Rattlesnake by JSGerson - FINISHED - Mamoli - 1:64 - Using Robert Hunt’s practicum

[JSGerson]

It was time to create the binnacle legs and they were fragile. Using the Byrnes table saw cuts were made in the bottom box. However in the process of removing the excess wood, I broke two of the legs. 

 

[JSGerson]

Looking at the Hahn’s plans and the photo of Hahn’s model (which I believe you need approval to print, which I don’t have) the legs are supported with some corner pieces. So I carved some with some needle files. Additionally I added the little black chimney on top. A little bit of stain and it worked out fine. This won’t be installed on the model until latter due to its delicate nature. As it turned out, you really can’t look into the binnacle window to see the interior, but I know it’s there.

[JSGerson]

Fore Brace Bitts

The fore brace bit in contrast to the binnacle is quite simple – three piece of wood notched and glued together.

[JSGerson]

Quarterdeck Fore Rail

The fore rails at the forward edge of the quarterdeck are made from seven 3/32" square swiss pear stanchions and the top is made from 1/32" x 1/8" stock stained black. Mr. Hunt stated in the Practicum that he later realized that this dimension of stock was not figured into the wood package. After verifying that my wood package did not contain the specified wood stock, I informed HobbyMills so that hopefully future packages would contain it. Why this was not brought to HobbyMills’ attention earlier is anyone’s guess.

 

The Practicum went on to state that the shapes could be easily created from 1/32" x 1/4" boxwood and 3/32" x 1/4" swiss pear trimmed down from stock. 14 pieces of 3/32" square swiss pear stock were cut to a length. They were shaped into the truncated 4-sided pyramid stanchions. Pins were inserted and glued into the bottom of each stanchion for added strength when attached to the deck. Seven of these pieces were aside for future use for the forecastle rails.

[JSGerson]

At this point, it seems to me it would have been the perfect opportunity to create the belay pin holes in the rail. Why the Practicum does not do this is a mystery at this point. I did not realize the rail had the belay pins until I looked over the plans that came with the kit. I was paying too much attention to them since I wasn’t following them.

 

Marching along oblivious to the miss opportunity, masking tape was used to lay out a straight line on the quarterdeck and the seven stanchion position marked. The stanchions were then put into position.

[JSGerson]

The Practicum called for the rail to be 2 1/8” in length but based on Hahn’s deck plan,  and verified on my model, I found that the length should be 1 15/16”. Notches were then cut into the aft side of the rail one by one verifying each position in turn and finally glued into place.

[JSGerson]

Fixed Gangways

Coming off of the quarterdeck is a small deck on each side called a gangway. The gangway was a permanent structure and was slightly lower than the quarterdeck itself. In some models I have seen, the gangway is extended from the quarterdeck to the foredeck. The Mamoli kit does this and I believe the Model Shipways does as well. The Hahn model does not. If the HobbyMills wood package continues to be true to the Practicum (which for the most part it is) then there is probable not enough Holly planking for extended gangplanks if I decided to add them. Hey, this is my first wooden three masted sailing ship, I’m not ready to wing a large model design change so I’ll stick to the Practicum…for the most part.

 

There are two stanchions on each gangplank, a lower and an upper; both are fancy pieces of stock that would typically be turned on a lathe, albeit a very tiny lathe. These however, were carved by hand and were relatively easy to do. Following the instructions of the Practicum I think the lower stanchions worked out pretty good.

[JSGerson]

Building the gangplank support looked pretty simple in the Practicum, but it gave me fits in practice. First there is a piece of 1/32” x 3/32” boxwood that goes across the quarterdeck from one deck clamp to the other. It appears that Mr. Hunt placed it on top of the quarterdeck at the forward edge. As I interpreted Mr. Hahn’s plans this piece is the edge piece. So instead of placing on the deck, I placed it on the edge of the deck. But just to fancy it up a bit, before I glued it into place, I cut a fine 1/64” deep groove with the Brynes saw with my thinnest blade. Then I gave the groove a slight V-profile using a V-needle file. The piece was then given a curve to match the deck. The gangplank was supported on the outer edge by the deck clamp and on the inner edge by a stanchion. A beam ran between this stanchion and the deck clamp and another piece was attached to the first quarterdeck beam to form a ledge for the planking to sit on.

 

Note: I believe there is a typo in the Practicum. On page 73 just under the picture P8.1.11-8, the Practicum calls for 1/32” x 1/32” boxwood for the quarterdeck ledge. First 1/32” x 1/32” boxwood is not supplied with the wood package and second 1/32” x 3/32” boxwood works much better.

 

A piece of 1/32” x 3/32” boxwood of proper length was glued to the top of each stanchion and then placed and glued into position. Finding that position took a bit of trial and error. Everything had to line up.

[JSGerson]

Before I added the planks, the edge of the bulwarks had to be finished so that the rails by the gangplanks could be installed. A piece of swiss pear wood was installed in the end of the bulwark to provide the finished look. The planking was then installed. After the pictures below were taken, removed them and replaced them with a wider piece.

