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DelF

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Posts posted by DelF

  1. 1 hour ago, glbarlow said:

    Your garage must be a haven for all things modeling

    It's full of junk (aka items waiting to be repurposed). Ironically, the scrap steel came from my wife. She was upgrading a die cutting machine (one of her craft tools - she's nearly as bad a toolaholic as me) so I stripped her old one for useful parts. I found several useful heavy lumps of steel, all now pressed into service:

    QH_edited-1.thumb.jpg.b8bfabaf021f92910159312f80975301.jpg  

    1 hour ago, glbarlow said:

    As always you set the standard for rigging

    Kind of you to say so Glenn. Coming from a master planksmith that's much appreciated. I enjoy trying to improve, but there's still a few people on the forum who's work I'd like to match.

     

    Derek

  2. Futtock staves & lower mast stays

     

    Before getting on with the ratlines I realised I needed to fit the futtock staves. Those fitted, I then decided to fit the lower mast stays while access was still reasonable. Also, given the extreme rake of the mizzen mast I was concerned that without the lower stay in place it was leaning too far back and touching the binnacle. 

     

    I think I picked up the method for fitting the futtock staves from @glennard2523. Much easier to hold a long length of brass rod against the shrouds than trying to seize a short piece. When I'm rigging on the ship I find it better to take the quadhands off their big base and use them individually - in this photo the one holding the brass rod is stuck to a heavy piece of scrap steel:

    IMG_5386.thumb.jpg.68bae3b35826874e203c5ad22d548697.jpg 

     

    I made the stays on my Syren ropewalk and serving machine. The upper part of each lower stay would have been served to about six feet below the mouse. I dry fitted each stay to judge this distance then served them using Gutermann Mara #150, leaving a long length of serving line free at the end where I wanted to form the eye. I cut this end at an angle:

    IMG_5405_edited-1.thumb.jpg.808c82642873e778a913e43d083168cd.jpg

    ...made a loop in the end, held by a clamp:

    IMG_5406_edited-1.thumb.jpg.6800dc747c8d883e852d633ba0304fe2.jpg

    ...wound the excess serving line round and soaked the join in dilute PVA:

    IMG_5396_edited-1.thumb.jpg.f2f862b4c6c5c4b471532be436d5ec3a.jpg

    ...and trimmed to produce the eye:

    IMG_5409_edited-1.thumb.jpg.5a120325eca591a027942f5c4b2e2f5a.jpg

    I made the mice (mouses?meeces?) on the Proxxon lathe from a wooden rod with a hole drilled through the middle:

     

    IMG_5397_edited-1.thumb.jpg.db23b62c90453842cf39fee1fbd88a88.jpg

    I shaped each mouse using small turning tools (as described in my Speedy log, here) and files, aiming for an outside diameter about three times that of the stay. I secured the mouses in position using pva, and when set rigged the lower end of each stay using deadeyes and lanyards exactly as for shrouds. Here's the main preventer stay rigged to the foremast with the mainstay visible just above it.

    IMG_5412.thumb.jpg.f10fe49ffc1f24dbcbb6c109708af0c6.jpg

    ...and all the lower stays rigged:

    IMG_5411.thumb.jpg.a15fd9153ea5414dd7d0c900cf376483.jpg

    One minor point of interest is the fore preventer stay, which I thought should normally sit above the forestay. Chris's plans show it below, and when I checked Rigging of English Ships of War Lees notes that this was sometimes the case on smaller ships.  I should have known - Chris is usually right!

     

    On to the ratlines (unless I can discover some more displacement activity :rolleyes:)

     

    Derek

     

  3. Shrouds

     

    We've had friends visiting followed by a holiday in North Wales so I've had little time with the Duchess this month. However I've just finished the shrouds and can now look forward (?) to a few days of fun with ratlines. 

    IMG_5383.thumb.jpg.a023579cedba5dd7248232f4cecc24e3.jpg

    On 6/8/2022 at 5:21 AM, desalgu said:

     I will probably opt for a slightly simpler method that will look somewhat right.

