DelF

...great photography too...

Ditto!

6 hours ago, Dave_E said:

How did you get those lower deadeyes into the chain plates? Is there a trick? I broke one of the rings and don’t have a clew how to open it up to put the deadeye in and then get it closed and looking good. 

Here's a link to the method I used in my Speedy log. It doesn't matter if you haven't got the exact same tool as I used - anything smooth and tapered that you can push the chainplate over to expand it will do. I've also used a thin metal pen. A pair of fine nosed pliers helps to squeeze the ring shut.

Derek  

Your serving looks really good David, and makes all the difference to the appearance of the shrouds.

Btw, thanks for referencing @Gerald Spargo's method for lashing futtock staves. Very helpful, and I've bookmarked it for future reference. I usually start with an over-length stave held against the shrouds in the quadhands, but this method looks much more practical. If others are interested, here's the link for convenience. Gerald's work is exceptional; I'd not come across his log before and have enjoyed reading through it. 

Derek

Good to see you back working on the Duchess Rusty - she's looking superb.

Derek

4 hours ago, Rik Thistle said:

It is high speed

Richard's point about speed is an important one. The MF70 has a maximum spindle speed of 20,000 RPM, which is about eight times faster than my larger 'regular' mill. Small mills rotating at high speed produce very clean cuts which makes them ideal for miniature work like model ship building. Larger mills have their place, but I always turn to the Proxxon for the finest work.

Derek

+1 for the Proxxon MF70. Search on the forum and you'll find lots of examples of the work it can produce.

Derek

Stunning. Yet another skill I'm going to have to master!

Quarter deck rails, ladders, timberheads etc.

Thanks as always for the kind comments and likes.

I'm still just pottering around the deck furniture and other fittings, with plenty of distractions keeping me out of the dockyard. Although most of the fittings are built I've been reluctant to fit them as I go along as they tend to get in the way and get damaged. However I'm getting to the stage where I'm having to put glue to wood.  One of the first jobs was the forecastle timberheads - two large either side of the bowsprit and 12 smaller ones behind them. They needed a fair degree of sanding and filing to bring out their proper three dimensional shape. I also felt they looked better painted black rather than left natural:

Just visible in the photo above is the foremast base. The main mast base is clearer in the photo below:

For contrast with the mast and deck I decided to make my own mast bases from Swiss pear, using the method I described in another topic here.

I won't stick the bases down until I fit the masts.

Next I turned to the two ladders leading to the quarterdeck. Apart from the inevitable char removal the only slightly tricky steps were remembering that the port and starboard ladders were different, and holding the fiddly pieces during gluing. I ended up holding the side rails down with a length of wire pinned to a block of balsa, gluing the top and bottom steps first then filling between:

Here are the completed ladders being dry-fitted to check size and position:

The components visible on the quarterdeck are the two boards that cover the front edge of the deck either side of the canopy, and the handrail. I bent the handrail with dry heat via a hot air gun over a curved tin can. However the result was too curved, so to get it to conform to the required shape I clamped it to the quarterdeck overnight:

Next, I painted the covering boards black and glued them in place. I also painted the top edge of the door frame black to match, then glued the ballustrades to the handrail. Shallow cut-outs in the underside of the handrail made it easy to locate the uprights:

Here's the rail painted and in place along with the canopy which I painted copper:

Finally, I couldn't resist dry-fitting the guns:

When I fit them permanently I'll brush dilute matte acrylic medium on the breeching ropes to make them lie more naturally.

Derek

9 hours ago, glbarlow said:

Proxxon Pen sander

How do you get on with this tool - would you recommend it?

9 hours ago, glbarlow said:

It’s looking more and more like a ship...

...a very beautiful ship!

Derek

Very well done, and well deserved!

18 hours ago, desalgu said:

Looks like you added a little "iron" piece on the back of the cannons that I don't remember being in the kit.

The quoin, the little wooden wedge under the rear of the barrel, was indeed used to adjust the elevation. The quoin often had a handle at the rear to make it easier to push and pull in and out, which is what I tried to represent with a piece of wire. I believe the steps in the sides of the carriage also had a role to play, by providing pivot points at different levels for levers to move the barrels.

Unfortunately Bob I’ve had them so long I can’t remember exactly where I got them, although I think it might have been from a local market stall. I’ve got several in three different sizes and they’re really handy. Sorry I can’t be more helpful. 
 

Derek

17 minutes ago, Blue Ensign said:

B.E.

27/02/22

I know you work quickly but you've really got ahead of the rest of us today!

Brilliant and informative as always, regardless of the time travel.

Derek

17 hours ago, desalgu said:

 I'm guessing @DelF will come up with a clever and simple solution

I've used the same method I tried on Royal Caroline. I don't know if it's clever but it's simple enough for me. Here's the link to my log.

Derek

Cannon #2

Thanks as always for the kind comments and likes.

