USS Constitution by Modeler12 - Cross-Section - Bow Area

[Modeler12]

I'll give it another try or two, CW.

For my first attempt I used some standard wooden dowel and that is just not good enough. The wood tends to split real easily at the size I am working. I need to use some very fine grain wood such as boxwood. I have used that before to make tiny carriage wheels and it was a lot better than any of other woods. In addition I want to try some copper from electrical wire

 

But right now I need to make a grill on which these pots and pans can sit over the fire. Here is one way I am going about it.

I am using .015 inch thick phosphorus bronze wire for the long pieces and .008 inch  thick wire for the cross parts. The center flat is some brass. I know I cannot silver solder these pieces and have them all brazed at the same time, so I am using epoxy.

Obviously after the epoxy is fully cured, I will trim the ends, paint it black again and fit it inside the oven just inside the front. There will be a small shelf and a roasting spit underneath.

[Modeler12]

Here is a 19 inch diameter copper pot. All I need to do is to figure out how to attach the handles. 

I may drill some holes and either braze or epoxy the handles in place. In either case I will do that before cutting the pot off the tubing.

It's back to the hardware store and see what else I can find.

[JSGerson]

If the coals are hot in the oven, and there is a pot on the stove, then there has got to be something in the pot! Soup? Mush? Pot Roast?

[Modeler12]

Another pot and a frying pan in the making.

Pretty soon I'll have to give up this nonsense and get back to work.

[Modeler12]

OK. this one is for the guys (who always live up-side-down) and like their beer.

Instead of just a glass, this one is a pitcher. Go at it Steve.

 

I could not help it, but making these tiny pots and pans is fun. I may not even give it up yet.

After all, this hobby is to have fun, right?

[GLakie]

There's some mighty fine looking cookware, and now for the utensils Jay!    Seems you have a knack for making the really small items like Buck and Matt!    Still think they're using a microscope for that stuff.      It's not a hobby any more when we stop having fun, right? 

[Modeler12]

There's some mighty fine looking cookware, and now for the utensils Jay!    Seems you have a knack for making the really small items like Buck and Matt!    Still think they're using a microscope for that stuff.      It's not a hobby any more when we stop having fun, right? 

Right on George.

But forget about the plate settings, forks, etc. I am not that crazy and I don't use a microscope.

Just another pill to steady my nerves and some to help my eyeballs. That might help.

 

Well, not really, I have never tried those. . . . .

[Modeler12]

Like any thing you do in this hobby. The more you practice, the better you get.

 

I made one more 'coffee pot' and the wire grill that will be installed in the oven above the coals.

There is also a roasting spit.

I still have to make the drip tray in front, and then I am going to call this part done. Actually now that I look at the picture, I may redo the frying pan.

 

[Jack12477]

Jay, I'm a bit late to the party but I really like the burning coal effect in your stove a couple of post back. Ditto the cooking gear above.  Very nice !

[Modeler12]

Thanks Jack.

But like I mentioned, I didn't like the bulky frying pan. So here is a smaller version.

The handles were silver soldered.

 

I might mention that earlier I showed how the handle to the frying pan (the bulky one) was brazed onto the 'pan' while it was still attached to the brass rod. Now I make the pan or pot and cut it off the rod. Then I come back and add the handle.

That, of course, is the tricky part. But I hold the handle in a hemostat with some paste at the end and hold that against the brass pot as best as I can. I then use a mini torch to heat the brass pot until I see the paste liquify and make the joint. Again earlier I had both pieces in two hemostats and juggled them together. No good. When the joint is made I had to undo one of those hemos and usually broke the joint. Leave it free.

 

Oh, I almost forgot the roasting spit. 

Edited June 30, 2015 by Modeler12

[keelhauled]

amazing!  Can't wait to see the spoons!

[GLakie]

Missed the edit Jay! Thanks for the explanation, and is that the turkey Steve was going to send you?  

[Modeler12]

If you look very closely you might find the spoons and forks. Somehow I misplaced them and I cannot find them

 

The turkey is very sweet from Fresno California. The spit and turkey may be displayed somewhere, but I thought the pot and pan were better inside the oven. 

Anyway, enough of this tiny stuff. I need to get going on other parts of the section.

PS It is time to also remove some of the dandruff. But for now the oven is retiring to a safe place.

[mtaylor]

Just incredible, Jay.   Great work, indeed.  That turkey made me smile. 

Edited July 1, 2015 by mtaylor

[CaptainSteve]

Gotta agree with Mark on that !!

Your stove, pots and turkey are brilliant.

[Modeler12]

Thank you fellows. So far it is still fun.

 

Moving down one deck, I am making a bunch of hooks to be mounted to the gun deck beams. They are for the numerous hammocks.

I also have made a lantern to be mounted in a corner behind one of the C-knees. But it will have to wait until the inside of the frames are planked. I just want to make sure I have the location right for the LED wiring.

Then it is back to the sewing machine to make some hammocks. This will all take some time . . . . .

[Modeler12]

Well, guess what?

I just had to make sure that the turkey would not be forgotten. So here it is (with a carving knife) on top of the big riding bit. 

I am sure those large blocks of wood would be used for just that purpose.
It is in a perfect place for all the butchering that might take place aboard a ship.

 

I promise, that this is the last of this series. Well . . . . .
 

The turkey may have to pass also. It tasted like BBQd kangaroo or perhaps crockodile. Both are tough and need sharp teeth and a tolerant stomach.  But the usual, spicey sauce is alright. (At least it covers the after-taste, if you have any).

[GLakie]

That'll be a nice touch Jay. Just add a little worcestershire sauce and you'll never know the difference.   

Edited July 2, 2015 by GLakie

[mtaylor]

A knife and a fork....    

