rlb

The next  stage of construction was fitting out the mast partners, inner bulwarks, and deck.  On a real ship, the mast partners were made up from several pieces of wood.  For simplicity, I made the mast partners from single piece of cherry from my scrap box.  In the kit, it is made from two pieces of 1/32” basswood, with the two pieces oriented 90 degrees to each other for strength.  It measures 5’6” x 4’ x 3”.  The center of the mast is located 6” forward of the center point of the partners, to allow enough room for four eyebolts aft for securing the truss pendants and lifts.  It is not 100% historically accurate but compromises had to be made during kit design.
 
The mast is 17.5” in diameter at the partners and is raked aft so the opening will be oval, not round, with the long axis fore and aft.  I began by drilling a hole smaller than the final dimension.  It will be finessed later.  Remember, you can always remove more wood...you can't put it back.  Then the edges and corners were rounded over.


The waterway was made from two pieces of wood laminated together.  Because of the amount of hull curvature, I prefer to make a template and cut the outline of the bulwark onto a sheet of wood rather than edge-bend.  The template is very simple: a piece of paper which is gradually trimmed to the correct shape.  You only need one template since the two sides are mirror images of each other. The outboard edge of the waterway was traced onto the 1/32” basswood sheet and cut.

Using a compass, a line was the drawn 10” inboard and the waterway was cut out.  I prefer to make all my marks on the undersurface of the wood, where they will not be seen.  All four surfaces were sanded smooth, keeping the edges sharp.

Using the same template, I drew the outboard line on a second piece of basswood and cut it out.  A second line was drawn 4” inboard.  This was cut out and sanded but the upper-inner edge was rounded over.  The pictures show both pieces of the waterway.


The first layer of the waterway was installed and because a template was used, it fits perfectly and without tension.  After the first piece was dry, the second narrow piece was added next to the bulwark, rounded over edge inboard. 

Thanks everyone.  When starting this project I wavered between a dummy hull and a simple POB cross section.  One of the advantages to this approach is that it results in a nice desktop model.  The compromise is that certain lines, like the stays, are omitted.  
 
It is time to plank the hull.  The kit contains enough 1/32” basswood sheet to plank the hull and deck.  I began the planking at the top of the bulwark extensions.  This made them less susceptible to breakage.  There are five rows of planking, followed by two rows of double-thick planks for the wale.  Below the wale, the rest of the planking is the same thickness as the upper part of the hull.  All the planks are the same ten-inch width.  The thin basswood can easily be cut with a #11 blade and straight edge.  No spiling necessary!  I put a slight bevel on the long edge of one side of each plank to get a tight fit between the planks and rubbed a pencil along the other edge to simulate caulking.  The picture shows the hull planked to the top of the wale.

The wale is made from two rows of double-layer planking and will be painted black later.  I painted the edges of both layers with an archival ink marker before installing them.  After the first layer was installed, the hull was sanded fair.

For the second layer of the wale, the exposed outer edges were slightly rounded over before painting the edges.  The second layer of the wale was glued to the first layer and the surface  was sanded smooth.  I prefer not to paint the wale until the rest of the hull is completed to prevent damage.   

The rest of the planking below the wale was installed.  Because some of the plank ends did not land on a bulkhead, it was necessary to glue a scrap of wood on the inner side of the plank to secure it to the plank above.  In this picture, the first two rows lower planks have been installed. 

After the last row of planking had been installed, I removed most of the wood below the bulkheads by shaving it down with a razor blade.  When most of the wood was removed, the model was put on top of a sheet of sandpaper and the bottom was sanded flat by moving the whole model back and forth.  In this picture, the wale has been dyed with a coat of archival ink so you can see the difference in thickness between the regular planks and the wale. 

The NRG is an educational organization, dedicated to providing our members with the knowledge to improve the quality of their model ship building.  One of the most common problems model builders have is rigging their model.  Kit instructions are poor.  Often, the materials provided in the kit are improperly sized or the cheapest that the manufacturer could obtain.  We all know that blocks are not square!  I wanted to develop a project whose purpose would be to teach ship modelers how to mast and rig a ship without having to build a complete hull.  This model is a 1:48 scale cross-section at the level of the main mast of a late 18th century British sloop of war, Swallow 1779.  To keep the size of the model manageable and eliminate the need for a building board, the hull is cut off just above the waterline.  For the same reason, only the center portion of the lower yard and the lower part of the topmast are constructed.  Also, because this is a cross-section, certain lines, such as the stays and backstays, are not included.  My emphasis will be on demonstrating techniques to improve your rigging skills.  Skills that can be used on your next project.
 
