Mediator by bruce d - 1/48 - an 18th century transport scratchbuild from Jeff Staudt plans

[bruce d]

Next, a dry-fit and final fettle of the frames. Passed the test, time to get the glue out.

Frames were marked with WL and checked.

Fitting the frames dead square

Spacers were cut dead square from some stable stock to fit snugly between the frames. The method used was to cut a piece that was a snug fit where the frame meets the hull former and then cut it in two, one piece for each side (good old Byrnes saw).

 

All frames for the main body of the hull in place, square and rigid. The stern-most frames which form the shape of the cabin were worked to shape and tested but set aside until later.

Second deviation: The plans call for part #14 to be made as two identical but mirrored pieces to be mounted (how is not explained) at the stern. Thinking about the fairing and planking ahead this seemed fragile so … I made this as one piece and cut a slot for it in the stern. I thought about doing this on the bandsaw at the same time as the rest of the slots for the frames but decided to do it after all the frames were glued up so I could study the lines and shape more closely and do some of the fairing of this ‘new’ piece #14 off the model.

The part #14 as drawn:

 

My single piece version:

I put paper templates on both sides of #14 and marked what needed to come off top, bottom and sides. Copied the angle of #14 relative to the WL and set the disc sander accordingly. Steady hand and baby-steps, looks like it worked well.

 

Glued and screwed the now beveled #14 in place against wood fillers, should be strong enough to survive my attempts at fairing.

Fairing is coming soon, first I have to dry fit the cabin frames to the top-side to get the stern-shape straight in my head. 

[the learner]

A RESTART! very good now I can watch from the beginning, Yahoo! Did you have the plans printed up at kinks or did you do at home? I think several copies of pages 3 & 4 would also be a good idea.

[bruce d]

9 minutes ago, the learner said:

Did you have the plans printed up at kinks or did you do at home? I think several copies of pages 3 & 4 would also be a good idea.

I originally had a set made at a local print shop which I cut up and scanned on my home setup. After some jiggery with the resultant scale issues, I printed off whatever was appropriate for the bits I was working on: card, paper, mirror image etc.

Before I pulled the trigger on the re-start I had a new set printed full size. So far, I haven't needed them but we shall see ...

 

Bruce

[Edwardkenway]

Good to see you back on Mediator!

I totally understand the restart with good quality ply for the skeleton,  I did the same with my lifeboat Henry Ramey Upcher.  Although my first attempt with cheap recycled cabinet ply backs didn't even make it off the scroll saw 🙄.

Anyway, you've made a great restart, I'm looking forward to more updates. 

Edited August 8, 2022 by Edwardkenway

[the learner]

Just a note, most home  printers can print up even the larger sheets as they

would be on multiple sheets that you can tape together. Not ideal, but workable! 

[the learner]

You will have to tell the printer if it has that mode available

[bruce d]

Thanks Guy, cautionary tales are always welcome in this thread but I have already been ambushed by printer-woes, see post#2, and it is possible they have surfaced again (but I am getting a bit ahead of myself).

 

Fairing is moving ahead and has required a bit of fettling: there are a few low spots and I have been adding material.

There is something about bulkhead number 5 that is odd. On both the Mark 1 Mediator, the one that I started and then stopped, and now on this second attempt, bulkhead #5 is low. I don't see how it is a printer issue as the piece is the correct height. Bulkhead #A is also affected, again on both Mk 1 and Mk 11, but far less noticeably. I was careful when cutting out the bulkheads for Mk 11 and am satisfied that the piece matched the drawing before I started assembly. Yet, here we are again. At an appropriate moment I will check the master drawings and the scans I made but ... I suggest anyone considering building Mediator leaves a bit of extra material around these two bulkheads. There is nothing obviously wrong with the shape, just that when the formers and bulkheads are assembled #5 is low by about 2mm, #A about 1mm in a short section. No biggie, just something that is avoidable.

 

After trying a couple of different woods and bending methods I settled on using coffee stir-sticks and hair tongs. The results were perfect from my point of view because the wood, which may be birch, is of a similar hardness to the ply used for the bulkheads. This is a useful feature when sanding.

I wet the stir-stick for a minute or so and then roll it around the heated tong free-hand. It is quick and effective. Clamps and rubber bands do the holding.

