Winchelsea Nef by AnchorClanker - Scale 1:96 - first wood scratch build

[ChiefClanker]

Some of the notches for the stem post, keel, and stern post need to be cut.  Then, sanding the frames in pairs will commence.  Hopefully, this will ensure the frames are the same shape & etc.  

 

 

Mark  

 

[ChiefClanker]

Here are the frames cut and laid out.  Today will be refining the frames and then sanding will commence.

 

[ChiefClanker]

Using a scroll saw to cut small pieces can be touchy.  Since I am very attached to my fingers, it seemed prudent to make it safer.  I made a custom table top with a slot for the width of the blade.  This made cutting the keel notches easier and safer.  It has two coats of a clear and very liquid polyurethane.  See the two attached photos. Soon the sanding of the keel and frames will be completed.  

 

[ChiefClanker]

The custom table top is made from peg board material.  FYI.

 

[ChiefClanker]

It can also be bolted to the metal table top.  

[ChiefClanker]

Today time was spent sanding the frames in pair to make them uniform between the two halves.  This is performed on a Dremel Router Table with the Dremel tool rotating at a slow speed to reduce the chance of the sanding drum sending the pieces flying.  Refer to the attached photo.  I am very pleased with the results.  Next I will mark on the keel (herein includes the stem post and the stern post, unless otherwise designated) where the frames are to be attached.  After sanding with the Dremel tool, I sanded the edges with find sandpaper to rid the frames of the 'fuzz'.  It was tedious work, but well worth it!  I want to spend some time reading Louie da Fly's build log before proceeding too much further so a step of this portion of process is not missed.  

 

[ChiefClanker]

Here is the keel with where the frames will be attached.  Maybe there is a better way to do this than writing on the keel.  Before attaching each set of frames the markings and numbers will be erased.  

 

[Louie da fly]

Looking good, mate. Do you have a jig to hold the frames at right angles to the keel (in all three dimensions)? If not, I'd highly recommend getting/making one before you start assembly.

 

Steven

[ChiefClanker]

Yes; I have an idea about how to do this.  I'm going to read your build log first to see what comes after attaching the frames to make sure I set up attaching the frames properly.  As a kid making plastic models, I used modeling clay as a 'third set of hands.'  So as not to risk staining the wood with the modeling clay I will use a small piece of wax paper over the wood where the clay will be applied.  I'll see how this works.   May something more 'robust' will be needed.  

 

Edited January 25, 2022 by Chief Mark
to make the statement more clear

[ChiefClanker]

Now that I set this up this far, I am rethinking my modeling clay jig & etc.  

 

[Louie da fly]

You might be interested in something like the jig Kikatinalong made for his carrack - see 

I thought it was pretty cool. Wish I'd thought of it.

 

Steven

[ChiefClanker]

I marked the frame location on the keel.  The jig looks very interesting!  I may make one for larger projects and maybe for this one as well.  

 

[allanyed]

Mark

The marks may very well be frame locations on your drawing, but be aware on future builds, they are usually station lines and do not necessarily coincide with the frame locations.  In checking a number of framing disposition plans many have the forward EDGE of the floor aligned with the station lines aft of midships. The station lines are in line with the aft edge of the floors that lie forward of midships, never centered.    

 

One example where some stations match the edge of the floor and some don't match can be found on the HMS Director, 1784 for which there is a high resolution drawing on the Wiki Commons site https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Ship_plans_of_the_Royal_Museums_Greenwich      It follows but may be easier to open and enlarge from the commons site and will be in high res so you can see the location of the frames compared to the station lines which are not the same.

 

Allan 

 

 

[ChiefClanker]

This afternoon was spent making sure all my frame halves match their mirror pieces.  All fit on the keel as they should.  Next will be gluing the two halves together.  Then it will be tracing the full frames and designing the cross beams.  I need to decide on a jig for attaching the frames to the stem post, keel, and stern post. 

 

[ChiefClanker]

Here are the frames glued together.  The glue says to let it dry for 12 hours.  

[ChiefClanker]

Allan,

Thank you for the drawing of the HMS Director.  It is a fascinating drawing.  Just goes to show how much detail is 'missing' from many sets of ship plans from that era.  The shipyards knew how to build ships and may not have needed such detailed plans as we are accustom to today.

 

Mark

 

[allanyed]

If you have not already done so, you can download the high res drawing from the Wiki Commons site I gave above.  Fascinating stuff can be found on the high res drawings at times, including hand written notes and such.

Allan

[ChiefClanker]

The encouragement to create a jig for attaching the frames to keel is painfully learned.  I need to create a jig, or several jigs, for doing so.  My first attempt did not turn out as expected.  Details, details, details!!  I may even remake the keel.  The attached photo may show the frames did not line up quite the way they were supposed to. Today I will be making jigs for the frames and a jig for holding the keel and attaching the frames.  This process may take longer than anticipated.  But, then, maybe not. 

 

[mtaylor]

Jigs seem to be a necessary evil.  This will probably be the first of many.   So, enjoy the process as in the end, it makes building much easier.

