Frames corrections

As I read on the web, several bow frames are inaccurate and have to be corrected!

They're the frames 3 to 8.

If they were too large, it would be easy to reshape them to the correct size, but unfortunately it's the contrary : the bow narrows too early, so the shape of the hull is incorrect!
We can see here the corrected templates : the red marks the missing parts!
Those templates can be found here : Build the Titanic , Detailing section.



The first solution that comes to mind is to cut some 'patches' and stick them to the frames using reinforcements just like the ones used for the keel. This solution could work with frames 8 to 6, but for the others, the patches would be very small and difficult to handle.

So I decided to cut brand new frames to replace the misshapen ones. As I don't own an adequate fretsaw, it will be a long and tedious work!

 I bought a 4mm thick plank, and started to cut my new frames, with only those tools :




Here is the method :

• I draw the original frame onto the plank
• I cut the paper template and use it to draw the corrections onto the plank
• I roughly cut the frame using the saw
• I refine the cut using the X-acto
• I sand down the frame into its final shape

Trap : the keel slot could be a bit tricky to cut. I used the saw to make a single cut at the center of the slot, and the carved it out with the X-acto. But the risk is to break the frame with the saw, so be careful. As the slot weakens the frame, I did it after the sanding of the external shape.



It's a long and tedious work, you can see here some failed frames :








After several hours, the 6 frames are ready! We can see them below, with on top of them the original frames.

If I had to do it again, I would use stronger wood, to avoid the breakings we saw in the failures. The final frames will be reinforced all along their height to avoid bad surprises.