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

[artitec3]

Hi, Danny,

 

what is it you're using to blacken brass?

[Jim Lad]

More delightful joinery, Danny!

 

John

[Dan Vadas]

Thank you John and Raphael - in answer to your question I use "Birchwood-Casey Brass Black".

 

Capstan Step

 

The upper Capstan Step is made in similar fashion to it's lower counterpart. Three pieces of Boxwood were jointed together using rebates :

 

 

The step was then sanded down into a wedge shape to allow for the sheer of the quarterdeck. This is necessary to ensure the axis of both capstans align vertically :

 

 

The hole for the capstan shaft was also drilled, slightly oversize to allow for alignment. Blackened brass bolts were also added :

 

 

Two views of the fitted step and capstans. Some tidying work is still needed :

 

 

 

  Danny

[Jim Lad]

Danny,

 

I thought about a thou clearance on that hole for the capstan would have been plenty for alignment!

 

John

[druxey]

Spyglass: I think you may be mislead by the fact that some builders paint the black (first) strake above the wale, so that the upper cheek appears to land on the wale: it actually sits on the black strake.

[Dan Vadas]

Druxey, thanks for chiming in on Spyglass's query - I had no idea what he was talking about   . Now I do (I think  ) .

 

John - :D .

 

Forecastle and Quarterdeck Waterways

 

I've made and fitted the 12" wide Forecastle and Quarterdeck Waterways. These are the first steps in planking a deck (or two ). I used card templates to determine the outer shapes, then transferred those to the inner edges, and cut them all from sheet stock :

 

 

The same Scraper used for the previous decks' waterways was employed to shape these. There will be a little more work done to the ends of both later on :

 

 

I've also fitted the King Planks to both decks using a string down the centre line - the same method was used for the previous decks. The King Planks are 6.4mm (12") wide - a measurement and calculation for the remaining 13 deck strakes came up with the figure of 4.3mm maximum width for the Forecastle and 4.45mm for the Quarterdeck. Both decks have tapered planks, and also two Dropped planks each - more about these soon.

 

 

A closeup of the scarf joint in the quarterdeck waterway :

 

 

  Danny

[Jim Lad]

Very nice, Danny!

 

John

[cookster]

Danny, I have been silently watching you build for awhile now.  Awesome work!!

 

A quick question if you don't mind...

When you blacken your brass parts such as nails or bolts, do you blacken before you insert in the wood or after?  I'm wondering if I can insert the brass pin, file/sand it down flush, then blacken it without affecting the color of the surrounding wood?

 

Thanks for your help and again, you have a wonderful build going!!

[Dan Vadas]

Thank you John, Janos and Wes.

 

Janos - read the text above the 2nd pic - SCRAPING .

 

Wes - You can't use the Birchwood-Casey Brass Black after a piece has been inserted in close proximity to wood (such as a nail). It WILL stain the wood, so all blackening must be done prior to fitting. I push the nail/bolt home with a plastic tool to minimize removing the blackening, with varying degrees of success   .

 

If you use Copper instead of Brass, you CAN blacken it with "Liver of Sulfur" without staining the timber. It's not something I've tried personally, as I have found it rather difficult to get any LoS in Australia. Builders like EdT and Remco have had very good success using it however. It's readily available in the USA.

 

  Danny

[mtaylor]

I've just been following along quietly, Danny.  Very impressive work. 

[gjdale]

If you use Copper instead of Brass, you CAN blacken it with "Liver of Sulfur" without staining the timber. It's not something I've tried personally, as I have found it rather difficult to get any LoS in Australia. Builders like EdT and Remco have had very good success using it however. It's readily available in the USA.[/font][/size]

 

Danny,

 

For the benefit of any Aussies wondering, you can order LoS online here:

 

http://www.polymerclay.com.au/xlgel2liverofsulphurextendedlifegel2oz-p-12378.html

 

I have some and it works really well.

[cookster]

Thanks for the info Danny!  I will try some Liver of Sulfer...

