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

[xken]

Just finished up rigging the carronades on the port side and several on the starboard and thought I would share a couple of lessons I have learned in the process. One is to make sure the tackle lines are wet before adding them. This does two things: reduces the friction in the blocks while adjusting them and neutralizes the sizing in the rope and allows them to take a better set when dry.

Add the wet tackle rope to one side and adjust the slack out of the lines. Then align edge of sled to waterway edge and hold barrel for final adjustment of tackle line.

 

 

Next add second wet tackle line and adjust to final position while holding barrel and make sure both lines are tight. Then glue carronade wheels to deck and allow the CA to dry. Then lash tackle rope ends around hooks at the sled end tucking the rope down the inside of the hook to lay on the deck.

 

 

This is just a suggestion to not glue the large wood cleats in place until the tackle lines are added first.

 

 

Just six more carronades to rig and then to sort out the coils for the excess rope.

 

 

[xken]

In my last post on carronade tackle I forgot to mention that when rigging the blocks there needs to be a left and right return line coming out of the double block. Also the hooks should face down when properly rigged.

 

 

In deciding about the whether or not coils for the carronades I searched around for a reference on how they might have been done and found this one picture that shows them on the deck adjacent to the block at the end of the sled. This made sense to me in that if inboard there would be no room for two and they would have to be stacked on on top of the other. It looks like the pull line is seized on the hook at the single block and then coiled. Interestingly the pictures shows a double block rather than a single. This is the original size of the picture.

 

 

This shows all the guns with breech and tackle lines in place.

 

 

I then made coils using the 50/50 glue process which is a real challenge with .008" rope. I ended up filing down my spring loaded tweezers to more of a point to reduce the size of the hole in the center of the coil. The rope length for the coil is 2" with the ends touched with CA and the center end cut down as much as possible and still hold the end from fraying. The end of the rope is held with the tip of the tweezers and soaked in the 50/50 glue mixture and then slowly wound left or right as needed and the free end and carefully moved out of the puddle to the edge of the plastic lid to dry. I am using a coffee can lid and the free end is up on the edge to raise it in the air. When dry the free end is then glued at the seized knot and allowed to dry before gluing the coil to the deck.  There are pictures of this in my Niagara build.

 

Here is how the long gun is rigged.

 

 

Here is the start of the carronades having the coils added; this will be a long and tedious process requiring patience.

 

 

Back to making carronade coils. 

[JSGerson]

I did a search for another image of your cannonade picture and I did find one slightly larger as well as a drawing of a USS Constellation 32 pd Carronade by Jim Griffiths, a nautical artist. I hope these are of some help.

 

Jon

[xken]

Jon, thanks! That shows the coil clearer. Do you have any references to the in haul tackle and the location of the rings on the deck?On the restored one no in haul tackle due to visitor foot traffic. So far in looking around I have not found anything yet.

[S.Coleman]

Wow. A great job on the rigging of your guns. Looks real neat. Good work.

[cristikc]

Very nice and clear the explanations you made.

I like the details and the quality of the work, also of the pictures.

I'll take some ideas from you.

Wait to see the final.

All the best, Cristi

[JSGerson]

I don't have photos, but would the plans from the US Navy do?

 

Jon

24422 - Spar Deck General Arrangement Taken from Work.pdf

[xken]

Jon, perfect that shows the exact locations I am looking for thanks again for your help with details!  Ken

[JSGerson]

Glad to be of help. Your mini tutorials are going to be a great help to me when I start my attempt at the model.

 

Jon

[glharnett1]

Xken, What is the "CA" you refer to when you "hardened" the thin tipped tops of the bulkheads on page two of this log?  Thanks in advance!  Glenn

[CaptainSteve]

Tortoise: That would be CyanoAcrylate glue. Otherwise known as Super Glue.

[xken]

Steve thanks! The plywood in the kit was very dry and brittle so Ii used the instant (thin) CA to soak the plywood and make it stronger. Soak down below the joint as well adding to the edges of the plywood. I hope this helps.

[6ohiocav]

Ken,

 

What are the rings for on the sides of your carronades? Are they for a separate set of gun tackles, or for the breeching line?

