Granado 1742 by DocBlake - FINISHED - 1:32 Scale - Bomb Vessel Cross-Section

[JpR62]

Wonderful work on this cross section Dave ! It is as usual a precise and perfect work and these pillars are beautiful.

[DocBlake]

Thanks, Jean-Paul!

 

I'm back in the shipyard but there are still tons of things to do around the house and yard. Hard to find time for everything!

I cut the stock for the waterways. The two bevels (three, really) are a little tricky but they came out OK. The stock is a bit thick so soaking or using a clothing iron the bend the waterways to the narrowing beam at the aft of the model didn't work. My solution was a heat gun!

I put a scrap of plywood on the bench top, then the waterway stock, then another narrow piece of stock on top of that. I clamped the "sandwich to the bech top and used another C-clamp to pull the waterway into it's curve. With it in position, I heated the waterway for one minute with mu heat gun, aiming at the spot noted by the arrow. The plank stayed curved with no spring back!

[BANYAN]

Nice job Dave.  I cheated with my multi-faceted waterway and made each level with its unique bevel separately.  Looks like you got a nice clean shape with your method.  

 

cheers

 

Pat

[Roger Pellett]

Beautiful work, Dave!

 

Until looking at your model I hadn’t realized that the mortar bed is not structurally connected to the upper deck.  Interesting.

 

Roger

[DocBlake]

Thanks, guys!

 

Next I installed the spirketing planks. These are the two lowest planks of inboard bulwark planking. They are thicker than the upper inner bulwark planking and the topmost one is rounded over at it's upper edge. I did this using my Dremel mini-router table. The waterways and all inboard bulwark planking will be bloodwood.

 

 

Edited May 23, 2021 by DocBlake

[DocBlake]

I'm back at it!  I just finished planking the inboard bulwark ceiling planks, then cut the gun ports and the sweep ports.  There are very subtle treenails in place.  I used birch toothpicks and they blended in well with the bloodwood planking.

[Boatsinc2000]

Great job, Dave

 

Really looks neat and tidy.  Really like how the tree nails turned out.

[BANYAN]

That looks great Dave; the subtle trennels are very effective.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[DocBlake]

Thanks, guys!

 

I started work on framing in the mortar pit by milling the bulkhead blanks out of boxwood.  There are eight bulkheads, each 3/16" thick.  The fore and aft bulkheads have no rabbet along the top edge, while the port and starboard bulkheads and the diagonal bulkheads do.  The rabbet on the diagonals is 5/64" X 5/64".  The rabbet on the port/starboard bulkheads is 5/64" X 1/8".  The diagonals have complex geometry, which I'll do using the disc sander.  I don't think this kind of precision could be reasonably expected except by using Byrnes tools!

 

 

 

[DocBlake]

he diagonal bulkheads are the most difficult because there are two angles on each end that need to be cut to form a point. Fortunately, the andles are 45 degrees and the "point " is a 90 degree angle! I set my Byrnes disc sander table to 45 degrees and "cut" the angles very carefully. The photos show some finished bulkheads and how they butt up against each other. The rabbets are to accommodate the side covers, which are part of the mortar pit housing. I'm not sure if I'll include this!

 

 

 

[gjdale]

Nicely done Dave.

[BANYAN]

Very nice joinery Dave; especially on those complicated joints.  Are you using experience (eye balling) the cuts or using a jig?

 

cheers

 

Pat

[DocBlake]

Thanks, guys!

 

Pat:  I'm eyeballing the cuts, but I have a plan view rubber cemented to the bottom of each blank to guide me!

 

I prepared the diagonal bulkheads for installation.  The backs of the 4 bulkheads are supported by diagonal carling which are inset into mortises in the deck beams and trimmer beams.  I decided to make life simple and simply butt the diagonal carlings in place.  I carefully cut them to size, then glued them to the back of the diagonal bulkheads.  The bulkheads are built with two boards.  I simulated this by scoring a line and marking it with a pencil.  Once the glue dried, these were epoxied in place.

[BANYAN]

Coming along really nicely Dave; very clean and crisp work.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[DocBlake]

Thanks, guys!

 

The complicated anatomy of the ends of the angled bulkheads actually makes fitting the outboard and transverse bulkheads easy.  They are cut a little long at a 90 degree angle.  I then "sneak up" on the final width with the Byrnes sander.

