HMS Bellerophon 1786 by AON – scale 1:64 – 74-gun 3rd Rate Man of War - Arrogant-Class

[No Idea]

AON thanks for that information - even better I've just been on Amazon and got a used copy of that book for £10!

[druxey]

I make the carling scores angled and then cut the ends of the carlings to a similar angle and trim carefully until they fit flush to the beam top.

[AON]

The plans show two stairs at the bow. Both enclosed on all sides with a door on one likely so no one falls down the hole.

So I made a set of ladders per the above drawings. At 24" wide they are quite narrow.

They have been installed but I want to get some flush flooring and grating installed before the reveal.

As I did not install the platform below they hang midair, but no one is likely to notice that.

 

 

[mort stoll]

That walking tour is a gold mine of information. It was a huge resource in the construction of my Victory.

Cheers,

Mort 

[AON]

I've been cutting and fitting beams. Fixing them in place temporarily with a tiny dab of glue so I can mark the notch alignments properly.

Not quite all done yet as I had to cut and sand more stock.

 

Meanwhile while I wait for glue to dry I've made a sled adaptor from scraps for my Byrnes table saw to cut the notches in my grating ledges.

 

The grating is made of ledges and battens.

for a 74 gun ship

 - the fir ledges are 3" broad x 3.5" deep

 - the oak battens are 3" broad x 3/4" deep

 

My saw blade is 0.57" wide which is 3.65" at 1:64 scale.... close enough!

I found a finishing nail at 0.55" diameter... perfect!

I used the nail (cut down to fit in the grove depth) as the pin on which the stock groove is incrementally stepped to cut the next groove.

I drilled a friction fit hole for the nail.

My grooves are slightly larger than the real ones at scale but we will keep that to ourselves.

The sled adaptor is clamped to the table saw sled so it doesn't shift.

I also found I needed to lift the stock clear and blow the sawdust away or it would lift the stock and I wouldn't get a full depth groove.

Now I need to slice up these into individual ledges then cut my battens to fit.

 

Edited February 8 by AON

[AON]

When cutting the ledges into individual pieces I first tried passing it through the blade with the notched side down.

That was a mistake as the blade tore the nubs off.

Then I turned it over and all was good.

The battens were cut with the same setup with less concern for what side was up or down.

The assembly was done on the build jig.

When the white PVA glue was dry the sides were sanded square and the top of the battens flush with the top of the ledge nubs.

Here is the result of my very first grating ever.

Presently all the Orlop deck beams are temporarily glued in place to mark all the notch locations for carlings.

They will be removed to cut these notches on the bench as, try as I might, I could not manage to do them on the model.

It is a combination of the depth in the hull, the size of chisels I have and my skill level/confidence at this stage.

Possibly the higher decks might be a bit easier???

 

 

 

Edited February 11 by AON

[AON]

slow going but I marked all the beams, removed them and am cutting and installing them one at a time to assure all the notches align properly.

slowly getting used to making shallower notches

getting used to it all

by the time I get to the gun deck I'll be... not quite a master at it but much better!

 

[Thukydides]

That is some really nice clean work.

[AON]

Everything looks good from a distance. Just ask my wife!  🤣

Edited February 16 by AON

[TBlack]

I've always thought there are 3 tests: 10 foot test, 3 foot test, 3 inch test. It looks to me as though you've passed all of them. Good at the math; sharp tools; steady hands. Where are your weaknesses?

Tom

[AON]

It has been an interesting week.  Lots to report!

 

I installed all the beams and hadn't really notice "it" yet. Just in the zone happily moving along with things.

Started putting in the carlings and as I approached midships it became obvious.

 

What shall I do about it? Installing the orlop deck was meant to be a learning experience to prepare me for those above. The orlop deck was decidedly too deep for anything to be readily noticeable, so lets just move on.

 

Installed all the carlings and it was still there taunting me... "what?" you ask... the hump!!

The aft and fore are high and the deck does a gentle slope downwards towards the midships... or at least that what it looks like on the plans.

Mine has a noticeable rise or camel hump in it. I just won't look at it... but it is still there.

 

I decided to work on the ledgers and needed to make card templates as seen above. I installed them low, down on top of the deck clamp as their thickness plus the grating thickness equalled the beam height. This made sense to me. I could find no photos to suggest I was right.

 

I woke up this morning having made a determined decision in my sleep. I should have dealt with it, the hump, when I first noticed it. I hope this time I've finally learnt that lesson!

I measured the damage... about half a deck clamp in height. How it happened is of no importance, besides, I don't know the answer. Possibly my deck clamps slipped under the  wooden clamps used to hold it in place when glued.

