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

[druxey]

Nice detail, Dan. However, the coat is nailed to the rudder upside down/inside out, then inverted to form a kind of loose bag up around the rudder head into the helm port opening. This gives room for movement of the rudder. You might want to consider that for absolute authenticity.

[garyshipwright]

Well I did find a picture of how the coat fit around the rudder head Danny but do believe that druxey has already beat me in explaining it.;o) If you look in Vol 2 of David A book you will see it on page 289. Gary

[Dan Vadas]

Thanks Randy, Robbyn, Druxey, Gary and Janos.

 

Nice detail, Dan. However, the coat is nailed to the rudder upside down/inside out, then inverted to form a kind of loose bag up around the rudder head into the helm port opening. This gives room for movement of the rudder. You might want to consider that for absolute authenticity.

 

The pics probably don't show it as it really is - a "loose bag" . I didn't attempt to do the "inside-out, upside-down" bit - that went into the "too hard" basket   .

 

  Danny

[Trussben]

Another awesome detail that you dont often see, thanks for going the extra mile Danny, Inspiring.

 

ben

[riverboat]

It would be hard pressed for anyone, near or at your caliber, to offer any words of  constructive wisdom to your skills. Your work is just outstanding. Thanks for your build logs Danny.

frank

[mischief]

Danny,

 

Just one word.............WOW

 

Mischief

[Dan Vadas]

Thanks very much for the kind words Ben, Frank and Mischief .

 

Forward Athwartships Aft Cabin Bulkhead

 

Now that the lower portion of the rudder is all completed work starts again on the deck. The first things to make are the athwartships Aft Cabin Bulkheads which seperate the Captain's sleeping quarters, the Coach and the Great Cabin from each other as well as the rest of the Upper Deck.

 

These were all "temporary" bulkheads which could be quickly removed when the ship came into action. They are held in place with Cants which were pinned to the deck and under the Quarterdeck beams.

 

The bulkheads and doors were all panelled, so I thicknessed some Castello and Holly to 0.5mm thick. Each panel was marked out using card templates, and cut to shape with the scroll saw. The cutouts in the Castello were done with a sharp Xacto knife, and the inner portions were bevelled to 45 degrees with a needle file. Three pieces were needed for each section, with the Holly sandwiched between two Castello panels :

 

 

 

I made a "holding jig" to make filing the bevels easier :

 

 

  Danny

[Dan Vadas]

Aft Bulkhead Doors

 

The bulkhead doors were made in similar fashion to the solid panels. A section at the top of each door was cut out of the Holly insert a little larger than the hole in the outer panels. A piece of acrylic was placed into this cutout, and the three pieces were glued together. I placed each assembly under a sheet of glass and held it down with a brass weight until they dried - this prevented any warping :

 

 

Thin pieces (0.5mm x 0.3mm) were added to each side of the door for the munions in each pane :

 

 

  Danny

[gjdale]

Nice work Danny. The panels look great.

[Michiel]

great work.

[mtaylor]

Nice technique for doing the doors and bulkheads.  And nice work on doing them. 

[Jim Lad]

Very nicely worked panels, Danny!

 

John

[RiverRat]

Aft Cabin Bulkheads (athwartships)

 

These were all "temporary" bulkheads which could be quickly removed when the ship came into action. They are held in place with Cants which were pinned to the deck and under the Quarterdeck beams.

 

Hi Dan,

I had long been curious how these bulkheads were secured and removed. Have any pictures of these "Cants"? Or if your log shows them later, I'd be happy to wait!

 

Brian

[Dan Vadas]

Thank you Grant, Michiel, Mark, John and Brian.

 

I've (almost) finished the Forward Aft Bulkhead - only the hinges and locks to go. I spot-glued the upper cant to the underside of a spare quarterdeck beam and glued the three solid sections and four doors to the cant and each other :

 

 

Two pics of the assembly dry-fitted - very little modification was needed :

 

 

A closeup of one of the Cants for Brian. These are 3" square battens with a rounded top-outer edge. The sections of cant in the door openings will be cut out later :

 

 

  Danny

[dvm27]

The bulkhead looks excellent, Danny!

[Jim Lad]

Very nicely fitted, Danny, but would the doors have had glass panels, or did you do that for effect?

 

John

[AnobiumPunctatum]

Really wonderful, Dan. I like the combination of the choosen timbers. Is it box and holly?

