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Posted

As an interlude from ship building I decided to build a Concord Stagecoach.  These  were originally made by Abbot Downing in Concord, New Hampshire were common through the American wet in the 1860’s but were also operated in Australia and New Zealand by Cobb & Co as mail coaches and also transport to the goldfields.  This is a kit by Artesania Latina but will be bashed to achieve a more “Australian” look.

 

486309622_CobbandCoCoach.thumb.jpg.1c966cebdd690e4f8a800e692ae2afde.jpg

 

This initially seemed to be a quick project but has turned out to be more complex than I first thought.  The first task is to construct the wheels.  Here is a wheel from about 1900 on display at my local timber merchant.  It is probably from a bullock cart not a coach, but it gives an indiction of the mrthod of construction.

Wheel_Panorama1.jpg.7ecf6071197b2f8840273bf73c411c55.jpg

 

These wheels have twelve spokes arranged around a rim, which in this case is constructed from four segments.  In order to get these as perfectly round as possible I drew a circle of the appropriate diameter and then used the jig shown to make the two halves of the rim.

 

Jig_MG_5711.jpg.479b16bdefe7c80e7ef69bd66f8eeeee.jpg

 

 

The two halves were then glued together:

 

Rim_MG_5707.jpg.21b22b63ad49fb829ee2a355fca98d02.jpg

 

  The spokes are made from 4mm sapelly rod, which were sanded flat on two opposing sides to achieve a final thickness of 3 mm.

 

1398302219_Rod.jpg.dc137c5721a4128c9c5d5f7ad3f944b4.jpg

 

The hub supplied was sanded smooth and the twelve holes bored at 30 0 to each other

 

Hub_MG_5709.jpg.1e16dfc2cbc494ebad696e16ebb84af0.jpg

 

A simple jig was constructed to ensure that the spokes were evenly spaced. This consisting of a sheet of ply with a hole in the center to take the hub.  the positions of the spokes were marked at the correct angles.  Four spokes at rigt angles were added first.

 

1269609776_spokes_MG_5710.jpg.493fe92edb7e4c1bce43e557f0c890e3.jpg

 

Then the rest added in a systematic manner

 

Spokes_MG_5708.jpg.54a4fad929271f5a2e9f677479555dd9.jpg

 

The rims and the front and rearof the spokes were painted with Vallejo Model Colour #79.858. The inside edges of the spokes were left un-painted.

 

_MG_5733.jpg.09d762892007d276668364121fc4f426.jpg

 

And here are the four wheels completed:

 

_MG_5736.jpg.ce5db0d04351574019bf4bda4d198ee8.jpg

 

Current Build:

Medway Longboat

Completed Builds:

Concord Stagecoach

HM Cutter Cheerful

Royal Caroline

Schooner for Port Jackson

 

Posted

I'm moving this to the non-ship builds area   The wheels came out looking pretty good.

Mark
"The shipwright is slow, but the wood is patient." - me

Current Build:                                                                                             
Past Builds:
 La Belle Poule 1765 - French Frigate from ANCRE plans - ON HOLD           Triton Cross-Section   

 NRG Hallf Hull Planking Kit                                                                            HMS Sphinx 1775 - Vanguard Models - 1:64               

 

Non-Ship Model:                                                                                         On hold, maybe forever:           

CH-53 Sikorsky - 1:48 - Revell - Completed                                                   Licorne - 1755 from Hahn Plans (Scratch) Version 2.0 (Abandoned)         

         

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

Posted

 

  On 8/15/2021 at 3:22 AM, mtaylor said:

I'm moving this to the non-ship builds area   The wheels came out looking pretty good.

Expand  

Thanks  Mark,

 

There's a few finicky bits to do on those wheels yet but I am moving on for the moment.

 

John

Current Build:

Medway Longboat

Completed Builds:

Concord Stagecoach

HM Cutter Cheerful

Royal Caroline

Schooner for Port Jackson

 

Posted

Looking good, John.

