Hms Alert by Maarten [COMPLETED BUILD]

Good morning Maarten, on the one hand I want to tell you that your work on the Alert is wonderful. I admire your work in the assembly of the Alert as well as that of Uwe @Uwek in the assembly of our Le Coureur, you two just have it, big praise and thanks.

Your new kitchen, the renovation looks awesome, perfect design outside and inside.
 
Yes finally some progress to report. Back in the powder room I finished the shelfs for the powder bags.
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Based on a picture of hms Victory powder room I made a lead sheated case for filling the powder cartridges.
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Put it in place together with the powder bags on the shelfs.
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To complete the powder filling case I made a powder scoop from brass tubing.
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The case is finished.
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Only some powder barrels to add. The I turned on the lathe and I will finish with some veneer strips.
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The current situation, next time finishing the barrels.
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I am going to be shot for saying this but that kitchen is only rivaled by your Royal Caroline. It is simply stunning - the work that you have done on those oak beams is just perfect. The Van de Velde painting on the tiles is a beautiful detail - I am guessing that you must have a very supportive wife! The color scheme of the kitchen and the effect of the natural lighting are both straight out of an interior designer's magazine - in fact the whole kitchen is! Wow!
 
I am going to be shot for saying this but that kitchen is only rivaled by your Royal Caroline. It is simply stunning - the work that you have done on those oak beams is just perfect. The Van de Velde painting on the tiles is a beautiful detail - I am guessing that you must have a very supportive wife! The color scheme of the kitchen and the effect of the natural lighting are both straight out of an interior designer's magazine - in fact the whole kitchen is! Wow!
Thx Heinrich, it was a lot of work but well worth it.
 
Now I understand, why the Le Coureur lost the action against the Alert - your powder room is much bigger and you have more gunpowder stored ;)


My friend: You made a very good job with the details!

BTW: Can you axplain, why the upper part of the room is coppered and the lower part is covered with lead?
It is looking good and we can see this is also on the photos of the Victory powder room, but technically why the use of different metals? I am just curious......
 
@Uwek Well - at least the Le Coureur is a much prettier ship! The Alert lost in the "looks" department! ROTF
I am planing realy once to have both built in 1:48 - and both fully masted. rigged and with sails.
After this (in some years) I will be able to make my final decision, which ship of these two is more attractive.
We know only, that the Alert won the action against the Coureur - but this was at this time no beauty contest.
HM ........ Maybe also the Belle Poule in the same scale ...... I have to think about it......

 
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La Belle Poule is a different story altogether! If it could serve as inspiration for French ladies' hairstyles, you know you are onto something different! ;)
 
BTW: Can you axplain, why the upper part of the room is coppered and the lower part is covered with lead?
It is looking good and we can see this is also on the photos of the Victory powder room, but technically why the use of different metals? I am just curious......
I'm curious too. It is obvious that any kind of metals in the magazine should not be able to create sparks. I would think he two metals must somehow have different purposes. I would assume the purpose of the lead on the floor would be to make it easy to sweep up powder from the floor and avoid powder on the floor being wet. I have read the copper-lining was to keep rats from pennetrating into the magazine. However, I think rats are poor scuba divers so if that was the purpose would it then be needed to have copper-lining on the planks facing the sea?
Hope Maarten, or somebody else, knows exactly why
 
The copper and lead sheating was to avoid powder to "leak" out of the powder room to create a powder tight construction.
Reason for having lead sheet on the floor and copper on the walls I couldn t find. I made it like that because it is done like that on the victory coming from the same era.
Looking into the different materials I can imagine that the lead on the floor is more easy to shape to the deck shape and could create a complete sealed construction by means of a flat lock seem whereas copper should be clinched or soldered.
The wall sheating would be less critical I guess.

Hope fully somebody here has a clear answer.

In the mean time the first barrel is in place.
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The only thing I know is that lead have no elektrical reactions with other Metals. No sparks. If powder fell to the floor and a metal piece hit the floor, nothing will happen. Maybe that's the reason.
Hi Steef, that is certainly the reason the used copper brass and lead. Brass tools are still used today for that reason. But why lead on the floor and copper on the walls.
 
The floor with lead was to avoid flying sparks.
But mainly it was because of the copper at the walls.....
.....I have now a new hypothesis
-> maybe it was to keep the powder room dry to get a somehow a "watertight" room,
also maybe as additional security if the area was hit by a cannon ball - the wood would splinter, but partly still tight against water because the copper would bend but not break.... Important was that powder is not uncontroled burned and was not getting wet - sometimes it was a question of life and death
Just an idea
 
Interesting discussion. My thoughts now also based on this from the reconstruction of the Grand Magazine on HMS Victory: "The Grand Magazine is lined with copper, lead and plaster, designed to keep the powder dry, prevent sparks and keep out rats, which could have spread gunpowder throughout the ship". Link: https://www.culture24.org.uk/history-and-heritage/military-history/world-war-two/art22897
This does not in itself explain why they used 2 different metals but for sure rats can easily chew through a lead-lining.
So why not copper also on the deck? Here I think in the same direction as Maarten: A lead-lining is probably much easier to form, make smooth and at the same time completely waterproof, than a copper-lining. I've read that some captains always flooded the lead-lined passage to the magazine to create a firebreak (and they would flood the whole magazine in case of fire anywhere near the magazine).
The magazine under water level, thus reasonably protected from enemy shots. I also have a guess to my own question about the planks facing the sea: If bolt or nails was made of iron they had to be covered for safety.
 
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