ancre La Belle 1684 by Nenseth - 1:36 scale

[yamsterman]

hi hans christian

great work so far.i shall be following very closely as this ship is on my "to do" list.

look forward to your progress.

cheers.............mick

[Nenseth]

Not a big update but at least it`s a start

Frame 2F (and 1F and M)

 

[Nenseth]

Progress and limited workspace

 

 

Six frames in the rough + two and a half cut

[Nenseth]

Some people like the BIG scales 1:2

 

https://youtu.be/PmXK0gDNP_g

[druxey]

Nice work so far, Hans Christian. Use a water-based glue and wash off any excess before it sets. Then there won't be any glue stains.

 

If it's any help, I built my first big framed model (over a metre long) on my dining room table!

[Mike Y]

Space is not a big deal, but time..

Hope you will have enough patience, once most frames are installed - it starts to look like a ship, and that is such a pleasure!

[Nenseth]

All forward frames cut 

 

 

 

Now I just have to make them look decent 

[Nenseth]

Anybody see the mistake?

 

 

I mixed up my 4mm and 5mm boards...(for those wondering, it should be 4mm)

 

I`ll redo 5 of my frames 

[Mike Y]

1mm should be possible to sand away, either with disk sander or 220 grit sandpaper fixed on the table top with some clamps.

I just did it today, needed 4mm and 5mm thickness, but had only 8mm wood sheet 

[Nenseth]

Life settled down abit and I´m back at it again.

 

This is my first go at carving so I don´t have high hopes but it must be done 🤨

 

So far

   -Six frames done

   -One in assembly

   -Five others cut out

 

Slow going but happy to start up again

[Nenseth]

Carving is hard...

 

Made some more frames 

 

[Roger Pellett]

Hans,

 

Nice work and an interesting project.

 

A question.  Does the ANCRE monograph include an lines drawing of the vessel?  I believe that some of their monographs include only lofted frame shapes but no complete lines drawings.

 

Roger

[mtbediz]

Nice to see you again after a long time. 

[druxey]

Make a mock-up of the carving in modelling clay first. You can work out the problems in 3D without wasting any wood!

[Nenseth]

Thanks for all the likes 😁

 Roger, the monograph does indeed include line drawings of the vessel.

 

I´ll see if I can dig up some clay druxey, it might help doing it that way. Thanks for the tip.

 

And all the forward frames are done (roughly)

[Nenseth]

I just like the shape aft 😁

 

[Mike Y]

Neat! Very nice shape  

Please keep them coming!

[Nenseth]

Just browsing through my collection.

For some reason it looks to small 🤔

Any suggestions as to what is an essential book that is missing?

[Nenseth]

A comparison of my La Belle at 1:36 scale and the 74-gun ship at 1:72 scale

 

[hwe]

On 10/27/2019 at 11:45 AM, Nenseth said:

Just browsing through my collection.

For some reason it looks to small 🤔

Any suggestions as to what is an essential book that is missing?

Dear Hans,

 

 I would strongly recommend to buy the book, written by Henri Louis Duhamel de Monceau, the "Beginning of the art of shipbuilding" or "practical treatise about shipbuilding". - I must admit, I currently don't even know if there is an english translation available. So the title in english may be a bit different than what I wrote.

 

It was originally written in french in 1752 or so. - So it is not too much older than the Belle, but you will have a hard time, to find something useful, before that time, about french shipbuilding.

If you know German better than French, then you might try to find the German translation. it was translated to German in 1791 and there exist facsimilie books, reprinted in 1973 by Horst Hamecher in Kassel.

 

It includes several illustrations (alone 18 big plan sheets) and many tables, too and has close to 600 pages.

 

It is clearly the best book you can buy for the Belle!

 

Best regards,

Herbert

 

 

[Oliver1973]

And last but not least, the fantastic Album de Colbert 1670.

[ChadB]

On 10/27/2019 at 3:45 AM, Nenseth said:

Just browsing through my collection.

