USS Constitution by Modeler12 - FINISHED - Model Shipways

[Geoff Matson]

Looks like it won't be long for the bowsprit to find a home.  Nice job on the scroll work.

[Modeler12]

Looks like it won't be long for the bowsprit to find a home.  Nice job on the scroll work.

Thanks Geoff and you are right about the next step. I have started turning the bowsprit and have already filed the slanted mortisses of the bow cap.

[Geoff Matson]

One thing I noticed is it is going to be a project to thread the chains thru the stem up and around the bowsprit. Not too much room. I was thinking of trying to run a thread thru and then attach the chain. Oh well I have awhile before I need to that. I will just wait and see what you do

[Modeler12]

One thing I noticed is it is going to be a project to thread the chains thru the stem up and around the bowsprit. Not too much room. I was thinking of trying to run a thread thru and then attach the chain. Oh well I have awhile before I need to that. I will just wait and see what you do

I think you are right. I made the chains and loops quite some time ago and I hope that I can still find them.

 

Obviously it is important to make sure they don't interfere with the beams and decking of the head area. My guess is that to thread them through those holes in the stem would require some sewing thread and then a touch of CA, just like you suggested.

Sorry, I thought I had a picture of that but I cannot find it.

 

Meanwhile, bowsprit thus far. 

[Modeler12]

To me it is amazing how tall and long this babe is going to be.

I am running out of background material for these pictures. 

But now that I look at this, I am glad that there will be some sails to fill the big gabs between the masts and bowsprit.

 

 

I just added the bowsprit and other extensions loosely in place to take these shots. 

 

 

More will come later.

[Modeler12]

Thanks for reminding me about those two rings, Geoff. I almost forgot to attach them to the bowsprit before gluing the steps in place. 

I had pre-assembled the irons almost a year ago and it would not be possible to slip them on after the steps.

Here is the picture I was looking for. 

[Modeler12]

Geoff, you asked about how to pull the chain that goes around the bowstprit through the two holes in the stem.

Here is what I tried and it worked.

 

Tie a thread to the very end piece of chain and use that to pull part of the chain through the small hole in the stem. You may have to clean the hole or even enlarge it because there will be another piece of chain coming from the other direction. 

I made a dry run of this and it was ok, but a bit tricky, like you inferred.

 

[Geoff Matson]

Thanks for the pictures Jay. That is kind of what I had in mind. There always seems to be some alligators getting out of the pond on this build.

Edited April 9, 2013 by Geoff Matson

[Modeler12]

I had a look at making the ratlines and gave it my first try. What a job!

Pushing the smallest needle I could find through a 'rope' that is 0.019 inches thick five times for each rat, is ridiculous!!!

 

Hopefully I will get better as my hand stops shaking. I feel like a pincushion. The center three shrouds are still loose so I can adjust the ratlines as more are added.

[JeffT]

that sounds tedious and painful.

[Modeler12]

that sounds tedious and painful.

Yes, on both accounts. But, like I said, I am getting better and a bit faster at this. The lower shrouds should be no sweat after these thin guys.

I wonder where that name 'ratline' came from. I cannot imagine a rat dumb enough to climb up when the food is down below. 

 

Did you get my email, Jeff?

[JeffT]

I got your PM earlier. Did you not get my response?

[Modeler12]

I got your PM earlier. Did you not get my response?

Sorry, no. Can you resend it or post it here?

 

Correction. I found it in my messages and I don't look there very often.

Edited April 10, 2013 by Modeler12

[CaptainSteve]

I had a look at making the ratlines and gave it my first try. What a job!

Pushing the smallest needle I could find through a 'rope' that is 0.019 inches thick five times for each rat, is ridiculous!!!

 

 

Hopefully I will get better as my hand stops shaking. I feel like a pincushion. The center three shrouds are still loose so I can adjust the ratlines as more are added.

Jay,

 

You and Geoff are seriously scaring the life out me re: rigging Connie !!

 

Once upon a time I used to enjoy rigging. Especially with the rat-lines, as they really bring a ship to life !!

 

All I used to use was the stick from any ordinary iced confection, trimmed to required spacing between rat-line rows.

Establish your first run, being especially careful of spacing between the rat stay-lines.

This is especially important if you prefer to work from bottom-to-top.

(Sure wish I had taken pics to show you when I royally messed this part up on my first build!!)

 

Anyway, once your first row is in place, fix the first knot for the next row, and then loosely tie off (half-hitch) subsequent knots of the row.

Now, take an ordinary hair-comb and pair of tweezers.

Hold your ice-treat stick as a spacer above your first line.

Fit the comb teeth loosely onto your back-stays and use to push the knotted line down onto the spacer.

I then used my tweezers to tie off each knot in turn after a final check of alignment.

With a little practice, I could hold the spacer and comb in place with one hand, and tie off each knot with the tweezers in the other.

 

To achieve the level of detail you guys are doing, may I recommend, once a section of rat-line is complete, that you might use an extremely fine thread looped around each knot intersection, to simulate the (nightmarish!!) numerous sew-lines you mentioned above.

 

Just a thought.

Edited April 11, 2013 by CaptainSteve

[Modeler12]

Steve, I appreciate those suggestions and I may still do something like that for the thicker, lower shrouds. But as I go along, it gets a bit better and I was only kidding about the pincushion. (I feel more like a porcupine poking myself like that, ha, ha,)

The problem with making knots on these thin lines is that the knots would stand out like a big bulge. The way I do it as shown below, is to go through the five shrouds but leave the center three loose while the ends get a drop of CA to prevent them from slipping out when I trim them. I still have not adjusted the spacing and tension in the center sections.

