scratch

The first picture is the junk pile.  Treenail (bolt) tests and joinery practice.  Some were not bad some are awful.
 

 
The next pictures are of frame 4A & 4B.  The practice is paying off.  I did all 40 ebony bolts even though, the best I can tell, when the model is finished only the 2 at the small chocks (8 total) will be visible.  Good practice.  A lot of sanding yet to go.
 

 
This sure is fun.  The emotional reward of finally getting it right is huge.
 
Thanks to all the "likes" always appreciated.  Special thanks to the rest of the group, their assistance is enormously helpful.
 
The rest of the double frames are next.

Hi Gents,
 
Having said that I would be suspending the shipyard for a while well that wasn't strictly true. I put it down to toothache syndrome, you know, if you have a toothache you just cant help but keep putting your tongue on it, well so the cross section turned out to be the same.
 
I do have an update on the build which for me seemed a good place to stop.
 
All the Limber Boards and Strakes are completed as is the Footwailing Strakes, for the Footwailing I used a cardboard template to give me the distance between the Limber Boards and the Footwailing's. This is quite a simple section in that there is no shaping to be done, it's just a case of cutting them to size and fitting in place.
 
Following that I decided to permanently fix the Mortar Deck Clamps and fit the Mortar Deck Clamp Upper Strake (thick stuff), the Mortar Deck Clamps were already cut out, shaped and were dry fitted, these took but seconds to fix. The Upper Strake needed to be cut and though not required I shaped the back edge, that done they just needed to be cut to size and fixed in, so that's where I am now.
 
The next section to build will be the Shell Room, Mortar Pit Beams and Planking but they will be for later, NO HONEST I MEAN IT.
 
I will however still be building but not on ship stuff, my secondary build has arrived and so I will still be busy.
 
OK now for some pics
 
Cardboard template to give correct spacing along the length of the Footwailing


 
Parts of the Lower Strake have been fitted

 
All the Footwailing Strakes have now been fitted


 
Next up is the Mortar Deck Clamps and Upper Strakes



 
So all up to date now, the build has now been placed in a carrier bag to keep dust off, the next time she comes out will be for a couple of coats of poly, then back into the bag until it's time to carry on.
 
Thanks guys for all your remarks and comments and for hitting the like button.
 
Be Good
 
mobbsie
 
 
 
 

Thank you again John, Nenad, George, Druxey and Eamonn.
 
 
Eamonn, I hope you're kidding .
 
Jibboom Horses
 
The jibboom horses are the equivalent to the Footropes on the other yards. They are knotted every 2 scale feet, which takes a bit of careful doing to get them spaced evenly. There is a small eye in the forward end which loops back on itself and then around the forward end of the boom :
 

 

 
The aft ends are passed around the boom aft of the cap and have two seizings to fix them :
 

 
To get the horses to hang naturally I dampened them and attached a couple of clamps about 1/3 of the way in from each end until they dried:
 

 
 Danny

Thanks for the comments Christian, Carl, Ed, Maury, Alex, Mike and Greg. Much appreciated as always.
 
 
Christian - 1050 long (from tip of Bowsprit to tip of Driver Boom) x 740 high x 355 wide.
 
Jib Net
 
This is one of the fiddliest parts to make on the whole ship. It took me 2 1/2 days.
 
It starts by making the two spreaders from English Box. Then the two Horses were threaded through the holes in each end of the spreaders and an eye seized into the inboard end of each horse :
 

 

 
To tie the netting together I constructed a simple Jig :
 

 
Five double lengths of the netting were hitched around one spreader :
 

 
Then the tedious work of tying together every 2nd pair of the longitudinal netting began. The first couple of rows didn't turn out too well under magnification, but look OK to the eye :
 

 
Two days later (I had to wait for the glue to dry on the seizings before continuing on the next row) the second spreader was hitched to the free end :
 

 

 
The net fitted to the bowsprit. The forward ends of the horses attach to the eyebolts in the sides of the cap :
 

 

 
The aft ends of the horses are attached via lanyards to an eyebolt in each knighthead :
 

 
 Danny

Thank you Pat.
 