As this was developed as a teaching aid, certain shortcuts and compromises to historical accuracy were taken.  Wherever possible, I have used measurements provided by the plans and such authorities as Steel and Lees.  I apologize in advance to the master modelers who might criticize my shortcuts.  I have kept the use of power tools to a minimum.  The only thing that is outside the normal collection of hand tools is a serving machine.  The Guild hopes to begin selling this kit in the next few months.
 
The kit contains all the materials required to complete the model.  But I always keep my scrap box nearby for those times when a piece of a contrasting color wood is desirable.  I will mention those times as the build log progresses.  Also, the build log is made up from the best photographs taken from three builds of this model.  A sharp eye will notice some differences in the wood color because of that.
 
The hull is constructed in typical plank on bulkhead style.  There is a notched spine and notched bulkheads.  The laser cut sheet of one-eighth inch basswood ply also contains a template for the top and four types of spacers, A through D. 

The spine and the frames are assembled as seen below.  Frame 1 is installed with the printing facing aft.  This gave me the option of painting the exposed bulkhead after construction was completed.


 
The mast fits in the slanted slot between Frames 3 and 4.  To keep the mast vertical, support spacers are glued on both sides of the spine.  They will be sanded flush to the spine when the hull is faired. 


To prevent the hull from twisting and to strengthen it, spacers are placed between each frame.  The three aft spacers are “B”, the next one is “C” and the two foremost ones are “D”.  They are placed close to the edge of the frame for maximum stability.  The laser char only needs to be removed from the fore and aft sides so that their surfaces are flat.  If too much wood is sanded off, I glue strips of paper onto the edge as a filler to prevent distorting the hull.
 
The hull and deck were faired so there are smooth curves fore to aft.  I used a sanding block for this.  I did not fair the bulwark extensions (the thin strips of wood above the deck) to prevent them from breaking off.  This model has a significant camber to the deck.  Sanding sticks help getting into the corners.  You can see that the mast supports have been sanded down to match the height of the deck.

Next up is planking the hull.
 
 

Thanks, Cisco and Theodosius, and all watching.
 
Here is how I tackled drilling 228 holes with a #78 drill (.016" or .40mm)--

 
Two pieces ended up being deemed unusable, so I now have the 34 hammock cranes that I need, plus two extra--

 
I broke two more drill bits (for a total of three).  Those carbide bits break if you breath hard on them.  Actually, after the initial careless one, the breakage on the other two seemed to be related to how many holes I had drilled already (they may have been getting dull?), and how flat the piece remained held in the wood through the drilling--sometimes the piece lifted up when withdrawing the drill, in spite of my care to hold it in place.
 
Now I need to trim them, file the ends, and hope that I can thread a line through the tiny holes.  Hopefully I won't have to experiment on "punching" the holes a bit bigger.  Oh, and soldering pins on the bottoms.
 
All for now,
Ron 
 
 

Thanks, Cisco and Theodosius, and all watching.
 
Here is how I tackled drilling 228 holes with a #78 drill (.016" or .40mm)--

 
Two pieces ended up being deemed unusable, so I now have the 34 hammock cranes that I need, plus two extra--

 
I broke two more drill bits (for a total of three).  Those carbide bits break if you breath hard on them.  Actually, after the initial careless one, the breakage on the other two seemed to be related to how many holes I had drilled already (they may have been getting dull?), and how flat the piece remained held in the wood through the drilling--sometimes the piece lifted up when withdrawing the drill, in spite of my care to hold it in place.
 
Now I need to trim them, file the ends, and hope that I can thread a line through the tiny holes.  Hopefully I won't have to experiment on "punching" the holes a bit bigger.  Oh, and soldering pins on the bottoms.
 
All for now,
Ron 
 
 

Thanks, Cisco and Theodosius, and all watching.
 
