Falls of Clyde 1878 by GAW - FINISHED - scale 1:96 - iron 40-frame hull center cross-section

[wefalck]

Nice work ! I am just wondering, why the bar in front of the freeing-ports are outside of the bulwark - I know the arrangement with them inside, which has the objective to keep objects/people inside ...

[druxey]

Beautiful workmanship as ever. However, I'm confused: isn't the garboard strake the outer plank or plate next to the keel? Or is this term applied differently in metal ships?

[GAW]

Fig-125 The now completed Hull centre section, ready for fitting out, but shown here along side the original Half Model,  with the relevant Half Frames removed.

[GAW]

Fig-126 The main hatch I originally made up from brass sheet and angle, to the shape and size indicated on the original Ships Plans of 1878  - It was only later that I realised that this was not supposed to be a scale drawing of what was actually fitted, but more a symbolic  indication of the size and the placing of the Hatch.  For actual detail I used photo and data of the hatch as it is today, as I feel that it is most probably the original one.  The rectangle shown here of fine sheet brass, being silver soldered together to form the sides of the new Main Hatch.

[GAW]

Fig-127 The angles brackets. rings and fittings are all fabricated from stock brass, and soft soldered in place to complete the single unit.  This was then dropped into the hole between the Frames, from where the original sample came out and soft solider in it’s  final resting place.  Jock the Riveter is useful to have around, to keep the scale of things in view at all times.

[GAW]

Fig-128 The main hatch now in place on the centre section of the model,. Later I added a leader down to the Tween Deck and on down into the Main Hold - not sure if it was originally there, but is at least a logical place to locate  one and looks natural.

[druxey]

Superb, as usual!

[popeye the sailor]

very nice work!   

[jud]

Would expect the outboard bar for the freeing ports was in place to prevent the port door from opening past the point where wave action would not close the port instead of opening it more. Looks like if it was a bit closer to the bulwark restricting the opening would be more apt to do what was intended but With the ship healed over, it might actually be at the best position to allow for max flow outboard yet outboard water would close it, experience and observation was probably used in the choice about where to stop the opening of the door. Suspect a tape measure was used to determine where the stop was placed. Excellent work and coming along nicely.

[GAW]

August 2018

I seem to have missed a couple of points last month, brought up by observant visitors - my mistake on the  name of the top most plating below the Bulwarks, it is of course the Sheerstrake, and not the Garboard Strake, which is the lowest  plating next the Keel.  With reference to the bar across the Freeing Port opening. I have never seen an illustration or photo of one on the inside, as the stays would be in the way.  Those on the out side serves two purposes, to restrict the opening of the door,  thus preventing the larger items, including seamen from passing out of it  when the deck is emptying of water.

[GAW]

Fig-129 We now come to the masts, in this case just stump masts, as I wished to show the three angle iron ribs on the inside.  Each is made up of a stepped series of three iron plate circling the mast and riveted together with a double rows of rivets, with the stiffening angle iron ribs running down the centre of each plate.  All rivets would have been countersunk to maintain a smooth surface to the out side of the masts.  To assist in their construction I machined a length of Aluminium rod to the inside diameter of the Masts, with a slight taper at each end to accomodate it where required, this then forming the Master Pattern.  The final shape and size of each mast being determined by a series of aluminium rings, machined on the inside to match the required out side diameter of that  part of the Mast.  A small block of aluminium was also machined with a groove down the centre, to match the new Master Pattern.  These then formed a male and female die, between which all of the mast plates could now be formed.  Each plate was marked out and cut to size in threes, provided with the double row of rivets down each side, annealed, then cleaned and tinned before being pressed to shape between the pair of Dies.

[GAW]

Fig-130  To assemble the parts, the first three rows - nine plates -  were adjusted around the Master Pattern and held in place with the aluminium rings, then heated at strategic spots to melt the tinning solder to hold them in place, sufficient to withdraw the aluminium Pattern, after which further heating with the resistance soldering unit was sufficient to completed the exercise.

