HMS Euryalus 1803 by rlb - 1:48 scale

[druxey]

You may find that once the sides of the boxing joint are sanded and horseshoe plates applied, it will look fine.

[rlb]

I hope you are right, druxey!   Paul, yes, I made the clamps--credit goes to Ed Tosti, you can find them on his build log for Naiad.

 

While most of my work this week has been on Oneida, I have spent some time slowly sanding the bollard timbers to fay to the stem.

 

They need to match the concave taper of the upper stem--

 

 

 

 

Still some work needed, but they are getting close.   The overall width is constant now at the head and foot of the assembly--

 

 

 

Once I have them tapered correctly to the stem, I'll start roughly beveling them forward, and at the foot where they meet the lower apron.

 

Ron 

[allanyed]

Ron,

This is one of the most difficult jobs, at least it always has been for me.   Another build brought this up yesterday for a different ship, but the solutions varied.  Chisels and sand paper, belt sander and hand sanding, plane and sanding.   Did you hand sand with sanding sticks or ????

 

I agree that Ed's mini wooden hand screw clamps are a joy to use.

 

Love your workmanship!!!!

 

Allan

[rlb]

Thanks, Allan.   The taper of the stem and bollard timbers is being sanded by hand, with that sanding block you can see on the left in the first photo.   I have a sanding drum in my full size drill press down in the basement, but I only use that for roughing the basic curve of the pieces after cutting them out, and I don't trust myself with chisels for this work, so it's slow going.

 

It's taken me a while to wrap my head around these pieces, trying to visualize what the end shape is, compared to the lines on the paper pattern, and how they need to fit with the stem, lower apron, rabbet and rest of the hawse timbers.

 

Ron 

[hamilton]

Hi Ron - can you teach me how to be as careful and precise as you are? As with your Oneida log I really appreciate the explanations and descriptions you provide of your process. I always learn a lot reading through your logs. Very impressive work here

hamilton

[rlb]

hamilton, if only you knew how how deficient I feel in matters of care and precision; though I know, of ourselves we tend to be the harshest critics.

 

Thank you, and I'll try to continue to show how I manage to do things.

 

Ron    

[Wintergreen]

Hi there,

Just found this log and since both volumes of Euryalus sits on my shelf I thought it useful to bring a chair and a bowl of popcorn to follow along here.

Looks like you off to a good start Ron. Nice and neat work this far.

 

Keep it up!

[rlb]

Thanks Hakan, you are welcome to pull up a chair, though not much is happening at the moment!   This is going to be a real learning experience for me--hope to make some more progress soon.  

Ron

[allanyed]

Ron,   I have been following Matiz' build log on Euryalus.  If you have not already been doing so, maybe give it a look see.  His work is spectacular plus some good questions and comments have arisen during his build.

 

I am looking forward to seeing your progress updates 😀

 

Allan

[rlb]

Allan,

Yes, I am watching Matiz!   Stunning progress!   His log is (and will be) a great resource.  Also Clay (cfn1803) looks like he may be working on his again.

Ron

[shipman]

Marvelous workmanship.

Guy's, when referring to other posts it would be a lot quicker to find if a link is included.

[allanyed]

Good point Shipman!  Just thought  most members would not mind spending five or ten seconds typing Euryalus Matiz in the search box 😀

Cheers!

Allan

[Wintergreen]

By the way Ron, did you get hold of all the plans needed? 

In an early post you said you were lacking vol #1 plans.

 

 

[rlb]

Hi Hakan,

 

Yes, Allan and Wayne, the authors of the Euryalus books and plans, were able to help me out.  But I am still looking for a used copy of Vol 1 (with the plans included).

 

Ron

[allanyed]

Ron,  I wish I bought a dozen copies myself when I see prices on the net as volume one is out of print.   I'm glad Wayne and I were able to help.  If I spot a copy at a realistic price I will PM you.   

[rlb]

Thanks again, Allan!

Ron

[Reverend Colonel]

On 6/18/2021 at 6:20 PM, rlb said:

 

 

I have to say, that tree trunk is distracting!!

Indeed. Because it is also beautiful. 

[rlb]

I have a little bit more work to show.   Final shaping is not done, but I've glued together some of the pieces that make up the bow and stern framing--

 

The bow assembly-

 

The sternposts and deadwood assembly--

 

And the rough cutting out of the bollard timbers and hawse pieces--

 

Ron

[Koopyetz]

Ron

thank you for the update. Very clean and precise work.I hope having a model of this magnitude to construct will give you many hours of enjoyment. Your hands will never be bored.

 

regards

 

Rick

[rlb]

Thanks Rick.

 

Continuing with rough shaping of the Bollard and Hawse timbers, they are glued together, and sanded.  After they are close to the right shape, they will be separated and will be filed to form the correct gaps between them.  To the left, the first cant frame "Z (Forward)" is also cut out--

 

The second cant frame "Z (After)" is made up of two pieces each, with a chock.  This is my first time building a chocked frame, and the chocks need to be skewed to accommodate the inner and outer bevels of the frame--

 

  The skewed chock is made oversize and glued to the first piece--

 

Then it is sanded flush on the side without the paper pattern--

 

Here are the frames with the second piece ready to be glued.  However, I discovered that the upper starboard futtock (the one on the left in the photo) is misshapen.  The paper pattern became distorted when I glued it down.  I had had to lift and reposition it on the wood billet, and during that process it warped.  I will need to make some more paper copies, and cut another one--

 

 

Ron

 

 

 

Edited June 13, 2022 by rlb

[dvm27]

Nice work, Ron. After a few POF models I changed my sequence when assembling frames. I now glue the butt joints of the futtocks together over the pattern, allow to dry then fit the chock by using the assembled frame as a template. A slightly off chock can affect the final shape of the frame so fitting the chock to it's opening insures this doesn't happen.

