Queen Anne's Revenge 1710 by shipmodel - FINISHED - 1/36 scale

[themadchemist]

Thanks Dan for the effort you put into showing steps in your building process. I find your work superb and always finish catching up reading your latest updates with some new information. Its truly a pleasure to watch your work.

[shipmodel]

Hi all -

 

Thanks for all the kudos.  I took the time to look at some of the logs that you all are posting and I am happy to be a part of such a talented community.

 

David, Keith - glad to pass along some of the tips that I have learned and the techniques that I have developed.  Second only to actuallty building ship models, I like talking and teaching ship modeling. 

 

Be well, and happy Mother's Day to everyone out there, female and male.

 

Dan

[dgbot]

Dan, I still remember that hull you bought at a conference as a teaching aid. Hopefully it has helped you in your efforts.

David B

Edited May 10, 2014 by dgbot

[shipmodel]

Hello again –

 

I have just completed the construction of the stern, which was complicated enough to merit its own log entry.

 

The design is a bit of an exercise in imagination, without any hard facts to go on.  The Advice Prize draught has no information at all; the stern outline is shown as part of the station lines plan, but without any decorations or indications of the shape of the counter, transom or even the top of the taffrail.  Budriot’s drawing of the stern of Le Mercure is excessively florid, with lots of carvings, an intricate nameplate, and even flaming finnials at the upper corners of the taffrail.

 

 

Not only is this much too ornate for the QAR (and for Le Mercure, which was a merchant ship), but the heights of the windows do not match the deck heights taken from the Admiralty draught.

 

After playing around in Photoshop for a while a simplified layout was designed with many of the same elements that went into the quarter badges.  This was passed before my masters and approved.

 

 

The first section worked on was the lower transom just above the counter.  The wide moldings were set matching the locations of the similar ones on the sides of the hull and the field between them was painted blue.  The decorative boxes were taken from the plans and cut from cherry veneer.  Wood glue was sparingly applied and they were taped down until solidly attached.

 

The light colored ‘flowers’ were carved from 1mm boxwood.  They do not appear to be fleur-de-lis, but I could not make out any further details in Budriot’s drawing.

 

 

Above the top molding were the windows in the captain’s cabin.  There is no false light in the center because the rudder head ends in the gun deck below the cabin.  The field was painted grey and the moldings, fluted columns, and capitals were cut and applied using the same techniques as for those on the quarter badges. 

 

There are six columns framing five windows.  I did the two outermost ones first because they have the biggest angle to vertical.  Then the remaining area was divided into five equal spaces and the central two columns were mounted vertically.  The last two were fit by trial and error to sit halfway between the inner and outer columns.  They were cut and recut several times until I was happy with the look of the windows that were formed.  As before, the windows were glazed with white glue that was painted on.  While it was tacky the mullions were cut from birch and laid in.

 

 

At the top of the taffrail you can see the added piece of basswood that was cut and fitted to give it the double recurved shape from the plans.  The joint was filled and sanded and the field was painted blue

 

 

 

Moldings were pieced together above the windows and along the sides.  At the top, sections of molding were steam bent to the curves and attached.  Ribbons of cherry veneer were shaped to the curves of the moldings and edged with a thin molding strip.  In the center a pair of volutes (similar to fiddleheads) were carved and applied.

 

 

The volutes are a little intricate, but I got a lot of help from the illustrations in “Carving Figureheads & Other Nautical Designs” by Alan & Gill Bridgewater.  If you can picture a snail shell seen from the side, that’s what they look like.

 

 

The stern was now complete, but the upper area cried out for some sort of contrasting decoration.

 

 

I could have made simple circles, like those on the Mercure drawing, but I decided to get a little fancy and carve a pair of laurel wreaths, symbolizing victory.  I got a simplified image of a wreath off the internet, resized it and duplicated it a number of times before printing.

 

 

 

The paper image was cut out and spray glued to a piece of 1mm boxwood, which was itself glued to a piece of dark contrasting scrapwood.  Using a sharp cornered bitt, the outline of the wreath was cut through the box until the dark wood showed all around.

 

 

This left the paper and boxwood standing up from the background ready for detail carving.

 

 

Using a medium sized bitt, notches were cut to indicated the locations of the leaves, and the paper was removed with a drop of mineral spirits.

 

 

A smaller bitt was used to define the leaves and cut the indication for the central stems.

 

 

A pointed diamond burr was used to further refine the leaves and to slope the lower edges so there was some depth to the carving.   

 

 

The burr left some soft and fuzzy edges, so once the piece was separated from the backing piece with a drop of acetone, it was cleaned up with a knife, needle files and a fine sanding stick. 

 

Here are the pair of wreaths attached to the model.  With them, the stern is now complete.

 

 

The headrails will be the next area to be tackled.  Until then . . .

 

Be well

 

Dan

 

 

 

 

 

[pete48]

Beautiful work Dan, The carvings look great.

 

Best Regards,

Pete

[dgbot]

As always Dan I learn something knew every time you post.

David B

[mtaylor]

Very nicely done, Dan.  I like the carvings.

[shipmodel]

Log 24 -  Head Structures

 

Hi again.  It has been a bit longer since the last segment than I hoped, in part because our daughter gave birth to her second child and our eighth grandchild.  Everyone is doing fine and it reminds me that there is more to life than ship modeling.  Sacrilege, I know, but it’s hard to deny.

