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Hi Doc, more and more beautiful, I'm in love with it
British Capstan circa 1777 - scale 1:16 [COMPLETED BUILD]
very clean and accurate work - and I guess it makes a lot of fun making timbering work in such a bigger scale 1:16......
Cool project Doc. Now just build a 1/16 ship to put it on !
Thanks, guys!
The 5 whelps are next glued unto the recesses of the capstan barrel. The edges of the flat surfaces where the whelps contact the barrel are beveled slightly before gluing to ensure a tight, clean fit. The upper and lower chocks are of different sizes and shapes. I cut the oversized in two dimensions for a custom fit. You can see the start of the process in the final photo.
The 5 whelps are next glued unto the recesses of the capstan barrel. The edges of the flat surfaces where the whelps contact the barrel are beveled slightly before gluing to ensure a tight, clean fit. The upper and lower chocks are of different sizes and shapes. I cut the oversized in two dimensions for a custom fit. You can see the start of the process in the final photo.
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excellent workmanship
Very accurate work - looking very good
Thanks guys!
As noted above, I cut the chocks oversized and custom fit them to the notches on the whelps. The lower chocks are larger than the upper. Once installed, the lower chocks were sanded convex and the upper sanded concave. Chock bolts were then installed. A gasket was made of 1/32” plywood to raise the capstan barrel up a tiny bit above the step so the barrel doesn’t “drag” on the step when turned. Finally a 5/8” diameter barrel bottom was added to mount the capstan barrel in the 5/8” hole in the capstan step.
As noted above, I cut the chocks oversized and custom fit them to the notches on the whelps. The lower chocks are larger than the upper. Once installed, the lower chocks were sanded convex and the upper sanded concave. Chock bolts were then installed. A gasket was made of 1/32” plywood to raise the capstan barrel up a tiny bit above the step so the barrel doesn’t “drag” on the step when turned. Finally a 5/8” diameter barrel bottom was added to mount the capstan barrel in the 5/8” hole in the capstan step.
I like it very much - especially the two tones colour by using different kind of timber
Thanks, Uwe!
With the barrel completed, the next step is to build the drumhead assembly. The drumhead is a short cylindrically shaped part that has 6 holes around the circumference for the capstan bars to insert. The bars are used to turn the capstan barrel. The drumhead is shaped like a snare drum (duh!). The plans and practicum call for the drumhead to be made from 4 semicircular slices of wood, with the recesses for the capstan bars cut out using a razor saw and various chisels and X-Acto blades. There is a square hole in the lower drumhead which fits onto a square extension from the top of the capstan barrel. I gave it a try and soon realized there had to be a better way. Or at least an EASIER way! I cut out two pieces of boxwood for the upper and lower part of the drumhead. I then cut some stock that was as thick as the 6 holes for the capstan bars were tall. I cut out pie-slice shaped pieces and glued them to the lower drumhead part. When the upper part is added, the result is a finished drumhead with 6 perfectly shaped and spaced holes. The first photo shows Toni’s parts for the drumhead. The second two are my initial attempt. The rest are the sequence I used to make the part. (Photos 35-44)
With the barrel completed, the next step is to build the drumhead assembly. The drumhead is a short cylindrically shaped part that has 6 holes around the circumference for the capstan bars to insert. The bars are used to turn the capstan barrel. The drumhead is shaped like a snare drum (duh!). The plans and practicum call for the drumhead to be made from 4 semicircular slices of wood, with the recesses for the capstan bars cut out using a razor saw and various chisels and X-Acto blades. There is a square hole in the lower drumhead which fits onto a square extension from the top of the capstan barrel. I gave it a try and soon realized there had to be a better way. Or at least an EASIER way! I cut out two pieces of boxwood for the upper and lower part of the drumhead. I then cut some stock that was as thick as the 6 holes for the capstan bars were tall. I cut out pie-slice shaped pieces and glued them to the lower drumhead part. When the upper part is added, the result is a finished drumhead with 6 perfectly shaped and spaced holes. The first photo shows Toni’s parts for the drumhead. The second two are my initial attempt. The rest are the sequence I used to make the part. (Photos 35-44)
I haven't posted in a while. We've had a major house remodel project underway for the last six months and are just finishing up. Ready to start back in with the capstan!
A photo of the barrel/whelp assembly sitting on the capstan step.
A photo of the barrel/whelp assembly sitting on the capstan step.
Beautiful work Doc. This may be a bit of a side track but I'm wondering about the grooves that the chocks fit it to. Do you know why they are triangle shaped rather than a square dado? I've noticed the same thing on the lintels of gun ports.
Thanks, Don!
