10th-11th century Byzantine dromon by Louie da fly - FINISHED - 1:50

[Louie da fly]

That does seem to help, but I still have trouble getting it all to focus properly. It keeps overriding what I'm doing, and never seems to be in focus when I want it to. These user friendly high tech cameras do have their downsides.

 

Steven 

[Louie da fly]

Four oars to go . . . Yes, I should probably have them done by now, but I find every time I try to hurry I make mistakes. So now I just do them when I feel like it. Takes longer, but this is supposed to be fun, not a job or an ordeal, right?

 

I've trimmed the plug at the stern - just shaved some of the thickness off - and now the wales are long enough and will join the keel nicely. They fit nicely at the bow:

 

 

Here's a side view of the stern: 

 

 

The sternpost assembly (including the 'tail' of the keel) is just sitting there at the moment. I'll glue it in place when I've done some more preparation. 

 

As I mentioned in an earlier post the 'tail' of the gunwale is a separate piece which I've been bending to shape. I'm leaving it off for the moment until everything else is finalised. You can see the scarph joint where it's going to go.

 

Here is the stern seen from right behind. The wales are still only loosely in place, but they've got enough 'give' so they'll fit nicely when it comes to gluing them on.

 

 

And here is the stern seen from underneath. I'm pretty happy with how everything's fitting together. I'm usually a 'bash to fit' type of guy, so getting this level of precision is a bit unusual for me (and strangely therapeutic) . 

 

 

So far it's all being kept together by temporary screws - I'm just trying to make sure everything fits.

 

Once that's done I'll be shaving the plug down so the grooves for the frames vanish (though I'll still be able to see where they've been). I realised that because the tail is a reverse curve, to take the hull off the plug I'll have to rotate it around the tail rather than just pull it straight off.  If the frames sit in grooves they'll jam when I try to rotate.

 

Then I put the frames in place (well, every second one, actually - the others will be put in place after the planking.). I'll be holding them to the plug with push pins near gunwale level; then

 

put the keel in place and glue it to the frames;

 

glue the bottom two wales in place and plank up to the second wale;

 

Pull out all the push pins, put the gunwale on and glue it in place;

 

Finish the planking.

 

I've been waiting a long time to start the planking - it'll be a great relief to actually start putting the hull together so I finally have something to show for all the preliminary work I've been putting in.

 

Steven

Edited October 2, 2016 by Louie da fly

[Louie da fly]

Thanks for all the likes, everybody. I keep meaning to thank people in my posts and then forgetting. They are much appreciated.

 

Steven

[Louie da fly]

Today's a red letter day. I finally finished the last of the upper bank oars!

 

Here are the final ten

 

 

And here they are roughly in place - plus the steering oars.

 

 

The second last oar was very frustrating - I'd got it trimmed to shape and was starting the rounding process, when SNAP!

 

 

There was a knot right where the blade met the shaft. I tried gluing it back together, but it just wasn't strong enough. So I had to make another oar. Very annoying.

 

I've noticed about 5 of the oars have a bit of a bow in them, and I'm hoping to be able to take it our with heat bending - but I'll have to be careful. 

 

I've also bent the tailpieces of the wales into their final shape -

  

 

this is the port one - the starboard one is bent to shape but not smoothed off yet. 

 

I've also started cutting the plug back so the frames don't get stuck in the grooves when it's time to remove the model from the plug. The lighter coloured wood is what I've done so far. Surprisingly easy to do with a stanley knife.

 

 

And as I cut away a section I re-draw that part of the guidelines for the wales and the locations of the oarports (in blue). It's not neat, but it does the job, and the hull is the important thing, not the plug.

 

 

And I've also started smoothing off the wales, the keel and the sternpost/"tail" in preparation for putting everything together.

 

By the way, I have a question - Can anybody let me know if the rebate/rabbet for the garboard strake is supposed to continue into the stempost and sternpost? Both stempost and sternpost on this model are somewhat unusual and I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do there.

 

Steven

[druxey]

I'm sure that there would be some sort of rabbet to bed the ends of the planks into. Congrats on finishing that set of oars!

[woodrat]

The most likely source of information on the rabbetting for the garboard strakes would be be the Yenikapi wrecks, I feel.

