Cutty Sark by My Fathers Son - Restoration

[Keith Black]

 Simon, those drills are Okay but obviously can't be used in a pin vise. Trying to use them in tight quarters is almost impossible. The best micro drills I've found are from Micro Mark but the set I bought a couple of years ago is no longer offered. The do have the set below which I will be ordering shortly as I need to retool as it were.

 

https://www.micromark.com/20-piece-Micro-Size-Drill-Bit-Set-with-Index-61-80

[My Fathers Son]

I get what you say about tight spaces and I haven't tried my pin vice, you may well be right but I have been struggling with blunt drills that are so week the bent if you sneeze near them. I tested a few of these out using fingers along e and they bite where you place them and actually drill. 

I will have to struggle on in those tight spaces but I now have an extra set of tools in the box.

I followed your link but couldn't find a UK equivalent. Bah humbug.

 

Simon.

[My Fathers Son]

I am please to report that they do fit in my pin vise which is a bonus. So I now have a micro drill and a pin vise that I can use whichever is best for the circumstances. 

 

Made just a little progress tonight sorting out the mount for the Mizzen lower top yard, no picture till I install the preventer and correct a couple of blocks. 

 

Simon

[Keith Black]

 Simon, maybe you have a different pin vise than I do because they won't fit in mine due to the collet size? If it's not too much trouble can you post a photo of your pin vise with one of these drills attached and something to give an idea of size, TYIA. 

[My Fathers Son]

18 hours ago, Keith Black said:

 Simon, maybe you have a different pin vise than I do because they won't fit in mine due to the collet size? If it's not too much trouble can you post a photo of your pin vise with one of these drills attached and something to give an idea of size, TYIA. 

Not a problem. I bought this set on Amazon. You will see it listed under lots of different manufacturers names but it's the same image every time. The drill bits are not hardened nor have they been ground to a point. So the wander when starting and have a tendency to bend, especially the smaller ones. However, the pun vice has a fairly decent size chuck. The end piece could do with having a bearing but considering how much I paid for this, I can't really complain.

This shows the vice with one of the new bits installed. It is close to the limit but it does fit. I have used them a few times and finding that they do bully their way through a bit rather than drill a clean hole.

 

 

Simon

[Keith Black]

 Simon, thank you for posting the photos. Your pin vise is much different than mine, see the attached. I kinda like yours, looks as if it would add a little better control plus the collect can be adjusted to accept larger drills. The Microbox drills look to be close to the same as the ones I purchased from Micro Mark. They will walk if you don't first press a starting point into whatever it is you want to drill. And they are tender little buggers, I just broke my fav size, .022 inch. I used it the most to drill holes for eye pins/eyebolts. I'm reduced to using a .025 inch which is a little big but will work until the cavalry arrives. Thank you again.

 

[My Fathers Son]

I have been doing more studying than doing lately  as I have been trying to get my head around the location of the brace end locations without much success.  However, I think I have managed to work it out and while I have a few adjustments to make to correct initial errors, I have recommenced work on the Mizzen mast. Still have the lower top lift blocks to install on the mast and all the brace blocks. Then work out where the bunt, sheet and clew line blocks need to go via the mast down to the various pin rails.

 

Oh, and I am running out of blocks again, do'h.

 

Simon

[My Fathers Son]

There was a minor tragedy over the weekend. After I submitted the last update, I left CS on my table while I went out shopping and my eldest decided to vacuum downstairs. He dropped the handle of the vacuum and it hit CS midships but fortunately there was only one casualty. 

 

So now remaking a windlass.  One side nearly finished, needs fine tuning and painting then the other side to cut out.

 

Bit out of practice but getting there.

 

Simon 

[My Fathers Son]

 

Right, that is the Hoover damage remade. I think these things should be a little smaller but I looked for one in Kit form and could only find 2. One was the Mantua 18mm model for Thermopylae but that would be 1:124. The only other one was 50mm which would put it at 1:76 .

So my hand made one will have to do. 

So now it's back to fitting out the Mizzen mast.

 

Simon

[Keith Black]

 Simon, great recovery on the windless, it looks great. 

[My Fathers Son]

I had toyed with the idea of making a rope walk and had bought a bag of assorted plastic cogs. A couple of them came in handy.

[My Fathers Son]

On 2/2/2022 at 10:17 PM, Keith Black said:

 Simon, great recovery on the windless, it looks great. 

Thanks for the likes and I really appreciate the support, it has helped me a lot on my learning curve to restore this model.

