Beef Wellington

Hamilton - Cheers mate.  I don't have Lees, Lever indicates that when used, the cross catharpins would be installed in addition to the catharpins going athwartship, basically forming an 'X' so that the starboard foremost shroud is catharpined to the aftmost larboard shroud and vice versa.  If I ever build HMS Surprise, she will have to have cross-catharpins  .  I'm growing to love the Lever's Young Sea Officers sheet anchor and am following the order outlined there so far.  
 
On your second question, I'm probably going to go with the wire and use epoxy again to secure them, but as usual will reserve final judgement until necessary.
 
Quick additional update on progress...main mast catharpins are all on.  Pederson has a nice picture showing that these would have been lashed to the futtock stave with thinner line.  Its not really practical at this scale, so I sort of got thesame result by threading the eye with two pieces of thread to try and keep the catharpin in line with the shroud.  Pretty happy with the way things turned out (and not a pin or rubber band in sight).
 

You've got a very nice smooth run  for the planking Sjors, looks great.  At the stern I wonder if you think you will use a filler block for the awkward angle?  Hope you have a lot of fun with the cannons, you can put a lot of detail on those.

Hamilton - Cheers mate.  I don't have Lees, Lever indicates that when used, the cross catharpins would be installed in addition to the catharpins going athwartship, basically forming an 'X' so that the starboard foremost shroud is catharpined to the aftmost larboard shroud and vice versa.  If I ever build HMS Surprise, she will have to have cross-catharpins  .  I'm growing to love the Lever's Young Sea Officers sheet anchor and am following the order outlined there so far.  
 
On your second question, I'm probably going to go with the wire and use epoxy again to secure them, but as usual will reserve final judgement until necessary.
 
Quick additional update on progress...main mast catharpins are all on.  Pederson has a nice picture showing that these would have been lashed to the futtock stave with thinner line.  Its not really practical at this scale, so I sort of got thesame result by threading the eye with two pieces of thread to try and keep the catharpin in line with the shroud.  Pretty happy with the way things turned out (and not a pin or rubber band in sight).
 

@Nigel - Boy,  I hope I don't sound whiney! Unfortunately seeking perfection is in my character, I know I'll never get there but doesn't seem to stop me banging my head sometimes...of course the challenge is part of the fun 
 
@Scott - you found my secret!
 
@Jim - Think there are a couple of answers, and I'm sure the serving 'masters' out there could provide more tips as well.  For the stays, I created the served eye on one end (per method below which Andy put me on to) and then attached the mouse in what seemed the right spot.  The serving then was done in one go starting at the eye toward the mouse, over the mouse, and then terminated a 'suitable' distance - Lever says this discretionary and who am I to argue.
 
As far as the catharpins go, hopefully the following diagram makes sense.  Either way, you need to know the dimensions of what you looking to achieve beforehand.  One technique that works well is to mock up the element you want to create with light (similar thickness) thread, you can then mark the part that need to be served and go from there.  Unfortunately, however well planned, there is always room for discrepancy and there have been plenty of times where the end result is a little to long or short and its back to the start - probably gets better with practice, but seems to be part of the territory.
 
The approach below can probably be applied to any rigging element, just requires planning and forethought.  The catharpins were made in same way as the burton pendants.  What work for me is to figure out the length I'll need and then use two 'pins' with which to create the eyes the set distance apart to help ensure consistency.  Photo at the bottom are the catharpins in an early stage (I didn't bother serving the eyes for these as it they wouldn't be really visibly, this save quite a bit of time and risk of error).
 

While waiting for the copper problem to resolve itself, I decided to test fit the rudder.  It's something that has worried me for a while and something I have been postponing as a consequence.
 
As gudgeons,I have used a brass nail inserted into the eye of an eyelet, glued with gel superglue. I let the glue set for a couple of days to make sure it was completely set. It worked a treat.  (Thanks Arthur for the idea.) I also used eyelets for the pintles.  The result seems to be quite sturdy. The gel CA, once really set is really hard and durable.  I'm afraid soldering things would have been beyond me.
 

