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von stetina

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Posts posted by von stetina

  1. On A model of this type of exhibition the deadeyes need to be parrallel. With sails, or as a waterline model weathering could be appropriate. The ship is pretty much as launched. I'll explain later.

     

    The plastic card is about 1/16 thick, enough to keep the pins from bending.

    For the  lower deadeye method I'll back up a bit as it's a part of the rigging job.

    After the channels are put on I made a full set of crappy dummy masts using dowels. I just glued and taped the doublings together. I glued wooden strips at the bolster location to hold the shroud and backstay at their location on the masts

     

    The plans gave me the location for the deadeyes on the upper channel. I cut a slot to take the chain plate.

    I then used the thread tied to the  doubling to locate the angle on the lower channel and hull. I marked it with a soft pencil.

    The spacing and angles of the chainplates were on the plans, but I didn't want to chance trusting it.

     

    Now I've used the actual mast the same way to mark the plastic cards. On the card I drew on the level of the top edge of the deadeyes. Wire is tied around the chainplate under each deadeye to hold the card in place on the channels. I held each deadeye in place as I drilled the holes through the card. The wire should be a push fit into the plastic. The wire needs to be stiff.

     

    Then the shrou seizings each. I used # 80 Egyptian cotton for the seizings.

     

    I don't know exactly what is correct for the lanyard color, but went with the same color as my running rigging. I looked at photos of the Cutty Sark.  Photos of other ships were used too. As far as remaining  parallel I figure usually as each shroud or whatever stretched it would be about the same for each group. On these ships they must have been tightened frequently.

     

    The shrouds and backstays wrap in opposite direction on the deadeyes on each side, To the stern on starboard. To the bow on port.

     

    If anyone needs clarification let me know.

     

     

    Now about appearance as launched...Many clippers sold to British companies were sailed over un-coppered. It was done over there. The Lightning went over with a copper color painted bottom.

    Now wouldn't that be confusing. It would need to be displayed in a location that would be concerned with a certain fixed time in history. I felt that most buyers would expect a sheathed bottom, and view the paint as a giving up on  a difficult part of the build. How out of place it would have looked in paint! I know I wouldn't want it!

    So, is she built to be how she looked as a new ship after being coppered in Britian? Yes, but... They also heightened her masts and added yards. How did the rigging lead? Who knows, there sure isn't any room left on the channels. Add more channel? Who knows! A person could lose ones mind!!! 

     

    I build everything for sale so need to take things like this into consideration I make my living doing paintings,sculpture/moldmaking, and scale exhibition models. The last few years mainly the models.

     

    Bruce

  2. Hi Ed, I'm using DMC Cordennet. It's  made of Egyptian cotton. My Seizings and such that need really small stuff is plain Egyptian cotton. The DMC is pretty clean, not much fuzz, the regular a bit fuzzier. I run my thread through an alcohol flame. I have a little glass bottle lamp that jewelers use. Wax sets down the rest of the fuzz well.    However, my good buddy's very fine cat hair tends to float over onto my rigging!  I have a tool called a stencil burner used in sign work. A quick swipe burns it off. I use this mainly for burning down those pesky nubs left over after trimming loose ends off my knots and etc. It has a fine sharp tip. I t looks like a miniature wood burning iron.

    Trying to get in behind the shrouds to do the stays would have been awful. My modeling books all say start front to back. I found on this ship it wasn't going to work.  Doing the seizing would have been super frustrating. As it is I'm finding out that the greatest frustration about rigging is that the surplus thread hangs up on every little thing.

     

    Hi John, my upper deadeyes are fixed to the plastic card with wire that fits snugly in the holes. One in the upper hole, and a second in a side hole. I used a thread tied to the mast head to get the angle on the eyes. Way back when I did the lower eyes and their chains I made dummy masts out of dowels and ran a thread. to lay them out.

     

    Bruce

  3. I'm putting on the mizzen shrouds. Donald McKay used a sort of extra mast top, or preventer top a bit below the mast tpps on some of his ships. It must of help negate the twisting forces. It must have added a lot of strength. There are so many things like this about some of his clippers. One other is that some of Lightnings biggest sails had an "X"shaped canvas bracing on them going from corner to corner.

     

    She had an unusual  mast/yard set up, she was very wide rather than lofty. I believe that he was trying to gain power this way hoping it would keep her from heeling overly much, making her a drier ship for the passengers.  It was regarded as A very dry ship, so maybe it worked, even though the James Baines company of Liverpool added to her height. Their messing with McKay's design really irks me,. No wonder they were called wood butchers.

     

    I left each shroud piece with plenty of extra length. The back halves of the preventer tops should have been put on later as they interfered with making the shrouds top eyes as tight as I wanted. I had to test each one to see that it cleared.

     

    I used #80 Egyptian cotton for the seizings. They were started by passing a needle through to top of the eye. The needle had to be made sharper and with a longer taper. I then seized the shroud pair to their deadeyes. I put enough tension in the line to just see my mast starting to pull out of line. After all the shrouds were on I put on the mizzen forestay. Same type of tension.

