Jeronimo

the top riders 
 

 

 

 

 

Another photos 
 

 

 

 

 

 

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Thank you, Kevin.  Its nice to see the Naiad is still being looked at.
 
Ed

Ed, I wish to share with you and everybody interested in the building of the Naiad a little jewel, made by a fellow Italian modeler, who specializes in dollhouse equipment. On my request, he has drawn the stove very precisely from different sources and had all parts photo etched. He then assembled the article to check that all parts fitted. They do. It is in the scale of 1:60, the same as that of your model.
Unfortunately, he will keep the finished stove for himself. I hope when the time comes to be able to make a stove as nice as his. It is a very, very tiny little thing! 
Enjoy the pictures. The stove in shown in the fore part of the ship where it will eventually be located.
Regards
Salvatore

Hi Ed
 
it is one of the great scratch  builds here on MSW, eyecandy for all who love to see precise, and accurate joining in Wood. Also very fine Plans you are using. I like the Approach you are taking to this Project, and tip my hat to your skill and Talent. Shall Keep an eye on this build...
 
Nils

Much thanks for all the great informations do you give us with your build Ed.
This help is priceless.

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 183 – Port Tackle Sleeves, Catblock, Horse
 
 
In this part we are literally getting done to the wire with a number of odds and ends.
 
The first picture shows the sleeves for the gun port lid tackle installed above the three ports aft.
 

 
The contracts only call for shackles on the doors – no mention of tackle or sleeves, which I assume were installed later by the Navy on fitting out. I decided to install the sleeves. They are small ebony rods, glued in, then drilled out by hand.
 
In the next picture the first step in making the cat blocks is shown.
 

 
These were built up as a laminate as was done with the fixed blocks, however, these are curved and fit over the forward timberhead. They are also open at one end. The next picture shows a finished block pinned in place for gluing.
 

 
The sheave is installed. It needs to line up with the aft of the three sheaves on the cathead. Two bolts plus the sheave pin are visible. Additional bolts wil replace the pins.
 
The next picture shows both finished catblocks in place.
 

 
This picture also shows the two iron horses. These were substantial (2” diameter) iron rods that connected the fore and aft ends of the main rails with a vertical stanchion in the center. They supported the fore end of the rail and also served as a safety rail.
 
This picture also shows the two brackets over the boomkins. The very last item to be completed, except for final cleaning and finishing, was the iron knee for the quarterdeck seat transom on the starboard side. This almost-forgotten item is shown in the next picture.
 
 
 
In the next picture Naiad has returned to her roots – on my drafting table, where it all began.
 

 
In the last picture, the workbench is empty for the first time in three years – except for a couple of short interludes when it was needed for some other urgent work. In this picture some of the raw material for the case is on the bench. Since it was part of the overall project, I will cover the case construction in the next part or two.
 

 
Ed

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 179– Gun Port Lids

Before attacking the port lids, I had some rework to attend to. The t-plates installed under the channels were initially made too curved. Although I had drawn these correctly, I had a sketch from a book in my mind when I made them and they ended up too curved. To fix these, the channels had to be removed and each one of the plates bent straight below the angled break at the top. A minor detail perhaps, but I feel better. The corrected versions are shown below.



 
The next picture shows the ironwork for the hinges, The straps were photo-etched and the pintles fabricated from copper wire and tubing.


 
The pintles were silver soldered. The next picture shows hinges being fitted to one of the port lids.

 
After bending the strap down over the hinge pin, the strap is inverted so the bent over piece is in back, where it will be secured by the top through bolt. The straps are bolted though using copper wire that is peened over to hold the straps in place. There is a small ringbolt shackle in the lowest hole through the strap.

The next picture shows the three aft lids installed. There are three aft and two forward.

 
The next picture shows the two forward lids before the copper was blackened.



 
The next picture shows the blackened forward lids.


 
The last picture shows the three lids aft. This picture really highlights the difference in the sheer of the outboard planking versus the flatter line of the upper deck as reflected by the port heights.

 
The contracts specified shackles on the lids but did not require the rigging or the holes and sleeves through the side. I eventually installed the sleeves.


Ed

Excellent work Ed, loved rereading the whole thing, as I have said before you are the best, bar none.
 