[JSGerson]

At this point the Practicum gets a little confusing. There is a decorative hance that needs to be made for each side and installed that provides the transition from the quarterdeck rail to the waist rail. The problem is that the images in the Practicum show the hance on top on the waist rail which at this point hasn’t been installed yet and it won’t be for another 39 pages of the Practicum. Also note that the referenced photo of the hance on page 75, 2^nd paragraph has a typo. Instead of P8.1.11-17, it should be of P8.1.11-16. This will be tackled at that point.

 

The outer rails were then installed.

[JSGerson]

The upper stanchions are the same but different. Instead of boxwood, they are made of swiss pear. The Practicum calls for 3/32” square stock which is not supplied in the wood package (I have informed HobbyMills so hopefully if you purchase the wood package now, it will be supplied.) so I cut down 1/8” square swiss pear to 3/32” square with the Brynes saw.

 

Now it appears to me that the Practicum goes total bogus when describing how to create the upper stanchions. The dimensions provided bear no relationship to the final product. Here is a crude schematic (not to scale) representation of what I did.

 

[JSGerson]

The construction process however is the same as before including the pin the bottom of the stanchion to help affix it to the gangplank.

[JSGerson]

There is a curve handrail from the upper stanchion to the quarterdeck fore rail. Using a copy of the rails from the Hahn’s deck plans to make a template, it was rubber cemented to 1/32” x 5/32” swiss pear. The Practicum however called for 1/32” x 3/32”. I couldn’t see how that would work. If may be as a result the dimension change I made when constructing the quarterdeck fore rail. The pieces were then cut out, trimmed and fitted. The upper surface of the handrail hand the upper edge rounded over while the bottom was kept flat.

[JSGerson]

Well there it is. This build log covers the time span from October 2010 to the present, June 16, 2013 and is now up to date with my build progress. Obviously all future entries will be at a much slower pace.

 

The next step is constructing the gangplank ladders.

[ZyXuz]

superb detail! 

great workmanship!

I hope I can have your skill

[JSGerson]

All it takes is a little practice and patience. Oh yes, it helps to be little crazy.

[ZyXuz]

yea, haha..

Anyway, this kit is in real detail... I tot cannon beneath the deck will be just using false barrel, and OMG they are even rigged

really great job, GS

[JSGerson]

The gangplank ladders were constructed from 1/16" x 3/16"boxwood with 1/32" x 1/4" steps. The angle and width of the ladder was left up to the builder. The only criteria was that the ladder have 5 steps. Up to this point, I've constructed two ladders with limited success, but that was OK. They were mostly hidden once installed. These are out in the open. Once more I attempted to cut the 1/32" (depth & width) step grooves with the Brynes saw. I did a bit better, not perfect, but better. The problem is the pieces being cut are so small, the Miter Extension doesn't get close enough to the blade so I have to extend the extension with a piece of wood.

Edited April 5, 2014 by JSGerson

[JSGerson]

Getting a firm grip on the small pieces is tricky if you want to keep your fingers intact. Anyway, these ladders work.

Edited April 5, 2014 by JSGerson

[JSGerson]

For all intents and purposes, the Quarterdeck is complete...at least for now.

Edited April 5, 2014 by JSGerson

[JSGerson]

Forecastle Deck Beams

The forecastle deck beams were made almost exactly the same way as the quarterdeck beams. The only difference was that two of the beams had thicker widths than the rest. The thin beams (like the quarterdeck) were made of 1/16” x 5/32” and the thicker ones 3/32” x 5/32” boxwood.

Edited April 5, 2014 by JSGerson

[JSGerson]

Again the vertical thickness at the ends was 1/16” thickening out at the center to 5/64”. The picture below shows the two wider beams

 

Edited April 5, 2014 by JSGerson

[JSGerson]

Once dry fitted, sanded, and finished with Wipe-on Poly, they were installed.

 

Edited April 5, 2014 by JSGerson

[cpt. Tom]

I like your Rattlesnake it is a beautiful ship and you built it very well

[runner63]

Beautiful work sir, an excellent build.

 

runner63

[Martin W]

Hi there JSGerson -- It's great to see another Rattlesnake builder!!!  I, too, am working through Bob Hun'ts practicum, and so recognize many of the problems you encountered.  In fact, some of them made me think that there are plenty of errors in the practicum (e.g.  I found the exact same misalignment with the rudder).  The several problems with the wood were also there for me -- I've been asking myself for years now how I managed to use up the wood I need for one detail for something else.  And when you say the practicum goes "total bogus," well, yup, I know that experience.  In fact, once I got going on the rigging, I pretty much figured out that Bob cuts every corner there that he can -- he turns away from Hahn's plan altogether and relies on the Mamoli drawing.  That's when I decided to go off on my own:  I bought the MS plans, which are the clearest for the rigging, and am consulting the usual other sources -- Antscherl, Lees, Petersen.  (I started a log on my rigging some months ago, and haven't been very good at keeping it up.  But I am going to get back to it very soon, I promise.)

