USS Constitution by Jeff - Model Shipways - Scale 1:76

[JeffT]

Thanks Bob! I used Golden Oak stain on the deck.

[Modeler12]

Jeff, may I make two suggestions. When you start using the tiny blocks from Floyd, you will find that the holes are very small. I ended up drilling them a bit larger with a #70 drill (.020 "). I used a line that was about .015" diameter (I believe). Also the grooves for the strops are shallow and have a sharp transition at the ends. I used a triangular file to deepen them. 

 

You and Harvey were talking about carving the bow decorations. I have not done those either yet, but I believe Geoff Matson has. I wonder if he cares to comment. 
Then there is the fellow who used Corian, a hard plastic material from DuPont that is used for kitchen counter tops. Have a look what incredible things this guy has done with that stuff. http://mysite.verizon.net/ELLshipmodeler/corian.htm

 

I have a piece of Corian and will give it a try one of these days.

[JeffT]

Thanks Jay. I kind of had a feeling I would need a smaller diameter line with the smaller blocks, so you just confirmed my suspicions. Which size blocks did you use for the carronade rigging?

 

That corian looks really nice. I wonder how hard it is to shape it.

[Modeler12]

I used 2.5 mm single and double blocks. They translate or convert to about 3/32 inch or 7.5 inches actual size. Like I said, I used rope that was .015 inch diameter which comes to a little over an inch actual. That to me looked reasonable. 

I used those same sizes on the truss tackles I just put on and I think you saw that.

 

What I am finding is that the more I work with those little rascals, the more confident I get. Making hooks, stropping and whipping a line around them was hard the first time, but now it is a bit easier.

[StebbinsTim]

Jeff,

 

Beautiful work. Thanks for sharing your progress. I look forward to seeing the masting and rigging portion of your log.

[JeffT]

Thanks Tim!

[Modeler12]

Jeff if I may offer a word of caution as you go along with the gun tackles and other deck furnishings. Be careful of those black holes. I am talking about the open hatches and mast holes in the deck. 

Just yesterday I added more ballast to my Conny when I dropped a tiny block and stropped hook into the foremast opening. No way can I get to it, so I made another one. I also happened to pull out an eyebolt when the darn hook slipped and disappeared.

You might consider putting a piece of tape across the holes.

[jml1083]

Jay,

 

So what you are saying is you are stashing spare parts below so that crew has them in the future, right?

[JeffT]

Thanks for that advice Jay. I've had to fish a few things out of the hull already so tape is a good idea.

[Modeler12]

Jay,

 

So what you are saying is you are stashing spare parts below so that crew has them in the future, right?

You got that right Jim. There is also some food down there. Breadcrumbs falling out of my mouth as I slaved over open pits.

[JeffT]

Here is another quick update. I finished the skylight and started working on the gunports. I have decided to model the majority of the gunports closed since I think that if you've seen one, you've seen them all. There really isn't much to see anyway besides a barrel and a wooden block. They are also easy to knock off the hull. I will probably leave the last 2 or 3 on each side open. The upper half of each gunport has some rigging I'm assuming is used to open and close the port. The practicum suggest to use white wire and then paint it black. I chose to use black 34 gauge wire, therefore no painting is necessary.

 

The following pictures show the method used to build the skylight. It took me a couple of tries to get it right. For some reason the six-sided shape was difficult for me to wrap my mind around.

 

Using the pattern provided with the practicum, I cut out the first piece and then traced it to get the second piece.

 

 

I used a razor saw to cut a groove for the 6 sections on top. Then I shaped the top using a number 11 exacto.

 

 

 

I used styrene to add the raised detail to the edges of both the top and bottom piece.

 

 

Then I glued the two pieces together, painted, and added 4 pieces of wire on all sides of the top. The little round piece on the top was made from a piece of 1/8" dowel.

