Emma C Berry by Frank L. - Model Shipways - 3/8"= 1'-0"

[Frank L.]

My son bought me this kit, as well as the 18th Century Longboat previous build and the Willie Bennett next build to act as a distraction from following political news coverage too obsessively. I have not built models of any kind since I was a kid. And so, here I am, back at the modeller's workbench - nothing more than a small desk already cluttered by computer monitors and a printer. As I surfed for tips and methods for assembling the ECB on various sites, I stumbled across a sensible alternative to the kit's overhead gantry - a raised platform with a cut-out of the hull's profile. And so, I scrapped the gantry and built the jig.

 

[ahb26]

Frank, in another thread, you asked about how to insert captions between photos.  When I'm working on a post, I drag the photos into the area that says "Drag files here..."  As I compose the post, when I reach a point where I want to insert a photo, I create some space (hit Enter three times), position the text cursor in the middle of the space, and then go down to the Uploaded Images area, hover over the desired photo, and click "Insert." The photo will be inserted where you left the text cursor, and you can continue entering your post after it.  Note that any photos you don't enter in-line - i.e., left-over photos - will appear at the end of your post.

 

Looking forward to seeing that jig fill up with frames!

 

[Frank L.]

Andrew - Thank you and Happy Easter

[Frank L.]

Shaping the half-round profile in the rudder post edge using sandpaper wrapped around a small piece of roundstock. To center the 'tool' on the edge, I created a rabbet using a table saw with blade set at 45 degrees and barely protruding above the table. It was overkill - for sure.

[Frank L.]

Using thin wire to secure glued sternpost to the keel.

[Frank L.]

Marking and carving out the rabbet with a snap-off blade. I dreaded this step thinking the grain would force the blade out of intended path. But the grain is almost as soft as the non-grain part of basswood.

[Frank L.]

Frame 1 laid-out imperfectly in the dry-fit- so I had to sand the face that mates to the keel to true it up.

[Frank L.]

To mark the frame's bevel lines, I started using a french curve. But it was smarter to use the port side frame as a guide to mark the starboard frame and vise-versa. Just eyeball the location from the blueprint. I opted not to produce the keel-side bevels. We will see if I come to regret that later.

[Frank L.]

To create the frame bevels, I mounted a Dremel sanding drum into a drill press. Using a hobby knife seemed too risky. Sanding is easier to control. It is also easy to remove char with this setup.

Edited April 17, 2022 by Frank L.

[Frank L.]

Frames 2 and 3 are in place. Jig notches just barely caught these frames. It was not easy designing the jig's cutout. I feel lucky it worked out OK.

[Frank L.]

Frames 1 thru 12 in place. Jig notch depth improved.

[Frank L.]

Frames 4 thru 23 were pre-assembled on a flat surface marked with frame width measured from blueprints.

[Frank L.]

All frames are in place.

[Frank L.]

Clamping the glued-up rudder box to the keel.  See Andrew Bodge's ECB build log for details I contributed as to the proper positioning of this assembly.

Edited April 17, 2022 by Frank L.

[Frank L.]

Had a hard time coming up with a method for clamping the keelson unit while the PVA glue cured. I ended up using wire. There was a lot of sanding/carving/shaping involved with getting decent contact areas for the glue.

[Frank L.]

Installation of temporary batten to help accurately locate the hull clamp board. Some carving of keel-side bevels of the the first few frames was needed for glue contact area of both the temporary batten as and the forthcoming hull clamp board was needed. Dabs of PVA glue was applied to the frames before setting the battens in place with spring clamps. I pre-bent the battens by running a trickle of hot water down their length in the sink in order to soften them. Transom was installed before the batten work was done. The trick with the transom elevation is aligning its bottom bevel with the 'plane' of the frame's bevels.

[yvesvidal]

There are quite a few Emma C Berry being built on this forum or in other places. Your jig simplify greatly the delicate assembly process of the frames.

 

You should offer a rental service of this "jig tool" to all potential Emma Berry kit builders. I have seen this done with special tool for cars or other hobbies and it usually works rather well.

 

Yves

[Frank L.]

Here is my template. But you need to bring it to Staples if you do not have access to a printer that handles ledger size prints.

EMMA C.BERRY jig template rev. 4-19-22.pdf

[Greg Davis]

Frank -

 

I'm glad to see you have started your build log and am pleased that the building jig is helping you along!

 

Greg

[Greg Davis]

In fact, for other following Frank's build (and Yves' comment) - here is a link to where he found the building jig idea for Emma: https://www.historicshipmodels.com/emma-c-berry/ .

 

Greg

[Frank L.]

FYI    The PDF template mentioned above is modified to better grab the first few frames.

Edited April 21, 2022 by Frank L.

[Frank L.]

As I tack the temporary clamp spacer board to the frames, I find it necessary to release the frames from their battens to which they too, were temporarily tacked. Battens are the little strips of wood used to prevent any motion of the frames perpendicular to the keel during the framing process. They were adhered to the jig surface with a tiny amount of glue and the the frames with another tiny amount of glue. The notches in the jig prevented any fore-aft motion of the frames.

[Frank L.]

My temporary spacer batten strips for clamp placement  [see figure 1-12 in the instruction manual] are now in place and attached to each frame with glue. (I plan to separate them later with a zona saw or razor knife) But I see the frame tops are not in line with each other. The frames should have come extra long so we could trim each one down to the top of the batten. Just like when you build a wooden deck out of 2x6's, you run them extra-long, snap a chalk line and trim them perfectly flush. And yes, frame 4 is especially short, as noted by other modellers. I had to elongate it with a half-lapped extension using scrap from the laser sheet that the frame was taken from. It took quite a while to make it fit well. Maybe a simple butt joint would have sufficed. But I wanted to maximize glue surface for strength.

[Frank L.]

The 3/4'' wide binder clips from Staples are fantastic for model ship building. They open to about 1/4'' - maybe 5/16.'' I used them to re-glue most  of the frames to the clamp board. The frames popped loose when I detached the batten spacer that was 'tacked' in place with glue.

Edited May 14, 2022 by Frank L.

[Frank L.]

Clamp boards are fully installed now. If I had to do it over again, I would install the spacer batten strips with the hull in the jig, but the clamps are better installed with the hull taken out of the jig.