druxey

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 93 – Vent Scuttles –Wale Finish
Posted 8/8/11
 
More has been going on in the last two weeks than was shown in the last part.
 
There are 20 9” X 7” scuttles on the lower deck for ventilation and light, 10 on each side.  There is one in each of the officers cabin aft and everybody else gets to share the other eight, four on a side.  But before getting to those, in response to questions, I wanted to share one picture showing how the monofilament is cut off flush with the top of the planks.
 
 

 
This is done immediately after inserted the filament with CA glue, so the glue can be washed off with acetone before it sets or pentrates too much into the wood.  The razor blade tends to get glue on it, so I use two.  When one gets gluey I drop it in a jar of acetone and use the clean one.  In maybe 5 minutes its time to change.  The acetone dissolves the CA almost immediately. 
 
So, what about these vent scuttles.  The next picture shows three of these cut into the black strake. 
 

 
They slant upward 4 inches or so from inside to out and this puts them roughly on the line of this plank.  On the inside as seen in the next picture they are cut into the deck clamps.
 
 

 
The trick with these is to get them positioned between timbers, in the correct cabin, while avoiding the riders, the knees the beams, chain plates, etc.  This is not easy and I spent some time placing them between the different views on the drawings before settling on their locations.  For the sake of neatness they are all cut so their tops are flush with the top of the black strake outside and the clamp inside.  This leaves the inclines within a few inches of what Steel says they should be.
 
The next picture shows the doors installed. 
 

 
These will eventually get horseshoe hinges but for now they are just glued in with very dark glue.  On the other side where there is no planking they will show the cuts trough the frames in more detail.  Since some of these cut a few inches into the frame I suspect that reinforcing fillers were put between the frames at these points, much in the way it was done near the chain plates, or gun breechings and in some other areas.
 
In the next picture the wale is in the process of final sanding and polishing before getting blackened.
 
 

 
The scuttle doors are barely visible here.  After this picture was taken I did accentuate their borders with a chisel point.
 
So, on to the finishing of the wale.  A lot of thought and also a lot of input from people on the forum went into this.  I believe I did mention the final decision on the process, but briefly it uses a dilute black stain made with Speedball acrylic black ink in water.  The wale was sanded with grits to 320, then buffed with Scotchbite pads.  It was wetted a few times between final sandings to pre-raise the grain, which was then sanded off.  After the first stain coat the surface was checked for light spots and there were some where the CA penetrated around a few of the bolts.  This was re-sanded.  The next picture shows the wale drying after about the third or fourth coat of ink stain.
 
 

 
Before each coat the surface was dampened, either from the previous coat of ink or with a damp rag to keep from blotching.  There were eight to ten coats all together until it got to a shade I wanted where the plank joints and bolting could still be seen.  The ink was very dilute so I would approach the final shade slowly.  The next picture shows the final shade.
 
 

 
The picture was taken after one coat of Watco oil was applied.  This was done after the ink was completely dry.  It was preceded by buffing with Scotchbrite.  A total of less than five drops of oil were used, on a Q-Tip and the surface was then buffed dry with a cloth.  This buffing was repeated about 20 minutes later when some of the oil came out of the pores – which it likes to do.
 
The next picture is a close up of the wale.
 

 
 
And the last picture is another view.
 

 
I’d say these three last pictures give a pretty accurate rendition of the finish.  More oil will be applied.  This is for protection.  In the above picture the fasteners, the planking seams, the scuttles and some of the wood grain are showing.   The area above the black strake will be planked in Euro Boxwood so I was not too particular about keeping that framing pristine.  There are file marks and ink.
 
Wdith this done, the outside planking and parallel work on the inside can proceed.  The area below the wale can also be given its final wax finish.
 
 
Ed

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 92 –Top Riders/Main Wale
Posted 8/7/11
 
 
After the last report the rest of the top riders were made and installed. The first picture shows one of these being fitted on the starboard side.
 

