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[Mark T]

Sorry I should’ve said - I don’t use a jig- I just very roughly mark the pattern out with a pencil and then go for it with a drill. I see many ships that are utterly perfect but I prefer the somewhat rough look. When they were originally built I would imagine that perfect nailing patterns were very far from the ship wrights mind.

[Mark T]

Hi All


Sorry for the delay in updates but time is not my friend at present - I think I need to retire  - well in 9 years anyway 


So Carrying on - I fitted two more strakes of planking on the bulwarks which entailed piercing the holes for the hawse holes and scuppers to the outside of the vessel.  This is easy you just need to take you time to stop the wood from splitting.

















Next was to make and fit the deck clamps for the small aft and forward decks.  Loads of clamps as I didn't want them to move which in turn will later affect the deck beams.





So then I had to make and fit the planks between what was already fitted and the deck clamps.  This is not hard if you measure the gaps correctly and then plan the planking accordingly.  I would imagine its a nightmare without doing this.  The clamps are slightly thicker than then planking so a simple taper if required to make them flush.  I've attached a picture below which explains this better.

















Not too bad but I have made one mistake - I cut the bulwark planks a bit too short to allow for the scroll which comes down to the gunwale.











No big deal its just something that I will have to sort out later.


Cheers all - Mark 

[Capt Podge]

Hiya Mark, your explanation of what went wrong, coupled with the photos makes perfect sense to me.
Your ability to put it right is certain to achieve a positive outcome.


Cheers,
Ray.

[Mark T]

Hiya Mark, your explanation of what went wrong, coupled with the photos makes perfect sense to me.
Your ability to put it right is certain to achieve a positive outcome.


Cheers,
Ray.

Hi Ray - As always mate great to hear from you.  I'll get it sorted one way or another :)


So moving forward I've focused on the bow of the ship.  I needed to make the bowsprit partners (the bits that hold the bowsprit in place) and the manger (a lead lined section of the ship which removes the water brought up when bringing the anchors up).


So due to restrictions in space the first thing I had to do was to make the metal liners for the manger scuppers (the bit that gets the water out of the ship).  I used pewter rather than lead as lead has a detrimental effect on models in the long term.  The angle of the scuppers is tricky so first off I made a 4mm tube of pewter that fitted into the scupper holes.





Next was to make a jig to cut the tube to the desired angle





The top required rolling over to stop it falling out of the hole





And then a trial fit into the hull





Next was onto the bowsprit partners - they are easy to make and difficult to fit.  The partners must line up with 3 things - the bowsprit itself, the beams above (not yet made but their overall height it paramount and they must also be perpendicular to the keel - phew!!!

















Then onto the manger - I have at last decided not to plank the main deck so that the inside can be seen.  I did though need to plank the base of the manger








And then it was just pretty much line the manger with the pewter.  I used cyano which I very much regret as it dries to fast and I now have lumps under the metal.  Having said that I do like the way the scuppers sit right in the corner of the manger just where they should be.

















So the next job is to make the final 2 breast hooks on the bow


Thanks Mark :)

[Mark T]

Hi All


Some more done - the final 2 breast hooks for the hawse timbers.  The upper one is made of 3 pieces and the lower is much more straight forward.





The lower after shaping and also cutting a recess for the bowsprit.





And after fitting onto the ship








The upper breast hook was a completely different animal to make.  It has a gentle curve as the forward deck planks sit directly onto it.  It also has to be parallel in thickness as it sits onto the clamp and is also recessed into it.  It also has to align with the bowsprit - pretty easy then 


So first up was to shape the outside perimeter and then cut the inside curve.  I did this by using an angle plate on the spindle sander.











Next I made a jig to match the curve just cut which allowed me to cut the outer curve and keep the whole thing parallel








I then had to cut the recess for the clamp and also the recess for the bowsprit











It all kinda makes sense when you see it installed on the ship








The view through the bowsprit hole which just needs a little fettling to its final diameter





And finally one of my favourite pictures of the build so far - I just needs a little tidying up





So the next steps are to finish the forward deck beams and everything else that goes below them.  These include a small office, the ships stove and a few other parts.


Cheers all - Mark

[dougal99]

Lovely work. I envy your attention to detail, skill and patience. I was in the back of the queue for the patience ration 

[Mark T]

Hi Dougal99 and thanks  - would you believe that it was my uncle Ray who suggested that I build a model boat to control my lack of patience many years ago.  He was right and I've not looked back since 

[Footski]

Mark,
Your knowledge and skill never ceases to amaze me. I hope the bowsprit fits after all that work....

[Mark T]

Mark,
Your knowledge and skill never ceases to amaze me. I hope the bowsprit fits after all that work....

Thanks mate - I reckon it’ll fit with some fettling. My biggest problem is making the bowsprit as I don’t have a lathe. I’m going to see if I can bash one up on the mill somehow

[dougal99]

Maybe not your style, but I created tapered spars on a sailing ship by holding sandpaper to a dowel rotating in an electric drill. I found the maximum length I could get away with was about 10 inches. Beyond that the flexing motio  istoo strong.
HTH

[JimG]

While its a lot more work aking it the same way as the full size one will work. You will probably need to make some planing jigs to get the right taper. Start with a square cross section then plane off the corners to get 8 sides. If you have a fine enough plane then plane down the corners again and finish with sandpaper or go straight to sandpaper.
Jim

[Mark T]

Hi both and thanks for the ideas. I will start experimenting very soon 

[Mark T]

Hi All


Change of plan -  I realised that I had to plank the outside first as putting in anymore beams would cause issues with clamping the planks.


