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

[Dan Vadas]

Hi Sjors,

 

You came up by your self with that or have you seen it some where?

 

Not me - it was mentioned in TFFM. I hope I got it right   .

 

Hi Mark,

 

I asked about the heat treating since I thought the grinding would cause the bit to lose its temper and not stay sharp.

 

Oh, that bit. I thought you meant the pintle pin. No, it didn't even get warm when I ground it so I didn't bother. It cuts wood just fine, don't know how it would go in metal though.

 

  Danny

[Jim Lad]

Danny,

 

Looks like I'll need to take a drive up the F3 when I need some serious metal working done!

 

John

[druxey]

Nicely done, Dan.

[Padeen]

Well, well, well, I had not even ever thought there could be so much detail on a rudder!   Amazing metal work, Danny!

[Trussben]

Hi Dan,

 

I see you rebated for the spectacle plate as well, wasn't it normally above the water line? Wouldn't affect drag?? Was it done for strength reasons. I will read through TFFM again I think, never saw any mention of that before.

 

Ben

Edited May 3, 2013 by Trussben

[allanyed]

Dan

Sweet!!! 

Metal work can make or break the appearance of any model in my opinion.  Your metal work is looking oh so nice!  Any detailed photos on the how you are doing everything and anything will be most welcome.

Allan

[BANYAN]

Drunk or not Danny, them there spiders would probably produce better ratlin's then me

cheers

 

Pat

[Dan Vadas]

Thanks for looking in again John, Druxey, Adeline, Ben, Allan and Pat.

 

I see you rebated for the spectacle plate as well, wasn't it normally above the water line?

 

Right on the waterline Ben. The way it's been drawn in TFFM leads me to believe it's rebated, though it isn't mentioned in the text.

 

Hi all,

 

There are three Bands around the upper section of the rudder to strengthen it. These were hammered on hot on the real ship and not bolted, although I don't know how they would have done that with the lower one - the rudder is thinner in section at that point than it is at the top. I silver soldered the two top ones and just epoxied the lower one.

 

All the pintles, bands and spectacle plate have been epoxied in place - they will also be "bolted". The epoxy makes a bit of a mess, especially when you make a slip with the toothpick. It's easily cut off after 15 minutes drying time - a lot better than trying to wipe it off when wet ... that makes an even bigger mess   .

 

The hole for the Tiller has also been cut in - this hole tapers from 9" square to 7" square at the aft end - quite a trick to get right. I made the taper on the tiller as well to ensure it will fit later on.

 

 

  Danny

[Dan Vadas]

The final pieces of the rudder itself - I've inserted 52 blackened brass "bolts" into the pintles and also the 19 bolts that go through the main piece and blade to hold them together :

 

 

  Danny

[Jim Lad]

And each one of those bolts is threaded and had to be screwed in!

 

John

[Adrieke]

wow another awesome part finished. wihs you lived up the road from me so you can teach me

[Dan Vadas]

wish you lived up the road from me so you can teach me

 

Depending on which bit of Sydney you live in it's only a bit over an hour's drive Adrieke .

 

  Danny

[lamarvalley]

Spectacular work as usual Danny. Beautiful!

[Shazmira]

Spectacular work as always. I am just so impressed by all the intricacies...lovely ( is that the right word to use when talking about a rudder) to look at, it gives me chills.

[gjdale]

wow another awesome part finished. wihs you lived up the road from me so you can teach me

He DOES live up the road from you Adrieke! And it would be well worth your while to make the pilgrimage to sit at the feet of the Master and to behold Vulture in the flesh. Of course, like any pilgrimage, a small token of appreciation is always in order - and this particular Master is partial to Glenn Fiddich.

 

Seriously though, having had the privilege of visiting Danny earlier this year, I have to say he is a most generous host - easy going, and very happy to share his extensive knowledge. Seeing Vulture in the flesh was a rare treat.

[Adrieke]

North west suburbs near castle hill so from where i am takes about 10 - 15 minutes to get on the F3 Danny

[gjdale]

I can't believe you're not already in the car and on your way Adrieke!     

[trippwj]

Danny -

 

I generally just lurk on your log, but I gotta say, your craftmanship is amazing!  The iron work on the rudder is simply amazing.  Thanks for posting all of this - it is a great learning tool for new builders like myself.

 

back to lurking....

[Adrieke]

I can't believe you're not already in the car and on your way Adrieke!     

 

haha Grant . i do have to consider the rest of my family so i would have to plan a trip like that first.

