HMS Blandford by DocBlake - FINISHED - 1/32 Scale - cross-section

[DocBlake]

Thanks, G.L.

 

More to come after we return from Arizona on April 1.

[DocBlake]

I finally finished the strakes and footwaling in the hold, and mounted the lower deck clamps. The deck clamps and lower deck framing will be swiss pear. I also added a strake below the clamps with a simulated scarf joint .  My plan is to fasten done the keelson with some scale model railroad spikes to simulate bolts. I'd like to use dyed black toothpicks and do the same to the strakes and footwaling, but I'm afraid the effect might be "too much" and look like a case of measles! We'll see!

[DocBlake]

I decided to use black treenails simulating bolts to fasten the deck clamps and one strake on either side of the hold floor. All the other strakes and footwaling treenails are birch toothpicks. I don't think the effect is over done at all. The deck clamps are swiss pear, as will be the deck framing. The lighting makes the beech look reddish.

[MEDDO]

Looks great not overdone at all.

[hamilton]

She's coming together very nicely - and fast! I think the trunnelling looks great - just the right accent

hamilton

[DocBlake]

Thanks, guys!

For some reason the decks on my build don’t narrow moving aft as much as the plans. I’ll have to resize the deck beams back there. As long as I keep the centerline consistent, and keep the notches for the carlings etc.in proper relationship to the centerline, I should be good!
The lower deck beams are 9/32" wide and 3/16" thick. I laid them out on some 9/32" swiss pear stock and cut them out with the scroll saw. I left them a little long to fine-tune the fit. They cleaned up easily with sanding blocks. Time to get serious about deck framing!

[Elijah]

Looks great Dave! Doesn't look overdone to me either!

[DocBlake]

 

Thanks Elijah!  Glad you looked in!

 

As you can see in the above post, the beams have a rabbet on the ends that sits on the shelf that is the upper surface of the clamps. It's important to get the depth right and consistent on all 4 beams so the framing/decking sits flat, with no high spots or low spots. It's also critical that the beams fit between the clamps with no side-to-side play so that the centerline of each beam stays truly at the centerline. All the mortises for the carlings, ledges arm beams etc. are referenced off the centerlines of the beams. It took me well over 2 hours to custom fit the 4 lower deck beams! I think it will pay off during the remaining deck framing.

I wanted to say that some might be tempted to use beams with no camber, creating a flat deck. If you have access to a scroll saw, by all means try cutting the camber on it. It was much easier than I expected, and it cleaned up quickly with sanding blocks. Just leave a "sliver" of white paper around the pattern to allow for the sanding.

You can see a difference in the color of the model due to lighting. The photo below was taken in my basement shop, equipped for full sized woodworking and has all florescent lighting with halogen work lights in some places.

 

Note the mast step in place.  I also plan to leave off the limber boards inside the well to accommodate the pumps.  Even though this detail won't be visible, I know it's there, and that was how it was on the real ship

Edited April 10, 2019 by DocBlake

[DocBlake]

The well and shot locker have a close relationship to the two middle lower deck beams, so it's important to fit those beams first.  The well just barely fits under the beams, and there are two pillars, one inside the well, and the second passing through the shot locker between the locker lids.  Once the beams were fit, I started work on the well.

 

  The wood is swiss pear. I did opt for an access door which was framed in. The door measure 32" wide by 56" high in scale. I still need to add an additional coat of poly, then remove the sheen from the black hardware using Dull-Cote lacquer. The well and locker fit perfectly under the deck beams. I also need to make accommodation for the support column that passes through the shot locker between the scuttles and against the well wall.

[MEDDO]

 Very nice and clean work 

[David Lester]

That looks amazing! And the Swiss pear is such beautiful wood too.

David

[DocBlake]

Thanks, guys!

 

The well and shot locker are modified from Mike's plans which were modified from Goodwin's drawing in his book.  This build was not going to be 100% historically accurate!

[DocBlake]

 All the lower deck beams have been fitted into place and trimmed to size. I laid out and then cut out the mortises for the carlings. The lodging knees and arm beams were cut out and mortises made for the ledges. The hanging knees will be custom made as the deck is installed. The next task is to cut out the carlings. All the parts are swiss pear.

[DocBlake]

  I started construction of the lower deck with beam #2. I made the arm beams a little thicker than necessary to allow for the camber of the deck. Because they are so long, stretching from the center of the beam to the clamps, they have to have some camber, and can't be flat. I'll sand that camber in when the deck is fully installed. I started adding carlings and ledges, and shaped the hanging knees for this part of the deck. For the sake of simplicity, I made the ledges just as thick as the carlings so I didn't have to cut those half-mortises in the carlings.
The spots of green tape mark the location of the "legs" of the well and shot locker.  Tryinmg to keep the poly off those areas so glue will stick properly.

[G.L.]

Very nice joinery on the deck beam arms, Dave.