 

I glued the skylight to a piece of styrene cut from a sheet and painted green which was then glued to a square piece of construction paper. The whole thing was glued to the deck.

 

 

 

[JeffT]

The gunports.

 

The gunports are pretty simple. Its just a matter of gluing the two halves together and shaping them to fit each opening. Two holes are drilled in each top piece for the rigging. A curtain is glued over top of each gunport.

 

The wire I used for the rigging. Its just jewelry or hobby wire.

 

 

I used two pieces about an inch long.

 

 

Twisted one piece to the middle of the other and formed a triangle.

 

 

The two ends of the triangular piece are inserted into the holes on the upper lid and glued to the back to keep it in place. After that I glued the gunport to the port and attached a curtain above the port. The curtain has a hole in it for the rigging so a hole has to be drilled through the hull there to accept the rigging. I put a drop of glue on the wire before inserting it through the hole. Its a little tough to see the rigging in the photo.

 

 

 

[Modeler12]

Looks great Jeff!! You got the right idea about all those gunports. I kept all of mine open, but that is really not necessary. Keeping them open led to a lot of 'oops'.

 

The skylight came out very nice. It is very uniform. As you might have seen, I ended up also being confused with a six and eight sided shape. Yours are better than mine. Want to trade???

[JeffT]

Thanks! and yes Jay, I saw yours and also ended up with 8 sides the first time.The second time I ended up with a blob, and the third time I got it right. I think I'll keep mine though.

[patrickmil]

Jeff, the progress looks very nice. The gunports are usually closed on the ship anyway, so if you're modelling her in her current state, then this would be the most accurate. The skylight also looks good; very symmetrical. 

[Geoff Matson]

Great job on the skylight.

[JeffT]

Sooooo, moving on now. I have setup all the gun ports on each side except the last 3. Those 3 will be rigged open but that will be done later since I don't want to risk knocking the top part off the hull on a regular basis.

 

I also prepped all the deadeyes for the chainplates. The next step is to solder the deadeyes to the chain plates, gulp.   I've never soldered anything in my life so I have no idea what to do here. :mellow:

 

a couple shots of the ports.

 

 

 

 

a few deadeyes feeling like I do thinking about the soldering coming up

 

[Rustyj]

Very nice work Jeff. I too am a fan of the closed gunport lids. Glad to see you progressing so nicely.

[JeffT]

Thanks Rusty.

[capnharv2]

Looks good Jeff.

 

Here's an idea. try soldering something like brass hoops to get a feel for how the soldering iron interacts with the flux, brass and solder. If you run out of brass, it's pretty easy to get. This will also help you understand the cleanliness required for soldering.

 

One of the problems I had with the deadeyes is the heat from the soldering iron would scorch the deadeyes. I don't know of any way around it, but I do know too much heat too long on the joint will yield char-broiled deadeyes. Not very tasty, and not very appealing.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Thanks,

 

Harvey

[JeffT]

Thanks Harvey. I appreciate the tip. I need to practice first for sure. I don't even know what flux is.

[Capt.Bob]

Jeff,

Go over to Adrenaline Hobbies in Roy or Frequency RC in Layton (North side of the mall)and get some Stay-Brite silver solder.  It comes in a small tube with a bottle of flux and a roll of solder.  It's about 5% silver content, so it flows at a rather low temperature.  The higher the silver content, the higher the flow temperature and higher the strength.  The Stay-Brite is plenty strong enough for your application.

 

Harvey is right about cleanliness.  Very important.  I generally use MEK to clean the metal parts.  This removes all the grease & oil.

 

The trick on the dead eye hoops is to apply a drop of flux on the part, place a small bead of solder on the iron, and carefully touch the part with the bead of solder and remove the iron.  This will minimize the heat transfer.  A little practice is all it takes.

 

Good luck,

[Capt.Bob]

Hi Jeff,

 

Late at night and just finished watching an interesting segment on YouTube.  There is significant reference to the Connie.  Just thought folks might enjoy it.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flxJPl-qwIc

[JeffT]

Good video! Thanks! And also thanks for the help on soldering. I appreciate it.

