druxey

Hi everyone,
 
And here are the drawings I created from the Admiralty draughts of HMS Dragon, The Bellona's sister ship (the NMM could not find the Bellona drawings when I ordered these back in the 1990s; I don't know if they ever turned up).
 
The xerox copies showed that the original 250 year old drawings were quite distorted and therefore not able to be built from. Also I did not know how I would ever fit a 1/4" scale model of a 74 in my house. So I drew these at 3/16", or 1:64. The Admiralty drawings were very schematic, and so I had to develop all of the details from other standard sources.
 
Mark
 
 

Hi everyone,
 
To get started again, I will post again the photos I took of the original Bellona model at Chatham last year, with permission from the National Maritime Museum. This model is contemporary with the original design of 1760. The Bellona was rebuilt in the 1780s with some significant changes in port locations, refitted rail on the poop, etc. I prefer the look of the original, and so these photos of the original model are my roadmap through the project.
 
It will take me a while to summarize my own build starting with my re-drafted drawings at 3/16" scale, but I am committed to the task!
 
Best wishes,
 
Mark
 
 
 

As most know, this 74 Montagu is a sister to Alfred and is being built up right and with her framing as it might of been done. Hopfully it won't take to long to get in to her.  Knowing that  Montagu plans, straight from the NMM are distort I drew up new water lines and frames to help me build her. I have added these drawings to this post. I didn't use cad as some of you do but just a good old pencil and one of those drafting machines. 

Frame 3-Aft repaired and raised.  Spacing is set versus the 3rd frame forward (2-fore) so the gun port is the proper width.  The frame was temporarily set, notches marked to match the heights of the forward frame and then removed so the notches could be cut.  Now glued, braced and drying.
Maury

Nov. 10, 2012.  The pillars between the deck beams and the keelson have been temporarily installed.  Just as with the deck beams, I have left them rough until final installation so I do not have to address any damage from storing them.  There is a mortise at the top and bottom of the pillar.  I made the mortises with the Preac saw.  By positioning the blade to that it barely clears the table I am able to get a square mortise which is perfectly positioned in the middle of the pillar.  The top and bottom faces of the pillar are horizontal athwartship but not fore and aft because of the rise of the keelson and lower deck as one goes aft.  The last two pillars extend to the upper deck beams.  The pillars will be chamfered prior to final installation.
 
Pillar Blank

 
AFt Lower Deck Beams and Pillars

 
 
The deck planking is 1” x 12” holly.  I realize there would be no caulking of this deck but I used a pencil on one side of the plank so that the individual planks would be apparent.  I tried it without first and it looked like a sheet of plywood.  Cut outs have been made in the first plank for the pillars.  According to TFFM, dowels were used on beams and trunnels were used on ledges.  They were the same size (3/4”).  I used bamboo for the trunnels and holly for the dowels.  Holly is no fun to pull through a draw plate!
 
I am at the point where parts of the model need to have a finish applied.  I am using Watco’s Danish Wood Oil.  As you can see, the holly dowels are almost invisible until the finish is applied.  The color difference between the bamboo and holly is subtle.
Aft Lower Deck Beams and Pillars

 
Aft Platform Decked

You Know Carl, I told him that! he was bending earlier but he said it was hurting his knee.
 

 
Michael

Ah, the old isopropanol trick.... Works every time. And there seem to be a lot of times!

Hello Doris.
Pictures of Ivan Trtanj and Royal Caroline.
Regards Karl

It is such a joy to watch your model develop Doris.
 
Michael

Hi Ruslan. Your very welcome. I would say that that sounds about right sir. Have been looking for more informatio on it but have not as of yet come up with much.
 
