scratch

Truly inspiring   work Danny .  
 
David

Thanks for the dimensions. I don't use a scale ruler but a conversion table to quickly get from feet/inch to mm
 
Work continued on the bowsprit step. To accurately determine the step (square hole) in the chock (the vertical plank between the bitts) I had to make the bowsprit itself too. I find it very satisfying to make a mast just with hand tools, it takes time but the result is very accurate. 
 
While cutting the step the rabbet between the two planks very nicely
 

 
The bowsprit was cut from square to octagonal to round using a hand plane, well honed chisels and sandpaper. 
 

 
The base going from round to square
 

 
And the tip
 

 
The step is also rebated into the upright bitts
 

 

 

 
Remco
 
 

Thanks all for your kind comments.
 
Next up is the bowsprit step. As I needed two of the forecastle deck beams to determine the size of this part. Not looking forward to this job I made an (warning off topic) 1/35 BMW R75 with side car, a nice little plastic kit from Lionroar. After that I found new energy to return to the KF and I went ahead and cut all forecastle and quarterdeck deck beams so they are ready for future use. Some parts still need to be made but I can not find the with of the crosspiece. Any ideas? I guess it's shorter than the main topsail sheet bitt crosspiece...
 

 

 
Remco
 
 
 

Next pieces are the Stirrups and Horses. I've made these from "tarred" line as they get a lot wetter than the horses on the other yards.
 
The Stirrups have an eye in their lower ends. I made the eyes by passing the line back through itself using a needle threader :
 

 
The upper ends of the stirrups turn three times around the yard. On the real ship they were nailed to the yard, but PVA does the job on the model :
 

 
Finally the Standing Lifts are fitted. These also have a thimble seized into their outer ends :
 

 
I haven't glued the stirrups to the horses yet - I'll do that after the yard has been slung to get them to "hang" neatly.
 
 Danny

All the blocks and fittings are much easier to fit BEFORE the yard is fitted to the mast. I didn't do these in the right sequence for this yard, but I learned my lesson .
 
First things to make and fit are the Sling Cleats. These were made from English Box.
 
I also made the Spritsail Halyard Strop. This has an eye in each end, with a thimble seized into it's "centre" - it's actually a bit off centre with a long and short leg. A lanyard fixes the two eyes around the yard :
 

 

 
Next I made and fitted the Stop Cleats near the ends of the yard. This was the mistake I mentioned earlier - they should have gone on AFTER the other blocks had been fitted as I couldn't slip the block strops over them. It would have been a lot easier if I'd left them until later in the piece.
 
A strop with a thimble seized into it is fitted at the 3rd quarter of each end of the yard for the Jib Guys :
 

 

 
An overall view of the yard to this stage :
 

 
The Clueline blocks are fitted 3 feet from the slings :
 

 
 Danny

Thank you very much Dave and Bryan. 
 
 
I don't mind at all Dave . I look forward to seeing the start of Pegasus.
 
Spritsail Yard
 
I've started making the Yards. The basic method of making them is pretty much the same for all of them, so I won't detail each step for all of them. Where there are differences in the construction I'll show those details.
 
Construction starts by marking out the tapers using the 7-10-7 method. Two opposing tapers are sanded into each end using the disc sander - this is easier than it may seem with a bit of practice. Then the other two tapers are done in similar fashion.
 
Next I marked out the octagons :
 

 
and cut them in with a very sharp chisel using my "V" block rest :
 

 
The central portion of some of the yards are octagonal in shape with only the outer parts rounded off. The rounded sections were done with a sanding block. I used the lathe to cut a sharp neat transition on each end of the octagon before sanding the round sections.
 

 
 Danny

Billboard
 
With the standing rigging completed I can now finish off the Billboard. As you can see from the pics below it covers the first three chains on the foremast. The billboard protects these from damage when the anchor is stowed.
 
The first thing to fit is the previously made Bolster :
 

 
Next come two stanchions to which are bolted the planks :
 

 

 
Finally the planks are fitted and "bolted" with 0.7mm headed round head rivets :
 

 
 Danny

I've also fitted the fore topgallant shrouds and backstays. These were done in similar fashion to those on the main mast.
 
