Schooner Germania (Nova) by KeithAug - FINISHED - Scale 1:36 - 1908 / 2011

[Bedford]

I think you'll find there are two types of electrician, the one who takes pride in a job well done and the one who just slaps it together the easiest way he can. I think we can tell which did that wiring job.

 

I have the same problem on S.T. Waratah, a lot of the wiring has been done by the latter type and I am slowly trying to improve it.

[Bob Cleek]

On 12/13/2020 at 1:38 PM, BANYAN said:

BTW, if you ever find a way to reduce that list created by your 'Admiral' let me know - I have to work on reducing mine also

The list or the Admiral?  

[KeithAug]

Thank you all for your comments and likes.

 

It would appear that the usual shipbuilding disruptions of Christmas will not apply this year, in fact building may accelerate. The Government have just announced that a new strain of Covid is now in circulation which is about 70% more transmissible than the previous strain. As a result significant areas of the country will go immediately into the highest level of lockdown with mixing of households banned, all non essential shops closed etc, etc. I think we may have over ordered the groceries.

 

Progress over the last week has revolved around pin rails. Four large rails run alongside the bulwark on either side of the main and fore masts, one pair of rails has 8 pin positions while the other pair has 7. The rails were made as previously described. Holes were drilled before brass tubes were inserted and then slit off to the correct thickness.

 

 

 

On Germania the rails are mounted to the bulwarks with small metal brackets. I feared these would be too fragile to take even the modest forces imposed by the rigging. Accordingly I made heavier wooden mountings and consoled myself that they wouldn't be very visible.

 

 

 

The rails were glued in place with CA.

 

 

The previous rails relate to the foremast but the main mast rails are very similar.

 

 

It was then into a long belaying pin production run that took the best part of 2 afternoons.

 

 

 

While I was about it I made the 2 pins for the jib foot.

 

 

I am now going to drink a vat of Gin as consolation for the cancelation of Christmas.

 

 

[wefalck]

Good job on something, that can go easily wrong in different !

 

Yes, Christmas will be rather different this year, with no family gatherings in many parts of the world - even when legally possible, one should refrain anyway, as the whole society will pay for it in the end. We normally travel to Germany to spend Christmas with relatives, including my 95 year old mother - we wouldn't even get there, let alone be allowed to visit her ... very sad.

[KeithAug]

Big day today, my daughter in law (a front line doctor) was the first in the family to receive the Pfizer vaccine, hopefully this is  "The end of the beginning" to quote Churchill. She gets her second dose on January 11th.

 

So this will be my last post before an unusually quiet Christmas.

I have been trying to work out the "wanderings" of the anchors before I make them.

 

The story starts with the plan.

 

 

Here the anchors are positioned well forward about half way between the forward deck house and the foot of the bow sprit. The circle shows the sweep of the anchor derrick, the pivot being just aft of the sprit foot. I don't believe that Germania was ever fitted out like this as none of the photographs supported this arrangement.

 

Most of the photographs show Fisherman's anchors to port and starboard but they are significantly aft of the plan poisition. They seem to have been moved as far aft as possible, their position being just forward of the foremast shrouds. 

 

 

Their position is so far back that they cover the foremost pair of holes in the pin rails, making them unusable.  The anchor derrick has been repositioned accordingly.

 

 

 

I can guess at two reasons for this change. The anchors are fairly massive and their weight further forward (where the hull is slimmer and less buoyant) might cause the bow to dive into waves rather than rising over them.  The less technical reason is that in the original position they can take out the bow sprit stays if dropped carelessly. Other explanations are expected????

 

Finally at some point the port anchor seems to have been replaced by a self stowing Danforth anchor. The starboard Fisherman's anchor seems to have been retained.

 

 

I really don't like this set up as it will inevitably catch the waves when healed. 

 

I think I am going to complete the model with two fisherman's anchors mounted on the rails in the rearmost position.

 

May I take this opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas (no matter what the restrictions are).

 

 

 

 

 

[druxey]

And a happy if modified Christmas to you, Keith. 

[Keith Black]

 A very Merry Christmas to you and yours, Keith. That's such great news about your daughter in law, hopefully your son is not far behind. God Bless. 

[Bedford]

As a deckie who has used the davit system for lowering/raising such an anchor  I would suggest the aft position is due to the stays. It would be extremely difficult to raise the anchor inside them especially with any kind of rocking.

 

The process is to lower the anchor on the falls while taking in chain with the windlass until the anchor is hanging on the chain just below the hawse pipe. The falls are then detached and the anchor lowered. The retrieval operation is the opposite. That being the case the falls must have quite a length of line to reach that far forward.