 
The next task was to install the bolts for these. There are eight in each. In the next picture a monofilament bolt is being slipped in with CA glue. It will then be cut off flush like the one below it.
 

 
The following picture shows the rider bolts installed on the outside where there will be no planking.
 

 
The riders usually hit three or four frames with two bolts in each. To keep the bolts in neat rows inside and out the holes are drilled and the filament inserted from each side. I just haven’t found a reliable way to drill al the way through and get a neat result. To the right of the picture is a vertical row of bolts for one of the lower deck standards.
 
Below is a picture of the rider bolting finished on the inside. This wood work still needs final sanding and some polishing up.
 

 
The strips on the deck are to anchor the cabin partitions.
 
The next picture shows the beginning of bolting through the wale. The angled lines are for either riders or for dagger knees. I believe all those in the picture are for riders. The vertical lines of bolts are for the hanging knees or standards.
 

 
On the wale black monofilament is being used for both the bolts and the treenails. In the case of the nails this is to make them show up after the wale is blackened. The treenails are smaller. The strategy for this was to install all the bolts first, then fill in nails where a bolt is not already in place, two per frame. These include bolts for the riders, lower deck knees and one at eac butt on each wale plank. In the above picture bolts for the knee are being installed one at a time from the top down. And only some of the rider bolts are in. The horizontal row of copper bolts below the wale are holding the lower deck lodging knees and some of the bolts for the hanging knees are also visible. Except for a few copper bolts for the lower deck spirketing, all the wale bolts are black iron.
 
The next picture shows the difference in size between the bolt and the treenails. It also shows the nailing pattern where the nails fill in around the bolts.
 

 
The last picture shows a section of the wale with all the bolts and nails installed.
 

 
There are about a thousand fasteners in the wale, a time consuming task.
 
In the next part we’ll finish up the wale with the cutting through of the lower deck ventilation scuttles.
 
 
Ed

... continue ...
Fore and aft arrangement, complete view of work in progress.
 
Alex

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

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

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

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 14 – Installing Cant Frames
Posted 11/2/10
 
This part will discuss the general process used to erect the cant frames.  The next two parts will cover the progress of the installation of the aft and then the forward cant frames.

Beginning with the cant frames just ahead of the stern transom assembly, the first of these was installed in mid-May and the cant framing was completed at both ends of the ship by mid-July 2010.  At both ends the work progressed toward the middle.  Below is a picture of a cant frame clear of pattern paper, which in itself should illustrate some of the considerations in installing these.
 

 
First they are in individual halves, which means they must be supported when fit up to keep them from falling over.  Then, the only point of attachment to the backbone structure is the beveled foot at the bottom, which can be difficult to clamp in place.  Although they are all the same thickness, or siding, the fact that the bevel angle diminishes as the center of the ship is approached means they take up decreasing space on the deadwood – but the full set must terminate at exactly the location of the first square frame.  Finally, their upper spacing is not regular, but varies so that the aft end of a 2’11” wide gun port will be correctly spaced at the forward edge of every eighth frame with two closely spaced frames on either side of it.  The spacing on the plan on the board helps with this last issue.
 
The process adopted for installing these frames developed as I scaled the learning curve.  The pictures below will describe the key aspects of the process as it ultimately evolved.  This first picture shows the use of a profile gauge to align the port side of frame SA. 
 

 
All of the forward frames were aligned by the aft edge and all of the aft frames by the forward edge.  In this way I could use the profile line on the pattern on the exposed face for accurate alignment, even before fairing of the frame or even before trimming this face back to this reference line.  To support this approach, patterns for profile gauges with the appropriate edge were put on the pattern sheets when the frames were lofted The frame patterns were marked starboard and port so the pattern would be on the exposed face when installed. 
 
The patterns for the gauges have the bottom line coinciding with the bottom of the keel so they can rest on the board.  The inside vertical edge coincides with the side of the deadwood at the bearding line.  These patterns were mounted on illustration board with artist’s spray adhesive, the critical straightedges cut with a knife, and the curve cut out on the scroll saw.
 
