druxey

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 108 Upper Deck Beams, Continued
Posted 11/14/11
 
The upper deck beams continue to march forward – one beam, two filling pieces, four iron knees, 32 bolts, a pillar and four or so carlings at a time – plus some partitions. The first picture shows the first additional beam added since the last part.
 

 
The next picture shows the ironwork on the other side of this beam.
 

 
The hanging knee in this picture is canted slightly to get the two lower bolts into the next frame forward of the one holding the standard knee bolts. The boltholes on the lodging knee were drilled to go into a frame. This knee has a short horizontal leg due to the closeness of the next beam forward.
 
There are a lot of partitions on the aft end of this deck and they have been installed progressively with the beams. If these were installed before the beams it would be impossible to drive in the bolts or peen over the bolt heads on the knees. Drilling the holes and installing these bolts is a challenge even without the partitions. Most of the holes into the frames are being drilled with a Dremel tool with a right angle head attachment.
 
The next picture shows some of the partition work in progress.
 

 
Partitions and doors were prefabricated to fit before the beams were in place, then installed after the beams. This picture shows the pre-made double paneled doors to the ward room and one of the dividers between the officers’ cabins before being installed. The long wall with the officers’ cabin doors is not shown in this picture. It was made early on in one piece but could not be fit until all of the overhead beams were in.
 
The next picture shows that wall installed and also the slanted wall with double doors dividing off the ward room – of if you prefer the officers mess, or my preference, and Patrick O’Brien’s, the gun room.
 

 
The door hardware in this area was simply made using small ebony bits. This allowed all these very small pieces to be glued with Titebond rather than the messier CA - had blackened copper been used
 
The next picture is from a different angle and shows all the beams and partitions as currently installed.
 

 
The double, paneled gun room doors can be seen just above the right center of this picture. Just below the center on the centerline is the Captain’s pantry with one paneled door, a storage bin and some shelves.
 
Partitions are only being installed on the port side, which will be partially planked. The starboard side is all about structure.
 
The next picture is a closer view of one half of the Captain’s pantry.
 

 
The thread running along the centerline is being used to constantly check alignment - more on this below.
 
The next picture is a close up of the three cabin doors within the gun room area. The tiller rope and sheave can be seen to the left.
 
 

 
I have not included much on the need for alignment as the decks progress upward. I have shown wire and thread lines in some past photos. This alignment requires constant attention. The centerline is one important reference but the upper framing needs attention as well, as beams are tightly fit within the frames at each level. The next picture shows what I have been doing to keep the frames equidistant from the centerline on both sides.
 

 
 
These plywood templates were made from the top part of the frame patterns for every fifth station or so. Since they include a centerline it is easy to check that this line matches the center string line when the patterns are fit over the sides. As internal and external planking gets added the slots on each side need to be opened up so the template will fit. These are being used periodically when the beams or other structural parts are being fit up.
 
The area just completed has involved the most complex installation sequence so far – largely because of the problems getting the bolts in – and some preplanning was well worth it..
 
With the last of the beams over the officers’ cabins installed, most of the remaining knees will be of a different type. For the most part these will be Roberts plate knees. I am expecting to make these by photo-etching copper sheet. Perhaps some of that will be done by the next part.
 
 
 
Ed

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 107 Upper Deck Beams Continued
Posted 11/5/11
The work on the beams of the aft part of the upper deck continued. These beams are over the officers’ cabins on both sides so they were fitted with iron angled knees to provide more room in these already cramped spaces. The first picture shows this type of knee fitted right up against one of the partitions – or vice versa.
 

 
This picture was taken right after installing the bolts in the knee and touching up their heads with some sulfur solution. The picture also shows the ventilation scuttle openings – one to each of these cabins – cut through the deck clamps. The glue residue where the rider was removed still needs to be cleaned off.
 
The next picture shows the other side of this beam.
 

