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Young America 1853 by EdT - FINISHED - extreme clipper


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Ed, I was about to ask how you kept the ribands wide enough between the frames forward and aft, and then you show the spreader.  You make it seem simple, yet I know the accuracy you achieve is far from easy.

Maury

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Ed, another masterpiece!

 

I read all the previous posts and it's really amazing. New methods and solutions that I can apply on my own working model. Thank you for sharing your experience in a didatic and simple way. Very helpful.

 

Mauricio

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Ed,

 

   Thank you for showing such an excellent way of using the rib band. I love it and think the tip should be put in the MSW Database, it is a wonderful tip that all can use for any ship. One might need to do it a little different but the idea is the same. Thanks for sharing.

Wacko

Joe :D

 

Go MSW :) :)

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Wow!

 

Looking at the last shot I miss a 1:64 "mini-you" standing aside to give us the contrast of the enormous high of the hull...

 

Beautiful and scary Ed!

 

 

Daniel.

Edited by harvey1847
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Thanks, everyone.

 

Be careful what you wish for, Guy.

 

Daniel, I took this picture some time back to show the size of the keelson but never posted It, so by request, here it is.  It is the only 1:72 figure I have - without cap he is a six-footer.  Wrong nationality, period ans profession, but here it is.  This ship was 100 ft longer than Naiad.

 

post-570-0-33437500-1391349056_thumb.jpg

 

And if its me you want, here I am resized and time transported across the Atlantic from 1797 to 1853 - a little stouter but no taller at 6'2".

.

post-570-0-65577300-1391349797_thumb.jpg

 

Ed

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Hi Ed,

 

I grew up a thousand miles from an ocean, and knew of ships only through models and photos. I was astounded when I first visited the real sailing ships in the San Francisco maritime museum when I was a teenager, and I could not believe how big they really were. I am still amazed when I put my little captain figure next to pieces of wood or parts of construction in my Bellona model, to see how massively large these ships were. All the more amazing when you think how much was done with hand tools. Your photo and drawing show the same thing. That is a solid wall of wood one story high at the stern, and the stem construction laid flat would be as big as a small sized room in a house. Sobering to think how they did it.

 

Mark

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Ed,
Presetting the half frames with the cross spall is so simple yet effective.  I will remember one for sure.  Now, how about something cleaver for setting pairs rather than individual cant frames?

Allan

PLEASE take 30 SECONDS and sign up for the epic Nelson/Trafalgar project if you would like to see it made into a TV series.   Click on http://trafalgar.tv   There is no cost other than the 30 seconds of your time.  THANK YOU

 

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Mark, there is a book by Charles Desmond, Wooden Shipbuilding.  It is quite inexpensive.  The pictures of wooden shipbuilding are truly amazing.  Most of the photos were taken in the late 19th/early 20th centuries when the practices were still similar to earlier periods.  Highly recommended.

 

Allan, you may not have noticed, but I dropped the method of erecting the frames as a paired unit in favor of setting them individually.  Much simpler and way faster - especially when using the planksheer ribband.  The problem with setting as a unit is getting glue into the joint and clamping of the feet to the sides.  Both have to be aligned together and to allow clamping the assembly must be flexible.  I found individual setting to be a much better process.  More to come on that in the next post.

 

Ed

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Hi Ed. Not sure what to say other then a heck of a job. On a side note and would like to see him but could you put your figure next to the hull like in photo 7 above. Just want to see how it looks with him standing beside all of that framing which Is what I like best about building them. Thank you sir. Gary

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Ed The use of the ribands is a great touch and as you say a more simple method for gluing.

 

Michael

Current builds  Bristol Pilot Cutter 1:8;      Skipjack 19 foot Launch 1:8;       Herreshoff Buzzards Bay 14 1:8

Other projects  Pilot Cutter 1:500 ;   Maria, 1:2  Now just a memory    

Future model Gill Smith Catboat Pauline 1:8

Finished projects  A Bassett Lowke steamship Albertic 1:100  

 

Anything you can imagine is possible, when you put your mind to it.

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So noted Ed, and I rely on your experience that it is a better way to go,,,,,,, but it sure looks like a tempting thing to try.

Allan

PLEASE take 30 SECONDS and sign up for the epic Nelson/Trafalgar project if you would like to see it made into a TV series.   Click on http://trafalgar.tv   There is no cost other than the 30 seconds of your time.  THANK YOU

 

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Give it a try, Allan.  You may find a way to make it easier.  I used it on the forward section.  I wasn't satisfied with all the glue joints because a tight fit smears it off and a loose fit requires clamping of both sides at once and it is hard to keep them both aligned - perhaps pins?

 

Ed

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Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 41 – Aft Half Frames 2

 

Now for the final hull frames.

 

The first picture shows two half frames being glued to opposite sides of the keelson using a different method of clamping than that used for the previous frames.

 

post-570-0-51987600-1391712979_thumb.jpg

 

As the framing moves forward the frames become more full at the base. This makes the use of screw clamps increasingly awkward.  For the remaining frames the feet were held in place for the toptimber pinning and then gluing using the method shown.  Wood strips are pushed to the frame and held in place by the T-track clamps.  This proved much easier and, as is shown in the picture, frames on either side could be installed concurrently.

 

The next picture shows a closer view and also a 1:72 figure – by special request.

 

post-570-0-30372000-1391712980_thumb.jpg

 

In the next picture a frame is being pinned to the ribband at the top while held against the keelson at the base. 

 

post-570-0-92110200-1391712980_thumb.jpg

 

After pinning, the clamp is pulled back, glue is applied to the the joint and the clamp returned until the glue dries. 

