HMS Victory by dafi - Heller - PLASTIC - To Victory and beyond ...

[dafi]

Sometimes, yes sometimes I wonder why-why-why ...

 

... but after looking at my first lashing trials done with supermarket yarn for the tampions and the apron, 0,3 Krick line for the lashing and a breech rope laid out of the same material ...

 

 

... and when I compare with my own material ...

 

 

... I do remember why :-)

 

Lieber Gruß, Daniel

[dafi]

Oh these days I used the whole 2,5 meters of my Reeperbahn :-)

 

 

The anchor cables and messengers were due

 

As the small motors were to small dimensioned, I had to use the electric drill. And for long ropes or ropes with many single threads ...

 

 

... one has to knot each of the three strands on the predrilling side together for not getting small lumps. Three of the resulting cables were laid further to create the bigger ones ...

 

 

... and for an enjoyable result :-)

 

The anchor cable has a diameter of 2 mm which equals about 24" circumference on the original, the messenger should have about the half, this one being still too thick with 1,5 mm. This means, half of the yarn is not resulting into half the diameter.

 

Interesting is, that even though I used the same proportions of the colors Tan and Rusty Dun, the resulting cable have different colors. Possibly because the messenger is tighter laid, there is not as much light from the surface penetrating the outer yarn and being reflected inside.

 

To compensate I added one part of white to the existing two colors ...

 

 

... and the result can be seen compared to the middle messenger. On the bottom the thinner messenger of 1 mm is shown, which - using the same colors as the first one - appears lighter due to be laid less tight.

 

 

That the first messenger was laid too tight I realised, as some of the outer fibres were broken ...

 

 

... so less tension was used for the following cables. The problems on the broken one I was able to fix by cutting off the bitts and smoothening it with Uhu-Plast.

 

Next came parcelling and servig

 

That one is for you Evan ;-)

I realised, that on a lot of great models, the parcelling and serving made the cable too thick, due to the too thick diameter of the material used. But as the fishing line is like dental floss, it flattens up while beeing wrapped around ... 

 

 

... and even shows the structure underneath, something I saw on the originals :-)

Still a little ink or chalk to get the plastic gloss off, and it will be ok.

 

And of course I could not resist, to try out a spliced eye on the messenger :-)

Edited February 19, 2013 by dafi

[dafi]

Come on baby...don't fear the Reeper

Baby feel the thread...don't fear the Reeper

We are ready to tie...don't fear the Reeper

 

I still owe you the last line ...

(oh what a pun!!!)

 

... but how did this start again? I just wanted to try out the new blocks ...

 

 

    

... but the packet string was apparently not the right thing. That is why I had my fun on the Reeperbahn ;-)

 

And I realised something else: The blocks were too small for the 32 pounder :-0

 

That´s why I am now using the smaller 12-pounder for the next test - it was faster than doing bigger blocks ;-)

 

Here a picture from a working stage, comparing old and new ...

 

 

... and this was the result:

 

 

*jumpingofhappiness*

 

Not yet perfect, but the direction is right :-)

 

Lieber Gruß, Daniel

 

*happilysinging*

 

Come on baby...don't fear the Reeper

Baby feel the thread...don't fear the Reeper

We are ready to tie...don't fear the Reeper

Baby, I´m your man ... 

lalalalalaaaaaaa...

[dafi]

And now the quiz:

 

How many meters of 8/0 fishing line are used for this anchor cable of 1,5 meters? Diameter is 2 mm.

 

 

Good luck with guessing, estimating or calulating :-)

 

Lieber Gruß, Daniel

[dafi]

 

When i just did the micro blocks, it all continued with an answer from Jan here in MSW:

 

You will drive yourself insane!

My guess is that your next "problem" will be to get these tiny blocks stropped according the rule book 

Next you will realize that blocks have sheaves,

that sheaves are held into position by iron pins,

that these pins have nail like heads,

that.... etc.

 

We will follow your route to insanity with ever increasing admiration!

 

Jan

 

OK-OK-OK, Jan´s challenge was accepted :-) The stropping we had already, so the next is ...

 

 

... put a 1 mm poly rod into the machine, drill with 0,4 mm, turning the chuck of the lathe of course by hand ...

 

 

... and cutting it off still on the drill to 0,5 mm slices ...

 

 

... and this is the result of the production.