So I had to make the moulded planks  - first up was to make a scraper out of an old blade using my mill





Before scraping I removed the deepest part of the wood on the table saw to make the process a little easier





I then got on with the scraping which was a new experience for me.  It's actually quite simple once you get into it.





Before cutting to the final thickness I just needed to check the profile against the drawings









And now I have the final product which needs to be attached to the hull





I just have to decide whether to make the scarf joints between the planks or take the practical option of butt joints - I'm a bit unsure what to do at the moment.





I'm very pleased with the way these parts have turned out and I'll keep you up to date as to which way I'll go with the joints


Cheers Mark

[Mark T]

Hi All


Well I bottled it     I just couldn't see how to make the scarf joints in the moulded rail and keep it still looking good.  So I opted for simple butt joints instead.  First off I marked out the run of the rail using automotive lining tape.








The I got on with fitting it into position.  It took quite a lot of heat to get a tight fit around the bow.  At its widest point this rail is 3.5mm thick.











I wanted to get as tight a fit into the rabbet as I could and its turned out ok








So next I need to make the planking between the rail and the whale and get it all nailed up


Cheers Mark 

[Footski]

Wonderful Mark, simply wonderful. Oh how I wish I had half your skill.

[Mark T]

Hi Footski - I must be honest that at this stage in the build it just sometimes seems like a test of accuracy. All past errors come back and haunt you and boy does it ever.


I have no idea how some builders make these beautiful 4 deck ships of the line bristling with canon. How they get the ships so accurate is simply incredible.


I wish that I had the knowledge I have now when I started and thanks for the really nice comment 👍👍

[Mark T]

Hi Everyone and a very happy new year to you all 


I've now planked the gap between the whale and the moulded rail - you can never have too many clamps  .  I also pierced the holes for the scuppers and hawses.








Next I had to mark out and cut the scuppers for the deck.  These will need carving completely through but not just yet as that really is going to be a tricky job.  I also marked out the nailing positions.








I've only nailed one side so far as I must be honest it's not my favourite job.








I have also had a go at making the bowsprit. It's 14.5mm on diameter and I did not have any timber this size so I had to glue 2 pieces together.





Now I don't have a lathe so I put this into my rotary table to rough out the shape.  It actually worked really well and came up nicely after a quick sand down.








Then I cut the locating square into the end of it.  I simply used a saw and files for this job.  The bowsprit is only a stub as I never intended to have full size masts as I'm not into rigging at all.





It fits quite nicely as it travels through the breast hooks and into the bowsprit partners.














So my next jobs are to finish the nailing on the starboard side and then cut through with the scuppers.  They also need to be lined with pewter.


Cheers Mark

[SailorGreg]

I wish that I had the knowledge I have now when I started ....

Well, the next one should be a piece of cake then!      


Marvellous work as always Mark, a continuing pleasure to follow along.

Greg

[Footski]

Workmanship of the highest quality as usual...

[Mark T]

Hi Greg and Footski


Thanks for the nice comments lads 


If only it did get easier     I've started cutting and lining the scuppers.  My goodness what have I started - pictures to follow soon


Mark

[Capt Podge]

Hi there Mark - Happy New Year to you and yours mate.


Once again I've had to backtrack in order to catch up with your build - roughly mid October


Very pleased to see what you've been achieving and it all looks superb.


Looking forward to seeing how you tackle those scuppers!


Regards,


Ray.

[radiojoe]

Hi Mark Like Ray I've just been catching up on your build.. ! I'm speechless mate, all I can say is any model you build after this one you will find so easy 


Joe.

[Mark T]

Ray - Joe great to hear from you both and I hope that you had a great Xmas     Its coming along but still a very long way to go.


The scuppers - all I can say is that you need to be brave cutting the holes out through the hull.  Its So easy to mess up what you have already built








I made some pewter tubes - easy to make and very difficult to actually fit





Roughed them out to size to save too much sanding





And then glued them all in ( using epoxy resin





Next was to make the inside and outside plates that are different sizes and fit them too.

















And I still haven't nailed the starboard side as I keep on putting it off but that will be my next job 


Thanks for the nice comments - Mark

[Mark T]

Hi Everyone


I've now completed (at last) the nailing and scuppers on the starboard side of the ship.  So my next parts to make are the hawse cushioning timbers.  These pretty much reinforce the hawse holes against wear and tear.  The part I need to make is "H" below and the most obvious way would be to make it out of 3 laminated pieces.  I've decided though to try and make it as 1 piece as per the drawings.





So firstly I drilled a small 1mm x 1mm hole in pieces of wood that marked out the centre of the radiuses.





I then found the centre of the rotary table and placed a 1mm location pin in this spot.





This gave me the correct location for each radius and all I had to do then was set the radius on the X axis of the mill.  I would like to say that I got this right first time but I would be lying     So after a few small adjustments I took a cut.





The nice thing is the mill needs no more adjustments I simply move the work piece along to the next hole and cut again.


Here's my first prototype that actually looks about right.





So sometime this week I'll try and make the actually parts for the ship.  So far so good - the reason I need to get these right is because this a prominent part on the finished ship..


Cheers Mark

[Footski]

The techniques you adopt are inspirational...