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

[Sjors]

That looks impressive so far Rich.

And yep, we are learning from each other....every day !

 

Sjors

[Modeler12]

Hi Rich,

 

Perhaps I'm a bit late on this but here is my method for making eye bolts and oar locks. Got this

from a fellow modeler who makes hundreds of these as all of his models are scratch built. Most

of my eyes are from .010 brass wire. Hooks are made from brass wire of different diameters

depending on the eye size needed.

 

John Elwood

Pardon this comment on your log, Rich, but this is indeed a nice version of making oar locks. 

I have made eye bolts this way using steel wire down to .010 inch, but never thought about cutting away part of it as shown. Chuck and others gave me this idea about a year ago and here we find a great expansion of the same theme.

 

Rich, I have just gotten back to the forum and looking over what is happening. Yours is fabulous.

So much to learn!!!!

 

Edited January 18, 2015 by Modeler12

[HIPEXEC]

The mizzen yards are now clipped in place. There's still a lot left to do to fully rig each yard, but I needed a place to store the semi-finished yards, so what better place than.... in place. Besides...even though they're not rigged in, this way makes me feel like I'm making progress. 

[patrickmil]

The yards look great Rich! Mounted to your masts is a great place to store them.

[texxn5]

Hi Rich, just an observation, and I'm sure you've already thought of it, but now is a good time to make your footropes, before hanging them on the ship as well as rigging blocks. They're looking good.

[GuntherMT]

Looking good Rich.  I expect you to load her into the car and bring to the next meeting for personal inspection! 

[HIPEXEC]

That's not likely Brian. I'll take a picture. See you there.

[HIPEXEC]

I rough finished all the main yards and stored them in their respective positions.

[HIPEXEC]

All yards finally done and stored in their respective positions. Now they have to be finished off by gluing the studding sail brackets in their correct position, finish sanding and varnishing them and then.....I'll start rigging them for sails. So far, I can slide the studding yards in and out. I'd like to keep them that way.  

[captainbob]

I like the colorful clamp flags in the rigging they add a touch to a nicely done ship.

 

Bob

[HIPEXEC]

I varnished all the yards in place after I draped the whole ship to catch any drips. Then I had to operate each studding yard to make sure they weren't varnished in a frozen position.

[HIPEXEC]

Is there a step by step guide to rig the USS Constitution. All I can find is pictures of a fully rigged ship. I have to approach rigging it step by step and have no idea how or where to start. Do I start with the fore mast or the mizzen?   Do I start with the royals of the mains? I don't even know how to attach the sails to the yards. Boy...do I need help.

[augie]

Sending you a PM.

[HIPEXEC]

Thanks, Augie. The site you sent me is very helpful. I bookmarked it. Now I need a tutorial to hang the sails. Oy!

[robnbill]

Gosh Rich, you make me think the Mamoli plans were not so bad. Once I learned how to read them, their rigging diagrams were great. Of course, no sails, but they were never in my plans.

[HIPEXEC]

Constructo gives you very little when it comes to rigging. As a mater of fact, they give detailed plans to build the yards which I followed exactly only to find out today that the fore royal yard is too short to hold the correct size sail so I'm making a new front royal yards. I'm also dry fitting the sails to the yards to make sure they all fit.

[patrickmil]

The thought of sails on one of my favorite subjects gives me chills. Great job so far Rich!

[texxn5]

Looking good Rich. Sails are definitely an ambitious project.

[HIPEXEC]

Here's the sails slip fitted on to the yards. Now the rigging begins. I'll be taking the yards on and off during this process.

[captainbob]

Looking good, Rich.  Now just sit back and let the spiders work.

 

Bob

[Modeler12]

Rich, if you don't mind, I have a couple suggestions.

 

Before adding the sails to the spars, make sure all the blocks, sheaves, jack stays, etc. are in place. The same applies to the masts. There are several blocks that are used to rig the sails, some of which are attached to the mast, underneath the tops and some to the yards. Do as much as possible on the workbench.

 

Likewise add as much as you plan to use to the masts. You have the shrouds and main stays in place, but there are a lot more that go to the top and other locations along the masts. I am referring to the backstays, some of which go to the channels along the sides. add them to the mast, but you might leave them slack until you are satisfied the whole thing comes together right.

 

Do the spanker sail first. This sail is attached to the extra 'mast' right behind the mizzen mast with hoops. Once it is in place, it is mostly out of the way for the rest of your work.

 

To attach the square sails to the yards, use needle and thread to lash the top of the sail around the spars. Space them to correspond to the jackstays (if you decide to add those). When it looks right, use a thin line of PVA glue along the edge of the sail to bond it to the spar. I would try this first on one of the smaller sails, of course.

Are you planning to add reefing lines to the sails? What about the lines such as bunt, leech, clue, reefing tackle and sheets? That is a lot of work for all those sails.

 

Try to get hold of Petersson's book 'Riggin Period Ship Models'. It is excellent. Not too many words, but lots of invaluable pictures.

 

Like I said, I hope you don't mind me making these suggestions. Your work on the ship is marvelous, very sharp and crisp. Keep up the good work.

Edited January 27, 2015 by Modeler12

[HIPEXEC]

To facilitate doing most of the above suggestions, I built a workholding stand to hold yards while I work on them and their masts

[robnbill]

Rich, also there is a harness that holds each of the spars to the mast. If you do that one first, then you can adjust the height of it as you go. I found that to be sufficient. I have also seen other use pins to hold the spar to the mast if you want something more solid.

[HIPEXEC]

I'll definitely use a harness, but might add a pin.

[usedtosail]

A pin helps hold the yard in place while you are threading the harness and other lines. I found it to be a big help.

[foxy]

Learning one hell of a lot here, as I have to go down this road at some stage.

 

Interesting stuff lads.

 

foxy

[HIPEXEC]

Not much action in my shipyard while I practice a few things. First, I shaped a sail to see how  it will look. I think it's pretty good. The sail is supple to the touch yet holds its shape as if the wind is filling it. I wet the sail, installed it on my workholding jig, blew it with my Admiral's hair dryer, then I spray water soluble hairspray on it. 

 

Next, I practiced threading those tiny blocks I have to use. My beading needles work perfectly.

 

I also made a sketch of my own sail plan. It's still a work in progress. 

Edited January 29, 2015 by Hipexec

[src]

Rich,

Are those the Constructo supplied sails?

Sam

[HIPEXEC]

Yes, Sam, Constructo supplied the sails and they are very well made. What do you know?

[src]

Nice!!! That means mine should be similar quality and I can copy your method.

Assuming I can ever get back to building.

Sam