USS Constitution by Hipexec - FINISHED - Constructo - 1:82

[dgbot]

People forget that those pin rails are under stress especiallt during rigging.  I dread running a line to be tied off and having the rail come off and I have to start all over again.

David B

[HIPEXEC]

I've only installed one, so I'll pin the rest. Thank you Dave, Augie & Harvey.

Edited July 4, 2014 by Hipexec

[MEDDO]

Pinning sounds like a great idea.  I cannot imagine a rail popping off 1/2 way through.  Some of these ships have a staggering amount.  

[mtdoramike]

Rich,

 

Did you pin your rail to the bulwarks? My experience has been that rails glued (only) to the bulwark tend to pull loose at the worst possible time.

 

I do like your jig for holding the pin rails!

 

Thanks,

 

Harvey

I agree, it has happened to me more than once.

[HIPEXEC]

Full speed ahead with pins!

[HIPEXEC]

Pinning rails is easier said than done. I did a practice pin and the rail split longitudinally. The pin is .5mm and the wood 1.65mm with swiss cheese holes. Any ideas? 

[dgbot]

Drill the pin locations using the smallest bit you have. I start out with a#79. Test the fit with the pin you are going to use. Go larger until you get a fit.

David B

[HIPEXEC]

Thanks David. That would be for both holes....the rail and the gunwale. It split when I pushed the rail into the plank even though I had pre drilled the plank. I'll have to make the receiving hole bigger since the pin went into the rail with no damage. I'll practice some more until I get a good formula.

Edited July 5, 2014 by Hipexec

[src]

Rich,

Been following along quietly these last few weeks. She is coming along well, the ships boat looks great!. I am in agreement with the others on the pins although I didn't have your foresight to make a jig. Davids advice on the holes is spot on in my opinion; sneak up on it. Once I feel I have a good fit, I have been filing the pins to give the epoxy something to bite.

Sam

[Karleop]

Hola Rich, in cases were the wood is fragile I prefer to use plywood, you can find sizes from 1/32" and up.

 

Saludos, Karl

[HIPEXEC]

Pin rails are progressing slow but sure. The pins drove me crazy, so I'm using the tiniest pins imaginable, but I drilled micro holes where the rails go the give the CA glue a place to bite.

[augie]

Things are lookin' up!

[HIPEXEC]

Pin rails are done!  They shouldn't break loose unless I hit them with a hammer. The jig made alignment easy. Now I'll clean them up and varnish them.

[dgbot]

Give this man a cigar and a shot of that 20 yr old scotch someone has hidden.  Nicely done.

David B

[HIPEXEC]

Thanks everyone!

[HIPEXEC]

I PAINTED THE ANCHORS SINCE THEY WERE CAST ALUMINIM

[HIPEXEC]

I "bronzed" the air ports since they were bright brass and I didn't want them gleaming on the hull under the gunports. I found out from Jeff and also did research that they are vents to the berthing deck that can be blocked with a wood block in rough seas.

[HIPEXEC]

I'm not going to enjoy drilling into my hull!

[robnbill]

The ship is looking great! It worked me to no end the first time I had to drill a hole for the Cathead placement in my hull. I had spent too long getting a smooth hull to mess it up. Just take your time, measure several times and drill. It is wood. If you are painting the hull the Connie colors then you also can pretty easily patch and cover any mistakes.

 

FYI, I am using wood from a 20+ year old ket. When I have to drill several holes in a row in a strip, the walnut is very prone to cracking. Even drilling small and going larger gradually. What I found worked well with the walnut was to coat the outside of the wood with thin CA and letting it dry. This stiffens up the wood enough to drill without cracking.

 

Anyway, great job on your Connie.

[HIPEXEC]

Thanks Bill.

 

I'm still holding off so I can get up the courage to drill. I'm not painting the hull, so I'll go very, very slow!

[robnbill]

If you see any splintering then put a small amount of CA over the area you are going to drill through. It really helps on that. Of course start small and work your way up.

 

When I drill my air port holes, the  drill was sharp and they went in with no problem. Of course I had drilled a bunch of various holes already when I go around to those. So I had already gotten over the issue of "punching holes" in my hull. 

 

The best advice I have on the air holes is make sure they follow the same line on the hull. If they are off a small amount forward or aft it will not show up but up or down out of plane will.

[HIPEXEC]

While I'm getting up the courage to drill into my hard-earned hull....I installed the rudder chain. Constructo misses the boat and only shows the chain as a safety chain. My research tells me it's that as well as emergency steering in case the topside steering is disabled. The chains run through the hull into the gun deck.

[rafine]

Rich, another trick that you might try, in addition to using progressively larger drills, is to put a piece of masking tape over the area to be drilled. It seems to help in woods that tend to splinter.

 

Bob

[robnbill]

While I'm getting up the courage to drill into my hard-earned hull....I installed the rudder chain. Constructo misses the boat and only shows the chain as a safety chain. My research tells me it's that as well as emergency steering in case the topside steering is disabled. The chains run through the hull into the gun deck.

Your stern looks great!

 

Sounds like more holes. On the Mamoli model small brass fittings were inserted in the holes, if I recall the same size as the air ports. The end of the chain was inserted and glued. Still something you could do to your model as long as you do not mindour stern looks great.

[HIPEXEC]

Thanks Bill. I'm looking for small fittings for the rudder chain where it enters the hull since I've just tacked the two ends for now. I had to create the rudder fitting from a left over hinge.

[HIPEXEC]

Bob, I have tried your tape idea before...and it seemed to work. I'm still holding off until I feel brave enough to drill that hull. I worked very, very hard to plank it as perfect as I could since I didn't want to fill and paint the hull. I definitely will use progressively larger drills. 

[HIPEXEC]

Still putting the two anchors together. Good old Constructo's lack of instructions gave me a small fit. The wooden cross piece on the anchors come in two halves. I dry fit them before gluing and they matched perfectly. I applied 10 second CA and put them together only to find out they weren't symmetrical and one of the cross pieces was glued showing a large seam! 10 second CA doesn't forgive that, so I had to file and sand the errant anchor to match its cousin.  Now I'm touching up the paint and will re-stain the wooden cross pieces. Then I'll fit chains and blocks and lines.

[HIPEXEC]

I evened out the chains since the port chain had too many links. I added a brass grommet to simulate a reinforced hole in the hull where the chains enter the gun deck.

[augie]

From where I sit, it's a chain going through a reinforced hole in the hull

[HIPEXEC]

I JUST READ THAT HAMMOCK NETS FULL OF HAMMOCKS WERE MORE THAN JUST A PLACE TO STORE HAMMOCKS. IN ACTION, THE HAMMOCKS PROVIDED ADDITIONAL BULWARKS TO STOP SPLINTERS, SMALL ARMS AND SHRAPNEL !