     

    Shown are some of my rigging tools. A paint brush handle with  1/2 of a safety razor blade glued in cut the thread like it's not there.

    The flush cutters cut the finest thread cleanly, better than scissors. They are Lundstrum brand. After wearing out several Xuron flush cutters I sprung for the good ones. Expensive but worth it seeing how fast the others wear out.

     

    As you see the main shrouds going in you can realize why I'm working stern to bow. You can't get the foresays in otherwise.

     

    Bruce

     

     

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  4. Different animal same stress, hogging.  The wooden bracing was a different set up particular to this era American wooden ship, and the wooden bracing might be there additionally. If you can find a copy of Crothers' book The American Built Clipper Ship there is a drawing and description. As well as a list of ships that had it. The best description is a lattice, like you might see in a lumber supplier used as a trellace or screen.

    Every crossing was bolted through all the timbers if I remember right. Doing it on the outside makes my neck ache just thinking about it!

     

    It's great to talk with everyone about these clippers!

     

    Bruce

  5. Awesome Ed! I'm watching intently to see how long the framing takes. How many hours can you put in at a sitting? I seem to burn out pretty quickly now. I can't wait to see her hull all done, it's such a pretty shape. I like the taper toward the stern looking down on her. The stern is so nice and light looking. Webb's clippers usually had the iron grid bracing inside,  will you show this? McKay started doing this after Lightning, I think this was a very big factor in longevity. The Donald Mckay was his longest [260 ft.] after the Great Republic, and she lasted over 20 years too. About 4 clipper lifetimes! These ships were really hammered.

     

    Don't you wish the big McKay/Webb challenge had happened! Young America vs. the 22 knot capable Sovereign of the Seas. I think it would have depended on average wind strength. We'll never know, a shame. The "Great Ocean Regatta" between Lightning and Red Jacket would have been something to experience too!

     

    Bruce

  6. The door has a wire stretched across the to to tie my rigging onto for pre-stretching. [Turn motor sign is a reminder to keep turning the crank over a few times now and then on the engine that is still good from my last motorcycle crash which totaled the very expensive show Harley I'd spent 3 years building.]

     

    And that is my rope walk. A band of crazy Gypsies came through and built it out of assorted junk. [Not really.]

     

    The can has Conservator's wax thinned out to make a bath for soaking my rigging. My standing rigging is dyed with India Ink cut a bit with water. Running rigging with F&W acrylic ink- raw sienna with a bit of black in it.

     

    Bruce

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  7. The next step was to make jigs to space the upper deadeyes above the lower. I used a line attached to the masthead to get the angles of the shrouds lined up with the lower deadeyes. This will make sure the the two levels of deadeyes are parallel. I used plastic sheet and drilled holes through each deadeye through the plastic Then a second pin in a side hole of each to keep the deadeye from spinning. The bottom row has wires holding the plastic down in place at each deadeye.

     

    I started with the mizzen due to the way the mizzen forestay runs. It had to drop down a deck level going through a bullseye attached to the rear of the masinmast, down a bullseye at the deck right behind the pump.

    I've mentioned that this is my 2nd rigging attempt. Originally I had put a thread through this difficult to reach bullseye before installing the pump so that I could glue it to the stay and easily run the stay later. But now I had to thread this line down in there past all those fine railings and pump wheels without bending and wreaking them. Yup, it was difficult.

     

    Bruce

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  8. A shame about the figurehead, but yes the figurehead was last seen by a very old gentleman who saw my model on my website. The garage owner was a friend of his some time back. We e-mailed back and forth a few times and he stopped writing back after a bit. He was very evasive about his friends name and location. He said it had been a long time since he'd talked to him.

     

    The web address for my site is a bit off, so here it is. It's OK to take a look if anyone wants to.

     

    www.vonstetinaartworks.com

     

    Bruce

  9. Thank you all for such kind words.

     

    Here is a photo of the Lightnings figurehead. I hope somehow it ends up in a museum. It's in an old leaky garage with others. The figureheads arm is there too. The guy said it looks like her lightning bolt is made of bronze.

     

    About her beautiful lines... She was the sharpest  wooden clipper built. She had the longest entrance with 16 inches of concavity ion the waterline. She was very controversial. When delivered to the Brits the wood butchers there filled in the bows. This after her record crossing which did beat the previous one by Red Jacket. The filler soon washed out and she sped back up.  Her widest point was very far back near the mainmast. This was what had been recommended by Griffiths for speed. She excelled in storms. From what I've read these types of line work best in heavy weather.

     

    Bruce

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  10. Here are some pics of the yards being built. I made the cradle to help hold them still as I worked on them. Also, here are some details of the tops and crosstrees.

     

    My methods are the standard ones. The masts were shaped from square blanks of lemonwood taken from bow staves. Yards too. It was a lot of shaping. Timely, but really not too difficult. It gave me a lot of control.

     

    The deadeyes and bullseyes were made using standard jig techniques.

     

    There is a lot of metal work involved. There will be a lot of chain rigging too. I've measured a need for about 9 feet. I've made some chain, but decided to use some 40 link per inch stuff I've found. Making this much was just too much for me. So far this is the only thing I've bought ready made except for thread.

