Sloop Speedwell 1752 by Chuck - Ketch Rigged Sloop - POF - prototype build

[Chuck]

Did some work on the final iteration of the figurehead and trailboards today.  

The fit is really quite good.  If you can imagine the hairbrackets in position…all will fit rather smashingly.  Also picture them with a wood finish.

With these done I can send the masters for casting in wood colored resin.  Note the raw 3d printed example in the photos.  Looks very Syfy like before the supports are removed and the figure is cleaned up and tweaked.  Its all very interesting the way its done and printed with a high end resin printer.  
 

The surface quality is excellent.  A big thank you to Chris W.  from Vanguard for his help with these.   

so now its back to frame-making…

 

 

[Tossedman]

Cool! I love how modern technology seamlessly compliments such an old way of building things. Looks great. Looking forward to seeing the resin cast. Is the reason for the resin cast to use a different colour resin? Is the quality any different from the 3D resin print?

 

Cheers,

 

Todd

Edited January 17, 2023 by Tossedman
Can't spell five letter words.

[dvm27]

I was wondering how you were going to finish those 3D figures in a realistic manner. Using them as masters for the wood colored resin makes perfect sense. 3D printing sure has come a long way. Is this kind of resolution possible on a home printer or is Chris's 3D printer some super commercial brand?

[Chuck]

Its a new type of resin printer…you can get them for home use but as with everything else the ones worthwhile are expensive.  
 

I think Chris posted the i nfo on which one he got sometime ago.  I literally am consciously trying to not learn another new technology…my brain cant absorb any more.  CAD proficiency and new tech which is improving every couple of months.  Its too much for me.  So I will leave that aspect to others and gladly pay them what they deserve.  
 

It prints upside down….how cool is that.  These are my parts being printed.  When I get them I work on them extensively…sharpening and carving more details by hand.  It may be hard to tell but just adding a few details with your own hand makes them look less polished and machine made.  Then I use them as masters for traditional casting.  I really should introduce  even more evident hand carving but these are quite small.  But I may still do more work on them.

 

 

 

[James H]

Those look just amazing 😁

[Beckmann]

Will there be optional a boxwood set of the carvings, like you provided for the Winchelsea?

[Chuck]

Not this time.  These are too small to hold any detail using boxwood especially the stern carvings.  Unless you carve them by hand that is.  
 

Chuck

[dvm27]

Is this like lost wax casting where the original is destroyed or can you use the original for several castings?

[Chuck]

They will make several master molds from the masters I send them.   But at some point I will need to send them more masters.  I have plenty. But I am only tweaking one set for now.

 

It depends on the shapes and how deeply the undercuts and stuff are for how many good castings they can get at a time.  The guys I use also suggest injection molding which they can do but that is a huge cost for initial set up.   So it would easily double the cost of the retail price of the sets.   Unless I plan on making thousands of sets its not really worth the money for the set up.  Its better suited for stuff like cannon where I easily sell thousands.

 

 

[JeffT]

They look like bats hanging there 

[Chuck]

There is a lot of distortion but here is a picture of Mike’s Winnie next to the speedwell for a size comparison.   The Speedwell is about 7” shorter at 3/8” scale even though the picture makes it seem like more.  That is after all the framing is done.  Only 8 more square frames to go…since this picture was taken.

 

[navarcus]

When I browse between section 4 and 5, for a brief moment, I see a wood-like figurehead... odd.

Anyway, this is such a good idea and good choice of size. Can't wait to see the cant frames go on.

[Chuck]

Finally finished all of the square frames.  That was a good day and a milestone.   I have faired the outside of the hull pretty good but stopped short of the outmost frames because I didnt want to over fair.  Those will be done as I work on the cant frames next.   The forwards cant frames are next.  I also did some preliminary fairing inboard where I could reach.   Just a little to make my life easier when the time comes to do that later.   

