1877 Salvage Tug Hercules build.

[Talisman]

I had wondered earlier about the height of the paddle shaft in a previous posting, but all makes sense now.
Great work and more to come ... superb!
Regards,
Kim

[Dinosaursoupman]

Randy - I hope you didn't think I was offended by your question

I didn't take your answer as if you were offended, Stuart. As you say typical convention is 'don't glue to painted surfaces', but that goes back to my plastic kit days with Testors enamel paints. I have yet to make the transition to the latex based paints that are available today. So, I found your answer to my question very informative and educational just as all your build logs have proven to be.

Randy

[Stuart Badger]

Hi PDs!

Thanks for the comments all - and Randy, yes I think things have changed regarding gluing to painted surfaces, both with regard to paints AND glues.

Kenny - yes the wheels will be removable and in fact I think on this model the paddle boxes are going to be fixed in place - trying to get a watertight seal on this one is going to be too difficult with paddle boxes that lift off with the deck.

Today I continued work on the centre section. Not a lot to show for my efforts but I got the bridge deck finished, varnished and fixed in place - more later!

All the best

Stuart

[marinemole]

Stuart

Glad to see the crew taking early delivery of the ship. Do the pumps have a reputation for leaking? The guy with the apron looks as if he is taking no chances.

Regards

Andy

[Stuart Badger]

Good one Andy! 

All the best
Stuart

[Stuart Badger]

Hi PDs!

The holiday/visiting season is nearly over here  - and after Paddler day I can really get going again.
 I have made and fitted the sponson houses. These are built from Plasticard and attached to the paddle boxes permanantly. I had been discussing with Eddy whether to have the paddle boxes fixed semi-permanently to the sponsons (along with the houses) with the centre deck section removable, or to have the whole box/sponson house/ deck assmbly lift off for access.
I have decided on the later. But I will have to fit a 'splash guard' that extends down below the paddle shaft on the inside face of each paddle box. Hercules doesn't have much clearance between the boxes and the wheels - so unless I do this she could well ship a lot of water!

The eagle=eyed amongst you will note that I have increased the height of the ventilators - this is due to my inability to multiply by three! - duh!

All the best

Stuart

[Eddy Matthews]

I had been discussing with Eddy whether to have the paddle boxes fixed semi-permanently to the sponsons (along with the houses) with the centre deck section removable, or to have the whole box/sponson house/ deck assmbly lift off for access. I have decided on the later. But I will have to fit a 'splash guard' that extends down below the paddle shaft on the inside face of each paddle box.

What Stuart failed to mention is that we discussed the point above and then he promptly took no notice of what I said Oh well, I've got broad shoulders and I can take the rejection!

The eagle=eyed amongst you will note that I have increased the height of the ventilators - this is due to my inability to multiply by three! - duh!

All the best

Stuart

I didn't want to mention that! 

Regards
Eddy

[Stuart Badger]

Hi PDs!

I thought I'd have a break from the main model of Hercules and make a start on the Paddle wheels.

I am using a prototype set of scale 150mm wheels from Clyde Model Boats which are destined for their Lingdale Semi Kit.

PLEASE bear in mind that these are a PROTOTYPE set supplied without instructions and that I have to alter them slightly for Hercules! So with (or without) Kim's permission - here goes 
The kit for the wheels comprises an etched brass sheet containg the components, which carries half etched rivet detail and fold lines. Also supplied are a set of hubs, the paddle floats and all of the nuts and bolts required.

First job is to snip the control arms and float pivots from the sheet and bend them to their final shape. The width of the fold line ensures that you achieve a 90 degree angle when you make the fold. I simply used a pair of small pliers for the job.

The folded components were then sprayed a dark red.

FLOATS.

