USS Constitution by mtbediz - 1:76

[mtbediz]

3 hours ago, Der Alte Rentner said:

Wow, you're setting quite the pace.  Once again, excellent workmanship.   I'm taking notes...

Thank you Rentner.

[mtbediz]

Starboard side quarter gallery windows are completed.

 

[Der Alte Rentner]

I would love to know how my stern gunports ended up so far apart (vertically).   

 

[mtbediz]

On 12/15/2023 at 5:20 PM, Der Alte Rentner said:

I would love to know how my stern gunports ended up so far apart (vertically).   

 

Based on the kit plan, yours looks correct. Since I made the gunports larger, the distance between them decreased. This was due to my carelessness. I probably took the measurement wrong.

[mtbediz]

After completing the quarter gallery windows on the both sides, I added the moldings under the windows and on the transom.

[GGibson]

All of that quarter gallery area looks sharp, Mustafa! 👍

[mtbediz]

7 hours ago, GGibson said:

All of that quarter gallery area looks sharp, Mustafa! 👍

Thank you so much Greg.

[mtbediz]

I added the pilasters to the transom today.

[JSGerson]

I've always had a hard time bending wood without kinking, cracking, or breaking. It was for those reasons I used the very flexible Styrene plastic on my model for the curved modeling. However, I wasn't too pleased with the mediocre results. The CA glue made the plastic brittle.  What wood did you use and how did you soften it up to bend it?

 

BTW, wonderful job!

 

Jon

[Der Alte Rentner]

2 hours ago, JSGerson said:

What wood did you use and how did you soften it up to bend it?

I have the same question.  

 

Also, how many hours a week do you spend in your shipyard?  I just spent 4 hours adding 7 rows of planking from the transom to where the rudder post will be.   Very impressive productivity Mustafa!

[mtbediz]

3 hours ago, JSGerson said:

I've always had a hard time bending wood without kinking, cracking, or breaking. It was for those reasons I used the very flexible Styrene plastic on my model for the curved modeling. However, I wasn't too pleased with the mediocre results. The CA glue made the plastic brittle.  What wood did you use and how did you soften it up to bend it?

 

BTW, wonderful job!

 

Jon

I used 1x1 mm basswood. I keep it in boiling water for 2-3 minutes and then clamp to the mold I prepared before and wait for it to dry. If you want to speed up the drying process you can use a hair dryer.

Important: After removing the wood from the water, it is necessary to bend and clamp it to the mold as soon as possible without giving it a chance to cool.

[mtbediz]

48 minutes ago, Der Alte Rentner said:

I have the same question.  

 

Also, how many hours a week do you spend in your shipyard?  I just spent 4 hours adding 7 rows of planking from the transom to where the rudder post will be.   Very impressive productivity Mustafa!

If I have nothing else to do, I work in my shipyard for 4-5 hours every day. I am retired.

[woodartist]

I spend 6-7 hours a day in my shipyard. I am not as proficient as you and Rentner so I have spend more time and accomplish less but I am out of the wife's domain so she stays happy.

[mtbediz]

7 hours ago, woodartist said:

I spend 6-7 hours a day in my shipyard. I am not as proficient as you and Rentner so I have spend more time and accomplish less but I am out of the wife's domain so she stays happy.

I agree with you on the issue regarding the wife.

[mtbediz]

Dear friends I need a help in this stage.
I would like to ask my friends who have knowledge. As far as I can see in the photographs, there are no frames in the stern windows of the ship today. Were there frames for glass in the windows in previous periods? If so, why did they remove these frames? Thanks.

[JSGerson]

The transom like other parts of the ship changed over the years, so I hope these images help.  The close-up image is present day, The image with windows sashes was 1914. I believe the sashes were removed after the 1927 renovation as seen in the 1934 image with two guys in a row boat. I also gave you a historic montage as to some of the changes that took place.

 

Jon

[GGibson]

Nice montage, Jon! Awesome pictures. 👍

[mtbediz]

11 hours ago, JSGerson said:

The transom like other parts of the ship changed over the years, so I hope these images help.  The close-up image is present day, The image with windows sashes was 1914. I believe the sashes were removed after the 1927 renovation as seen in the 1934 image with two guys in a row boat. I also gave you a historic montage as to some of the changes that took place.