From what I see, the spokes are butt-jointed at the felloe end: is that correct?

🌻

STAY SAFE

 

A model shipwright and an amateur historian are heads & tails of the same coin

current builds:

HMS Berwick 1775, 1/192 scratchbuild; a Slade 74 in the Navy Board style

Mediator sloop, 1/48 - an 18th century transport scratchbuild 

French longboat - CAF - 1/48, on hold

Posted (edited)

Thanks for your interest  Bruce,

 

Yes, they are butt-jointed here on the model but on that historical wheel that I showed they are let in at the felloe end as well.  In fact, on the model some of the but joints gave way and needed attention so it would not have been a viable system on a "real" wheel.

 

At the Toowoomba museum in Queensland one can observe a wheelwright in action making a wagon wheel.  First, all twelve spokes are driven into square holes in the hub.  Then "pegs" are cut on the end of each spoke.  Eight segments of the rim are made with holes bored at the correct distance.  These are hammered onto the spokes. And it all locks together,  NO GLUE!!

 

John

 

 

 

 

Edited by bartley

Current Build:

Medway Longboat

Completed Builds:

Concord Stagecoach

HM Cutter Cheerful

Royal Caroline

Schooner for Port Jackson

 

Posted (edited)

The old-time wheelwrights were pretty clever people.

FWIW, and just because we all like a good technical point, I believe the real bullock cart wheel in post#1 is what is known as an 'artillery wheel' (which refers to the type of construction, not the user).

In broad terms, an artillery wheel did not have a proper hub: the ends of the spokes were longer and cut to the correct angle so when assembled they formed a solid middle. A substantial flange was then put on both front and back of the wheel, through bolted together and the axle passed through and locked mechanically in place. It was tough and well suited to mass production.


Your wheels look absolutely correct for the period and the colour works too. They will add a lot to the character of this old western-movie icon 👍.

 

Edited by bruce d

🌻

STAY SAFE

 

A model shipwright and an amateur historian are heads & tails of the same coin

current builds:

HMS Berwick 1775, 1/192 scratchbuild; a Slade 74 in the Navy Board style

Mediator sloop, 1/48 - an 18th century transport scratchbuild 

French longboat - CAF - 1/48, on hold

Posted

The Main Chassis

 

This consists of three long beams connected to two suspension stabilizers.

 

_MG_5731.jpg.e2b27397fe33313fa9b86c1448b97851.jpg

 

_MG_5729.jpg.42251909ac9c014e81636bb4ac61845e.jpg

 

You will note that these both show "clefts" where presumably narrow planks where joined to make  a wider board.  These were produced using a mill and a 0.4 mm Kyocera end mill.

 

_MG_5719_1.jpg.afd3d60471e6b03555e782633f7894a0.jpg

 

After painting the two oposing edges, the beams were connected to the suspension stabilizers ensuring that everthing was at right

angles:

Chasis_MG_5737.jpg.2c87bb4d72fa6e40657fd39481825a3c.jpg

 

The final result looks like this

 

_MG_5764.jpg.17a1286d26023397132ab9dd19d50714.jpg

 

John

 

Current Build:

Medway Longboat

Completed Builds:

Concord Stagecoach

HM Cutter Cheerful

Royal Caroline

Schooner for Port Jackson

 

Posted
  On 8/16/2021 at 7:01 AM, bartley said:

It sounds like I will need to be careful with an expert watching on!

Expand  

Expert? Moi? Nah.

Several generations of the family on my father's side were blacksmiths, so put it down to a form of tribal memory 😉.

 

It looks like a good kit. Can I ask what is your opinion of it now you have been 'hands-on' for  while?