 

Time to concentrate on the head structures, the rails, supports, and small deck that fit around and under the base of the bowsprit.  Here is how they look in the plans.

 

 

I started with the bare stem piece cut off at the approximate height to mount the figurehead.  It had been left somewhat rough to this point before the rails were fitted.   

 

 

The stem was trimmed flat and the inside curve was sanded smooth.  A strip of hardwood was cut and fitted to the inside curve which extended up to the height of the lion figurehead’s mane.  It will support the forward ends of the two upper rails. The edge of the mane was penciled in on the wood for reference so the rails don’t interfere with the figurehead.

 

 

The top rail was roughly shaped to fit from the cathead to the stem in a pleasing curve that matches the plans, but it was not finished at this point.  In the photo you can see a piece of translucent tape which has been laid on the stem so the ‘S’ shape of the lower rail could be drawn on it.  I call this rail the ‘hawse rail’ because the hawse piece mounts just above it and I don’t know its proper name.

 

 

The hawse rail is made up of two pieces.  Here a paper pattern is being developed to establish the mating faces of the lower section against the wale and the stem.

 

 

The lower piece was cut using that paper pattern while the upper section was cut using the tape pattern with the shape drawn on.  They were both left a bit oversize to allow for a good deal of shaping and fitting.  Here they are roughly set in place.

 

 

The lower piece was ground and sanded till the mating face was flush with the wale and the piece sat at the proper upwards angle to meet the descending angle of the upper piece.  The outer face of the lower piece was left large till the upper piece was fitted.

 

 

Here you can see the hawse rail fitted, sanded and given its first coat of finish.  The upper rail has now been shaped to fit.  Simple carved decorations give the upper rail some interest.  A better photo is coming later.

 

 

With these two rails in place the middle rail was fitted, shaped and installed.  The figurehead was repeatedly put on to test the fit of the rails then removed for safety and to provide clearance to work on the rails.

 

 

The bottom rail was built up in two pieces like the hawse rail.  It is just a lot shorter as it extends only to the foot of the lion.  Here are all the rails as fitted and finished.

 

 

Now the hawse piece was cut and fitted to the top of the hawse rail.  Two holes were drilled for the anchor cables to be installed into when the time comes.  Here they are with the figurehead in place.  The carvings on the top rail can be seen clearly in the photo.  They were done with a sharp-cornered bit in the Dremel, then smoothed and refined with a curved file called a riffler.  The varying shine on some of the parts will be toned down and corrected in the final finishing coats.

 

 

As I was roughly cutting out the rail pieces, I made a second set for the port side.  All of the techniques were the same.  Here are the port side rails, except the bottom one.  I was fortunate that prior planning made it relatively easy to get the two sides symmetrical.

 

 

And here is a detail photo of the rails and the carvings on the port side.

 

 

Three support brackets were fashioned and installed between the upper rails.  Only the middle one had to have a bent shape to lie against the rails and sit next to the hawse pieces.  Here they are installed but not finished.

 

 

And here they are finished in two views.  The end points of all the rails and the intersections with the support brackets were all subsequently reinforced with metal pins and glue.

 

 

 

 

Next the deck and grating under the bowsprit were built.  A paper pattern was used to define the total size and shape of the piece so it sat level and firmly on the rail support brackets.  It was built up from two triangular pieces of grating, with solid pieces fit around it and against the curve of the hull.

 

 

You can see in this view how a hole was left along the centerline for the gammoning which will hold down the bowsprit.

 

 

Two seats of ease were fashioned from solid birch pieces with cherry tops.  The bowsprit has been temporarily installed to check the fit.  A wooden ring, like a mast coat, will dress up the entry into the hull when it is permanently installed.  You can see a small mark on top to locate the central gammon cleat later.

 

 

So here is the completed head structure.  There will be a wire railing installed for the safety of the crew while using the heads, but that will wait until the gammoning is installed so it does not interfere with my stubby fingers as I work.

 

 

Next on the schedule – the captain’s cabin, the open gunport lids, and the channels and deadeyes.

 

Hopefully it will not be so long till the next report.

 

Be well

 

Dan

 

 

 

[mij]

Hi Dan

 

A very nice professional job,

I look foreward to seeing more of your great work.

 

mij

Edited June 3, 2014 by mij

[dgbot]

Nice work as always Dan. And congrats on having another little one you can play with.

David B

[mtaylor]

Nice work, Dan.  And, congrats on having more of the pitter-patter of little feet running amok. 

 

BTW, those two lower rails are the "cheeks". 

[DSiemens]

Congrats on being a grandpa yet again.  Great work on the model as well.  The wood working is very clean and precise.  

[michael mott]

Great to see an update Dan, looking good. congratulations on your new grandchild.

 

Michael

[shipmodel]

Hi again, and best wishes for a happy Friday the 13^th –

 

Thanks for the compliments, likes, and wishes for my new grandson.  Caleb and his mother are both doing well and send their thanks as well.

 

Several smaller items were completed in this segment.  The first was the forward bulkhead for the captain’s cabin.  There are no plans or drawings of it in either of the plans that I am using, so I designed it to be functional, using some of the same details as on the stern and quarter badges. 

