Weaving Jig for a Mouse

[BANYAN]

Hi folks, I think I have finally settled on a method and technique that works for weaving the mouse for my HMB Endeavour (1:60).

 

The following sequence of photos shows the rigging station I use, the jig itself and the various stages of the weave process.  The finished product still has to have the furries removed and I still need some further practice to ensure the weave is uniformly formed on both sides of the cone.

 

I use a couple of electronics wire clamps for temporary holders and a couple of needles for the rigging and weaving.  I have found that using 13 strands of 0.25mm thread (horizontal threads) provides the best effect at this scale, while 19 (with larger thread) would be better at 1:48 etc. An odd number is required to keep the under/over sequence going.

 

I start by positioning the former (turned on the lathe) on the rope (Stay in this instance - therefore LH laid and 1.0mm at this scale) and holding it with the alligator clamps (shrink wrap on the teeth to protect the rope).  The alligator clamps/clips are fitted to  springs to create a 'bowser' to I don't over tension and damage the rope.

 

I hold the former in place with a dab of glue then I use the needle to pierce the rope as close as possible to the former (thin end of cone) and feed the weaving thread though the rope twice to anchor the weaving thread leaving a tail of sufficient length to serve the combined/bunched horizontal threads back a sufficient distance down the served rope -  the long end of this thread is used to weave between the horizontal threads.  I then tie a knot in the combined horizontal threads (13) at one end and then feed them individually through the holes in the jig in the sequence of 3 a space, 3 a space etc.  When complete I recombine the threads at the other end and put some CA on that to hold them together and the use a fishing sinker on a swivel as a weight to keep some tension - not too tight as you need to pull the threads together.

 

I then start to weave doing about three or four complete circuits of the weave each time using the needle.  I found that weaving with the needle coming towards me such that I work from the bottom up and behind the rope (stay) worked best for me as a right hander.  I kept losing track of the under/over sequence trying to work downwards behind the stay but experiment to see what works for you.  After each group of three or four turns, I tension the them individually using a pin in a dowel to push the threads back (similar to how a loom would push each row of knotting/weaving) and to pull the threads to tighten the turn. 

 

When I have completed the weaving turns I use the finer needle to again take two passed through the rope (stay as close to the wider end of the former that I can, ensuring to tension the thread (careful not to break the thread) after the first pass and using the second to lock it. I then start the reduction process thinning by a third, then a half etc) and serving with the long end of the weaving thread over the reduced threads and using the electronics wire grips/clamps to temporarily hold the thread as necessary.  I again finish passing the long thread through the rope/stay using the finer needle to finish the serve. 

 

I then finish thinning and serving the other end the same way.  The weave (very close) up will have some 'furries' which I get rid of later.  I now using my serving machine to finish serving the loop/strop (short end) of the rope finishing the serve at the appropriate place to form the eye and leave enough serving thread (having secured with the needle the same way) to use as the serving/whipping on the eye's end.  Trim and clean up the finished product.

 

I hope this explanation and the photos adequately show the technique but please fire away with any questions or suggestions/improvements to my jig or technique.

 

cheers

 

Pat

Edited July 13, 2014 by BANYAN

[Ulises Victoria]

WOW! You really are into making things exactly as the originals. Nice work!!!

[cristikc]

Just Excelent!!!

[Meredith]

Looks great

[Landlubber Mike]

Wow, very cool!  

[Gregor]

Hi Pat

Thousand thanks for showing your jig! It came just at the right moment – here is what I made based on your version:

 

 

I've made a link from my build log to this post.

Thanks,

Gregor

[BANYAN]

Hi Gregor, glad it was of some help to you.  That is one jim-dandy of a jig you have created - it looks very efficient    I am assuming it has the serving part built into it which would make it much better.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[Blue Ensign]

Very impressive work Pat particularly at 1:60 scale, and to your follow up Gregor.

 

B.E.

[BANYAN]

Thanks BE for you comments, and to all for looking in.  A bit of experience with the jig has allowed me to achieve a tighter weave and using a less 'fluffy' thread has also helped with the final presentation.

Some credit also to Cristikc whom sent me some photos of his work on his Endeavour (very nice build) and his rigging efforts and some ideas posted by other members (using plastic versions of this) inspired this.

 

I hope the evolution of this jig continues; I look forward to seeing some of the output by Gregor and see if there are further enhancements to make the task easier.