 

 

 

[DocBlake]

I started work on the hatch. The coamings are 7/32" thick bloodwood and jointed by half laps at the four corners. The coamings are also beveled inward by 10 degrees on all four sides. How to do the beveling easily and accurately? I decided on a jig!

Basically the jig is a slice of wood, angled at 10 degrees from the horizontal. When the face of a coaming is sanded such that it is square up against the Byrnes sanders disk, you know the angle is a perfect 10 degrees. The hatch frame is attached to the jig with two sided carpet tape.

Sanding the four sides took about 20 minutes.

 

[DocBlake]

Thanks guys. for all the "likes"!

 

I needed to figure out a way to make the hatch cover boards. I planned on using boxwood for the color contrast. The boards are about 5/64" thick with a very slight curve to them that matches the curved coamings. But bending the curve and getting the precise length right cutting strip stock was going to fail! Too hard to get consistency in the four boards. Here's what I did:

I cut up a boxwood blank the fit into the recess where the boards sit. It was thick enough so it stood just proud of the highest point on the curved coamings. Then I traced the coaming top lines onto the 4 edges of the blank. I used double sided carpet tape to tape the blank to a block of wood, keeping it perpendicular to the table of my disc sander, and parallel to the disk's face. Using my variable speed disk sander on LOW speed, I sanded the curve into the blank!

Once I was satisfied with the curve, I took the blank and simulated the four boards by scoring them in and darkening the score lines with very thin pencil lead. It worked out well!
 

[gjdale]

Neat solution Dave - looks great!

[DocBlake]

With lots to do around the house, I've not had much modeling time.  I did finish the deck planking, though!

I wanted as much deck framing as possible to show, but I still needed to accommodate three long gums.  I started the holly planking at the outboard mortar pit bulkhead and worked my way to the waterway.  The margin p[lank was custom fit.  It turned out to be as wide as the others at it's forward end, with a bit of a taper aft.  It turned out pretty well.

[BANYAN]

Very clean and crisp work Dave.  Funny how all those distractions come along oh so regularly  

 

cheers

 

Pat

[DocBlake]

I've been busy! I just finished painting the inside of our house, including our family room, kitchen, foyer, 2 bathrooms and two bedrooms. I also removed carpeting and underlayment in two bedrooms to prep for installing hardwood floors...which is my next project! I have sneaked in a little modeling time, though.

Here is some preliminary work on the cannons. I first built an assembly jig so everything goes together nicely and the same. The metal work will come next and then the trucks. You can see some shallow "gouges" in the carriage brackets where the eyebolts fit. This is so the eyebolts can be "buried" in the brackets as they were in real life, to prevent them from turning.

 

 

 

[DocBlake]

I'm getting ready to plank the outboard bulwarks.  The jig will get in the way of the wales, so it's time to build a display stand.  I have some curly bird's eye maple that I'm using for the base.  The section will be cradled in  scaffolding/bracing much as I did for my Blandford project.  The wood is cherry.

 

 

 

[BANYAN]

Love that birds-eye maple Dave; it will really look nice with a finish on it.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[DocBlake]

Thanks, Pat...and everyone for the "likes"!

 

I added a little more to the base/launching ways to display the model. I still need some "curbs" on either side of the center timber to keep the keel centered where it should be.

Once the finish is on, the contrast between the maple, beech, cherry and swiss pear will be more dynamic.

 

 

 

[BANYAN]

Dave, that is a very effective and good looking display stand that mirrors some of the build components.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[mtaylor]

The stand is great and will really set that model apart from others.

[DocBlake]

Thanks, guys!

 

I put a couple of coats of poly on the display board.  It really brings out the color of the cherry and the figure of the maple! 

 

 

 

[DocBlake]

I've got a dilemma.  The outboard planking on Granado will be boxwood, and the 3 strakes of the wales will be ebony.  The question is, how do I handle the "black strake", directly above the wale.  The name suggests it should be ebony also, but the AOTS cover illustration clearly shows it to be ochre colored.  Modelers have gone both ways.  What do you all think?  Ebony or boxwood for the "black strake"?

 

 

 

[mtaylor]

I think it's your choice, Dave. I've seen it both ways.

[BANYAN]

Agree it is a matter of choice, not sure of the origin of the name - may not haver arisen from its colour.  If you're looking for a suggestion, my choice would be natural not black - definition looks a little better.

 

cheers

 

Pat