hexnut

Pat and Druxey thanks. and thank you to all of you who added the likes, I really do find them supportive and encouraging.
Now that the proof of concept has been sorted it was time to begin with the base structure, I chose some 6 inch by 1 inch  clear fir boards for the cabin floor these were thicknessed on the small hand thicknessing jig.
first the flat side

then the edges, I used some spacers and a wedge to hold the boards upright to clean up the edges
 

and with one of the miniature planes for scale.
 

The floors boards were cleated  on the underside with some 4 x 1.5 inch cross beams
 

 

for the forward vertical support wall (bulkhead) I planed up a bit of Western Red Cedar that had a nice tight grain, a bit of careful planing to match the width of the opening and ensuring that all was square before gluing it all together.
 

I glued the main elements together oyt of the hull because it is just so much easier.
 

The horizontal boards are 10 1/2 inches by 1 1/2 inches. thin after the glue was set I dropped it back into the hull to set up the aft piece of floor that the ladder lands on.
 


The aft section of floor is nine inches higher than the main floor. Once it is set up I can begin to work out the elements that fit onto the sides it reminds me of the pull outs on the modern RV's
 
Michael
 
 
 
 
 

Today I did a clean up of the shop and made a better mock up of the ladder into the cabin and put a card floor to better see the area I have to work with.
 



 
Tomorrow I can start the structure of the interior elements.
 
Michael
 
 

On to proof of concept for the interior of the cabin, first I needed to understand the parameters of how to make the interior be able to be removed through the narrow opening sort of the reverse of the ship in a bottle.  The expanse of the cabin has to collapse toward the centre so that the components are able to be pulled up through the main opening once the top deck is lifted off.
Using some old green file divider cards I cut the panels to give the interior some maximal limits of what can fit through the opening, the bottom the panels represent the floor level.
 

 

Next I had to tape the panels together so that they would sit inside the opening without the clamps. so that I could place the top deck into position. in order to locate the companionway ladder to the interior.
 


Next the cabin hatchway was placed in position to check the realistic feasibility of a person using the ladder (clearance wise)
 

Then a shaky view from inside looking toward the ladder holding the iPhone inside and hoping that it would produce an acceptable impression.
looking aft
 


and forward I can see the shadows of the bars across the skylight windows
 

apologies for the out of focus pics but like all of this project it will improve with practice and methodology.
 
Michael

Druxey, Paul, Mark, and Pat thanks for your comments, and that you to all who have added a like, it is greatly appreciated.
 
Today I finished the second hinge and made a couple of adjustments to the sequence which made the fabrication a little easier in some aspects. After folding the brass as in the first hinge I ran some CA glue along the edge to glue the sides together forming a stronger lamination of .006" before filing the tabs.
 

 
The following along the same as before fitted the two halves together. This time I did take the pictures of the rest of the sequence. 
 

 


First drilling the holes and placing the pins
 

Then removing them to make a small countersink into the wood, this helped with the countersinking of the brass which was also slightly deformed by the countersink as it formed the depression, the brass was soft anyway and there is not much to actually cut away when countersinking, so it is a bit of a fake countersink.


The tiny copper rivets that I have used before are flat head 1/32 Sig Rivets that I purchased eons ago I snipped the end to an angle so that the rivet formed a tight fit for the last bit of the hole which was drilled just a little shy of the full length of the rivet. The head was slotted with the jewelers saw with a # 08 blade I think it is the finest one I have. I use a small bit if Boxwood with a notch filed into it as a guide this works very well once you get the notch depth set and it is easy to reset as the saw wears away the side.

I thought I had lined up the heads, but I see in the brutal close ups that I didn't. Oh well, there was a knot in the wood that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

After getting the lid fitted I decided I wanted to ad a way of hanging some rope from the bottom side of the lid (would have been better if I had decided this before gluing it into the cockpit Which made it a bit more difficult to accomplish. At first I tried making some hooks (hats off to yo u Johann your hooks are professional looking compared to the ones I rejected. I rethought the hooks and decided on a leather strap forming some loops things could then be lashed to the loops. Because the lid is only 1inch thick I had to use the smallest real wood screw I have #1 x 1/4 inch the shank of these is .058" + or - they are certainly not precision screws but nice enough. I wanted to use the flat eads so needed to make some fake flat head washers I use some 3/16 brass rod and reduces the diameter about .040" and then bored the .058" hole and countersunk the hole beveled off the outside them parted them off.