 
Having placed the rudder to the correct level against the waterline I fixed the pintles/gudgeons at the  top and the bottom.  This gave the spacing for all the intermediate fixtures. Unfortunately the following picture does not show it all that well.
 

 
Here is the rudder with top and bottom gudgeons.  I followed instructions to taper the rudder which made coppering the front and back difficult. This is the front of the rudder with top and bottom gudgeons.  The coppering here is obviously not neat but once the rudder is attached (to my relief), any imperfections are completely hidden (The rear of the rudder is OK thankfully.)  The gap between stern post and rudder is 1.5mm, and when I finally fix the rudder, the gap could be made a fraction smaller.
 
 

 
When drill into the copper plates on the stern post used Tamiya tape to prevent the drill bit slipping.
 

 
Here is the rudder fiitted.  All of the gudgeons/pintles are dry fitted at the moment.  I will attach it finally  once the copper finish is done.
 

 

 
 

Hamilton - Cheers mate.  I don't have Lees, Lever indicates that when used, the cross catharpins would be installed in addition to the catharpins going athwartship, basically forming an 'X' so that the starboard foremost shroud is catharpined to the aftmost larboard shroud and vice versa.  If I ever build HMS Surprise, she will have to have cross-catharpins  .  I'm growing to love the Lever's Young Sea Officers sheet anchor and am following the order outlined there so far.  
 
On your second question, I'm probably going to go with the wire and use epoxy again to secure them, but as usual will reserve final judgement until necessary.
 
Quick additional update on progress...main mast catharpins are all on.  Pederson has a nice picture showing that these would have been lashed to the futtock stave with thinner line.  Its not really practical at this scale, so I sort of got thesame result by threading the eye with two pieces of thread to try and keep the catharpin in line with the shroud.  Pretty happy with the way things turned out (and not a pin or rubber band in sight).
 

@Nigel - Boy,  I hope I don't sound whiney! Unfortunately seeking perfection is in my character, I know I'll never get there but doesn't seem to stop me banging my head sometimes...of course the challenge is part of the fun 
 
@Scott - you found my secret!
 
@Jim - Think there are a couple of answers, and I'm sure the serving 'masters' out there could provide more tips as well.  For the stays, I created the served eye on one end (per method below which Andy put me on to) and then attached the mouse in what seemed the right spot.  The serving then was done in one go starting at the eye toward the mouse, over the mouse, and then terminated a 'suitable' distance - Lever says this discretionary and who am I to argue.
 
As far as the catharpins go, hopefully the following diagram makes sense.  Either way, you need to know the dimensions of what you looking to achieve beforehand.  One technique that works well is to mock up the element you want to create with light (similar thickness) thread, you can then mark the part that need to be served and go from there.  Unfortunately, however well planned, there is always room for discrepancy and there have been plenty of times where the end result is a little to long or short and its back to the start - probably gets better with practice, but seems to be part of the territory.
 
The approach below can probably be applied to any rigging element, just requires planning and forethought.  The catharpins were made in same way as the burton pendants.  What work for me is to figure out the length I'll need and then use two 'pins' with which to create the eyes the set distance apart to help ensure consistency.  Photo at the bottom are the catharpins in an early stage (I didn't bother serving the eyes for these as it they wouldn't be really visibly, this save quite a bit of time and risk of error).
 

Hamilton - Cheers mate.  I don't have Lees, Lever indicates that when used, the cross catharpins would be installed in addition to the catharpins going athwartship, basically forming an 'X' so that the starboard foremost shroud is catharpined to the aftmost larboard shroud and vice versa.  If I ever build HMS Surprise, she will have to have cross-catharpins  .  I'm growing to love the Lever's Young Sea Officers sheet anchor and am following the order outlined there so far.  
 
On your second question, I'm probably going to go with the wire and use epoxy again to secure them, but as usual will reserve final judgement until necessary.
 
Quick additional update on progress...main mast catharpins are all on.  Pederson has a nice picture showing that these would have been lashed to the futtock stave with thinner line.  Its not really practical at this scale, so I sort of got thesame result by threading the eye with two pieces of thread to try and keep the catharpin in line with the shroud.  Pretty happy with the way things turned out (and not a pin or rubber band in sight).
 

