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

[DocBlake]

Thanks for your input, guys!  I made a decision!

 

I finished planking the bulwarks except for the plank sheers.  This was done in boxwood, including the black strake.  The upper and lowers wales are ebony.  I chose to make the center "filling wale" out of boxwood for the contrast.  In the AOTS series, both HMS Blandford and Royal Yacht Caroline have this arrangement for the wales.  I decided not to use hooked scarf joint on the ebony wales since they wouldn't show up well.  The filling wale joints are typically butt joints but I took some license and made a couple of hook scarfs: one on each side.

 

I cut some holly planking and dyed it an aqua/turquoise blue.  I used Transfast water soluble dye so I could glue the planks without worrying if the glue would hold.  Do you guys like the look, or is it "too much" for a natural wood model?  I'm not committed to anything yet.  Those planks are just sitting there!

[gjdale]

Looking great Dave. For my two cents (AUD), I think the blue is bit too much given the subtle tones you have used through timber species selection for the rest of the model. But, it’s your ship so you must go with what pleases your eye.

[mtaylor]

I think Grant is right.  i thought the blue was tape when I first read this.  

[BANYAN]

Ditto mate; the blue just seems a little too bright for my taste - but as others have said - your model, your choice.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[ccoyle]

I agree with the previous comments. The tone of the blue clashes with the rest of the model. It's a cool-tone/warm-tone combination.

[popash42]

Dear Doc

 wonderful work and so accurate 😁 👍,

I will keep following

[DocBlake]

Thanks, guys!

 

 It's been a busy couple of months! We're redoing the flooring in two bedrooms in the house so I had to remove carpeting and underlayment to prep for hardwood floor installations. Lots of work. Also painted the entire downstairs of the house as well as those two bedrooms. To reward ourselves, Liz and I took the family to St. Martin FWI for a well needed vacation. Our first trip back in nearly 2 years. It felt great. Now my consulting work is ramping up, keeping me busy, but I'm committed to getting back to the workbench!

I began work on the mortar bed. To look at a finished bed, it doesn't lookappear too challenging. I'm coming to discover that it is the most difficult part of this build by far! There are 19 parts comprising the bed as shown on the plans, not including the iron support and the mortar itself. The first problem is dimensions. Almost of these parts are different thicknesses, but must result in a bed that is uniform in height and width. The second problem is the scale. At 1:32 the lines comprising the plan drawings have a fair amount of thickness to them. So depending on where you measure, you possibly have variation of up to 1/32" to 3/64". The layout and cutting parts is slow, tedious, precise work that took a good number of hours.

The first step was to cut out the component parts. The rear part of the bed is made of three stacked parts, all curved. The top one has a 45 degree bevel cut into it. The photos show the plans, the component parts and the three slice stacked piece with the curved, beveled surface facing the rear.  The wood is swiss pear.

 

 

Edited January 2, 2022 by DocBlake

[BANYAN]

Welcome back Dave; great to see the update which is up to your usual high quality and finish.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[DocBlake]

Thanks, Pat and everyone for the "likes!

 

I finished up the mortar bed.  It was a complex little build that took several days, but was a fun project on it's own. The varying thicknesses of wood that needed to be milled and when stacked on each other so the top of the bed was flat called for a lot of precision and caused lots of heartburn!  But..it's done!

Mortar beds were originally stationary on deck, so to aim, the ship needed to move such that the mortar lined up with it's target.  Not very practical.  The solution was to put the bed on a revolving "lazy susan" that sits in the recess in the mortar pit.  The rotation was around an iron spindle, shown in the photos as a 5/32" brass rod. This allowed greater ease of aiming, but made it necessary to pay attention so one didn't shoot the masts, yards and rigging of one's own ship!  

When not in use, the mortar was lowered into the horizontal position resting on the transom of the bed, and the entire bed was rotated so the mortar was aligned with the long axis of the ship.  Because of the wear and tear the mortar barrel would cause resting on the top of the transom, I added a sacrificial transom board to the top that could be replaced if needed.  Sort of like billboards for the anchors.  The red arrow points this out.

The mortar is 3D printed.  I'll be using a cast mortar for the model.

Next up is the mortar housing.

[DocBlake]

I have been spending some time building the removable pit housing for the mortar pit.  This was a removable structure that protected the mortar from the weather when not in use and also provided protected storage space.  As I worked, I realized that the housing would obscure too much detail on the mortar and bed, so I decided to stop construction and move on to something else.

The boarding steps in Jeff Staudt's plans are cut from a single piece of wood, and I didn't really care much for the design, so I used my own design!

The treads are 3/64" thick boxwood and the risers are 7/64" boxwood.  The ends of the risers are cut at a 60 degree angle and the tread overhangs the riser on three sides.  Rather than try to glue the treads to the risers and get the overhangs perfect, I left the treads oversized when I glued up each step.  I then marked them to the proper length and "cut" them to size using the disk sander.  Rounding the tread corners finished the job.  There are 5 steps per side.

