Cross Section - HMS Leopard 1790 by Bluto 1790 - 1:44

[Bluto 1790]

Thanks for the comment, Tom, and the others for the thumbs-ups.

 

I wanted to be getting all the 'stuff' done for that central area around the main mast.

Although the 'business end' of the topsail sheet bitts will be on the upper gun deck, the lower end of the posts originate down in the lower gun deck.  These are the posts after turning the top parts and morticing for fitting to the lower gun deck and also for receiving the lower cross piece.  (At this point they still had to be morticed to fit the upper deck beam.)

 

Then morticed for the upper beam and with the lower cross piece fitted.

 

(The morticing was done on the trusty mill.)

 

Finished the lower brake pump head >

 

For the pump dale I used a short piece of bamboo skewer with a hole drilled up into its centre.

A test fit for the chain pump cisterns, that brake pump and the sheet bitts with a dummy blank for the upper deck beam.

(Still have to make the top cross piece and the side mounted sheaves for the sheet bitts.)

 

Now, that big hole in the centre needs something to fill it.

On my other model at 1:80 I had the 'luxury' of just using shop bought dowels ~ the 'fattest' dowel I needed for that was less than 12mm (0.5 inch).  The main lower for this section needs to be around 17mm.  Rather than just turn a single solid piece of timber I opted for a 'made mast'.

Here are the five components parts for the mast.  A single square section piece for the centre and four rectangular sections (two of them wider than the other two) >

 

 

The first stage of the glue-up > 

 

. . . and the second stage >

 

In order to reduce the amount of wood that would have to be taken off at the lathe I tilted the table on the bandsaw to 45° and knocked off the corners >

 

Just out of the lathe.  While in the lathe I cut five shallow grooves to accommodate the bandings that will go there.  (Using the lathe ensured that the grooves are at the same level all the way round and saves having to measure and mark later.)

 

Still to cut the square tenon at the mast foot.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 10, 2020 by Bluto 1790

[toms10]

Well done Jim. With regards to the “made mast” I used a similar technique to create the octagonal shape in the center area of the yards. I am really enjoying following this build. Great work. 
Tom

Edited November 6, 2020 by toms10
Autocorrect spelling errors

[Bluto 1790]

On 11/6/2020 at 12:11 AM, toms10 said:

I used a similar technique to create the octagonal shape in the center area of the yards.

Hi Tom,

I have to confess that I cheated a little when I made the yards on my other build!   I didn't try for 'octagonalism' the way you did ~ on the mid section of the yards I glued on 4 thin pieces of timber at regular places around the yard.  After a light sanding with a sanding stick that mid section was having the appearance of being octagonal - - - and up there on the masts, with all the rigging going on around them it's not very obvious that they're not perfect!

 

Now, seein' as I'm on here I'll post a few other pics.

 

Did the mast foot tenon and here is the mast, together with the other 'stuff' having a dry test fit >       

 

 

Some of the above photos reveal that the mid section of that deck has been planked.  I can confess that I cheated a little with that planking ~ I used full lengths for each full plank fitted so far. At the points where 2 planks would butt against each other I used a craft knife to cut a groove deep enough to mark with a black pencil lead to simulate the joints.  For the 'caulking' between the plank edges I also used the black pencil but I didn't just mark the planks along their edges.  I ran the knife along the top edges at around a 45° angle, creating an almost imperceptible chamfer, then ran the pencil along

these chamfers.  The black edges and joints are almost visible in this photo!  >

 

Before fitting any of these items around the main mast area I wanted to get the inner hull planking done as I imagined  it could be very tricky trying to drill into the hull sides for the gun tackle eyebolts if the deck isn't clear of mast and pumps etc.

 

 

There's still enough space at that level to be able to get a cordless drill in there >

 

Edited November 9, 2020 by Bluto 1790

[Bluto 1790]

Thanks for the thumbs ups and the visits.

 

Making the mast was reasonably straightforward -- making the mast wedges had me thinking for a while.  As I don't have a 'proper lathe' just a drill in an attachment and only having a standard drill chuck I couldn't create the wedges in the way I've seen them done here on the forum.

So I turned a short length of softwood down to the same diameter as the mast at lower deck level.  I tried to calculate the size of wedges that would be required for 8 wedges.

 

These wedges were glued on around the 'dummy mast' leaving an unglued section >

 

With all 8 glued on there was a small gap of about 1.5mm  >

 

With the gap filled the inside diameter was just a hair too tight for the mast so that small sanding drum did enough to make it a snug fit  >

 

With some work on the bandsaw and with a little bit of invention, I was able to finish it off on the lathe;

Right way up  >

 

Upside down  >

 

and in position  >

 

With the mast  >

 

The sheet bitts still needed the top cross piece.  I drew it to scale on paper and glued that onto a piece of beech.  For the 4 quadrant curves I drilled 4 holes with a 6mm drill bit at the drill press.

That was the first attempt  --  a couple of the holes weren't exactly where they should have been but the second one came out OK.

 

A couple of pieces of brass wire helped hold it in position while the glue dried  >

 

and with the 2 sheaves attached  >

 

and just to see how it all looks  >

 

 

 

[md1400cs]

JIm,

 

Saved an image of your sump pump - may try and scratch build one as well - Like your made mast also on my list - nicely done indeed.

 

Regards,

[toms10]

Jim

Are you sure these are not pictures of a real ship!?  Excellent work on the mast wedges. I like you don’t have any fancy machines so I can appreciate the ingenuity needed to make some of the pieces. Well done. 
Tom

[Bluto 1790]

Thanks for the comments and likes.

 

Michael, there are quite a few items in my build that have been copied from other builders, but if there is anything that you (or anyone else) wants to copy from my 'stuff' then I'm well flattered!

 

Tom, about the only 'fancy machine' I have is my mill.  The mill and the bandsaw are the 2 most used machines in the build, with an occasional use of the drill press for larger diameter holes.  The mill is also used as a drill press for small holes from around 3mm down to 0.5mm.  Oh, almost forgot the drill powered lathe/jig I use to make 'round things'.