druxey

Here is a couple more showing this part of her build.



 

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 61 – Lower Deck Knees 2
Posted 3/27/11
 
In the last part some work had been done on the partitions on the aft platform. This work is now complete. Hardware has been added to the doors to the light room and the aft magazine and that whole assembly was fixed permanently in place. To the right of the light room door is the Dutch style door to the stewards room. The steward reported to the purser and was responsible for distribution of stores, hence the Dutch door. There is also a small sliding door leading to the bread room from this room. The steward slept in this room. To the right is the slops room then the marines clothing room. Slops was the term given to seamen’s clothing and gear that were issued to new arrivals on the ship who may not have had a chance to outfit themselves before being picked up by the press gang. Deductions from wages were made accordingly. Also in this picture the hatch to the spirit room has been converted to a “double-flap.” A ladder way to this deck will descend above this hatch.
 

 
The next picture shows this area with the overhead beams temporarily in place.
 

 
Most of the effort in the past two days involved the hanging knees and the progress of their installation is shown in the next several pictures. The next picture shows the knees installed on beams over the central orlop.
 
 

 
The hanging knees at this stage are glued to their respective beams only. All the knees still need to be trimmed down flush with the beams.
 
 

 
This view from astern shows the hanging knees on the last several beams. The slots let down in the tops of two of these beams are for the mizzen step. Hanging knees on the beam forward of that are clamped for gluing.
 
In the next picture the very last hanging knee has been glued and clamped.
 
 

 
The picture below shows the arrangement of knees on the beam arm assembly attached the beam aft of the main hatch. The knees on this assembly have been sanded down flush with the beam.
 

 
The double lodging knee in the upper left of this picture is the point at which the lodging knees shift position and orientation. It was important to have a large angle between the two faces of these knees for strength. Here at midship they are roughly 90 degrees, but with the change in orientation the angle of these will increase going fore and aft, which is the reason for the shift. Without this shift the angles at one end would be very acute and strong knees could not be made from wood for this situation. Of course, with the change, the hanging knees also change position on the beams. They are on the forward side forward of this point and on the aft side aft.
 
The next picture shows the deck structure with all the knees installed.
 

 
All this structure is still removable. The next step will be to remove each beam, trim down the knees flush with the top, get everything sanded and install the fore and aft bolts through both knees and the beam. The pillars under each beam can then be fitted and the beams installed permanently.
 
There is still some partition work to be done on the orlop. The picture below shows the area of the fore platform, laid out for the boatswain’s store and the sailroom forward of that. There will be no partitions installed on the starboard side – only structure.
 

 
 
Ed

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 60 – Lower Deck Knees 1
Posted 3/25/11
 
With the complexities and controversies of the mainmast partners now consigned to the past - until they arise again on the upper deck, or maybe even with the lower deck foremast partners – it was time to move on the lower deck knees.  The knees were extremely important to the structure of the ship.  Their purpose was to form moment connections between the beam, the frames and the sandwich of clamps and outer planking that are the primary longitudinal members..  There are two knees at each end of each beam. a horizontal lodging knee to maintain the spacing between the beams and reduce flexing in the horizontal plane, and a vertical hanging knee to resist bending at the beam end in the vertical direction.  They were primary timbers in maintaining the rigidity of the hull – much like gusset plates make steel building structures rigid.  The lodging knees are 8” thick, the hangers 8 ½ inches.  Both bolt through the sides of the beam and in and out through the hull frames and planking.
 
The first picture shows some lodging some of Naiad’s lodging knees from above.
 

 
These have been glued to the side of their beams, which are still only pinned in place.  The beams will be removed to install bolts and for further steps associated with the hanging knees.  In the next picture all the lodging knees, except a few around the beam arms, have been glued to their beams.
 


As described earlier, the knee profile was first cut out on a 3-inch wide piece of pear on the band saw.  Individual knees were then sliced off that piece as needed – like a loaf of oddly shaped bread.  This eliminates intricate cutting of each knee, establishes the right grain direction, assures they are all roughly consistent in shape and saves a lot of time.  The next picture just shows one of these knees clamped for gluing.
 

 
The next picture shows the first few hanging knees attached to the side of the beams opposite the lodging knees.
 

 
To get these up against the deck clamps each lodging knee had to be notched back to the face of the clamp.  To do this a strip of wood the thickness of the hanging knee was used to mark the cut line on each of the hanging knees.  The beam to receive the hanger was then removed so the line of the clamp could be marked.  The beam with the lodging knees was then removed so it could be clamped in a vise to cut out the notch with a razor saw.  The hanging knees need to fit tightly in the notch, against the side planking and of course against the side of the beam.
 

 
At the end of this step each beam will have both of its knees attached.  It can then be removed to have fore and aft bolts inserted through both knees and the beam.  These will be iron bolts.  When the beams get permanently installed, holes will be drilled through the frames from the outside and copper bolts inserted, but there are several other steps before the beams can be installed permanently.
 
One of those steps is the installation of partitions on the port side of the ship, which will be decked.  Some of that has been done concurrently with the knees.  The next picture shows partitions between the steward’s room, the slops room and the marines clothing room.  The latter two are really just walk-in closets.
 