🌻

STAY SAFE

 

A model shipwright and an amateur historian are heads & tails of the same coin

current builds:

HMS Berwick 1775, 1/192 scratchbuild; a Slade 74 in the Navy Board style

Mediator sloop, 1/48 - an 18th century transport scratchbuild 

French longboat - CAF - 1/48, on hold

Posted

Hi Bruce,

 

Early days yet so it is a bit hard to comment on the quality of the kit.  I think that the cabin will be the real test.  However, so far it looks OK.  The hubs are boxwood.  The laser cut parts are walnut/boxwood and seem quite accurate. There is quite a lot of "scratch" work such as fabricating the spokes from dowel.  This makes it a bit less like "painting by numbers"

 

John

Current Build:

Medway Longboat

Completed Builds:

Concord Stagecoach

HM Cutter Cheerful

Royal Caroline

Schooner for Port Jackson

 

Posted (edited)

Steering Mechanism and Haul Bar

 

This is quite a complex piece of woodwork and stars with four laser cut parts 5 mm deep, the curved steering bar, the haul bar and the steering struts:

 

_MG_5749.jpg.961a8c585e008593bba1719eb0bfadc6.jpg

 

The Haul Bar is cut from 5 X 5 mm stock walnut and the end fashioned to a "knob"  The parts are assembled in such a way that the haul bar moves freely between them:

 

_MG_5762.jpg.1126f7003f9fd204a1156ae85d638fd5.jpg

 

 

Ironwork was then added.  In fact these clamps are actually brass, of course, but I don't think there would be much brass on these coaches so I chose to blacken them and then app;y a little weathering to make them look like iron._MG_5768.jpg.10e9a33a015ec908b4770eacb7e21b4a.jpg

 

The side clamps are showm prode of the haul bar but I chose to inset them a litle

 _MG_5766.jpg.420490118bf18600f11e6db3c85f3994.jpg

 

The sqaew clamps were fashioned from 4mm brass strip and then the ends were silver soldered together:

 

Open_MG_5770.jpg.159ef55c03a36a917b05c03c4ed642a2.jpg

 

Welded_MG_5771.jpg.8d87d5e7ddbb1b6df7f67597337a7be5.jpg

 

The final appearance of the unit is shown below

 

_MG_5780.jpg.48fdcafb6e43515397b0cbda635b9d5d.jpg

 

Wheel Axels

 

The real axel is made from 9 X 9 mm walnut stock and  5mm diameter holes need to be bored in the ends to take the stub axels The length was too long to fit under my mini drill press so the firs method I chose was to use my wood lathe.  I have a  4 jaw chuck but it is not self centering and is difficult to set up.  I thought I had it correct but with the length of the axel there was some precession and the hole hole turned out slightly conical.

_MG_5746.jpg.11fe8762ef19cda5214f6682b012138c.jpg

 

For the second axel I mounted my Dremel horizontally, chocked up the alxel and pushed it onto the drill.  Surprisingly this made a near perfect perpendicular hole!

 

_MG_5776.jpg.66d01e8878cf21f3776a661646656525.jpg

 

In each case I stated at 1mm, then progressed in mm steps to 4mm,  Here is the front axel:

 

_MG_5782.jpg.90867306d2234f785fc5a6bf5eb85bea.jpg

 

John

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by bartley

Current Build:

Medway Longboat

Completed Builds:

Concord Stagecoach

HM Cutter Cheerful

Royal Caroline

Schooner for Port Jackson

 

Posted (edited)
  On 8/19/2021 at 7:16 PM, bartley said:

Those bands on the ends of the draw bar would have been heat shrunk on I presume.  Real blacksmith stuff that!

Expand  

That was common practice, a pin or wedge was (I think) also used to 'cinch up' the assembly. The west was a big wide place and not all blacksmiths went to the same school. Many of them were immigrants or second generation Americans and were still doing things like they had been done in whatever country they learned.

It took the arrival of the railroads to make the idea of a 'standard' part make sense. These stage coaches were pretty much alike in looks but could have any number of small differences in fittings or repairs.