This concludes all the standing rigging apart from the Guy Pendants Falls. These have been partially rigged and will be finished off when the Spritsail Yard is fitted.
 
Here are a couple of pics of the completed standing rigging :
 

 

 
 Danny

Jib Stay
 
The jib stay starts on the Traveller. It's seized to the ring between the starboard side of the shackle and the hook :
 

 
Then it passes through the upper sheave on the starboard side cheek block on the topmast head :
 

 
It finishes by being tied to the starboard topmast backstay above the deadeye :
 

 
 Danny

Thank you again for the very kind comments Nils, Greg, David, Christian, Allan, Russell, Carl, John and Robin. They are all appreciated .
 
Russell, I get my rigging line from Syren Ship Models.
 
John, when I bought the rigging line Chuck hadn't started making right-handed line (I believe he does now). Besides, small ships such as Vulture were sometimes rigged left-handed so I took a bit of licence here .
 
Fore Topgallant Stay
 
Before the fore topgallant stay can be fitted the treble block for the stay and the topgallant Bowlines needs to be slipped over the end of the jibboom. I've used a treble block rather than a triple thimble collar, first because this setup was used on some ships of the period and second because it's easier .
 
I did however make a two thimble collar for the spritsail yard lifts :
 

 

 
The topgallant stay is fitted to the topgallant mast in similar fashion to those on the main and mizzen masts. It passes through the middle hole in the treble block at the end of the jibboom and finishes with a thimble which is lashed to the starboard side of the fore preventer stay heart block using a collar :
 

 

 
 Danny

Definitely no bad remarks . She looks sweet .   
 
 
David

Hi Gents,
 
Well she's out of the plastic bag and some progress has been made.
 
First job was to remove the Jig, this was done with some trepidation as I wasn't sure what was going to happen, at first it was quite tight but when she came out she popped like a cork out a bottle, and in one piece. She is surprisingly robust even at this stage.
 
Next up was to make a working stand, all I done was to cut my old Agamemnon stand down, I cut about 5 inches out of the length and the stand ends are in line with Frames "D1-D2 and Frame 12 so there is no need to place lateral planks. It will do the job nicely I think.
 
After that the outside of the frames needed sanding / fairing, not my most favourite job but it needs to be done. This was done with no problems or disasters.
 
There was some discussion about Treenailing the Footwails Strake's and Limber Board & Strake's, I wasn't going to do it but have now changed my mind, so I have now drilled 260 x 0.5mm holes in said Strakes and Boards, these will be filled with false treenails, a mixture of filler and sawdust.
 
So that's where I am at the moment, some pics.
 
Just out of the Jig prior to Fairing the Frames

 

 
After Fairing the Frames

 

 
Working Stand

 
Template used for marking Treenails

 
Some of the holes 0.5mm holes drilled

 

 
Colour testing for false Treenails

 
So there we are, up to date.
 
Your comments, remarks and thoughts are more than welcome guys, good or bad.
 
Be Good
 
mobbsie
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Thanks everyone for the nice comments and all the likes. There have been so many comments on the spales, that I think it only right that I should acknowledge the source of this idea, that being my Warrior Practicum books by William Romero. Wouldn't want y'all thinkin' I was capable of original thought now!

Very nice work Grant    Great idea with the push clamping .
 
 
David

Well, laziness got the better of me and I paid the price!       
 
I had decided that the next step was to permanently install the Mortar Pit Deck Clamps.  To do this, I needed to clamp the Clamps properly to the frames.  However, as “regular” clamps could not fit around the frames/jig, I decided to use a push method to hold them in place. This is where I got lazy.  I thought I would just use some scrap timber cut slightly over length and then wedge this between the opposing sides to give a pushing force on the clamps. Unfortunately, all I succeeded in doing was marking the face of the Clamps to the extent that they needed to be totally re-made.                  
 
Time to re-think clamping.  I decided to do what I should have done in the first place, and make up some spales.  These are really simple to make and require only some brass or aluminium tube, some threaded rod, nuts to suit, some scrap wood and some felt.  A quick trip to the hardware store got me all the supplies I needed and in next to no time I had some spales ready to use:
 

 

 
I made these to a size to suit this specific job.  While I was at it, I made up some smaller ones that I figured would come in handy when fixing the riders in place.
 

