HMS Alert [1777] 1:48 POF by serikoff. (Two hulls: skeleton and fully rigged)

[dockattner]

Very nice work and a very clever kit design.

The original plan was to build this kit twice. I assume you are only working on one set of frames at a time?

 

[RussF]

But they look so good, you should be happy. I would bet seeing this great array of photos and how well these frames are "shaping up" is giving a lot of members a goal to shoot for.
Allan

Absolutely! This process makes frame construction almost flawless. Note, I said almost. You're doing a fantastic job Serikoff!

 

[serikoff]

Very nice work and a very clever kit design.

The original plan was to build this kit twice. I assume you are only working on one set of frames at a time?

Yes, the kit is really very good. You can achieve good results. Yes, I want to build two hulls, but not identical ones. I want to build one as a skeleton (from the kit), and then scan it and carve it from one piece of wood, so that later I can sheathe it with slats and make the deck stuffing and install the mast and sails. So in fact, I kind of make two hulls, but in turn, continuing to build the second one after the first from the same place. I hope I explained it clearly, otherwise I hope the translator will translate everything correctly))

Absolutely! This process makes frame construction almost flawless. Note, I said almost. You're doing a fantastic job Serikoff!

Thank you for your words)) There is always something to strive for and always room to grow)))

 

[serikoff]

Moving on at a fairly good pace. I didn't count, but I definitely made more than half of the solid frames. When I finish, I will show you how to grind such horseshoe-shaped frames so as not to damage them. In the meantime, a couple of life hacks when working with templates.

The most obvious, but not always everyone does this (which leads to deformation when glued or glued to the steps in the glue seam). This is a fixation of glued fragments. The simplest method is to put the template on a perfectly flat surface, and put the load on the frames. In my case, these are dumbbell pancakes.



The second point is the clamps to maintain the correct (original) pattern geometry. So, there are only 9 of these latches. And if you glue the second parts of the frames, then only a maximum of 2 frames can be glued at a time. And in order not to wait until the glue dries and assemble on several templates at once (I do on 3-4 at once), these latches are not enough. Therefore, it is possible to glue ready-made fragments as they are manufactured and no longer use latches in this zone, but use them on new templates.



As shown in the photo below: in the green oval there are already permanently glued fragments, and then in this area no latches are needed (shown by the red oval), and the latches can be used further (shown by the arrows). And those latches that are free - use on a new template.



At this pace, I will soon finish gluing all the frames and you can start contouring them after grinding...

 

[serikoff]

A little update and a couple of thoughts...

To date, it remains to glue another 8 halves of frames, i.e. in fact 10% of all 41 solid frames. Then grinding everyone and you can start contouring those that are needed, there are about half of all 77 of them. But it still feels that I am already at the finish of the first chapter...

And another small life hack... so that very small edges of the workpiece do not break off (especially if it is on wood fiber), you can glue with cyanocrine that cist that can be chipped during processing.



Below in the photo is a part before processing glued CA and the same after processing.



Today I also decided about wood for the keel frame for the second building, and for replacement in this one. After 1.5 months, I hope the blanks will be sawn into dies and 9 parts of the keel frame will already be cut out on them (the only thing is that I connect the bottom 3 parts and make the joint an imitation, so in fact 7 parts). And that most likely I will have already completed all the frames by this time and will collect the slipway and may even begin to collect the keel. You also need to think over the stand mount... in a word, work is in full swing...



The parts that are highlighted in rainbow colors are the ones that I will redo for the set and the same second set will be for the second case. By the way, I will try to have the Latin numbers on the keel - this time. And the second is the thickening of the keel in its front upper part from 5 mm to 6-6.5 mm, as indicated in the anatomy and which is not in the kit.

 

[serikoff]

1.6. Grinding

Hooray!... I finished gluing the one-piece frames together. There are 41 of them and a total of 65 frames that had to be glued together. And this stage is over. I finished it 2 days earlier than expected. Now it remains to grind them.

Frames that were halves I already showed how I polished out. Everything is simple there. In a stacked template, everything is first ground on one side. Turn, push and grind on the other side.



It is impossible to do this with solid frames, since they can only be side by side with halves at the same time. Therefore, the grinding method is as follows: on a sheet of sandpaper 240, we grind along the fibers, as indicated in the photo. Yes, this is long (although not very), it is not very convenient (but this is very)), but all surfaces are flat and there is no risk of damaging the frame.



And this is the result...



Left - before and right - after grinding. I think I will cope with 35 remaining ones in a day and then a more interesting procedure - contouring...

 

[AnobiumPunctatum]

Really nice prgress. I will use the same technic for my Fly, but it takes a lot of time to prepare all the drawings and CNC files for milling.

 

[serikoff]

Really nice prgress. I will use the same technic for my Fly, but it takes a lot of time to prepare all the drawings and CNC files for milling.

Yes, I can imagine. But still, it takes much longer to do everything manually, without a set or without CNC cutting. When you cut out each part on a saw, process it, grind it... I take my hat off to those who do everything manually, but for me it takes too long. CNC is simply the only way out. And the better and more accurately the cutting is done, the easier and faster the process goes, but I really like it))

 

[Tobias]

Good morning Sergey,
very neat work and a great description of your approach.