 

 

There is a chair rail molding with wainscoting below.  This was not scribed but laid up from individual planks.  The door is of a typical 17^th Century style, with H-L hinges and decorative cross banding.  The windows are flanked by fluted columns which were built up as before.  To each side there will be a ladder to the poop deck, which have not yet been constructed.  The bulkhead is still removable at this stage, and may have to be moved back a little to give me room to install the whipstaff which will go between the cabin and the mizzen mast.

 

I have not decided whether to paint the wainscoting blue and add some decorative details.  What does the group think?

 

The cabin was also dressed up by closing in the aftmost gunport with a decorative shutter.  The central circle was made by stiffening a 1/8” birch dowel with a drop of thin cyano on its cut end.  When dry the center of the dowel was drilled out to a depth of about ¼” and then the circles were parted off on the table saw.

 

 

Next I turned to the first of the rigging fixtures – the staghorns.  Here is a section of my plans for the inner bulwarks, which was made by using PhotoShop to combine the plans from the Advice Prize with details from Le Mercure.  You can see three of the four staghorns that will be mounted on each side.

 

 

Here is an enlargement of the plans for the staghorns.  Note in the side view the extreme angles that have to be used to match the 13 degree tumblehome of the bulwarks.

 

 

I started by carving a length of pear to the shape of the horns of the fitting.  The piece was just under 3 inches long, which gave me extra material for the next model as well.  Here you can see three horns that have been parted off.  They are a little heavy, but were later reduced with a small sanding drum.

 

 

The shelf that supports the horns was built up in two parts.  In the larger, back piece, two notches were nibbled out for the horns before being closed in by the front piece.  In the insert enlargement you can see how the curve of the table saw blade gave me an angle to the back of the notch that is needed to allow the horns to angle to match the tumblehome.

 

 

With the horns inserted in the shelf the bottom piece had two notches hollowed out in its back face for the lower ends of the horns.

 

 

The lower piece was flipped over and the horns glued into the notches.  The lower piece was then sanded to its clamshell shape and the upper ends of the horns were refined to angle up and out.  You can see the differences from the left fitting to the completed one on the right.

 

 

Here you can see a finished staghorn sitting on an angled scrap block to check that the shelf will be horizontal when mounted on the bulwark.

 

 

Here is the complete set of eight staghorns for the first model.

 

 

And here is the first one mounted in the waist ready for the lines that run through the hull sheaves for the main and spritsail sheets.

 

 

Next I turned to the gunport lids for the open gunports on the port side of the ship.  I have detailed their construction before in the section on the test gun station.  This one is for the forwardmost port, which is why the planking runs at an angle to match the hull planking.  The hinge straps are blackened brass strip secured with three iron pins.  The ends of the strips were ground to about half their width so they could fit into mounting holes in the hull.

 

 

The strips were all made to a uniform size in a simple jig.  A brass strip was trapped between two guides and the locations of the holes for the mounting pins was marked off.  Once the holes were drilled the strip was clipped to length at the edge of the jig.  I found that without pre-drilling these holes it was nearly impossible for me to drill them cleanly once the hinge strap was mounted on the gunport lid.

 

 

Each lid was marked for its proper location and the mounting holes were drilled just above the open gunport.  With the lids slid into the holes the brass could be gently bent so every lid was at the same angle.  This will be a significant advantage once they are permanently mounted, as they will be much less prone to snapping off when I bump into them (which I am sure that I will).  Here they are towards the bow - - -

 

 

And the stern.

 

 

To check them, I set the guns in place.  Here is what they look like in the waist as seen from outboard - - -

 

 

And along the length of the ship.

 

 

Finally, the entire broadside. 

 

 

I was happy with the look of the model, so the guns and gunport lids were removed to safe storage until the interior deck fittings are built and mounted.

 

The first of these was the riding bitts for the anchor cable.  As you can see from the plans it incorporates the 5-sheave post for the rigging to the ramshead block that raises and lowers the foreyard.

 

 

Construction was straightforward, with each piece cut and shaped, then notched and pinned in place.  The sheaves in the post are non-working, and made by drilling 5 pairs of holes through the post with a 0.040” drill in a miniature drill press.  The bitt was then put into a Dremel and the sheave slot between the holes was carved out.  Care has to be taken to allow for the right-hand torque of the bitt, but a little practice yields good results.

 

 

The next rigging fitting that I turned to were the multiple cleat ‘logs’ that sit just aft of the fore and main masts.  These were discussed earlier in the build log as well. 

 

Construction here was straightforward as well.  Once the dimensions were decided, two pieces of cherry were cut and the ends finished with slopes.  The underside of each was sanded to match the camber of the deck.  Ten slots were cut in the underside for the lines to run through.  It is quite probably that these slots would have been radiused on each side of the log so the line would run smoothly under the fixture.  The upper corners of the log were eased as well, as recommended by JerseyCityFrankie.  Matching photoetched brass cleats were obtained from Bluejacket, blackened and mounted. 

 

 

Here is the one on the quarterdeck aft of the main mast.  It looks good as is, although I clearly have to clean the deck which is getting very dusty.

 

 

Finally, to check that things are headed in the right direction, and to give my spirits a needed lift, I mounted the decks and the lower masts.  Hull construction and detailing have taken much, much longer than anticipated, but I can see some light at the end of the tunnel.  I just hope that it is not the oncoming train known as “RIGGING”.

