Young America by EdT - FINISHED - extreme clipper 1853

[paulsutcliffe]

Ed, that open framed boat sitting on the beams looks fantastic, great work

[EdT]

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 153 – Ship’s Boats 9

 

Well, time is passing quickly and work on YA’s small boats has been going slowly – much too slowly for someone with my temperament, but the end is in sight.  I am sure that many, like me, will be glad to something new after all these small boat pictures.  This post should just about do it.  In the first picture, the last of the small boats, the 22’ cutter that will later hang from quarter davits, is getting its keelson installed.

 

 

Since this boat will be hung upright, the internals will be visible.  In the next picture some grating that will be used for a floor under the stern seats is being assembled on a spacing template.

 

 

The members of this grating are less than 1½” wide (.020”) on <3” spacing, made from Castelo.  The assembled section is shown below, before sizing and framing.

 

 

The grating was made, for the most part, as shown in earlier posts, or perhaps in Naiad posts, using the milling machine for precision and in this case to slit the milled strips without damage.  The grated flooring can be seen in the next picture where one of the thwarts is being installed.

 

 

In the next picture the boat is ready for painting. 

 

 

The missing wales will be added after both they and the hull are painted.  The next picture shows the almost completed boat.

 

 

All that remains is to add the lettering, the oars, the rudder and some iron hardware.

 

I have not been happy with the grated platforms at the helm, seen in earlier posts, so I took the opportunity to replace them with some grating of the smaller size, as shown in the last picture

 

.

 

Ed

[Erik W]

Ed,

 

Impressive!  Equally impressive is building 4 of these in a row.  I know they're all different, but I'd imagine their is a lack of motivation that builds up by the time you get to the last one!

 

Erik

[albert]

HI ED, very beautiful work,fantastic model.

[Remcohe]

I really love your miniature boats

 

Remco

[EdT]

Thank you, all.  I will be glad to get on to something different - different, that is, from making boats and belaying pins.

 

Ed

[cog]

Wonderful work Ed ... I hope to be able to do a tenth of what you accomplish some time in the future ... I've been enjoying your build tremendously ... Something different than boats and belaying pins ... might I suggest blocks, and deadeyes ... (just pulling the proverbial legg) you'll find a distraction

 

Cheers

[EdT]

Blocks and deadeyes are not far off, Carl.

[giampieroricci]

Fantastic!!!

[Wintergreen]

I find it interesting...there is nothing in this build log that whatsoever reveal that there is somewhat of a temper involved. On the contrary, you seem to have all the patience, perseverance and endurance in the world when I look your ruler straight deck structure. Meticulously made long boats and everything else.

Inspirational!

[EdT]

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 154 – Quarter Davits

 

It seems like a while since the last post.  Progress has been slowed by research, documentation and drafting for the rigging.  However, about a week ago the last of the four boats was completed and since then the quarter davits have been made and fitted.  The first picture shows the completed 22’ cutter that will be secured to the starboard davits.

 

 

The 6 sweeps were made from drawn bamboo flattened at one end.

 

The quarter davits were secured outside the hull just aft of the main channels.  The forward davits were supported by the channels.  The aft pair were held by iron brackets.  One of these and its bolt is shown in the next picture.

 

 

This is a top bracket – longer to account for the inward slope of the sides.  The lower brackets are shorter with a hole only in the top.  All were made from the brass rectangular section shown in the picture.  In the next picture a lower bracket is being installed.

 

 

The rails were mortised to fit these.  The next picture shows the top end of one of the davits in the lathe after cleanup of the solder and rounding of the top bearing.

 

 

The ends were fashioned by the method used for the poop handrail stanchions.  The next picture shows one of these shaped.

 

 

After cutting to size, this davit was fitted as shown in the next picture.

 

 

The next picture shows both starboard davits fitted with their hooks installed.

 

 

The last picture shows all four davits.

 

 

These will probably be blackened to simulate iron, but I have not decided.  They appear black in one of the photos.  I will probably put these into storage with the boat until later.  There is quite a bit of rigging to be installed along the rails that will best be done with maximum access.  The above picture shows a break in the belaying pins that extends almost the length of the boats.  Pins forward of the six at the forward end of the space will extend uninterrupted all the way to the cargo opening and virtually all will be used.  There were a lot of sails on one of these ships.  A half dozen square sails per mast, an equal number of studding sails on the forward masts, plus quite a few fore and aft sails.  While I do not intend to install sails, I do plan to install most of their rigging, excluding most of the studding sail rigging and other items like staysail sheets.  I expect access to be an issue.

 

Ed

 

[GLakie]

Beautiful work Ed! 

