USS Constitution by The Bitter End - Model Shipways - 1:76

[The Bitter End]

45 minutes ago, Thukydides said:

I have been doing some research on the construction of the knee of the head and I was wondering where exactly you got this particular plan from. The only stuff I could find on Constitution is in the modeler resources (https://ussconstitutionmuseum.org/discover-learn/modeler-resources/) and it didn't show the various pieces.

 

You are correct in assuming that many of these ships likely used more pieces than is typically depicted on models. In my build log I go through the history of English construction of the knee of the head and list all the contemporary examples I could find. I would like to add Constitution to the list if you can point me in the direction of the original source for the above picture.

Good Evening Thukydides

 

Thank you for your interest and input.

 

I Got the drawings from @JSGerson who tells me that the plans come from the US Naval archives. I believe he purchased a CD which was originally available from the same website which you reference above. Apparently it contains significantly more drawings than what one sees listed now. If one looks in the bottom right hand corner of the uncropped image(can be seen in post #42 of this log) the number "14705" is listed if you go to the link you shared you can see a drawing of the fore mast step with the reference number 14704 written in the same format as on the drawing I worked from, this makes me feel that the plan is probably as reliable as one can hope for such things.

 

 

I really appreciate your work and interest. I hope that you jump in if you ever see me doing something stupid. I am very inexperienced and I am always in search of help.

 

Haiko

[JSGerson]

Quote

I tried to follow the link to your German website but it says that I don't have permission to view these images. Must i sign up for the website to access them?

The short answer is yes, you must sign up, but it doesn't cost anything. You can also choose the language you wish to read it in. I did, and have had no problems.

 

Jon

[The Bitter End]

Again not a huge amount to share..

 

I transferred the reference line from the drawings provided to the bulkheads. I did this by extending the reference line with pencil, placing the bulkhead over the drawing and parking the edges of the line onto the part and then joining those 2 marks. The plans and the parts match up pretty poorly so I elected to use the cavities above the gun deck as my alignment reference.

 

I then sanded out the slot in each bulkhead with a small sanding tool made by gluing sand paper to a piece of aluminum that as floating around my workshop.

 

Next I inserted the bulkheads into the false keel, I found a certain amount of additional sanding was required to get the parts to fit and to get the reference marks to alighs between the bulkheads and the false keel. The photo below shows what the bulkheads looked like with only the reference lines matched up and no additional work done on the bulkheads. It is not hugely obvious but the alignment is pretty poor. Casting a careful eye over the "deck beams" shows that they are not all level at all.

 

I corrected this with the following 5 different approaches depending on the specific bulkhead in question. By looking down the length of the vessel and eyeballing the heights of the beams I adjusted as follows until they were reasonably ell aligned(I did not go for complete perfection as I am using a plywood carrier for the deck but i did get it fairly close)

1. rotated the bulkhead changing which side faced forward or aft, this actually helped alot

2. removed material from the bulkhead with a combination of a sharp knife and sandpaper

3. added some material to the top of the bulkhead in the form of a strip cut form a sheet of 0.5mm plywood.

4. tapped some of the bulkheads so that they came up slightly from their original alignment with the reference lines to align better at the deck level.

5. Some bulkheads were fine as is and required no adjustment.

 

The slight but pretty essential correction can be seen below.

 

I will now move onto removing char and rough faring the bulkheads before gluing them in place

 

TBE

[The Bitter End]

As I am about to move onto the faring can anyone perhaps tell me if I need to remove additional material to account for the fact that I am adding an extra layer of 1.5mm planking. I cant quite decide if it makes sense to add another 1,5mm of faring on the bulkheads or if the additional width on the bearding like and rabbet will be sufficient

[Der Alte Rentner]

That is an excellent question.  My thought is that it might be very difficult to shave a precise 1.5mm off of the bulkheads.  There will be more "fairing" after your first planking.  So, some of the material you wish to pare will come off at that time.  I  can't think of any real downside to having a smidge more material on the planking, as long as you allow for this in the rabbets.  I would leave the bulkheads as they are. 

 

You're moving along at a pretty nice clip.  Congrats.

Edited November 28 by Der Alte Rentner

[mtbediz]

On 11/27/2024 at 9:08 PM, The Bitter End said:

As I am about to move onto the faring can anyone perhaps tell me if I need to remove additional material to account for the fact that I am adding an extra layer of 1.5mm planking. I cant quite decide if it makes sense to add another 1,5mm of faring on the bulkheads or if the additional width on the bearding like and rabbet will be sufficient

I don't know why you need an extra layer but If the issue is aesthetic requirement maybe instead of the 1.5 mm second layer, you might consider adding a 0.5 mm veneer, as many modelers do.

Edited Friday at 02:46 AM by mtbediz