USS Constitution by mtbediz - 1:76

[Der Alte Rentner]

Hey, Mustafa,

Thanks to Jon's contribution on the previous page (recapped below),

 

 

I just noticed that there's a hole in the center of the curtains/carved boards for the rope required to pull up the gunport lid from inside.  Since you already glued yours onto the hull, have you decided not to add the rope?  It seems to me that you could have drilled these holes more easily before mounting the curtains vs. using a pin vise now - unless the plan is to exclude the ropes from the build.

(yes, I have too much time on my hands 😁).

Edited May 28 by Der Alte Rentner
tipo, teipo, tiepo, typo.. what else?

[mtbediz]

9 hours ago, Der Alte Rentner said:

Since you already glued yours onto the hull, have you decided not to add the rope? 

Yes Peter, I will not add those ropes because I needed to get the ropes out of those holes before I built the spar deck. But unfortunately I cannot do that as the gun deck is no longer accessible.

[mtbediz]

Peter, since I will leave the lids wide open as in the photo, these ropes will not be visible anyway.

Edited May 29 by mtbediz

[Der Alte Rentner]

Of course, I should have known that. With the effort you put into your gun deck, you'd want every view available to show off your artistry.

[Der Alte Rentner]

On 2/7/2025 at 9:20 AM, mtbediz said:

I installed 8 carronades with breech ropes at the starboard side.

 

 

And of course, you seized the breach lines to eyebolts BEFORE you glued the eyebolts into the bulwarks.  To borrow a phrase from a contemporary cartoon character, doh!

 

I guess I will be cheating and using hooks instead. There's no way I can seized these now that my eyebolts are already glued into the bulwarks.

 

Two steps forward, one step back..

[mtbediz]

I'm back at the shipyard for a few days and took the opportunity to start making the gun port lids. I will leave the lids in the open position.

I didn't add the lid hinges since they wouldn't be visible anyway. I glued the lids directly to the top of the ports.

Edited June 15 by mtbediz

[Der Alte Rentner]

I was wondering why you installed the curtains a little bit above the actual gun port. Now I see why, to give you room to glue the lids in. Exceptional work as always, welcome back, even if only for a few days.

Edited June 16 by Der Alte Rentner

[mtbediz]

5 hours ago, Der Alte Rentner said:

I was wondering why you installed the curtains a little bit above the actual gun port. Now I see why, to give you room to glue the lids in. Exceptional work as always, welcome back, even if only for a few days.

Yes, exactly that was the reason why I installed the curtains a little bit above the gun port.

Edited June 16 by mtbediz

[mtbediz]

All upper lids have been completed, I am continuing the construction of the lower lids.

[mtbediz]

All gun port lids are complete. The next stage is to make the chain plates.

[scrubbyj427]

Incredible model of the constitution! Beautiful work!

[mtbediz]

Hello friends. I couldn't see the channel drawings in the MS kit plan sheets. Do they really not exist or am I just not finding them? Thanks.

Edited Saturday at 12:23 PM by mtbediz

[Der Alte Rentner]

3 hours ago, mtbediz said:

Hello friends. I couldn't see the channel drawings in the MS kit plan sheets. Do they really not exist or am I just not finding them? Thanks.

I'm sure Jon will chime in on this momentarily, but for my part, I cannot believe that there are no drawings in the plans in the MS kit. Unfortunately I'm not at home to be able to check. So Jon? What say you?

 

And Mustafa! You're supposed to be on vacation. How am I ever going to catch up to you if you keep working through your summer break? 😁

Edited Saturday at 12:56 PM by Der Alte Rentner

[JSGerson]

Per the note on sheet 4 above the gun per 3rd from front, it states "for channels & chain plate see details SE: sheets 7 & 8. At the bottom of those referenced sheets you will see the details.

 

Jon

[mtbediz]

9 hours ago, JSGerson said:

Per the note on sheet 4 above the gun per 3rd from front, it states "for channels & chain plate see details SE: sheets 7 & 8. At the bottom of those referenced sheets you will see the details.

 

Jon

Thank you Jon. I've reviewed the plans again, and yes, there are some details, but I couldn't find any information or drawings regarding the width and thickness of the channels, which is what I need. I’d be grateful if anyone who can see these dimensions could let me know.

[mtbediz]

12 hours ago, Der Alte Rentner said:

I'm sure Jon will chime in on this momentarily, but for my part, I cannot believe that there are no drawings in the plans in the MS kit. Unfortunately I'm not at home to be able to check. So Jon? What say you?

 

And Mustafa! You're supposed to be on vacation. How am I ever going to catch up to you if you keep working through your summer break? 😁

Next Wednesday, I’ll be shutting down the shipyard again until September, Peter. I’m guessing you’ll catch up and surpass me easily.

[JSGerson]

OK, so I rushed my initial response to you Mustafa because I was pressed for time. You are correct, there are no clear diagrams/instructions on how to fabricated the channels on the MS plans. That is a major shortcoming of the kit. So, I resorted to providing you an excerpt from Robert Hunt's practicum, pictures from the Mamoli plans, and actual US Navy plans.

 

Per the practicum:

Quote

10.2.2 The Channels

Before you actually make your chainplates, you need to have your channels made and attached to the model. The channels are made from 3/32" x 1/2" basswood provided in your kit. The reason for this is because you must adjust the length of the brass straps to fit your model. I will give you starting dimensions based on my model which may or may not work on your model.

You can take the lengths for each channel directly off of sheet 4 of your plans. The profile view shows each channel. First cut 2 each mizzen, main and fore channels from the basswood stock.