The next picture shows how alignment in the fore and aft direction at the breadth was done using a combination square.
 

 
In the above picture, the square is set on the aft face of the frame on the drawing at the breadth on the frame.  Based on this position, a spacer of soft pine was selected which would fit the space between this and the previous frame.   One of the large clamped squares shown earlier could also be used for this step.
 
The picture below shows a port cant frame being glued at its base only, but with a spacer clamped at the breadth to keep the right spacing.  The soft jaws of the Irwin clamp help with this awkward clamping problem.  Several other clamping methods were also used.  Whatever worked.
 

 
On the starboard side in the above picture a spacer is being glued in place to space the same frame’s starboard partner correctly against its forward mate.  After fastening at the foot, installing the temporary spacers was the next step. 
 
The picture below shows two of these being glued at the same time on a different frame.
 

 
These are temporary spacers, cut from soft white pine and will be removed later as longitudinal members are installed to maintain the spacing and strengthen the structure.  Since these spacings vary, a variety of pine strips are kept on hand, so the right size can be selected easily while the alignment is being done.
 
Many of these spacers have already been removed and replaced to make adjustments in spacing and to put the gun port sides precisely in position and at the right width.  Because they are soft, the spacers can be split with a single edge razor blade tapped with a hammer, then sliced out.  Frame faces can then be cleaned up with a file.  A new different spacer can then be fit.  A thin Revlon metal finger nail file is very useful cleaning up faces that are closely spaced.    Eventually, all the spacers will come out.
 
Below is a close up of the foot of the port SA frame.
 

 
This picture shows the pencil lines that have been put on the upper deadwood to aid in frame spacing.  These were squared up from the drawing below.   The goal is to end up with the aft face of frame PA exactly at the fore face of the first square frame OF.  The faint green vertical line on the frame right next to the deadwood is the line of the forward face, which was beveled back earlier.  The outboard lines can also be seen running down to intersect with the deadwood at the bearding line.
 
The next step in this process is shown below.  In this picture a skew chisel is being used to pare the aft inboard side of the frame to the aft line on the pattern before removing the pattern.  This is useful in setting the next frame, since the next frame’s aft edge should be close to this line.
 

 
Finally, the paper patterns were removed and the chocks leveled down to the frame face with a sanding board or file if needed.  Then on to the next frame, which by this time should have been ready to come out of the assembly jig.
 
Further fairing was done on these frames as they progressed.  First the lower inner edges of the frame were trimmed to the height of the top of deadwood, then paring, rasping, and/or filing, then sanding were done to provide a rough fair inboard surface.  This was done in concert with outside rough fairing, keeping an eye on the sidings of the timbers at each level.
 
Final finish sanding and buffing will be done after all the bolts and permanent spacers in the mainframe bends are installed.

In the next part we will look at the progress made in erecting the aft cant frames.

 
Ed
 
 
 

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 13 – Cant Frames – Lofting and Fabrication
Posted MSW 10/31/10

Cant frames are half frames that bolt to the vertical surface of the deadwood above the bearding line at the fore and aft ends of the hull.  They are angled forward at the fore end and aft at the after end.  If square frames were used in these areas the bevels would be severe and the timber wastage would be huge.  Each cant frame is at a different angle, which approaches 90 degrees to the keel toward the center of the hull as the first square frames are reached.  The cant frames also get longer in this progression as the bearding lines, both fore and aft, drop down in height.  Below is a picture of the aft cant frames taken later in the construction.
 

 
All these features mentioned above need to be accounted for in the frame lofting process, however, the most significant factor to be addressed in the lofting of these frames is the fact that on the body plans the views of these frame profiles are distorted, actually condensed horizontally, because they are viewed parallel to the line of the keel, at an angle to their true shape.
 
Below is a typical cant frame pattern sheet, in this case for UF, one of the forward cant frames. 
 

