USS Constitution by JSGerson - Model Shipways Kit No. MS2040

[JSGerson]

The ¼” rim circle was cut from 1/64” plywood while the 5/32” plug circle was cut from 1/32” plywood. The plug circle edges were filed to slope inward to form a short, truncated cone. The hinge was cut from 0.005” brass sheet into 1/16” wide strips. First, the rim and plugs components were wood glued together on center. Then the brass strip was CA glued to the backside almost across the full diameter of the rim piece to provide the maximum gluing surface. After the CA glue dried solid, the plugs were painted black. Slits were formed in the rail just above the hawsers with an X-acto knife for the flat brass hinge to slip into. To install the plugs, the brass strip was bent 90° so that the plug would be in the open position when inserted into the hull. The open position is needed to allow anchor ropes and chains to pass through the hawser later in the build.

[JSGerson]

Gun Deck Fully Rigged Guns

With trepidation, I have finally arrived at the gun deck to fabricate and install all of its armament, rigging, and structural deck elements. Like its furniture I fabricated previously, (but not installed yet), all of it will have to be scratch built, save for the gun barrels. There are 22 gun ports remaining waiting for their guns. Some years ago, I was far sighted enough to buy from a fellow Constitution builder, his excess Model Shipway cast metal guns he purchased from Model Expo for his build. I forget why they were available, but he sold them to me much cheaper than what I would have to pay for at Model Expo. I believe at the time when he bought these, Model Expo was selling them at a discount rate if they were bought in bulk. Today, Model Expo sells the gun and carriage package (MS 0668) singularly for $7.00/pkg. No bulk discounts. That’s $210.00 for all 30 guns, a tidy sum. The laser cut carriage kit pieces that came with the guns were useless to me as they did not match the US Navy plans (too short in height), and all you got were the two sides, a simplistic unrealistic bottom, four wheels and a dowel to make some bare unsupported axials. There was no front transom or breast (bumper) piece and forget about any hardware. Still, it’s cheaper than Syren Ship Mode Co.’s offerings. Their guns are of course much better quality (either black resin or turned brass) so obviously you pay even more for them. The carriage kits are better too and are sold separately, an additional cost should you want them. Luckily, Mr. Hunt’s practicum for the Rattlesnake, my previous build, had his followers scratch build the gun carriages, so I have some experience doing this.

 

Edited September 9, 2023 by JSGerson

[JSGerson]

Gun Deck Gun Carriage Fabrication

First, I did some research with the 1907 US Navy plan No 14939 (sheet No.:3103) 24 Pdr Gun and Gun Carriage to determine the proper carriage dimensions. This revealed that I needed as a minimum a piece of wood 15/16” wide x 5/16” tall to create the carriage sides. The plan was to cut the carriage profile into the wood block such that I could cut 1/16” slices from it like a loaf of bread creating the sides of the carriage. 44 sides at 1/16” thick required a length of wood almost 3” long.

 

I chose boxwood for this task because it will hold a clean-cut edge and is not as fragile as basswood. However, because I did not have a piece of boxwood of those dimensions, I had to laminate two pieces of 1¼” wide x ¼” thick wood together to get the required height. I could have cut the wood stock 3” in length to make one laminate block, but that would have meant that the resulting carriage sides were cut cross grain. I wanted the side made with the wood grain requiring rip cuts.

 

From the 1¼” x ¼” wood stock, I cut six 1½” length pieces to make three laminated stacks a ½” thick. Then this was cut down to 3/8” thick. The scale size image of the gun carriage was rubber cemented to the 1½” face (with the grain) resulting in excess wood on either side of the image. That was left for support when cutting the profile with the Byrnes saw. The process worked as indicated in the schematic and photo below. Shown are two sides that were sliced off with the excess support material removed in comparison to the original gun carriage kit.

[JSGerson]

Continuing, the axials were the next carriage parts fabricated. The axials act both as the wheel support with the typical circle cross section at the ends and as the support for the carriage sides which rests directly on the square or rectangular cross sections interior portions. It appears that the fore and aft axials are fabricated out of single pieces of lumber. Due to the small scale, the resulting shapes have been simplified slightly from my original design sketches. As I was trying to wrap my head on the fabrication process, I ran across bthoe’s wonderful build in which he did the exact same thing for his carriages. I had forgotten about his build as he hasn’t posted since November 2022. For the most part, he and I basically came up with the same carriage pieces dimensions within 1/64” of each other.

 

Stock boxwood was properly sized to the desired profile for the fore and aft axials on the Byrnes saw. Then 22 pieces of boxwood for each axial were cut from the applicable axial boxwood. Utilizing the fine 1/32” width slicing blade, each axial piece was trimmed at the ends to create the truck wheel portion of the axial.