Runner63
 
John

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 176– Unplanked Port Side
Posted 2/4/13

I decided to work next on the unplanked port side of the model. The first picture shows an overall view of this side before starting this work.



 
The framing on this side had been faired and sanded smooth, but there is still quite a bit of detailing to be done to complete this side of the model.

The first task was to install fillers between the frames where the chain bolts would have passed through the side. The next picture shows the area of the main chains just aft of the waist.



 
 
There is not a lot of information about this feature and what I found is buried deep in Steel. These fillers were fir. I installed them between ports where chain plates for all three masts are located and some under the forward part of some ports, since the chains slant aft under these. I made them long enough to handle the chain bolts and preventer bolts at the bottom of the chain plates.

The next picture shows some blue masking tape being used to define the line of a ribband to be installed at the line of the top of the wale.



 
The ribbands on the lower hull were done some time ago. There will be two of these on the topside frames. One at the top of the line of the wale and another parallel to that at the location of the sheer rail.

The next picture shows the first section being glued into place.



 
The bolt holes were pre-drilled against a fence in the milling machine to keep them on the centerline of the ribband – a 6” x 6” member, joined along its length with hook scarphs. The wet area is from washing off the glue.

The next picture shows a somewhat closer view of this looking forward.



The horizontal line of bolts above this ribband are holding the knees of the upper deck and the large hole is one of the upper deck scuppers. The chain bolts were set at the height of the lower strake of spirketing (inside). The upper spirketing strake comes up to the port sills.

The next picture illustrates the value of taking these pictures – in addition, of course, to being able to post them.



 
The two arrows highlight a length of the ribband that is just slightly out of fairness. I did not actually see this upward bulge by eye. In the next picture the line has been corrected.



This section of ribband was pried up, re-glued, and pinned a bit lower, correcting the problem. The area below the ribband is darker because it has been finished.

The last picture shows the difference between finished and unfinished pear quite clearly.



 
The wax finish will lighten slightly. This picture also shows the fillings for the main mast chain bolts very clearly. The square openings just above the ribband are the vent scuttle They pass through the top of the upper deck clamp. The toptimbers astride the quarterdeck that go all the way up to the roughtree rail are those that would have supported this rail even without the berthing up. So, the arrangement of timbers is per the original draft, with some left short of the rail as shown on the draft. This picture also shows one of the new adjustable supports for the hull. There are four of these.


Ed

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 175– Head Continued
Posted 1/29/13

In the first picture the rail to support the grating bars on the starboard side is being glued into place with some improvised clamping. The carling and three grating bars are installed on the port side.



 
Since the last post, I had to revise the grating areas. The center cross piece that defines the forward end of these sections was too far aft and would have interfered with the gammoning – a little drafting glitch – now corrected.

The next picture shows all the gratings completed and the shafts for the two forward “seats of ease” installed through openings in the grating.


 
The next picture shows the starboard false rail pinned in place.


 
The seats have been added to the tops of the square shafts. The aft seat on the starboard side has been fitted and is just visible above the back of the false rail.

The next picture shows both false rails and all the seats installed.



 
The aft seats give some additional support to the fragile tops of the false rails. This can be seen more clearly in the next picture.

 

 
The figure is still loose in this picture. She makes appearances at various times in these pictures.

The next picture shows the hull inverted for work on the head timber facings and the wash cants.



 
In this picture the curved, molded facing pieces have been installed on the head timbers. The wash cants are also installed. I was very happy to have the bunker over the wheel for this upside down work.

The next picture shows the current state from dead ahead.



 
These pictures are quite useful for finding little errors of alignment or worse – much better than viewing while bent over at an angle. I was pretty satisfied with the symmetry.

The last picture shows the whole model at this stage on a freshly painted shipway - re surfaced with a new copy of the plan.



 
The work on the head is essentially finished at this stage except for a trailboard, some bolting and the small scrolls just behind the feet of the figure. What next? Gun doors? Deadeyes and chains? Finishing the unplanked port side? Haven’t decided yet.


Ed

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 174– Head Continued – Head Framing
Posted 1/25/13

Woirk continues on the complex set of timbers that form the structure of the head. With the head rails installed the next step was to fit the head beam. It is shown pinned in place in the first picture.



