druxey

...

Thanks for the compliments.
 
Now to the rest of the doors:
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Nico

Hi Joss,
 
I'm not sure I understand your question, specifically, but I would offer some comments that I hope will be helpful and not confusing. The one thing that strikes me is that your sketch shows a discontinuity in the cutting down line, which is probably incorrect.
 
The line of the bottom of the keelson and the tops of the floors, called the cutting down line, was a basic design parameter specified on the Table for Forming the Body. So, it is an independent variable - not dependent on other components. It should be a fair curve along its full length. The heights can be taken off from the profile draft. It terminates at the timber you show as Deadwood 4 and at the stem.
 
The bearding line is not an independent line. It is described by points on a vertical plane offset from the centerline by the breadth of the deadwood - actually half the deadwood breadth. These points are at the intersection of each frame profile with that plane. This applies to the square frames as well. If you draw the bearding line from these points on your the body Plan, the seat for the cant frames will be at the correct height. If you draw the bearding line from the profile you may introduce error.
 
I believe it is preferable to plot The bearding line from heights taken from your CAD body plan at each frame. Just drawing a vertical line outside the centerline to represent the plane and pick of the bearding line heights at each frame. This applies at the fore and aft ends.
 
The terms deadwood and rising wood are essentially interchangeable. They have the same breadth and the rising wood is just a specific part of the deadwood. Of course both are tapered down to the rabbet of the keel.
 
Hopefully this is useful. It helped me in drawing and lofting Naiad. I found that the bearding line taken from the profile differed from the line drawn from the body plan.
 
Good Luck,
 
Ed

the majority of the deckbeams is built in and I have started to put in the carlings and ledges:
 

 

 
 
forward part of the maindeck with view to the fore mast partner, fore Knight, riding bitts (cross beam not yet installed) and the hatch for the anchor cable:
 


 

 
 
main mast partner and main hatch:
 

 

 

 
 
aft part of the main deck with a view to a ladder down to the hold, the keelson is visible just forward of the ladder:
 

 
All these pictures are scans of relatively small photographs (taken long before I had a digital camera), therefore the quality is not that good
 
 
Klaus

The first deckbeams as well as the ladder down to the hold are built in:
 

 
the longitudinal square batten is not part of the model and serves only to align the deck beams
 
close up of the ladder:
 

 
The wales and a several strakes of outer planking are fitted: the plankes are treenailedtwice  at every second futtock respectively toptimber, the wales are treenailed twice at each first and second futtock.
 

 
a few more strakes and the klinker planking at the poop are added:
 

 
the outer planking is nearly finished:
 

 
 
 
Klaus
 

Thanks Mark
 
When making and assembling the stem, keel and apron I left some additional material (shaded green in the following picture) at the inner side of the apron, the upper edge of which again corresponded to my reference height. This assembly was then fixed with the help of a wooden jig at a flat surface on to which the centerline as well as some square auxiliary lines were drawn. The keel was then aligned horizontally and exactly vertically over the centerline. The centerline
and the square auxiliary lines together with the keel served as a guide to align the frames properly.



 
A view to the finished framing from below:
 

 
Klaus

Making the frames:

Since my model is rather small I choose a method of frame making which produces quite an amount of waste wood but safes a lot of work.
At each double frame the floors and second futtocks are in the same plane and are overlapped by the first futtock and toptimber in a second plane.
I have sawn out each first plane as a whole unit (A in the pictures) and made then a short cut vertical to the outer surface at points 1 and 2 (red lines in B).
Then I glued parts as shown in C as a second layer onto the first one, these parts will later become the first futtocks and toptimbers.


 
When glueing the parts together care was taken not to get glue onto the hatched area (shown only at the left hand side). After cutting out the outer contour of the first futtocks and toptimbers and the inner contour of both layers the part between the cuts 1 and 2 falls out and the result we have the double frame D. All toptimbers were prolonged to a reference height. When cutting out the inner part I did not cut away the uppermost part (marked green in the following photograph), this serves as a temporary stiffener, the upper edge of these cross pieces is at the level of my reference height. On these cross pieces the centerline was marked in pencil (marked red in the following picture).
 