[EdT]

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 155 – Channel Deadeyes 1

 

The next major task on the model is to fit out the channels with deadeyes, chains, bindings and backing (preventer) plates.  You may notice in these posts that some of the terminology diverges from what most of us are used to – namely British RN usage.  I am trying very hard to use 19^th Century American terms, gleaned mostly from texts from the period.

 

So, the first step is to make the 16” chain deadeyes for the fore and main mast lower shrouds.  There are 24 of these required at this stage.  For dimensions of this type of rigging component, I am relying largely on James Lees book, unless other specific references can be found.  The deadeye dimensions thus used are thickness slightly larger than half the diameter and holes located at one-half the radius.

 

In the first picture, a square of boxwood has been chucked in the lathe, partially turned to the 16” (.222”) diameter, and rounded at the end.

 

 

I tried Castelo and pear for these but ultimately went with the harder European Boxwood – from a stock of slightly off-color material that I have and designate as Boxwood ‘B’.  This left a minimum of fuzz and chips on the turnings.  The cutter in the picture was rounded on both sides of the center for the 16” deadeye rounding.  The brass stop on the cross-feed lathe rails was used to set the depth of cut.  In the next picture, the rounding on three deadeyes has been cut and the cut point for the fourth located.

 

 

The deadeye thickness was set with the z-axis calibration wheel on the lathe.  After the first three deadeyes are finished and parted off, the cutter will be indexed for the next three from the fourth cut shown.  Three is about the maximum for this unsupported turning.  In the next picture the grooves for the iron bindings (strops) are being cut using another special cutter sized to fit the iron ring.

 

 

These grooves were centered and cut to depth by eye.  The next step was to sand and polish each deadeye before parting as shown in the next picture.

 

 

This was done with sanding and polishing sticks.  The polished deadeye was then parted off as shown in the next picture.

 

 

The last picture shows three parted off deadeyes.

 

 

The nibs left from the parting will be removed in the drilling step – to be described in the next post.

 

 

Ed

[cog]

Lovely detail, Ed. (This should not be repetitive like those ship's boats ... ;-) )

[druxey]

Interesting modification on your Unimat: how is the brass stop secured on the cross-slide rail?  

[md1400cs]

Ed,

 

Your iron brackets from #1700 are BRILLIANT. Very creative indeed.

 

Michael 

[albert]

Great work Ed.

[EdT]

Thanks, everyone.

 

Carl,I'm trying to get adjusted to "repetitive".  There is a lot of that kind of work ahead.

 

Druxey, the stop snaps over the cross feed bed rod.  It is made from a piece of brass tube slit longitudinally slightly off center.  A picture is attached below.  This can be used in any setup by making the first of a number of repetitive cuts, loosening the tool in the holder, bringing the cross feed up against the stop, then resetting the tool in the holder. 

 

 

 

[AON]

thank you for the photo

sometimes the simplest of things is more easily explained with a picture

[druxey]

Ah, Thank you, Ed. Simplicity itself!

[cog]

Clever tool extension, Ed. The strength in repetitive actions is seen in the final result. Making deadeyes or doing e.g. Iaido kata, in the end it is all focused on reaching perfection, and so far you have been on top of it.

 

Cheers

[dgbot]

Ed, you are following a great rule. KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID. As a result I am learning many things.  Great workmanship.

David B

[EdT]

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 156 – Channel Deadeyes 2

 

The first picture shows one of the 16” (.222” actual) deadeyes with its three holes drilled.  This was done in the milling machine using a four jaw centering chuck and a calibrated rotary table.

 

 

To retrace the steps, the rotary table with the chuck was first centered in the lathe, by eye in this case.  The x-axis feed was then locked to prevent me adjusting it by mistake.  The y-axis was then moved so the drill would be off center by one-half the deadeye radius – then also locked.  The next picture shows the setup ready to receive a deadeye.

 

 

A dowel was placed in the chuck to set the deadeye height, to help level the deadeye for drilling, and to prevent me dropping deadeyes into the abyss.  This is smaller in diameter to avoid fouling the jaws.  In the next picture a deadeye has been placed and the chuck jaws tightened.

 

 

In this picture the nib left after parting in the lathe is being filed off.  This side of the deadeye was then sanded.  The other side was sanded and polished in the lathe.  The next picture shows a hole being drilled.

 

 

The holes are 1.1 times the diameter of the 5” (circumference) lanyards, in this case 5”/3.14 or 1.6” (.022” actual).  They are spaced at 120 degrees using the graduations on the rotary table.  To keep the small drill from skating on the curved deadeye face, the bit is chucked short and the hole is started with very light pressure using the Sherline® sensitive drilling attachment – an indispensable tool, shown before in these posts.   The table is then rotated 120 degrees for the next hole.  The next picture shows how this side of the deadeye was then polished using a Scotchbrite® wheel..

