USF Independence 1814 by Glen McGuire – FINISHED - 1/500 - 1/500

[Glen McGuire]

Since finishing the Aurora a few weeks ago, I found myself stressing out about all the yardwork and home fix-up things needing attention.  I figured the only way out of that trap was to get started on another ship project.    

So I took a trip to Total Wine looking for cheap alcohol in unique bottles.  You get some interesting reactions from store clerks when they see you grabbing bottles off the shelf, turning them sideways, and just staring at them.  

   
After an hour of perusing the aisles, a bottle of Cruzan rum with a longer neck caught my eye (1st pic below).  When I turned it sideways, it sort of looked like a cannon barrel to me.  Or maybe I had too many of the numerous free samples they were giving out around the store.

   
Regardless, I got this idea about a display with a warship in the bottle and the bottle sitting in a cannon carriage.  Hmmmmm.  So I bought the $20 bottle of Cruzan.  That’s over my usual budget for this stuff, but I do like rum drinks so it won’t go to waste like the rotgut I bought for the Aurora.  

 

I did some searching to see if I could find where someone else had done a similar SIB.  I found several cannon carriage wine bottle holders for sale but nothing with a ship in the bottle.  So maybe I’ve got something that’s a bit unique here, which would be pretty cool.

Next was deciding what warship to build.  I went thru Chapelle’s book on US naval history as well as the Naval History and Heritage Command website and decided on the USS Independence - the 1814 version and not the later Razee (new term I learned in my research).  I liked the name of the ship, its history, and the fact that it was the first US Navy ship-of-the-line.  Plus, a ship armed with 90 cannons would be a new challenge for me compared to my previous builds of commercial ships (Morgan and Aurora).  The 2nd pic shows the basic concept I’ve got in mind.
 

[Glen McGuire]

According to Chapelle, no plans exist for the original Independence.  I could not find any model kits nor could I find any builds on MSW.  And the only picture of the 1814 version I could find was a sketch of the sail plan (see below).  I’ll continue to research the ship and if anyone out there knows where I can find more info please comment.  

[Glen McGuire]

In the meantime, I’m going to start by trying to build the cannon carriage for the display first.  With so little info available on the 1814 Independence, I’m going to assume that it had cannons and carriages similar to the USS Constitution since both were launched in sort of the same time period.  I found carriage plans on the USS Constitution Museum website for a 24 lb “American-Type” cannon so I’ll try to make my display carriage similar to it.  

 

There will certainly be some deviations required to accommodate the rum bottle vs a cannon barrel.  Plus, one thing I know I’ll change for sure is the color.  Pictures from the website show the restored Constitution carriages painted a reddish color.  However, old black and white pictures make the carriage appear unpainted.  I like the look of natural wood much better than painted wood so I’m going au naturale.  Here we go!

[BANYAN]

Love your logic WRT house chores - wish I had of thought of that    Look forward to following this build also.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[Glen McGuire]

The only thing more meager than my woodworking skills is my array of woodworking tools which consist of a 10” table saw, a bench sander, and a band saw.  When I was following @gjdale's capstan project, I almost quit looking at his posts because I was so jealous of all the tools in his workshop (as well as his high level of skill).  But I’ll do the best I can here with this carriage.

The wood I’m using is the heartwood from a large english elm tree that came from the south lawn of the Texas capital.  It is really hard, dense wood and has a beautiful natural color and grain.  Unfortunately, it tends to scorch if the cutting or sanding is not done carefully.

I started with a couple of slats that are about 14” long, 2 ½” wide, and 5/8” deep and cut them into the basic shapes for the sides and axletrees.        
 

[Glen McGuire]

The wheels were a particular challenge for me.  I do not have any hole saws that were the sizes I needed, so I cut the wood into rough circles and hand sanded them into a final rounded shape.  Then I used a flap sanding bit with my drill lathe to give them their final finish.  I just love the end grain of the wood, which shows really well when looking up close at the wheels.

[Glen McGuire]

For the “lug nuts” on the wheels, I used brass nails that are 3/8” long with a 3/32” diameter head, which I ground down to a flatter surface.  They are supposed to sit flush in the wheel, but I do not have a flat base counter-sinker.  So I used an end mill router bit to countersink each of the 80 holes.  

[Keith Black]

Okay, Glen, I just found your new build log. I've pulled up a chair and have my rum buttered popcorn at the ready. You know, a beer bottle makes a better looking cannon than a rum bottle but dispensing with the internals is a lot less pleasing. 

[Glen McGuire]

Rum buttered popcorn???  Dang you, Keith.  Now I've got to go shopping tonight.