 
The heads and feet of the various frame components are located along the colored lines indicated in the body plan in the next picture.
 


It seems that for Navy Board models these lines were made just arbitrary so that the ends oft the frame components followed fair curves, maybe they were also made with the help of flexible batons. These lines did not necessarily correspond to the actual position of the timber ends of the full sized ship.
 
 
Klaus






 

Hi all!
 
Like most members I don't have a backup of my (lost) logs but since I have a log in a German forum in parallel as well I can re-create it nearly as it was (without the replies from other members of course) by translating the German version, but this will take some time. But to begin with here is a picture of my model as it looks now:
 

 
 
Introduction:
Data and sources  of the model and the ship:
All (or better the little) I know about the frigate Berlin goes back to the appropriate chapter (by Hans Szymanski) in the book Buch „Risse von Schiffen des 16. und 17. Jahrhunderts“, Verlag Delius Klasing (now out of print) and the plans attached the book. These plans are a re-construction done by Horst Hoeckel in the 1930s
 
. 
 
Dimensions:
 
Length:        80 ft – 22,65 m
Breadth:      22 ft – 6,23 m
Armament: 10 four-pounders, 2 three-pounders and 3 two-pounders
 
Horst Szymanski mentions in the book that Hoeckel came to slightly different dimensions when making his re-construction.
Unfortunately no sources are mentioned in the book.
 
There is a contemporary painting (1684) by the Dutch artist Lieve Pietersz Verschuir showing the fleet oft he elector of Brandenburg on which also the Berlin is shown (relatively small in the background – marked in red)
 

 
I don’t know if the original painting is large enough to show sufficient details as basis for a reliable re-construction.
I could not find any other sources or information for the original ship. All kits or plans of Berlin which I have seen seem to go back to Hoeckel’s re-construction. This again obviously is based on a contemporary plan of a Dutch pinnace in the Scheepvaartmuseum (maritime museum) in Amsterdam.
 

 
There are no original plans of Berlin and no other contemporary painting of her exists and I believe that from the painting shown above it is even not clear if Berlin was really a single decked pinnace or a small twodecker (as other Brandenburgish frigates were). So maybe Hoeckel was right in assuming that Berlin looked similar to this Pinnace, maybe not. I believe however that a full size replica built according to Hoeckel‘s plan would not have looked odd in a Dutch harbour in the second half of the 17th century.
 
Short history oft he ship:
 
The ship is a pinnace and was built 1674 in the Dutch province Zeeland on account of Benjamin Raule, the organizer of the navy of the elector Friedrich Wilhelm of Brandenburg, who has then chartered the ship from Raule.
From 1676 to 1678 the ship operated in the Baltic Sea against Sweden. In 1679 six Brandenburg warships - one of them the Berlin - seized several merchant vessels of Hamburg, 1680 Berlin together with four other frigates captured the Spanish 50 gun ship „Carolus Secundus“, afterwards until 1681 the Berlin together with some other ships operated in the West Indies, were three Spanish ships were taken. In 1687 Berlin sailed as ship of the „Brandenburgish Africa Company“ to West Africa and was confiscated by the „Dutch Westindia Company“ in 1688 and this was the end of Berlin’s career as a Brandenburgish warship.
The model:
I have built the model in the particular style oft he English Navy Board models. I am aware that it is to some extent a contradiction to build a model of a Dutch ship in the way English Navy board models were built in the 17th century) but this model is a way for me to study this building method and to learn about the difficulties connected with it by building a small model (without doing a lot of research) before turning over to something bigger (what I have in mind is building a Navy board model of HMS Resolution 1667 based on my own re-construction)
length oft he model:    approx. 450 mm (17 ¾“) from figurehead to taffrail
scale:                          1: 64 resp. 3/16 inch per foot
material:                      pear
                                    maple fort he green stained klinker planking and the blue stained planking of the stern and some carvings
 