Careful, I might get on my soapbox 🤐

Edited by bruce d
fumble fingers

🌻

STAY SAFE

 

A model shipwright and an amateur historian are heads & tails of the same coin

current builds:

HMS Berwick 1775, 1/192 scratchbuild; a Slade 74 in the Navy Board style

Mediator sloop, 1/48 - an 18th century transport scratchbuild 

French longboat - CAF - 1/48, on hold

Posted (edited)
  On 8/19/2021 at 7:16 PM, bartley said:

Those bands on the ends of the draw bar would have been heat shrunk on I presume.  Real blacksmith stuff that!

 

Expand  

The process is called "Swaging" heating up the steel part to where they could slide it over the wood and then allowing it to cool, shrinking to an almost permanent fixation to the part.... Steel wheel tyres were installed the same way... (swaging didn't work with iron)

 

  On 8/19/2021 at 8:27 PM, bruce d said:

That was common practice, a pin or wedge was (I think) also used to 'cinch up' the assembly.

Expand  

That was another method, but used for wrought iron... It didn't last as long as steel swaging... Another was to build the iron part square and the wood part tapered and press it on before pinning it....

Many very ingenious ways to do the same thing, it was after all, the beginning of the age of invention....

Edited by Egilman

Current Build: F-86F-30 Sabre by Egilman - Kinetic - 1/32nd scale

In the Garage: East Bound & Down, Building a Smokey & the Bandit Kenworth Rig in 1/25th scale

Completed: M8A1 HST  1930 Packard Boattail Speedster  M1A1 75mm Pack Howitzer  F-4J Phantom II Bell H-13's P-51B/C

Temporary Suspension: USS Gwin DD-433  F-104C Starfighter "Blue Jay Four" 1/32nd Scale

Terminated Build: F-104C Starfighter

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Quote:

"Relish Today, Ketchup Tomorrow"

Posted

They did that with steam locomotive drivers, too. Heat the tire rim in a furnaces so that it expands, move it quickly to the actual driver wheel and place it. Then cool it into place. Since the driver was two parts, occasionally the rim would separate from the wheel, with catastrophic results. The dynamic forces on the drivers were significant with the spinning wheels and the drivers and connecting rods moving along.

Ken

Started: MS Bounty Longboat,

On Hold:  Heinkel USS Choctaw paper

Down the road: Shipyard HMC Alert 1/96 paper, Mamoli Constitution Cross, MS USN Picket Boat #1

Scratchbuild: Echo Cross Section

 

Member Nautical Research Guild

Posted

Fascinating background information guys and thanks for all the likes.  I am pleased there is so much interest. I thought that on a shipping site there might not be much interest in this project.  I might need to lift my game!

 

John

Current Build:

Medway Longboat

Completed Builds:

Concord Stagecoach

HM Cutter Cheerful

Royal Caroline

Schooner for Port Jackson

 

Posted
  On 8/20/2021 at 10:18 PM, bartley said:

Fascinating background information guys and thanks for all the likes.  I am pleased there is so much interest. I thought that on a shipping site there might not be much interest in this project.  I might need to lift my game!

 

John

Expand  

Lots of knowledge and frindship here John,   you will always get friendly  replies and  the occasional  talk about food....

 

OC.

Current builds  


28mm  Battle of Waterloo   attack on La Haye Saint   Diorama.

1/700  HMS Hood   Flyhawk   with  PE, Resin  and Wood Decking.

 

 

 

Completed works.

 

Dragon 1/700 HMS Edinburgh type 42 batch 3 Destroyer plastic.

HMS Warspite Academy 1/350 plastic kit and wem parts.

HMS Trafalgar Airfix 1/350 submarine  plastic.

Black Pearl  1/72  Revell   with  pirate crew.

Revell  1/48  Mosquito  B IV

Eduard  1/48  Spitfire IX

ICM    1/48   Seafire Mk.III   Special Conversion

1/48  Kinetic  Sea Harrier  FRS1

Posted (edited)

Wheels Part 2

 

In view of all of the information above about swaging, I thought it was time to but some "steel" treads  and hub supports on my wheels.

