Head Rails

[DaveBaxt]

I have come to the point in my build where I am attempting to make most of the components for the head rails on my HMS Diana build 1794 and the parts in question are the pieces above and inbetween the cheeks. I am unable to fathom how these are constructed and what thickness at 1:64. I am also unsure how to construct these out of boxwood. Once these are shaped can they be bent to the shape of the hull or is it easier to make them out of thicker material and hollowed out to the same shape as the hull ( similar to the upper and lower cheeks) One more question if I may . Is the facing surface of these pieces flat or are they too curved to follow the line of the bow. Hope this is making sense

Best regards Dave

[allanyed]

David, Regarding the cheeks, the parts I know of that fay to the cheeks and hull are the wash cant, bolster, and/or trail board.  Looking at the contemporary plans of Bounty at RMG I am not sure there is a trail board but it just may not be shown on the plan.   As to parts above the cheeks, are you speaking about the main rail and lower rail?

 

If not, sorry to put you into another book that you may not have but there is no easy/short explanation to cover the entire head area.  There are about 30 pages going into the details of every piece of the head that took me from a frightened rabbit when it came time to make these parts to a place of comfort after studying them.  TFFM Volume II, starting on page 206.   It covers main rail, false rail, lower rail, upper cheek, lower cheek, and much much more.    

 

Allan

 

 

Edited November 15, 2023 by allanyed

[DaveBaxt]

Thank you Allan for your prompt reply. The Caldercraft instructions show  parts called the  upper and lower cheeks which are glued to the upper and lower rails. The parts I am questioning are the pieces of timber which are between the upper a lower cheeks and are like a bracket between the hull and stem post . The pieces of wood I am referring is the piece which has the hawse holes and is called a bolster (9)and the other piece is called a filling piece. (11). Please see attached photo .Sorry for the confusion I should have stated this earlier. My earlier question was how to make such things as I am unsure whether these follow the shape of the hull by bending them around the hull or are they made from thicker pieces and shaped to fit the shape of the hull and wheter they are flat .

 

 

 

Unfortunately I do not pocess the books you mention but I am always on the look out to see if I could pick up something second hand as I understand these are one of the best volume out there. Sorry again for creating any confusion and thank you again for your patience.Best regards Dave

[allanyed]

As to shaping, for me it depends on the thickness and species of wood.  I prefer to shape them to match, but if it is thin enough you can soak the piece and then bend it around a jig that is made to match the shape of the hull and hit it with a hot air gun much like edge bending planking.  The bolster is probably best carved to shape due to its relative thickness.  Regarding the filler piece, what is the purpose?  The Bounty model at RMG has no filler piece between the cheeks nor do any contemporary models that I looked at unless the hawse holes are between the upper and lower cheeks as on the pic below.  Not to say the plans you have are incorrect, but seem not to be the norm.

 

Allan

[DaveBaxt]

Thank you Allan for explaining that and as I am using boxwood and possibly 3mm or more in thickness( again I am unsure of this size )  I have found boxwood difficult to bend even after soaking for 24 hours and then heat bending but can give it another try. I think carving it to the same shape as the hull using thicker wood and shaping both front and back surfaces may be a better approach, as this would ensure that the holes remain parallel. If this is the case? I too did not fit filling pieces on my Hms Bounty build but I am thankful for that as I was non the wiser at the time being my first period ship nor on my Endeavour too( second build). Perhaps you are correct and therefore fitting a filling piece was not the norm, however I have seen a number of other Diana build logs with some very good examples and the filling pieces do look rather grand but your points are duly noted.For  the record I noted on your example that the bolster appears to be between the upper and lower cheeks , where as on the Caldercraft Diana it appears to be higher up and is above the space where the filling piece is fitted and wonder what the signifigance of this is but perhaps both bolster and filling piece give added stength between  the cheeks?  Best regards Dave

Edited November 16, 2023 by DaveBaxt

[DavidEN]

Hi Dave,

 

It is present on two of the contemporary models of the Diana. I carved mine out of a block of timber but it was quite a tricky piece and it took a coupe of goes before I ended up with something that I could just about live with. Beef Wellington's is the one to aspire to.

 

Regards,

David

 

 

[DaveBaxt]

Thanks for the photos Dave and the explanation. I have started to do the filling pieces in exactly the same way as you have just discribed and as you have said it is faily tricky hopefully I will get there in the end. I always seem to take off more material than is required and have to start again so trying to do as much as possible by hand which a slow process. Best regards Dave

Edited November 17, 2023 by DaveBaxt

[allanyed]

On 11/16/2023 at 12:24 AM, DaveBaxt said:

or  the record I noted on your example that the bolster appears to be between the upper and lower cheeks , where as on the Caldercraft Diana it appears to be higher up and is above the space where the filling piece is fitted

It depends on the ship I suppose.  Many have them that are above, others between.  The location of the bolster needs to be such that the anchor hawsers come into the hull on the appropriate deck at a level that allows installation of the bucklers and their respective support lumber inboard. 

 

Allan 

Edited November 17, 2023 by allanyed

[DaveBaxt]

1 hour ago, allanyed said:

It depends on the ship I suppose.  Many have them are above, others between.  The location of the bolster needs to be such that the anchor hawsers come into the hull on the appropriate deck at a level that allows installation of the bucklers and their respective support lumber inboard. 

 

Allan 

Thank you again for confirming what I was beginning to think and after looking closely at another AOTS drawing shows that if the bolster was fitted between the cheeks they would as you have suggested be too low for the appropriate deck. Once again I would like to thank you for your time and patience. Best regards Dave.