I have now also tried to do this on the mizzen topgallant shrouds which are even thinner. I go through the shroud to the right but weave between the three center shrouds before going through the end to the left.

Once I am satisfied with all the spacing I will put a small drop of CA on all the center connections.

Edited April 11, 2013 by Modeler12

[capnharv2]

I must be sick since I've always clove hitched my ratlines

[Modeler12]

It is a bit nerve wracking.

 

[CaptainSteve]

Gotta say, you are doing glorious work there, Jay.

[JeffT]

Careful!

[Modeler12]

Thank you Steve. 

Here was my reasoning for taking the approach that I did. When this model is completed it will be displayed in a glass case. A viewer might typically stand back to see this thing and their eyes might be about two to three feet away unless they get real close to see details.

At the scale I am working 1 : 76, the two feet translates to 150 feet full scale. At that distance I don't think I could really see if the ratlines were made with a cowhitch, a crowhitch or any kind of hitch for that matter. Hence, no knotting for me.

 

My first try on the port side for the fore ratlines leaves a lot to be desired, but I will not do them over again. I used a template with the ratlines drawn on that. However, the darn thing kept getting in my way. Now what I do is to use a simpler template to give me the vertical spacing. I take a tiny  brush with white paint and mark the right shroud. That is where I enter my needle and I use my eyeballs to keep it horizontal. I will cover up the white later on.

 

After touching the two ends with some CA, I let it cure for several minutes or more. Then it is easier to trim the ends as close to the shroud as I dare go. Again I leave the centers loose until all is done.

[Geoff Matson]

Gee Jay I go away for a couple of days and come back to find my St Benard rigging you boat.   Just kidding, looks light you are making major progress. Still have some experimenting to do on the rigging lines but I still have time. I have just started working on the yards. Lots of shaping to do on those ole dowels.

[Modeler12]

Geoff, your St. Benard (what's his/her name?) has been an inspiration to me all along. If it hadn't been for your dog, I would not be wearing those great magnifiers and be lost in deep-down under. --- No reflection on our great friends down there somewhere, of course----

 

I am making progress. Indeed it is nice to be retired and do as I please (well, let me rephrase that, because of the Admiral): do mostly as I want to and work on the ship between other 'duties'. Sometimes I think it would be nice to still be working and making some money, like some of you lucky guys. But at my age, no one want me  

 

Ratlines. Like everything else with this hobby, once you get the hang of one part and how to do it, you get better at it. I have never done any ratlines and thought of them as a way to catch those dirty guys that eat my veggies in the backyard. 

But I am close to finishing the port side of those dirty b . . . .

 

Those thin shrouds of the top/gallant section are a 'pregnant dog' when it comes to adding the rats the way I did it.

[Geoff Matson]

Jay the dogs name is Hiedi. She was a rescue St Benard and we have had her two years now.

 

I must confess I do borrow the optivisor from her  once in a while. I could not do the close up work without it. As we get older I wish I had smaller hands and bigger eyes  .

 

Your rigging is coming along nicely. The one thing I noticed about gluing and rigging. You have to be careful of the glue. Once applied it tends to tighten up the lines a little. Even the diluted white glue. This can be a plus to tighen up slack lines a little, but not good if it makes the lines too taught. It has the same effect on port to starboard lines.

[Modeler12]

Your rigging is coming along nicely. The one thing I noticed about gluing and rigging. You have to be careful of the glue. Once applied it tends to tighten up the lines a little. Even the diluted white glue. This can be a plus to tighen up slack lines a little, but not good if it makes the lines too taught. It has the same effect on port to starboard lines.

I have not noticed that effect, Geoff. I am using cotton and the standing rigging is coated with a pretty heavy layer of a water based stain. I think that during the drying period the rope shrunk enough to make it more stable. Anyway, I can try the white glue thing on a couple sections of the ratline to see if it shrinks.

[Modeler12]

Earlier I showed how I had planned to attach the two straps and chains around the bowsprit and through the stem. That just did not work right for me. The chain and straps were in the way when I started painting the white bowsprit. So I cheated . . .

 

I cut the straps off, took a section of chain and looped that through the holes in the stem and glued them to the head deck as shown below. Then I took some wire and put them through the holes in the steps of the bowsprit. The wires and chains are not attached but they will be hidden from view at that spot by the two heads. 

 

[Modeler12]

After some paint, the bowsprit is starting to look ok. Next comes the martingale that will be attached to the front of the bow cap.

 

I made this out of three pieces, two dowels and a flat section 1/8 inch thick. The three pictures below were taken at a bad angle and the piece looks too short and stubby. The actual one looks better. 

I have drilled the six holes in the legs and added the chocks. Tomorrow I'll paint it and add it to the bowsprit. 

 

   

 

I still need to make the traveling iron and a couple other pieces and then it is back to rigging.

[Geoff Matson]

Bowsprit and martingale are looking good. Nice dervision from the rigging.

[Modeler12]

The martingale is painted and ready to be installed onto the bowcap.

                         

[Modeler12]

Bowsprit and martingale are looking good. Nice dervision from the rigging.

Indeed, Geoff, but it won't last long. Making chips of wood is nice though. 

I still have to make the spritsail yard. 

And then there are the 'boats', your pieces of craftsmanship that I like to copy as much as I can.

[Geoff Matson]

Jay

 

The boats are a fun build. You can put as much or little details that you want into them. I have even seen som covered with tarps. Each on is a model in itself.I am still futzing with yards. Almost have one done.