[Louie da fly]

We've all been there. There's nothing wrong with the frames themselves, it's just a matter of ensuring they're all in line/perpendicular in each of the three possible dimensions. More work, but worth it.

 

Steven

[ChiefClanker]

Right.  It is better to correct sooner than later.  It is much less 'expensive'!  I copied the plans for the frames and redrew the plans  by adding the mirror image.  The next step is to add the deck beams to the drawings including the through beams.  It seems best to do that now instead of trying to do so after the frames are attached to the keel.  After that will be copying the frame and deck beam plans and the use the copies to reconstruct the frames and add the deck beams.  When the drawings are complete, they will be added to my build log.  

 

Mark

 

[Louie da fly]

Sounds good. Once the deck beams are in place, they and the frames form a rigid triangle. However, it does make it even more important to get the  deck beams horizontal and in line with each other, otherwise your deck won't have a smooth line to follow.

 

And of course the deck beams need to be slightly convex upwards, to allow water to run off the deck.

 

Steven

[ChiefClanker]

Last night I was thinking of making the decks convex upward just for that reason.  At 1:96 the rise will be very small and was wondering it is really worth it.  The convex does not have to be much, just enough.  Also, the keel needs some work.  The top and bottom of the keel are not exactly parallel, so the frames and deck beams will not be exactly correct.  The keel will have to be modified or remade first.  I need to think through how ensure the deck beams are at the exact same height.  Doing a dry run is a good way to test this.  

 

Redrawing the frames to make each half mirror images of each other came out quite well.  Most of the complete frames matched the new drawings.  Drawing the deck beams and the through beams is still to be done.  About a quarter of the frames need to be separated and re-glued.  A Testors Wood Cement was used.  I'm not happy with it.  For one, it takes 12 hours dry and cure.  And it is not very strong.  In this case, that is good thing since a quarter of the frames need separating and re-glueing.  Going forward I will use a waterproof Titebond II wood glue.  As a result, glueing will commence only after a 'dry fit' is 100%.  I plan to make my model seaworthy.  It's a ship, for heavens sake!     

 

For the ballast I will use something called "Critter-clay". After forming it between the frames at on the bottom of the hull and letting it dry, it will be painted with a dull coat lacquer to make it waterproof and glued in place. 

 

Thank you for you advice, Steve.  

 

[Louie da fly]

Yes, the convexity (I'd forgotten its name - it's called the camber) is small, but it does make a difference to the look of the model and I feel it's worth the extra effort.

 

Then there's the "sheer", the horizontal curve of the ship from aft forward via  midships. Normally it curves down from one end to midships then back up to the other end.

 

 

The sheer of the decks may not be as extreme as that of the gunwales, but it is certainly there. The height of the deck beams should be arranged to cause this sheer in the decks. It takes a bit of fiddling, but again, it's worth it.

 

Steven

[ChiefClanker]

Right about the sheer.  I was examining the plan view again and am taking the sheer into account.  At the moment, I decided how to produce the camber on the decks and will give it a try this coming week.  After looking at your model, Steve, your point of making the fore deck and after deck with too steep of a slope is clear.  In drawing the deck beams and through beams, the importance of correctly making the camber and slope of the two decks correctly is very important.  This is where it might take more than one attempt at making these items is in order.  As you said, the final result will be worth the effort.    

Edited February 7, 2022 by Chief Mark

[ChiefClanker]

It has been a few days since working on my ship.  Today I worked on designing thinner frames and have committed to using my scroll saw to do so.  Speaking of the scroll saw, I bolted the auxiliary table top to the table top. I am also redrawing the deck beams to show the camber. Tomorrow, if time permits, the frames and deck beams will be either modified or cut out.  Then the process of attaching them to the keel will commence.  

 

In terms of the hull planks, I will try Louie da Fly's method of using a soldering iron to heat the planks to bend them around the frames.  

 

More later.

 

[ChiefClanker]

I completed drawing the frames with the through and deck beams.  Now comes cutting out the deck beams, tracing them onto the woodstock, and cutting them out.  

 

[druxey]

That looks good. You may wish to consider the grain of the wood you plan to use: it is weak across the grain and liable to break. Ideally the frames should be of more than one piece with the grain oriented for strength.

[Louie da fly]

I'd second Druxey's advice. It'll save you a lot of grief down the line.

 

If you have a look at the archaeology, you'll find that the frames at this time were usually not continuous, but instead made of several separate futtocks, often set side by side and overlapping rather than being joined in one continuous line, as in this diagram of a dromon's framing (circled in blue)

 

 

and a different layout but with similar characteristics from the knarr Skuldelev 1

 

 

 

Steven

Edited February 20, 2022 by Louie da fly

[ChiefClanker]

Looking at the drawing of my frames, the grain of the wood is horizontal. The frames are two half frames.  The grain of the beams will be oriented longitudinally.  Considering the scale, 1:96, I was hoping orienting the grain of the wood in this fashion would eliminate or at least reduce the effects of the grain.  It seems to me, I need more advice and to study the frames in the photos and how others have made their frames.