 

So what is missing next for some good blocks? The casing:

 

So milling a double slot and a single slot into a 2,5 mm x 1 mm batten ...

 

 

... doing some carving ...

 

 

... colored the disks with marker for not adding to the thickness ...

 

 

... inserted the disks and the axles  ...

 

 

... and cleared it up.

 

 

And here the family shot with the benchmark, the wonderful 2 x 2 x 2 mm block from JB. 

 

 

While stropping I finally re-remembered the great power-splice, which makes things easier and cleaner, prepared a loop ...

 

 

... and slid the block into it, secured with glue and  ... 

 

*drummrollandsmallfanfare*

 

 

... and the thing on place :-)

 

Lessons learned: 

 

It is really possible to make blocks of 2,5 x 2,5 x 1 mm with turning sheaves! And by pulling on the loose end, the tackle works much easier than the other ones without :-) :-) :-)

 

The most difficult? Checking if the sheaves are turning after securing the axles with glue. Managed to do this with the point of a needle. Confirmed positivly!

 

;-)

 

Liebe Grüße Daniel

 

[dafi]

And see, you were so blinded by these pettiness that you did not see the essential things in the last picture - the thimble ...

 

This was a side product of having to paint the white sheaves. Thinking how to do them out of black material. Remembered a trick from the WW1 plane builders, that do the locks of the bracing wires by heating up a Q-Tit and pulling it to the needed diameter. The same system as we use to du with sprue it keeps the hole inside in the right proportion to the diameter.

 

This in mind I thought this could also work in a bigger diameter, slipped some 8 mm sprue into the machine ...

 

 

... drilled slowly with 4 mm turning the chuck by hand ...

 

 

...heated up and pulled (ok could be done more evenly) ...

 

 

... and cut onto the right lengths and got a nice variety of discs, sheaves and raw material for thimbles :-)

 

Tried to enlarge the ring by using the cone of the drill did not really work. 

 

 

Used two needles as marlinspikes to do a splice ...

 

 

... put the required disc in, tacked it with a drop of CA, adjusted and finally glued it properly in position and opened the hole carefully a little bit more with a drill ...

 

 

... and worked on the edges with the 1 mm cherry miller.

 

 

The proportions still could be improved, but I found a nice solution for myself for the thimbles :-)

 

In the size I am building it is a little bit difficult to do them out of metal tube or injection needles.

 

All the best, Daniel

 

 

 

I hope to not disappoint you too much - in last case we have to found a self-help group, something like "dafinists anonymus" or so ...

 

:-) :-) :-)

 

XXXDAn

Edited February 20, 2013 by dafi

[dafi]

Okokok, I am back to what I like most:

 

Destruction!!!

 

 

... but what is it this time? Yeah ...

 

 

... there were two fighting tops missing :-) 

 

Ok, get naked and we have literally two topless tops, hihihihi, dafi likes that.

 

 

Just for comparison there is too the old fore top with the old batten design.

And here is my newest acquisition: some scaler from the dentist department ...

 

 

... made a guide with the correct width for easy engraving ...

 

 

... flattening the build up edge with the spatula ...

 

 

... and engrave a second time. Tilting left and right makes nice even grooves.

 

 

For straight continuations around the testle trees I build a small special guide ...

 

 

... and for cleaning everything up I used the small Dremel bristel-brushes. Revolution speed as low as possible and with little pressure, otherwise the plastik may melt, guess why I do know this ...

 

 

Ok for now, Daniel

Edited February 20, 2013 by dafi

[dafi]

First oups: I still owe you the answer for the anchor cable:

 

How much of the 8/0 fly fishing line was used for this anchor cable ...

 

 

... of 2 mm diameter and a length of 1,5 meters?

 

Different guessings were 80 to 300 meters.

 

And here is the solution, it is quite easy:

 

Each of the 3 Strands was done out of 3 threads in different colors, hook in 4 times, duplicated because of running forth and back on three hooks multiplied with the length of the walk of 2,5 meters:

 

3x3x4x2x3x2,5m=540 meters

 

 

But anyway, here we go again ...

 

(no, I am not starting to sing again ...)

 

... second oups ...

 

... it is all Pollux´s mistake ...

 

... as he gave me the hint of a even thinner thread in our german forum ...

 

 

... and what is this??

 

 

- on top for comparison a 0,1 mm copper wire.

