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USS Constitution 1:70 Scratch

Na Daeyong's Apprentice said:
I haven't been on much the past 2 months, so I'm catching up. It's looking fantastic! Just for my own edification, are the port lids functioning or fixed?
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The port lids are fixed, they are not functioning.
I've been on summer vacation for a while now. I hope to be back at my shipyard at the end of August.
 
I'm back at my shipyard after a long break. At this stage, I've decided to add the berth deck portlights. I'll be making the channels and chain plates next. I've completed the installation of the starboard portlights. They will be painted black later.1.jpg2.jpg3.jpg
 
I’ve reached the point where I need to make the deadeyes. At first, I considered buying ready-made ones, but I decided to fabricate them myself. Using a triangular file on the lathe, I cut grooves into a 6 mm diameter dowel. I then sliced the deadeyes to the correct thickness with a circular saw and drilled the holes using a 0.8 mm bit. After drilling, I remounted each piece on the lathe and chamfered the edges with a file for a smooth finish.

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After this step, there are a lot of small parts like deadeyes and blocks that need to be sanded clean, so I made a simple sander to make the job easier. You just drop the parts in, turn the sander with a motor, and they come out clean and sanded.

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shota70 said:
A simple and effective idea,
well done my friend, thank you for sharing.
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You are welcome Shota. Sanding and cleaning these tiny pieces one by one would be very laborious. With this sander, it's possible to sand and clean many small pieces at once in 15-20 seconds. I used it before, it works well. It may work even more effective if the inner surface of the drum is covered with sandpaper.
 
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When attaching the deadeyes to the chain plates, I'll use the same method I used on the Cutter Alert model, as this is the closest I can get to the appearance of the real ship.

P.S. : I flatten the 1mm diameter brass wire by hammering it and use it in the production of chain plates and I drill two holes for the bolts with a 0.6 mm drill bit.

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Firefly9943 said:
It's been a while since I've come to check on the project and I just want to say that it looks great, and I can't wait to see how it turns out in the end.

How'd you come to the decision to make your own deadeyes instead of buying them ready-made? Just asking for future reference.
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Thanks for following. This is my fifth scratch-built sailing ship model. I've made the deadeyes myself for all of them. I considered buying them this time, since it's such a tedious and repetitive process, but I motivated myself to make them by hand again because I knew I'd regret using pre-made ones later. I've never used any pre-made wooden parts in my models before. For this build, the only ready-made components I used were the brass cannons and berth deck portlights, as I lack the experience and equipment to fabricate certain metal parts from scratch.
 
I gave up on making the chain plates from brass wire because I'm not very good at hammering 1mm thick brass wire into flat strips. The strips don't come out very smooth. Instead, I cut 1.5mm-wide strips from 0.4mm thick brass sheeting I had on hand. After cutting the strips and drilling the bolt holes, I chemically blackened them. I haven't decided yet whether to settle for blackening or paint them black as well. I mounted a deadeye onto the pre-made chain plate and mounted it in place as a test. I used some black 0.6mm diameter nails I had on hand. I haven't glued it in yet.

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mtbediz1 said:
I gave up on making the chain plates from brass wire because I'm not very good at hammering 1mm thick brass wire into flat strips. The strips don't come out very smooth. Instead, I cut 1.5mm-wide strips from 0.4mm thick brass sheeting I had on hand. After cutting the strips and drilling the bolt holes, I chemically blackened them. I haven't decided yet whether to settle for blackening or paint them black as well. I mounted a deadeye onto the pre-made chain plate and mounted it in place as a test. I used some black 0.6mm diameter nails I had on hand. I haven't glued it in yet.

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Hi Mustafa, beautiful work as always. How did you cut the strips from the thin brass sheet?
 
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