I'm sure there was a reason for the triangle shape. Nothing on these ships was an accident. I suspect it had to do with what joinery could handle the stress of weighting the anchor most efficiently. Not really sure. Maybe someone else can weigh in?!
The upper part of the drumhead is made of three parts: An upper drumhead disk made of boxwood, a cap piece made of holly and an iron ring. The plans call for thin sheet brass for the ring if you have a mill and metalworking skills, otherwise paper is suggested. I thought 1/64” thick aircraft grade plywood was a good option. I had a good friend laser cut a few rings for me (Thanks Mike!) and the ring was dyed black with a marker. Holes for bolts and bar pins etc. were positioned using the plan templates rubber cemented to the drumhead parts. The photos show some of the steps.
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I've slept on this and I'm wondering if it's simple labor. The "V" notch takes two saw cuts where the dado takes two saw cuts and a bunch of chisel work.
The parts of the drumhead were glued together and 12 bolts were added to hold the iron ring to the structure.
I anticipated the hatch grating would be the toughest job in the build, so I put it off until near the end. The practicum outlines a couple of methods of making the grating, but both require gluing up individual grating ledges into a “sandwich” with PVA glue and then dissolving the glue in isopropyl alcohol once the notches for the battens are cut. I took a little different approach. I did this all with a Byrnes saw and a disk sander, so most scratch builders can use the same technique First, I decided to build the hatch coamings to fit the grating and not vice versa. The gratings are made of 2 different parts : The grating ledges – the parts with the “teeth” that define the holes in the grating, and the battens, which fit into the spaces between the teeth. The ledges are 3/16” thick and the battens are 3/64” thick. The teeth and the space between them are all 5/32” square. I milled some 3/16” boxwood for the ledges and glued a grating ledge side template to the edge of the strip. Preset the depth of cut to 3/64”. I then carefully cut the teeth and recesses for the battens. A sliding table for the Byrnes saw makes this easy work, but you can do a fine job with just the miter gauge. Once the grooves for the battens are cut, turn the blank over and draw a line across the bottom of the blank, parallel to the grooves and close to one end. This will orient the pieces when it comes time to assemble the grating. Mill a piece of boxwood 3/64” thick. We’re ready to cut ledges and battens. The last photo shows the pencil line on the back of the blank, parallel to the grooves.
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After prepping the blank for the ledges (cutting the batten notches), I started with the battens. The notches for the battens were cut freehand in the Byrnes saw. I didn’t use an indexing pin like you would with a box joint jig. I’m pretty good at this, and my notches on the ledges vary in width from one another by only a few thousandths of an inch. The eye can’t discern any differences. Make sure the depth of cut is equal to the thickness of the battens or slightly less. Lock the blade height!
Then cut out the battens, more than needed, and making them slightly wider than needed to fit in the notches. Use the fence and the fine micrometer adjustment on the Byrnes to “sneak up” on each individual batten. A custom fit for each batten!
Next, use a slitting blade on the Byrnes and slice off the grating ledges. I cut about twice what I needed (14). Using boxwood, and at this large scale, I didn’t have one broken tooth! Each of those ledges has a pencil mark near one end on the back side so all the slightly varied notches for the battens line up.
Then cut out the battens, more than needed, and making them slightly wider than needed to fit in the notches. Use the fence and the fine micrometer adjustment on the Byrnes to “sneak up” on each individual batten. A custom fit for each batten!
Next, use a slitting blade on the Byrnes and slice off the grating ledges. I cut about twice what I needed (14). Using boxwood, and at this large scale, I didn’t have one broken tooth! Each of those ledges has a pencil mark near one end on the back side so all the slightly varied notches for the battens line up.
Thanks, guys!
To assemble the grating, I started by making a quick, simple jig to keep the assembly square. Make sure the sides of the jig are no taller than the the level of the notches for the battens. They should be about 1/16" below the batten level. This helps prevent gluing the grating to the jig! Set the first and last grating ledges in the jig and then glue the first and last battens in place, making sure everything is square until the glue dries. This is the critical step! If the first two ledges and battens are square, so will the grating be. Continue adding ledges, using a spare ledge as a spacer and fitting battens into the notches until the grating is complete. Use a razor saw to remove the ends of the battens. Sand the grating and it’s done!
To assemble the grating, I started by making a quick, simple jig to keep the assembly square. Make sure the sides of the jig are no taller than the the level of the notches for the battens. They should be about 1/16" below the batten level. This helps prevent gluing the grating to the jig! Set the first and last grating ledges in the jig and then glue the first and last battens in place, making sure everything is square until the glue dries. This is the critical step! If the first two ledges and battens are square, so will the grating be. Continue adding ledges, using a spare ledge as a spacer and fitting battens into the notches until the grating is complete. Use a razor saw to remove the ends of the battens. Sand the grating and it’s done!