rlb

Thanks everyone for the comments, likes, etc.!
 
I adjusted about a quarter of the frames which were slightly out of alignment, ungluing and regluing them.  Those starboard hawse timbers that gave me so much trouble needed to be disassembled and adjusted as well.  I'm using my bottle of isopropyl alcohol quite a bit, but hopefully now everything is good to go.  
 
Fairing the interior has begun--

 
I'm also starting to cut out the aft cant frames, with the ongoing puzzle of laying out frame pieces as efficiently as I can manage--

 
Finally for today, a near eye-level view, with a scale figure.  He's holding a modern-day 2x4 to help give some idea of the size of the massive timbers that went into these ships--

 
Ron 

Thanks Allan and botra.
 
After getting all the cant frames cut and glued up, I glued the first rising wood piece in preparation for erecting the first pair of square frames, which will be a starting guide for the cant frames--

 
That first pair in place, and the cant frames ready to go--

 
I didn't get far before realizing that I also needed that horizontal piece at the top, to fix the width of each set of cant frames.  So I would take a measurement from the frame drawing, and after lightly gluing a pair of cant frames in place, I would check the width with the horizontal cross piece, and if okay, then glue the cross piece in place to hold everything together.
 
This seemed to be going fine--

 
However, as I moved farther forward, I began noticing that in order to make the right width, my frames needed adjusting to the bottom vertical bevel that joins the deadwood.  I thought, well, my initial cutting of that bevel must not have been accurate.  Curiously, each frame needed the same adjustment, but I soldiered on.   It also started to seem improbable that the bow would narrow enough to meet the hawse timbers--

 
At this point, when I held up the next frame as I had cut it out, the disparity in width was growing extreme.  The frame looked just right when I set it on the frame drawing, but holding it in place, the location compared to the previous frame (which I had adjusted as I thought it needed to be) looked alarming.  Something was obviously wrong--

 
I went back to a frame drawing (I chose Za, the frame next to the hawse timbers) and measured the width on the forward face at the "Reference Line".  Just a hair over 3 and 3/4 inches--

 
Taking this same measurement on the framing guide on the build board the measurement here was almost exactly 3 inches even.  How could this be?

 
I knew what was wrong now, though I couldn't understand why, for a while.  But it did mean that everything back to the square frames had to be undone.  Fortunately (anticipating that I might screw up at some point), I had only very lightly glued everything.  It came apart easily--

 
I now realize WHY taking the width measurement from the frame drawing was incorrect (though it works for the square frames).  Painfully obvious in hindsight.  I now measure the width at the reference line from the build board and compare it to markings on the lightly positioned frames before gluing the top horizontal piece.   I'm just about back to where I was when I learned of my mistake--

 
Of course, it's all coming together much better now.  Previously my one gunport width had been about a 32nd inch or so too wide, and now it's exactly right, which makes sense as the frames haven't splayed out quite so much.  There is a slight gap on the bottom of the bevel at the foot of the frames now where they rest on the shelf of the lower apron, because I had taken some wood off in my folly.  It will be completely hidden though.  Going forward they'll sit the way they are supposed to.  It also looks more like the cant frames will turn in enough to meet the hawse timbers.  We'll still have to see on that.
 
 
Ron
 
 
 

Yes, Allan, that is what I am doing.  Thanks for looking in!
 
Ron

Thanks everyone for looking in, commenting, and liking!   
 
It's been a while since my last posting, but I have been spending time in the shipyard.   I have been slowly cutting out and gluing up the first full frame pair,Q-(f)orward and (a)ft, and all the rest of the pairs of forward cant frames.  Z was already done so that's R through Y (f and a for each).   
 