 

 

Be well

 

Dan

 

 

 

[dgbot]

You are doing fine work Dan.  As for the color on th waincoting go with what you think best.

David B

[shipmodel]

Hello to all who are following this build -

 

It has been a while since my last posting.  Summertime had a lot to do with it, but I also took some time away to work on a short-term and time critical project.  So here is a little diversion from this build.  It may merit a separate file, but as you will see later on, it is incomplete.

 

I was asked to restore a  presentation model of a modern container ship.  The CMA-CGM Vivaldi was built by Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. in their Makpo Shipyard in South Korea.   Launched in December, 2004 she was 334 meters LOA with a breadth of 42.3 m (just under 1100 ft LOA, 140 ft breadth).  Its carrying capacity was not listed on the dimensions plaque on the model, but it is huge.  Here she is in a photo from the company website of CMA-CMG Shipping, which owns and operates her as part of one of the world’s largest fleets of container ships.

 

1

 

The model was likely built in the same shipyard as a gift to thank CMA-CGM for the contract and was presented at the time of launch.  It is built to the small scale of 1:200, but the model is still 5 ½ feet long.  Given that the price for the ship was in the millions of dollars, it is not surprising that a good deal of care went into the construction of this presentation model. 

 

It was probably kept in one of their offices, perhaps in their headquarters in Marseille, for the last decade but then was presented in turn to a financing company in Stamford, Connecticut.  It was during the delivery of the model that things went bad.

 

Here is the crate that it came in.  You can see that although there is no obvious damage to the box itself, one of the bottom cleats is missing. 

 

2

 

I was called in when the box was opened and it was found that one of the glass panels of the case was cracked and there was some damage to the model. My first overall impression was that this was not going to be a hard job.  Some of the containers had been detached from their mountings and were tipped over, but they were still on deck and in a line.  The superstructure was in place and there was no evident damage to the hull.

 

3

 

Closer examination revealed that the devil had been playing in the details.  A large number of small pieces were lying on the blue felt base and some had even become trapped in the channel that the glass case sat in.  Fortunately many of them, including some quite complex assemblies, appeared undamaged like the one in the center of the photo.

 

4

 

 

A repair proposal was discussed, a fee agreed to, and work began with the recovery and conservation of any detached parts.  Once the wrapping of clear plastic was removed the impact point could be seen.  It was clear that there had been one sharp blow which had chipped and cracked the glass panel, but without separating it from the rest of the case. 

 

Unfortunately, this is exactly the kind of impact that cyano glue does not like.  With the help of JerseyCityFrankie the glass cover was removed and all of the loose parts were carefully collected.  The detached container units were numbered from the bow to the stern on sticky notes and set aside.  The grey railing units could not be immediately identified, but they were put into one container for later study.  All of the smaller parts such as the lifeboats, ladders, white railings, and various unknown pieces were put in another.

 

8

9

 

Now the full extent of the damage could be seen and assessed.  Along the edges of the hull most of the railings and stanchions were broken off, leaving unpainted spots showing where they had been attached.  At the stern there was additional damage where the railings and ladders had been crushed and even some pieces of the rigid styrene components had been broken.  When everything that was loose had been removed the deck was almost nude other than two container units at the bow that had somehow managed to remain in place.  This was packed up in bubble wrap and taken back to the studio in Brooklyn, NY.

 

12

 

The superstructure which had initially appeared to be generally sound was found to have suffered the most damage.  In additional to losing both lifeboats, most of the railing on the aft face was gone, as were numerous small parts for the lifeboat cranes.  All of the various radars and antennas on the topmost level were missing.  Most significantly, the starboard bridge wing was broken off almost completely. 

 

13

 

Although the proper locations of many of the pieces could be deduced from what they were, there were a great deal more that could have gone anywhere.  Fortunately the company had a second presentation model of the same ship, the Vivaldi.  A series of photographs were taken of the other model to guide the restoration.

 

Here is the bow, showing the white lookout mast which had been detached on the damaged model.  The ladder and safety cage had been separated and crushed, but now I could see how they had to be repaired.

 

14

 

Those gray railing units turned out to be catwalks that fit between the container units.  They sat on top of U-shaped pieces that supported the containers.  Photoetched ladders gave access to upper catwalks which were bordered by photoetched brass railings.  3-bar railings edged the deck all along the sides of the ship.

 

15a

 

The superstructure had 8 deck levels with a full array of electronic equipment on top.

 

16

 

This area was going to be the most challenging, with radars and antenna that were all made up of very small parts that were quite similar to each other.  The photographs that I was sent were not completely helpful in specifying what went where.  Fortunately, using my Photoshop program I could take the image provided and enlarge it, remove the color, and play with the brightness and contrast until I could see almost all of the details.

 

17

18

 

Now that I had the undamaged model as a guide I could start the actual repairs.  The first thing was to reassemble all of the catwalks.  Some were in pretty good shape, but others had been mauled, with most of the parts separated, some of the plastic parts broken off, and the photoetched brass rails badly bent.  Here is one of the catwalks with all its pieces and a second one after restoration.  There were 21 of these in all, which took up about half of the total restoration time.