 

I basically just repeated the instructions I already mentioned until all the square frames were completed.   It is really important to check the heights and positions of the sweep ports and gun ports as you progress.   I have provided the laser cut parts to simplify that and yes you can measure up from the baseboard to check their heights.   But I was also using a template I created.   I just havent showed it before in my previous updates.   This will be provided on the plans.  This in combination with those other means of measurement will really help ensure that your ports all end up where they are supposed to.   The top of the template aligns with the sheer.   The bottom of the template actually aligns with the top edge of the wales.  The heights are most important for the ports and dont go nuts if your openings are a 1/64" to the left or right.   It will all work out in the end.   You can always fix slight issues before you start planking if you have to do some shifting.  But I highly recommend that you use this template from the start of your framing to check the port positions as you progress.   If you do this before you glue the actual sweep port fillers into position permanently (and the gun port sills),  you can adjust them at that time to ensure the opening are in the correct spots.   Then after you get a match glue them in permanently.  Using the template is really the key to successfully and easily taking the guess-work out of positioning the ports.

 

With any POF project there is a lot going on and a lot of parts.  It is inevitable that some frames may not end up where you want them exactly.   Thats OK and certainly it happened to me.  You may get a slight bend in your frame etc.   Your wood thickness might be a little over or under with your frames.   Maybe a frame isnt perfectly perpendicular to the keel after it settles once glued in.  Creep can be an issue after 20 frames etc.   But regardless of where you frames end up you can easily manipulate the sweep port fillers and sills using the template to get them exactly where you want them.   As you can see the framing looks perfect to the naked eye but I can assure you they are not...the template is your salvation!!!

 

The hull is really shaping up after doing some fairing.   I hope you guys and start to see the shape in the photos I have taken.

 

I will take a few days to a week to get organized before I start on the forward cant frames.   I want to prepare the parts files for final laser cutting up to this point.   What you see in these pictures should constitute the starter package or chapter one.   It will cost more than a typical chapter because there is so much wood and so many parts.   But it makes for a nice start.  I will also prepare all of the carvings for casting before I start on the cant frames so it may be a while before my next update....A couple of weeks maybe.   Any questions or comments are welcomed.  Chapter 2 begins really soon!!!

 

[No Idea]

I think this is genius Chuck - I have no doubt that there are many kit builders who would like to build a really decent expert looking POF ship without all of the hassle of cutting the individual pieces and trying to understand plans.

 

I like your emphasis on the accuracy of construction for the builder as they go along too.  Good luck with the cant frames.

[James H]

That is just outstanding 

[Seventynet]

Honestly Chuck with these endless innovations you are making it is hard for me to continue with my nascent build of the Speedwell. I think I may just have wait until your kits are available. Outstanding work!

Ian

[dvm27]

Visually it is the run of the sweep and port openings that make or break the hull and your template shows you are right on the money. I look forward to seeing how those difficult cant frames blend into your system.

 

Were you going to add fillers between the keel and bottom floor sweep? I found that expansion and contraction of the hull was constantly fighting me on this.

[Chuck]

Thanks Greg.  I do like the look of the fillers but I dont think so.  They are all different thicknesses so it would be a nightmare to laser cut them.  I will leave that as a possible enhancement that folks can decide to do on their own if they want to.  

[westwood]

With each update I like it more and more Chuck.

[Jim Rogers]

so when is this beauty coming to market?

[Chuck]

Not for a while.  Learned my lesson with the Winnie.  I wont release any chapters until I am very very far ahead.  Dont want folks catching up to me and waiting on me.  I will however be setting Mike and Rusty up with parts very soon so they can help prove out my work before I release it.  Look for their logs soon.

[SJSoane]

Looking really nice, Chuck. 

 

I missed it somewhere; how did you make the master for the figurehead. Is that clay or wax?

 

Best wishes,

 

Mark

[Chuck]

No it is a 3d cad creation which was then 3d printed.  I will do some final carving cleanup to add more detail and make them less “mechanical” and more carved looking.  Like they were actually created/carved by the hand of man.  More undercutting etc. I am making them less perfect, LOL.  Hopefully. Then those masters will be sent for casting.  I am working my way through all of the 3d prints as I write this.

 

[Beckmann]

Hi Chuck,

which software do you use for creating these 3D ornaments?

[Chuck]

I dont…as mentioned before I have others do that work for me.  This is one thing I care not to learn.  My brain just cant absorb any more.  I have no idea what software package my guy uses.

[navarcus]

Right now, I am in the middle of building my third Bob Hunt Fubbs kit

and no matter how hard I try to mess up they all look good to me.

Two things learned:

I needed to season the boxwood (air dry) so that the ribs didn't shrink and separate.

And that it is well-nigh impossible to stick even the sharpest pin into seasoned boxwood.