[Glen McGuire]

Below are the side brackets, the fore and hind axletrees, and axles.  The axles will be cut to their final length later.  For the side brackets, I made them with 4 “steps” instead of 5 like the plans show (and pretty much every other carriage I’ve seen).  I need a lower profile for the brackets.  The normal profile would hide too much of the bottle and potentially obscure the front half of the ship.  The fore axletree will sit vertically in the final assembly and the hind will lay flat.

[Joe100]

Glen is back at it again! Definitely following this!

[Glen McGuire]

22 hours ago, Joe100 said:

Glen is back at it again!

It was either house chores or another ship project.  No brainer!!

[Joe100]

I agree! I’d take the ship model any day!

[Glen McGuire]

I finished all the woodworking for the carriage.  This was definitely harder than I originally thought it would be!  Just looking at carriage pictures, it seemed like a simple build.  But when I got into the details, there was quite a bit more to it.  I could probably say the same thing about my ship modeling in general!

 
One thing I learned for sure is that if I’m going to do much more of this type of wood work, I’ve got to invest in some better tools.  It took a looooong time to file, sand, file, sand, file, sand all these pieces to size.  Regardless, this was fun!  

The last couple of pics are a dry fit just to get an idea if this thing is going to have a good look or not.  There’s still some hardware to build/add (trunions, linch pins, cap squares, breach rings, etc), which is my next step.  I’ll wait till the very end to add the rigging.  
 

[Landlubber Mike]

Hey Glen, I'm in for another great ride if you'll have me.  I love your ingenuity and creativity when it comes to the stands for your SIB builds - this one looks great!  That wood is gorgeous, a fitting complement to the SIB build

[Keith Black]

 Glen, super carriage, it looks really nice. 

[Glen McGuire]

21 minutes ago, Landlubber Mike said:

Hey Glen, I'm in for another great ride if you'll have me.

 

Hey Mike, I'm thankful to have you checking in on me.  You always offer great ideas and insight which help make my builds better.  For instance, I remember in your Charles Morgan log that you were using different woods for their natural color rather than staining or painting.  I really liked that idea and it's one reason I wanted to go natural with the wood for this carriage.    

 

8 minutes ago, Keith Black said:

Glen, super carriage, it looks really nice. 

 

Thank you, Keith!

[BANYAN]

I very much like the different display stands you create.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[Glen McGuire]

Thank you, Pat!  They help distract from all the flaws in my ship build!  😃

[Ian_Grant]

I love it!!

[Glen McGuire]

I am making slow progress on the carriage hardware – slow because it takes me forever to figure out what to use and what to do.  I spend a ridiculous amount of time fiddling around with a whole bunch of different things trying to find something that works.

The carriage has 2 tie-bolts with square heads that run the width of the carriage and protrude through countersunk holes in the side brackets.  The front tie-bolt goes thru the transom and the rear supports the stool bed.  To make the tie-bolts, I took a 1mm thick metal strip, cut it into 4mm x 4mm squares and soldered them onto the head of a common nail.    

There are 6 joint bolts that go thru the steps on top of the side brackets and 2 joint bolts that go thru the front bumper.  I’m using some small nails with rounded heads for those.  Mine are just for appearance as I am not pushing them all the way through.
 

Edited March 15, 2022 by Glen McGuire

[Glen McGuire]

The axles have a collar and linch pin on each side that keeps the wheels (trucks) in place.  For the collars, I took some brass brads, folded them around the axle, then drilled holes for the linch pins.  For the linch pins, I’m using finishing nails since their head is similar in shape to what I see in the real pictures.

 

For the trunions, my toolbox sacrificed a 6” long 3/8” socket extension.  Unfortunately for it, it was the perfect diameter that I needed.  The grommets on the end (which will rest against the bottle) are hard rubber dampeners from my dirt bike handlebars.  Nothing is off limits when you’re scrounging pieces and parts!

 

Next up, figuring out how to make the capsquares. 

Edited March 15, 2022 by Glen McGuire

[Glen McGuire]

Every time I look at pictures of the real carriage it seems like I see something new.  This time I noticed that it looks like there’s a thin sleeve bearing in the trunion groove on the top edge of the brackets.  So I took some copper tape left over from the Alabama and used it for the bearing.  It will be painted black later.

[Glen McGuire]

After that minor detour, it’s now time for the capsquares.  After playing around with several different materials I finally decided brass was the easiest to work with.  I bought a 1mm thick brass sheet from Hobby Lobby, cut 8cm x 1mm strips, and bent them into shape (1st pic).  Piece of cake!  