I used the Small leather awl I made for the leather stitching test I did earlier for the cushions to punch the holes in a strip of brown leather from the leather scrap bin.

After drilling the pilot holes very carefully not to poke through to the top, the strap got fitted. I hung a coil of 7/8 rope with a bit of 3/8 rope to the strap for testing the concept.

 
 
Walter seems to like the method.
 
So I closed the lid on this part of the cockpit, ready to move on, to the next task.

 
Michael     

Steve , John, Druxey, Pat, Thanks for your kind words and thanks to those who added the likes. I am really enjoying getting back to the cutter. This evening I had a go at a miniature piano hinge.
First I annealed a couple of strips of .003" brass shim-stock, then folded it over a piece of .025" music wire in the grinding vice.

Next I trimmed it to width with an exacto knife.

Put it back into the vice tucking it down as far as it would go in order to file away the the alternate tabs I basically eyeballed the distance as the width of the needle file.

Folded the second strip and repeated the filing using the first one as a guide to get the spacing matched this was a little tedious with a lot of trial and error

 
The two halves fit together nicely eventually.

Then they were fitted to the boards this is before the holes were countersunk and the copper rivets slotted to make them look like copper screws, I was so focused on getting this finished that I forgot to take any pictures of the countersinks and slotted screws, I will make sure I do that on the second one.

Here the lid is fitted to the starboard side locker.
   
 

Once they were fitted with the "screws" I ran some CA glue along the joint between the brass and the wood on both sides of the hinge just to lock the pins in place. The hinge feels pretty solid and folds nicely so I am pleased with today's progress.
 
Michael

A happy new year to everyone. Today I started to do a bit more work on the cockpit The supporting side panels were covered with some "panels" of  mahogany. So now I can finish the top boards and hing the lids. then the cushions to complete the main elements of the cockpit.
 
The support sheet is pine

 
then the Mahogany was glued to the panels and treated with Tung Oil
 

The edges of the teak seating will now get finished and fitted with the lids hinged to access the lockers underneath.

It feels good to get a little work done on the cutter, so thanks Dubz for the inspiration. 
Michael
 
 

L, you did an impecable work. It is amazing what you have done with this Scientific kit! Superb!!

The planking is now on the stern, so I'll be able to start the outside planking shortly, but I think I'll do the mast steps first before I forget them!
 
John
 

Hello All
I started Building the I-400 Class Submarine Model, which is a Japanese Submarine and were considered the largest submarines of World War II and remained the largest ever built until the construction of nuclear ballistic missile submarines in the 1960s. I got the Following Info from Wiki
 
Each submarine had four 1,680 kW (2,250 hp) engines and carried enough fuel to go around the world one-and-a-half times. Located approximately amidships on the top deck was a cylindrical watertight aircraft hangar, 31 m (102 ft) long and 3.5 m (11 ft) in diameter. The outer access door could be opened hydraulically from within or manually from the outside by turning a large hand-wheel connected to a rack and spur gear. The door was made waterproof with a 51-mm-thick (2.0 in) rubber gasket.
 
I plan to follow the same Tech. that I use in building Model Schooners and brigs. Here are some photos ..
Thank you 

Keith, Michael and Druxey - Thank you so much for the nice comments and for your continuing support.  And thanks to all for the "likes".
 
 
 
 
Thanks Vaddoc and yes it has been a fun model to build.  As far as the mast color goes, it wouldn’t have been my choice for the model, but it is a toned down compromise of the bright orange often used on these boats.  I used acrylic here knowing that I was going to use dry pigment powder on top of it.  If I were considering mixing the powder with alcohol, clearly a water-based paint wouldn’t work.  I always lightly sand acrylic paint because I feel it brings the look down to scale, and even though pigment powers contain an adhesive component, a little extra tooth is always good.
 