 

It's interesting to note that the falls are not stowed attached to the lifting eye on the anchor shaft, rather to an eye on the pin rail. On Waratah it's not as pretty but the falls are stowed hooked to the lifting strap on the anchor.

 

Edited December 21, 2020 by Bedford
Add pic

[BANYAN]

Wishing you a safe and happy festive season Keith, I hope your family remain safe and you can catch up again soon.

 

Following your anchor discussion with interest as a similar arrangement will have been used with Victoria's anchors, although hers were stowed outboard.

 

cheers

 

Pat

Edited December 22, 2020 by BANYAN

[Dr PR]

Kieth,

 

Looking back at those electrical boxes on the mast inside the pin rails I think they are jack boxes. Perhaps electrical outlets or maybe communications plugs. I do not think they connect through to the interior of the mast. It looks like fairly standard exterior wiring practice using stuffing tubes where the cables enter the boxes. That type of box doesn't appear to be designed for electrical conduit.

 

Look at the close-up photos and you will see they have screw-off caps with chain retainers on the bottom, just like the US Navy used on sound-powered phone boxes back in the last century (I don't know if they still use sound powered phones). The electrical circuit could be for power to lights or tools, or it might be a circuit for communication between crew members.

 

Happy holidays!  And keep in mind that next year is almost certainly going to be happier than this one!

Edited December 22, 2020 by Dr PR

[mangulator63]

Looking forward to your next post. Great Work and Happy Holidays to all.

[BANYAN]

Just my two cents (sorry pence) on those electrical 'boxes'.  Keith, they look suspiciously like the bronze 'junction boxes' used in RN warships (well the Aussie variants anyway).  Used as the name says as a junction box so it is possible it connected wiring running inside the mast to the external part of the wiring.  A similar type of box but with larger ports/sockets in them were also used to connect upper deck portable electrical gear/equipment such as lights, pumps, grinders/descaling hand (electrical) tools.  We used to call that type of socket connecter a 'donkey d***'

 

May or not be the same sort of box?

 

cheers

 

Pat

[KeithAug]

It has been about 3 weeks since my last post and in that time I have made little progress. My excuses include the distractions of Christmas and the temperature of the workshop (it has been sitting at about 6 deg centigrade for the past 10 days). Thank you Druxey, Keith, Steve, Pat, Phil, and Tim for your comments and observations, although its a bit late I wish you all (and everyone else) a Happy New Year.

 

I made a start on the anchors, commencing as usual with a sketch. The size and proportions were scaled from the plans and various photos but the sketch was a bit slapdash. 

 

 

I decided to fabricate the anchors for not too obvious reasons (even to me). I started with the business end and soldered two sheets of brass together so I could make 2 identical pieces at the same time.

 

 

I then started creating the basic shape on the mill.

 

 

The upper profile of the end is stepped to take the flukes - these will be soldered on later.

 

 

 

The bottom shape was then marked on and the excess metal filed away. With this completed the solder was melted and the 2 parts separated.

 

 

 

I then started shaping the profile. 

 

 

On the left hand piece I have started to round the edges.

 

I then stared to reduce the thickness at the fluke end as a prelude to creating the sharp pioint.

 

 

Then it was time to make the flukes by shaping a piece of brass bar on the mill before completing by hand filing.

 

 

i then sliced off four identical flukes.

 

 

The flukes were then soldered in place.

 

 

Then it was time for a bit more filing to create a more realistic shape. The fluke on the right has been filed to produce the required sharp edges, the one on the left has yet to be done. 

 

 

That is as far as I got, now it is time to catch up on all your build logs.

 

 

[Bedford]

Always a master class Keith!

[allanyed]

Thanks for sharing your methods Keith!   I have two wishes  ---  One, you would move to Ave Maria, Florida and two, you would give classes in the use of a milling machine.

Allan

 

[Keith Black]

17 minutes ago, allanyed said:

One, you would move to Ave Maria, Florida

Allan, It's too hot there for Keith. Keith would adapt much more easily to the climate here in Michigan.  

[BANYAN]

...and the master of metal work is back; great to see the update Keith (and you explanations as they are of considerable benefit to many of us).

 

cheers

 

Pat

[allanyed]

OK Keith, summers in Michigan and winters here.  

Allan

[KeithAug]

2 hours ago, allanyed said:

OK Keith, summers in Michigan and winters here.  

Sorry Guys, I'm not scheduled to get my first inoculation until late February so you won't let me in. 

 

Thank you Steve and Pat, and thanks to everyone for the likes.

[Keith Black]

9 hours ago, KeithAug said:

Sorry Guys, I'm not scheduled to get my first inoculation until late February so you won't let me in. 