- then the Uni 8/0, my favourite

- the new Caenis 20/den two stranded laid

- the new Caenis 20/den à la nature

- one of dafi´s hair

- the new Caenis 20/den four stranded laid

 

To show the size a small montage as closeup:

 

I scaled in a way that the 0,1 copper wire has a thickness of 10 pixels. My hair has 9 px, the Caenis has 8 px which means about 0,08 mm :-)

My favourite Uni 8/0 looks like a real anchor cable in comparison ...

 

But why laying such thin cables? The fly line is like dental floss, it is very uneven and does not keep its shape. Bent around a corner it looses it round shape, flattens up and gets twice as thick. Also I have the feeling it is easier to knot and can be easier tried to be given a nice slag.

 

That is all for now, Daniel

[dafi]

Even though Goodwin seems to be quite confident about the preventer breech ropes, I did not yet find sufficient evidence in the historical literature.

 

Chapman from the german forum found a hint in Caruna´s "English Sea Ordnance" that they where meant to be rigged "in extreme conditions". The only drawing I found in the is of unknown origins to me.

 

 

Does anybody knows the origins of this one? What is the rope in C for? I doubt that there are two ropes fitting through the breech ring. Also it does not seem logical to me with the preventer rope to run through the whole deck. Also it would be much more stable to rig the tackles onto the breech itself instead onto the rope.

On top the length of the breech rope in drawing B seems too short - something like the loop around the back of the carriage seems to be missing - and the diagonal tackles in drawing D usually are shown to go to the eyebolt on the opposite side.

 

The basic idea seems logic, as Marquart and Lee show a lot of redundant systems for the ship´s rigging in war times with second preventer systems. And the big gun could be easily put hors combat if just the original breeching rope is damaged by flying splinters.

 

The fitting and the usage of the prventer is nicely shown by Goodwin for the gun in action. But how was it lashed? By looking through a lot of historical drawings there was one way of lashing the original breeching rope that would make sense in this context. This is a try as a a basis for discussion:

 

 

 

 

And in sitiu :-)

 

 

Any opinions or knowledge about that one?

 

All the best, Daniel

[dafi]

Sometimes one can sit on one´s working place ...

 

... and see it coming ...

 

... coming deep from inside Mordor ...

 

 

... one realises, one can feel it, one knows it ...

 

 

... latest once the dark spirits make one forget to change the direction in between pre-twisting and laying ...

 

... and even put evil curses upon the tools of enlightment ...

 

 

... when the high tension for laying bringing even the otherwise undestructable Fischer Technics to melt ...

 

 

... so what do you do as an experienced modelmaker?

 

Some Rings to center them all, Some Ring to bear them,

Some Rings to twist the yarns and lay them

In the Land of Dafi where the ropes lie.

 

 

After V1 just had highly developed rudimantary full wood bearings, I decided not to go for the expensive ball bearings but to use brass screw nuts, just drilling out the threads, and I found myself in possesion of wonderful guides for the axles, still fitted washers in between wood and Fischer Technics in order to decrease the coefficient of friction and got a machine ...

 

 

... that works much better than ever bevore :-)

 

Amicalement, a relieved Daniel

 

PS: ... even the skies cleared, I saw it with my own eyes, I feelt it and I took the picture, that is the place that I want for my next workshop ;-)

 

 

...hihihihihi...

[dafi]

It was going a bit slow lately but I had enough fun mistreating materials and machines. Plenty of trials and "go back to start"-messanges. But this was done with the necessary style ...

 

... means laughing at all problems that occur and if you see the bounty ...

 

 

... and this came out as the family shot with the capstan V1 that was installed until recently and the final version nine and three quarter on the right ...hihihihihihi...

 

But looking back to what had happened ...

 

... lot of different informations about the capstans, all more confusing then enlightening ...

 

... the first real interesting hint came from Goodwin in his "HMS Victory Manual" stating that the jeer capstan looks to be original. The main capstan is said to be a 19th century copy, but it took me a moment to realise, that the main capstan is not the one in front of the mainmast, but behind and that the jeer capstan that Goodwin means is the fore capstan ...

 

... and he also says this original capstan has 12 bars on the trundlehead and 14 on the fdrumhead. But all the pictures in the book only show 5 bars on the trundlehead, my own pictures showing the same too ...