 
There will be no partitions installed on this side, which will have open framing on all decks. If the partition were installed on this side it would fit right between the iron hanging knee and the standard. Since this side will not be planked on the on the inside, the riders have been left in place. They were removed from the other side so the beams and the interior planking could be fit in. At least one side had to be removed to allow the beams to be inserted.
 
The next picture shows a wooden lodging knee being fitted to the beam in the above pictures.
 

 
There were some wood knees installed along with the iron, but I do not know why or the logic for where they were installed.
 
The next picture shows the rudder rope sheaves with their brackets installed beneath the beams and carlings just forward of the mizzenmast.
 

 
The purpose of the spool is to try and keep the excess length of rope out of the way until it can be rigged up.
 
The next picture shows an iron hanging knee fitted to a beam.
 

 
The knees are first made and positioned on the beam while it is in place so at least one bolt hole can be marked. It is then bolted to the beam with copper wire through bolts. The knees and bolts are then cleaned with acetone and treated with sulfur solution before installing using a cotton swab. I had been doing this treatment after installation, but found it easier to do it at this stage and then touch up the side bolts after. The plastic cup at the top contains a complete batch of sulfur solution. It works best when it is fresh and the amount in the cup is many times what is needed for one beam’s ironwork. It is applied with a cotton swab. The surrounding wood seems to return to its normal state whether the solution is washed off or left on. The solution neutralizes to a clear liquid.
 
All these beams forward of the tiller are supported in the center by pillars. The next picture shows the height of a pillar being measured.
 

 
The pillars are being mortised into the underside of the beams and in this case into the top of the head ledge of the hatch on the lower deck. The other pillar in the picture is let down into a mortise in the thicker central deck plank.
 
The next picture is an overhead view of the aft beams and the tiller sweep installation.
 
 

 
the carlings for the aftermost five beams have not been fitted. They will support half beams midway between the main beams. I still have a bit of research to do on these. Prior to taking this picture, the lower deck and the structure below the upper deck in this area was given a coat of finish while it is still accessible, since no further work will be done on this.
 
The last two pictures show some of the progress on the beams forward of this area.
 
 

 
Both these pictures give a pretty good idea of the amount of ironwork in this part of the ship. This side will be fully planked on the inside.
 
 

 
This side will not be planked. Carlings are being installed progressively with the beams. Ledges will be installed later.
 
Once the beams proceed to the end of the cabins the ends will be supported by Roberts plate knees. That will involve a new and interesting modeling process for me.
 
 
Ed

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 106 Officers Quarters/Tiller Sweep
Posted 11/1/11
 
 
The next step in the puzzle was to fabricate the inside fore and aft wall of the officers’ cabins.  This needed to be done at this time so the doors could be lined up with the opening in the baseboards on the deck before the beams would block access for this.
 

 
The doors were made as simple paneled doors with glass lights.  This was done in a simple way from the outside because the insides will be completely enclosed by the decking on this side and not visible.  The next picture shows this simple construction.
 

 
The stanchions for the wall were first laid out and pinned on the grey Homasote board and the planking was glued to them over the full length.  The doorways were then cut out on the circular saw.  With the bottom panels glued into the openings, the side frames and stretchers were glued in place.  The window mullions were then fabricated as tees from notched strips, cut to size and glued in.  The mullions were then bearded slightly on the outside to eliminate the clunky square appearance seen in the above picture.  Transparency film was then cut to size and fixed to the back of the door with holding strips.
 
The next picture shows the wall in position so the notches for the beams can be marked.
 

 
The next picture shows the wall with notched for the beams. 
 
 

 
These cuts are a bit loose so the wall can be slipped into place after all the beams and internal partitions are installed.  This is necessary because access is needed to install the knee bolts for each beam and this could not be done with the wall in place.  The door hardware has also been installed in this picture.  The doors get a bit more elegant at each deck – simple planked doors on the lower, simple paneled doors at this level and hopefully more ornate fancier panels on the next deck – the Captains quarters.  Unfortunately the lower deck doors are mostly now out of sight.
 
