isali

The Light bulb (starts) to come on!!
 
After several models and practice attempts to have ratlines look like ratlines rather than Halloween decorations.  (for a while I thought I would specialize in ghost ships  
 
I have finally honed in on a method of doing ratlines which I wanted to share because it gives a great result and is easier, less stressful and faster than what I had been doing.  
 
I have not invented anything new, simply used the bits and pieces from various (too many to attribute) sources.    Many of the pieces are on this website, so thank you to all who have posted these helpful techniques.  It may work for you in full or in part.
 
Please feel free to modify this technique to work for you and if you can post any changes or whatever your experience with it is.
 
It actually seems simple.
 
1) Make a card template with the horizontal rats and vertically angled shrouds 
 
Mark or color code the card into sections  defining the order to do the ratlines:  1st group(three rats) the Upper, lower and middle ratline,  2nd group (two rats) , split those areas so you have two more rats at approx 1/4 and 3/4 of the way up the shroud   3rd group (4 rats) ; split the quarters and so on so eventually you have ratted every other row.  nth group (double the amount of rats as the last group)   This shows trends towards spiderwebs before they show up.   THere is a great picture of color coding the horizontal rats in this forum. (thanks )
 
 
I pin it to the shrouds with some mini clothespins.  I may experiment with threading it through the back, around a shroud and back through the card in a few places. 
 
 
2) Use a needle to thread the outer and first shroud.  Use PLENTY of string.   Trying to tie knots with minimal string leads to un-aligning the ratlines.  For the cost of an extra spool of thread, it's worth it!
 
3) Tie a hitch (the kind where the rope goes around the shroud the same way for both loops) around the first inner shroud but NOT the outer shroud (you may need to adjust it to avoid spiders.   AT this point you have the thread going through the outer shroud and a hitch on the first inner shroud. 
 
4) Thread the needle through the next shroud and tie another hitch.  and so on : at the end, Do NOT tie the outer shroud.
 
5) Make any minor adjustments on the inner shrouds.   Dab with diluted white glue.
 
6) Adjust the outer shrouds.  Follow the same general row sequence of splitting the shroud length in half for each
 
7) Use a Cow hitch, having the loop go from back (inboard) to front (outboard), over the ratline, then inboard again.  This order gives a nice finished look on the rat/shroud and hides the bitter end after cutting the excess line
 
8) tighten the ratline by pulling inboard NOT fwd or aft; so the end to be cut is somewhat hidden behind the shroud and the shroud stays aligned while tightening the rat.
 
9) Dab diluted glue on the outer shroud knots
 
10) cut the ends.
 
 
Advantages:  
 
Using a needle :
Tying knots with the thread in a needle is much easier and faster than with fingers and tweezers.
The needle makes it easier to keep the ratlines horizontal
Threading the rat through the shroud provides just enough tension to hold the ratline taunt while you tie a knot
Threading the shroud provides horizontal stability
 
Leaving the outer shrouds for last,.
 Ability to make final adjustments on the outer shrouds.
 
 
 
 
Ira
 
 

Thanks Duffer.
Your right Joe.....
 
So I continued and didn't change the mortices. Getting the round up of the deck into this special beam took some patience...
 

 
Remco

Removed the nasty laser char. In hindsight, it is good that I selected a timbering set without laser cut frames, the char removal process is messy and definitely not pleasant. In his youtube videos, Dave recommends to remove the char using the shaving blade. It works only to small extent, because char is pretty deep in the wood.
 
Here are the laser cut pieces on a different phased of cleaning:

 
Another issue is a bad precision of a laser at some lines, they are cut with "steps", so lots of wood should be filed away to make that surface smooth:

 
Some joints are too wide - they fit tightly with char, but if you start to remove the char (and the "steps") - then the joint is too weak: 

 
So I cut away that joint and scratched a new one
 
Another improvement was a deadwood - supplied laser cut deadwood was made of a single piece, which is too far from desired level of correctness. So I made a better one. 
But it was a hell of a job to nicely fit all the curved timbers together! It is easy to make a tight fit when parts are straight, but when they are curved - it really needs a skill. Here is how ugly it looks when just cut:
 

 
Next time will try to cut smoother... It took around 4 hours of sanding and filing and sending and filing to make them fit. 
Resulting fitting is not great, but next time will do better:
 

After seeing what Michael in Santa Monica has done with his Vasa I am a bit ashamed to publish this new video, but here it is any way.
 