Framing of a Navy Board model:
 
Before I begin the actual build log I‘d like to explain shortly the particular style of framing of English Navy Board models:
 
The frames consist of floor, first and second futtocks (toptimbers), the hull is not planked below the main wales. The decks consist of deck beams, carlings and ledges and are only partially planked to allow a view to the interior. Some experts believe this method of framing is just stylized, others believe that English ships were really built like this in the early 17th century. This particular style of framing has however been retained (with some small alterations) for Navy board models until about the mid 18th century.
The following picture shows the typical arrangement of a frame of a Navy board model consising of floor, first futtock and second futtock.
On the left hand side the midship frame (in this case my own re-construction of HMS Resolution), in the center the side view and on the right hand side the individual parts, the red marks show the position of the feet of the first and second futtocks
 

 
And this shows the same in wood:
 

 
There were different variaties of Navy board framing but it is not the object of this log to describe them all. For all interested in this subject I recommend the book Navy Board Ship Models 1650 – 1750 by John Franklin.
 
Navy board models were not planked below the main wale. The decks were built accurately from all required parts i. e. deckbeams, carlings, ledges, knees etc. but the planking was carried out only partially.
The next part will deal with the building of the framing of the model
 
cheers
 
Klaus
 

Sherry, I cut another today but it is not going to work for me this time, I made a couple of errors doing the rest of the work.
 
Bob,thanks.
 
Russ, thanks for the comment regarding the shape of the bowsprit, Quite a few of the cutters and smacks that I have seen on the web seem to follow this basic design.
 
John thanks for looking in.
 
As I mentioned above I did some more cutting today, but before I get to it I worked on the Gammon Iron I fabricated it from a couple of pieces the ring came from an old bronze plumbing fitting,
 

 
I cut off the end with a hacksaw then turned and parted off the ring.
 
Next I pulled a strip out of the strip tray and laid out the hole positions with a felt pen.
 

 
Soldering was a bit cranky I had to pickle it and rework the solder.
 

 
Then the time consuming clean up with the usual assortment of files, wet and dry paper, steel wool.
 

 
Then it was a fairly straightforward wrap of some soft rope made from embroidery floss which makes a nice soft rope.
 

 

 
After the gammon iron I began working on the cap for the end of the bowsprit, another 20 minutes of cutting with the jewelers saw (same blade)from the previous cutting, I am always amazed at how well these blades stand up to use.
 

 
I was pleased with the cutting but then had to chuck it up in the lathe to open the hole up to 11/16 because I did not have an end mill that size. this allowed me to put in the taper as well.
 

 
Then I cleaned it up with files getting the ring even and drilling the holes, then it came to filing the tabs and the first pair I filed the angle backwards to the taper. I was a bit peeved, but though I could still save the day by rounding them and was going to rotate the ring so that they could act as the bowsprit shrouds lugs.
 
Started to file the bob say and jib tabs and well you guessed it I went and filed them backwards as well. This was the straw that .....
 
Went back to the brass bins and found a section of 3/4 inch brass pipe which was thick enough to accept the taper both inside and out. So forward to the next bowsprit end cap, this also gave me the opportunity to increase the size because apart from the fabrication shortcomings the first attempt was a little small overall.
 

 
a piece of 1/16 by 3/8 strip was drilled for the tabs this where it is at so far. I will finish cutting them out tomorrow, Ive had enough fretting today already.
 
Michael

Hi all -
 
The past week has been spent refining the cockpit area of the upper hull.  The first photo is of an actual yacht focusing on the cockpit.  You can see the compound planes and angles that form the integral bench, the seat back and the seatings for the two aft winches on each side.  The two guys in khaki shorts are sitting on the tops of the seat backs with their feet on the benches.  The aft cabin bulkhead is composed of several planes that meet at odd angles, with curves and fillets of assorted radius where they meet. 
 