 
The cant frame patterns are different than the others described earlier.  First, they contain three patterns each for the starboard and port frames.  One is for cutting out segment patterns, another for assembly and a third in case of mistakes.
 
The pattern sheet also contains a pattern for a gauge that can be pasted to cardboard, cut out and used to set and check the frame position when being erected.  The bottom edge of this will rest on the building board and the inside against the keel.  These gauge patterns were added to cant frame patterns after the erection process was finalized because they are important tools for that process, which will be described later.
 
Like the square frame patterns, profiles are shown for fore and aft edges.   Joint lines are shown as a single line only.  All the cant frames are 10.5 inches thick, top to bottom, and this reminder is on every sheet. 
 
The last important data on the sheet, different for every frame, is the bevel angle of the bottom face that mates up to the deadwood.   Also the locations of the bottom squared off edges that will rest on the bearding line ledge are shown.
 
Like the square frames, separate worksheets were made to loft the forward and aft sets of these.  The worksheet for UF is shown below.
 

 
This worksheet contains much of the information included on the square frame worksheets – plan view of frames, body plan with frame profiles, a template area for developing the frame, and sheer plane views of the bearding line and the top of the deadwood.  I will only summarize how this worksheet is used.  The detailed procedure is given in a note on the worksheet.
 
On this example worksheet, the frame in question has been colored red, both in its position on the framing and in its rotated position on the development template - to help the explanation.  Also, the two profiles needed for the lofting are colored and accented on the body plan.
 
The first step in this process is to copy the plan view of the frame, note its angle to the keel, rotate it to the horizontal, then place its inside aft edge in a vertical line with the deadwood.  Vertical lines are then placed at the extreme edges, inside and out, for both faces.
 
To develop the true outboard profiles for UF, the UF profile, which was taken at its forward edge when drafting the body plan, will be used for the forward edge, and the next profile aft will be used for the after edge.  They are copied, pasted and aligned as before.  To develop their true shapes they are expanded by the CAD object handles out to the lines which were set up above at the edges of the rotated frame object – one at the forward and one aft ends of the rotated frame. The same is done at the inside.
 
Using the profile of the next frame aft for the aft edge is an approximation, but expanding it only to the actual aft edge of the frame makes it a more accurate representation of the actual aft profile.  I won’t say any more about this to avoid being too confusing.   But if there are questions…
 
Heights of the bearding line and the top of keel for both faces of the frame are then transferred to the template by means of the red diagonal line.  Excess frame profile is erased below the bearding line for each face and the height of deadwood is used to terminate the lower end of the inboard edges.  Inboard profiles are developed in the same way as for the square frames – using the red circles to set points.  The frame components are then copied and transferred to the pattern sheet as before.
 
The standardized CAD worksheet greatly simplifies and speeds up the accurate lofting of these complicated frames. I hope this short version of the steps in this process is somewhat clear, but if not, the procedure note on the worksheet describes it thoroughly, for those with a keen interest.
 
The picture below shows some cant frame segments ready to be cut out from 10.5 inch thick pear stock.  For some reason the patterns below do not include pencil lines for the chocks.  For some of the earliest frames, I marked these out after placing the segments on the assembly pattern, but later found it to be more efficient and accurate to do this before cutting up the pattern.
 

 
The steps to fabricate these frames were identical to previous examples, but with a couple of additions.  First, the bevel has to be cut on the mating face with the deadwood at the bottom of the frame.  That was done on a disk sander using the tilt table set to the bevel angle given on the pattern sheet as shown below.
 

 
The last minor item is shaping the foot of the frame to match the bearding line curve. This was done as part of the erection process.
 
With the conclusion of this part, the discussion of the use of CAD for lofting frames is complete.  I hope this has been helpful to those who CAD draft and loft their own plans or who might consider doing so in the future.  The principles are conventional, but I found it challenging to look for ways to ease the repetitive processes – of which the frame lofting was foremost.