 
Notches in these partitions for the carlings will have to be cut out in place.  Notches for the knees were cut before installing.
 
The hatch over the spirits room is also getting new covers of the double flap variety, which is more correct.  There may be more work yet to do with these two hatches on the aft platform.
 
Construction is starting to overtake the drafting, so some time had to be taken to get that caught up.  This involved finishing drawing of the mizzen step, the foremast partners, and the lower deck hatchways, and making sure all this was going to fit properly with the orlop deck arrangements.  This took some research and some time.
 
There are a variety of things going on right now and that keeps the work interesting.  The knees are progressing much faster than I expected.
 
Ed

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 59 – Lower Deck Main Partners
Posted 3/22/11
 
It may seem like I’m putting off the big knees job, but in order to finish cutting the carling seats for the beams, I had to address the mast partners, since the carlings for these do not match the others either in size or location.  They are much larger and their location depends on mast diameter.  This issue is complicated by another problem and that is the need to have 6 straight pump casings make their way from their bases in the well to the right spot on the upper deck.  Those who have been following this series will have noted the difficulties discussed in several posts in the last few days.
 
The picture below illustrates the problem with the pumps.
 

 
The four shafts in the foreground are the 10 ½” square casings for the Cole Chain pumps.  There are two pumps and at the bottom these shafts connect to an intake housing between the keelson and the second limber strake – no room for maneuver there.  The upper ends of these come through the bottom of a cistern on the upper deck where the water is collected and discharged.  The centers of the tops need to be 24 inches apart precisely, because the sprocket that drives the chain is of that diameter – no latitude here.   The bent pins holding the tops together are maintaining this 24-inch distance at the top.  These shafts must pass on either side of the lower deck mast partner carlings and given the geometry just described, there is a fixed distance between these at the level of the lower deck and it is much smaller than the width of the carlings, so they have to be cut – no way around this regardless of layout.  The two octagonal shafts forward are for the two elm tree pumps – same problem.  They are as far out as they can go in this picture without enlarging the well and its width is well defined by the location of the limber strakes (no pun intended).
 
It took some advice from our MSW experts, multiple readings in Steel and others sources, and some head scratching to get this drawn up and built.  The following pictures show the progress of its construction.
 


The two fore and aft carlings are 15 inches wide and 14 inches deep.  They fit into vertical slots in the beams and have a 6 inch lap over the full width of both beams with two bolts driven through the beam vertically at each end.  All this restrains lateral movement of the mast.  These carlings are connected by 6 inch thick cross chocks, which I have installed in the athwartship orientation.  They have 3-inch laps which rest on 3-inch rabbets in the carlings and are bolted with four bolts to each.  This is quite a massive rigid structure.  In the picture above, the cross chocks are being marked so they can be cut to fit around the casings.  Pins through the carling boltholes are keeping this all together.
 
The next picture shows the rough cutouts in the cross chocks and also the rabbeting of the four corners of the mast opening to take four corner chocks.  All cross chocks are glued in at this stage except for the two to the left. They will be glued in much later when the shafts are permanently fixed.
 


In the next picture rough corner chock blocks have been glued in.
 

 
These were done in Castello so their shape doesn’t get obscured.  Their grain runs tangential to the curvature of the mast.  In the next picture the corner chocks have been opened up to take the mast wedges, leveled off with the top of the cross chocks, and have had their four bolts each installed.
 


All the other bolts are also installed in this picture.  The last picture shows the assembly with the pump shafts fitted up temporarily.
 

 
The top of the well structure has been finished off with some upper framing.  The partners are not fastened permanently yet.  There is still a lot to do on the deck beams before that happens.
 
Ed

 
 

 
 

HMS Victory1:96 Scratchbuild Project
Part 4 - The Stern Galleries and Lower Decks
 
The progress of the model during the 1980’s is a memory test for me. Although a fair amount of work was done between 1980 and 1986, no pictures were taken. For the next few years, the model was in storage while we were out of the country. However, a lot of work was done in the early 80’s including the construction of the stern, the planking and fitting out of the lower and middle decks, making the guns for those decks and a lot of the topside planking and rails.
 
The Stern
 
Although some planking was done before the stern, the stern with its detailing was done very early because it was almost completely prefabricated on the bench before being installed and neither planking nor the lower decks could be completed without it being in place, so I will start with that part of the work.
 

This picture was taken in 1997, long after the stern was installed.
 
The above picture shows the detail of the stern galleries and the counters, the 27 slanted windows with 9 panes each, the two rows of 69 slanted carved balusters, the carvings, the fluted moldings, etc. The carved boxwood letters of the name were a little extravagance not based on the prototype, but I liked the idea, especially since I wasn’t going to paint. Its one of the few departures I allowed myself. All this detail was done very early so it could be done on the bench on a flat surface with good light. I thought this worked out extremely well and so I will describe the process in some detail.
 