 
This is a good opportunity to correct any slight misalignment in the head rails by making sure that the score over the gammoning knee is precisely centered on the beam. The beams are rounded up about 2 inches. In this picture, which was taken before the next one, the two aft head timbers have been cut out and are lying on the forecastle.

The next picture shows how these timbers were marked out for cutting.



At this stage it is very easy to mark the four corners of a head timber on a blank that has been sized to fit the space with its outer edge beveled to match the head rail. The curves of the top and bottom faces can then be marked and the score for the lower rail cut midway vertically between the top and bottom corners of the bottom face. I find this is much simpler and more accurate than cutting these pieces from patterns – and very much easier that lofting accurate patterns as well.

In the next picture the starboard aft head timber is being glued in.


 
Mating them against the head beam adds significant strength.

In the next picture all six timbers have been installed and also the central crosspiece.


 
The tops of the head timbers need to be lower than the line of the head rail to permit fitting of gratings and also the head beam knees. I elected to pare these back after installation – easier.

The next picture shows the assembly from above.


 
The roughed out lower rails are in place in this picture. I find the arrangement with these butting against the bolsters a bit odd, but precisely as shown on the original draft.

The next picture was taken after the starboard lower rail was molded and fit into place.



The lower curved faces of the head timbers will be covered with molded curved facings. Most of the bolting of the timbers on both sides had been installed when this picture was taken.

In the last picture gratings have been installed.



 
Openings for the “seats of ease” will be cut in the outer corners of the grated areas. The openings aft of these grated sections will have fore and aft rails for flooring at the same spacing as the grating slats. The forward cross piece can also be seen in this picture.

The last picture is a view from above.

[
 
A lot of finicky tweezer work here.


Ed

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 173– Head Continued – Rails and Knees
Posted 1/22/13
In the last part I showed the maquette that was used to model the starboard cathead supporter – which I erroneously called the cathead knee. The first picture shows the roughed out final version made based on the maquette – before molding the beads on its outboard face.

 
In this picture the rail and the supporter are still loose. The next picture shows the supporter and the cathead knee installed.

]

Both head rails are installed in this picture, but the figure is still loose. The supporter has been molded and installed. The next picture shows the bolster and the bolting of the two head rails to the lacing and hair brackets.


 
Bolts in the head rail joints have also been installed. The next picture shows the current state of the bow.



 
All the parts shown are now glued and bolted into place. The next picture shows more of the bow with the figure positioned.


 
The continuation of the shear rails on both sides have been installed forward of the cathead. The forward bits of the forecastle rails have yet to be installed. The next picture from a lower angle shows the relationship between the curves of the head rail and the upper cheek more clearly.



 
The cathead supporter ends somewhat awkwardly at the bolster. As I mentioned in an earlier post, this is due to the revision in the original draft to add the bridle port and the resulting displacement of the cathead further forward. The next picture shows the opposite side.


 
All the planking necessary to mount the head structure has been installed, bolted and treenailed. The trailboard is not yet installed. The lower cheek is being glued in this picture. As I mentioned earlier, there are still small bits of scroll to be made and fitted to the forward ends of the lower cheeks. The wash cants also need to be made and installed under the lower cheek. The last picture shows the current state from directly forward.


 
The figure is pretty well finished and polished. I still need to touch up the eyes – but just a bit.

The next step will be to make and install the six head timbers and the lower rails - another fun job.


Ed

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 172– Head Continued - Rails
Posted 1/18/13

To me, the head rails are high on the list of difficult members to make. With the lofted patterns, cutting and assembling the six pieces that comprise each one is fairly straightforward, as is the tapering of the piece, which narrows at the front. But the fun begins with the next step – shaping the molding - and continues with the fitting of the rails into place. First the molding. The first picture shows the first step – making a saw cut where the vertical corner transitions to a triangular face on the rail.



 
With this cut made the lower outside corner of the rail is then beveled off. The next picture shows the beginning of the scraping of the molding on the upper edge of the rail.



 
The rail was glued to a block with paper in the joint for the forming of the moldings. Because the rail narrows in the vertical as well as the horizontal planes a single scraper cannot do the job. I made two, the two-step pattern shown in the picture for the top edge and a single bead cutter for the bottom edge. Besides the convergence of the top and bottom faces and the curve of the rail, scraping the pattern is further hindered by the two scarphed joints. The cutter has a tendency to grab at the joint and the change of grain direction needs to be watched. Very light cuts and attention to keeping the cutter square to the curved edge is required. This took some time and a fair amount of cleanup of the scraped moldings using small files was also needed.

