USS Constitution by mtbediz - 1:76

[mtbediz]

5 hours ago, Der Alte Rentner said:

Hmm, I hadn't thought of that - a lapse in my research, I guess.  Had tge notion come to me days earlier, I might have skipped it as well.  I must admit though, that I do like the way they look.  

 

Thank you.

Actually, about a week ago, in my post number 467, I mentioned that I was making a model of the ship as it is today and that the bulwark and rails would be different from the MS kit. I even remember mentioning this in my previous posts also. I think you missed that.  

[Der Alte Rentner]

Probably more a case of I forgot  that I saw the post.  😁

[Der Alte Rentner]

On 12/6/2024 at 5:47 AM, mtbediz said:

the rail system and bulwarks are different from the ship's MS kit). 

aha!  It was not so much that I forgot the post, but I didn't fully appreciate what you meant by "different"..  

 

I just spent a few minutes consulting the Practicum.  Hunt doesn't address the "top rail" until Chapter 12.  A lot of stuff happens between where I am in the build now and the point where Hunt finally adds this rail.  I'm wondering.  Is there any practical reason to wait until then?  In the Chapter 5 Hunt explains why he held off on adding the top rail.  "We will not install the topgallant railing at this
time. When it is installed, the head rails must also be installed. I fear that installing them now might cause us problems later when we plank the lower hull as they are delicate and could get damaged with the model turned over on its side. We will come back to those rails once the outer planking is complete."  But, since I've already completed the hull and deck planking, I don't see the reason to wait until all the deck furniture is addressed.  Do you?

Edited December 14 by Der Alte Rentner

[mtbediz]

I added the transom knees which are present on the actual ship.

[Der Alte Rentner]

When I last looked at my Constitution, I was bemoaning the fact that I had forgotten that step when I finished the main and top rails. 

 

The glue between two pieces of boxwood is curing as I type these words, and I will be attempting to retrofit those knees myself tomorrow or Tuesday.

[mtbediz]

6 hours ago, Der Alte Rentner said:

When I last looked at my Constitution, I was bemoaning the fact that I had forgotten that step when I finished the main and top rails. 

 

The glue between two pieces of boxwood is curing as I type these words, and I will be attempting to retrofit those knees myself tomorrow or Tuesday.

These knees are parts that can be added whenever you want. I don't think anything was late or forgotten.

[mtbediz]

Current overview of the model. I continue with carronade carriages. I'm making the side parts of the carriages with my milling machine.

Edited Tuesday at 03:59 PM by mtbediz

[Der Alte Rentner]

Now, that is an interesting approach to shaping the gun carriages.  I assume that you did not have a router bit with the appropriate shape and size..

[mtbediz]

1 hour ago, Der Alte Rentner said:

Now, that is an interesting approach to shaping the gun carriages.  I assume that you did not have a router bit with the appropriate shape and size..

Actually, I'm not very happy with the result. I'm looking for ways to do it better. Is there a router bit you can recommend?

[GGibson]

Looks good, Mustafa!  I'm not a regular router user, but I would think there would be some variation of bead or ogee-shaped bits that would be close to what you are attempting.  Otherwise, your mill is doing great work!  A little sanding on that curve would shape it nicely.

[Der Alte Rentner]

I couldn't have said it better myself, Gregg. Yes Mustafa, it looks like a simple Ogee bit would get you the result you're aiming for. The question is can you get one in that size?

 

I assume that you have a router table with a fence..

[mtbediz]

Unfortunately, I think it would not be possible to work with an ogee bit of this size on my micro milling machine. In the meantime, I'm working on a prototype carriage for testing. Then I will start mass production.

[GGibson]

Carriage looks good, Mustafa!  Will be interested in seeing what your final design/shape looks like.

 

Sharp looking carronades, as well.  Nice detail for that scale in brass.  Where did you get your carronades?

[mtbediz]

7 minutes ago, GGibson said:

Carriage looks good, Mustafa!  Will be interested in seeing what your final design/shape looks like.

