No Idea

I've had a go at building the first of the 4 forward rising frames. This is frame number one and it needs to be spot on as all of the hawse timbers are attached to it later. I think if I get this one wrong it will have a lot of knock on consequences later in the build. Just out of interest what do you all think is a good wood to make tree nails from to complement Castello? Bear in mind that I will need to source it in the UK and I quite like the subtle look. I do have quite a good stock of pear and mahogany but I would very much appreciate any advice. I used a photocopy of the plans to workout and check the angle where the frame meets the rising wood. There's also a lot of material to remove too to get the bevel. I must also thank Barkeater as he helped me to understand the drawings of the rising frames as I just couldn't see them until he explained - cheers mate!

Hi G.L. and thanks very much I think that they are OK as these are the first frames I've ever made and I'm learning every time I make another. To make the cuts I have a Proxxon ML70 mill which is a nice little machine. Its tiny but it does a pretty good job.

Next and to finish these frames for the time being was to make the bolts which help hold the frames together. I needed 0.5mm bolts to make them scale and I tried to make them out of ebony following the instructions by Adrian Sorolla. But I literally found my limit!!! I just could not replicate what he amazingly does as I really need a lot of them too. So I did the sensible thing and used 0.5mm carbon fibre rod instead which I think looks great. The instructions are clear that there should be 3 bolts at every joint overlap so thats what I did. I also cut out the rebates for the lower chocks which space out the frames. Later once the hull is faired I can cut in the limber slots into them.

Assembled and bevelled forward frames which seem to have turned out OK. They match the plans which is always a good sign but I guess I will only find out of they are good when I start assembling them. I have to say that bevelling nearly 16mm wide frames means removing some serious wood!

Next was to make a small piece of the rising wood so that I can glue the floor timber and the cross chock together. I would love to be able to say that my first frames went together with no issues - but no! I had sanded them far too much and had to make them again. Its not a problem I'm in no rush.

Thanks for the interest My workshop is my spare room as I like to work in the warm as its currently -4 outside. My wife has no issues with me making a mess; its leaving that mess that would cause a problem so I always work as tidy as I can. As far as I can remember the hull is about 900mm long without the bowsprit and thats the same size as the tug that I built last. I decided to start building the forward frames first as these look relatively straight forward and within my abilities. So checking the scantlings I needed to thickness some wood down to 7.90mm. This leaves me a little bit on for final sanding of the faces Next was to photocopy the plans for frames 15 - 5; get them coloured in - yellow for the floor frame and red for the half floor. It turned out that 1 plank was the correct size for these 11 frames which was pure luck

I wasn't sure whether to put a build log on here as this is my first POF build and I'm not sure how it will go. I keep on asking random questions about issues that I've had, and to me it would be better to put them all in one place. So I've taken the plunge and I'll give it a go. I'm building Le Rochefort using the Ancre Monogragh which in itself is a lovely piece of work. I'm also using the book by Adrian Sorolla called Model Shipbuilding Dockyard Style. So why Le Rochefort and also at 1/24th scale? I chose this ship after having communicated with a few people on this forum as to what a good first ship would be. I didn't want to start something that I would loose interest in due to my lack of skills and experience. I only ever build one ship at a time and my last two boats have been POB builds at about the same size as the 1/24th scale version. So building in this size will feel familiar to me and let's be honest we all like a big ship! Time is one of my biggest issues as I'm a truck driver and my job takes me away from home all week, so I only get to work on it at the weekend which also has to fit in family time. So thats an introduction of me and why I'm building this lovely ship so I believe its the right thing to put a bit of history on here too. Le Rochefort 1787 This is the third ship of this name and was built in Rochefort France in 1787 on the plans of Hubert Penevert. It was classed as a yacht and was designed to navigate the shallow waters of the Charente. Its job was to carry powder from the safe port of Rochefort to the larger fighting ships that could not sail the Charente and as such had to wait in deeper water in the estuary. Its design was very detailed such as specific instructions on how the hold must be fully planked and caulked and a floor above the keelson. This details were all about keeping the powder dry. One funny reference is to the ships kitchen and how it says that it may not be used with powder on board. So I hope all of the above makes sense as I'm certain that I will need to ask many questions. The good news is my kit has arrived in the form of Castello planks Mark

When I have had to use water I just use a metal tray and stick some water in it and put it on the stove. You can heat the wood for as long as you like and then just take the whole lot to where your working. I must be honest though I prefer hot air now for bending as waiting for the planks to dry on the hull just took too long.

