HMS Vulture 1776 by Dan Vadas - FINISHED - 1:48 scale - 16-gun Swan-class sloop from TFFM plans

[Dan Vadas]

Thanks for the comments on the jigs Remco, Mark, dragzz, Doris, John and Pat. I'd toyed with the idea of using the Mill, but after cutting the first swivel mount in a couple of minutes I figured the jig would work quicker .

 

I've now temporarily glued all the Port side mounts in place and sanded the Sheer into them. Now I'll fit the Starboard ones and sand them horizontally athwartships.

 

 

 

  Danny

[clloyd]

Lovely danny.

They look good in place too

The V groove takes a lot of effort out of making octagonals!

 

Colin

Edited February 24, 2014 by clloyd

[egkb]

Hi Danny, would it be too much of a pain to explain a little your Jig for the Octagonals  (I have a few coming up down the line and would love to see your approach, as it seems so simple I feel I must be missing something  )  

 

Thanks Mate

 

Eamonn

[Dan Vadas]

Hi Danny, would it be too much of a pain to explain a little your Jig for the Octagonals  (I have a few coming up down the line and would love to see your approach, as it seems so simple I feel I must be missing something  )  

 

Thanks Mate

 

Eamonn

 

No problem Eamonn. The pics below almost explain themselves. I used my table saw to cut the V groove, first the two outer cuts to depth, then a cut down the middle for the bottom of the V, and then some decreasing cuts either side to remove the bulk of the wood. I finished it off with a V gouge - it looks a bit rough, but it holds the piece quite firmly. I used my fingers to hold the piece down whilst sanding - holding and shaping them is easier done before cutting the piece to length off the long stock.

 

The stopper glued to one end helps keep the stock at the correct distance from the end - I simply marked the jig with a pencil at the point where I had to stop sanding. If all your pieces are the same length you could glue a piece of scrap across the V at the mark to avoid going over it.

 

 

 

I start off by sanding down one corner until the sanding stick just touches the top of the jig, then turn it 90 degrees and sand down the second corner and so on.

 

 

 

Setting the height was a bit of trial and error, but you could probably calculate and measure the amount of depth required.

 

If you have quite a few pieces to shape you could CA a couple of strips of an old hacksaw blade or flat steel either side of the V groove to avoid sanding the top of the jig too low - I only had 16 pieces to shape so I didn't bother, but the last three or four needed careful work because I DID sand some off the jig. You can see that in the second pic above.

 

  Danny

[egkb]

Thanks Danny you are a Star ! that will come in well handy for some Mast and Bow-Sprit shaping later.

 

Your Vulture is a Peach by the way !  and a fab lesson in technique too.

 

Eamonn

[Jim Lad]

Really coming together, Danny!  Can't wait for the next update!

 

John.

[popeye the sailor]

nice method......definitely one to keep in mind 

[Maury S]

Danny, Another great jig idea.  To get the 4-square piece to an equally-sided 8 side piece, you could mark the face of each piece using a 7 -10 - 7 fan and a tick-strip as described by David Antscherl and others.  Then just chisel or sand to the line while held in the jig. 

Maury

[maurino]

Congratulations Danny, you're building a wonderful model!

 
Mauro

[Dan Vadas]

Thanks for the compliments Eamonn, Janos, John, Popeye, Maury and Maurino.

 

Janos - yes the darker wood for the handrails is Swiss Pear

 

Maury, I've used the 7 - 10 method for other octagons, but the jig makes it a lot easier as I don't have to keep a careful eye on the lines .

 

Back to work - the Swivel Gun Mounts have a re-enforcing strap to hold the base of the swivel mounts. These are bolted through the timber mounts on the real ship, but I've omitted this detail as the bolt heads would be almost too tiny to see on the model. There is supposed to be an octagonal band around the top as well, but once again I'm not fitting that - I had several attempts at making them using various methods, but none looked satisfactory.

 

 

 

All the Mounts are now permanently fitted. The Swivel Guns themselves won't be fitted until almost at the end of the build.

