Raleigh 1777 by KennyH78 - Scale 1:96 - Continental Frigate - Hahn Plans

[KennyH78]

I had originally decided to build my Confederacy kit from Model Shipways before building the Raleigh, but once I opened the box and put the bulkhead former together I noticed that it was warped.  Emailed Model Expo and have a new one on the way.  Since that build is on hold and the fact that I want to build and not wait; I've decided to start my US Frigate Raleigh build from the Hahn plans that I have.  The plans and timbering came from the Lumberyard.  The ship will be in 1:96 scale.  The timbering is cherry for the frames, keel and stem and holly for the decking.  The timbering did come with some laser cut parts for the stem, stern and keel.  Guess I'm kinda cheating, lol.  I really hope that I am up for the challenge of a Hahn style build. 

 

So far, I have cut the 1/8 cherry strips into the pieces to make the frame blanks and have started gluing the frame blanks for the cant and half frames.  There are 33 of those and 78 full frames.  I suspect that it will take roughly about a week to finish gluing up all of the blanks.  Anyways, on to the pics.  As always, any and all comments are welcome.

 

All the pieces for the half and cant frames, 34 each.

The pieces for the center full frames, 33 each.

The pieces for the rest of the full frames, 12 each.

Some of the half and cant frame blanks glued up and drying.

[shipmodel]

Pulling up a chair to watch.  The Hahn method is one that I have always admired, but never tried.  Always something new to learn.

 

Boy, and I thought I had a lot of clamps . . . 

 

Be well

 

Dan

 

[mtaylor]

Off to a flying start, Kenny.  I've been thinking of the Raleigh myself but in 1:64. 

 

Just a note,  check all your planks and strips for size.  I've found that the timbering set I used had material that was thicker than specced on the material list.

[Mike Y]

Your timbering set already had pre-cut frame blanks? That is something new!

you might want to consider using some glass / acrylic plates when laminating the frame blanks - that will help to keep them flat, distribute the clamping pressure evenly and prevent warping due to the moisture in the glue. 

 

P.S.: there is something magical in a fully framed builds of small scale, hope it will end up a beauty!

[KennyH78]

Thanks for all the comments and likes.

 

Mike, the timbering did not come with pre cut blanks. I cut those on the table saw with a jig that I made out of plywood using the method that Hahn used.  The timbering came with cherry strips that were about 2' X1" x 1/8". I will definitely look into the glass plates for laminating though, thanks for the tip. 

 

Mark, one of the reasons I chose the Raleigh is because I wanted to build one that was not heavily modeled. I have searched and could not find a single build log for her. I just hope that I can build a good model. Having Hahn's article from the NRJ in vol 41 sure helps though.  

 

Her history was another reason I picked it. She was the first frigate of the 13 that the Continental Congress ordered to be floated, but sat in dock for over a year because they could not procure cannons for her. Her sister ship, the Hancock, was captured by the British within 2 weeks of setting sail.  Raleigh actually sailed to France with Alfred to procure properly sized cannons. She set sail with a set of cannons that were not of the right size and number on her maiden voyage. 

[Chuck Seiler]

Kenny,

    Some may say that using the Lumberyard timbering set is not scratch building, but you will get no argument from me.  That still requires a lot of skill and effort.

 

    I remember seeing a model of RALEIGH a dozen or so years ago at one of the SMA conferences.  I want to say Clay Feldman made it, but not certain.  It was a beautiful model!!!  I look forward to your build.

[KennyH78]

Chuck, I wrestled with which forum to post my log in for a day or so; but the way I see it is that the timbering minus the laser cut keel is just strips of wood than a couple of blocks for carving the decorations. That is no different than ordering milled strips from somewhere else in my opinion 

[dvm27]

Good luck with your Raleigh build, Kenny. I built two Hahn-style models before I switched to upright building. His methods may be a bit wasteful but it insures a fair, solid hull. Try to do as much construction and fairing of the hull as you can before separating it. 

[Pierretessier]

Looks interesting, I'm pulling up a chair, popcorn at hand.

[Tigersteve]

It does look interesting. I'll watch too!

