rlb

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
 
 

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,
 
Going off course a little bit, I worked on making some closed hearts for the bowsprit stays and shrouds--

 
I need two different sizes--4 for the stays, and 4 slightly smaller for the shrouds.  After doing a few after cutting them off, I realized it would be much easier to shape them before cutting them off--


 
Now I need to make a bunch of deadeyes for the topmast shrouds, as well as the backstays.
 
All for now,
Ron

The masts have all been shaped, and fid holes and sheave holes cut into them in various places also.  I blackened using my usual method (shown a few times earlier in this log), and here they are--

 
They are not completely finished.  Tung oil finish is only partly applied, as part of the procedure to minimize bleed of the staining.  I need to attach some eyebolts to the caps; and the shroud deadeyes and some blocks to the tops, but they can finally be temporarily assembled to see how they look--

 
And on the ship--


 
Next will be finishing those parts I mentioned earlier, and checking the deck to see if there's anything else that should be done before starting the standing rigging.   Also making the rest of the bowsprit, and the trymast that attaches to the aft side of the mainmast.  And I'm sure I'll discover additional things that should be done before the stays and shrouds go on!
 
All for now,
Ron
   

I spent the last week lashing down the carronades--


 
At the bow are the tackles for the two 6-pounder cannon, and also their breeching lines.
 
The two carriages are nearing completion here, black monofilament fishing line was used for the truck "pins"--

 
After they were finished, fitting the breeching lines was next.  One end was lashed to it's eyebolt and temporarily fixed into the bulwark.  The line was checked for length, allowing for a loop around the cascabel, and the fastening to the other eyelet--

 
The cascabel loop was temporarily tied, as well as the first lashing of the eyebolt, and the length was checked again--

 
As the first breeching line was finished, the second could be made up more quickly using the first as a guide, without needing to check it in place on the ship--

 
 
I've reached my stopping point for the day.  
 
Ron
 

Thanks, JJ.
 
Now that I have finished stropping the blocks, the ship comes out on to the table for rigging the carronades, and two 6-pounder cannon--
.
 
Tackle lines have been cut, dyed a little darker, and are in process of tying to an eyelet in one of each pair of blocks--

 
I had assembled one of the 6-pounder cannon carriages a while ago, now I need to assemble the other one, as well as finish the first with cap-squares, breeching rings and other eyelets.  I have two extra axles pieces here!--

 
All for now,
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,
 
Going off course a little bit, I worked on making some closed hearts for the bowsprit stays and shrouds--

 
I need two different sizes--4 for the stays, and 4 slightly smaller for the shrouds.  After doing a few after cutting them off, I realized it would be much easier to shape them before cutting them off--


 
Now I need to make a bunch of deadeyes for the topmast shrouds, as well as the backstays.
 
All for now,
Ron

That looks very nice, Ron. Well done

HI everyone,
 
I have not posted in many months, and want to catch up now.
 
In anticipation of carving the figurehead, I attended the excellent workshop on carving run by David Antscherl and Greg Herbert in Annapolis in early October. Fired up with my newly acquired skills, I flew back home to Montana ready to carve, only to discover that I had pinched the sciatica nerve in my leg on the flight. I was unable to sit at all for several months, taking me entirely out of the workshop. After several months of physical therapy, I am finally able to get into the shop again in small bursts of activity.
 
During that down time, I put my computer on a stool at my desk so I could work on CAD drawings standing up. I was able to draw many more of the details still to come. I will show some of those in some following posts. Here is a taste:

 
 
The unexpected and enforced downtime due to medical issues caused me to realize that I have to get my skates on and work more aggressively towards completion. I may not have the luxury of working for many more years at the same leisurely pace. At the Annapolis workshop, Chuck Passaro discussed with me a number of ideas for tackling the most challenging pieces that were putting me into a tizzy,  like the frieze paintings and the fretwork stern decoration, and I am beginning to pursue some of these ideas with him further. Thanks, Chuck, huge help! I am starting with the stern, and here is a sample of what I will discuss in a later posting.
 

 
The time off from cutting wood also gave me time to think more carefully about the decorative scheme I will want to follow as I get to this level of detail. I decided at the very beginning that I wanted to show the Bellona as originally designed and built, based on the original Admiralty drawings and on the first Bellona model of 1760 that shows her mainly in frame with little decorative detail other than the taffrail down to the floor of the stern balcony, with no quarter galleries. I did NOT want to portray her as she looked after a major refit 20 years later and shown in the second, fully detailed and colored Bellona model with the coppered bottom. Not only did the latter model show the later structural changes like the changed balcony geometry and the railings along the roundhouse that I do not like, but its overall decorative scheme felt like it was more extravagantly Rococo and showy than the real ship would have looked several decades earlier (like ivory details sprinkled around, and exuberant carvings).
 
So I have been looking at other models contemporaneous with the first Bellona, like the Princess Royal and the first Victory, both designed by the Bellona's shipwright, Sir Thomas Slade. In some later postings, I will explore this further, as it might be of interest for others who are attempting to reconstruct a decorative scheme from indirect sources.
 