 

btw with up the road i meant like 5 mins away you have to understand i come from a country where a drive to Danny would mean crossing half the country

[mtaylor]

Danny,

Lovely just doesn't do this justice, IMO...  Fantastic and amazing is closer to what I feel.  Thanks for the education on the rudder.

[Dan Vadas]

Thanks go out to Randy, Robbyn, Grant, Wayne, Adrieke, Mark and Brian - I appreciate your interest and comments .

 

I generally just lurk on your log

 

Good to see you come out of the closet Wayne .

 

North west suburbs near castle hill

 

Can't get much closer than that Adrieke . Make a family day of it and take them to the vineyards afterwards (lots of things for kids to do at Hunter Valley Gardens) and allow 1.5 hours for the trip each way. BTW - my best time from the start of the F3 to Abermain was 38 minutes in an A9X Torana back in my younger (and sillier) days - don't even THINK of trying to do it that quick .... I was doing 250kph in some parts of the freeway   .

 

  Danny

[Dan Vadas]

Gudgeons

 

First I marked out the position and length of each gudgeon on the hull - I used a square to mark out the forward end of each from the sheer plan and then used cardboard strips to work out the actual length of each one from the centre of the sternpost:

 

 

I fabricated the Gudgeons from 1.6mm square brass. I milled it to 1mm on one face, drilled the holes for the bolts and tapered each one to 0.5mm at the forward end. Then I filed a groove and silver soldered a small section of 1mm ID brass tubing into the centre for the eye.

 

Next I cut and bent each piece to shape, holding the rudder in place to align them properly. The aft end of the sternpost needed notching out to bring each forward part of the gudgeon's eye almost flush with the aft end of the post - there should be just a bare minimum of gap between it and the forward edge of the rudder.

 

 

As the gudgeons are fitted to the surface of the planking and not to the frames I fitted four slivers of Castello into the positions of the gudgeons on the unplanked side to bring them to the correct height. I'm hoping this will look OK when everything is glued in place   :

 

 

  Danny

[Jim Lad]

Way to go, Danny!

 

John

[cog]

Danny,

 

Some very beautiful brass work. Did you use the same method as with their counter parts?

[Dan Vadas]

Thank you John and Carl.

 

Did you use the same method as with their counter parts?

 

No, I used 1.6mm square brass for the Gudgeons. The Pintles were wider in section where the pins were fitted so I needed a different method.

 

The Gudgeons have been blackened and fitted, and the rudder shipped. This was quite a tricky job to get everything aligned properly   , but I'm happy with the results.

 

 

I've also fitted a Woodstop - a block of wood that was screwed below the 2nd Pintle to prevent the rudder from accidentally unshipping :

 

To attach the gudgeons to the hull I used very small blackened brass nails - they have a head of only 0.8mm. I bought these from Scale Hardware (I wish I'd remembered I had them before attaching the Pintle Straps ) :

 

 

Note that no finish has been applied to any of this area yet - all those nasty scratches etc will all disappear when I do so.

 

  Danny

[cog]

Danny,

 

What's the Roman numbers about. Haven't seen that on any build before ...

 

Rudder brasswork fitted looks marvelous!

[Jim Lad]

Thanks for the mention of 'Scale Hardware', Danny - that looks a very interesting site!

 

John

[Dan Vadas]

Danny,

 

What's the Roman numbers about. Haven't seen that on any build before ...

 

Rudder brasswork fitted looks marvelous!

 

Carl, those are the Draft (or Draught) Marks - a gauge of how much the ship is loaded.

 

Rudder Coat

 

A feature rarely seen on a model is the Rudder Coat - a tarred canvas that prevents water from entering through the helm port.

 

I made it from 1500 thread per inch Egyptian Cotton, which I colored with diluted Walnut wood stain. This was then PVA glued into place - one face at a time allowing each one to dry before proceeding to the next :

 

 

Wedges were used to hold the upper edges in place while the glue dried. The extra will be trimmed off later :

 

 

  Danny

[lamarvalley]

I just love how accurate you are Danny. Gee whiz, this is fun stuff!

I'm sitting here chuckling and smiling at your inventiveness.

[Shazmira]

Again something for me to be in awe of, dang it Danny you put me to shame! But it is such a joy to watch and learn, I just keep coming back for more punishment lol....I guess I must be a masochist at heart...no, I am a teacher, therefore I never tire of learning something new! My hat off to you again!!!