 

 

The next picture shows the 16” channel deadeyes just after removal from the Tung oil jar.

 

 

These were first dyed using a saturated water solution of Van Dyke® crystals.  This non-fading vegetable dye is made from black walnut husks.  As long as there are undissolved crystals in the jar, the solution is saturated and will remain at a constant maximum concentration.  I hope to use diluted solutions of this later to dye hemp rigging. 

 

Some readers will know that I am not a fan of dyes – for two reasons: most solution dyes are aniline based and will fade on exposure to light, and secondly solution dyes remain soluble after drying and therefore can smudge and run if wetted.  I have not relented.  This natural walnut dye should never fade and finishing the deadeyes with Tung oil will prevent later smudging. 

 

I considered dyeing these black using India Ink, but after comparing decided to go with the walnut, which I believe is a more realistic color.

 

I used oil diluted with 50% mineral spirits and expect 2 or 3 more dips on these before getting the desired polish.  That will consume 2 or 3 days before these are ready to be bound on the channels.  This should allow time to make the chain, bindings and preventer plates – and to prepare the channels.

 

There are other sizes to make as well.

 

 

Ed

[Mirabell61]

excellent deadeye fabrication Ed,

 

Nils 

[Gaetan Bordeleau]

http://waxine.com/produit/4/brou-de-noix

 

This is the product I use. My understanding is that it is remains if water is use  and fix if  some kind of alcohol is use soluble. I do not know what is aniline.

Also, I like to do some mixes with Tung oil.

 

http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/327-le-fleuron-by-gaetan-bordeleau-124/page-21

 

Also I did some experiments  with some of these products. My guess is that turpentine is a fixer but I cannot certify this fact.

 

Dark brown is a good choice of color for English ropes. For the French ropes around 1780 ropes were pine  tarred with a quality tar coming from  the north of Europe

  Swedish tar maker introduced the fabrication in France. The best tar came from Scandinavian forest. It is clear, fine and a bit red.

 

tarred rope is weaker and less flexible than a white rope, however it is more resistant to moisture.

Extraits de Traité de la fabrique des manoeuvres pour les vaisseaux
ou L'ART de la CORDERIE PERFECTIONNÉ de Mon Sieur Duhamel du Monceau
paru en  M. DCC. LXIX  ( 1769 - seconde édition )
à Paris chez Desaint, Libraire, rue du Foin.

 

 

Just to liven things up (so to speak), here are two excerpts from Alexander D. Fordyce: Outline of Naval Routine (1837)http://books.google....id=vPANAQAAMAAJ

 

RATLING RIGGING (pages 45 - 46)

 

Girt out the Rigging with a Fore and Aft Swifter, but not very much out of the straight line; then spar it down with spare Spars, Studding-sail Yards, Boat's Oars or Hand-spikes, all seized on carefully square.

 

Nettle-stuff made from Bolt-rope Yarns, or something equivalent, is very necessary for seizing the Ratlings with; and, if new, it ought to be well and carefully stretched previous to cutting. The best Seizing-stuff should be preserved till the new Ratlings have been a little worn.

 

Fourteen or sixteen inches is a good distance between the Ratlings, and their places should be calked off all the way up and down before commencing. Each man employed should have a measure within his reach, and special care should be taken to make the Ratlings of the one side correspond in parallel direction with those of the other. This can only be seen from outside.

 

If the Rigging is to blacked after Ratling down, it is best to leave the Spars on till that is done; but if the Rigging is not to be blacked, the Spars may be taken off as the new Seizings are finished and blacked.

 

BLACKING RIGGING. (pages 46-47)

 

When blacking new Rigging for the first time, the best mixture will perhaps be found to be Stockholm Tar, Coal Tar, and Salt Water, in equal proportions, and heated up in the Fish Kettle, over which a Sentry should be placed. After the first blacking, half the quantity of Stockholm Tar is sufficient; Coal Tar alone being always used for the Yards and Bends.

 

The most convenient method of Blacking Rigging is with Top-gallant Masts on deck, but Royal and Top-gallant Rigging placed at Mast-heads; for the men who ride down and black the Topmast Stays, can then at the same time black the Topgallant and Royal Stays handily; or, what is handier still, men at the Mast-head haul over and black these small Stays, and pay them down forward when done; the men, also, who black down the Topmast Backstays, can carry on at the same time with Topgallant and Royal Backstays. In addition to all which, the Masts are kept clean.

 

If, on the other hand, Top-gallant Masts be kept up when Blacking, the Small Stays and Backstays must be let go, in order that they may be got at by the men on the Topmast Stays and Backstays; consequently, the Masts must be adrift, and exhibit a specimen of slovenliness unbecoming a Man-of-War. The Masts will, moreover, be daubed over with Blacking; and if it come on to blow so as to render it necessary to get Topgallant Masts on deck before the Rigging be dry, much injury must result to the Blacking.