I wanted to make 16 guns that are only 6 pounders for my next project.
They are very small, but here I try to show how I went about this.
Oh, you might turn up the sound for this.
 

They are not yet finished, need new barrels, etc.

I'am pretty busy today!
 
First two of the whole Frames are up, dry fitted to the building board.
 

I would think the counter/stern planks would be enclosed by the hull planks, or the ends of the hull planks are exposed.
 
Ken

Most of the whole Frames are sanded and prepared.
I started to errect and glue them to the building board. To receive a nice and strait construction I'am using a very thin string line running down the Center of the building jig with a plumb line fixed temporalily to the Center of each keel Slot in the Frames when glueing.
To have more rigidity in the structure I'am adding some scrap pieces between the Frames.

Another Syren Hits the Seas
 
I'm finished. 526 hours. 217 days.
 
I actually finished Wednesday after a marathon 10 hour anchor reconstruction, but yesterday was my wife's birthday and I didn't have time to take photos. Happy Birthday Cinda! I'm back.
 
I just read in Wikipedia that the real Syren was launched on August 6, 1803. I completed my model on Aug. 7, 2013. Dang - I missed her 210th anniversary by one day!
 

I had my doubts about the paper flags, but I love the splash of color aloft. I had to add a tiny wire to the gaff to hold the flag.
 

 
526 hours. You probably can't build this model much quicker than that. I wasn't trying to rush but I do have other projects in the queue. I could have knocked 30 days off by skipping my vacation and my son's wedding.

Read a report about cast lead and solder deterioration of old models being archived, some being in wooden crates for years. They found that some woods and other materials, as they age will produce gasses  that will cause lead and solder to break down into a white powder. Wasn't addressed but I would expect organic building materials and glues used in construction of models would also produce gasses that would concentrate in a sealed display case and have an impact over time on the very thing intended to be preserved by the sealed case. The recommendation was to allow venting with a minimum of 2 total changes of the air inside the case every day, to prevent the accumulation of harmful gas.
jud.

So I'm building the super popular da Fran II. Had this great idea to rig my cannons like I would on my next build (rattlesnake ms). So attached eyebolts to the bulkheads got my blocks all set up and went to rig my first cannon and the distance between the bulkhead and cannon was to say the least not enough. It looked like a train wreck. So my question is there alternative rigging souloutions for cannons that are somewhat realistic? The pic below is an idea I had to maybe rig the cannons. Any feedback is greatly appreciated.
Nothing is glued down or perminate and none of the line have been trimmed

If a hatch is to be displayed open on a period ship how were the hatch cover sections stowed and how was lifting tackle arranged?
Any ideas gratefully received.
 
Mike.
 
 

The Light bulb (starts) to come on!!
 
After several models and practice attempts to have ratlines look like ratlines rather than Halloween decorations.  (for a while I thought I would specialize in ghost ships  
 
I have finally honed in on a method of doing ratlines which I wanted to share because it gives a great result and is easier, less stressful and faster than what I had been doing.  
 
I have not invented anything new, simply used the bits and pieces from various (too many to attribute) sources.    Many of the pieces are on this website, so thank you to all who have posted these helpful techniques.  It may work for you in full or in part.
 
Please feel free to modify this technique to work for you and if you can post any changes or whatever your experience with it is.
 
It actually seems simple.
 