[xken]

Darrel, for a separate set of tackle lines that are used to pull the sled forward once reloaded. The ring on the end of the sled is used to pull the sled back for loading the first time and the line is hooked to the ring in the deck. Jon's drawing above shows how it is rigged. I will try and find and post a picture.

Here is a picture.

 

 

Edited August 15, 2016 by xken

[xken]

Finished up making the rope coils for all the rest of the carronades and as the glue set overnight I decided to do a test of a fully rigged tackle for the carronade by adding the side and in haul lines. The side line can be seen in the photo above and thanks to Jon I now know where the eyebolts on the deck are located for the in haul line. I also decided to trammel the in haul line like the side lines which would eliminate coils on the deck that would have got in the way, and makes them more visible. 

 

As I was adding them I was glad I did not glue all the deck structures in place as I trammeled the lines in place using .008" rope after being hooked to the eyebolts. I started out using 5" rope lengths and these need to be just a little longer for easier knotting once wrapped. Once rigged I sat back and pondered the results of the finished test. I decided that it looked a great deal more finished and complete looking than just a breech and side line. This also means a great deal more tedious work but I results will be fantastic. I started this ship for my son and it will now be for him and his new twin boys.

 

 

Here is a close up showing the trammeled lines. Ran out of blocks after the adjacent in haul line.

 

 

A rear view.

 

 

Placed an order with Chuck for more hooks, blocks and .008 Lt. Brown rope. I will add the balance of the rope coils while waiting for the order to arrive. 

[JSGerson]

Very well done!!!

 

Jon

[xken]

While waiting for Chuck's order to arrive I finished up all the rope coils needed and glued them to the deck locations. Here is a picture showing the coffee can lid I used to form them. Keep in mind left and right's are needed. I also used a Q-tip to wipe away excess glue once located at the rim, this needs to be done carefully to reduce the glue flange at the bottom of the rope when dried overnight. The glue does not adhere to the plastic polyethylene, a blade tip at the junction where the raised rope meets the coil is the best place to pop it loose. This glue flange is easily trimmed away with small scissors against a dark background  and good lighting.

 

 

Here are a couple of pictures showing both the trammeled in-haul lines and the coils glued to the deck. I like the effect of the tackle trammeling versus another coil on the deck. The real trick is to glue the raised end to the tackle knot first and allow to dry completely. Then glue was carefully applied to the underside of the coil and set in place and adjusted as needed. Make sure the bottom is completely covered with glue or the coil can curl. Don't ask how I know this.

 

 

 

I also worked on my presentation for the Annual Conference in San Diego. I have a great deal to share and only 45 minutes to do it so will be moving fast with lots of pictures.

 

Chuck's order arrived so back to rigging gun tackle. 

[6ohiocav]

Ken,

 

Great looking coils!  I turned mine on a sheet of glass. I also used spring loaded pointed tweezers, but was able to use .012 rope so not as tedious. Keeping the .008 from bunching up in the middle had to be a chore.

 

The incredible detail and scale of the rigged guns is superb - and inspiring.

[xken]

Yes the coils were a bit of a challenge in doing them. I found it best to pinch one end and drag the rope through the glue and out of the glue puddle to a flat near the edge and then start the twist and if the center bunches up a slight untwist to flatten again. There is a fine line in being wet enough and too wet and when too wet twisting gets a little more difficult. Also a small flat eyeglass screwdriver helps adjusting and flattening any coil rope and the tip needs to stay wet or it will pull the rope up.

 

I use the polyethylene coffee can lid for two reasons- one nothing sticks to it; and it has the raised edge to start the rope end up with a clean joint transition when it dries. 

 

Here is a quick in-progress with all the in-haul lines now added and trammeled. The effect is very nice and worth the effort in the end. The side tackle lines will just add more eye candy; like the cherry on the top of a sundae. 

 

One thing I did was to file down the tips of the tweezers to be as narrow as possible with the ends being square. This is a must for doing the coils; and also helps adding the hooks to the eyebolts below the quoins. The in place trammeling is a bit tedious but the lines I am using are 6" long which really helps when wrapping.

 

 

Now to start the 38 side tackle lines.

