La Mahonesa 1789 by native one - scale 1/48

[native one]

I have been a member for years always viewing  other members builds to get an idea how something was built or how it was made to help me on my own builds,I have been kicking around the idea of a doing a build log for some time now, but my  last few ships were already done are not documented  with pictures , so when I finally received  the Mahonesa  from Ancre  I figured I would start a log for all to follow my progress. 

Edited February 19 by native one

[mtaylor]

Lovely work going on there.  I haven't seen many Spanish frigates (scratch or otherwise) here so I'll follow along.    I'd like to suggest you do an introductory post in the New Members area.  

[Free]

Very good start ! To be continued. 😉

[a.sorolla]

Hi, Native one

Very good start, I hope you enjoy the construction of this beautiful frigate.

You can check my record of construction of this frigate in this forum, which can help you.

 

 

Good continuation

Adrián Sorolla

 

 

[No Idea]

That is absolutely lovely work 😀  I'm planning this ship as my next build so I'll be watching this one.  Looking forward to your updates. 

[native one]

Taking a break from making frames,getting  the forward part of the keelson done,so I can use it to help line up the frames.

[Free]

It's what wood ?

[native one]

10 hours ago, Free said:

It's what wood ?

Alaskan yellow cedar.

[native one]

A few more frames done, but any progress is good progress.they are still  not sanded,they do have the  angles or contours sanded into them but I am going to wait till I can put the bolts in and give them a final sanding before I permanently fix them to the keel.

[native one]

Making bolts for the frames or more like round headed nails I am not really  good yet at making square headed bolts  w/washers at this scale.

 

First I cut off some brass wire in 2 inch lengths,then I use a hard wood block to roll them straight,once straightened I take a very sharp blade,to sharp and it will cut straight  thru  it,to dull and you will end up bending the wire then with short even pressure  roll the blade back and forth to start cutting  and mushrooming(rounding off)the cut edges of the brass wire,it takes practice to figure out just how much pressure you need to get the edges rounded off consistently,then it's into the Jax pewter black to blacken them,what you end up with is two sided round head nail just cut it in half and insert .

[a.sorolla]

On 11/6/2022 at 5:12, native one said:

Making bolts for the frames or more like round headed nails I am not really  good yet at making square headed bolts  w/washers at this scale.

Hello
The work moves very well, congratulations.

 

You can make square bolts of the right thickness with ebony wood, then put a piece at each end of the hole, and it will look like a square bolt.

 

 

Adrián

[native one]

19 minutes ago, a.sorolla said:

Hello
The work moves very well, congratulations.

 

You can make square bolts of the right thickness with ebony wood, then put a piece at each end of the hole, and it will look like a square bolt.

 

 

Adrián

Thanks for the tip,I am still making frames and not sanded or put the bolts in yet ,I will definitely have to try this,thanks.

[native one]

Working on the axial timbers,getting  ready for more framing,and continuing on with making the frames.

[No Idea]

That’s wonderful work 👍👍

[a.sorolla]

Hello

Remarkable work,

Good continuation

 

Adrián Sorolla

[a.sorolla]

Hello

Already very little to get to the point of having the whole structure presented.

As in this 3D drawing of La Mahonesa

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adrián

[native one]

After a short break I'm back to making frame's, I haven't  ran into any problems  with the plans,everything seems to line up,and all the frames are symmetrical,if there's a slight mistake it's my fault because I redraw every frame by hand before I transfer to wood,I  don't have access to a copier to duplicate the plans in multiples,other than that the framing seems to be going good she's  starting to look like a ship with very nice line's. 

[native one]

Finished up making all the frames, now to double them up install the bolts and filler pieces between the frames along with spacers to keep them at the right distance apart, then sanding,sanding and more sanding.

[native one]

Finished all the frames,now to make the bolts and spacers between  the frames and start gluing it all together.

[scrubbyj427]

Beautiful work! What ship is that next to La Mahonesa?

[native one]

3 hours ago, scrubbyj427 said:

Beautiful work! What ship is that next to La Mahonesa?

That's a ship of my own design,sort of my training ship,incorporating features of different  ships and countries,it's  still in the rigging stage as I'm using it to learn how to make certain parts and  on getting it to the right scale,it started out years ago as a scratch built victory then took a right turn somewhere,it's unique and original and it is very detailed.

[native one]

I needed access to the interior of the ship,so I cut down the temporary deck beams and relocated them to the outside of the build board,now I can remove the frames individually sand and bolt them before permanently  mounting them.

[native one]

My stock of ebony for making the square  bolts is limited way out here in rural Montana,so I decided to bolt the frames with brass rod,I  will use ebony up top where it will be more visible

[native one]

Finally  finished bolting and installing all the frames,put a batten across the top of the frames to help keep everything aligned and to strengthen  the hull,put in the frame chocks(filling pieces)between the frames wasn't quite  sure about them I didn't see anything on the plans or if they were needed but for me it's common practice to install them to stiffen the space between the Wales and the keel.

[native one]

Finished putting in the battens to hold the top of the frames,and moved on to doing the stern,the port and starboard outside counter timbers were a little tricky but not really to difficult  to make,just  have to pay attention  to the angles when gluing the template to wood,the rest of the installation  of the counter timbers went without problems,I drew up a template of the stern framing ,glued it to a piece  of wood and mounted it to the back of the build board paying close attention  to the angle and distance from the wing transom,to help support the top of the timbers I glued two wedge shapes with notches filed into them to maintain the curvature of the stern,most modelers do this off the model then install  their stern,but since my wing transom was already glued on this was the only other way to do it that I know  of.

[native one]

With the stern counter timbers in place I installed  temporary bracing to help maintain the curvature  of the stern,and continued with the fill in frames all the way back to the stern,made sure everything was glued up and squared  up then let it set a day to cure completely,with the stern on and secured I removed the ship from the building board and finally got to view the complete shape of her,the lines of a spanish frigate from that Era are sleek and refined, no wonder they were so agile and maneuverable while under sail,now my next move will be to start fairing the frames which means sanding, sanding,double checking ,sanding some more.

 

[native one]

Finished doing the structural frames on the stern,the framing for the vent ports on the lower counter were a little  tricky because  of their size but I  managed,getting  the timbers above the counters to bend in two directions took making a jig to hold them while they dried,Alaskan yellow  cedar you can soak and heat it to get it formed to where you need it but as soon as it starts drying  it Wants to straighten back out quite a bit,several soaks and a little more time in the jig solved  that,after the stern was strengthened I  moved on to making a plan holder so I can accurately mark out the Wales and gunports.

Edited January 7, 2023 by native one

[druxey]

Very nicely done! Just found your thread.

[native one]

Began working on the Wales,made them the right width but just a little thicker than what the plans called for because  from experience I had clamps impress the wood in certain areas,so I left enough extra so I can sand to the right thickness later,and while tha Wales were drying I put together  the internal riders .

[native one]

After installing  a few Wales to help  strengthen the hull it felt safe enough  to flip over and finish sanding the very bottom  that I couldn't  reach before.