The last two are here.  They just happen to be Uf and Sa.  I did them mostly in order, but these were a couple of stragglers.  Their chocks are cut and ready to glue in--

 
And the backsides, as the chocks are being glued.  The slight angle on the clamping of the clothespins works well with the angle of the chocks since they don't sit square in the frames--

 
Here's the stack of frames.  After gluing the chocks in, each frame was given a rough inner and outer bevel, still leaving them plenty full, to allow for some minor inaccuracy in the shape of the frames, and for fairing.  The chocks have been sanded down almost flush.  The angle to the deadwood has been sanded in, which is different for almost all of them.  Next, the paper needs to be removed from the frames, the frames marked for identification, and then the canted chocks sanded flush with the faces of the frames--

 
And here is the forwardmost full frame, and the forward cant frames with paper removed (still some bits around some of the chocks); chocks ready to be sanded smooth--


 
This is an exciting point for me!   Soon I'll be ready to put the forward frames on the keel, including the bollard/hawse timbers, and see the bow take shape.
 
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

Hello all,
 
It's been since last July that I've done any building on Euryalus.  When the 3rd attempt at the bollard and hawse timbers turned out to be a failure, I walked away, and I've only just in the last week or so had the motivation to try again.
 
So here I am--
 
 
As far as I can tell, the 2nd attempt at the port bollard/hawse timbers was okay.  I was lucky I think.  It's the starboard ones that have given me fits.  Here is a fourth batch cut out, roughly shaped, and stacked on the board.  During fitting, they seem good.  I am doing a first pass at sanding the partial gaps in them.  I'm not very confident yet with my Byrne's saw skill, so I'm still doing the gaps by hand.
 
I'm also starting to cut out the rising wood pieces.  I tried initially to use my rotary tool as a milling machine, to cut the notches, but the vertical adjustment is too imprecise and difficult get a consistent result with, so I'm doing the frame notches by hand, using a saw, small chisel, and file.  I've broken one corner, but I'll repair it and any other that may get "chipped" at some point--

 
Another task is slowly working on cutting out and assembling the frames.  First rough cut the pieces, then cut and chisel out the chock notches, glue up the frames without chocks, then shape and glue in the chocks.  I have all the forward cant frames at various stages of assembly--

 
Ron 

That's great news Mike.  With Allan's and Wayne's help I was able to get pdfs of the plans.  And I'll order the book as soon as it's available!

Ahh, I think having a lot of scraps in your scrap box doesn't necessarily mean you make more mistakes.  (Though it's true in my case!)   I think it can also be directly proportional to how much of a perfectionist you are!

Greg,
Yes, that was humbling.  I think I understand what you did, but I'm not sure.  In any event, though I have a Byrne's saw now, I never would have thought to use it for the air spaces; so much to learn!  I'm sure it was much more precise and uniform than my hand filing.
Ron

Unfortunately, I mismeasured the location of the gaps, and didn't realize it until I had filed them into one set of timbers.  On to the third try.  I felt like I wasted precious wood, with the way they are curved, and as they are some of the largest timbers on the ship.  The most disheartening was re-making the Bollard timber, as that has to have a concave taper to match the stem.  It was not fun to make that timber 3 times.  I hope I've got it now, though I won't be 100% sure until I have more of the cant frames mocked up, and I finalize the rabbet.  The rabbet seems to need extra shaping to transition to the foot of the Bollard timber and the bearding line.   We will see. 
 
The rejected timbers are in front, and the temporarily glued together Bollard and Hawse timbers (with their gaps) sitting in place between the first cant frame and the stem--


 
 
The masking tape is just holding the group of timbers against the stem.   The timbers still need a lot of fairing, and some adjustments to the length of some of the upper gaps.  The isopropyl alcohol in the background was heavily used over the last couple weeks, as the timbers were glued together for rough shaping, unglued to make the gaps, and glued back together, unglued to make fixes, reglued again, etc.
 