     

    I'm making the 11 1/2 inch and 8 inch standing rigging size line right now on my rope walk. This is for the lower shrouds and stays. I'll need a lot of the 11 1/2 as the Lightning had this huge stuff all they up to her topgallant back and forstays! It may look a bit heavy, but McKay really layed on the strong stuff for some of his ships. Especially the ones for the Australian emigrant ships like Lightning.

     

    By the way, I have a list all of the laws layed down by the captain for the passengers. PHEW !!! I'm working on a book too.

     

    I'm still trying to load that photo of her real figurehead that's rotting in a garage down under....

     

    Bruce

     

     

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  11. Thanks for the great replies everyone. Micheal, do you want to part with any of that wood? It would be great as part of a base.

     

    Seeing the increase in clipper model interest on this site I thought it would be good to include several pics of where the masting and rigging is going.

     

    I'm tying to post a pic of her real figurehead too. It's rotting away in some old guys garage down under.

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  12. Hi Ed,

     

    Yes, that set of plans doesn't go into the depth that the one I used for the Lightning. This one shows everything on a 3rd sheet. His book sure ought to take care of it though. It sounds like you are building plank on frame. I plan on doing this next build, actually I was toying with the idea of building Young America as her 50 trips around the horn impress me. I've now settled in on The Donald McKay, which I'm researching at present. I've got enough info to build her now.

     

    There are more frames on a big clipper than on a 100 gun ship I think. I also think I read that the real ships took about the same amount of timber as two 74 gun ships.

     

    Bruce

  13. I'm picking this log back up starting with the rigging stage of this model. The masts and yards are complete, and the hull's deadeyes and etc. are on.

     

    My goal with this model is to accurately depict the appearance of a prime example of a clipper ship. My concern is to depict all components scaled correctly and to do all at the best of my ability hoping to show the highest development of the wooden merchant ship.

     

    I like speed. I like the example these ships made in the form follows function regard. These ships came about at a period in history when speed was essential. Generally they were driven without mercy as a true racing machine should be. As an old worn out motorcycle racer and builder these clippers really grab me by the guts

     

    You see the model after she has had a first attempt at the standing rigging stripped from her. As with most of the build I've had to do everything at least twice.

     

    I'll post as time and health permits, hope you enjoy the rigging process.

     

    Bruce

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  14. Please forgive me for not reading through this conversation as I have a crasher of a headache. Are you using the Crothers plan set for your build? It's terrific.

     

    I love seeing more merchant ships being built, especially clippers. Clippers in particular are so rarely represented well with accurate models. So often accomplished modelers don't seem to build them. I hope you go ahead with the build.

     

    I'm trying to put my build log of the Lightning back up, but as I'm a bit of a computer clutz. I,m starting the standing rigging right now.  For the 2nd time

     

    Von Stetina  [bruce]

  15. There's no mention of it. I wouldn't be surprised though in his last clippers. The ship Donald McKay  that I might build next and have been researching was not really a true clipper. She was pretty full ended but still was able to make fast passages due to the heavy rigging. This ship was huge, having a 115 foot main yard and a main mast 42 inches in diameter, the hoops alone weighed 3210 pounds. Pity the poor sailor men bringing in that mainsail! Topsails were the Howe's rig though. 16,755 yards of canvas, more than his 4 masted Great Republic.

     

    Bruce

  16. Hi John,  Yes, It's correct. This ship was very unusual. I believe  2 or 3 other of his ships were rigged this way for the Liverpool / Melbourne run. McKay's ships were known for their heavy construction throughout. Must be why they held the speed records.

     

    Bruce

  17.  Yes, that's right 1/96. I found that almost all of it needs to be made. There are 23 sizes called for. Some are within 1/4 or 1/2 inch of each other so at this scale I will combine some of the sizes. Right now I need an amazing amount of 11 1/2 shroud material as McKay used it all the way back to the topgallant back stays and also fore stays on the Lightning. I think only three of his clippers were rigged this heavy. I'm using 4 strands of # 30 thread to come out at .038.

     

    I'm having a ,lot of trouble getting this thread to change lay. I may end up going with LH rope despite what my plans call for.

     

    Bruce

  18. The plans for my  American clipper ship state that all standing rigging is right hand lay Russian hemp. The plans are by William Crothers, a noted authority. Everything I read says standing rigging is left hand lay. Can someone help me on this? 

     

    Von Stetina

  19. Hi Bob,

     

    There are some things that you can do to help your acrylics flow out smoothly. One, already mentioned is to lay on thin coats and build up your color.

    Constancy of the paint can be a problem. Thinning with water reduces the adhesion after a point. There is a true reducer available from Createx. This paint brand makes a line of custom automotive paints of the highest caliber along with it's other lines, you may find it there. I've used it with other brands fine. There is also a flow promoter available from most manufacturers. Also a retarder may help give the paint more time to flow out also. A phone call to a manufacturers tech line can be very valuable too.

     

    And of course, an airbrush will give you the perfect finish. But even by brush, you can do pretty well.

     

    Von Stetina

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