 

 

 

  Danny

[Jim Lad]

Great stuff, Danny!  Is the stern next?

 

John

[dgbot]

Dan you are a wonder.  I leave you for about a week and you still amaze me.  Great Work

David B

[redeye]

Truly inspirational! I've followed this log for a while and it just gets better and better. Thanks for all the great tips and techniques you've shared.

[Erebus and Terror]

Beautiful, beautiful work....

[mhegazi]

Great work Dan , great work . 

[scratch]

Lovely work Danny . So precise . I have now received my swan books for the TFFM . Just trying to decide which swan class to build .

 

 

 

David

[Dan Vadas]

Great stuff, Danny!  Is the stern next?

 

John

 

Not quite John - I still have a few "odds and ends" to do on the decks before I start that next major project.

 

Thank you to David, Alan, E&T, mhegazi and David .

 

I've been unable to do very much on Vulture lately - for those of you who don't already know and are wondering why, the explanation is HERE. Please leave any comments in that thread as I don't want to clutter the build log with too many "off topic" posts. Thanks again to all those who have already replied to it.

 

I hope to be back here as soon as I possibly can.

 

  Danny

[Dan Vadas]

Hi all,

 

I've managed to get a little bit done - the following would normally have taken me about half a day, instead I've spent nearly three days on these pieces. At least I can still do SOMETHING .

 

Fore Jeer Bitts

 

The Fore Jeer Bitts on Vulture are similar to the Fore Topsail Sheet Bitts, except they don't continue down to the upper deck. There is no room for Standards on them either as the hatch behind them is wider than most other Swan Class ships :

 

 

I've also made and fitted 22 Eyebolts - 10 around the Foremast, 8 in the bulwarks adjacent to the mast, and 4 in the Breast Beam :

 

 

 

 

  Danny

[popeye the sailor]

do you wish you had done one more row of planking for those eye bolts?   it's good to see your still tool'in in the workshop.  hope you feeling better.

[scratch]

Even the way your feeling Danny you still build quicker then me , and have a neater finish . Love your work .

 

 

David

[edmay]

   Dan, even under stress you are a  true master builder,appreciated by many many at MSW, your positivety will be a blessing. .Edwin.

[gjdale]

Nice to see you back at it Danny, and also still managing to drop in on others logs to give advice (thanks ).

[michael mott]

Yes it is great to see that you are able to get back to the shipyard!

 

Michael

[Dan Vadas]

Thank you all .

 

do you wish you had done one more row of planking for those eye bolts?

 

 

Not really, the eyebolts on the starboard side of the main mast are the same. I had to draw the line as to how many planks I wanted to lay.

 

Dan,

without going back though your build log, can I ask about the clear finish ?

I know you use wipe on poly, but do you buff it between coats with steel wool ?  What's the brand name of the product please ?

 

It's "Minwax" Satin finish, and I don't buff between coats - no need to.

 

  Danny

[DORIS]

This awesome work makes me speechless. My admiration and respect!

Best regards

Doris

[Jim Lad]

Good to see you back in the shop, Danny - every little step you complete is one less to do.

 

John

[patrickmil]

Danny, I've been following your builds since I joined this website and have yet to comment on one of them. Your work is simply immaculate. I'm glad to see some active progress despite the difficulties.

[edmay]

Hi Dan, Soldiering on and fighting back,thats how I had you pegged.Bravo Edwin

[Dan Vadas]

Thanks again Doris, John, Patrick (welcome to my Log) and Edwin .

 

Belfry

 

The Belfry roof is carved from a single piece of English Box :

 

 

 

The two stanchions are dark Swiss Pear and the Headstock is English Box. I turned the bell on the lathe and scratchbuilt the two cleats from brass sheet :

 

 

The belfry assembly fixed in place :

 

 

 

  Danny

[scratch]

Very very nice Danny . I love the woods you have used . Is all the wood from hobby mill ? I know the framing is from the hobbymill but just wondered about the other timbers . Or did you source some from within Australia .


David

Edited March 20, 2014 by scratch