work in progress, 1/6th 1890's navy steam launch built to navy plans

[tghsmith]

I didn't do the actual casting, but I did make the masters and cast the waxes that were then cast by a friends foundry. this thread covers a lot of the work, including the arrival of my mill and then later the better lathe..

US navy 28ft steam cutter - RC Groups

Build Log US navy 28ft steam cutter Steam Boats

www.rcgroups.com

 

[creasman]

I did make the masters and cast the waxes that were then cast by a friends foundry.

Does your friend do work for others? I've thought about trying to do some brass casting, but not sure I want to jump down that rabbit hole. Making a wax model and then paying someone else to cast seems a better route.

 

[tghsmith]

this was a long distance favor, stuff was shipped out and done in Oregon,, there are several foundrys that will cast your wax in NC and VA

 

[Pat M]

thanks, I made the engine using a Stuart Turner block with my own castings to turn it into the navy type.. had to make wrenches also

That is an impressive piece of work. Definitely watching this build.

 

[tghsmith]

not much in the way of wood-work this week,, started drawing out the plans for the boiler's base and gatheing materials (used the new to me heavy metal pencil compass, a very solid tool),, using a plexy template of the boiler's footprint and mountings the brass keelsons were fitted and the angle brackets that hold them in place were made,, things just temped in place,, the scale lag bolts really hold well in the oak frames... told Slim he had hit the glass floor and couldn't get any lower!!

 

[tghsmith]

cleaned up the inside of the hull and gave it a coat of paint,, no more glossy epoxy!! using a pot of boiling water and a double ended aluminum foil tent the center section of a long oak blank was steamed,, it bent nicely around a form for the boats fantail stern,, the blank will get routed and be the waterway molding edge..

 

[tghsmith]

gave the formed waterway billet another hot hot water soak and clamped it in position (you can never have to many clamps) it will stay there for few days as I have a set of cove router bits (with bearings) on the way,, have to dig out my medium sized router table as this job is a little to big for the dremel unit..

 

[tghsmith]

the outside of the hull was glassed this morning (normal practice for R/C model boats) the two coats of resin was tinted to start getting the base white color on the hull,, gave slim the job of watching the resin cure over the weekend,, this was the most clothe I have wetted-out in long time,, the deck edge was trimmed with a razor blade at the stiff jell stage (much easier than sanding it off later)

 

[tghsmith]

routed the deck waterway this morning,, even at a small size this oak is tough stuff,, need to get the deck framing in place, used the hull as a form to shape the steamed deck rails..

 

[tghsmith]

a good bit of wood working today,, lots of small parts that each needed customizing.. hackmatack knees and corners, most of the rest is white pine (as per the plans) a nice break from the white oak!! starting to see the lines of the helm and seating areas,, the 1900 plans spec white pine as the deck boards, but I know for other period work that some ship decks were planked in white pine, but spec'ed for heartwood,, I do have some boards left from when I did my living room floor in 100 year old reclaimed heart pine,, it has great color,, so I'm toying with the idea,, by now its 125 plus year old.. pretty close to the correct time frame!!!

 

[tghsmith]

did some fuel tank mocking-up to make sure things will fit and be able to be serviced,, checked the fitment of the wheel and steering gear,, mounted the main support block with the angle brackets as called for in the navy plans , that block is never going to move!!!,, the wheel and rudder gear were some of the first parts I made, before the milling machine and bigger lathe arrived,,

 

[Dee2]

The rudder and engine will be controlled by servos via an RC system?

 

[tghsmith]

it will be R/C , plans are for throttle, forward-reverse, boiler control, boiler feed pump, whistle, steering (servo will drive the steering drum so the wheel will turn also) a 10 channel radio is ready so there may be a few extra things added (animations and sounds)

 

[tghsmith]

been mostly still working the brass side of things, but a wood order arrived for some of the fenders, seats and comings,,(oak, ash and cherry) selected fine grain northern grown stuff,, this full sized boat builder has really helped this project... Online Store — J.W. Swan & Sons

 

[tghsmith]

still in the carving brass mode, but these parts will let me start on the main deck and coming, 16 of these socket fittings supported the canopy poles,, they also connect the deck to coming with 6 screws each (scale #0 x 1/4" slotted brass wood screws) I did a test one to see if they could be made from parts silver soldered together, it worked so it was an assembly line to make the next 15,, parts cut , milled and filed.. Ti clips bent to shape for the job, 5 soldering runs of 5. lots of repeating the same mill operation 15 times,, I feel good if I can get three parts to look the same, so I'm pretty happy right now.. they still need reaming and file work to finish..

 

[thebroofmoses]

@tghsmith I've been on the watch for an update and can see that you have been grinding away! This has become my favorite thread over the past months. Love the progress and am excited to see more.

 

[tghsmith]

thanks all.. worked up a method to make patterns for the comings once the stock is steam bent to shape.. I ran some of 100+ year old heart pine through the planer to see if it work for the deck planks,, it looks very nice, will run it through the burne's sander to final thickness and the saw it to plank widths.. (basic rule in woodworking and model building "If you think you have enough clamps, you don't)

 

[drw]

Looking really awesome, beautiful work! What will be the final thickness of the planks?

 

[tghsmith]

just over 1/8"th .155

 

[tghsmith]

with re-steaming and bending the waterway molding that goes around the stern was not fitting well enough and cracks were forming,, made a new and better bending form but still with spring-back and twist could not get the results wanted,, decided to go the thin strip laminated route,, a hot hot water soak had the strips clamped in the form nicely,, after some drying time and after layers of saran wrap was added things were glued up.. slim given the task of watching the glue dry over the weekend... thee shall never haveth too many clamps.. Laminations 11:32