 

I have been looing at Yards and how differnt models get fitted out and one thing in particular is puzzling me. How do you connect the Lifts to the end of the yards. Some people mount blocks and attached the lift that way, but looking at Rob's Glory, he has hung a block below for the Clew Line but only has a Shackle above the yard to connect the line for the lift. There is no need for doubling the line to ease the lift, except maybe the Course and Lower Top Yards, so why would there be a need for a block at that point.

 

Please feel free to comment.

 

Simon

[Keith Black]

 Simon, tell me the post # you're taking about where I can look at the post/picture and I'll try my best to explain. 

[My Fathers Son]

22 hours ago, Keith Black said:

 Simon, tell me the post # you're taking about where I can look at the post/picture and I'll try my best to explain. 

 

Hi Keith,

 

Well, I have been modelling my most recent attempts based on your excellent example set out in your build, but when Rob posted his most recent images of his yards, I noticed that he had not installed a block on the top of the Yard, just a Hoop for a Shackle to attach to. This made me look at the Cutty Sark herself and while it is difficult to see above the Yards from the deck level, I cant see any blocks at the ends of the yards.

 

I do understand that she is not fully rigged, there are no bunt or clew lines, or leech lines evident here but the Lifts and Braces are installed. In fact, I suspect that these are the only running lines that are installed.

I can see the Blocks on the Braces and those for the lifts close to the Mast, but none on top of the yards.

You can see on the Coarse, Lower Top and Upper Top, there are Block and Tackle connecting the yards and that definitely will require blocks but I think that I will omite this on the Top Gallant and above.

 

Simon 

[Keith Black]

 Simon, the block on top at the yardarm is a lift block to aid raising the yard into position where the sail can be unfurled. In some cases that block is left off and the lift line is shackled to the yardarm with the line running to a block attached to the cap where the line then travels to its respective halyard block and belaying pin. 

 

 Do you have a copy of the rigging plan for the Cutty Sark?  Below is a link to CS build and rigging plans. I think the last one is the best. 

 

 https://www.hismodel.com/cutty-sark-21 

 

 

Edited February 9, 2022 by Keith Black

[Keith Black]

 Simon, there are several Cutty Sark build logs and you need to study them. Below is a link to one. Rob's Great Republic is another build log you should study for rigging starting on page 16. Search, 'Great Republic, finished' 

 

 You're ahead of me on rigging, hopefully I'll catchup in the not too distant future. IMHO, rigging is the hardest part of ship modeling. The amount of information one has to absorb is incredible. Then teaching your fingers how to run line in tight spaces is a mind bender in and of itself.

                                         

 

[My Fathers Son]

Keith,

You were right about the last link in you post, the draftee has taken Campbells drawings and made sense of it and the annotated it in colour setting out what equipment goes were and in what order. 

 I have house guests from USA till the weekend but will get to reading as soon as I can.

Thanks very much for this.

Simon

[My Fathers Son]

After having a good read through Keith's suggested reading and downloading a few of the plans that were linked, I now have a much better idea of where I am going. 

 

I was right about the excessive use of blocks to connect lifts to the spars/yards and am now working on devising proportionally sized anchor points and shackles to connect the cables. 

 

Using a combination of the Revell and Cambell plans, I can see where the lifts are anchored on the deck so know what to do next.

 

One thing I am curious about though is, why is the port side equipment given stronger lift capability than starboard, the drawings show the starboard to be on lighter gear?

 

Can't show images just yet as I can't add tension until the sail is fitted and the downhaul takes up the slack as the yard doesn't have enough weight to do this in itself.

 

Simon

[My Fathers Son]

Didn't want to take the boat down this evening so spent some time preparing some blocks for the tackle for the Mizzen Crossjack and lower top yard lifts. 

These started out as basic 5mm blocks which I have shaped so they are more oval. The two with tails will be hooked onto loops at the base of the mast. The upper top will have similar arrangement but will have 4mm blocks treated the same. 

 

The topgallant and royals are secured near the backstays, they will have similar block and tackle, longer but the blocks will be in 3mm.

 

Takes time to adjust the blocks and stop them looking like a small brick.

 

Simon

[Keith Black]

 Simon, the blocks look really good, very nice. 

 

 

Edited February 19, 2022 by Keith Black

[My Fathers Son]

Well, I have been spending quite a bit of time on the lifts on the mizzen mast. Not finished yet but thought I would post a progress report.

 

Simon

[My Fathers Son]

Hi all, I am not planning to do any work this evening, other than maybe adjust a few of-the-shelf blocks to suit the purpose of their use, but I thought I would outline how I finally got my head around the thorny problem of when, or not, a block should be used.