 
You can see in the second photo how this has been carved into the wood.  No secrets here, just files, sanding blocks with rounded corners, and a sharp #10 blade for the corners. 
 

 
Once the planes were defined, the companionway was attacked. You can see its size and shape in the third photo.  It will be modeled closed.  
 

 
Alongside of the companionway roof are a pair of shallow angled ramps that lead down and forward.  At the front end of each there is a small raised lip, and a flat tunnel which extends under the cabin roof to a similar carved depression at the base of the mast.   On the ramp sit five line brakes for the various halyards and other rigging lines.  You can see this in the fourth photo.  In use the lines run down the mast, through blocks at the base, then into the tunnells leading aft, up and through the line brakes, then to the winches further aft.  I saw the boat in drydock so the lines weren't there, which actually made getting a view of the details a little easier. 
 

 
I drew out the shape and location of the companionway on the wood, then started cutting down from the top about 1/8" to make the socket where a plate of smoked plastic will ultimately sit.  It was roughly machined out using a milling bit in the miniature Dremel drill press (I'll get that Unimat one day).  Smaller bits were used to progressively approach the pencil lines.  Using a widely flared bitt I undercut the top, then used files to refine the undercut to match the look of the companionway roof. The vertical face of the companionway was cut down using side cutting bitts in a hand held Dremel.  That's why it is rougher than the top face.  The roughness will be hidden by the plastic door pieces and metal frames in the final model. The line brake seat on each side was carved out with sharp chisels, the raised lip was added and shaped, and the tunnel mouth was drilled out.  After much work photo five is the final carved look of the companionway and line brake seats. 
 

 
The mast seating area was similarly carved out and the tunnel mouths there were drilled out.  Finally, a pair of depressions were carved into the deck on either side of the cabin for small blocks that will be mounted later. 
 

 
Now the upper hull was temporarily mounted on the lower hull.  Holes were drilled through the upper hull at the mast location and through the space where the companionway roof will be.  The pieces were clamped together and screws were inserted and tightened, as you can see in photo six. 
 

 
With the two pieces locked together the sides of the upper hull were sanded to very close to their final shapes and matched to the lower hull.  With all of the wood shaping being very close to final, the upper hull was given a coating of wood hardener.  After drying, the whole hull was sanded smooth and then the upper hull was unscrewed from the lower.  The last two photos are of the first coat of primer on the upper hull.  I am using white here because the upper surfaces will be white in the final model.
 

 
Much more priming, sanding, re-priming, etc. before the upper hull is ready for me to start on the hatches and other details.
 
A biento, as the French say.
 
Dan
 
 

The 'right answer' would take up several chapters of a book!
 
Probably the best short answer is to look a Ed T's build log of Naiad. You will see how complex this is. The only short answer is to the question of plank length. Standard lengths in the 18th century British yards were either 24' 0", 26' 0" or 28' 0". The butts were staggered or offset from the outside planking for maximum strength.

cont...
 

 

 

 

 

 
 

cont...
 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 

Thank you very much for the kind comments Eric and Frank .
 
Continuing on with the Capstan, the next job was to finish shaping the Whelps. Looking from above they form a wedge shape, with the outer edge 2" thicker than the inner. To cut these angles I made a wedge-shaped block of scrap timber which I lightly PVA'd to the underside of the piece that I'd Milled the faces to. I cut one edge on all 11 pieces, then I used Isopropyl to remove the wedge, let the alcohol evaporate thoroughly, and glued it back to the opposite side to cut the other angle :
 

 

 

 

 
After cutting them all to length I set the saw blade to protrude just 0.25mm above the bed. I carefully marked the positions of two of the Chock Scarphs in one each of the Upper and Lower Whelps (there is a slight difference in them), set the fence to the first cut and did all of them. Then I reset the fence for the other 3 measurements and cut all the remaining ones :
 

 
The two on the left in the pic above have only been cut on the saw. The two on the right have had the Mortices cut into them. I used a #11 Xacto to cut the angles - they were quite easy to do, owing to the saw cuts.
 
