ancre Le Rochefort by No Idea - 1/24th Scale - First POF Build

[No Idea]

On 1/30/2022 at 9:58 PM, druxey said:

Coming along well, Mark. I've found marking levels inside the hull easier by poking a thin piece of wood or metal attached to my height gauge between the frames rather than by reaching over as you have done.

 

Funny how myths like ammonia have circulated for years. There are others: don't use beeswax or tea on your rigging or sails; both are acid and in the long term do no good. Conservators' wax and material dye or acrylic paint are much better options.

Thanks druxey and funnily enough I wanted to poke the height gauge through the frames as that would have been so much easier!  Unfortunately where this line is on the hull its on all of the spacers on the frames so I had to go over the top    I just need to check my alignment at the stern to make sure the beams will be high enough.  It's no big deal I just need to be sure before I fix anything in.

 

1 hour ago, AnobiumPunctatum said:

I took my time today to read through your log. Really wonderful and clean build.

Thanks Christian   I hoping to get an update on this build up soon but our daughter needs some Dad's DIY doing and its taking up most of my time.  Having said that I'm just about to have an hour on Le Rochefort now in-between painting 😄

[No Idea]

Hi All

 

I think it's safe to say that these three pieces have been very difficult for me to get right.  I eventually made 4 deck clamps before being happy enough to fit them to the model.  The combination of difficult bends that have to be recessed for the breast hook which all have to be sat on the correct line inside the hull.............wow!

 

Anyway I've now got it done but not without a little damage.  The port side deck clamp glued in fine but the starboard side cracked; I didn't even notice it until the next morning when I removed all of the clamps.  It was one of those times when I just though - well its not very pretty but I do know that its in exactly the correct position.  So I opened the crack up a bit and fitted a sliver of wood in just so that it looked a bit better.  I'll put this one down as a ships repair 🤣

 

I've also had a go at making my first every hooked scarf joint and I think its going to be fine with a little adjustment.  So the next steps are to make the 6 remaining pieces of the deck clamp which are all joined with hooked scarf joints.

 

I must be honest I'm really pleased with the result mainly because structurally I know that its correct.

 

Mark 

 

 

[druxey]

Some of those parts are beasts to make. Your secret is safe with us! Looking great.

[No Idea]

24 minutes ago, druxey said:

Some of those parts are beasts to make. Your secret is safe with us! Looking great.

Cheers druxey and aren't they just...... It's funny as some of the parts that I thought would be fairly ok to make have caused me the most effort.  I'm glad these are done as at one point I thought that they were beyond me.  I like this scale but at 1/24th some of the timbers are just so thick.  I really makes you wonder of the skill of the original builders. 

[Hubac's Historian]

Lovey work, Mark, and a very nice repair!

[archjofo]

Finest detail work !

[Tonphil1960]

Hi, Your Rochefort is coming along just great.  This is going to be my next scratch plank on frame build (my second total) after I'm done with my Blandford section.  How did you arrive at the materials needed ? I haven't gone over the plans yet but am curious as to how we arrive at a materials list and the easiest way to go about it. 

Thanks Tony

[No Idea]

1 hour ago, Tonphil1960 said:

Hi, Your Rochefort is coming along just great.  This is going to be my next scratch plank on frame build (my second total) after I'm done with my Blandford section.  How did you arrive at the materials needed ? I haven't gone over the plans yet but am curious as to how we arrive at a materials list and the easiest way to go about it. 

Thanks Tony

Hi Tony - if you have a look at the scantlings in the monograph you will find the thicknesses of the wood required. As for the amount of each thickness I just guessed.  I actually thought that I over ordered but I’ve made so many pieces several times that I will have to buy some more before the end of the build. 

[Tonphil1960]

Ok yes thanks much. 

[No Idea]

Hi All

 

At last the deck clamp is complete 😄

 

I think its safe to say that I have become quite adept at hooked scarf joints now 🤣.  I also think that the easiest thing in the world would be to make it as one piece and omit this really nice detail.

 

The only thing I will need to do is carve a small piece once the ceiling is in to take it all of the way up to the wing transom.  This is no big deal but there is a small step that I just could quite get the dimensions right with the solid section.  So I took the option of putting it right later.

 

My thanks to Gerard for helping me get these parts correct by steering me in the right direction too.

