Beef Wellington

I have made a start on the rabbet, at least on the keel but not on the stem as I am still waiting for my Boxwood to arrive. I found the rabbet quite difficult and ended up with the rabbet wider than what was required, due to the chisel following the grain and lifting the edges of the plywood keel. Hopefully it won't matter too much when finished. I marked the rabbet using a Veritas marking wheel which I use for marking my masts from square stock. \i found working on walnut easier to cut the rabbet and keep within the markings. I am not sure how far to take the rabbet to the stern post  as I will be taking off some off the material for the deadwood area. I will probably leave the stern post off until I have finished both 1st and 2nd planking and cut a straight edge I think.. 


 

I have also made a start on rounding of the edges a bit so as to give the first planking more area to glue. Before doing so I blacked the edge with permanent marker so that I wouldn,t  remove too much material. I can finalize this better once the bulheads are glued into position
 

good evening everyonr
 
thank you for comments and likes
day 16 1st planking
 
 
 
port and stbd side templates fitted
 



stern tuck, caused me some aggro fot a couple of hours, so the fixed planks were cut back and the stern was re faired allowing the 3rd plank to twist and turn

Good evening everyone
thank you for comments and likes
 
Day 14 port side Gun port templates fitted
 
well i never expected to be at this stage after 2 weeks, but here i am, and loving it, and i have not had any issues to criticize the build, or instructions, 
after the hull fairing i test fitted the gun port templets, no other sanding was required

the bottom of fwd template forms where the first run of planking under it goes, so a pencil line is drawn, the rest of the plank aligns along the top of the port sill , at this point the template can be removed

first plank

 

2nd plank

the after template fits on the top of the 1st plank and lined up with the top right corner of the last gunport, instructions need to be read to be aware of where the glue is applied, as a section of the framework has to be removed at a later date

a templete fits between and the area over the ports is covered, using limewood

rough opening of the gun ports when the glue has dried
 

 
 

good evening every one
thank you for comments and likes
 
day 13 hull faired
 
the weather here has been pants recently, with snow and rain, so i have been doing some smaller projects on the build, but i will post photos later on in the build as I would  like to keep this log in some sort of order, (never achieved that before)
the deck has been sanded and varnished with a water based varnish @50/50
to day a few days delay the hull went outside to be sanded, brilliant, oh thats getting hot fizzle bang me mouse blew up
anyway an trip to Wickes (other palm sanding tool outlets are available0
this is what i have now
 
 

Will be following this one closely, you are a lucky man!

Thanks for your interests and "Likes" everyone.
 
Some more shots from 5-22.

The ship's wheel.
 
About 20 years ago, after the lower deck was completed, it was time to fabricate the rudder. The steering gear assembly, consisting of the tiller, tiller sweep, and tackle, resides just below the middle deck framing. It was built to be fully operational. Over the years, deck by deck, I made sure the tiller ropes were passed up through the structure. With so many mini-projects which are the sum of the whole involving ship building, the wheel was on the back burner of my mind. How and the heck was I going to build it?
 
As an artist, if I don't have a solution, I bypass it and work on other parts of the task at hand. The elephant in the room will tell me when it's ready. Finally I was approaching the point where I had to come up with the solution.
 
My long time friend, Simon, suggested 3-D printing. I gave him the scaled drawings (McKay) and photos of Victory's helm. In "Solid Works" he reproduced the wheel with all the numbers crunched for printing. This was sent off and when it came I knew it would not withstand the sands of time. Too fragile. It broke just trying handle an installation. The spokes were the problem.

 The time and energy to try a method which failed was not wasted. It was the catalyst that lit the light bulb of a successful solution.
 
In my studio is a large cabinet full of 1:32 models of WWI airplanes. I use Albion Alloys Ltd. Nickle tubing for turnbuckles for tensioning the rigging.  0.7mm o.d. x 0.5mm i.d tubing telescoped over .05mm tubing would look perfect.
 
I turned the wheels, hubs, and barrel on my lathe. I built a fixture, that I can't seem to find, to center everything. The tubing is cut to proper lengths by rolling sharp #11 Xacto blade over it. I twist the tip of the blade inside the tubing to remove burrs and file the outside edges to round them off. After a couple layers of paint they appear to be lathe turned. The whole assembly is very strong.
 
After installation I gathered the tiller ropes, clamped the rudder to one side, did seven wraps around the barrel, and spliced the ropes. Once the rudder was centered, the splice disappeared below decks. I had a working ship's wheel that turned the rudder. After showing my wife and a few friends how it worked, I came down from cloud nine and decided to stop doing that. I came to the realization that I don't have a miniature boatswain to fix it if something wears out.
 