 

I determined which deck beams needed to come out. Cut the smaller carlings with my snips and used my flat nosed parallel pliers to persuade the larger ones to come out... almost like pulling teeth. Used the same pliers to remove the deck beams.

 

Marked the deck clamps and chiselled out the material to, at best, make the hump flat with the lowest points either side of it as seen above.

Reinstalled the beams and checked for flatness. Success! Glued and weighted them down until the glue sets up.

I feel much better about it now. When all is said and done I'll be thinking of how I corrected it, not how it is still hidden down there.

 

[AON]

Rather then continue work on my standard knees, grating, decking or the last of the three stairways to the hold, I decided it was time to tackle the thing I've been avoiding... the hawse holes.  The contract states they are 15" diameter, 15/64" at scale.  I first double checked my heights then drilled my pilot holes at 5/64".

Next, with a new sharp bit,  I drilled one inboard hawse hole very carefully and slowly with a backing board held on the inside.

Success!  That was easy.

Drilled the outboard hole and it happened. She split and flew off.

That was unexpected.

I setup the other side with clamps to help hold her together.

The outboard face of each of those holes have tear out chips in them!

So, I did the only thing left to do.

Glued the broken piece back on, clamped it up and left the room.

I won't be back working on her until Monday afternoon.

Good night world.

😉

Edited March 2 by AON

[AON]

It's been a month of many things. Spring has sprung, grass cutting, readying the patio, preparing the flower and vegetable gardens for later next month.

 

All the orlop deck stairways are installed.

Made some of the standard knees but they are not installed as yet.

I've got 12 of 23 gratings sets made.

I won't be posting anything until I've got them all assembled and installed.

[druxey]

Just catching up with you, Alan. You'll be glad you corrected the orlop, as it would otherwise affect the line and clearance of the deck above and....

 

Drilling hawse holes is a very iffy thing, as you've discovered. Years ago I figured out a new strategy: I filed half-round grooves in the hawse pieces before assembling them on the model. The diameter was just slightly undersize and just required touch-up filing to final size. No chance of tear out or breaking off a hawse piece, plus the upward angle and parallelism to the keel of the hole was established and controlled.

[AON]

I had completed making all the Orlop deck gratings (image below). From what I could find they ran along both sides of the hull , full length, and this was called the carpenter's walk. There was also a run along the bow from port to larboard (starboard) and three central gratings.  The topside of all were flush with the top of the beams.

The first task was to lightly sand the top of the grating battens to be flush with the grating ledges as mine stood a bit proud. I set my sandpaper down onto the small repurposed pastry marble slab with some double sided tape to keep it secure and had at it (image below).

Installing the gratings was, at first, an overwhelming challenge. The grating ledges were to be set into notches cut into the deck beams and carlings. Aligning these notches properly was impossible, and occasionally splitting the beam corners off unavoidable. To alleviate this, I simply cut (chiselled and scraped) the corner edges off of the beams and carlings that the grating ledges were to rest on, and then I sanded the underside corners of the grating ledges that were to rest on those beams and carlings (image above). Applied a little dab of white PVA glue and plopped them into place. When looking down at it you cannot tell the complete beam corner is gone, plus it will be deep enough below other decks that seeing anything will draw attention away from such a small detail.

In the image above I only have the three central gratings installed.

 

I did not install the floor, lower futtock or second futtock riders. The second futtock riders pass through the Orlop deck and up to the underside of the Gundeck clamps. In doing so, these run alongside the deck beams and pass through the gratings in those areas. That is why some beams haven't knees in between bracing them. When installing those gratings I notched them out to allow the passage of the riders. I have no intention of adding the riders... they won't be seen or missed.

Once all the gratings are in I will install the Orlop standard knees above the floor beams. Then I move up to the Gundeck.

I am further along than these photos suggest but still will need a couple of nice days to finish them off. Yes, I am back outside working on the ship, so nice weather is a must. Yesterday was rainy, today is a bit cruddy, and the next few are forecasted to be wet!

Edited May 26 by AON

[druxey]

Lovely gratings, Alan. As long as the finished look is right, no-one will notice any little cheats along the way!

 

I prefer to rubber cement my sandpaper to a flat surface rather than tape.

[AON]

Good idea. Sometimes the double sided tape is difficult to clean up.

 

Thanks!

[Thukydides]

Those gratings look really good Alan.

 

That is interesting that the orloop gratings were level with the beams. That would imply with planking added they would be essentially indents in the deck. Do you know what this was?

[AON]

The planking of the orlop deck was flush also. The short planks were set into a rabbit or notch and they were lifted out to gain access to the hold.

 

The only areas where the long deck planks were above the beams and fastened normally like other decks were those areas with permenant cabins or walled storage areas.

 

The grating was to allow air circulation and minimal light into the hold.

Edited May 26 by AON