1) Make a card template with the horizontal rats and vertically angled shrouds 
 
Mark or color code the card into sections  defining the order to do the ratlines:  1st group(three rats) the Upper, lower and middle ratline,  2nd group (two rats) , split those areas so you have two more rats at approx 1/4 and 3/4 of the way up the shroud   3rd group (4 rats) ; split the quarters and so on so eventually you have ratted every other row.  nth group (double the amount of rats as the last group)   This shows trends towards spiderwebs before they show up.   THere is a great picture of color coding the horizontal rats in this forum. (thanks )
 
 
I pin it to the shrouds with some mini clothespins.  I may experiment with threading it through the back, around a shroud and back through the card in a few places. 
 
 
2) Use a needle to thread the outer and first shroud.  Use PLENTY of string.   Trying to tie knots with minimal string leads to un-aligning the ratlines.  For the cost of an extra spool of thread, it's worth it!
 
3) Tie a hitch (the kind where the rope goes around the shroud the same way for both loops) around the first inner shroud but NOT the outer shroud (you may need to adjust it to avoid spiders.   AT this point you have the thread going through the outer shroud and a hitch on the first inner shroud. 
 
4) Thread the needle through the next shroud and tie another hitch.  and so on : at the end, Do NOT tie the outer shroud.
 
5) Make any minor adjustments on the inner shrouds.   Dab with diluted white glue.
 
6) Adjust the outer shrouds.  Follow the same general row sequence of splitting the shroud length in half for each
 
7) Use a Cow hitch, having the loop go from back (inboard) to front (outboard), over the ratline, then inboard again.  This order gives a nice finished look on the rat/shroud and hides the bitter end after cutting the excess line
 
8) tighten the ratline by pulling inboard NOT fwd or aft; so the end to be cut is somewhat hidden behind the shroud and the shroud stays aligned while tightening the rat.
 
9) Dab diluted glue on the outer shroud knots
 
10) cut the ends.
 
 
Advantages:  
 
Using a needle :
Tying knots with the thread in a needle is much easier and faster than with fingers and tweezers.
The needle makes it easier to keep the ratlines horizontal
Threading the rat through the shroud provides just enough tension to hold the ratline taunt while you tie a knot
Threading the shroud provides horizontal stability
 
Leaving the outer shrouds for last,.
 Ability to make final adjustments on the outer shrouds.
 
 
 
 
Ira
 
 

The Light bulb (starts) to come on!!
 
After several models and practice attempts to have ratlines look like ratlines rather than Halloween decorations.  (for a while I thought I would specialize in ghost ships  
 
I have finally honed in on a method of doing ratlines which I wanted to share because it gives a great result and is easier, less stressful and faster than what I had been doing.  
 
I have not invented anything new, simply used the bits and pieces from various (too many to attribute) sources.    Many of the pieces are on this website, so thank you to all who have posted these helpful techniques.  It may work for you in full or in part.
 
Please feel free to modify this technique to work for you and if you can post any changes or whatever your experience with it is.
 
It actually seems simple.
 
1) Make a card template with the horizontal rats and vertically angled shrouds 
 
Mark or color code the card into sections  defining the order to do the ratlines:  1st group(three rats) the Upper, lower and middle ratline,  2nd group (two rats) , split those areas so you have two more rats at approx 1/4 and 3/4 of the way up the shroud   3rd group (4 rats) ; split the quarters and so on so eventually you have ratted every other row.  nth group (double the amount of rats as the last group)   This shows trends towards spiderwebs before they show up.   THere is a great picture of color coding the horizontal rats in this forum. (thanks )
 
 
I pin it to the shrouds with some mini clothespins.  I may experiment with threading it through the back, around a shroud and back through the card in a few places. 
 
 
2) Use a needle to thread the outer and first shroud.  Use PLENTY of string.   Trying to tie knots with minimal string leads to un-aligning the ratlines.  For the cost of an extra spool of thread, it's worth it!
 
3) Tie a hitch (the kind where the rope goes around the shroud the same way for both loops) around the first inner shroud but NOT the outer shroud (you may need to adjust it to avoid spiders.   AT this point you have the thread going through the outer shroud and a hitch on the first inner shroud. 
 