Jibboom Crupper
 
The aft end of the Jibboom is held fast by the Crupper, a similar arrangement to the Gammoning on the Bowsprit :
 

 
Jib Traveller
 
This is a tricky piece of "iron" work. The Traveller holds the Jib Outhaul and the running end of the Jib Stay. It's purpose is to allow the Jib sail to be adjusted or moved along the jibboom.
 
It consists of a ring which encircles the boom, a shackle to which will be attached the outhaul and the stay, and a hook which holds the tack of the jib (the forward corner).
 
I made the shackle and hook first, silver soldering the eyes. Then I bent the ring and slipped the shackle and hook through it, closed up the ring and finally silver soldered it closed. These pics show the assembly before cleaning up and blackening :
 

 

 
And the traveller on the jibboom :
 

 
  Danny

Thanks for looking in again John, Grant, Greg and David .
 
Topgallant Shrouds and Stays
 
The Topgallant Stays are the first lines fitted, unlike on the lower masts where the shrouds and backstays are fitted first. I decided on this arrangement after reading Lees who quotes Steel on the "Order of Dressing". TFFM has the stays fitted as per the lower masts.
 
EDIT - see a few posts below. This could be wrong   .
 
The Stays and Shrouds are all served around the mast and for a few feet below. The forward stay may have been served for it's full length, but at this size of shroud (0.2mm) the serving would have looked too large so I've omitted that.
 

 
The running end of the backstays end in deadeyes fitted to the aft end of the channels on the Main mast, and on the aft deadeyes on the stools for the Mizzen and Fore masts :
 

 
The running end of the Stays on the Main and Mizzen masts lead through a block stropped around the lower mast heads and are tied to the strop of the topmast lead blocks :
 

 
An overall view of the Main Topgallant Stays and Shrouds :
 

 
The Topgallant Futtock Shrouds are fitted in similar fashion to the topmast futtocks :
 

 
  Danny

Hi Grant, Greg David and mobbsie,
 
Thanks for the encouragement.  Thanks to the "Likes" as well, it always means a lot. 
 
The chocks are close but little things keep them from being perfect.  Just as an example the chock on the lower left of the picture has an uneven glue line and the one on the upper right is slightly off center.  (I enhanced the contrast so that the flaws would stand out in the picture.)  Don't get me wrong some are just fine, but the two end frames have to be absolutely perfect since I will have to look at them everyday for the rest of my life.  I am going to start with the double frames in the center and by the time I get to the 2 outside frames the chocks and the treenails should be perfect.
 

 
Thanks again to all who look in.  Also, thanks to mobbsie for the tip on filing the scarph joints and the keel notches using a vice.  It has really helped.  Actually I borrowed the idea from Grant after he borrowed it from mobbsie.
 
Time to make more sawdust. 
 

Now that is some sweet joinery , well done .
 
 
David

Discussing instructions can be a bit of a quagmire, because with few exceptions, the instructions from any one manufacturer are not all up to the same standard.  The one exception I know of is Midwest; their instructions are extremely thorough, but their kits are not traditional POB kits.  Some manufacturers, like AL and OcCre, rely heavily on photo-illustrated guides.  We have mentioned many times on MSW how Caldercraft instructions evolved over time, from spartan to more detailed.  And, as mentioned, MS instructions, are sort of cookie-cutter in style - plus, they usually assume a considerable degree of prior knowledge on the part of the builder.  The exception to the MS instructions are, of course, those written by Chuck, which are very detailed.  By all means, if instructions are important, avoid the big Italian boys (Corel, Amati, Panart, etc.) like the plague - their translated instructions are usually laughable.  The exception to that rule is Amati's Victory Models line, whose instructions are written by their in-house designer, Chris Watton, a native English-speaker.
 