Mort - great tip, I didn't know that about the school glue just being diluted PVA - not sure what I thought it was    Will be great to meet you.
 
Anyway...Catharpin'ing on....
 
Catharpins have been something else I've been pondering.  The Snake plans just seem horribly inconsistent with other materials (Lever, Pederson etc) so decided to follow those.  Lever identifies a number of methods, desperately wanted to go the cross-catharpin route, but Lever seems to indicate that even when this was done, it was in addition to the regular catharpins, not in place of.  So, the bog standard approach it will be.  
 
Mk1 Catharpin.  Of course, catharpins were eye-spliced at either end and served...(has anyone been diagnosed with compulsive 'serving' disorder?   )

 
...and lashed into place temporarily it seems to work just fine.  Although the detail of the eye splice is somewhat lost, it does give a cleaner look (IMHO) than lashing the catharpin around the futtock stave.  I was a little relieved to see that the second shroud can be catharpined in without rubbing against the mast as Lever suggest only the foremost shroud was not catharpined in.  I feel scale is a little bit of an issue, it would be nice to be doing the same on a larger ship so the imperfections are perhaps a little less noticeable.

Hamilton - Cheers mate.  I don't have Lees, Lever indicates that when used, the cross catharpins would be installed in addition to the catharpins going athwartship, basically forming an 'X' so that the starboard foremost shroud is catharpined to the aftmost larboard shroud and vice versa.  If I ever build HMS Surprise, she will have to have cross-catharpins  .  I'm growing to love the Lever's Young Sea Officers sheet anchor and am following the order outlined there so far.  
 
On your second question, I'm probably going to go with the wire and use epoxy again to secure them, but as usual will reserve final judgement until necessary.
 
Quick additional update on progress...main mast catharpins are all on.  Pederson has a nice picture showing that these would have been lashed to the futtock stave with thinner line.  Its not really practical at this scale, so I sort of got thesame result by threading the eye with two pieces of thread to try and keep the catharpin in line with the shroud.  Pretty happy with the way things turned out (and not a pin or rubber band in sight).
 

Well hello....it's been another while - I see now that my last update with photos was before Christmas!! Shameful....but there are some photos now. The last shots were of the mizzen crossjack yard. Since then, I've constructed, outfitted and rigged the mizzen topsail yard, the main course and topsail yards and made & outfitted the main topgallant yard - to be rigged soon (Thursday with any luck). The list of things still to be completed is shrinking. And as I've been kept away mostly from building, I've made due with plotting out my next two builds - finishing rigging tables for the Fair Rosamund (OcCre Dos Amigos) and the Yacht America (Mamoli). Both will be made more or less out of the box, I think (after all the modifications and corrections on the Blandford, I'm looking for something more or less straightforward....I may replace some parts on both but no major modifications on these...
 
Anyway, here are the photos documenting the progress to date on Blandford - you'll notice in the first couple perhaps that the mizzen topsail yard is a little jaunty - I fixed this as I hope is visible in the final shots. Hope you're all keeping well and having fun!
hamilton
 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi Jason:
 
Excellent work all around! I have a couple of questions. First, above you mention both "cross catharpins" and "regular catharpins" - I rigged catharpins on my Blandford (clumsily, I'll admit) using information I found in James Lees' Masting and Rigging of English Ships of War. Just for curiosity's sake (and further to future endeavour) I'm wondering what the difference is and which one Lees represents....
 
Second - a few posts back you documented your trials on the lower topmast shroud deadeyes and the rigging of the futtock shrouds. I, too, used thread for these on my Blandford (at 1:100 scale, I found that the thin wire I had thought of using was very fragile and would not take the tension when I rigged the futtock shrouds). 1:64 might be more forgiving for the wire, but for myself I actually found the thread easier to work with - I'm just wondering where your thinking is on this part of the build....?
 
Anyway - love this ship and your build
hamilton

@Nigel - Boy,  I hope I don't sound whiney! Unfortunately seeking perfection is in my character, I know I'll never get there but doesn't seem to stop me banging my head sometimes...of course the challenge is part of the fun 
 
@Scott - you found my secret!
 