 

Firstly, I took on board that what I am working on is "Running Lines" which means these are not Fixed lines like shrouds but are expected to be frequently adjusted by crew members. For each foot above deck the crew member works, the level of risk increases exponenetially so any routine adjustment needs to be at deck level as much as possible.

 

The old joke about "How long is a piece of string" comes to mind but its simple, its the distance between the two ends, and its the two ends that need to be addressed. The best way to simplyfy a system is to ensure that any adjustment is only necessary on one end. So if one end (Point A) is fixed, the the line can pass through as many function blocks (Points F) as necessary to carry out its purpose before going to the other end (Point B ) where it can be temorarily secured, ready to be released and adjusted by a crew member when required.

 

So I came to the conclusion that Points A shoud be Shackles, Points B will be Belaying Pins and Points F will be Blocks of a type appropriate to their function. It might be that the Shackle is attached to the deck, a yard or even to a block when it is part of a block and tackle arrangement, but that is still a Point A shackle as it is permanantly tied off.

 

Points F are for two purposes, either as a multiplier to reduce the load level on a specific line or, to change the direction of a line, or both at the same time and this can only be achieved with Block(s).

 

So that is my rational behind the use of shackles and blocks in my rigging.

 

Simon

Edited February 22, 2022 by My Fathers Son

[My Fathers Son]

Hi,

Made these last night for the crossjack bunt lines. I did try with 2mm blocks to start with but they were too small for my fat fingers to handle. I have drilled through the leading edge of the mizzen mast top and these will be glued in place tonight. 

Keith, I do get what you mean about working in tight spaces, it seems that ever time I work on one thing, I upset another. 😡 this is in part because I have not actually fixed any line in final position and just tied them of as they would the real thing as I want to be able to make adjustments when it's all in place. 

Oh well, time to go earn a few pennies again, ta ta for now.

 

Simon

[My Fathers Son]

A little progress this evening. Lower three lifts squared away and made a start on the coils of excess rope.

 

Regards 

 

Simon 

[Keith Black]

 Simon, that looks great. I wish I was at that point in my rigging.

[keelhauled]

She's looking great!  It looks like you'll be done in no time ☺️

[My Fathers Son]

I have not been spending much time on CS recently so there is not much to report at the moment. 

Still only on the Mizzen, after completing the lifts, I set out to complete a set of sails, no problem sewing these but adding the the loops for the Clew, Bunt and Downloads.

I tried brass rings on the Royal and top gallant and while I liked these, I thought I should try to do these in rope and tried several methods on the tops and crossjack. The scale is wrong on these, but rhe material is correct. I need to find a process that will do both. I have an idea but have yet to try it. 

This is my set up for working on the sails.

the multi grips in the vice attached to the table brings the whole thing up to a convenient height in front of me so I can work on the small stuff without having to sit awkwardly.

 

I have mounted the Royal and the crossjack. Here is the Royal.

 

i was distracted by Robs wonderful images of Glory and have started recovering one of my boats. 

I removed to cloth I had made and tried to find a stiff metal rod to use for the brace across the top, the only thing I had was a shirt hanger. Unfortunately, I could not make that work. I could have used brass but instead I went for something a little more subtle, I length of cord I use for stays. I CA'd this to the stem and the stretched this over the stern post as tight as I dared, after giving the glue a short time to set up. I could see this was not going to give me that arch that Rob has but a length of coffee stirrer stretched for and aft sanded to shape and slipped under the cable gives a nice shape to the rope.

i then coved it in masking tape, creasing the edges with my fingernails gently to gi e it shape. My method hasn't given that crisp centre ridge but then i haven't painted yet so this might change at that point.

Fingers crossed but looking good so far.

 

Simon

[rwiederrich]

Looks like you are making good progress. 
 

Good move to add the strip of wood to provide the right extension and curve to the canvas.  
 

Super

 

Rob

[rwiederrich]

2 hours ago, rwiederrich said:

Looks like you are making good progress. 
 

Good move to add the strip of wood to provide the right extension and curve to the canvas.  
 

Super

 

Rob

One thing that goes unnoticed is that the center beam must have a bow in to allow the rain to run off and not puddle on the seam. 
 

Rob

[My Fathers Son]

A little more done. I have trimmed up the sides a little a given them a coat of paint. This was normal white with just a touch of matt black.

 

 

As you can see, I have put a single rope around the edge of the canvas, the zigzag is going to be very small and require a degree of patience. Once this is done, I think I will be happy with these.

 

I will not be doing this for the captains gigg. As pointed out by my Admiral, why go to all the effort of all the detail just to permanently cover it up.

 

The gigg will have a full sett of oars, mast etc on board and on display.

 

Simon