In the next several installments I will discuss the installation of all these frames.
 
Ed

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 12 – Beveled Square Frames
Posted 10/29/10
 
Below is a pattern sheet and a pdf for frame 20A, one of the more highly beveled square frames - a few frames forward of the aft cant frames.
 

 
This pattern sheet contains all the information in the pattern for the deadflat frame example discussed in part 11, but there are some differences. 
 
Because this frame is beveled to account for increased curvature of the hull in this section of the ship, two sets of profile lines are shown.  The green lines describe the forward face and the brown lines describe the aft face.  Also, the keelson is higher at this frame as is the top of the rising wood at this location.  Finally, on this particular frame, all the timbers are centered fore and aft on the floor, unlike the previous example, in which all the aft faces were aligned.  All these fore and aft alignments were taken from the disposition of frames drawing.  These alignments varied to provide adequate air space and to place gun port sides at their proper spacing.  This adds an assembly complication, which will be discussed below.
 
Following is an image of the worksheet used to develop this pattern.
 

 
This worksheet was used like the worksheet in Part 11, with additional steps.  This worksheet includes a plan of the aft frame locations and to the right of that a sheer plane view of the lines describing the top of the rising and the bottom of the keelson.  These are needed to set these locations on frame patterns toward the ends of the hull.
 
Profiles from the left view are copied and pasted on the right view as before, but now there are two profiles because the fore and aft faces are different.  Also, because the aft square frames are on the right side of the body plan they are placed on the right side of the pattern template. 
 
Because this is the aft frame of the pair, the number 20 frame line profile is used for the forward face. The dashed line between profiles 20 and 21 is used for the aft face.   The use of these additional dashed lines for frames that have significant beveling improves the accuracy of the pattern.  The primary benefit of this, besides reducing the amount of fairing needed, is that it helps set the bevels of the chocks accurately, which reduces the chances of cutting into a chock joint when fairing, either inside or out.  It also improves the accuracy of the aft inboard profile which is a saw cut line.
 
To set the heights of the rising wood and keelson bottom, points are set on the bottom right view, then transferred to the pattern view by way of the diagonal line, using the red transfer lines.  These heights are different for the fore and aft faces, so four lines need to be set.
 
The inboard lines are then drawn as before, joint lines are set, all these lines are copied, pasted and flipped, and as before all the objects are transferred to the pattern sheet.
 
With the lofted pattern in hand, the next step is to mark out the chocks as before.  However, because the frame is beveled this procedure needs to be modified.  The picture below shows the first step in this process for beveled frames.
 

 
Because the frame is beveled, the chock joint surface must be beveled as well, which means that a chock joint line must be put on the pattern for both the fore and aft faces to define this surface. However, because the chock will be angled in the frame it must angled before tracing, because tilting the chock changes the apex angle on the face of the frame.  The above picture shows how the chock blank is marked for beveling to get the right angle for tracing.  If the chock blank thickness is close to the thickness of the frame, the amount to be removed from the apex side is about equal to the distance between the fore and aft profiles at that point.  This approximation is adequate to yield a good joint and is being marked with a pencil in the above picture.. 
 
Below a chock blank is being beveled back to the mark made above before marking the frame.
 

 
Now the blank can be used to mark out both fore and aft joint lines and this is shown in the next two pictures.  The beveled face should be held down flat on the pattern for this.  The next picture shows tracing of the joint line for the forward face and the following picture for the aft face.
 

 

 
The next picture shows the beveled chock joint lines and notes the line to be cut out on the saw.
 

 
The paper patterns are now cut out and pasted to the appropriate size wood stock exactly as described in Part 11 and the segments are cut out and finished on their ends in the same way.
 
When cutting the chock joint line, however, the cut should be made on the innermost line as shown  above, in this case the aft joint line.  The next picture shows a set of these after cutting out. 
 

