USS Constitution by xken - Model Shipways - Scale 1:76.8

[xken]

Dan, Thank you for your kind words and do hope you get back to your Constitution soon.

 

Tom, there may be a solution in the near future for those !*#@! ratlines if all goes well.

 

I finished up the lateral lines on the bowsprit which was a little fun sorting out. Here is a picture of it completed.

 

 

While waiting for glue to set on lines I painted and located all the small belaying pins in their appropriate locations. For those following I would recommend doing these before stepping the masts. Why I did not recognize this myself is beyond me. 

 

One of the things I am doing is to make ropes as needed in the sizes needed as I go since I have space constraints. I modified the MS rope walk to be able to use a hand drill for rope turning and actually enjoy the rope making process now that I have it down pat. Here is a picture of the modifications and set up that works very slick especially with the socket drive.

 

 

Next I have moved on to the royal and top gallant stay lines; nothing real exciting but just pay attention to not pull the royals out of alignment when tying off at the eyebolts. They flex very easily. The eyebolts were made using the 26 gauge black beading wire.

 

 

Now to finish up the foremast stays.

[ca.shipwright]

Take a look at my rope walk in the making rope forum.

 

I got real ambitious.

 

Regards

[xken]

Michael, nice set up. I assume though it must still be turned by hand? I opted to clamp mine to the desk top which is good enough for my purposes and using the hand drill really speeds up the rope making. I also use my lathe for serving the ropes which is quite fast now that I have the process sorted out.

[xken]

Since I am still a rookie at ship building and still learning I thought I would go the extra step and learn about Crowfeet. It did take a little research but thanks to a post by Johnathan I was able to crack the code and sequence to rig them through the 10 holes at the fighting top. I did find that there are at least two different ways to rig them and this version does not have a line coming from the top of the euphroe to the top. Once done it was well worth the effort and really adds a nice detail for the eyes to explore.

 

 

 

 

Now to do the foremast.

 

[Tigersteve]

You're no rookie, my friend! Looking great all around. 

Steve

[billt]

Outstanding Job!

[JSGerson]

Were you referring to my Rattlesnake blog (post #758) as the source of your crowsfeet guidance? Boy, you have a lot of faith in me if you did. That build was my first full rigged ship model.

 

Jonathan

[xken]

Jonathan, yes that was the one with the drawing, it provided clues on how it should be done. 

 

Making rope....so easy a 4 year old can do it!

 

Here is my granddaughter learning how to make rope. She saw my setup and asked what it was for and then we were off making rope. She was not so interested in the first step, but the second step really peaked her interest once she could see the rope twisting. Who knows perhaps a future model builder in the making. 

 

[xken]

I spent Memorial Day weekend helping the wife at her Art show so not too much building; however I did start some yard work. I started with the Royals and worked my way up in size. Here is a sequence of pictures showing various building steps. On the larger yards I build in sections to have a better transition from round to the hexagon center sections. One step on the larger yards I did change was once the center square was planned to size and ends drilled I then press fit the round sections, clamped them in my vise and drilled the jack stay holes starting from the center and working out drilling to the center depth so that once turned the holes would be in place. Much easier to index and drill while still round before cutting the tapers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now back to the larger remaining yards and waiting for more jack stays to come from Model Expo.

[JSGerson]

I'm in awe!! I have never seen anyone make yards in multiple parts before. That is a nice bit of craftsmanship. Is there a reason you chose to take this route as opposed to making the yards in one piece? Having never made jackstay before, does the rod running the length of the yard pass through a very fine eyebolt?

 

Jonathan

[xken]

Jonathan,

After my experience on the Niagara making one piece yards from dowel the challenge was getting a clean transition from the center hex section to the tapers. I was not happy with the results and decided to do it this way instead with perfect transitions and is much faster to build. Of course having a lathe and a combination slide is required.

 

As for jackstays yes the stretched wire passes trough the eyebolt. Here is a link to the bulk pack needed from ME. http://www.modelexpo-online.com/product.asp?ITEMNO=MS0429B

 

Much easier to buy them than make them and they are great for other eyebolt applications as well like on the ends of the yards and saddles. 

After the holes are drilled I start in the middle of the yard and insert the jackstay after dipping the end into a small puddle of Gorilla glue which is a 20 second set so it allows for positioning using a small rod for visual aligning with the yard. I just work towards the ends adding one at a time. Also on bright yards blacken them first before using. 

 

Here is a quick picture for you.

[JSGerson]

As always, a wealth of information. Thanks

[Geoff Matson]

Your build is really great. I have slowed down on my build so I can watch your progress and make my build easier . Your solutions to the problems on this build are truly inspiring. I look forward to more progress. Thanks.

[xken]

Geoff, thanks but you should not slow down your build. 

 

I have been doing more yard work and have moved on. However, I took time to set up my x-y-z table using my lather motor to drill jackstay .020" holes after my bulk pack of jack stays arrived from M.E. I am using  a .020" micro drill bit which I found out quickly have no lateral strength and break extremely easily; hence supporting the end of the yard is a must. I made a quick support using a scrap piece of block and drilled a hole to slip on the end of the yard and shimmed with mixing sticks for different sizes of yards. I also realized that the vise has to be set off to one end to compensate for the travel of the table. This set up also will function as a mill with the lathe motor attached. The transfer of the motor takes less than a minute from one set up to the other. Now down the road to sneak another motor passed the admiral. Here are a couple of pictures of the set up.

