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

[Dan Vadas]

Gammoning Chocks

 

These fit above the Gammoning slots and fill the angle below the upper cheek to prevent chafing of the Gammoning rope :

 

 

 

  Danny

[Dan Vadas]

Thanks for the nice comments John .

 

Main Rails

 

These are quite complicated to make, and the whole Head depends on their accuracy. Each rail is made from 9 smaller sections which are scarfed together. There are two identically shaped parts, only the scarf joints are at different points so as to overlap each other :

 

 

 

 

 

 

One rail after sanding down. Note the taper for the full length of it in the last pic :

 

 

 

Continued in next post .....

[Dan Vadas]

..... continued.

 

The aft end of the rail finishes in a Knighthead :

 

 

Moldings are cut and scraped into the outboard faces :

 

 

A Planksheer is fitted to the top of the rail to give it protection from the elements and also add a bit of strength. The whole unit is extremely strong, due to it's design :

 

 

The rails fitted to the ship. They need to be carefully placed to ensure they are vertical :

 

 

 

 

No finish has been applied to any of the headworks yet - I'll do that when all parts have been fitted.

 

  Danny

[dgbot]

You are making me jealous.  Calm down oh green monster!.  Great looking rails.

David B

[Jim Lad]

Very nice indeed, Danny!

 

John

[mtaylor]

Crisp and precise, Danny.  Looks great.

[Boccherini]

Danny,

nice workmanship on a fiddly item.

 

Regards,

Grant.

[gjdale]

Very nicely done Danny!

[Dan Vadas]

Thanks once again for dropping by my log David, John, Mark, Grant and Grant, as well as all those who "Liked" .

 

Head Beam and Grating Battens

 

A main Beam runs athwartships to support the lower sections of the head rails. This beam has a 1.5" roundup, and is recessed into the stem. Two knees attach the beam to the rails. At this stage I've only spot-glued the beam and knees into place so I can mark the positions of all the grating ledges which follow. I'll remove the beam and knees to cut the mortices for the ledges  :

 

 

 

 

A "Heads Up" to other Swan builders using TFFM. If you intend constructing all the Headworks I recommend that you start the Waist Rail a distance from the stem. The actual distance depends on whether you are going to fit the aft Seats of Ease or not (see Section 11.2). It's probably a good idea to leave the foremost section of the waist rail off until you get to this stage.

 

The problem occurred on mine when it came time to fit the Grating Battens - the waist rail was directly in the way. This may be just a peculiarity of my ship, and others may be different depending on the exact height of the rail (it's possible I may have made a boo-boo regarding the height, but I don't think so ).

 

I now had the tricky job of removing the forward section of the rail with a lot of headwork structures getting in the way. It took a while, but no harm done :

 

 

The grating battens need mortices cut in for the grating ledges. This job was a lot easier to do before I cut the pieces from the stock :

 

 

The battens fitted in place :

 

 

 

 

  Danny

[tlevine]

Thanks for the heads-up Danny.  One of the beauties of your build is being alerted to all the potential problems (long) before I encounter them.

[dgbot]

You have a ton of patience.  This latest do over is a test in getting things right.  My hat is off to you.  Spyglass,  spot gluing is usually a small drop to have a temporary bond that is used for placement or alignment.  When you need to remove the part that little drop is easier to remove.

David B

[dgbot]

I prefer using white glue.  As for CA you can use a debonder or acetone.

David B

[gjdale]

A tricky operation beautifully executed Danny.

 

Spyglass - there's no reason the spot gluing technique shouldn't work with CA, using acetone as your de bonding agent. I still wouldn't use CA unless I absolutely had to though.

[rth385]

Hi Danny, Your usual quality attention to minute detail is astounding, as is the foresight and sharing of potential pitfalls to all who follow your masterpiece. Most of the rest of us would have made four or five failed attempts at the grating battens, breaking each one!!! Morticing BEFORE cutting !! Brilliant. Thanks Danny. Keep it up. Regards, Russell

[Dan Vadas]

Hi gang,

 

Sorry I haven't been on here lately to answer questions, but I'm at the end part of yet another major house (and WORKSHOP) move which has taken all my time. Hopefully this is the LAST one .

 

First off, thanks for all the kind comments. I'll try to answer all the questions in order.

 

So do you use your standard glue and just remove it with your usual solvent, is there a trick/ technique , or is it just your usual competence at work ?

 

 

Spyglass, David has answered the question perfectly. It's indeed using as little PVA glue as possible to maintain a join in position without too much work with Isopropyl Alcohol later on to remove the piece. This is fairly essential when you have one or more permanently glued joints close-by. I use a combination of clamps and masking tape to hold the piece in position, and sometimes just hold it with my fingers for a couple of minutes if all else fails until the glue bonds. I use a couple of types of PVA, some set a lot faster than others.

 

the bowsprit aperture in the  bow pics seems to have some of the mouldings overlapping - is that just unfinished work or picture angle or is there a reason?

