Robert Stuart
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Posts posted by Robert Stuart
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A quick update: I've been worried about making the mast.
This involves converting a square section shaped 'log' to a similarly shaped but round section mast.
The log started burnt a black-brown
Much of the char was removed
At which stage it was marked out using a 7-10-7 gauge, and a straight edge to connect the lines.
Diagram showing how the gauge was used for marking out. By making similar markings on all sides, we have guides for converting the square mast to an octagonal form.
Starting by reshaping with a file and some sand paper, first to an octagonal section then to this, round(ish), mast.
The foot of the mast remains octagonal.
I did succeed in breaking the tip, across that black hole on the right of the photo above - easily cured in this case.-
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Mmm, been a bit quiet here. I blame Christmas, dragging me away from the bench.
There has been some progress, and a few goodies.
Goodies first ...
Over the Christmas period, I acquired a plank bending tool and some better clamps.
I know Bertie has one of these, but I never realised how much easier it would be to bend planks with them.
About my only complaint is that there is no switch on the device, so it has to be unplugged or switched at the wall socket every time I take a break.
And clamps
Did I say clamps?
These are so much stronger and more controllable than the bulldog clips. Not sure that they'd work with floor planks, but, above that level, if the clamp is big enough, these are great.
The hull is planked!
The boat is on its intended display stand in these photos. There is some lettering that I hid when gluing the stand ... maybe say more on that later.
The bow
I've ordered some wood filler to deal with some of the holes we see here.
And the stern
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Good to see you working on a boat
18 hours ago, Bertie McBoatface said:Three degrees are hard to mark out accurately with my equipment so I thought the important thing was to make sure that the main and mizzen are at least parallel and I aimed to do this by inserting a shim between my miniature carpenter's square and the masts.
I doubt that, in practice, masts ever kept their design angles for long ... if nothing else, ropes stretch over time.
18 hours ago, Bertie McBoatface said:Without some modification that would be very difficult to glue in place
Just read, elsewhere, a (somewhat heated) argument between people who advocate gluing masts, and those against ... think the non-gluers shouted the gluers down (seems non-glued masts are easier to replace and repair than glued).
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Sorry to hear about your cold, sounds as though you needed a short rest after the 24-hour blitz.
But, the results from your serving look great.
Have a happy and successful 2024. -
Have a very happy Christmas and New Year Bertie
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18 hours ago, Bertie McBoatface said:
There are five ship's boats (Groan!) but they look sensibly simplified.
This may be teaching you stuff you know already. If so, I apologise, sorry.
Those oars ... I found that similar oars need support while you work on them ... in my case one half of a wooden cloths peg (sans spring) made a good base, while holding the oar in place with my thumb.
Work them by hand, power tools may be too quick (don't ask how I know).-
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Looks like a beautiful and interesting kit, Bertie. Have fun building it, and ...
Have a happy Christmas-
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Kevin, that looks like a lovely build.
Wonder which Vanguard you'll get at Christmas?-
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Hull planking continues slowly.
We've moved to the top plank and the wale (is it a wale on a boat?)
Gluing, held in place buy clips.
And the bow
The bow, less clips
Going to have to fill that wale
And the stern, not yet glued.
I left this, because I wasn't sure how much wood would need trimming.
And that barrel, now has all its staves, and a cradle.
With a 5p for scale.-
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Planking has begun, with the two inner strakes glued to the hull
Inner planks, glued and setting.
Second plank, port side, glued and setting
And the starboard side
There is a lot of fettling to get these planks in position. The teeth on many of the frames need adjustment to accommodate the curve of the plank, and preceding planks must be chamfered to allow the next plank to lay on the frame.
As light relief, I've started making the boat's barrel. I presume this contained the crew's water supply, or, perhaps, some beer?
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Oh, there is a plank that rests on top of this, but that spans the whole side of the boat.
39 minutes ago, Bertie McBoatface said:The frame looks very fragile on the new jig. If those planks don't fit exactly, you won't be able to force them. I'm biting my nails here for you.
It is. The stem and stern posts are a press fit into the jig, and the keel rests on the supports ... there is no direct support for the frames.
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There has been some progress, less than I'd like, but some. My excuse is a heavy cold.
What has been done?
The rail at the top inside the frames has been added (is this the gun wale?). Adding that led to problems with some frame on the starboard side; they broke.
Those have been repaired, and the skeleton is now free of its jig.
The skeleton is very fragile at this stage.
The next stage will be planking, for which we have a stand.
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Oh!
I've been looking at this a lot in recent weeks - might even have compared Alert's sails to the KoP sails. -
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29 minutes ago, Bertie McBoatface said:For those reasons, ladies and gentlemen, I’m out.
Sorry to read that Bertie, but, given your stash, I hope other models that will be more enjoyable.-
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p.s. the small jigs for the canting frames proved as useless to me as to other builders I've been watching.
I wound up setting the cant frames in the skeleton jig, a fiddly job, but, at least they match their planned locations.
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On 28/11/2023 at 19:26, Bertie McBoatface said:
Which woodglue are you using?
Sorry, missed your question earlier.
Titebond original. I've come to like the cap, allowing me to sqeeze a little glue onto a plastic lid. It also debonds with heat and a little judicious pressure.