@Jim - Think there are a couple of answers, and I'm sure the serving 'masters' out there could provide more tips as well.  For the stays, I created the served eye on one end (per method below which Andy put me on to) and then attached the mouse in what seemed the right spot.  The serving then was done in one go starting at the eye toward the mouse, over the mouse, and then terminated a 'suitable' distance - Lever says this discretionary and who am I to argue.
 
As far as the catharpins go, hopefully the following diagram makes sense.  Either way, you need to know the dimensions of what you looking to achieve beforehand.  One technique that works well is to mock up the element you want to create with light (similar thickness) thread, you can then mark the part that need to be served and go from there.  Unfortunately, however well planned, there is always room for discrepancy and there have been plenty of times where the end result is a little to long or short and its back to the start - probably gets better with practice, but seems to be part of the territory.
 
The approach below can probably be applied to any rigging element, just requires planning and forethought.  The catharpins were made in same way as the burton pendants.  What work for me is to figure out the length I'll need and then use two 'pins' with which to create the eyes the set distance apart to help ensure consistency.  Photo at the bottom are the catharpins in an early stage (I didn't bother serving the eyes for these as it they wouldn't be really visibly, this save quite a bit of time and risk of error).
 

Mort - great tip, I didn't know that about the school glue just being diluted PVA - not sure what I thought it was    Will be great to meet you.
 
Anyway...Catharpin'ing on....
 
Catharpins have been something else I've been pondering.  The Snake plans just seem horribly inconsistent with other materials (Lever, Pederson etc) so decided to follow those.  Lever identifies a number of methods, desperately wanted to go the cross-catharpin route, but Lever seems to indicate that even when this was done, it was in addition to the regular catharpins, not in place of.  So, the bog standard approach it will be.  
 
Mk1 Catharpin.  Of course, catharpins were eye-spliced at either end and served...(has anyone been diagnosed with compulsive 'serving' disorder?   )

 
...and lashed into place temporarily it seems to work just fine.  Although the detail of the eye splice is somewhat lost, it does give a cleaner look (IMHO) than lashing the catharpin around the futtock stave.  I was a little relieved to see that the second shroud can be catharpined in without rubbing against the mast as Lever suggest only the foremost shroud was not catharpined in.  I feel scale is a little bit of an issue, it would be nice to be doing the same on a larger ship so the imperfections are perhaps a little less noticeable.

Very ,very nice neat work Jason I feel you maybe being overly harsh on yourself,as has been mentioned on here many times,we are all our own worst critics.I think your rigging work is fantastic,with incredible attention to detail.
 
Kind regards
 
Nigel

I love the tight in shot there.  Almost feels like I'm actually on the mast looking down on a real ship.  LOL

Mort - great tip, I didn't know that about the school glue just being diluted PVA - not sure what I thought it was    Will be great to meet you.
 
Anyway...Catharpin'ing on....
 
Catharpins have been something else I've been pondering.  The Snake plans just seem horribly inconsistent with other materials (Lever, Pederson etc) so decided to follow those.  Lever identifies a number of methods, desperately wanted to go the cross-catharpin route, but Lever seems to indicate that even when this was done, it was in addition to the regular catharpins, not in place of.  So, the bog standard approach it will be.  
 
Mk1 Catharpin.  Of course, catharpins were eye-spliced at either end and served...(has anyone been diagnosed with compulsive 'serving' disorder?   )

 
...and lashed into place temporarily it seems to work just fine.  Although the detail of the eye splice is somewhat lost, it does give a cleaner look (IMHO) than lashing the catharpin around the futtock stave.  I was a little relieved to see that the second shroud can be catharpined in without rubbing against the mast as Lever suggest only the foremost shroud was not catharpined in.  I feel scale is a little bit of an issue, it would be nice to be doing the same on a larger ship so the imperfections are perhaps a little less noticeable.

Mort - great tip, I didn't know that about the school glue just being diluted PVA - not sure what I thought it was    Will be great to meet you.
 
Anyway...Catharpin'ing on....
 