Here is how I tackled drilling 228 holes with a #78 drill (.016" or .40mm)--

 
Two pieces ended up being deemed unusable, so I now have the 34 hammock cranes that I need, plus two extra--

 
I broke two more drill bits (for a total of three).  Those carbide bits break if you breath hard on them.  Actually, after the initial careless one, the breakage on the other two seemed to be related to how many holes I had drilled already (they may have been getting dull?), and how flat the piece remained held in the wood through the drilling--sometimes the piece lifted up when withdrawing the drill, in spite of my care to hold it in place.
 
Now I need to trim them, file the ends, and hope that I can thread a line through the tiny holes.  Hopefully I won't have to experiment on "punching" the holes a bit bigger.  Oh, and soldering pins on the bottoms.
 
All for now,
Ron 
 
 

Skipping around some, I decided to tackle the hammock cranes.  Although they will probably make getting to the belaying rails more difficult, on the other hand, I think they will be more difficult to install after the shrouds are on.
 
I'm aiming for something like what is on the Niagara replica--

 
Only more like Glen Greico's model of the Brig Jefferson, without the wood rail at the top--

 
I'm going to make it a little easier on myself and do three ropes vs. four.
 
Here are some attempts at figuring out the size, and exactly how to make them--

 
The first three are some 20 gauge square brass wire, bent, and pounded a little flatter.  The first two are too big, and the third, which I tested drilling holes on, is actually a bit too small, though too thick.  I was able, though, to figure out how to make a tight radius in the bends.  The third is 22 gauge square wire, annealed, pounded just a bit flatter, and with some smaller test holes drilled.  It's close to the right size, both overall dimensions and gauge of the wire, and I think this method will work, though it leaves no room for error on the hole spacing.  I drilled one hole too far off center, and I also broke a drill bit.  I'll have to be more careful, or I will be buying more bits to finish them.
 
I figured out how many hammock cranes I will need (17 per side) and cut thirty-eight (four extra) pieces of brass--

 
These were annealed (heated to red hot) with a soldering torch.   I also routed a groove in a piece of scrap wood as a guide to make sure they are bent to a consistent shape, and as well to hold the piece for drilling the holes (which hopefully will help with the bit breakage)--

 
The ends of the wire that extend beyond the block will be trimmed off--

 
I put a piece of tape at the spot that was the right width for bending the wire--

 
And the bends were given a light tap to make the radius tighter--

 
Then after some straightening and checking the squareness of the shape, the wire was pounded just a little flatter, mostly just to give me a few thousandths of an inch more width to try and center the drill on--

 
 
The holes will be drilled next.  Hopefully that will be successful and I won't have to abandon this method.   After the holes are drilled I'll solder a short pin to the bottom of each one to epoxy them onto the rail.  At that point I may also adjust the angle of the legs to follow the bulwark angle--

 
All for now,
Ron
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Thanks Håkan and bigcreekdad!
 
I was sure my main top wouldn't have enough room on the aft side to have the trymast come up through it the way it is supposed to do.  I was pleasantly surprised that there was enough room, just barely.  I filed a hole in the middle of the aft end for the trymast.  (I also spy a deadeye that didn't get completely blackened).  The top looks pretty dusty!--

 
The seat for the trymast is just about done.  I may do some further shaping.  Here it is pinned temporarily to the main mast--

 
And fitting the top in place--


 
There is supposed to be a fid through the trymast into the trestle trees, and possibly a spacer block between the trymast and the mast just under the trestle trees.  I'm not sure I'm going to elect to show those.
 


 
All for now,
Ron  
 
 
 

Skipping around some, I decided to tackle the hammock cranes.  Although they will probably make getting to the belaying rails more difficult, on the other hand, I think they will be more difficult to install after the shrouds are on.
 
I'm aiming for something like what is on the Niagara replica--

 
Only more like Glen Greico's model of the Brig Jefferson, without the wood rail at the top--

 
I'm going to make it a little easier on myself and do three ropes vs. four.
 
Here are some attempts at figuring out the size, and exactly how to make them--

 
The first three are some 20 gauge square brass wire, bent, and pounded a little flatter.  The first two are too big, and the third, which I tested drilling holes on, is actually a bit too small, though too thick.  I was able, though, to figure out how to make a tight radius in the bends.  The third is 22 gauge square wire, annealed, pounded just a bit flatter, and with some smaller test holes drilled.  It's close to the right size, both overall dimensions and gauge of the wire, and I think this method will work, though it leaves no room for error on the hole spacing.  I drilled one hole too far off center, and I also broke a drill bit.  I'll have to be more careful, or I will be buying more bits to finish them.
 