 
Just for comparison, here’s the two sizes side by side:
 

 
With these made up, and it was a simple job to re-cut the Mortar Pit Deck Clamps and then glue them in place using the spales to hold them tightly:
 

 
Once the Clamps were in place, I could then install the Riders.  The mini-spales came in real handy for this job:
 

 
Here is a couple of pics of the Riders in place. The joinery is not as tight as I would have liked, but I’m hoping that most of the flaws won’t be terribly visible later on.
 

 

 
Limber Boards and Footwaling
 
With the Riders in place, it was time to install the Limber boards and Footwaling.  This was a fairly straight forward job – and it was the first introduction of a different “colour” of timber - Boxwood.       
 
The “L”-shaped rabbet in the Limber Strake was cut using the Byrnes saw, and the angle faces on the Limber board were achieved using the Byrnes disc sander.  Temporary spacers were cut to aid in placing everything at the right distances.  Here’s the result:
 

 
 

 
Still tossing up whether to add tree-nails to the planking here.  The correct scale size would be a #78 drill  bit.  If I do these, I may use the drill and fill method, rather than trying to draw proper treenails to that size.  Will give this some further consideration during the week. Observations / suggestions welcome.  
 

if you enter "soft sander" in the amazon search window you will find a number of them from different sources including Grizzly.
 
Richard

Thanks Mobbsie, Augie, Jack and David.
 
David - I ordered those sanding blocks on line. Can't remember where/who from, but that's why I posted the pic of the packaging. The one thing I do recall is that they were not at all expensive.

Part two was just some questions and answers.  But I was a little rushed.   Usually we dont have enough time to devote what is needed for the whole presentation.  But here it is anyway.
 
I am not sure if it adds anything more to part one.....but here it is.   Its hard to hear the questions being asked.   Most of the conversation in the middle revolves around someone asking me about a hull with many drop planks and or stealers as described in another authors practicum...just putting them in wherever and whenever.  Hopefully that will make the audio make more sense.
 

Looking good keith!!!  
 
One of the guys taped my planking session at my club meeting.  Its freaky to see myself on a video like this.  No laughing.   But It shows how I taper and cut a plank to match my plan from lining out the hull.   I wish the camera was behind me but I hope its still worth posting.
 

 
Chuck

William M. “Mike” Lonnecker. 
 
I am a retired engineer with a degree in Mechanical Engineering (BSME) from the University of Kansas. I worked in Texas and California as a Program Manager and Project Engineer in the Defense and Aerospace Industry until retiring in 2002. I currently reside in Poway (San Diego) California with Sandy, my wife of 44 years.
 
My interests have included woodworking, flying sailplanes, sailing, hot rodding and modeling all types of “vehicles”. I have been a student of design, modeling and building projects since completing my first plastic model car at age 6 or 7.  I now prefer to work on 1: 48 scale ship models of the late 18th century and am building my fourth ship model, The FLY, using David Antscherl’s Swan series of books.
 
I am a member of the San Diego Ship Modelers’ Guild and serve as Guild Master (President). I am also an active member of the Ship Modelers Association of Fullerton (SMA) and, of course, am a Director of the NRG where I am also chair of the mentor program and am currently mentoring one member. I enjoy sharing my modeling and machining skills with other modelers and regularly give demonstrations at club meetings and invite other members to my shop to work out difficult problems or aid new modelers with their projects.  My MSW screen name is Mike.
 

Toni Levine
 
Like so many of us, I started building models when I was a child.  The first model I remember building was a Monogram F6F-5 Hellcat which was originally given to my brother but it seemed that the “girl” had more aptitude for this than he did.  My first ship models were small Scientific carved hull models which I built during high school.  Model building was then shelved for several years while I completed my education (BS and MD from the University of Illinois) and residency training (Northwestern University).  My first plank-on-bulkhead model was Peregrine Galley by Mantua.  It is my only model built with a full coat of sails.  Over the years, my projects progressed from out-of-the-box kits to kit-bashing and finally scratch building.  My current project is Atalanta, a Swan-class sloop built in the fully framed style popularized by David Antscherl. 
 
