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

[Dan Vadas]

Aft Platform Rooms

 

These were all built in similar fashion to the forward platform rooms :

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Aft Platform Rooms are :

 

1. Marines Room

2. Captain's Storeroom

3. Magazine

4. Bread Room

5. Magazine Passageway

6. Lightroom

7. Steward's Room

8. Slops Room

 

 

 

[Dan Vadas]

Upper Deck Clamps and Ceiling

 

With the Platform Rooms completed attention now turns to the Upper Deck Clamps. These are similar to the lower deck - they are also worked in Top and Butt fashion :

 

 

 

 

I made an error in measurement at the aft end - I hadn't allowed for the thickness of the deck beams when I marked out the tops of the clamps. This error wasn't discovered for quite a while, but I managed to fix it before any further harm was done.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Ceiling is similar to the Footwaling under the lower deck. There is an Air Space - a 2" gap for ventilation between frames - between the lower clamp and the upper strakes of the ceiling. Spacers are used to maintain the correct gap while the strakes are fitted :

 

 

 

 

 

Another Drop Plank has been cut into the forward end of the ceiling planks :

 

 

[Dan Vadas]

Lower Deck Beam Carling Mortices

 

It's now time to fit the Lower Deck Beams made earlier. First, the mortices need to be cut for the Carlings. To mark them out accurately I used a string line down the centre of the hull and measured outward from it to mark the positions of the mortices :

 

 

 

 

The blade height on the Byrnes saw was set to the depth of the mortices and the fence was set up to cut the left side of the mortice. Then a spacer of the correct thickness was slipped between the end of the timber and the fence to cut the right-hand side :

 

 

 

 

 

The Carlings are 4 1/2" thick whereas the Beams are 6", so instead of chiselling out each one I've cut them all the way through and will fit some "filler pieces" into the bottoms of the cuts to make up the difference. The blanks for these - there are about a hundred of them - were mass-produced on the Byrnes saw to the exact width of the mortice :

 

 

 

 

Once they are glued in and sanded flush the join becomes virtually invisible :

 

 

 

 

[Dan Vadas]

Lodging and Hanging Knees

 

Each Beam is held in place by Knees - the horizontal ones are known as Lodging Knees and the vertical ones are Hanging Knees. They are bolted through the frames and into the beams.

 

The patterns for their shapes were taken from the diagrams in TFFM and modified to suit the actual shape of the hull using card templates.

 

 

 

 

I cheated a bit on the Ledge mortices in the lodging knees by cutting them on a 45 degree angle. The end result looks exactly the same :

 

 

 

 

 

Blackened brass wire was used for the "bolts". These were all cut from 0.5mm wire - they are about 3mm long - and were blackened before being inserted. A small drop of PVA on each one prevents them from falling out :

 

 

 

[Dan Vadas]

Pillars in the Hold

 

The centres of the beams are supported by Pillars. These are 6" square and have their corners chamfered. I made a small jig to ensure I sanded each one accurately :

 

 

 

 

 

[Dan Vadas]

Opposed Knees, Beam Arms and Iron Knees

 

The Lodging Knees forward of the deadflat are on the aft side of the beams, those aft of the deadflat are on the forward side. Where they meet there are two "Opposed" Knees, one passing beneath the other. The lower one was made from extra-thick stock and filed to shape :

 

 

 

 

Two Beam Arms - substantial reinforcements - are fitted adjacent the Main Mast :

 

 

 

 

 

There is an Iron Knee at the aft end end of each beam arm. I made these from brass strip, tapered with a file. To simulate the square-headed bolts used to fasten them I silver soldered small pieces of brass wire to them and filed the heads square. They were then blackened and epoxied into the deck framing :

 

 

 

 

[Dan Vadas]

Lower Deck Beams, Carlings and Ledges

 

The Carlings were morticed for the Ledges in similar fashion to the beams :

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Dan Vadas]

Chain Pump Inlets and Tubes Fitted

 

A template was made from the plans to hold the Chain Pump Tubes in position, and the Inlets were epoxied into the recesses :

 

 

 

 

[Dan Vadas]

Sleepers

 

The Sleepers are two substantial "Knees" that brace the aft frames to the Transoms :

 

 

 

[Dan Vadas]

Lower Deck Waterways and Spirketting

 

A Waterway, or gutter, runs the length of the lower deck. It has a slight inward slope on it's top face. The outer edge is bevelled to fit the angles of the frames where they make contact.

