Young America 1853 by EdT - FINISHED - extreme clipper

[Wintergreen]

Inspirational progress Ed!

I can really image one or two thoughts passing through before you put the saw to the bulwarks...but as always, excellent execution.

[EdT]

Hello Hakan.  Thanks for your thoughts.  Yes, it was a bit difficult to cut into those rails.  I wished I had made the decision on this earlier.  The pin rails were actually more of a problem and required drilling some new holes.  I am just now working on the rigging plans and the belaying points and still do not have all of the final positions defined.

 

Ed

[Capt.Bob]

To all:  I have watched with interest at everyone's safety concerns.  We truly have become a thoroughly risk avoidant society.  Just remember the safest knife is the sharpest and the safest tool is the one that scares the hell out of you.  No offence guys, but Ed is a big boy. (I can hear the thundering rebuttals already)

 

"Remember, be careful out there" (Hill Street Blues)

[amateur]

I know Ed is a big boy, but even big boys are better safe than sorry...

 

Jan

[EdT]

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 124 – Skylights

 

There were two glazed skylights on the poop deck that provided light and sometimes ventilation to the cabin deck below.  The two completed skylights are shown below.

 

 

The frames for the lights were made of interlocking parts with lap joints cut on the milling machine using a 1/32” bit in the setup shown below.

 

 

Slots were milled to one-half depth in a 3” thick pear blank, then sliced to size with a thin slotting saw blade on the Preac saw as shown below.

 

 

Slots for one long side/mullion and two short sides/mullions were milled into the blank.  The next two pictures show the frame assembly.  My shaky hands required the parts to be held in place for this work.  I used sticky side up masking tape for this as shown.

 

 

The next picture shows the finished frame before final overall sizing and sanding.

 

 

The paneled walls for the skylights were made by the same method used for the companions, then painted white and fitted with natural wood corner posts.  Both frames and a ridge rafter have been positioned on the aft skylight enclosure in the next picture.

 

 

In the last picture the frames have been glued to the enclosure and protective brass wire bars and wire hinges added.

 

 

After dropping this last frame into the cabin deck and fishing it out twice, I added the masking tape.  This forward skylight was constructed with one side open, held up by two small wood supports.  In this picture the after skylight has had beeswax/turpentine finish applied.

 

 

Ed

[UpstateNY]

Hi Ed,

 

Been enjoying your build for quite some time now so I figured it was about time I said thank you for the detailed log with all the how to's!

 

Build is of course spectacular and I am looking forward to the rest of the build very much.

 

Cheers,

 

Nigel.

Edited November 14, 2015 by UpstateNY

[Mahuna]

Hi Ed:

 

I'm very impressed with the amount of work you can accomplish in a relatively short time.  Since I saw Young America at Mystic you've added quite a bit of detail.  Do you attribute part of your productivity to the level of drafting you've done prior to the building?

Edited November 14, 2015 by Mahuna

[EdT]

Thank you, Nigel and Frank and others who have clicked on the "like" box.

 

An interesting and perceptive question, Frank.  I'd like to think rapid progress is not due solely to careless rushing.  Until after the conference I had not worked on the model since April, so some of the recent progress may be attributed to enthusiasm to get back on it.  Actually I had some of the main cabin walls fabricated - but not installed - before Mystic.  

 

Your suspicion about the drawings is the perceptive part.  While not the major factor in this recent detail work,  I do very much think about what goes on the drawings and how that fits together with and supports the actual work.  Drawings are part of the process, so the content needs to do its part and not just fit some standard traditional format.  My best example of this is the pin-indexing on the frame drawings for this ship.  This saved many, many hours not only in frame fabrication but also in the speed with which pre-bevelled frames could be erected - to say nothing of eliminating the tiresome usual hull fairing.  There are other examples.  One that I am very excited about , that I hope will appear later, is the use of a common, universal rigging line number that will identify the details of the line, belaying points, routing, fairleads and other connections - eliminating separate belaying pin numbers and adding a lot more rigging information to the various drawings.  You have obviously pushed one of my hot buttons.

 

To be honest about the current work, some - like the wheel - required very accurate drawings before starting.  Some - like the framing of the large deck structures - was more of an iterative process, with the design evolving together with the work.  Some of the rapid progress, I am sure, is do to the fact that I do not like to fuss a lot - as much as it might improve my work - it's not in my genes.

 

Ed

[Capt.Bob]

To all:

Being new to the forum, I have spent considerable time wading through 74 pages and I, like you, have been mesmerized by Ed's artistry and workmanship.  Viewing YA as an opportunity to move to a higher level, I bought the book, built the shipway, built the fixtures, bought wood and suddenly ran headlong into reality.  I am an engineer by profession and as everyone knows engineers can build anything or at least we think so.  The first part is to fabricate is the lower keel members using scarf joints.