[Geoff Matson]

Jeff

 

A few words about the deadeyes Make sure you us a third hand. It makes soldering that much easier.  I twisted the wire around the deadeye, fluxed the wire and then soldered it. That is what you see in the picture. Then I cut the wire to length put it in one clip and put the strap in the other clip, fluxed everything and soldered it together. Check the plans for the proper length of everything.

 

 

Also make sure your deadeyes have a little play in wire. That way when you go to rig them you can adjust them a little.  If you paint everything black make sure the deadeyes are lined up the way you want them. The paint will act as glue and freeze them in place.

Edited March 26, 2013 by Geoff Matson

[JeffT]

Thanks for the pic Geoff, that helps me build a better mental view. I think I won't paint my deadeyes since I like the natural color of the wood.

 

Another update. I have started working on some of the little details. I got the anchor stowage done and the sheaves. I really would have liked to do the sheaves a little earlier, like around the time I planked the bulwarks. Oh well, lesson learned, don't blindly follow along with the practicum. Its probably better to plan ahead.

 

I also started working on the little boats. These are built bread and butter style in layers and then carved to shape. Its the first time I've tried this so I was a little worried about getting the shape right. It turns out that if you just shave off the edges of layers that it kind of just falls in place. I did take a little too much off at the bottom of the stern on the pinnace. It was the only area I had trouble visualizing and the plans didn't help much. It will be easy to fix with a little filler though once i add the keel. I'll be applying a layer of filler over the whole thing anyway. I still need to carve out the insides, that will be a little more difficult.

 

forward anchor stowage

 

 

starboard mid stowage and door

 

 

boat layers glued together

 

 

here you can see the edges that need to be carved away

 

 

and after carving

 

 

 

 

[Modeler12]

Suggestion about soldering. I had trouble also with having the iron too hot and scorching the blocks or deadeyes. Since then I rigged up a 'dimmer' like you use on a house switch. I  took a 'blue box' and front plate, but wired the inside so it has an extension cord with plug to go to the house outlet, and another socket at the other connection for the soldering iron. If you need more details let me know.

After some experimenting, i found about the right setting on the dimmer to get the iron hot enough to do a good 'touch and let go' type of soldering for tiny parts.

 

Like Bob said, and I think we all know that pretty well, make sure the wire is clean (no plastic coatings to protect it), rub it with steelwool and use flux. Then practice, practice and some more. Just like anything else. Don't try to make the first one perfect, it won't happen.

[Geoff Matson]

Jeff Good call on the deadeyes.

 If I were to do it over I would have left them natural. Much easier to align them when you fo on the rigging part.

 

On your anchor storage area, make sure to test fit the anchor. I had to adjust the opening and it was not easy after I had already installed it.

 

Your boats are great. I really like building them, each one is a model in itself. The styrene worked great for me. I have finished the masts and bowsprit and am working on the aft and fore bumpkins and the studding boom storage area.

 

On the soldering. If you do it like the picture you will not scortch the deadeyes. Once soldered just twist them a little to tighten the deadeye. But make sure the deadeye has a little room to move to help alignment. Just practice on a few.

 

Happy modeling

Edited April 5, 2013 by Geoff Matson

[WackoWolf]

Jeff,

 

    Nice work your doing. Doing the carving might be a good idea but you never know until you try it. I say go for it and if it doesn't work out right you can always go to the way Bob did it. Wish you the best of luck no matter which way you go. Keep the pictures coming, I like this ship and love to see how people do theres.

[Geoff Matson]

Jeff

 

For doing the interrior I found these worked great. Just put them on the dremel tool and you move right along. I got mine at Menards, but any similar ones will work. Much easier then carving.

 

 

 

Edited April 5, 2013 by Geoff Matson