 

19

 

Now for the incomplete part -

 

The next several weeks were spent doing the restoration.  I took construction photos as I went, as usual, but had not gotten around to downloading them. [i know you can see the problem coming . . . ]  Soon after I took the last photograph, my daughter and her two boys came over.  One is the newborn, the other 2 years old.  While I was doting on the young one, the other found the camera.  He likes to push buttons.  Enough said. 

 

Let me describe what I did, and I hope you can follow along using photos of the completed repair.

 

All of the least damaged catwalks were put back together.  Since there were small variations in how the bases had broken off of the hull I could locate about two thirds in their original positions, fitting them together like a jigsaw puzzle.  They were numbered and set aside.  One by one the rest were repaired until there were only two left, which were severely bent, with missing parts.  Some replacement parts were fabricated from bent wire, and others from brass shim.  Missing ladders were replaced with similar ones from the spares box.

 

21

 

Starting at the bow and working aft the containers and catwalks were glued to the cleaned up hull.  The containers sit on the corners of the catwalk bases and on a square stanchion between the forward and aft bases located on both edges of the deck.  This gives six attachment points for the double wide containers and four each for the single wide ones.  These also broke off irregularly.  Although each container unit was numbered when it was removed, several ones were out of order, and I had not recorded the orientation of the unit.  Each one was test fit to the proposed location and the irregularities let me confirm the original locations.

 

21a

 

The superstructure was the biggest challenge.  I first relocated the lifeboats and repaired their cranes.  Railings which were bent were carefully bent back and glued.  Some that had been detached were too badly bent to repair.  I had 3-bar railing of the right size in my spares box, but the rails were a bit thinner than those on the model.  I used them to replace the railings that would not be seen easily between the aft face of the superstructure and the container unit behind it.  Then I cannibalized the model railings from that area to replace railings in more obvious locations.

 

22

 

The photos that I miss most are those of the repair of the starboard bridge wing.  Here the impact had broken the brittle styrene that made up the bridge deck and the angled and pierced supports on the fore and aft faces.  The detached pieces had kicked around and were now mostly unusable shards.  I first carefully cut the damaged section away in a straight line across the deck with a miniature keyhole saw.  A piece of similarly thick styrene was cut to fit and glued in and the joint sanded smooth.  Artists acrylic paints were mixed to match the green of the deck  The shape of the aft diagonal support piece was traced from the existing one on the port side and cut out, fitted and finished. It was spray painted gloss white before being installed.  The end cap was similarly fitted.  All joints were cleaned up and touch-up painted.

 

22a

 

Using the photographs of the undamaged model the fittings and fixtures on the upper electronics decks on top of the wheelhouse were located.  Antennas, radars, and lightning rods were all glued in with cyano.  Nothing special here, just a delicate touch and perseverence.

 

23

 

Final small detail parts were installed and all of the spots where paint was chipped or missing were touched up and the model was carefully examined to find bent railings and other defects.  I know that I got almost all of them, but I also know that a few got bye, but I'm not telling where. 

 

A new glass case was ordered and delivered from a local custom glass shop.  So here is the completed model ready for delivery to the customer.  It was driven back to Stamford, CT, with a nervous moment for every pothole and road repair that I couldn't avoid.  It survived completely intact and was installed in the office to gratifying compliments from the customer.

 

24

 

Hope you enjoyed the divertimento.  Getting back to the QAR now.  A new build log post soon.

 

Be well

 

Dan

 

 

 

[shipmodel]

HI all - 

 

After finishing up some other projects and some chores on the "honey-do" list, I am back building the QAR.   Here is my progress.

 

I realized that I had not planned or installed any scuppers from the gun deck to the outside of the hull.  Using a set of outside calipers I located and drilled five on each side of the hull.  I lined them with lead from a wine bottle wrapped around a toothpick, glued, and slid into place.  Once the glue was dry the excess was trimmed with a sharp blade.  They fit well when they were located under the gunports, though this meant that the upper ends in the waterways at the edges of the deck were all hidden by the guns.  Here are two on the port side of the hull.

 

1

 

Next I turned to the guns.  First were the stowed guns on the starboard side.  I played around with the test gun station that I made up a while ago to see how it might have been done.  I figured that the crew would have used the breaching rope and the train tackles which were already available.  I found that the breaching rope could be tightened up through the rings in the bulwark, which would have secured the gun pretty well.  Then the train tackles could run from the eyebolts on the carriage to the hooks in the bulwark.  Once they were tightened the remaining length of running line could be frapped (overwrapped) between the blocks.  I found that two layers perfectly used up the free line.  This seems a workable solution, but there certainly can be others.

 

Note that I have installed a lead vent cover secured with light line, which would have been used to keep water from entering and rusting the vent hole.  

 

2

 

Here is the line of four stowed guns in the waist. The guns are secured with a metal pin through the rear axle and into the deck, which is hidden between the truck and the carriage. There are two others, one forward under the foredeck and one aft under the quarterdeck, which can only be seen at a low angle.  Those that cannot be seen were not installed.  

 

3

 

On the port side the guns are run out, so all of them can be seen to some extent.  The three aftmost and the one in the bow were simplified.  The trucks were replaced with cleats for added glue surface and security, while the capsquares and rigging were not installed.  These were pinned in place as well.