 

Uh, not so fast.  I looked at the carriage picture again and once again spotted something I’d overlooked.  The ends of the capsquares are rolled up (2nd pic).  Ugh!  The only thing I could figure out to do was solder a brass rod to each end.  So that’s what I ended up doing.  The last pic shows how they look before cleanup.  I think they’ll be ok after some filing and painting.         
 

 

 

Edited March 18, 2022 by Glen McGuire

[Joe100]

See, I’m not the only one who uses railroad rail to hold things when I’m glueing.

 

This work is so crisp. I can’t wait to see how it looks finished 

[Keith Black]

Nice work, Glen. I'm with Joe about seeing it finished.  

[gjdale]

I somehow missed the start of this one Glen. Love what you’ve done so far. I’ll pull up a chair for the rest of the build.

 

Still trying to catch up with other “priorities” before I start my own SIB.

[Landlubber Mike]

That's looking really fantastic Glen.  That wood you are using is beautiful.  In earlier pictures it was like a golden brown, now it seems to have almost taken on a color like swiss pear.  I bet when you get a finish on it it will really pop.  

 

I think the only problem is the stand will look so nice, you are now going to have to make a stunner of a SIB to match!

[Glen McGuire]

6 hours ago, Joe100 said:

See, I’m not the only one who uses railroad rail to hold things when I’m glueing.

OMG Joe!  I've got 4 pieces of rail of various sizes lying around (along with a few tie-plates) and it's unbelievable how many things I use them for.  Next to duct tape, they are about the handiest thing in my garage!

 

2 hours ago, gjdale said:

Still trying to catch up with other “priorities” before I start my own SIB.

Hey Grant, understood!  As I mentioned in the first post, I was trying to avoid my own list of "other priorities" when I began this project!  Still very much looking forward to when you are able to start your Amati Hannah.

 

1 hour ago, Landlubber Mike said:

That wood you are using is beautiful.  In earlier pictures it was like a golden brown, now it seems to have almost taken on a color like swiss pear.  I bet when you get a finish on it it will really pop.  

Thanks, Mike.  I actually added a light coat of tung oil to the wood before this last set of pictures.  It darkened it just a shade and gave it what I think is a richer tone.  To my eye, the color is a bit darker than the picture so I'm not sure I'm not sure if I want to do anything more that would change it too much. 

 

How do you finish wood with this type of natural color?  I've got minimal experience with wood-working like this so any advice is much appreciated.  I actually looked for some Kunos oil that @gjdale mentions in his Capstan project but could not find any around here.     

Edited March 18, 2022 by Glen McGuire

[Landlubber Mike]

22 minutes ago, Glen McGuire said:

How do you finish wood with this type of natural color?  I've got minimal experience with wood-working like this so any advice is much appreciated.      

 

I'm not a super expert on finishes, but have tried a variety.  All I can say is the best thing to do is test them out first!

 

I really like tung oil for woods like pear and walnut.  It brings out an incredible richness in the wood.  I've used 100% tung oil - make sure that the bottle says it's 100% because most formulas out there are a blend.  Wipe-on poly is another good one.  Maybe slightly less vibrant than tung oil on certain woods, but really easy to apply and looks nice.

 

The one reason I caution you to try out finishes ahead of time is that some woods look completely different if a finish is applied with the grain versus on the end grain.  With planking for example, end-grain is not an issue.  But with things like cannon carriages, deck items, etc., you might have visible end grain.  This came up in my use of redheart on my Pegasus - take a look at the picture below.  Tung oil with the grain is gorgeous - but when applied to the end grain, it turns the piece almost black in color!  Would have been a disaster had I not known that.  I tried some other finishes, and varnish was the only finish that kept the original color in both end grain and with the grain pieces.

 

 

 

Some finishes also impart a slight yellow color to lighter colored woods.  Danish oil definitely does.  I also read that applying oils to holly could do the same things, ruining that pure white look that people go for.  I haven't worked with holly yet, but will have to experiment because I'm building the Charles Morgan, a black and white ship, using ebony for the black and holly for the white.

 

Some finishes also aren't able to penetrate woods.  A family member put Brazilian cherry wood floors in his house, and the wood was so dense the first finish they applied beaded on the surface.  Not sure if this would be the case with other woods we use in the hobby that are dense like ebony.

 

You can always think about staining woods.  Some take stain better than others.  Pear is great, basswood not so much.  Here is some experimentation I did with my Pegasus on staining pear a little darker: 

 

 

Edited March 18, 2022 by Landlubber Mike