 

 

A bit of picture angle, but there will be more work done in this area later - there is a chock to be fitted between the head rails, it's a lot easier to cut it in when the rails have been fitted.

 

It intrigues me that Danny sticks things and unsticks them with sufficient ease  and confidence to use as a positioning aid while I usually use blue tack or tape or a clamp or......

 

 

As noted above I also use tape and clamps, but the key word is PATIENCE .

 

Toni and Russell - I'm glad you are following my build and getting the odd "heads up" about any problems I've encountered .

 

Work will recommence on Vulture sometime in the next couple of weeks after I have my new workshop fully completed.

 

  Danny

[Donny]

Very nice workmanship. Well done!

[Bindy]

Good luck with your new workshop!

[popeye the sailor]

you moved a while ago.........didn't you?   hope this shop tops your other one   I'll say it first............pictures??

[Dan Vadas]

Thank you Donny, Spyglass and Bindy .

 

 

you moved a while ago.........didn't you?   hope this shop tops your other one   I'll say it first............pictures??

 

Yeah Popeye - this is my workshop's FOURTH move. Unfortunately I only have room for ONE of the four workbenches I had in the previous one, and also no huge extraction fan . I'll have to learn to make do .

 

Pictures of the workshop will be coming in a couple of days when I figure out where to put everything.

 

  Danny

[edmay]

Hello Danny,hope you are well,nice work as usual,first class. moving UGH,keep this or dump,maybe need it ?? ,to expensive to replace ?? OH lets take it ?? been there ,done that ,said many times "this is the last move"ha.Good luck my friend,Edwin

[HIPEXEC]

I can only dream of doing carpentry work like yours. Beautiful work!

[cabrapente]

Thank you Donny, Spyglass and Bindy .

 

 

 

Yeah Popeye - this is my workshop's FOURTH move. Unfortunately I only have room for ONE of the four workbenches I had in the previous one, and also no huge extraction fan . I'll have to learn to make do .

 

Pictures of the workshop will be coming in a couple of days when I figure out where to put everything.

 

  Danny

I , also change my workshop. every year 

each time I have more tools, more sticks, and gossip. 

hard to remember where everything is. 

Greetings cabrapente

[Mirabell61]

Hi Danny,

 

That Wood joining work at the bow (next to the whole ship anyhow) looks great and admirable.

the 1/48 scale realy asks for clean work, accurate measuring + cutting, sharp chisels and. As wonderful as it Looks I do`nt think I would have the endurance and patience to build this way you have the skill and Talent for...

well done

 

Nils

[allanyed]

Danny

While the very very high quality of your work is obvious, your step by step series of photos is terrific and a great help to anyone that has not yet put together a bow from scratch.  Making and fitting these parts is truly a challenge, but you have shown in a very clear way that it is a matter of patience more than anything else.

 

Allan

[popeye the sailor]

I'm sure you'll figure that out. once you get organized......is it for fumes or for sawdust collection?

 

if for sawdust, I think small sized dry vacs under the table {however many you think you'll need} might fit the bill. the lament will be, having to clean the 'pots' every now and then. I will look forward to the pictures......I really liked your last set up

[Dan Vadas]

Thanks once again Edwin, Rich, Cabrapente, Nils, Allan and Popeye. Your comments are always appreciated .

 

The workshop is almost completed (pics next week), I only need to go back to the old one to pick up the two sets of drawers for all the smaller tools etc.

 

I think small sized dry vacs under the table

 

 

That's almost exactly what I've done Popeye - one BIG vac . The extraction fan in my old workshop was for sawdust - it used to work brilliantly, but the "shop vac" does all right except I have to plug the hose into whichever tool I'm using at the time. No big deal.

 

  Danny

[BANYAN]

Hi Danny, I have a similar set-up for bench-top tools and about to undertake an upgrade suggested by a club member.  Not a biggie as you say but could be useful in circumstances where you are using several tools together (saw/sander/thicknesser perhaps).  He purchased some kits from a vacuum spare parts shop (for wall access of centrally plumbed vacuum systems) that auto-starts the vac as soon as you plug the hose into the tool.  Just a further consideration of you think it helpful.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[popeye the sailor]

sounds like a small trade off I don't have the power tools you have.....what I do use is in the garage. what I do at my table, the admiral makes sure I tidy up. I was envious of your last set up.......I'm sure this one will make me drool!

[Dan Vadas]

My apologies for not replying sooner - the wireless internet up here is as slow as three wet weeks, and I have a bug in my computer that turns the Window off every 20 seconds or so making it very difficult to type anything   .

 

Here are the requested pics of my latest (and hopefully LAST) workshop. I've built a small (2.7m x 1.8m) room next to the caravan annexe for the power tool part of my shop :

 

 

The interior is very cosy to say the least - I have to move some of the tools around a bit as I need them :

 

 

 

 

The Assembly bench is inside the van itself :

 

 

All in all - quite workable. I still have to arrange some of the tools a bit better.

 

  Danny

[druxey]

Well, that all looks ship-shape and Bristol fashion, Dan. Enjoy your new work space!