First, of course, the wing transom had to be in position. This was not described previously, but was put on in when the basic framing was done. This timber is curved on its aft face and on its top. The aft curve is quite slight which gives the stern an almost flat appearance. Being higher in the middle, the wing transom sets the pattern for the curve of the counters and the horizontal gallery lines, which parallel the round up of the decks. At the same time the eight “vertical” stern timbers, with their curved feet, slant both inward and markedly aft. All this required some careful patternmaking and measurement during installation.
 
Patterns for the individual stern timbers were developed using techniques described in the MSB version of part 2. They were then cut out in maple and pinned in position across the wing transom. The outer two were actually screwed down temporarily with tiny wood screws. Angles aft and inward plus the aft curvature were measured very carefully using templates that could also hold the timbers temporarily in place. I am sorry I have no pictures of this. Once the timbers were in their correct position, the curved interior deck transoms and the main exterior counter rails were attached permanently to the stern timbers. Then, filling pieces of flat maple were glued between the timbers except for the window openings. This gave the whole assembly rigidity and provided bedding for the exterior planking. The assembly was then removed from the ship and taken to the bench for completion of the detailing. The following picture taken years after permanent installation shows the maple inserts between stern timbers and window openings. It also shows the internal horizontal deck transoms and the external rails which had not yet been trimmed.
 

This picture was taken in 1995 several years after the stern as installed and after completion most of the topside planking.
 
The hexagonal table covering the rudder head and the wide seat of the middle deck ward room are also visible.
 
Once moved to the convenience of the bench, the first step was to finalize the shape of the gallery structure and add the missing panels at the sides. Frequent fittings on the ship were made to assure all this was correctly sized and shaped. When this was done the other horizontal rails and the window lintels were put on in boxwood. Then the remaining exterior planking was put on over the whole gallery surface and below on the two counters. This was done in 3” (1/32”) cherry which was attached with glue and boxwood tree nails. I will describe the making of these tree nails later. Thousands were used on the model. In the above picture the holes for the tree nails can be seen on the inside of the stern timbers. The following picture is a close up illustrating the results of some of the next steps.
 
 

 
I did not want to paint the model, but I did want to contrast the woodwork in a way similar to the painted original (except for the lines of the gun ports which I will discuss later). This was done throughout the model using the pale yellow European boxwood on the darker reddish cherry. This contrast shows well in the above picture.
 
After the planking was installed, the columns between the windows were made and installed. This was done as follows. Two thin sheets of boxwood were glued on opposite sides of a cherry core, a strip maybe ½” wide, with the total lamination thickness equaling the width of the columns between the windows. The column facades were then sliced off of this on the circular saw, cut to length and glued to the aft side of the stern timbers, matching their widths.
 
The next step was the dreaded balusters, two rows of 69 each slanting progressively inward, carved square (not turned). The following picture shows how ornate these are on the real Victory.
 

 
The balusters on my model are about 1/32” square and about ¼” long. I could not hope to duplicate the above patterns at this size, so I decided to retain the square shape but simplify the pattern. The result is proportionately correct, but of course lacks complete detail. To assure uniformity and alignment the balusters were carved after being glued to the façade. Once the were secure, a very sharp knife was used to scribe the lines of the pediments and heads of the columns (top and bottom). Then the aft part of the curved shape was cut with a small chisel across the whole row. This approach assured alignment top and bottom square sections. When the aft faces of the balusters were done, the side shapes were cut with a small chisel and surgical scalpel.
 
Next the 1/64” by 1/32”window frames were installed, a pretty straightforward task. They are inset just below the surface of the column facades and are actually glued to the stern timbers. The window mullions themselves are the same depth and thickness as the frames. To make them, a wide (1”) sheet of boxwood, 1/32” thick, was scored, twice only, with a .015” circular saw blade, 1/64’ deep at the pane width spacing. The mullions were then ripped off in 1/64” slices and assembled by locking the notches together. There was just enough movement in these to slant them to the desired degree. Then they were then trimmed to size, touched with a bit of glue and push fit into the frames. No glass was installed. They have been secure and I have not managed to stick a tool or a finger through a single one of them.
 
The only remaining work to be done was the fluted rails and the carved figures and stacked arms above the top windows. The figures and arms were cutout from a thin sheet of boxwood with a fine toothed jeweler’s saw, glued in place, then relief carved with very small chisels. The ropelike rails were done with a needle file on the edge of a wider piece then ripped off on the saw. The fluted rail may have been done in a similar way using a rotary tool. I cannot remember. The stern galleries were then permanently attached to the wing transom and secured structurally with additional members and knees, completing this major piece of work.
 
The Lower, Middle and Upper Gun Decks
 
The Lower and Middle gun decks would only be visible in the finished model by peering into the gun ports or through hatchways, so I did not want to overdo the detail. The beams for the Lower, Middle and the Upper decks do not attempt to replicate the original. However, the simplified beam structure provided by the frame assemblies needed to be modified and supplemented at every level to accommodate hatches, mast partners, etc. The following picture shows some of the simplified beam structure of the Upper deck and also some of the detailing of the decks below.
 

This picture taken in 1995 shows the middle deck planking and gun carriages plus the simplified planking of the Upper deck.
 
