USS Constitution - Model Shipways

[Jack Sparrow]

Wouldn't you know it, I'm driving on the wrong side of the road - at least as far as the pendants and shrouds are concerned. Because I had RoS cable-laid rope in the correct diameter on hand when I made the pendants, when it came time to start on the shrouds, I ordered S-twist (left hand) ropes for the what I'll need to do the shrouds. If I check my inventory on my on hand inventory of smaller diameter ropes, I'm certain, I'll they are all Z-twist or right hand ropes. So, mine will be a hodgepodge of left-hand, right-hand, cotton and poly ropes. But, hey. As I've said on more than one occasion here, if someone gets close to my cordoned off and encased Connie, and shows up with magnifying glasses, vernier caliper, and copies of the 1929 plans from the Constitution museum, they will be getting a swift kick out the door.

As an aside, I've recommended this to a friend of mine, but may entertain thoughts of doing so myself. At a buck a foot minimum for rope purchased on-line, I may follow in Jack's footsteps in educating myself on the fine art of rope making and found a business in my post retirement years. Now, if I could just find the right ropewalk..

A lot of people say the vertical ropewalk is the easiest to work with. what bothers me is that you are limited on the length. But I suppose 1 metre of rope should be longer than anything that I would use. I have one but have not used it yet.

 

[Der Alte Rentner]

A lot of people say the vertical ropewalk is the easiest to work with. what bothers me is that you are limited on the length. But I suppose 1 metre of rope should be longer than anything that I would use. I have one but have not used it yet.

Which one did you get? I'm ready to give it a try. As for length is concerned, most walls are 8 feet tall, so I imagine you can easily get 2 yards by mounting the unit close to the ceiling.

 

[Jack Sparrow]

Which one did you get? I'm ready to give it a try. As for length is concerned, most walls are 8 feet tall, so I imagine you can easily get 2 yards by mounting the unit close to the ceiling.

try steel66. he has a horizontal ropewalk that he sells.
Mine is not made anymore.

Here is a link to the one that people say doesn't work, if that helps.

https://www.shipworkshop.com/shop

 

[dockattner]

Here you go, Peter.

Make your rope on a rope walk

I did a lot of research on how to make rope on a rope walk and build my own rope walk. I love to share my experience with you. The quality of the rope delivered in your kit is not always of high quality. Fluffy, badly made so that you can better use it to tie up your old paper than to rig your...

shipsofscale.com

 

[Jack Sparrow]

Which one did you get? I'm ready to give it a try. As for length is concerned, most walls are 8 feet tall, so I imagine you can easily get 2 yards by mounting the unit close to the ceiling.

Sorry. I think I missunderstood your question. I got the vertical ropewalk from https://www.shipworkshop.com/product-page/vr-3-1-rope-making-machine-vertical-type

THe planetary machine I have is from ZHL, but the guy told me it is not made anymore.

 

[Jack Sparrow]

I decided to 3d print the topmast trestle and crosstrees to see if it looks nice. If it looks fake then I'll try to make them out of wood, which won't be easy

 

[Der Alte Rentner]

They are not as hard to make as you think.

 

[Jack Sparrow]

They are not as hard to make as you think.

ok. i'll give it a shot.
tks

 

[Jack Sparrow]

you didn't happen to make it into one piece by chance?
I can't seem to find the stock material that is being requested. What did you use?

 

[Der Alte Rentner]

you didn't happen to make it into one piece by chance?
I can't seem to find the stock material that is being requested. What did you use?

I made each piece individually from boxwood. Check my recent build logs. Start by making to scale templates for cutting the shapes of the Cross trees. As far as the trestles are concerned, that is fairly straightforward. It's made easier if you have a good mill. For the cross trees, a good scroll saw and some decent quality files will be all you need.

 

[Jack Sparrow]

I have to decide whether to make the topmast crosstrees out of wood or 3d print. The problem is the type of wood I have is bass wood. I have made those crosstreas in the past and they were a pain because of the wood. THey would break on me all the time and when I went to drill the little holes at the ends it would break the crosstree. Maybe I can source boxwood from somewhere around here...