 

4

 

The visible guns were glued to the deck and a metal pin was drilled at an angle through the rear axle and into the deck.  The breaching rope was rigged through the rings in the bulwark and secured to itself with two round seizings.  The rope was softened with water and shaped to 'droop' onto the deck.  Once it was approximately positioned it was painted with dilute pH neutral white glue and teased into final position as the glue dried.  This also secured it to the deck.  The train tackle was rigged from the carriage eyebolts to the bulwark hooks with the running line coiled on deck.  I did not flemish the coil since I do not think that a pirate ship would be that 'shipshape' or fastidious.

 

5

 

As long as I was rigging the guns, I experimented with loading procedures.  I was surprised to see that when the gun was fully run in for loading the back of the carriage covered up the deck ring behind it.  I double checked the length of French six-pounder cannon and the breadth of the deck and they were correct, so it is likely that this was what happened.  The only way I could make the system work was to hook the run-in tackle to the ring on the opposite side of the deck.   

 

6

 

With the copper clips standing in for the gun crew this seems to be a workable solution.  But again, this is speculation and may not be correct.

 

7

 

The rest of the port broadside was installed and rigged.

 

8

 

There are no pumps in Budriot's plans, but they do appear in a photograph of Berti's model of Le Mercure.  His are round, which I did not like, so I made mine hexagonal.  This was done in a straightforward way.  A length of half inch maple dowel was cut and the end marked with a six pointed star.  The lines were extended down the dowel then the wood was carved away between the lines.  The pump bodies were cut to length and the sides adjusted by hand sanding.

 

9

 

The well at the top was drilled, milled and darkened.  Blackened brass reinforcing rings were installed, as was a blackened brass outlet near the base of the pump.  The yoke for the handle was fashioned, installed and secured with three metal pins.  The handle was shaped and given a pivoting lifting bar at the business end that dropped into the well.  The handle was mounted on a metal axle pin through the yoke and the finished pump was given a coat of clear finish.

 

10

 

The completed pumps were installed adjacent to the main mast location.  Their bases had to be angled slightly to match the round-up of the deck, then secured with metal pins into the deck.  The handles are angled outward where they can be accessed easily by the crew without getting in the way of the rigging to come (at least I hope that there will be no problems).  

 

11

 

Using Pirate Pete for comparison, I am happy with the size, scale and look of the pumps.

 

12

 

More soon.  Be well.

 

Dan

 

 

 

 

[mtaylor]

Nicely done, Dan.  On the run-in rigging.  I would think that the only time this was used would be if the gun either didn't recoil enough or a "cease-fire" was called along with "unload and secure the guns". Or to load the guns during "quarters".  But then again, this is speculation on my part.

[Chuck]

Nicely done Dan.  Cannon rigging look good.

 

Chuck

[seargent spectere]

Very nice work Dan,

I've been missing your posts!

I like your solutions to the gun rigging; if it works then it's valid in my book

 

Just a quick question, is thre enough clearance for the guns ajacent to the pumps to be run in/recoiled? It might just be the photo angle, but it looks like the butend of the gun might run into the pump handles if they were to be fired off towards the bow's direction.

 

Keep up the amazing work, sir!

Matt

[shipmodel]

Hi - 

 

Thanks for the likes and comments.

 

Mark - you are probably right about the intermittent use of the inhaul tackles.  I imagine that during an engagement they would be available but unhooked from the carriage.  If the recoil was not enough to bring the gun back far enough to be loaded they would be quickly hooked on, hauled in, then unhooked when the gun was run out.  I don't think that you would want them hooked when the gun was fired, as they would get in the way of the recoil.

 

Matt - the pump handles are out of the way to the stern of the gun.  Look at the location of the inhaul ring on the deck near the pump.  Guns in the midship battery would rarely be slewed very far forward.  It was easier to turn the entire ship than to muscle the gun carriages around with handspikes.  That said, there are some really tight quarters for the pump bodies, the main mast, and the inhaul tackle, if I am correct that it would be hooked to the opposite ring.  

 

Dan

[michael mott]

Good to see you back at work on the QA nice details, following your thoughts on all the gun positioning and working , I cannot imagine what a horror story it must have been for the people involved with the work of using them in the heat of battle. I hope for a more peaceful future.

 

Michael

[dgbot]

Years  ago when I was in high school My history teacher took us to the school library and had us referencing the the time Napoleonic wars  I found a book and asked him yes or no.  He said yes and I read  journal written by a midshipman who had been assigned to take care of the cannons.  He said that many a man was hurt from the recoiland had their ear drums burst from the noise.  From the sounds the work and the   And the gun captain took pity on him and instructed him on the use of cannons and the how and why they were kept. After awhile he was able to increase the rate of fire.  This helped him through the selection process and when the vessel was paid off he was transfered to the fleet that was being sent to Egypt. With a letter 0f recommendation from the cap't.  To this day I wish I had that book.  

David B

[shipmodel]

Hello again and, as always, thanks for the likes and comments.

 

This time I turn to the details of the foredeck.  Although the basic structure and planking has been completed for a while, it was never attached to the hull because various components under the deck had to be completed first.  These included the guns that were done last time, the anchor bitts, and the post with sheaves for the foreyard halyard and tie system.