Another pic showing the wedge-shapes of the whelps :
 

 
  Danny

Thank you for your comments, Danny and Sjors.
To Danny:  No problem to explain how I create this or that. I usually take some pics (sometimes videos) from the process - it is better to understand the tutorial and description.
 
After two days of careful work i have finished the capstan - it is made according to plans from the book Anatomy of Royal Caroline.

I used wood (nut), card and self-adhesive foils (with wooden and gilded look - for the star on the top). The nail heads are created with thick colour ( gun metal + flat black - mini acrylic paint from Tamiya). For application I use a metal tip from micro-pencil (0,3mm).
 



 

Capstans
 
The start of the Capstans. There are two of them - the Lower Capstan on the Upper Deck, and the Upper Capstan on the Quarterdeck above it. They are joined together between decks to work as one. I'm using English Box for all the components - some of them are quite small and require a very good timber.
 
The Lower Capstan Barrel has 10 flats milled into it to take 5 Whelps, and the Upper Capstan has 12 flats and 6 whelps. I decided to turn and mill both together for ease of setting up. They will be separated between decks for installation purposes.
 
I used the Dividing Attachment on my Sherline mill to cut the flats :
 

 

 
Then I turned down the centre portion :
 

 

 
I've also started making the Whelps. The ones for the Upper and Lower Capstans are of different sizes, there is also a corresponding difference in angles. I'm also using the Mill to cut the angles, with the aid of the Tilting Table :
 

 
  Danny

Well that was a pleasant discovery Danny!

All under control John - there's not much aft of here until I get to the Lower Capstan (my next job, and one I've been looking forward to .
 
Janos - your methods may well work, but they sound like too much hard work for this situation (and I'm with John - I'd probably set MY ship on fire as well ). Thanks for the tips, and I'll use them if I have to - these ones drilled FAIRLY easily, although a couple are done on a bit of an angle ... easily corrected when I fit the eyebolts.
 
Christian (et al Swan Builders) - here are the eyebolts holes I mentioned earlier. TFFM mention them a few steps further down the track (9.33 and 9.34 - would have been a lot better earlier on before the Pumps   ) :
 

 

 
The ones adjacent to the Main Mast Partners will be "sort of" the same on all the other Swans - Vulture's partners are on an angle rather than parallel to the centre line. I've done a bit of my own "shipwrighting" here - the eyebolts would have to be drilled into the Partner Carlings, which is what I've done. I've also placed each one on a Ledge.
 
  Danny

bhermann - I do not have the whole picture Ropewalk, the next time I'll make while working a whole photos.
Continue taking pictures from the construction of lifeboats
 

WELL HERE IT IS ALL DONE. I HOPE THIS RE-DUE OF MY BUILD LOG FROM 1.0 WILL HELP ANYONE DECIDING THE BUILD A WORK BOAT OF THE cHESAPEAKE BAY AREA.
 
  MIDWEST MAKES A FINE MODEL OF THIS LITTLE BOAT, BUT NOWHERE NEAR AS DETAILED. BY i TOOK THEIR SCALE OF 5/8'S WHICH WORKOUT VERY NICE, WHICH PRESENTED A MODEL OF 16.5 INCHES IN LENGTH. A VERY NICE DISPLAY SIZE FOR MY HOME.
 
I COMPLETED THIS MODEL ON NOV. 23, 2012.........
 
IT'S A DONE DEAL.......FINAL PHOTOS IN THE COMPLETE FORUM HOPEFULLY SOMETIME TONIGHT....
 

Russ, Carl, Matt, Mark, Mark, John, Yambo, Popeye, Bob, and Druxey.
Thank you all for your kind thoughts.
 