I agree that shimming will solve the problem. However just double check that the correct frames are in the correct slots first 👍. I made this error once and it took me a few days to realise what I had done 😂

Hi Mate - the thickness of your second planking depends on how good the first layer was. If the first layer after sanding and filling is pretty much the shape of the finished hull then 0.5mm will be enough. You are just giving the first layer a nicer finishing coat so to speak. If you still need to do a bit of sanding then 1mm is more appropriate as it gives you something to go at. If you use too thin a wood its really easy to break through and show the first layer. Take stock of what you have done so far and then decide what type of finish that you want. That will give you the thickness that you need.

Barkeater thank you very much for you input I very much appreciate it. I also after a couple of mistakes thought that C was my point of contact. I couldn't though see that this was correct as point C at its base would have been wider than the rising wood which wouldn't have made any sense. So I had a look at a further drawing and low and behold the rising wood is on the other drawing is exact same width as point C. So looking at the drawing that I posted regarding the frames I think there is a bit of draughtsman licence going on here. I think that the lines going down to the rising wood on this drawing just follow the natural line of the frames. I would have stopped at the base of the frame and hinted at the mortise below. Maybe even done another drawing to explain and emphasise the mortise. This is my first fully framed build so interpreting the drawings is often an issue for me. I left engineering some 35 years ago so reading drawings has become very much a homework project for me. Thanks for your help

Hi All I hope that someone may be able to help me as I just cannot get my head around two of the frames on my Le Rochefort build. I have studied them for days; made what I think are countless errors and keep on ending back to my confused start point. The frames are rising coupled frames and I understand the construction of how they are put together. My problem seems to stem from where they meet the rising wood. They have a tenon in the floor frame and this is probably my issue. I cannot seem to make the lines on the plan match what I think I need to do with the frames. I have attached two pictures - One being of frames 1 and 2 and I have marked out what I think is my confusion. Point A - This seems to be the point where the frame meets the rising wood? Point B - This horizontally lines up with point C on the drawing which suggests to me that this is actually the point that meets the rising wood. That would mean that the line A may have something to do with the tenon. However the width of the frame at point B would be too wide for the rising wood? The second photo is where they sit on the rising wood for a bit more information for you. As you can see I have managed to really confuse myself here so any help would be great. I'm sorry that I cannot explain this any better Thanks Mark

I asked a mate thats into PE and he uses something like this for bending https://www.amazon.co.uk/ExcLent-Model-Photo-Bending-Parts/dp/B07VCRVJMN/ref=asc_df_B07VCRVJMN/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=480823740401&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9107795329982163659&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9045455&hvtargid=pla-1068787235182&psc=1

Fortunately for the OP they live in the UK and Castello boxwood is easily available in very handy sizes https://shop.exotichardwoods.co.uk/boxwoods/page/4/ So you don't need to cut down or dry out your own wood. You just need tools to shape what you want to make. If you need to see the tools I don't live a million miles from you and if you're in the Midlands you are welcome to try out my tools. Importing a Byrnes saw is not that big a deal - Jim has just made me an 18' table for mine. I'm only a truck driver and I got it sorted out so it cannot be that expensive. Just compare it to a set of golf clubs that my mates buy - you'll be quids in. Luckily I don't play golf

Hi Tony thanks for the reply - That was a timely reminder to me to read a little bit further than I did! I'm using Ancre's plans which are so detailed and yes you are right they are discussed and the line on the framed sheer plan is for the limber channel. I'm thinking about cutting these in as I'm building in 1/24 scale. I've still not quite made my mind up on this.