I'm also toying with the idea of getting a CNC milling machine to make certain tasks easier, but I think I'll continue to build my frames the traditional way in the future. I don't think building the frames by hand takes any longer. I need about 45 minutes per double frame. The hull construction of Le Rochefort took about two months.

 

[GrantTyler]

1.6. Grinding

Hooray!... I finished gluing the one-piece frames together. There are 41 of them and a total of 65 frames that had to be glued together. And this stage is over. I finished it 2 days earlier than expected. Now it remains to grind them.

Frames that were halves I already showed how I polished out. Everything is simple there. In a stacked template, everything is first ground on one side. Turn, push and grind on the other side.

View attachment 511734

It is impossible to do this with solid frames, since they can only be side by side with halves at the same time. Therefore, the grinding method is as follows: on a sheet of sandpaper 240, we grind along the fibers, as indicated in the photo. Yes, this is long (although not very), it is not very convenient (but this is very)), but all surfaces are flat and there is no risk of damaging the frame.

View attachment 511735

And this is the result...

View attachment 511736

Left - before and right - after grinding. I think I will cope with 35 remaining ones in a day and then a more interesting procedure - contouring...

Good morning Sergey. Spot on And a cool process. Thanks for sharing this. Cheers Grant

 

[serikoff]

Good morning Sergey,
very neat work and a great description of your approach.

I'm also toying with the idea of getting a CNC milling machine to make certain tasks easier, but I think I'll continue to build my frames the traditional way in the future. I don't think building the frames by hand takes any longer. I need about 45 minutes per double frame. The hull construction of Le Rochefort took about two months.

Wow, you have a fast pace. Yes, you are right, there is a charm in doing everything yourself or at least with CNC. But unfortunately I have neither the time nor the place to do it. I jokingly call my hobby "shipyard on a small knee" )))) because most of it happens)))

Good morning Sergey. Spot on And a cool process. Thanks for sharing this. Cheers Grant

Thank you for appreciating and for your comment. Glad to hear that I am doing something useful)))

 

[serikoff]

1.7. Shaping – Refining the frames to achieve the correct geometry.

To make it easier to bring the front and rear frames into the correct geometry, you need to give the most suitable shape. To do this, the set includes not only templates for gluing, but also templates for drawing lines along which grinding will take place.



In the photo above, the 5th and 6th pairs of frames with their templates. There is an internal and external template. We must not forget that we do not make the same halves, but mirror ones! I.e. left half of the frame - mirror right!



We lay the frame between two templates, fix it with clips and draw a line with a pencil.



One moment... by patterns you need to cut the tips along certain lines, but I will not do this, but only draw these lines.



And I will cut it when I adjust the frame under the body. So I will definitely not cut off too much and the connection will be tight. I saw this mistake from other masters that after the cut they had gaps in the joints.



The second point - I extended the length of the grinding zone by about 4 mm.



In some frames, the cut point falls exactly at the end of the grinding zone. And in this place there may be processing defects, chips or grooves from the abrasive. Therefore, I raised the level a little so that the cut falls on a flat polished surface.

To limit the grinding zone, I made a wedge-shaped notch with a knife.

And so we have a grinding line, a notch on the edge, and now I draw a control line.



And now between these two lines I am grinding the frame, you can say cutting the angle. I do it with a portable engraver with such a nozzle.



I recommend looking at such an angle that the working plane of the abrasive nozzle is parallel to these two lines.



You need to try so that the grinder does not grind these lines, but only the wood (angle) between them. The control line is very important, since when working you clearly see the grinding boundary and do not remove too much!

Well, after I finish finishing the surface with a file. This is not necessary, since after assembly there will still be a general grinding of the case, but I still remove the rough scratch from the grinder and check the correctness of the geometry.



As a result, absolutely symmetrical halves of frames are obtained.





These frames (4th, 5th, and 6th) without lock joints, but! According to the anatomy and even according to the manufacturer's instructions, they should be with them. But I understand that this element has been simplified. I did not want to add locking joints to these frames (this is long and not so easy), but I will make imitation of these joints using a simple method. The silhouette of the lock joint is cut with a knife to a shallow depth, polished and after covering with oil, the lines stand out and become like an adhesive seam.

Well, this is how real locking joints look before and after contouring and grinding.



Another point. Some patterns are not the same length as the frames themselves...



... therefore, these need to be positioned at the bottom edge in the corners, and see that the side contours coincide and if there is a line for cutting the tip too, so that everything matches there.



Well, if there are any doubts about the accuracy of the positioning of the templates, it is better not to completely grind such frames, leaving excess for the formation of the profile after assembly. This will save you from geometry failures.

With solid frames, everything is almost the same, but for convenience I follow the following protocol.



First I apply an internal template, on one side, I draw a line...
... then I turn the same template over and draw an inner line on it on the other side of the frame.



Then I turn over the frame and take the outer template and draw the outer lines...



First, on the one hand, I turn over the template and draw the outer line on the other side of the frame.



So it will be more difficult to get confused where to apply what.

All other stages are exactly the same as with halves. I have already done the front frames, the rear ones remain, and then you can start creating imitation bolts in the places of lock joints.