I had to rearrange the shop today again! the boat was blocking the light on the bench. so I also took the opportunity to rebuild the building bench. The model was longer than the bench and I kept almost walking into the bowsprit or the stern, I had an old office desk top that was 90 inches long so I used it to ensure that I cannot walk into the boat. Also lowered it to 30 inches high.
 

 

 
Then I was able to continue with the hounds cheeks and bolster ready for the topmast.
 

 
The fitting at the top of the main mast is a metal component that I wanted to make out of a single piece of metal instead of soldering up a group of parts.  I used a scrap of 1/4 inch thick brass bar and drew the shape with a felt pen and cut it out with the jewelers saw after drilling the two holes.
 

 

 

 
The roughed out shape ready to drill the holes in the tabs.I was pleased that I did not break any blades doing the cutting which took about 20 minutes.
 

 

 
After the holes were drilled I sat in front of the wood stove enjoying the warmth and filed the filling to the final shape.
 
Next it was cleaned up with the wire wheel which gives it a cast appearance.
 

 

 
Now to make the topmast.
 
Michael
 
 

Well, long time no see....
 
Busy at work and home, and slack doing updates - these are my excuses. Also, there wasn't much visually happening so I just kept doing bits and not updating the log.
 
The work that has been done is to strengthen the frames ready for external fairing. To do that I wanted to get the quarter deck clamps on, which then lets me put the tops of the frames on where there are gun ports. Once I decided to do that, I had to do the orlop and lower deck clamps and then the stern timbers.
 
So I set to cutting top and butt planks using my table saw and two pieces of wood cut to the right angles as jigs. I glued a piece of wood to the end to serve as a pushing block, and two pieces to the side to hold the planks down and stop them climbing as they went over the blade.


 
The results looked ok, and more importantly they fit.

 
So I got the lower clamps done, then started on the stern timbers. To align the frames on each side up I cobbled together a plank with a copy of the plans of the tops of the frames, and glued strips of wood on. The frames then sat in that and were glued to the counter timber.

These frames still need cutting down to their correct lengths, but I'll do that after strengthening with the transoms.
 
So, now some shots of the whole thing. Still working on the quarterdeck clamps. Where they meet the strings of the waist I didn't put a proper scarph in, but simply cut a small scarph of one frame width to strengthen the joint.





 
As I do these small tasks, I am removing the original spacers from between the hull frames as the clamps take up the job of keeping everything in place. This is proving to be harder than I expected, mainly due to the good quality glue  , but they are coming out. 
 
Cheers all
Rob

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 111 - Upper Deck Beams – Riding Bitts
Posted 12/2/11
 
After the last post there were some questions about the hammock battens. The first picture shows how they were milled on a wide piece before being slit off on the circular saw.
 

 
This piece is about 6“ thick allowing for a 3” square batten with three inch blocks to offset it from the beam. A 3/16 inch square end mill was used and advanced ¼ inch after each pass. Two of these pieces were needed. The next picture shows how the sliced off battens were fastened.
 
 

 
I found that these were easier to glue on and clamp after the beams were installed. They are flush with the bottom of the beams and held with clamps after gluing.
 
After the first four forward beams were installed the riding bitts had to be addressed with the next set of beams. The first step was to install the forward bit pins against the aft side of beam 4 and the same beam on the deck below. The main issue with these is that they be equidistant from the centerline and vertical. The thread line seen in most of these pictures was used constantly. The next picture shows the forward pins and their standard knees installed.
 

 
The knees of these forward pins form the sides of the rabbet for the cross chocks that make up the mast partners. The carlings under these form the supports under these chocks. The rest of the mast partners assembly will be installed later.
 
The next picture shows a top view of this with Beam 5 installed.
 