[donrobinson]

Superb work Dave

[FriedClams]

Very nice work on this cross section Dave!  You have some seriously great skills with the scroll saw and the egg trick is one to remember.  I look forward to your future posts.

 

Gary

[DocBlake]

Thanks, guys!

 

In deciding how to construct the lower deck, I decided to fit and install the beams first and then fit the carlings and ledges after. The first step was to glue the lodging knees and hanging knees in place and frame in the space between the arm beams and beam 2. I then applied poly to the under surfaces and sides of the parts. One more coat and I'll glue them in place.
 

[DocBlake]

  Beam 1 and 2 are glued in place. Before I can go any further, I need to glue the well and shot locker in place. The support column for beam 2 passes through the shot locker directly aft of the aft wall of the well. A weird design, for sure. Here's how I simulated it. I just turned a partial column, drilled a hole in the shot locker that fit the shaft, and glued the partial column in place.

 

[DocBlake]

Here's how it looks sitting in place. The blank with the two other visible columns is in the foreground. 

[DocBlake]

Except for the mast partners the lower deck framing is complete. I wiped it down with mineral spirits to give you an idea of how the finished product will look. I'm planning holly for the decking and bloodwood for the spirketing. The hatch coamings will be bloodwood and the grating boxwood. Next is the waterways and spirketing, then the chain pumps and hatches.
 

[G.L.]

beautiful work.

[usedtosail]

I just found this log Doc and this is another beautiful model of yours taking shape. It has also gotten me thinking of doing a scratch cross section. I am about to fully retire so I will have the time. I don't have the skills yet, so I don't want to tackle a full hull yet. This looks like a good way to start, though. Thanks for the inspiration.

[DocBlake]

Thanks, guys!  

 

Good luck in retirement!

[DocBlake]

I had some discussions about the construction of the chain pumps.  Some wanted the pump housing and pump dales (the conduit for water from the cistern to the outside of the ship) painted black.  This would suggest they were made of metal.  Goodwin's book pretty much concedes the pump housing etc. were made of wood...elm specifically. I decided to build the pumps out of boxwood. I cut a blank to shape, added the boxwood supports and planked it with boxwood. The wheel covers were cut from some 5/8" dowel and sanded flat to create the half-cylinder shape. These were then planked with 1/16" thick boxwood. 
I was going to add black treenails to simulate bolts holding the structure together, but I realized that the holes would only be about 1/32" diameter (1" in scale). At this size it wasn't really worth it. I just drilled holes for the bolt locations and darkened the holes with a lead pencil. I didn't bother to simulate bolts on the slats on the wheel  
As mentioned, in the AOTS book, the cistern and sprocket wheel covers were clearly made of wood - the legend specifies they were elm. I don't think it would be wrong to leave the chain pumps and pump dales natural wood color. I may add some reinforcement banding to the dales for visual interest, but they weren't subject to a lot of internal pressure as elm tree pumps would have been, so they really weren't needed.

 

 

[hamilton]

Amazing work Dave - love the addition of the access door on the well and the faux pillar through the shot locker - weird design, indeed!

hamilton

[DocBlake]

I finished up the chain pumps, except for the pump dales (conduits for the bilge water to leave the pumps for outside the ship). Once the lower deck central planking is in, I'll fit the dales.
I didn't spend much time super detailing the crank bearings, as they will be only marginally visible under the main deck planking. I did add some trim to the two back cases and 2 return cases at the point where they pass through the lower deck on their way to the bilge in the well. This was done for visual interest, not historical accuracy. As mentioned before, I didn't bother simulating bolts in the wooden slats that form the wheel covers. The four cases under the reservoirs extend down into the bilge and are the "tracks" in which the actual chain driven mechanism runs.  The outermost ones are SUPPOSED to be at an angle!  😀

[DocBlake]

I planked the central part of the lower deck, leaving openings for the hatches and cutting out the mast hole.  I also glued the mast partner ring in place (made of ebony).
After finishing the chain pump housing/cistern, I pinned and glued it to the lower deck in the proper position. 
Next was making the pump dales or bilge water discharge pipes, that lead from the cisterns down to the bulwark at the waterway. I made mockups for the dales out of poplar, and carefully snuck up on the proper angles using my Byrnes sander. After I was satisfied with the fit, I transferred the dimensions and angles to the boxwood stock I milled for the finished dales. I glued small pieces of veneer dyed black to each end of each dale to simulate reinforcing iron bands. These weren't needed, historically, but I added them for visual interest anyway!
My last task was to finish up the hatch coamings and grating. Busy few days!

 

[DocBlake]

 
I glued the hatches and the dales in place. I also made two mast wedge rings out of ebony, and glued one in place. The waterways and inboard planking (spirketing) are also installed and treenailed.  The stub mast isn't glued down. The crank handles will be fitted when the bitts are added a little later. There is one coat of poly on the model.

Edited June 2, 2019 by DocBlake

[md1400cs]

Dave,

 

Just catching up - as always very inspiring work. Looks awesome