[rdsaplala]

Splendid work on the rudder, gudgeons, pintels and other associated fittings Dan, that's a lot of details you've done there

 

Excellent work on the bulkhead, doors and panels Sir, you must have nerves of steel to scroll saw those intricate curves so precisely

Any particular tip on how to keep the scroll saw blade "in line" with the cutting line (besides practice and more practice?)  Mine seems to have a mind of its own and always loves to stray away from the cutting line

[Alex M]

Hi Dan,

 

very fine bulkheads! Wery crisp and precise work, I also like the color dofference of wood!

 

Alex

[Jeff-E]

Hi Danny,

 

She is  looking beautiful, your work as aalways is of a very high standard

[allanyed]

Hi Dan,

The bulkheads that you have made are extremely nice work.  The details are terrific and brought a point to mind that I had not thought about before.

 

Did the battens run the full length and the doors a tad short so they cleared the battens, or were the battens cut at the point where the doors swung?  I cannot find anything in contemporary text or drawings that gives a firm answer.  I have only seen one paragraph in any publication, that being in Lavery's Arming and Fitting that says that the screen bulkheads had cants "to be fitted in three parts, thus leaving space for the two doors which adorned each bulkhead and they were to be removeable....." 

 

Thanks again for doing taking so much time in photographing  your build.

Allan

[druxey]

My own take is that the cants did not cross the doorways, but I could be wrong. Nice going, Dan!

[RiverRat]

Dan,

With Allan's additional cant question.....

What were the pins like that secured them, what were they made of, and how were they configured that they could be removed (and presumedly inserted/re-used). Sorry if this is nit-picking, but it really does interest me.....

 

Brian

[BANYAN]

Nice work on that bulkhead Dan, the doors and screens look great!

 

cheers

 

Pat

[lagrayjr]

Danny, it looks like you used the TFFM plans to line up the forward bulkhead which is different from the NMM plans. As you know the alignment  of the upper deck and quarterdeck beams do not match on the two framing plans. I am planning to do the same thing. Is this correct? Laman

[SkerryAmp]

Danny that is some absolutely amazing work. All I can say is wow, and thanks for sharing this.

 

 

Really spectacular.

 

 

-Adam

[Dan Vadas]

Thank you once again Greg, John, Christian, Aldo, Alex, Jeff, Allan, Druxey, Brian, Pat, BrianC, Laman, Adam and Janos. A lot of lookers since I last posted .

 

would the doors have had glass panels, or did you do that for effect?

 

I can't give you a definitive answer John, but David Antscherl mentions that they MAY have been glazed so I went with that.

 

Is it box and holly?

 

Yes it is Christian.

 

you must have nerves of steel to scroll saw those intricate curves so precisely Any particular tip on how to keep the scroll saw blade "in line" with the cutting line (besides practice and more practice?)

 

Actually Aldo, I only used the scroll saw to "rough" the panels out to within 0.5 of a millimetre or so. Most of the finishing work was done with the Byrnes disc sander (straight sections) and a sanding stick to get it right on the mark. The internal cuts were all done with an Xacto knife and a needle file for the bevels.

 

Did the battens run the full length and the doors a tad short so they cleared the battens, or were the battens cut at the point where the doors swung?

 

Allan, I'm with Druxey on this one - I'm cutting the cants (battens) out of the doorways. My reasoning is that they would create a trip hazard otherwise.

 

What were the pins like that secured them, what were they made of, and how were they configured that they could be removed (and presumedly inserted/re-used).

 

 I have no idea - and I'm not going to put the pins in for that reason. Until this model I didn't even know about the cants (and a lot of other bits either ).

 

it looks like you used the TFFM plans to line up the forward bulkhead which is different from the NMM plans. As you know the alignment  of the upper deck and quarterdeck beams do not match on the two framing plans. I am planning to do the same thing. Is this correct?

 

Laman, the forward bulkhead on Vulture actually DOES line up with the TFFM plans (I think, and HOPE   ). I haven't installed the Forecastle Deck beam above it yet (there are still three more to fit).

 

  Danny

[Dan Vadas]

Aft Athwartships Aft Cabin Bulkhead

 

This bulkhead was made in similar fashion to the preceding one. The only differences are in the height and width, with the outer panels significantly narrower due to the width of the hull at that point. The doors and central panel are the same sizes as the forward bulkhead (camera distortion makes them look different to each other) :

 

 

  Danny

[Jim Lad]

Ho, hum, just another bulkhead!

 

Sorry, Danny, but you make it look so easy to come up with that beautiful wotk.

 

John

[Dan Vadas]

Ho, hum, just another bulkhead!

 

Sorry, Danny, but you make it look so easy to come up with that beautiful wotk.

 

John

 

Not done with yet John - there are still the hinges and doorknobs to go . And I still haven't put any lacquer on either.

 

  Danny