US Brig Oneida 1809 by rlb - The Lumberyard - 1:48 scale - POF - Lake Ontario Warship

[Elmer Cornish]

thnx ron  ! I have followed your build. I only hope, I can be as accurate .

[Martin W]

Hi Ron -- First off, thanks for the link to your build log.  And second, about those deadeyes -- WOW!  I had wondered how they might be done, and I'd even tried cutting some out (UGLY), and hadn't thought of a jig like that. 

 

And third, this is a good looking build you're putting together. Lots of interesting detail.  I'll be looking ahead to seeing you progress.

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

[rlb]

Thanks, Martin.  Glad to be helpful!

 

Today the shipwrights working on Oneida are doing a lot of standing around, marveling at the other ships taking shape in the MSW shipyard.  (They do this all the time--it's sometimes impossible to get them to snap out of it and do some work!)

 

Ron

[Elmer Cornish]

hello ron! I ordered my Oneida, I love your build , I feel like I have great guideline's from ya. I will reverence your material.to guide me thru it.this will be my first pof build.you got any updates for your log!!! im hungry for more

[Trussben]

Nice work on those pin rails Ron, good idea adding some structural strength.

 

Ben

[rlb]

Thank you, Ben.

 

Elmer, I hope you enjoy building the Oneida.  Every version I have seen is different, and it is very interesting to see everyone's interpretation.

 

I am currently working on making the first section of the main mast, and I'll post some progress pictures soon.  I could be making the capstan, or the bowsprit seat, or any number of other things, but for some reason I want to make that first section of the mast.  I don't know why.

 

Ron

[hamilton]

She looks beautiful! Will you be leading us through the crafting of the pins? I can't imagine making 80 of these!

hamilton

[rlb]

Thanks, hamilton.  I will show the making of the brass belaying pins at some point.   I have "turned" the top portion of about 10, and have one prototype completed.  I'm not sure it's going to work, but I have hopes.

 

Ron

[rlb]

I've worked on the mast and the capstan.

 

 

First the mast--

 

 

On the left is a piece of maple that I started to round, got about 3/4 of the way there, and decided I didn't like the maple.

 

Next to that is a piece of Swiss Pear that I cut with a jewelers saw, horrendously.   I wavered far off my cut line, and this piece is too narrow in the middle to make the fore or main mast.  I think I can use it for the bowsprit.

 

Next to the right is another try at cutting a straight(er) piece of wood.  This one will work.  Farthest on the right is the billet of wood I am cutting these from.   I know this is insane, and I should just order squared wood that is close to the size I need.  I didn't want to wait, (or spend more money) but after doing this once, I will order some square wood for the rest of the masts and spars!

 

Here is the sanding down of the piece, underway-

 

 

 

Underhill says to taper the square to the right widths, before chamfering and making the mast round, so that's what I did.

 

 

Here's the mast mostly tapered square.   There's still some fat at the middle section.  There are some measuring points marked.   As I sanded a side, these would get erased, and I'd redraw them before moving on to another side--

 

 

 

The illustrations and directions I have seen for mast making are for larger, "made" masts with the cheeks, front fish and iron  (or rope) bands.  This will be a simple, single piece, and I'm not sure how to work the bibs into the mast and taper.  This may be a throwaway trial run if it's not satisfactory.   But at least I will be able to use it to set the chainplate angles when I get to those. 

 

Here's the mast mostly tapered and shaped--

 

 

 

Next was making the bibs.  I glued two pieces together, made a rough cut with the jewelers saw, and then further shaped them with files while they were glued together--

 

 

 

Here they are separated--

 

 

 

I glued them to the mast, and filed and sanded them some more-- 

 

 

 

You can also see some work on the capstan pieces in that picture, but I better back up just a little.

 

As with the bibs, I cut blanks for the capstan whelps--

 

 

 

And glued them into a block--

 

 

 

The block was sawed, filed and sanded to get the right profile.  I also made an octagonal center post.  This will extend down to the lower deck--

 

 

 

I glued a brass pivot point into the bottom of the post, and separated the whelp pieces.  The piece with the hole will sit on the upper deck with the capstan--

 

 

 

My capstan is supposed to be similar to the one on the Institute of Nautical Archeology (INA) model of the US Brig Jefferson.  That capstan has a different profile to the whelps than I usually see, and seems a little narrower overall, also.   I don't know if mine is going to end up as nice as that one!