 
I think more grease than rust this time.  Thanks John.
 
That’s a good question Roger.  The main engine supplies the power, but the actual power take-off configuration and how it mechanically attaches to the winch is something I haven’t seen drawn out.  The drawing below makes me think it could have been a direct chain drive as there seems to be a PTO point on the engine just left of the text.
 

The image below is from a 1928 U.S. patent submittal and it shows a winch with a sprocket and roller chain (items 24, 26) that the accompanying notes state is the power connection point.
 
 

At first this sprocket/chain arrangement seemed grossly undersized until I noticed the small diameter of the pinion gear (20) and considered the huge mechanical ratio advantage it had to the large bull gear (34).  So a chain drive off the main engine seems probable.  And there must been a lever or something somewhere to de-couple the two.
 

As a side note, the patent being applied for here was the idea of clutch surfaces that are integrated into the bull gear - one facing in each direction.  The reels (36) are forced against the clutch plates with variable pressure by turning hand wheels (56).  Hand wheels (64) are the drag brakes.  Thanks for stopping through Roger.
 
Gary

John, Keith, Mark, Moab, Jim and Alexander - thank you so much for the kind remarks and continuing interest in my model build.  I truly appreciate it.  And thanks to all for the "likes" and for swinging through.
 
 
Here's a short update on the beginnings of the trawl winch.
 

I’ve spent an honest amount of time digging up details for a winch to go on this model.  Like the gallows frame, I didn’t find a standard "this is what everybody used" winch.  If I could time travel back to southern New England in the 1920’s, I’m sure I would indeed find boats using standardized equipment.  Hardware and especially machinery such as a trawl winch were most likely purchased from marine distributors or direct from the manufacturer.  It seems unlikely a winch would be built locally.  Fisherman needed a trawl winch that worked flawlessly and was practically indestructible.  And repair parts had to be available off the shelf to the get the boats back up and running quickly.
 

It would be great to have model numbers, catalogs, and exploded views of these winches, but I have none of those things.  But the few drawings I do have include block outline dimensions of the winch and period photos show me what the winches looked like.  So along with materials of more recent trawl winches, I have enough information to construct a winch that is at least historically honest if not precisely identical.
 

These draggers were small boats and their gear was sized accordingly.  Below is a plan view of the winch I drew up for this model.  Though small, it is actually larger than some I have seen.  Notice the auxiliary winch head at the upper left in this drawing.  It is driven off the main shaft with a sprocket and roller chain.

 

Here’s a small winch in place on a 1940s dragger.

 

And here is how I will position mine on deck.

 

These winches were pretty simple and consisted of drum reels with adjustable drag brakes and a clutch to engage them.  Below is an end view of a 1960-ish trawl winch showing the clutch lever, the hand wheel for brake pressure and a winch head on the end of the main shaft.

 

Here is my version of it.

 

And then a side view.

 

This winch has no automatic mechanism to spool the cable evenly onto the drum as it is being wound.  This was common on these boats and may be because the reels were quite narrow and therefore spooling unnecessary.  Also, on many of these boats the cables wind/unwind at a very steep angle directly to the towing blocks, so if any spooling was needed it might have been done manually with steel push bars.  The image below shows the steep take-off angle of the winch to the towing blocks.  Also, I like this photo because it shows a net heavy with catch almost pushing the rail of this little dragger under water.

 
Below is a photo crop of a 1970s Cape Cod Eastern-Rig fishing boat.  I wanted to show this image because it is the only one I've seen showing the use of steel bars to guide the cable onto the winch reels.  Notice that the foot of the bar is placed into a wooden plate with sockets providing a choice of leverage positions.


 
In 1:48 the winch for my model will be a little over 1-1/8” by about ¾”.  In the next post I'll make up parts and put it all together. 
 

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful new year.
 
Gary

Thank you John, Chris, G.L., Keith and Michael for your nice comments and support.  And thanks to all for stopping in to take a look.
 