Ron 

I realized as I was rough shaping the glued together Bollard and Hawse timbers, that I would need the first one or two cant frames to be installed temporarily in place to check the correct angles, amount of wood to remove, etc.   Going a bit further than the first frames, Zf (forward), and Za (aft), I cut out ALL the forward cant frame pieces--


 
In between other tasks, I'll assemble these.  But to get on with the Bollard and Hawse timbers, I temporarily glued up the first frame Zf.  As I fit the glued together and roughly shaped group of Bollard and Hawse timbers between the stem and this first frame I realized I had removed too much material from the starboard group.   It wasn't going to mate to the first frame satisfactorily.  The port group was more salvageable.  The two groups of timbers were separated, and I would try again, one at a time with the timbers, and the Zf frame--
  
Having the Zf frame in place, the required shape of the Bollard and Hawse timbers finally clicked in my mind.  The angle to the keel (deadwood to be precise) of the Zf frame (55.24 degrees) is the key to all the Bollard and Hawse timbers, and if you cut (sand) that angle correctly into the "foot" of each Bollard and Hawse timber, the rest of the shaping of them follows.  I started with the Bollard timbers.  When I had the correct "foot", I lightly glued them to the stem, then on to the next Hawse timber, lightly gluing each in place to the previous one, as it fit.  All the "first try" starboard timbers had to be thrown out and recut (indeed, the outer starboard Hawse timber needed multiple tries), but only one of the port timbers.  Here they are in place--

They look very ragged and inconsistently sized, but they fit right at the foot, which is what, I think, seems to matter.  We'll see, I wouldn't be surprised if I have redo them again!
 
The two glued together groups were separated back off of the stem and first frame, and some further rough shaping done--
 
 
At this point they were marked (oh so crudely!) for the locations of the gaps, and will now be separated into individual pieces again to file those gaps into the timbers--

That's smart, Greg.  On this frame I'm using the paper copy underneath to make sure my frame keeps the right shape, and finessing the chock cut-out on the second futtock if the chock is slightly off.  I'll experiment with other methods as I go forward.
 
Ron

Thanks Rick.
 
Continuing with rough shaping of the Bollard and Hawse timbers, they are glued together, and sanded.  After they are close to the right shape, they will be separated and will be filed to form the correct gaps between them.  To the left, the first cant frame "Z (Forward)" is also cut out--
 
The second cant frame "Z (After)" is made up of two pieces each, with a chock.  This is my first time building a chocked frame, and the chocks need to be skewed to accommodate the inner and outer bevels of the frame--

 
  The skewed chock is made oversize and glued to the first piece--

 
Then it is sanded flush on the side without the paper pattern--

 
Here are the frames with the second piece ready to be glued.  However, I discovered that the upper starboard futtock (the one on the left in the photo) is misshapen.  The paper pattern became distorted when I glued it down.  I had had to lift and reposition it on the wood billet, and during that process it warped.  I will need to make some more paper copies, and cut another one--
 
 
Ron
 
 
 

I have a little bit more work to show.   Final shaping is not done, but I've glued together some of the pieces that make up the bow and stern framing--
 
The bow assembly-

 
The sternposts and deadwood assembly--

 
And the rough cutting out of the bollard timbers and hawse pieces--

 
Ron

Thanks again, Allan!
Ron

Hi Hakan,
 
Yes, Allan and Wayne, the authors of the Euryalus books and plans, were able to help me out.  But I am still looking for a used copy of Vol 1 (with the plans included).
 
Ron

Allan,
Yes, I am watching Matiz!   Stunning progress!   His log is (and will be) a great resource.  Also Clay (cfn1803) looks like he may be working on his again.
Ron

Thanks Hakan, you are welcome to pull up a chair, though not much is happening at the moment!   This is going to be a real learning experience for me--hope to make some more progress soon.  
Ron

hamilton, if only you knew how how deficient I feel in matters of care and precision; though I know, of ourselves we tend to be the harshest critics.
 
Thank you, and I'll try to continue to show how I manage to do things.
 
Ron    

Thanks, Allan.   The taper of the stem and bollard timbers is being sanded by hand, with that sanding block you can see on the left in the first photo.   I have a sanding drum in my full size drill press down in the basement, but I only use that for roughing the basic curve of the pieces after cutting them out, and I don't trust myself with chisels for this work, so it's slow going.
 
It's taken me a while to wrap my head around these pieces, trying to visualize what the end shape is, compared to the lines on the paper pattern, and how they need to fit with the stem, lower apron, rabbet and rest of the hawse timbers.
 