 

The pin-indexing method of assembling frames requires that all but the toptimbers are of the same siding, in this case 12”.  The upper futtocks then need to be reduced in thickness after assembly, bevelling and removal of the patterns.  In the next picture this is being done with a flat file.

 

post-570-0-75918100-1391712981_thumb.jpg

 

These pieces are awkward to secure in a vise, so for this work they were pinned to a piece of Homasote board through the bolt holes.

 

In the next picture, the fairness of the external hull is being checked before installing the last half frame on the side.

 

post-570-0-41000400-1391712982_thumb.jpg

 

This is also being done on the inside in the next picture.

 

post-570-0-12204800-1391712983_thumb.jpg

 

The frames were pre-beveled to within to within roughly 1/64” of final breadth – to the outer side of the pattern lines inboard and outboard on each face.  Where there are gaps of more than about 1/64” when checked as above, the offending frame was removed and reset.  There were only a few of these and resetting their height brought them within range.  Final sanding will finish the job.

 

In the next picture the last frame is being pinned to the ribband by bending over the end of the pin.  The foot of the frame foot was then glued to the keelson. 

 

post-570-0-71858000-1391712983_thumb.jpg

 

Installation of this last frame was a big milestone.  The last two pictures show the full hull after completing the framing.

 

post-570-0-30136000-1391712984_thumb.jpg

 

There is no doubt that some of the toptimbers will need to be replaced later to precisely fair the upper rails.  Hopefully the number will be few, but these small pieces are most subject to error when assembling the frames.  They are indexed in assembly by only two pins and the pins are close together.  One has already been removed below.

 

post-570-0-84691900-1391712984_thumb.jpg

 

The hull is now ready for final fairing.

 

 Ed

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Ed What a beautiful looking skeleton.

 

Michael

Current builds  Bristol Pilot Cutter 1:8;      Skipjack 19 foot Launch 1:8;       Herreshoff Buzzards Bay 14 1:8

Other projects  Pilot Cutter 1:500 ;   Maria, 1:2  Now just a memory    

Future model Gill Smith Catboat Pauline 1:8

Finished projects  A Bassett Lowke steamship Albertic 1:100  

 

Anything you can imagine is possible, when you put your mind to it.

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Congratulations Ed!!

 

You that write everything... How long took you to complete the hull since you lay down the keel on the dockyard? Five months?

 

Can´t wait to see all the interior work..., a lot of difference between from a Man O War ship I guess.

 

post-87-0-79161700-1391760116_thumb.jpg

 

 

Congratulations again!

 

 

Daniel.

Edited by harvey1847
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Ed

 

What beautiful lines she has... and you have brought them out masterfully!  Thanks for sharing the details and congrats on reaching this milestone.  Looking forward to the next steps.

 

Bob

Current build -- MS Bluenose

Future build - MS Flying Fish

 

"A ship is safe in harbor, but that's not what ships are for." - William G. T. Shedd

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Thank you all again for these comments and for all the "likes."

 

Daniel, that is a very nice diagram.  It is similar in some structural aspects to YA, but the hull shape is much fuller.

 

Druxey, the progress was faster than I expected.  Perhaps everyone might be interested in some comparisons with Naiad:

 

This point was reached on Young America in 5 months - on Naiad 11 months.

 

Naiad had 61.5 frame pairs (41.5 full and 20 cants) consisting of about 960 frame pieces including chocks.  YA has 80 frame pairs (50 full, 19 half and 11 cants) - also about 960 pieces.  In spite of the scale difference (Naiad 1:60, YA 1:72), the frames are very similar in size.

 

I attribute the more rapid progress on YA to the following:

 

Although the number of pieces in total are about the same,YA frames are simpler - no chocks, all are sistered with no spaces - no free standing frames.  I cut Naiad's gunports after all this work, so it was not a factor.

 

The frame assembly process used on YA was very much faster.  Using the pin-indexed process, assembly time was about one-quarter that on Naiad - even with the full bevelling on YA's frames before erection.  Naiad's frames were only roughly bevelled.

 

Frame erection was also much faster.  With the paired frames there were fewer individual pieces to erect.  Cant and half frame setting was very fast using the planksheer ribband method - no more than five to 10 minutes per side for a pair.

 

YA probably also benefited from my ascension on the framing learning curve since Naiad.  Although I was still experimenting with different processes on YA, I am sure that had an effect.

 

Again, thank you all for your comments and interest.  Hopefully the rest of the project will go as well.

 

Ed

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Ed, I just finished reading through the build log and must say that you do some very beautiful work. As a novice, I hope to reach your level of craftsmanship by the time I am ready to build the USS Constitution. I will follow your log with extreme interest.

 

Kenny

Kenny

Current Builds:   HMS Winchelsea   MS US Frigate Confederacy

On Hold: Continental Frigate Raleigh 1777

Completed Builds: MS 18th Century Longboat   Dinghy - Midwest Kit    H.M.S Triton Cross Section 1/48   Chesapeake Bay Flattie - Midwest Kit

Future Builds: MS English Pinnace;  OcCre Endurance;  Revenue Cutter Cheerful

 

 

 

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Congrats for reaching this milestone, Ed. Your hull is looking very impressive. Do you think of publishing your drawings later?

Regards Christian

 

Current build: HM Cutter Alert, 1777; HM Sloop Fly, 1776 - 1/36

On the drawing board: English Ship Sloops Fly, 1776, Comet, 1783 and Aetna, 1776; Naval Cutter Alert, 1777

Paused: HMS Triton, 1771 - 1/48

"Have no fear of perfection - you'll never reach it." Salvador Dali

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Thanks, Allan and Christian.

 

Christian, I doubt that I would publish the drawings unless they were supplementary to a book. I am considering a possible book but have made no decision on that.

 

Ed

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