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

[Der Alte Rentner]

Sigh..

 

How did this happen?  I'm going to have to dig through my own build logs to try to figure out why the gap between the mizzen mast and the hatch just forward of it is about a quarter inch too narrow.  That's the second hatch that ended up in the wrong place.  😕 

 

I realize that I'm probably the only person in my sphere who would notice this, but it's just plain aggravating. Nothing I can do about it now..

 

But I am taking a break from the shipyard today to lick my wounds.  

 

 

Edited August 28 by Der Alte Rentner
typo, changed formatting. Will someone please explain to me how these posts look different when viewed on a cell phone vs on a desktop?

[mtbediz]

I have the same problem, but I have to leave it as is. Otherwise, I would have to remove the beams that the hatch sits on and many other things.

Edited August 28 by mtbediz

[Der Alte Rentner]

41 minutes ago, mtbediz said:

I have the same problem, but I have to leave it as is. Otherwise, I would have to remove the beams that the hatch sits on and many other things.

Thanks for sharing that.  I feel so much better knowing that I'm not alone.  😁

[Der Alte Rentner]

The skylight is finally done.  

 

Here are the latest pix.

 

(Rather than attempt to paint the glass panels of the skylight, I thank my lucky stars I thought of this time saving idea.  Yes, adhesive star stickers, which I trimmed into the shape of the windows.)

 

That divider attachment proved handy for the dodgy business of attaching the brass strips that protect the "glass".

 

No glue. I applied a coat of polyurethane, added the brass strips on one face, rotated 60° on the dividing attachment, rinse, repeat - five more times.  I then added five more coats of poly on top of the brass strips to lock them in.  With the face I was working on on top, everything was parallel to the table top making placing the brass strips fairly straightforward.

 

As I was looking at these photos to post, I realized that I still have to do the fife rails. Unfortunately, I'm out of belaying pins. The last order from syren was lost by the USPS.  So, two weeks or so until the next order arrives, assuming it too doesn't go missing..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited yesterday at 04:40 PM by Der Alte Rentner

[JSGerson]

You've got one beautiful model!!

 

Jon

[The Bitter End]

Beautiful and unique. I wish I could see it in person. Well done!

[Ronald-V]

Looks indeed amazing! 🙏

[mtbediz]

Great model, congratulations! Will you add the canopies on the hatchways?

[Der Alte Rentner]

13 hours ago, mtbediz said:

Great model, congratulations! Will you add the canopies on the hatchways?

No, I do not think I will.  Perhaps, I'll change my mind before I start the rigging, but I don't see them as strictly necessary right now.  Were I to add them, I'd have to find a way of assembling them without soldering, brazing, or welding.  Given that all the other brass on Conny is pristine, I don't want to ruin the look with something that's painted over to hide the blemishes. 

 

(Right now, I've got my hands full trying to figure out how to "turn" the fife rail stanchions, in a way that I can produce 15 virtually identical ones.  Square stock won't fit in the self centering 3 jaw chuck on the lathe.  It isn't easy to properly center square stock in the  4 jaw chuck.  Either way, the chucks would only be holding on to, at best, 3/16" (4.8mm) of material.  This, to me seems, a recipe for disappointment at best.  I think I will once again resort to starting with round stock (dowel), turning the vase like ornamental details, then squaring the stock off with the mill and dividing attachment. I really wish I'd purchased a better lathe.  The Proxxon wood turning lathe really has very limited functionality.)

 

I logged in to see how you made these, but got sidetracked with incoming notifications.  I will now see how the master shipwright (you) solved this problem. 😁

Oh my!  You used the three jaw chuck!  Of course, it makes sense to use longer material - assuming you also used a tailstock to keep the piece stable while turning.  Since I already prepared a roughly 4mm square piece of boxwood, I wll try to get a good result with the lathe, though I may prep the piece on the mill first - taking advantage of that machine's adjustability.  Stay tuned.. 

 

Here's justification for the better lathe.  Obviously XKen wasn't using the DB 250 wood turning lathe.. 

Edited 5 hours ago by Der Alte Rentner
added Mustafa's photo and content, then XKen photo and more commentary. Finally corrected typos.

[mtbediz]

3 hours ago, Der Alte Rentner said:

No, I do not think I will.  Perhaps, I'll change my mind before I start the rigging, but I don't see them as strictly necessary right now.  Were I to add them, I'd have to find a way of assembling them without soldering, brazing, or welding.  Given that all the other brass on Conny is pristine, I don't want to ruin the look with something that's painted over to hide the blemishes. 

Good decision. To be honest, I'm not entirely satisfied with how the canopies I made look either. They're still in place for now, but the thought of removing them keeps crossing my mind. I might replace them with a basic rope guardrail.

Edited 2 hours ago by mtbediz

[mtbediz]

4 hours ago, Der Alte Rentner said:

(Right now, I've got my hands full trying to figure out how to "turn" the fife rail stanchions, in a way that I can produce 15 virtually identical ones.  Square stock won't fit in the self centering 3 jaw chuck on the lathe.  It isn't easy to properly center square stock in the  4 jaw chuck.  Either way, the chucks would only be holding on to, at best, 3/16" (4.8mm) of material.  This, to me seems, a recipe for disappointment at best.  I think I will once again resort to starting with round stock (dowel), turning the vase like ornamental details, then squaring the stock off with the mill and dividing attachment. I really wish I'd purchased a better lathe.  The Proxxon wood turning lathe really has very limited functionality.)

By the way, I sometimes use the milling machine as a lathe. I do this by clamping the workpiece in the chuck and the cutter in the vice. This way, I can move the workpiece (up and down) and the cutter as I please. In this case, the cutter does its job while the workpiece is rotating. Keep that in mind.

Edited 1 hour ago by mtbediz

[mtbediz]

One more thing. To attach the square piece to a 3-jaw chuck, you drill into the end of the square piece, insert a screw, then cut off the head of the screw. Attach the screw to the chuck.