 

... and starting to understand a little bit the history of the capstan, starting with no bars on the trundledead (or better with no trundle head at all), afterwards introducing a capstan with 5 bars then later on with 10 bars and in the end twelve. Then I found a picture in Arming and Fitting showing an early double capstan with the settings seen on the Vic´s jeer: Few on the trundlehead, many on the drumhead, right timing for the building date of the Vic ...

 

 

... and then another one in NMM :-)

 

http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/79873.html

 

Ok, one done. But I was thinking, as the second one - the main capstan - is not original, it easily could have been replaced already in the first 40 years in between the build of the ship and 1805, so why not showing the more modern and classical one with 10/12bars. That seemed to be a interesting attempt to show both versions in one build. And NMM gives a proof of one ...

 

http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/68383.html

 

And the 5 ribs on the bottom apparently give a better grip on the thicker cables than the 6 ribs on the upper level where thinner ropes were worked:

 

Ok, that idea sorted out, new material prepared resulting in the different stages here shown ...

 

 

... and after a many trials and errors, lots of nasty "crack" noises, I finally managed to get out 4 decent ones :-)

 

The chocks were glued in before the last turns on the machine, so they got a good basic form, the lower ones got the curved in form that enables the cable not to get stuck on them ...

 

 

... prepared the pawls ...

 

 

... and the stops ...

 

 

... carved in the splitlines ... glued the stops ...

 

 

... stuck in the pawls, the usual black ink for the inner edges, a litte white brushing for the highlights and some wooden paint to simulate color-clipping of the paintwork on the outer surfaces ...

 

 

... placed some rope around ...

 

 

... and it looks like it was meant to look like that :-)

 

Alles Gute, Daniel

[dafi]

Missing was the plate that holds the pawls, that was easy, little bit of Tamia tape and color ...

 

 

... then the two retractable bolts that secure the pawls in a horizontal position if not to touch the stops. Also taped a tad lower ...

 

 

... a tiny hole drilled and a small wire.

 

 

And already to be seen the next thing, the clamps on the trundlehead. More tricky, as paint would not work because of the splitline and all sheet was too thick. So took some 60 gr paper, colored it with Copic-Marker to avoid white edges ...

 

 

... backside with CA and front with the right paint ...

 

 

... and I was able to cut stripes, less than 0,5 mm wide and less than 0,1 thick :-) 

Glued them on using very pointed pincers, as pointed, once it fell out of my hand and stuck vertically in the table :-)

 

 

Now that is all I wanted to represent ...

 

 

... here the concave form of the upper chocks, understandable ...

 

 

 

... if seen the angle the rope goes around the rips.

 

 

Still have to find out the right thickness and kind for the messenger. Unually the literature talks about 24 inch for the anchor cable and half of it for the messenger. But I do not know if it is laid like the anchor cable or if it is a "normal" rope of the given strength as seen today on the Vic. On the bottom you see the 24 inch anchor cable, left the 12 inch laid one and right a "normal" one (which is a tad too thin) ...

 

 

 

...and the same 12 inch to compare with a 17 inch one as sometimes thicker diameters are given for this purpose. Usually it is said to have 4 rounds around the capstan, so we will see who will do the race  :-)

 

Lieber Gruß, Daniel

[dafi]

Dr dafi´s chamber of horrors

 

I love this hobby

 

Where else can one really follow his dark spirits without the psychiatrist and 4 strong man will come and take one away?

 

...

 

... yes here ...

 

... and here we meet in Dr dafi´s chambers of horrors, where all humanity is lost, hotter than hell which appears like a children playground and meaner than one season of big brother?

 

... so, Frankenstein was yesterday, today Dr. dafi is master of the darkest sides, Master of creatures, reorganiser of live´s blocks  ...

 

... and just to warm up ...

 

 

... some wings and limbs, some rumps too ...

 

... fixed to dry and now the intriguing question: 

 

 

What is the job of this funny young man?

 

Meanwhile I will go on breaking some bones and twisting some more joints, ER was yesterday, if it gets too loud out here, put the soundbutton ot the tele up, if you are lucky, something relaxing like the Killer Tomatoes will come ...

 

Dr. dafi

[dafi]

Dr dafi´s chamber of horrors

 

I love this hobby

 

Where else can one really follow his dark spirits without the psychiatrist and 4 strong man will come and take one away?

 

...

 

... yes here ...