 

A few pictures below and also some pictures of the set of 14 planking clamps that I have knocked up.  I'm at a bit of a standstill now as I'm waiting for some wood to be delivered for the planking.  I've never planked the inside of a hull before and it does look quite difficult but hey - what isn't 🙂

 

Thanks for all of the nice comments and encouragement

 

Mark

 

[allanyed]

I was just going to hit the like button but felt a little extra comment was in order.

For a first POF, you continue to amaze us.     That said, Druxey mentioned your secret regarding the crack in the clamp being safe with us.  I thought  I saw a post on virtual media about this that has gone viral...... 🤐  just kidding........

Allan

[druxey]

Please don't cover that all beautiful framing up completely with planking!

Edited February 27, 2022 by druxey

[No Idea]

2 hours ago, allanyed said:

I was just going to hit the like button but felt a little extra comment was in order.

For a first POF, you continue to amaze us.     That said, Druxey mentioned your secret regarding the crack in the clamp being safe with us.  I thought  I saw a post on virtual media about this that has gone viral...... 🤐  just kidding........

Allan

Thanks very much Allan 🙂  I follow other builds which give me quite a lot of answers to many of the problems that I come up against.  I also do get some help on the side in the way of PM's to certain builders too.  Its pretty much a team effort on the solving side so it makes the building that little bit easier.  I hope that some of the amazing kit builders on MSW see that scratch building is possible and that they also take the leap 👍

 

1 hour ago, druxey said:

Please don't cover that all beautiful framing up completely with planking!

🤣  I knew you were going to say that!!  Ok what I'm planning is to copy "marsalv" and the way he puts in the randomly shaped cut outs to show what's below.  I also think that I will build this just as Adrian Sorolla has and make cut outs though the frames so that interior can be seen.  Mind you its gonna break my heart to actually make those cuts.

 

Funnily enough just after I posted this the delivery guy turned up with my wood.  So I've now cut the planks in readiness for some more work next weekend but I did get a bit carried away.  I've not cut planks on my Byrnes saw for maybe two years and I forgot just how good it is at this job.  So 26 planks later that are 9.2mm x 1.6mm x 500mm I thought that was enough - I was just enjoying myself 🙂

 

Mark

[dvm27]

7 hours ago, No Idea said:

I think its safe to say that I have become quite adept at hooked scarf joints now 🤣.  I also think that the easiest thing in the world would be to make it as one piece and omit this really nice detail.

I think the way you've made them (off the ship) is much easier then trying to fit them successively inside the model. As you've undoubtably discovered these types of joints are relatively easy to make once you get the set-ups correct on the mill or the hand sequencing if using a chisel.

 

Fantastic work, as always!

[No Idea]

27 minutes ago, dvm27 said:

I think the way you've made them (off the ship) is much easier then trying to fit them successively inside the model. As you've undoubtably discovered these types of joints are relatively easy to make once you get the set-ups correct on the mill or the hand sequencing if using a chisel.

 

Fantastic work, as always!

Hi Greg and thanks mate - yes I found that making them all at the same time actually makes them fit together better.  I used a 1mm mill to cut the straight vertical cuts and then a 3mm end mill to remove the rest of the material.  Once I discovered how to set one in the mill the rest just followed.  They are not difficult at all but I did find that my milling did have to be very accurate to get a really good joint.  It was nice when I did the last two pieces at the stern as when I put them side by side they were identical which shows that the hull is symmetrical.  It was one of those surprised but proud moments too! 

[Tonphil1960]

Really looking great.  Did you take the plans and have them enlarged to 1/24 ?  I've looked into having it done for other ships and it costs several hundred dollars. I like the larger scale myself but am not going to spend that kind of money. 

[No Idea]

21 minutes ago, Tonphil1960 said:

Really looking great.  Did you take the plans and have them enlarged to 1/24 ?  I've looked into having it done for other ships and it costs several hundred dollars. I like the larger scale myself but am not going to spend that kind of money. 

Ancre supply these plans in 1/24th scale have a look on their website 👍

[allanyed]

Ton

Did you check with architectural blueprint firms?  It has been some years for me since using them, but I never paid more than $10 per drawing if B&W.  Color was higher but, with the exception of the inboard profile drawing, color was unnecessary.