Steve

[mtaylor]

Kenny, 

I quite agree on the Raleigh having the plans and the article.  I too like the "ship less modeled", shall we say.  

 

I also agree with Greg... leave her on the build board as long as possible.

[KennyH78]

Mark,

I have been quietly following your Licorne build and learning a lot, what a marvelous build it is.  I plan to leave it in the board for as long as possible.

 

So I haven't cut a single frame from the blanks yet and had to do my first re-do.  The first 18 blanks that I glued up with the clamps had gaps in them.  So back to the table saw I went to cut more pieces.  I also ran out to the dollar store and bought a few $2 5x7 frames for the glass.  I am now using them with some weights to glue up the blanks.  Still hoping to be able to start cutting frames by the end of this weekend.  The other decision that I am wrestling with is weather to fully plank the hull or build it as Hahn.  I asked the Admiral what her preference is and she hasn't really answered me.  Going to have to ask again in the morning; or just make the decision myself.

[dvm27]

Just personal preference, Kenny, but I believe if you're going to take the time trouble to build a framed model you should leave some of it visible. I think Harold's method of leaving off the planking just below the wales is a good compromise. Otherwise, there are cheaper and faster methods of constructing a hull (plank on bulkhead, lift method, etc.). Or one could plank one whole side and leave the other side in frame. Only problem with this is displaying it to its best advantage.

[Jim Lad]

I'm looking forward to watching her grow, Kenny.  While there is certainly a good argument for leaving some of the framing exposed, there's also a good case for building plank on frame for the sheer pleasure of it.

 

John

[mtaylor]

Your choice on the hull planking.  I completely planked for several reasons and am happy with it.  I can see the merit of either way.

[Mike Y]

Or you can simply take that decision later, after the hull fairing. Chances are that in a year or so, when the framing is finished and the hull is smooth and fair - you will fall in love with it and refuse to put any planks on it

 

One warning with the Hahn method - it mentally tricks you into focusing on the alignment of the bottom part of the frames (where the keel is), but when you flip the model - it is the top of the frames that are important. Be really careful with their alignment, and leave more meat on the thin parts of the frames when cutting them (marked red here):

As soon as you flip the hull into the normal position - these areas will become the center of attention. Do not get tricked!  

Re-check the frame alignment with a wood strip while you go, to avoid big problems when fairing it later on.

Especially with the scale you selected - it would be fairly easy to sand away extra material on the outside of the hull than to end up with not enough material. 

[dvm27]

Following Mike's point, you may also wish to consider building a jig to make sure all the frames are the correct height and orientation. On the jig add a keel stop at the bottom to fit the keel slot and two small stops above the toptimbers. On the glued up blank first cut and file the slot for the rabbet. Then trim the toptimbers to fit the top stops. Now that the glued up frame pieces fit the jig exactly, you can cut out the body of the frame and the maximum height of breadth (widest part across the hull) should line up perfectly on both sides of the hull. I would also leave 1/16" outside the line while cutting to allow for slight errors in raising the frames. Finally, if you can swing it, I would highly recommend the Byrnes disk sander to finish the outside of the frames and an oscillating spindle sander for the insides. It'll cut your frame making time in half.

[KennyH78]

Mike, Greg, thanks for the tips.  I actually did plan on making the jig you described.  Hahn talked about the same jig in his article on the build of the Raleigh in the NRJ.  I also planned on purchasing a disc sander along with a micro table saw and thickness sander.  Although I wish I could afford the Byrnes models, but unfortunately I can't (don't get paid all that much in the Air Force and we are a single income family of 5).  But I am receiving my last re-enlistment bonus next week and will be spending part of that at Micro Mark for those three tools plus accessories; the rest is going to the kids.  Maybe someday I will be able to afford the Cadillac of mini power tools.  As for an oscillating spindle sander, I will be using my bench top drill press for that.  Anyways, back to gluing up blanks.

[dvm27]

Well Kenny, Harold did not use power tools (except a lathe perhaps). He even cut out all his frames with a fret saw. So while power tools are nice you can certainly do excellent work without them or with brands that aren't quite Byrnes quality.