 

If think Ed is really talented, try this: Get some scrap wood (1.4" by 1/8") and make the scarf joint on page 23 Fig. 3-7.  Does yours look like Ed's?  Tight joints, no gaps.  I'm on my eighth try and getting closer.  Now, in reviewing the 861 photos currently in this forum, I have yet to find a single open joint of any kind. NOT ONE!  The man is amazing!  I hate the word "awesome", but this maybe one occasion where it must surely apply.  Needless to say I have had to seriously reevaluate my alleged capabilities.  "We should endeavor to persevere" - Chief Dan George

 

Can't wait to see what comes next.

 

BTW just read Clayton Feldman's review of YA in N/D Ship's 'n Scale.  I don't really think he paid it justice.  I found his criticism rather trite. The book is filled with photo descriptions and who needs Volume II when Volume I is two years worth of work.

Edited November 18, 2015 by Capt.Bob

[EdT]

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 125 – Helm

 

First, thank you, Bob.  Gross exaggeration, of course, but much appreciated nonetheless.

 

The term helm refers to all the equipment and structures associated with the rudder.  Unlike earlier ships where the wheel operated a tiller that turned the rudder by means of a system of ropes and sheaves, most ships of the clipper era used gear driven machinery to rotate the rudder.  It is most likely that Young America used a mechanism consisting of reversed thread worm gears that drove a collar at the top of the rudder post.  Gearing of this type had more mechanical advantage and resisted reverse forces generated by pressure on the rudder.  Wheels could therefore be single and smaller even though the ships were larger and faster.  Higher speeds put more stress on the rudder.

 

I did not intend to model the rudder machinery, given the scale and the fact that it is enclosed from view. (The small wheel was enough of a challenge for me.)  However, the lower part of the heavy machine base that supported the gearing would be visible because the rudder enclosure is open at the bottom.  The first picture shows the rudder shaft and a brass turning that models the lower part of the cast iron machine base.

 

 

In the next picture the rudder head has been shortened and the iron base blackened.

 

 

The base was simply glued to the deck using medium viscosity CA.  The next picture shows the completed helm enclosure waiting for the wheel.

 

 

The enclosure is fixed temporarily to the deck on wire pins into the corner posts.  This will allow the helm - with the fragile wheel - to be left off the model where it will be safe from damage as other work proceeds. 

 

In the next picture the wheel axle has been fitted into a solid block inside the enclosure and two small grated platforms have been installed to help keep the helmsman’s feet dry.

 

 

The helm enclosure was made by the same methods used on the other deck structures so I will not describe that here.  The last picture shows the completed helm with the wheel fitted.

 

 

I was fortunate to be able to use some grating left over from the 1:96 Victory model – just enough for the two raised platforms.  I will cover making the wheel in the next part.

 

 

Ed

 

[Capt.Bob]

Hi Ed,

I have a question concerning the term "sided" that appears on the YA drawings.  I thought I understood the term to mean material thickness required to produce the component.  On the stem patterns there are several pieces that reference 35" upper & 16" lower.  Could you please explain.  Have I completely misunderstood the term?

Bob

[EdT]

Hello, Bob.

 

You are correct.  "Sided" or "siding" refers the the dimension "contrary" to the molded, that is to the curved edge(s) on the piece.  In the case of the apron this is the athwartship dimension.  I believe the drawing note you are referring to is on the stem pattern sheet and reads something like "apron sided 35" the head and 16" at the foot."  This note is incorrect.  The apron is sided 16" over its entire length, as indicated in the text on p. 33.  I will review the drawing and post a corrected copy of the pattern sheet in the YA book topic section.

 

Thanks for pointing this out.

 

Ed.

[Capt.Bob]

Hi Ed,

Thanks for the clarification.  Guess I have to bone up on the proper period grammar.  I am slowly getting oriented.  I have managed to screw up almost everything from the false keel upward and had to repeat many operations.  I've learned to be very careful about sorting stock material and keeping it clearly identified.  I've picked up the wrong piece more than once.  However, my efforts at making acceptable scarf joints is improving.  The devil is in the details.

 

Bob

[EdT]

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 126 – The Wheel

 

I had hoped to make the wheel by the same methods used for the larger wheels on Naiad, but do to the smaller size of this wheel and the material, I found that some compromises would be necessary.  They are described later, below.

 

I wanted to use a darker wood for the wheel and decided to use cherry.  This is less hard and strong than the European Boxwood I used on the Naiad wheel.  In the first picture the outer diameter of the wheel has been turned in the lathe and the 39” (.54” act.) diameter is being checked.