Hi All I'm currently building Le Rochefort and I was hoping that someone could help me interpret a drawing. I believe that the line on the drawing that I have indicated is the limber channel that is cut into the bottom of the frames? Does anyone know if this is correct or am I misinterpreting this particular feature. Thanks Mark

Hi Slowhand - for the parts that you have listed to make; both the mill and table saw would be a good investment. However you could make all of those parts on a mill but that comes with experience. So to answer your question - If budget is not an issue I would buy a Byrnes table saw and a Proxxon micro mill as this would make the process more precise and quicker. They are both quite small but also both extremely capable, so after a purchase you just need to practice your art. There are many YouTube videos to watch but if you have no experience of machinery you're local collage generally does classes. Seriously you only have one set of fingers and both of these machines would remove them in a heart beat. I have both machines and treat them with the utmost respect and I was tool room trained as an apprentice. So great machines but do your homework and get some help if you have never used machines like this. Also there is no comparison between a scroll saw and a table saw. There is far more comparison between a scroll saw and a band saw but again not entirely. Scroll saws and Band saws are for shaping wood into shapes. Well as far as simple modelling work goes anyway taking out of the equation roughing out large pieces of timber. Table saws are for precise straight cuts and rebates etc Mills make precise cuts in already precisely cut wood unless you have a big mill which most people do not. Confusing I know but there is not one tool that is better than another. They all do very different tasks in my opinion for what its worth

You know..... we built lovely model ships and conversations like this make me wonder why people join forums - They must read this and think I’m not getting involved in that. I wonder how long my forum ban is going to be for that then

Great post - I too use my use my thickness sander a lot. As an example I've just used it today to to sand 4 x 450mm long planks that are 140mm wide down from 8.5mm thick to exactly 7.9mm thick. Thats a lot of wood to run through a small machine but it did it great which is a nod to its amazing design and quality build. I too have the same problems to over come and the biggest problem by far is the outfeed is too short for me. I over come this by clamping the piece using my thumb to the outfeed side but its far from perfect. I've resigned myself to loosing the last 10 - 15mm of each piece as it always tips up towards the sanding drum no matter what I do. If someone could produce an extension I would buy it in a heart beat as this would definitely improve my sander. Another thing I've found is that sometimes I feed the piece in and due to my lack of concentration it sometimes turns a bit. An adjustable guide would be great but all of these things add a cost to what is such a fantastic machine for our hobby. Its a lovely bit of kit and I'd be lost without it

Hi tomsimon - Your question is one that I wondered when I first started building and for me it came back to one thing - time! If your in no rush and are happy to take your time then carpenters glue or better aliphatic resin is my choice. It gives me loads of time to place whatever I'm gluing where I want it and the clean up is so easy. It is for me the laid back enjoyable way of building. If however you need to build somewhat faster, then CA can be dropped between the carpenters glue to grab what your gluing much faster. I find this method very unforgiving but thats just my way of building - others find this way better. Try both and you'll find what suits your building technique

Just simply incredible work - WOW!!!

So all of the above is about right then? For realism only the necessary joints are caulked and if you highlight the lot your a bit of a show off 😉

Allan thanks very much for that information and it makes sense. I assumed that sometimes they were simply darkened to show the model makers attention to detail. I don’t know why I thought that I just simply did.

Hi Everyone Making joint lines stand out seems to be quite a personal thing the way that they are achieved. Some builders use card and some pencil to name only two methods. My question though is which joints should be highlighted. Should it be just the keel parts or is it again personal choice? For example should the joints on the frames be highlighted or is this going to far? Whats people’s thoughts on this as I’m just starting a new build and would like to know your thoughts Thanks Mark

Yes that’s right and why you also use the larger diameter blade too. Jim recommends a certain blade on the website. It’s never going to be as easy as have a tilting arbour saw but why have another saw just for that purpose. It does take practice but doesn’t everything