Finishing the Gallows Frame
 
Here is a small update on the dragger.
 
Some cleats and an angle iron bracket for the mast brace were made from styrene and glued to the frame.
  
 
A very thin wash of acrylic was applied to give it a barely perceptible hint of blue.  Then a little rust and dust was added with pigment powders.

 
The reverse side.

 
The tow blocks are made from styrene and wood dowel.  The pulley sheaves needed to be a scale 12” diameter so ¼” dowel worked out perfectly for this.  Black primer and “steel" enamel along with a couple of dirty pigments completed the look.

 
Blackened copper wire was bent into eyebolts and attached to the top of the tow blocks.  These were then pinned into the gallows frame with brass rod and are allowed to dangle freely.  The frame was glued to the deck and a short piece of brass tubing representing a 2” pipe brace is rigged between the frame and the mast. 
 
The deck surrounding the gallows frame will need some additional coloring and wear, but that will be done after the winch is made up and placed.

 
This image below provides a good look at the forward support chain.  I really like this miniature chain because it has elongated links like real chain.  More often than not, tiny scale chain is comprised of links that are round (and sometimes flat) and doesn’t replicate real chain very well.  This chain is pre-blackened, 15 links per inch, #29221 from A-line in California.
 
A little rust colored pigment was added to the chain and turnbuckle.

 
In this top view you can see how the support chain attaches to a post that is bolted between the two gallows frame head plates.  The forward edge of the chain terminates at a turnbuckle.  From there a rod penetrates the covering board at the same steep angle as the chain, and presumably bolts through a heavy timber below deck.

 
And a couple more views.
 

 
 
 
 
 
And finally, I would like to wish everyone a happy and peaceful holiday season. 
 
 
Gary
 
 

Thanks John. We have made lots of mistakes. Understanding this complex hull shape has really taxed John and i. When i got the finial plans from John  last week they varied quite a bit from the NMM plans so we are adjusting the hull now and will proceed to build the first draft of this model.
 
 

Floor boards being installed along with a modification to the boiler.

Hi Bob
i was just surprised at the errors as Thornycroft  was a major boat builder and i did not expect to see the number of errors.anyway John is progressing nicely with the plans and i have finished the solid model including the twin tunnel hull. As you can see by the amount of filler it was a challenge to get it accurate. When i come to build the plank on frame finial model this is certainly going to be the greatest challenge.
 
Kevin
 

Boiler coming along

Making floor boards from Caribbean Mahogany. Ninty 8” floor boards from 5 blanks .
IMG_2184.MOV

Installing the promenard deck frames and the king plank.  

Christmas has been and gone, family and friends have been and gone and I can't really go anywhere because of the bushfires so it's back to the model (on that subject myself and my family are all in safe areas thankfully but yesterday was the first time in 10 weeks I have had a clear view to the Blue Mountains to the west of here, today the view was obscured by smoke again).
 
I've shaped the boom and gaff and I've made the yoke for the boom. I combined the methods I used for the rowlocks and the oars and came up with a good way of doing it.
 
I cross drilled a piece of mahogany in the mill vice to 10mm to form the jaws and then without moving the cross slide I reset the mahogany to the vertical so I could drill down the centre at 5.5mm thereby creating the lands for the boom with the contact surface curved to match the boom. I then sliced away each face of the mahogany to reveal the boom slot before sanding to shape and gluing the boom in.
 

Floater net baskets added 

The arrestor cables on the flight deck. The upgrade made these mandatory really, I’ve been told they stayed deployed the entire time and were heavily greased up. 

Funnel, what the kit provides 
 
then what it is supposed to look like in 1943
 
and the metalwork begins plus some extra pipes 

I finally got around to going to the hardware store and got a length or Merbu cut to length. A couple of layers of oil and she’s good to go. I intend on cutting the pedestals down by half then I can all all the completed catwalks which are strewn on the deck. 
 
I spend the entire day doing half of the funnel, the island superstructure is a whole model in itself it’s so intricate. 

Back onto the catwalks, adding details such as the refueling station and fire hoses. this is the first piece of about 10