    Thank you for your kind compliments David. I would encourage you to have a go at the seizings I use on the shrouds - I think the two crossing turns neaten the end result and add to the authenticity, and I don't believe they need to be too difficult. On Speedy I started trying to replicate full-size practice, using this method:

    Seizing.JPG.31d9e08443128196500f6745fe5b78c8.JPG

    However, I eventually decided it was too bulky (and time consuming!) and developed a simpler version which I described here in the log. With practice this method becomes quite quick and straightforward, and I'm reasonably pleased with the results on the Duchess:

    Shrouds.thumb.jpg.285d6a91f059b224982b7986c7752962.jpg

     

    I still think the 0.5mm lanyards look slightly heavy in close ups, but they're OK at a distance.

     

    Roll on those ratlines!

     

    Derek

  4. 15 hours ago, Blue Ensign said:

    What is the scale distance between  the shrouds either side of the gun port?

    The widest distance a ratline would have spanned on the main shrouds was 3' 9" (1.15m) and on the fore shrouds 3' 6" (1.06m). Those widths don't sound too extreme - they just look odd compared to the ratlines on either side, where the deadeyes on the channels are virtually touching and consequently the ratlines are very short.

     

    Derek 

  5. Main shrouds

     

    These consisted of two pairs plus one swifter on each side. As with the mizzen, the central quarter of each shroud pair was served, but for the main the whole of the first shroud on each shroud was served. I always like the look of a gang of served shrouds stacked up round a masthead:

    IMG_5332_edited-1.thumb.jpg.2ca9a3abb2d0e8a29c2953506f5e4175.jpg

    I used 0.50mm line for the lanyards (made from three strands of Mara#70). I like the line, but on reflection it looks a bit heavy and I might replace it with 0.40mm.

     

    IMG_5330.thumb.jpg.765ce0ff262b91b8d4704becb79a7bfd.jpg  

    A head scratcher

    This shot highlights an issue that's been concerning me for some time, namely the wide gap between the two sets of shrouds. The fore shrouds have a similar gap, and in both cases I'm wondering how practical the ratlines would have been on the real ship. The ratlines spanning the wide gap would surely have made a very unstable ladder for the sailors, so I wonder if they might have been left out? On the model, which would look odder - a gap or unfeasibly wide ratlines?

     

    What do fellow builders think?

     

    Derek

     

  6. Mizzen shrouds

     

    The kit plan for the mizzen on Duchess has just three shrouds on each side, one pair and a swifter - a single shroud eye spliced round the masthead. Port and starboard singletons were sometimes fashioned from a single line cut spliced round the masthead, but eye splices were also commonly used according to Lees so I stuck with the kit plan. I used 0.50mm dark line (3 X Mara #70) with the middle 70mm of each pair served and an equivalent length served on the swifters. I used Mara #150 for the serving. The front shrouds on the main and fore masts were served along their full lengths, I think to protect the courses, but as there is no equivalent sail on the mizzen the extra serving is not necessary.

     

    I covered shrouds extensively in my Speedy log (eg here for seizing deadeyes, here and the next few posts for rigging the shrouds).

     

    However there were a few differences which I'll cover. First, unlike Speedy I decided not to construct each mast in its entirety before starting the rigging. On Speedy I had to rig each shroud on the model, because with caps and topmasts in place it was not possible to slip shrouds over the mastheads. On the Duchess I can fit shrouds temporarily, measure where I want the deadeyes, then take the shrouds off the model to fit the deadeyes in comfort. Also, I don't bother gluing lower masts in place, preferring to adjust shrouds and stays until they are secure and properly aligned.

     

    Like lots of people I usually struggle to get deadeyes to line up neatly, so I thought I'd try a slightly different method involving a variation on the pins in a stick method. Instead of dealing with the deadeyes one set at a time I tried the whole channel in one go. I figured it was best to try it out on the mizzen first with its modest three shrouds. I started with a small piece of 2mm wood sheet in which I drilled three holes corresponding to the lowest holes on the three deadeyes on the channel. With pins in these holes I drew a line parallel to the line of pins at the distance I wanted the upper deadeyes:

    IMG_5294.thumb.jpg.88c336a9bcc143d1eb852f896ea02d8c.jpg 

    With the board pinned through the lower deadeyes I marked the point at which each shroud would cross the upper line:

    IMG_5295.thumb.jpg.8a833d798205449a389e05a616f51006.jpgIMG_5296.thumb.jpg.95b3bc053752a2d6bf6733c59effaf5b.jpg

    With holes drilled in the upper line, pins inserted and deadeyes fitted it was easy to mark where each shroud wrapped round the bottom of each upper deadeye. I tied a short length of light thread at this point then removed the shrouds from the model. I should add that I was able to use the same jig for the port side - I just had to remove the pins and reinsert them from the other side of the board.