 

Sharp looking carronades, as well.  Nice detail for that scale in brass.  Where did you get your carronades?

Thank you Greg. A modeller friend of mine made the carronades for me with lathe.

[GGibson]

5 minutes ago, mtbediz said:

Thank you Greg. A modeller friend of mine made the carronades for me with lathe.

 

Sweet!  Nice friend!  Excellent work! 🏆

[Der Alte Rentner]

I wish I had a friend like that!   

[mtbediz]

Prototype carriage completed and tested on the deck. 

[mtbediz]

Because I wasn't happy with what I did before, I created a table that showed me how I should move the router bit in order to give the appropriate shape to the rear part of the carriage, which was difficult to make, and I milled accordingly. Thus, I achieved a more suitable profile. I can say that I acted like a CNC machine in a way.

Edited Friday at 07:52 PM by mtbediz

[GGibson]

Nice work, Mustafa!  I may need to refer back to this chart if I try something like this on my Proxxon!  They will sand out to nicely curved carriage sides.  I assume you used the smallest 1.00mm milling cutter?  

[mtbediz]

59 minutes ago, GGibson said:

Nice work, Mustafa!  I may need to refer back to this chart if I try something like this on my Proxxon!  They will sand out to nicely curved carriage sides.  I assume you used the smallest 1.00mm milling cutter?  

Greg, since I had to cut a large surface at the beginning of the job, I used a 2 mm cutter, which I thought it would be more durable, but 1 mm can also be tried.

[Der Alte Rentner]

I'm still of the opinion that a router bit would be the best option here. Next time I'm at the shipyard, I'll run through my collection of bits and see if I can find anything that would facilitate the shape that you're looking for, Mustafa. If I succeed I'll show you some photos. I hadn't intended to make my own gun carriages, but if they look better than what came laser cut from the kit, this will have been an instructive conversation.

[mtbediz]

4 hours ago, Der Alte Rentner said:

I'm still of the opinion that a router bit would be the best option here. Next time I'm at the shipyard, I'll run through my collection of bits and see if I can find anything that would facilitate the shape that you're looking for, Mustafa. If I succeed I'll show you some photos. I hadn't intended to make my own gun carriages, but if they look better than what came laser cut from the kit, this will have been an instructive conversation.

For this scale, a router bit with a radius of 9 mm will be needed, and I don't think our MF70 has the torque to turn it while under load, but you can still try it.

[GGibson]

5 hours ago, mtbediz said:

Greg, since I had to cut a large surface at the beginning of the job, I used a 2 mm cutter, which I thought it would be more durable, but 1 mm can also be tried.

 

Thanks for that info, Mustafa!  I may have missed your explanation earlier, but what type of wood are you using for these carriages?  Excited to see the final shaping and, of course, how they will look painted. 👍

[mtbediz]

16 minutes ago, GGibson said:

 

Thanks for that info, Mustafa!  I may have missed your explanation earlier, but what type of wood are you using for these carriages?  Excited to see the final shaping and, of course, how they will look painted. 👍

I am using pear wood, Greg. It is a solid but easily processed wood.

Edited yesterday at 04:54 AM by mtbediz

[mtbediz]

Mass production of the carriages starts. 20 carriages will be produced.

[Der Alte Rentner]

11 hours ago, mtbediz said:

For this scale, a router bit with a radius of 9 mm will be needed, and I don't think our MF70 has the torque to turn it while under load, but you can still try it.

I hadn't planned on using the router bit on the MF70.  I would use my router table, like I did to make the hatch coamings (post 203) and the base (post 184).  I see that you've already concluded your mass production run and that you are well on the way to completing the gun carriages, so I will not pursue the topic further at this point.  Instead, I've got to see how others are handling construction of cheek knees, head rails and trail boards.  I thought I dreaded the galleries, but those efforts pale in comparison to what I foresee coming up next.  

 

I look forward to seeing you you tackle those last items..  Right now, I'm looking at Usedtosail, Kmart and XKen, among others for ideas and techniques.