The planking of the lower and middle decks was done in maple, 1/8” wide, with no attempt to replicate plank length or stagger pattern. The dark caulking between planks was simulated by gluing black construction paper to the sheets of 1/8” thick maple before ripping off the planks. This left no paper sticking above the planks and could be scraped down smooth without difficulty. I will say at this point that all decks were scraped smooth, using a ½” square ended chip carving knife that had been squared off, honed and had a scraper curl added with a burnishing tool. This eliminated the need for sanding. The lower and middle deck gun carriages were also simply made in maple. After positioning, with their barrels in place, they were then pinned and glued to the deck. Barrels would be installed through the ports many years later. Waterways, hatch coamings, gratings, stairs, partitions and other miscellaneous basic items were installed on these lower decks without too much attention to their perfection.
 
The hawsers for the anchors had to be installed at this time. This forced an early entry into the art of rope making, including worming, both of which I will go into later. The anchor cables are huge, 27” circumference, hawser laid ropes that are wormed over their length. They pass upwards from the cable tiers on the orlop deck (not modeled) through guides and the corner of a lower deck hatch, along the deck forward, out the hawse holes in the bow and are secured to a bower anchor lashed on each side of the forward hull. These ropes, at this time, were attached below the lower deck, coiled on the deck so they could easily be pulled out later, with their ends just protruding through the unfinished hawse holes. These protruding ropes would get in the way of work for years to come.
 

The protruding anchor cables, with safety lines, still protruding in 1995 – and still in the way.
 
In Part 5 I will discuss making the gun barrels and get into the topside planking.
 
Stay tuned,
 
Ed Tosti

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 55 – Scarfed Deck Beams
Posted 3/8/11
 
 
As timber supplies began to wane, it became necessary to fabricate deck beams from multiple pieces of timber. There might be two, three or four pieces used to make a beam. These beams may actually have been stronger than one piece beams, but I doubt this would have been reason to take on the large amount of additional work to make these. Also, there is not credit given in size requirements for made beams in any source I have seen.
 
There is no information on which type of made beams were used on which ship. I decided to make the beams for the lower deck of Naiad in two pieces. Cutting all these joints manually in any reasonable amount of time seemed unlikely, quite apart from the obvious final quality issues. For this reason I decided to machine these vertical tabled scarfs on the milling machine on wide pieces of wood thicknessed to the beam width. The picture below shows this machining in progress on an 11 inch thick piece..
 

 
However, some work was required to get to this, which I will describe only briefly. The length and the angle of the scarf needed to be determined. The milling table was then set to that angle. The length of the scarf was then divided into segments. In this case a single table width of 15 inches (.25”) was reasonably representative of the originals, which varied somewhat in width. In the planned process, it was important the scarfes be symmetrical so that one pattern could be used for both pieces to be joined. The difference between levels of the scarf tables was set at a constant of 3 inches as were the depths of the end lips. This was as per the original. A one eighth inch milling bit was used. A repetitive cutting sequence using the calibrated hand wheels on the milling machine was developed. Following this sequence required concentration – for me at least – to avoid ruining the piece. After marking off the length of the scarf the first pass was taken to just skim the surface. If the right angle, table pattern and table depths were followed the last cut at the end would leave the right thickness for the lip - 2.5 to 3 inches.
 
Below are some machined pieces in various stage of assembly. The apparent curvature in this and the next picture is photo distortion. These are straight.
 

 
Two identically machined pieces are shown in the lower part of the picture. If machined correctly, these will be a very tight fit – too tight, so they need to be filed back a bit on the table edges so that they fit together easily, as shown in the middle view. At the top two pieces are glued together. This was done using a very darkly pigmented glue to make the joint quite visible. There is no point in doing all this if the joint cannot be seen and without the dark brown glue the joint is virtually invisible.
 
The picture below shows the joint on an assembled beam blank.
 

 
The process then followed that described in Part 54. In the picture below, 3” thick spacers are inserted in the round up pattern-clamp to compensate for the offset so the ends as well as the middle are held tightly.
 

 
This picture shows the routed beam top. And the next picture shows a beam parted off on the scroll saw as described previously – ready to be run through the thickness sander.
 

 
The next picture shows a finished beam ready to be fit up in the ship.
 
 

 
The identical milling process will be used to make three piece and perhaps some four piece beams on the next deck up.
 
Below is a finished sample, with iron bolts, which shows the expected final appearance, before finish, of the final joint. Two smaller bolts in each lip have not been installed in this piece.
 
 

 
After scarfing, all the remaining steps, including shaping the trapezoidal cross-section follow the processes described in Part 54.
 
The full set of lower deck beams with a few extras of each orientation are shown below. No bolts yet. These will be added after the fitting up, sizing to length and cutting the carling seats and other joints
 
 

Having enjoyed proving out this process, and making the beams – I guess 10 to 12 hours of work, .it was time to go back to the detail work to finish the orlop.
 
 
Ed

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 54 – Lower Deck Beams
Posted 3/7/11
 
 
 
I needed some relief from all the small detail work involved in finishing up the orlop deck, so I turned to a process that has interested me for some time – the fabrication of the deck beams.
 