Catharpins have been something else I've been pondering.  The Snake plans just seem horribly inconsistent with other materials (Lever, Pederson etc) so decided to follow those.  Lever identifies a number of methods, desperately wanted to go the cross-catharpin route, but Lever seems to indicate that even when this was done, it was in addition to the regular catharpins, not in place of.  So, the bog standard approach it will be.  
 
Mk1 Catharpin.  Of course, catharpins were eye-spliced at either end and served...(has anyone been diagnosed with compulsive 'serving' disorder?   )

 
...and lashed into place temporarily it seems to work just fine.  Although the detail of the eye splice is somewhat lost, it does give a cleaner look (IMHO) than lashing the catharpin around the futtock stave.  I was a little relieved to see that the second shroud can be catharpined in without rubbing against the mast as Lever suggest only the foremost shroud was not catharpined in.  I feel scale is a little bit of an issue, it would be nice to be doing the same on a larger ship so the imperfections are perhaps a little less noticeable.

Thanks everyone for the kind words and support.  Some of you my remember a project that my son was taking on some (many!) months ago, HMS Hood.  Well, it was finally finished recently and just getting round to posting the pictures my son has been wanting to.   Although recently launched, she has already sustained some battle damage (as would be expected in a 7yr olds bedroom) and undergone a major overhaul.     I'm hoping to get down the New London CT model show with Snake in April, and my son is wanting to attend with me and display her, so some of you may be lucky enough to see this masterpiece in person   
 
Next on the blocks is HMS Victory which hes already started (a starter kit he picked up on our visit to Victory the last summer), you can get some tantalizing glimpses in the background of the second photo)
 
                                     
 
 

 
             

Mort - great tip, I didn't know that about the school glue just being diluted PVA - not sure what I thought it was    Will be great to meet you.
 
Anyway...Catharpin'ing on....
 
Catharpins have been something else I've been pondering.  The Snake plans just seem horribly inconsistent with other materials (Lever, Pederson etc) so decided to follow those.  Lever identifies a number of methods, desperately wanted to go the cross-catharpin route, but Lever seems to indicate that even when this was done, it was in addition to the regular catharpins, not in place of.  So, the bog standard approach it will be.  
 
Mk1 Catharpin.  Of course, catharpins were eye-spliced at either end and served...(has anyone been diagnosed with compulsive 'serving' disorder?   )

 
...and lashed into place temporarily it seems to work just fine.  Although the detail of the eye splice is somewhat lost, it does give a cleaner look (IMHO) than lashing the catharpin around the futtock stave.  I was a little relieved to see that the second shroud can be catharpined in without rubbing against the mast as Lever suggest only the foremost shroud was not catharpined in.  I feel scale is a little bit of an issue, it would be nice to be doing the same on a larger ship so the imperfections are perhaps a little less noticeable.

Andy, BE, Scott, Matti, Stergios, Pawel, John - thanks again for the interest and kind words
 
Final stages of the ratlines are on hold for a bit - I'm out of thread and it seems that what I'm looking to replace can't be found anywhere local so had to resort to the internet.  Meanwhile, my attention has moved to something that I've been thinking about for a while...the futtock strops.  The kit supplies some rather pathetic cut loops, the same as provided for the larger deadeye strops.  I can't see how they could possibly work as the bottom doesn't even clear the thickness of the top.  I'd also like to to get s slightly more authentic look with a hook for the futtock shrouds, which seems to leave two options, make something out of wire, or thread.  I tried both.  Any other ideas would be welcome.
 
Meanwhile as I ponder, I'll turn to making up the topgallant masts.
 
Wire was easiest to make, but not completely sold on the look

 
Thread took an age, maybe looks a little better, but I'm not sure how sturdy this would be (it broke as I removed it after the photo)

Mort - great tip, I didn't know that about the school glue just being diluted PVA - not sure what I thought it was    Will be great to meet you.
 
Anyway...Catharpin'ing on....
 
Catharpins have been something else I've been pondering.  The Snake plans just seem horribly inconsistent with other materials (Lever, Pederson etc) so decided to follow those.  Lever identifies a number of methods, desperately wanted to go the cross-catharpin route, but Lever seems to indicate that even when this was done, it was in addition to the regular catharpins, not in place of.  So, the bog standard approach it will be.  
 