Dick

Edited October 23, 2016 by woodrat

[Louie da fly]

Thanks for the congrats, Druxey. Yes, I thought it would have to be rebated, but I just didn't have any information or experience, except for a vague memory of a stempost from a Viking ship with rebates carved into it for the ends of the clinker planks. But different technique, different part of the world.

 

Dick, unfortunately as far as I'm aware no stempost or sternpost survived from any of the Yenikapi galleys (unless Glenn knows of some . . . ?) But they've definitely found at least one keel with a rebate.

 

Anyhow, I think I will extend the rebate into the stem and sternposts, just on general principles. 

 

Steven

[Louie da fly]

Still trimming the grooves out of the plug. It's a long job. I'm a bit over half way through (the lighter timber is the bit I've trimmed).

 

 

I discovered a mistake I'd made earlier in placing the frames nearest the bow and had to reconfigure my layout. Took awhile to figure out what was wrong, but I took a break and came back fresh and worked out what to do. The plug isn't very pretty, though, and I don't have the precision I see on other people's models. But I think it should turn out well in the long run - the hull itself should be fine, and then I can retire the plug.

 

As I mentioned before, there are 124 frames in all. I'm not going to place all of them on at once - just too complicated - instead I'll be putting on every second one and planking over that, and adding the other 62 once that's done.

 

In the meantime as a break from trimming the plug (it does get very boring) I've started carving the new helmsman (note I'm still using that gigantic matchstick).

 

 

Edited October 16, 2016 by Louie da fly

[Vivian Galad]

Great work, Louis!

Edited October 18, 2016 by Vivian Galad

[ggrieco]

She's coming along nicely Steven. I love your carved figures. I wish I could carve like that.

 

As for the stem on YK4, it has been so long that I can't recall if the rabbet continues into the stem. I do recall the upper strikes are beveled and appear to have been nailed flat against the side of the stem. We do have a piece of the stem where it joins the keel but I'd rather take a look at it on Monday than rely on my memory. I'll let you know what I find.

Edited October 16, 2016 by ggrieco

[Louie da fly]

Thanks, Glenn. The feeling is mutual. I wish I could do the precision work you do. I'm really not very good at that kind of thing, but carving comes pretty easily to me.

 

Thanks for the offer. It'd be good to find out if anything's known about the rabbet.

 

Steven

[Louie da fly]

I'm mostly through the shaping of the steersman. He's made of pear wood, from a neighbour's tree. Starting out with a couple of photos from the previous post:starting by cutting back from the part nearest the surface (in this case his right arm and shoulder) and trimming back everything else behind it.

 

  

 

The rest of it I did last night. I wasn't timing it, but I think it took somewhere between 2 and 3 hours. I continued the  rough cutting to general shape, just getting rid of unnecessary wood.About this time I've roughly drawn the shape he should be, looking from the back. I also drilled a couple of holes to give me a start on separating his legs. Later I realised I'd been rather premature doing this, and in future I won't drill the holes till later in the process, when I've got the legs better defined.

 

     

 

Then trimming further, gradually getting closer to the shape wanted, coming from the other side. 

 

     

 

Now roughly shaping the head. This is when I realised I shouldn't have drilled to separate the legs just yet - I got the hole off line and it came out too close to his left leg - I was worried I'd either stuffed it up completely or at least that he'd end up with his legs really spindly.

 

   

 

Getting the head roughed out and defining the shape further. The legs are fairly well shaped now, but I'm still concerned I've made them too thin.

 

     

 

Nearly there. Up to this point all the shaping has been done using the large Stanley knife. It's only when I get onto the fine stuff that I bring out my scalpel with the No. 11 blade. I far prefer a surgical scalpel to a craft knife - the blade stays in place and it doesn't have a screw thread to keep coming undone. Getting the feet carved out and shaping the shoes.  

 

 

 

And here he is. I've started with the scalpel in earnest, given him a face and hair. The legs turn out to be pretty good - you have to remember they wore hose (stockings), not trousers, so it's just like having a bare leg. The shoes are pretty much shaped. I've left the arms unfinished as until I know exactly where the steering oar and tiller will be in relation to the ship, and where he'll be standing, I'm not totally sure where his hands will have to be. He'll be holding the shaft of the steering oar in one hand and the tiller in the other.