[GAW]

Fig-131 - The remaining plates were then assembled in the same way and attached to the first set,  ends cut and trimmed to length - the aluminium rings being used to locate, adjust and fix their positions before the tinning solders were remelted, to complete the joints.

[GAW]

Fig-132 Showing two stub masts, one fitted with the stiffening ribs on the inside.  The angle iron (brass) ribs were only able to be soldered in place at the extreme ends of the Masts, as it was impossible to get the carbon rod very far down the inside of the mast, with out breaking most of the other soft soldered joints, holding it all together.  Which begs the question, of how in 1878, did they riven these plates together, and then rivet the stiffening bars down the inside as well.  I have asked this question around among those of an age and in the service.  One answer I came up with from several quarters, was that they would send a boy - down-the-tube - to assist from the inside.  Although this might conceivably have been possible with the large diameter Masts, it does not answer the same question for the smaller diameter yards, that were also constructed of riveted iron plates.  Perhaps we will never know, as with so many things of by-gone days, now all but forgotten with the passing generations.

[wefalck]

15 minutes ago, GAW said:

August 2018

I seem to have missed a couple of points last month, brought up by observant visitors - my mistake on the  name of the top most plating below the Bulwarks, it is of course the Sheerstrake, and not the Garboard Strake, which is the lowest  plating next the Keel. With reference to the bar across the Freeing Port opening. I have never seen an illustration or photo of one on the inside, as the stays would be in the way.  Those on the out side serves two purposes, to restrict the opening of the door,  thus preventing the larger items, including seamen from passing out of it  when the deck is emptying of water.

Conversely, I have never seen a photograph or drawing with these guard-bars on the outside of the hull (just checked a 1910 text-book on iron-shipbuilding and it shows the bars on the inside). There they would be rather prone to entangle the lower sheets or being sheared-off in harbour (unless the hull had sufficient tumble-home). Restricting the swinging out of the freeing-ports would also defeat their objective, that is to clear out as much water as quickly as possible.

I don't understand the point about the 'stays'. There would be no stays near the bulwark, or did you mean the bulwark stanchions ? Or did you mean the shrouds ? In any case the distribution and size of the freeing-ports would be chosen so as to not interfere with any of these elements.

[druxey]

Would the original masts and spars have been assembled in serial fashion over a mandrel to back up the rivets?

[wefalck]

I think that it is how it was done. I think they used some sort of anvil on a long arm. I faintly remember having seen an illustration somewhere.

[jud]

The stop bars on the drain doors would restrict the opening arc. I suspect it was discovered that without them, with the laden ship in heavy sea's, there was a tendency for those doors without stoppers to be opened a bit by gravity then caught and  lifted wide open by outboard sea's, allowing more water to come aboard. Stoppers would greatly restrict that flooding and outboard water acting on the outboard face of the door might close and hold closed, that door. Kind of like a flapper valve in a bellows. Regardless, this is a fascinating and well executed modeling of a ship whose time has long ago passed.

jud

[wefalck]

The freeing-ports normally could be locked in a closed position.

[GAW]

September 2018

Fig-133 There really is no excuse for model makers to get the scale of detail out of proportion on their models, if they can get to an actual ship.  Even with out any regular measuring devise, have your good lady or a regular friend stand by the detail and snap a photos.  I was looking here for the hight of the rings on the mast, but it is good for almost anything.  A foot on a deck plank to the hight of the captains cabin and everything in between,  I have been very lucky to have visited the Falls of Clyde four times, the last time on 2005 then taking over 800 photos.  But most ships of a given period of a similar size will have general gear of similar dimensions.  The next best thing if you cannot get there is to search the internet for photos - almost everything is on the internet- there are thousands of archive photos available at the click of a mouse , showing people on decks of all periods where cameras were available, many group/crew shots, where one can get a general idea of the build of an individual from the others around him and ascertain the hight if this railing or that bollard.