So anyway, back into the land of the living!
 
More posts to follow as I am able to put them together.
 
Best wishes,
 
Mark
 
 

Tom,
 
I don't know what the directions call for, but it seems odd to me that the caps are laser cut into the carriage sides.  I think it would be better if you sand that off, so it looks like the red carriage to the right, and then use the pe caps bent over the cannon trunnions, although it would be more fiddly as Nipper says!
 
Ron

I finally finished the first set of sidewall decorations:
 





 

The masts have all been shaped, and fid holes and sheave holes cut into them in various places also.  I blackened using my usual method (shown a few times earlier in this log), and here they are--

 
They are not completely finished.  Tung oil finish is only partly applied, as part of the procedure to minimize bleed of the staining.  I need to attach some eyebolts to the caps; and the shroud deadeyes and some blocks to the tops, but they can finally be temporarily assembled to see how they look--

 
And on the ship--


 
Next will be finishing those parts I mentioned earlier, and checking the deck to see if there's anything else that should be done before starting the standing rigging.   Also making the rest of the bowsprit, and the trymast that attaches to the aft side of the mainmast.  And I'm sure I'll discover additional things that should be done before the stays and shrouds go on!
 
All for now,
Ron
   

Thanks, Tom, Joe, Ed, and Steve, and all who have looked, and liked.  It seems there are never ending things to learn in this hobby, which is one of the things I love about it.
 
Ed, the metal is a tin-bismuth alloy, that I bought from Micro-mark (I'm sure available elsewhere also).  It is lead-free, and has a 280 degree Fahrenheit melting point.    
 
 

The masts have all been shaped, and fid holes and sheave holes cut into them in various places also.  I blackened using my usual method (shown a few times earlier in this log), and here they are--

 
They are not completely finished.  Tung oil finish is only partly applied, as part of the procedure to minimize bleed of the staining.  I need to attach some eyebolts to the caps; and the shroud deadeyes and some blocks to the tops, but they can finally be temporarily assembled to see how they look--

 
And on the ship--


 
Next will be finishing those parts I mentioned earlier, and checking the deck to see if there's anything else that should be done before starting the standing rigging.   Also making the rest of the bowsprit, and the trymast that attaches to the aft side of the mainmast.  And I'm sure I'll discover additional things that should be done before the stays and shrouds go on!
 
All for now,
Ron
   

The masts have all been shaped, and fid holes and sheave holes cut into them in various places also.  I blackened using my usual method (shown a few times earlier in this log), and here they are--

 
They are not completely finished.  Tung oil finish is only partly applied, as part of the procedure to minimize bleed of the staining.  I need to attach some eyebolts to the caps; and the shroud deadeyes and some blocks to the tops, but they can finally be temporarily assembled to see how they look--

 
And on the ship--


 
Next will be finishing those parts I mentioned earlier, and checking the deck to see if there's anything else that should be done before starting the standing rigging.   Also making the rest of the bowsprit, and the trymast that attaches to the aft side of the mainmast.  And I'm sure I'll discover additional things that should be done before the stays and shrouds go on!
 
All for now,
Ron
   

Thanks, Ab, much appreciated !
 
*********************************
 

Installing the ship’s boats 2
 
It is done! All four boats are suspended from their davits and the work was achieved without major damage to other parts.
 
Good thing that there is not (yet) any brain recorder … because of the mental language that accompanied the process at certain stages.
 
Still there is a lot to be done, such as tidying up the loose ends, making and installing the coils of rope from the runners of the boat-tackles and the longitudinal chain-stays for the davits.
   

 
To be continued ....

The masts have all been shaped, and fid holes and sheave holes cut into them in various places also.  I blackened using my usual method (shown a few times earlier in this log), and here they are--

 
They are not completely finished.  Tung oil finish is only partly applied, as part of the procedure to minimize bleed of the staining.  I need to attach some eyebolts to the caps; and the shroud deadeyes and some blocks to the tops, but they can finally be temporarily assembled to see how they look--

 
And on the ship--


 
Next will be finishing those parts I mentioned earlier, and checking the deck to see if there's anything else that should be done before starting the standing rigging.   Also making the rest of the bowsprit, and the trymast that attaches to the aft side of the mainmast.  And I'm sure I'll discover additional things that should be done before the stays and shrouds go on!
 
All for now,
Ron
   

Some tidying up of space between waterways and bulkheads and 3/32 square section rail attached to top of bulkhead (seen in previous builds for reason of height needed fro cannon ports



 
Next step - framing of cannon ports

I finished the bitts and windlass but put them away before taking pictures. I then made up the capstan, pumps and swivel guns. I am going to put 8 swivel guns per side, unless that looks too crowded. I certainly don't want to fill all the swivel gun supports.
 