 

Here is the system on a contemporary model.  This is the one for the main yard, but the pieces are the same: a post attached to the deck with a number of sheaves for the halyard line; an upper ramshead block with matching sheaves and a transverse hole for the tie which comes down from the masthead; and the halyard line running between the two.  As you can see, the line goes through the deck and must pass through a series of holes or a scuttle of some sort.  There are no clear photos of this detail that I could find.

 

1

 

I also had to figure out how to install them fully rigged, since it would be quite difficult to get to the posts once the upper decks were in place.  Even RC Anderson recommends fully rigging them, then tensioning the system with the tie and not the halyard.  Here is what I came up with.

 

I started with the ramshead blocks.  I made these up with false sheaves rather than trying to build them up since they would be rigged and the sheaves hidden under the running line.   A series of five holes was drilled in a sized piece of hardwood in two matching horizontal lines using a Dremel drill press.  Then a thin grinding bitt was laid against the wood to cut a channel from one hole to the other.  You can see where I am starting the process in the right side hole with the others in later stages of carving.

 

2

 

These channels were carefully deepened and straightened, then angled at the ends of the cut until they approximately replicated the curve of the sheave that is not there.  This was done on both sides of the workpiece.  Now the blocks will accept the line which will look as though it is running around a circular sheave. 

 

Once all the slots were cut and cleaned up, the block was parted off to length and taken down to the ramshead shape with a sanding drum.  Here are the two for this model.  I do see that the tops of the blocks need some further shaping to match the one in the earlier photo.

 

3

 

In a similar way the posts that will go under the foredeck and quarterdeck were cut, pierced, and shaped.  The one on the right is an early example, before my technique was perfected, and which would be replaced if it were not going to be hidden under the foredeck.  The cut at its base is so it can fit over the knee of the anchor bitts, which brings it to the starboard side of the centerline.

 

4

 

And here are both sets, which were made up at the same time to maximize consistency.  You can see how the posts will be secured with brass rods into the deck for strength.

 

5

 

Here is the foreyard set fully rigged.  Sharp eyes will notice that there are only 4 loops of the halyard line and not 5.  When I went to install the set initially it really seemed too large for the ship.  I went back to my photos of contemporary models and found that the 5-sheave blocks were used on the largest three-deck warships.  This small frigate would not have needed such lifting power, so I took the finished pieces to the table saw and sliced off one side of all the pieces to eliminate one sheave.  This had the happy result that the scuttles in the decks did not have to be quite as large.  More on this later.

 

6

 

The next detail for the foredeck was the railing to keep sailors from falling into the waist and to house the ship’s bell.  I wanted to build and install it now so I could secure it from beneath the deck with metal pins before the foredeck was put on the model.  Here is a photo of a fairly fancy one from a model of a French ship of a somewhat later period.  Although this one is continuous from port to starboard, Budriot shows two gaps which will be used later to house spare spars and topmasts, so there is a long central section with two short sections flanking it.

 

7

 

I decided that my railing would have balusters set in channels for the body of the railing, with posts that went up through a caprail and ended in shaped timberheads that could be used to secure rigging lines.  The first task was to make a fairly large number of identical balusters without spending days turning them on a miniature lathe, which I don’t have.  I opted for the mill-and-part-off method that has worked for me with support knees, shingles, and other repetitive parts.

 

On the left is the baluster shape that I selected from internet images, then the cross section of the workpiece after milling channels with the Preac table saw and rounding off as needed with a carving bitt.  On the right is the side view of the workpiece with the parallel channels cut by the saw.  Note that the grain runs vertically.

 

8

 

Here the individual balusters are being parted off the workpiece on the Preac.  It is set up with the tall vertical fence and the thinnest, finest blade that I have.  The workpiece is being fed into the blade and is supported by a sacrificial stick held against the miter gauge.  This support stick is taller than the blade height so the end remains attached and I can push the workpiece through repeatedly, taking off identical slices.

 

9

 

Here are four of the balusters set into upper and lower channels ready for the end posts and caprail.

 

10

 

And here are a set of completed railing sections ready for installation.  Note that four of them are angled slightly to match the round-up of the deck.  

 

11

 

However, when I went to install them I realized that I had made a major mistake.  I made the railing about 40 inches tall in scale, enough to keep a man from falling over it into the waist.  This looked terrible against the size of other fittings.  I went and rechecked my dimensions to find that the railing is really only 18-24 inches tall.  Proof, once again, that if it doesn’t look right, it is probably wrong.

 

Instead, a new workpiece was shaped and short balusters were parted off.  Here you can see the relative heights of the old and new railings. 

 

12

 

You can also see that the new workpiece did not cut as cleanly as the old one.  I gave them a few coats of finish and, when dry, took off the wood fuzz with a thin pointed grinding bitt.  Here is the final set of railings, the upper ones for the quarterdeck and the lower ones with the belfry for the foredeck. 

 

13

 

So here is the foredeck ready for installation on the model.  You can see not only the railing and the scuttle for the halyard, but some additional features whose construction is pretty straightforward:  the smokestack for the galley stove, a small grating for the galley, a set of riding bitts with sheaves (also quite low to the deck), the mast coat, eyebolts for hooked rigging blocks, and that curious rigging fitting with ten cleats set onto the deck.