Beam 25, which supports the center of the sweep, was then installed along with its iron knees.  In the next picture the sweep is being permanently fixed into place.
 
 

 
 
The next picture shows a closer view of this.
 
 

 
The port side of the tiller is threaded up and the near side still has a remnant of the rope that was originally installed on that side.  That will be removed when the final attachments are made later.  There is a small pinhole visible in the top of the tiller just aft of the sweep.  This was used to align the sweep to the tiller arc so when the gooseneck is installed it will not bind when the tiller is moved.
 
The last picture shows this assembly from forward.
 
 

 
The scarph bolts are also visible in this picture.  These have now been installed in all the made beams.  The deep notches in the deck clamp visible in this picture are not the beam notches, which are very much shallower.  These are the cutouts for the ventilation scuttles – one in each cabin on each side and six more for the other 250 or so crew.
 
Ed

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 105 Aft Upper Deck Beams
Posted 10/28/11
 
 
 
In Part 103 I discussed the way the beams with iron knees were being fabricated and the sequence for installing them and in 104 discussed the tiller sweep.  The installation of the beams that will support the tiller sweep and the associated sheaves, in and around the officers cabin partitions, turned out to be an interesting puzzle, but first some improvements in the beam and iron knee process.
 
The first picture shows a step in the slightly modified process for attaching the iron knees to the beams.
 

 
Initially the bolts were basically “nailed” into the beam in predrilled undersized holes and in the nailing process a head would be formed and peened over on the copper bolt.  The new process is somewhat more authentic.  The copper wire is forced all the way through the beam, then cut flush on the back side and cut somewhat higher above the surface of the knee.  The picture was taken just before cutting off the excess.  The beam was then laid on an anvil and the bolt hammered to form a head on both ends, leaving (usually) a very tight bolt.  The next picture shows a pre fabricated beam assembly.
 

 
I believe this is beam 27 on the drawing.  The next picture shows this beam glued in and the bolts installed through the filling pieces into the frames.  These are still being done like nails.  The wood is wet from washing off of the sulfur blackening solution.
 

 
The next picture shows a U-shaped lodging knee, necessitated by the presence of the rider forward of beam 25, leaving no room for a lodging knee on that side. 
 
 

 
This knee is bolted to beam 26 in the picture, but bolting to beam 25 to the left will have to be done in place, but first beam 25 needs its hanging knees.  The picture also shows one of the sheave assemblies that will be installed at the ends of the sweep under beams 26 and 27, the middle two in this picture.  The sweep is also clamped temporarily in place in this picture.
 
The next picture shows the present state of construction with the aftermost 4 beams installed.
 

 
In the picture the end sheave assembly has also been installed.  The sweep is still only clamped.  The sheave bracket needed to be precisely located so the rope would run smoothly into the groove in the sweep.  The officers’ cabins further complicate this work and need to be fitted up in concert with the sweep so the rope will not be fouled by the aftermost partition.  This required laying out the run of the rope to the location of the sheaves ahead of the mizzenmast that will lead the rope up to the wheel.  This all required a lot of finicky checking and some adjustment to the partition location.
 
The next picture shows the sheave with the rope led into the sweep.
 

 
I left the end of the sheave bracket open to facilitate feeding the rope through.  This side was threaded up first because all this will be covered with decking.  The other undecked side will be threaded up after the wheel is installed and the rope will be made off to the other side of the tiller.
 
The next picture is another view.  The rope is comfortably in the groove and barely visible.
 

 
The last picture is an overhead view showing the U-shaped knee on the port side.
 

 
The aftermost partition was removed for this picture and is lying on the deck.  The next two are in position.  They fit right under the beams to one side of the iron hangers yet to be installed.  The sheave brackets leading the rope up to the wheel, will be fit between beams 24 and 25 and will need to be positioned around the space for the mizzen mast.
 
Whew!  This has been a very interesting and at times frustrating bit of assembly, but I think it is going to work out.
 
