Triton Cross section by shihawk - 1:48

[shihawk]

I delayed starting this log untill i was sure i would be continuing with it , doubt is my worst enemy , but i think i can produce something worthwhile out of it, so will open myself up to the great unwashed and see what u think 

[shihawk]

I started of this build by deciding that as i didn,t have to buy a kit i would splash out on some good timber just to see how it compared to kit supplied stuff . So i ordered some pear , well quite a lot of pear in fact , in various thicknesses having spent a lot of time workin out what i would need . Some maple ,some cherry , some holly, all woods i had heard recommended on various build logs . Unfortunately i neglected to order 5mm pear for the hull and ordered 2 mm instead , first mistake .Keen to get started i found a old windowsill made from oak and dicided i had the tools to make 5mm x 20 strips which would get me started . It was not great ,very grained and open so remembered that i had pieces of oak that i put away a few years ago. Spent a long time cutting to size and then decided i needed a thickness sander .More time waiting for bearings and a cheap drill to arrive .Eventually got sufficient to make the frames but broke a drive belt on my saw and had to wait for replacement , probably asked to much of a small machine . Decided that unless u have proper machines it,s probably easier to order timber as near the size u require as possible . 

Proceeded to makes the frames and after trying to reinvent the wheel for a week or so decided the best way was the way every one else did it . There are several great logs here and should be studied before starting this build . My first pic is of 2 very cheap tools which turned out essiential in preping the frames 

 

[shihawk]

i took a few pic as i went along just in case thing went according to plan . I wasn,t happy with my first set of frames but decided to carry on with them and see what problems awaited with the view to starting over again if things didn,t work out 

[shihawk]

finally decided ti mill out the fram base to give me something accurate to work from and then used a very high teck building board to fix them to the keel .

[shihawk]

I i had taken a bit more care with makin the frames it would have made things easier later on ,but i still had it in my head that i would start from scatch again . All i can say at this atage is i have learned quite a bit in a short time and know i will need to learn a lot more before i finish . While waiting for planking to dry i started the bottom deck and as the pic shows it will need some parts replaced to square it . I hope to be able to work with the frames as they are ,with a lot of sanding and a few alterations . The deck frames and keel are the only pear wood i have used and must say it,s a pleasure to work with besides the oak ,plus the tight grain is a lot more realistic looking . The planking and thick stuff are from old stock rather than waste better woods 

[Pete38]

Welcome to the build. Looks like your off to a great start. Looking forward to more 

[mtaylor]

Indeed, I agree with Pete.  You're off to an excellent start.

[AnobiumPunctatum]

Welcome to the Triton shipyard. It looks that you are on a really good way.

[shihawk]

Thanks for the welcome folks , i realise i,m a late comer and have all u to thank for your build logs which i have relied on . I,m not one for measuring to the last 0.5 so am inclined to make things fit as i go along , and cut a few corners so i hope u won,t be dissapointed .  Basically i want to find out if i,m up to the full Triton build , time will tell ???

[ChadB]

Awesome job so far!! Everything looks tight and clean so far- looking forward to following along!   -Chad

[shihawk]

Just a quick update on progress so far , i don,t need to go into to much detail as others have covered pretty much everthing thankfully . Decided to continue with the frames i have and with a lot of sanding they will do the job , lesson learned is spend time getting the frames as well constructed as possible . have planked one sid up to the wales with cherry , i,m happy although i did miss a few flaws in the wood which only show after varnish ,perhaps in future i should number them as i cut them of the sheet to be sure to be sure . Be cause i was to lazy to use a proper build board there is a difference of about 2mm in the distance from side to side , can be easy remied now i know it,s there . Work on the lower deck continues , i hope to complete it of ship and then build it in which means i can make the last beam struts to suit if there is any variation . I find most problems can be overcome if found in time ,,, fortunately ..I may not "joint " the fine struts under the side of the deck which will be planked ,i can learn enough of one side to maybe do a better job on the gun deck ..

[shihawk]

I forgot to mention that i don,t think i will use treenails , unless they are done very well even at this scale i feel they can look unrealistic ,, only my opinion . You will also notice the planks are continuous ,again sinply to save time ,, lazy bugger ain,t i ???? I used a pencil for caulking .. 

[Gabek]

Beautiful work!  And I completely agree with your decision about treenails.  Excellent work that a caulker would be hard-pressed to find any gaps!  

- Clear skies! 

Gabe

[shihawk]

The learning process continues , a few pics of the process , nothing new as i have used the other excellent build logs as a guide  . a few lessons learned , at this scale 1:48 the pencil method of caulking i think is not thick enough and will experiment on the upper deck for improvement , and may even consider treenails ?? although the chances of building a full ship at this scale are small, learning new skills was the whole idea , and would like to thank those involved in it,s planning and conception ,it certainly has opened up a whole new side to the hobby !!    Next lesson learned is to keep everything as square and even as possible from the beginning to save time and work later on !!!  Next is unless u have the proper tools and skills buy your wood as premilled as possible , in my case i,m having a few probs continually resetting saws and remembering settings , but maybe thats just me . On the subject of wood , i have found pear and cherry a real pleasure to work with compared to some of the kit stuff which i was used with , and will deff use them in future  . One other point is i changed my glue type to a fast setting variety but think i have overdone it and will change back to a slower set , 

last pic shows a simple way of shaping  the wales , worked fairly well but needs refining . As usual my report would read , doing ok but could deffinately do better , all i can say is i will try ???

[Jim Rogers]

Looks great

[ChadB]

Well done! I really love the contrast between the beams and the deck planking (and everything else looks wonderful, too)! Keep up the great work!  -Chad

[shihawk]

Just a few pics to show progress and lessons learned .  Main lesson is that scratch building is very diffrent from kit,s in that accurate measurement and calculation become a lot more important . I neglected to construct a proper build frame and late on in the build discovered a 6 mil difference in width at front and back as can be seen in the last pic dipite my efforts to work with it . So i have decided to waste no more time on what will always be a flawed build . Dispite this i would recommend any potential scratch builders to give this section or similiar a try before attempting something large as i have learned a few valuable lessons along the way . eg caulking at this scale is different from my usual 1:64 or 1:72 scale .  Good news is i have now started the full Triton build and have already got the build board sorted ,, see lesson 1 learned !!!   .I hope to start a build log soon but am slowly trying to get my head round the cant frames etc before i publish to many mistakes 

[Jolley Roger]

Still looks very good!