But, to be truthful, it is really not as essential these days to have exhaustive instructions as it might have been in days past.  The two biggest challenges to a new POB builder are 1) fairing and planking a hull and 2) rigging.  You completed the Jolly Roger, so you probably already have experience with rigging.  That leaves building the hull - and there are considerable resources for the novice here at MSW in the form of planking tutorials (available on the NRG main page) and build logs.
 
To me, a larger issue to consider when choosing a first POB kit is not necessarily the instructions, though those are nice, but rather choosing a subject that is likely to ensure success.  The KISS principle really applies here - a less complex hull, less planking, less rigging, and less guns will all make a first POB project more readily achievable.  And nothing will breed success like success.  So take a look at some of the kits of smaller vessels with relatively simple rigs, e.g. cutters, schooners, et al.  And then have fun with it!
 
EDIT:  Don't be a hard-sell on small kits!  For an extra, and rewarding challenge, try super-detailing one of the smaller kits.  Take a look at what some of our members have done with Caldercraft's Sherbourne, for example.

Update time again gents, before that I would like to thank you for the kind comments and for hitting the like button.
 
I seem to be stumbling from one disaster to another with this build, it's about time I started thinking more latterly and stop making stupid mistakes. 
 
As stated in my previous update I was having an issue with the floor riders, I notched the Keelson and that fixed the problem, the top of the riders were on the mark, 34mm / 1" 5/16 above the jig base, got something right at last.
 
All Floor riders were then glued into place and set aside to dry. I then went to fit the Mortar Deck Clamp and you got it, it was all to cock. Yet again the Floor riders have to come out and adjustments need to be made to the  Mortar Deck Clamp cut outs on the Futtock Riders.
 
The frames were marked up to the bottom  of the Mortar Deck Clamp (62mm or 2"3/8), each Floor rider ( including Futtock Riders ) was measured and adjusted accordingly and then marked up Port and Starboard on the underside, then dry fitted. the Mortar Deck Clamp was dry fitted and a few more adjustments were made. Eventually all parts came together and so the Floor Riders were again glued in, the Mortar Deck Clamp is currently dry fitted.
 
Next up came the Lumber Board and Strake, using my trusty Proxxon Router, Scroll Saw and Disc Sander all the parts were cut and made up, each of the Lumber Board and Strake pieces were left whole until I needed to cut them to fit between the Floor Riders, they are now fitted and will most definitely stay in place I think !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
So that's where I am at the moment and that's where I will stay for a while, the shipyard is in a state of suspension in order to allow my build buddies to catch up a little,( please don't think that this is in any way the hurry up ), it's more for me to think more into the what it is I'm supposed to be doing and try to get it right first time.
 
Grant, thanks mate for keeping me on the straight and narrow. Appreciate it.
 
It will also allow me time to work on my secondary build, (none ship related). A 15th / 16th century Crossbow from Mantua.
 
Some Pictures
 
Notched Keelson in position

 
Component parts of the Floor and Futtock Riders 

 
3 of the 5 constructed Floor Riders

 
The first Floor Rider in position and clamped down

 
All Floor Riders are positioned with the Mortar Deck Clamp dry fitted

 
All aspects of the build can be seen here, Frames, Floor Riders, Mortar Deck Clamps and Limber Board & Strake

 
End Section of the Limber Board and Strake

 
Finally two shots of the completed Limber Board & Strake

 

 
So once again your right upto date guys, if you have any questions please ask away.
 
Thanks for looking in
 
Be Good
 
mobbsie

Well, my first keeper frame turned out to be another practice version.  I have not mastered the fit of the chocks. Starting on the most visible frame is probably a tactical error.
 