Thanks everyone for all the likes and comments
 
The Lower Yards.
 
I began with the crossjack yard and worked forward. I used Steele’s tables to calculate the appropriate size of rope and referred to AotS, Lees and Petersson for the run of the ropes.
 
The crossjack is pinned and glued to the mast with CA for ease of working. The truss pendant is 0.35 rope spliced around the yard on the starboard side of the mast. It leads through a thimble spliced to the yard on the port side and ends in a long tackle block. The fall is 0.25mm and a single 3mm block is hooked to an eyebolt on the deck and the business end tied of to a cleat on the mast. The slings are lashed together with 0.25mm rope wound through each thimble as many times as would comfortably fit and then frapped around the front of the wraps. It is too fiddly to tie off each end with a seizing so they are tied off with a half hitch and fixed with dilute pva. The lifts are next. A single 3mm block is tied to an eyebolt on the cap. The running part is tied to the block at the cap runs through the block on the yard, back up to to the block at the cap and is tied off at the foremost pin on the after belay rack.


 
Main and fore courses have a truss pendants (0.6mm) each side of the yard which are spliced on to the yard. The jeers (0.7mm rope) are also threaded up before the yard is lifted into place, pinned and fixed with CA. The lifts (0.6mm) are spliced to the yard arm and lead up through long tackle blocks on the mast cap, the small block on the yard arm and back to the long block. They are tied off to the timberheads on quarterdeck and forecastle.



 
I had missed the timberheads on the forecastle because they didn’t appear on Caldercraft’s deck plans. Unfotunately I couldn’t position them as shown in the AotS belay plan because a 9 pounder is in the way. They were fixed slightly aft of where they are indicated but I think the run of the lifts is still fine.


I am moving on to rigging the topmast yards at this stage leaving the further rigging of the lower yards till later.

 

Bought some Tools, mainly chisels for an attempt at cutting a rabbet with variable angles/ shapes. Alaso some practice on walnut sheet and hopefully I got the hang of using these very sharp chisels. I am a little concerned regarding the thickness of the walnut as it is 0.25mm undersize of the 5mm thickness of the false keel plywood and I am wondering if this will cause a problem down the line . Unfortunately I do not have any 5 mm boxwood in stock so thought I would see if Timberline https://shop.exotichardwoods.co.uk/ can supply me with some together with 11mm for the masts as I haven't got any of this either.

 

There has been some progress but I have not been doing any updates... the Rudder is in place and I been working the stern.  Came up with my own colours since I didnt like the instructions. As I understand they dont know how it was painted anyway.
 
After being used to Vanguards models i had to struggle to get everything in place. Alot of precut parts but nothing fits so you had to do alot of adjustments. 
 


 

 

 

 

While i'm waiting for the plates i have done a little bit more.
Painted the stern fascia, windows and ornaments.
Also the trophy of arms.
You really need a steady hand but i'm happy with the result.
 
Sjors

Hi B.E.
I've just been catching up on your prolific outputs since I last wandered around MSW eight years ago. Extraordinary and all to the very highest quality. The Indefatigable looks like a fantastic kit and - no surprise - you are already proceeding at pace but with your usual accuracy. I will follow along as I will also troll through your other logs as they are always very informative. You are indefatigable! The UK must have more hours in a day than we have downunder - I'll have to check that as I'm surely wrong...
 
Cheers,
A

Thankyou David, I'm already thinking  Where am I going to put this!
 
Chapter Two
First Stages
In this stage most of the heavy weight mdf items are assembled.
The initial assembly slots together cleanly, and I must commend Chris on the sharpness and fit of the laser work.
I did run a sanding stick in the Bulkhead slots to smooth the char and where necessary a light tap with a pein hammer (not directly) seated the parts fully down.
I found I needed to ease the slots for the securing pegs which run thro’ the keel assembly. Even so they are a snug fit and I don’t really think they need glue.

0384
The keel is still quite floppy at this stage due to its length, so I utilised the Amati keel clamp whilst I fettled and inserted the pegs.

0383
With this beast the keel clamp is at the limit of its capacity, and I’m toying with the idea of buying a second to double the length, and provide a more stable support.
A deeper bench would be ideal but not really feasible. I will have to be careful when turning the hull that those delicate frame tops don’t collide with the wall.

0387
Note: There is a minor error in the manual at Stages 21/22. Bulkhead 17 is not removeable as indicated, as it is held by part 40. Chris has issued a pdf amendment addressing this.