[rlb]

That's smart, Greg.  On this frame I'm using the paper copy underneath to make sure my frame keeps the right shape, and finessing the chock cut-out on the second futtock if the chock is slightly off.  I'll experiment with other methods as I go forward.

 

Ron

Edited June 12, 2022 by rlb

[rlb]

I realized as I was rough shaping the glued together Bollard and Hawse timbers, that I would need the first one or two cant frames to be installed temporarily in place to check the correct angles, amount of wood to remove, etc.   Going a bit further than the first frames, Zf (forward), and Za (aft), I cut out ALL the forward cant frame pieces--

 

In between other tasks, I'll assemble these.  But to get on with the Bollard and Hawse timbers, I temporarily glued up the first frame Zf.  As I fit the glued together and roughly shaped group of Bollard and Hawse timbers between the stem and this first frame I realized I had removed too much material from the starboard group.   It wasn't going to mate to the first frame satisfactorily.  The port group was more salvageable.  The two groups of timbers were separated, and I would try again, one at a time with the timbers, and the Zf frame--

  

Having the Zf frame in place, the required shape of the Bollard and Hawse timbers finally clicked in my mind.  The angle to the keel (deadwood to be precise) of the Zf frame (55.24 degrees) is the key to all the Bollard and Hawse timbers, and if you cut (sand) that angle correctly into the "foot" of each Bollard and Hawse timber, the rest of the shaping of them follows.  I started with the Bollard timbers.  When I had the correct "foot", I lightly glued them to the stem, then on to the next Hawse timber, lightly gluing each in place to the previous one, as it fit.  All the "first try" starboard timbers had to be thrown out and recut (indeed, the outer starboard Hawse timber needed multiple tries), but only one of the port timbers.  Here they are in place--

They look very ragged and inconsistently sized, but they fit right at the foot, which is what, I think, seems to matter.  We'll see, I wouldn't be surprised if I have redo them again!

 

The two glued together groups were separated back off of the stem and first frame, and some further rough shaping done--

 

 

At this point they were marked (oh so crudely!) for the locations of the gaps, and will now be separated into individual pieces again to file those gaps into the timbers--

Edited June 21, 2022 by rlb

[French Mr Bean]

A nice job resulting from reflection and patience. Best wishes !

I'm going to start the Naiad and these build logs will come in handy.

As we say in France: "Doing and undoing, that's how we learn" 😀

[rlb]

Unfortunately, I mismeasured the location of the gaps, and didn't realize it until I had filed them into one set of timbers.  On to the third try.  I felt like I wasted precious wood, with the way they are curved, and as they are some of the largest timbers on the ship.  The most disheartening was re-making the Bollard timber, as that has to have a concave taper to match the stem.  It was not fun to make that timber 3 times.  I hope I've got it now, though I won't be 100% sure until I have more of the cant frames mocked up, and I finalize the rabbet.  The rabbet seems to need extra shaping to transition to the foot of the Bollard timber and the bearding line.   We will see. 

 

The rejected timbers are in front, and the temporarily glued together Bollard and Hawse timbers (with their gaps) sitting in place between the first cant frame and the stem--

 

 

The masking tape is just holding the group of timbers against the stem.   The timbers still need a lot of fairing, and some adjustments to the length of some of the upper gaps.  The isopropyl alcohol in the background was heavily used over the last couple weeks, as the timbers were glued together for rough shaping, unglued to make the gaps, and glued back together, unglued to make fixes, reglued again, etc.

 

Ron 

[dvm27]

Welcome to the bollard scrap pile club Ron! Nobody (except perhaps Druxey) nails them the first time. I cut the air spaces on my Byrnes table saw after the hawse and bollard timbers were "spot-welded" to each other with a few pinpoint dabs of yellow glue. The air spaces were then marked in pencil and the timbers separated. Then the Byrnes saw blade was raised 1/2" (scale) and the recess cut freehand.

Edited July 2, 2022 by dvm27

[rlb]

Greg,

Yes, that was humbling.  I think I understand what you did, but I'm not sure.  In any event, though I have a Byrne's saw now, I never would have thought to use it for the air spaces; so much to learn!  I'm sure it was much more precise and uniform than my hand filing.

Ron

Edited July 2, 2022 by rlb

[dvm27]

1 hour ago, rlb said:

Greg,

Yes, that was humbling.  I think I understand what you did, but I'm not sure.  In any event, though I have a Byrne's saw now, I never would have thought to use it for the air spaces; so much to learn!  I'm sure it was much more precise and uniform than my hand filing.

Ron

As long as you are only removing a section of the surface face it is more accurate than hand filing for sure.

[druxey]

Producing these timbers involves a large learning curve if you have not done these before, so don'r beat yourself up over them. Every good model-maker has a scrap box for a reason! Keep at it and you will get there.

[allanyed]

On 7/2/2022 at 4:12 PM, dvm27 said:

Nobody (except perhaps Druxey) nails them the first time

That is the total truth Greg.  No matter how many times these are done, they are never easy.

Allan