Prins Willem 1650 by Michiel - 1:50 - POB Zeeland ship from own plans

[flying_dutchman2]

the closest to historically correct is currently the work by Ab Hoving, reconstructing the Pinas described in Witsens book:

 

http://nautarch.tamu.edu/shiplab/AbHoving.htm

 

 

I know about this book from Witsen.  There is a lot Hoving has written about Dutch ship building.  Whenever I am in Amsterdam visiting my mother I scour the antique book stores for Dutch shipbuilding books.  As long as they are not to expensive.

Marc

[Michiel]

Hi guys.

 

At the front I replace the last pieces of plywood frames by the final ones. 50 pieces of bend wallnut

I also made some first deck beams

 

the view from the outside:

 

 

and the figure at its location

 

all treenailed as well.. close to 300

 

have fun,

Michiel

[mtaylor]

Looking at your planking, cutting gunports would scare the heck out of me.   Lovely work all around.

[Michiel]

thanks Mark,

 

You know in this period in The Netherlands they actually made the timber and planking first and than chopped the gun ports out...

 

at the upper deck level the ports are round on this ship, haven a decoration around them like this one:

 

 

Best,

Michiel

Edited November 29, 2013 by Michiel

[mtaylor]

They did it same way in many other countries also.   Still, I left openings for mine to get a saw or file into and it is scaring me at times.  To have a solid wall of wood to cut ports is amazing.  I'm still following you and loving your build, even though I may not say much.

 

Many other had round also, some just had the wreaths, others seem to have what you show.

[Michiel]

my most scaring job until now was drilling the holes for the treenails on the places where just behind the planking the wiring for the lights was running.. 

[Michiel]

Some weeks ago I started working on the guns for the main deck. Here's short impression of the progress and methods.

 

 

 

 

 

As for the wheels, I have been trying for a while to find a satisfactory way to have them both round, centered, and 'ringed'. Here's what I came up with after some experimenting:

 

I guess the images speak for themselves, If not please feel free to ask any question.

 

They are made of pear, 3mm axis, 6mm ring, 8mm total diameter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Best,

Michiel

[Michiel]

In the meanwhile most cariages have been put together and all wheels are turned:

 

 

here's one with some tests of fittings seen through a gun port standing on the main hatch:

 

 

and the view in front of the gunport:

 

 

Best,

Michiel

Edited February 4, 2014 by Michiel

[Mirabell61]

Michiel

your build is a delight to follow, I had an eye on the "Prins Willem" plan before I decided to go for the Pegasus.

Neat and tidy build, as well as splendid Quality, and handcraftship, shall follow this one further on

 

Nils

[Michiel]

Hi guys,

 

I've been a bit bussy with other thing lately, and wenn I was building it was mainly replicating stuff on starboard that were already done on port, damm symmetry

 

Anyhow, I took some leave from that and made some details. For the interior:

 

a doorway from the cabin to the side.

 

 

 

(for the reference the planking is 5mm wide)

 

 

And some more lanterns for the gun deck:

 

Best,

Michiel

Edited March 24, 2014 by Michiel

[mij]

Hi Michiel

 

Very nice carving.

She`s looking great.

 

 mij

[michael mott]

Beautiful woodwork, the wood you cut looks like European Boxwood nice re sawing.

 

Michael

[Vivian Galad]

Nicely done. Furniture, details and lamps. I´ll surelly follow!

[Michiel]

thanks for the nice words,

 

@ michael, yes its some for of box wood. I got it from a college builder in the Netherlands… , not the high quality I bought once in a wood shop in Arnhem, there is some deviations in the colors but it really machines superb. Clearly if the was a creator of the universe he was not into model ship building else there would be only one type of three's   

 

Best,

Michiel

[WBlakeny]

Hey Michiel,  I've just finished reading your build log,  she's becoming a real beauty. 

 

Those old dutch ships, they surely have a certain charm about them .

 

I like your workshop, wish i had a space like yours to create a similar shipyard.

[Michiel]

And some more detials for the gun deck

 

A bilge pump:

 

 

 

and the last four lanterns:

 

 

Best,

Michiel

Edited April 29, 2014 by Michiel

[Michiel]

Hi guys (m/f) ;-)

 

thanks for all the likes

 

In the meanwhile I also finished the gun port lids on starboard:

 

 

 

 

Since the top and bottom of the ports are, closes to, parallel to the deck but the sides orthogonal to the water line they are all slightly different....

 

As you can see on this picture as well I'm also in the process of putting the bolds in.

they will all take 14 pieces of fittings, I'm about half way making those. Mainly the hinges is taking some serious time.