0389
A small area of the Orlop deck is represented beneath the Fore hatchways, which I ‘dressed’ using spare engraved maple decking.

0390
The Lower deck slips seamlessly into place and there is a plywood planking engraved section that presumably covers the area that may be observed thro’ the Upper deck openings.
The Orlop and Lower deck decking section are the only parts glued at this stage.

0401
I considered whether to over-plank the Lower deck section, as will be done to the upper deck, but very little will be seen and I think the marked plank lines and butts will be sufficient for the purpose.

0401
Very nicely cut grating sets which I will install ‘as is’ for the lower deck.

0397
The assembly of ladders always give me trouble but a simple jig helps a little.
The final action in this Chapter is to add the Longitudinal bracing pieces (No.30) and parts5b/11b described as a gundeck beam.

0405
Note: Parts 30 are to be found on the 4mm mdf sheet not 3mmm as indicated. May save you a little time in sifting thro’ the sheets.
 
I did have a slight mishap with one of the part 30 pieces, which broke about one-third along at the weak point of the slot top.
Take care if easing these slots the part is very whippy and care needs to be taken.

0408
This completes this section, more of an assembly than a build at this stage.
 
 I can only marvel at the ingenuity of Chris to design a beast like this held securely together with barely any glue.
 
B.E.
10/03/2023
 

I know its not my pocket making the decision, but good call on the boxwood!  Love the carronade, is it an antique or replica (asking jealously)?

I know its not my pocket making the decision, but good call on the boxwood!  Love the carronade, is it an antique or replica (asking jealously)?

The whole 9 Yards…
Thanks for looking in and for the likes and comments.
 
I  made the yards according to the measurements in the AotS, although they mostly correspond closely with the Caldercraft plans. The central octagonal section was pshaped first using files and 400 grade sandpaper to finish. The round taper sections were completed in my Proxxon lathe starting with coarse 80 grit if a lot of wood needed removing, then 120 and finishing with 400.
The sizes and patterns of cleats were taken from Lees rather than the plans. Lees describes stop cleats on the fore topsail yard rather than the sling cleats shown on the plans.
I have followed Steele’s tables as closely as possible for the sizes of blocks. I would have liked to have used the correct pattern for the sheet blocks but I couldn’t find any commercially available. Perhaps next time I'll have a go at making them myself.

Slings are made from served rope made into a loop with a false splice. A thimble is secured in the middle with a seizing before looping round the yard.

I have adopted the kit pieces for the boom irons on the lower yards. The soft metal yard-end pieces are big and bulky. They were cut and filed down until they looked more in proportion. For the outer rings I used some brass pieces left over from HMS Fly which looked more in proportion. When it came to the irons for the topsail yards, I found that using the kit pieces was unworkable, they just looked too big and ugly, so I scratched them from brass rod and styrene tube painted iron grey with Tamiya XF-18.


All horses and stirrups were made from 0.5mm rope stained with wood dye as described in an earlier post. The horses are looped around the yards using a false splice The stirrups are fixed at the correct length with a false splice and the the tail wrapped around the yard three times and fixed with dilute pva.
 

The footropes will need some work once the yards are fitted and rigged to get them to lie correctly.
 
David

 

 

Thanks Ross and Andrew for your kind comments
 
It's quite simple using a needle to thread the line back and forth through itself two or three times.
The following photos should make it clear. To make it easier to see and photograph, I have used 1mm thread and a curved needle but it works with any size of thread and straight needle.

 

It's best here to tighten up the loop around the yard or whatever else you are making the eye-splice for.


A third pass through is ideal but not mandatory!
 

The finished splice

Secure it off with a dab of dilute pva.
 
Have fun
David

good evening everyone
 
thank you for comments and likes
 
day 10 lower deck planking complete
 
let the sanding begin 
 
 
 
 

I’ve custom made thwarts for the larger boat.  I used 2.5 mm styrene c-channel strips for the thwarts (seats) and fabricated the bow piece from a number plate off the sprew.  I used the spacing on the small boats seats to space my custom ones.  Then I prime coated, wood-tone painted, clear coated and then distressed each piece with a diluted black wash. 
 
Next step is the create the spars across the waist that the boats sit upon.   Unlike the French who spent their days in port prettying ship, the British were at sea in all weathers on blockade, so the boats had to be easily on hand.  I’ve got 3mm square profile styrene strips primed and ready for painting to create the cross beams and columns.