The floats supplied were a test set and were a little flimsy - also they were too narrow in height for Hercules so I decided to make my own. I made them in two laminations. The front face of the float is 1mm ply whilst the back face is 1.5 boxwood chamfered on its rear edges (as was the real thing) to avoid fouling the spokes of the wheels. I used the jig supplied with the wheels to ensure the screw holes were in the right position on the faces of the float halves. I drilled the face of the floats with 4 holes the diameter of the bolt heads (countersunk bolts supplied - 12BA) and the back of the floats a clearance size for 12BA. I used the brass jig supplied for this but adjusted its position as my floats are a little taller (4mm) than those supplied.

I then fed the bolts through both layers of the float and glued the two inside faces together.

One control arm and one pivot were then bolted in place and the excess length of bolt snipped off.

Next step was to hide the screw heads by using a rivet embossed strip of black card to represent the iron strip used to hold the boards of the float together.

That's all for now - next time I shall tackle the wheel and hub assembly (only another 15 floats to make!)

All the best

Stuart

[Talisman]

So with (or without) Kim's permission - here goes 

No problem Stuart - Just let me know if there is any problems and i will try my best to put them right. ...... allways more interesting seeing someone else build them.

Regards,
Kim

[Stuart Badger]

Hi PDs!

and thanks Kim.

Today I assembled the wheels and hubs and painted them.
First step was to snip the etchings from the sheet and clean up the snipped edge.

I turned up some new hubs in PVC rather than use the ones supplied. This was because Hercules has a fairly massive set of hubs and I also felt that the ones supplied were a little fragile (I have no basis in fact for this opinion - I just wanted a 'chunkier' set!).

Using the jig supplied I bent the spokes to the appropriate angle, test mounted them on the angled face of the hubs I had made and measured the diameter of the circle of holes required to be drilled in the hubs for the ends of the spokes. Having drilled the holes using a dividing head on the drill press I made up 32 hex-head bolts using a snipped off 12BA bolt and nut for each one. I positioned the rim on the hub and pushed the studs through the spokes and into the holes in the hub (The studs are a transition fit in the hub) These were then superglued in place.

The rims are supplied with flat cross-braces designed to be bolted at alternate angles across the inside of the spokes. Unfortunately Hercules pre-dates this method and used round braces, two to each set of spokes and crossing over in the middle of the gap between the wheel rims.

I bent up 32 braces in 40thou wire (this is a push fit into a 12BA nut)and mounted them in the holes provided in the spokes. The back (unseen) face of the rim had the braces soldered in place. I pushed a 12BA nut onto the ends of the braces on the visible face of the wheel and soft soldered these in place. The resulting assembly is VERY rigid and should take any loads imposed on it.

The detail on the wheels once painted is delightful - and because they are made of thin material the wheels are very light - but plenty strong enough for the job. And I even managed to make a left hand and a right hand wheel at the first attempt - unbelievable!

Next task is to make the feathering eccentric gear and fit the swing pins to the float arms and do the final assembly.

All the best

Stuart

[marinemole]

Stuart
Looking great but very 'spidery'. I know this is prototypical and thin structures can be very strong when braced properly  but what is your impression of the strength and durability of the finished paddle on the model?

Regards

Andy

[Stuart Badger]

Hi Andy!

They may look 'spidery' but they are VERY strong and rigid. Once they are braced and soldered/glued they are certainly strong enough to take any abuse they are likely to get in use.
The only reason I would make them in heavier material is because I HAD to - not because I wanted to!

All the best

Stuart

[Eddy Matthews]

The paddlewheels look great Stuart. I particularly like the "double" bracing rather than every alternate spoke as I think that's more realistic?

Although they do look a little "spidery" at the moment, I think that the appearance will improve once all the floats and feathering mechanism is in place.

Regards
Eddy

[mjt60a]

superb, that's raised the bar a bit more!

[Stuart Badger]

Hi PDs!

Today I managed to get one wheel completed with its eccentric.

I wont go into soldering the assembly up - as PeeWee has covered this well in his post. I'm qiute pleased with the result and will start on the other wheel tomorrow!

All the best

Stuart