There are several aspects of these beams to be considered. On the lower deck of Naiad these 28 beams are 11 inches wide by 10 inches deep, except for those at the fore and aft ends which become smaller in width. All the beams are rounded up in a circular arc so they are 4.5 inches higher in the center at midship, with the same curvature but smaller total roundup as the ends of the ship are approached and the beams become shorter. Also, toward the ends of the ship, due to the longitudinal sheer of the deck, the beams become trapezoidal in cross-section to maintain vertical sides, reaching an angle of a few degrees at the extremes on the lower deck. Finally, at this period longer beams were fabricated in multiple pieces joined by long tabled scarfs. There is no definitive data on which beams were made this way. I decided to make all but the smaller beams at the ends in multiple pieces with the scarfs - on all the decks above the orlop.
 
In this part I will describe how the unscarfed beams were made and save the more complicated, and interesting, issue of fabricating the scarfs for Part 55.
 
First the device shown below was made to give the beams a round up of uniform circular curvature.
 

 
I had prepared patterns for forming these curves but the curvature is so slight that I did not feel that I could manually duplicate it accurately. So, equipped with the pieces of MDF shown in the above picture of the finished device, the radius of the curvature, which is between 8 and 9 real feet, a nine-foot length of 2 X 4, and a router table, the essential pattern was made in the following way.
 
First one end of the 2 X 4 was attached with two nails on the centerline of the MDF piece. The distance of the radius was marked out from the face of the MDF along the 2X4 and a nail driven through it at that point into a block of wood secured in a vice at the same height as the router table. An arc the radius of the curvature could then be swung with the MDF so that its edge could be routed off to the correct curvature. The curved bottom piece was then be made from this first piece.
 
The above picture shows two pieces of MDF made into a clamping device to hold the roughly 2-inch wide stock of the beam width. The picture below shows the router setup used to form the top pattern piece and later to round off the beams.
 
 

 
This picture shows a piece ready to be trimmed. The protrusion is a bit exaggerated for illustration purposes. Only the slightest bit needs to protrude at the center. The bearing on the router bit follows the curvature of the top of the clamp. The lower part of the clamp is sacrificial and sometimes gets cut if it is out of line with the top, but the top piece is the guide.
 
When the curve has been machined, the curve on the lower side of the beam is cut on the scroll saw set up with a fence to yield a beam slightly larger than the final depth. This step is shown below.
 
 

 
The wide leftover piece was then re-clamped in the pattern device and the next beam shaped on the router – and so on.
 
The beams were then sized to final depth and a smooth finish by passing it upside down through the thickness sander in the step shown in the next picture.
 
 

 
For beams toward toward the ends of the ship, where they take on a trapezoidal cross-section, the top faces needed to be angled back before cutting the beam off on the scroll saw. To get that shape the top surface of the beam was sanded back on a disk sander with the table inclined to the angle of the trapezoid. This step is shown below.
 
 
 

 
This step required care to only cut back the bottom surface not touching the top profile or the curvature would be ruined. I needed my higher-powered eyeglasses for this. Once this angle was formed the beam was cut off on the scroll saw as before. The beam was then run through the thickness sander as above with the sanded face down to create a parallel surface on the opposite side at the right thickness.
 
An angle of 2 degrees is almost imperceptible at this scale, but on the upper decks it will be more pronounced so this process will become more relevant.
 
Since this angle increases incremently moving forward and aft, numbering the beams is essential so they end up in the right place.
 
Some finished one-piece beams are shown below. They of course still need to be cut to length, fit onto the deck clamps and have the carling seats cut as described in previous parts..
 
 

 
In the next part the process used to efficiently make scarfed beams will be discussed – an interesting and challenging problem.
 
Stay tuned.
 
Ed

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 53 – Aft Magazine
Posted 3/3/11
 
Making good progress this week. The picture below shows the standard knees on the aft platform installed, but not yet bolted. Also the bulkhead, which forms the forward end of the aft magazine has been fabricated and fit into position against the last beam of the aft platform.
 

 
To shape the bottom curve of this bulkhead, a paper pattern was cut with scissors and fit against the side until a good fit was obtained. It was then traced on paper, to which was pinned the vertical stanchions, using the process described earlier. The bulkhead was then planked over on its forward face, leaving openings for the doors – on the left (in the picture) the entrance to the magazine, on the right the entrance to the light room. This planking was made larger than the pattern so that later there would be excess to allow final shaping to the hull.
 
The picture below shows the sides of the magazine being attached. Before this step, these too, had to be shaped to fit the bottom of the hull, which curves upward dramatically in this area.
 

 
In the next picture these sides are being attached with a cross piece at the rear keeping everything square.
 
 

 
In the next picture most of the magazine detail has been completed – the floor, two doors into the magazine, one into the light room, stairs between the magazine doors and cartridge racks. The lantern is yet to be added.
 
 

 
The next picture gives a good idea of just how cramped this space was, barely enough room to turn around.
 
 

 
The doors were made by gluing paneling rails on to a 1 inch thick backing panel of Castello. The actual doors may have been simpler, but these were easy to make and look good. The hatches to the spirit rooms are still awaiting their hardware (the fish room was really used for more spirits by this period).
 