Fabricating and installing breech rope from thread pulled through beeswax and affixed to the pommel on each quarterdeck 12 pounder cannon with instant glue.  Rope will be cut to meet inner hull side when cannon is permanently installed.

id perfer to be the Lewis, but im not in a race lol, however this does go together so very well, it will of course slow down soon, with planking

good evening everyone
thank you for comments and likes, very much appreciated
 
the inner bulkhead liners are now fitted, there are another two, to fill a blank space, if i get the chance i will put them on tonight, otherwise they will remain off until completion of sanding the outer hull
 
8 temporary beams are inserted to ensure the everything stays in place whilst sand in the hull, i think they are discarded at a later date


 
today was also spent putting on 4 profiles that accurately space the upper deck beams, another clever idea, apart from skimming the tops of the inner bulkhead liners to stop any fouling, this never caused any concerns at all

 
prior to gluing the profiles in place i removed the beams to check the alignment once this has dried the beams will be removed to safe place and put on again later on after deck planking

 
 
 

good evening everyone
thank you for comments and likes
day 5 and 6
the main deck went down without any issues 
next is the 8 in number inner bulkhead pieces, the frames needed a bit of sanding to allow them to sit flush against the max amount of wood, again there was no issues with this and i did not need to soak them, an overnight under clamps and they are sitting quite nice, i dont believe much of these will be seen later on, hope to finish them tomorrow,  
 
lots of test fitting

Will be following this one closely, you are a lucky man!

Thanks again for all the likes and comments.
 
I made the jib a little while ago with all the lower yards, stuns’l booms, mizzen gaffs and some of the spare masts. I will cover these as we go on.

The jib was made to the specification in the AotS as were all other yards and masts. The bowsprit cap was made from scratch because the kit part did not allow for the holes to be changed to the correct angle. It was also too narrow to fit a jack staff.

I used the kit dolphin striker which was glued and pinned to the cap. Before fixing the jib, I added the 'lead' saddle for the spritsail yard which unfortunately doesn't show up well in the photo. This was simply made from a piece of paper (200gsm I think) painted iron grey. The heel lashing is 7 wraps of 0.5mm rope. I wasn’t sure of the order of rigging for the jibboom so followed the order given in Lees, starting with the guy pendants (0.4mm) followed by the horses and the martingale. The horses (0.75mm rope) are knotted with figure-of-eights every 10mm. The horses and pendants are left hanging for the moment. The martingale stay and back stay (0.4mm) are one piece and lead back, via a fall, to the port side of the bowsprit.

 
 
The mizzen topgallant stay is made from 0.4mm rope and leads through a thimble in the main topmast head and finishes with thimbles and lanyard at the main top. According to Lees the royal stay wasn’t introduced until after 1810 so I have left it off. The back stays lead to the stool abaft the mizzen channel, the topgallant to a 2.5mm deadeye and the royal to an eyebolt. I realise that there is some inconsistency here in that there is a royal backstay but no stay. Maybe I should have left both off and I may go back to it later but I quite like it as it is.


The main mast topgallant stay (0.5mm) leads through a 3mm block on the fore topmast head down to the forestay where it is tied off at the collar of the topmast stay lead block. I should have made the strop so that it stood more proud of the mast to improve the run of the topgallant stay but too late now. The royal stay leads through a 3mm block at the fore topmast head and ends in a thimble which is connected by a lanyard to another thimble fixed with a span to the fore topmast cross trees. I realised, too late, that the span should be tied into the inside of the cross trees before fitting the masts, so I have had to tie them to the outside. Back stays run down to the stool abaft the main channel.

The foreamast topgallant stay leads through a 3mm block on the jibboom and runs back to the forestay collar where it is tied of with three seizings,

The royal stay leads to the end of the jibboom where it is tied off. Backstays are set up in a similar manner and lead down to deadeyes on the foreward channel.
 
 
I have looked again at the main and fore topmast shifting backstays and decided to re-rig them in a way more in line with the description in Lees. I’m puzzled when Lees says that the pendants were half as long again as the burton pendants. I interpreted this to mean that they would end high up off the deck which didn’t seem right and wasn’t in line with the drawing in AotS. I have rigged the pendants to come to within 90mm of the deck. The falls are set up as in Lees with a long tackle block hooked to the pendant and a single 3mm block hooked to an eyebolt in the channels.

The main topmast shifting backstay falls are tied off to a belay pin but the foreward shifting backstay, according to the Caldercraft plan, is tied off to a shroud cleat and would lie across the shrouds. This seemed wrong to my eye so I have fitted a deck cleat, not shown on the plans, to tie it off which I think works better.

 
The standing rigging is now complete and means another milestone in the build is reached just over two years from when it began.
 

Thanks for looking in
David