 

 

The square cherry block in the four-jawed, self-centering chuck has its grain running perpendicular to the centerline of the lathe.  This would permit using a cross-grain lamination to strengthen the final assembly.  The 1/16” hole in the center of the turning was centered carefully using a center drill in the tailstock, before boring the final hole that will eventually receive the wheel axle.  In the next picture, slots for the 10 spokes are being milled in the face of the turning.

 

 

For this work the chuck was removed from the lathe to the rotating table on the mill without removing the turned piece.  The saw was then centered on the turning and brought down into contact with the face.  The blade here is .032” thick and it was lowered into the work to make a slot about 2.5” inches square.  After each cut across the face of the piece, the table was rotated 36 degrees and repeated to make all the cuts for the 10 square spokes.

 

In the next picture the piece has been returned to the lathe and a laminating piece is being glued on with the grain at 90 degrees to that of the turned piece.  The drill chuck in the tailstock is being used to clamp the glue joint.

 

 

This single cross grain lamination is already a much simpler construction than the multi-layer pentagonal assembly of the two Naiad wheels.

 

After the glue had dried the added piece was turned to the rim diameter and its entire face trimmed off to the final thickness.  The next step was to remove the area between the rim and the hub.  This leaves an integral rim/hub turning that will ensure centering of the hub.  The 10 square spokes were then slipped into the piece as shown in the next picture.

 

 

I had intended to insert these temporarily, to be replaced with the final turned spokes later – one-by-one as was done on the Naiad wheels.  However, I decided this would be impractical on this small wheel.  Apart from the difficulty expected in turning these very small cherry spindles, the amount of gluing surface at the hub was too small without the spokes.  For these reasons I decided to glue these square spokes in at the hub and round the handles by hand.

 

The next picture shows the inside face of the rim being turned through to the hub.  Once the cut passed through the ID of the rim, only the spokes held the assembly together – as with the real wheel..

 

 

In the next picture the wheel has been parted off and is ready for final sizing and shaping of the handles.

 

 

The next picture shows the handles being shaped using diamond grit files – very carefully, since the glued-in spokes may not be replaced if one is broken,

 

 

 

The last picture shows the finished wheel mounted on the helm enclosure.

 

 

The enclosure is still removable and I expect it will spend the next many months stored away somewhere, safe from damage during the remaining construction and rigging of the model.

 

Ed

[capnharv2]

Thanks for the description Ed. This looks similar to the way I made the wheel for my Constitution.

 

A couple of questions. . .

 

-What did you use to remove the area between the rim and hub? Do you have any photos of the process?

 

-When parting off the rim and hub, did you have any problems with the rim moving around on the spokes before the hub was parted off?

 

-Did you make 5 spokes going thru the center, or 10 spokes that stopped at the center?

 

I particularly like that you cut slots for the spokes, then glued a cross grain piece for strength. I tried cross-drilling for the spokes, but I didn't get the spoke alignment very good. But then, I didn't use a 4 jaw chuck, and didn't have a rotary table at the time.

 

Thanks again for an excellent demonstration. Another inspiring project.

 

Harvey

[dgbot]

Nice work Ed. I have seen small turnings like that with maple which works great on a lathe or a mill.

David B

[albert]

Hi Ed wonderful work.

[EdT]

Thanks for the comments and all the likes.

 

To answer your questions Harvey:

 

The tool to remove the area between the rim and the hub was a small, square-ended, relieved parting-off bit with the underside ground back to clear the rim - a pretty fragile tool.  I did not take any photos of this.  However, here is a photo of this step on a European boxwood, double wheel I made for Naiad.  On this double wheel I drilled holes for spokes after turning the rims/hub.  I did not use this wheel because I decided to make square, turned spokes instead, so the slots for those would have been cut before this step - as was done for the single YA wheel.  The Naiad wheels were much more complex  - two rims, pentagonal offset segments laminated for the rims, precise spacing between the rims, milling of slots between laminating steps, spokes spaced correctly between the segment joints, etc.  However, the picture does show the tool used  - in this case the depth of cut had to reach through both rims.

 

 

I am not sure what you mean in  your next question about the rim moving around on the spokes.  The centering of the rim is well held in place even without gluing the spokes.  With all the spokes inserted there is no direction that it can move.  However, the spokes are not strong enough to take the stress of turning the rim, but they do not have to, because until the rim is parted all the cutting stress is taken by the connection to the main block - until the rim is cut through.  No turning of the rim is advised after parting through the rim.

 

The spokes only go through to the center hole - not all the way through.

 

Even with the rotary table - or the indexing head I used for Naiad - and the precision of the mill, it is very difficult to get good hole alignment with very small drills needed for smaller scales.  They wander.

 

Ed

 

 

[capnharv2]

Ed,

 

Thanks so much for answering my questions. The photo of the parting tool on the Naiad is very helpful. I guess I'll go back to your Naiad books and build log if I need more information.

