area in the bow which could be used for livestock but actually helped contain and dispose of water drawn in with the hawse cables.  In order to make the manger walls, the supports had to be built first.  This means building the fore topsail sheet bitts/bowsprit step assembly.  The bitts extend from the upper deck to the forecastle deck and are angled such that the part of the bitts extending above the forecastle deck is perpendicular to the water line.  This meant building a forecastle deck beam to determine the correct height and angle.  The bitts are notched into both beams.  On my model the port side has the deck planking installed.  Rather than risk damaging the planking, I trimmed the foot of the bitt to fit the remaining space.  The bitts have a sheave above the forecastle deck and a cheek block on the lateral aspect of the bitt.  The top of the cheek block has an ogee shape as do the cheek blocks elsewhere in the build.  I have not put in the sheaves yet.There is a rabbet on the side of the bitt for the manger wall.  On Atalanta, the rabbet does not extend onto the fore end of the bitt so the manger wall extends from the outer face of the bitt rather than the corner.  Some of the ships had the upper end of the bitt shaped into a timber head.  Atalanta was one of these.    The cross piece was rabbeted into the fore side of the bitt.
 

 
The bowsprit chock is made up of two edge rabbeted planks.  You cannot see the rabbet but it makes the assembly stronger.  I lightly penciled the joint to highlight this.  I temporarily glued the chocks together to facilitate cutting rabbets in the bitts and the aft side of the chock.  Although I do not plan on masting Atalanta, I did want the step to be in a reasonably accurate location in case I change my mind later.  To find the location for the step I installed a dummy bowsprit, deriving the angle from the plans.  This was then marked on the step.   They were unglued and the step was cut in using the table saw.  I glued them back together and fine-tuned the meeting edges.  The chock was bolted to the bitt with four bolts and was bolted to both the upper and forecastle beams.  The lower bolts are dummies but the bolts for the forecastle beam will be functional.
 

 
After temporarily installing the bitt assembly I noticed that the deck planking in front of the chocks did not extend far enough back.  These will be removed and remade to the appropriate length.
 

 

 

Thanks everyone for the likes.  Not much time for the model over the last few weeks but I was finally able to finish the gudgeons.  There were made in a similar manner to the pintles, two pre-drilled brass straps connected by brass bar which was then drilled for the pin and filed to shape.  Some of the detail is obscured by the blackening.  I have not decided yet when to install the gudgeons but will not ship the rudder until much further along into the build.  
 

 

 
Since I was playing around with metal I decided to make the hook and eye assembly for the riding bitts.  The crosspiece is not bolted to the standards.  It is held in position with a hook and eye attached to the medial side of the two standards. These are made from 1" thick brass which was filed to shape.  The eyes and the bolts are made from brass wire.  Sorry for the dust in the picture.  
 

 

Hi Igor
 
No, I just twisted the rod between my thumb and fore finger against a small file. Slow, but it works for me.
 
You'd probably be able to do better with the new lathe (envy!) you've bought; but for me, doing it by hand works ok.
 
Cheers
 
Patrick