Allan

[Tonphil1960]

Oh Ok thanks Ill look into it from Ancre.  I think I inquired last time at Staples but it was for printing and enlarging not for copies.  It was several hundreds of dollars though ! 

[No Idea]

Hi All

 

I've now started the ceiling planking - its taken me a while to get started as I haven't done this before.  I thought that I would be able to apply a similar system that we use on the outside of the hull by marking out bands etc but I found that I couldn't do this.  The reason being the way the planks run up the inside of the stem and stern I just couldn't figure out a way of marking them out accurately.

 

I also do not have a flat plan of the planks so the drawings need interpreting which takes me a while to understand.  So in the end I thought the best thing to do was to use a mix of the drawings and apply similar rules to the planking such as only tapering to half of the planks width.  I also thought it best not to start running up the stem too quickly that we also apply on the outside.

 

So boringly 🤣  I've managed the first two strakes - sorry for my snails pace.  I really wanted to get these right as hopefully the rest will then follow.  One of them moved slightly at the stern whilst drying so I had to use some PVA coloured with graphite to fill the gap.  It doesn't look too bad for a first attempt and I know that I will improve as I work my up inside the hull.

 

There's a few pictures below of where I am now and how I make my planks.  I mark out the tapers and then plane them in my plank vice before clamping them together to ensure they are a mirror image of each other.  Next I edge bend them which makes for a good fit and only minor clamping.  The making of the planks is easy but working out the shape is hard.

 

I'll post an update in a few weekends once I've got up to the seven strakes that I intend to fit at this stage.

 

Cheers Mark

 

 

 

[Tonphil1960]

Looking great. Love those clamps. How are the screws fastened in the clamp ? I need to build some myself. 

[No Idea]

Hi All

 

I've not posted in a while as to be honest I'm finding planking the ceiling difficult.

 

I've now put in the first 7 strakes and I'm really unhappy the way they've turned out.  Sanding down at the stemson has really shown me just how inaccurate some of my cuts were.  I also think that edge gluing the planks was a bad idea too............so I need to remove them all except of the first 2 strakes.

 

Here's a few pictures of how it shouldn't be done 😂  I've wetted the wood on one picture which shows my errors.  Oh well upwards and onwards and hopefully I can improve on this effort.

 

Mark

 

 

[Tonphil1960]

I see what you mean but that has to be very difficult to plank in a tight area like that. how can you even measure anything in that tight corner ? There's always a point where we draw the line and say, no good do it over. Frustrating to say the least. 

[No Idea]

1 hour ago, Tonphil1960 said:

I see what you mean but that has to be very difficult to plank in a tight area like that. how can you even measure anything in that tight corner ? There's always a point where we draw the line and say, no good do it over. Frustrating to say the least. 

I guess so - I chose this ship for my first POF build to learn as much as I could.
 

Although some lessons seem hard to take;  for me it’s well worth the effort as I know that I can do better. If I didn’t change this now I know that I would regret it later.  

[Hubac's Historian]

Your resolve is admirable, but I will tell you that I have watched many accomplished modelers who don’t come close to the fair run of your ceiling planking.  Having never done it, myself, I can only guess at the difficulty of it.

[druxey]

Getting planks to abut the stemson exactly is a really tough job. You've done really well except for a couple of very minor spots. However, you need to satisfy yourself, so i do understand.

[dvm27]

Even the most minimal of structures on each of the decks above the stem will completely hide those few joints that are troubling you. Sometimes you just gotta call it a day and move on.

[No Idea]

Hi all and thanks for the comments and feedback.  I got this part wrong because I was having trouble seeing the lines of how the planks should run. Funnily enough after the first 6 strakes I could see how it was all forming and also see that I was on the right track. What I didn’t do was put as much effort into the carpentry and the joints of the planks. 
 

I want to get this ship as good as I can so that I understand my next build far better and have more confidence that I’ll get it right. It just means I’ll hopefully get another post up in about 4 weeks with an improved fit.  If not I’ll accept that’s the best I can do at this point and move on. 
 

Mark

[druxey]

Good luck with the re-do!

[Bitao]

Since it’s your first POF build, it looks pretty good to me! Unless you’re a genius, no one can be perfect in the beginning. Mistakes are the most valuable asset at this stage, and they often leave a deeper impression. Also accumulated improved experience for the follow-up works. Don’t worry about it. Just keep going.