Just so you know that I am not napping, the latest try has produced some advancement.  I originally planed to use copper wire darkened with Liver of Sulphur for the double frame bolts (Grant's method).  I did not have much luck with it, staining the wood as well as the copper.  Grant graciously tried to coach me through it but I did not do so well.  I started to wonder how hard it would be to make the bolts from ebony.  I had a block of ebony in the shipyard so I started to play.
 
I cut the planks to 1/32 square dowels and with the help of the Byrne's thickness sander and finally the Byrne's draw plate they turned into .032 inch round dowels.  Not too hard, it was fun.  The first picture shows the frame and the ebony.  I really like the way they look and i only have 200 or so to make. 
 

 

 
I think that I will start on the interior doubles and see how I do with those.

Thanks for all the likes.
 
I thought I'd take practice run at the knee of the head, here is my first attempt, some of the joints are not as tight as I would like so another one will be made.
 
Ben

Sweet work Grant  as has been said , very clean.
 
 
David

Repairs Complete!
 
Fillets were fitted to all of the gunport and sweep ports previously opened up and cleaned up.  To make the task a little easier, a standard size of fillet was used, and the opening adjusted accordingly.  To ensure that the ports remained centred in the openings, two simple sizing jigs were made (one each for gun ports and sweep ports).  These were simply a block of stock sized to the internal dimensions of the ports.
 
The triangular shaped filling lintels above the sweep ports look tricky, but were surprisingly easy to make.  I simply placed a piece of sticky label paper behind the opening and traced around the outside of the opening onto the paper.  This was transferred to a piece of 3/16” Pear stock, ensuring the grain was running vertically, rough cut and then sanded to the left and right side lines on the Byrnes disc sander.  The length was left slightly long and then gradually reduced on the sander until a snug fit was obtained.
 
Once all filling lintels had been installed and given overnight for the glue to fully cure, it was time to start sanding……..and sanding……..and sanding………and yet more sanding.
 
The outside of the hull was faired above the waterline using 80 grit sandpaper.  As this whole section above the waterline will be completely planked, I decided not to go any finer with the sandpaper (at least for now) as this will give a good “tooth” for the subsequent glue. I also found that some of the spacers were starting to come loose, so didn’t want to push my luck with these, at least not until there is something more substantial holding the frames together!
 
The inside above the waterline was sanded in similar fashion, while below the waterline was further sanded with 120, and then 180 grit.  There will be sections below the waterline that will remain unplanked, so I wanted to get that down to a smoother surface.  I’m still contemplating whether to go further with the finish sanding here.
 
I have deliberately not cut the height down to final size at this stage.
 
Any way, here’s a few photos of progress to date:
 

 

 

 

 

Nicely done . 
 
 
David

Thanks all for your kind comments.
 
Nick, with diluted tung oil (applied sparingly ) it has no sheen and thats what I meant with dead flat. I have the mixture in a small jar and it will keep for at least 2 years, that is how long I kept is. Glue won't stick to well if the wood has been treated with tungoil or any other oil or wax based finish. So you'd better think ahead before applying it. 
 
The fore mast step, this is a nice little 3D jig saw puzzle. I realised I had to reposition the two deck beams that incorporate the mast step to properly align with the mast. No big deal but I felt pretty dumb when I noticed my mistake. Most straight forward cuts were made on the table saw that acted as router. The rest was cut with a chisel.
 

 

 

 
Remco

Thanks David,
 
The answer is to not pre-cut the port openings, but to do these only after all the frame are assembled into the building jig. I've suggested to Jack P that he try this approach. We'll see how he goes.

Well on the 13th month anniversary of the start of the build the final full frame has been installed.
 
Ben

And now back to building...  Work continues on the rudder assembly.  After all the metal work done over the last few days I can vouch for the fact that sawdust smells much better than lubricating oil.  The metal work on the rudder consists of six pintles, the straps by the tiller and the spectacle plate.  I made the pintles from four pieces:  two straps, a pin and a center piece pierced for the pin.  All holes were drilled before assembly.  The joints were all silver soldered.  I use a silver solder paste, which has flux already in it, and the Smith Little Torch which uses propane and oxygen for its gases.  The first picture shows the pieces after they are removed from the pickling solution.  The next pictures show how the pintles look after soldering and before cleaning up.
 