 
Ed

Hi mates,
 
a little new step: fore gunports. As said above, I had to solve a few issues; among them, how to make thin gunports with a round ceiling. Having decided to do a double planking, I used the first planking as support for the gunport's frames. I made and pasted them in their whole shape (using a dima to have identical ones), than I holed and filed each one from internal to external to reach a very thin thickness, impossible to make in only one piece, if I had shaped them before their gluing. In the following pictures, you can see the working process; in the last picture, the real color of the hull (...in the previous ones, I had mistaken the white-balancing of my camera...).
 
Regards
Alex

Few days ago I have returned onto the board (prow section) and started to make various details. I try to make them according to historical facts and original models from museums to achieve more realistic result.





 
Best regards,
Doris

Now I turned back to the lower hull.  It was refined with templates and progressively finer sanding blocks.  After the 400 grit level I sealed it with Minwax Wood Hardener.  This product is designed to strengthen rotted wood, but I have found it to be perfect for sealing wood where I want a truly smooth surface.  The only drawback is that the wood becomes so hard that it is quite difficult to remove more than just a small amount - don't aske me how I know.  I now hold off on using it until I am quite satisfied that I have the proper shape.
 
After the hardener dried overnight it was sanded smooth to remove the raised grain, and the first coat of Krylon auto primer was sprayed on.  This revealed that there were small imperfections where the various lifts had been joined to each other.  These were filled by painting the entire lower hull with a thin solution of small-grained plaster.  After sanding with a sanding block you can see where the plaster has filled the voids.  The plaster was hardened and the next primer coat was applied, then sanded smooth.  Ultimately, seven coats of primer were laid on and progressively sanded off with up to 1000 grit paper. 
 
The keel fin and bulb were similarly shaped, hardened, filled and sanded.  Because the keel fin is so thin its connection points with the lower hull above and the keel bulb below would be incredibly fragile.  I therefore planned for and fitted a steel pin that goes into the hull about 2 inches and down below the keel bulb about the same amount.  I don't know how it will be displayed, but this should give them a great deal of flexibility in choosing the mounting for the model. 
 
So here is my progress to date.  The three major components - upper hull, lower hull, and keel - can be stacked to see how they line up and to refine them as needed.  More as the model develops.
 
Be well
 
Dan Pariser
 
 

Hi, everyone,
 
I finished making the gratings (sanding to profile yet to go...). The mill method worked fine, allowing me to make the gratings to exact size. Since the battens and ledges remain constant sizes in width, the only way to fit a specified opening exactly is to vary the spaces between in both directions. The mill allowed this kind of accuracy, and the gundeck drawing shows the new gratings fitting exactly. Sanding the bottom to reveal the spaces between ledges is fairly straightforward; I used sandpaper glued to plywood, to keep it all flat. The first photo shows what happens when the sanding gets close to finish--thin strips peel away. 
 
These are pretty accurately to size now, following Steel. My earlier ones were much out of scale; don't know how it happened, but .....
 
The last photo shows my new jig for  repeatedly cutting thin strips (the battens, in this case) from the left side of the saw. Much safer and cleaner cuts. Many thanks to Michael Mott who helped me refine this idea. You can see the discussion in the Tools Forum, under micro jig.
 
Best wishes,
 
Mark
 
 

No question is dumb! I've noticed that the surrounds to hatchways (don't fall down them!) and other obstructions on deck were often painted, usually red, then black on British contemporary models. This was as a safety feature in the dark or bad weather. One could easily distinguish the dark painted areas from the light deck color. I suspect that blackening mastheads and yards were done for a similar reason: to provide visual contrast with their surroundings.

I think we have forgotten just how skilled many craftsmen and skilled artisans were in the past. I believe that their skill was predicated on a greater amount of time honing their skills and being taught the value of doing a job with the greatest care and attention, and not necessarily the fastest cheapest way. 
 