Ron 

I hope you are right, druxey!   Paul, yes, I made the clamps--credit goes to Ed Tosti, you can find them on his build log for Naiad.
 
While most of my work this week has been on Oneida, I have spent some time slowly sanding the bollard timbers to fay to the stem.
 
They need to match the concave taper of the upper stem--
 

 

 
 
Still some work needed, but they are getting close.   The overall width is constant now at the head and foot of the assembly--
 

 
 
Once I have them tapered correctly to the stem, I'll start roughly beveling them forward, and at the foot where they meet the lower apron.
 
Ron 

I completed #5 (glue the boxing joint), and I'm not sure how this happened, but it was not glued precisely correctly.  The upper end of the stem was not quite far enough forward.  I'm mystified by this, as it was good when I glued and clamped it.   Wishing not to start off on the wrong foot, I made the decision to re-glue it.  For the first time (and not the last, be assured), the isopropyl alcohol comes out--
 

 
 
With the tinted glue, this is not a pretty sight--
 

 
 
In cleaning up the residue, I kind of massacred the joint.  This is a shame, as it will be visible.  After re-gluing, the boxing joint doesn't look bad, but the first attempt looked almost perfect, though it was unfortunately "off" somehow.  The re-glued stem positioning looks good though, and this is probably more important than the boxing joint LOOKING perfect; but it better not somehow change again overnight!!
 
Here is the newly glued stem, and the blanks for the bollard timbers cut out.  The paper pattern is on the underside of the bollard timbers, but the picture was better showing the wood side--
 

 
 
Ron
 
 

Thanks, druxey.  Your suggestion makes great sense, and I will follow it.
 
Ron

I have chosen my poison.  It is a mixture of the TFFM, Naiad, and Euryalus poisons; we'll see if it does me in.
 
The order of immediate business will be thus:
 
1) Taper the keel fore and aft
2) Glue the upper apron on the stem
3) Trim and angle the top of the stem
4) Taper the stem
5) Glue the boxing joint, attaching the stem (minus the lower apron)
6) Make the bollard timbers
7) Using the bollard timbers, verify and cut the bearding line in the lower apron
😎 Glue the lower apron on  [sorry "8" then ")" gives me "😎" and I can't seem to get rid of it]
9) Make and glue the sternpost, inner sternpost, and deadwood
10) Make and glue the rising wood
11) Cut the keel and stem rabbet 
 
The Knee of the Head can be assembled at any time, but it will not be permanently attached until after the hawse timber work is done.
 
At this time I have done #1 (keel tapering), #2 (upper apron glued), and #3 (stem end angle).
 
I am most of the way through #4 (tapering the stem)
 

 

 
 
On the paper pattern of the Lower Apron, about an inch away from the end, I have marked the end of the bearding line with a pencil (it didn't print on my pattern).  Forward of that line, the Lower Apron will match the width of the stem, and aft it will be wider, and shaped to make the bearding line "step". 
 

 

 

 
 
I still have a bit of sanding to get the taper to the right thickness around the middle of the stem.  To help judge the taper, I held the stem over the end view of it on the plans.  Panic.  On the drawing the upper end of the stem is wider (by about 1.5 inches) than my stem.   How did I get this wrong?!!!!   I went back and checked the Euryalus text, and the Naiad text and Naiad drawings (since up to now, sided dimensions have been identical).   The Euryalus text calls for the stem to be 20" at the upper end, which is what I have.   So there seems to be a discrepancy here.    Naiad also calls for 20".   I think I am okay then, and this will just make the bollard timbers each .75 inches wider at the top, to compensate (at least as they are shown on the drawings, which show the stem head at about 21.5 inches).   They'll actually be closer in width to the rest of the hawse timbers in that case.  Panic relieved, unless someone points out an error in my analysis of this.
 
I've also cut out some future work, though I'm not quite ready for these yet--according to my poison plan.
 

 
 
Ron
 
 

Thanks hamilton.   Druxey, yes, and it's interesting to see different ways to skin a cat.  (Not literally.)
 
Ron