12 Gun Brig-of-War

[Captain Cutlass]

Thank you CC. Your work looks great and it seems you arebuilding with rather basic workshop facilities, as I am. Many of the models on this site are totally awesome but, to be honest, can be a little demoralising as I know I cannot come close to producing work of a similar quality. So it is good for morale to have someone who appears to be working under similar constraints as I am but still achieving excellent results. Looking at your photos, at this stage I am particularly interested in how you made your cannons and the steering wheel. I would also be interested to know what your tool kit looks like.

Hi Sylph. My tool kit has grown as my challenges have grown. This is only my second build, my first being a Del Prado kit of the Bounty. Some of the parts on that kit were of a very poor quality and as I progressed with it I decided I could improve it. So if sort of morphed into my own interpretation and I personally was quite pleased with the outcome and decided that I would attempt to scratch build one. I have had the plans for the Brig in my loft for more that thirty years and when I had my loft converted I was inspired to face the challenge.
I found that I did not need a large selection of tools for the kit build but scratch building was a different matter. One of the most used items is a small table saw which also has a small chuck on the side (pictures 1 & 2)
I also am lucky enough to have a small workshop in my garden which is home to a small metal working lathe and a milling machine. I am not an expert on either of these but have managed to get results from practice. I turned the cannon barrels using aluminium bar as it’s easier to cut for an amateur like myself. Having had a couple of practice attempts I finally learnt how to get the taper correct and soon had 4 barrels with which I was happy (pictures 3 & 4). These were then primed and painted ironwork black to give me a result I liked. The gun carriages were made following the details on the drawings as closely as possible.
The ships wheel gave me a problem. Had I been able to purchase one of the correct size with twelve spokes, i would have but many searches proved negative so I was forced to have a go myself. The one you saw in my previous post was my first attempt and I am still considering using it. It was made by using two hole cutters the appropriate sizes to give me two rings cut from 2mm mahogany sheet. The spoke were formed from walnut dowel and shaped using the chuck on the table saw. I am currently trying a different method using thing stripwood planks shaped around a former to give me a round rim and I will then drill the 12 holes and insert the spokes. This is still work in progress and has yet to pass my own self imposed quality control, see the final pictures. I also show my Bounty build which now sits I a case in my dinning room. Happy modelling to you sir and hopefully between us we can end up with results that make us smile.

 

[Sylph VI]

Hi CC, thanks for the info and the pictures. Very helpful. What brand of table saw did you purchase? I have been considering buying one myself but the choice seems to be between cheap ones of unknown quality or a very expensive Proxxon. Advice in this forum is to avoid the cheap ones and go for a Byrnes or Proxxon (Byrnes is no longer in operation). A metal lathe and a milling machine would also be nice but I reckon I am going to have to find other ways of making all these bits and pieces. Your cannons look great and good luck with the wheel. I appreciate the thought and effort you are putting into your model and am sure I can learn a lot from your experiences.

 

[Namabiiru]

Hi CC, thanks for the info and the pictures. Very helpful. What brand of table saw did you purchase? I have been considering buying one myself but the choice seems to be between cheap ones of unknown quality or a very expensive Proxxon. Advice in this forum is to avoid the cheap ones and go for a Byrnes or Proxxon (Byrnes is no longer in operation). A metal lathe and a milling machine would also be nice but I reckon I am going to have to find other ways of making all these bits and pieces. Your cannons look great and good luck with the wheel. I appreciate the thought and effort you are putting into your model and am sure I can learn a lot from your experiences.

Byrnes seem to be back in business, but you have to email them directly. I acquired a Proxxon from Model Expo at a discount, but still pricey. I have yet to make the necessary adjustments to get the fence where I want it. I’ve seen tons of ads for cheap Chinese saws of a similar configuration, but of lower quality the CC’s appears to be. The Chinese saws look like they were designed for mangling both fingers and model parts.