4) Thread the needle through the next shroud and tie another hitch.  and so on : at the end, Do NOT tie the outer shroud.
 
5) Make any minor adjustments on the inner shrouds.   Dab with diluted white glue.
 
6) Adjust the outer shrouds.  Follow the same general row sequence of splitting the shroud length in half for each
 
7) Use a Cow hitch, having the loop go from back (inboard) to front (outboard), over the ratline, then inboard again.  This order gives a nice finished look on the rat/shroud and hides the bitter end after cutting the excess line
 
8) tighten the ratline by pulling inboard NOT fwd or aft; so the end to be cut is somewhat hidden behind the shroud and the shroud stays aligned while tightening the rat.
 
9) Dab diluted glue on the outer shroud knots
 
10) cut the ends.
 
 
Advantages:  
 
Using a needle :
Tying knots with the thread in a needle is much easier and faster than with fingers and tweezers.
The needle makes it easier to keep the ratlines horizontal
Threading the rat through the shroud provides just enough tension to hold the ratline taunt while you tie a knot
Threading the shroud provides horizontal stability
 
Leaving the outer shrouds for last,.
 Ability to make final adjustments on the outer shrouds.
 
 
 
 
Ira
 
 

The Light bulb (starts) to come on!!
 
After several models and practice attempts to have ratlines look like ratlines rather than Halloween decorations.  (for a while I thought I would specialize in ghost ships  
 
I have finally honed in on a method of doing ratlines which I wanted to share because it gives a great result and is easier, less stressful and faster than what I had been doing.  
 
I have not invented anything new, simply used the bits and pieces from various (too many to attribute) sources.    Many of the pieces are on this website, so thank you to all who have posted these helpful techniques.  It may work for you in full or in part.
 
Please feel free to modify this technique to work for you and if you can post any changes or whatever your experience with it is.
 
It actually seems simple.
 
1) Make a card template with the horizontal rats and vertically angled shrouds 
 
Mark or color code the card into sections  defining the order to do the ratlines:  1st group(three rats) the Upper, lower and middle ratline,  2nd group (two rats) , split those areas so you have two more rats at approx 1/4 and 3/4 of the way up the shroud   3rd group (4 rats) ; split the quarters and so on so eventually you have ratted every other row.  nth group (double the amount of rats as the last group)   This shows trends towards spiderwebs before they show up.   THere is a great picture of color coding the horizontal rats in this forum. (thanks )
 
 
I pin it to the shrouds with some mini clothespins.  I may experiment with threading it through the back, around a shroud and back through the card in a few places. 
 
 
2) Use a needle to thread the outer and first shroud.  Use PLENTY of string.   Trying to tie knots with minimal string leads to un-aligning the ratlines.  For the cost of an extra spool of thread, it's worth it!
 
3) Tie a hitch (the kind where the rope goes around the shroud the same way for both loops) around the first inner shroud but NOT the outer shroud (you may need to adjust it to avoid spiders.   AT this point you have the thread going through the outer shroud and a hitch on the first inner shroud. 
 
4) Thread the needle through the next shroud and tie another hitch.  and so on : at the end, Do NOT tie the outer shroud.
 
5) Make any minor adjustments on the inner shrouds.   Dab with diluted white glue.
 
6) Adjust the outer shrouds.  Follow the same general row sequence of splitting the shroud length in half for each
 
7) Use a Cow hitch, having the loop go from back (inboard) to front (outboard), over the ratline, then inboard again.  This order gives a nice finished look on the rat/shroud and hides the bitter end after cutting the excess line
 
8) tighten the ratline by pulling inboard NOT fwd or aft; so the end to be cut is somewhat hidden behind the shroud and the shroud stays aligned while tightening the rat.
 
9) Dab diluted glue on the outer shroud knots
 
10) cut the ends.
 
 
Advantages:  
 
Using a needle :
Tying knots with the thread in a needle is much easier and faster than with fingers and tweezers.
The needle makes it easier to keep the ratlines horizontal
Threading the rat through the shroud provides just enough tension to hold the ratline taunt while you tie a knot
Threading the shroud provides horizontal stability
 
Leaving the outer shrouds for last,.
 Ability to make final adjustments on the outer shrouds.
 