 

As for those ladders - ai yi yi, the headache they gave me!!!  But I got an enormous bit of help from Alan Yedlinsky, who wrote one of the books for Seawatch -- he sent me the info on building a jig that lines up the grooves in the side parts of the stairs (can't remember what they're called), and bing bang boom, it all worked fabulously.

 

This log is especially good, because it traces all the steps of the practicum, pointing out the warts (what, typos in Bob Hunt's practicum?  what about the video link for seizing line where his hand move completely out of the frame?) as well as your own struggles.  This will be a resource that plenty of folks consult.

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

[JSGerson]

As for those ladders - ai yi yi, the headache they gave me!!!  But I got an enormous bit of help from Alan Yedlinsky, who wrote one of the books for Seawatch -- he sent me the info on building a jig that lines up the grooves in the side parts of the stairs (can't remember what they're called), and bing bang boom, it all worked fabulously.

Any chance you could pass on to the rest of us those plans for the ladder jig? I'm sure a lot of other people are or will have the same problems too.

 

To be fair, I couldn't have done as much as I did without Bob's instructions. They may not be perfect but they are quite detailed for the most part and a whole lot easier to follow than the Mamoli plans. Also, I've have no complaint with HobbyMill's service or products. In fact Jeff Hayes of HobbyMills bent over backwards to make things right.

 

But you are right about the rigging. If you look at the actual model that Bob Hunt made, it has no masts or rigging. He did mention somewhere in the Practicum that he was building four model at once while writing the Rattlesnake practicum, so OK, he cut some corners and I'll cut him a little slack. The rigging is a chapter and a quarter away so I just might look into your foot steps to purchase the MS plans. 

[RiverRat]

JS and Martin,

 

I think your rudder fit problems were caused by chopping off a hunk of the stern per the practicum! I had looked at the sample chapter of the practicum and was puzzled by where he placed those birch beech transom blocks, He butts them right up against the bulkhead behind it. Seems almost logical, but they should be placed all the way out to the kits stern to form the counter. I would guess the builder needs to fill in behind these back to the last bulkhead. Typically not crystal clear in Mamoli's drawings. See the third pic of my first post for dry-fit taped-together position. In my bashing, I made some "frames" for the counter, instead of using the blocks, to get the cabin area fuller, rather than hogging out the blocks, but the profile was maintained.

 

Brian

 

Edit: My rudder post fits fine, No problemo

Edited June 24, 2013 by RiverRat

[JSGerson]

Shhh! If I don't tell the average viewer of the model, they won't know!

[Martin W]

Hi guys -- I think your explanation is right on the money, Brian, and I wish I'd read it back in '08 when I was putting the transom blocks in without the foresight of how they'd affect everything else.

 

And JSGerson, I too have learned loads from Bob's practicum, more than I can say (the Ratt is only my 2nd build).  In looking just now through the journal I've kept on this build (I was looking for Allan Yedlinsky's instructions for the stairs), I came across several comments of frustration over Bob's waning interest in the project -- the farther along he goes the less guidance he offers.

 

As for Jeff Hayes, well I think it's pretty much unanimous that he's a true blue, diamond guy who can always be counted on. 

 

Ok, down to brass tacks:  Here's the email Allan Yedlinsky sent me (I don't think he'll mind if I copy it -- and I'd encourage you to buy his book on the Euryalus, where he includes photos of the jig; I found that this worked brilliantly -- the difference between the Before-jig stairs and After-jig stairs is roughly that between ugly and GOOOOOD LOOKING):

 

 

In general, the stiles are 1.5" to 2" thick and the treads are 1" to 1 1/2"thick for most ladders.  To make ladders with different size treds requires multiple sleds.  I used a single pass with a blade with a 0.020" kerf as this is 1" at 1/4" scale.  I used a single pass with a blade that has a kerf of 0.028" for ladders with thicker treads.   These are stock size blades, but the 0.028  is a couple thousandths smaller than it should be for 1 1/2".  I doubt anyone will notice the few thousandths difference.  The wire guide can still be 0.020 for both tread sizes but you need to remember to seat the stile fully against the wire so the distance between each slot is always the same.  If this is not done you could enough have a variation on the distance between treads.  (see attached cross section sketch)

 

If you are building at a large or smaller scale, I would use a blade with a kerf that is a close as possible to the thickness you need.  Granted some larger ladders may have had thicker treads than 1.5" but we have found no concrete info in Lavery, Steel, Longridgeor other commonly found reference books.  Antscherl gives a 1" tread thickness dimension for the lower ladders but does not give a dimension for the upper ladders.  He does have a scale sketch in which the treads appear to be about 2" thick, same as the thickness of the stiles on the upper ladders.

 

If you need to make a double pass, I would do it using two sleds.  The second sled would have a larger guide wire than the first and the spacing of the wire to the blade would be larger by the difference of the saw blade thickness. 

 

If you do not have the micro table saw, Longridge give a good description on cutting these by hand on page 98 of The Anatomy of Nelson's Ships.

 

Cheers,

 

Martin