 

... and here we meet in Dr dafi´s chambers of horrors, where all humanity is lost, hotter than hell which appears like a children playground and meaner than one season of big brother?

 

... so, Frankenstein was yesterday, today Dr. dafi is master of the darkest sides, Master of creatures, reorganiser of live´s blocks  ...

 

... and just to warm up ...

 

 

... some wings and limbs, some rumps too ...

 

... fixed to dry and now the intriguing question: 

 

 

What is the job of this funny young man?

 

Meanwhile I will go on breaking some bones and twisting some more joints, ER was yesterday, if it gets too loud out here, put the soundbutton ot the tele up, if you are lucky, something relaxing like the Killer Tomatoes will come ...

 

Dr. dafi

[dafi]

Dr dafi´s chamber of horrors

 

I love this hobby

 

Where else can one really follow his dark spirits without the psychiatrist and 4 strong man will come and take one away?

 

...

 

... yes here ...

 

... and here we meet in Dr dafi´s chambers of horrors, where all humanity is lost, hotter than hell which appears like a children playground and meaner than one season of big brother?

 

... so, Frankenstein was yesterday, today Dr. dafi is master of the darkest sides, Master of creatures, reorganiser of live´s blocks  ...

 

... and just to warm up ...

 

 

... some wings and limbs, some rumps too ...

 

... fixed to dry and now the intriguing question: 

 

 

What is the job of this funny young man?

 

Meanwhile I will go on breaking some bones and twisting some more joints, ER was yesterday, if it gets too loud out here, put the soundbutton ot the tele up, if you are lucky, something relaxing like the Killer Tomatoes will come ...

 

Dr. dafi

[dafi]

... heave ... heave ... heave ...

 

As long as the question remains, I was playing a litte bit italian ice cream saloon  ...

 

... you know the small paper umbrellas ...

 

 

... but it facilitates putting the bars properly ...

 

 

... and the swifter goes round and round and there we are :-)

 

And there they push, 10 strong english tars on each bar ...

 

 

... getting tight all along ...

 

 

... that´s why the guns have been put to the sides ...

 

 

... all along the boards ...

 

 

... and heave -ho, also the swifter is being pulled ...

 

 

... some 120 souls together ...

 

... heave-ho ...

 

... heave ...

 

...

XXXDAn

[dafi]

Not to loose the hang of it, I always try to be at least every second day in my corner, even if it is just for 15 minutes ...

 

This sequential working looks like this for example:

 

day 1: taking mast tops down and looking at them

day 2: looking for material for the rail and swearing, ordering new Evergreen of suitable size

day 3: waiting for the Evergreen

day 4: Cutting the Evergreen into the right length and gluing the bottom side of the iron fork

day 5: gluing the sides of the fork

day 6: cleaning up and trying to find out which material I used for the stanchions of the for top rail

day 7: discovering on the old pictures it was no brass but steel of 0,5 mills

day 8: drilling holes into top and rail

day 9: fitting the stanchions, applying paint and ...Hurray!

 

This is the result of more than a weeks work (without paint yet) - railings for main and mizzen tops.

 

 

And then, new game, new love:

 

day 1: preparing two deadeyes

day 2: closing the wrong holes on one side with tooth-pics

day 3: shortening them and closing the other side with tooth-pics

day 4: flattening and sanding twice two sides

day 5: applying some black paint

day 6: looking at ship

day 7: *start sweating*

 

Really, because of the hot weather, the fam did not want to do anything but relax :-)

So upstairs I went into my littel sauna and preparing some work to come in a years or two time :-)

 

 

And here we go, trying the new ropes on the deadeyes :-)

 

 

Lanyards applied ...

 

 

... on the right still the Mark 1 done the previous year with the old material ...

 

 

... and with the chains.

 

Ok, that is it for a long time now, Daniel

[dafi]

And as the shrouds are up I took the chance to try out the ratlines. Now I know why I kept the Heller ratty machine ...

 

 

... the lower 4 lines have the given circumference of 1,5 inch, means 0,12 mm :-)

 

On top of it I tried 3 sets of four lines, once thinner, once thicker in black and once thicker in tan in case for optical reasons other thicknesses could be more appropriate.

 

 

Against the light the differences stand out quite clearly, I will most possibly stay with the "original" size, means 4 strands of 20/0 Caenis.

