HMS Thorn by Kevin Kenny - 1:48 scale - Swan-class - David Antscherl practium

[Kevin Kenny]

I am building the HMS Thorn Swan class of 1779, so far there is only one plan from the National Maritime Museum that makes any referance to this ship. She was part of the fleet that invaded Trinidad in in 1797 a fleet that carried my ancester to Trinidad. It is my plan to video the entire build on an ipad and post videos as i go along. So far i have made 5 videos on the build.

[Kevin Kenny]

This is the latest Video

[Kevin Kenny]

[Kevin Kenny]

[Kevin Kenny]

[Kevin Kenny]

[Kevin Kenny]

This is the 6 th video with the HMS Thorn

[Kevin Kenny]

 

 

 

Video 7 is now complete

[Jason]

Hello Kevin,

 

These videos are amazing!  I have only watched the first one and the last one so far, but as an indication of the whole, excellent work!  Your videos are a fantastic resource for other model builders.

 

I look forward to watching the rest.

[dvm27]

Great video, Kevin. Well done on the challenging bollard cross-chock. Took me a couple of times too.  I'm impressed by your ability to understand and fix discrepancies as they occur. As you have identified, it is very difficult to set a cant frame in three different planes. It is imperative that the aft part of the heel aligns vertically with the plan on the board. If not, you will get creeping error that will show up in an ugly way a few frames down the road. When setting cants or other frames I use a ply-90 degree jig to insure verticality and a steel machinists square to insure the half-breath location while the glue is setting. You can simulate the chock joints on the outside of the frame with an exacto knife if you like. I'd also strongly recommend PVA glue due to it's ability to be debonded. I used almost two bottles on my first POF model!

 

Keep those videos coming. It's something I wished I had done while building my Swan prototype.

 

 

 

[Kevin Kenny]

Video 8 debonding parts from the model, installing hawsepiece 2

[Kevin Kenny]

Video 9

[Kevin Kenny]

Video 10

[Kevin Kenny]

[Kevin Kenny]

Video No. 12

[dvm27]

Nice rescue of those forward cants, Kevin. I've learned to leave a bit more on the frames to allow for these discrepancies during fairing.

 

Cumulative error is a constant problem in a model such as this and you are doing a great job of insuring that the dead flat frame actually ends up in its proper location.

[Kevin Kenny]

Video 13 the aft cant frames

[dvm27]

Congratulations on your one year build anniversary, Kevin. The aft cants look great and were much easier than the fore cants for you. Experience counts here!  I'm happy to see you finally got a copier instead of hand drawing each pattern. We now provide them as PDF files so you can print out as many as you need. Do you have these?

 

There's a small but important step involved when setting a pair of cant frames. The heel of each cant frame may be 10" sided. If the step is 20" wide then both cants should fit on the step perfectly. However, remember that the heels are set at an angle thus the overall width of both raised cants will be slightly greater than double their width. The solution to this is to slightly bevel the inner heels so that their sided dimension does not exceed the step. David describes this in Volume I but I can't find the reference now. Considering he wrote this book as a virtual project (my model followed after the text) I think  it's pretty extraordinary that he thought of every little detail like this.

[Kevin Kenny]

Hi Greg, Thanks for the feedback. I did have to chisel a few of the heels of the cant frames to get them to fit on the 20" step. The first one was made from oversize stock which resulted in my using a slightly thinner frame for #2 to fit and that was even after reducing the foot on #1. Anyway it works and only you and i will know what i did.

 

The spacer blocks are all different sizes, I suppose that may be because of the different angles at the foot?

 

Although  the frames installation was much better. I spent time trying to aline the tops and the jig really helped but  i still find it difficult to understand why the variance in height along the length of the frame between some of the frames on either side?The only variable could be the height of the step.

 

In terms of the PDF files, I did get the CDs of the frames but this never works so I am photocopying the plan to make copies. I am not sure how to get the PDF at this stage. I actually purchased all the books plans etc way back in 2008 and only started the build last year. Too much work and not enough time to do what i wanted to do. 

 

I do have one question. What is the finish thickness of the frames? I just can't seem to find that anywhere. Must be there somewhere. 

best regards

Kevin

[dvm27]

Kevin, are your referring to the moulded thickness (inside to outside)? If so, it is 5" at top timber line and increases to the heel. Assuming you are cutting the frames anywhere near the lines then the moulded thickness should be fine after fairing.

 

I'd be happy to send you the PDF files via e-mail. Just send me your e-mail address to dvm27@comcast.net. 

[druxey]

Don't post your e-address publicly - it's asking for spam! Send it by PM and delete it from this public forum.

[Kevin Kenny]

Ok,done

[Kevin Kenny]

[Kevin Kenny]

 

Video 15 , Building and installing the knee of the head.

[dvm27]

Just finished Video 14 Kevin. Great job on the counter timbers and framing of the quarter deck light. I'd spot glue a 5" wide plank across the aft cants to the outer counter timber at the toptimber line at this point. This will add strength to the area and may help prevent a stray elbow from knocking off the delicate timbers aft of the last cant. I've done this (as has Toni I believe) and it really ruins your day!

 

Happy to see you've invested in the Veritas sharpening system. With regards to the mortises for the sills,  try to keep them as shallow as possible, perhaps 2". They should be subtle. Typically, I make two total passes with the chisel to form each face, a shallow cut defining the angle and a final cut to the line. The deeper the cut, the more difficult it will be to fit the sills to them.

 

Thanks for the acknowledgement to David and I for developing the practicum. We're happy you are enjoying building a model of this complexity and we are very appreciative of your video documentation. It took me almost a decade to build and photojournal my Swan class model. Doing these videos must add many hours to the project. I wish more MSW viewers would take the time to watch them because they are a really great resource.

[Kevin Kenny]

[Kevin Kenny]

[dvm27]

Very nice videos Kevin. The frames get much easier as you gain experience. In fact I would usually make two or three stations at a time, assembly line fashion

[Kevin Kenny]

 

Video 18 HMS Thorn

[Kevin Kenny]

Installing the rising wood and the gun port sills