Pegasus 1776 by Chuck - 1:48 - Swan-class sloop cross-section

[Chuck]

After assembling the build board, I began assembling the keel pieces.  In the photo below you see the three elements..The rising wood on top,  the two keel pieces glued together in the center and the false keel below that.  I darkened the seam between the two keel parts so they would really stand out using a soft pencil.  I had my two screws and bolts ready as well.

I used the screws to help align the layers and glue them together.  Note how I left all the laser char in place until after all the keel parts were glued together.  I also darkened the seam between the keel and false keel.

 

Then the rising wood was added but first I needed to glue the two nuts into the laser cut holes provided for them.  I simply placed a nut on the table and positioned the rising wood over the top of it.  Then I pressed down firmly to push the wood over the nut.  This placed the nut perfectly.  I added a drop of glue around the nuts perimeter to secure it flush with the bottom of the rising wood.  I was careful not to get any glue on the threads of the nut.

Then I glued it to the top of the keel.  After applying some titebond I actually screwed it into position to be aligned.  The middle keel was intentionally left a bit wider because now I will remove the laser char.  There is more char on the thicker keel pieces so I left that thicker so it wouldnt be over sanded in the process.  It cleaned up pretty good.  I was careful not to remove too much.  I applied some wipe on poly afterwards.

All cleaned up and test fit with the screws on the work base which you might notice I made a bit wider in this final version...The bottom of the base uses another piece of laser cut wood to make sure the screws dont stick out to far on top of the rising wood.  There are several supplied to use as spacers if need be.  Then I removed the keel to start on the rabbet.

To make the rabbet I used a laser cut scraper tool designed especially for the job.  See below as it is pretty self explanatory.  Brass strip filed to a point and used to make the rabbet.

Several light passes at first working from the center outward.  Then I cleaned up the rabbet with some sand paper and files.

To finish off the keel, I used some 20 pound black fishing line for the bolts.  I realize these would have been copper but I really dont like that look.  But you guys can substitute if you prefer.   I like them blackened as shown instead.  Next up I will detail how to build the frames.

 

[yvesvidal]

Great stuff. The instructions are going to be terrific too.... Very detailed.

 

Yves

[Tigersteve]

What was the experimental wood? Any clue why Wood Project Source’s store is “closed for maintenance”?

Steve

[yvesvidal]

Chuck,

 

After this weekend (where I understand you will have a crowd of "guinea pigs" to test the assembly of the frames for the upcoming kit), can we expect some updates with pictures?

I thank you in advance.

 

Yves

[Chuck]

I have been swamped with trying to rebuild my inventory before the Connecticut show.  But yes I have made some progress but nothing really new.  I basically have caught up to where I was on the earlier version.  This is where I am at right now.  The good news is that I have completed the set up in shop for some serious model building after the show.  I am ready to go and have set up an area to take better pictures.....hopefully.  Right now everything is kind of thrown onto the same table....as you can see.

 

 

 

[Chuck Seiler]

You'll have a couple dozen of these ready for Las Vegas, right? 

[Chuck]

Thanks!!!

 

I never posted how I am going to handle the shifted or bent frames.  This is how it will be done.  Its basically the same as the traditional frame you saw already where you flip over the pieces for a better fit.  BUT....the top timbers are 1/4" thick vs 3/16" thick like the other parts of the frame.  You can see the components below.  After making so many of these I have found that it is best to glue the two pieces for each side of the frame together first.  Note how the top timbers (2-C) are thicker.

 

Once the tightbond is dried, I dont sand any of the char off yet.  But I did remove the alignment tabs to make shaping the shifted top timber easier.

Then I glue some specially prepared templates to the outside edge of the frame showing the bend as shown above.  I used rubber cement but anything low tack will work.  Then its just a matter of shaping to match the template.  I used a sharp #11 blade to just shave away the majority of the wood that needed to be removed.  Then I used some 220 grit sandpaper to finish it off nicely.  Once done you can remove the template as seen below.  Then its just like any other frame where you glue these two parts to the other frame sections.

 

 

 

[Chuck]

I did reach a milestone of sorts.  I have completed all seven frames in phase one.  The frames will be built and installed in three phases to make it easier to manage.  Phase one has seven frames.  Once the frames are all done and dry fit in the keel,  you can start adding the port framing.  The port framing is tricky but manageable.  You will be removing the frames quite a bit to tweak them and the slots for the port sills so you can get a good fit.  Same is true for the sweep port framing.  Once you have the port framing dry fit nicely,  then we can glue all the frames in this phase permanently to the keel.  Then glue the port framing in too!!!

 

I havent glued it together yet....but that is the next step.  What you see in the photo are all the frames and port sills simply dry fit port and starboard.  I will glue it all together after the Connecticut show.  Then the frames can be faired outboard...and the alignment tabs you see on the inboard side removed as well...but I get ahead of myself.   Then its onto phase two and another seven frames done exactly the same way.

 

 

 

[alde]

Very well thought out and engineered Chuck. This is going to be a popular kit.

[AntonyUK]

Hi Chuck. 

This kit has got to be one of your best sellers. 

Someone needs to compare a quality cross section like this with one of those from the East. 

I know of someone who bought a expensive one from EBay and it turned out to be rubbish  and the quality of the wood was very poor.

Most things did not fit as expected.

 

So I will be waiting on Chuck to release the kit. I love my cross sections.

You are a real artist when it comes to model ship design.

 

Regards Antony.

 

[Chuck]

Thank you very much guys.  This is a fun project but it will no doubt be an advanced kit.  But so far ....so good.

