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Bits & Pieces

8/2/2016: Began drawing the model's mast and spars full scale. I went round and round trying to determine the correct proportions as the only actual spar demensions I had were after she was refitted by the Americans, and I was sure what she had before her capture was different. Eventually I dug enough out of Lee's to get something I think is right, or near enough. Check out the Notes section for an Excel spreadsheet with all Mac's spar dimentions.

10/14: Using some steel bed-frame, I built a launch cart for Constellation that will also probably be used by Macedonian. Here's a rendering of Mac on the cart. For more details about the cart look into Constellation's work log.

10/31: I got some aircraft ply to make new winch drums for Constellation, and decided to rough cut the channels from it for Mac. All I have is their length from Chapelle's drawing, and no clue what their depth should be except that the shrouds need to clear the hammocks, so I cut them a little deep.

Quarter Galleries

11/1: I laid out the quarter galleries, and began framing up the port-side one. They will be sheathed with 1/32" plywood. I am modeling the gun deck and the great cabin, but the quarter galleries will be sealed and not have modeled interiors.

Sheathing commences. A card-stock pattern is made for every piece so I can duplicate all this on the other side.

Using a cutting wheel on a rotary tool, I made two patterns in a used utility knife blade to use as a scraper for making molding. I search all over the ship for something that would take the scraping and make good molding, and settled on some cedar that I'm not crazy about, but until I can get some wood that works, it'll have to do. I applied the molding along the sheer-line. There's another line of molding above that that's not done yet. The pictures show the channels in place, they're just friction fitted in. The gaps in the molding behind the fore and main channels are for a pair of short channels I haven't made yet. On other ships there was about half as deep and connected to the main portion of the channel. On some ships they're set higher than the main portion of the channel (see the model of the Lacedaemonian on the Notes page).

Building the port side quarter gallery, installing the rest of the molding, and cutting out the small channel pieces.

Making Made Masts

11/10: To make Macedonian's lower masts, I looked at various sources. Modeling forums, Internet searches, period pieces like Steel's. Photos of models. But while I could see the end product, it was hard for me to visualize what was going on, or how it got to that point. Lee's Masting and Rigging was, in some ways, the clearest and easiest to comprehend; my problem with Lee's is trying to pick MY time-frame from the stew of data he presents. Often only parts of things change, so you have to piece it together; checks from 1800-1816, hounds from 1770-1820, rubbing paunch from 1810-, brains from Abby Normal, and that sort of thing.

For my 1812ish frigate it seems, if I interpret all this correctly, The mast can be a single piece with cheeks and rubbing paunch (used to be the front fish) added on. It tapers from the deck to the top end. From the top of the cheeks/hounds down, it's round except it's left flat on the sides where the cheeks attach. The cheeks are rounded themselves to nearly blend into the mast, but there's a bit of a step or channel formed so they don't taper down to nothing at the sides. The real hounds are a separate piece scarfed onto the cheeks. I found it better to actually do this so they weren't in the way or getting damaged. Lee's gives the proportions of these parts; for instance, the rubbing paunch is 1/3 the width of the mast.

I didn't put any taper in the space between decks, and the bury below the gundeck is 8-sided. After shaping the core of the mast, I used strips of copper tape left-over from Constellation's bottom to make the banding. Every-other band is under the cheeks them so need to go on before them.

It's not as clean and simple as Constellation's 1850's mast and spars, but it's not as complicated as it first appears.

11/15: Yesterday I made the cut and tapered main mast round where it's supposed to be round, and so on. Today I banded it, and installed the cheeks. The main and fore got their rubbing paunches, and all threee need their tenons cut top and bottom.

12/20: Got in 2 yards of gray Supplex from a different supplier than usual (see links page). I may have to either dye the bolt rope or walk up something a good color just for that.