Instruction manual

29
MAST & SPAR CONSTRUCTION
At this point, your model should have a considerable
amount of stuff on board. Take another look, correct
any mistakes and touch up paint blemishes. Go over
the plans again. Did you miss anything? The
Pride of
Baltimore II
has a lot of detail on the deck. When all
looks well, get ready for the masts and spars.
1. The Importance of Scale
While the scale of masts is important, the yards and
gaffs are probably the most critical spars to consider
in regard to proper scale. Stubby, fat-ended yards
stick out like sore thumbs, giving a model that
unprofessional look. Care should be taken to assure
that yards are tapered properly and to correct scale.
It is sometimes difficult to taper a small yard, because
breaking the yardarm is always a risk. However, the
amount of time and effort spent making a yard are
worth the investment when the end result is an over-
all appearance which is pleasing and scale-like.
2. Shaping & Tapering Masts & Spars
Plan sheet 4 shows all the masts and spars to scale.
Dimensions are given for the critical maximum
diameter at both center and end shoulders. The poles
and yardarms beyond the shoulders should be just
slightly smaller than the diameter given at the shoul-
der.
The kit provides round dowels for masts and spars,
but final tapering to plan dimensions is still required.
A dowel is difficult to taper since it is already round.
The best approach is to slice the dowel from a round
shape at maximum diameter to a square shape at the
ends, then to an eight-sided shape. Final rounding is
achieved by sanding. This approach prevents a
round dowel from becoming an oval (see figure 51).
Although a little tricky, you can also taper a dowel by
chucking it into an electric drill or lathe. As the speed
of the drill turns the dowel, use sandpaper to shape
the taper.
Many experienced modelers like to discard the dow-
els and make masts and spars from square stock. The
advantage: you can use a wood of your choice and
marking tapers is easier. It also permits including
square or octagonal sections in the spar without
adding any wood to build up the diameter. See dis-
cussion below.
3. Building & Installing the Masts
Both the fore and main mast are identical except for
the length of the mast. Note also that the lower masts
do not taper at all. It’s a straight section from the deck
up to the head.
The fore and main mast heads can be squared simply
by using a razor saw or hobby knife. After squaring,
cut the tenon (or tongue) at the top. The chamfer on
the edges is actually the outer surface of the dowel.
Just below the head, the sides must be flattened to
conform to the trestle tree cheeks (see figure 52).
Variations in Diameters
: The masts at the deck will be
a little confusing because of the octagonal shape. On
the real ship, the distance across the flats of the octa
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STAGE F