The next picture shows the two finished molded rails.


 
The top rail had already been fit into place as shown in the next picture.



 
A pattern was made first of thin hardwood in the shape of the rail. It was then trimmed back until the forward end fit neatly over the back of the hair bracket. This served as a pattern to cut off the forward end of the rail, which was then trimmed to fit as shown. Before this final trimming the rail was scored on to the cathead.

The next picture shows the two fitted rails from above.


 
The next picture shows the first steps toward making the cathead knees.


 
I did not even attempt to loft these pieces with their multiple curves. Instead a maquette was shaped in pine and is shown in one of the many trial fittings in the picture. This will be used as a model for the final boxwood knee. The next picture shows the pine maquette pretty well roughed out and held in place for the photo with a bit of paste..


 
The shape of this maquette was traced on to the boxwood at each step as it was being formed. The final piece will need to have the lower curve a bit fuller and will need to mate to the bolster a little more to the left, but the pine piece is good enough to use as a pattern for the final one – with slight adjustment.

This picture illustrates an oddity in the Naiad design. The addition of the bridle port shown in this picture appears on the draft to have been a last minute design change. This port was probably added as a chase port because in the original design the first of the normal 14 ports was too far aft to use for this purpose. Naiad is the only 38 I have seen with 15 upper deck ports. These forward ports would normally not have guns. Forward guns in early 38’s caused stability problems. Anyway, the last minute alteration disrupted the initially drawn lines of the rails and the curve of the cathead knees because the cathead had to be moved forward. This caused the head rails to have a sharper curve at the cathead and the knee to end rather abruptly on the bolster. This is all shown as a revision on the draft. The picture shows this pretty clearly.


Ed

There is an error in the above post #157. On the hatch framing, the ledges are set down over the coamings, not as I have shown. A common error that nailed me as well. The head ledges were bolted into the beams and thus able to hold down the coamings. Coamings in the fore and aft direction would have to be bolted to carlings and these were not bolted down, but merely drivein down into the scores and presumably held down by the deck planking.
 
Anyway, fear not, all this was corrected in the detailed method described for making these in Volume II.
 
Sorry, if anyone was mislead by this.
 
Ed

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 157– Quarterdeck/Forecastle continued
Posted 10/24/12
 
More work on the quarterdeck. The first picture shows the ironwork in the side for the guns.
 

 
These were made with 22 gauge copper wire. The rings were silver soldered, so selenium blackening agent was used instead of liver of sulfur, which does not etch silver solder very well.
 
The next picture shows the seat transom iron knee and one of the two cleats fitted to the sides on this deck.
 

 
The next step was to install the framing of the openings for the rigging hatches astride and behind the main mast. The next picture shows some head ledges and coamings while their joints were being cut.
 

 
The pieces toward the top are coamings. The next picture shows the four openings framed.
 

 
There was some guesswork here. Some contemporary models show no framing. White’s book on Diana shows them framed. Framing made sense to me, so these are framed like the other deck openings.
 
In the next picture the decking in this area has been installed.
 

 
The “bunker” over the wheel has been removed to allow the planking on this deck to proceed. The next picture shows the planking around the wheel back to the opening for the companion.
 

 
I decided to fit the companion up to the decking this time. Seems easier.
 
In the next picture the hole for the main mast has been cut and fitted with a turned ring.
 

 
The three holes on each side are for eyebolts. All of the installed planking up to this point has been treenailed and sanded smooth.
 
The next picture shows the extent of the progress at this time.
 
 

 
While exposed, the wheel has gotten another coat of wax – hence the pronounced color. This will dull down as it dries.
 
The fore brace bitts need to be installed in the two forward openings astride the mast. I now have the drawing of these finished so that work can proceed. That and the companion are probably the next steps, then the eyebolts and ringbolts in the deck. Getting close to being finished on this deck.
 
 
Ed

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 156– Quarterdeck/Forecastle continued
Posted 10/19/12Fleshing out of the inside planking and related details on the weatherdecks continued this week. The first picture shows the forward section of waterway on the starboard side in the process of being shaped to fit the curve of the side.
 