[Modeler12]

I bet that every sailor had a knife and perhaps a spoon, but not a fork, Mark.

Chopsticks, may be??? That would be easy to add.
 

One reason I wanted to see what this would look like is that the riding bit has a slice of blood-wood on its back. Some Worcestershire sauce and a touch of red might be just fine.

But enough is enough.

Edited July 2, 2015 by Modeler12

[Modeler12]

With several hundred sailors and marines aboard, sleeping arrangements were important and always crowded on the berth deck.

The hammocks were strung and attached to hooks along the gun deck beams with 18 to 24 inches between sleeping bodies.

 

Before going too far, I decided to add the 'hooks and eyes' to the gun deck beams.

But I cheated. Instead of attaching the hooks (hard to make) to the beams, I reversed it and attached the eyes to the sides of the beams instead. The eye bolts are made by the technique discussed earlier and epoxied in place every 24 inches apart. The hammocks will have the hooks (four of them shown below)      

   

 

You are looking up at the gun deck beams from below. Hence, it is important to install all of the eye bolts before this part goes onto the frame.

BTW the hammocks would go between every other beam; but now, how to make the hammocks?

[Modeler12]

Making hammocks is not easy!

I took some thin fabric (the stuff I used for making sails) and stitched the edges of a one inch wide strip. It is called 'overcasting' by a seamstress.

Then I sewed a thread back and forth through one end and the eye of the hook (not shown, sorry). It took several tries until I got the hang of it. The tricky part is to get the spacing right as well.
The picture below, to the right, is looking up where one was hooked to the eye bolts.

The folded hammock to the left was a 'mistake', but they also serve a purpose, right???

 

However!!!!! Is all of this worth the effort?

When I hung one of the hammocks on the hooks below the gun deck and added the berth deck to see what it would do.  . . .

Those hammocks are lost. Notice I even added a hammock folded double and re-hooked.

 

I am going to make some more and attached them aft (fore-ward in the picture) hoping they would show up better. AS you can see above, material is no problem.

Edited July 8, 2015 by Modeler12

[GLakie]

Jay you're good at making jigs, and I'm thinking maybe a small, curved jig with a half-moon shape, or a something like a bent dowel, that you could wet the hammock, stretch it over your jig, and spray it with starch when it dries, to hold the shape? Things like this must be what they're calling "fiddly bits".   

[Modeler12]

Jay you're good at making jigs, and I'm thinking maybe a small, curved jig with a half-moon shape, or a something like a bent dowel, that you could wet the hammock, stretch it over your jig, and spray it with starch when it dries, to hold the shape? Things like this must be what they're calling "fiddly bits".   

Good idea, George. That would work, I am sure.

 

The biggest problem I have (not really that big), is to hand stitch the ends of the fabric and have it come together with the eye in the hook at about the right space.

In other words, the length of the webbing to the hook and how that relates to the overall length is tricky to control.

I don't think I will be able to make enough of them so they look like they are the same height when hanging next to each other.

The shape comes afterwards (actually, a body in the hammock would be best).

[mtaylor]

Jay,

I remembered where I'd seen hammocks... Toni's log:  http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/198-hms-atalanta-by-tlevine-1775-148-scale-from-tffm-plans/page-24#entry177468   It might help.  There's discussion after that post.

 

I think yours look good but you seem to be not a happy camper.. I hope the link helps.

[Modeler12]

Thanks Mark. I will consider that approach.

Meanwhile I am still experimenting with alternate methods. I still think using the very light weight fabric I have is a bit easier than wet tissue paper. However, I am using white glue on the edges to stabilize the hammock shape.

Also, I am committed to using the 'hook and eye bolt' approach (instead of the other way around). Hence the hammock will have a ring with hook. For my purposes that is not all that critical.

More to come.

 

Here is my second approach to making the hammocks. I had trouble with sewing the lines that go through the eye of the hook. They did not line up right.

This time I laid out three lines (doubled up) and glued the hammock material to it (on the back side). It is tricky but if I can repeat what I show below, I will be satisfied.

Edited July 9, 2015 by Modeler12

[Modeler12]

When I was making sails, someone asked what fabric I was using. 

All I remember is that I went to Joanne's shop and picked out the lightest and most uniform white cloth I could find. No ID that I remember. But the close-up below shows that it is a square weave with a thread count of 84 x 84 per inch. 

Maybe that might help others.

After doing the other end and cutting the hammock to a quarter inch width, I still need to 'stabilize' the edges.

[GLakie]

That's some very nice needle-work Jay!  

[Modeler12]

That's some very nice needle-work Jay!  

Actually George, this was not needle-work but glue that I used. 

My fingers are just not good enough to do the stitching, so I resorted to using Titebond.

The picture below shows the back side with the glue just on the machine stitched ends.

Having done that, I now know that the hammock is too long (good for a guy 6'4", but not your typical sailor).

So, the next series I'll try will be with an edged strip of fabric that is narrower. 

Again, however, the overall length has to fit the beams

[Modeler12]

Another problem with the plans.

 

I believe there is a mistake in the plans for the full model (Model Shipways drawing 4 and others). The location of the stove pipe and hatch is shown too far forward. The drawings shown by Marquardt make a lot more sense for the following reason.

 

There are two sets of heavy riding bits on the gun deck and the stove fits between the fore and aft bits. The fore bit has to have room between the stove and fore mast.  Model Shipways drawings don’t allow for that.  In fact, photographs also show that the stove is located as shown by Mr. Marquardt. It would be interesting if someone would measure the distance between the main hatch and the stove-pipe hatch and see how that translate to both sets of drawings.

 

I am not going to change my full scale model since that would involve redoing the deck planking. But I am glad that the work I have put in the cross section is correct as far as the location of the stove.  Of course, the stove pipe and hatch on the spar deck will be located accordingly.