 

A pair of silk stocking, a carton of cigarettes, and a good bottle of Scotch should get a ole bloke from Sussex across the border. 

[KeithAug]

I have continued working on the pair of anchors.

 

On 1/11/2021 at 6:52 PM, KeithAug said:

I decided to fabricate the anchors for not too obvious reasons

 

That wasn't quite true. On photos the shank of the anchor appears to be thicker than the crown so I needed to make it out of thicker material. Producing the crown with only a short stub also gave me access to machine the upper edge of the arms. Obviously a longer shank would have interfered with the milling cutter

 

 

I started to form the shank from 1/4" round bar, Firstly by cutting a slot before milling 2 flats.

 

 

 

In my alternative reality it made sense to form the shank in two parts (upper and lower section). I wonder why I did that? Before parting off the lower half I bored an axial hole to take a spigot for the top half.

 

 

The upper shank is a flattened taper (turned and milled).

 

 

 

The spigot was then turned to fit into the lower half and the top of the shaft was then parted off.

 

 

 

The upper and lower shafts were then soldered together - followed by a bit of shaping with a file and emery board before joining the shaft to the crown.

 

 

The brackets to support the anchors on the rail started life as an expensive gadget (never throw anything useful away).

 

 

 

I made the balancing band out of tube with a wire lifting eye, It covers the upper and lower shaft joint as planned (at least that's my story and i'm sticking to it).

 

 

Next job - the stock.

Edited January 18, 2021 by KeithAug

[wefalck]

These forged items can be really a pain to fabricate - either a lot of filing/milling from some thick stock or some ingenious way to puzzle them together ... this is, I think, where the power of 3D-printing, perhaps as pattern for investment casting, comes in - but it does take away the charme of well-executed artisanal work

 

[Keith Black]

27 minutes ago, KeithAug said:

It covers the upper and lower shaft joint as planned (at least that's my story and i'm sticking to it).

 

 I just love it when a plan comes together    Keith, great work as usual.

 Is it possible to see a full length pic of the Germania as she currently sits, please? 

[BANYAN]

Your metal workmanship never ceases to inform or delight Keith.  Those anchors look so good.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[FriedClams]

Once again - splendid workmanship Keith!

 

Gary

 

[KeithAug]

On 1/18/2021 at 5:14 PM, wefalck said:

this is, I think, where the power of 3D-printing, perhaps as pattern for investment casting, comes in - but it does take away the charme of well-executed artisanal work

Eberhard I tend to agree, particularly where more than a couple of identical items are being made. The case is a bit more marginal when only a couple of items are required where the preparation time can be as long as the fabrication alternative.

 

On 1/18/2021 at 5:15 PM, Keith Black said:

 Is it possible to see a full length pic of the Germania as she currently sits, please? Gary 

  Keith - I will add it to the plan although I might wait for an outdoors photo opportunity. The weather here isn't very conducive to outdoor photo sessions at the moment.

 

Thank you Gary and Pat and to everyone else who has visited.

 

[KeithAug]

I continued working on the anchors. I dug out the lathe ball turning attachment to make the 4 small balls that sit on the ends of the 2 stocks. They were temporarily parked on a 3/32" rod awaiting use. They are .150" diameter.

 

 

The stock was turned from 3/32" rod - taper turned to slim down towards both ends. The stock was heated to soften the brass for later bending. A ball was soldered on one end and a ring added to butt up against the shank.

 

 

The stock was then inserted into the shank and a .025" hole was cross drilled to take the keep pin.

 

 

The keep pin was made from wire.

 

 

The stock was inserted in the shank and the end was bent through 90 degrees.

 

 

The ball was then soldered on the other end (the metal clip is preventing the ball moving during soldering).

 

 

A bit of polishing followed.

 

 

Next the 2 shackles were made. I cut a piece of small bore tube on the lathe ( the grooves are to guide later cutting). The tubes were drilled with 2 transverse holes and a length of .025"m wire and soldered it in place. 

 

 

The central piece of tube was then cut away to reveal my useless soldering.

 

 

The next one went better.

 

 

A shackle retaining pin was then made and the anchors were complete.

 

 

Then temporarily position to see how they looked.

 

[Keith Black]

Beautiful work, just beautiful. 

[wefalck]

Ah, someone else, who got out the ball-turning attachment. Will be showing some results in my log soon. Would you mind showing your attachment to satisfy my curiosity ?

 

Very nice anchors, indeed ! Will they stay in brass, or will you blacken them ? If the prototypes were galvanised, chemically tinning would also be an option.

Edited January 21, 2021 by wefalck

[G.L.]

Perfect!!