 

 
Beam 5 has plain iron knees because of its proximity to the first ridersnotshown), which leave no room for the tabs on the plate knees. Beams 5, 6, and 7 have double pillars supporting their centers. These beams supported the galley stove and its heavy layer of refractory brick or stone, which was used to insulate the wood structure from the hot stove fireboxes. It was probably important that this structure be very rigid to keep the brickwork from breaking up as it flexed.
 
The next picture shows a beam being “jacked up” or “sprung” so it can be popped into place.
 
 

 
If the beams are cut to just fit between the frames, this bending is necessary on this deck because the tumblehome of the sides prevents the beam from fitting above its notch in the clamp. Having the beams fit tightly, apart from the aesthetics, is a good idea because it makes marking out the centerlines and carlings more accurate and helps maintain straight lines. This beam had the hammock battens installed on the bench, but with this heavy handling it is easy to break them – one of the reasons I later decided to wait for the beams to be installed before adding these..
 
The next picture shows beams 5 and 6 installed.
 

 
In this picture the wider carlings under the bit standards are also being installed along with each beam. I made these flush with the beam tops like the other carlings, In practice the bitt standards were let down 1 to 1 ¼” on the beams, which would require the carlings to be lower by that amount and the ledges to sit above the tops of the carlings by that amount. These .02” scores will be barely discernible on this deck so I took the simpler approach.
 
The next picture shows the carling under the fireplace – another interesting bit of construction.
 

 
This long 9” square carling is scored and let up about 2 “ on the underside of the beams. The space between the top of this and the undersides of the ledges was filled with fir filling pieces. In the picture the fillers and the ledges are installed in the forward two spaces. In the third space only the filler has been installed with the ledge still lying loose. The fourth space has no filling piece as yet.
 
Beam 8 is securely fastened to the aft bit pins with two bolts. It is also fitted with wood hanging and lodging knees. The beam was installed first with the ends fastened securely with its knees and bolts. The starboard bit pin was almost perfectly positioned, but its partner was leaning a bit to the center. The starboard pin was then glued and bolted to the beam. When this was secure the port pin was then forced slightly to the side to make it right, wedged in place at the beam score, glued, clamped and bolted. The deflection was slight but the small misalignment was very noticeable.
 
The next picture shows the aft bitt standards after installation.
 
 

 
These are bolted through the beams and through the wide carlings below. This picture also shows three pillars under the fireplace carling for additional support. This final structure should have no problem supporting my model stove, no matter what it is finally made of.
 
The last picture shows the overall model at this stage and the amount of upper deck structure remaining to be installed.
 

 
The work from this point going aft is pretty straightforward up to the last remaining beam with its two curved beam arms.
 
All of the remaining plate knees have been etched out. The first few were .005” thick, but all the subsequent ones are made from .01” copper. They do not look much different but they are a bit more resistant to handling damage when the beam assembly is being taken in and out..
 
Ed

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 110 - Forward Upper Deck Beams
Posted 11/21/11
 
 
After installing the aft upper deck beams as far as midship, I moved to the beams in the bow so that beams are being installed smaller beams first. This facilitates the maneuvering of succeeding beams into place and also the installation of the lodging knees, which were always on the midship facing side of the beam.
 
The first piece to be made in the bow was the upper deck hook. This was cut and fit against the hawse timbers then removed so it’s assembly with beam #1, the ekeing pieces and the beam’s hanging knees, carlings and ledges could all be done on the bench. The first picture shows the finished assembly.
 
 

 
Beam #1 has wood hanging knees and angled iron lodging knees. The next picture shows the installed assembly.
 

 
You will notice in this picture that the forecastle clamp has been sawn through in four places because I forgot to cut the air gaps between hawse timbers before installing these clamps. This piece and the same piece on the port side will be replaced.
 
The next picture shows the iron lodging knee on the starboard side of beam #1 being bolted into place.
 
 

 
After marking and drilling undersized holes in the beam, the drawn copper wire is being forced to bottom in the hole with pliers. It will the be clipped off just above the surface and peened over with a hammer. The next picture is a scary closeup of the finished knee taken right after chemical treatment.
 