 

 
I do not normally make templates when spiling pieces like this but prefer to work directly on a wood blank. The forward curve was shaped on the disk sander – by trial and error. The crude pencil mark shows where the piece will be cut to clear the cathead. When the forward edge and the ends fit neatly, the width of the plank will be marked off parallel to the front edge and cut to yield the final piece.
 
The next picture shows the bow after the above piece plus the spirketing over it had been installed – followed by the breast-hook-over-the-bowsprit.
 
 

 
This latter piece is 9” thick by 13’ long and fays to the top strake of the spirketing and the knighthead assembly. It has 12 bolts through the bollards. In this picture the port side timberheads have been given a preliminary shaping.
 
The next picture shows the quarterdeck seat being installed.
 
 

 
Detailing of this seat required some speculation. The space behind the seat transom would most likely have been sealed off to prevent water from running down the taffrail into the captain’s cabin, so I decided to install this in the form of a seat on the transom with a closed panel in the front. The front is being glued on in the picture. The top of the seat is also shown in the picture. It was made to fit tightly around the counter timbers and to the taffrail. This picture also shows the two fixed blocks in the side installed – one just ahead of the last carronade port and one just forward of the taffrail.
 
The next picture shows the outside of one of these blocks.
 

 
The aftermost top strakes of internal planking are being installed in this picture. The bolts securing the fixed block have been installed. There is still a fair amount of cleanup to be done on the exterior in this area and I still need to decide on the extent of the planks under the quarter gallery structure to leave in place. I may remove the forward ends of these.
 
The next picture shows the inside of these blocks and the finished seat.
 
 

 
In this picture the side has been completely “berthed up” to the tops of the timbers with 2 ½” thick planks above the 3” thick spirketing. This picture and the next two also show the decorative trim rail installed along the inside planked area.
 
 

 
Following the line of the top external drift rail, this rail would have been at the top of the side planking if the quarterdeck were not berthed up. This internal trim may or may not have been installed when quarterdeck sides were berthed up in the original construction – but I decided to include it. Tradition often dictated installing details like this that preserved the appearance of earlier designs.
 
The next picture shows the full line of this trim.
 
 

 
Although it may be hard to discern in these pictures, all the side and deck planking treenailing is finished. Some ironwork now needs to be installed – the ringbolts for the guns in the sides, the seat transom knees, and a pair of iron cleats. I am also considering installing two cavil blocks on this side of this deck. Installing of the roughtree rail at the top of the side is becoming a temptation.
 
The last picture shows the exterior framing in this area after some finish sanding. It also shows the two fixed blocks with their bolts.
 

 
The Naiad on the port quarter piece and her four companions are getting impatient with the progress of the work – pretty boring just standing around for all these months.
 
Cheers,
 
Ed

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 155– Quarterdeck/Forecastle continued
Posted 10/14/12
 
Work has been moving forward at a good pace on the decking and the inside planking of the quarterdeck and forecastle.  The first picture shows the spirketing and the “berthing up” of the qdeck well along.  The temporary roughtree rail has been removed but saved as a drilling template for the final rail.
 

 
There are still a few strakes of decking to be added to the outside planked area on this deck, and of course the decking in the center area, which is awaiting the framing of the numerous hatch openings.  The top strakes of side planking aft will await the installation of the fixed blocks on the aft framing.  I will be glad to dispense with the unsightly bomb shelter – but not yet.  I have whacked it several times already.
 
The next picture shows the berthing up from the outside of the hull.
 
 

 
This side will be exposed as shown but some ribbands and of course the roughtree rail will be added.
 
The next picture from above shows the decking leveled out and rough sanded.
 

 
The three ports in this picture are 9-pounder ports – open up to the roughtree rail.
 
In the next picture the waterway on the forecastle is being glued down.
 

 
The forward end of this piece was curved into shape by my usual method of boiling, pinning/clamping it in place, allowing it to thoroughly dry, then finish sanding it and gluing it down.  The next picture shows this on the starboard side.
 

 
In the next picture two sections of the lower strake of spirketing on either side of the cathead are drying after boiling.  The aft section is glued in.
 

