USS Constitution by SawdustDave - FINISHED - 1:60th Scale

[SawdustDave]

The next, and final, major gun deck fixture is her bowsprit bitt.

I have completed the bitt but not installed onboard, because this stage leads me, finally, to adding her bowsprit.... a major undertaking in itself.

Might be a few days before my next update.

 

 

[Greg the peg leg sailor]

G'day Dave 

Every time I look at your post, I say to myself 'how can he do that and he can't improve on this'. But the next time you have upstage your self again and again!

I find it hard to point out what I like the best, I'm shaking my head all the time.

Havagooday my friend 

Greg 

[SawdustDave]

Greg....My dear old friend from down under.  What a great comment for me to wake up to this morning!

As much as I thank you for such kind words, I must tell you, I feel quite different regarding my modeling efforts.  

I can't tell you how many times, after examining the photo's, I have the urge to rip out and start all over.... all I see are the things I could have done better.  

I'm sure, among fellow modelers,  I am not alone with this self imposed affliction.

 

Thank you again for your many visits and "likes"  and, especially, for the many words of encouragement from the other side of this big ol' ball we're walking around on.

 

Dave

[mtaylor]

6 hours ago, SawdustDave said:

I must tell you, I feel quite different regarding my modeling efforts.  

I can't tell you how many times, after examining the photo's, I have the urge to rip out and start all over.... all I see are the things I could have done better.  

I'm sure, among fellow modelers,  I am not alone with this self imposed affliction.

 

 

Dave, I think most of us go through that maze of emotions.  So.. you're right, you're not alone.

[Bill Hime]

Wow!! I've missed so much! I wouldn't know where to start remarking on what I'm seeing here, so I'll just continue to follow and enjoy!

 

Bill

[SawdustDave]

Welcome aboard Bill.  Comments and suggestions from fellow MSW artists are welcome here.

 

Dave

Edited August 2, 2017 by SawdustDave

[SawdustDave]

Anchor chain vises....
Trimming out the bow area of the gun deck....
Seen here, are a couple of fixtures that do not show up on any of the plan sheets I have, nor can I find any photo's in my research.  I don't even know the correct name for them, so I'm calling them "anchor chain vises" because they appear to be mechanical devises with a vise screw.
I did see them on my visit, and they show up very clearly on the Google virtual tour.

The anchor chain passes directly from the hawse pipes through the hole in these vises.
I assume the purpose is to secure the anchor chain during times when the anchors are up in their stowed position.

Any suggestions?

 

Edited August 2, 2017 by SawdustDave

[JSGerson]

It's probable too late, but I did have one image of the "vise."

[SawdustDave]

Thank you Jon.  Great shot.... I searched everywhere for that photo and couldn't find it.  The Google tour was the only visual reference I had to go with.
This photo will give me a perfect reference of how to connect the steel cable to the anchor chain after it passes through the vises.

Any thoughts regarding the actual function of these mechanisms.  They certainly are not heavy enough to support the weight of a deployed anchor.

 

Dave
 

Edited August 2, 2017 by SawdustDave

[JSGerson]

I'm not surprised you couldn't find an image. Usual when I look for one item I find another, total unrelated. I copy it and add it to my extensive library. Just for grins and giggles, I tried to find that image again with Google using keywords and similar images, no luck.

 

My guess for its use is to hold the chain from playing out once the anchor is dropped, not to hold up. If you look closely, you can see that the screw does not press on the chain. It presses on the wood yoke which in this picture opened.

Glad I could help

 

Jon

Edited August 2, 2017 by JSGerson

[SawdustDave]

Makes sense to me Jon. 

I saw the wood yoke, but made no attempt to model that extreme detail.

Thanks again mate.

Dave

[popeye2sea]

They are called chain stoppers.  And their function is to stop the chain from paying out or slacking inadvertently.  They are also used when letting go the anchor.  Also when you need to stopper the chain in order to surge the nip over the windlass.  They are on every Naval vessel to this day.

