USS Constitution by Der Alte Rentner - Model Shipways - 1/76

[mtbediz]

You're making pretty steady progress Peter. I don't know if you're going to glue the gratings in place, but I assume you've planned out how to make the gammoning as well.

[Unegawahya]

I’m happy to be able to help! She’s looking great!

[Der Alte Rentner]

Well, well, well.. another deficit in the Hunt practicum. There's absolutely no mention of gammoning that I can find anywhere through chapter 12. Now, maybe when I get back to my desktop I can search for the term "gammoning" and see if it pops up somewhere. But frankly, I hadn't even thought about it until you asked.

 

The grates are already glued in. Now that I've seen the gammoning on the plans, it's possible I might still be able to get them in, at some point. If not, I'm going to take a low-tech approach and cheat - perhaps just paint them on the bowsprit, or simply omit them. (For what it's worth, the Constructo kit plans don't even include them.)

 

If I don't cheat, maneuvering the chain is going to be really tricky.

 

Two steps forward, one step back.

 

Along those lines, I am finding it very difficult to glue the plank stiffeners in place. Neither tite-bond nor CA glue is sticking well to the lower head rail.  I'm hoping that the planks themselves will afford enough points of adhesion, that the whole structure will stay in place. Make that two steps forward, three steps back?

 

Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Mustafa.

Edited May 20 by Der Alte Rentner
Typos

[mtbediz]

Yes, there had to be enough space between the bowsprit and the grates for the chains to pass through. But there's nothing to do now. If I were you, at this stage, I would make the gammon out of rope instead of chain, this solution might be easier and wouldn't be wrong. I read somewhere that gammon were made out of rope before the chain.

Edited May 19 by mtbediz

[Der Alte Rentner]

58 minutes ago, mtbediz said:

there's nothing to do now. If I were you, at this stage, I would make the gammon out of rope instead of chain, this solution might be easier and wouldn't be wrong. I read somewhere that gammon were made out of rope before the chain.

 

Hey, that's a great idea!  If I get that far..   

 

Today was very frustrating.  While gluing in the first plank, those "plank stiffeners" came loose at several points along the lower head rail.  I pieced things back together as best I could and hope that subsequent planks serve to reinforce the structure.  My choice to stain these parts is coming back to vex me yet again.  It's oil based and covered with clear matte poly, but given the small surface areas at the mating points, the joints are extremely fragile.  If things go south, the gammons will be the least of my worries..

 

Thanks again!

[Unegawahya]

9 hours ago, Der Alte Rentner said:

 

Hey, that's a great idea!  If I get that far..   

 

Today was very frustrating.  While gluing in the first plank, those "plank stiffeners" came loose at several points along the lower head rail.  I pieced things back together as best I could and hope that subsequent planks serve to reinforce the structure.  My choice to stain these parts is coming back to vex me yet again.  It's oil based and covered with clear matte poly, but given the small surface areas at the mating points, the joints are extremely fragile.  If things go south, the gammons will be the least of my worries..

 

Thanks again!

That is really unfortunate! Is there a way you could remove just enough of the mating surface to give your glue a good fighting chance?

[Der Alte Rentner]

Exactly what I did, Thomas.

 

In the end, the planking strengthened the entire structure.  All's well that ends well. Starboard side done.  

 

 

Now I get to relive the entire adventure on the port side. Oh joy! 😁

 

P.S. Once again, a photo shows me something I didn't see with my naked eyes. I have to redrill the Gammon holes, preferably before I plank the port side. And yes, Mustafa, rope gammoning is correct. I've seen several references to it online and at this website.

 

Finally, before anyone asks, I have no idea why I put dowels in those holes in the stem..

Edited May 20 by Der Alte Rentner
Added comments

[mtbediz]

Peter, I'm glad things are going well for you. By the way, I'll also make the gammon out of rope. Rope is more pleasing to my eye.

[Der Alte Rentner]

Though not visible in the photos below, I did check to see where the gammoning would be on the bowsprit and I believe there will be plenty of room to pass rope between the head and the bowsprit. So, no worries on that front. Meanwhile, work begins on the port side..

 

(As an aside, this dividing attachment is a pretty crappy accessory for the proxxon MF 70 mill.  It would be nice if the rotary base would accommodate the small proxon vise instead of having these ridiculous Jaws. At least I got one thing accomplished using the tool.) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 21 by Der Alte Rentner

[Der Alte Rentner]

Due to matters requiring attention at home, I am using the day to update my personal build log on my desktop PC.  When it came time to mention the gammoning issue, I felt I needed a photo to illustrate what I was talking about.  Here's a photo from a post by "AllanKP69" at another model building website.    Have a good weekend all..