 

 

 
Once I got a rhythm, I was pleased with how things came together.  Each pintle took about an hour.
 

 
The spectacle plate is on the aft edge of the rudder.  Chains attach which help prevent unshipping the rudder accidentally.  They were straight-forward to make.  All of the metalwork is recessed into the rudder.  In this picture only the recess for the spectacle plate has been finished.  
 

 
There is a strap above the topmost pintle but I am not sure how I will fabricate this.  The circumference at this point is smaller than the head of the rudder.  At this point I am leaning towards simply pinning it in place, bringing the ends together without actually joining them.  I still need to clean up the metal work, finish the recesses for the pintles, make the tenon for the tiller, and finish the metalwork at the head.
 
 
 

Michael, this one is for you!  Isn't there a beer commercial with a very similar jingle?  These are my display cases.  They are made of mahogany left over from construction of the house.  There is a can light in each bay (I think you Canadians call them pot lights).  The glass floor of the upper tier allows light into the lower tier.  
 

 
Some of the occupants of my dockyard are Mantua's Peregrine Galley (the first POB ship I built), Mamoli's Roter Lowe, Amati's Prince (abandoned because of terrible plans), Sergal's Cutty Sark, Model Shipways' Fair American, the Lumberyard's Oneida and Mantua's Victory.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Then there is my triplet of small ships, Scientific's Cutty (we're not even saying what decade that was built), Admiralty Model's cutter and Chuck's longboat.
 

 
Finally, there is a small display for my other hobby.  Those eggs take up a lot less room than a ship!
 

 
There is a running theme with these ships.  I discovered that I truly dislike rigging.  I keep telling myself that I will finish the rigging on the Cutty and Victory, especially the Victory, but so far it hasn't happened.  That is why I have converted to hull-only models.  Sorry about the photographer in one of the pics, those mirrors make photographs difficult.
 
 

The bearding line was drawn on the fore edge of the rudder and cut in with a chisel.  The advantage of the 4-part rudder blade is apparent here.  The junction between the port and starboard halves of the rudder make an easily followed line.  The width of the bearding is narrower at the bottom and gradually increases towards the top of the rudder.  The bearding stops below the mortise for the tiller.
 

 

 
The rudder was positioned and the locations for the gudgeons were marked out.  The recesses for the pintles were drawn and then cut out, leaving a little extra wood for final positioning later.
 

 

 
The width of the rudder is the same thickness as the stern post and tapers top to bottom.  I took measurements off the sternpost and drew them into the pintle recesses for easy reference.  The taper was sanded.  I had taken the sole plate off earlier but have temporarily replaced it so one can see the amount of wood removed.
 
Next comes cutting the mortise for the tiller and then the dreaded metalwork.
 

Pity about the redo Grant but you have it all under control . What would be the best way to avoid this for those of us who plan on attempting this build.
 
 
David

Hi Guys,
 
Thanks very much for your very kind comments and for hitting the like button.
 
Time for an update.
 
The " fix " on the Gunports and sweep ports is complete with all ports relined, I did notice that my sweep ports appeared larger than they should be, so it was out with the dividers again and measurements were taken yet again, yep all sweep ports were larger by upto 3/64 and so further work was required. This work has been done so further progress can now be made.
 
I have started working on the Floor Riders, Futtock Riders and Keelson, another problem !!!!!!!!!!. When fitting the Floor Riders over the Keelson the bottom of the Riders did not come into contact with the frames, Oh bugger what to do now ??????
 
There are so many things to consider when trying to come up with a solution, my main concern was the height of the Floor Riders and the Height of the Shell Room when fitting the Mortar Pit Beams, I'm now working 5 steps ahead and it's making my head hurt.
 