 

     

 

The final cutting for such things as folds in the clothes, hair texture etc will have to wait till I have better light. And then I'll file and sand him smooth with tiny rat-tail files and fine sandpaper.

 

Unfortunately the photos didn't come out all that well. I think the problem is that I took the photos with too little light.

 

Steven

 

 

Edited October 20, 2016 by Louie da fly

[cog]

Looks pretty good, Steven. If you have zoom on your camera, try a bit more distance and zoom in. Sometimes that makes just the difference ...

[Louie da fly]

Thanks, Cog. I hadn't thought of that. But I think the real culprit is lack of light. Compare the first two photos taken in good light with the rest of them . . .

 

Steven

[druxey]

Photos are pretty good, actually! I'm amazed that you can carve a figure that size using such relatively large tools. Have you thought of making some miniature ones from pieces of piano wire secured in a wood handle, hammered to shape and sharpened? 

[Louie da fly]

I hadn't thought of it till now and it's a worthwhile idea.

 

However, the carvings are basically just a break from doing the ship itself, and I probably get distracted enough from the real work of shipbuilding. I get good enough results for my purposes (which is just adding a bit of interest to the model) with the tools I've got - anything finer probably wouldn't be visible with the naked eye.

 

And I have to guard myself from my tendency to go off on tangents. Before you know it I'd be carving statues of Elvis from grains of rice . . .

 

Steven

[Louie da fly]

I've been fairly busy over the last week or so. I've finally shaved the plug down to size (1 millimetre less, all along the hull - I must be mad).

 

 

 

I've marked the positions of the frames I intend to put in for the "first fix" and also the lines of the wales and the positions of the oarports.

 

I glued the sternpost back on (using clingwrap to keep the glue from sticking together things that should be kept apart), and the keel assembly fits nicely onto the plug. I've yet to put grooves in the stem and sternposts to take the frames there (the plug overlaps them and this seems the easiest way to put the frames on in these areas).

 

 

I've straightened the few oars that were bowed, using water, a heat gun and my really trashy bending jig. (It works, though!). Had to be careful this time -the oars are so thin I didn't want them charring or bursting into flames.

 

 

 

 

And I've also carved the droungharios (captain). 

 

The captain is the hardest figure I've ever done - having someone sitting down was quite a challenge to work out. 

 

 

First cut

 

 

 

Second cut

 

 

 

 

 

Beginning to take shape (and time for a new scalpel blade!)

 

 

 

 

 

Given a face and holes drilled to separate the legs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And I've made his kravatos (which translates as "bed") - nobody's sure exactly why the captain had a bed on the poop deck, (it's the only area of the ship with an awning over it). So I've made it something simple, that he could sit, recline on or sleep on as needed.

 

 

 

I made the mattress out of a bit of cardboard from a dog-biscuit box. Cut it to shape than soaked it.

 

 

 

The glossy layer of paper on the surface can be peeled off and the cardboard underneath gets soft and mushy and can be moulded with the fingers so it looks soft.

 

 

I'm thinking of putting a layer of fine fabric over the mattress so it looks more luxurious.

 

And here he is . . . I used the point of the scalpel to pick away at his hat so it looks furry - a furry red hat was a badge of rank at the time. He's also the only person on board wearing a cloak (another mark of rank) and when I paint him I'll have him in highly coloured, expensive clothing.

 

 

 

I still need to smooth him off, but I'm very happy with how it's all going.

 

And it won't be long now before I can actually start planking the hull (at last!)

 

Steven

Edited November 3, 2016 by Louie da fly

[druxey]

Nice going, although I can't imagine how one could carve that sitting figure without a stick or some other 'handle' to hold or grip it safely! The mushy card bedding is a neat technique.

[Louie da fly]

Actually that was a mistake on my part, which I regretted once I started carving. I should have left quite a bit more wood at the base so I had something to hold onto. I won't do it that way again.

 

Yes, the mushy card works fairly well - it means the edges can be nice and soft and have it look like a mattress instead of just a bit of cardboard. It can even be shaped in a mould (mold for our American cousins) if done properly - it's basically papier mache', after all.