I figured out how many hammock cranes I will need (17 per side) and cut thirty-eight (four extra) pieces of brass--

 
These were annealed (heated to red hot) with a soldering torch.   I also routed a groove in a piece of scrap wood as a guide to make sure they are bent to a consistent shape, and as well to hold the piece for drilling the holes (which hopefully will help with the bit breakage)--

 
The ends of the wire that extend beyond the block will be trimmed off--

 
I put a piece of tape at the spot that was the right width for bending the wire--

 
And the bends were given a light tap to make the radius tighter--

 
Then after some straightening and checking the squareness of the shape, the wire was pounded just a little flatter, mostly just to give me a few thousandths of an inch more width to try and center the drill on--

 
 
The holes will be drilled next.  Hopefully that will be successful and I won't have to abandon this method.   After the holes are drilled I'll solder a short pin to the bottom of each one to epoxy them onto the rail.  At that point I may also adjust the angle of the legs to follow the bulwark angle--

 
All for now,
Ron
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Thanks, Cisco and Theodosius, and all watching.
 
Here is how I tackled drilling 228 holes with a #78 drill (.016" or .40mm)--

 
Two pieces ended up being deemed unusable, so I now have the 34 hammock cranes that I need, plus two extra--

 
I broke two more drill bits (for a total of three).  Those carbide bits break if you breath hard on them.  Actually, after the initial careless one, the breakage on the other two seemed to be related to how many holes I had drilled already (they may have been getting dull?), and how flat the piece remained held in the wood through the drilling--sometimes the piece lifted up when withdrawing the drill, in spite of my care to hold it in place.
 
Now I need to trim them, file the ends, and hope that I can thread a line through the tiny holes.  Hopefully I won't have to experiment on "punching" the holes a bit bigger.  Oh, and soldering pins on the bottoms.
 
All for now,
Ron 
 
 

Best of luck in your new location, Ben!   Looking forward to seeing building updates!
Ron

So the move is completed, I'm working on getting my new workshop together - BOTH Pegasus and Winnie survived the move with no apparent damage ( better result than my last move ).

Skipping around some, I decided to tackle the hammock cranes.  Although they will probably make getting to the belaying rails more difficult, on the other hand, I think they will be more difficult to install after the shrouds are on.
 
I'm aiming for something like what is on the Niagara replica--

 
Only more like Glen Greico's model of the Brig Jefferson, without the wood rail at the top--

 
I'm going to make it a little easier on myself and do three ropes vs. four.
 
Here are some attempts at figuring out the size, and exactly how to make them--

 
The first three are some 20 gauge square brass wire, bent, and pounded a little flatter.  The first two are too big, and the third, which I tested drilling holes on, is actually a bit too small, though too thick.  I was able, though, to figure out how to make a tight radius in the bends.  The third is 22 gauge square wire, annealed, pounded just a bit flatter, and with some smaller test holes drilled.  It's close to the right size, both overall dimensions and gauge of the wire, and I think this method will work, though it leaves no room for error on the hole spacing.  I drilled one hole too far off center, and I also broke a drill bit.  I'll have to be more careful, or I will be buying more bits to finish them.
 
I figured out how many hammock cranes I will need (17 per side) and cut thirty-eight (four extra) pieces of brass--

 
These were annealed (heated to red hot) with a soldering torch.   I also routed a groove in a piece of scrap wood as a guide to make sure they are bent to a consistent shape, and as well to hold the piece for drilling the holes (which hopefully will help with the bit breakage)--

 
The ends of the wire that extend beyond the block will be trimmed off--

 
I put a piece of tape at the spot that was the right width for bending the wire--

 
And the bends were given a light tap to make the radius tighter--

 
Then after some straightening and checking the squareness of the shape, the wire was pounded just a little flatter, mostly just to give me a few thousandths of an inch more width to try and center the drill on--

 
 
The holes will be drilled next.  Hopefully that will be successful and I won't have to abandon this method.   After the holes are drilled I'll solder a short pin to the bottom of each one to epoxy them onto the rail.  At that point I may also adjust the angle of the legs to follow the bulwark angle--

 
All for now,
Ron
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Thanks, JJ, druxey, Michel, and all those looking in, and liking.  I appreciate the encouragement.
 