 

Jon

Thank you very much Jon. I agree with Greg, these are great information and pictures and helped me a lot. Now I have to decide whether to add window sashes or not

[Der Alte Rentner]

 

What fortuitous timing on your providing photo documentation, Jon.  I'm just about to start the wales (Chapter 6 of the Practicum) and was wondering why Bob Hunt was using thicker stock for those 7 strakes.  The plans don't really show any difference in the width at the bow for the wales.  Many models I've seen at this site also seem not to deal with this detail.  The photo from 1914 above seems to confirm that there's no difference in the planking thickness between gunports and waterline.  

 

Here's a photo from the practicum:

 

That begs the question, why bother with thicker stock? 

Thoughts gentlemen?

 

Edited December 22, 2023 by Der Alte Rentner
corrected typo

[JSGerson]

The simple reason is that it is thicker on the actual ship as well as it is on the plans. I'm no expert on ship design, but I assume the added thickness is for added strength when docking and bumping into things. These ships are often rolled on their sides for maintenance too. See foreshortened image below.

[mtbediz]

I have started painting the upper hull. The starboard side is complete.

[Der Alte Rentner]

On 12/22/2023 at 8:49 AM, JSGerson said:

The simple reason is that it is thicker on the actual ship as well as it is on the plans. I'm no expert on ship design, but I assume the added thickness is for added strength when docking and bumping into things. These ships are often rolled on their sides for maintenance too. See foreshortened image below.

 

Your photo does suggest that there is some added thickness in the recent edition of the Constitution.  I did not see that in the Aug 18, 1914 reference photo I supplied above.  And compared to Bob Hunt's example, the wale in your latest photo is subtle indeed.  

 

Since we're confabbing on Mtbediz' dime, I'll add that Mustafa seems not to have added thickness there either.  

 

Because I've already shaved some of the existing planking between the gunports and where the wales are supposed to begin, the difference in thickness I'm looking at is even more severe than in the Hunt Practicum photo.  I'm pretty good with a chisel, but if I add the wale, I think I'll be better off using stock that's a little thicker than the existing planking - not the 3/32 x 1/8" material Bob used in Chapter 6.  That should make shaping the planks at the stern somewhat easier too.

 

Thanks again Jon

[Der Alte Rentner]

And Mustafa, I apologize for submitting my original question about the wale in your log.  Sometimes I lose track of where I am at this website.  (The old grey cells, they ain't what they used to be...)

 

BTW, beautiful job on the painting there!

 

[JSGerson]

DAR, we may be both correct. I checked the US Navy plans and the wale does exist but is not as pronounced on the surface of the hull as the MS plans make it out to be. At best, the wale bumps out at its thickest point about 3.5" from the hull or about 3/64 at scale." and even that change is not as abrupt  as the MS plans show. To see that fine detail in very old images is unlikely.

[Der Alte Rentner]

3 hours ago, JSGerson said:

I checked the US Navy plans and the wale does exist but is not as pronounced on the surface of the hull as the MS plans make it out to be. At best, the wale bumps out at its thickest point about 3.5" from the hull or about 3/64 at scale." and even that change is not as abrupt  as the MS plans show. To see that fine detail in very old images is unlikely.

 

Also, the Navy plan you supplied shows the wale is tapered.  Perhaps that's why it doesn't show in the 1914 photograph.  I looked long and hard to see a bump in the MS plans, and didn't see any.   I'll proceed with stock that's slightly thicker than the 3 rows of planking directly above the wale to allow me some flexibility when fairing the hull.  

 

Jon, your interest an knowledge of these little details is unparalleled.  Kudos to you!

[mtbediz]

15 hours ago, Der Alte Rentner said:

And Mustafa, I apologize for submitting my original question about the wale in your log.  Sometimes I lose track of where I am at this website.  (The old grey cells, they ain't what they used to be...)

 

BTW, beautiful job on the painting there!

 

No problem. These types of discussions are instructive for everyone wherever they are held.

[mtbediz]

I have started the construction of gun deck cannon carriages. There will be 30 in total. I am making the cannon carriages from pear wood. First, I prepared a block that would form the side walls with a milling cutter, then I obtained the side walls by slicing the block with my table saw. After sanding and necessary drilling, I combined the front and rear wheel axles that I had prepared before with the side walls using the assembly jig I made.

Edited January 1 by mtbediz

[GGibson]

SWEET!! 👍🏆

[mtbediz]

10 minutes ago, GGibson said:

SWEET!! 👍🏆

Thank you Greg

[JSGerson]

I did a similar method only I didn't have a mill cutter lying around, so I used my Byrnes Saw. You made that process look so easy. neat, and clean. Well done! Out of curiosity, where did you get your brass cannon barrels from and what size did you get?

 

Jon