 

[AllanKP69]

I turned the cannon barrels using aluminium bar as it’s easier to cut for an amateur like myself

Kudos for making your own guns. Are you comparing aluminum to brass? I have not tried aluminum so curious how they would compare.

Do you or any members know if Bounty carried Armstrong Frederick pattern guns or something else? I could not find anything on the internet or in Bligh's own treatise that gives this information. His treatise only says: On the 9th we fell down to Long Reach where we received our gunner's stores and guns, four four-pounders and ten swivels.

Allan

Armstrong Frederick pattern and carriage issued circa 1760-1791 which falls into the time frame for Bounty. Based on a drawing from The History of English Sea Ordnance, Volme 2, page 377 by Caruana. Hope this is interesting for you.

 

[Captain Cutlass]

Hi CC, thanks for the info and the pictures. Very helpful. What brand of table saw did you purchase? I have been considering buying one myself but the choice seems to be between cheap ones of unknown quality or a very expensive Proxxon. Advice in this forum is to avoid the cheap ones and go for a Byrnes or Proxxon (Byrnes is no longer in operation). A metal lathe and a milling machine would also be nice but I reckon I am going to have to find other ways of making all these bits and pieces. Your cannons look great and good luck with the wheel. I appreciate the thought and effort you are putting into your model and am sure I can learn a lot from your experiences.

Thanks for your nice comments and I’m sure we can learn from each other. It’s my opinion that we are all apprentices and should never stop learning from other peoples experiences. My table saw is one of the cheaper Chinese ones but it works. I did however nearly cut off one of my fingers within days of using it, so they need to be used with caution. They are so useful that I may well consider getting a better quality one at some point.

 

[Captain Cutlass]

Kudos for making your own guns. Are you comparing aluminum to brass? I have not tried aluminum so curious how they would compare.

Do you or any members know if Bounty carried Armstrong Frederick pattern guns or something else? I could not find anything on the internet or in Bligh's own treatise that gives this information. His treatise only says: On the 9th we fell down to Long Reach where we received our gunner's stores and guns, four four-pounders and ten swivels.

Allan

Armstrong Frederick pattern and carriage issued circa 1760-1791 which falls into the time frame for Bounty. Based on a drawing from The History of English Sea Ordnance, Volme 2, page 377 by Caruana. Hope this is interesting for you.
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Sorry but I have no idea what make the cannons were on the Bounty. I used the ones supplied with the kit but they were not of good quality. For my current build they are 32 pounders but the short barrel version. As I could not find those anywhere online I was forced into making my own. I am pleased that I did as I learnt a lot in the process. I used aluminium mainly because that’s what I had available in my workshop. It’s also a slightly easier material to machine because it’s so soft and was great for a lathe novice like myself. I am now confident enough to use brass for any future work.

 

[AllanKP69]

I am now confident enough to use brass for any future work.

Turning your own is probably the most gratifying way to go. If you want, take a look at the subject here at SoS on making guns and carriages https://shipsofscale.com/sosforums/threads/making-cannon.14545/
Another alternative is to make one, then a mold and make your own from casting resin (black resin or white and then painted) 3D printed guns also look terrific if you don't mind them being made of printed resin instead of metal. Something to be said for metal, but once installed it is hard to tell what material was used if blackened. Every gun will be the same and there are a lot of drawings available that can be sent to any local 3D printer. The price is 1/4 the cost of buying turned metal barrels plus there are hundreds more choices in pattern, caliber, and length barrels so in many cases it easier to get the pattern and sizes that would be on the actual ship.

 

[Sylph VI]

Thanks for your nice comments and I’m sure we can learn from each other. It’s my opinion that we are all apprentices and should never stop learning from other peoples experiences. My table saw is one of the cheaper Chinese ones but it works. I did however nearly cut off one of my fingers within days of using it, so they need to be used with caution. They are so useful that I may well consider getting a better quality one at some point.

Thanks CC. I may follow your path and buy a cheaper Chinese saw to go on with. Presumably it is going to be better than what I have been using (a scroll saw).