Triton Cross Section 1:48 by rjones726

[rjones726]

I've decided to dip my feet into the world of scratchbuilding and I think this is a great place to start. I had a piece of Brazilian Cherry lying around and thought it would make a fine keel. I think I'll choose something a little lighter for the frames.

 

Rob

[rjones726]

OK, I requested and was granted access to the files. Thanks Chuck ! After taking a quick look I saw that the frames were 3/16" thick. I took a drive to a local woodworking shop and picked up a couple of pieces of cherry that are 1x4x40. Cost me $21.00. Next I used the ripping blade on my table saw to make a couple of 1/4" blanks. I also ended up with a 3/16" blank but I'll use that for something else. The next step will be to use my thickness sander to finish the 1/4" blanks to 3/16. I can't do that until it shows up at my door (but it's on order  ). 

I still have an uncut stick of cherry which I'm sure will be used later. At this point I plan on leaving one side open. Not sure yet what I'll use for planking the hull

 

Rob

 

[jaerschen]

That's a good option for the steps in scratch building Rob. I wish you all the best about your build.

[Pete38]

Rob.  Welcome to the build nice to see more people starting. Looking forward to more.

[rjones726]

Thanks for looking in guys.

Not much progress. Real life has a way of doing that. Anyway, I've got a Byrnes thickness sander coming so I should be back at it by the weekend. Meanwhile I've been downloading and printing all the plans and studying them along with all the great build logs on here. Once I get the thickness sander, I can get the cherry sized and start cutting frames.

 

v/r,

Rob

[rjones726]

     My Byrnes thickness sander arrived yesterday. It's a well-built quality piece of machinery! I used it to bring the thickness of my cherry frame material down to 3/16". It comes with two different grits of sandpaper but the wood I had was too wide so the first thing I did was to remove the two sheets and install a single sheet of 100 grit paper that spans the entire width. There is a bit of a learning curve. The wood needs to be fed evenly or the surface can be gouged. Also you don't want to try to take off too much in a single pass or it bogs down- which is pointed out in the operating instructions (for once I read them before I started).

      I was able to get the job done and used rubber cement to attach a frame pattern . Tonight I'm going to try my hand at cutting it out with the scroll saw. Any suggestions on how much material to leave around the edges would be appreciated. I'll try to get some photos as well.

 

v/r,

Rob

[rjones726]

I've got the pieces for one frame cut and sanded. I got pretty close to the line in some spots and may redo this one. I'll still assemble and glue it up. I need to start thinking about how that's going to happen. I guess the next step is to read through some of the other logs and get some frame glue-up/assembly jig ideas.

 

v/r,

Rob

 

[yamsterman]

Hi rob

Looking good so far.shall be watching with great interest. 1/32 inch or there about outside the line seems to work OK.

Cheers .....mick

[rjones726]

Thanks Mick. 

I'll take your advice. The more I use the scroll saw, the better my control gets. Amazing how that repetition/experience thing works.

v/r,

Rob

[rjones726]

It's Friday and thanks to my work schedule I've got the day off. The Admiral has assigned no major tasks which means I'm going to spend some time in the shipyard. I've assembled a couple of frames and have come up with a process I think will work. I'm going to take a cue from our friend Henry Ford and try to get a little mass production going on the remaining 7. While I want to be more efficient, I need to be careful not to confuse speed with quality. 

 

 

 

By the end of the day I'd like to have the frame pieces cut out and sanded. 

 

v/r,

Rob

 

p.s.  I also note that I need to spend a little more time on focus and lighting. 

[Canute]

Rob,

 

Patience, grasshopper! I think I'd do one frame to check if my cutting & fitting techniques were good. This isn't a race; precision does count. Relax and enjoy the build.

[rjones726]

Thanks for looking Ken.  

I've already built two frames to figure out how to do it - this time I'm cutting out and preparing the pieces for 7 frames at once (hence the mass production). After that I'll assemble them one at a time using my normal building pace: slow, plodding and not too fast 

 

v/r,

Rob

[jaerschen]

Hi Rob,

 

the frames are looking very good, I'm sure you are on a right track.

[rjones726]

No pictures tonight but I do have an update. I've been spending what time I can spare sanding and shaping all those frame pieces. Ken provided some good advice which is to take it slow and have fun. Mission accomplished (so far!) With the Thanksgiving holiday coming up I see an opportunity to get some quality time in the shipyard. Next update I'll include some pictures of frame assembly.

 

v/r,

Rob

Edited November 25, 2014 by rjones726

[rjones726]

Before I begin assembling the frame, I need to cut the slot in the floor futtock for the keel and keelson.

First step is to make two cuts on the lines defining the width of the slot using my scroll saw. Then I made several more cuts in between being careful to stop at the line marking the depth of the slot.

 

 

Next I used a 1/4" chisel to remove all the waste wood in the slot.

 

 

Finally I used a small file to clean it up and fit it on the keel.

 

 

Hmmmm. It looks a lot better without the close-up lens. Looks like I need to work on the fit a bit more.

I'm welcome to any and all critique and suggestions any of you might be willing to share. 

 

v/r, 

Rob

[Canute]

Rob,

the file appears to be rounding your inside corners. Use your chisel and or #11 blade to carefully "sweeten up" those corners.

Nice work on the frames.

[rjones726]

Well I've had a bit of a setback. I began laying out the pieces to assemble a frame and the pieces weren't lining up right. I checked the scale on the frame component sheet and found it was not 1:48 scale, more like 1:50. I gathered all the frame assembly sheets and frame component sheets and found some of each. I remember printing some of the files at home and some at work. The ones I did at home were the correct scale. Good thing I was sitting down when I figured it out. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't angry but I'm going to chalk it up to experience and move on. I reprinted all the sheets using my home printer and checked that they are correct. I'm in the process of cutting out all the frame patterns. Once that is done I'll try to reuse any of the undersize pieces with the correct sized pattern and redo the rest. I've only got $20.00 in the wood so the only real loss is my time. And even that wasn't wasted because I know this next set will be better.

This scratch building sure is an adventure !

 

v/r,

Rob

Edited November 26, 2014 by rjones726

[Matrim]

It is very rare you get any work that can submit to a close up lens. If it does not wobble then it will be fine also if it is an interior frame then it won't even be visible. Might be an idea to leave the two exterior frames until the end so you can practice your technique as if you can get those almost exact then people will assume the rest of the frames are equally solidly built.

[rjones726]

Thanks Ken for taking a look and for your advice. A chisel or #11 blade will definitely give me a sharper corner than a file.

 

Matrim thanks for your observation as well. I think I'll start working on the "inner" frames and by the time I get to the "outer" frames that will be more visible they should look better.

 

v/r,

Rob