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

[Dan Vadas]

Thank you Michael and Patrick .

 

With the stanchions, are you just gluing these down? If the sheaves were going to be in use with rigging would you secure them any differently?

 

 

The stanchions are pinned (with bamboo) and glued with PVA - you could hang the entire ship from them quite confidently, they are attached that strongly . And they WILL be used for rigging.

 

  Danny

[Jim Lad]

Like the 'S' bend in the strap, Danny.  Your blacksmithing continues to impress!

 

John

[Erebus and Terror]

Wow - that is complex. Just excellent work. 

[Mike Y]

Danny, thanks for such a detailed log! It's an endless source of inspiration and hints for less experienced builders, like me

 

P.S.: the color scheme is interesting, I'm thinking about POF model with similar wood combination - swiss pear frames and beams, boxwood hull and deck planking, mixed wood for fittings. Your log gives a very good overview of that color combination!

[AnobiumPunctatum]

Dan, fantastic progress in the last month. Really wonderful

[allanyed]

Danny,

 

Always a joy to look in on your build. 

 

I may have missed this, or more likely forgotten, but are you going to rig her?

 

Allan

[Dan Vadas]

Thank you John, E&T, Mike, Christian and Allan.

 

the color scheme is interesting, I'm thinking about POF model with similar wood combination - swiss pear frames and beams, boxwood hull and deck planking, mixed wood for fittings. Your log gives a very good overview of that color combination!

 

 

It looks even better in "real life" Mike .

 

are you going to rig her?

 

 

Yes Allan.

 

  Danny

[Dan Vadas]

Taffarel

 

The stern structures begin with the Taffarel Base.

 

I started by making a "building board" which has the same curvature as the stern. I used a couple of pieces of pine - the lower convex one is the actual board, and the concave one is used to clamp the pieces of the taffarel whilst they are drying :

 

 

 

 

Continued next post .....

 

  Danny

[Dan Vadas]

...... continued.

 

I made the taffarel base from three pieces. This will save a lot of carving, and won't be at all noticeable.

 

 

I drilled out the bulk of the inner parts of the top section, glued it to the middle section and clamped it into the baseboard to dry :

 

 

Then I finished the outer edges and glued the pieces to the main lower piece and clamped it again. I spot-glued the main piece to the baseboard - this will ensure it doesn't straighten out and also gives a good steady rest for the carving etc :

 

 

Once the three pieces had dried I started carefully carving and cutting the waste out of the middle holes. This was relatively easy, thanks to the earlier removal of most of the waste :

 

 

 

 

  Danny

[Jim Lad]

Nicely done, Danny.  Can I ask why you glued the three pieces together before finishing the carving - was it for strength?

 

John

[Dan Vadas]

Thanks John.

 

Can I ask why you glued the three pieces together before finishing the carving - was it for strength?

 

 

Yes. The upper piece is only about 1.5mm wide and of course has a lot of sections where the grain runs directly cross-wise. I was worried that it would have snapped in numerous places if I'd tried to cut out all the middles before gluing it to something more substantial. This method worked very well .

 

  Danny

[dgbot]

Nice idea what kind of wood are you using.

David B

[dvm27]

That's a very clever way to do this piece Danny. The tafferel and coves gave me no end of headaches.

[Captain Al]

Watching your work come together is like watching a great movie.  thanks for sharing with us.

[Dan Vadas]

Thanks David - the wood for the taffarel is Castello Boxwood. I'm using dark Swiss Pear for the Capping Rail.

 

Thank you Greg - I imagine it would have taken quite a while to hollow out all the Coving from one piece   . I notice you didn't fit the Capping Rail or Quarter Pieces to your Pegasus - any reason for that? It would have been nice to see it all fitted to your ship - it was a little difficult trying to imagine the whole assembly from the plans.

 

Thank you too Al.

 

Capping Rail

 

The Capping Rail is very tricky to make. I traced around the taffarel to get the inner shape for the five pieces which I cut on the scroll saw from dark Swiss Pear to match the rest of the railings. Much finessing was need to get a good fit   . I found it best to work from the centre toward the ends :

 

 

 

  Danny

[Trussben]

Wow Danny, that really is beautiful work on the cap rail and the contrast in woods is awesome.

 

I'll remember this in a few years I hope.

 

Ben

[Jim Lad]

Beautiful wood colour contrast there, Danny - and not a bad bit of cabinet work, as well!

 

John

[Dan Vadas]

Thanks for looking in again, and the nice comments Geoff, Brian, Ben, John and Spyglass.

 

did you HAVE to start on your stern just as I started on mine. Not that I feel inferior or anything !! just differently skilled !

 

 

Sorry about that Spyglass, I didn't realize that you were up to the same stage . Besides, the construction of your Pegasus is quite a bit different to mine . You're doing a fine job.

 

Ensign Staff Block and Clamp

 

There are a few more things on the taffarel that need doing prior to fitting the assembly to the ship. One of these is the Block and Clamp that hold the Ensign Staff, enabling it to be easily removed.

 

The block is stepped into the fore edge of the taffarel and has two small molded sections at it's ends,

 

The clamp is very similar to a Gun Trunion Cap, so I simply used a slightly modified spare that I had (I only had to enlarge the diameter of the half-hole slightly) :

 

 

 

  Danny

[druxey]

Neat bit of metalwork there, Dan!

[dgbot]

I agree with Druxey, this would make an interesting article for the Journal. Hint Hint.

David B

[Jim Lad]

Well, that certainly looks to part, Danny!

 

John

[Dan Vadas]

Thanks again Druxey, David and John.

 

Quarter Pieces

 

The Quarter Pieces on most Swan Class Sloops are elaborately carved, but the sheer plan of Vulture shows very plain ones. Whether this is correct or not I don't know - perhaps the draughtsman was just lazy . I've treated them in similar fashion to the Pilasters of the Quarter Badges and Stern Lights.

 

To overlap the joints between the hull planking and counter planking I hollowed out the pieces :

 

 

Some progress pics through the stages of fitting them up :

 

 

 

 

  Danny

[Dan Vadas]

The finished stern for now - I'll fit the three remaining Lights much later in the build, as they will be in the open position and may get damaged during further construction :

 

 

 

 

The Pilasters are of similar design to the Quarter Badge ones :

 

 

  Danny

[dgbot]

Great work Danny.  Nice and clean as well.

David B

[Jim Lad]

Lovely, Danny!  When does the carving start?

 

John

[michael mott]

Very very nice Danny the flagstaff clamp is really sharp, the rest is super as well. You mention it was a spare trunnion clamp is there a picture in your build as to how you made them? with out me having to go looking to far.

 

 

Michael

[Dan Vadas]

You mention it was a spare trunnion clamp is there a picture in your build as to how you made them? with out me having to go looking to far.

 

 

Michael

 

They are one of the few things I didn't make from scratch - they came with the Gun Barrels which I bought from Ukraine.

 

Thank you David .

 

When does the carving start?

 

 

Probably never John - carving isn't one of my strong suits . But ..... we'll see. I might get better at it, I can always add carvings later on .

 

  Danny

[riverboat]

Danny this is one amazing build, haven't looked in for awhile ......the progress you have made is just outstanding!!!!

Frank

[patrickmil]

Dan, the stern looks fantastic. Your workmanship is inspiring.

[gjdale]

Once again a neat blend of craftsmanship and ingenuity Danny. She continues to look better every day.