 
Once cut out, each sawed chock joint face is dressed with a file to bring it even and square with the pencil line used for the cut.  It is then beveled to the line on the other face as shown in the following series of pictures.
 
First, using a fine toothed saw, an angled cut is made down to the forward chock joint line, while not cutting into the back face.
 

 
Now, please do not be confused by the fact that while the last picture showed an aft frame with a smaller aft profile, the next three show a forward frame with a smaller forward profile.  These example pictures are not all the same frame, but the process is the same.  Sorry for this.
 
So, in this next picture, the first paring cut on the deeper (in this case the aft) chock line is being made.  I use a skew chisel for this because I find it easier to control than a square chisel.  The idea here is to pare down the corner of this edge to the pencil line.


 
In the next picture the corner is being removed in the opposite direction.  Care is needed here to watch the grain direction and avoid chipping off the end of the piece.  Small cuts and a very sharp chisel are in order here.
 

 
In the last paring step, shown below, the ridge left in the center is pared back leaving a flat surface for the chock.  As a final step this is dressed smooth and flat with a file.
 

 
The chock is then fit as shown below and then glued and clamped.
 

 
When the glue has dried the bottom surface is sanded flat as before and the frame assembled on the pattern exactly as before, but before fitting up additional segments the joint surfaces of each needs to be pared and fitted to their mates as described above.

As noted on the pattern sheet, this frame has all its timbers aligned on the centerline of the floor.  To do this, shims, which have been cut to the thickness of the offsets are placed under the upper futtocks to hold them at the correct fore and aft placement in the assembly jig.  Otherwise the frame assembly and finishing off process is exactly like that described in Part 11.   A variety of these shims ranging from 1 inch up to 3 inches are kept on hand for this.
 
 In the case of this frame, with its upper segments on the floor center, there will be offset joints to pare back on both sides of the frame in the finishing process.

In the next segment, the lofting and fabrication of the cant frames will be discussed.
 
Cheers,
 
Ed

 
 
2013 Copyright Edward J Tosti

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 11 – Frame Assembly
Posted MSW 10/27/10
 
Frame Assembly Jig
 
With eighty-three square frame sections and seventy-eighty cant frames to be made, some sort of assembly jig was certainly appropriate.  A picture of the basic jig developed for this is shown below.
 

 
The work surface is a piece of melamine-coated particleboard with the center area sized to fit a letter sized pattern sheet.  Slotted wood assemblies on the sides hold down clamping strips, which will hold frame segments in position on the assembly pattern sheet.  The side trays hold clamp parts.  Below is a picture of this jig in use on the glue up of a cant frame.
 

 
Hardwood cross members are drilled and tapped to take tightening screws at a variety of locations.  These tighten down onto hardwood strips below, which bear on the frame pieces.  The ends of the cross pieces are held down by the side slots.  Each clamp also has two screws, which fit loosely through the top members and screw into the bottom strips to hold the assembly together. 
 
Having described the assembly jig, we will pick up where we left off in Part 10.
 
Frame Assembly
 
After chocks have been glued to the heads of their segments and their backs leveled off on the disk sander, as described in the last part, the lower pieces are clamped down on the assembly pattern.  The adjoining segments are then fit up to it.  Usually some file dressing is needed to get a precise fit.  The clamps hold the timbers in place so any adjustments can be checked easily.  When the joint fits well and the parts match the pattern, they are glued together.  The hold-down clamps are applied first to assure the parts stay on pattern.  Then clamps are put over the joints.  This is shown in the picture below.
 

 
This picture also shows shims under the upper futtocks to provide the correct offsets in the fore and aft direction.  This particular frame has all the forward faces aligned, so progressively thicker shims are needed under the upper segments so all the top (fore) faces are aligned.
 
Finishing Assembled Frames
 
The picture below shows a square frame ready for the last finishing steps.
 