 

Holes below drilled on 3/16" centers per the plans.

One thing that amazed me was how much more precise the collet set up is over a drill press at these small sizes. Now to find a source for end mills this small.

 

 

 

[xken]

Finished up all the yards with all the jackstays and used 28 gauge brass wire stretched and indexed through the jackstays. Then cut, tapered and stained the studding sail booms and yards. Not sure if I will need the yards because I think they may be attached to the sails themselves. 

I then made the first set of studding sail booms hardware. The brass rings needed to be both drilled and then turned down to the sizes need from rod. The inside ring was located and glued in place first so that the end rings could be sized and located using the booms themselves. The following pictures show the process. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now that I have the first set sorted out on to making the rest. These will be stained/painted black once all are completed. 

[JSGerson]

You make it look so easy!!!

 

Jon

[MEDDO]

Wonderful progress.

[md1400cs]

Ken,

 

You're updates are so excellent. Brilliant work indeed.

 

PS: Looking forward to a grandchild - my wife and I are still in a "holding pattern"  (;-)

 

Cheers,

[xken]

Jonathan, it is easy just requires patience and the right tools. For example I cannot imagine building this ship without my lathe and mill setup.

Michael thanks and second Michael, if I had known grand kids were so much fun I would have had them first. 

 

I have completed the basic fabrication of all the yards and  booms identified on the plans with respective ironwork. When I got to the smaller yards I had to change to 3/32" rings soldered with .020" rod for the correct scale. The inner rings were soldered together with no post necessary due to size and end rings rod was just bent to fit the hole in the end strap.

 

I also used 3/32" tube to align the rings to the yards end to end as shown below. 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a family portrait of the yards, studding sail booms and studding sail yards.

 

 

Now I will start rigging the yards do do as much as possible prior to mounting to the masts. I am also going to add a removable 1/32" locating pin to the center of the yard to index into the mast to aid in rigging.

 

I understand that the studding sail yards were attached to their respective sail and rigged to a block at the end of the studding sail boom.

 

Now for the magic question that I have searched for to no avail..."How are the studding sail booms rigged? I have no reference on the plans, or the Anatomy book on how these were rigged even though the plans show two holes drilled at 90 degrees in the inboard ends. Does anyone know how these were rigged or lashed or moved trough the rings on the yards, I cannot imagine that these were moved by hand?

 

I am hoping someone with more rigging knowledge or reference sources than I can help. 

 

 

[JSGerson]

From the book Rigging Period Ship Models by Lennarth Petersson, I found these diagrams for studding sails. I hope these are what you are looking for.

Studding Sails 1.pdf

Studding Sails 2.pdf

[xken]

Johnathan, thanks for your efforts but I also found these on the net. What I really want to know is not about the sails, but the booms and how the booms are pulled in and out within the rings on the yards. If you look at each sail, the top edge is attached to a small yard that is suspended from the middle of the boom in pdf 2. I want to know how that boom is pulled out into the position shown in the pdf. What ropes and blocking are used to get them into position.

Again thanks for your efforts! 

[yancovitch]

just caught this and am truly humbled by the detail, and quality of workmanship.....ha...i remain an amateur with good intentions

[JSGerson]

OK, I accept the challenge 8-).

 

This is from The Masting and Rigging of English Ships of War 1625 - 1860. by James Lee  I hope it's clear enough to read.

Stunsails.pdf

[MEDDO]

 I haven't had a rig any sails for a very long time however that book definitely looks like a great resource. Glad I picked up a copy a while ago.

[xken]

Johnathan, great read and glad you accepted the challenge; however, this focuses on the stun sails themselves and how they are rigged. The swinging boom is mentioned and I have those installed, what I do not have is how the "stun sail booms" are hauled in and out on the yards. These are the booms that are in the rings and the plans only show them lashed in the stowed position. I am trying to find out how they, the booms were rigged to pull in and out through the iron work rings.  I will try doing a picture later.

Thanks again for your help!

[xken]

 

Jonathan, how is the end of this boom (in the rings) pulled in and out? The plans show two holes drilled 90 degrees to each other on the left end. Must be some kind of ropes to pull in and out. This is the details I am after.

[JSGerson]

This one from The Young Sea Officer's Sheet Anchor by Darcy Lever does talk a bit about how the boom is launch. The small ones appear to be literal pushed by hand while there is some rigging (temporary?) used for the larger ones

Studdingsail Booms.pdf

[xken]

Johnathan, thanks this is exactly what I was looking for. Fig 347 says it all. Thanks again for getting this information! 

[JSGerson]

That was my third swing at bat. Glad I didn't strike out! 8-)

[xken]

Johnathan, you hit a home run on that one. I now understand why the two holes, one is for the lashing at the heel in both the stowed and extended positions and the second hole is for the loop to hook into when pulling the boom out  and then moving the hook to the end to retract. It also looks like the rope goes through an eyebolt on the backside of the yard which may be how the hook is stored when not in use when the boom is lashed in place. This is a detail that I have not seen on other builds.