 

What I meant about the rim moving deals with your last point. True, the rim can't move till it's parted off. The area I had problems was in the final parting of the rim. Once parting started to break thru, some of the spokes started breaking. Once one or two broke, the rim started moving. I suspect that my parting tool was dull and/or the parting tool pressure was too high, putting more load on the spokes. I also probably had concentricity issues. Even though I didn't disturb the setup of the block in the chuck, I was using a 3 jaw chuck.

 

A couple things I've learned from this;

 

-Unless I'm starting with round stock, I should use the 4 jaw chuck more.

-Practice making and sharpening bits more (a lot of my sharpening experience has made the tool duller than when I started. I believe the only way around this is to practice more-and read more on sharpening bits)

-Reduce tool pressure. I'm so antsy to remove a lot of material that I deform the stock. I need to take my time. And practice more.

 

This has been a great help. Thanks again!

 

Harvey

[dgbot]

Harvey,tool sharpening takes time and practice.  In the Chicago clubs there are quite a few machinists and they have all given seminars on tool sharpening and shaping.  I learned quite a bit from them and one of the most important thing they said was crucial was to keep the bevels at the proper angles.  I have found a couple links to help me out and they did the job.  

http://littlemachineshop.com/instructions/grindingtoolbits.pdf

http://www.sherline.com/grinding.pdf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHEf6YL6sFI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFnTXgXMbrQ

David B

Edited November 25, 2015 by dgbot

[Capt.Bob]

Hi Ed,

Thanks for the excellent explanation of the wheel machining process.  I have to admit that I would not of had the confidence to wait to finish the spoke handles until the end.  I would have done them before final assembly in case a spoke broke it would be easier to replace then the entire assembly.

 

While on the subject of lath work, a small lath has been on my wish list for years.  I could use some advice from the experienced population.  What would be the first choice regardless of cost?

 

Take care, Bob

 

P.S. BTW I just received my new Jim Byrnes table saw today.  I think I'm in love.

Edited November 25, 2015 by Capt.Bob

[capnharv2]

David,

 

Thanks for the links. I've had some peripheral knowledge of bit grinding and angles, but I really need to practice more.

 

Harvey

[GLakie]

Keeping a "quench bowl" handy helps a lot if you're using grinding wheels. If the metal turns blue, it's lost it's temper.  I prefer hand stones myself, but to each their own.

[dgbot]

George,  I use a grinder for roughing and a Foredom with a wheel for the finishing along with a cup of water.  A very light touch helps too and a lot of practice.

David B

[dgbot]

There are several good one out there.  I am partial to Sherline.  They have almost everything needed.  Just buy the basic package at the length you need and practice.  What I like is the versatility of it.  Taig makes a good lathe strong and sturdy.  Micro Mark and Proxxon but I have not experience with either of them.

David B

[Capt.Bob]

Thanks David

 

If others have some recommendations, please send them by PM.  I don't want to contaminate Ed's great forum with peripheral stuff.

Thanks, Bob

[EdT]

Thanks for all the good comments.  I would add that in addition to a sharp tool and very lights cuts - slow advance of the tool - it is also essential to have the parting tool relieved - narrowed - behind the cutting face so the sides do not rub as the cutter advances - in this case on the parted rim. 

 

As far as tool recommendations, I cannot draw comparisons.  I have a very old (1978) Unimat SL Lathe (long discontinued) with a lot of accessories that I hope will outlast me.  If it does not, I would buy a Sherline.  I have a Sherline mill that I find to be a very good tool - very rugged for its size, very precise, full line of good accessories.  An easier to use - screw tightened - milling vise would be welcomed.  Also, there is a great advantage in having one brand, in that accessories are expensive and cross compatibility between the lathe and mill is most useful.

 

Ed 

[Capt.Bob]

Hi Ed,

I have been making some progress on building the keel, stem, & stern.  I did notice a discrepancy between the Stern Assembly Template and the Sternpost-Deadwood Patterns drawing.  The pattern for the forward sternpost timber (between the sternpost and the sternpost knee) do not match the Sternpost Template drawing.  The pattern appears to be incorrect.  It is too short and lacks the tenon to mate with the keel.

 

Meanwhile, my scarf joints are improving,  You were right to warn about closely matching the stem and stern template drawing.  The slightest variation in the scarf joints throws everything out of alignment.

 

Take care, Bob

[EdT]

Thank you again, Bob.  The stern assembly template is, of course, correct, since it shows the relationship to other members.  Attached you will find a corrected 1 to 72 Stern-Deadwood Patterns Sheet.

 

1to72 Sternpost-Deadwood Patterns.pdf

 

Thanks, again, for picking this up.  I will post an addendum on the book topic.

 

Ed

Edited November 30, 2015 by EdT

[Capt.Bob]

Thanks, Ed

Should I post any further documentation comments under the book topic rather then here?

Bob