[Wintergreen]

As others have said, it is amazing the amount of thought that goes into your creations @Chuck!

I remember when you designed the Confederacy, extraordinary model that too. I'm in awe over the cleanliness and precision you deliver and that you make it available to the common people as well. 

Even tho I will probably never buy any of the kits, I still applaud you for taking the time and effort in making them!

And why is that, one might wonder? Well, over here, on the other side of the pond it is just over my budget when shipping and customs/VAC is added.

 

Keep it up!

[Chuck]

Took a break from restocking inventory to work on the model.

 

Forward cant frames....

 

The jig is first.  BUT before you do anything, make sure the hull is positioned correctly on your build board.   Line up the forward face of the last square frame with the corresponding lines on your baseboard.  Slide it forward or aft if needed because you will be lining up the cant frame jig with your baseboard plan.

 

Take the laser cut square shown below and glue it to the underside of the last square frame cross piece. The laser etched guide on the square should help you with positioning it.

 

It will look like this. The fore cant frame jig is resting on top which will be added next.

 

Place the cant frame jig in position.   The "puzzle piece" connection was left a little loose on purpose to give you some room to adjust it.   Not a lot...its not a sloppy fit.  But there is just enough room to adjust it side to side based on what we will do next.

 

This next step is super important....

 

Use your square to check that the notches in the top of the jig match the cant frames as drawn on the baseboard.   The machine square I have actually fits right into the slots making this pretty easy.   I got these from MicroMark.   They are pretty common and if you have one this works perfectly.  There is also a laser etched line down the center of the jig to help with alignment.

 

The forward edge of each slot....should line up with the aft edge of the cant frames as drawn on the baseboard.  This is important.   Its worth mentioning it again.  The forward edge of each slot....should line up with the aft edge of the cant frames as drawn on the baseboard.  See below.  Check this on both sides of the hull obviously.  Try and get it as close as you can.   

 

Then tape the cant frame jig to the first square frame cross piece.   Remember,  there is some wiggle room so you can adjust as needed to get your slots lining up as close as possible.  But dont be upset if they are off by a hair.   Just get them as close as you can.  

 

Next up,  and you will do this for every cant frame....take the two strips laser cut and marked "1", and glue them into the forward slots.  Make sure the numbers face forward.  Slide them all the way into the slots.  This is also important.  The top of these strips should be flush with the top of the jig.

 

Note the laser etched line on the forward side.   This line references the outboard edge of each cant frame.    We are starting with the most forward pair for a few reasons.  The most important being to help firm up the cant frame jig at the correct height and "lock" it into position.   Every cant frame after this first pair will also have a corresponding numbered strip.   You will be progressing aft with one cant frame pair at a time.  Just like this.

You can see below how this jig will work.   I have placed the square against the strip.  Note how it rests against the forward edge of the strip and at the same time...The bottom of the square shows it lining up with the cant frame drawing on the baseboard.   The angles match.  We are talking about the aft edge of the cant frame.   The cant frames will all sit against the forward edge of those numbered strips.

 

Below you can see the forward pair of cant frames glued into position.  I of course sanded the char off the edges first.  But dont sand the heel of the cant frame.   Only remove the char from the inboard and outboard edges.  These frames are cut to length with tight tolerances so dont sand the heel end that gets glued to the angled wedge on the apron.

 

Note how the outside edge of the cant frame lines up with that laser etched reference line that was on the numbered strip.  Also note that the top of the cant frame is flush with the top of the numbered strip.  This first cant frame is important because it locks the jig in at the correct height as well and stiffens it all up.

One down and ten to go.   Repeat this process working aft with the remaining cant frames.   Remember to just work on one cant frame pair at a time.   Some of these forward cant frames are made in two pieces with a simulated chock like the frames.  We shall discuss this when I get that far.

 

Next up will be cant frame "2".   You can see the numbered strips sitting on top ready to go.  But now that the jig is in position its pretty easy and should go quickly.   No need to sand the bevels into the heels of each cant frame.   All you really have to do with each cant frame is sand off most of the laser char on the inboard and outboard edges and glue it into position.  The apron has all the correct angles in for each cant frame already.

 

Let me know if you have any questions.

 

[Freebird]

Wow! Just wow!

 

Best Regards …. Rick

[James G]

Looks amazing, Chuck! Yes, those machinists squares certainly do come in handy. I’ve been using mine while working on the Winnie.