[Louie da fly]

Well, after a false start or two I've finally started framing. First I made a jig to support the plug upside down high enough off the table to provide clearance for the 'tail' at the stern, with a wide enough base to keep it from toppling and destroying all my beautiful frames. The plug is screwed to two pieces of 70x45mm (3"x 2") pine wall framing and to a base of 140x19mm (6" x 1/2") pine plank. Very rigid, very stable. 

 

 

I wrapped the plug in cling-wrap to keep the glue from sticking the frames to the plug,then drilled something like 190 1 millimetre (1/25") diameter holes in the plug to take a line of push-pins each side of the keel and another line just below the "gunwale" (guns hadn't been invented in the 11th century) on each side to keep the frames in position and lined up.

 

I first tried using just a single line of pins each side at gunwale level, but the frames bowed down below the bottom of the plug with a gap of up to 2mm between the frame and the plug, and wouldn't stay square. Using 4 pins per frame seems to work quite well, and helps keep them square to the keel.

 

I already had one lot of holes from the earlier attempt but I had to drill more because I'd discovered in a lot of places the push pins for adjacent frames were too close together and fouled each other, and I needed another line of holes - between every 1st and third hole, in line with the frames, but offset far enough from the other line of holes so they were clear of the other pins. (I only broke one drill bit - not bad considering how thin the drill-bits are and that I was just using a hand-held electric drill!)

 

 

I've just started putting the frames in position and it seems to be working well, except for very sore thumbs from pushing the pins into the plug. They need to be tight to grip properly so I have to force them in, which is hard on my thumbs. Add to that the first failed experiment with only two pins per frame, and it adds up to a lot of pressure on the pads of the thumbs.

 

 

They're not all perfectly square and spaced, but once they're all in position I can go back and tweak them.

 

 

I have 11 frames in place - only 113 to go!

 

Steven

 

PS: My wife says it looks like I'm giving the ship a perm!

Edited November 12, 2016 by Louie da fly

[druxey]

Instead of pins, would small rubber bands work?

[Louie da fly]

I thought of it, but they're not controllable enough - they tend to pull to one side or another no matter what you do to prevent it. At least I know this works - I just have to take a little longer, that's all (to allow my thumbs to recover).

 

Steven

[druxey]

More thumb-taxing than thumbtacks, eh?

[Louie da fly]

Yes indeed. I tried gently hammering the pins in - bad move. The plastic shatters.

[Louie da fly]

I discovered that if I held the handle of the pin in a pair of pliers and pushed inwards while twisting it back and forth, the pin would go in nice and tight. 

 

So I've managed to get all the frames onto the plug much faster than I expected, and without damaging my thumb.

 

 

 

Note - all the starboard pins are green and the port ones are red (well, a lot of them are pink, but it was the best I could do).

 

Probably won't be able to do anything else till next weekend, but finally making progress. Next step is to cut the rabbet in the keel and then put the keel in place and glue it to the frames.  

Edited November 13, 2016 by Louie da fly

[druxey]

So that's why there's a world shortage of thumbtacks! Well done.

[michael mott]

Nice move on coloring the pins for port and starboard, funny it looks like a centipede having a perm.

 

Michael

[Louie da fly]

That's pretty much what my wife said - though she didn't say anything about a centipede (but that was when I'd only just started, so the centipede analogy wasn't as obvious).

[Robin Lous]

I'm not telling you to hurry up, but man...I'm so looking forward to see this come together.

 

Robin

[Louie da fly]

Me too, Robin. Really I only get to work on the model on the weekends, and if family or household things need to be done, the weekend can fly past with next to nothing achieved.

 

I'm very much learning as I go, and sometimes things just don't work out the way I want. I made a scraper to cut the rebate in the keel and it works after a fashion, but not as well as I'd hoped - maybe it's my technique. Until that's fixed I can't put the keel in place and then start planking. That's my big goal - I'll actually have a hull, not just a block of wood.

 

After that I think the rest of the build be - I won't say easy - but at least not so frustrating. 

 

I have to tell myself Soit patient, as the French say.

 

Steven