 

 
That’s a three-penny finishing nail at the bottom of the picture holding a copper guy wire. The picture also shows a black monofilament bolt that has gone astray and missed the beam. Isn’t magnification great?
 
In the next picture beam 2 is installed and beams 3 and 4 are being fit up.
 
 

 
The next picture shows the first two beams with their carlings and hammock battens installed.
 

 
These battens provide spaces for hammocks to be hung on the prescribed 14” centers. Hammocks would have been slung between battens on every other beam. The battens on the aft side of beam 2 will pair up with those on the fore side of beam 4. Most beams will have battens on both sides, but not those at the ends. These forward hammocks would probably have been in the sick bay. There will be about 250 hammock spaces on this deck. Everyone slept on this deck except the captain and the few junior officers with spaces on the platform below at the orlop level. Things on this deck were a bit tight to say the least.
 
The last picture shows the extent of upper deck beams installed so far.
 
 

 
Time to photo-etch some more plate knees.
 
 
Ed

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 109 Upper Deck Beam #17
Posted 11/17/11
 
 
Up to this point the beams from #29 forward to #17 were fitted with angled iron knees to leave the officers some room in their tiny cabins. Beam #17, the first to be clear this area is being modeled with Roberts style plate knees, one on each side of each beam end. The simple chocks used between these plate knees did not require compass timber and that was a key reason to move to iron. The next beam forward, #16, with its beam arms, will be the last to be installed, so after #17 the work will move to the bow area.
 
The Roberts type plate knees were made by photo-etching sheets of .005” copper. The third attempt at etching is shown in the next photo.
 

 
Photo-etching is, to say the least an interesting and intricate process. I think it will take some practice to get 100% yields, but this third attempt produced 12 out of 14 good knees. In the first attempt the holes came out too big so the size had to be reduced on the “artwork.” The entire photo resist was lost on one side on the second attempt due to poor laminating. I won’t go further into this process except to say there are a lot of steps and some nasty chemicals involved.
 
The next picture shows one of the chocks being pinned and glued to the beam.
 

 
With the beam in place the chock was held against the side and the pinhole drilled. It was then glued on as shown above. After this gluing step, two copper bolts were CA glued through the beam from the top to hold it together securely. The chocks were then tapered. They are somewhat narrower at the bottom and flush with the beam sides at the top.
 
The next picture shows the plate and all the bolting installed on one end.
 

 
In practice these plates were set into the wood, but I wasn’t up for that task. The bolts went all the way through both plates and the chock. The model bolts in the plate are really nails. A piece of wire like the one in the picture was forced into a tight hole with pliers, clipped off close to the surface and peened over with a hammer. The extended tabs at the end of the beam will be bent over to bolt into the filling pieces and frames. The black bolts through the chock into the frames are black fishing leader.
 
The next picture shows the whole beam assembly.
 
 

 
The next picture shows the assembly fit into place for the marking of the holes in the filling pieces.
 

 
The filling piece shown is loose and has not yet been cut to size. The next picture shows this connection, after blackening the knees and gluing the beam into place.
 

 
The bolts in the tabs can now be installed. The filling pieces will be dubbed back to the beam height later before installing the waterway.
 
The next picture shows the beam completely installed, with its pillar (not visible) and carlings.
 
 

 
The picture also shows the pump shafts, which need to be detailed and maybe installed before the upper deck framing is done in this area. The four square Cole pump casings have had their clamping brackets installed at this stage – ebony plates with long wire fastenings. The bent wire staples in the top maintain the distance between casings at the top of each pump. The lower deck structure, decking and partitions have been given a coat of finish up to this point.
 
The work will now move to the upper deck beams in the bow area so it can continue in a sequence from smaller to larger sized beams finishing up with the beam just forward of the main mast and its arms.
 
 
Ed