250 years ago some extremely fine optical and scientific instruments were made, not to mention clocks and watches, so I am not surprised by the quality of work done then.  I am more surprised by that same quality today.
 
We seem to be living in an instant world that is in a constant hurry to finish everything at the lowest cost. What I find so refreshing about this hobby is that this hurry is for the most part ignored.
 
Michael

How To Add Pictures in your Posts and PMs
 
1. Open the Edit Box by clicking the "Edit" at the bottom of the Post :
 

 
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PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS TUTORIAL IS FROM THE PREVIOUS VERSION OF MSW AND NO LONGER WORKS AS DESCRIBED. AN UPDATED VERSION WILL BE POSTED SHORTLY.

Cannon tackle issues.
 
1. For the back most tackle rig I wasn't sure why the last bolt ring on the gun carriage was off center in Gil Middleton's pictures. Turns out because the wedge covers it. Also, the ring itself should be perpendicular to the deck, not parallel. Otherwise very hard to get the hook through the ring. Duh.

Broke several handles off trying to get the hooks connected. Lesson learned.
 
2. Next stretched block and tackle out and secured with ringbolt directly back.


 
3. Then created coil using Bic pen and 4 turns of "rope" sealed with a bit of glue and trimmed



 
and attached to deck. Voila'!
 

Planking the hull. This took like 3 months to do and was a learning experience. I refer you to the excellent tutorial here on the website called (I think) Planking for Beginners. I did the planking using a soldering iron (note: The entire shaft gets hot, not just the end. I have the burn scars to prove it...) and did a lot of presoaking of planks then clamping or temporary nailing in place followed by trimming and gluing into position. The rule was to never narrow a plank by more than 50% of the starting width and never place two joints adjacent to each other. 
I started by dividing the width into quarters and worked to even the differences in width from bow to stern as evenly as I could. 
 
Also, the first mate arrived too. Meet Jack Aubrey 
 

And the finished deck with nibbling and trenails.
 

 
Sanded and a light coat of danish oil added. After finishing all the gun deck stuff will give a final cleanup and perhaps a bit of weathering in the midships area. The hardest part was the nibbling into the wales to make it even on both sides. 

Thanks guys, I really appreciate the comments 
 
So how did I do it, the how-to was indeed like Jan noticed in the first picture. The divider was used to scrape a thin line evenly spaced from the bottom of the gallow. Multiple passes with very light pressure were needed to cut through the grain. In the middle the cut was done free hand.
 

 
Then I used a slightly blunted threading needle to make the molding, again multiple passes and the wood shaped nicely.
 

 
And yes Piet  I do have some miniature 0.4 mm chisels made from hypodermic needles and thin steel but I use them elsewhere
 

 
Remco

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 103 – Beam #29
Posted 10/18/11
 
 
I knew I was letting myself in for a lot of work and some uncharted territory when I decided to model ironwork knees on the upper deck beams.  There are two basic types with a number of variants.  First there are ordinary iron knees of the type shown previously where they were used for the lower deck standards in the officers’ cabins.  There will also be Roberts plate knees – I hope.
 
Making the ordinary iron knees is fairly straightforward.  They are formed from copper strip cut to size on a circular saw, then bent, tapered, drilled for bolts and polished.  The picture below shows two of these on the aftermost beam - #29.  There are also two iron hanging knees on this beam, but are not visible in this picture.
 

 
Beam  #29, the first upper deck beam to be installed, was a test case for the installation sequence, which is a bit complicated, mostly due to the bolting issues.
 
The next picture shows a closer view of the iron knees after the first series of steps. 
 

 
All four knees are permanently nailed to the beam at this stage, but the beam is still loose in its position on the clamps.  The filling piece behind the lodging knee is temporarily in place so the knee’s bolt holes can be marked on it. It was then removed and the holes drilled for the bolts.  When possible these holes will be drilled in place so the bolts can be directed through the frames.  These holes are smaller than those in the knees.  The holes for the hanging knees were also marked on the clamp and drilled with the beam removed.
 