 

The tread is 5 mm X 1mm walnut which was bent into a rough curve using heat and a little water. It was stained with Japan Black spirit based  stain and then glued to the rim of the wheel with CA:

 

Wheel_Tread.jpg.255b19b8edaa2ecba67fef2870ac74cb.jpg

 

Reinforcing bands on the hubs were made from 4 mm brass strip.  This was curved to shape using a mini rolling mill:

 

1009246973__RollingmillMG_5805.jpg.10aeb93ecfceb1f1845bddcb8ffa5d85.jpg

 

A curve close the the correct diameter could be produced:

 

Band_MG_5796.jpg.61dbae5836deccabfaf7c688cc8914bd.jpg

 

The final shape could then be achieved by simply squeezing together a little more by hand.  These bands were glued to the hub with CA.  All of this metalwork was then blackened and weathered a bit so it looked like iron.

 

Final.jpg.f4f16f0e44d4c441b1493e2b6bc90057.jpg

 

This only one wheel - three to go!  I also need to insert simulated bolts into the rim at each spoke position but I think I will complete my steering gear first.

 

John

 

Edited by bartley
spelling

Current Build:

Medway Longboat

Completed Builds:

Concord Stagecoach

HM Cutter Cheerful

Royal Caroline

Schooner for Port Jackson

 

Posted

unique looking coach.........looking good so far  ;) 

I yam wot I yam!

finished builds:
Billings Nordkap 476 / Billings Cux 87 / Billings Mary Ann / Billings AmericA - reissue
Billings Regina - bashed into the Susan A / Andrea Gail 1:20 - semi scratch w/ Billing instructions
M&M Fun Ship - semi scratch build / Gundalow - scratch build / Jeanne D'Arc - Heller
Phylly C & Denny-Zen - the Lobsie twins - bashed & semi scratch dual build

Billing T78 Norden

 

in dry dock:
Billing's Gothenborg 1:100 / Billing's Boulogne Etaples 1:20
Billing's Half Moon 1:40 - some scratch required
Revell U.S.S. United States 1:96 - plastic/ wood modified / Academy Titanic 1:400
Trawler Syborn - semi scratch / Holiday Harbor dual build - semi scratch

Posted (edited)

Steering Mechanism -Part 2

 

Quite a complex piece of woodwork this and it had to be strong because the horses were directly attached to this unit.  First the axle bracket is made by gluing together two 4 mm parts  Rebates are then cut into this unit to fit into the steering bars:

 

_MG_5793.jpg.bf32bbc1cb7f9ea2760ca6b2c288bbd4.jpg

 

 on top of this is glued the steering bar:

 

405213168_Toppiece.thumb.jpg.e64a1756ea954666daa965e6d6bf3566.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

I neglected to photograph this stage but here is a photo of the unit after the metal clamps are added:

 

Steering.jpg.e80a9644c1e720080a9b8e6771ade98d.jpg

 

The nest task to to add the metal struts which strengthen the haul bar.  These run between the axle bracket.  and the haul bar, Drilling the hole in the axle bracket to take these was tricky because no pin vice I had would fit between the two beams:

 

_MG_5815.jpg.01a4049ab2c1ba537c6b99839735f253.jpg _MG_5834.jpg.9c7ed321f38257d17d1f3dffb660b33f.jpg

 

Finally, both metal struts are in place to complete this unit:

 

1304790971_2021-08-2709-30-07(BRadius8Smoothing4).jpg.a87a907bbab299e18550170a179b2821.jpg

 

 

John

 

 

Edited by bartley

Current Build:

Medway Longboat

Completed Builds:

Concord Stagecoach

HM Cutter Cheerful

Royal Caroline

Schooner for Port Jackson

 

Posted

Brake Assembly

 

The brake shoes are glued to the brake bar after making a cleft in the brake shoes as they would have been assembled in two parts.

 

_MG_5847.jpg.fc13eb4d2bfeb80da771bce12ffd363f.jpg

 

The two push-rods are then nailed to the brake bar:

 

_MG_5849.jpg.e13829623a00f547a357d7ae2d67249c.jpg

 

These will be assembled onto the main chassis in due course.