 

Chuck

[Thistle17]

I abandoned my Corel cross section of the Constitution years ago for the same reason Anthony states. It just didn't measure up to what one would consider a quality endeavor. This is likely to be a stellar offering and considering the barge success I guess I will have to pitch a tent curb side at your shop to be in line for this offering!

Joe

[Rustyj]

All I can say is you better stock these kits by the gross! 

Looking very good! 

[Canute]

Ditto for me. I definitely want one.

[Beef Wellington]

Tough choice between this and the barge for next build, maybe both of them...

[yvesvidal]

Chuck, Any new unfolding in the development of this dearly awaited kit?

 

Yves

Edited May 7, 2018 by yvesvidal

[Chuck]

Not a lot that you can see but plenty of stuff to move the project forward.

 

I did however finish cutting/tweaking the notches for the port sills.  This is tricky work and is probably the hardest part of the project.  But if you go slow it will be fine.  The laser etched notches for the sills are not as wide as they need to be.  This was done on purpose because it will be inevitable that you will be tweaking these so the port framing is correct.  In fact, to make this easier I used a template to mark the top and bottom of each sill for the ports and sweeps first so I knew where to start my tweaking.  The process involves constant removal of the associated frames to make small tweaks and then installation and testing.  When the port side was done, they pieces were labelled and then set aside.  I repeated this process again on the other side.

 

 

Then the frames were glued into position permanently and the two small frame spacers reinserted on top to register them again before the glue dried.  Once the frames were set, I then glued the sills in permanently and faired the exterior of the first seven frames.  It was helpful to make a support which can be seen under the frames.  This protected the whole assembly while fairing the outboard of the frames.

 

 

Then just for a test (I wont recommend this for other building the kit).  I removed the inboard "Ear" tabs on the port side which held the frames together for the gunport.  But before doing so I made sure the sills were well glued in position and not moving.  I cut the tabs free and test faired the inboard frames on the port side.   But it will be best to wait until after the outside planking and battens are added later to do this.  This was just a test for me as I didnt want to move forward until I knew the concept worked......which it did.

 

 

Chuck

[druxey]

Thought: would a centerline on the cross-spall (D) help in assuring that the frames are plumb on the keel?

[Chuck]

Your ears must have been burning Druxey.....When permanently gluing the frames to the keel I thought the same thing and all of the top supports for each frame have already been adjusted for the kit.  When folks buy the kit they will have the etched line as reference although technically speaking, once frame one is glued into position properly all the others follow suit after inserting the frame registration pieces in the notches.  But it couldnt hurt to have them on all of the frame tops.

 

I will instruct everyone to glue frame one in position before trying to tweak and create the port sills.  Frame one can be used as an "anchor" of sorts when glued properly in position to ensure that all of the other frames are aligned while testing and tweaking the port sill pieces.  At least it was very helpful for me doing it that way.

 

Once all of the port sills are made and set aside the remaining six frames are glued in position permanently and the registration strips are added before the glue dries.  That is going to be the actual sequence of events.

 

Chuck

[DocBlake]

Good progress, Chuck!  Looks like a nice kit,

[Chuck]

Thanks

 

To finish the yellow cedar I sanded it with some 320 grit paper and applied a coat of wipe on poly.  Here is what it looks like.  I have also done a mock up of the planking in yellow cedar.  My photography stinks but I think you can get a good sense of the grain structure and finish of the wood after applying the wipe on poly.  

 

 

Chuck

[DocBlake]

Looks a lot like boxwood!  Very nice!

[Tigersteve]

Wow- was going to say the same thing. It does resemble boxwood! These kits are going to be flying off your shelves. 

Steve

[Chuck]

Its a little yellower and less tan than boxwood but its supposed to mellow and darken with age and get more tanish.   Time will tell.  My wood guy just dropped off several hundred sheets so I am fully stocked should anyone want to give it a try.  Unlike boxwood however it is very soft.  About the same hardness as Basswood but without any of the issues that basswood has.  The surface quality is excellent after sanding and finishing.  The planking sample below was made using 1/4" wide planks ripped from cedar.  The seams between each plank were darkened with a pencil on one edge only.  It has two coats of wipe on poly and I made this sample about two or three weeks ago.  

 

 

You will see slightly darker grain running through the wood before you finish it.  But once you apply the wipe on poly or sanding sealer....the darker grain doesnt change color but the lighter wood between it does and it makes the grain almost invisible because it darkens to the same color.  Hope that makes sense....its hard to explain.  The fluorescent lights in my shop make it tough to photograph but I am messing with the camera settings to try and match the real life color best I can.   I dont want to misrepresent it as I really really like this stuff once I got used to the soft nature of it after using boxwood for so long.

 

 

Chuck

[dvm27]

The cast frames look terrific, Chuck!

 

Those wishing to add treenails to their cross section may find it easier to do before the frames are raised.

[Chuck]

Thanks

I am going to omit those on my prototype...they are nearly invisible and I find it distracting but I have seen it done well on other models.  Builders choice I suppose.

 

Chuck

[yvesvidal]

Chuck,

 

It has been pretty much a month since we got the last update on this exciting kit creation. 

Would you have any new development to share with us?

 

Thanks in advance.

Yves

[Chuck]

Nope....the admiral says no fun with models until after I catch up with making rope and blocks.  I am almost there!!! 

[Landlocked123]

Chuck- Sounds like the admiral has her “eyes on the prize”. (Or maybe just tuition🙂).  John

 

Edited June 9, 2018 by Landlocked123

[Chuck]

Yupp!!!   Glad she does that too!!