Hi Folks. Here is another update of Montagu hold this time showing her well, along with the pump intakes and shot lockers which was attach to the well. The well was built on the work bench and then installed in to the hold it self. You will also noticed that the floor riders are finished at this time. Another item you will noticed is the pump tubes that are resting on top of the deck beams. They were made of walnut and are still in their square state. The pillar's in the hold are also made of walnut which gives a little bit more of a color to the parts in her hold, with out over powering the other items.  Hope you enjoy the photo's. Gary

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 78 –Lower Deck Waterways and Spirketing
Posted 5/24/11
In Part 77 the Upper Deck Clamps were discussed.  The installation of those continues on both sides.  In addition the installation of the waterways on the lower deck has begun.  The first picture shows the waterways on the port side being installed.
 

 
Where these curve inwards at the ends the strips were boiled and then pinned to the curved shape in place to dry as shown in the next picture.
 

 
This picture also shows the concave groove that transitions these from the thickness of the deck, 3 inches, to the full thickness of the waterway, 4 inches. 
 
Some of the decking was also begun, a few strakes next to the waterway.  The next picture shows the way these are fitted at the aft end of the ship.
 

 
The next picture shows the first section of spirketing on the port side being installed.
 

 
The wedges are now being used against the deck clamps to force the lower strake of spirketing down on the waterway.  Dark glue is used in this joint.  Yellow glue is used on the join with the timbers so it can be cleaned off and not show dark from the outside where there will be no planking. 
 
The next picture is another view of this on the starboard side.
 

 
The wedges are put in first, then the clamps.  In some cases the wedges are sufficient.
 
The next picture shows the beginning of the installing of the upper strake.

 
The gap between the clamps and spirketing was filled with ordinary plank.  This will not be installed on the model.
 
The last picture shows the aftermost piece of the lower strake of spirketing being fitted after boiling.
 

 
This is an extreme complex bend in two planes.  It got to this final stage in two steps of boiling bending and fitting.  It looks very dark in the picture because it is wet, having just been removed from the “boiler” in accordance with the Admiralty spec “while the water is still boiling.”  When dry and sanded it will be the same shade as the rest of the pear.  It will not be glued here until it has completely dried and shrunk back to its normal size.
 
This picture also shows that the wing transom knee and the sleeper shown installed in Part 77 have been removed after discovering an error in the way the sleeper was installed, and after some further research on the configuration of the wing transom knee.  In the last part it was shown straight and fayed to the timbers at the level of the clamps.  The new, correct one, will be scarphed on to the upper strake of spirketing per the spec.  This requires it to be shaped with a backward s-curve to get it down to the spirketing level.  It will be installed after the spirketing on this side is finished.
 
The spirketing, waterways and clamps for both sides are about 75 % installed at this stage, excluding bolts and nails, which will take a fair amount of work to complete.
 
Ed

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 77 –Upper Deck Clamps
Posted 5/20/11
 
To give the upper frame timbers some additional support after taking out the pine spacers I decided to install the upper deck clamps.  These are in two strakes, top and butt.  The first picture shows the first piece of the upper strake glued to the the frames and clamped in place.
 

 
The top and butt planks were cut on the circular saw using two specially fitted tapered guides.  They are 6 inches thick and 24 feet long, with their breadth set to give the overall breadth of the two strake band when installed.
 
The next picture shows the first of the lower strakes being fit up with wedges to force it up tight to the top strake.
 

 
In the next picture this has been glued in place, wedged and clamped.  The excess glue has also been washed off with water using a damp brush. 
 

 
 
Ordinary Titebond was used on the frames and a very darkly pigmented Titebond in the joints between planks.  The plain Titebond was used on the frames to make cleaning the glue from the outside of the hull between frames easier.
In the next picture a #0 flat silversmith’s riffler is being used to level out the strakes.
 

 
 
This tool cuts faster than sandpaper and leaves a flatter surface, avoiding rounding.  The next picture shows this area after sanding smooth with 120 grit paper on a sanding block.
 

 
The dark joints in this picture are somewhat obscured by the sanding dust, but they will be more prominent when the wood is polished and finished.  This method does give more subtle joint lines than some other methods.
 
The next picture may cause some seasickness.  It shows the installed upper deck clamps on the port side, ready for treenails.
 