I took a leap of faith and followed Ed Tosti's lead from his Naiad books to start permanently gluing (well, there's always Isopropanol) each transom as it is fit.  I really hate gluing anything until I feel confident about the whole assembly, but here goes--

 
The lowest transom is glued to the fashion timbers only, not to the sternpost, nor the fashion timbers to the deadwood--

 
I wasn't sure how the assembly would work as it's added to, but it's really quite simple.  Here's the next transom in place on the sternpost, and the previous transom and fashion pieces sitting on the deadwood below it--
 
 
The fashion pieces/transom are then just slid up the deadwood, the lower transom fitted into its spot on the sternpost, and the upper transom test fitted with it's tenons into the fashion pieces--

 
If all is satisfactory (and believe me it took many tests and refinements to the second transom piece before it was satisfactory), then it is now glued to the fashion pieces--
 

 
Now on to the third (from the bottom) transom.  This is the deck transom, and it must slope down and to the sides.  I'm on the third try with the piece pictured here--

 
I took a different approach shaping this one.  Instead of shaping it all over at the beginning, I just thinned it at the top (stern) and two lower forward ends, and made sure those fit, as they do in the photo above.   Here is the piece showing the bottom--

 
And the top--

 
Once this fit was good, I then tapered and smoothed the top and bottom before gluing it into place--

 
So far so good.  Remember the transoms are glued to the fashion pieces here, but not to the sternpost, and the transom/fashion piece assembly can be taken off .  There is an enormous amount of fairing that will need to take place on the transoms and fashion pieces once it's all together.  And I don't know how much of that I will do with it as a separate assembly, or glued finally to the deadwood and sternpost.  We'll see.  I am pleased so far with the general method.
 
All for now,
Ron
 
 

Thanks so much Allan.  
 
Incremental progress.   I'm now trying to put together the transoms and fashion pieces.  So far I've had to cut new transom pieces.  I had shortened them too much when fitting them to the sternpost earlier.  I cut a mortice in the fashion timbers, and tenons on the first transom, and here I have the lowest transom dry fit with the two aft fashion timbers resting in place--
 
 
The correct angle of the fashion timbers is verified with the squares--


 
I milled and chiseled out the next couple mortices in the timbers--

 
And am starting to fit the second transom--

 
This is all very slow going.   I've had to recut the third transom also.  It has a complex shape that needs to match the round up of the deck that it supports.  Though none of these pieces (transoms and fashion timbers) have been faired at all, that third transom needs a lot of shaping to get it to transition from the slot on the sternpost down to the mortices on the fashion timbers, which should be about five scale inches down.   All this seems to be going okay so far (apart from having to re-cut all the previously done transoms); hopefully I won't discover some egregious error that makes me start over, as with the bow timbers.
 
Ron
 
 
 

I made 4 card templates, and sanded the area of the deadwood below the bearding line.   In between sessions of doing that, I beveled the aft side of the sternpost-

 
After this was done, I glued the sternpost to the keel, and went back to sanding the deadwood.
 
When I was satisfied that I had done enough there, I cut two shallow mortices into the bottom of the deadwood assembly, and then glued in two small tenons.  These weren't meant to be historically accurate, but would add some strength, and help in keeping the piece aligned when gluing the deadwood to the keel and sternpost--

 
The tenons were filed down until they extended only about 1/32nd of an inch.  I then cut two shallow mortices in the keel and glued the deadwood to the keel and sternpost.   I had also morticed and tenoned the sternpost to the keel when I glued it to the keel earlier.   I did not tenon into the sternpost from the deadwood.
 
Here is the sternpost and deadwood glued to the keel.  You can see 4 pencil lines on the upper part of the deadwood (the fourth is barely visible) that had marked the locations for using the card templates--
  
 
Next will be work on the transoms, and fashion timbers.
 
All for now,
Ron
 
 

Thanks, JJ, druxey, Michel, and all those looking in, and liking.  I appreciate the encouragement.
 
