HMS Bounty by AdamA - 1:48

[AdamA]

I spent a lot of time thinking about the measurements for the keel, but nothing really prepared me for the first rough cuts.

 

These are going to be the keel.

[AdamA]

McKay showed scarf joints at uneven intervals so there's going to be one more piece coming. 

 

I have a microlux mini table saw that I think I'm going to go ahead and replace with Byrnes'.

[AdamA]

McKay's Bounty drawings show a raised nub at the forward end of the keel that very nearly doubles its height at that point. I'm sanding it to the correct angle with the bench vice holding the Swiss pear.

[AdamA]

[AdamA]

This nub was a bit too high. Using the drum sander took care of that.

[AdamA]

And here is the Swiss Pear that just arrived!

[mtaylor]

Nice looking wood.  Where did you find it?  

[AdamA]

That wood came from Rare Woods USA, and they have a lot of them if you need some.

[mtaylor]

Thanks for the reference.  Swiss Pear is another one of the those hard to find woods.

[AdamA]

I found a website with free 3d files for Bounty so I may use it to round out the McKay drawings. 

[AdamA]

I'm using McKay's drawings but I also printed Hahn's out for reference. Hahn's plans came out a tiny bit under the scale they were supposed to be for whatever reason so I had to increase them 1%.

 

Here's a few pieces of the stem fresh off of the band saw. I'll reduce them on the drum sander then hand sand and chisel on my bench vice for the final fit.

[Gregory]

I hope you will excuse me to ask a question, but are the drawings for your stem pieces from the Hahn drawings?

 

I am curious as to piece number one and the gammoning slot.

It seems that the long horizontal joint would have been a weak point considering the forces present from the gammoning.

I have seen a similar configuration on another Hahn design for Rattlesnake..

I am certainly no expert, but other plans I have seen would have the gammoning slot in a piece that extended deeper vertically into the stem.

 

Perhaps someone with more knowledge than me could shed more light on this.

[AdamA]

On 3/8/2021 at 9:31 AM, Gregory said:

I hope you will excuse me to ask a question, but are the drawings for your stem pieces from the Hahn drawings?

 

I am curious as to piece number one and the gammoning slot.

It seems that the long horizontal joint would have been a weak point considering the forces present from the gammoning.

I have seen a similar configuration on another Hahn design for Rattlesnake..

I am certainly no expert, but other plans I have seen would have the gammoning slot in a piece that extended deeper vertically into the stem.

 

Perhaps someone with more knowledge than me could shed more light on this.

That drawing is from John McKay's book "The Armored Transport Bounty."

 

Hahn's has the same layout.

[AdamA]

Hahn's has fewer parts.

[AdamA]

I finally got my new drum sander so off we go getting these pieces shaped!

[AdamA]

Since this is the first time I've built one of these from scratch I was not thinking about how close the tolerances were for the sides that meet. As a result I'm on my second attempt for all the pieces of the stem. 

 

First I'm using the band saw to get the piece roughed out.

 

Then I shape them to the line on the drum sander.

 

Then I use a razor saw and chisel on the angled areas, very carefully using the neighboring pieces to be sure I've got the angle right. This is a deliberate process that. If you rush and "hope for the best" you'll be redoing it haha.

 

I rely on the bench vice to stop my razor saw at the correct point and to stop my chisel at the right depth.

 

As an aside, you MUST keep your chisels sharp. Doing it dull causes the chisel to jump and pull chuncks of wood out. I added a picture of my wet stones.

[AdamA]

This little fella arrived today to help out.

[AdamA]

The stem is coming along slowly. I've had to re-do every piece to accommodate all the sides that have to fit.

When I get them all to the right shape I will sand them to the same 13 inch width of the keel (or .2078 inches in 1:48 scale).

[AdamA]

I drilled a few holes in the place marked for the gammoning slot and then used a diamond file to connect the holes. The holes went straight through with very little movement (to my surprise).

[AdamA]

This is my first time using the Byrnes thickness sander. I'm sanding the width of the keel to 13 inches (which is 6.879 mm at this scale). It works well but you have to remember to stop before the final width so you still have extra width do a final sanding with the finer paper.

[AdamA]

These are the four sections of the keel shown in McKay's drawings. They meet at scarph joints. This was the first time I've cut these kind of joints. The Mayflower kit I built was plank on bulkhead with one long piece for a keel.

[AdamA]

I'm going to use Van Dyck Crystals to darken the pva wood glue for use in the scarph joints to simulate the tarred felt they would have used in those joints.

[AdamA]

The Byrnes thickness sander does a great job on keels. I used gift paper in the scarph joints to simulate the tarred wool instead of darkened glue.

[AdamA]

The stem pieces are oddly shaped. It will be a miracle if they go together without any issues.

[rtwpsom2]

On 3/1/2021 at 7:38 AM, AdamA said:

McKay's Bounty drawings show a raised nub at the forward end of the keel that very nearly doubles its height at that point. I'm sanding it to the correct angle with the bench vice holding the Swiss pear.

 

This nub is called a hook, it's purpose is to prevent the end of part number 7, the apron, from having an end that would taper down to a sharp point. If fasteners went through that sharp point the end would split and cause that are to be weakened. Not something you want in a keel member.  So you cut the apron short and end it where it is still pretty thick, and compensate by adding material to the keel member.  It also serves to act as a stop during assembly, keeping the apron from sliding down.

 

Edit: Also, about that 3D blender model you found, I wouldn't trust it too much. I have a lot of experience with those types of models and accuracy is the one weakest point they tend to have. 

Edited March 14, 2021 by rtwpsom2
blender model info

[AdamA]

Well sure enough my stem didn't meet my apron well enough to ignore. I had to cut #4 from #7 and remake #4. If I didn't enjoy this so much this would probably annoy me. 

[AdamA]

These are McKay's designations:

[rtwpsom2]

Yeah, so Bounty is a bit different from what I thought, #7 is the lower stem and your apron is further in.  This is from the AOTS book, right?  If you are interested the Royal Museum has original line plans for the Bounty, a deck plan for her, and a plan for one of her launches. They might be of help, maybe not to buy but just for reference.

Edited March 15, 2021 by rtwpsom2

[AdamA]

I downloaded those. Thanks. 

I also added some bolts to the scarph joints on the keel.

[AdamA]

15 hours ago, rtwpsom2 said:

Yeah, so Bounty is a bit different from what I thought, #7 is the lower stem and your apron is further in.  This is from the AOTS book, right?  If you are interested the Royal Museum has original line plans for the Bounty, a deck plan for her, and a plan for one of her launches. They might be of help, maybe not to buy but just for reference.

It was funny because I had to remake the Gripe ha.