[BANYAN]

Wise decision Dave, no point hiding all that lovely work in the 'pit'.  The steps are looking good.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[bdgiantman2]

Nice job on this model, that cannon came out good. That is gonna be one BIG BOOOM!

[AnobiumPunctatum]

Hello Dave,

 

I took my time this morning to read through your build log. Really nice and clean model.

[garyshipwright]

Nice job Doc, and looking good. Enjoying your build very much and look forward to the next update.  Gary 

[DocBlake]

Thanks guys!

 

Next up are the main rails. These are made of ebony, 7/16" wide and7/32" thick. I started by cutting out the blanks a bit long. Then I plowed a decorative rabbet into the inboard and outboard edges of each rail using an Artesania Latina scraper.

The rails rise moving aft over the last 8 frames, and there is a distinct narrowing of the hull over the last 4 frames. That means the rails must be curved upward quite a bit as well as inward. Using ebony, this wasn't easy!

I used a Milwaukee brand heat gun to do the compound bend it two steps. This is really a hit-or-miss proposition as it's difficult to "undo" a mistake after the wood is bent. Have extra rail blanks! I got lucky and both rails bent correctly the first time. The photos show the rail blanks after bending.
 

 

 

[DocBlake]

I fit  the rails to the bulwarks and clamped them in place.  I then drove a couple of little yellow nails to keep them aligned during the glue up.  I used 15 minute Bob Smith Industries Epoxy.  The photos show the curvature of the rails upward and inward moving aft.  There is no poly on the exterior of the model, nor on the main deck or inboard bulwarks.  That's why the colors look so washed out!  The poly will resuscitate the wood! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[garyshipwright]

Looking good Dave real good

 

[BANYAN]

Wow, fitting the rails makes a real difference.  That looks great!

 

cheers

 

Pat

[DocBlake]

Thanks, guys!

 

I need opinions, guys.

On the main rails, on either side of the entry steps and inboard ladders are two stanchions (circled in blue). I assume they have rings at the top to attach lines so that anyone boarding has something to use as a "hand rail" when climbing aboard. Jeff's plans don't include these, and I've not seen them on any of the section models out there. I assume they were removable and made of painted cast iron. Would there also have been ring bolts in the hull where the "X's" are on the photo, to attach the lower end of the hand ropes? Thoughts?

[BANYAN]

I think you have nailed it Dave, some ships I believed had fixed stanchions, but others removeable - the manropes were only fitted as required and usually had a Walkers Knot in the top end that went through the upper ring.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[DocBlake]

I'm back at it, and started working on fitting the battle stations to the model.  I'll show two long gun emplacements just as Jeff's plans call for.  Then I realized there was a mistake on the plans!  Jeff calls for the guns to be 12 pounders.  Granado originally carried eight 4-pounders.  The carriages I've built previously are too low for the gun ports!.  I decided to scale the long guns Jeff designed for his Battle Station plans and scale them as 4-pounders.  I like the style of these guns, also.  I get tired of the saw tooth pattern on the brackets of classic English cannon carriages!

The first two photos are the 4-pounder carriage that were too short.  The others are the final long guns for the model.  No cap squares yet!

[BANYAN]

Love those guns Dave; they look great.  How did you do /or what did you use for, the small nails in the trucks?  They look very realistic.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[DocBlake]

Thanks, Pat.  Those are holes drilled in the trucks and darkened with pencil lead!

 

I finished up the main hatch by adding the eyebolts and rings to the covering boards.  Both are made of .032" diameter brass rod, blackened with Brass Black.

The eyebolts are made with a jewelry making tool known as a "looper".  The rings are annealed brass rod, using a torch, which is blackened, then wrapped around an appropriate sized drill bit and cut free with a wire cutter.

[BANYAN]

Thanks Dave, very effective technique - had me fooled  

 

More nice work on that hatch.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[DocBlake]

Thanks Pat and everyone for the "likes"!

 

I turned some barrels and buckets awhile ago to fill out the detail for the two battle stations.
 

[DocBlake]

Single and double blocks made from scratch.  The wood is swiss pear finished with boiled linseed oil.  The single blocks are 1/4" long (8" in scale) and 3/16" wide with a 1/8" thickness.  The double blocks are 1/4" long, 3/16" wide and 3/16" thick.  The sheave holes are drilled with a #60 drill to accommodate .025" diameter gun tackle line.  The penny gives size perspective.

 

 

 

[DocBlake]

Does anyone have any information on how the mortar was rigged?

There is nothing in Jeff's plans and nothing in Goodwin's book to guide the rigging. Obviously it involved block and tackle attached to the mortar bed and the walls of the mortar pit, but how many, and where were they placed?

 

Edited December 28, 2022 by DocBlake

[BANYAN]

Sorry Dave, have not come across anything, but will have a look at the reference materials I have for this period re armaments.

 

cheers

 

pat

[DocBlake]

Here are some shots of my progress on the main deck.

[BANYAN]

Wow Dave, some significant progress; looks great.  Have you sorted out the rigging yet?

 

cheers

 

Pat