I took a leap of faith and followed Ed Tosti's lead from his Naiad books to start permanently gluing (well, there's always Isopropanol) each transom as it is fit.  I really hate gluing anything until I feel confident about the whole assembly, but here goes--

 
The lowest transom is glued to the fashion timbers only, not to the sternpost, nor the fashion timbers to the deadwood--

 
I wasn't sure how the assembly would work as it's added to, but it's really quite simple.  Here's the next transom in place on the sternpost, and the previous transom and fashion pieces sitting on the deadwood below it--
 
 
The fashion pieces/transom are then just slid up the deadwood, the lower transom fitted into its spot on the sternpost, and the upper transom test fitted with it's tenons into the fashion pieces--

 
If all is satisfactory (and believe me it took many tests and refinements to the second transom piece before it was satisfactory), then it is now glued to the fashion pieces--
 

 
Now on to the third (from the bottom) transom.  This is the deck transom, and it must slope down and to the sides.  I'm on the third try with the piece pictured here--

 
I took a different approach shaping this one.  Instead of shaping it all over at the beginning, I just thinned it at the top (stern) and two lower forward ends, and made sure those fit, as they do in the photo above.   Here is the piece showing the bottom--

 
And the top--

 
Once this fit was good, I then tapered and smoothed the top and bottom before gluing it into place--

 
So far so good.  Remember the transoms are glued to the fashion pieces here, but not to the sternpost, and the transom/fashion piece assembly can be taken off .  There is an enormous amount of fairing that will need to take place on the transoms and fashion pieces once it's all together.  And I don't know how much of that I will do with it as a separate assembly, or glued finally to the deadwood and sternpost.  We'll see.  I am pleased so far with the general method.
 
All for now,
Ron
 
 

I set about reducing a square cherry piece to a dowel for the larger dead-eyes.   The piece was a little over 1/4" square--9/32" to be exact.  I needed to get it down to 3/16".
 
This was done all by sandpaper.  First sanding it square down to just a hair over 3/16"--
 

 
 
Then, sanding at a 45 degree angle on the 4 corners of the square, creating an octagon.  Then just twisting the piece in a loop of sandpaper until it was round.  I used 80 grit, then 160, and finally smoothed it a bit with 320--
 
 
 

 
 
(The caliper in this picture was set to millimeters--it shows just under 5 mm)
 
 
Yes, it took a long time, but I was in no rush.
 
Then I used the jig, drilled the holes and roughed out a deadeye--
 

 

 
 
I'm not sure how thick to make the deadeyes.  I need to work with the shroud line, and chain links to determine this.
 
My short list of the next steps is--(1) finish my experimentation on how to make the deadeyes (I don't necessarily need to make them all yet, just settle in my mind how I'm going to do it).   (2) experiment with making belaying pins, (3) make the pinrails.
 
 
Ron

Skipping around some, I decided to tackle the hammock cranes.  Although they will probably make getting to the belaying rails more difficult, on the other hand, I think they will be more difficult to install after the shrouds are on.
 
I'm aiming for something like what is on the Niagara replica--

 
Only more like Glen Greico's model of the Brig Jefferson, without the wood rail at the top--

 
I'm going to make it a little easier on myself and do three ropes vs. four.
 
Here are some attempts at figuring out the size, and exactly how to make them--

 
The first three are some 20 gauge square brass wire, bent, and pounded a little flatter.  The first two are too big, and the third, which I tested drilling holes on, is actually a bit too small, though too thick.  I was able, though, to figure out how to make a tight radius in the bends.  The third is 22 gauge square wire, annealed, pounded just a bit flatter, and with some smaller test holes drilled.  It's close to the right size, both overall dimensions and gauge of the wire, and I think this method will work, though it leaves no room for error on the hole spacing.  I drilled one hole too far off center, and I also broke a drill bit.  I'll have to be more careful, or I will be buying more bits to finish them.
 
I figured out how many hammock cranes I will need (17 per side) and cut thirty-eight (four extra) pieces of brass--

 
These were annealed (heated to red hot) with a soldering torch.   I also routed a groove in a piece of scrap wood as a guide to make sure they are bent to a consistent shape, and as well to hold the piece for drilling the holes (which hopefully will help with the bit breakage)--

 
The ends of the wire that extend beyond the block will be trimmed off--

 
I put a piece of tape at the spot that was the right width for bending the wire--

 
And the bends were given a light tap to make the radius tighter--

 
Then after some straightening and checking the squareness of the shape, the wire was pounded just a little flatter, mostly just to give me a few thousandths of an inch more width to try and center the drill on--

 
 
The holes will be drilled next.  Hopefully that will be successful and I won't have to abandon this method.   After the holes are drilled I'll solder a short pin to the bottom of each one to epoxy them onto the rail.  At that point I may also adjust the angle of the legs to follow the bulwark angle--

 
All for now,
Ron
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The oil has dried out. Color in natural light.