 

 

And now the difficult topic, tarred or tanned ratlines:

Discussions running wild on the net, so I decided to get a more pragmatic approach. Many sources report "hands employed blackening the shrouds". I do strongly believe, that the ratlines were not taken down for that, so the knots and the adacent areas would get their fair share of tar too. The middle in between surly darkened fast too because of the tarred feet of the hands, so the difference if a light or dark line was underneath would soon have disaperead.

 

Even though I wanted to see how a blackened light line could look like ...

 

 

... but the effect is that minor in my scale (see the Tic-Tac) and the paint spoiled the color of my shrouds, so I stay with the black line to facilitate things, leaving the lower four ones as my personnel choice :-)

 

 

And see, the little sailor was taking good care in his training and puts the hands to the shrouds for that 

a - nobody steps on them

b - he has something stable to hold on in case of the ratline breaking :-)

 

Best regards, Daniel

[dafi]

Welcome to dafi´s world.

Being in the middle of IAA, one of the worlds biggest fairs for the automotive industry, what did dafi discover?

 

 

Our clients, what did they see? Naturally some Calamary-Amuse-Gueules.

 

But what did dafi see?

 

He only saw these great bamboo-sticks, marvelous tool to apply superglue :-)

 

 

I felt rather sick afterwards after eating that many of those to rescue the sticks ...

 

 

Sodele and jetzetle, 

 

being back home I was finally able to work on something, that I was dreaming of for the last four weeks ...

 

... it started all innocently on the lath and then came something that you can find on the market-places of many german wine villages, a nice spindle:

 

 

And then came a long box with spikes underneath, drilled from the top...

 

 

... having a nose inside ...

 

 

... to scew the spindle in with love.

 

 

Finished with some iron loops it looks like this :-)

 

 

 

And now the the holy question: What is this little engine about? Data would have said "fully functional", if you know what I mean, hihihihihi ...

 

So this is the next riddle, after the guy with the big hammer is still waiting for what job he is meant to do ;-)

 

Sincerily, Daniel

[Kevin]

well you have been busy, although it was just a quick flick through yr new log, i am disappointed - that the Tic Tack wasn't seen (well not by me)

 

lovely work, 

[dafi]

Hello Kevin,

 

look at the pictures atop :-)

 

Did you mistake it for an ostrich egg?

 

...hihihihi...

 

Daniel

Edited February 20, 2013 by dafi

[Kevin]

found it and another and another - opps i wish i had not said anything about the Tic Tac

[dafi]

Dear Kevin :-)

 

It really is present since entry 75!!!

 

Just for the records!

 

...hihihihihi...

 

Lieber Gruß, Daniel :-)

[Kevin]

lol - not only do i admit im wrong, and then be told how long i have been wrong for

[dafi]

...hihihihi...

 

...couldn´t resist ...

 

...hihihihi...

 

:-)

 

XXXDAn

[dafi]

Let me put together all the guesses I received for the little tools purpose:

 

- for calling the big kraken to get more bamboo skewers

- juice maker, as the brits were called Limeys

- winemaker for the captain´s port

- jack for excanging the steeringwheel

- torture: stretching bed or thumbscrew

- olive press

- garbich press

- nutcracker king-size for coconuts

- tool to inflate the ship in harbour to save tax

- archimedes screw for the bilge

- ship biscuit juicer to liquefy maggots

- tool to iron captain´s uniform

- dvice for fine adjustment of the water line

- sealing leakages / repairing beams

 

The last point I would have said yes, that too for sure :-)

 

And here is the sweet bit in it´s natural habitat:

 

 

 

It is in deed the jack to lift the deck beams in order to remove and put back the stanchions that are in the way of the capstans bars. Blaise Olivier describes them well with the dry comment, that the french system with iron bars on hinges is far more practical ...

 

All the best, Daniel

[dafi]

Let me put together all the guesses I received for the little tools purpose:

 

- for calling the big kraken to get more bamboo skewers

- juice maker, as the brits were called Limeys

- winemaker for the captain´s port

- jack for excanging the steeringwheel

- torture: stretching bed or thumbscrew

- olive press

- garbich press

- nutcracker king-size for coconuts

- tool to inflate the ship in harbour to save tax

- archimedes screw for the bilge

- ship biscuit juicer to liquefy maggots

- tool to iron captain´s uniform

- dvice for fine adjustment of the water line

- sealing leakages / repairing beams

 

The last point I would have said yes, that too for sure :-)

 

And here is the sweet bit in it´s natural habitat:

 

 

 

It is in deed the jack to lift the deck beams in order to remove and put back the stanchions that are in the way of the capstans bars. Blaise Olivier describes them well with the dry comment, that the french system with iron bars on hinges is far more practical ...