 

14

 

And here it is, installed.  Newly added are the catheads for the anchors, which are secured to the deck with headed bolts and the timberheads around the low bulwarks, secured with metal pins.  You can also see how the ramshead block was led up through the scuttle.  It was a tight squeeze but it made it, and then the scuttle was mostly closed off with wood battens to help keep the lower deck dry.

 

16

 

Next time, the gangways and quarterdeck, including the whipstaff.

 

Be well

 

Dan

 

 

[Omega1234]

Hi Dan

 

Absolutely marvellous work!

 

Well done!

[mij]

Hi Dan

 

Great workmanship.

 

 mij

[mtaylor]

A great idea on the balusters. The French rigging methods certainly are different, aren't they?

[michael mott]

Nice work on the balusters Dan.

 

Michael

[shipmodel]

Hi again, and thanks for the likes and compliments.  

 

It is going well, I think.  I am trying to create the look of a working ship, rather than one fresh off the building ways.  

 

Now that the foredeck is installed, I turned to the waist.  With the cannon rigged out they can be covered by the gangways.  But first I decided to put in the ropes that go through the hull and belay below the gangways.  It would have been much harder to do them with the gangways in place.  These are the main course tack that goes through the chesstree, and the two sheets that go through the sheaves in the hull.

 

These lines will be some of the larger running rigging ropes and, because of their locations, some of the more visually prominent ones.  They have to be good quality and look like miniature rope.  I could have laid them up on my ropewalk, but I have a few spools of treasured Cuttyhunk Irish linen line (which is no longer available for any price).   The Zane Grey and Natural colors are too white, but a quick run through Minwax wood stain in Ipswitch Pine color makes them look the right shade.

 

1

 

Even examined closely this gives them the look of miniature rope.

 

2

 

I fed the line through the hull openings.  The larger line (C-21) was used for the tacks which belayed to cleats, while the smaller one (C-12) was for the sheets.which belayed to the staghorn kevil.

 

3

 

Although each line is tied off properly, they were all further secured with dilute white glue.  When dry the ends were nipped off and hidden by separate rope coils.  I make these on a simple jig.  A block of soft wood - basswood in this case, but it could be balsa - has several holes drilled in the top face and one or two holes in the front face in the same line.  Removable brass pegs fit into the holes and everything is given several coats of clear finish to keep glue from sticking to it.  Then matching lines are wrapped around the pegs with the ends friction fit into notches in the jig.

 

4

 

As I wrap I randomly make larger and smaller loops and even the occasional figure eight.  When I have the look that I want, the coils are painted with dilute white glue.  Actually, they are first wet down with water, which helps the dilute glue to penetrate the line rather than having it sit on the surface.  When the glue is dry the top peg is removed and the coil peeled up from the jig and trimmed.  Using dilute glue means that the coils are flexible while still holding their shape.

 

5

 

The coils are hung over the belaying points, teased into position where they look like they are hanging with the force of gravity, and secured with white glue.

 

6

 

7

 

In the photos you can see the supporting knees for the gangways.  These were made as before by cutting and shaping a stick and then parting off individual ones.  After locating and installing the forward and aft ones, the gangways were glued in, then the middle two knees for each gangway were installed.  In the photo you can see the ropes that feed through the hull.  I left what I hope is more than enough to reach to the sails, but we will see when the rigging is installed.

 

8

 

The final fittings in the waist were the four ladders from the gun deck up to the gangways.  They were wider at the base than at the top, and were built up as has been detailed before as a stack, then parted off.

 

9

 

After individual ladders were parted off they were cleaned up, stained and installed.

 

10

 

Now that the waist was complete, I turned to the quarterdeck.  The railing that was built up last time was installed, then the whipstaff.  For those not familiar, this is an obsolete steering device that predated the wheel.  It consisted of a rotating fitting called a rowel set into the deck through which a staff passed before it hooked into the end of the tiller arm.  Moving the staff port or starboard turned the rudder.  It was not very efficient, but then most steering was done with the sails during this time.

 

10a

 

A hole was drilled in the deck and a piece of pear cut and sanded to fit.  The fore/aft slot for the rowel was carved into the pear piece, as were indentations for the staff clearance athwartships.  The rowel was turned from maple, and the hole drilled to allow the staff to have a sliding fit.  I set the staff at an offset angle and glued it in place.

 

11

 

You can also see the ladders from the quarterdeck to the poop deck on the roof of the captain's cabin.  These were made up as before, just a little taller than the gangway ladders.  Similarly, the post with sheaves for the lateen halyard was made like the fore and mainyard halyard fittings.  Along the bulwarks are staghorns and pinrails as drawn by Budriot.  I am not completely sold on the pinrails, which do not appear anywhere else on the ship, but they are certainly needed for belaying points.

 

The four 4-pounder cannon were rigged and installed like the 6-pounders on the gun deck.

 

12

 

 Now the deck fittings that were made up almost a year ago could be installed.  These were the companionway house, the officers' bench in front of it, and the two small binnacles.

 

13

 

The ship is now ready for rigging, which will start next month.

 

14

 

Until then, happy Thanksgiving to all and to your families.

 

Dan

 

 

 

 

[mtaylor]

Lovely work, Dan.  I'm assuming there's a jig for making the ladder(s) as you do?   It's a great idea when there's a bunch of ladders to be made.