 

Regards,

[SawdustDave]

2 hours ago, popeye2sea said:

They are called chain stoppers.  And their function is to stop the chain from paying out or slacking inadvertently.  They are also used when letting go the anchor.  Also when you need to stopper the chain in order to surge the nip over the windlass.  They are on every Naval vessel to this day.

 

Regards,

NOW WE KNOW!
"Chain Stoppers" .... such an incredibly functional nomenclature.
Thank you Henry.  

[mtaylor]

Just a question... when did the Constitution get anchor chains?   I thought, and could be wrong, that she had cable for the anchors for much of her life.

[Sailor1234567890]

I saw video of L'Hermione with chains as well. A nod to modernity and practicality, likely some legality in there as well. I would guess before her world tour though. I may be wrong, it was after all just a guess. 

[SawdustDave]

29 minutes ago, mtaylor said:

Just a question... when did the Constitution get anchor chains?   I thought, and could be wrong, that she had cable for the anchors for much of her life.

The plan sheets I acquired from the museum show chains Mark.

[mtaylor]

Thanks Dave.  I was just curious and thought I'd ask.

[Bill Hime]

The "chain stoppers" are an interesting detail that almost begs to be modeled out of brass

 

 

Bill

[SawdustDave]

1 hour ago, Bill Hime said:

The "chain stoppers" are an interesting detail that almost begs to be modeled out of brass

Bill

Tried and tried Bill.... still can't make "sawdust" out of brass.  

I do, howsomever recommend using something really dense for the tall piece with the hole through it.  I used hard rock maple.

 

[popeye2sea]

They, and all the other modern fixtures like the iron bitts instead of the fore anchor bitt and the modification of the capstan to take chain and the water tank in the hold, were added by the Navy so that she could function to modern standards for safe navigation for her ( I think) 1927 tour of the country.  I may be wrong as to which refit the changes can be attributed to.  I believe most of her first century was with hemp cables.

 

I 

[SawdustDave]

9 hours ago, popeye2sea said:

They, and all the other modern fixtures like the iron bitts instead of the fore anchor bitt and the modification of the capstan to take chain and the water tank in the hold, were added by the Navy so that she could function to modern standards for safe navigation for her ( I think) 1927 tour of the country.  I may be wrong as to which refit the changes can be attributed to.  I believe most of her first century was with hemp cables.

Henry

Not sure if this helps or adds confusion to this discussion Henry.... 
I took photos of the plan sheet I am working from.... Provided by U.S. Navy.
Also took a shot of the introduction paragraph, which addresses the subject (somewhat)....
 

 

 

 

At this point, I do not plan to do the chain as indicated above, but am leaning more toward attaching the cable to the chain after passing through the chain stoppers and then belaying them to the first chain bitts as seen in the Google Virtule tour.

 

What think?

[SawdustDave]

PROGRESS UPDATE....

Laughing at myself as I stopped to think about this past week in the shop.  For those senior citizens among us, you will identify with this....
Kinda' like getting up to go to the kitchen for a drink of water, and on the way to the frig you decide you need to pee before drinking water, and half way to the bath room you remember leaving a magazine article you were reading last night in your bed room, then in the bed room you realize you left your glasses beside your recliner in the den.... so you go back to the den for your glasses and can't find them beside your recliner....getting down on your knees to search the floor, you realize your glasses are on top of your head where they usually are when not reading.  So you sit back down in your recliner and begin watching a re-run of Gunsmoke.... falling asleep during first commercial break.... no water, no pee break, and no magazine article.
The point being, I finished the ships stove a week ago and set out to build a bowsprit.  Since that time I have been flying around from one thing to another like a lost old man going for a drink of water.... still haven't completed that bowsprit!

So I took a few shots just to prove I didn't take the week off for playing golf....
Began trimming out around the bow and realized I had not drilled the holes for the hawse pipes, which required carving the little block seen here to blend into the beak carvings on each side.
In the process, I discovered that I had omitted that first gun port on the gun deck (unknown reason except for the fact that it has no cannon, and I may have simply left it out for that reason).  So I had to cut out the missing gun ports on each side.
Also noting that I really need to take a sanding block to those planks above the gun deck.... some time tomorrow for sure.