I had several solutions to consider,
 
1, Recut the Floor Riders and leave a bigger foot on the rider, question, Would this make the rider to high and effect the height of the Shell Room ?
 
2, Make a deeper cut in the part of the Floor Rider that fits over the Keelson, for me that's fraught with the danger of making the cut too deep.
 
3, Notch out the Keelson, if the Keelson needs to be replaced it's a fairly simple job and so this is the way I decided to go.
 
The feet now sit on the frames and they should be the right height for the Shell Room and Mortar Pit Beams.
 
But for now the pictures are just concentrating on the on the frame fix.
 
Notching for a Gunport Lintel, this is a smashing little saw.

 
Finishing off with the file

 
All the Sweep Ports and Gunports have been cut back and are ready for lining.

 
Port side linings

 
Starboard side linings

 
Also the rubber bands have been removed, the spacing blocks, lintels and filling pieces have made the frames really strong.
 
So there we are, hopefully I will be able to make a further update when the Floor Riders are in place.
 
Be Good
 
mobbsie

As I mentioned a couple of posts back, when fitting the lower sills, it became apparent that there was a problem with the pre-cut gun ports and sweep ports.  On one side the lower sill had to be lowered a couple of mm, while on the other side it had to be raised.  Here is a close up of the lowered sills, illustrating the  resultant problem (ie gap in the inside face of the port). 
 

 
Having thought about this for a couple of days, decided that the solution was to file out the ports to the edge of the lower sill, and then install fillers/shims on each side.  Tools used for this job included the Proxxon Pen Sander, a file, and the good old sanding stick.  The latter proved to be the most useful for the larger gunport, while the file was the "weapon of choice" for the sweep ports. 
 

 
Here is how it looked after the first two frames were adjusted: 
 

 
 
Frame Four was problematic in that the fix was going to leave a particularly narrow piece of the original frame - just asking to be snapped off.  So before filing this frame out, I added a separate filler piece between the frames to give more “meat” to support the vulnerable area. The filler is on the right hand side of the frame in the centre of this picture. 
 

 
All frames have now been opened up.  Next task will be to add the fillets to the sides of the ports, and then install the top sills / filling lintels.  It looks like this fix will work.
 

 
 
 
 

Time for a small update.  I have been working on a couple of sets of double frames as my initial frame tests.  Both sets were D1 and D2 which are 2 of the outside frames.
 
The frame drawings were printed on letter size self adhesive labels and cut the futtocks out and stuck to the swiss pear.  First I followed Grant's example and used 3M painter's masking tape which makes everything easier to remove from the wood.  In this hemisphere it is blue rather than yellow.     I have to mention how much nicer swiss pear is to work with than oak.  Oseberg is almost completely oak and really hard to work in small scale.  Swiss pear is much softer but still holds an edge.  Sweet!
 

 
They were cut out loosely with a scroll saw and fine-tuned on a spindle sander and a disk sander.  These where my first frames and they were a long way from satisfactory.
 

 
The joints were not precise and the chocks were still a mystery.  I used only the 2 bolts shown on the drawings.  They were made from .81mm copper wire.
 

 
The second set was a lot better, I guess that is the point of practice.  I used mobbsie's flat vice method to file the scarph joints which helped a great deal.  I also replaced my decades old, not intended for prime time, Delta disk sander with another dream machine Byrne's model and that worked wonders for making the ends square.  (It is balanced so precisely that when I shut it off it continues to rotate for 30 seconds.)
 

 
Grant helped me with the layout of the additional bolts shown in AOTS.  I laid them out on a drawing copy and than transferred them to a sticky label and added them to the glued up frames.  I drilled them using a Vanda-Lay drill press with a Proxxon x-y table.
 

 
Here they are sort of finished but not glued together or faired.
 

 
They are much better but still not perfect.  Third time is a charm (I hope).   See you soon.