 

 

Ron

Edited November 18, 2013 by rlb

[rlb]

Continuing with the capstan-

 

As I looked again at various capstans to glean some details I was still fuzzy on, there seemed to be more space between the whelps than I was coming up with, and it dawned on me that what I wanted to make had only six whelps instead of eight.   The eight capstan bars that I saw on models, I mistakenly took to correspond to eight whelps as well.   Not so in this case.

 

Upon learning this, my octagonal post was not going to do me any good and I sanded it round.  I glued two opposing whelps to it, and test fit this on the deck--

 

 

 

The height seemed about right, and I glued the remaining whelps on by eye, trying to make sure they were perpendicular to the shaft, equally spaced, and all at the same height--

 

 

 

 

Next I made the chocks.  Two sets would be needed, and I used the same technique as for the whelps: cut out blanks, glue them into a block, and sand them to the desired shape--

 

 

 

Here I have sanded one chock block and am test fitting it--

 

 

 

Here are my two chock blocks--

 

 

 

These were separated in hot water, and glued into place--

 

 

 

They need to be filed down to the same profile as the whelps--

 

 

 

 

I then tried this out on the deck again, and pondered exactly how to make the capstan head--

 

 

 

Incidentally, you see the mast I had made, on the deck.  It will be a do-over.   I found some better information on mast tapering (from my old friend Charles G. Davis, no surprise), learned I had made a mistake ( a couple, actually).    Oh, well.  This one will do fine for helping me make the mast partners and locate the right chain plate angles.

 

 

I started the capstan head by drawing the location of the eight capstan bars on a piece of paper--

 

 

 

Then I did some measuring, marking and sketched out the shape of a "capstan bar chock" that would be sandwiched between two discs, and create the square capstan bar hole--

 

 

 

Once again, the chock block technique was employed to create eight uniform chocks--

 

 

 

These were separated and tested out on the drawing--

 

 

 

I cut some "stand in" capstan bars out of stock exactly the same thickness as the chocks, so I would end up with square holes.  These were glued onto the paper, centered on the lines I had drawn--

 

 

 

Then I glued the spacer chocks onto the paper, between the stand-in capstan bars--

 

 

 

It didn't matter that the spacer chocks extended unevenly beyond the outline of the capstan head, the excess would be sanded away.  The bars were removed--

 

 

 

Then the top disc of the head was glued to the spacers--

 

 

 

 

When the glue set, the assembly was removed from the paper--

 

 

 

 

The bottom disc was glued on, and extending bits of chock were sanded away--

 

 

 

Here it is partway through the sanding--

 

 

 

When it was smooth and as round as I could make it (it rolled across the table pretty well), I glued it to the whelp assembly--

 

 

 

And tried it out on the deck--

 

 

 

 

I will make the pawl mechanism and attach that to the deck, then it's done.

 

 

Ron

Edited November 23, 2013 by rlb

[Jim Lad]

Excellent explanation of your methods, Ron.  Thank you!

 

John

[j21896]

Nicely done Ron!

 

Robert

[russ]

Very nice workmanship.

 

Russ

[Elia]

Ron,

 

Nice work of the capstan, and on shaping that lower mast too!

 

Cheers,

 

Elia

[mtaylor]

Nice capstan work, Ron.  

[rlb]

Thanks, guys.  I'm pleased with the capstan.

 

I'll be continuing on with the deck furniture next. 

 

Ron

[Elmer Cornish]

well done ron ! well done !. beautiful work on the capstan. im looking forward to the masting of your Oneida. I saw what ya mean about other interputations off the Oneida. gives me a lot to ponder about...  how long did it take for the lumberyard to ship your kit.im getting antsie

everytime I check the status it says. in progress!!!!  there killin  me

[rlb]

Thanks, Elmer.

 

Don't hold your breath on the shipping time.   It took a few months to get mine--yours may be faster, but maybe not.  I think Dave at the lumberyard has to send the wood to a third party to get it laser cut, and I'm guessing he doesn't keep a stockpile of kits, ready to go.   It's probably not a high volume item, and each one may be prepared as the order comes in, especially if you want the more expensive woods.

 

Ron   

[Martin W]

Very nice capstan, Ron.  Your photos show the successive steps clearly, and your narrative gives a good explanation of what's involved.  As for your mast --- well, I think we all throw at least some into the scrap wood bin. 