 

John

 

 

 

Current Build:

Medway Longboat

Completed Builds:

Concord Stagecoach

HM Cutter Cheerful

Royal Caroline

Schooner for Port Jackson

 

Posted

Brake Assembly Part 2

 

Before the brake assembly itself is installed, I glued on the forward anchoring bracket and the rear axle bracket to the chassis:

 

_MG_5851.jpg.4ff58cd27cc862b020b0092339d71413.jpg

 

_MG_5886.jpg.0b3c53fafed4111ae30b4005b3e04ec6.jpg

 

The first part of the braking mechanism involves installing a metal bar which rotates to move the brake push rods .  This bar is made from 2 mm diameter brass rod and needs to have 2 1mm holes drilled through it to connect to the push rods.  I did this using a mill and a V block:

 

_MG_5875.jpg.d04cfb9a3cfee7980f32ca66523111ec.jpg

 

The three clamps to hold this rod to the chassis were fabricated from 3mm brass strap:

 

_MG_5878.jpg.c8e039e1187557d175fd788fe9d0ca90.jpg

 

The instructions have this rod sit on top of the chassis breams but I chose to inset it slightly with a round file in order to locate it more firmly:

 

_MG_5887.jpg.d193f83a0113633b1f3acf0b1308f180.jpg

 

The next task was to make the brake bar clamps - once again from 3 mm brass strap:

 

_MG_5852.jpg.211ebaed2333f5734648a8c30ab2ec33.jpg

 

These are nailed to the chassis beams.  They are wider than the brake bar in order to allow it to slide:

 

_MG_5890.jpg.f28bf4ad76387d62d14969edfa1da584.jpg

 

The final assembly will look like this:

 

Rear_End.jpg.56a94c44c12c3c66a21b26b36272260a.jpg

 

The next task is to construct the brake lever itself but I need to pause on this build while I return to complete my Cheerful build.  I have been making a plinth and some rope for that and those tasks are now completed.

 

John

 

Current Build:

Medway Longboat

Completed Builds:

Concord Stagecoach

HM Cutter Cheerful

Royal Caroline

Schooner for Port Jackson

 

  • 5 months later...
Posted

Brake lever

 

The brake lever was fabricated from 5 X 5 mm Sapelly with a 3 mm dowel glued in one end:

 

_MG_6216.jpg.97d1d23dc86336977f369dc2ed0a4f75.jpg

 

Two brackets were then made from 3 mm brass strip and the end of the brake bar bent out right angles on its outer end:

 

_MG_6208.jpg.70740f63e0051cd737f1a759af80bbf8.jpg

 

The brake bar was then secured to the brake lever with the two metal brackets:

 

_MG_6397.jpg.d4552488e8df2ea1352da58863fdba15.jpg

 

John

 

Current Build:

Medway Longboat

Completed Builds:

Concord Stagecoach

HM Cutter Cheerful

Royal Caroline

Schooner for Port Jackson

 

Posted (edited)

Suspension Brackets

 

These hold the suspension itself which was a strong leather strap on which the cabin was mounted.  This was an innovation for the Concornd coach. Apparently the ride was not as good as claimed but it was less tiring for the horses.

 

These are made from 5mm wide brass strip.  They are made in two parts – an inner and an outer part:

 

8788352_SuspenionBrackets.jpg.ef72c66d74bc8aaf3eeff1d752d4ea79.jpg

 

The top section is rolled using needle nosed pliers in such a way that the diameter of the inner section is a slightly smaller than the outer section.

 

_MG_640402.jpg.db0141dfa0a0e1b102d29f2cddd52903.jpg

 

In this way the inner section will fit inside the outer section.  Since they are not symmetrical, it is important to realise that there must be a left hand and a right hand pair which are of course mirror images. The assembly is then bent into a curved shape using a steel socket of the appropriate diameter.