 

All the best, Daniel

[dafi]

Shaving horses, what a fun :-)

 

Seen the shaving horse some years ago on the V. in P., the nice officer that guided me, explained how it works. Long time gone since and many details forgotten, it was a nice hunt to find out the details again.

 

Serving as a workbench for holding the object to work on, it consists of a board with feet and a small bench on top to hold the work piece (the darker bit on top) ...

 

 

... and a pivoting frame that holds down the work piece by the push of the legs.

 

 

For working the drawknife is pulled towards the body of the craftsman.

 

 

Skilled craftsman could easily produce round battens on it without having to use a lath. And again, a small bit of ancient craftsmanship is understood :-) :-) :-)

 Wikipedia sayz:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaving_horse

 

... and the noble officer on the original horse as shown on the Vic.

 

 

 

I used the chance to enhale a little bit of life into my mallet-man. And after some moments with only me, him and the brush I was shure: His name only can be Thor :-)

 

 

Lieber Gruß, Daniel

 

PS: Just to make sure - Thor has nothing to do with shaving horses, he just did fine on the pictures ...

 

... and he still is missing his duty ;-)

[dafi]

Thank you Pete :-)

 

And off we go. Took out the capstans and replaced them slightly to give better use of the lenghts of the bars.

 

 

 

Like this the bars can be 0,5 meters longer, but the main capstan in front of the mizzen mast is limited by the rigging of the rudder, resulting in quite short bars.

 

 

And with two anchor cables fitted it looks rather clean and neat ...

 

 

... several stoppers still missing ...

 

 

... and the manger.

 

 

Cheers, Daniel

Edited February 20, 2013 by dafi

[dafi]

And what does one do if one has almost a cable length of anchor rope and some movable manger boards ? Of course one tries out things :-)

 

And what? The last pictures show the anchor rope tight and well clear the manger boards. Usually with the guns run out, everything looks neat, tidy and spacious. With the guns lashed it becomes already more tight.

 

But what with the cables prepared for throwing the anchor? Hihihihihihihi...

 

So here we go ...

 

 

... the tensioned anchor cables clear above the manger boards. But some time ago, I already did put up some heretical questions:

 

- the boards of the manger are not constructed in a way that a heavy anchor cable can rub over them.

- several sources claim the manger´s boards to be removable for what purpose?

- for what purpose were they taken out?

- why are they usually shown as a permanent fix?

 

While preparing came out Goodwins new book Victorys "Owners´ Workshop Manual" that gives a nice describtion on how to prepare to throw an anchor

 

- Clear the deck. But I kept the guns lashed (Lets suppose we have a heavy sea and do not want to unleash them).

- The sides of the manger were taken out! HA!!! That is why I made them removable, I knew it!!!

- The starboard side anchor cable is stored on the port side because of handling. So bring it up the gundeck and flake it out in long loops along the deck, in a way that it can´t get jammed. HA!!! That is why I made my cable that long!!!

- When the required length is laid out, fix the rope around the bitts and add some stoppers in front and back of the bitts (missing in the pictures still)

- If not done yet take a smaller messenger cable and get the cable through the hawser holes to to be fixed on the anchor.

 

Then comes a series of sailing manouvers . Then the anchor is let go and the rope can run out the hawser holes and uncoil easily throughout the deck without rubbing against any manger boards. Like this it makes finally sense to me :-) 

Finetuning still welcome!

 

And this is how it looks like: Starboard manger boards taken out ...

 

 

... uand the long hanks down the deck. This is almost a cable length.

 

 

And some more pics for pleasure and fun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And suddenly, it doesn´t look that spacious and clear any more ;-)

 

As a guide the length of the cable should be 3 times the depth of water if I understood right. The free end of this cable shown here on deck is 150 meters, so the water shoud be 40 to 50 meters deep. The Cable length of about 183 meters came out of the length of the old ropewalks. If longer cables were needed for deeper water, two cables had to be spliced together. Than we would have had about 9 hanks instead of the five here shown on the pictures. I think this should be still possible space wise.

 

Sincerily, Daniel