In an attempt to wrap up the orlop some other chores were also attended to. The picture below shows the baseboards for two of the rooms on the forward platform, the boatswain’s store and the adjoining sail room. The sail room has 2” X 2” dunnage beams on the floor to let some air get under the stored canvas. Another larger sail room is located across the passageway from this one, but this unplanked area will not have partitions installed.
 
 

 
When the lower deck beams are placed, the partitions to the rooms on this side of the ship will be added. At the orlop level the partitions were pretty permanent – unlike the upper deck partitions, which were dismantled and taken below when the ship cleared for action. I believe these held in place by wedges or removable battens at the foot. So, baseboards of this type were probably used to anchor the bottom of the more permanent orlop partitions. In any event these will help plumb the partition walls later.
 
The next picture shows some more of these aft, defining what will be – forward to aft – the marines clothing room (perhaps closet is a better word), the slops room ( for seamen’s clothing, etc.) and the stewards room, conveniently located to keep and eye on the hatch to the spirits.
 
 

 
The final picture shows 4” X 2” dunnage beams placed athwartship in the cable tier.
 

 
Some input here would be welcome. I have placed only two of these. Both are on top of the beams where they will not interfere with the ability to lift up the loose planking in this area to get to the hold or to provide for cable drainage, or perhaps better air circulation under the cables. I cannot imagine that after going to the expense of making these removable - rabbeting the tops of the beams, lowering the carlings, etc. that they would then have nailed down dunnage on top that would foil the purpose of all this work. I see two possibilities – loose dunnage beams or running these fore and aft (or both). Of course the only time these planks could be lifted was when the cable was out. I will very likely add some more transverse beams, but I thought I’d give the experts a shot first.
 
There are still more details to finish up before leaving the orlop in favor of “higher pursuits” – the lower deck.
 
Ed

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 52 – Aft Platform
Posted 3/1/11
 
Getting the forgotten Spirit/Fish Room partition in under the finished deck framing turned out to be not as difficult a task as feared. In the picture below the second of two segments is being glued and clamped into place.
 
 

 
To slip it in, the partition bulkhead was made in two pieces with a vertical joint line that is hidden by the pillar on the forward side and the middle bulkhead stanchion on the aft side. The planking on this and the forward spirit room bulkhead was 3 inches thick. The next picture shows the forward bulkhead being glued and clamped.
 
 

 
The next picture shows the finished bulkheads and the beginning of planking of the platform.
 
 

 
Before extending this planking to the side, the copper bolts securing the beams were installed through the frames in the location of the temporary pin holes.
 
The picture below shows the whole interior hull after the completion of the aft platform planking. For some reason the color in the pictures are more vibrant as the camera is moved further away.
 

 
In the picture below, holes for treenails for both the decking and the coamings and head ledges have been drilled.
 

 
And in the next picture the treenailing has been completed and two planked blanks, which will each become a “double-flap” hinged closure are lying in place on their respective scuttles.
 
 

 
Except for the area aft of this platform the whole bottom below the orlop beams can now begin the finishing process, but first a few limber boards needed to be installed – just a few to give the general idea. I still want to have a good bit of the limber channels open so I can continue to enjoy picking out pins, wood chips and other debris which keeps falling into them. Some of these boards are shown below.
 

 
The four standard knees still need to be installed on the aft platform and there are some other detailing chores to be done along the orlop level, but getting this platform in place was a bit of a milestone.
 
Finally, a celebration cleanup of the shop was done so the last picture could be taken without all the usual clutter.
 
 

 
This picture certainly highlights the difference in the Euro Boxwood and the Castello decking. Actually the difference is by no means this pronounced, but I do prefer the more subtle contrast of the Castello on the central and aft platforms.
 
It may now be time to move on the the aft magazine.
 
Ed

Ed thanks for adding the picture with your hand it gives me a much better sense of the scale of the model you are working on.
 
Michael

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 50 – Lower Deck Clamps
Posted 2/21/11
 
Since the lower deck clamps needed to be installed to complete the standard knees on all the orlop platforms, it made sense to get these completely done before moving on the aft platform. I mentioned in the last part that this band of two strakes, 6 inches thick is all top and butt planks. The picture below shows this in progress.
 

 
In this picture the curved pieces at the end are being worked on – fore and aft concurrently. Next is a close up of the other side.
 
 

 
At the same time the treenailing of all the installed planks is being done. The next picture shows some of this tedious work in progress.
 
 

 
All the treenailing for all this planking is being done using bamboo, drawn down to .024”. about 2” at 1:60. the holes are drilled to go about halfway into the frames, the bamboo rod is tipped with dark glue, pushed all the way into the hole and clipped off as shown above. The nails are then filed or sanded down.
 
The next picture is of the same area a bit later after the clamps with their treenails have bee cleaned up a bit. The six standard knees shown here have just been glued in. The center one is still wet from glue cleanup.
 
 

 
In the next picture the copper bolts securing these knees have been installed but not finished off.
 

 
The bolts on these knees are staggered and go through the beam in the case of the horizontal leg and through the frames in the case of the vertical leg.
 