 
A this stage the frame has been removed from the jig, the inside of the chocks have been cut back to the inboard profile on the scroll saw.  The frame has been sanded down very close to the outboard and inboard profiles on a vertical drum sander, but no beveling is done at this stage. The notch to fit over the rising wood has been cut out and filed to fit.  In this picture the frame is being matched up to the assembly pattern for a last check.

The next step is to pare down the excess chock widths on the front face and to finish off these joints in preparation for erection of the frame.
 
The simple clamping device below was helpful in the paring process.  It also helps avoids chiseling into fingers.
 

 
To make this, a 1inch dowel has slices cut off, just less than the frame thickness.  Holes in these for screws are drilled off-center.  Sandpaper is glued around their perimeters to help grab the work.  They are then screwed loosely to a piece of plywood, which has a bench stop under its front side.  The curved frame can then be pushed between the off-center discs and the cam action of the disks will hold it in various positions for paring.
 
The next few pictures illustrate finishing off of joints to the smaller siding of the upper piece, and if necessary, for any other jogging called for.  This is done with a paring chisel and then dressed off with a small file.
.

.

.

 

.

.
As mentioned earlier, I leave the paper on until it absolutely has to be removed, to help in alignment and, on beveled frames, for rough faring of the inboard face after erection.  In the above picture, paper has been filed off at the joints in the finishing process.  When doing this, a file card is kept handy to remove paper residue from the file.
 
Floor Fillings
 
The picture below shows a final step for certain frames.
 


In this picture a filling piece of cherry has been cut which will be glued to this particular frame to match its floor.  In practice these fillers were inserted between floors after erection to provide a continuous surface to help prevent bilge water from filling the spaces between frames.  On the model these add authenticity and are very helpful in spacing floors correctly.  Since floors of main-frame bends are bolted tightly together, these are used only in spaces adjacent to intermediate frame floors.  There are three such spaces for each pair, one between intermediate frame sections and one each between these and their adjacent main-frame bends.
 

 
These fillers vary in thickness based on the disposition of frames drawing, averaging a little over 2 inches thick.  They were glued to the frame before erection and then sanded off as necessary to match the required spacing.  These fillers also add a lot of strength to the model in this area.

In the next part I will discuss how the preceding lofting and assembly process was modified to handle square frames with bevels.

Stay tuned…
 
Ed

 
 
2013 Copyright Edward J Tosti

Bollard and Hawse Timbers
 
 
Thanks, all for your kind comments. A bit of serendipity with regards to the crash - many of us are putting up more photos than the first version. The ease of posting them and lack of file size restrictions make it a breeze.
 
The bollard and hawse timbers are among the most challenging to make on the model. As well, they are the first timbers made after the keel, and the learning curve hasn't had a chance to kick in yet. So it's important to take your time getting them right and redo them if necessary (as Ed T. has also pointed out in his excellent log). The last little filler piece has no real pattern. It's just cut over-sized and "massaged" into place.
 
The last photo illustrates the rather diminutive size of Speedwell as compared to an earlier discarded attempt at my Swan class model. The sixth rate looks gigantic compared to Speedwell. Yet they wood both look like longboats compared to a third rate or larger!
 
 

2013-03-10&11: waist rails, sheer rails, drift rails, fife rails, plank sheers, cutting the external planking above the main wale into individual pieces





 
This is the progress up to now. Enjoy!

2012-06-05: assembling the stern to the hull, adding the rudder chains



 
2013-02-11: ladders connecting the lower deck to the upper deck, chain pump winches, iron pillars on the upper deck, shot racks on the upper deck

 
2013-03-04 to 05: forecastle planking and fittings, quarter deck planking and fittings, catheads, stove, capstan, forecastle planksheer





 

2012-02-29 to 05-31: working on the stern















 

2012-02-20 to 25: working on the steering gear










 
2012-02-25: changed the color scheme


 

2012-01-11: upper deck planking

 
2012-01-14: internal planking above the upper deck

 
2012-01-15: forecastle beams, quarterdeck beams, and knees


 
2012-01-17: the whole assembly






 

2013-03-18 Upper deck bulkheads finished


 

Welcome back to the new, improved MSW. It's always a pleasure looking at nice clean workmanship. Thanks, Greg!