The next picture shows the full beam assembly in position. 
 
 

 
After drilling the filling pieces were glued in and the beam was glued to the clamps.  Bolts of drawn 22 gauge copper wire were then pushed through the knees with pliers as far as they would go.  The bolt was then clipped off just above the surface of the knee and tapped with a hammer to drive it tight, expand it in the hole in the knee and peen the top. 
 
The tiller sweep is shown in this picture lying on the top of the beams.  It will be secured under these beams after they are installed.  I will discuss making this sweep in the next part.
 
The next picture shows the port side knees at this stage.
 

 
All this work was done before blackening because all these operations will scratch the metal and leave bare spots.
 
The next picture was taken after blackening the copper with liver of sulfur solution in place. 
 

 
The filling piece will be trimmed back to be flush with the tops of the beams. 
 
And the next picture shows the entire beam permanently installed.
 

 
This sequence seems to work effectively so it will be used for all the beams of this type, working from the ends toward midship.  I may need to make a small hammer to drive the bolts on the hanging knees under the beams.
 
Copper is being used for these parts because it can be blackened in place without staining the wood.  It is easy to cut, shape and polish but because it is soft it can be hard on the #71 drill bits, which I am now buying by the dozen.
 
Cheers,
 
Ed

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 102 – Making Upper Deck Beams 2
Posted 10/18/11
 
The next step after making the rounded up beams, was to set them on the clamps.  The first picture shows this in progress.
 

 
To get the beams into position, some of the top riders had to be removed on one side.  I decided to remove these from the port side, since that side will be planked internally and the riders, in addition to blocking the setting of the beams, would also have made the planking more of a chore.  In this picture some are removed.  The rest will also be coming out.
 
Shallow notches were cut into the clamps to seat the beams at their ends.  When all the beams were set and pinned into position a wire was stretched tightly along the centerline of the deck and each beam marked in its center.  The aft end of this wire is shown in the next picture.
 

 
The rudder and tiller are still only temporarily positioned in this picture.  After marking the centerline on the beams the wire was removed.
 
Next the seats for the carlings were cut into all the beams.  The next picture shows the locations of the carlings being marked on each side of each beam.
 
 

 
There are about 100 ordinary carlings on this deck, requiring twice that many joints to be cut.  Marking one side of each seat with the beams in position using a straightedge helps assure the lines of the carlings will be straight.  There are three tiers in the midship area diminishing to two at the ends.
 
The beams were then individually removed and the seats marked out and cut into each one with a small chisel.  The next picture shows one of these after cutting the joints – and the chisel.
 

 
Only seats for the ordinary carlings were cut at this stage.  There are a number of larger special purpose carlings that will be cut next, but it seemed easier to focus on just one size first.  After cutting the joints in each beam it was given a sanding with 220 grit paper for smoothing to remove all the pencil marks.  Each was then renumbered and returned to its position.
 
The last two pictures show the beams in place with the carling scores cut.
 

 
The lodging and hanging knees for this deck will feature a lot of ironwork, a combination of plain iron knees such as the few lower deck standards installed earlier, and Roberts plate knees.  Use of iron was becoming more commonplace by this period.  There will be a number of wooden knees as well.  The installation sequence necessary to get all these knees in and bolted is still being worked out.  In general the method followed for the lower deck beams, of pre installing the knees before setting the beams, will be used.
 
The last picture shows the full set of beams set in place.
 

 
The next step will be to remove each beam, cut the remaining special carling seats and install the bolts through the scarphed joints.
 
 
Ed

The scroll saw is fixed and in under an hour I cut all the components for the first frame. When I turned on my disk sander to work on the chocks there was a loud pop, a puff of blue smoke and the unmistakable smell of burn electrical. This would be a disaster if not for the fact I have a Byrnes sander on order - I believe my antique sander had somehow heard a replacement was in the works (it was very old, the face wobbled a bit and the table had a habit of not staying square to the face). I ordered the sander a couple weeks ago so hopefully it will arrive soon.
 