 
 
 
Ira
 
 

Ha! The midshipman has lost the log and reel in the stormy digital sea!
 
After a long hiatus due to "personal issues", I was about to get back to working on the Rattlesnake and then I find much has been lost in the software change. I thought I'd go ahead and repost some info/pictures before I actually got into it in earnest.
 
I had been wanting to build a replica of an 1870s Ohio River steamboat my ancestors owned and operated, found this site looking for tips, fell in love with some of the builds here, found a great deal on a Rattlesnake kit on eBay, and picked up this infernal shipmodelling disease.
 
I had kept my MSW Rattlesnake log photos in a separate folder on my computer so they're all set to be reproduced.
 
Here's the box picture of the Rattlesnake...

Handsome ain't she?
 
The metal parts provided for the transom, quarter lights ( I used to call these windows until I got a little nawdikal ejukashun), and other areas made me cringe, so I thought I'd replace them with wood or other appropriate medium. Here is the supplied transom decoration and window frames and the supplied transom base with the window area excised...

Here are the original pieces dry-fitted/taped.

The #12 bulkhead is located at the position of the quarter lights, and the horizontal piece, #22, cuts into the cabin space, so I will modify that area to add the quarter lights and open up the cabin to approximate its fullness, as I will be making the lights (windows) clear instead of the blue paper simulated glass.
 
Part of #12 cut away.

Pseudo-framing of transom....

Quarter light frames (very fragile at this point!) made and stern "bench" from #22 piece.... 

I think this shows the template for adding the structure/frame above the light frames (hey, forgive me, it's been a while....)

Here's the rough-shaped transom, balsa filler and the supplied beechwood pieces at the outer ends. The beech was surprisingly easy to shape; could have used it for the whole thing , as designed, without much heartache.

Most of the main deck planking done, with a scale Captain Clarke (hey! looks like John Paul Jones....)

Gunports and framing, fore- and quarterdeck supports, and fake bowsprit root in case that area is visible....

I had grandiose visions of outfitting the captains quarters, adding quite a bit of fine detail, but I've decided it would not likely be too visible anyway, so I'll keep it simple and move on. With what I have, I'll add rings, rig/secure these cabin cannons for sea, add a couple benches, and move on to finish the stern pieces, decks, and then the dreaded planking........


 
I may not get to this right away, but the intention is there....stay tuned.
 

Last night, I started tying knots.  I found this picture somewhere on Model Ship World.  (I'm sorry, but I forget where...)  And I liked the looks of these knots.
 
Two things became clear pretty fast.  First, it was hard to tighten the cow hitch.  I'd put some tension on it and it'd look good, but as soon as I let go, it loosened up.  Second, I'm not sure how to tie those clove hitches.  Mastini recommends simple overhand knots in his Ship Modeling Simplified book.  Those are certainly simple, but they don't look as good as those clove hitches.  Not sure which way to go on those two issues.
 
Also, Mastini recommends using tan thread for the ratlines and that's what's shown in this picture, but most of the models I've seen use the same color for the ratlines as for the shrouds.  I think I'm going to go with the darker color, but I'd be interested in the opinions of others.
 
Finally, getting the right tension on the ratlines between the shrouds seems to be a challenge.  Anyone got a good method for that?  Or is this just a task that requires a lot of fiddling to get right?
 
 
 
Dan
 
 

I need to build a capstan for my mini-mamoli riverboat (1:206) - the information in the plans is insufficient (and what they show doesn't look at all right). It would be tiny but it should be there!
 
Three things:
 
- Some of the larger models of paddlewheelers show the capstan bars flat against the deck, and I don't quite understand how that works.
 
- I am not sure about scale (how long would the capstain bars normally be, how big the capstan in "real life").
 
-Some old photos show a rope around the capstan, but not what the other end might be connected to...
 
 
Thanks for any help! Rebecca