Mk1 Catharpin.  Of course, catharpins were eye-spliced at either end and served...(has anyone been diagnosed with compulsive 'serving' disorder?   )

 
...and lashed into place temporarily it seems to work just fine.  Although the detail of the eye splice is somewhat lost, it does give a cleaner look (IMHO) than lashing the catharpin around the futtock stave.  I was a little relieved to see that the second shroud can be catharpined in without rubbing against the mast as Lever suggest only the foremost shroud was not catharpined in.  I feel scale is a little bit of an issue, it would be nice to be doing the same on a larger ship so the imperfections are perhaps a little less noticeable.

Mort - great tip, I didn't know that about the school glue just being diluted PVA - not sure what I thought it was    Will be great to meet you.
 
Anyway...Catharpin'ing on....
 
Catharpins have been something else I've been pondering.  The Snake plans just seem horribly inconsistent with other materials (Lever, Pederson etc) so decided to follow those.  Lever identifies a number of methods, desperately wanted to go the cross-catharpin route, but Lever seems to indicate that even when this was done, it was in addition to the regular catharpins, not in place of.  So, the bog standard approach it will be.  
 
Mk1 Catharpin.  Of course, catharpins were eye-spliced at either end and served...(has anyone been diagnosed with compulsive 'serving' disorder?   )

 
...and lashed into place temporarily it seems to work just fine.  Although the detail of the eye splice is somewhat lost, it does give a cleaner look (IMHO) than lashing the catharpin around the futtock stave.  I was a little relieved to see that the second shroud can be catharpined in without rubbing against the mast as Lever suggest only the foremost shroud was not catharpined in.  I feel scale is a little bit of an issue, it would be nice to be doing the same on a larger ship so the imperfections are perhaps a little less noticeable.

Mort - great tip, I didn't know that about the school glue just being diluted PVA - not sure what I thought it was    Will be great to meet you.
 
Anyway...Catharpin'ing on....
 
Catharpins have been something else I've been pondering.  The Snake plans just seem horribly inconsistent with other materials (Lever, Pederson etc) so decided to follow those.  Lever identifies a number of methods, desperately wanted to go the cross-catharpin route, but Lever seems to indicate that even when this was done, it was in addition to the regular catharpins, not in place of.  So, the bog standard approach it will be.  
 
Mk1 Catharpin.  Of course, catharpins were eye-spliced at either end and served...(has anyone been diagnosed with compulsive 'serving' disorder?   )

 
...and lashed into place temporarily it seems to work just fine.  Although the detail of the eye splice is somewhat lost, it does give a cleaner look (IMHO) than lashing the catharpin around the futtock stave.  I was a little relieved to see that the second shroud can be catharpined in without rubbing against the mast as Lever suggest only the foremost shroud was not catharpined in.  I feel scale is a little bit of an issue, it would be nice to be doing the same on a larger ship so the imperfections are perhaps a little less noticeable.

Mort - great tip, I didn't know that about the school glue just being diluted PVA - not sure what I thought it was    Will be great to meet you.
 
Anyway...Catharpin'ing on....
 
Catharpins have been something else I've been pondering.  The Snake plans just seem horribly inconsistent with other materials (Lever, Pederson etc) so decided to follow those.  Lever identifies a number of methods, desperately wanted to go the cross-catharpin route, but Lever seems to indicate that even when this was done, it was in addition to the regular catharpins, not in place of.  So, the bog standard approach it will be.  
 
Mk1 Catharpin.  Of course, catharpins were eye-spliced at either end and served...(has anyone been diagnosed with compulsive 'serving' disorder?   )

 
...and lashed into place temporarily it seems to work just fine.  Although the detail of the eye splice is somewhat lost, it does give a cleaner look (IMHO) than lashing the catharpin around the futtock stave.  I was a little relieved to see that the second shroud can be catharpined in without rubbing against the mast as Lever suggest only the foremost shroud was not catharpined in.  I feel scale is a little bit of an issue, it would be nice to be doing the same on a larger ship so the imperfections are perhaps a little less noticeable.