In the mean time the plan is to continue cutting components and keeping them organized so that when the sander arrives I'll be in good shape to get several frames done is short order. I'll post some photos when I have something good enough for show & tell.
 
My wife visited me in the shop the other night while I was cutting futtocks. She stood watching for awhile and then said "Do you really enjoy doing this?" to which I answered "Yes I really do!". To tell the truth at first I wasn't sure I would enjoy cutting all the pieces needed and to the tolerances required but now that I've started I can honestly say it's fun. It might be different it I was doing a complete Echo or Swan but the cross section is big enough to really get a feel for it but not so big that you'll still be cutting futtocks a year or two from now.
 
Onward and upward!

If only I had had high school teachers like you.... Your students don't know how lucky they are!

Darn, Remco. Every time I think you can't improve your work any further, you take things up yet another level!

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 99 – The Rudder 1
Posted 10/2/11
 
 
It has been a while since the last update. We took some vacation time, but the work has also been time consuming for what appears to be small progress. In the last part the framing and planking of the lower counter was completed in preparation for installation of the rudder. The plan is to install this and its operating mechanism concurrently with the installation of the upper deck beams. I had not done the drafting needed for all this, so some time was taken for that.
 
The first picture shows the main timbers of the rudder cut out and their joints machined.
 

 
The joints were cut on the milling machine, straightforward work except that the joints need to be placed to avoid having some pieces too thin, especially around the cut outs for the pintles. Three pieces were used for the main section and are shown above. The two to the left are parallel to the aft edge and the one to the right will be tapered on its fore edge. There is also a thin strip on the aft face and a bottom piece.
 
The next picture shows the rudder after its forward face was bearded back to clear its rotation and after tapering.
 

 
Before bearding the rudder was sanded down to its maximum breadth on the thickness sander. The bearding of the front face was then done. Both the post and the rudder have bearded edges, cut about 6 inches or so back on the side faces to allow the rudder rotation. With this done the rudder could be tapered. This was done by sanding, initially on a belt sander and then as shown in the above picture on flat panel covered with 120 to 220 grit paper.
 
The next picture shows the top pintle being fitted.
 

 
There are six of these of increasing length going down. There were originally made of “mixt metal”, a bronze type of alloy. I used copper as I have done for all the copper bearing fittings. This picture also shows the transition from the bearded section to the squared off top. The hances on the aft face will be shaped later.
 
The next pictures show the way the pintles fittings were fabricated. The first shows a rough piece set up for silver soldering the pintle to the bracket.
 

 
The square U-shaped section shown in the picture was cut from a sheet on the circular saw using a thin slotting cutter blade. It was then bent to fit tightly around the rudder and cut roughly to length. A slot to fit the pintle itself was then filed in the end and a copper rod of the correct size fit into the slot. In this picture the rod is forced down into the refractory surface to hold it in place. The bracket is held in place with the piece of steel barstock. A small amount of solder/flux paste has been applied at the joint and all that is needed now is the torch.
 
In the next picture the bracket is being filed to shape.
 

 
As each piece was finished it was fit to the rudder and the rudder fit into the gudgeons, one at a time, so that when all six were made they would fit accurately into their mating fittings and allow smooth rotation of the rudder. They were then marked for drilling the bolt holes.
 
The next picture shows all the pintle brackets made and temporarily fit to the rudder.
 

 
After drilling with a number 74 drill, they were be-burred, filed smooth and polished.
 
The next picture shows a fit up of the rudder to the post with all the brackets.
 

 
These still need minor adjustment and it is obvious in this picture that they are not yet aligned. When this is done they will all be perpendicular to the forward face of the rudder. As these were being fit the opening of the helm port was adjusted to give full range of rudder movement. In this picture the stern post is showing the effects of my dirty hands from the metalworking. This will of course be cleaned up.
 
