Chain equivalents

[wmherbert]

Hi. I'm trying to figure what anchor chain to get for 1/4 inch to foot scale.  Most chain for boats such as the fishing schooners I've been working would be 3/4 to 1 inch chain but I'm not sure what size in scale that would be

Any help would be appreciated

Bill

[Ian_Grant]

Hi Bill.  You're at 1/48 scale (forty eight quarter-inches in a foot) so dividing the actual chain sizes by 48 gives 16 to 20 thou of an inch or about 1/2mm.

[wmherbert]

Thanks. Looking at modelexpo site their chains are listed with different links per inch not size of chain 

[allanyed]

9 hours ago, wmherbert said:

Most chain for boats such as the fishing schooners I've been working would be 3/4 to 1 inch chain

Hi Mr. Herbert,

Which size fishing schooners?  If your are talking about chain link length something may be amiss if they had the tiny links you describe.  A description of link sizes can be found in The American Fishing Schooner, by Chapelle on page 318 where a link is shown and dimensions given.  I doubt that anyone can make this as a blanket statement but Chapelle gives schooners of 75 feet or more using chain with links as much as 5 " long.  Smaller schooners had links about 4 1/4" X 2 1/2"     The stock (diameter of the material used to make a link) would be about 3/4" to 7/8" diameter.

  

Chain at Model Expo is usually sold in links per inch.  For 1:48 each length it would be 10 to 12 links per inch. (4 to 5 links per centimeter)  Unfortunately Model Expo chain is for smaller scales as they show none in the right size for schooners at 1:48 (if one agrees that Chapelle is giving accurate information.)  There are other sources that I found with a quick search.  One example is at https://cloverhouse.com/Cart/product_info.php?products_id=13498 

I have no idea where you are located, so this may be a useless source for you as it is in the USA.   

Allan

 

Edited May 31, 2023 by allanyed

[wmherbert]

Yes I meant 3/4 to 1 inch diameter of the chain not the link length. I had an 88 ft L.O.A schooner that had 5/8inch chain .

Your link looks like just the right stuff.

Thanks again to all, sure nice to be able to draw on the collective knowledge

Bill

[Bob Cleek]

Just a mention in passing: ModelExpo doesn't appear to sell stud-link anchor chain at all. They only sell scale common chain. 

 

Following its invention and British patenting in 1819 stud-link chain quickly replaced common chain for anchoring chain in vessels over about 75 feet long or so. It was stronger than common chain of the same size, was less prone to jamming or jumping a wildcat, and stowed without "clumping" or kinking, always running free when the anchor was dropped. I would expect stud-link chain to be used by any of the American (including Canadian) fishing schooners. BBC - A History of the World - Object : Ships anchor cable chain link with stud. Most all of this stud-link anchor chain was initially and for a long time thereafter manufactured by Brown Lenox in England (suppliers to the Admiralty,) and, presumably, exported to North America. Since 1960, at least, Lister Chain and Forge in Blaine, WA has been supplying it to the United States Navy and civilian market. 

 

 

 

 

Scale stud-link chain used to be near-unobtainable and had to be fabricated by the modeler. Jewelry wholesalers offer stud-link chain in smaller sizes, known to that trade as "marine chain," but this is generally made of precious metals and cost-prohibitive for modeling purposes. About ten years ago, Mathews Model Marine was offering 3D-printed plastic stud-link chain in a range of sizes designed for 1:200 scale naval vessel models (which requires delicate hand-working to clean and separate the links,) but I don't know if this is still available. See: Ship review (modelwarships.com) Fortunately, Caldercraft and a couple of others presently offer brass stud-link chain in a wider variety of sizes on eBay. See: stud-link anchor chain for sale | eBay

 

For the more adventurous types, there's an excellent instructional piece on crafting stud-link chain from scratch in this forum's Articles Database: HowToMakeStudLinkChain.pdf (thenrg.org)

Edited May 31, 2023 by Bob Cleek

[allanyed]

16 hours ago, Bob Cleek said:

Jewelry wholesalers offer stud-link chain in smaller sizes, known to that trade as "marine chain," but this is generally made of precious metals and cost-prohibitive for modeling purposes.

Check out https://www.aliexpress.com/i/2251832830158277.html?gatewayAdapt=4itemAdapt  for copper chain which can be cleaned up and blackened with liver of sulfur.

Brass is also available. https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256802570905883.html?pdp_npi=2%40dis!USD!%248.00!%246.80!!!!!%402103245416856155621711101e9208!12000022048011234!btf&_t=pvid%3A557a3e42-49b4-44a5-9fab-e34608a2e767&afTraceInfo=1005002757220635__pc__pcBridgePPC__xxxxxx__1685615562&spm=a2g0o.ppclist.product.mainProduct&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa

It can be left as is or cleaned up and blackened with an appropriate agent. 

Prices look cheap, but this may be an indication the chain is junk.  LTBB

Allan

Edited June 1, 2023 by allanyed