 

1327907084_SuspenionBrackets1.jpg.b12f759e3cc816f619af5563a1122ea9.jpg

 

Clamps made from 2mm brass strip were then squeezed with pliers in order to hold the top section together. 

 

1956582190_Suspenionbrackets2.jpg.24ab92e160e90f86b79beea7bd6b3707.jpg

 

The brackets were then nailed either side of the stabilizers.

 

Support struts for each bracket were nailed to the rear axel or the front anchoring bar:

 

_MG_6405.jpg.473a9da4ee758977f613b547a9d37886.jpg

 

They were then silver soldered to the back of the suspension brackets. The instructions recomend the use of CA but i feld silver solder was more  secure and CA eill not take paint should any touch up needed.

 

Here is the final result:

 

798781401_2022-02-1609-32-26(BRadius8Smoothing4).jpg.8252d65e9d60fe68650937b78f1b61aa.jpg

 

Next links will be made to connect these to the suspension proper.

 

John

 

 

Edited by bartley

Current Build:

Medway Longboat

Completed Builds:

Concord Stagecoach

HM Cutter Cheerful

Royal Caroline

Schooner for Port Jackson

 

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted (edited)

Completing the Suspension

 

      1. The Suspension Links

 

These consist of two brass outer face plates connected by two short brass bars. The face plates are supplied:

 

 

link.jpg.31bc0f51e73b81fd582b7e5bf371edb7.jpg

 

and the links are cut from 1,5mm brass rod:

 

1745865839_2022-02-2120-42-10(BRadius8Smoothing4).jpg.9eebe6ed9385f714d99b327d8e847fa6.jpg

 

 

 

 

The instructions suggest connecting these with CA.  I felt that Silver solder was more secure but to ensure that the connecting rods were perpendicular I inserted them in vertical holes in some scrap timber and then soldered the l ink on top: 

 

_MG_6400.jpg.d79ec85b2f1ebabd746bd8673eec5379.jpg

 

The second link is not added at this stage so that the suspension itself can be slipped over the open link.

 

_MG_6401.jpg.dc3a4316b9803f2982ccc6c0a3fe7392.jpg

.

     2,  The Suspension Proper

 

 

The leather “springs” are simulated by laminating together three strips of 6 X 2 mm walnut:

 

1494260895_2022-02-2121-13-13(BRadius8Smoothing4).jpg.e465bb71d522d868be033aa897ae05a0.jpg

 

These are glued togeyther with Tightbond held in the appropriate curve and clamped together while the glue dries:

 

_MG_6425.jpg.7ec4daedde9305a61b5b8fb6580cde13.jpg

 

The connectors between the suspension “springs” and the links are made the supplied from brass plates which needed to be folded exactly in half so that the four holes line up.:

 

_MG_6428.jpg.c15081693c029db7ed01cd6fa2036159.jpg

 

Four aligned holes are then drilled in the ends of the suspension  “springs”, The end plates are the “bolted with two U shaped pieces of 0.8 mm wire.  Although not detailed in the instructions:

 

_MG_6430.jpg.e2c16cb79b02f8a9e96d9abe83f1eba7.jpg

 

I silver soldered the back of mine to secure them.  The suspension “springs” unit was finished off with two clamps on each end fabricated from 3mm brass strip. 

 

1901426598_Suspensionbands.jpg.215e7e03ed6b4bf6228ebe284eb43dfc.jpg

 

_MG_6457.jpg.81372a07b5550014bac4e04167973e56.jpg

 

Finally, the completed suspension units were connected to the links and the second face plate added to complete the chassis unit:

 

459212401_CompeteChasis.jpg.9f5d04878562d638a30f3a7bcc1f149e.jpg

 

 

Time to move on to the cabin

 

John

 

 

Edited by bartley

Current Build:

Medway Longboat

Completed Builds:

Concord Stagecoach

HM Cutter Cheerful

Royal Caroline

Schooner for Port Jackson

 

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted (edited)

Fabrication of the cabin.