 
The decking of the forecastle has been going on concurrently and is all installed in this picture.  Although difficult to discern in this picture, the five outside strakes are “hooked” at their forwards ends with the fifth hook cut into the waterway.  The remaining inside planks are angled at the end to fit the waterway and cathead.  The waterway between the cathead and dummy bowsprit and the strake of spirketing above it are being installed in this picture.
 
In the next picture the next strake of spirketing has been installed up to the aft side of the forward carronade port and the forward section is clamped in place and drying out.
 
 

 
In this picture the planking has been leveled out.  The lines of nail holes have been marked for drilling.  The next picture shows the same status on the starboard side, but there will be no decking on this side.
 

 
The aft carronade port sill on this side is a bit low – another error due to premature port framing.  Fortunately both sides of this port will be planked over so the repair will be hidden.  Otherwise, the match in heights of the topside and the breadth of the spirketing band on both sides matches up.  Only one of the timberheads required some surgery.  They should finish up pretty well.  I have been concerned about this since these frames were installed – over two years ago.  I did not want to have to use short dummies for these.  The hole marks in the decking can be seen in this picture.
 
 
Ed
 
 

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 154– Quarterdeck/Gangway
Posted 10/10/12
 
The installation of the skid beams was completed this week.  The first picture shows a pillar for the next to last beam.
 
 

 
The beam is mortised to fit the tenon on the top of this pillar, which is also tenoned into the center plank at the bottom.  Each of these pillars rests on top of a beam.  Where necessary the bases are cut back to fit against the head ledges of the hatchways as shown in the picture.
 
The next picture shows all of the skid beams installed . . . .
 
 

 
. . . . and thus, finally all the deck beams in the model.  This was the last of them and the last of the fabrication of iron knees – a major milestone.
 
The next picture shows the beginning of the quarterdeck planking.
 
 
 

 
All the planking at this level is 3” thick.  The waterway against the frames is 4” thick, 11” wide and bearded down to just above the top of the next plank..  The planks are being set with a 3-butt shift with a minimum of 6 feet between butts, except that I am avoiding short planks at the ends.
 
The next picture shows the gangway planking installed.
 
 

 
The plank butts here are given less shift to keep the planks long, given the wide spacing between beams.  The 3” thick planksheer will fit against the outermost plank on top of the frames so it will be flush with the gangway decking.  It will extend outward beyond the side planking enough to allow a round molded edge.
 
In the next picture the first strakes of spirketing are being installed.
 

 
The top corners of these forward ends will be cut back later to match the curved ends of the drift rails.  The tops of the frames have been roughly cut back to this shape.  The next picture shows this area from the inside.
 

 
In this picture the decks have been leveled out.  The ends of the gangway planks fit into a rabbet cut into the front of the breast beams, similar but not as wide as the rabbet for the qdeck planks.  I may be a bit ahead of myself with the top strake of spirketing.  As installed its top is at the height of the 9-pounder port sills, but I need to do some research to discover if these ports had linings.  If so the top strake will need to be raised to match the lining top.  These are currently drafted with no sills.  Any opinions?
 
The last picture shows the outside of the frames in the waist area.
 

 
I believe all of the bolts are installed except for those securing the two large cleats inside.  The frames need to be finish sanded before installing the planksheer.  This is well along on the frames to the left in  this picture.  Pinholes above the ports from the temporary ribbands that were removed earlier are still visible.  These will be covered by a permanent ribband like the one just visible in the lower right corner.  There will also be one in between.  When all the finished sanding and buffing is done the copper scuppers shown in this picture will be blackened to simulate lead.
 
At this stage of the work, the accuracy in the placement of the heavy structural members meets the intricate detail of the finish carpentry – and the inaccuracies in the former start to come home to roost.  A lot of dimension checking has been going on this week.
 
Cheers,
 
Ed
 
 
 

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 153– Skid Beams
Posted 10/4/12
 
 
There are two large cleats to be made and bolted to the side in the waist before installing the overhead beams.  These secured the lines that reeve through the fixed blocks discussed in the last post. 
 
These, like the iron structural knees, were made from copper electrical wire – in this case 12 gauge.  The first picture shows one of these during the final shaping process.
 
 

 
The next picture shows a pair installed on the port side.
 

 
The next picture shows the five skid beams positioned on their clamps over the waist.
 
