Aligning bow and stern frames

[Richard Feliciano]

After installing bow frames ( 2 thru 12), I began shaping the frames to the required curvature and dimensions. I discovered the frames were severely out of alignment. The procedures set forth within the Sea Watch books for setting of the frames were not accurate for my skill level. I had to resort to constructing heavy form patterns at the deck and 2nd futtock lead line levels. Using these patterns, I wrenched the frames into their proper position using tie wire. I also ran a centerline wire from bow to stern. A spreader bar was installed at frame 11 using the X Section NMM plan. If this same exercise is to be done in the future on another model, I would construct external framing patterns to lower the frames against. There are other modelers using this technique. Attached is a photo of what I performed.

   I've lost several weeks addressing this issue. I'm reluctant to remove the tie wire for some time until the re-bent frames set into their final position. The frames are wetted down daily hoping they warp into the correct positions.

 

 

 

[druxey]

I wish you luck wrestling the frames into a new shape. Wood has a mind of its own and tends to go back to the place where it started.

[tlevine]

Richard, where is your build log?

[Richard Feliciano]

Never set a build log up. Don't know how to set up a build log.

[tlevine]

Take a look at this post to show you how to set up a build log, Richard.

 

[mtaylor]

I moved this topic to the proper forum.

[Bob Cleek]

You're "doing it the hard way" and will continue to run into the same problem as you progress in your framing because there's nothing to hold the frames in place. Your solution at the moment shows you are thinking, though. That's the way to solve the problem, but doing it piecemeal as you are without the entire structure held together will probably result in a never-ending game of "frame whack-a-mole" as one moves out of alignment as soon as another is set up. 

 

There's lots of ways to address the issue. One of the more popular is using a building frame from the beginning. one approach is the "Hahn menthod," in which the hull framing is initially set up upside down (keel up) with a base that has provision for holding the frame heads in place. See: https://www.dlumberyard.com/hahn-PART4.html and http://modelshipworldforum.com/resources/Framing_and_Planking/HahnMethodnew.pdf

 

 

 

Another method achieves the same result the same way, but the structure is assembled keel down on a baseboard with the notched frame holding the frame heads raised from the baseboard on sections of threaded rod. This method has the advantage of allowing the installation of internal structural members, particularly keelsons, clamps, shelves, and beams prior to planking. 

 

Another method is the "basket method," which can be found described in the seminal works of Charles Davis and Harold Underhill.  If following the full-size practice of boat building, as opposed to ship building, and is more suited to modeling. This method is similar to what you are attempting right now, except that the battens are extended the length of the hull on both sided, bent over a few widely spaced molds or frames, if your frames are strong enough. (Often, all that is required is a mold at the broadest beam point and one or two forward and aft of that. Your transom and/or stern post forms the landing for the battens aft and the stem rabbet the landing forward. If your molds are accurately set up, the battens (pieces of strip wood the length of the model at various heights) are temporarily fastened to the molds (just as you have done with wire ties) and these battens form a "basket" to hold the frames in position. (The frames in the way of the molds are set up after the rest of the hull is planked up.) Once the framing is complete, planking commences with the wales first and then the rest of the planking fastened to the frames. As the planking progresses, the battens are removed and replaced with planking until all the battens are gone. Then the molds are removed and the remaining frames placed where the molds had been. 

 

The below photos of a half-model displayed on a board demonstrate the technique, although in this instance the battens are permanently fastened on what appear to actually be solid molds or "bulkheads," rather than actual frames, and the opening permits the interior construction to be seen when the model is displayed. This method is also a time-saver when it comes to planking if you run your battens such that they define the run of your planking. In that way, they save the intermediate step of lining out your planking using tape or string. The battens are already there doing that for you. Planking is much easier off of a building board (IMHO) and the battens and previously hung plank maintains a very rigid structure throughout the planking process. 

 

http://www.skipjackmarinegallery.com/mm5/graphics/00000001/half-hull-model-ship-construction-frigate-sloop-of-war-vintage-antique-18069-starboard-side-view.jpg

 

http://www.skipjackmarinegallery.com/mm5/graphics/00000001/half-hull-model-ship-construction-frigate-sloop-of-war-vintage-antique-18069-starboard-bow-view.jpg

 

http://www.skipjackmarinegallery.com/mm5/graphics/00000001/half-hull-model-ship-construction-frigate-sloop-of-war-vintage-antique-18069-stern-view.jpg

 

http://www.skipjackmarinegallery.com/mm5/graphics/00000001/half-hull-model-ship-construction-frigate-sloop-of-war-vintage-antique-18069-rib-interior-view.jpg

 

http://www.skipjackmarinegallery.com/plank-on-frame-half-hull-model-of-ship-of-war.html

Edited December 14, 2020 by Bob Cleek