 
The capstan went together so nicely. The laser cut pieces just fit together do problem. The pumps weren't too hard either, except when I cut the middle pieces from the PE I cut off the pin that is supposed to be glued into the side of the shafts. To compensate I drilled a hole into the top of the shaft and glued the part of the pump into the hole. I also glued the pump to the side of the shaft using CA and held it until the glue dried. They seem to be attached well but I don't want to risk catching anything on them so I will wait until much later to add them to the deck.
 
Now I am working on the cannons. I cut out all the pieces, which took a while, and started cleaning the char off the carriage sides. I am using a sanding block on the flat edges, a small Swiss flat file on the steps, and a small round file for the curved portion. I am also opening up the slot for the bolt on the back sides using a very small flat pointed file.
 

 
I am going to use a mandrel to hold the wheels while I spin them to remove the char and a small file to carefully remove the char from those small pieces.
 
One thing that confused me some was that the supplied carriage sides are different than those shown in the instructions, as you can see here:
 

 
But, the PE caps (part PE-3 in the image) are also supplied. To me the supplied sides already have the cap as part of them. I did try adding the PE cap over that part of the side but it does not conform well to the wood. So I think I am going to paint that part of the wooden side black and not add the PE part. If this isn't correct, please let me know.
 
 

The masts have all been shaped, and fid holes and sheave holes cut into them in various places also.  I blackened using my usual method (shown a few times earlier in this log), and here they are--

 
They are not completely finished.  Tung oil finish is only partly applied, as part of the procedure to minimize bleed of the staining.  I need to attach some eyebolts to the caps; and the shroud deadeyes and some blocks to the tops, but they can finally be temporarily assembled to see how they look--

 
And on the ship--


 
Next will be finishing those parts I mentioned earlier, and checking the deck to see if there's anything else that should be done before starting the standing rigging.   Also making the rest of the bowsprit, and the trymast that attaches to the aft side of the mainmast.  And I'm sure I'll discover additional things that should be done before the stays and shrouds go on!
 
All for now,
Ron
   

The masts have all been shaped, and fid holes and sheave holes cut into them in various places also.  I blackened using my usual method (shown a few times earlier in this log), and here they are--

 
They are not completely finished.  Tung oil finish is only partly applied, as part of the procedure to minimize bleed of the staining.  I need to attach some eyebolts to the caps; and the shroud deadeyes and some blocks to the tops, but they can finally be temporarily assembled to see how they look--

 
And on the ship--


 
Next will be finishing those parts I mentioned earlier, and checking the deck to see if there's anything else that should be done before starting the standing rigging.   Also making the rest of the bowsprit, and the trymast that attaches to the aft side of the mainmast.  And I'm sure I'll discover additional things that should be done before the stays and shrouds go on!
 
All for now,
Ron
   

The masts have all been shaped, and fid holes and sheave holes cut into them in various places also.  I blackened using my usual method (shown a few times earlier in this log), and here they are--

 
They are not completely finished.  Tung oil finish is only partly applied, as part of the procedure to minimize bleed of the staining.  I need to attach some eyebolts to the caps; and the shroud deadeyes and some blocks to the tops, but they can finally be temporarily assembled to see how they look--

 
And on the ship--


 
Next will be finishing those parts I mentioned earlier, and checking the deck to see if there's anything else that should be done before starting the standing rigging.   Also making the rest of the bowsprit, and the trymast that attaches to the aft side of the mainmast.  And I'm sure I'll discover additional things that should be done before the stays and shrouds go on!
 
All for now,
Ron
   

The masts have all been shaped, and fid holes and sheave holes cut into them in various places also.  I blackened using my usual method (shown a few times earlier in this log), and here they are--

 
They are not completely finished.  Tung oil finish is only partly applied, as part of the procedure to minimize bleed of the staining.  I need to attach some eyebolts to the caps; and the shroud deadeyes and some blocks to the tops, but they can finally be temporarily assembled to see how they look--

 
And on the ship--


 
Next will be finishing those parts I mentioned earlier, and checking the deck to see if there's anything else that should be done before starting the standing rigging.   Also making the rest of the bowsprit, and the trymast that attaches to the aft side of the mainmast.  And I'm sure I'll discover additional things that should be done before the stays and shrouds go on!
 
All for now,
Ron
   

The masts have all been shaped, and fid holes and sheave holes cut into them in various places also.  I blackened using my usual method (shown a few times earlier in this log), and here they are--

 
They are not completely finished.  Tung oil finish is only partly applied, as part of the procedure to minimize bleed of the staining.  I need to attach some eyebolts to the caps; and the shroud deadeyes and some blocks to the tops, but they can finally be temporarily assembled to see how they look--

 
And on the ship--


 
Next will be finishing those parts I mentioned earlier, and checking the deck to see if there's anything else that should be done before starting the standing rigging.   Also making the rest of the bowsprit, and the trymast that attaches to the aft side of the mainmast.  And I'm sure I'll discover additional things that should be done before the stays and shrouds go on!
 
All for now,
Ron