 

With the chasis complete it is time to start on the construction of the cabin, The skeleton of the cabin is made up from the laser cut parts below parts below, which are all supplied in the kit.

 

597309409_CabinParts.jpg.2b0b97a737f545eb62091ea2138e0dba.jpg

 

The curved upper beams are glued to the side panels to establish the curve of the side panels:

 

141479630_Beamcurve.jpg.21b7432bb6a21bf74ec88b4c5c666fb5.jpg

The second lager curved panel (which is in fact the floor) is then glued just below the door and the two sides are connected together with the short (95 X5 X 4 mm)  beams:

 

I found it  simpler to build the cabin upside down so that squares can be used to ensure that the side walls are vertical and that the corners are at right angles:

 

1723266712_Cabinconstruction.jpg.11934e9e4fa5299d711a4b1c83012dc2.jpg

 

 

CabinDone.jpg.7c3c7674a75b79f4fe7409cb7050b78b.jpg

 

Next a 1.5 mm sheet of basswood was wrapped around the sides and bottom of the basic skeleton to form the end walls and the bottom of  the cabin.   Application of a little water allowed the soft basswood to be bent into a smooth curve to follow the curve of the side panels.

It was glued in place with Tight-Bond and clamped for an hour or so:

 

Sheeting.thumb.jpg.d7b3422845b4aae5def05fab0f3b6e82.jpg

 

 

 

CabinComplete.jpg.00af907ee9196781dbc3a71fd26fbaee.jpg

 

27176706_CabibinComplete2.jpg.9ce67d6748058bfd955442c01a67a2dd.jpg

 

After trimming of the excess and sanding smooth the basic cabin was ready for lining with mahogany veneer.

 

1738173291_Cimpleteandtrimmed.jpg.ad9896e20835b932b4b76be3d561c295.jpg

 

 

John

 

Edited by bartley

Current Build:

Medway Longboat

Completed Builds:

Concord Stagecoach

HM Cutter Cheerful

Royal Caroline

Schooner for Port Jackson

 

Posted

looking better than mine already

Posted
  On 3/16/2022 at 8:19 PM, Kevin said:

looking better than mine already

Expand  

Don't know about that one Kev! There are a few mistakes that I am not admitting to!

 

John

 

Current Build:

Medway Longboat

Completed Builds:

Concord Stagecoach

HM Cutter Cheerful

Royal Caroline

Schooner for Port Jackson

 

Posted (edited)

Lining the Interior

 

The interior of the cabin is lined with 30 X 0.6 mm mahogany veneer.  This turned out to be trickier than it seemed.  There are some difficult angles.  So I made some card templates like these:

 

Templates.jpg.55b84837460f82f9928ea4f629aff062.jpg

 

 

So here is the first sheet installed:

 

Beginningtoline).jpg.56cc6da8e01d87948a0b78851dbca865.jpg

 

Petty well complete mow - as is often said "you can never have too many clamps"

 

Clamping.jpg.bbe94b6cd6b9db886c4a25e12ca60bce.jpg

 

 

The floor is planked with 1X3 mm mahogany much like the deck of deck of a ship but much simpler - no bow or stern to allow for! 

I cut these planks accurately to length using a jig attached to my RP cutter - I have had a few versions of these cutter but this is the best so far - all metal construction and gives very reproducible results:

 

2006618131_RPCutter.jpg.1c04832d846b545a11b5b49e9186a221.jpg

 

Just a couple of curved planks to go behind the doors:

 

Floor.jpg.05ab70b5eedd61cf0db9507b018cfdb6.jpg

 

 

2076055359_Curvedplanks.jpg.3343ea36fcc842a4e55f93524e611b7e.jpg

 

and so the completed interior looks like this:

 

Completed1.jpg.2b249ce25df73f38c0d1844a082ed4be.jpg

 

Now to the exterior planking.

 

John

Edited by bartley

Current Build:

Medway Longboat

Completed Builds:

Concord Stagecoach

HM Cutter Cheerful

Royal Caroline

Schooner for Port Jackson

 

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