 

I cut these from wide stock, as the lateral bend  needed was rather substantial :

 

 

 

 

 

Scarph joints are used to connect the lengths :

 

 

 

 

 

I have left out a section on the starboard side to show the Opposed Knees and Iron Knee below :

 

 

 

 

The Spirketting sits above the waterway and is worked in Top and Butt fashion :

 

 

 

 

[Dan Vadas]

Riding Bitts - stage 1

 

The Riding Bitts are massive - 13" square - as they are subjected to a lot of forces from the Anchor Cables.

 

Again, I've jumped ahead a bit to enable me to cut the seats for them in the correct positions. I've only done the first stage of them so far.

 

They are made from Australian Cherry Ballart, as are all the other Bitts in the ship. It's a good hardwood with a very nice contrasting color, and was the only suitable timber of sufficient thickness I had on hand at the time :

 

 

 

[Dan Vadas]

Upper Deck Beams

 

The Upper Deck Beams are 9" wide by 7" deep and have a roundup of 6". There are 22 of them in total.

 

I mentioned earlier that I used a different method of cutting the Upper Deck Beams to save on timber wastage and time. Instead of shaping each beam from an oversize blank I cut them all to a slight oversize on my scroll saw, dressed the top face and milled the bottom face as before.
I also made an improved version of the jig I use to mill the bottom faces :

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Carling locations were marked and cut the same as the lower deck beams :

 

 

 

[Dan Vadas]

Lower Deck Planking

 

The first plank for the lower deck is the King Plank which runs down the centre line. It is 12" wide and 3" thick and sits 1" proud of the rest of the planking. It is chamfered on both sides to match the adjoining planks. "Caulking" is done on one edge and butt join with an Archival Ink pen :

 

 

 

 

 

The remaining planks are nominally 8" wide and 2" thick. Work continues outward :

 

 

 

 

 

The planks narrow toward the bow and stern between the Binding Strakes and Waterways :

 

 

[Dan Vadas]

Hooked Planks

 

Some Hooked Planks were required in the bow and stern where the hull narrows significantly. This avoids a weak sharp point which cannot be nailed properly :

 

 

 

 

 

[Dan Vadas]

Lower Deck Treenailing

 

A couple of thousand treenails were drilled and fitted. The pattern varies depending on the width of the plank at a given point - those under 8" only get one nail, those between 8" and 10" have a single nail and double nail alternately, and those over 10" get all double nails :

 

 

 

 

 

 

The deck is given a sanding with 150 grit and 400 grit paper :

 

 

 

 

 

And finally two coats of Minwax Wipe-on Poly are applied :

 

[Dan Vadas]

Hatch Coamings and Companions

 

The Hatch Coamings (surrounds) on the lower deck are 6" wide and 5" deep. They have a 3" deep by 2 1/2" wide rabbet to accept the hatch. The longitudinal members are also called Coamings (just to be confusing) and the athwartships ones are called Head-ledges. The head-ledges have a curve which matches that of the beams. I made these from thicker stock and sanded the curvature into them :

 

 

 

 

 

The corners of the coamings are rounded above the deck planks only :

 

 

 

 

 

The rabbets in the Stiles were cut on the Byrnes saw using the Micrometer gauge. Then the Treads were cut on the saw and glued in. Note the shaping of the underside of the stiles :

 

 

 

 

[Dan Vadas]

Lower Deck Breasthook

 

This is made in similar fashion to the previous Breasthooks. It is made from 8" stock.

 

A lot of "repeat" work happens during the course of building a model, with only minor variations in the dimensions of the timbers used (also known as Scantlings). Where this happens from here on I'll let the pictures tell the story rather than repeating myself, with only significant changes noted.