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

[Elmer Cornish]

thnx Ron will make it my xmas ship, thnx for the input donfarr . i will study the practicum,, Ron that tea you use for blackening pear ,, how did ya come up with that ?

[michael mott]

Hello Ron, I have just been over the last 5 pages of your build. fine work indeed . I have a question, what is the problem with the mast that you have made? you photo journal of making the capstan has given me some ideas so thanks for that.

 

Michael

[rlb]

Thanks, Martin.  Yes, I try to keep from overloading the scrap wood bin, but you know how it is...

 

Elmer, the blackening "tea" is a recipe I came across some time ago.  You can learn more about it here:

 

http://www.popularwoodworking.com/techniques/ebonizing_wood

 

I think it gives a really rich deep black to wood that's better than paint, plus it's fun to do!  There are other "easier" dyes available also.  There's a forum topic going on right now about "ebonizing wood", in fact.

 

Michael, the mast problem is that it is tapered too much at the lower portion of the hounds (at that point mine measures .285 inch, it should be somewhere around .31 inch--and that's enough to see)    This was the result of two errors: 1) I by accident used the taper ratios given in James Lees' book for pre 1800 ships (mine is 1809) and compounding this (2) I took my measurement at the base of the hounds, instead of at the top of them, where I now believe it should be measured. 

 

As I was doing the tapering, it looked to my eye like too much, and when I went back to the references I have at hand (James Lees' Masting and Rigging, and Charles G. Davis', The Built-up Ship Model), I discovered my errors.   I continued on, attaching the bibs at the hounds, and thought about using the mast anyway (especially considering all the work--cutting it with the jewelers saw, all the hand sanding), but I just can't live with it. 

 

Ron

Edited November 20, 2013 by rlb

[Blue Ensign]

Nice work on the capstan Ron, you are making a fine job of Oneida  

 

B.E.

[themadchemist]

Hello Ron

More marvelous updates.

I remember your build being one of the first I read upon joining MSW and I have to say you made a huge impact on my building Philosphy. I love the way you create with the simplest of tools. Your work really shows its not about the fancy toys but rather the attitude of the builder.

 

As I pass my 1st anniversary as a builder, I just though I'd take the time to say thanks for restoring your build log post crash and the valuable lessons it has taught me about this fine art of relaxation called ship modeling.

 

Beautiful capstan and deadeyes, as always with anything you build.

[rlb]

Thanks for looking in, B.E.   When I get further into the masting and rigging, your Pegasus log is going to be of immense help!

 

Thanks, Keith.   I think you're right that attitude is the most important part.  Almost anything on the model can be made with hand tools, just look at those beautiful period model ships for proof.   That said, if I had more money and the space, I would probably have some of those "fancy toys".

 

Congrats on your ship building anniversary, glad you're still going strong.

 

Ron   

[shipmodel]

Hi Ron -

 

Just found and finished reading your log.  You are making great progress and I really like the way you constructed the capstan.   

 

I got interested in Oneida some years ago, and ultimately did a lot of historic research on the First Battle of Sackett's Harbor, which was the first naval battle, and may have been the first of any battles in the War of 1812.  Quite a significant little scrap, which kept the British/Canadians from taking control of the Great Lakes.  Oneida's gallant captain, Commander Melancthon Woolsey, is a true unsung hero. 

 

I also built a 1/96 scale model of her per Chapelle's plans.  It has the raised deck and pivot gun, later removed by Woolsey.  After I found that piece of information construction was halted, and other projects have prevented completion of the masting and rigging.  Here are a few photos for comparison, if they are of any help to you.

 

Be well

 

Dan

 

[rlb]

Hi Dan,

 

That is a great model, and I would love to see you finish it!    At the very least please put your photos (and more if you have them) in the gallery section of MSW!

 

There are others here who are building Oneida, thought they don't have logs going--I'm sure they would love seeing more photos of your model.

 

Can't believe it's only half the size of mine--you've got just as much detail.  I like what you did with the aft deck area.

 

Regards,

Ron

[Trussben]

Hey Ron,

 

Really enjoyed your how to make a capstan dialog and photos, always helpful to see how somebody else thinks and goes about doing something like that.

 

Ben

[src]

Ron, 

Really like your capstan. You are making me think I will need to change the kit supplied on my build with a scratched  one. your photos will come in handy.

Sam

[Pygothian]

Beautiful build Ron, and an amazing log. I'm looking forward to following your progress and learning along the way!

 

Cheers