R/C Naval Combat

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Originally posted by BoomerBoy17

I know it! Its the Spaceship Yamato!!!!!!!
Im so smart, i figured it out!

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Yep, just glue on the subdeck.  No joinery is required.  The superglue soaks into both pieces of wood, and forms a very strong bond.  It's not perfect, however; the hull is still delicate at this point.  It will get much stronger once the bottom is planked.

Time for an update!  Gascan and I have assembled all four hulls, and are preparing to plank the boats.  Note the upside down "subdeck-first" construction method and the lack of joinery between ribs and subdeck.  This is standard construction technique in the WWCC, and it's been the standard for almost 10 years now.  Also worthy of note is the big block of solid aluminum.  This is a framing device that measures 2.1" on one side and 3.1" on the other.  It allows me to do three things.  1) install the ribs perpendicular to the subdeck.  2) install the ribs parallel to each other.  3) guarantee beyond any possible error that the rib spacing is legal.  WWCC requires 3" inside-to-inside between ribs, and the aluminum block measures 3.1" so as long as I use the block, there is no possible room for error.  This is a recent addition to the upside-down construction style that greaty speeds up the assembly process once you get the first rib in place.

Currently the build is on hold until a new bandsaw blade can be located.  The last one converted approximately 1% of its mass into pure energy to protest the construction of a secret project of another club member.  Unfortunately there are no local hardware stores that sell a 82" long 1/4" thick standard bandsaw blades with 6-8 teeth per inch.

The table is not very straight. There is only one really flat surface in the whole garage, and that's usually in use by the shop master himself. So instead, Gascan and I plan for it. The whole upside-down assembly stems from the fact that a 1/4" subdeck, using very high quality baltic birch plywood, is pretty flat to begin with, and that provides most of the flatness from the beginning. A keel-up approach on a non-flat table ends up with the tops of the ribs wobbling back and forth and causing ripples at the subdeck level. Since it's the subdeck level that's most visible, and thus most important - first we square the parts that have to be square, and then worry about the other stuff.

With the ribs attached squarely to the subdeck, and the subdeck being a sturdy, flat surface, we can then consider the bottom of the boat. A solid, wide piece of 1/8" baltic birch plywood forms what in other ships could be called a keel. Some people also use the term base plate. I call it the Big Plank, because unlike keels and base plates, the Big Plank doesn't contribute to the shape; it simply reinforces the shape that's already there. After that comes the small planks. For this build, Gascan and I are using soft pine, cut up into 1/2"x1/8" strips, for the planking. Earlier builds using harder materials caused hogging in the curved sections, and we're hoping to avoid that issue on these boats. No fiberglass will be applied to the outside of the boats; their only reinforcement will come from the thick mixture of epoxy and lead shot we will pour to fill the sides of the water channel and ballast the boats.

I don't have much progress to report right now. The shop master is sick, and hasn't opened shop the last few times. Hopefully he will be feeling better tomorrow, and/or the weather will be warmer.

Oh joy!  Another update!  This time it's the Jaws of the Beast, the custom-built six-barrel cannons that will provide these fearsome battlewagons' primary firepower.

Here's a few brief facts:
1) The cannon is named "thunderbolt" after another monstrous 6-barrel weapon, mounted on the rear of late-war PT boats.  The original gun was famous for putting out a storm of metal from its 20mm cannons and .50 cal machine guns, and the new one was designed with the exact same intent.

2) Unlike the front cannon, which mounts two separate rotating magazines on a tandem gun design, the Thunderbolt was designed from the ground up as a six-barrel cannon.  This means it suffers none of the airflow imbalances associated with a traditional tandem mount.  The design also provides approximately 2" length savings over the front cannon.  In a 43" long ship, that 2" length savings goes a long way.

3) The two separate ammunition trays each hold up to three 12x14 ball layers, or 1008 rounds total per cannon.  Since this is far more ammo than I could possibly use with a single 20-oz CO2 bottle, I don't plan to top it off except when "pit-stop time" is crucial, such as during Campaign Battles and the Last Man Standing.

4) The lower body of the Thunderbolt (not shown) uses The Garage's latest innovation: grease gun construction.  Specific details are currently classified, but this new construction style makes noticeable reductions in machine time, and cost savings in materials, while maintaining The Garage's standards of robust and durable cannons.

5) Despite the improved specs over the BDE tandem, the Thunderbolt is currently weighing in almost 1.5 pounds under the allowed weight.  Please note, however, that it does not currently have an actuator, buna ball, magazine cover, barrels, or barrel risers.

6) Unlike previous projects, the major components (cannons and hulls) of the Viribus Unitis class are being built in parallel.  Shopmaster Neil is building the cannons while Gascan and I work on the hulls.  Once those are done, other major systems will be split up for further parallel construction.

on the hulls: Gascan and I are currently planking our way through hull number three.  I expect to be done with the planking by next weekend, and then I will post another photo update.