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USS Constitution - Model Shipway’s 5/32” = 1 ft. (1:76.8) Kit No.: MS2040
If you look at my original PowerPoint layout and the computer drawing, you will notice the stove hood is shaped like a trapezoid with a somewhat square box on top. The BlueJacket stove parts just had the trapezoid which made their stove’s height correct. When I converted my original design to match BlueJacket’s configuration, I incorporated the box’s height which I shouldn’t of. So, either I can somehow slice off the stove’s hood and rebuild a proper one or I must start over.
Well, I got lucky. I was able to slice off the excess portion of the stove hood as disassemble the back plate from the remaining portion of the stove. The stove was held together with PVC glue because it gave me a chance to make final adjustments before the glue set. I had used just enough glue to hold everything together but not super bonded so that I could pry it apart.
A new hood was constructed which definitely gives the stove a more compact look. Once more the hood was reassembled and glued into place. The new hood was painted and the whole stove was given another light coat to cover up some minor wood discoloration due to the additional work.
Gun Deck Chain Bitts
Working from the stove position, fabricating the chain bitts logically follows. The bitts are somewhat shaped like a small oil drum on top of a bigger oil drum. Using US Navy Plan 22167, I got most of the basic dimensions.
Working from the stove position, fabricating the chain bitts logically follows. The bitts are somewhat shaped like a small oil drum on top of a bigger oil drum. Using US Navy Plan 22167, I got most of the basic dimensions.
The lower portion of the bitt worked out to be ½” diameter while the upper portion came out to be approximately 3/8” diameter. What makes the construct a bit more complex is the top surface of the lower wider portion has a tilted surface, a difference in height of 1/8” scale between one side and the other. My solution to this fabrication puzzle was to first drill a hole 3/8” in diameter straight through the ½” dowel on a lathe enough for 4 bitts using progressively larger drills. Next, I sliced 4 pieces off making 4 tall wooden donuts. Then, using my disc sander, I tilted the sanding plate 9° and sanded one surface to create the bitt’s tilted surface. Then I sliced a 3/8” dowel into four 5/8” pieces. Each of the pieces were then inserted into the donuts and voila…I have the basis of chain bitts.
The next component is what I call the chain bitt rails, the swooping rail forward of each bitt. Scaling down from the Navy plans, I worked out the basic block dimensions I need to cut these rails from. The long pair was 3/8” H x 5/32” W x 1 7/8” L and the shorter pair was 7/8” L. Because the rail was bare wood, I chose to use boxwood, but as it turned out, I only had 3/16” x 5/32” stock. Thus, I glued two pieces together to get the required height.
With the use of a French Curve, I guesstimated the curve shape and end points and drew them onto the rail blanks. Then with my scroll saw I cut them out. You will notice in the photos below, there seems to be a discrepancy with the before and after cut of the short rails. When the “before” photo was taken I had drawn the wrong curve length. This was caught before I made any cuts but didn’t retake the photo.
The rails had three coats of wipe-on poly applied and then I added the eye bolts and rings. The bitts were a bit more complicated. I had to guesstimate where exactly metal cladding started and stopped because I couldn’t find anything on the Navy plans and none of my reference library photos were shot with the purpose of showing the cladding details as their subjects.
The navy plans do show the L-shaped bitt “guide” (?) so I was able fabricate those out of stock .016” copper plate which just happens to be almost the exact required thickness scale. The rods just above the guide were not in the Navy plans, so those were just eyeballed.
The navy plans do show the L-shaped bitt “guide” (?) so I was able fabricate those out of stock .016” copper plate which just happens to be almost the exact required thickness scale. The rods just above the guide were not in the Navy plans, so those were just eyeballed.