[xken]

Just thought I would share this link. A neighbor stopped by and checked out my build and after seeing what I was doing with the carronade rigging said I could make money tying fishing flies. He shared this link and they have some interesting tools and I will be buying some myself that will help in rigging. 

 

Here is the link  http://www.orvis.com/fly-tying-tools

[6ohiocav]

Very good advice.  I use a fly tying bobbin to keep tension on my seizing lines. The fly tying tools are great, but the fly tying threads are also good. Great products for seizing lines.

[JSGerson]

I know absolutely nothing about fly fishing tools and therefore not a clue as to how they are used to make flies, let alone how to adapt them to ship building. Ken, if and when you obtain these "unusual" tools, please show us ignorant souls how it is done with your usual excellent flair for show and tell images.

 

Thanks

 

Jon

[xken]

Jon, I think Darrel may already have a better handle on using them, perhaps he could post how he uses the ones he has. Also if any other builders have experience with them they could share as well.

[scott larkins]

looking great

[xken]

I finally have finished up trammeling the side tackle lines for the carronades. This was as I anticipated a slow tedious process; but a very rewarding one with great results. I thought I would share some tips and tricks of how I did them for the benefit of some who may also want to do them. First I was using Chuck's 3mm hooks, 3/32" blocks and  .008" rope line. The blocks were drilled with #76 drill bit for easier rigging. Once hooked to the ceiling wall and sled the real trick was wetting the rope line with a Q-tip (ear bud) and keeping the line wet as it was trammeled. The use of 50/50 mix of glue and water was used to hold line in blocks or hold knots. The 50/50 soaks in better with the wet rope; however may require a second application prior to cutting the rope, test hold first. The end of the rope was fed forward to the gun port and pulled up and back around the lines being wrapped. Use a gentle touch when wrapping the rope and snug up rather than pull tight. Once dry the wrap can be adjusted slightly to make even if not.

 

I left my breech lines unglued and it would be better not to glue the large cleats or belaying pin racks in place until the guns are rigged. I was able to do them with these in place, but it would be much easier with out them in the way.

 

A picture is worth a thousand words so here are a few that may better help.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next on to the chain plates. This weekend I will be helping the wife with her craft show again. So no work until next week.

[xken]

Back at it after helping wife and getting my NRG presentation on a CD mailed off. I checked the chain plate photo-etched parts and again the holes did not match the nails supplied. I darkened all the part sheets with Black Patina both sides and once set started to very carefully enlarge the holes with a small ream to fit the nails. Would have been great if the kit builder had checked these first.

 

I also stropped  all the deadeyes and twisted the number of eyebolts needed. All was slow tedious fussy work. The eyebolts were twisted using a #76 (.020") drill bit shank and 26 gauge black beading wire. Also keep the two hole in the deadeye up as best as possible given the hole locations on them.

 

Working off the plans I transferred the bottom backing link hole locations and drilled them with a .020" drill bit to receive the nails. Added the backing link to the hole and used a brass rod to align the link to drill the top hole location. Once drilled the chain plate was added, marked, cut and bent to fit it's location against the eyebolt or deadeye. Keep in mind that the top hole of the backing link needs a eyebolt to hold a ring instead of a nail. Again using the plans for the location of these rings.Once one section was competed the painted wood strip cap was added.

 

Here is a sequence of photos showing the process I am using.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now to continue on with adding the chainplates.

 

[usedtosail]

Nice work on the chain plates and deadeyes Ken. If you are like me, you will be happy when these are finished.

[xken]

Tom,

Thanks and yes you are correct; I will be glad when they are done. The greatest challenge is enlarging the holes for the nails. I make the ring eyebolts using 34 gauge brass wire so they fit nicely without enlarging. 

[usedtosail]

I enlarged the holes with a drill bit while they were still on the brass sprue, which worked well for me. I like the way you tucked the end of the chain plate into the notch with the deadeye stropping.

[xken]

Finished up the chainplates and then added about 180 gun breech line bolts to the exterior of the hull. Now to touch up some paint details; then glue the deck furniture in place and add some of the balance of the hull details. Not sure if I should paint the deadeyes black or not; they look nice as a bright finish.

Here are a couple of images of the finished chainplates and breech line bolts.

 

 

 

Now back at it.