[Dan Vadas]

Thanks for that link to the LoS Grant, I'll get some from them.

 

Forecastle and Quarterdeck Planking

 

The Forecastle and Quarterdeck have been planked. Both decks have tapered planks as well as a couple of Dropped planks each. Here are some progress pics :

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At this stage none of the planks have been sanded - these pics were taken just after the last two were glued in. The "caulking" smudges will all sand out evenly. There are one or two very small gaps which will be filled with a sawdust/glue mixture.

 

Treenailing is next.

 

  Danny

[newbuilder101]

_{Beautiful planking! Those top views really show the wonderful contrast of colours of the various woods you have chosen to use....they compliment each other well!}

[texxn5]

Looks great Danny, good to see your progress.

[Jim Lad]

It's about time that deck planking was started, Danny!

 

Looks really good, mate!

 

John

[popeye the sailor]

way above my head............simply beautiful planking Danny!

[Dan Vadas]

Thanks for the kind words Sherry, John, John and Popeye .

 

I've marked and drilled the holes for the treenails on both decks. As most of the planks (apart from the Kingplank) are no wider than 8" they only get one treenail.

 

 

 

  Danny

[gjdale]

Very nice Danny. Keeping up the highest standards as always I see!

[Pygothian]

I'm overwhelmed, and feel pretty inferior right now!

 

Your work is amazing

[amateur]

Wood worms all around...

Luckily they eat with great precision!

 

Jan

[BANYAN]

Nice work Danny, those timber colours compliment each other very nicely

 

Pat

[Jeff-E]

Hi Danny,

 

Just catching up on your log, haven't looked in for a while   you have made wonderful progress and your craftsmanship is excellent.  

 

I will keep a closer eye on your build from now on  

[Richard Griffith]

Gorgeous, just gorgeous.....

 

Duffer

[Trussben]

Sweet Danny, I just ordered my framing package in Pear, I will be starting the TFFM in January and I'm doing Pegasus.

I have started reading and rereading yours and Toni's logs, loads of info to digest and I thank you again for rebuilding your log.

 

Ben

[WackoWolf]

Trussben,

 

     You might want to check "Remco" log. I think it will also be a great help for you.

[Adrieke]

very beatiful planking . but then we dont expect anything less from you Danny

[Erebus and Terror]

Wonderful work. I'm learning a lot just by following.

 

May I ask what is the width of deck planking on the Swan class sloops? You mentioned it is less than 8 inches, but I wonder what is the "average" width?

 

I ask because the width of deck planks on HMS Terror is 7 inches (drawn from archaeological data), and that appears to be unusually small. They were also double fastened, which is also unusual (as you say, less than 8 inches typically received a single spike/treenail), but not for polar vessels.

[druxey]

Deck planking was to be no wider than 10" at that time, I believe.

[Dan Vadas]

Thank you Brian, Grant, Rowan, Jan, Pat, Jeff, Duffer, Ben, Joe, Adrieke and E&T .

 

Wonderful work. I'm learning a lot just by following.

 

May I ask what is the width of deck planking on the Swan class sloops? You mentioned it is less than 8 inches, but I wonder what is the "average" width?

 

I ask because the width of deck planks on HMS Terror is 7 inches (drawn from archaeological data), and that appears to be unusually small. They were also double fastened, which is also unusual (as you say, less than 8 inches typically received a single spike/treenail), but not for polar vessels.

 

As Druxey pointed out the maximum width for most planks for this period was 10". There were a few exceptions such as the King Planks which could be 12" - 13". The Top and Butt Shifted planks for the Upper (Gun) Deck were of course wider than the "normal" planks at their widest point (up to 12"). The Forecastle and Quarterdeck on this ship didn't carry a lot of weight (no guns) and used narrower (and thinner) planks than the lower decks.

 

It sounds feasible that "heavy duty" vessels like those that were intended for Polar Exploration would have been double-fastened for narrower width planks, but I'm no authority on that point.

 

  Danny