I've finished building the cannon, with just a couple of additional points to record. First, I found rounding off the axles by hand with sandpaper was a bit hit and miss so I decided I needed something a bit more accurate and repeatable. I used a short length of brass tube with a suitable internal diameter (I think it was 1/16") mounted in the lathe. First I filed the end from the outside to create a sharp edge then, holding an axle carefully with pliers and gently pressing against the spinning tube, the result was just the right amount of rounding:

I also found gluing the components of the carriage tricky so I milled a couple of 1.5mm slots in a small piece of wood to make the job easier:

Next I dug out a little jig I'd made to shape the cap-squares for Speedy, just a groove half the depth of a drill bit the same diameter as the trunnions. A thumbnail either side and the cap-square is ready-shaped to fit.

Here's the completed cannon:

Despite encouragement (?) from Mr Barlow (@glbarlow) I'm not going to fully rig the guns. I've done it once, for Speedy, and once is enough - a least for a while. I'll do the breechings though, as I think the guns will look bare without them.

I've run up some 0.7 mm line on the Rope Rocket for the breech rope and made a start on the first couple of guns. According to Lavery in The Arming & Fitting of English Ships of War, breech ropes were typically three times the length of the barrel to allow for just the right amount of recoil. I'm making mine 85mm to allow a few mill for seizing. I'm doing the latter on the quadhands - here's a picture and for more information I've described the process in more detail in my Speedy log here. 

Lastly I thought I'd have a go at making up the shot garlands. Rather than building these on a piece of clear film as suggested in the manual I used double-sided sticky tape. Starting with one sticky side facing up and the backing paper still on the bottom face, it was easy to arrange the balls without them rolling around:

I had intended to build my own frame around the resulting triangle as I felt the kit garland was a little chunky. I'd done this for Royal Caroline and it worked well. However before committing to that I thought I'd try thinning the laser-cut kit garland down a bit, holding it very carefully against my sander. The result looks quite decent so I might go for this method:

The next steps are to cut the triangle off the sticky tape, remove the backing paper then stick straight onto the deck:

Looks like someone's about to start a game of snooker or pool!

Derek

Master Korabel's site is down at the moment (it's in Russia, so perhaps not surprising). The blocks are available in pearwood from Vanguard Models. 

Coming along fine. That main hatch definitely looks better for the slight curve. I think I might have done mine too much - your's looks just right. I'm leaving off fitting my winch and belfry and the rest of the deck furniture until I'm confident I've finished all the major structural stuff, otherwise it just gets in the way.

Derek

7 hours ago, rudybob said:

Thanks for the in situ heat and water tip

No problem. Most wood bending includes heat and/or water - if you've not seen them I'd recommend Chuck Passaro's videos which you'll find under Planking Techniques in the Modelling Techniques section at the top of the forum home page. Personally I try to use heat on its own where I can as water can cause unwanted expansion. See this link to my latest build where I describe ruining a major component by soaking it too long.

Derek

53 minutes ago, The Gimps Chimp said:

Getting hold of the Gutterman mara thread is proving difficult here in the UK

I get mine here: https://www.williamgee.co.uk/shop/gutermann-threads-mara-100-5000m-cone/

They have plenty of #696 (for running rigging) and #854 (standing) in all different thicknesses.

1 hour ago, glbarlow said:

I’m sure you plan to fully rig each one right

🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣

Cannon

I haven't been able to spend much time in the workshop for the last week or so, just enough to potter around on a couple of odd jobs including making up one of the cannon:

Looking at the close-up the handle I've fitted in the quoin looks over-scale and I'll replace it with a smaller piece of wire.  That apart, I'm reasonably happy with the result and will follow the same process with the remaining five guns. I'll just mention the main points of interest. 

First, the char cleaned off well, the only tricky part being the wheel rims which I tackled by jamming them on a cocktail stick held in the lath:

I sanded the axles by hand to round them off then painted them black. 

I felt the kit ringbolts were too big so I made my own with 0.3mm brass wire bent round a 0.5mm drill bit:

I used a slightly different technique for the breech rings. I described this in detail in my Speedy log, from which I've copied these photos which hopefully explain the technique:

I drilled 0.4 mm holes in the carriage as there was no provision for breech rings in the kit.

The barrel was painted with Admiralty Ironwork Black then lightly treated with rust coloured weathering powder.

Here's the obligatory finger shot to show how small these little blighters really are:

Derek

Good job on the gunport patterns Bob. Even the best kits aren't intended to snap together like Lego bricks (they'd be boring if they did!) - you've shown that they need a degree of skill and perseverance to get good results. Well done!

Derek

Excellent work as always B.E. - I found myself holding my breath when you described cleaning those fragile rails and volutes! 

On 2/10/2022 at 9:41 AM, Blue Ensign said:

One would imagine that a Captain would know how to spell his own ships name

 Despite Dr Johnson's efforts I suspect spelling in the Georgian era was less standardised than he would have liked, and Captain Kendall probably just used the version he preferred.  

Derek

Just catching up with your log Bob. Looks like you're off to a good start, and well done for recording the full journey. I get a tad suspicious when I read a log where the builder sails serenely from a pile of wood to a superb model without a single hitch on the way. For me overcoming problems and rectifying mistakes is part of the fun of our hobby, and recording them in a log not only helps others but reduces the chance you'll suffer the same problems on future models. I'll enjoy following along.

Derek