The next picture shows these coming out through the frames in reasonably straight lines. They still have to be clipped and filed flush.
 

 
These bolt holes of course pay no attention to joint lines, other bolts, etc, so the pattern on the outside will be a bit random and crowded. There were many fasteners coming through the hull. I believe in the appearance of all these fasteners authenticity will rule over aesthetics. This picture also shows the temporary spacers, which are being slowly removed as spaces are needed for clamping. They will soon all be removed once these clamps are finished and treenailed down.
 
It occurred to me that almost all of the pictures lately have been close-ups showing details, so I added one of the whole model below.
 

 
Ed

Here is a few more of the frame build up.
 

 

 

Thanks Ron!
 
Here are a couple of shots of the builders draughts from the NMM.  As you can see they are now reproduced in color and can provide some interesting insight into some of the differences between the various ships of the Apollo/Euryalus class of the 36 gun frigate.  Various modifications were added using different color inks coded to different ships of the class (difficult to see here).  This is why it is always a good idea to include the actual draughts in your research.

T e i l  4

Hello again.
 
The last while has been busy with all the unimportant things in life, like the dreaded work, so I have not made much progress at all. After seeing Egen's last update, I have to resist the urge to jump ahead of myself .....
 
After running the floorhead thickstuff along the wrong lines, I ripped them all off and started relaying them. Most of the damage done by my wild flailing about with my chisels is now conveniently hidden by the new planking, but I do have a little cleaning up to do.
 
These consist of two runs of 12 11 x 5 inch (22 inch total) with 2 runs of 11 10.5 x 4 inch (21 inch total) each above and below.Midships this totals 6 planks wide, reducing to 4 planks at the ends. Midships and aft, there is little curve, so I just steamed the planks and clamped them while gluing. Where the planking meets the keelson at the bow, it was easier to spile the planks than bend them.
 
Where the number of planks reduced from 6 to 4 at each end, I used a drop strake on the thinner planks above and below the two main planks to merge the two into a single plank running to the ends.
 
The photos are not very good, so I hope to replace them later this week with shots taken outside in natural light.
 
Midships, middle two runs of thickstuff done, the first run above that being clamped in place.

 
Towards the bow, and both the top runs are being fixed in place. The last planks at the bow are spiled as the curve was too great to bend the planks.

 
At the stern, the lower of the two top runs is cut to allow the top run to "drop" into it forming .....

 
.... a single plank to terminate at the aft fashion piece. The same happens forward, and a variation happens to the lower two runs at each end below the main thickstuff.

 
And so far, the planking is done except for 4 lengths which "drop" into the last planks at each end.

 
Cheers
Rob

So, where it is now:
 
I have added the waist strings to give some strength to the upper timbers in the waist. To align the planks to the bottom of the upper sills, I clamped small blocks to the upper sill so that the planks sat onm these at the correct height.

 

 
 
I laid the floorhead thickstuff by first working out the line of the planks where the two thickest (the middle 2) planks run along the hull. I then laid the lower of those two planks from stem to stern until they met the keelson. Then I looked at what I had done, and realised I had run them to meet the keelson where the top plank should have met .... arghhhhhhhh
 
Naturally, I had managed to run several of the planks adjacent to these, so everything needed to be removed. I commented before how strong this hull is.....very little damage has been done even after rough abuse with chisels.
 
One thing I have noticed - every little scrap of wood in the hull ends up in the limber channel or the pump wells. It is almost as if it was designed with this in mind!
Ripping out the bad ....

 
But to finish this summary - I'll use this tidy picture
 

 

Continuation
 
Service of ropes for  blocks (a string of Gutermann Skala 200, Col. 464).

Sept. 28, 2011.  I have made the first six fore cant frames.  I used the angle gauge on my scroll saw for cutting the angles for the bollard, hawse and cant  timbers.  I later discovered the gauge is off approx. 1 degree.  This resulted in a 2 degree cumulative error which was corrected by changing the angle of the aft end of the bollard timber by 2 degrees.  Needless to say I have bought an accurate protractor and am no longer relying on the angle gauge on the saw.  I felt this was safer than removing 1 degree on two pieces.  Of course, I had already glued and pinned the bollard timbers so this had to be done mounted on the stem.  Any internal imperfections will be hidden by further construction.  The apparent crossing of cant 3 in the first picture is a result of the camera angle. Because this is such a critical timber, I used hidden brass pins to secure them.  Wood treenails were installed externally for a uniform appearance.

 
Fore Cant 

  
 

 


 
Author:  Dan Vad. I do the 90 degree bevels with my disc sander to the angle on the pattern – also the little step where it sits on the apron.  Then I use a sanding board to shape the fore-aft angle.  My sanding board is a piece of MDF with a gloss laminate (old shelving) which I’ve cut to the size of a sanding sheet and screwed to a corner of my workbench (from underneath).  I glue 120 grit paper to it with spray-on contact cement.  I start off with a couple of rough cuts by feel on the edge that will need the most cut off, holding the frame like a pencil.  Then I use my adjustable protractor to check how close my angle is, making more cuts and adjusting my grip as needed.  As I near the “uncut” edge I check the angle again.  Etc.  This also works great when finessing the chocks.
 