 

Previous to commencing, the Decks should be well sanded, and the Paint-work and Figure-head carefully covered with old Canvas and Hammocks. The Quarter Tackle should be clapped on one side of Main Yard, and a Burton on the other, ready for Provisioning and Clearing Boats.

 

The Hammocks should also be covered, and the Quarter Boats lowered out of the way.

 

The finer and warmer the day, the better. The Blacking will lay on so much the smoother and thinner; but commencement should be delayed till the dew is well dried off.

 

Topsail and Lower-lifts should be blacked first; the men having to stand upon the Yards to do them.

 

A smooth, calm day is required for the Bends ; for the Blacking will not take effect, unless the surface it is laid upon be dry.

[EdT]

Thank you for the interesting note, Gaetan.  I love the references to guarding the pot and also on letting the dew dry.

 

Aniline is an organic compound discovered in the early 19th century.  In the late 1800's it found use as a dye material and a substitute for natural indigo dyes (blue).  This was the beginning of major new developments in synthetic dyes of all colors.  (If you have heard of the company BASF, the A stands for aniline.)  I believe most dyestuffs today are aniline based.  The aniline molecule has a complex structure that is broken down by UV light, hence aniline dyes will fade over time.

 

 I am not a dye expert but after experiencing fading problems - first using fabric dye (Rit) on model railroad scenery and wood structures and then later (and of more concern) using synthetic dyes on fine furniture projects - I looked further into these materials.  I no longer use synthetic dyes for this reason.  Vegetable dyes do not exhibit this problem, but have been largely replaced by synthetics.  For example colors of antique oriental carpets retain their true color over long periods of time.  The other reason I avoid dyes, especially on wood, is because unless fixed they remain soluble as I mentioned in the post.  They need to be fixed with a binder like Tung Oil, linseed, soya, shellac, varnish, acrylic, etc.  Pigmented dyes, inks and paints generally do not fade, so in the past I have used thinned acrylic artists' paints to dye rigging and/or wood.  These also have their own binder built into the finish.  

 

Based on someone's post on MSW and the use of walnut stain for rigging by Bernard Frolich (The Art Of Ship Modeling), I searched and found natural walnut dye - Van Dyke crystals.  I believe this should be a good choice for coloring hemp running rigging.  Yarns of hemp were treated - before laying up into rope- by passing them through a tar bath, hence their brownish color.  This seemed to fade over time toward white - probably as the tar solution evaporated or was washed out.

 

I expect to treat standing rigging with a diluted black acrylic gouache - perhaps with some burnt umber.  This will provide the color and binder for moisture resistance.  I am basing this choice  on American practice as described by S.B. Luce (Seamanship, 1868).  This describes treating standing rigging with a "coating of blacking made of tar, whiskey, lamp black, litharge and sea water." Tar was probably coal or pine tar.  Litharge is lead oxide of some type, probably to add body to the mix.  I assume whiskey is spirits (alcohol).  While tar is more brown, the lamp black (carbon black) would make this permanently black.  A little carbon black goes a long way.

 

Ed

[rwiederrich]

Fantastic attention to detail.......

 

Rob

[Gaetan Bordeleau]

"They need to be fixed with a binder like Tung Oil, linseed, soya, shellac, varnish, acrylic, etc. "

Very interesting Ed, I tried some mixes, but I did not really know which component  was "the fixer agent". I just knew that I wanted to add color in Tung oil.

[EdT]

Gaetan, I am not adding the binding agent to the dye, but applying it after the dye dries.  On the deadeyes I am applying 3 coats of diluted tung oil after the dye dries.

 

Ed

[Gaetan Bordeleau]

1 coat for the dye, 3 coats for  tung oil: 4 coats.... this is a lot of coats

 

Ed if you do it separately, I guess that chemical reactions of tung oil seals better the dye so to speak.

 

Many coats means build up the thickness of tung oil. 

I try to put when possible 1 coat of tung oil because when I take a photo  the lens sees the thickness as some kind of a mirror and reflects the light and it makes a spot  on the photo. The first times I used tung oil  I was applying  regularly 2 coats and sometimes 3. With cherry I get better results with 1 coat. it seems to results  in a greater homogenity to the eye and to the lens.

 

I ask myself this question: Is it possible to do it in 1 coat only ( walnut or other natural dye + tung oil). I see no advantage to use turpentine. It  only means apply  50% less  in the mix and the only reason we see is to increase penetration. If the oil penetrates .001" deeper will that help a boat modeler;  I do not think, but I think it could help a fisherman who uses tung oil as a water sealant for his wood  boat.