 

 

[Dan Vadas]

Forward Room Bulkheads

 

The only variation of note in the construction of these bulkheads from previously detailed ones is the double rabbet in the fore-aft bulkhead stanchions which allows the planking to sit flush with one face of them. The rabbets were cut on the saw in one full length of stock and the stanchions were cut to size afterwards. The stanchions are vertical to the waterline, so the planks needed to be cut at the appropriate angles to compensate :

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the athwartships bulkhead at the aft end of the Bosun's and Gunner's Rooms :

 

 

 

[Dan Vadas]

Upper Deck Pillars and Beam Set

 

The Upper Deck has fancier Pillars than those in the Hold. These were turned on my lathe using the Digital Readout :

 

 

 

 

 

Some detail pics of a typical Beam Set with the beam, lodging and hanging knees, and carlings and their various mortices :

 

 

 

 

 

[Dan Vadas]

Forward Rooms Bulkheads and Scuttles

 

The eyebolts and rings for the Scuttle are made from brass wire which was blackened after shaping :

 

 

 

Door Hinges come from the PE set, the locks are thin brass plate and the handles are the heads of leftover brass planking pins :

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Dan Vadas]

Forward Bulkheads Finishing

 

 

 

 

 

As the bulkheads were completed the framing for the upper deck was added :

 

 

 

[Dan Vadas]

Riding Bitts and Sail Room

 

The Riding Bitts have been placed into position again, and the rabbets for the upper deck beams were marked and cut :

 

 

 

 

 

The Sail Room has three louvers on both longitudinal sides. These were made from Holly for contrast :

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Dan Vadas]

Wing Transom Knees

 

It was at this stage of the build that I discovered a problem with the height of the Upper Deck Clamp at the Transom. For my "fix" check out This Link.

 

The Wing Transom Knees are very similar to any other Lodging Knee and were made in similar fashion :

 

 

 

 

 

Note that the Wing Transom is not entirely accurate in these pics - another "fix" was needed and will be detailed later in the build.

[Dan Vadas]

Bread Room Bulkhead and Pillars

 

Construction of the Aft Rooms on the Lower Deck begins with the Bread Room Bulkhead. There are two Pillars either side of centre :

 

 

 

 

Upper Deck Beams and Carlings were fitted after the bulkhead was in place :

 

 

 

 

[Dan Vadas]

Aft Bulkheads

 

The fore-aft bulkheads were all made and fitted in similar fashion to those of the Fore Cabins :

 

 

 

 

[Dan Vadas]

Pantry

 

The Pantry is a "stand-alone" room similar to the Sail Room in the fore part of the ship. It has ventilation louvers as well - I again made these from Holly :

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once all the Aft Rooms were completed the Upper Deck Framing was done above them :

 

 

 

 

A description of the Aft Lower Deck Rooms :

 

There are three rooms each side, with the Pantry in the middle of the deck and the Bread Room at the aft end. In a clockwise direction from the forward starboard room the others are :

 

1. Marine Officers' Room

2. Master's Room

3. Surgeon's Room

4. Purser's Room

5. Lieutenant's Room

6. Gunner's Room

 

 

[Dan Vadas]

Upper Well

 

The Upper Well is a rather more complex piece to build compared to the other structures of the Lower Deck. It consists of fully louvered walls rebated into stanchions in each corner and alongside the door.

 

I cut all the stanchions to length first, allowing a few millimetres extra at the top ends. I also made up two extras in case of mistakes in cutting the angles for the rebates in the right direction - I needed one of them  . The angles were all cut on the Byrnes saw - very tricky to work out which angle needs to be cut in which direction, especially when you have to cut them upside-down    :

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Dan Vadas]

Upper Deck Framing Finished

 

When the Upper Well was finished the remainder of the Upper Deck Framing was installed :

 

 

 

[Dan Vadas]

Upper Deck Ledges

 

Finally, the Ledges were all fitted :

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Dan Vadas]

Upper Deck Waterways

 

These were made and fitted in similar fashion to the Lower Deck Waterways, with one notable exception - their profile shape. This required a special Scraping Tool to cut the profile.

 

To make the tool I used a wide chisel-point Xacto blade. I first annealed it over a gas flame until it was cherry-red and allowed it to cool naturally. When it had cooled I filed the profile in with needle files and sharpened each facet with the same. Then I once again returned it to the gas flame, heating it to cherry-red but this time I immediately quenched it in water to cool it. This hardened the steel back to it's original condition.

 

One thing to note about the scraping tool is the "long" part of the blade (top-right in the pic) - the "vertical" facet has been left dull (rounded in fact) to follow the edge of the plank without cutting into it. This guides the rest of the blade to prevent it from wavering :