School for model ship building

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

The cant frames in the bow are next and they are not like the rest of the frames. The only reference point is the top line where they sit in the jig. the bottom line is the rabbit line and as you can see the cant frames rise up on the stem. The middle line shows the rise of the deck at the bow.

Plank on bulkhead builders will skip the bow construction and installing cant frames. A solid block is glued in at the bow and shaped to fit the hull.



Cant frames are named because they are canted forward to lessen the amount of material that has to be taken off the face of the frames to create a bevel. The foot of the cant frames have an angle.



The angle can be taken off the drawings



How you can get a perfect angle is up to you. But when you get the angle of the foot right the frame will fall right in place.



the foot of the cant frames will follow the stem and rabbit line, you should have a nice sweet arc on the stem.



looking down the hull all the frames form a straight line along the keel and arch at the stem. The term used by master shipwrights and model shipwrights is to ever so sweet curves of a hull. you can see that starting to take shape. Inside and out.



That space at the bow between the first cant frame and the stem is where the ? go anyone know what goes there?

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

some refer to ship building as an art form, in the early days ship were built with no drawings nothing but a set of offsets that define the size and general shape. The hull with all its complex lines and shapes is a sculpture shaped by the eye and intuition of the builder.

At this point we now have the main body and the bow what is left are the last two whole frames 19 and 20 then the half frames that will form the stern section.



Thank you all for following along and reading what it takes to be a model shipwright. See you next Saturday

 

[Roger Pellett]

if by “offsets,” you are referring to a Table of Offsets then these did much more than just define the general shape of the hull. These were a digital representation of the design information; either the half model or design draught. The mould loft then used the table of offsets to scribe the hull lines full size on the floor of the loft. Patterns for moulded shapes, frame pieces, stem, and stern pieces were made from the mould loft hull lines.

The Table of Offsets was the method by which the Naval Architect communicated his design to the shipyard.

Roger

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

and a welcome student to the model shipwright school, let's get started on today's talk.

I left off with all the whole frames (frames that cross the keel) and the cant frames at the bow. What has to be built next is the stern section but before i jump into that lets talk jigs a little more.
The main reason the upside-down building method fell out of favor was the waste of wood. In the first photo the blue tinted section is the extensions above the framing. Granted this does add material to the build. but the complexity of building such a hull the method does give the builder a fighting chance of success and the extra wood is worth it. however, if the builder is using expensive wood then you have to consider the extra cost.



Smaller models the less in added materials. Still more than not using this method but worth it.



This method is not always true and it depends on the shape of the hull and the length of the added extensions. In the case of the hull below the extra material is well worth the extra material.

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

In the case of a production plank on frame kit it is a totally different story. Let's look at the Sir Edward Hawke this model will become available as a limited edition semi-kit so cost is an important consideration.
If i were to stay with Hahn's original setup the jig extensions would be the total of the blue and red sections. This would add 2 more sheets to the framing parts. Now there is the cost of more sheets and more laser cutting and more shipping weight. If i want to keep the semi-kit under $150.00 i need to remove the red section and shorten the extensions.

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

the way to cut back on the extensions is to split the jig so the stern deck can clear the jig



looking down inside the hull you can see to the left where the frames ended and the stern frames fit the extended jig section

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

What if you have a set of plans like these a fine looking drop keel schooner and there is no jig?




there are other methods to jig a hull one such method is to use a gantry you can get more information here

Building Board Gantry Type

Some of the advantages of the gantry type of building board are: 1. Re-usability 2. Assess 3. Accuracy 4. Ease of use 1. Re-usability After you have finished a model and want to start a new one all you must do is tape down the new framing plan and change the scales if...

shipsofscale.com

The purpose of the jig is to line up the framing and also to hold the frames in place. to do that using filler between the frames creates a solid structure

go here to visit a build filling in the upper section of the framing

The Frederick from the Lumberyard

Hello This will be my build log of the kit as sponsored by The Lumberyard. Thank you Dave Stevens. This build will be a departure from my other kits as their frames were laser cut. This kit has milled frame stock with drawing patterns for frame layout. I will be studying this new type of...

shipsofscale.com

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

I was hoping to have all the stern frames in place but as they say "the best laid plans" can and do go wrong.
Having spent my working days in a high paying high stress job i got use to a boss getting in my face with how can you make such a simple mistake? what the were you thinking? such a rookie mistake i expect better from you and so on and so forth. Now all i can do is look in the mirror and ask myself the same questions. I designed the project and i am in control of the project from start to finish. In the end there is no one to pass the blame to. BUT this is the joy of scratch building it requires total focus and planning in short it stimulates your creative and logical thinking. Personally i love it.

frame 23 is missing a part on the laser cut sheet the other frames just do not fit together WHY? i like the why and now i have to back track and find out what went wrong



HUM? frame 21 lines up at the top but not at the joint, if i line up the joint the top is off



something does not look right because ?????



actually all the tops should line up and they don't



could be i lost focus in the drafting stage, my daughter comes over and i stopped what i was doing and when i got back i forgot to add that piece in frame 23. The rest just mistakes.

believe it or not this is why i scratch build i do not like assembling someone else project i like to figure it out from start to finish and play a sleuth and back track and find the cause. it also adds to my knowledge base of what to do and what not to do. i get the confidence to tackle harder and harder projects

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

end of todays class now it is off to rummage sales with the wife never know what treasure lurks in the piles of stuff
in closing a word to the wise
don't be afraid to make mistakes just keep moving forward.

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

hello group as i said after class the wife and i went off to the flea market/ rummage sale.

i can't hardly believe what i found check it out the table saw was $30.00 or best offer the old Sears bandsaw same thing $30.00 or best offer.
i could have walked away with both for a whopping 45 bucks. Yes they show a bit of use and a little rust on the table saw but i was assured both work fine.
Sure it is not one of those fancy $500.00 little table saws but if your first starting out don't let people tell you oh how expensive the tools are for scratch building. That is a bunch of bull, just keep in mind you can up grade as you progress. So if you are thinking maybe you would like to get into scratch building keep an eye open for tool deals both on line and around you.

no i did not buy either one because i have more tools than i would ever need. But it was tempting.

 

[Roger Pellett]

You could build models for the rest of your life plus do home repairs and other projects. Probably better quality than many offered for 10 times as much today. With the right blade and the fence checked to make sure it’s parallel, it will cut ship model woods all day. Also, the motor is not connected directly to the arbor like many new saws. This means that you can swap out the motor for more hp if needed.

Roger

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

You could build models for the rest of your life plus do home repairs and other projects. Probably better quality than many offered for 10 times as much today. With the right blade and the fence checked to make sure it’s parallel, it will cut ship model woods all day. Also, the motor is not connected directly to the arbor like many new saws. This means that you can swap out the motor for more hp if needed.
Roger

with the rummage sale finds and pick up one of these and you have the holy trinity of model building for $135.00.

 

[Roger Pellett]

Many of those newer home improvement store table saws are just a hand held table saw (I still call them SkilSaws) mounted upside down in a frame that rotates to tilt the blade. Even when I’m making glass cases’ I don’t use the tilt blade feature of my saw. For ripping model ship lumber, a simple saw like you picture is all that you need.

Actually, if for some reason I could only own one table saw, I would own a full sized one including your rummage saw instead of my Byrnes. The Byrnes is not as versatile

Roger