Building the Oneida's Capstan Base

Building the Oneida's Capstan Base

Unlike the mast partners which set flush with the top of the deck beams, the capstan base sits notched above the beams. This is how the finished section looks. Now taking it apart piece by piece you can see how it was built.

To begin the black char was scraped off the notches around the edge.

The two pieces of the capstan base were placed one at the center and the other at the end of the beams. This was done to keep the beams square and parallel so the length of the carlings can be checked.

When your sure the length of the carlings fit tight in the notches in the beams, the next step is to cut a notch at the ends of the carlings so they sit flush with the top of the beam.

Flip the beam upside down and with a knife mark the side of the beam on the carling.

Cutting the notch at the end of the carlings is quite an easy job. Using a fine tooth razor saw cut at the line marked with the knife. Using a razor blade, chip out the wood for the notch. Don't make your cut to the final depth all at once. Keep placing the carling back into the beam notch and slice a little off at a time until the carling sits flush with the beam.