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| USS Cairo (1862), 1:48 | ||
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Moderators: Winston, aew
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| Author | Post | ||
| Gene Bodnar |
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  Registered Member #126 Joined: Tue Jul 21 2009, 11:20amPosts: 1782 | BRIEF HISTORY USS Cairo, a 512-ton "City" class ironclad river gunboat built at Mound City, Illinois, was commissioned in January 1862 as part of the U.S. Army's Western Gunboat Flotilla. She began war operations in February, taking part in the occupations of Clarksville and Nashville, Tennessee. In April and May 1862, Cairo was involved in the campaign to capture Fort Pillow and was present during the 10 May naval action there. She was also engaged with Confederate warships during the action off Memphis, Tennessee, on 6 June 1862. On 12 December 1862, while engaged in mine clearance activities on the Yazoo River, Mississippi, USS Cairo was sunk by a Confederate mine. Her wreck was recovered in 1965, but was badly damaged during the salvage efforts. USS Cairo has subsequently been partially restored and is on exhibit at Vicksburg, Mississippi. THE PLANS I will be using the very detailed plans published by the National Military Park at Vicksburg, Mississippi. Since the plans do not provide both sided and molded dimensions of most items, I will also be using the original specifications for the vessel, which was first published in 1861. THE INTENDED MODEL I will be building a POF model of the USS Cairo on 1:48 scale, which will measure 43 ¾” in length and 13 ¼” in width. The frames will be made of lattice pine, and most of the remainder of the model will be made of basswood. My intention is to provide a comprehensive view of the interior as well as the exterior of the vessel; thus, one side of the casemate area will be removable to expose the inner structures, including the engines used to propel the paddlewheel, all armament, and various deck fittings. The first thing I did is examine the plans thoroughly to determine if they were sufficient by themselves for building a model and to determine if the various views meshed with each other. On both counts, they did not. I soon discovered that I needed the molded dimensions of the frames, which is not shown on the framing diagram. However, this information was readily available in a narrative document of the original specifications written for the vessel in 1861. However, some of the drawings did not have an accurate scale bar, being incorrect in that corrections were made to ensure that all scale bars coincided perfectly. Once these issues were addressed, I used a Brava Reader program to enlarge all plans to my intended scale. BUILDING FRAMES None of the plans include the dimensions of the frames. Thus, the first step was to loft plans of all frames from the lines drawing provided in the plans. The sided dimensions are found in the Framing Diagram. To find molded dimensions of the frames, I used the original specifications. With these three sources, I lofted the frames. This was a relatively easy task because almost all of the frames consist of straight lines with angles at the casemate areas. Thirty-three of the midship frames are identical to each other. These are built first. All frames are double frames, with one layer consisting of three lengths pine, and the second layer consisting of five lengths of pine. As can be seen, both layers of each frame consist of various anglea that must be taken into account, as illustrated in an isometric drawing provided in the plans (not shown below). All pieces were cut out on a jigsaw, and the double frame pieces assembled and glued together with Elmer’s Glue and clamped securely. After the glue dried, a trenail made of bamboo was installed on either side of every joint, for a total of 12 trenails per frame. Excess bamboo was trimmed off with fingernail clippers and sanded smooth. Three-quarter-inch bolts were used on the joints of the original vessel. Finally, a chock (called a “ship’s knee”) was installed on either side of the frames. When all frames are completed, the bilge keelson will rest on these chocks.     | ||
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| majorrich |
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 Registered Member #873 Joined: Sat Apr 10 2010, 01:12amPosts: 14 | This is going to be great Gene. Since seeing the Cairo a few years ago I have wanted to build one. Please keep us up to speed on the details, especially on the plans and corrections. I have a copy of the book from the NPS on detailing the recovery and restoration and it includes the plans. Can't wait until your next update. Rich | ||
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| Gene Bodnar |
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| Registered Member #126 Joined: Tue Jul 21 2009, 11:20amPosts: 1782 | Major Rich, Okay, will do. So far, I've had to make minor adjustments in most of the scale bars shown on each of the plans. When you enlarge each and every plan, make sure its length matches all the other plans at your scale. The Lines Drawing and the Hull Framing Drawing are two examples. They don't mesh if you use the scale bar shown on each plan. Just keep in mind that the vessel was 175 feet in length. When the scale bars are adjusted, both plans match up perfectly. Gene | ||
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| teleman |
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 Registered Member #1925 Joined: Tue Nov 29 2011, 05:32amPosts: 1342 | This is going to be a very interesting build you got here Gene.... | ||
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| Gene Bodnar |
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| Registered Member #126 Joined: Tue Jul 21 2009, 11:20amPosts: 1782 | The Building Jig for the USS Cairo is made of two pieces of 1/8" Masonite. The lower sheet was marked with all the identified frames and the 3 keels. The 3 keels are held in place with small pieces of wood, aligned from bow to stern. The upper sheet was jigsawed out with the shape of the vessel at the gun deck, which corresponds to the outermost frame edges on the Hull Framing plan. I built the jig without notches, with its height at the gun deck. Its three keels are the resting place for each of the frames, apparently trenailed to the three keels. Aft of Frame #52, there is no center keel -- it ceases and is followed by a large paddlewheel. Thus, aft of Frame #52, the remaining frames continue on both sides but adjacent to the paddlewheel. The gap between the framing in this area is called the waterway. As a temporary measure, I used masking tape to hold the frames approximately equidistant from each other. When all frames have been completed, the keelson, bilge keelsons, and deck shelves will be installed, with these items trenailed to all the frames, which will secure them permanently.   | ||
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| teleman |
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| Registered Member #1925 Joined: Tue Nov 29 2011, 05:32amPosts: 1342 | Hi gene, read up on this one at MSW. I figure you built no notches on your building jig because of the 3 keels will pretty much keep them frames all aligned. Just guessing here. she gonna be a biggie though... | ||
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| Mike 41 |
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 Registered Member #702 Joined: Fri Feb 05 2010, 10:37pmPosts: 1247 | Gene, That is a good looking building jig. It looks like you still have a few more frames to build. I agree with Mario she is going to be a big model. Mike | ||
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| Gene Bodnar |
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| Registered Member #126 Joined: Tue Jul 21 2009, 11:20amPosts: 1782 | The main that I did not cut notches in the Building Jig is because there is no point on the USS Cairo at which any of the frames are vertical in shape that would allow them to fit into notches. There is really nothing the frames but pointed 90-degree angles shaped like the "greater than" or "less than" symbol at the gun deck level, which corresponds to its waterline. To really fit properly, the notches would have to be cut on this angle, too, which I figured would be a bit too much trouble. And, yes, Mario, you're correct, the three keels seem to hold the frames quite securely. The temporary masking tape helps, as well. Gene | ||
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| daves |
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| Registered Member #105 Joined: Wed Jul 15 2009, 12:01pmPosts: 2931 | those are hatches here is a close up of one | ||
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| daves |
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| Registered Member #105 Joined: Wed Jul 15 2009, 12:01pmPosts: 2931 |  you can see another hatch in the lower right hand corner of the photo  in this photo you can see the hatch coaming could very well be the same height of the decking so they were flush with the deck. note the ledge on the inside this would indicate either there was a solid covering or there was a grating. | ||
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