Each channel has slots cut in one edge for the chainplates to fit into. You can also take these right off of the plans as shown in photo P10.2.2-1

 

Once the channels have been attached to the side of the hull, the chainplates fit into these slots and an additional strip of 1/16" x 1/16" basswood stock fits across the channel edge that locks the chainplates in place. Alternatively, you could use a slightly wider strip of wood for the channel and drill holes for the chainplates to fit through but we will construct our channels this way as it more closely follows actual construction.

 

Use your plans to mark where the chainplates go on one channel. Then take its mate and transfer the marks to the other channel for the other side of the ship.

 

Next, you will need to cut notches in the channels where you have marked the chainplate locations. I used a Preac table saw with a .032" blade and made my cuts about 1/32" deep. You can also use an Exacto knife but try to cut both channels at the same time to ensure the notches are in the same place. Photo P10.2.2-2 shows my channels cut to length with the notches cut in them.

Each channel is slightly angled on the ends by about 1/16". This means that the outside edge, the one with the notches in it, is not as long as the inside edge. Make a mark 1/16" from the end on the outside edge of each channel and sand or trim accordingly. Photo P10.2.2-3 shows this feature to some extent.

 

channel is also thinner on the outside edge than on the inside edge. Again, the outside edge is the edge with the notches in it. Start by drawing a line across the face of the edge with a pencil or compass. You want to leave approximately 1/16" in the center of the edge and bevel the piece from the inside to the outside edge. Photo P10.2.2-4 shows this feature.

Here you can see that the channel in front (the lower one) is thinner on the outside edge than the other channel is. Use your #10 or #22 to trim the thickness down and use your sanding block to smooth it all out.

 

Once you've completed this step, you are ready to apply a finish to the channels. Start by giving them 2 or 3 coats of the Minwax Polycrylic finish to seal the wood. Sand with 400 grit sandpaper between coats of finish. Once this is complete, paint both sides with your Badger black paint giving the channels several coats.

 

Photo P10.2.2-5 shows a set of my channels. You will notice that there are brass pins along one edge. That's the next step of construction.

You can make these pins out of cut off pieces from your eyebolts which are extremely long. You will need at least 3 pins on each channel except the mizzen. You will also need to drill small holes in the edge of the channel to insert these pins. Use super glue to glue them in. You only need about 1/16" showing. Also, the fore channel will need to be carved some on it's inside edge to match the curvature of the hull. Fit the channel first before adding the pins.

 

The channels are glued to the side of the hull on the plank below the planksheer. Remember that the planksheer is the plank that makes up the bottom of the gunport sills. You can look at sheet 4 of your plans to see how the notches are oriented and how they are positioned in relationship to the gunports. By pushing the channel gently against the hull the nails or pins will put impressions in the planking that you can then drill out with your pin vise. Use super glue to glue the channels to the hull and the pins into the holes drilled. Once all of your channels are in place, you are ready to start making your chainplates and attaching them to the hull.

Practicum photos below

 

Mamoli  (scale 1:93) scans below

Mamoli 01.pdf Mamoli 02.pdf Mamoli 03.pdf

[mtbediz]

2 hours ago, JSGerson said:

I resorted to providing you an excerpt from Robert Hunt's practicum, pictures from the Mamoli plans, and actual US Navy plans.

Thanks for your efforts, Jon. The navy plans will be sufficient for me to calculate the correct dimensions. Thanks again.

[Der Alte Rentner]

You can always count on Jon to deliver the goods!

 

Thanks from me to Jon too, I'll be tackling these myself soon, hopefully before Mustafa reopens his shipyard in September.

 

[mtbediz]

Based on the US Navy plans shared by Jon, I calculated the widths of the fore, main, and mizzen channels scaled to my model. These plans showed that all three channels have different widths. Accordingly, the fore channel is 16 mm wide, which is significantly wider than the main and mizzen channels. I don’t know the reason for this, but that’s how it is. I calculated the main channel to be 12 mm and the mizzen channel to be 11.2 mm. These measurements do not include the strip that will cover the chain plate slots. I cut the channels from 2.1 mm thick basswood sheet and temporarily attached them in place with pins. After marking the positions of the slots where the chain plates will be attached on the channels, I will remove them.

Edited Monday at 07:10 PM by mtbediz

[Der Alte Rentner]

Thank you for posting,  Mustafa. I took particular note of your mentioning that these channels were temporarily placed with pins. I was wondering how I would keep them solidly affixed to the hall. As usual you provide the answer before I even asked the question.

 

 

[GGibson]

29 minutes ago, Der Alte Rentner said:

...that these channels were temporarily placed with pins.

 

It was probably just an incorrect choice of words, Peter, but I would add to all this discussion that there is nothing temporary about the pins.  They are placed in the channels and then marked where they hit the hull, holes drilled, adhesive applied, and channel pressed against the hull until secure.  I have used this method not only on small pieces placed on decks or rails like bitts and cleats, but also on vertical placements such as these channels, mast cleats, etc... especially anything that will have any stress placed on it like rigging. 

 

For fittings with single pins, I will normally just use a 0.83mm or smaller brass rod, but for larger fittings like these channels that might require two pins for accurate placement, instead of brass rods, I will use nails that I have cut the heads off, fixing that end into the channels and then carefully using the pointy ends of the two nails to help mark on the hull where the holes for insertion need to be made.  This process has worked well for me.  👍

[mtbediz]

My mistake, sorry. When I said "I will remove them" I meant "I will remove the entire channels". Because I will cut the slots on the channels. These pins will also be there when the channels are permanently glued in place