[GAW]

Fig-134  Turning the parts for the spider bands, all were made in brass and silver soldered together, then cleaned up with files, to fit their position on the masts.  Once in position they were then soft soldered in place.

[GAW]

Fig-135 Base of the Fore Mast on the Falls of Clyde - a rather sorry sight, but with enough parts still recognisable to be able to make a reasonable representation of it on the model.  Basically an iron platform over the Keelson with the side plates straddling four Frames, three visible the fourth under the rubbish on the left.  The base of the mast is sitting in a ring riveted to the base plate, complete with wooden wedging.  I was only able to access the base of the fore and Jigger Masts, the latter being under 3 feet of water at the time, which  just left this one for the detail.

[GAW]

Fig-136  Stub Jigger Mast, with base platform, rings and wedging.  The wedges were about 20 in number, difficult to count with out a good brushing off of the rust flakes - forgot to take a brush with me.  On the model I have made them as box wood rings, and marked off the individual wedges with pencil lines.  In practice you would not see the wedges as they would have been covered with a sail cloth cover,  called a Mast Coat. Note three rings and wedges on the Jigger mast, for the Poop Deck, the Main Deck and the Keelson base.

[rwiederrich]

1 hour ago, GAW said:

September 2018

Fig-133 There really is no excuse for model makers to get the scale of detail out of proportion on their models, if they can get to an actual ship.  Even with out any regular measuring devise, have your good lady or a regular friend stand by the detail and snap a photos.  I was looking here for the hight of the rings on the mast, but it is good for almost anything.  A foot on a deck plank to the hight of the captains cabin and everything in between,  I have been very lucky to have visited the Falls of Clyde four times, the last time on 2005 then taking over 800 photos.  But most ships of a given period of a similar size will have general gear of similar dimensions.  The next best thing if you cannot get there is to search the internet for photos - almost everything is on the internet- there are thousands of archive photos available at the click of a mouse , showing people on decks of all periods where cameras were available, many group/crew shots, where one can get a general idea of the build of an individual from the others around him and ascertain the hight if this railing or that bollard.

GAW....you are so correct......I have built 3 clippers based upon drawings and old images...if one does ones research much can be found.

 

Rob

[GAW]

October 2018

Fig-137  We now have the hull centre section complete with stub masts in place, together with mast fittings and rings of hard wood wedges at the two points of contact with the decks and then the keel base plate

[GAW]

Fig-138 The next up is the Deck House, basically an iron box, here fabricated in .010 sheet brass - that is 1” thick sheet iron, obviously way out of scale, but more practical to use on this scale for this item.  the sheets are cut to size and provided with rivet heads, these being visible on the inside, which with the top left off, are visible on the model. The mitred joints on the angle brass are silver soldered, while the remaining assembly is soft soldered together.

[GAW]

Fig-139 With the panels assembled to form the four side of the iron box, openings for the relevant doors and port holes were then cut, door frames and doors fitted and port hole frames turned ready for fitting.

 

[GAW]

Fig-140  The completed side panels are here shown being assembled with soft solder to the base plate, after which the frames are added, and soft soldered in place.  This is the midship house which at this period contained the Galley and crews quarters. The Galley was later relocated and a donkey engine and boiler put in it’s place, and is still there to this day.

[GAW]

News on the actual Falls of Clyde last week was that she is now scheduled to be picked up by a heavy lift ship in Honolulu on the 2nd of February next year to arrive back in Scotland on the 23rd, for a full restoration, but I will believe it when I see it - at least she has not been sunk as a divers wreck yet - I live in hope, having saved her from that fate twice.

[wefalck]

Well, the Flying-P-Liner PEKING was transferred from New York to her origin in Hamburg and her restoration makes good progress I was told by the project manager - so there is hope for the FALLS OF CLYDE too ... such projects are possible