 

Have fun,

Michiel

[Michiel]

And two more, the 'main' bilge pumps:

 

 

Best,

Michiel

[Michiel]

Last weekend I made some more progress on the guns for the main dek:

 

Fabrication of the axes:

 

A final sanding and painting of the rolpaarden:

 

Mounting the axes and a first dry fit:

they seem to line up at the correct hight, I've seen the go wrong in a lot of first scratch builds...

 

Now there is still a whole bunch of fittings to be made. And casting the barrels.

 

Have fun,

Michiel

[Michiel]

I decided, mainly based on the excellent examples I've seen here to cast the gun barrels from Tin using silicon moulds.

 

with this I also decided that I should than also add all the details. This brings me to the dolphin shaped handles on top. Some barrels have them some don't. The books on the seven provincien all feature them. However all the barrels I know from my birth town Vlissingen, like these:

 

 

 

 

don't but than again:

 

 

 

these does 

 

 

to make it more complicated the drawings from the Adelaar wreck:

 

 

show them only on the 6 pounder...

 

So I'm trying to decide wether the barrels that have been present on the Prins Willem would have had them and other decoration, or if they would have been as smooth as some of the barrels above. 

 

If any of you has some deep insights please enlighten me….

 

Best,

Michiel

 

(ps the original PW model did not have guns, at least they did not survive…. )

[mtaylor]

Michiel,

 

As I understand it, generally only bronze guns have the "handles".  But I haven't a clue as to why only them.

[Michiel]

thanks Mark,

 

that makes sense, at least I don't know any exceptions to that rule… 

 

could it be a casting issue? maybe casting iron does not, at least with the 17th century technology, allow for too much detail?

 

Michiel

[Doreltomin]

Michiel,

 

There is no "safe rule" regarding guns as they come in very different sizes and makes and it was common practice to re-use guns, but insofar I know there is an "older' fashion of about 1600-1720 where they have cast handles and a "newer" fashion after 1720 when they don't have handles anymore. Actually these handles are somehow superfluous: if they are too thin they can broke if the piece is lifted from them. If they are too thick they add to the weight of the piece; anyway, the piece can be lifted with the rope twisted from under it. Also in the meantime they have gained experience and knew how to cast large iron pieces so it is more likely that the "new style" iron pieces don't have handles while the "older" pieces in bronze have them. As a rule of thumb it would be that smaller, older pieces like stone throwers were cast in bronze and had handles. Bigger pieces were cast in iron and hadn't.  It is actually very confusing as there were surely new ships of around, say, 1750 which may have carried older cast pieces, these generally being the guns of smaller caliber.

 

Hope this helps!

[Michiel]

thanks, it surely does

I think I can at least find out wether the guns on the PW were bronze or iron… her being mid 17th century I think that well enable me to make a decision.

 

Best,

Michiel

[amateur]

Copied from the 'monumentenarchief'

Beschrijving Standbeeld van Michiel de Ruyter met twee bronzen scheepskanonnen

Standbeeld van Michiel Adriaanszoon de Ruyter. (1841) door L. Royer. Hierbij opgesteld twee bronzen scheepskanonnen, gegoten respectievelijk 1617 en 1622.                
 

(which states that the guns next to Statue of De Ruyter are original ones, cast in 1617 and 1622, cast in bronze)

 

The others are dating back to the French time I guess. (at least, they look very much like the French guns in fortresses of Den Helder and Texel. (shorter guns, thicker walls, and no decorations at all.)

 

Jan

Edited May 15, 2014 by amateur

[Michiel]

the other ones are most likely not ship guns indeed, they're  40-42 pounders… 

Edited May 15, 2014 by Michiel

[popeye2sea]

I think there is some influence there from the general styles in art and architecture of the period.  The older pieces being more highly decorated.

[Michiel]

Thanks for the contribution guys,

 

at least now the question is reduced to wether the pw had bronze or iron guns, not clear at the moment.

 

for now I'll assume bronze.

 

here's my first attempt at carving them:

 

 

 

 

I assume that by leaving the opening closed by a thin wall, so that the silicone will not completely encircle the handles I will actually be able to cast them...

 

If someone as has a reason to beleave other wise please let me know ;-)

 

Best,

Michiel

[Michiel]

Yet another bit of carving..

 

(that's a half a mm tip pencil on the back and a 1 euro cent piece)

 

 

this is the decoration for one of the arched ports at the back.

 

she has so many decorative work, that I just keep making pieces as I go along, in order to mix the jobs a bit

 

Best,

Michiel

Edited May 26, 2014 by Michiel

[Michiel]

Hi guys, 

 

Here's a new carving sub project I started. For the fun of it I keep track of the process here's the first set of pictures:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More later,

 

Best,

Michiel

Edited June 17, 2014 by Michiel