 

 
Each of these will be secured at the ends with a single iron knee – much like the other beams at this level – but these are spaced further apart.  The contract language had not quite caught up with the practice of permanently installed skid beams flush with the fore and aft decks at this level, so some assumptions were made in deciding how these are secured as well as there spacing.   These were placed over upper deck beams to allow a pillar to be installed under the center of each one.  They are the longest beams at this level and would be pretty “springy” without pillars.
 
In the next picture a pillar is being turned from a strip of pear.  The piece is turned at high speed – secured in a four jaw centering chuck with a dead center being used to steady the other end.  There is no four-jaw centering chuck for the Unimat, so a brass adapter was made to use the Sherline chuck.  This is visible in the picture.
 

 
The next picture shows some turned pillars before sizing.
 
 

 
The two tools used to turn these are shown in the picture.
 
The next picture shows the first beam installed with its iron knees and pillar.
 

 
The next picture shows the first two beams installed from above.
 

 
The last picture shows the same two installed beams.
 

 
This picture shows chocks fit between the beams – similar to those used with the iron knees in other locations.  There are a lot of obstructions on the side planking in the waist and fitting the knees was something of a challenge.  The curved side mounted knee shown in this picture is typical of most of the skid beam knees – of necessity.
 
Installing the remaining three skid beams should be straightforward.  This will complete the last of the deck beams – a total of 115 for all the decks.  Not exactly a three decker, but a lot of work to check off as finished.
 
Ed
 
 

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 152– Fixed Blocks
Posted 9/30/12
 
Before installing the skid beams in the waist, some details need to be added.  These include on each side a fixed single block for the main tack and a double version for the fore and spritsail sheets and iron cleats for these lines.  I will also install turned pillars under the skid beams.  All this work has been proceeding concurrently for the past few days.  I will cover the blocks in this part.
 
These were assemblies that were bolted from the inside through a lap joint inset into the internal planking with the outside of the block flush with the outer planking – as will be seen below.  Steel gives quite specific dimensions for these including the bolts through the laps.
 
The first picture shows the way I made these as a sandwich of built up strips.  The very small sheave thickness of 1 ¼” for the spritsail sheet block dictates this approach.  I just don’t have a milling bit that small – or long enough.  The sandwich approach also leaves very clean and precisely sized openings.  The first picture shows an assembly from which both blocks will be cut. 
 
 

 
The files are to remove glue residue and round the ends a bit.  The next picture shows the first of these sized to the correct depth of 12”.
 
 

 
The sheaves slant downward somewhat in the aft direction.  After facing off the slant on the top, the bottom face was cut to size by ripping on the circular saw.
 
The next picture shows a double block casing.  The lap ears still need to be trimmed to size.
 
 

 
Sheaves of the correct diameter and thickness were turned from pear and dyed almost black.  I believe these would have been made from lignum vitae – a dense, oily, dark, tropical hardwood.  Pins were inserted in drilled through-holes – but not until the block casing was fit into the side and trimmed on flush on the outside – just before final installation.  Two small holes for ¾” bolts were also drilled in each ear – also after fitting.  All this was the easy part.
 
I won’t go into all the gory details of cutting the openings and fitting these neatly into the sides.  The casing fits snuggly between two frames with a frame between these two cut out.  Steel shows this detail in one of his plates.  These must have been installed after the planking otherwise the cut frame would be loose. 
 
The next picture shows the finished block for the main tack on the starboard side on the inside of the hull, which is not planked.
 

 
The next picture shows this block on the outside.
 
 

 
The next picture shows the finished counterpart on the port side, which is planked.
 

 
It just fits between the port and the top rider.  I see in this picture that the iron hanging knee under the breast beam just forward of the rider did not get blackened – notice?  The next picture shows this block on the unplanked outside of the hull.
 
 

 
The last picture shows the main tack block and the double blocks for the sheets on the outside.
 
 

 
I had some interference problems with the top riders just forward of these double blocks.  This required some surgery on the riders – still thinking about the solution to this.  I think the original draftsman wasn’t thinking about blocks when locating the riders – and neither was I when copying his locations.
 
In the next part I will cover the cleats in the waist on the planked side, the pillars and hopefully some skid beam installation.
 
Ed