 

cheers

 

Pat

Edited August 18, 2014 by BANYAN

[mischief]

Banyan that jig  is slicker then the snot on a Admirals sleeve.

[Sailingthe7seas]

Mahalo nui loa e, Banyan

 

i am working on my HMB Endeavour and am at the stage where I need to weave the mouse and I came across your posting   What diameter are you making the wooden form for the mouse?

[Eddie]

Hey howya goin Pat mate, nice jig mate thanks for tell us how you do it.   

[BANYAN]

Thanks for looking in and comments Eddie and ST7S   Sorry don't know what name to use?

 

The wooden mouse form was about 4mm long and  to 3mm at max across - it had a slightly conical off axis shape if that makes sense?  More like a ball/bead with one side drawn out a bit.  I was able to turn these on my mini-lathe, but you could take a bead and add some putty, or even two-part epoxy to one side then shape it when dry, redrilling the hole if necessary on one side.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[Sailingthe7seas]

3 minutes ago, BANYAN said:

Thanks for looking in and comments Eddie and ST7S   Sorry don't know what name to use?

 

The wooden mouse form was about 4mm long and  to 3mm at max across - it had a slightly conical off axis shape if that makes sense?  More like a ball/bead with one side drawn out a bit.  I was able to turn these on my mini-lathe, but you could take a bead and add some putty, or even two-part epoxy to one side then shape it when dry, redrilling the hole if necessary on one side.

 

cheers

 

Pat

Mahalo nui loa e, Banyan

 

i am working on my HMB Endeavour and am at the stage where I need to weave the mouse and I came across your posting   What diameter are you making the wooden form for the mouse?

[BANYAN]

Hi again,

 

The wooden mouse form is about 4mm long and 3mm at max across - it had a slightly conical off axis shape if that makes sense?  More like a ball/bead with one side drawn out a bit.  I was able to turn these on my mini-lathe, but you could take a bead and add some putty, or even two-part epoxy to one side then shape it when dry, redrilling the hole if necessary on one side.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[Sailingthe7seas]

Aloha nui e, Pat

 

Thank you for the helpful suggestions.  My nam is Ron I live in a small town on the central coast of California. In 1999 The Bark Endeavour stopped in Morro Bay and I had the opportunity to serve as a docent while they were in port.  In November of that year I served as volunteer crew in the Hawaiian waters.  While the Bark was in Nawiliwili, Kauai, Hawaii I surprised my wife by having the Captain perform a vow renewal ceremony in the great cabin the date was 17 November 1999.  That is the reason I'm working on building a model for our home.  Presently I am working on the shrouds and ratlines on the mizzenmast mast, and trying to tie the dead eyes on the top for the upper shrouds which is challenging for my fat fingers.  Any suggestions on how to tie the futtocks?  Having Parkinson's makes the challenge greater.  I just work on it when the Parkinson's is settled down.  Having been up in the rigging helps me understand things a little better.

 

Mahalo nui

__/)_

  ron

 

[BANYAN]

Hi Ron, that is a great story and I am sure your wife will appreciate the model as much as you.  That was a real neat surprise for her.

 

As to the futtock shrouds, I must admit I had some real fun there   I made the futtock shrouds up individually off the model with a longer length than needed.  By this I mean that I seized the hooks into place on a length of shroud line.  I then hooked the futtock shroud onto the upper deadeye strap, wrapped (half hitched) the tail end of the shroud around the futtock spreader bar, pulled  it taut (being careful not to pull the lower shrouds out of line in the vertical aspect) and seized the tail up to the closest shroud as close to the spreader as I could.  I then dabbed a bit of diluted white glue and trimmed off the rag end after it was dry.  BTW, my spreader bar was a length of stiff thin wire with a thread serving along its length - I simulated the leather caps on the end with a dab of leather colour paint.  The real jobs had a stiff rope core I think.

 

I found working (fitting the futtock shrouds) from aft to fwd best/easiest for me.  I also did this before I did any of the ratlines.  As too fat fingers - welcome to the club   With the deadeye lanyards I found using much much longer lengths and doing a very loose weave initially, allowed  me to get gingers in there without disturbing the other bits and bobs.  I was then able to pull the lanyard taut and align the deadeyes using tweezers and a very fine pair of needle point plier.

 

I hope that makes sense for you?

 

cheers

 

Pat