Skipping around some, I decided to tackle the hammock cranes.  Although they will probably make getting to the belaying rails more difficult, on the other hand, I think they will be more difficult to install after the shrouds are on.
 
I'm aiming for something like what is on the Niagara replica--

 
Only more like Glen Greico's model of the Brig Jefferson, without the wood rail at the top--

 
I'm going to make it a little easier on myself and do three ropes vs. four.
 
Here are some attempts at figuring out the size, and exactly how to make them--

 
The first three are some 20 gauge square brass wire, bent, and pounded a little flatter.  The first two are too big, and the third, which I tested drilling holes on, is actually a bit too small, though too thick.  I was able, though, to figure out how to make a tight radius in the bends.  The third is 22 gauge square wire, annealed, pounded just a bit flatter, and with some smaller test holes drilled.  It's close to the right size, both overall dimensions and gauge of the wire, and I think this method will work, though it leaves no room for error on the hole spacing.  I drilled one hole too far off center, and I also broke a drill bit.  I'll have to be more careful, or I will be buying more bits to finish them.
 
I figured out how many hammock cranes I will need (17 per side) and cut thirty-eight (four extra) pieces of brass--

 
These were annealed (heated to red hot) with a soldering torch.   I also routed a groove in a piece of scrap wood as a guide to make sure they are bent to a consistent shape, and as well to hold the piece for drilling the holes (which hopefully will help with the bit breakage)--

 
The ends of the wire that extend beyond the block will be trimmed off--

 
I put a piece of tape at the spot that was the right width for bending the wire--

 
And the bends were given a light tap to make the radius tighter--

 
Then after some straightening and checking the squareness of the shape, the wire was pounded just a little flatter, mostly just to give me a few thousandths of an inch more width to try and center the drill on--

 
 
The holes will be drilled next.  Hopefully that will be successful and I won't have to abandon this method.   After the holes are drilled I'll solder a short pin to the bottom of each one to epoxy them onto the rail.  At that point I may also adjust the angle of the legs to follow the bulwark angle--

 
All for now,
Ron
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Skipping around some, I decided to tackle the hammock cranes.  Although they will probably make getting to the belaying rails more difficult, on the other hand, I think they will be more difficult to install after the shrouds are on.
 
I'm aiming for something like what is on the Niagara replica--

 
Only more like Glen Greico's model of the Brig Jefferson, without the wood rail at the top--

 
I'm going to make it a little easier on myself and do three ropes vs. four.
 
Here are some attempts at figuring out the size, and exactly how to make them--

 
The first three are some 20 gauge square brass wire, bent, and pounded a little flatter.  The first two are too big, and the third, which I tested drilling holes on, is actually a bit too small, though too thick.  I was able, though, to figure out how to make a tight radius in the bends.  The third is 22 gauge square wire, annealed, pounded just a bit flatter, and with some smaller test holes drilled.  It's close to the right size, both overall dimensions and gauge of the wire, and I think this method will work, though it leaves no room for error on the hole spacing.  I drilled one hole too far off center, and I also broke a drill bit.  I'll have to be more careful, or I will be buying more bits to finish them.
 
I figured out how many hammock cranes I will need (17 per side) and cut thirty-eight (four extra) pieces of brass--

 
These were annealed (heated to red hot) with a soldering torch.   I also routed a groove in a piece of scrap wood as a guide to make sure they are bent to a consistent shape, and as well to hold the piece for drilling the holes (which hopefully will help with the bit breakage)--

 
The ends of the wire that extend beyond the block will be trimmed off--

 
I put a piece of tape at the spot that was the right width for bending the wire--

 
And the bends were given a light tap to make the radius tighter--

 
Then after some straightening and checking the squareness of the shape, the wire was pounded just a little flatter, mostly just to give me a few thousandths of an inch more width to try and center the drill on--

 
 
The holes will be drilled next.  Hopefully that will be successful and I won't have to abandon this method.   After the holes are drilled I'll solder a short pin to the bottom of each one to epoxy them onto the rail.  At that point I may also adjust the angle of the legs to follow the bulwark angle--

 
All for now,
Ron
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Skipping around some, I decided to tackle the hammock cranes.  Although they will probably make getting to the belaying rails more difficult, on the other hand, I think they will be more difficult to install after the shrouds are on.
 