Thank you again for sharing your lovely work, Doris. I thought that you might rig the model as well.

Thanks guys.
 
Now is also the time to dryfit the upper well. I had made this one two years ago.
 



 
Actually it didn't fit and some modification was necessarily, it was slightly to high but this was good as I also had forgotten to take the chamber of the deckbeams into account when I made the well. Removing wood is easier than adding
 
Now it looks like this.
 



 
 
I also made another set of hanging knees, nasty bits to make... I still need to get back into the flow of making beam, knee and ledges parts
 
Remco

Pump Chain
 
This is the Chain for the starboard Chain Pump - I'm only making one of these, as the port side will have a cover on the Cistern.
 
The chain is made from the pieces supplied in the PE set from Admiralty Models. It's a little on the fiddly side to make, but I came up with a rather easy way to put it together. I should have taken a few step-by-step pics, but my explanation will have to suffice.
 
After cutting all the required pieces from the sprue I started by fixing one link in my vise with half of it protruding. Then I picked up a second link with small pliers and pushed some 0.5mm brass wire through both pieces. The wire needed a good cleanup with 1000 grit wet and dry to slightly reduce it's diameter.
 
Next I picked up a third link and threaded the wire through it alongside the second link, making three links joined at the same point. A drop of medium CA glue held the joint firmly. I then snipped off the wire on both sides a little longer than "flush".
 
I continued in this manner for three single and four double links, then I slipped on the one (and only) "saucer" that will be visible - there is one every fourth single link, but I only need seven singles in the length around the Sprocket between the two Tubes.
 
When I completed the whole length I placed each pin on my anvil and carefully peened each side of the wire to keep it all together. Then I gave the whole chain a bath in Acetone to remove the CA - the chain actually works, and doesn't come apart at all (OK, one joint did - not quite enough peening, but not hard to correct).
 
I'll blacken the chain before fitting it. It took me about 1 1/2 hours to make 50mm of chain.
 

 

 

 
 
  Danny

Thank you Sjors!
I have just finished decorating on the label with the ship´s name, here is the result:

Royal Caroline on her base

 

After painting:

Part 6.
 
Well, on to the beakhead bulkhead.  There are six figures described by Thomas Heywood in hid book, and Mantua has chosen to use six identical figures of a woman moulded in brass.  They are, however, very different and as Heywood describes, are intended to depict not just a representation of typical figures on a warship but also having a relationship to one another.  He writes:
 
"On the Bulk-head right forward, stand six severall Statues in sundry postures, their Figures representing Consilium, that is, Counsell: Cura, that is: Care: Conamen, that is, Industry: and unanimous endeavour in one compartment: Counsell holding in her hand a closed or folded Scrole; Care a Sea-compasse; Conamen, or Industry, a Lint-stock fired. Upon the other, to correspond with the former, Vis, which implyeth force, or strength; handing a sword. Virtus, or Vertue, a sphearicall Globe; and Victoria, or Victory, a wreath of Lawrell. The Morall is, that in all high Enterprizes there ought to be first Counsell, to undertake; then Care, to [Gla] manage; and Industry, to performe; and in the next place, where there is ability and strength to oppose, and Vertue to direct, Victory consequently is alwayes at hand to crown the undertaking."
 
It is unfortunate that Mantua could not make each figure distinct, but I fear that it was in aid of reducing costs or a misrepresentation.  In any case, this can be corrected if you carve your own figures, and use the Van de Velde sketch as a guide.  They can all be seen in his sketch, whereas the Payne engraving is taken from a different angle, and they are very difficult to see clearly.
 
In the next part, I will discuss the criticism Heywood suffered in some of his choices of carvings and mottos, and also have a look at the very ornate and beautiful stern decorations.
 
More to follow....................
 
Bill