Hms Investigator, 1800, 1/48 scale built by neptune from plans by Robert Sexton.

[neptune]

This is a compacted build log of HMS INVESTIGATOR, 1800, 1/48 scale from plans by Robert Sexton.
This is the Investigator that Mathew Flinders used during his charting of the Australian coast in 1802.

I built this model for a gentleman who does talks on Mathew Flinders and his charting of the Australian coastline.


shows the bulkheads being erected


the rest of the bulkheads cut out


the side elevation



stern view all the bulkheads in place


bow view



head on view



stern framing, the plywood piece will be cut away along with the tops of the frames later in the build.



shows how I did the rabbett, I cut a strip not as wide as the keel and glued it in place


then the keel went on top



shows how the first plank will sit in the rabbett


this is the strip in place and also note how I thinned the deadwood area so the planking will run flush into the stern post.


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[zoly99sask]

Hello John ,I will follow this with a great interest!!

 

[neptune]

Bow timbers being cut and checked over plan


the rudder


the rudder and stern post


stern post and keel fitted



fitting the stem note the wood dowells through the keel and also the stem.



fitting the scarph piece




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fitted and sanded

 

[neptune]

my fancy plank bender, an old coffee pot with everything removed except the element.



Frames marked for the wales position


end of wale nibbed to fit in stem rebate



first wale in place



another view



the second wale plank being fitted



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another view

 

[neptune]

Fitting the wales continued fixing with PVA glue and dowells



how I used the clamps as I worked back along the hull


another view, after glue and dowelling to six framesI then started on the port side wales.



Both sides glued and dowelled to front six frames



Starboard side view, note the timber clamped to the front of the wale for extra support while the glue drys

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[neptune]

I'm afraid I dont have any pics of the planking of the hull, just the completed planking, I lost the log when MSW crashed and these are all I managed to salvage, if you have any questions just ask


the plan held against the hull


The gentleman I built her for wanted some of the framing exposed, so this is what I did

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[neptune]

view along the deck getting ready for the cabins, take note that after I had planked the hull I cut away the timber tops along the main deck level and also the quarter deck and added another layer of planks make sure when you do this that the second layer over lap the frst layers joints



shows the cabins part framed


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[GaryM]

Nicely executed.

 

[neptune]

Nicely executed.

Thanks for the nice comment Gary,

best regards John.

 

[neptune]

These next set of pics show how I made the capstan, its made out of a piece of Australian Pear, the pics are pretty self explanetary,


It seems like a bit of an overkill, but at the time I had just bought the lathe and I wanted to see what it could do


Turning down to size



Lots of chippings



To get the openings for the capstan bars I ran the end of the dowell across the saw table after working out where to put the cuts, any questions just ask



turning the lower barrel the top barrel was turned the same.



Top cap turned to size


turning the bottom cap and drilling the hole for the top barrel to fit into.



checking against the plan


the top and bottom parts


Milling the whelps



The double capstan temporarily assembled.

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[zoly99sask]

Awesome work John!!

 

[neptune]

At the time this is how I made the gratings,


I had a small saw table that I had made to fit on my lathe, the thinnest blade I had was 1.5mm, I clamped a piece of plywood over the saw table cutting a slot in it at the same time, then I I cut a strip of hard wood 1.5mm X 1.5mm and glued this 1.5mm from the saw blade, I then took some wood that was thicker and put the edge of it up against the 1.5mm strip and ran it over the saw creating a 1.5mm slot, then this slot I placed over the 1.5mm strip and ran it over the saw again, I kept doing this till the piece of wood was slotted


shows all the slots



then I clamped a steel ruler onto the top of my bandsaw, again1.5mm away from the blade and
sliced of several battens that were1.5mm thick,



slicing off the battens



Shows the battens glued into the slotted strips




the gratings cleaned up and finshed with a surround, and a 1/48 scale figure on top.



two views of the grating in place





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[neptune]

Awesome work John!!

Thank you Zoltan,

best regards John.

 

[neptune]

Cutting the gun ports and the galleries.



port view



port view close up



I drilled four holes and the cut them out with a sharp scalpel



I cut both the gallery bases from one piece of wood so they would be both the same shape then
cut them in two and shaped them



after shaping



I did the same for the upper gallery and the back part of the gallery.



port side view before clean up.



Shows the transom area, I used ply for the foundation and also ply for the shaped cut out over lay, the lower area I planked

 

[GaryM]

Nice work. Your pictures make it easy to understand how you did it. thanks for sharing.

 

[Sgtmik]

You do nice work. I really like your assortment of power tools. i.e. Lathe, milling machine. Do you also have a drill press?
Does ir take long to learn how to use them? :banana-dance: :banana-rock:
:music-rockout: :handgestures-salute:

 

[neptune]

Nice work. Your pictures make it easy to understand how you did it. thanks for sharing.

Thank you Gary, I remember when I first started building models and sometimes it was'nt easy to grasp what was meant, so I try to show it clearly, and also thats why I sometimes state, ask any questions,



best regards John.

 

[neptune]

You do nice work. I really like your assortment of power tools. i.e. Lathe, milling machine. Do you also have a drill press?
Does ir take long to learn how to use them?



Thank you Mike,when I first started out all I had was a craft knife, hand held fret saw some files and sand paper plus some normal size woodworking tools, and as I gradually progressed I added to my tools at Christmas time and Birthdays etc, I used to buy strip wood already sized for the planking because I did'nt have a saw, now I cut my own planks if it is a scratch build and make my own ropes on a rope walk I built, I'm no where near perfect but learn by perseverance , trial and tribulation, also the guys in our club are marvelous and we all share infomation and help each out for free,

best regards John.

 

[neptune]

Two pics of the fore or riding bitts


I made them from Huon Pine which is a close grained wood, I also inserted two dowells for securing to the deck

,

 

[neptune]

This is how I made the midship beam supports,



in place between the ports, on reflection maybe I should have made them a bit smaller




view from the bow, you can see the quarter deck sub deck waiting to be planked



the beams cut to size



I have installed the beams, the gangways, the fore deck and have planked them all,
I used black acrylic paint as the caulking, I clamp approx eight planks together on there
side and then paint them, it looks a bit messy when you lay the deck but cleans up OK.



View of the decks, nearly finished the clean up



after cleaning up.