Hi all
Thanks Si - appreciate you looking in
I got to thumbing through the online instructions and in Stage 14 you build seaman's chests to go on the orlop deck. Now I know I shouldn't leap ahead but that sounded rather fun. They just gave you the appropriate scale dimensions (from 1.5x1.0x1.0mm down to 1.0x0.7x0.7mm) and said to use scrap bits of wood. They did provide some fine thread for the handles and some brass strip for the banding.
I Googled "seaman's chests" and found that the best source of info for 18th century seaman's chests were antique shops and antique auctions - loads of interesting stuff. Turned out there were no standard types, sizes, construction method etc. Seems they were made by carpenters pretty much to their own designs. The instructions said I would need between 8 and 10 so I made 9
I used various bits of left over wood, bits of wire and as the brass strip provided was very stiff I substitute pewter. I made each one different.
I started off by gluing various offcuts of wood into suitable sizes. The lolly sticks are just to hold plank bits together while the glue dried.
I made some handles from the thread provided, just tied around a 2mm brass tube and soaked in PVA, and made the rest from wire.
After quite a few hours over a few days I ended up with these - all slightly different.
Now back to the instructions
in order
Thanks again for your comments - they really are appreciated.
Stay safe
Jim