 

[Der Alte Rentner]

I fabricated rail three in three parts  finding this to be the easiest way to do it. I wish I'd done this with the starboard side rail, but better late than never.

 

Before I attempt to attach the stiffeners for the planking, I am going to let the glue and stain cure, and contemplate employing Mustafa's technique of adding a backing plank to make that installation easier.  So I'm going to take the rest of the weekend off.  Happy Memorial Day to all.

 

By the way, if anyone looking at my post has not yet discovered the one for The Bitter End, look that one up. You are going to be stunned with what he posted today.  Link follows:

 

https://modelshipworld.com/topic/37377-uss-constitution-by-the-bitter-end-model-shipways-176/page/6/#comment-1101164

 

 

 

 

 

Edited Sunday at 06:44 PM by Der Alte Rentner
Typos and additional commentary..

[Der Alte Rentner]

Finally!  While not perfect, due to slight discrepancies in symmetry between port and starboard sides, I am pretty satisfied with the result of the port side planking. More than that, I'm happy to be moving on to something else. What that will be remains to be determined. 

 

Drat! I think I know what that's going to be afterall. I noticed a chip in the bottom port side rail, right near the top by the ornamental arrow in the trailboard scroll work. Maybe I'll try to fix that. I have no idea when that happened.  Again, the camera sees more than the naked eye.

 

 

 

 

Before I left the shipyard, I had to at least try to fix the chipped rail. 

 

Edited yesterday at 06:10 PM by Der Alte Rentner

[mtbediz]

Everything looks great Peter, congratulations. I've also finished the bow detailing for now. I'll fabricate the grates and put them in place after I install the bowsprit and gammoming. The trailboard ornament looks like it's going to wait a long time. Because I haven't figured out how to make it yet because I've never make anything like it before. I haven't made up my mind yet but I think I'll continue with the gun port lids.

[Der Alte Rentner]

3 hours ago, mtbediz said:

The trailboard ornament looks like it's going to wait a long time. Because I haven't figured out how to make it yet because I've never make anything like it before.

Your bow detailing is striking and elegant.  I look forward to seeing how you deal with the trailboard and ornaments.

 

I assume you have the plans which include the drawings of the ornaments. In which case, you - of all people - should have no problem.  Since you seem to have a knack for metal work, XKen's method for making these may be of interest to you.  Or you could try styrene (the Bob Hunt method).  I'm sure you'll come up with something amazing.  (Don't forget that I have the artwork for those oval flags, as well as the scale drawings of the ornaments, if you need them, at post 499.)  

 

My thoughts are to tackle what I can on the hull first, so I can finally clamp it down to work on a stable platform.  Rudder? Channels? Gundeck cannons and port lids?  But maybe before I do much else , I'll experiment with aging the copper plating to see how the green looks next to my planking.  If I like the look, that could be next. 

Edited yesterday at 10:01 PM by Der Alte Rentner

[GGibson]

1 hour ago, Der Alte Rentner said:

Since you seem to have a knack for metal work, XKen's method for making these may be of interest to you.

 

Ken Foran's brass work was amazing to see in his Constitution build log.  So much so, that I purchased his book, although I'll probably never be good enough to use half of the techniques he described! 🤷‍♂️🤣

 

1 hour ago, Der Alte Rentner said:

My thoughts are to tackle what I can on the hull first, so I can finally clamp it down to work on a stable platform.  Rudder? Channels? Gundeck cannons and port lids?  But maybe before I do much else , I'll experiment with aging the copper plating to see how the green looks next to my planking.  If I like the look, that could be next. 

 

Sounds like a lengthy to-do list, Peter!  Will be fun to watch you continue your progress! 👍

[Der Alte Rentner]

I struck out in my online search for methods of aging the copper plate for the hull.  Given that the materials supplied with the kit have a tape/paper backed copper strip, none of the soaking approaches suggested by A/I Deep Searches yielded a workable solution.  Does anyone know of a supplier of adhesive copper tape already green (green, as in an aged penny or the Statue of Liberty)?  To refresh memories before anyone asks,  I don't like the look of the shiny copper next to my "natural" finished planking.

Edited 7 hours ago by Der Alte Rentner

[usedtosail]

About 10 years ago I remember there was a post on another modeling web site where a builder used his own urine to turn his copper plates green, right on the hull. I am not recommending that approach but thought I would include it for completeness, I guess?

[Der Alte Rentner]

Hi Tom,

 

My goal is to keep the hull 'completely' dry.  but thanks for the novel 😆 idea.. 

 

Peter

[GGibson]

Well, there is a pea green hue, but.... 🤷‍♂️🤣