I have been a physician since 1980 and specialize in otolaryngology (ear, nose and throat).  Like so many of us, my career prevents me from spending much time building ships.  I am a member of the Nautical Research and Model Society of Chicago and have been a member of the NRG since 1989 and a Director since 2013.  I live in the Chicago area with my husband.  My other interests include gardening, water gardening and home brewing.  My MSW screen name is tlevine.
 

Phil Roach
 
I have practiced law since 1988 and have had a private law practice in Bonita Springs since 1994. I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1985 and then attended Campbell University School of Law where I received my Juris Doctorate (J.D.) degree in 1988. Following graduation I moved from my hometown of Fayetteville, N.C. to become a full time resident of Southwest Florida. I belong to the Collier County Bar Association and the Florida Bar. I have been married to my wife Marina since 1988 and we have two children, Nicholas and Elizabeth.
 
I am an active member of the Rotary Club of Bonita Springs Noon and am currently serving on the Board of Directors. My prior service to the Club includes holding the position of President, Club Rotary Foundation Committee Chairman and I have served on the Board of Directors for various terms over my more than 20 year membership in the club.
I am also an active member of the Southwest Florida Ship Modelers’ Guild and I currently hold the position of President. I also served as liaison to the Nautical Research Guild for the Regional Conference previously held in Fort Myers, Florida.
 
I enjoy American history and its maritime heritage. My modeling interests are sailing ships and lately, that interest is gravitating backwards in time to vessels of the Revolutionary War period, vessels of the Colonial era, and the vessels of exploration of the North American Continent. Although my full time practice of law forbids me from modeling as much as I would like, I very much enjoy the research.  My MSW screen name is roach101761.
 

The Board of Directors of the NRG has decided it would be a good idea to let our members know a little about ourselves.  As you will see, your current Directors and Secretary come from diverse backgrounds and have varied interests.  Some of the names you will recognize, others you will not.  Even if a name is unfamiliar to you, please know that this is a hands-on Board and each Director contributes a substantial amount of time and sometimes money to the Guild, time that would otherwise go towards our passion of model ship building.

Mortar Pit Deck Clamps
 
The next task was the construction of the Mortar Pit Deck Clamps (upper strake).  This is a relatively straight forward job and the Sherline mill made short work of cutting out the required notches. A bevel was required on the lower inboard edge, where this clamp butts up against the lower strake, which is a thinner dimension timber. This was marked out using a compass, and then a miniature plane was used to cut the bevel.  I picked this tool up at a woodwork show a year or two ago, and it is just wonderful to use. 
 

 
The outboard faces of the clamps also needed to be shaped to allow for the curve of the frames.  For this I used one of my foam sanding blocks (the red one on the left of the picture).
 

 
These come in a pack of six different shapes and use a self adhesive sandpaper (samples included in the pack).  I picked up the tip on these from somebody’s log here at MSW a long time ago, but I can’t actually remember whose log it was.  Anyway, they are terrific - I used these for fairing the inside of the frames as well.
 

 
Keelson
 
The Keelson was also fairly straight forward.  It was simply planed and sanded to impart the necessary bevels, and then drilled for copper bolts at each frame.  Locator holes for the pillars to be installed at a later stage were also drilled before fitting.  After glueing in place, the copper bolts were added, being glued in place with epoxy, and then blackened.  I hope I don’t have to remove it now! It was then marked out for the locations of the Floor Riders. 
 

 
Floor and Futtock Riders
 
The Floor and Futtock Riders were a real bear to make.  At first, I thought I would be clever and cut all the Floor Riders together. Good in theory, but they all need to be finessed for their particular position to account for the inevitable small errors in previous steps.  Similarly, the Futtock Riders were cut from the template and of course did not fit the curvature of my frames - accumulation of errors again.  Net result was that I had to remake all components, ensuring that each individual piece was carefully adjusted to fit in its designated location.  It took me the entire weekend to remake these parts, but they are now ready for fitting.
 

 

Your work is truly beautiful Jack . 
 
 
 
David