Weird thing about it; it blackens S&M scalpel blades-
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A small update, the skeleton jig (Escher drawing) is now filled with ribs:
Neither the ribs, nor the inner keel(?), are glued in yet. The object beside the ruler will become a small barrel.
I've been worrying about removing the boat from the jig after gluing the ribs, thinking I'd have to destroy the jig ... but most of that jig remains unglued too.-
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Looks line good detail on the KoP.
I wish you well on your decaffeinating regime; I had to stop drinking coffee about a year ago, though I still sneak a few cups of tea. Biggest issue is not drinking enough water.-
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Progress:
The main ribs are glued.
The skeleton jig has been assembled - mostly dry fitted, in case of problems.
And the keel has been assembled (still drying here).
A little later ...
The keel loose fitted to the skeleton jig. That is a tight fit, and the keel's glue is still a little new so not pushed home.
Next stage, ease the rib slots (probably in both the keel and the jig).-
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10 minutes ago, Bertie McBoatface said:
How did you manage to quote from my WIP into yours? I've never been able to make that work. Do tell!
Have the reply you actually want to post open in a tab.
In a new tab, go to the post you want to quote.
Highlight the text you want to quote.
Click quote (in the pop-up). This sets the quote in a reply in the original topic.
Click <ctrl><A> to select everything in the reply (or highlight it in the reply).
Click <ctrl><C> to copy the selected text to your clipboard.
Go back to your real post.
Click <ctrl><V> to paste from clipboard.
Finish saying what you wanted to say, and submit.
Go back to the source post, and delete your (unsubmitted) post there.
---
There are variations on this approach, but that will get you started.-
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OT: Talking of Dutch ship building, this weekend Karoum Batchvarov released an interesting video about their techniques
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Thank-you Peter
I apologise for the length of this answer, I can summarise by: Thank-you, no, no, not really, no, unlikely.
9 hours ago, Peter2 said:Are there areas where parts, if they are unseen, don't need so much cleaning up and sanding?
Most of the glueing surfaces carry laser char, and do need a quick swipe with a file. By the time you've done that, there is very little that isn't cleaned up.
Add to which, the corners of boat timbers are rounded off, to reduce injury following a fall (think about standing up while sailing choppy waters).
9 hours ago, Peter2 said:Also, do you need to soften/soak the side planking to make them conform to the shape of the hull jig?
That is a subject that comes up often in boat building forums. I gather that a full soak does more harm than good; heat bending is more helpful.
On the 15C Wooden Boat I used ten second soak (maybe thirty seconds on thicker planks, but often just a wet the plank); heat was more important.
I used a heat gun, set to low heat, I gather Bertie uses one of these:On 26/11/2023 at 15:08, Bertie McBoatface said:
This is my magic wand. It's a soldering iron with a big tip to hold the necessary energy for heating my wood.
9 hours ago, Peter2 said:And finally will you crew the shallop {never heard that word before) with a 1/32 John Smith and 11 other persons: perhaps including a young ruddy-complexioned man and his brave wife newly arrived in the colony, plus a couple of Native American guides/porters?
I believe the word 'shallop' comes from the Dutch.
There are, or were, a few replica shallops working in US waters:-
The Chesapeake Bay shallop (my term): https://www.swordwhale.com/capt-john-smith-shallop.html
Scroll down about 3/4 of that page for photos. I believe this is now in a museum(?) - The 1628 Shallop Elizabeth Tilley:
I believe Elizabeth Tilley was a passenger on the Mayflower (Pilgrim Fathers) ship.
Late 16C or early 17C figures are hard to come by, in any scale. I suppose the images of Guy Fawkes and his co-conspirators would be a good guide to English fashion at this time (1604)
I'm not aware of good, contemporary, images of Native Americans from the Chesapeake Bay area.
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The Chesapeake Bay shallop (my term): https://www.swordwhale.com/capt-john-smith-shallop.html
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Made a start on building the shallop.
These are jigs for cant frames (angled forward, or aft) at the bow and stern.
I won't build those frames yet - other online builds indicate problems with lining up parts.
This isn't to say I haven't worked on any frames, this is frame 3 (counting from the stern there are 24 frames).
(That frame took about two hours to file and glue. Later frames should be quicker.)
The main frames are assembled with the help of a jig
Left and right (L & R) on the part numbers refer to their position in that jig, and not equivalents of port and starboard.
Frame 6, in need of clean up
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Yup, read those too. I missed a lot of the stuff that appeared in magazines (Amazing?), but have read most (all?) of his books.
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Captain John Smith's Shallop - 1/32
in Work in Progress - Maritime
Posted
Getting ahead of myself here, I need to fill the hull seams and fit it outbefore the rigging.
The mast (above) was necessary; it goes through one of the thwarts (benches), but, rigging? Not yet.
Thing is, I have an issue with the way the rig is designed in the kit, with the muzzle of the spirit (the low end of the yard, also seen it called a snotter - still means muzzle). Anyway, this ...
How does that work with the foresail?
I'm not alone in my question, underwater ship archaeologist Kroum Batchvarov asks the same thing here:
Following discussion on another forum, this is, I think, a feasible solution:
This fits with (near) contemporary Dutch practice, as seen in paintings of the period, notably the work of Willem van de Velde (1633–1707).
Examples at the National Gallery include (links):