[JSGerson]

The remainder of the gun carriage pieces were much simpler to fabricate. Pretty much just slicing pieces of wood to length or cutting out the pieces using templates made from the US Navy plan. To create the Quion, a disk sander was used. Note: The US Navy plan uses the term “Coin” for Quion.

[JSGerson]

To put together 22 gun carriages simply and consistently, a simple jig was made that held the various pieces in their proper positions. Shown below is my first attempt at a dry fit. Now I must assemble and glue all 22 carriages.

[Unegawahya]

I’m glad I found you again! Your work has been such an inspiration to me and my work on my Model Shipways Constitution. I’ve made sure to follow you this time.

I’m loving your main guns so far and it’s nice to see that my carriage jig at least looked close to a more experienced builders!

[Unegawahya]

I’m sorry, I almost forgot! I found that using a little bit of canopy glue in the birth deck portlights once dry gives them a beautiful look of having glass! It starts looking a foggy, but once it drys they are completely clear.

Edited September 10, 2023 by Unegawahya

[JSGerson]

Thanks for looking in. The jig actual builds itself, just look at all three of us. You, me, and bthoe have virtually the same jig due to the the logic of the carriage assembly. It's just good engineering.

 

I thought about the canopy glue, but just didn't have any on hand. I keep forgetting to get some. I'll get it done at some point.

 

Jon

[bthoe]

Very nice gun carriages Jon!  I'll be getting back to the shipyard soon, and will be referencing your build again.

Bob

[JSGerson]

Wonderful. I thought we may have had another incomplete build. Good to hear you'll back.

 

Jon

[mtbediz]

I've been following your build with interest and I'm also building a Conny from scratch by adding a gun deck. Each of your posts gives me a new source of inspiration. Thanks for your detailed sharing Jon.

[JSGerson]

Well, I’ve finally completed fabricating the gun carriages and glued together all the wooden parts save for the quoins. BTW, the quoins shown in the photos below did not have their handles installed at the time of the photo shoot. They were made from 0.032” brass rod.

 

I’ll glue those down for the final adjustment of the gun barrels, after the carriages are completed. Next up, is painting the carriage bodies red and the axials and wheels black. Still to come are the addition of the metal hardware and rigging. To give myself a preview, I’ve temporarily placed the gun assemblies in their positions on the gun deck.

[JSGerson]

All 22 carriages are painted, now awaiting metal accoutrements such as eyebolts and rings.

[GGibson]

 Hi Jon! I've spent the last 27 pages catching up on your Constitution build-to-date. Great job!

 

I have been seriously considering putting the Constitution in the shipyard for a future build and, if I do, no doubt your log will be referred to often! 

 

I'm hitting the follow button.  Awesome work, sir.  Carry on.

[JSGerson]

Greg, that is a lot of reading; I impressed. Thank you for looking in.

 

Jon

[JSGerson]

Gun Carriage Eyebolts, Rings, and Trunnion Caps

Gun carriages have several eyebolts and rings to facilitate the movement of the gun assembly during firing and positioning. In numerous builds I’ve seen posted, it appeared to me that the eyebolts used on their gun carriage were way out of scale – much too large. Relative to those, mine may appear too small to many viewers.

 

Using the US Navy plans for the 24” pdr. gun carriage as my guide, it shows for each carriage side, three horizontal eyebolts at approximate 1½” ID or (0.02”) 1/64” at scale.  Making that size eyebolt is nearly impossible (for me) and not practical, so I’m using 1/32” eyebolts. These I have purchased from Model Expo and used over the years. One of the eyebolts has a 2½” ID or (0.036”) 1/32” at scale ring attached. To maintain the illusion of size difference, I used a 3/64” ring. The eyebolts on the forward and aft axials are 1¾” or (0.023) 1/32” at scale. Again, to maintain the illusion of size difference, I used a 3/64” eyebolt. In lieu of black paint, the hardware was blackened.

 

The trunnion caps although simple in construction, were a little trickier to handle and form due to their size. I made mine 3/64” wide by approximately ¼” raw length. It shortens up when shaped around the trunnions. To facilitate its fabrication, 0.005” thick brass plate was cut into 3/64” strips using the Byrnes saw. These strips were fitted into a simple jig to form their cap shape. The jig basically held down one end of the strip at fixed length, while the remainder was pressed over an equivalent trunnion diameter dowel. Then the opposite end of the cap snipped off the remaining length of the strip.

[JSGerson]

When I tried to blacken the caps, I realized that the last of my Blacken-it solution had lost its potency. It seems that the company that made the stuff is no longer in business. So, I must wait until my order of Jax Black arrives. I’ve never used this product, so we’ll see how it goes. In the meantime, I’ll be adding all of the eyebolts and rings to the remaining 21 gun carriages. In the image below, the cap is dry fitted and unblacken.