 

[Jack Sparrow]

and the shipping costs are outrageous so forget it. I'll try one more time with basswood but if it breaks on me, I'll move on to 3d print. When I sand and paint those parts, they don't look that bad actually.

 

[Der Alte Rentner]

and the shipping costs are outrageous so forget it. I'll try one more time with basswood but if it breaks on me, I'll move on to 3d print. When I sand and paint those parts, they don't look that bad actually.

If you're going to paint over the wood anyway, try to get another hardwood - one that is readily available here. I don't know Swiss pair, hard maple, cherry? Maybe Paul will chime in with a recommendation.

 

[Jack Sparrow]

If you're going to paint over the wood anyway, try to get another hardwood - one that is readily available here. I don't know Swiss pair, hard maple, cherry? Maybe Paul will chime in with a recommendation.

yeah i don't think I will be ordering anything. the shipping costs are outrageous. 19 for a piece of wood and 65 for the shipping.
thanks for your information though.

 

[Der Alte Rentner]

yeah i don't think I will be ordering anything. the shipping costs are outrageous. 19 for a piece of wood and 65 for the shipping.
thanks for your information though.

I was thinking more along the lines of going to your local lumber yard. I can get maple, poplar, and Cherry woods at a place not far from me without having to mail order.

Now that I think about it. If you're going to paint over the wood anyway, poplar is readily available everywhere.

 

[Jack Sparrow]

I was thinking more along the lines of going to your local lumber yard. I can get maple, poplar, and Cherry woods at a place not far from me without having to mail order.

Now that I think about it. If you're going to paint over the wood anyway, poplar is readily available everywhere.

sure but i am not equipped to make 3/32 thick planks. I'll try the basswood first. see what I can do.I might try milling the holes before cutting the crosstrees out.
I don't know if that would help or not. I do like the idea of making it one piece too instead of three crosstrees and two tressle trees. i do have a carving machine that I never use. Maybe this would be a good time to use it. I'll have to calibrate it and setup the controller first but that should be fine.

 

[dockattner]

I decided to 3d print the topmast trestle and crosstrees to see if it looks nice. If it looks fake then I'll try to make them out of wood, which won't be easy
View attachment 642007

The kit doesn't include these parts?

One of the challenges associated with scratch building (or kit-bashing) is that you need to purchase dimensional strips and sheets if you don't have the tooling (or inclination) to process wood yourself:

Precision Exotic Hardwood Sheets & Strips | Hobbymill.EU

Precision hardwood for ship modellers, luthiers, CNC and laser work: Swiss pear, Castello boxwood, black hornbeam, Alaskan yellow cedar and maple — planking…

hobbymill.eu

The problem is you will need to purchase lots of dimensional stock because you won't necessarily know up front what you will need. Of course if you had or made a thicknesser (thickness sander) that gives you more flexibility.

I suppose these particular parts could be made from basswood - but that would be pretty much my last choice

 

[Der Alte Rentner]

Paul,

My kit didn't include those either. I've got tons of basswood that came with the kit, from which I could have made them. Fortunately I stocked up on boxwood before Joseph Volpe went out of business and have made almost everything after the hull planking out of boxwood. I have just a little bit left to deal with the odd item or two I may yet need to fabricate. But I understand Jack's reluctance to order from Europe. It is expensive.

Given the way that the businesses are folding left and right these days, I may order an entire kitsworth of material before I finish this model - just to have it on hand. Why the heck is boxwood impossible to get in this country?

 

[dockattner]

You can get rough cut (full size) boards (boxwood and virtually every other species) domestically, but not dimensional strips and sheets. My orders from Estonia have been large enough to make the shipping acceptable - but a small order would make no sense.

If Mark lived near me I could process material for him. Of course, that option is available to you as needed...

 

[GGibson]

If you live in or close to a major city, you may have a Woodcraft store that will have dimensional lumber and wood blanks that may fit your needs. Whenever I am driving by my local store, I'll drop in to look at any of the specials they have going on. Wish I knew more about some of these wood species they sell... but they always have the basic cherry, maple, oak, walnut. The small carving stock they have are perfect sizes for our shipbuilding needs.