One 'top tip' for anyone wanting to do it this way: have a look at the way the tongs were intended to be used. The tubular body of the tong heats up and the moving part that pinches the hair is spring loaded to hold the hair while drying/curling. This moving 'finger' gets heated by being in close contact with the hot tube. Put the wood to be bent between the two hot pieces, making sure the wood stays in close contact with the 'finger', and it heats the wood from both sides making a neater and more predictable result.

Now if only I had some hair to try out my new skills ...

[whitejamest]

Hm, interesting idea regarding the hair tongs. I will give that a try. I look forward to explaining to my wife what I am doing raiding her hair accessories....

[allanyed]

Hi Bruce,

I have been looking at the Staudt plans and have a question that maybe you can answer.  There appear to be rows of cannon ball racks, but I cannot find any contemporary information that would confirm this. Have you found any details about these? 

Thanks!

Allan

Edited September 6, 2022 by allanyed

[bruce d]

4 minutes ago, allanyed said:

There appear to be rows of cannon ball racks, but I cannot find any contemporary information that would confirm this. Have you found any details about these? 

Nothing to confirm or deny, but they are there.

I have high hopes for having more information soon(ish) but whether or not it will change any existing ideas about her appearance or fittings remains to be seen.

Now I'm curious. Why the interest in cannon ball racks?

[allanyed]

1 hour ago, bruce d said:

Why the interest in cannon ball racks?

Nothing specific, I am just in the throes of studying Mediator's details (as well as similar vessels in her time) as closely as possible in order to prepare a quote for a variation of her for a client.  

Thanks Bruce

Allan

[bruce d]

Fairing continues and has exposed a couple of my blind-spots. The filler blocks for the stem seem to be working and there are some ‘different-next-time’ moments but generally the process is sound.

The stern has demanded some focus and re-thinking.

No matter how much I stared at the assembled hull former and bulkheads I could not believe the planks would be able to run in the neat straight lines indicated on the stern view of the Stuadt plans as drawn. See below, pretty, ain’t they?:

 

There are no fashion pieces illustrated but several different views are included in the plans to locate the pieces that make up the transom. It seems I missed something because I put the lower of the two pieces too low. This wasted a lot of time because of course the run of the planks now did not follow the plans. Doh! (Most of Post# 31 above is given over to me making this piece and then fixing it in what turns out to be the wrong place.) The error is understandable (he says defensively) as the location is shown on the plans but without mention of the fairing needed to all four edges of the piece. I tried to second guess the designer and got it wrong. Hopefully this will be of interest to anyone making their own Mediator.

Having found my error, I focused on how to achieve those lovely straight lines of the stern planking. Fortunately, aligning with the lower wale gives a precise point of reference for this. Another view in the plans gives a positive position for the wale in relation to the level of the deck at the waterways so this can be taken from the assembly I have so far. See red lines in picture below.

So, the plan is to fit a dummy wale, align the naughty transom piece and work upwards from there.

Why upwards? Because the second issue that I encountered, while minor, still is at the stern of the boat and I must view them all together. The back of the ship has an enclosed cabin. One of the defining visual features of Mediator is the seamless transition from hull planking to cabin sides and cleanly into the ‘roof’. This is often associated with Bermuda sloops but was common also along the Eastern American yards at the time. On the model the shape of this cabin is defined by three bulkheads. They slot into the tail end of the main former which also creates the top of the cabin profile. 

The top profile of all three flow logically but the sides of the middle bulkhead do not extend to full width so I will have to fettle something to give support to the planking. The three bulkheads in the picture are dry fitted.

Here is the improvised way I faired these bulkheads with my Foredom.

I have come to love my Foredom. Sigh...

So none of this is a problem, just stuff to do and enough to convince me to leave permanently attaching the cabin bulkheads, which may have to be modified, until satisfied that the transom and wales are all spot on target.  

It may be that I am getting ahead of myself but I want to get the lines of that cabin right, and I can’t complete the fairing until the transom is in place, and those junctions affect the cabin, and on and on…

In case it sounds like I am grumbling, let me say for the record I am enjoying the whole process. 

 

Bruce

 

Edited September 27, 2022 by bruce d

[mtaylor]

Grumbling and facepalming are part of the process, Bruce.  Looks like you're on the right path.

[BANYAN]

Taking the time to fair the hull properly results in a much better model Bruce; we can all wait while you get this done.

 

cheers

 

Pat