     

    To seize the upper deadeyes I used the same method I described for Speedy. The mizzen deadeyes are nominally 3mm but actually measured 3.4mm. However I used a 3mm drill bit to start the process as this ensured a good tight fit when I inserted the deadeye. I'll just include a couple of photos to show the start of the process.

     

    1) Wrap the shroud round the drill bit, with the crossing point opposite the thread marking the bottom of the deadeye:

    IMG_5297.thumb.jpg.bc3a3c765a494a933a6f1144954222e5.jpg 

    2) Use a fine needle to stitch the seizing (I used Mara #100) through the crossing point - actually through both parts of the shroud to ensure the seizing won't slip:

    IMG_5298.thumb.jpg.0afc4718faa740d86a9969274e9c26c4.jpg

    The throat seizing can then proceed in the normal way, after which the deadeye is inserted, two round seizings added, everything trimmed and the leather cap simulated with raw sienna acrylic paint. 

     

    The big question - did this process produce level deadeyes? Did it b*****y! Just as uneven as usual...

     

    ...however, I soon discovered the big advantage of using Gutermann Mara - it's very flexible. This meant I had sufficient scope in tightening the lanyards to get the deadeyes more or less level. I used 0.30mm line for the lanyards, spun up from three strands of Mara #150:

    IMG_5314_edited-1.thumb.jpg.d33c6296c5dad7e057cc6dac6b98fd08.jpg

    I'll leave the lanyards unfinished until I'm ready for final tightening all round.

     

    On to the main next.

     

    Derek

     

  7. Hi Rob

     

    I wouldn't be too quick to dismiss the MF70. Search on the forum and see some of the work people achieve with this tool. The speed is high to give clean cuts in wood, which is what most people use it for. Also, it is not limited to tools with only one shaft diameter. The use of collets means you can use a wide range of drills and mills from 0 to about 3.4mm. These tools may be classed as tiny, but that's the point - they enable you to achieve very precise results at small scales. 

     

    I'm fortunate enough to have a larger mill as well as the MF70, and that tool's fine for other hobbies and DIY jobs around the house, but at least 95% of the time the MF70 is my go to milling machine for ship modelling.

     

    Hope that helps

     

    Derek

  8. 4 hours ago, desalgu said:

    It's unclear which is "best"

    3 hours ago, glbarlow said:

    I’ve built with both

    Unfortunately I've not been able to try AYC - it seems virtually impossible to get hold of in the UK. Some boatyards have it for fitting out high-end craft, but they don't seem willing to part with it in sensible quantities. Having seen Glenn's beautiful work on Winchelsea I've decided to sneak a saw into my luggage for my upcoming trip to Alaska :rolleyes:

  9. Great to see you expanding your rigging techniques David, and making a fine job of it.

     

    4 hours ago, desalgu said:

    The Speedy build log by @DelF has some great details showing how he does it.  His build logs and those by @glbarlow are wonderful.  

    Thanks - glad you find the logs useful. I agree with Glenn about your log - it will also be very helpful to Duchess builders.

     

    4 hours ago, desalgu said:

     I ordered some 18/0 thread, which I plan to use in the future, and I think it will be about right.

    I agree - 18/0 is fine enough for this scale. My micrometer says it's only 0.04mm in diameter, which equates to just 2.5mm (0.1") at full size. Perfect for fine whipping cord.

     

    Derek

  10. 34 minutes ago, chris watton said:

    this model will be around 1350mm

    Yikes! I think lying about the size will be the only way I'll get this one into the house ("Honest, it's not much bigger than a rowboat!") 

     

    I'll probably have to lie about the price as well, but that'll be easier to get away with.

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