Young America by EdT - FINISHED - extreme clipper 1853

[druxey]

That is a very clever method for ensuring symmetry of the half-frames, Ed. Adroitly managed!

[Maury S]

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

[Mau]

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

[the learner]

Well done, I wish I had your talent

[WackoWolf]

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.

[harvey1847]

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 February 2, 2014 by harvey1847

[EdT]

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.

 

 

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".

.

 

Ed

[SJSoane]

 

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

[allanyed]

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

[EdT]

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

[garyshipwright]

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

[michael mott]

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

 

Michael

[allanyed]

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

[EdT]

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

[EdT]

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.

 

 

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.

 

 

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

 

 

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.

 

 

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.

 

 

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

 

 

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. 

 

 

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

 

 

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.

 

 

The hull is now ready for final fairing.

 

 Ed

[ChrisLBren]

Thats a really handsome hull Ed !  Love the lines

[garyshipwright]

Thanks Ed and boy o boy what a large hull. Nice going sir and by chance have you pop the cork yet? Look fwd to more up dates. Gary

[druxey]

Congratulations on reaching this point, Ed. That was quite a rapid progression, considering the number of frames involved. She looks beautifully sleek.

[michael mott]

Ed What a beautiful looking skeleton.

 

Michael

[Elia]

So very, very nice, Ed.

 

Elia

[gjdale]

Just beautiful Ed.

[harvey1847]

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.

 

 

 

Congratulations again!

 

 

Daniel.

Edited February 7, 2014 by harvey1847

[bhermann]

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

[Erebus and Terror]

Beautiful work, Ed. She's going to be sleek when planked....

[EdT]

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

[Mau]

Always learning, Ed. An inspiration for everyone. Congratulations!

[KennyH78]

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

[allanyed]

Ed,

 

I would be delighted to display the hull in a prominent place just as it is!

 

Allan

[AnobiumPunctatum]

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

[EdT]

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