 
This picture also shows some other work in the stern area going on in parallel.  The wing transom knee has been installed as well as the second sleeper on that side.  The next picture shows this closer up.
 

 
 
The detail of how these two important timbers mesh with the deck components is a bit tricky here and in the absence of detailed data I made some choices.   The wing transom knee is bolted to the frames just under the top strake of the clamp and is made parallel to it.  The copper bolts to the frames and to the wing transom are installed but not yet finished off.  The iron straps from the two outermost counter timbers will cross over the knee and bolt to it.  The second sleeper was left clear to allow the strap on the inner timber to bolt to the transom. The sleeper has no bolts yet. 
 
This picture also shows a section of waterway being held in place to dry with pins after boiling and bending it in place.  The concave curve where it was “chined” down to the level of the deck planks was machined before bending on the milling machine with a small ball end mill.  When this piece is dry the outside edge will be beveled back and fitted to match against the frames in this area.  There may need to be an additional short piece to take this further aft.  I am still not sure of this detail and how far back the waterway goes.  Right now I’m thinking to the aft side of the after fashion piece.  When the waterway is in place the two strakes of the spirketing can be installed above it.
 
Lots to do to get both sides caught up to this stage.
 
 
Ed

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 76 –Port Gun Port Sills
Posted 5/18/11
 
After getting the bow timbers sorted out, the sills could be installed on all the port gun ports for both the upper deck and the quarter deck. Care had to be taken with these because the framing detail will all be visible in the final model. The next two pictures show just a couple of the steps in the process of installing these.
 

 
This picture shows the height of the lower sill being marked. The tape was used to set this line and make sure it was fair. After this step the bottom of the sill was marked and the mortises cut to receive the sills. The next picture shows a sill being marked for cutting off.
 

 
With one end of the sill shaped, the other end is being marked to be cut off. The pencil marks for the top and bottom of the sill as well as the line marking the depth of the mortise can be seen in this picture.
 
The next pictures show some of this finished work after the sills had been sanded flush and fair to the sides.
 

 
These pictures also show the permanent spacers that have been installed between sections of the main frame bends. All but a few of the temporary pine spacers have been removed from this side. Some have been left to support some of the timber stubs, which are only bolted at their lower ends on to upper sills.
 

 
The next two pictures show the finished port side.
 

 

 
A lot of finishing up work was also done, including sanding between the frames to remove remnants of spacers or patterns, installing all the bolts for the sills, and giving the inside and outside a dose of fairing. The next picture shows the tops of the timbers, which, after this fairing, were reduced to their final molded breadth at the top of the side.
 

 
Without the spacers some of the frames are now self-standing and this increases the risk of breakage. I will probably begin to install the upper and perhaps the quarterdeck clamps to strengthen these timbers.
 
In the next picture the lines of the upper deck clamps have been marked out on the inside of the hull in pencil. The top line is the top of the beams and the next two down are the boundaries of the clamps.
 

 
These lines were measured from the port sills down. The port sills and the tops of the sides are at the correct height and as mentioned before, the interior measurements will now be referenced from them. A lot of sawdust remains in this picture from the internal fairing, which was done with small rasps following by sandpaper. I have been removing this from the lower decks by inverting the model and blowing it out.
 
 
Ed

Thanks Jeronimo.
 
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Thank you Karl. 
 
Thanks Mark, it's just a line for positioning. I have to make a special cleat and rope to attach the blocks to the tops. You'll see.
 
Mark II, here's the how to. I used this link to understand how it works: http://www.animatedknots.com/spliceshort/index.php?Categ=splicing&LogoImage=LogoGrog.jpg&Website=www.animatedknots.com
 

First the length I need is laid out and tied off at both ends. The tips of the ropes are dipped in CA to prevent from unraveling
 

The ends are brought together and tied again
 

Then the lines are spliced using a needle, it took some time to understand how this works as its quite confusing 
 

I opened the eye of the needle so I can insert the rope easily
 

The finished splice
 

The loop is glued to the block
 

And then seized at both ends
 

 
The result
 
 
Remco
 

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