Sept. 30, 2011.  I discovered that the toprail contour for Atalanta is different from the prototype.  It is lower fore, the same midships and higher aft.  The bowsprit is also at a slightly different angle.  Initially I thought that the plans had become distorted in the copying process but after taking several measurements I was convinced there was no error.  I also noticed that the fore shape of the stem is different towards the keel. 

The second and third hawser timbers have been placed.  All the hawse holes will be reshaped during the final fairing.  In the last picture you can see the temporary spacers placed in the airspace.  It always amazes me how something that looks hard is deceptively easy and something that looks easy is actually quite difficult.  As an example, the airspaces and hawse holes
looked tough to me but were easy.  But mounting the hawse timbers square, plumb and at the correct angle is very difficult.  I measured across the timbers at the airspace and full breadth lines and am shy be a scale inch.  I will make that up in the fourth timber. 

Hawse timber 2 installed

 
 
Hawse timber 3 installed
 
 
 

SIGH ... ( a very long silence) ... That is a beautiful piece of craftsmanship you show on that block! You surprise me again, and again. I've been watching the pictures of that block silently for at least five minutes ................

1st Construction stage - Stern part
posterior third of the ship with all the equipment and view of the interior the model
 
Karl
 
 
 
 
 
 

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 47 – Well and Shot Lockers
Posted 2/7/11
 
 
The decking of the orlop started in the last part could not be completed until all the beams were installed and before installing the last two of these the well and shot locker structure had to be made and installed. The first strp in making this is shown below.
 

 
First two copies of the elevation view of the structure were placed on pieces of Homasote board and lengths of 6 X 6 timber were fastened in the locations of the four columns. These were made longer than needed to allow them to be pinned to the boards at their ends. Both sides of the well/shot locker structure were built simultaneously, so there were two of these layout boards. This picture also shows the specially cut top planks for one side, which would be the first to be installed.
 
The next picture shows the first of the 2.5 inch thick planking being glued to the columns.
 

 
Two of these were glued at a time and were held against their neighbors and down with pins. The caulking line between planks was done by a method I believe I described earlier and one that has now become my standard for planking caulk lines. The planking stock is coated with raw umber acrylic designers gouache on one side so that when the planks are ripped off one edge is dark. They are then glued with dark glue made by working raw umber artist’s pigment into ordinary yellow glue.
 
The next picture shows this effect on one of the sides, which has also been partially treenailed.
 

 
The treenails are 1” (.016”) bamboo. This picture also shows the back bracing for the door to be installed on the starboard side. Planks would be glued to these (but not the columns) to build the doors. This is a convenient way to assure the fit. These overlength door braces would be cut off later.
 
Except for the space taken up by the door, all sides of this structure between the orlop and lower decks was constructed with ventilation louvers. Side frames for these were dadoed on the milling machine at 30 degrees by the process used earlier for magazine ladders. Some of the machined sides and some 1” X 8” slats are shown in the next picture before being cut to size and installed
 

 
The next picture shows the louver construction in progress.
 

 
First the two vertical frames were dry fit into place and two slats were cut so that when slipped into their groves the sides would be pushed against the columns. When this was fit up the pieces were removed then replaced with glue and aligned. The rest of the slats were then glued into their slots.
 
The next picture shows the louvers installed in the two side assemblies. The louvers in the fore and aft faces will be done after all the walls are assembled. This also shows the planked up door.
 

 
The next picture shows a close up of the port side wall assembly.
 

 
The four fore and aft partitions were made by edge gluing planks on waxed paper then cutting the panels square on the circular saw. These were then glued to their columns to form the four-sided structure, which is shown below.
 

 
The door hinges wire made from copper wire and small pieces of brass plate. This method was described earlier in the section on the magazine light room shutters. The door latch was another small plate, with a ringbolt. All were chemically blackened and glued on with CA. These pieces are too small for bolts – at least for me.
 
Note the square notches on the top planks. These fit against and under the orlop deck beams. Before laying out the side wall assemblies, and again after removing them from the pattern, the space between these beams was double checked to make sure this would all fit snuggly. The assembly is very slightly oversized at the bottom to allow for trimming to fit tightly between the lower side of the orlop beams and the limbers strakes on the bottom. The lower part of the transverse panels will also have to be shaped to fit over the keelson. All of this will covered in the next installment.
 
Cheers,
 
Ed
 
 
Copyright 2013 Edward J Tosti

Carl thanks for the link, neat stuff.
 
Sinan, thanks
 
Elia Glad you like the rope I have been practicing today.
 
I made some more rope today with the machine horizontal, both RH and LH .
 

 
All made from embroidery thread
 

 
The 3/8 rope is 3 strands
The 1/2 inch is 6 strands
The 1 inch is 12 strands
 
more pics of the rope walk mod on the tools thread.
 
Michael
 
 

Hi friends
 
Teil 6  von 8
 
Thanks to all for the kinds words and comments.
 
Danke an alle für die freundlichen Worte und Kommentare.
 
Regards Karl

and the last group of 7

Bollard and hawse timbers continued...