For some reason it looks to small 🤔

Any suggestions as to what is an essential book that is missing?

 

I'm surprised you do not have "From a Watery grave: The Discovery and Excavation of La Salle's Shipwreck, La Belle." It's a fantastic book with boatloads of information on the ship, artifacts, and history of the expedition. It's written by the gentleman who oversaw the excavation.

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Watery-Grave-Discovery-Excavation-Shipwreck/dp/1585444316  

[Hubac's Historian]

My book recommendation would be:

 

Les Trois-Ponts du Chevalier de Tourville, 1680.

 

Although La Belle represents the smallest of armed vessels - the barque longue - she is a microcosm (IMO) of all of the larger ships of the line, from this time period.

 

From a general construction standpoint - what applies to the big ships, would mostly also apply to the smaller ships.

[Nenseth]

Wow thanks for all your suggestions.

Some of these books I`ve seen, some not. I will try to look into them all next week when my head clears of this cold I got.

 

Thanks again 

 

Presently working on assembling more frames (all now cut) and the rabbet.

[Nenseth]

Small update

 

Built a slipway

Needs some refining

Got a new compound table for more precision

 

[Nenseth]

Working on the keelson and rabbet

 

And sanding..... lots of sanding..!!

 

 

[Oliver1973]

Dont forget the rabbet before you start the assembly !

[Nenseth]

1 hour ago, Oliver1973 said:

Dont forget the rabbet before you start the assembly !

Nothing is assembled yet.

 

Anyone have some suggestions about how to temporarily fix the frames to the keel? 

So it is easier to sand the correct shape. Some kind of glue which can be 'unstuck' somehow later perhaps..? 

[Bob Cleek]

1 hour ago, Nenseth said:

Anyone have some suggestions about how to temporarily fix the frames to the keel? 

So it is easier to sand the correct shape. Some kind of glue which can be 'unstuck' somehow later perhaps..? 

PVA glue is soluble in isopropol alcohol. Placing a slip of paper between the faying surfaces before gluing a part will make it much easier to separate the part thereafter. the glue and paper can then be scraped from the surfaces and/or soaked off with isopropol alcohol. I've also had success with the judicious use of hot-melt glue from craft glue guns. ("The Martha Stewart school of ship modeling?") The less tenacious hot-melt glue sticks come apart pretty easily and that can be assisted by a bit of gentle heat from a heat gun.

 

The jig you are using will provide a surprising amount of rigidity when combined with a temporary batten or three to a side. (The battens can be tied to the frames with string or wire. "Spacer sticks" cut to the width of the frame spaces can be hot-melt glued to the top of the upper jig piece, running across between the frames. (These would have eliminated the need to cut all those tedious notches!) A spot of hot-melt glue at the corner between the spacer stick and the frame side will permit the upper jig frame from being removed and turned upside down on the jig base to permit free access to the bottom of the hull. (Providing you've located the threaded rods identically on each side of the jig as should be done.) The temporary longitudinal battens are removed as they are reached in the fairing process and then replaced, or not, as needs be, and similarly removed as the planking progresses, the planks replacing them and maintaining the frame's rigidity.

 

Once the frames are bound together in such fashion, sanding the frame bevels fair with sandpaper glued to a flexible batten is easily done, although the area obstructed by the top frame of the jig will be inaccessible. That can be left to be attended to after the planking below it is hung. Once that is accomplished, the hull can be removed from the jig entirely and should have no problem holding its shape and can be sanded and planking hung in that area as well. (Don't plank above the upper jig frame while the hull is in the jig frame. If your upper jig frame isn't made in two pieces separated on the centerline or you may not be able to remove the hull from the upper jig frame, of course.)

 

 

Edited January 24, 2020 by Bob Cleek

[Mike Y]

You need quite some rigidity when sanding, to achieve it and prevent misalignment when humidity changes - you need temporary spacers between frames anyway. Hard to imagine how that can be done with a non-temporary joints. Replacing a frame or two is doable by just dissolving PVA as described above, but getting them all in and out?