[GGibson]

Sharp looking, Jon.  Anxious to see them on the ship. 👍

[Geoff Matson]

Your build is looking great! The gun carriages bring back fond memories of repetition. Here is one of my favorite pictures looking through the aft gun ports down along the cannons on both sides.  By the way, I am going nuts on how to case this behemoth of a model. Have you any thoughts on that? Happy modeling Jon

[JSGerson]

GGibson: I'm anxious too!

 

Geoff: Not only do we have to encase this baby, but I'll need to buy a table to put the case on (see my Rattlesnake), and find a space in my house to display it. Since I don't have any normal sized wood working tools or the cabinetmaking experience/skills in using them even if I had them, I'll have to buy a custom case or pay someone to make the case for me. Any way I look at it, it's going to cost a bit of money.

 

Jon

[helmarsowick]

BlueJacket Ship Crafter sell unassembled cases.

Bluejacket’s case-kits are offered to offset the crating, shipping, and insurance costs associated with completed cases. They include all wood, hardware, and assembly instructions. All wood supplied is finish sanded, but is not finished. Case-kit bases are routed to accept 1/8” glass. Please note that glass is not supplied. Cost for unassembled case in cherry is $490. Shipping assembled is expensive. Then there is the 1/8" glass.

You can go the route of buying a case and table as one piece of furniture. https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-e&q=assembled+model+case+for+uss+constitution#vhid=6193644185886193296-16--0-0&vssid=uvpv-713 About $1,300 plus shipping. As you say it's expensive.

[JSGerson]

Helmarsowick, that's basically what I did for the Rattlesnake. I got the unassembled unfinished case from Model Expo and the table from another online source. I had to cut the vertical corners to size and buy the plexiglass. The table was complete, no work to complete. Still, it wasn't cheap; and this model is twice as big as the Rattlesnake! But, I can put it off for a while at the rate I'm building the model. See picture below for one of the reasons I'm so slow

 

Jon

[GGibson]

At least he's not sleeping on the bench! <shrug> 🤣

 

The Bluejacket case option sounds nice!  Thanks for that info, Helmarsowick!  I've got a local cabinetmaker that does awesome work, he recently custom built our entire kitchen, so I will probably visit with him when I get to the point of wanting to case my ships.  The first three ships I have done are simply being displayed (proudly, nonetheless) on the fireplace mantle.

 

EDIT:  And I just noticed you have your Constitution in the foam cradle (which I also use), but sitting on a lazy susan turntable!  I'm sure others have done this, as well, but it's an awesome idea! 🏆

Edited October 17, 2023 by GGibson

[helmarsowick]

32 minutes ago, JSGerson said:

Helmarsowick, that's basically what I did for the Rattlesnake. I got the unassembled unfinished case from Model Expo and the table from another online source. I had to cut the vertical corners to size and buy the plexiglass. The table was complete, no work to complete. Still, it wasn't cheap; and this model is twice as big as the Rattlesnake! But, I can put it off for a while at the rate I'm building the model. See picture below for one of the reasons I'm so slow

 

Jon

I don't think you're slow at all considering the quality of work. I haven't started Conny yet as I've been finishing Bluenose. I have been doing pre work on Conny as I love research and there is lot to do as this will be pushing what practical experience I actually have. I have access to 3D printer and could not resist doing the companionways. Thet aren't on the boat while racing but I thought they to cool to miss. Plan to follow your build when I start.

IMG_0848.heic

[helmarsowick]

IMG_0848.pdf

[JSGerson]

GGibson: The lazy susan was made as a mosaic pattern with blocks of wood by my uncle. I inherited it in 2020 and found it quite useful. The only "problem" is that I would like to be able to lock it in a fixed position at times, but haven't spent much time figuring out a solution yet. BTW, Peaches is a she and is 14 yrs old. Not once has she ever touched my work benches. She's a really good girl.

 

Helmarsowick: Those companionways you made are glorious. There a number of them on the Constitution that I will have to fabricate and plan to follow xKen's (Ken Forman) build log for them. He silver soldered his. He designed the cross section kit of the Constitution for Model Shipways. I think you put are giving him a run for the money. Is that one solid piece straight out of 3D printer?

Edited October 17, 2023 by JSGerson

[helmarsowick]

Ken is a master, no comparison. It prints as one piece.

IMG_0852.pdf

[helmarsowick]

If you're interested contact Kris Szkutnik at szkutnik-model@wp.pl in Poland.

[helmarsowick]

He do anything including hand carving wooden figureheads.