Then I decided to add three planks to each side of the spar deck in order to add the bulwarks which have been laying around for weeks since I finished them.  But then realized I would have to remove a few planks from above the captains quarters in order to get the staggered pattern for the new planks. 

Then I was able to finally fit the bulwarks to both sides of the spar deck....

Then, of course, I ran into the little "chain stopper" project....

And now I'm getting ready to install a dozen cross beams and add stanchions to the gun deck....
Also pondering the cap rails and gangway board carvings....

And, oh yes.... Still need to finish the bowsprit!
YAHAHAHA.... 

Edited August 4, 2017 by SawdustDave

[popeye2sea]

Considering that the paragraph states that the plans included are from 1794 - 2010 I'm not sure we can pin down a date !!!

[Sailor1234567890]

I still say her tour in 1927 or whenever it was. As mentioned, for safe navigation. But just a guess. Glad someone else's guess (if it was a guess) is close to mine. Thanks Henry.

Daniel

[Bill Hime]

Holy Smokes Dave!!! That "Progress Update" wore me out just reading it! LOL, that describes my ongoing journeys around the house. Always multi-tasking, to my own chagrin

I'm learning a lot here. looking forward to the cross beams and stanchions!

 

 

Bill

[SawdustDave]

8 hours ago, popeye2sea said:

Considering that the paragraph states that the plans included are from 1794 - 2010 I'm not sure we can pin down a date !!!

Henry

Reading further into the Introduction script Henry....
"The bulk of the plans are taken from the monumental 1927-31 restoration and were drawn by the naval architects of the Charlstown Navy Yard under the supervision of Lt. John A. Lord, Superintendant  of Restoration."

From this, my personal guess would be that the anchor chain was certainly used at the time of the 1927 restoration.... and at some point after that, the heavy chain was replaced with steel cable, beginning at the chain stopper.
Cheers

[Sailor1234567890]

I've always called those things cable compressors. 

[BANYAN]

Hi Sailor and Dave,

 

Dave, sorry to intrude on your build but in relation to Compressors Vs Stoppers:

 

My understanding is the compressor is near or part of the naval pipe (where cable leaves the deck, usually near the capstan down/up from the cable lockers below); the cable stopper looks a little similar but functions differently and is located closer to the hawse pipes?

 

cheers

 

Pat

[SawdustDave]

 

11 hours ago, BANYAN said:

Dave, sorry to intrude on your build but in relation to Compressors Vs Stoppers:

My understanding is the compressor is near or part of the naval pipe (where cable leaves the deck, usually near the capstan down/up from the cable lockers below); the cable stopper looks a little similar but functions differently and is located closer to the hawse pipes?

Pat

Pat.... "vice" / "stopper" / "lockers" / "compressor".... 
Just poured my first cup of coffee (or shall I say "java").... Are we having fun yet?
This topic has turned into a real hoot, huh?
 

All I know, with certainty, as I begin this morning in the ship yard.... there WILL be a bowsprit before I turn off the lights tonight!

 

Thanks, as always, Pat, Daniel, Bill, Henry, Mark, Jon, Greg....

 

Dave

Edited August 5, 2017 by SawdustDave

[SawdustDave]

Bowsprit Progress.....

OK, here's my story....

Posted early this morning my plan to have a bowsprit before lights out this evening - right?
And you folks thought I meant a FINISHED bowsprit - right?

Actually, I must confess, that was the plan (sort of).

So we're on a roll, moving right along, and the phone rings just before noon.... The Admiral - "Don't you think you should come on in and start getting ready?"
I go "Ready for what dear?"

She goes - "Don't you remember, today is Jewel's birthday party." (her sister turned 80 today).
So there goes at least five hours shop time.... splash - right over the side.

 

Not a total loss, however.  Turning out the lights at this point feeling good about being able to make a full day of it tomorrow.

I would have had the martingale attached but ran into a problem just before shaping was done.... SNAP!  So I'm re doing it with maple.

 

Dave