I'm aiming for something like what is on the Niagara replica--

 
Only more like Glen Greico's model of the Brig Jefferson, without the wood rail at the top--

 
I'm going to make it a little easier on myself and do three ropes vs. four.
 
Here are some attempts at figuring out the size, and exactly how to make them--

 
The first three are some 20 gauge square brass wire, bent, and pounded a little flatter.  The first two are too big, and the third, which I tested drilling holes on, is actually a bit too small, though too thick.  I was able, though, to figure out how to make a tight radius in the bends.  The third is 22 gauge square wire, annealed, pounded just a bit flatter, and with some smaller test holes drilled.  It's close to the right size, both overall dimensions and gauge of the wire, and I think this method will work, though it leaves no room for error on the hole spacing.  I drilled one hole too far off center, and I also broke a drill bit.  I'll have to be more careful, or I will be buying more bits to finish them.
 
I figured out how many hammock cranes I will need (17 per side) and cut thirty-eight (four extra) pieces of brass--

 
These were annealed (heated to red hot) with a soldering torch.   I also routed a groove in a piece of scrap wood as a guide to make sure they are bent to a consistent shape, and as well to hold the piece for drilling the holes (which hopefully will help with the bit breakage)--

 
The ends of the wire that extend beyond the block will be trimmed off--

 
I put a piece of tape at the spot that was the right width for bending the wire--

 
And the bends were given a light tap to make the radius tighter--

 
Then after some straightening and checking the squareness of the shape, the wire was pounded just a little flatter, mostly just to give me a few thousandths of an inch more width to try and center the drill on--

 
 
The holes will be drilled next.  Hopefully that will be successful and I won't have to abandon this method.   After the holes are drilled I'll solder a short pin to the bottom of each one to epoxy them onto the rail.  At that point I may also adjust the angle of the legs to follow the bulwark angle--

 
All for now,
Ron
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Skipping around some, I decided to tackle the hammock cranes.  Although they will probably make getting to the belaying rails more difficult, on the other hand, I think they will be more difficult to install after the shrouds are on.
 
I'm aiming for something like what is on the Niagara replica--

 
Only more like Glen Greico's model of the Brig Jefferson, without the wood rail at the top--

 
I'm going to make it a little easier on myself and do three ropes vs. four.
 
Here are some attempts at figuring out the size, and exactly how to make them--

 
The first three are some 20 gauge square brass wire, bent, and pounded a little flatter.  The first two are too big, and the third, which I tested drilling holes on, is actually a bit too small, though too thick.  I was able, though, to figure out how to make a tight radius in the bends.  The third is 22 gauge square wire, annealed, pounded just a bit flatter, and with some smaller test holes drilled.  It's close to the right size, both overall dimensions and gauge of the wire, and I think this method will work, though it leaves no room for error on the hole spacing.  I drilled one hole too far off center, and I also broke a drill bit.  I'll have to be more careful, or I will be buying more bits to finish them.
 
I figured out how many hammock cranes I will need (17 per side) and cut thirty-eight (four extra) pieces of brass--

 
These were annealed (heated to red hot) with a soldering torch.   I also routed a groove in a piece of scrap wood as a guide to make sure they are bent to a consistent shape, and as well to hold the piece for drilling the holes (which hopefully will help with the bit breakage)--

 
The ends of the wire that extend beyond the block will be trimmed off--

 
I put a piece of tape at the spot that was the right width for bending the wire--

 
And the bends were given a light tap to make the radius tighter--

 
Then after some straightening and checking the squareness of the shape, the wire was pounded just a little flatter, mostly just to give me a few thousandths of an inch more width to try and center the drill on--

 
 
The holes will be drilled next.  Hopefully that will be successful and I won't have to abandon this method.   After the holes are drilled I'll solder a short pin to the bottom of each one to epoxy them onto the rail.  At that point I may also adjust the angle of the legs to follow the bulwark angle--

 
All for now,
Ron
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Hi, and thanks for the like