There is additional metalwork to be made and installed, the spectacle plate, one or two reinforcing straps and a number of straps around the top. There are also the two tiller holes to be cut. Those are the next chores on the agenda. When all these pieces are made and fitted, the rudder will be polished up and all these fittings chemically darkened and bolted on.
 
 
Ed

Beam set 13 has carlings for the after hatch and hanging knees.  After making several hanging knees and never quite getting the angles correct, I finally stumbled onto an incredibly simple solution.  Instead of making a template of the ceiling and then drawing in the top of the beam, I fold a piece of paper along the top of the beam and mark out the shape of the ceiling while making sure the paper does not move off the beam.  By reversing the fold, I then check the other side to determine if they are (hopefully) symmetric.  The knee in the picture below only needed minor touch-up and tapering aft to fit the narrowing of the hull.  Of course, now that I have the hang of things, I am finished with the hanging knees on the lower deck.
 
Hanging Knee Template
 

 
Hanging Knee Aft of Beam 13
 

 
 
Before I permanently installed beam set 13, finish was applied to the underside of the deck structure and the pillars.  The lower well was glued in place and, for extra security, a pin was placed through beam 11 into the midline pillar on the fore side of the well.
Beam Set 13
 

 

 
 
Beam set 14 has only two rows of ledges.  The top of the slop room bulkhead on the aft platform needed to be slotted slightly for the deck beam.  The pillar passes through a cutout in the fish room trap door and rests on the keelson, like the other pillars. 
 
This is as far as the build has progressed.  Vacation next week so there will not be any progress for a few weeks.
 
Beam Set 14
 

 

 

 

The four aft pump tubes are shown in their future homes.  Greg, I got lucky.  The ends of the tubes fit perfectly into the chambers.  Thanks for the suggestion, Danny. 
 

 

 
The brake pump tubes are placed in the recesses excavated from the cross-chock of frame 3.
 

The main mast partner is made the same way as the fore mast partner.  There are carlings under the partner which mortise into the underside of beams 11 and 12.  In addition to the hole for the mast, two octagonal holes are cut on the aft side of the partner for the pump tubes.  There is no hanging knee in this beam set.
 

 
There are six pump tubes of equal diameter.  These were made in similar fashion to making a mast, without the final rounding off of the edges.  I first cut a square blank.  Next I drew in the required taper and used a chisel to cut the taper.  Finally, I put the pump tube in a mast spar jig and turned it into an eight sided tube.  Final finishing was done with sandpaper.  The photo shows the sequence of forming the pump tubes.
 

 

 
I used the photo etch sheet from Admiralty Models to fabricate the pump intake chamber.  The spacers are made from brass rod which has been filed down at the ends to form the pins which are protruding from the chamber.  The whole assembly was silver soldered and blackened.  Here is one of those points where you ask “how much should I install which will never be seen?”  I decided to only install the starboard chamber and save the other chamber for (possibly) a cross-section build.  Once the lower well is in place and the mast partner installed, it is almost impossible to see the pump chamber.
 

 

 

 

 

Thank you David and Grant.
 
Lovely work on the Cisterns Remco . Grant, that's the same excuse I'm using .
 
Pump Brakes
 
Hi all,
 
Work begins on the Pump Brakes (or Cranks). I've drilled all the holes for the brakes to accept the shafts - I drilled them all in two longer pieces which will be cut to length after I've done a bit of filing to get their correct shape. It's a lot easier to do them this way - saves a lot of setting up, first in the Mill for the drilling, and then in the vise to file them.
 
 

 

 
 
I've also cut all the various lengths of Axletrees (shafts) - these are all a little overlength, they will be filed back after silver soldering the two pieces together. The single square piece is for the sprocket centre - this has a 1mm hole drilled through it's 8mm length for the shaft. It's a little too thick - I'll get it to the right size after I've soldered it to the shaft. It has a wall thickness of 0.3mm across the flats at the moment, which will be reduced to 0.1mm - a very difficult task to drill if I'd reduced the outside dimensions first   .
 
  Danny