 

[KennyH78]

Made some progress, all of the cram blanks are glued up. Tonight I will start transferring the patterns of the grams to the blanks. I plan to cut them out and glue them to blank with rubber cement. Then it will be time to make the blanks rounded on the bottom and squaring them up for height  in a keel/frame height jig. Before long, I just may be able to start laying the keel and building the hull. 

[mtaylor]

Kenny,

If you haven't done it.. make copy of anything your using to cut like the frames.  It may save you some grief if you mess up a frame.  Just the voice of experience here.

[KennyH78]

Mark,

Since I am very paranoid of screwing something up and not having the plans intact to fix it, I went and had a full set of the plans copied and then I am copying the parts that I need for the frames and such from those on my printer/copier at home.  I'm pretty sure that I will have to redo a lot of things before the Raleigh will be completed. 

[mtaylor]

Good on you, Kenny.  Sometimes being paranoid is a good thing. 

[muzzleloader]

Kenny

be careful when gluing the patterns to the frame blanks. When the paper gets a little wet with the glue it may stretch (mine did). It changed enough I had to redo about five frames out of twelve.

 

Mark

[shipmodel]

Hi Kenny - 

 

Mark is right about plans going out of true if you use a water based glue.  After making that mistake, I now use a spray mounting adhesive used for photographs.  3M has a good one.  It allows some repositioning when attaching the paper to the wood, and removes easily after the cutting is done.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Dan

 

 

[KennyH78]

All of the templates are glued to the blanks.  I used rubber cement, I figure if it worked for Hahn, then it should work for me.  I don't think that any of the paper templates stretched, but I plan to check the frames against the plans once they are cut.  I also built me a jig to ensure that all of the frames are cut to the same height.  I plan to start cutting the frames in the next day or two (work and life depending).  I have also started to remove all of the laser char on the pieces for the keel.  Pics of the keel will be posted once that is all cleaned up and glued together.  So without further ado, here are a couple of pics of the jig and the current state of the frames.

[Mike Y]

Seems like you had a busy weekend cutting all that blanks! The speed is truly impressive!

 

Sorry for commenting every second update...

But you might want to consider not cutting the paper in the center of the patterns, to prevent distortion and an incorrect frame width (for the midship frames where both sides of a frame are joined in the bottom).

Like this:

[KennyH78]

Before cutting any of the frames, I decided to make the backbone.  It is now complete, I was terrified when it was time to cut the rabbet, but a V-gauge chisel made it easy.  It's not perfect, but I'm happy with it.  So without further ado, here are the pictures.  Tomorrow I start cutting frames and I'm hoping I don't screw any of them up, but I am expecting to have to remake at least a few of them.

[shipmodel]

Hi Kenny - 

 

Nice clean work on the backbone.  

 

Before you start adding frames, let me suggest that you do all of the shaping of these pieces that you can.  It is so much easier to do this without the frames getting in the way.

 

For example, the width of the keel tapers towards the stern, and the stern post tapers from top to bottom, making the extreme heel of the hull the second narrowest spot.  (You may have done this already, but I could not tell in the photos.)  The narrowest spot is the heel of the deadwood, which also tapers from fore to aft and top to bottom, and is thinner than the sternpost by twice the thickness of the planking.  To get the planks to run smoothly against the sternpost the rabbet has to be wide and shallow.  I do not know your plans, but there is often a dotted, curved line called the 'bearding line' which indicates the width of the rabbet.  This width changes all along the length of the backbone and up the stem as the shape of the hull changes how the planks angle into the rabbet. The shallower the angle of attack, the wider the rabbet has to be.

 

Let me also suggest that you cut the rabbet a little deeper than you think you need.  It always surprises me when the planks want to ride higher than planned, and then they have to be planed or sanded to shape.  Sometimes they ride so high that I have to go back and deepen the rabbet or I would have to sand right through the plank, all the while trying not to ruin parts and planks already installed.  Better to make it deeper than needed, which can be filled with putty or even glue as the planking is installed.

 

Best of success

 

Dan

 

 

[KennyH78]

Dan, thanks for the tips. I have already shaped the stem and deadwood. I do plan to check the rabbet and deadwood to ensure that the planking will sit nice and flush. 

 

Thanks to to everyone else for the likes